Fun Friday Night!

Scott went to the sand dunes over night, leaving me with the boys and wondering what we were going to do for fun. Aiden saw some motorcycles from the Dew tour on TV this afternoon, and told me he wanted to see the "cycles" and so I called my brother. We attempted to go, but the weather wasn't up to par for jumping and being crazy on a bike. So, we opted for Liberty Park instead. It has been about 15 years since I have been there, and it was super nice. Everything was clean, well kept, and most importantly, the boys had a blast. Looking back at some pictures of earlier in the year, it is amazing to me to see how much these 3 have grown. They are sure handsome, and I am so lucky to look at these beautiful faces everyday. So, I thought I would share. Thanks Matt and Lyndsey for hanging with us, and we look forward to it again soon with your little munchkin! It will be so fun to have a girl to calm these rowdy boys. Well, she can try!

Who needs a puppy when Aiden pretends to be one all day long???

This shirt is so true...so incredible, and can be the hulk at any moment...

Cute Ruby. She is the best dog!

Summer in a nutshell

Well, I'm getting back on track. There are a lot of things to remember about this summer, first of all how fast it went by. I can't believe that school is already back in! We'll save those details for later!

In June, it rained. And rained. And rained. I feel like we got cut short on summer because of all the rain. We enjoyed being inside together and not running crazy all the time. For my birthday, Scott surprised me by arranging babysitting for the boys for over night, and took me to Park City. It was the first time we had ever left all three of the boys with grandparents for sleepovers, and they survived very well. In fact, Ethan was quite disappointed to come home! It was really relaxing, and just what I needed.

We also made the annual trek to Lagoon, or magoon as Aiden calls it. It was a lot of fun this year (it is every year) because Ethan rode the white roller coaster and Colossus and LOVED IT! I was so proud of him! It was funny because I went with him on the roller coaster and could feel the anxiety pouring out of him down the first hill. Let's just say that death grip is an understatement!

In July we went camping with Scott's family. I was hesitant to go because of Camden crawling all over the place, but we did very well. It was a lot of fun, and not too cold. The boys had a blast fishing, and I taught Aiden to say "Here fishy fishy fishy" when he was reeling in his line. Pretty dang cute if you ask me. I have a feeling that we have a couple of avid fishermen in our future!

We spent a lot of time at Cherry Hill, took swimming lessons, and played with friends. We went fishing with our friends at my parents property and had a blast. We saw a mom moose and baby moose, and Scott caught a few fish. The boys love to spend time up there, and I love that we have a place to create a lot of memories for them.

Camden has become our baby mokey, climbing EVERYTHING!!! I don't remember my other 2 climbing so many things at such an early age. He's not really walking, but crawling really fast. I'm fine with him not wanting to walk. This prevents him from getting into more than he already is. His favorite two things to do right now are unroll toilet paper and make a huge giant mess in the bathrooms, and climb up and recently down stairs. We've only had one catastrophe, and he thinks he is pretty cool stuff. He knows he can get away with a lot...all he has to do is flash those baby blues and I'm usually suckered into most anything.

As summer started to wind down, I got really sad knowing that Ethan would soon be starting kindergarten, and I really wanted to wrap him up and never let him go! But, alas, the day came and he was pumped. He has a really nice teacher and seems to love it so far. There have been a couple of kinks, but nothing that can't be worked out. I have started a whole new chapter in my mom career. And I don't know that I love it. I always thought that I would look forward to the time when my children went to school, but I have found myself feeling the opposite. I realize more and more that my influence on them isn't as great as someone else's, and I don't know how I feel about it. I worry about friends, a good education, good life choices, and I haven't even begun to think about how I will feel when I have a house full of teenage boys! I wonder if I have given Ethan all the tools that he needs for time away from me, and when something goes wrong, I feel like I haven't given him enough. This mom thing is tough, only when I hoped that it might get a little easier...I love my boys and wouldn't trade my life for anything. I feel grateful that I get to spend so much time with them, influencing them, and shaping them into future men. What a blessing and honor to be their mom!

Ok, enough sappy stuff. Here are a few funny moments from the past few days that I don't want to forget.....
At the zoo:
Aiden was enamoured with the "penguins of madagascar" (He kept refering to them that way...)
I thought I was being a great mom by pointing out to him that the zoo keeper was there to feed the penguins, and that the birds ate fish. What I shouldn't have said was that the penguins eat fish just like Aiden. He was so impressed and thought those penguins were so cool that he went to our snack stash and grabbed a handful of goldfish crackers to share. It took a lot of convincing that those particular fish would make the penguins sick, and that they were only for Aiden and his brothers. Never in my life have I witnessed Aiden putting back goldfish crackers, but he sure did. He wanted the penguins to have his favorite treat.
Ethan had overheard his Uncle Garrett tell his cousin Matt that wolves came over to his house all the time, and that they took off their shirts and howled at the moon together. (Obviously joking) Later that night, Ethan repeated this to me, telling me that one time he wanted to go to Garrett's house to howl with the wolves too. Still laughing at this one!

And during prayers Saturday night after the BYU game:
Ethan: "we're grateful that the blue team won tonight, but please bless that the red team will always win..."
Need I say more?

Pictures to come soon!

Happy 1st Birthday Camden!

How did this......

get to this......

before I could even turn around? It is crazy to me that Cam turned 1 today. What a great little boy he is. I am so lucky to be his mom, and to have those beautiful blue eyes staring at me all day long. This boy loves his brothers so much, and loves to try to keep up with them already. Honestly, he really gives them a run for their money when he comes after one of their toys. It's kinda funny...

He is always aware of what is going on around him, and isn't afraid to tell you what he needs. I think it's funny now, but the faces he pulls at you when he doesn't like something that you have done or taken from him are hilarious! He loves to dance and clap, and climb stairs. And he almost has blowing kisses mastered. Thank goodness he hasn't quite figured out my impromptu gate we have going right now...

It's not really a secret that I was disappointed when we first found out there was ANOTHER boy coming to our house. BUT, let it be known how smitten I am with him, and couldn't imagine having a GIRL around our house. I love you Cam!

Here is the birthday boy after his cake....




He gave me one of those famous scowls when I took it away...

Slacker Mom

Yes, these pictures are from the end of May. I can't believe that I let June go by completely without one post...but then again I can because that is my life lately.....

Here is Ethan with awesome teacher Jana on his preschool graduation. I'm so glad she is my neighbor, because Ethan really loves her a ton. She had a cute graduation ceremony with the kids in their caps and gowns, marching in the room and announcing the class of 2024. That seems so far away, but like everything else, it will sneak up on me. Remember that Prince song, "1999" and how long away that felt?

Here is Ethan with his buddies, showing us their best superhero moves.

I'm so glad we have a street full of boys to play with and be friends with.

Next up, we sold this bad boy and traded it in for a mom mobile. I now drive a Suburban. We hated to see this car go, but after listening to Cam scream 7 hours to get home from St. George, we knew it was time.....

This boy is going to be 1 next week. How that happened so fast, I'm not sure, and I'm really not ready for another opinion on everything that I do, but I know it is right around the corner...hang on!

This boy is doing awesome. He is asking all the time to play with friends, and loves to be with his big brother all the time. He gets really sad when Ethan leaves him at home with boring old mom...

This boy is a great helper all the time. And all he wants to do is spend time with friends. Sometimes it feels like I have a 5-year old teenager.

It has been really nice to see these two getting along and, I don't want to jinx it, but they actually SHARE and play a sharing game. Like I said, I don't want to say too much about it, it might ruin the good thing we have going.

This dad kidnapped me on Sunday, arranged babysitting for all the boys, and took me to Park City for our first night away from all 3 at the same time outing. And let me just tell you, we could have used about 6 more days of that. It was so nice to carry on an adult conversation, do what ever the adults wanted to do, and just be together. I was always hesitant to go away like that, but hesitate no more. We are doing this more, and for sure before another 7 years is up.

And the above picture is to document how everyone looks right before bedtime......

Memorial Day 2009

We packed up the car and headed south this year for Memorial Day. What an adventure. We wondered how many times we would tell each other that we need a bigger car, and I am pretty sure we lost count by Monday afternoon. Ethan and Aiden were champs in the car...thank goodness for technology. Camden, however, was another story. He did not do well at all, and pretty much cried from start to end going down and coming home from St. George. It was a miserable 6.5 hours for us. (It took that long because of the MANY stops we made to try to get him to stop. Plus there was always that traffic thing...) It was fun to get away from the every day surrondings and swim or pretty much do nothing. The boys loved having my brothers dog, Ruby with us. She is a good watchdog, and took great care of them. We went on a hike, and at the top looking into Snow Canyon, she got nervous because Scott was standing close to the edge with Aiden on his shoulders, and she did not stop barking at him until he moved back. Good times, and thank goodness no stitches this time! The bonus for me was the fact that after 2 years of restriction, I threw my butt on a motorcycle. It was pure heaven.

Cam's first dip in the pool. He LOVED it!

The giggle twins. This is my sister, Lynell with Aiden. I think he liked the hot tub more because he could stand up in the whole thing.


My boys after a quick trip around the block.

Good snuggles with my dad.

Isn't he cute?

Where in the crap did the last 5 years go?

Ethan had a birthday almost two weeks ago. (I'm really a slacker, I know.) I cannot believe that he is 5 and getting ready for kindergarten. I always thought I would be happy to send my kids off to school, but I must say, I'm not happy about it at all. I know that I still have a few months, but I can't seem to get it off my mind. Anyway, the birthday was great. In fact, he loved it so much that at the end of the day, he asked me if since we were having a party the next day, would he be turning 6? I love this little boy, who is growing up rather quickly. I love being his mom and friend. He is a great kid. We had friends (including a couple of very brave girls) over for a party on his birthday, and family over on Sunday.

There was mass chaos during present time...


Showing off his water shooter from his friends.

The one with the pink bows is Taygan, his favorite girl. (Next to his mother, of course!)

The whole group. Those two cute girls were awfully brave, and didn't know how to take these crazy boys!

Such a fun group of friends! I love that our street is smothered with boys!

Mr. Grabby pants. That would be blue frosting all over his face. Could you resist those sparkly blue eyes??? Yea, me neither. Or Aunt Nee.

Showing off his new remote control car.


To top off the night, Aiden decided to sneak over to the neighbors house and sit on the sprinklers.

Gotta love being a kid!

Mom's day off

So, today was like any other hectic day at my house. I have to admit, I have been really spoiled since Aiden started preschool and I have had 2 days with one child who just happens to take a nap at the same time the other 2 are away. It has been really nice, but on the other hand, it really makes Tuesdays and Thursdays extra hard for some reason. And, if any of the other moms who read this are like me, I really start out the week strong, and by the end, I'm dragging. My patience is near the end, I'm tired, I can't figure out why my house is still a mess, even though I KNOW I cleaned every day....you get the picture, right? And as they get older, my boys really have learned quickly how to push my buttons. That was today. Hectic. Until...the phone rang and it was my mom on the other line. Asking if it would be okay with me if she and my dad took my big boys to the mountains with them for a day of fun, WITHOUT MOM, and they promised to bring them back extra tired. My first reaction was, "Are you kidding?" "Did I hear you right?" Then it was, "How fast can I get them ready and out the door?" This sounds like a great plan to me!

I love my boys with all of my heart. And, like most moms, I don't take enough time out for ME. This day was just what we all needed, and I am so grateful for my parents willingness to take them out for a day of fun. I had a great day. Suddenly the schedules I follow on a daily basis got thrown out the door, and I found my self at my best friends house for lunch. We laughed and laughed, and I enjoyed myself so much. Camden really enjoyed and needed the one on one time with mom, and was happy to see his brothers, but found himself fighting for attention really quickly again. Ethan LOVES to go to the cabin property with my parents. There are fish galore, moose to find, and the rhino to ride in. Aiden loves it all too. And, I was happy to have them back, muddy faces, shirts, boots, and all.