Helping?

As Todd was picking some weeds out of our Strawberry Patch Savannah was certain that she could be of some assistance. So Todd finally scooted over and let her kneel on the pad beside him. I could not believe how cute it turned out that I just had to grab a picture. She, just like her Dad, hates kneeling on the rocks, so I think she thought the pad idea was as good as Todd does! And yes, this is July and our July jacket weather this year. It finally decided to warm up this past week and we are all grateful!

Baby Nate Is Here!

It took him 3 1/2 hours and 3 pushes, but he finally made it! We scheduled for me to get induced on Monday, June 29th as my doctor's wife was scheduled for the 30th and I didn't want to have to compete with her for his time! So we went in at 4 AM got all hooked up and started at 5 and by 8:31 he was here! It was intense for a while, but it all went well. I feel great, so much better than with Savannah, and I thought I felt good with her! Things are good and he's a great eater. So much different than Savannah on that one too!

He's totally boy and we're going to make sure everyone knows that! He's got a baseball shirt a sports hat and Air Jordan socks on! We dress him similar to this everyday so far! He weighed 8 lbs 3 ozs and was 20.5 inches long. A whole pound heavier and an inch and 1/2 longer than Savannah. Guess that's a boy for you!

One thing that is so different about getting induced is that you really know when your last day of pregnancy is! So for all of you who didn't get to see me closing in on those last days, here you go. This is Sunday night about midnight! The absolute last day I was pregnant! I couldn't even believe how funny I looked. No wonder everyone was stopping me in Walmart asking when I was due!

Todd Turned 30!


And we had a party! It was really fun. We had planned to have a small party with just 1 couple friend and my parents, but then I invited everyone we knew!



Since I didn't tell Todd who all I invited he was totally surprised and a really good sport about the whole thing! There was a good turnout and a ton of food.




My extremely talented artsy brother-in-law made Todd his birthday cake of a racetrack w/ cars, etc. That was pretty fun! And there were 30 sparkler candles on it! Todd asked for 30 candles specifically.


I asked a select few people that make his favorite dishes to bring them, this doesn't even show the half of it! I made a couple pies for him and the Fresh Apple lattice top turned out adorable!

We also grilled Falls Brand hot dogs (made in Twin Falls, Idaho, where Todd is from and they taste good) and had other BBQ foods that are all his favorites. My dad and his friend, Kyle, both took charge and grilled dogs for everyone. There were probably about 50 people there altogether.

I had 2 Transformer pinatas, one for the kids and one pinata for the blindfolded adults! It was fun to watch and everyone participated.

We ended up with a couple of Themes for the party. The racetrack/cars were on the cake and the flagging as decoration. The Transformer pinatas and drink cups. The presents were all mainly bakery/kitchen items. All the food was BBQ and/or his favorites even including Red KoolAid! Pretty much every detail was accounted for and at the end of the night, I was exhausted! But it was worth the next 3 days being filled with contractions! It's not every year you feel up to throwing a big surprise party and haveit all pull off! Happy 30th Todd!

A couple side notes: Todd got pretty much the whole yard done and we even have a swing hanging from one of our tree branches. It looked great. Also even though no one got a picture of Savannah and I wasn't in charge of the camera, she was there and looked about adorable as can be! Here is a glimpse of how her curls are coming along!

Let the Skiing Begin!

We went waterskiing with my brother and his family the other week. It was the most perfect day at the lake ever! With 4 adults and 5 kids it was the kind of summer activity you dream about! Everyone got to do everything they wanted to and we stayed all day long!

This is Justin who is only 3 years old and his mom, Jana, and below him is Savannah. He kneeboarded and did fantastic! It is a whole new generation of skiers and flag holders!


This is Savannah and Ashley. They get along so well and it is so fun to watch them play. Savannah loves the water and Sand Hollow has a beach that is shallow for about 20-30 feet out so it is perfect!




Jason slalomed, Jana and Colton kneeboarded, Todd did other stuff and everyone had a great time!

Ashley fell asleep!






We love our boat and we love summertime and most of all we love being able to enjoy both of them at the same time!

My Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades!

Summer is full of shades, sprinklers, and Savannah!

Summer is Here!


And we are celebrating by fishing instead of wishing!

We went fishing over to my Uncle's ranch. It was Todd's first time and he caught a great fish. It was Savannah's first time in the kid pack and loved it. We fished down the creek and it was the perfect temperature and so much fun.

My mom and dad went too. My mom just stayed inside and visited and of course my dad caught the majority of the fish. It makes sense as he has been fishing there since he was 5!

We Went Turkey Hunting!

In the infamous Kaibab Forest in Arizona. We do this pretty much every year and this year was no exception. It wasn't Savannah's first time, but unfortunately we didn't take pictures of her with a turkey last year! It was a great experience. We rented a camptrailer so we could have a place to nap Savannah and we wouldn't have to sleep outside in a tent when it got below freezing! It worked out perfectly and wasn't too expensive at all. We are all up for camping this summer now!

My brother and his family, my sister and her family, and my parents all went. It was pretty fun with so many kids and so much dirt!

The only 2 granddaughters that went are the 2 wearing the adorable stocking hats! We thought it only fitting for them. They are 10 months apart and really starting to like each other!

Everyone enjoyed riding around on the Ranger with Grandma and Grandpa multiple times a day! Since it has seatbelts we strapped Savannah's carseat in and she loved it. It was her first real experience where she had a definite opinion about how much she wanted to be outside!

I did get a turkey, and although you might not be able to tell, he is huge! These are his spurs, which is one way of telling how old a turkey is.

We didn't want Nater to miss out on any pics so he got to pose with Mom and her turkey too! He'll be here next month and we are getting pretty excited to meet him!

Valentine's Day in May?

No, no, no, but I did get Todd a Valentine's Day gift in February- I just forgot to post it! So here it is. They are personalized M&Ms that said things like, "T+J 4vr" and "Lv U til the End" which is from that cute, cute song on that just okay movie! And "Miss U Evryday" and "Hello my Lover" which is a quote from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves! So there you go, a little bit of personal on a public blog! What is fun is that I told my brother-in-law, who is the only guy I knew that would appreciate such a fun gift and he gave it to his wife (my sister)! So that gave me the validation that I did a good job!

Oh Sweet Pea!

So yeah, I grew Sweet Peas in my kitchen window. I bought these seeds years ago when a girlfriend I had helped me pick out some really cute flowers for a front flowerbed I had. I kept them, having never planted them, and decided last fall to plant a few "Sweet Peas" to see what the flower would look like. Well after what seemed like forever we finally got a purple, adorable flower. It was very exciting and very cute. Then after a little while longer - who knew - they turned into peas! I never put 2 and 2 together. I always figured there was just an adorable flower out there named "Sweet Pea!" But pretty fun to have some veggies in my kitchen window!

We haven't tried one yet, but this next group we certainly will!

And it just wouldn't be a post from the Welch's without the most aborable member of the family being spotlighted?

Baby really likes Kitty, and Kitty really likes baby! Well "really" might be a stretch on Kitty's part! But she does let Savannah pet her and lay her head on her, which is shockingly sweet! (And yes for all you super, duper housekeepers out there, this is our bed! We NEVER make it! In life, some things just have to be let go.)