Our week

The first half of these pictures didn't exactly happen THIS week but once I started this post, they were cute enough for me to want to add them in. I'm trying to be a better picture taker - I know I should just say photographer but I wouldn't call myself a photographer. I am just a picture taker. I do the best I can with my Black Friday super find of a camera from Wal-mart - a Samsung BL103 10.3 megapixels (whatever that means). At least it's cute and red and fits in my purse.

The boys have been begging Jed to sleep on the tramp with them forever, he kept giving them excuses but then they found two cute little neighbor girls who were just as excited as they were.

Look at that organization! Boys asleep one way, the girls another - Brighton was in charge of that. They were all out about 20 minutes after the movie started. Brek brought Kaden in sometime during the night. He even tucked him in bed but went back out and lasted until the morning with BrinLee and Brighton.

Pickles! Yes, I have pickles, lots of them. If anyone needs a jar come to my house.

Football already?! Brek loved getting his uniform this week and wanted to show everyone but after about 45 minutes of wearing the helmet and pads he was sweating like no other. How is he going to last a whole game? Aw, but doesn't he look so cute and tough?

Happy Anniversary to me and Jed! 11 years, wow! It makes me feel old but happy. We are not that great at getting surprises for each other because #1 Jed just so happens to buy big ticket items just before holidays, birthdays, anniversarys so it usually lets me off the hook. And #2 if there is something that I would like I usually just tell him and that is what he gets. Jed does always get me flowers and a card though for both our anniversary and my birthday, which is very nice. I took this picture of the flowers this morning and was messing around with the hue and saturation. I thought it looked pretty cool at the time but now I'm not so sure. Oh well, practice makes perfect!

Summer fun

Jed had a week off of work last week so I wanted to make sure that we got out and actually did things. It's hard to believe that we packed in so much stuff in such a short time. We went to Lagoon, camped a night at Bear Lake, spent a few nights in Park City and had Fourth of July fun with family. Here are some pics of our adventures...

My mom stayed with Kyler when we went to Lagoon which was so great. We had such a fun time despite getting absolutely soaked - first from the ride, Cliffhanger (I got sprayed right in the eyeballs) and then from being stuck on the ride OdySea when a complete downpour started. I also got talked into going on the Sky Coaster with my good friend Michelle and her sister Jessica. I had done it before when I was in high school but it had been such a long time ago that I was still so nervous. Just being up there, waiting for the rip cord to be pulled was SO scary but it really was fun. Jed also went on it with Michelle's husband Kaylon and their son Isaac.

I love Bear Lake! I love just the idea of doing nothing but sitting in the sun, talking about nothing, watching the boys play in the sand and water and eating junk all day long. So fun! Gary, Helen and Karly camped with us and then Skip and Sarah came up and hung out with us the second day we were there.

As we were about to leave for Park City, I looked back and didn't want to forget all this cuteness.

In Park City we stayed at the Marriott Mountainside Resort. It was so nice and kid friendly, I loved it! We will definitely be going back there. We didn't take too many pictures there but the first one is of Brek and I doing the zip line at the Olympic Park. The second is one of the boys at the resort just before bed. I had to include it because Kyler has just discovered that he loves getting his picture taken - I have so many of him with that little nose scrunched up like that. The third one needs a little explaining but to make a long story short, Jed totally smashed Kaden's finger (accidently) when we were at the Olympic Park. Brek, Kyler and I left them while they were getting a band-aid for it and this is what we came back to. Apparently, Kaden's weak stomach doesn't like the sight of blood and he thought he was going to throw up. Thankfully, he did not but the EMT thought that a little oxygen might help him. After a little neosporin, a bandaid, a gold medal and a free ice cream, Kaden was A-okay.

Yea for summer and the fourth of July!

Boys, boys, boys

Today I went shopping to the mall with the three boys, I know - what was I thinking?? I explained to Brek and Kaden ahead of time the plan for the day, that I knew they didn't like shopping but this was the only day that I could do it before Father's day. I told them that I rewarded little boys who behaved properly, not ones who ran crazy through stores (which usually happens) so I said a little prayer inside my head and we were off. Our first stop was Eddie Bauer. Now this was the true test. Every time we go into Eddie Bauer it is like some kind of mad dash for both of them to see who can make it to the back of the store first but not today. It was crazy - there they were, holding hands (what?!?), walking beside me as I looked at whatever I wanted to look at...it was like there was sweet music playing all around us. I kept checking to see if they were beside me and yep, there they were, not hiding in the clothes rack or playing tag. What had gotten into them? They were behaving like angels. It was a weird day and what was even weirder (more weird?) were the comments that I got from people in the short time that I was there. Now I have been shopping with the boys plenty of times before but never have I gotten so many comments about them.



Smiling Saleslady Comment # 1: "Look at you and ALL of your boys."

What do I say to that? I felt like I had a litter of them following me with a comment like that.



Smiling Saleslady Comment #2: "You can sure tell they've come from the same batch."

Thanks, I'm glad you can tell.



Smiling Saleslady Comment #3: "Boy, you're outnumbered!"

Really? There are ONLY 3 of them.



Smiling Saleslady Comment #4: "How cute are they!"

I know, they are pretty cute.



Smiling Saleslady Comment #5: "You better watch out, you're going to have lots of girls knocking on your door in a couple years."

In a couple years? I hope more like 10.



Smiling Saleslady Comment #6: "Don't you have any girls?"

Uh, no.



Really it was all so strange - all the comments people were making to us, Brek and Kaden behaving so well, Kyler being happy to sit in the stroller and just smile at everyone. It really made me happy to have "all of my boys" with me.

I could do it all again another day but I don't think they could.

Oh, I failed in my Father's day search and will most likely end up at some store again before Sunday but I did find me a cute pair of shoes for $9.99. How could I pass that up?

The garden, a party and new shoes.

The month of May was a busy one. First off, we have a new garden. Our previous garden was on Jed's parents property and it was a pain to get water to it so Jed decided he was going to come up with something new. When Jed decides to do something new, he does it full force and does not stop until it is finished. I know I should love that about him and I do, but it can also cause some mad craziness in our house. It was a ton of work but looks great and now that it is closer to the house, I will actually help to keep it up (hopefully). Check out that perfection! There are actually 7 of the boxes, I just could not fit them all into the picture. Yes, I said 7, and like I said, Jed is crazy.

Kaden's 4th birthday was at the beginning of the month, on the 9th and we had a party at Chuck E. Cheese for him. I usually do not like to do parties at places like this, they always seem to be way over priced and it is just seems too overwhelming to even think about it - too many kids, tokens, tickets, and prizes to deal with, ugh! Well, Kaden had been talking about having his party there since it opened so I gave in (Jed was even more reluctant than I was). Between the two of us, my mom and my aunt, we were able to keep it under control, it ended up being really fun and Kaden LOVED it! Chuck E. Cheese comes out to visit with each kid, sings a song and dances around with them and Kaden ate it all up! It was so cute to watch him. I think his favorite present was the birthday medal that Chuck E. gave him.

Kaden is a lot like Jed, pretty easy going and he doesn't let too many things bother him. I love just hearing him talk, he has a hard time with his r's, and somehow instead of saying door, it sounds like he says dooy, with the -oy sound on the end. He does that with everything, when he says church, it's more like choych. It's funny but I really probably should take him to a speech therapist.

Speaking of therapist, our little Kyler has been seeing a physical therapist for the last few months. I had been concerned for awhile about him and his not wanting to stand so at his one year appointment I again mentioned it to the doctor and he suggested to have a PT evaluation done. We did the eval and the therapist thinks that he has really loose joints in his ankles and hips which makes him very unstable and is probably why he doesn't want to stand. She recommended getting orthotics (a fancy name for braces) for him. We've had the braces for a few weeks and he doesn't seem to like them very much but I'm hoping they help him. He is starting to crawl around, so I think he is getting stronger in his hips, he just is still so wobbly when he stands. I'm sure he'll be fine eventually, he just might not walk until he's 2. Here's a pic of his pricey new shoes....I've never had a pair this expensive!

Pictures!

Holy cow, taking family pictures is such a stress to me. There's the outfits to pick, hoping everyone does their cute smile and not the fake one, hoping that it is a good hair day for all (but really mostly for me) and hoping that one, just ONE turns out. I usually just really dread it but I finally took the plunge and my cute friend Angie did it for us a few weeks ago. After close to two hours of posing, my boys were still standing and partially smiling (except for Kyler, he had had enough!). They really were great sports about it all, they loved climbing on all of the trains and we even had a nice dinner afterwards at the Union Grill lookin' all cute and coordinated. That NEVER happens! These all are a few of my favs...

"Mom, you look so pretty...."

The other day after Jed had gotten home from work we were just talking in the kitchen with Brek sitting at the counter watching us and he says, "Mom, you look so pretty....(long pause)....when you're not mad." It was so funny and sweet because I could tell that he really meant it. Since then I have really tried to not be "mad" like Brek thinks I get. Those mean/ugly faces probably come after I have asked him for the 500th (ok, probably only 3rd or 4th) time to do something. Brek is such a thinker and I know that a lot of things that I might say to him, sarcastic or not, he takes quite literally. I have to remind myself that yes, he is ONLY 7 and to not expect so much from him. I'm sure it's hard being the big brother.

One other conversation with Brek that I don't want us to forget happened about a month ago. We were all in the car driving home and he asked how come some babies come out looking like their dads when they have grown for so long in the mom's belly. Jed and I just looked at each other, not sure exactly of what to say so I said well, what do you think? He says, oh I think I know...probably when the mom and dad kiss.....the dad gets lots of germs in the mom. Whoa! I just said that's pretty close and he was happy with his answer. Thankfully we were home by then and could get out of the car. I know we're not ready to have that conversation yet! He IS only 7!

Bring on the cake!

Isn't it absolutely crazy how fast and how slow a year can go by? It's hard to believe that just barely over a year ago, our cute Kyler came into this world. It seems like we've had him forever but yet being pregnant with him is still TOO fresh in my mind to know that it really wasn't quite so long ago. :)

Kyler has been such a fun addition to our family. One thing I have loved about having the three boys is how much alike they have looked, especially during their first year. I mean, really, can't our genes come up with something new?? Sometimes I will see a picture and even I won't be sure which one of them it is. There are some differences though. Kyler has much more hair than Brek did (he was a baldy), it's darker than Kaden's was and whoa, where did his eyelashes come from?? So cute.

He is a great baby and a FANTASTIC sleeper. I don't know how we got so lucky. Honestly, he gets excited to go lay down in his crib. He'll go down with a smile, look at the cars on his bumper pads and within a few minutes, he'll be out. So great except if I need to go somewhere and he misses a nap, then I'm in trouble.

For Kyler's birthday we did two mini parties, one with Jed's side of the family and one with mine. Instead of buying a cake from the store, I found this cute cupcake cake mold and since my multi-talented husband (he got a hole-in-one the other day, 315-yards! but that's a story for another day) is quite the cake decorator, I thought we could give it a try. The first attempt didn't turn out so well, here's what survived of it (only the top half). Kyler didn't care what it looked like, only how it tasted. I know he liked it. :)

Round 2. The second attempt looked a lot nicer!















I just love my baby Kyler and I'm excited to see what/who this little boy will become. I know I went a little picture crazy but how could I not? He's so fun to look at!