The Fair

We just had to hit the good ole' Utah State Fair for some greasy food and white trash fun. It truly is a fantastic people-watching affair! Plus the kids love all the stinky farm animals and dumpy rides. Yep, that pretty much sums up the Fair.
Highlights included:
Seeing my cuz, country singer Brenn Hill perform
The boys riding down the big, giant slides on potato sacks (Christian caught some major air and Mason giggled the whole way down)
Goats yelling at us
Eating a giant Navajo Taco (and not getting sick)

Mason insisted on Grandpa Jace carrying him everywhere, of course.

What a sport Troy, riding in the dirty helicopter with your boys! You should have seen the toothless ride operator, again all part of the fun...

Mason LOVED the bunnies!

School Days

That's right, the much-anticipated First Day of Preschool (2nd year) finally arrived mid-September! After months of answering "how many more days until my new 'flips and tricks' school mom?" Christian is now a very happy boy, meeting new friends and yes, doing tumbling (aka "flips and tricks") once a week. We are loving the location, right down the street and walking distance (when I'm not being lazy), however we're still getting used to all the rules and having to co-op in class. Not my favorite...isn't preschool supposed to be a break from the kiddo (plus a break from mom and dad)?? Oh well, it's fun to meet all his cute school friends and see what they're up to in class (trying to be positive :)

First day, all decked out in his Star Wars shirt and Sketchers Super Z Straps (which he just HAD to have - hence my post on commercials hooking our kiddos so young).

And the Bumblebee backpack, of course.
With one of his fun, neighbor friends (another bonus - 4 neighbor friends in same class).

Labor Day Outdoors

We headed up to our friend's cabin in Oakley to enjoy some end of summer outdoor fun. It was so beautiful up there! The boys were in Star Wars heaven (marathons each night followed by light saber fights) and we did some fishing and four-wheeling.

We played tourists in my hometown of Park City, hitting the festivities at the resort, which the kids loved. Troy took Christian down the Alpine Coaster - new rollercoster version of Alpine Slide but no chance of falling off the track. He loved it! It was a good weekend other than Mason screaming bloody murder for 3 days straight. Don't know if he wasn't feeling good or just Terrible Twos hitting in hard (or a mix of both) but he let us all have it - ALL WEEKEND LONG. Don't think we'll be invited to their cabin again anytime soon.

All cozy during an intense Star Wars moment.


And they're off! Chic shades complimentary of the wife.

Thanks Scott & Jen for a fun weekend at your beautiful cabin! We'll bring you some ear plugs next time...or better yet, we'll leave the kids home :)

Few Funnies of Late

#1 When I pointed out Christian spilled his chocolate icecream down his shirt, he said: "Mom, we should have got Oxiclean - it cleans the stains right before your eyes open. I've seen it work!" Hmmm, I think we've been watching too much TV. His sponge brain just soaks in all those catchy ads (hence the Sketcher super Z straps he just had to get for school because they make him run and jump faster of course).

#2 While shopping today, Mason started pointing at all the mannequins saying "that guys have boobies" over and over again. His little obsession - he's a boob man already, what can I say? Many more related stories here, but probably not blog-appropriate...

A couple months ago, Christian found the funeral program from our dear neighbor friend in the car.
Christian: What's this mom?
Me: It's from Wanda's funeral (like he even knows what a funeral is)
C: Oh, was there a machine there?
Me: A machine?
C: Yeah, to take her up to heaven.
PRICELESS (and it gets even better).
As I try to explain how when people die there bodies go in the ground and their spirits float up to heaven...
C: So now Wanda can talk to us in a still, small voice, right mom?

I laugh and ask where he learned that. His church teacher was explaining the Holy Ghost (hence a spirit and Wanda is now a spirit so that's how he pieced it all together). Pure innocence, love it...

Brotherly Love

For the love of a Brother...and a Popsicle on a hot summer day.

I'm so grateful for the bond my boys have with each other, as brothers, best buddies for life. A bond that can never be broken. Even through fights and tears, there is always love for each other. Laughing, playing, teasing, wrestling. Christian always so patient, kind and protective. Mason often teasing and testing big brother but always wanting to be just like him. Little or big, Brothers are the best!

Breathtaking view from my mom's new backyard in Ivins. At night, the moon rises over those beautiful red rocks. Amazing. Completely serene.

I want to eat those popsicle-stained smackers. Mmm mmm.

Bucket rides - so easily entertained with brothers as buddies.

Finger dipping PB for snacks, why not when we're naked at the pool?

And for the bond of sisters - We sure had fun with our favorite Grammy and Aunt "Fifi" Faye. Here they are hamming it up with the old butler while furniture shopping. And these ladies know how to shop! Thanks for the entertainment ladies! Love you.

Happy to you Digger! 2 Years

Wild Man Mason turned 2!! When he saw his cake he busted out singing "Happy to you Digger!" (see video at bottom) Our "dumps-twuck" and digger obsessed boy sure keeps us on our toes and always laughing. His white curls and big blue eyes make him appear so sweet and innocent but watch out, he loves to stir up some trouble. His latest trick is chest bumping and pushing down other kids to show his dominance. And he still loves a good bite - love bites, angry bites, excited bites. Christian and mommy are usually the victims of our vampire boy.

He's quite the daddy's boy as well, throwing tantrums if he wants daddy to do something and mommy does it (get him out of bed, pour his juice). We're talking kicking and screaming on the floor for a good 20 minutes. Fun times. He loves to sing - "shake your boo boo" is his latest rendition, screaming it at the top of his lungs, and any little tune he makes up. I love his little raspy voice and how he pronounces everything, I don't want him to grow up (okay maybe the tantrums could end).

To celebrate the BiG #2 we had a wet 'n wild birthday bash in the backyard with 40+ people. It was wild indeed! Big bouncy waterslide, waterguns, Elmo pinata, popcorn machine and screaming kids everywhere. After opening his second present, a new rake and shovel, he headed straight to the sand box to play. He was done with presents. Who needs more than that when you're 2? The head of the busted Elmo pinata was also a hit - Mason used it as a puppet to attack people (including poor Uncle Johnny right in the pants). Mr. Personality Mason!


Bug hunting, toothless cousins

Birthday boy just wanted to play with his presents...

Attack of the Elmo head!

Hit play on video of Mason's singing to his cake, too cute.

Summatime Fun

Bowling, canyon drives, rock throwing, scooter rides, swimming like fish, theme parties = summatime fun for our family!

Don't panic, just around the neighborhood.

Mr. Mason's Motorcycle, or "Raw-kycle" as he calls it.

Oh what a pair, all decked out in our best Hawaiian gear for our friend's fun Luau party. Brought back many great Maui Memories...

Beating the heat (or beating each other?) with a little bowling at Fat Cats

Daddy's Boys throwing rocks up Little Cottonwood Canyon, nice and cool.

Lessons at Lagoon

We are THAT family with the dorky matching shirts at Lagoon each year. Actually, it's quite fun seeing all the other matching shirts of our big extended family scattered around the park and having people comment about our fun group. Troy's Grandma Hammond has the annual tradition of taking the entire extended family to Lagoon (we're talking 200 people).

I'm always grossed out by the nasty smells of Lagoon-a-Beach but I bared through it while the boys loved splashing and sliding in the kiddie section with their cousins. We all piled onto 1 tube for a couple trips around the jam-packed lazy river. What's not to love about a water park in 100 degree heat?! (Besides the crowds of "interesting" people and poo smells). There really is some GREAT people watching at Lagoon.

And the lessons we teach our kids: while trying to get a good picture of Mason in the airplanes, I yell "shoot mommy, shoot mommy" (with the play gun on the ride that is). I quickly realized what I was teaching my son. Not good!
Lesson #2: Daddy buys them both light-up swords and as they start whacking each other, he yells "don't hit" and "be soft" - hmmm, exactly what boys are trained to do with swords - not hit and be soft - yeah right Daddy.

The result after yelling "shoot mommy" to my child. Who says that??

My baby is SO BIG sliding all by himself.

Game time for Daddy and Boys, Christian knocked 'em all down on his first throw.

This boy LOVES his food!

Thanks for the fun, fun Lagoon day Great-Grandma!

Here you see Troy disciplining the boys for "hitting" their swords, what else do we do with swords?