Happy Birthday, Sissy #1!

Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet, loving, beautiful sister! So many of my friends come from big families and they ask if it was wierd just having one sibling. My answer is no way cause I got the best one. We seriously NEVER fought - I know, difficult for people to believe. We were and still are best friends. I love you, Ali! Have a great day!

37 Years In The Making!

Geoff is 37 years old today and just gets better and cuter with age. I love and appreciate him for so many reasons. As we all know, he is not the best "diaper changing" kind of dad. But here are just a few of the things that he's great at:
1. A hard worker and a great provider.
2. The MOST fun person around when he can finally let go of work and just hang out and play.
3. Still a kid at heart. He teases the kids relentlessly and even though they pretend to hate it, they smile and laugh at him all the time.
4. Overly generous with his money.
5. Always wants his family to be with him - he hates to go anywhere without us or have us go anywhere without him.
6. LOVES his boys.
7. Loves me (even though he wishes I looked like a 17 year old supermodel!)
8. Honest in all his dealings (sometimes to a fault)
I could go on and on. Love you, Babe!

My Sweet Boy

OK - Chase just totally redeemed himself from his little tantrum at Boondocks the other day. Chase said that he looked for Caden at lunch and saw him all by himself trying to play tetherball so he went up to him and asked if he wanted to play soccer with all his soccer buddies (a group of about ten 2nd and 3rd graders who have played together at lunch for the past 2 years). They were both laughing their heads off telling me how funny Caden was at soccer. Aparently he kicked Calvin in the shin (on accident I hope) then Drew kicked the ball hard at Caden and Chase said "nobody messes with my brother" and then tackled him, then Caden tackled Jonah and Brogan, and so on. So Caden is one of the boys now. He even scored a goal against the big kids and Chase said all his friends were surprised at how good Caden was. Chase also said that "school is SO much more fun with your brother there because brothers are so fun and you can have brother power!" They came home to a treat of brownie sundaes and are now playing Game Cube together, still laughing their heads off. And Crew is so happy to have them home! My boys are all just loving eachother right now. I wish this could last forever!

1st day!

Both boys were up early and excited for school (wonder how long that will last)! Caden wasn't nervous at all. Crew, however, hasn't let me put him down all morning and was up last night at 2, 3, 6:30 and then 8 for good. We're just going to say that he is cranky cause he got his shots yesterday and NOT that he's turning into a spoiled child! So it doesn't look like my day is shaping up to be as fun as I was hoping for with just one child. h well, at least he's precious!

Back to School!

The boys were excited to go back to school tonight and set up their desks, meet their teachers, reunite with old friends, etc. They are both pumped to start school tomorrow. I think they will have so much fun being at the same school. I can't wait to go spy on them tomorrow to see what they're up to. Caden wasn't being shy at all tonight. He was going up to all the kids in his class and saying hi. Chase pretty much has the exact same class as last year, with the exception of just one kid, so he was in heaven with all his old friends. Crew didn't know what he was excited about but he was excited just cause his brothers were!

Boondocks!

We had the best day today (with the exception of a temper tantrum from one of my children)! We spent the day with all the neighborhood kids at Boondocks, a big fun center with mini golf, go carts, lazer tag, arcade, rock wall, bumper boats, etc. We got an unlimited pass and just went crazy! It was great because I had a babysitter for Crew so I was just able to have fun with my older boys. Caden highlight of the day was lazer tag, Chase's was winning 200 tickets (the highest amount) on Deal or No Deal, and my highlight was Jumpin' Jackpot (a jumprope video game). Thanks to all the kiddos for being so good and thanks to my best friend, Shannon, for always being willing to play with me (we're still 13 at heart). Goodbye Summer - Good Luck in School!

Happy Birthday, Kierstin!

Last week we decided that any birthday over 30 isn't so much fun to celebrate - but Happy Birthday anyway, Kierstin! What a sweet, fun, caring person and mommy you are. I love that I can call you whenever with any medical question and you usually have the right answer! I think you missed your calling as a nurse. Maybe when all your kids are grown! I hope you had a great birthday! Loves and hugs!

Sleep?over

Whoever coined the phrase "sleepover" had it all wrong. "Spend the night" is a much more appropriate term. On Thursday we had a great day with the Mortons and Taylors, biking, swimming, and then "spending the night" at our house. The kids played games and watched Indiana Jones with popcorn and Mike and Ikes. Maybe that was the problem, but I didn't let them have too much candy. They all slept in the game room and let's just say that at 1:45 when I was up to feed Crew, I could still hear little feet running around upstairs. I think the last of them finally dozed off at about 2:00. They were all very well behaved and I would have them all here again! I love that my kids get to grow up with their best friends in the neighborhood. It is so much fun. I, however, am suffering the consequences of trying to juggle all the fun stuff with my older boys, while still staying up at night with Crew. Two nights ago I ran into a door casing in the middle of the night going to feed Crew (I have a big bruise on my head) and today I forgot about Chase's last indoor soccer game (he was SO mad at me - he gave me a 15 minute time out in the basement!). I really need to get more sleep. Hopefully someday soon......

Early Birthday Celebrations!

We had a fun family day, celebrating Kierstin and Geoff's birthdays a little early. Both of them agree that birthday's aren't so fun anymore but the kids love any excuse to get together and party!

Swim Awards

The end of the season- hurray! Chase got a plaque for countys and MVP for the 7-8 year old boys! Good job, Chaser. Another successful season!

Wild Hogs!

Geoff tried to take the boys for a ride on the Rhino, but it needs to be charged. So we moved onto plan B - motorcycles and 4 wheelers! I don't know what we're going to do when our neighbor starts building. We use his lot all the time!

Sick, Soccer, and Sweet Potatoes

You know you're in for a long day when it starts with a puking child. Such was the case for us. Poor little Caden was throwing up all morning. With him you never know if it's the flu or just something he ate. He seems to be doing fine now and even wanted to go swimming this afternoon. We'll see; sometimes it can come back at night. Chase's day started off great with him scoring 3 goals in his soccer game. Unfortnately, after repeated warnings for crazyness, he is spending the rest of the night in his room (it's only 5 o'clock!) Crew has been a little angel and has moved onto his second vegetable, sweet potatoes, which he loves! My back hurts, I'm exhausted, and I have a raging headache. I think I am officially ready for school to start!

No More Training Wheels!

Our big news of the day - Caden can ride a two wheeler now! He was so easy to teach. He got the hang of it in like 5 minutes. I've been meaning to teach him all summer but I wanted to take him to a park trail that had grass to both sides of him for when he fell. He can start all by himself (the hardest thing to teach for those of you who haven't had the opportunity of teaching a kid how to ride) and can ride forever! Stopping, however is still a little rusty. We still need to work on that and how to control speed on a hill. Then he'll be ready to ride up the canyon like a big boy! Good job little buddy!

Primary Field Trip

Our Primary Presidency planned such a fun excursion for all the kids. We drove to Sandy, rode Tracks up to Temple Square, ate lunch in front of the Temple, and then had a tour of the Church History Museum. It was a ton of fun for the kids and a ton of work for the adults! The museum was great! I'd like to go back when we have more time to tour everything. I love all the pioneers and all they sacrificed to be able to worship in peace here in Utah. How easy do we have it now?! Makes me feel kind of guilty, but very grateful!