More Summer Wrap up

 We bought annual passes to the Planetarium for Christmas (off of Groupon of course) so one hot summer afternoon we headed to SLC. It was really fun (and cool for me).  The boys are all at great ages to read and explore and discover new things so we were all entertained for hours learning about electricity and the solar system and walking on the moon.

 Another new discovery this summer was the new skate park in Eagle Mountain. We went quite a few times once we figured out how cool it was. The boys were great at loading up ALL the gear on their own-skooters and bikes and helmets and water bottles. We tried to go early before it got hot but............

after working so hard and wearing helmets they were super super hot and sweaty!!

Summer Wrap up

We love the Aquarium. We get the yearly pass each year when it comes on Groupon and hit it up quite a few times. This summer was no different. I think we made it there 3 times and always have a great afternoon.

 We hit the $1 movie one hot afternoon with some friends too!

 One of my favorite favorite things to do in the summer is hit the baseball field. I grew up going to 50 cent hot dog night and loved it! We waited for $1 hot dog night at the Owls and enjoyed a great night :)

 We tried to hit a few new places this summer too. We'd never been to Kennecott Copper mines so we headed out for the long drive. Okay not too bad but it did feel like we just kept driving and driving and driving. The boys loved it! Lots of big huge cranes and trucks and dangerous dynamite :) Kayden got to complete the Kennecott copper mine Scout badge too!

 We discovered a new pool in Lindon that we loved and went many many times this summer. Only 3 1/2 feet deep so I could let the big boys go while Brooks and I floated in the lazy river or had fun in the kiddy pool. This pregnant lady needed to be in the water a lot this summer!

All we needed was crickets........

 So we've had a pet lizard for about 9 months now. My mom and dad live in Albuquerque and have a beautiful oasis for a backyard. They catch lizards almost daily so now it's become part of the routine to catch them and bring them here:) We started with one little lizard in a little tiny cage. He lasted about 6 months, 5 months longer than anyone anticipated. When we went down in June the boys caught 7 or 8 of them so they picked their favorite 2 and we brought them home, in the little tiny cage. A few weeks ago I asked Chris to stop by Petsmart on his way home and pick up a few dozen crickets (they will only eat living things :)

 About an hour longer than he should of been gone he came home with this, huge aquarium like cage, and a heating pad, and a climbing wall, and a wooden climb thingy.

 Of course the boys were in heaven and now the lizards are more noisy and loud than ever. All in all, I'm totally happy with pets in cages because I'm afraid one day that won't be enough :)

The Perfect Day

Sigh :) Not sure how to put my feelings into words about this day. It was Perfect. Really, these days do not come along very often in life and I am still cherishing it.

I started stressing about a year ago probably about Kayden's baptism. Did he know enough? Did he understand the covenants? Would he feel the Spirit and gain his own knowledge beforehand? Would he be happy? I was going way overboard with the stress and pressure.

For his 7th birthday Chris and I took him to dinner just the 3 of us. We just visited about life :) then we took him to the Mt Timp temple and gave him his gift from us. His very first leather Book of Mormon with his name on it. We read Moroni's invitation at the end and invited him to read the entire Book of Mormon before he was baptised. We talked about how being baptised is the first step to the temple, and about how gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon is the first step to being baptised. We broke it down to 3 columns of reading every day. We each bore our testimony to him and promised him he would have a good experience if he put forth the work.

It was a big challenge for a 2nd grader and the first few weeks/months were a little iffy but he soon caught on and his reading improved tremendously. I loved to tuck him into bed at night with his scriptures and reading light.  Usually about once a week he would run upstairs so excited to share a scripture that he had recognized from a song or a story or something exciting that had touched him. It was so amazing to watch him grow and progress. But I was still really hard on him and too stressed about it.

 Finally a dear friend said to me ' you know getting baptised as an 8 year old is supposed to be fun, too.  Don't take the fun out of it.' Which I totally was. I was in mission mode where being baptised was obviously great but often times brought huge huge changes in someones life. Not for Kayden. It made me realize he was already on the right path.

We spent a morning there a few weeks before his baptism taking pictures :) One of my favorite memories forever and always with him.

Kaydens baptism - free slideshow maker

It was the perfect day. He woke up super early and was floating already. He was calm and patient and excited all at the same time. He seemed to be a little somber and just soaking it all in. He listened intently to all that was said and shared and seemed more at peace than I've ever really seen him. He stayed in his new suit until nearly 2pm :) I was more at peace than I thought I would be too. Usually I'm a super big cryer but I just felt happy. I knew he was ready and enjoying his day and 'getting it' for an 8 year old. I remember thinking that I hope I have that same peaceful, happy feeling knowing he is fully prepared in 11 short years as he leaves on his mission :)

Dinosaur Day

dinosaur - flash slideshow

I got some cheap tickets on Groupon to the Ogden Dinosaur Park. I found them the morning that they expired!! So in a spur of the moment we finished up our household chores and jumped in the car. It was quite a long drive and VERY hot but we had a great time! Chris had to work late so it all worked out. I think we were gone 9 hours total and really did have a lot of fun. We did things 2 and 3 times even when they found their favorites. I wish I had a tape recorder to record the stories and things they were making up about each dinosaur. They each had a map and we walked around making quite the adventure :)

8 Years old?

 My 'baby' turned 8. He will always be my baby cause he's the one that made me a mom. He's the one that changed my whole universe upside down and has already taught me more during his lifetime than I thought I'd learn in my lifetime. He was pretty set on a Ninjago party so we had a blast getting all ready.

 Everyone got a colored headband with their name on it, they could chose a special powered Ninjago drink and then we headed off on a scavenger hunt to find the golden weapons. (Don't worry, I had to read up on my Ninjago information to know what was going on too )

 Kayden and his friend Blayne took the crew downstairs for some basics in Ninja move training. They are both in karate and felt pretty important teaching everyone kicks and punches and how to be tuff.

 After working up a sweat we headed outside for water games. They each had 1 minute to shoot down these balloons which were each worth different points. We also did water balloon pinatas and a slip n slide.

 Then we headed inside for a very happy camper to open his presents! He hit the jack pot :)

 We also tried to make gak but forgot to seal these bags :/

Happy Happy Birthday Kayden!

Road Trip!!!

 My awesome mom and dad are trying to spend one on one time with each grandchild when the opportunity arises. They had a friend driving from Provo to NM in early June so Trace got to hitch a ride, which gave us a great excuse to visit them a week later. My sister and I loaded up the other 4 kids and hit the road. Wow, I think the road hit us. No it was okay but not sure we'd do it again without the men. The kids had a blast once we got there :)

 We went to the park early in the morning, we even brought our breakfast  a few times before it got too hot :)

 We played slip n slide for hours and just looked for any excuse to be in the water pretty much.

 The boys worked on this hole at the park a little each day. By the end of the week I think they could all fit in it :)

 We have 4 June bdays in the family so we celebrated with cake and homemade ice cream!

 And of course a huge hit is nana and papa's flash light tub as it is called. A really cool jucuzzi tub with lights and bubbles and more fun for dirty boys!!