Camping August 2010

The boys missed the father/sons campout this year, so this past weekend we took a family trip to Rollins Lake. What is not to like about camping? Go to sleep late, wake up when the sun comes up, dirt, hammers, water, bikes, undivided attention from both parents, more dirt, new friends, smores, lots of junk food, baseball, running races, card games, and even more dirt. And we didn't even get to monster trucks or darts!

The boys couldn't have been happier for the three days we were there. They always tell us they aren't ready to leave. I know when they are older and can help more, Steve is going to love taking them more often. For now, it is quite a bit of work, but I love seeing the kids in their element. I had a great time and am glad we were able to do it as a family.

Abby aka Mardi

We have been planning on getting a standard poodle ever since we had to put sweet Casey May down in January. I wasn't quite ready, but after some convincing we decided that we would go for it. On the 24th of July we went to pick up sweet Abby Grace. She was just 8 weeks old and was so sweet. Unfortunately, the more time Abby spent with the rowdy boys, the less sweet she became. After 7 short days, we called the breeder and told her she wasn't the right fit for our family. She started showing some fear based aggression and to protect herself from all the tough love, she started biting the boys. 3 days later she was on a plane to southern California to live with a new family. It was such a hard decision, but we know that she is going to be so happy there. She was renamed and will be called Mardi May from now on, but to us, she will always be sweet Abby Grace. I am grateful her new owner promised to keep us in her life through email and pictures. That made it easier for the boys to say goodbye.

I love you Mom!

The other night Landon decided that he wanted to do a special night for me. Steve had just taken the older boys to get new slacks for church and he was so excited to dress up. In the past, for some special occasions, Steve has had the boys dress up and serve me dinner. We danced and ate together and it was a big event. Landon concocted a night like this and begged Steve to help him. He decorated the house, he got his clothes on, he set the table, he did the dishes, he was so sweet. When the night was over, I kicked myself because I didn't take a single picture. This design in water balloons and the pompoms hanging from the light fixture were all that remained. I'm glad I took this picture, because on tough days with this kid, I am grateful that he has it in him to take care of me the way he did this night. I love you buddy!

SoCal 4th of July

We have spent the 4th in AZ the last several years, but this year, we decided not to make plans to go anywhere. At the last minute, we were regretting our decision and made a last minute plan to head down to Newport Beach. Our week consisted of:

-the boys spending time snail hunting instead of swimming

-cold, overcast, rainy weather

-lots of trips to Donut World

-a trip to Balboa for some beach time and Balboa bars

-Balboa boardwalk, ferris wheel and more Balboa bars

-digging for sand crabs

-hunting seashells

-Grey falling in love with the ocean

-Steve working

-lots of time in the hot tub

I am just so grateful that even though Steve had to work so much, we were able to enjoy being together as a family for an entire week. I love having Steve around and am grateful for the extra time he puts in so he can get away from time to time. I am looking forward to our next trip there and praying for warmer weather.

15 months

I can't believe that Greyson is 15 months old. Where has the time gone? He is so amazing. I can hardly stand it. I am so in love with those beautiful blue eyes and that long, crazy, dreamy hair. He is so independent, yet lovable. He is sweet, yet ornery. Gentle, yet mean. Here are a few things that he is known for.

He give some of the best loves. Especially after naps and in the morning.

He gives sweet kisses and even knows to pucker up.

He waves hi and bye by opening and closing his fingers.

He gives high fives and knuckles or "pounds".

He loves both of his brothers and can say "Danden".

He loves any sort of ball.

He loves to swing at balls with any object he can.

If he could pick any toy to play with it would definitely be a ball.

He still says "ball ball ball" all day long.

He is often found in precarious situations hollering "Mom! Mom!"

He loves to wander off and is happy playing all day.

He loves to be outside.

He has amazing coordination.

He loves the water and will stand under the shower letting the water run in his face forever.

He loves to hit people.

He hates to have his diaper changed.

He understands SO much of what we say and often amazes us when he responds to things we never knew he understood.

If I tell him to "show me", he opens his mouth. Even if I'm not asking what is in his mouth.

He loves music. Boom Boom Pow (which he sings boom boom boom to), and Imma Be are amongst his favorites.

He has begun to fall in love with his blankets.

He can climb on the kitchen table and gets in tons of trouble there.

He can open doors and loves to help himself in the pantry.

He can go up and down the stairs.

He is starting to find trouble in many, many places. ie: the toilet

He loves to mess up the shoes in our closets.

He sleeps mainly in his bed and rarely falls asleep in the car.

He loves the itouch and knows how to swipe the screen to change the pictures.

He runs most everywhere.

As independent as he is, he rarely leaves my lap when we are in public.

He doesn't take to strangers well.

He loves to laugh when everyone else laughs.

He loves to sit in chairs when we are out at sports, the park, or the beach.

He only likes to eat his snacks out of a ziploc bag.

He lights up our lives and we are grateful that we can experience all his nuances each day.

Landon's Swim Lessons

Landon has known how to swim for a while. Each year he gets stronger. This year he was supposed to be working on perfecting his strokes. His lessons turned out to be kindof a flop and he did more goofing off than swimming, but he had fun. And that's what matters right? He did a lot of jumping off the diving board and swimming to the edge and they worked on some breathing. He is going to take a few lessons from Grandma Janna this week and hopefully make some more improvements.

Cohen's swim lessons

During the first few weeks of summer, Cohen had swim lessons twice a day. I had originally signed him up for the same ones we do every year, but he has never made much progress in them. He always had so much fun, but he never get braver. The most amazing lady in our ward was doing them and we were supposed to do them earlier in the year, but with the funeral we had to delay. We ended up with two weeks of two a day lessons. He got so much better, but he still has a long way to go to be water safe. He just doesn't have a lot of desire to be out in the "deep, deep, deep" as he calls it. He now can put his head under the water comfortably and he can swim about 75 feet on his own. His teacher says he has the body of Michael Phelps, so he was built to swim. I know that Landon got to be so good the year that we had our own pool. It's the practice that he's lacking now. He is so proud when he gets it and I am proud of him! He loves to watch the video of him swimming over and over. What a sweetie!