So we're in the planning stages of our big vacation this summer. We usually have one vacation every year, but its always been local - like just across state to the coast. This year there is a big family reunion in Idaho, not too far from the Utah border. We've decided to make a week of it and spend our vacation in the Salt Lake City area.
So far I've got our dog booked into the kennel and our hotel room in Utah reserved. Yay!
Now, we're in the planing stages of what to DO while we're there. Any cheap/free ideas anyone? I have a few websites for info on where to go, but I'd like to hear some personal experience!
Thanks!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Playing Catch Up
Well it's time to catch up again! I've been busy lately, and haven't uploaded my photos or had a chance to post here.
Let's see...well I'll update you all as I explain each photo...
This photo below is of the boys after dad took them to the school carnival. I don't get what makes fake wounds "fun", but every year the school carnival has a fake wound booth to get fake head wounds, hand wounds, arm wounds, etc. Alex also had his hair spray painted red as you can see in the photo.
The funny part...Billy took the boys like this to a store. I'm sure he got quite a few stares. One man did ask if Brayden's head wound was real. haha! I'm just glad I wasn't with them, I was at home, with the baby, as usual.
Next is Alex's class program. I'm not sure what the theme was...maybe pioneer days, or something about the exploration of the northwest. Each student was a different character, and I believe Alex was part of the "explorers".
In this picture he's playing the xylophone.
In this picture he's pretending to write notes in his field/exploration journal.
I'm not sure what he's doing in this picture. I guess I should have paid more attention instead of snapping photos!
And finally, a new Gabriel photo just because. :) Here he is at 8 weeks old.
And lastly, tonight we celebrated Owen's birthday at Red Robin. I wish I had taken photos! His birthday isn't until Wednesday but we're busy the rest of the week. When we first got to Red Robin he saw the waitresses sing happy birthday to another kid. That scared him and he told us NOT to tell them that it was his birthday. He didn't know we already had...
When they came clapping to sing to him, he yelled "Okay! Tell them to not sing" and covered his ears. He kept repeating "TELL THEM TO NOT SING" as he hid under the table while they sang happy birthday. We tried to get him to sit up and listen nicely, but it was NOT happening. He was freaked out by it.
So that's about it for now, more updates to come...
Let's see...well I'll update you all as I explain each photo...
This photo below is of the boys after dad took them to the school carnival. I don't get what makes fake wounds "fun", but every year the school carnival has a fake wound booth to get fake head wounds, hand wounds, arm wounds, etc. Alex also had his hair spray painted red as you can see in the photo.
The funny part...Billy took the boys like this to a store. I'm sure he got quite a few stares. One man did ask if Brayden's head wound was real. haha! I'm just glad I wasn't with them, I was at home, with the baby, as usual.
Next is Alex's class program. I'm not sure what the theme was...maybe pioneer days, or something about the exploration of the northwest. Each student was a different character, and I believe Alex was part of the "explorers".
In this picture he's playing the xylophone.
In this picture he's pretending to write notes in his field/exploration journal.
I'm not sure what he's doing in this picture. I guess I should have paid more attention instead of snapping photos!
And finally, a new Gabriel photo just because. :) Here he is at 8 weeks old.
And lastly, tonight we celebrated Owen's birthday at Red Robin. I wish I had taken photos! His birthday isn't until Wednesday but we're busy the rest of the week. When we first got to Red Robin he saw the waitresses sing happy birthday to another kid. That scared him and he told us NOT to tell them that it was his birthday. He didn't know we already had...
When they came clapping to sing to him, he yelled "Okay! Tell them to not sing" and covered his ears. He kept repeating "TELL THEM TO NOT SING" as he hid under the table while they sang happy birthday. We tried to get him to sit up and listen nicely, but it was NOT happening. He was freaked out by it.
So that's about it for now, more updates to come...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Funny Faces
I just love photos of funny faces! And Owen makes the funniest faces I've ever seen. He has such an expressive face, to match his expressive personality!
I started out taking pictures of Gabriel smiling, his smiles are too cute to not capture on camera every chance I get:
(This first one is my favorite but is so fuzzy because I took the picture so fast to catch it in time, and the camera didn't have time to focus. Shoot!)
Another smile photo, more clear:
But then Owen decided to get in on the action.
First was a really nice photo of the two of them.
But then....
Finally, this last picture is one Owen took of himself, with the camera turned around facing his own face. I love how it shows off his beautiful eyes and eyelashes!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Alex's Cub Scout Banquet
Alex got his Cub Scout (Bear scout) badge, and his whittling chip badge at the Blue and Gold banquet on Tuesday. He also got an award for the "best driver in the car" for his pinewood derby car. haha The "driver" was a ninja turtle that was screwed into the car.
Alex did fairly well on the pinewood derby especially since we didn't know about it until the night before (thanks Sarah!) and we made his car in two hours before the derby started! haha He won three of four races.
Anyway, so here are the pictures from the banquet and a couple others I like...
Alex playing the "one black eyed ghost" in the skit they did at the banquet:
Alex and I:
Daddy and Gabriel at the banquet:
Gabriel smiling some more..
Monday, March 9, 2009
What is he doing?
Can you guess?
Is he...playing hide-and-seek?
Nope.
Is he...throwing a fit?
Nope.
Is he...watching TV?
Nope.
Is he...listening to the couch? hehe
Nope.
He's......
Sleeping!!
He stayed like that for 15 min until I woke him for lunch!
Mission baby fat: Week one!
I'm trying to stay motivated this time! I can do it! I will do it!
I'd like to ideally lose 20 lbs in the next three months. It should be possible. I lost 15 lbs in two months before I got pregnant with Gabriel, and that was just from eating better - no exercising.
Eating right is hard for me, but not nearly as hard as exercising it. I'd rather scrub toilets all day then exercise. haha
I'm hoping however that the Wii Fit will make exercise more fun. I did 15 min on the Wii Fit (that I got back in August and have only used once before today!) and it was indeed fun. I liked that I could do a combo of aerobics, strength training, balance, and yoga. The Wii Fit also keeps track of your progress - weight loss, BMI, and how often/much you've been working out. It will keep you honest! haha
Additionally I took the kids and dog out for a walk. I strapped the baby to me in my sling, he was nice and cozy...sweating even. Then I pushed baby Billy in an umbrella stroller, while Owen helped take turns pushing. However the walk, which was just around the block and back, took nearly an hour because of the dang dog. Uggh!
She's a year old and just stays in our yard or house, so she has a lot of energy...just ask anyone who comes to visit. haha She's not mean or vicious at all but she can jump clear off the ground and lick your face - WHILE jumping. She also gets SOOOO excited about other dogs that she so rarely sees, that when she sees one she goes crazy jumping and yipping.
I need to walk her every day to help get that energy out AND get her used to other dogs she'll come into contact with. However today was HARD. I have a blister on my hand just from holding the leash. I followed the Cesar Milan Dog Whisperer technique, and didn't let her get ahead of me or pull the leash - but it took her TONS of corrections to figure out not to pull on the leash. My hands took a beating.
And we didn't even come across another other dogs except once..and we didn't even get to the house yet when she heard the other dog barking and she started going crazy again. Jumping four feet off the ground while on the leash still. There was no way I could handle her going past that house and the stroller, with the baby strapped to me.
SO we turned around and headed back home the way we came. By the end of the walk she was a lot better and not pulling on the leash...but there were no dogs.
I think it's a work in progress with her, just have to keep trying. I keep trying to talk Billy into another dog, an older calm and well mannered dog to help teach her...but I'm not sure that would help with her dog excitement issues? hmmm
At least it was a workout though and I was working up a sweat trying to just walk the dog. haha
Here's to the next 12 weeks and hopefully I can stay motivated and keep up with it!
I'd like to ideally lose 20 lbs in the next three months. It should be possible. I lost 15 lbs in two months before I got pregnant with Gabriel, and that was just from eating better - no exercising.
Eating right is hard for me, but not nearly as hard as exercising it. I'd rather scrub toilets all day then exercise. haha
I'm hoping however that the Wii Fit will make exercise more fun. I did 15 min on the Wii Fit (that I got back in August and have only used once before today!) and it was indeed fun. I liked that I could do a combo of aerobics, strength training, balance, and yoga. The Wii Fit also keeps track of your progress - weight loss, BMI, and how often/much you've been working out. It will keep you honest! haha
Additionally I took the kids and dog out for a walk. I strapped the baby to me in my sling, he was nice and cozy...sweating even. Then I pushed baby Billy in an umbrella stroller, while Owen helped take turns pushing. However the walk, which was just around the block and back, took nearly an hour because of the dang dog. Uggh!
She's a year old and just stays in our yard or house, so she has a lot of energy...just ask anyone who comes to visit. haha She's not mean or vicious at all but she can jump clear off the ground and lick your face - WHILE jumping. She also gets SOOOO excited about other dogs that she so rarely sees, that when she sees one she goes crazy jumping and yipping.
I need to walk her every day to help get that energy out AND get her used to other dogs she'll come into contact with. However today was HARD. I have a blister on my hand just from holding the leash. I followed the Cesar Milan Dog Whisperer technique, and didn't let her get ahead of me or pull the leash - but it took her TONS of corrections to figure out not to pull on the leash. My hands took a beating.
And we didn't even come across another other dogs except once..and we didn't even get to the house yet when she heard the other dog barking and she started going crazy again. Jumping four feet off the ground while on the leash still. There was no way I could handle her going past that house and the stroller, with the baby strapped to me.
SO we turned around and headed back home the way we came. By the end of the walk she was a lot better and not pulling on the leash...but there were no dogs.
I think it's a work in progress with her, just have to keep trying. I keep trying to talk Billy into another dog, an older calm and well mannered dog to help teach her...but I'm not sure that would help with her dog excitement issues? hmmm
At least it was a workout though and I was working up a sweat trying to just walk the dog. haha
Here's to the next 12 weeks and hopefully I can stay motivated and keep up with it!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Bye bye long hair!
I finally got a new hair cut! And it feels so good. No more long hair weighing me down. haha
My hair grows pretty fast, and surprisingly it was only about two years ago that I had it cut last to my shoulders. This time I had over 10" of length cut off. Holy moly! So I'm donating it to Locks of Love.
Anyway, here are my before and after photos.
Before:
After:
My hair grows pretty fast, and surprisingly it was only about two years ago that I had it cut last to my shoulders. This time I had over 10" of length cut off. Holy moly! So I'm donating it to Locks of Love.
Anyway, here are my before and after photos.
Before:
After:
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Baby blessing and new photos...
I just had to share some new photos of Gabriel. He was blessed last Sunday and looked OH so cute in his little blessing outfit.
He also has started to SMILE! I got it on in a photo as well, but it's kind of hard to tell with his chin(s) in the way. lol
And here are some other photos I just liked of him that I took yesterday :)
Is it just me, or does his hair really have a slight strawberry blonde tint to it? hmm
Pirate Party Photos!
Finally I'm getting some time to download the party photos.
I think it was a hit! Everyone had a great time, although we have TONS of leftover food. Well not so much anymore, we found homes for most of it and just have a little bit left. Sandwiches for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. haha
Billy in costume (no this is not how he always dresses, haha):
The gigantic food table:
Little kids musical chairs:
Big kids musical chairs:
My grandpa holding his great-grandson (Gabriel) for the first time, thought this was a cute photo :)
The ENORMOUS cake that is supposed to feed 80 people and we had TONS left over:
Make a wish!
Big boys trying to act cool!
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