We got our family pictures done a couple days ago and we already have them back! They turned out so great! I love all of them and I am going to have a hard time choosing which ones to print. Hunter was not feeling good, so he was a little grumpy (to say the least). But oh well. Still turned out cute.
The awesome guys over at Apige Photography took these for us. I think they did amazing! If you need pictures done, they are running a great deal right now. Check it out on UtahCouponDeals.com.

Today we blessed our beautiful new baby girl. It was such an amazing experiance. I can’t beleive that she is already 7 weeks old. We had so much love and support from our family and friends. Thank you to all who came. I am so grateful for all of my babies, and its always so special them meet those milestones. Here are some of the pictures from the awesome day:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRITNEY!  WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH! 

You are a beautiful girl who is growing up so quick and is loved by everyone who knows you.  We are so excited to see you become the wonderful person you are.  You always do what your Mom and Dad tell you to do and you are a wonderful example for your brother, sisters, and friends.  You are incredibly smart and the best daughter, sister, granddaughter, student, and helper in the world.  Love Dad, Mom, Brooklyn, Hunter, and MaKenzie. 

My beautiful Daughter and my beautiful wife! Happy Big number 7 Britney!! Love You

So my parents came up for part of last week, and helped us build our new deck. We started on wednesday and laid out the plans and got the material list ready. Then Thursday morning, Clint and my Dad went to Lowes and got all the supplies. They got back, we unloaded the truck, and then they went to work!

Day 1:

This is what we started with…(to see how we got here, check out this post about taking the deck out)

They are digging the holes for the footers here.

The holes are dug, and the frame is put together! Now they are setting up the posts so we can secure the frame up.

Got the frame positioned so they can get it secured. I am already so excited! YAY!

look at how much smaller it is, but still big enough! AND we actually have a nice BIG area for our backyard now!

The next step now that the frame is secured, is to add the beams or joists or whatever they are called! :)

 
With the boards installed, they have now sawed off the tops of the posts so it is all leval and ready for the decking!

Look at the beautiful angle, and the nice stairs!

Here is a view from ground level

Its just the perfect size! I am so excited! I have wanted this done since the day we moved in! (look how cute my little buddy is!)

They were able to get several of the deck boards cut and installed in the first night! It was so exciting.

Clint and my Dad putting the deck boards on. (me and clint actually went out on the deck that night and enjoyed the stars a little. it was great!)

Day 2:

They now have most of the boards in and they are getting the stairs ready to put on! WAHOO!!!! It looks so great! AND….

The final pictures of the Deck…(please ignore all the junk around it…organization has already started, so a new picture will be posted once we have it all rearranged…)

A closer up view of what it looks like…

We actually have backyard space now! YAY!

Thanks Dad and Clint for all your hard work getting this done so fast! And thanks to my mom for being such a great babysitter while they were here. She helped a ton with the baby especially! It was a great time!

Today is my little buddies 2nd Birthday! I can’t believe it. He is so stinkin cute and I am so very blessed to have him (and my cute girls) in my home and to be their mom. Here are some of the great things I want to remember about him at this age:

• he can sing twinkle twinkle little star
• he can say tons of words and even makes 2-3 word sentences
• will read the scriptures with us (we have to tell him what to say 1-2 words at a time, but he repeats them)
• can say the prayer with us helping him
• LOVES to take baths
• can climb all over the swing set and even get in the swing seat by him self (esp, loves the slide and he can climb up it or slide down without help)
• loves to color and makes great circles
• loves to play with cars and especially blocks
• favorite book is Peek-a-Boo baby
• has to have his Tad Leapfrog and his Glow worm with him in bed. (those are his buddies/babies)
• loves to kick the ball, play catch and swing a bat
• can say most of the ABC’s with the song
• can say all of our names
• loves elmo and dora/boots
• won’t sit in the high chair anymore…has to sit at the table!
• loves to play in the sandbox

For his Birthday, we had us, my parents, clint’s parents and clint’s sister and their families over and we had a big BBQ. It was a lot of fun! I actually made an elmo cake and it didn’t turn out to bad. (this was really like a group celebration for me, clint, hc and bn, but we mostly focused on HC since it was his actual bday). Everyone being there really made it special. Thank you to all who came. Here are some pictures from the party.

The girls helping me decorate the cake

This is how the cake turned out. I am not very good at decorating, but I thought it turned out pretty good! :)

The kids enjoying their dinner! LOVE this picture. check out HC’s cheese…(they all have great smiles! just love it)

Little buddy posing with his cake before we sing and eat it! Love the smile he is giving grandma seright in this picture. He is so cute!

Special loves from Grandma Hughes while he is enjoying his cake and ice cream!

HC, I just want you to know how much I love you! You have grown so fast and I can’t believe that you are already two! It seems like just yesterday I was holding you in my arms (where you little sister now is) and marveling at how amazing it was to have another baby. You are turning into such a wonderful and amazing young man. You are good to help and listen and you are always wanting to share and do things with your sisters. I am so proud of you and I am so very blessed to have you as my son! I thank Heavenly Father every day for sending me such wonderful kids! I am so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for all of the wonderful memories we have shared, and I look forward to all of the wonderful memories to come! I love you forever…Mom

Here are a handful of pictures of our sweet new baby girl (we will call her MG). These are from the first week. I will add more soon. (I promise!) :)