Leah is 5!

No, today is NOT September 12. Yes I realize it is days past September 12th. She'll never know. Maybe.

So little Lulu Bee FINALLY turned the big 5! It was a tough job counting down, but she was determined to do it. The calendar at school helped when she saw her name on a paper birthday cake signifying HER DAY! She told me we HAD to bring something to share with the class and she was going to get a crown. We brought sugar free popsicles. A big hit!

For the past 2 months every time we wondered into the toy section of a store, Leah pointed every thing she wanted. When she heard no, she would quickly ask "for my birthday?" Yes. For some reason, we wrote them down and so started a list. That list grew and grew. It will be helpful for Santa as well, thankfully. But I wasn't going to get her just anything. Nope, she had to pick it out herself.

So after school I asked her if she wanted to go with Mommy to get her toes done or go to the mall. Of course she picked the mall. She wanted to go to the Disney Store. I was hoping for Toys R Us. We went into the magical store and I watched her wander around for awhile. Eventually she found shoes (no surprise). Yellow Minnie Mouse slippers with a big red bow and a small heel! She was on the floor in an instant putting them on. But then there was the dress. She doesn't have a Minnie dress! How could she have the shoes and not the dress? See how clever/deceiving she is? So we talked about dressing up for Trick or Treating and if that was what she wanted, then it would double as a costume and dress up. Not what I was expecting for her birthday at all. But I was proud of myself for not giving into the $80 Cinderella wedding dress!

We finished up our excursion with Claire's and got a pretzel before we left. She was glowing. That's how a girl should feel on her birthday!
She really really REALLY wanted a party. We started planning one, but Mommy just couldn't do it, at all. So I told her I would take her wherever she wanted with her best friend. Chuck E Cheese it was.

So we got a cake and the family spent some fun time at CEC. Dillan said it was the best day ever after discovering one of the broken skeeball games spitting out endless amounts of tickets when you put in a  token. It was eventually shut down by the worker, but not before Dillan "earned" over 1200 tickets!

 All in all a fun day for a well deserving girl.

 We love our little girl!

Soccer!

Last spring, Dillan took a break from soccer to try baseball. Leah decided to try soccer. When we watched her games Dillan would tell me how much he missed soccer. He did fine with baseball, but he still loved soccer.

So soccer is FINALLY back at it. He got back to his former coach with new players and is doing great!

Coach Edgar said, "It's like riding a bike for Dillan!" He wasn't rusty or hesitant at all. He has become great at dribbling. Every time he gets the ball, he goes straight to the outside and up the field for a cross. When the other team gets the ball, he races back and takes the ball away. He never stops! He is all over the field (which will inevitably change) and is always aggressive. Even against the girls. When he first started playing against girls, he would back off like he was afraid of them. Now I don't even think he notices.
Mostly I love his maturity and I can tell his is thinking when he plays. Couldn't be prouder!

He works hard, loves playing and never wants to miss a minute of the action.
He even gets himself ready for practices. That's a first!

1st day of school!

 These kids have been counting days to start school. Summer's not even over, but it's that time! We got our backpacks, new lunchboxes, spiffy new clothes and shoes and we're ready!
Dillan is a 2nd grader this year and Leah starts Kindergarten.
They had a great first day. Mommys and Daddys got to spend a couple hours with Kindergarten. Leah didn't even realize I was still there listening to her teacher. She was lost in her own coloring universe. She got her picture taken and while the parents went to listen to the principal speak, she stayed with her teacher and read about the Gingerbread Man.

 So our year begins with a project: making our own Gingerbread Boy(Girl). It's tradition. Leah is determined to make her's a princess. She better get those creative juices flowing!

 Mrs. Taylor gave her a big hug at the end of the day. She can't wait till tomorrow!

18 mos

I'm 18 months old   now! Can't believe it here! Just goes so fast.

A little about me...

• I got a new haircut (shhh! Don't tell Grandma!)
• I still LOVE my left thumb
• My favorite places to play are my brother's and sister's rooms (probably because I don't have my OWN room. Sheesh)
• I love to sing. EIEIO, Mai-ia hii (yes, I speak romanian), bwi ba ba bada bo (Scatman), and 3 little monkeys are my favorites
• I love balls. All shapes, sizes, colors
• I eat pretty much everything. In fact, the only thing I've ever spit out of my mouth is Kraft Mac & Cheese
• I don't like water. No way, no how. Mama's determined to make me a water baby. We'll see about that
• I love cars and making vroom vroom sounds
• I point and make a sound at stuff I find fascinating
• I have HUGE feet
• I love shoes and can't wait to find some that fit me!
• I climb like a monkey
• I love all things electronic. I am my daddy's son afterall
• I'm now legal age in nursery, although I've been attending for about 8 months now with Mom
• I like to growl
• I love to laugh
• I wish I could sit in the far back seat with my big brother and sister in the car

I'm pretty laid back most of the time. Just exploring and discovering everyday.
Life is good.

Don't Worry, We're at SHAVER!

The best way to write about Shaver Lake is to use no words at all!

But since I will certainly forget some of the small details, I will list some highlights.

• Cousins
• Black Bear Ottomans
• The Game Room
• Baby Gwennie
• Kayaks
• Rocks to Climb
• Cut toes from rocks

• Reading with Great Grandma
• Cousins
• Skit night
• Leah NOT getting back on the EZ Ski
• Dillan getting on the EZ Ski
• Treasure Hunts @ the water
• Treasure Hunts @ the cabin

• EIEIO!
• Drew is NOT a water baby...yet.
• Cutting felt socks
• Warmest welcome at church ever!
• Cousins
• Singing 
• Bubble baths in Grandma's tub

• Cool matching shirts
• NEON
• Super meaty lasagna
• Babies everywhere!
• Sticks shaped like guns
• Zap from the trees
• COUSINS! 

We loved staying at Shaver a little longer than usual. It was so much fun to have everyone together. Lots of laughing, a few tears, good stories and memories. 

Road Trip!

So right after returning from Utah, we did some laundry and packed up again to take a trip with Grandma and Papa to MISSOURI! Very spontaneous, not what I'm used to, but I figured it was summer so it would be ok. Plus knowing that our days would be filled with cousins, waterparks, and Silver Dollar City, kept me excited.

I worried about the long drive and how the kids would be in the car. Thankfully, they were awesome with only minimal fighting. Much better than expected. Endless supplies of snacks and DVDs plus the occasional "wild card" surprise made it all good. The kids loved finding a sign welcoming us to a new state. Dillan looked at a map to see how far we'd come and where we were heading.

There was lots and lots of swimming because it was so stinking HOT! Nothing's better than swimming with cousins! Grandma and Papa mad it lots of fun by taking us to Silver Dollar City and White Water! We had fun going on rides and getting wet!

On Independence Day, Dillan got to light his first firework. He thought it was the best thing ever! Leah wasn't a big fan of the noise, so she stayed as far away as possible.
 

We got to cuddle baby Gwennie! When she cried, Drewby would walk over to her and wave and then tried to hug and kiss her. She's just so little!

 

We normally don't see our cousins this much and we are so excited that we will see them again in just a couple short weeks! Yee Haw!

Dillan said he had never had a summer like this before.
He also said all we'd done so far this summer was swimming and driving!

Adventures in Utah

So it was about that time again to head back to Utah. We had family to see, which is always a good reason, but also a fun vacation and trying new things with the kids.

Like mountains.

I had promised to take them to the pool I used to work at. But before we went there, I drove them up Provo Canyon to bridal veil falls. I figured they'd look at the waterfall and see the river and say, "Cool. Now can we go to the pool?" Not so much. They took their shoes off and waded into the pool at the bottom of the falls. They called it Paradise Falls. Thanks in part to watching "Up" during the drive. They played in the freezing water, tossing rocks, climbing, just having fun. Shoot, who needs the pool?

The condo we stayed at (thanks to a great friend) had a perfect view of the Y.
I really would have liked to take the kids up there, but I was afraid there would be more dragging than walking and lots of whining. So I looked into Mt Timpanogos instead. Yeah, it's a bigger mountain, but there's also a cool reward at the end: the cave! Dillan has been all about forts and hideouts and caves recently, so I figured we should try it.

Yes, I was worried about the climb but I knew it was only 1.5 miles, paved, and the reward at the end would be worth it! We had a backpack with sweatshirts, water, a few snacks, baby wipes, and camera. There are no strollers allowed on the trail and no baby carriers allowed in the cave. Once we checked in at the visitors center, we had an hour and a half to reach the top. Chris and I switched off carrying Drew up the mountain. OK, it was more like 70% him, 30% me. There was shade, a nice breeze, and lots of benches along the trail. Dillan was the biggest surprise. He listened intently to the ranger explain some rules on the trail and reminded us along the way of those rules and safety issues. He was out in front the whole time, he never complained, he'd get ahead and then run back to tell us there was a bench around the corner. I never knew he was such a good hiker!

 

We were the only kids in our tour group through the cave. Dillan became the ranger's shadow. He was on his heels the whole way, carried his flashlight, everything. It was so fun to see how excited he was. Leah loved it as well and took a ton of pictures with my camera. On the way out of the cave the children were given stickers and we headed back down. Drew fell asleep on my shoulders right away, so I carried him awkwardly in my arms the whole way down. Not like I had something to prove or anything. I got a lot of attention from those coming up the trail, I'm sure I looked hilarious. Or maybe it was Drewby.

We walked all over BYU campus. The kids liked the Smith fieldhouse and ran around the track a few times, and we also peeked in at the pool/high dive. Dillan couldn't believe this was a college that he could actually go to someday even though it wasn't in California and he would have to LIVE there. The bowling alley was fun and the Creamery was as good as ever.

On the way back home Drew was able to get the first haircut of his life from Grandma Donna. She even saved some of his hair and put it in a nice envelope for us to keep. He didn't like being held down, but his hair at least looks sharper now.

 We had a great trip making memories and trying new things!