He is ONE!

Watson turned 1 September 4th. We had a great celebration with friends and family in Grandma Nettie's garden. We rented a bounce house, let the kids go wild and had a great time.  Watson loves to play with his cousins and brother and can keep up really well. Tori, Brooklyn, and Aubrey were fantastic helpers to him and made sure he got to do everything the other kids were doing: ride the scooters, bounce in the bounce house, jump on the trampoline, hang out in the play house, act funny and wild. He loved all of that. What he didn't love was cake and ice cream. He wouldn't even taste it. Or touch it. I did a trial run of birthday cake for his first year pictures. As you can see, though, he wasn't interested in eating any of it then either. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about his lack of interest in the sweet stuff. He'll discover it soon enough.

He is a busy, busy boy. He loves to dance, spin in circles to make himself dizzy, read books, help dad and brother with any and all remote control thingys, play with cars and blocks, talk on the phone, and be outside. I love, love, love him. He is happy and sweet and such a wonderful blessing to our lives.

SO Big!

I can't believe it. Chandler started in 5th grade. He is almost as tall as me. He is almost as smart as me. Actually, he is probably smarter than me in many ways. However, I'll hang on to my "mom knows everything" argument for a bit longer. Another year at Bell View. I'm so grateful he has been able to go to the same school since first grade. It really has been a blessing to have this kind of consistancy and stability for him.
This year he has two teachers. They job share--meaning one teaches in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Both are fantastic women and very different. He is loving everything about school so far and always comes home with a happy attitude.
In honor of his first day of school we had a special dinner outside. Fondue is always fun. He loves it! If you ever want to really get on Chandler's good side, let him cook his own steak in a boiling pot of oil! We love you Chandler! We know you will have a great year!

Last Hurrah

Thanksgiving Point is a great place to visit, especially when you are willing to pay full price. This is a lesson I learned quickly. As a last fun activity before school started I took Chandler and Watson to the Dinosaur Museum. I was trying to be clever and frugal so we took advantage of Two Buck Tuesday in August. Little did I know, a gazillion other people were working on being clever and frugal as well. So, we enjoyed a brief trip through the museum, stopping briefly to look at a few cool things. Chandler wanted to compare my chompers with the pre-historic ones.

This used to be one of Chandler's favorite places but he has no interest in being one of the crowd.

I think it will become one of Watson's as well. Especially if Chandler is there to show him the cool things to see.

We'll visit again soon. We'll stop to play in the sand. We'll compare our weight (at least the boys will) with dinosaurs. Maybe we'll even watch a movie...

Sun, Sand, and Sunscreen

It is official. Bear Lake is our family's vacation spot. It's tradition!  This marks the third year in a row to visit this playground.
This past year we stayed at the Fish Haven cabin again and managed to fit in an entire week. I guess it wasn't quite long enough for Chandler, though. He suggested next year we stay for TWO weeks, one with the dads and one without.  All the cousins and aunts and uncles came. We also had Grandma Nettie with us most of the time. The kids had a ball playing together, watching movies, going on walks with Uncle Travis, swimming, sleeping and eating. We were lucky enough to get Uncle Spencer for the weekend and he brought a waverunner and jet ski with him. The big kids got to drive them as well as the adults. When I was on the lake with Chandler driving I tried to throw caution to the wind. I allowed him to drive as fast as 20 mph. (I know, living on the edge.) When we were bouncing over waves and boat wakes he turned to me and asked, "Is this fun?" I assured him it was and he kept going. That is just the kind of kid he is, always concerned other people are having a good time too. We had a great time at the lake every day and it was nice to have the whole family there. Watson was a little out of sorts while we were at the cabin. It was hard for him to watch the kids run up and down the stairs, knowing he couldn't quite keep up. However, he's been practicing those stairs since and I know he'll be ready to run with the big kids next summer.

What????!!!!

here i am. it is the middle of september, really past the middle of september. i'm not sure where the end of summer and beginning of fall has gone. we had our sacrament primary program today. i think now i can catch up and get in order what is my life. so, i will blog. i will record the happenings of the last few months and be better about the happenings in the next few months. i will get my life back to a better balance and bring my family with me. it is time. here we go...