Griffeth Summer Adventure #1. . .

begins tomorrow.



We're headed to Newport Beach with the Marz clan. We can't be that close to the happiest place on earth without spending a day there so that's on the agenda. As well as lots of time on the sand. Lots of time on our bikes. Yummy food. And great company.

It's an annual tradition that we go somewhere fun with my family. I wish I had my scanner all hooked up so I could post pictures of our last trip to Newport 4 years ago. It was a great trip and I'm really looking forward to this one, too. I loooovee the beach & Disneyland.

Check back in a week to see some fun photos.

my journals

I L O V E writing in a journal. I’ve kept a journal since 3rd grade. My mom recently found one from elementary school and I wrote in the front, “If you are caught reading this you will be fined $50.” She still hasn’t paid up.

I think keeping a record of your life is so important. Maybe I write down too much about what I do daily but a recent experience has taught me otherwise. Wes’ grandma Ruth kept fabulous journals. We ended up with hers for a while and we actually started transcribing them and it was amazing to read about her life. She wrote every day for YEARS. It may seem mundane but you get a true representation of what her days were like. It was fun to read and it showed me that writing every day isn’t pointless. Someone will hopefully enjoy it one day and be able to get a better glimpse in to my life.

Here are my list of journals I keep:

My latest journaling has been my G R A T I T U D E journal. My mom gave me this thing probably 5 years ago and I’m finally using it. There are lines for every day of the year so every night I write down one thing I’m grateful for and why. It pretty much turns in to a “what I did today” or “what I thought about today” journal but it’s been a fun way to record my life in 2008. And, it’s a great way to remember how truly blessed Wes & I are. Just a few of the things I’ve written down this year that I’m grateful for are: good food, my mom, memories, books, sisters, friends, eternal marriage, a clean house, weight watchers, the miracle of life, the ability to change, great weather, a sleeping pill, President Hinckley, quiet car rides, Wes & Nate, golden spoon, sleeping in, doctors, our health, long naps, play dates, organization, peace of mind, laughter, family close by, etc.

I write a journal to N A T E. I think I’ll turn it all in to a book one day and give it to him so he can see my thoughts about him throughout his life. I write monthly right now about what he’s up to and how grateful I am to be his mama.

I write my own P E R S O N A L journal about our life. I used to do this very regularly until Nate was born. The gratitude journal kinda took over but I at least write about big events like vacations, etc.

My other new favorite thing is LDSJournal.com. A friend of mine started this site. It really has nothing to do with being LDS . . . not sure why they named it that but whatever. It is an online journal so I can write in my journal whenever & wherever I want. If I’m at work and have 10 extra minutes before a meeting, I can write in my journal. If I’m on vacation somewhere, I can go online and write in that same journal without hauling the book around. I set up two accounts with LDS Journal. The first is my personal journal . . . I moved it from handwritten to online for convenience. They even have an option to turn your journal in to a printed book which I'll probably do each year. The other one is my “venting” journal. It allows me to V E N T about things I’m frustrated about or struggling with without having to gossip. Sometimes I can just tell my journal and it’s “off my chest.” This is where the therapeutic factor comes in to play.

And of course, we can’t forget about the blog and the scrapbook. I know, it’s all a little much but I enjoy doing it all. I think about how much I wish my grandparent's and parents had as much written down as I do. That's what keeps me writing.

10 months old

Nate turned 10 months old on Friday. I can’t believe I’m going to have a 1 year old this summer.

{Side note: It is getting very difficult to take pictures of him with the "month old" cards!}

Every month, he gets more and more fun. I love watching his personality develop. He’s quite the character. Here’s what he’s been up to . . . .

The most important new development is he’s sleeping through the night! It only took him 9.5 months but he figured it out. He’s been a TERRIBLE sleeper at night since birth so this is a huge accomplishment. Up until a few weeks ago he was still up 2-4 times a night. He started sleeping through the night on his own which made it easy for me to not go in at all in the middle of the night if/when he does wake up. He has learned that crying doesn’t get me in there anymore! It’s amazing what a few nights of consistent sleep will do for a mom. I feel like a new person.


{I love sleeping babies}

He’s so funny when you go in to his room after he wakes up from sleeping. As soon as he hears the door creak open, he jerks his head and just smiles. Then he crawls as fast as he can and stands up to say hi.

He doesn’t like the car anymore and really isn’t a fan of being in his stroller either. This will make our drive to Newport Beach and day at Disneyland interesting! However, he does love being in a shopping cart so I can at least still roam Target without any complaints.

His newest favorite foods are yogurt, string cheese, golden spoon, strawberries, nectarines & pickles!

{Dad was nice enough to share his golden spoon.}



He’s trying to do headstands. I often find him with his head on the floor, one leg in the air . . .like he’s trying to stand on his head! I’m trying to get a picture of this one.

He sticks out his pointer finger and points at what he wants. It’s actually kinda helpful . . . but we’re definitely playing the guessing game a lot! He also started reaching for people he wants. I love that he’s not really a mama’s boy. He loves going to anyone and everyone that will hold him & talk to him. But I’ll admit it’s fun to see his face light up when he sees me or Wes.

He loves cords. He finds every cord in our home and wants to eat it. We’re working on teaching him that cords are not toys!

He’s my little fish. He loves the shower, the bath, sprinklers, fountains and the pool. I love it.

He’s soooo ticklish! We can get a great belly laugh out of him when we tickle him. I love it. I’m working on a video of this for you, Grandma G.

He has picked up some speed as a crawler. He’s pretty quick now. And today, he successfully climbed our entire stair case . . . with Wes behind him, of course! He's in to EVERYTHING. And I mean, everything.





He finds it funny to hurt people. Granted, he doesn’t know he’s hurting anyone but he loves to pull hair, grab skin & head-butt you so hard that I don’t know how he’s not screaming in pain. He just laughs.



We had to go to Bass Pro Shop yesterday so Nate got to pretend to ride another 4 wheeler. He loved the big acquarium. He kept reaching for the fishies.

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{Pictures of today before church}

We love our little man. He's such a fun little dude!

Mr. Nate on the move

You'd think getting a video of your child crawling would be a piece of cake. Not so much for me. I finally got a somewhat decent one. He's funny . . . sometimes he's like a monkey literally on all fours . . . two hands and two feet. But when he's on the tile he looks like he has a "gimp" leg because he refuses to use his left knee. But however he's crawling, he's getting to be pretty quick and somehow he finds things that even Wes and I have never noticed.

He's officially in to everything. Enjoy the video of my little man. Notice that at the end he is climbing on me. That's his absolute favorite. Climbing.

Summer Saturdays Rock

Our summer Saturdays have begun. I really try to make the summers "project free" on the weekends so we can enjoy Grandma & Grandpa's pool or a quick weekend get-a-way!

Saturday was great. After Wes got back from painting Sam's master bedroom, we headed to my nephew Kyle's soccer game. He's quite the little soccer player. Good game, bud!

We picked up yummy sandwiches and headed to my parents for the rest of the day. They are back at the cabin so we had the whole place to ourselves! Sam and her roomie Cassie had the same idea to go swimming so they ended up hanging out with us over there for an hour or two. Nate is a little fish . . . he L O V E S the water. He stayed in for a long time and never wanted to get out. That's my boy.


Nate with Aunt Sam. I promise she has a swimsuit on. Nate's covering her strap.

Then we had our good friends Anya, Sam, Noah & Ikey Earl over for a BBQ and more swimming. It was great to see them. I love their little boys. They are H I L A R I O U S. It gives me a sneek peek of Nate in a few years. (Sorry. No fun pictures of the kiddos. Next time, for sure).

I love summer. I love swimming & being outside and I'm excited for summer to begin!

I thought this face was funny. He was perplexed by a leaf.

Teeth & Vomit

Not a good combination for Nate or his mom & dad.

Nate's got at least two teeth poking through on the bottom. He refuses to let anyone's finger in his mouth except his own so it's hard to tell but they are for sure there! His top gums are super swollen, too so I'm wondering if there are a few more on their way. Throughout the day, I find him rubbing his own gums as he cries. Poor little man. That can't be fun. This morning, all he wanted was the empty tylonel bottle so he could use that as a binky as he watched Sesame Street.

On top of teething, Nate still has a stomach bug. He got it on Sunday at the cabin and he's still not back to normal. He's not puking all day long, but he's still on a simple diet and you never know what's going to come up. Luckily, he's drinking a lot so dehydration shouldn't be a problem. But lets just say I'm ready for my house to stop smelling like baby vomit and baby diarrhea. Yuck.

The positive side to all of this is he still manages to be happy part of the time. He loves his new toy (see photo below) and he had a good time crawling around outside last night. He's been very clingly lately . . . following me around every room just wanting to sit on my lap. He's usually very independent so I'm enjoying the "lap sitting" while it lasts.

He's getting a close-up of himself in the mirror.

He used to love the grass but lately he picks his legs up when he can!

the cabin's debut

My parents recently built a cabin in Duck Creek, Utah. It's up in the mountains outside of Cedar City. This weekend was our first trip up with the Marz clan. I love it and can't wait to use it all the time!



On Saturday morning, we rented 4-Wheelers and a Rhino. It was my first time on a 4-wheeler ~ we all had a great time! They were fun to ride in to the village and on the trails that surround the cabin. Nate even got to ride on the Rhino. He loved it!


Sam & I ~ "ready to ride"


Sam & I out riding.


Me, Nate & my dad on the Rhino.


Wes on the 4-wheeler.


The boys after a morning on the 4-wheelers

On Saturday night, Duck Creek had a "summer-kick off" get-together that we went to. Hanks BBQ was there as well as live music for a little dancin'. We have great family friends who also have a cabin up there so we met them at the Duck Creek village for dinner on Saturday night. It was fun to be up there with them in the S N O W!


Of course Nate spit out his food right as this picture was being taken!


My good friend Anya and her youngest, Ikey.


Nate & Daisy


Ali & Daisy


Abbie saw the band on stage and had to be a part of it. She walked right up there and started dancing with the band. She had a great time and was so fun to watch.


Sam & Kyle at the fire.


Nate with grandma.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying time around the cabin. We ate alot, played games & enjoyed our beautiful surroundings. We got to experience true Utah crazy weather. It S N O W E D and then five minutes later the sun was shining. Then snowing. Then raining. And it continued like this the entire weekend. It was actually pretty chilly at times. It was fun to see the kiddos all bundled up.


Kyle & Abbie on the deck, looking at the snow.

Nate loves all of his cousins, but he really enjoyed Kyle this weekend. Kyle was such a great older cousin. He let Nate crawl all over him & play! I love this picture of them. It looks like they are best buds even though they are 10 years apart!

Abbie loves her papa.

On Sunday afternoon ~ Sam, my dad & I went exploring. We walked around this beautiful pond and creek that's only 5 minutes from the cabin! I can't wait to go fishing next time.

It was nice knowing that we could just relax at the cabin without feeling like we had to do everything possible while we were there because we can go back whenever we want!

For memories sake, it wouldn't be a Marz vacation without someone getting sick. Nate & I had the stomach flu on Sunday....Ali and my dad on Monday.....and Daisy didn't feel well a few nights either. Hopefully we can all stay healthy in Newport!