Look Who's 4!

Much like the last post, this post is going to have MANY pictures. Hey, there was a birthday and that requires pictures, right?! First I'll start off with a little surprise we had for the boys when they came home from CA. Brody LOVES balloons and doesn't think it's a birthday unless there's a party. It's not extensive, but he loved it!

 Parker just liked running through the balloons and then hitting them off the wall. These two didn't quite last a minute: 

 That's one happy boy!

 This little one helped open presents:

Then took off with part of Brody's new balance bike. 

 They both liked helping their Daddy put it together. Notice they each have a little tool.

 Brody on his new balance bike. Thanks Mimi and Poppy!

They are getting to be even bigger buddies: 

 Opening presents: 

 We gave Parker a little something also so he'd leave Brody's birthday presents alone. It almost worked. :) 

 Doing what Brody does best. Driving cars/motorcycles. 

 Cake making is not one of my specialties in life yet. I'm working on it! I have something in mind for when his pre-school class celebrates his birthday the first week of school that is cooler than this. In fact this was my second option after the first thing I attempted to make I messed up. Oops. Texas Sheet Cake it was! Brody loved it anyway and I was happy! 

 Can't believe he's 4!

 One of Brody's favorite things to watch at my parent's house was the show "Wipeout". He now frequently re-creates the big balls and makes his action figures jump across and fall off. That and he calls himself "Man-child Mike McCalla" and "Super Stache Man Andrew Robbins". Today he was telling "America" about what his action figures were going to do like John Henson and John Anderson. He's just a little obsessed! This is Brody playing Wipeout (as he says) on Ashley's legs:

 Now onto his actual birthday. We have completely confused this kid. This is an even year so we just had family celebrations this year (it's just the system we've worked out so far...he has friend birthday parties on odd years). He actually has had way more fun than a birthday party would be anyway as I think he's had about 4 different celebrations! Mimi came to visit, then he went to my parents, we celebrated the Saturday before his bday because Jared had class all day on his actual birthday, and then we celebrated again on his actual birthday. Overload? Maybe, but that's okay with me. The morning of his birthday he woke up and I wished him a happy birthday. He replied, "Again?!" Then the rest of the day he said this was his last real birthday. We started off our day going to his favorite store, PetSmart, and watching the dogs in doggie day care. He wants one so bad and I really look forward to the day we can get him one. Then we went to Toys R Us for their free hat and balloon.

 Since Toys R Us is a little ridiculous in their pricing we picked out what he wanted and then went to Target and found it on sale. Plus, Target is one of Mom's favorite places to go so it's a win-win, right?! 

After shopping we went to our other favorite place: the airport. When I flew out last time and parked my car in long-term parking I decided I'd bring the boys back sometime. You get a much better view from the 4th floor of the parking structure. We parked our car, ate a picnic on the hood of the car (so they could see over the concrete barrier) and watched the airlanes take off and land. Over an hour of entertainment for 4 people for $1.50 parking fee. Not too shabby. 

 I just thought this picture of Parker was funny. Right after this he swiped Brody's juice box because his was out. Always the tail twister.

With my cute boys :)

 Our view. Not bad, huh?

 I sure love this big 4 year old! For about a week before his birthday he kept saying he was fine being 3 and didn't want to turn 4. Now that he's 4 he tells people, "I'm so glad I am 4!" Not sure what changed his mind, but I'm glad I'm not having to convince him anymore that 4's not so bad!

 Brody and my cute sister Ash-a-Bash

After Parker's nap we took the boys to the beach at the reservoir here that Jared and I went water skiing at. Somehow we didn't know it was there the whole year we've lived here and it's 10 minutes away. The water was cold but there were lots of fish jumping and the boys just loved playing in the sand and jumping off the dock. 

The bottom is super rocky and hurts your feet but Brody insisted I take him in anyway. 

 Brody's best friend Blake joined us. Blake just spent a month in Hawaii and the part Hawaiian in him came out. It's amazing how tan he gets! His little brother Isaac's hair turned white blonde on their trip so my kids don't look quite so white next to Mr. Isaac. We just love Blake and Isaac and they have so much fun with my kids. They gave each other huge hugs when they saw each other again. It's adorable and I just love them!

 Parker liked the sand dragon tunnel as he kept calling it. 

 I believe this is Blake keeping the sun out of his eyes and Brody complaining because he was freezing. The water really is cold! I'm hoping Lisa got a better picture of the two of them? For some reason they like to make it tough for us!

Lastly we went out to Chili's because his birthday just so happened to fall on a Kids Eat Free Tuesday and we'd already had his special dinners on his other birthday celebration days. He also got a free dessert and was a happy happy boy! He ordered the brownie and ice cream but made sure the waitress knew that he wanted the brownie on a plate and the ice cream in the bowl with no chocolate sauce. He's just a little particular! haha Of course this little boy thought it was great also: 

 Finally, the two funniest kids I know after a long, busy, and super fun day. We love you Brody boy!

 Sorry that was so many pictures! I have a couple videos also, but I'll have to add them another time as I still have some things I need to get done tonight. I just know we had some Grandma's and Grandpa's waiting for birthday pictures. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Picture Post from CA (Boys)

First of all, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to these guys: (Kaylee, Dad, Chey, Mom, and Ash)

I am so so so grateful for their willingness to hang out with my kids for a week while Jared and I got a break. It was so nice to get to spend some time with just Jared and I. We tried to take full advantage of it and went to the movies, ate our free meal at Cafe Rio, went water skiing with friends, hung out by the pool, had a Border's date, went shopping, and just hung out! That's more than I think we've done in the last year combined so it was definitely appreciated. My boys had just as much fun as we did. They went to the beach a few times, went swimming almost every day, had snow cones, got some new toys and shoes, and just hung out with Grammy, Grandpa, Ash, and Chey. Brody didn't want to come home! It makes it a little easier to enjoy downtime when you know your kids are having tons of fun also. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. :) I have the best parents in the world and truly appreciate all that they do for me. Thank you all!!

 

 

 Grandpa is very entertaining...

 Parker helped clean the pool...

 He enjoyed relaxing by the pool also. :)

 This week was Brody's birthday which will have it's own post soon, but he had an early celebration while in CA!

After Church popsicles with Chey...

 I wonder who taught who this face?

Someone is Brody's brother. Sweeping outdoors is apparently a family trait?

 Hanging out with two of his biggest buddies: Ash and Chey. 

 I've learned we need to convince my Mom to be in more pictures. Grammy, we don't have enough of you silly lady! We love you and thank you for taking such good care of my boys! I'm lucky enough to have Ash be here visiting with us right now. My boys and I both LOVE having her here with us. She's currently on my back porch helping me finish a pinata for a ward activity this weekend. She's a trooper for sure!

Snow Cones and Sacramento

It's been such a crazy last few weeks. Jared's Mom came to town for a visit for Brody's upcoming birthday. The day after she left my parent's came to pick up my boys and take them to their house. Jared went to Denver for a conference and I went to Sacramento for a girls weekend. Talk about craziness! Anyway, sorry for the absence in the blogging world. I apparently am terrible when I have company about taking pictures. Somehow Cathy was here for almost a week and we didn't get one picture with her in it. We really enjoyed having her here and the boys were in heaven! Thank you so much Mimi! She took a couple of Brody and Jared that I thought were pretty funny. Jared and Brody were watching a movie on the computer so she was trying to catch them both looking at the movie. Well, Jared of course is a character so did this instead:

 Cathy told them she'd try again and this happened:

 haha! Funny boys. Brody's favorite thing while Mimi was here was to play with the balloons. He created this game where you blow up a balloon and put another one on top. Then instead of tying it you let it go flying and send the top balloon flying also. We thought it was pretty clever and it kept him entertained for quite a while.

 The night before we all went our separate ways we had a snow cone/park date with the kids. Brody has a new obsession with snow cones. This almost 4 year old has grown up so much in the last few weeks. It's nice and weird all at the same time. We sure love you Brody!

 Buddies.

 This little one has had a tough week, but snow cones make everything better, right?!

 His tough 48 hours started with this guy:

 He's kind of an adrenaline junkie and got going too hard rocking the whale back and forth. He hit his front teeth into the bar on top and chipped a little part of his front tooth. It looked worse at first and after a little trip to the dentist we're just supposed to watch it. The chip itself isn't terrible, we just aren't sure if any damage was done to the root of the tooth. This is NOT a good picture of his tooth, but I liked it otherwise. He's impossible to take pictures of lately. :) Right after this little mishap I took him to the Dr. and found out his has yet another double ear infection (in August! I think this may be #5 or #6 since November). He flew with my parents to their house and shortly after he got there he face planted into the hardwood and cut his bottom lip. Lindsey Graves, he and Capri would get along great!! 

 Now to my trip to Sacramento! Every few years my girlfriends from college try to get together. It's usually been just a dinner or something, but this time we tried to make it a few more days. We REALLY missed those of you that couldn't come and really hope there's a time in the future where we can get all of our schedules to align! I also got to see some family while I was there which was fantastic. Kelsey and I got to go to the temple and I just loved seeing them and our cute nephews. I also spent a day and night with Jared's grandparents. It was very relaxing and wonderful! I miss all of them.

 My friends after a Costa Vida date. L-R: Me, Tiffany, Britni, and Kaylene. We were worse than a family with small children. The 3 attending husbands had 4 cameras and were acting as paparazzi. It was hilarious and I have no idea if any of us got a picture with all eyes open, looking in the same direction. I just thought these were funny:

 Our other friend Ms. Amanda (as I've always called her) joined us and the real party began. I seriously haven't laughed that hard in a long time. There were many times my stomach hurt and/or I got tears in my eyes from laughing. I love it! This was taken after midnight so we're all looking a little tired, but we wanted one anyway! We all lived in the Freshman dorms together 10 years ago! Can't believe it's been that long. 

 L-R: Tiffany. She is a fantastic dentist in Sacramento and mother to the sweetest 6 month old baby girl. Me. Britni is a pre-school teacher with 4 year old twin girls and another one on the way. Woohoo Brit! Amanda is the most hilarious cosmetologist and nursing student you'll ever meet in your life. Gave me a great haircut while I was there. Thanks Ms. Amanda!! I love you! K-babe: She has two boys that are both 3 months younger than my boys. Her husband is in his last year of dental school and then they will be moving back to Sacramento also. We've all been a little busy the last 10 years, but when we get together it's like no time has passed at all. It's the best thing in the world. I really think we may have to look for jobs in Sacramento in the future as 3 of the 5 of us are already settling there and we already have family there! Plus it's Jimmer's new home. What else could I want?! :) 

 Last but not least, Kbabe and I! She is truly one of the most beautiful people I know. You could never find a better friend and she is someone I truly don't know what I'd do without. I need to see her more often and hopefully now that they will be moving back from Pittsburgh next year that will happen! Love you and miss you Kbabe! 

Now we're slowly getting back to real life. My kids are actually going to be at my parents' house until Saturday so I'm having an additional few days of a stay-cation. I'm really just preparing for Brody's birthday, the start of Jared's semester, my half-marathon, and Brody's first year of pre-school. It's going to be a crazy next 8 months as Jared graduates and goes into his first tax season.  I'm so grateful to have had this time to relax and re-charge. I feel like I can take it all on now! I hope you are all having a great rest of your summer also!