4th of July

Another year and another 4th of July!  We love all of our traditions and spending time together as a family!

 This year I asked Jacob if he wanted to run the city's 5K race with me.  He jumped at the chance.  I was worried about him.  We hadn't done any training, it was hot, and he's still little.  I told him to let me know when he needed a break, thinking I would need to take it easy on him and walk several times.  Boy was I wrong!  He totally outran me!  I couldn't believe it!  While I wasn't in the tip top shape of my life, I had been running for several months.  Jacob's such a sweetheart.  He would run ahead a ways, then stop, walk back and get me, run with me for a little bit, and then run ahead again, always coming back for me.  I told him to just stay with the pack and he wouldn't get lost and to go ahead.  I felt so badly for holding him back.  I just couldn't run as fast as he could!  I don't remember what our final times were.  He was ahead of me.  I know it was around 30 minutes, which is normal for me.  He was pretty sore the next couple of days.  I can't believe how much I underestimated him!  I'm already looking forward to next year's race, although Daddy might have to run that one with him . . . if he can keep up!

 Brandon found us a nice, shady spot to watch our small hometown parade!  Everyone got to choose their own flag shirt colors this year.  

And we finished off the day with a barbecue and hometown fireworks.  Here's my handsome honey with his new Father's Day grill!  We've never had a grill until this year!  Can you believe it?  Doesn't he look manly like Tim the Toolman?  He was grunting up a storm he felt so studly!

Nathan's 1st Hair Cut

I begged Brandon to let me wait until after Nathan's 2nd birthday to cut his hair.  His hair is a lot thinner than the other boys, and I have never been able to bring myself to cut off those adorable curls!  But it was past the point of looking cute anymore, so I headed to my friend's house for his first cut.

 Here's a "before" shot.

 He did a pretty good job holding still while Jami cut his hair.

 When he got a little antsy Jami turned the spray bottle over to him to keep him occupied.  Spraying Mommy  is pretty fun!

And here's our "after" shot!  Still cute, still curly, and he looks more like a boy.

Jacob's 1st Cub Scout Camp

This summer was Jacob's 1st opportunity to go to day Cub Scout camp.  I was lucky enough to fill in for a leader last minute and go with him (thanks to a really great sitter who was able to watch my other kids for an ENTIRE day on VERY last minute notice).  It was a very pleasant day weather-wise and so much fun!

Here's the group of boys we took!  Jacob is in the back on the left with the black ball cap on.  It was hilarious as I drove the van to listen to their conversations!

Cub Scout Camp had all of Jacob's favorite things!  He loved learning how to do archery.  The Scouting program is so great!  It was fun to watch some boys that really struggle in school excel at everything they tried at the camp!  It was their moment to shine.

The BMX bike course was fun, except that Jacob got stuck with one of the smallest bikes available (he, he)!

Ahh, Jacob's dream come true!  He's counting down the years until he can go on the deer hunt with his dad!

I was proud of Jacob for doing the rock climbing wall.  It was hard and some boys wouldn't even try it.  There was a little extra time, so they allowed any of the leaders a try if they wanted.  After I got the poor staff kid to swear he wouldn't drop me, I gave it a try.  It's a good thing we didn't get a picture of that!

Our last station was the zip line.  There goes Jacob!  He loved it, but then admitted he had his eyes close the whole time!  What a fun day being with my son and his friends.  I would do this every year!

Jacob's 2nd Grade Program

At the end of Jacob's 2nd grade year the entire grade put on a wonderful program.  It was fun to see what they had learned all year.  They did some darling songs which had Jacob giggling so much he could hardly sing!  So fun to watch!

Jacob is in the front row right in the middle smiling right at me.

Jacob was thrilled to have his buddy Colby in his class this year!

For his animal report Jacob chose . . . deer!  Surprise, surprise!  It's amazing to me his fascination with deer has lasted this long.  Most of the other kids chose more exciting, exotic animals.  After the kids presented their reports their peers could ask them questions.  Jacob came home after his report a little disappointed and said, "Mom, nobody asked me any questions about deer."  Hmmm . . . deer are a little boring when you see them all the time on the side of the road and other kids are reporting on cheetahs and pythons!

Nanny and Papa are always great to support the grandkids!  Thanks for coming!  It meant a lot to Jacob!

Nathan's 2nd Birthday

I really do want to make another attempt to get caught up on my blog!  So here it goes!  Nathan celebrated his 2nd birthday this summer.  I can hardly stand to watch our baby grow up!  We had a little family party for him.

 I made a puppy cake with paw print cupcakes.

Nathan loves treats, but he didn't love the party hat for very long.

We invited our wonderful neighbors over to celebrate with us.  For whatever reason they LOVE Nathan!  Lindsey is Nathan's favorite friend, babysitter, and he knows she'll spoil him no matter what.  They've been such a blessing to our family!

Nathan got a bubble blowing leaf blower, a lawn mower, Magformers and a golf set.  He is obsessed with mowing the lawn, even more so than our other boys were.  We love our little Nathan and his curly, curly hair!  He brings so much joy and fun to our family!  He loves "mowing the lawn," suckers (Lindsey keeps him well supplied), Daddy's car, wearing big shoes, playing with his siblings, the show Caillou, and above all his daddy!  

Random Conversations with 2 Year Old and a 4 Year Old, and a Mouse

Sometimes kids say the funniest things and I just have to post them so I remember for a time when they're bigger and less adorable!

2-year old Nathan loves his dad more than anyone in the world!  Almost every morning he throws a huge fit when Dad leaves for work.  Yesterday when Daddy broke it to him for yet another day that he had to go work Nathan disagreed, "No, Daddy.  Mommy go to work."  Well, I guess we all now know what Mommy's status is with Nathan.

Today on the way to preschool Jonah and I had this conversation:
Jonah:  "Where are we?"
Mom:  "In Layton."
Jonah:  "I hear a "t" in that word."
Mom trying to seize a learning moment:  "Good!  What other sounds do you hear?"
Jonah:  "A 'l' and a 'n'."
Mom:  "Wow!  Let's think of rhyming words!  What rhymes with sat, cat, fat, rat?"
Jonah, in all seriousness:  "Oh, I have one!  Konnichiwa."
Hmmm . . .  isn't that like "hello" in Japanese?  How does Jonah know that?  And could you get ANY further away from rhyming with "sat" than "konnichiwa?"  I should mention that while we're having this conversation Nathan is in the back seat singing "ABCD Little Star."  To his credit, most adults don't realize that the alphabet song and "Twinkle, Twinkle" are the same melody, but at this point I'm trying to remember if I dropped both boys on their heads as babies or something.  I'd say we have a little work to do!

And, as a completely random side note, I just found a DEAD MOUSE in my garage!  AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!  GROSS!  I have the biggest case of the willies that I can't seem to shake!  Brandon, when you get home from work tonight that's YOUR job!

Sarah's Ballet Recital

To say I'm behind on my blog would be a huge understatement.  Hopefully I can get a little caught up!  In June Sarah had her beautiful ballet recital.  Her ballet school always does a high class job with renting out a nice theater hall, having a live orchestra play the music, and even reminding the audience of proper etiquette before the performance.  It truly is a cultural event.  I love watching the older girls perform and wonder if Sarah's interest will last that long.  We'll see.



This year Sarah was one of the girls in "Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be."  The program was called Pixie Dust about Peter Pan, nursery rhymes and other fairy adventures. 



Here is Sarah after the recital with her darling cousin, Emma.  Emma was in "Yankee Doodle Dandy."  Sarah looked forward to getting her flowers for weeks and made it very clear that she wanted roses.  So roses she got.  After the last performance we celebrated at Yogo Togo's. YUM!  Jacob tried and tried to get out of going to the recital begging, "I like watching Sarah and Emma dance, but why do I have to watch everybody else's kids?"  Its hard to argue your case when your sister has attended more athletic events for you than is even possible to count and she only has 1 recital a year.  We were happy to have him with us to support his sister.  And, of course, it wasn't too painful when you get to end the evening with ice cream!