Happy Birthday to Me!

On Sunday I turned 28! I woke up to these balloons that the boys bought with their own money! So sweet... After church we came home and opened presents. Jack and Josh got me a super cute card and one of my favorite candies!I got a sweet card from my in laws with some money to go shopping! Yay!And another sweet card from my parents with some money to go shopping! :)My little sis sent me this cute long sleeve BYU t-shirt that I'm wearing. I love it! Parker got me exactly what I asked for...A picture of the Portland Temple, where we were married! I love it and love looking at it everyday! It reminds me that I have an eternal marriage and need to work every day to be worthy of that. After presents I took a 2 hour nap then Parker took the boys outside to play while I made dinner. While I was cutting up chicken my sweet visiting teacher, Rebecca Losee, walked in with this cake! She said since I lived in a house full of boys I would never get a cake like this, and she's right! It was so cute and it meant so much to me that she put this much time into something for me...Once dinner was in the oven I went outside to join in the fun. It was such a nice day outside! Parker and the boys were all playing catch...Jackson was super giggly and rolling on the grass laughing...Could he be any cuter?I love my boys!!!My favorite birthday present was...JOSH LEARNED TO RIDE HIS BIKE WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS!!! This was the first time he'd ever tried and it took him about half an hour before he was cruising all around the neighborhood. I was so proud of him! 5 has been a big age (and he's only been 5 for 2 months!). He's learned to swim, pump on the swings, and ride his bike! I wish they'd stop growing up though, it's just all happening too fast. Jackson also tried and did well, but we'll keep working on it! After bike riding we came inside and had cake! Parker owes Rebecca a big thank you for saving his butt! He had no cake! Haha.
I had a great birthday. I love getting calls and texts all day. I love having money now to go shopping! I love how sweet my boys were to me. Tyce sang "happy birthday to mommy" all day! I love that Parker took care of the boys so I could just relax for a day! He knows that birthdays were always special in my house growing up and that's what I expect from him (not expensive, but special). He ended the night by giving me a nice long back scratch, my favorite thing to fall asleep to! :) We were supposed to go out to eat Saturday night to celebrate but, due to the hurricane, Cheesecake Factory closed. So we're going to go out this weekend instead! Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone! Here's to another great year in my 20s! :)

Morrill Family Pictures

When we were in Utah this summer we attempted to get an updated Morrill family picture. It was the first time in a long time that the whole family was together so we wanted to take advantage of it! We didn't hire anyone, we just set up a camera and took about 10 pictures hoping one would be perfect. Well, with Cole, Kate, and Tyce being young and wiggly these are the best three...

For those of you who aren't familiar with Parker's family: from the left, Walt, Christine (with baby Kai in her tummy!), me, Tyce, Parker, Shane, Tegan, Mom, Bart, Tyler, Kate, Jackie, Cole, Jackson, and Josh!

I love my in laws so much!!!

Camping!

Last night we had our first family camping trip. Yes, I, Jenn Barraclough Morrill, voluntarily went camping. Parker has taken the twins camping a couple times but Tyce and I have always stayed home. This time I thought it would be fun to all go. Heat, bugs, and dirt...my three least favorite things! But being with my husband and my boys who were so excited made it all worth it. We got up there later than planned so it got dark fast.

Jack and Josh each found these cute caterpillars and carried them around as pets for a while. Unfortunately, daddy ended up stepping on Josh's and got caterpillar blood and guts all over. Josh handled it surprisingly well! Good thing I took a pic before the massacre... Parker got frustrated setting up the tent by himself. I told him he can blame my dad for never teaching me how to do it!

Once we finally got everything set up we had some hot dogs and smores!They were all super excited to sleep in the tent...It was SO hot and humid! It was 80 degrees with 90% humidity. I was miserable. The boys were pretty hot and sticky too so we ended up sleeping near naked. Jack and Tyce fell asleep so quick. I was surprised at Tyce. I thought for sure he'd cry, whine, wiggle, etc. He's never slept anywhere but a crib so I didn't know how he would do in a tent and on the floor. He was such an angel!Night owl Josh stayed up to finish watching his movie (yes we brought our portable DVD player camping)...Parker and I finally fell asleep around midnight. At 2am Jackson woke up sobbing saying his head hurt. For an hour we tried to calm him, rub his head, distract him with a movie, etc but nothing was working. We debated splitting up and one of us taking him home, giving him medicine, then coming back in the morning to get the rest of them. But they were evacuating the campground in the morning because of the hurricane so we thought we'd better all go. So at 3am we loaded the kids up in the car, packed everything up in the dark, and headed home. All the side exits were closed so we had to go the long way and didn't get home until 4:30. We gave the boys a quick shower (no way could I let them get in their beds being so dirty and sweaty and sticky!) then laid them down. Parker and I unpacked the car and showered and got to bed about 5:15am. The kids slept till 9am and woke up happy! We had promised them IHOP for breakfast after camping so we headed over there...

It was definitely an adventure! I really would've had fun if it wasn't so dang hot and humid. Virginia summers are miserable, that's all there is to it. We so miss the west where it actually COOLS DOWN at night! But we made the most of it and the boys had fun and that's what matters.

The boys are now outside in their swim suits running around in the rain. We're supposed to get some strong winds and rain from the hurricane today/tonight but I'm hoping Parker and I can still go out tonight for my birthday!

Josh and Jackson's "Big Job"

My friend Traci went out of town for a week and had the great idea of giving Josh and Jack the job of watering her plants every day. They were really excited about it and took it very seriously. They reminded me every day to go to her house and they got sad the day it rained and I said we didn't need to water the plants. Traci told them she would pay them each $5 and they were super excited about that!

Here's Josh concentrating on watering the grass (yes, he likes to water plants in his transformer costume)... Here's Jackson watering the flowers (yes, in cowboy boots)...

Now onto the deck...Tyce loved his green bucket and loved helping...My hard workin boys!Today Traci came over and paid them! "Mommy $5 is a lot of things at the dollar store!" And yes they're in Halloween costumes, we were trying stuff on to see what fits for this year...It was cute to see them doing their "big job." Tonight we're going to do a family home evening lesson about tithing and talk to them about the money they earned and what they should do with it. Thanks Traci for giving them this opportunity to work and learn!

On Sunday Tyce was a superhero cowboy with his la la tied on as a cape and his ever favorite cowboy boots...If you look hard you can spot a cute boy!

Shelly the Turtle

On Tuesday Kimberly and I took the kids to the park to play. As always, while Jake and Tyce played on the toys, the older ones took off into "the jungle." Which, in reality, is barely a small forest. Anyways, after a while they ran out telling us they found a turtle! They were so excited. Josh was the only one brave enough to hold it... Then they made this cute bed for him...

They also put him in the drinking fountain to "give him a bath and give him a drink." It was so fun to watch their excitement over taking care of something. They were so careful with him and were so sad to leave him! Josh named him Shelly, so maybe it's a girl? Not sure how to tell if a turtle is a boy or girl, haha. Anyways, we're going back there today and they're hoping to see it still there.

Week with Barracloughs Part 3

We spent a day at the beach and the boys were so excited! They had never been to the Oregon coast before. When we first got there it was overcast and chilly. However, after about an hour it really cleared up!

Parker and I love the Oregon coast, it's one of our favorite places... I was proud of my brave boys! The water is ICE cold!

Cuties...Lindsay, me, and my mom...My adorable parents...Could I have any cuter boys???Tyce loved the sand...My dad playing football...An attempt at a family picture, but it was so bright we all had to squint...How gorgeous is this?Jack and Josh probably could've played in here the entire day...

We left the beach around 5 and went to Kylos for a YUMMY dinner, my halibut was to die for. It was a great day! It was a great trip! I miss everyone already but look forward to seeing everyone in December. Love you all!