Utah Adventures...

Last Tuesday Jeff had to fly to Salt Lake for training for his new job so on Wednesday Kamden and I picked Ethan up from Preschool and drove to stay with Jeff. While he worked, the boys and I did lots of fun things like digging for fosils at the Dinosaur museum, seeing the animals at Hogle Zoo, and visiting Temple Square. But, no matter what we were doing, the boys kept asking when we were going back to the hotel to swim.
Ethan is usually pretty timid when he's in the water but by the time we left, he was floating around in his lifejacket and Jeff had taught him how to move his arms and legs so they could race from one end of the pool to the other. Kamden, on the other hand, could care less if there was anyone around to catch him, he'll jump in whenever he wants.



It was an interesting feat trying to get the boys to sleep the first night, they were excited to be somewhere new and also to get to sleep in the same bed. But by the next night they were so exhausted and the excitment had worn off so it was a little easier to get them to sleep.

Thursday morning we drove to Thanksgiving Point to visit the Dinosaur Museum along with about six busloads of little kids on fieldtrips...a repeat of our visit to the zoo here last week. But the boys had fun and I enjoyed watching them freak out when they saw the huge "Sharp Tooth" (T-Rex) skeleton.

That night we picked Jeff up from work and took the boys to Temple Square. Ethan was really excited to see the 'big temple' and loved all the fountains and ponds, I'm pretty sure he stuck his hand in every one. We were able to go inside the Tabernacle and listen to part of a practice for the Sunday program broadcast from there. We saw the Christus and the pictures of Christ's life. When Ethan saw the one of Jesus being baptized he was really excited because he gave his first talk in Primary last week on baptism and told us Jesus' friend, John the Baptist, was baptizing Jesus in the river.




Friday morning the boys and I did some shopping for the baby. Before we got to the store I told them we were ONLY buying baby stuff. So, every toy Ethan saw, from soccer balls to race tracks and golf sets, he thought the baby just had to have...he wasn't very happy when I reminded him the baby can't use any of those things for quite awhile and so we weren't buying them.
Then we found lunch before going to the Hogle Zoo where they had two rhinos, elephants, a gorilla, and lots of other animals the boys hadn't seen before. Kamden's favorite was still the Zebra. Before we left I let the boys wear themselves out at the big playground they have in the zoo and then we took a train ride before going back to the hotel. That evening we went to dinner with one of Jeff's high school friends and his wife at a restaurant called the Mayan where they have a live show with cliff divers and a rainforest atmosphere. It was nice because the boys were entertained for quite awhile so we could visit.



On Saturday we took the boys to Lagoon and they loved it. Kamden hadn't ever been and the last time Ethan was there he was 2 but before we even got there, Ethan said he wanted to go on the whale ride first. Jeff and I were amazed that he even remembered the whale ride. Then he said he wanted to ride the Feris Wheel but when they got in line and Ethan saw how big it actually is, he changed his mind and turned right around.

So, now it's back to normal every-day life and getting used to not having Jeff around every day after having over a month off from work while he was between jobs. It's been really nice having him home, we've all been a little spoiled with dad around all the time. The boys have gotten to do a lot of golfing with daddy and I haven't had to change quite so many diapers or deal with all of the tantrums that come my way in a day. But we're very thankful and very blessed with a new job and the chance to take a little trip before Jeff goes back to work and before the baby comes.

Cinco de Mayo

I don't know why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated, but I figured it's a good reason to invite some friends over and eat lots of Mexican food, so that's just what we did. The kids had fun hitting the pinata and playing, and I enjoyed the good company and yummy food!

Catching Up

We've had a pretty crazy week full of yardwork-planting flowers and fencing in the backyard; Ethan puking last Wednesday and Thursday resulting in a canceled trip to the zoo and a very unhappy 4-year-old; then Jeff got sick this Wednesday and another trip to the zoo was canceled...but we finally made it there today-along with the bazillion schools that were there on field trips; Ethan had his last soccer game; the sale of the Insurance Agency was finalized; we found out Jeff got the job he interviewed for last week (hooray! And no, we aren't moving:) cleaned out closets and decluttered; took the boys grocery shopping with me where Kamden fell out of the cart and landed on his head; had a dr appointment and started making a list of things we need for the baby-I can't wait to start shopping! Now, if only we could agree on a name...


I took the kids through the drive-through at McDonalds this week and Ethan requested a Happy Meal. This is what I heard from the backseat: "One for Kamden, and one for the soccer star."
Ethan's cheering section:

Grandma & Grandpa VanLeuven, Grandma Stoker, Uncle Wade, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Brian, Aunt Sierra, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Erin, Uncle Ryan, & Charly, Kylie, & Kelsey all made it to Ethan's final game to cheer him on, then came over for banana splits. Thanks also to Aunt Shelly, Brody, Callie, and Elisa for coming to his other games! Ethan was so funny, he was more concerned about making sure his family and friends were watching him than where the soccer ball was. He'd run up and down and all around the field without any clue or care as to where the ball was.

Our fence in the works:


Thanks for your help, dad!

And the finished project (we still have some painting to do):

See how well it works to contain the beasts?

And some pics of our trip to the zoo...

Hats off to the Chef

This morning the boys 'helped' make Strawberry Shortcake. I gave them the leftover frosting, some strawberries, and what was left in the cake pan and they made their own creation. It must've been good because they both needed a bath afterwords!

80's

I think we skipped spring and headed straight into summer. The temperature has been in the 80's the last few days and we've enjoyed trips to the park with friends and playing in the sprinklers.





Last night some friends came over and we visited on the porch while the kids (including the husbands) played in the backyard. I knew it was bathtime when I spotted Kamden laying down in the garden, licking the dirt.

Saturday...

We've had a couple of really nice days and we were able to spend Saturday doing yardwork. The boys helped me clean out some flowerbeds and plant the flowers they helped to pick out while Jeff mowed the lawn. We ate lunch on the porch and just spent the afternoon relaxing and ended the day with a bbq at a friends' house. It's FINALLY begining to feel like Spring, hopefully it's here to stay!

When Mommy's Sick...

I was sick last week so the boys got to spend some extra time with their dad. Here are a few of the things that kept them busy:
Watching Pocahontas and dancing in daddy's socks...

Daddy helped Ethan make a ninja mask...

Kamden wore daddy's shoes...


And Ethan helped out with the laundry...(we don't normally hang up our underwear, just so you know:)

Early Easter

Since we will be visiting Jeff's family for Easter this year, the Easter Bunny was good enough to come a week early at my mom's house and left some eggs and treats for the boys...




Kamden got into the candy and opened all the eggs the other day...nothing like a sugar high.

1st Soccer Game

Ethan had his first soccer game last night and did a great job! It was freezing out there but he stuck it out and even took a turn playing goalie. His teammates did great keeping the ball at the other end of the field, so he didn't have much to do while in the goal. He had fun though, and keeps asking when he gets to wear his soccer shirt and play another game!

Hockey Night

We scored some free hockey tickets and went to a game last night with friends. It was fun except for the obnoxious people sitting across from us, but we did get to see a couple of good fights out on the ice before the kids were restless and we headed home.


Kamden really glammed up with some mocha lip gloss...