Happy Birthday, Andrew!!

Andrew's three today!

It's so hard to believe that three years has gone by

since he was a beautiful newborn baby.

He had a great day today

Although he insists on still being 2 -

He says he'll be 3 on his birthday

and we've tried to explain that today is his birthday

and he's 3 years old today

But he likes being 2.

Andrew got to go swimming with his dad and brothers

and then we had a party at the park with the family

We ate his Barkyardigans Pablo cake

and opened presents.

He was so cute -

As he opened each present from each person

He would give them a hug as a thank you

He's such a sweet boy.

We are so glad to have him in our family!

Happy Birthday!!

Milestones

My baby

is not a baby anymore.

And with 5 more days

til his 3rd birthday

he is showing me

that he's not the little one

I really wish he would stay.

He has accomplished quite a few things

in just the last week or two -

"bigger boy" things...

He has figured out how to work the computer

and has his own computer game

that he likes to play

He has learned how to write his favorite letter

(that would be "A" for Andrew, of course)

and how to draw

a "happy, joy, joy" face

And after never having a climber
He has mastered how to climb out of his crib so rather than risk any more broken bones
we got a guard and made his bed
into a "big boy" bed

He loves to sing and dance
and can be heard singing random songs
every now and then
He's so sweet
and is starting to be able to play with his big brothers
and wants to do everything they do.

Yesterday he feel asleep after church
before we had a chance to change his clothes
Rhett made the comment that he looked so cute
laying there asleep in his church clothes
like a worn out missionary...

I don't want him to grow up
If it were possible to keep him
the way he is right now
I would do it in a heartbeat.

There's a quote in Finding Neverland that says:
A boy should never be made to go to bed;
For he only wakes up a day older
and before you know it,
He's grown.

Goblin Valley

This weekend, we hooked up with Melissa and Dave and went to Goblin Valley. We left early Friday morning and camped at Green River. We spent a few hours at Goblin Valley - the boys were in heaven, for they climbed the rock formations, ran around and slid down the rocks. It was a great time. We were going to go back on Saturday and do some hiking, but after it rained all night and was still raining when in the morning, we opted not to go, for we wouldn't have been able to climb the slick rocks and it would have been very muddy. We left instead and headed for a dinosaur quarry just south of Price, but it was a dirt road to get there and we turned around after we started sliding on the mud and almost got stuck (but didn't, thanks for Rhett's and Dave's strength pushing the van). We ended up at a Dinosaur museum in Price instead, then it was home - and all too soon.

O.K.... I'll admit it...

I'm a bit obsessed...

I found this cute game
for the new Disney movie UP
It's the Balloon Blow-up Game
and it's very fun to play.

A little disclaimer here...
I HATE video games -

o.k. - "hate" is a bit harsh,
but I really don't like them.
In my opinion,
they are a complete waste of time
and I don't like that my boys feel
like they have to get
their video game time in
every day
or their day is not complete.
I have played my share of Wii,
but I can't play for long
before I feel like I should be doing
something else
more productive...
I don't even like computer games -
they run in the same category in my book.
Life would be so much better
without the waste of time of the
PS2, Wii, X-box, etc...

But I can't get enough of this balloon game
I even dreamt about chains of balloons last night
And I can't resist playing a few
(o.k. - more than that)
games when I'm on the computer.

I may have to enforce
our 1 hour time limit rule
on myself....

Snowcone!!

One of favorite things about it getting warmer
is the popping up of all the
snowcone shacks.
I love snowcones
and today we decided to get one
after Porter's soccer game
(which they played great!)
It was the best snowcone I have ever had
finely crushed ice
lots of flavor juice
and just the right size
for just the right price
it was heaven.
I wished I had my camera with me
to capture the boys
expecially Andrew
with their first snowcone.
The moment was priceless.
My dream one day
is to get a snowshack of our own
My goal is to have the boys run it
and earn money for their missions and college.
I think it's a grand idea
Rhett rolls his eyes
every time I mention it...

Later on in the day
we headed down to the complex clubhouse
to watch a movie
in the little theatre there.
The pool is there as well
and we decided to go out by it
just for a minute...
We stuck our toes in
the water was still pretty cold.
They have a little 1 1/2 foot deep kiddie pool;
Pretty soon our pants were hiked up to our knees
to walk on the first step
Before I knew it,
the boys had their pants and shorts
hiked up to their hips
so they could walk in as deep as they could
and soon their pants were wet
and their shirts were wet
We took off the shirts
and since their pants were already pretty much soaked
they got right in
and "swam" around
until one of the managers came out
to inform us the pools weren't open yet
and asked us to get out...
Oops...

Our Special Day

Happy Mother's Day

to all you wonderful mothers, mothers-to-be, and potential mothers -

I hope your day was a great as mine!!

Another one

Zach lost another tooth last night

It's been bugging him for a while

and we've been wiggling it

and made many attempts at pulling it out.

Finally, last night before he got into bed

I asked to wiggle it one more time

He said, "I just want you to pull it out."

I wiggled once, then pulled,

and out it came!!

He was so happy

Like a kid in a candy store

He couldn't stop smiling

with his tounge stategically poking out

of the new hole...

What's for dinner??

Want an idea for dinner??
You've got to have this:
Teriyaki Roasted Salmon with Oranges, Fingerling Potatoes and Haricots Verts.
I normally don't serve my kids fish,
because they usually don't eat it.
But I did tonight and they loved this!!
Their plates were clean...

They were expecially diligent in eating their dinner
because we had this for "treat":
Chocolate Caramel Fondue
We laid out a blanket on the carpet
and went at it.
The only sound was the boys chewing...
And the first one to make a mess down their shirt??

Rhett...
Right after I handed napkins to the boys...