Dallin is Nine!

Can it really be so?  Is my little Dallin really nine years old?  Oh my goodness, I don't know how I will ever forgive my kids for growing up so fast. 

Dallin had a great ninth birthday starting with an airplane ride first thing in the morning.  He then went to the Sweet Corn Festival Parade.  We had lunch at his favorite Pizza place in Snowflake and then went home, opened presents and had cake.  He requested a chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting and gumballs.   Easy enough - but if any of you have a recipe for chocolate frosting that is fluffy and not too sweet, let me know, because I have been looking for years and have not found one that would satisfy me.  The one I tried for Dallin's cake was the most epic fail yet.  It was heavy, hard to work with and way, way, way too sweet.  Oh well, it got eaten anyway and I think Dallin had a good birthday in spite of the frosting fail.

Dallin is an all around great kid.  He is happy, athletic, smart, compassionate and confident.  He is a fantastic big brother and a big help to Jeremy and to me.  We love him with all our hearts and are so grateful that he is in our family.

First Day of Preschool

 

Yesterday was Drake's first day of preschool.  This may be the only year he gets since our amazing preschool teacher says she is turning in her mission papers in March.  I am happy for her, since this is something she has been working toward for a long time, but I am so sad that Drake won't get to enjoy two years at her school like my other boys have.

He was soooo excited to start preschool.  He has been looking forward to it for years as he has watched his brothers go and come from there and he has loved it when we have been able to visit.

He had a great day yesterday and last night at bedtime he came up to me with a big smile on his face and whispered in my ear "Mom, I am going to dream about school."

I know he will have a great year!!

Back to School

The boys started a new year of school this morning.  They were super excited to get back to school and see all their friends.  They were also excited since the new principal at their school is Mr. Hatch (their dad).

My little Jack is in Kindergarten this year.  He is soooo excited to be going to the same school as his big brothers.  He has the same teacher that Dallin and Thomas had and I know he will love being in her class.

Thomas started 2nd grade.  This is the first year that he does not have the same teacher that Dallin had for homeroom, but Dallin had her for reading and he loved her as a teacher, so we are sure that Thomas will have a great year.

Dallin is starting third grade.  This school is a K-3 school, so Dallin is one of the big kids this year.  His teacher is Mr. Rogers, a local favorite who says he is retiring after this year.  So, Dallin got in right under the wire.

It is weird to only have two kids at home for part of the day now.  The last time that happened was before Jack was born, so it has been quite a while.  We are all happy for a new school year to begin and we are hoping it is as good as all the others.

Summer Doings

Summer is always such a busy time isn't it?  These are a few things that have been keeping us busy around here lately - in no particular order.

After eight years of putting up with this sub-par laundry room, and with the realization that we are not getting out of this house anytime soon (sigh).  We are finally in the middle of a bit of a remodel, to make this little room a little more functional.  I can't wait to finish it.  I will be sure to post about it when it is all done.

 
Our flowers are doing great.  They don't keep me that busy, but they certainly make me happy.

The boys and I made these firecracker cookies (pop rocks on top of sugar cookies) for our Fourth of July Celebration.  They were fun.

Thomas got stung by a wasp.  That was not fun!!  If you will notice, his left arm (the one without the paracord bracelet) is about three times the size of his right.  The swelling continued to get worse after this picture and the arm turned a really angry red color.  We took him to the doctor who immediately prescribed antibiotics to fix the problem this time around.  He also prescribed a couple of epi-pens, since apparently Thomas has a pretty severe allergy to wasps.  We are all glad he is back to normal now.  Even though, he is understandably pretty nervous whenever he sees a wasp outside.

Jack is very inventive.  One day it was raining and he fashioned this rain romper out of a plastic grocery bag, so he could continue playing outside.  I decided he had to model it for a photo op the next day.

I finished my latest quilt and I love, love, love how it turned out!!

The boys are all finishing up a session of swimming lessons.  They have all done really well, and they have loved it.

We are having a great summer!!

Utah Trip

We just got back from our annual trip to Utah to see my family.  We had a great time and wish we could go more often.  If only the drive wasn't so loooooong.  Here are a few pics of some of the things we did.

Crossing Highway 14 in Utah on the way up. We decided to take this route this time, even though it is a little longer, because it is such a beautiful drive.

I have forgotten the name of this spring up Logan canyon, but it was pretty cool.

 

Bear Lake

 

 

We went to see my grandma in Wyoming. She is amazing!  She is 94 and still lives in her own home and cares for herself.  When we were there she had just finished a beautiful, large quilt for one of my cousins.  My dad says it won't be long before she has another one up and going.  What an inspiration.

 

The motel we stayed in while we were in Wyoming had a zip line that my boys LOVED!

 

 

They also had a swing set that Tad loved.

 

 

Driving through the high Uintah's on the way back to Utah.

 

 

One of my best friends from high school works at the Church Administration Building.  She took us on a VIP tour including to the 26th floor of the Church Office Building for a birds eye view of the temple and city.  That was a really interesting and fun day!!  Thanks Jenn!!

 

 

A little mini golfing.

 

 

 

 

Playing with some of the cousins at Bridal Veil Falls.

 

 

A domesticated Elk Herd on the way back to Arizona.

 

It was so nice for me to get back to my hometown and to reconnect with my family and friends.  We had a great time.  Thanks so much to everyone who went out of their way for us while we were there.  We love you!!

 

 

My Baby is Two

A couple of weeks ago, Tad had his second birthday.  How can that be possible?!?  I hate that my kids are growing up so fast. 

We celebrated with brownie ice cream cupcakes.  ( This was my choice.  I decided that this was probably the last year that I would get to choose what kind of cake he gets, so I wanted to make something that I would actually enjoy, rather than cake that I don't like very much.  And I did.  They were divine!!)

This is the best picture I could get of him with the candle lit.  As soon as we would light it, he would immediately blow it out.  He is a total overachiever. :)

He opened presents with a little help at first.

He got the hang of it pretty quickly.

 He loved all his presents, especially the trains!!

Playing with the birthday loot in the birthday mess.  Good Times!!

Two years ago, when Tad was born, I remember looking him over for the first time and being so amazed at just how perfect he was.  While we were expecting him, the doctor called me and told me that my triple screen results showed that he might have a neural tube defect.  After ultrasounds, specialist visits, and two weeks of stress and worry, we finally found that everything was alright and that the lab had simply made an error. But, from that point on, I was a worried mess until he was born and I saw for myself that I had been blessed again with another perfect little guy.

In the past two years, my feelings have never changed, I still feel like he is just as perfect today as he was on the day he was born.  We are all so grateful to have little Tad in our lives, even if he is growing up altogether too fast.  Happy Birthday Tad!!

Getaway

Jeremy had to attend the ASA conference in Tucson for three days this last week, so Tad and I tagged along.  Thanks to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who took care of the big boys while we were away.

Jeremy spent most of his time in meetings, so Tad and I spent most of our time here...

The resort had a great little kiddie pool that was gated off from the other pools.  (Yes, there were three others.)  The kiddie pool had a little splash pad at the entrance plus lots of cool fountains .

This was another pool complete with a fun waterslide.  We didn't spend any time in this pool, but I was regretting not bringing Dallin and Thomas when I saw how much fun the kids were having there.  Next year they will get to come for sure.

Tad had so much fun playing in the water and he wore himself out.  I had fun playing with him.

I also had fun kicking back, watching him play, and enjoying the pretty view.

We also spent a little time shopping and eating and just relaxing with Jeremy.  It was a nice little getaway.