{Arizona prt.3}

S'mores over the fire pit.

Splash pad on a cloudy but warm morning.

Charlie & Sara's daughter, Allee & our Presley. 

Pool party.

Opah's birthday Piñata filled with love notes.

One of the sweetest moments of this trip for me was seeing Presley & Allee playing together. We have known Charlie for FOREVER! & We fell in love with Sara as soon as we met her. Charlie & Rod were room mates at BYU & I lived in the same city as Charlie for a while before moving to Pennsylvania for the last 1/2 (the WORST 1/2. shudder!) of my senior year. charlie along with Rod's other good friend, Travis played a big part in our love story. so it was just the most sweet moment to see Presley ask Allee if she wanted to go play in her room. I teared up & my heart swelled. to think 14 years ago we were all just kids ourselves. Driving around Baltimore & Philadelphia with the windows down & ridiculous music playing. & Now look! Our babies are playing together! The Crosby family are near & dear to our hearts. Their 3 babies all call my parents Omah & Opah. They have served our family in so many ways we could never put a dent in repaying their kindness. From things like jumping my car at work at Heritage School in Orem to packing up moving trucks, to being such good friends to my parents! Charlie & Sara...your getting our kids if something happens to us...so start praying nothing ever does! 

There was another moment that tugged at my momma heart. We were at the splash pad. Presley wanted to stand in the middle of the spouts, but was nervous. Tre stepped in with her. At first her back was to his belly and he had his hands on her shoulders but as the water sprayed higher & higher she became scared and turned towards Tre's belly. She buried her face in her big brother and he held her tight & keeping his eyes glued to her. She loves that boy so much & knows he is here to help her, protect her & love her. We always tell the boys...the way you treat your baby sister is the way she will expect to be treated by men as she grows. I really think it makes sense to them! They are incredibly tender hearted with her. 

I miss my mom a lot today. This year is a year of changes for the whole DeRoo family! A new baby being the most exciting! Brad & Kalen are expecting baby girl #2 to arrive in a few weeks. My Mom & Dad will be traveling to Texas for that special occasion & we are already dying to see them! 

I love this old blog. I love looking through years of pictures (some way way way over edited! dang it!) i love seeing the children growing up as I scroll through seasons of our lives. I love seeing friends smiling at me on my monitor. I love seeing my Mom holding one of my new babies in a picture. I love that each of these posts is dear to me & will be a window for my children into their Mother's heart someday. I love these memories I store up here & place on pages. I believe that journaling & documenting will be one of the best gifts I will ever give my children.