Okay, this is just getting ridiculous!

Okay, clearly 6 months is way too long to go without posting on my blog. My sister in laws reminded me I'm losing in the posting department. They are way better than me and I'm going to attempt to catch up! So, here are some highlights of what we've been up to the last 6 months!

We've been celebrating birthdays, most notably Kelsie turned one in May! We thought for sure she would be walking by her first birthday since she started pulling to stand at 6 months old, but no. She has taken her sweet time and would only walk back and forth on our bed and nowhere else. Guess she knew it was a soft place to fall! But finally, just this last week, at 15 months old, she's decided to start walking. We love our silly girl!

Our cute little nephew also turned one! He was the cutest baby I've ever seen eating their birthday cake! My kids never eat their cake...he dug right in! So darling =)

In August, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany move in with us. Her name is Maxime, but goes by Maxi. She is the sweetest girl and we love having her! Justin really likes messing with her every day and she is wonderful with our kids and I love having her around! She fits right in with our family and I can't imagine what it will be like to send her back home in June!

Carter also recently just turned four! We are so proud of him! He is the sweetest, cutest, funniest boy! He brings so much happiness to our family and is such a good big brother. He is SO excited to start school, he can barely stand it. We do preschool at home, once a week going to a free preschool program at the library, and starting this week are also doing a once a week preschool group with some friends in the ward. He is so excited and loves learning new things. He can't wait to read. He is our little adventure boy, always climbing, exploring outside and playing with other kids in our neighborhood!

On his birthday, we always do a special outing of his choice, and he chose the M&M Factory here. He LOVES that place (secretly, it's really not that exciting) but he can't get enough!

We've gone camping A LOT over the summer too! Once a month, I think is what it's turned out to be. We have had lots of fun with that and on our last trip to Pioche over Labor Day, we brought some friends, Lizzy and Crazy, some cute little horny toads, with us! They've been living with us for a couple weeks now and Carter, Kelsie, and mostly every other kid that comes to our house loves them! Camping is so much work, but so worth all the memories and I don't know if everyone else's kids are the same, but my kids LOVE being outside and nothing is better than being outside 24/7 while camping. Even if Mommy is having a heart attack about all the dirt that has collected on the children within a few hours of being there! Especially in Pioche, that was the dirtiest camping trip I've ever been on. The dirt was dark and sticky and my children looked like they rolled out of a dumpster by the end. But fun memories were made and that's what matters right? And our exchange student, Maxi was able to go to Pioche with us, which made it even more special! She caught a fish, rode 4-wheelers, and saw an up close fireworks show for the first time. She said she's never been so dirty in her life, but she had lots of fun too!

I also went to Girl's Camp for 1 day...it was fun being up there if only for that short time =) I love all those girls!

Justin had surgery in August to remove a growth on his adam's apple. Everything went GREAT! And there is no cancer, which is good =)

I've also just this last weekend officially become a certified Zumba instructor! I love this workout so much. I started going as requested by one of my good friends and boy am I glad she got me going. I am addicted and am enjoying learning all about it and especially how it's gotten me in better shape! If you've never tried it, you should! It's the most fun workout, it really is like a party! I've been teaching in our ward for a couple weeks now and it's been really fun.

Somehow, between all of this, Justin and I have found time to enjoy each other's company too by going on dates, or just stealing moments between chasing down little munchkins. I love my husband so much and am so happy I have him to myself for eternity! He is amazing and works so hard for our family every day. He makes me laugh and cheers me up when I am down. I don't know what I'd do without him. Not to mention his stunning good looks ;)

This picture was in May, we took a trip with no kids to California and went to Magic Mountain. It was so fun and a total blast thanks to our best friends!

Okay, I think that about sums it all up in a nutshell! Hopefully I can keep going this time!