merry christmas '13

i'm way behind on blogging....but i'm taking advantage of this great holiday season! we're spending time with family and friends and loving our break from daily life. 

merry christmas from us to you! maybe after the holidays i'll do some blog catch up...just maybe ;-)

our 4th of july

our 4th of july was simply perfect. i was super bummed about being away from family on one of my favorite holidays so we decided to really take advantage of the day. we started out with a homemade kneaders breakfast. don't mind us in all our morning glory. we were too excited to eat to worry about getting ready first :-) 

after breakfast we headed to the beach with some good friends. we had a blast attempting to fly kites. i'll post the video soon. that is the best way to view how amazing we were...not! the water was FREEZING but we did get it. the mr. convinced me i needed to toughen up a bit. 

the festivities continued with a big bbq at our good friends house. i am so sad we didn't get a picture of everyone that was there. we have such amazing friends here in chicago. i'm so grateful that they are my chi town family. we ate way to much and just enjoyed being outside with good friends. i even grilled up momma b's famous lemon chicken. don't mind the change of clothes. i was playing with baby linc and decided to toss him up in the air. my bad. he decided to toss up his dinner at the same time. it was hilarious and also disgusting. i couldn't stop laughing about it the whole night. 

we headed downtown to find a spot to watch the fireworks. i love fireworks. almost as much as i love cupcakes. so needless to say i was excited. we had a blast playing games and just hanging out before they started. i'm not going to lie...i was slightly disappointed. they weren't as big and grand as i expected. but, they were fireworks and still hit the spot. 

i love the 4th of july. maybe because i love america. so grateful for this incredible country that i call home. can't wait to next year's 4th! 

the mr. and mrs. memorial day 2013

memorial day 2013 was just perfect. it was so nice to be "home" in utah for the holiday. we started the day with the traditional barfuss family breakfast. the whole b family (about 65 in total this year) show up at the grandparents for food, fun and four square. we start the morning at grandma larue's grave. grandma larue is spencer's grandmother who died when spence's dad was young. though we've never met her we feel her love and i truly look up to her as a beautiful mother. it was nice to be back with the b. family and enjoy the morning together. we had a lot of catching up to do. a little foursquare was much needed as well. who doesn't love a good family competition. not to brag or anything but i may have even been king a couple of times...yep i'm that good (haha)

after breakfast we headed north to visit benjamin's grave and grandpa d. benjamin is spence's baby brother who died when he was just a few days old. there was such a sweet spirit while visiting benjamin. though i never got to meet him have felt his spirit with us many times. i am so grateful for him as my little brother in law and look forward to meeting him one day. 

we finished the day hanging out at the b family household, eating way to much and just enjoying being together. the night before we hung out with my family and visited my grandpa's grave. not a day goes by that i don't think about him. i miss him dearly but know he is watching out for me. again i'm so grateful for eternal families. 

there is just something about holidays that make me homesick. i was so grateful to be able to be home for memorial day. it was a busy day but so fun to hang out with all our family. now if we can make it back for every memorial day i think we'll be okay. 

happy 4th of july

happy 4th of july

how i love this holiday

it may be my favorite

red, white, and blue. who couldn't be in love

we're celebrating the birth of our country on the high seas

how are you celebrating???