Hydration.

We had a really busy, fun June. Star Mule Days, Eagle Fun Days, Bentlee and I took a trip to Provo, Father's Day, a weekend camping with great friends, big family picnics, a car wreck, good times with friends....it's been really, really good. Except that car wreck part, that was lame. I have a ton of pictures, and I am bummed I can't post them all here, but they are on facebook if you really wanna see them! :)

This picture is one of my favorites. I have no clue what they are talking about, but this is such a familiar site. Luke and Hudson have intense talks on a regular basis. Luke is always explaining why and how things are the way they are, they are a logical little team, always talking things out. Let me just share one of my all time favorite moments with you:

When we were camping, Luke was trying to hand Hudson a drink, Hudson was refusing it and said he wasn't thirsty. Luke turned to him with a 'you know better than that' look, and said "Remember what I told you about staying hydrated?" Hudson must have remembered thier hydration talk, because he quickly accepted the drink. It made me laugh a little then, but it makes me laugh more and more every time I think about it. Hudson is 2. I was unaware, but they had already covered the important topic of hydration. I love them.

While we are talking about funny things, I gotta mention a few funny things Hudson has said lately:

1. When Luke gets home from work, Hudson always runs to hug him, but sometimes he gets distracted and gives a weak hug. Luke sometimes tells him, "Hug me like you mean it!". So, now anytime Hudson wants anything, he asks, "Mom, can you hold me like you mean it? Will you snuggle me like you mean it?"

2. I took him to the bank and the teller gave him a sucker. I unwrapped it and handed it back to him. Within about 10 seconds, he said "Thank you for the sucker mom, but maybe I don't like the nasty orange ones."

3. He has been watching Elf for the past week or so. Elf in July, why not? He started singing the other day, and as soon as his song began, he had a really confused look on his face. He was singing "Jesus Christ is coming to town..." Then he looked up at me, SO puzzled and asked, "Is Christmas for Jesus or Santa?"

He makes me laugh a million times a day.

Bentlee is crawling around like a little champ. She is such a spaz, full of life every second. She wants to be part of all of the happenings, and wants to be able to see Hudson at all times. She refuses to let me spoon feed her, she wants to do it all herself. She has got a big, bold personality, and we get to see more of it each day!

Luke is working so hard every day. He is doing Commercial Property & Casualty Insurance for a company called Premier Alliance. He only works a couple miles from home, so that has been really nice. He leaves at about 6:30am and gets home around 5:30pm. We are so thankful that he works so hard for us. Somehow, he still makes time to be an awesome Dad and Husband. We are hoping to be able to get up to the mountains again, so that he can make his big annual fishing trip in July. I would tell you where he goes, but he would have to kill me.

I am keeping busy too. I can't really say I have been doing anything really exciting, but somehow I am exhausted at the end of every day. I have been spending time with great friends, trying to be a better mom and wife, working on my sewing skills, enjoying the sunshine.....I have got it pretty good!

That's our update...sorry for the marathon post, I figured I would share it all, or I would forget! I hope you are all doing wonderful!!

Learning the art of frugality...

I would say I have always been somewhat of a frugal person. I shop the sale racks, or I "dress for less" by shopping at Ross, I notice when grocery items are on sale, I consign my kids clothes...but, NOW I am learning the real ART of it all! I have been couponing like crazy, getting SO much food for free, and SO much food for pennies! For instance, today I got 8 free bags of shredded cheese....last night I got 6 boxes of free granola bars, and 4 more boxes for $.50/each.....that's just in the last 24 hours! I am building a stockpile of the things my family uses on a regular basis. I might not have a "job", but I feel like I am contributing! I am slowly getting the hang of this couponing business, and I am not sure I will ever be able to pay full price again!

Also, I have been trying to work on my sewing skills. I am a total beginner, but I learned to make cure little fabric flowers from a friend (thanks Jessica!), and another friend showed me how she was making clothes for her little girl out of old clothes and I was inspired! I decided to make Bentlee a little dress out of one of Luke's old shirts....I also used some old scraps for the flower....so this is her FREE dress!

It's not professional by any means, and it might not hold up in the wash, but it was FREE, and I made it!

Couponing, making clothes out of men's shirts....you might think I am 50! But oh, it feels so good!

4 years....

It's been a wonderful, happy, exciting, crazy, busy 4 years. We are looking forward to many, many more! I'm so glad I found this guy to spend forever with!

Funny Fella....

I just gotta write these things down before I forget them. Hudson is CONSTANTLY talking and singing and telling stories and using his imgaination. There are a few funny things I have heard him say lately that I gotta share.

1. He sings the songs he learns in nursery. My favorite rendition is "Popcorn Popping on the Papercut Treat". (For those who don't know, it's supposed to say Apricot Tree) Ha...and he sings it proud!

2. Another favorite song is, "Mr. Sun, Sun DON'T shine down on me." When I tell him that the song actually says PLEASE shine down on me because we love the sunshine, he reminds me that we don't like the sun shining in our eyes because it hurts. Silly me.

3. On Monday we went to the park for family night and took a walk down by the river. We passed some people that we knew, and Luke and I both said hello and continued on our way. Hudson was in the front, talking to himself (as always), and I heard him say this "Hello, what's you's name, mine name is Hudson Kiefust Merill. Nice to meet ya." He was pretending to pass someone else on the path. He had his middle name (Lucas) and Luke's middle name (Kieth) morphed. This one gave me a good laugh.

4. This morning he was in the bath and I was cleaning. I could hear him playing with his toys and talking to himself. I peeked in and I saw him with a little rubber duck, and he was pretending to wash it's hair. He had a little cup of water that he was dumping on it and kept saying, "One more rinse, and one more rinse, and one more rinse." He stopped and thought for a second, then he said, "Not really one more rinse, lots of rinses. I was tricking you so you don't cry". I wonder where he learned that.

He is so funny. I love this age!

Whoa Nellie.....

2 Months? Really? I am seriously some kind of slacker. I guess there has been SO much going on that it's hard to take time to post and catch up on everything....

Since FEB. 25th....

1. Kallie had her little man! He was born on the Feb. 28th! His name is Jackson Jeffrey Maughan and he is the cutest little man this side of China (and that side of China). Bentlee and I were able to road trip down to Utah with my Mom and Mel, and we arrived at the hospital just minutes after Jax was born. We were able to stay for a lovely 4 days. It's so nice to spend time with your favorite people. We didn't do much of anything at all, but it was so wonderful to spend those days together and enjoy that sweet new baby.We got this picture of Bentlee when we were down there....it just tickles me when I see it. I love this little lady. 2. We embarked on the search for a new house. Well, not a house of our own, but a place to live for a while. We had to make a lot of decisions about what area to live in, whether we wanted to find a place on our own or team up with the in-laws and find a place together, when to move, etc. We spend a LOT of time searching on craigslist and walking through homes, but we finally made a decision. We will be moving around May 2nd to a home in Nampa near the Idaho Center (call it Burley if you must). It is just 2 miles from Luke's office, not too far from Star, and closer to my parents. It's temporary, but we found a really clean little house that is going to work out just great for us!

3. I knew that a move was right around the corner, so I started gutting my house. There couldn't be anything worse that moving old junk to a new space. I have spent every spare minute for the past couple weeks cleaning out every closet and cupboard. We had a garage sale on Saturday that went really well, but the rest is headed straight for the DI! It's so refreshing to have all of that done....I can't believe how much STUFF we had....I am SO ready to simplify! Weeks of "Spring Cleaning" unfortunately left my house a disaster. You know how it works....things are always messier until they are completely done. So...this weeks pojwect is to get it all cleaned up, then start packing....

4. Somewhere in there, Easter happened. Kallie, Jeff and Jackson were able to come up AND Tucker and Christy......that is my VERY favorite kind of weekend. Kallie came a few days early so I was able to spend some time cuddling that cute baby boy. It was so nice. We had Easter out at my Mom's house and it was wonderful as always. Here are some pics of the new Maughan fam and our Easter.

5. Bentlee turned 5 months old! Seriously, where has the time gone? She rolling over, and is eating rice cereal and baby food (mostly just sweet pototoes...they are her fav). She LOVES Luke and Hudson, and is really starting to interact...cooing, smiling, laughing, mimicking...this is my favorite stage. Bentlee is such a chubby little bundle of love!

6. Last but not least, SOMEHOW my kids managed to get EVEN CUTER. I know none of us thought it was possible, but they have proven us wrong. :)

I hope to do better in the future....but I can't make promises. This sunshine just makes me want to enjoy the great outdoors with my kids, and life is about to get crazy! This weekend we are going to see Kallie and Jeff for Jackson's blessing, the next weekend we are moving, and the weekend after that I get to go to Colorado/New Mexico to see Kristie and help her celebrate her graduation! Fun times on the horizon...yipeeeeeee!

I hope life is good for all of you....that's how it should be! XOXO!

My Cute Kids...

I haven't posted for awhile..so I figured it was time. Luke had a birthday on the 16th and we had a great day...I will post pictures from that soon! For now, just some kid updates!
This picture was taken yesterday....he has been sick with some sort of cold/flu junk...feeling pretty bad. I know he doesn't look very happy, but can you even resist those eyes? Hudson becomes more and more of a little character everyday. Here are some of my favorite things he does lately:
1. He will put both hands under his chin and come sit really close to Luke or I and say "Hey Mom (or Hey Dad), What's yours ideas?" Then we just tell him how the day is going to go down or whatever is on our mind. He just wants to be in the know.
2. SOMEWHERE he picked up the term "Holy Crap"...but he says it more like "Hodie Cwap" and he says it in the funniest times. It makes me laugh... we are a real class act around here.
3. He loves Bentlee's chub. He loves to grab her cheeks and say "Chubby, Chubby Cheeks"...if you don't say it when he grabs them, he get's really upset.
4. I think he is getting a bit of cabin fever, getting sick of the same old thing. I have been trying to find fun little activities to keep him entertained. We have been painting, making books, building, etc....whenever we do something new, he gets so excited and tell me "Mom, I nuf dis pojwect!" (I love this project!) It's precious....it makes me want to do pojwects all day!

Bentlee is growing SO fast! The time is just flying by! She just hit the 3 month mark and it's so hard to believe. Here are a few of my favorite things about her lately:
1. She sleeps anywhere from 10 to 13 hours a night, then she has at least 2 good naps in the daytime. We LOVE this around our house!
2. She is so strong. She loves to straighten out her legs and "stand up". It's so funny to see because she gets SO stiff, but her little head just looks all around and wobbles.
3. She still doesn't have control of her hands. The other day she grabbed a big fist full of hair and started screaming and looking at me like I was torturing her. I tried to pull her hand out of her hair, but she kept squeezing tighter the more mad she got. I finally rescued her from her own kung fu grip...it was awesome.
4. She has become the happiest girl. She is always cooing and mimicking our noises. If I leave her alone, she will fuss for a minute, but as soon as she hears my voice from the other room, I hear her go straight back to cooing.

I love these kids. I am sure there is no better job than being a Mama. It's no cake walk, but it sure pays well! :)

Some wise words.....

I just came across something that my wonderful Aunt Melody put together and gave to Luke for his birthday last year. It is just a few of the lessons her and Marq have learned along the way. I thought I would share.....

life doesn't always turn-out exactly as you planned....
....no matter how meticulous your plans were....
you learn the most during the rough spots...
...and you become more of who you really are.
it's important to make lots of fun memories...
because those will be a light that helps you find your way.
some of the greatest stuff happens when you're least expecting it....
...and lots of times you don't understand just how great it is until much later.
kind words go a really long way...
especially when they are least "deserved".
real love is completely unconditional....
and every condition that you take out makes it grow bigger.
you know a LOT more than you think you do...
...especially about your own unique path.
your spouse will always be your most important investment...
...and it takes investing every day...every single day.
you get a chance to start over every day...
...soon as the sun comes up, it's a brand new day.
the only opinion of you that matter is God's...
...and He loves you more than you could possibly understand.
uncertainty totally STINKS....
..but it brings you closer to the truth if you let it.
life is just a bunch of lessons...
..and sometimes we mistake it for so much more.
you can't possibly quantify the power of a sincere hug....
...so make sure you give & recieve them liberally.
not many marriages stay intact these days...
and those that do are not only a huge and happy blessing, but an insiration to everyone watching.
in a world and a country where you have the power to go out & be ANYTHING...
JUST BE YOURSELF.
keep everything in balance, don't take anything for granted...
...always listen to your gut...the one that God gave you...
...you'll regret it if you don't.
make & KEEP life simple.....
don't fight for titles or money or status...fight for what you really believe in...family.
there's lot of years to do lots of things...but......your kids don't wait around for you to figure it out.......they just keep growing.
forgive everyone....
...it's just happier that way.
ask God....
...and keep asking.

I hope she doesn't mind me sharing this. I just pulled it out and read it today and it reminded me of so many great life lessons. Thanks Mel...we love you so much!