Missionary

My cute brother Ryan left on his mission to Paraguay on August 5. The night before the whole family came to support him as he was set apart. It was a tender couple of days. We miss him of course, but are so proud at the same time.
Ryan has always been a special guy in my children's lives and I think that's what I'll miss the most. That, or maybe the frequent texts I got from him this past summer near dinnertime begging me to feed him so he wouldn't have to subsist on my mom's vegan cooking. It was kind of a nice compliment to my cooking skills in a roundabout way. :)

Eleyna prays for Ryan every time she says a prayer and it soothes my heart to hear it.

We love you Elder Durrant!

Provo Canyon

We needed a way to beat the heat so... we headed for the mountains!
Eleyna tried her hand at softball for the first time.We think she's got pretty good form for a two year old.

Coolin' their heels in the river

Munchin' an apple with Mom

Throwin' rocks

Life doesn't get much better...

What a glorious creation this earth is! We are so lucky we get to enjoy it.

4th of July

The Saturday before the 4th of July we got to go swimming at the Lindon pool with our cousins, Kyser and Nash. Afterwards, we went to their house for a bbq and presents for Nash's 3rd birthday. Bryson had to go patrol at the apartments once the Stadium of Fire started so we didn't do any fireworks that night.

(My little pool bum-so cute!)

However, we made up for it on Monday. Leyna was a little scared during the first couple of fireworks, but she warmed up once we got around to the sparklers. She thought those were lots of fun!!!


Uncle Ryan and Grandpa came down to watch the fireworks with us. It's so fun having family close by.

Boating on Utah Lake

Eleyna LOVES to go out on the boat this year. She has a little hippo floatie that we put her in so she can swim off the back of boat with daddy. Even when it is choppy she wants to be in the water in her hippo.She's fearless. We put her on the tube for the first time the other day and she did awesome. Smiled the whole time!
She's only two and I'm amazed that she is so adventurous. It is so fun to watch her experience things for the first time.
Hunter hasn't enjoyed the boat quite as much this year. As he has gotten older he has started to get overstimulated a lot easier. The heat, sunlight and movement is a tough combination for him to handle. We still like going out as a whole family though so sometimes we bring him anyway. Luckily he has a special spot that we can keep shaded for him. Thanks for being such a trooper little man.

Baby Eisley

(Doesn't Bryson look handsome in this picture? What a hunk!)

This is Bry and Eleyna with our new little niecey Eisley. She was born on July 9.
Holding Eisley made me ache for my own sweet baby. She's so cute!
Hunter isn't going to know what hit him when our little one makes landfall. However, I think it is going to be an even tougher adjustment for our toddler who is something of an only child at this point.
Nash and Eleyna were being too crazy to really notice the baby much.

Cousins are so much fun!

Laura's wedding

My sister Laura got married the end of June to Spencer Kirton in the Salt Lake temple. It was such a wonderful day! Now, whenever Eleyna sees a picture of that temple she says, "Laura married." She will also tell you that it is "Jesus' house." Eleyna pretending to be the bride with Grandpa Durrant.
No boyfriends for you!
The happy couple
It was really hot the day of the wedding. They got married just before lunch so we were taking pictures in the dead heat of the afternoon. We tried to spare Hunter the worst of it but it was a challenge keeping him cool. At least he was in his new stroller which provided some shade and was much more comfortable than the wheelchair would have been. He was even able to take a little nap.
The only man I want in her life--maybe forever. :)
Love this group!

I have two sisters married finally! It's so great to have siblings in the same stage of life as me.

Now I just need them to start having babies so my kids can have some cousins.

Lunch in Midway

Twice a week, Bry wakes up early (before me and the kids) and heads up to Midway to work a cabin remodel job. Eleyna always misses seeing daddy at breakfast and lunch so we decided to meet him up there for lunch a few weeks ago. We got some pizza and salad to go and took them to a park near the job. There were ducks and a lake AND a playground!

Isn't it amazing to watch a child experience such joy over simple things? I want to be more like that.