Family time at the Boston Temple

John was able to get Saturday of last weekend off and we needed some family time. We decided to take the girls to the temple. Sage knows all the words to the song "I Love to See the Temple" and when she sees our wedding picture in our room she says, I want to go to the temple! I can't describe the happiness I felt as I watched and listened to Sage's reaction to the temple. She's at an age where she really understands and takes things in. As soon as we stepped out of the car she looked at the temple for a while and then turned to me and said, "It's really big Mama." I said yes it is. She kept asking to go inside. She had the best time walking around the grounds. She tried to pick many flowers and we had to stop her. Sydney also had a grand time. Sage treated the concrete wall as a balance beam which was adorable. She also said "This is where Mommy and Daddy got married". We didn't tell her we got married in a different temple. I said, "Sage, are you gonna get married in the temple someday too?" She said, "Yeah, to a handsome prince like Daddy." That melted my heart. It was one of those moments I hope I never forget. There is nothing sweeter than my 2 year old daughter saying she wants to marry a handsome prince like Daddy in the temple. We felt like the best parents that day. I'll never forget it. I feel so grateful to live so close to a temple now. We used to drive 4 hours and now it's only 30 minutes away. A few minutes after we left, Sage said in the car, "Where did my temple go Mama? I want to see it one more time!" SO SWEET!


Here is Sage walking on the "balance beam"


Our sweet Sydney


This picture reminds me of something you'd see in the Ensign.


Our first family picture in front of the temple.

Afternoon at the beach

We finally made it to the beach as a family. It took all summer to do it but better late than never. We went to a beach in Hingham, MA with John's brother Ed and his wife Lynn. It's only 5 minutes from their house so they go a lot. Sage had a blast there. The water was so cold so the kids only got their feet wet. John and Ed actually swam a little. Sage enjoyed putting rocks in her bucket. We had a great time. We've never lived so close to the ocean so it's exciting for us to be able to go.

Sage with her cousin Sam
Sage in deep thought

How cute are these swimsuits?

Sweet Tender Moments

I had to write a little about today. So as a preface I'll mention how my girls are a lot of work. There are times throughout each day that I'm exhausted and pushed to my limit but there are other times where the moments are so special and precious I stop and think of how grateful I am for every moment with them. Tonight I was putting Sydney to bed and she folded her arms as usual for our prayer (nothing as cute as a 1 year old baby folding her arms and saying amen at the end) and as I was about to put her in the crib she hugged me so tight and laid her head on my shoulder for a solid 5 minutes. It was so sweet I cried a little bit. I didn't want to let her go. She patted my back almost the entire time cause she copies me. She's so much more snuggly than Sage ever was and I'm loving it. Sydney says "love you Mommy" every day. So I finally kissed her and put her in her crib. As if that wasn't enough for one night, as I was putting Sage to bed she hugged me so tight too. She doesn't do that often. Her new thing is she likes to play with my hair when I'm laying down with her and singing to her. For a moment it's like I'm the daughter and she's the mom as she strokes my hair. I might as well share another story from today. We went to a park that has a little lake and ducks. Sage loves animals so I thought it would be a good idea to take some bread and feed the ducks. The ducks were very excited to eat and were surrounding us. Sage was excited they were so close but I could tell she was getting a little nervous. I gave her a piece of bread to throw and I guess she wasn't fast enough cause the duck ate it right out of her hand! It bit her fingers a little in the process. It scared her so bad! She screamed and cried and after I calmed her down we decided she better go back in the stroller and she threw the bread from there. Now I know for next time. It was a funny moment. Anyway, to sum up I am so grateful for my sweet girls and for all those moments each day that fill me with joy. I always knew I wanted to be a mother but nothing could've prepared me for this amount of joy. It'll still be hard work taking care of them tomorrow but I look forward to the sweet moments to come.