Tanner and Kate's Wedding

BJ, Drake, and I traveled to Washington D.C. for Tanner and Kate's wedding. We were excited that we only had to fly for about an hour to see family. Since we have moved to Cincinnati it takes all day to travel to see family on the West Coast. We love Kate and her family and are so happy that she is now a part of ours. Tanner and Kate are perfect for each other. Her family lives in Virginia (close to D.C.) which fits Tanner perfectly because he is so patriotic and has such a profound love and respect for this country. They are like "two peas in a pod!" They are a beautiful couple and will conquer the world together.

I love this picture! They are so cute there! You can tell on Tanner's face that nothing in the world matters to him at that moment except that Kate is next to him....so cute!

Tanner and Kate were sealed together for eternity in the L.D.S. Washington D.C. temple. It is a beautiful temple. It is funny b/c Keri and Chris were sealed there when they were married. Chris's family is from Virginia Beach. It was a "walk down memory lane" for them watching Tanner and Kate get sealed in the very same temple they were sealed in. This temple is one of my favorites. When our family lived in Virginia Beach for 4 years this was the temple my parents would go to. I was too young to go inside back then so it was nice to be able to see the inside this time. It is beautiful and of course so peaceful. Kate's younger sister watched Drake during Tanner and Kate's sealing. It was really nice to sit next to BJ and be in the temple with our family and friends.

Unfortunately in this picture Drake isn't too excited about standing still. He wanted to get down and run around....I don't blame him...it was a long day! The colors Kate picked out for her wedding were beautiful. It all came together really nice. Her reception was held at a beautiful white mansion. There was a separate area for dancing and eating. The food was so yummy and beautifully displayed.

I really miss living close to the "boys." I used to see them at least 3-4 times a month when we were all living in Utah. It was really hard to leave them. They are such great examples to Drake. Maybe someday we can all live close to each other!

Fun with family in the Hotel

These boys (Drake and Cole) were best buddies. They were quite a pair. What Drake couldn't do...Cole could...this was a definite recipe for disaster. It was funny to watch them together. Drake and Cole were always trying to get into the elevators to go for a ride. Drake couldn't reach the buttons to open the doors so Cole would push them and the two of them would run into the elevator as fast as they could. Fortunately we caught them before anyone got away!

We were able to enjoy a little relaxation before Tanner and Kate's reception. We all had so much fun together. This was a great reunion. We don't get to all be together very often. I love being with my family...they are my best friends!

Look at these good looking boys! It was hot outside so it felt really good to get in the water.

Happy Birthday BJ!

Happy 32nd birthday BJ! BJ was out of town on his birthday and I had to work that evening. We celebrated BJ's birthday a few days later with a yummy cake and some steaks on our new grill. Our 6 year anniversary (7/10/09) and BJ's birthday were during really stressful times for us. I started my hospital orientation for Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center on July 6th and have had to work 30-40 hours a week. We were blessed to have wonderful girls in the ward who babysat Drake and helped us out a lot. It ripped my heart out to leave my family that much but my managers were wonderful and were really flexible with my schedule and let me work the bare minimum to orient. I knew it would only last a short time (a few months) and then I would be able to only work 8 hours a week (one 3-11pm shift). I received a few priesthood blessings during that time and new that things would be ok and that it would be a blessing for our family for me to continue to work a little bit and keep my license. I work on the med/surg floor with ages birth -12 years old. It is a very fast-paced floor and I learn a lot every time I work. After orientation finished I have been able to work just one 8 hour shift (3-11pm) a week and I even get to pick the days I work. I have to work at least 36 hours in 6 weeks. It is a perfect job for a mommy! Also, BJ really enjoys the "boys night out" when mommy is a nurse. BJ tells Drake that I am a nurse and am helping the sick little babies. BJ takes such good care of Drake and they have a lot of fun together.
It was finally time to throw out the dried roses from the bouquet that BJ gave me when we got engaged. I have kept them this long...thanks to my roommate Kate Barlow who dried them out for me. I couldn't bare to have BJ throw them out but he insisted it was time. I told him he could as long as we took a picture of them first! So...here they are. BJ is a wonderful husband. I couldn't have asked for anything better. BJ works so hard for us to have a good life and I really appreciate all that he does for us. I love you BJ!

Red, Rhythm & Boom - 4th of July Celebration

The city of Mason had a really neat festival for the 4th of July. There were all sorts of military trucks, fire engines, and police cars there for the kids to climb in and look at. There was a man that jumped out of an airplane with a parachute, music, yummy food and great fireworks. We met the Manwarings there and the kids ran around and played together.

Drake loved to drive the big "army trucks." I couldn't help but think of Tanner & Dallin when they were little. They would have loved to see all of these trucks. I loved to see all the military service men and women there. My heart goes out to all those serving for our country. I have such deep gratitude for those that have made...and continue to make it possible for us to live in a free country

After the Red, Rhythm & Boom celebration we took Drake home and watched the fireworks in our neighborhood. We were amazed at how many professional fireworks we could see just sitting on our driveway. We counted 7 fireworks shows going on at one time in the sky. I am not sure what kinds of fireworks are illegal here....we sure saw a lot of really cool ones!

Happy 30th Bday Joni!

I can't believe I am already 30! Wow time flies. For my birthday we went out to dinner with our really good friends -Matt and Trisha Manwaring. Matt's birthday is in June so we celebrated both our birthdays. We have met such wonderful people here. Matt and Trisha go to our church and are in our same ward. When we moved in Matt was Elder's Quorum Pres. and called BJ to be the 2nd counselor. (Months later BJ was called to be Elder's Quorum Pres. and Matt was called into a stake calling). We have really enjoyed spending time with them and Drake loves their two children - Claire and Noah. Trisha and I enjoy taking the kids to different parks and community events together.

Swimming

Drake loves the water! He is a natural...it makes his mommy proud! He loves to splash and jump in the water, blow bubbles and even put his head all the way under.
Drake and I took a mom and tot swimming class. I really enjoyed swimming with him. He was the youngest in the class and the instructors were amazed at what he would do. The water was really cold so I was surprised at how well he did. Some days I wasn't sure if I wanted to get in! It took about 20 minutes to get home from swimming and I didn't want Drake to fall asleep in the car and not take a nap when we got home. I fixed him a lunch to eat on the way home and he loved it! He loved to get in the warm shower after the cold pool and change into his clothes and eat his special lunch in the car. It worked....he didn't fall asleep until after we got home!

I love this picture of Drake. His cute smiling face after swimming lessons. He is waiting to get into the warm shower and eat his lunch in the car. What a sweet boy.

Yep....he's still got it!

Yep....he's still got it! He can fit a whole golf ball in his mouth! He tried this first when he was really little. It shocked me at first to see the whole ball in his mouth and I ran over to him to see if he was ok. It didn't do any damage except that he needed my help prying it out of his mouth. I didn't stop him b/c he couldn't swallow it and he loved to carry it in his mouth when he crawled around. When Drake was crawling, his mouth was a third hand. He would carry everything in his mouth so that he could crawl with both his hands faster and more efficiently. When Drake grew teeth it became a little more difficult for him to put the whole ball in his mouth...but he still figured it out!