The Boulton Blog: Father's Are So Special, With a Very Special Love

The blog title this week is from a primary song our ward's children sang that I found adorably sweet. If you're interested in listening to it, here's a link

http://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/fathers?lang=eng

Well, I do have a lot of pictures this week - but I also have a lot to write about again, if you feel like reverting to preschool and just looking through the pictures, I will never know, and you'll get the gist of what we've been up to :).

Caleb: He's been learning so much lately. He slept in his big boy bed twice this week, can push himself around on the kiddie tricycles at my parents house, and knows to give hugs when I tell him to say sorry. His favorite thing to do is lift his shirt up and stick out his tummy while you tickle him and say "belly belly belly!"

Byron: He's been working hard this week. They were having a conference week at work so he had multiple meetings to attend each day and his schedule was a little wonky. The meetings were fun though and he even got to hear someone share a quote from President Thomas S. Monson.

"When progress is measured, progress improves"

Arielle: This week has been pretty busy for me. Tuesday my visiting teachers came by and Caleb and I spent the morning cleaning at home. Wednesday was my glucola test and an OB-GYN appointment. Apparently my glucola test came back borderline at the highest number they deem acceptable, so they want me to take the 3 hour one but I'm talking to my doctor about alternatives. I also got to see missionaries who had served in the area, Elder Pearson was an elder who had served in Centerville Ward and is one of my parents favorite missionaries ever. He was 2 days away from flying home at the end of his 2 year mission and dropped by my parents to say good-bye on his way to Columbus. The other, Elder Kobabe, (Pearson's current companion) was an elder who has only been out about a year. He served in Miamisburg as a greenie and was Caleb's favorite. I think it may have had something to do with how tall he was, but Caleb would go up to him in sacrament and try to play with him and got upset every time Byron would drop them off after dinner appointments. It was funny to find out they were serving in my Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Kent's area and had just seen them the week before. Such a small world :). Thursday my parents came over with the kids in the morning and I got to spend the day with them. It was so nice having them over and the kids did well keeping all the toys in the basement and taking their naps. Friday I spent time trying to get things cleaned up and put away while packing for our over night trip to Columbus. I didn't get everything done, but oh well. At least I tried.

In General: Tuesday night I got a piano!!! My mom found it on craigslist for me and it was exactly what I had been wanting. The lady we got it from happened to be one of the cafeteria workers from my siblings old elementary school so she knew all 3 of my younger siblings, Chandler, Gabrielle, and Alyssa. Apparently she and Alyssa had shared a special bond and she was so excited to know that she was my sister. Her name was Ravella and she was super nice. She had her 2 sons and husband help us move the piano since we didn't have a truck. They were closing on a house they were moving into the next day and I think she was as relieved to find a good home for it as we were excited to have it. :) Wednesday Byron was as eager as I was to hit the pool with the smothering heat and humidity we were experiencing so we enjoyed a couple hours there before putting Caleb to bed. Friday night we went to Columbus. Byron had won a coupon near Christmas time at a blood drive for a free 1 night stay at a Hampton Inn & Suites. We had a picnic at the temple for dinner and Byron did a session of initiatories while Caleb and I went for a walk around the temple grounds. When we were done we headed to the hotel. It was really nice - the mattress felt like a cloud, and we got to play in the pool until Caleb was sufficiently worn out. We stayed in the lobby while he fell asleep before sneaking in and going to bed ourselves. We were tuckered out. The next morning we tried to sleep in - and failed - before going to breakfast. It was a little sub-par compared to the luxury of our room, but the waffles were good so we were content. When we got all cleaned up and packed everything back into the car we headed to the Columbus Zoo. It's HUGE and we were only able to cover about a fifth of it during our 2 1/2 hours there, but we got to see a lot of cool animals and Caleb had fun, so we considered it a success. We headed home around Caleb's naptime and were grateful he slept in the car. Byron let me get in a nap too when we got home and even helped my sister Alyssa get to a sweet 16 birthday party for one of her friends at church.. He's such an awesome husband. This morning I made him breakfast in bed, crispy crowns, biscuits and jam, scrambled eggs, and bacon, per his request, then helped me while I prepared my primary lesson, made bread and cupcakes for dinner at my parents house, and got Caleb ready for church - so much for giving him the day off hahaha. Church was wonderful. I got to give a talk on Preparing Our Families for the Temple and my primary lesson went well. We enjoyed an awesome dinner at my parents house and let Caleb play outside with his Aunts and Uncles before heading home.

Happy Fathers Day to all the incredible Daddies out there! We can't wait to hear from each of our beloved friends and family. Cheerio!