Woodruff cousin fun!

What a great day. We were able to meet up with Aunt Jennifer, her sister Kelsey, cousins Noah, Riley and Ella, and their stepsiblings Trevor and Kaitlyn. It was so much fun for all of us. We all went to The Pie!!! Yum, yum, yum. A great time was had by all.

Family Reunion-ish Week

There have been many family gatherings this week, which has made for great family fun. We had a Hall Family Reunion last Saturday night. I saw many of my cousins, Aunts and Uncles, and the kids had a great time playing with my cousins kids. So cute and fun. Then, we went with my brother, his wife, and daughter Lydia, and my parents to Manti area to see/learn family history on my father's side. That was a lot of fun. It was a two-day trip. Then, we got a call last night and found out that Aunt Jennifer and Noah, Riley, and Ella were in town. So, we met up with them today. We had a great time. It has been fun for the kids to have some fun with cousins on both sides. A lot of family fun.

Jennie Time

This summer we have been able to spend more time with Jennie, which has been great. The kids have loved it. Jennie had called and wanted to get together, so we went tonight with Maddie, Benj, and Dylan. She is currently living with her boyfriend and some of his family. We were able to play outside and visit with Jennie. Jennie was so cute with the kids. She got out some inflatable tires and played with the kids. They loved every moment. They also played duck, duck goose. Jennie was so sweet with them. Jennie also had some toys for the kids and had some shoes for Maddie. She also had a piece of vinyl with ladybugs on it for the windows. She wanted Maddie to cut off part of it when she got home, and write her and Jennie's name on it and give part of it back to Jennie. I am sure as a way for them to think about and remember each other. So cute. It's great to watch your kids have joy, know where they came from, and have that connection with their birth mom. It's obvious to see the love and caring from both sides. Whenever we have these experiences, my heart is filled with joy. I am grateful for the connection we have had all these years. I am grateful for the great gift she has given us. What a sacrifice. And I am grateful my children have one more person in their life to love them. Can we ever have too many people that care about us in our life? I figure every person that can give us love, time, attention is always a benefit in our life. It certainly has been that way with Jennie and our children. What a blessed relationship this has been. Pictures to come (if I can gain some patience with the uploading photo process).

Daddy-Maddie Time

Two of my most favorite people. My cute husband Brandon, and our cute 4 year old "Spanish" daughter Maddie (referring to prior blog entry). Daddy took Maddie to a wedding reception of a friend at work. They had a little photo booth there, and they were able to take these pics. How cute are they? Love these two little sweet peas.

"I am Spanish"

Maddie is in a fun stage right now. She will go up to anyone; random strangers at the grocery store, kids at the park, and make her cultural announcement. "I am Spanish." I am happy that we are making progress in cultural identification. About 6 months ago, I overheard her telling someone, "I am Chinese." After hearing that, I decided we better work on this. Well, we have been WILDLY successful. Maybe too successful, as she now is very aware of culture, and also enjoys identifying other people's culture. When she sees Spanish people, she likes to go up to them and tell them, "You are Spanish." We are still working at identification. I will just leave it at that. It's not so fun when she goes up and identifies people as the wrong nationality. And try to argue with a four year old that perhaps she is wrong. Doesn't work out too well. Yep, we are having some fun parent moments right now. So, don't be surprised if she plays "What culture are they" with you. And I just hope she gets it right for all our sakes. Anyway.......

She cracks me up. I love my Maddie.

Go Ethan!

Ethan has two games tomorrow and one last game next weekend. Right now his baseball team, The Mariners is ranked first. How exciting for little boys. Little Ethan loves baseball and has really enjoyed playing with his team this year. I am so grateful for the coaches and volunteers who make all this possible for my kids to have great memories. What a fun season!

Maybe it's because of the name of my blog....

For some crazy reason, both me and my husband are SOOOO wanting chickens. We are feeling major chicken love. I check KSL almost every day for a chicken coop at a decent price and am dying to go to IFA. Aren't little chicks so cute? We just need a cute little coop to keep them in.

I admit it may be a little ironic considering I HATE eggs. But I like chickens (if they are not cooked) especially if I meet them as little baby chicks and can raise them. I am having a little fantasy.

Wouldn't chickens be so much fun? Then we could put a sign on the coop.....Laura's Coop. Wouldn't that be perfect? I am thinking so. I am feeling the chicken love right now. And so is my man. It may be an idea for next year..........