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...

New Do

It had to be done. The cute little curls were getting really long and had to be tucked behind the ears. I thought it was too soon for my almost-11-month-old baby to look like a little boy. But, it was time. And isn't he SO cute?!

Epic

It did happen. I can't deny it. I had a birthday in July.  Birthdays tend to be really great or an event you'd prefer not to remember. This year, it was really great. Scott, being the sweet husband that he is, asked what I would like this year. Aside from a flagstone patio, new laundry room, new bathroom downstairs, hardwood floors upstairs, new desk/craft area, built in for the family room, there isn't much else on my list. So I told him I just wanted a night out--just the two of us. That is exactly what I got. It made me reminisce of our pre marriage life. Scott found a great restaurant I'd never heard of and we spent the evening talking and snuggling at dinner and a movie.  We had great crabcakes and steak at Epic, Casual Dining. Everything was really yummy and I love when Scott surprises me with a new place to eat. Chandler was super sweet when he gave me a beautiful bouquet and card. Watson was a good sport for Grandma and went to bed without much fuss. It was a great way to spend my birthday.

Did You See the Donut?

Neither did we. I would have liked to help Chandler hike all the way to the hole and the cave at Donut Falls. However, it is a little tricky when you are carrying this:

We had some uninterrupted, extra time together so we decided to go where Chandler hadn't been before.

I'm always confused about which canyon it's in so we meandered up Little Cottonwood until we hit Snowbird and then made our way to Big Cottonwood. I know, I know. You'd think someone like me, who has lived in Utah the majority of her life, would be able to keep the two canyons straight. ANYWAY, it was good time to chat with Chandler, one on one, while Watson snoozed in the backseat.  We ate lunch at the beginning of the trail and lolly-gagged our way to the bottom of the water fall.  Chandler practiced his rock climbing skills along the way.

Lots of people had the same idea so it was fun to see how other people were climbing through the water and making their way up or down the falls. I love when I have time with Chandler when he or I don't feel pressure to "hurry up" to get to the next task or thing. It is so rare. We get to have real conversations, it doesn't happen often enough. On our little hike he said to me, "Don't you think kids are growing up too fast?" I said, "Yes, I really do. I want you to be a kid for as long as possible. That's one reason I'm not ready for you to have a cell phone yet." He went on to explain he doesn't want one either, until he's 14. (Can I get that in writing?) and he wants to just be a kid. These little moments with him make me feel really grateful to be his mom, even if I'm just his step mom. He is still mine, and I count myself lucky.
As we found our way back to the car we came across a very sociable chipmunk. It nibbled on a pretzel while watching us and then climbed a rock to have a conversation, with us. It sure made a lot of noise!
Chandler took a great action shot of it.

Our "little" hike turned into an afternoon event but it was totally worth the time.

BIG Plan.

Summer has definitely moved along much faster than I anticipated, or wanted, or realized. I did have some BIG plans for our summer. Some have occurred, many have not, and I guess that is ok.  Since the 4th of July landed on a Sunday this year we thought we would celebrate it for the whole weekend, and the following Monday. We kicked it off with a bang with a parade and breakfast Saturday morning and at home fireworks Saturday night. Chandler is getting so brave to light things and he can't seem to get enough of it. It must be totally a boy thing. We joined Challey's neighborhood for the parade and breakfast. So fun to see how the kids decorated their bikes, scooters, strollers, and in Spencer's case, mini-motorbike.

Watson did enjoy the fireworks but was content enough to sit on my lap until they were over. He doesn't spend much time in one place for long so it was a pleasant surprise.  All in all, it was a great way to start off the celebration of America and all its blessings.
Sunday brought a surprise for our family. We got a call from Scott's uncle that Scott's mom was in the hospital in Grand Junction. We packed up the car pretty quick and headed there for a visit.  She is doing well now and we were lucky to have some time to visit.

Although my tribute to this land of freedom is late I still want to express my gratitude. This really is a blessed and sacred land. A place to worship God freely and enjoy His blessings as He sees fit. I'm grateful to be an American and I am doing my best to help my children appreciate this privilege also.

God Bless America!

Dad's Day

Father's Day. A day to honor fathers everywhere. A day to stop for a few minutes and really be grateful to the man who sacrifices for the good of his wife and children.  A time to reflect on lessons learned, love given, and a future together.
We honored Scott quietly--sort of. I missed the boat on breakfast...it's a hard thing to do with a 10 year old kid who loves to stay up and then sleep late in the summer. And a 10 month old boy who loves to get up before the sun but will nap with you on the couch until much later in the morn.  Father's Day this year began with rushing around at 8:30 am to make it to 9:00 am church. The father of the house was more than gracious in helping out and quietly nudging us along; we made it almost on time but as a happy family. I like to think I made up for the lack of special breakfast faux pau(?) by making a scrumptious dinner and an even yummier dessert.  My dad, sister and her husband joined us for dinner. My other sister and her family, my mom, and all my nieces came for dessert and r/c thrills and spills.  It seemed everyone had a good time and it made me just feel grateful to have such a fun family.  I'm sure I don't tell Scott enough what a great dad he is.  But, he is. I love to watch him play with Chandler, work together to figure things out. He is the best daddy to Watson and is so patient with his wanting to walk, rake, play in the dirt and throw rocks. I'm grateful he honors the priesthood and has a desire to become a better man every day. Even though life gets hard, and things are bumpy along the way, I know he has eternal perspective and tries really hard to honor it. I love him. Chandler loves him. Watson loves. Thank you for being our great dad. :)