Harvest 2 years ago

As requested, I posted some pictures from harvest last year and a snow picture.

Aiden Turns -2-

Well, today was the big day. Our youngest has officially turned two. It's a bittersweet age. He has so much to experience, so many things ahead for him, so much for him to do; and yet, still soo many tantrums to throw. At Stake Conference tonight there was a young couple in front of us with one child they were struggling to get to sleep. I almost leaned forward and said, "You know this is the easy part right?" Anyhow, we did a Spongebob party because he LOVES Spongebob. He got a Spongebob bed set, jammies, and movie. His favorite gift though was from Rachel and Tyler, the smarties!!

We had a small family party and we were very fortunate that Aiden's great Aunt Jeanne and Jackie were in town so they came and joined us for the festivities. It occurred to me today that my kids are so lucky to know their great aunts, uncles and grandparents. Rachel, Tyler and Jacob also came to celebrate with us and of course, I didn't get any pictures of them.

Not the worst cake ever but not the best either. This one was a checkerboard of blue and yellow with lemon filling between each layer.

Dan and Cat came too and this was during the singing. Nana and Poopa joined in via the webcam.

He is such a cute little boy and we love having him in our family. We look forward to many more adventures to come.

Ode to Aiden

Aiden turns two next week, so in honor of him I have prepared the following prose (please bear in mind that I am not a poet):

It does not seem that long ago when on that September day,

God graced us with a little boy and no crying came our way.

A happy child, he'd prove to be so well loved and adored.

When singing with the 'Tiger' song he always strikes the chord

With big brown eyes, he's quick to smile and torment ladybugs.

Intelligent beyond his years, he talks and offers hugs;

This little man has won our hearts, our family he completes,

Such blessings now ours because of him, our cup became replete.

He is all boy, loves, trucks and blocks and digging in the dirt.

He'll flash his smile and melt your heart, he is a little flirt.

Each day he learns, grows and explores, knowing no need to fear it.

Our lives enriched our hearts are full and we are grateful for this spirit.

The Fourth of July

The fourth started with a flag raising at our church which was pretty neat. People who were arriving to stake out their places even stopped and put their hands on their hearts. It was Jason's idea but lots of people said that they were so glad we had it so maybe next year we'll do it again.

After the flag raising we set out to watch the parade. It was neat and lasted waaayyy too long. By the end the kids had had enough and I have to say they had a ton of candy.

Lastly we had a few families over for dinner and fireworks. I only snapped some pictures at the very end so here are some pictures from then.

Ward Activity and Shooting Afterward

Well, on Saturday we held another ward activity and the turnout was better but still not great. We held the Highland Games complete with Scottish dancers and a bagpiper. We had caber tosses, tire tosses and stone puts for adults and the kids. We also had face painting, rootbeer and otterpops so it was a good time. Those who came had a lot of fun and that's all that matters. Afterward we had lunch with Jason's brothers and drove out to a range and shot Jason's gun that Grandpa gave him.

More Dancing

Monster Basketball

Watch Out for Isaac!!

Stone Put

Grandpa's Gun: It was fun and the boys were soooo excited. Needless to say, Jason's in love with his new toy.

Daniel was so funny because he was sooo excited, he was like one of those yappy dogs that jumps around saying, 'Hey boss what do you think boss can we do it boss? Can we, can we, can we??!!!'

Yes, even I got involved in the festivities and I wasn't even sore the next day!

In the end, the day was too much fun for these boys

Isaac Turns Four

Well, last week we celebrated Isaac's 4th birthday! We can't believe that our little man is four. Soon he'll be in school and irritating his sister just because he can...wait, he already does that. Anyhow, it was all things Spiderman at our house, Spiderman cake, decorations, etc it was a Spiderman 'splosion. But, he had a great time and picked Arctic Circle for dinner. Then that night, we had his uncles over for another round of cake and presents. He also got all things Spiderman for his presents. He sure felt the love as he was sooooo spoiled. But, he did tell me that this was, "the most awesome Spiderman birthday ever!" So, it was worth it.

Here are some more pictures to enjoy. Mostly decorations and the kids in the bounce house. He had LOTS fun with his friends. As a side note, what do you think of Ila's hair?

The Spiderman Pinata. I know it looks like a fifth grader did it but, hey, it worked for my four year old.

Jason is way better at streamers than I am, but I managed to make it work.

Gotta love having your own bounce house...

Ahh the cake, yes, it's freehand and it's an ice cream cake. But as far as cakes go, I must say this one was easy. The hard part was frosting it fast enough so that the ice cream didn't melt. Which is why it's cracked in center because obviously, I wasn't fast enough...

Presents!!!

Trip to Oregon

We recently took a trip back to Oregon to visit with our families. The kids loved playing with their cousins and seeing all of their grandparents. The nice thing is that we weren't rushed to do stuff, we were just able to hang out and relax. We'll be heading back again in August for Kaylen's baptism so that will be great for the kids. In the meantime, they're both in school right now and will be until mid May then in June it's gymnastics and July sees the addition of swimming lessons (for both). So, we'll be pretty busy this summer. Oh, the drama of having fun!

Jason is working full time and we've noticed a significant improvement is his mood so we're glad school will FINALLY be done in December, it's nice to have the fun loving non-stressed Jason back. We're hoping that finding a job and moving is an easy transition.

Finally, I must explain the video. We were outside and I was weeding a flower bed with my back to the kids. All of a sudden I hear Aiden's car sliding down the slide. I sat up and thought to myself, 'Do I really want to turn around and see what's going on?' But, I reluctantly did and saw Isaac on top of Aiden's car on top of the slide. He proceeded to slide down it and land in the turtle they had pushed to the bottom of the slide. I decided to film it because this is the little boy who used to cry if a toy moved, made noise, or heaven forbid do both. At least he had his helmet on...Safety first!!!