St. George

We went to St. George this past weekend for Miah's Birthday and had a ton of fun with family! Here is the proof.

Miah w/ 2 of his 4 brothers barely fitting on the bed watching. . . football!


Boston and Conner playing Wii


Boston and Isaac having an afternoon chat on the swing. This was before we caught them chucking dirt from Granny's planters onto the wall. I have a feeling it was all Boston's idea due to the dirt in his hair and giving Isaac instructions on how to throw more effectively.


Granny's famous chicken alfredo pasta (to die for).


The awsomely cool Aubs and Jedo- love you guys!!!!


On the shuttle up to Zion's. Breathtaking. . .


The river at The Temple of Sinewava.


Boston's rule #1. When there's water, get naked!!!










Jump. . .

jump. . .

jump. . .

jump . . .


rest.


Isaac rode his horse all the time and Boston had to have one too. So we made a horse out of Uncle Jason's mule golf club cover and Granny's mop. It worked perfectly and when Boston was tired of riding the horse, he'd take the head off and mop the floor.

There's nothing like getting hosed down by 2 naked little boys. Refer to Boston's #1 rule!


Granny made a yummy carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for Miah. She also made some cake cones for the kids. We love Cake!!!!


Happy Birthday, Babe. This is right after my haircut. I let Miah pick the length, since it was his birthday.

Happy Birthday Babylove~

Jeremiah turned 33 on August 24th. Happy Birthday, love. Thank you for being everything I have ever dreamed of and more. You are an amazing father, friend and husband. Thanks for making me laugh so hard that my sides hurt. Thanks for making life so much fun, no matter what trials it brings. You are the most selfless and compassionate person I know. You inspire me to be my best at all times. Thank you for your patience and always saying the right things and making me feel so special. You are my rock!!!! I love you. . .

At the beginning of July ( I know, I know. . . slacker) we went to Ogden, UT to participate as a proud member in the Albiston Family Reunion. I think there were 115 people there!!!! It was a 4 day extravaganza and so much fun. The Forest Family stayed in Eden which is a valley at the base of Powder Mountain in a cabin. It was gorgeous. The first day we went to a park and did ice blocking, slip and slides, bar-b-que, and made tin can ice cream (baggie of ice cream ingredients inside a tin can packed with ice and salt - you have to shake the can for 15 min and WALLAH, ice cream). Boston ended up naked on the slip and slide and then refused to put his clothes on after. He did a nudey dance for cousin Sharla at the top of the slide. He also wanted to be the one to push everyone down the hill on their ice and on the slip and slide. I think he enjoys telling people what to do more than doing it himself. It's kind of how he runs the household. On Sunday most of us went to church (the ward tripled in size) and gave testimonies at sacrament (Boston included). It was amazingly spiritual. That evening we gathered at Bella's restaurant (owned by family members) and had a HUGE feast, a devotional and a birthday celebration for Nana's 90th (the whole reason for the get together). Monday was a family camp day in the mountains with omelets and hot cakes for breakfast, horse shoes, hikes, bounce houses, movies, and dutch oven yumminess for dinner. Fun is an understatement!

Do not try this at home. . .

Have you ever experienced the "not so present" feeling. You are so deep in thought about something at the same time that you are driving or grooming that you are going through the motions, but not quite present to the action. I experienced this (again) last night. I was getting ready for bed and something was not right. I want to make a list of things not to do while grooming (from personal experience).

1. Nail polish remover does not work as well as toner. You will notice a strange odor and your face will feel extremely dry.

2. Body lotion does not make a good conditioner. While I was in Cabo on vacation, I thought that the hotel offered the WORST conditioner EVER. It rinsed out squeaky and didn't condition at all. It wasn't until the second time using it that I realized it wasn't bad Mexican conditioner, it was me.

3. You've heard that putting egg whites into your hair adds protein and shine, right? Make sure you don't rinse it out with warm water or you will boil the egg in your hair. It takes a couple of washes to get out boiled egg white in hair!!!!

And for my most recent experience:
4. As well as Neosporin works on cuts and bruises it makes a horrible toothpaste. I was brushing my teeth wondering why there was no minty freshness in my mouth. At first I was worried that I lost all sensation and taste. Luckily, I still have taste and any cuts or bruises around my teeth have been properly cared for. Just in case you're wondering how I could mix up neosporin and toothpaste, I am using a toothpaste from that dentist that is just a little bit bigger than a tube of neosporin.

From a friend: Mascara does not make a good lip gloss (unless you happen to be goth). This particular friend sings every Sunday in front of the congregation in a band at her church. This would not have been a good look for her.

I would love to hear any of your stories. . . or am I the only one that does this????

To have and to hold. . .

We had the pleasure of attending a beautiful wedding in June of one of Miah's best friend's (and now mine) Danny. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding with a decadent dessert table. The ceremony was performed by one of Danny's closest friends and was very touching. The reception was so fun. I met a lot of Miah's friends from high school and Danny and his new bride, Natalie (who looked gorgeous), give a stunning dance performance of "Baby Got Back" during their first dance. They are made for each other. We left Boston with his Granny as cousins in St. George while we ventured on up to Salt Lake for the wedding. As you can see, he didn't miss us one bit. Congratulations Danny and Natalie.

Boston makes his debut

I'm still way behind in posts, but I can't help but post this right now. Boston and I went to the OC Fair yesterday and I FINALLY caught him and his crazy dance moves on video. B was trying to copy this African Dance Troupe. Some things I didn't get on film was him trying to do a hand stand and the limbo. At the end of the video you'll see his hand out. I was holding onto his shirt so that he'd stay back and he was leaning forward with both of his hands out. If I would've let go, he would've landed on his face. I had some people come up to me afterward and say that they didn't know which was more fun, watching the performance or Boston trying to copy the performance. I love this little man so much. He makes life so much fun!!!!!

Boston Armstrong

The Boss saw dad riding his bike and wanted to try. So here he is ready for the Tour de Block. He also got dad's gloves and hat and wanted to use them with his scooter. So glad he's using safety gear this early. Maybe I should think about getting him some that actually fit.

Tanaka Farms

Boston and I took a tour of a family farm in the area that grows everything organically. They are a Japanese family that have been using the same farming techniques for generations. They take you in a tractor around the farm and you get to sample some of the fresh vegetables. We had green onions, romaine lettuce, carrots, and then picked and ate as many strawberries as we could!!!! The freshly picked veggies were so good. Very different than what you buy in the stores. Boston tried everything!!! He is very good about chewing up veggies, swallowing them is a very different story. He ate about 10 carrots, but spit out each bite after chewing it up. What a stinker. We were given a basket to fill up with strawberries to take home with us. I would put a berry in the basket and Boston would take it out and eat it. I never got more than 3 berries in my basket at a time. We did that until he was full of berries, inside and out. Unfortunately, my camera broke as soon as we reached the berry fields, so I don't have any pictures :( I do have some after pics, though. He was BY FAR the messiest child in the group. Berry juice all over his face, shirt, pants, back and bum (don't ask me how he managed that). It was so fun that I think we'll go back for watermelon season!





Conked out in the car. I already cleaned his arms, legs and face.


This picture does not even come close to showing how messy his back was.

Pictures of Cabo! Darby Family Vacation.

Every year the Darby clan goes on a family vacation. This year was Cabo!!! We always try to choose somewhere we've never been or haven't been for quite awhile. This is one of the "never been to" places. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort (meaning eat as much as you can until your bathing suit becomes a tourniquet) . It was similar to a cruise, without the boat. They had nightly shows and different themed dinners.
Our days mainly went like this: Wake up at . . .whenever. Get dressed in bathing suit. Go eat breakfast. Swim in pool, waterpark or beach. Eat lunch. Take nap. Swim. Eat dinner. Watch show or live music. Go to bed. Repeat for 7 days.
We did a couple of extra things like a boat ride to Los Cabos, snorkeling, and explored downtown Cabo. It was so fun just to be with family day in and day out. Boston got used to this schedule fairly quickly. He also became very popular with the ladies. He loved to flirt with the lounge singer and would usually be the only one on the dance floor dancing. Than he met Paige. She was about 14. After his first dance with her, he followed her all over the place. At the pool, at dinner, etc. Then he met a girl from England. She worked there and took him on a congo line and he danced with her for a bit. I'm sure Paige was ok with that. I think he partied more than anyone else. Can't wait to see what's in store next year!!!!

Whoah. . .where did the time go???

So, I'm about a month and a half behind on the haps in this blog. YIKES!!!! Here's what you have to look forward to as I catch up:

- Darby family vacation to Cabo (beginning of June)

- Boston and mom at Tanaka Farms (mid June)

- Boston Armstrong

- Granny's house with the cousins in St. George and The Kemp Wedding ( late June)

- The STICK

- Train ride to San Clemente Pier

- Albiston Family Reunion in Northern UT (beginning of July)

- Clam Bake (mid July. . . actually it's tomorrow)

Ok, this is really for my own benefit. I needed an outline to go off of to organize my future posts (yes, I have type A tendencies- and proud of it). I'm trying to remember all the details of each event as I outline this, but my brain is mush. Becky, I promise that I will have something soon ( and I was so excited to see a comment from you, even if it was a plea to post :)

Hugs~