Thanksgiving

The Friday before Thanksgiving, Ian, Jaiden and I left for Utah. The boys did well in the car. We stopped a couple times. We stopped in Cedar Hills to visit my cousin Anna. We got to meet her baby Joshua (he was a month old). He slept most of the time, but I was able to hold him. Ian and Jaiden played and got some of their energy out. We then headed up to Draper to Rex’s parents’ house.

That Saturday was a Thanksgiving dinner at the Jones’, with all the cousins that are in Utah. We met Danielle’s (Rex’s sister) fiancé Brian and Felicia’s boyfriend. The boys had fun with a lot of people there to play with. They didn’t eat much though.

Sunday morning, we went to Anna and Scott’s baby blessing and then went up to my parents. We stayed at my parents until Wednesday morning. Jaiden loves playing with/being with Grandpa. If he was not in sight, he had to look for Grandpa.

Wednesday morning, I met my sister-in-laws at the Fashion Place Mall to go to the new H&M store. The boys were crazy. We then went down to Draper again. We spent Thanksgiving afternoon/evening with Rex’s uncle and aunt’s house in Salt Lake. I did some Black Friday shopping at Walmart, which was crazy. I wasn’t able to get some of the things I wanted, but Rex went after work on Friday and was able to find the stuff at the Walmart in Steamboat.

Saturday we went up to Farmington to visit Rex’s grandma Jones who was down for Thanksgiving. Rex rode the bus out to Utah Saturday evening. We were very glad to finally have him with us.

Sunday, all Rex’s brothers and sisters were able to come (except Garrett, who is on a mission). We had fun playing games and being together. Ian and Jaiden loved playing with Uncle Hayden. Tuesday morning, Rex’s mom watched the boys so we were able to do a session at the temple and do some shopping. We found a bunk bed and mattresses for the boys.

Wednesday we went back up to my parents. On Friday, we went with my dad out to the Syracuse Family Fun Center. My dad and Rex bowled, while I watched the boys on the trampoline (Jaiden loved jumping) and the inflatable bounce thing (Jaiden wouldn’t go on it, but Ian loved it). Saturday we helped my parents decorate for Christmas and then came home.

Catch Up

So in the middle of September, we took a trip down to Grand Junction. We got a hotel, so we left Monday night, after Rex got off work. The next morning we had to find stuff to do before the stores and mall opened (we had errands to run). We dropped the computer off to be fixed. We went to a park and did a few other things.

At the beginning of October was my birthday, so Rex and I went out to eat. It was also the same night as the First Friday Artwalk, which I had wanted to do for awhile, but we decided it was too cold and we weren’t dressed for it. So we browsed some in a bookstore.

Later in October, we met my parents down in Grand Junction and spent a couple nights. We went to a dinosaur museum in Fruita. The boys got scared of the dinosaurs because they were big, moved a little, and made noise. We then went to a fun park and played miniature golf. We also played in the arcade. Ian and Jaiden played on inflatable ride things. The next day we went to a math and science museum and an alpaca farm. It was pretty cool to tour the alpaca farm and learn about how they process their wool (fiber). We also finally got our computer back while we were down there.

It’s a . . .

Girl!!

We had the ultrasound on Wednesday. It was kind of weird not to have the doctor absolutely sure it’s a girl (like with the boys). The baby is growing well. We are excited to have a little girl, now we just have to get ready for her.

I will try to get caught up on the past month or so this week.

Playing with Daddy

My boys loving climbing and jumping on and off things (Jaiden has learned to climb out of his crib the past few days, not good and apparently now he can open the bedroom door, so the lock will have to stay on their door all the time {Ian can open the lock}). The other day they were climbing all over Daddy when he got home from work.

Jaiden went completely over.

The other morning, Rex came home with a salamander (Rex has a four hour break in the mornings from 6:30-10:30). It was in the airport, so he brought in home so we could let it go at the park. Ian was very excited about it and got to hold it in the car (we left as soon as the boys woke up). We let the salamander go by the creek at the park.

Jaiden wanted to hold it as well, but I was afraid he would squeeze it too hard.

First Day of School

Ian started preschool this past Tuesday (that was the first day for the district, crazy late start date, but oh well). He loves going. He goes Monday through Thursday in the afternoons. He was totally fine with me just dropping him off, he was already too busy to care. The first two days he really wanted to ride the bus home. I think he is finally starting to get that he doesn’t though (technically he could though). This picture was when he got home on the first day (I forgot before we left).

Jaiden slept most of the time the first two days, so he didn’t really know Ian was gone. But yesterday Jaiden took a nap before Ian went to school since I had a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon. Jaiden wasn’t quite sure what to do without Ian, but we were able to play together some and we went to the park before we picked up Ian.

Good news from everyone

So this is like a month and half late. Rex got a promotion at work. He has been applying all over for lead positions and was offered the one here in Hayden. He accepted it. So now we don’t have to move (though we are looking into bigger places around here). A week after he accepted, he got offered the same position in Illinois, but he had already accepted this one.

Jaiden is kind of started potty training (not stressing it too much). This is because he always wants to go potty and likes to take his diaper off (which he did twice after naps and then pooped, yuck).

Ian is starting preschool in a little over a week (September 6 is when our district starts). He is going to be in the afternoon class and will go four days a week. He is excited. The boy next door will be in his class and a girl from his tee ball team. We also qualified for the Colorado Preschool Program so we don’t have to pay tuition (which is like 200 a month).

Last but not least we are expecting our third baby in March (due date is March 2). Ian was sure for awhile that it was twins (a baby sister and a baby brother), but the first ultrasound has put that to rest, there is only one baby. Now he is certain that it is a baby sister and we are going to name her Kaia (his friend’s name), but that is not the name we will chose if it is a girl.

August

So all the pictures posted will not be from August, but they show what we have been up to.

Mostly we have been trying to stay cool since it has been so hot recently, I am ready for fall to come anytime. We have played outside, camped, hiked, and gone to the fair.

I like the fair here because it is not way huge. The county fair is in our town (just down the road from us!) and it is free to get into. So the boys and I went several days to see a few of the animal shows. The boys had fun on the bleachers at the horse show (no one else was watching and it is boring, the horses were just standing there). We didn’t go the day they were riding around and showing off. We went to the dog show, Ian wanted to leave as soon as we got there, but Jaiden loved it (dogs are his favorite). Rex went with us on his way off to see all the animals: rabbits, chickens, sheep, pigs, goats, cows, etc. I took the boys on the free inflatable ride day (there weren’t any other rides). There was a bounce house, basketball shooting, and an obstacle course thing. Ian loved the obstacle course. Jaiden had fun in the bounce house. Ian also got his face painted (by his babysitter for free since it was free that day). He was very excited about his Spiderman eye.

Earlier this week we drove out to Trappers Lake (part of a national forest) and hiked around and had a picnic. Ian loved walking around, Jaiden got tired after the second or third hike. There are some many lakes up in that area and it is gorgeous. On the way back we stopped once or twice to hike around. It took like 2 hours to get out there, but it was nice (and not hot!).

Jaiden playing in the “sandbox,” the horseshoe pit it the backyard. The backyard is open and we all share it. Hence now someone has put up a pool (an inflatable one), so I have to watch Jaiden like a hawk in the backyard (doesn’t help when I am trying to make dinner).

Yes, Ian has a sweatshirt on, don’t ask. I do think this was in June and it was probably in the morning when it is a lot cooler. He had fun going around the yard in the sled though.

A view of part of the yard. There is a fire pit on the other side of the shed.

Being cute, Jaiden actually sat still for a picture and I think this was right after their haircuts (Ian desperately needed one then).

Ian’s tee ball trophy that has since broken (the ball is no longer connected).

Middle of July

The weekend after my parents and Kristi left, we went up to Pearl Lake State Park and camped a night. It is about an hour from where we lived and is a beautiful drive up there. The boys had fun camping in our “new” tent (we got it from my parents since they don’t ever use it and they had two). I made enchiladas in the Dutch oven (one of my regular recipes that I decided to do in the Dutch oven).

The next weekend we went up to Idaho (Rex took a few days off for this trip). Thursday night, after Rex got off work, we drove to my parents. Then Friday we drove up to Idaho, to Rex’s grandma’s house, for a family reunion. We camped out in her yard (she has a lot of land, some of which is now rented out to others as pasture for cows). We got to see a lot of Rex’s cousins and their kids, so Ian had lots of kids to play with around his age. He now says that his cousins (meaning his first cousins once removed) are red cousins and Daddy’s cousins are blue cousins. I have no idea what that is supposed to mean. We had fun visiting, playing, and eating.

Sunday we drove back down to my parents and stayed until Tuesday. On Monday, my sisters, Rex and I went and test drove some vans. We then hung out at my parents’ with everyone (minus Kristi’s husband). We got home Tuesday evening.

The First of July

So I realize I haven’t posted in over a month and I don’t have any pictures (we brought the camera with us, just didn’t take any pictures).

At the beginning of the month, we headed out to Utah for Rex’s cousin Matt’s wedding.  We stayed with my cousin Anna since Rex’s parents’ house had a lot of people. The first day we ran errands around Provo and then went up to Draper. All of us girls then went out for a girls night out. We ate and Olive Garden and went to the mall and a park to take some pictures (you can look on Facebook, I am tagged in some). The boys had pizza and went and flew kites on the mountain.

Saturday was filled with wedding stuff.  My cousin watched the boys during the luncheon (since it was formal). We had a picnic dinner with the Jones’ to celebrate their anniversary.

That night we headed up to my parents. We spent the night and went to Sacrament Sunday morning and then left. My sister Kristi (who had been living in LA the past 3 years) and her 6 month old baby Harrison came with us to stay for a week. The drive back was kind of long with a baby.

Jaiden and Ian were excited to have a baby around. Every morning Jaiden would look for the baby. The forth of July, we went to Steamboat to see the parade and go grocery shopping (man was town a mess after the parade). The parade was pretty good and the boys got a little bit of candy. It took forever to get across Steamboat to go grocery shopping. Tuesday we went up to Elkhead Reservoir to play in the water. It is a state park that is like 2o minutes for where we live. Ian loves going to the “beach.” Since we went to LA at the end of February Ian has wanted to go to the beach, so as soon as it was warm enough and the snow was melted we have gone to the “beach” several times. We got a state parks pass for the year (love not having to pay every time we go) and there are at least 5 state parks within an hour of us.

Wednesday we stayed at home and played, Thursday we went to the library for story time. Story time at the library this summer was kind of crazy with a lot of kids.

Friday, Rex had the day off (he had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off during June and July). We went to Steamboat and walked around downtown. My parents got here Friday night. Saturday we went to Steamboat, as Art in the Park was going on. They were a lot of cool booths and a lot of different kinds of art.

My parents, Kristi, and Harrison left on Sunday. We loved having Kristi here and having someone stay for more than a day and half.

Denver Trip- Days 3-4

Thursday morning we went to a park. Rex had a phone interview with some place (sometimes I lose track with all his phone interviews, hopefully something will come through soon). We then went to the Children’s Museum when it opened. It was a nice museum, but the Gateway Children’s Museum in Salt Lake is so much bigger and has a lot more to do. The boys still had fun. We spent a couple hours there. They had a bubble room. This is the boys inside a big bubble.

They had a room with trains and tracks to connect together and build, which Ian loved. They also had a little market area.

They had a room that had all sorts of things to climb and go in.

We then went to eat. We saw the missionaries at Burger King and talked to them for a few minutes. We then headed into downtown Denver. We went to the state capital building and toured it. We got inside just in time to miss the downpour.  We went up to the Dome.

They were doing some scaffolding work on the outside.

There are different mile high markers on the steps outside because different groups of people got different measurements. Ian did not want to get out of the stroller at this point, but Jaiden was glad to.

We wanted to tour the US Mint but didn’t know that you have to schedule your tour like 2 months in advance.

We walked down part of the 16th Street Mall (outdoors). It was crowded (not used to big cities anymore, I like small towns). There were pianos every few blocks for people to play.

We then headed north to St Vrain State Park to camp for the night. It was pretty windy at first and almost slept in the back of the truck, but it eventually died down. I made pizza in our dutch oven. St Vrain is just outside a city and right off the highway, so you could here the traffic all night.

Friday morning, we had breakfast, Rex tried fishing (didn’t catch anything), and packed up. We then headed a little more north and then west. We were high up in the mountains. The highest elevation was around 10,000 feet.  There was quite a bit of snow still up there. We went down a little bit (and out of the snow) to State Forest State Park. We found a campsite and set up. We walked around a little. Rex fished some. After we started dinner, a ranger came up to us and said that someone had reserved the site we were at, they had just missed marking it, so could we please move a few camp sites down. We moved, with the help of people around. The ranger did get us some free bundles of fire wood. We had dinner. It started to rain, so we all decided to go to bed early. I woke up at 8:30, with the tent dripping and soaking our blankets. I woke up Rex and we hurried and packed everything in the car and headed home. We got home at 11 that night.

Denver Trip- Day 2, Zoo

Wednesday morning, we went to a park until the zoo opened.

We spent a fun day at the zoo. It was pretty good, I don’t think it was any better or worse than the Hogle Zoo (the only other zoo that I have been to that I remember). They are building a new exhibit, Asian Highlands (I think), that they are spending 50 million on. They will have a big area for up to 8 bull elephants (which apparently are very territorial).

Isn’t he so cute. Ian refused to have his picture taken. Jaiden lost his hat somewhere at the zoo.

They had a pretty nice sea lion show.

Denver Trip- Day One

Last week we took a trip to Denver. We left really Tuesday morning. Rex had training and an interview in Eagle, CO. The boys and I explored Eagle and Gypsum. We found some pretty cool parks.

This park was huge and all made of wood. They had a “tots” area with smaller things. There was a tire swing and sand box area.

We went to the library (which I wasn’t that impressed with) and drove around some.

We hung out at Costco. The boys found a huge bear to play with. We also hung out at the airport waiting for Rex.

When Rex was done we drove to Denver. We checked in at our hotel, Motel 6. We do NOT recommend this hotel. They did not have free WiFi, it was small, and no breakfast.

We went out to eat at a Brazilian restaurant, which was good but expansive.

Moab- Hole in the Wall

While in Moab, we went to Hole in the Wall. It is a house that is built into the rock mountain. They had to blast it out. We took a tour of the house. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but you can look it up online and look at pictures.

They also have a little zoo. We bought some food to feed the animals.

This turkey bit Ian when he tried to pet it. So he didn’t get that close to the rest of the animals.

Jaiden loved feeding the animals. This sheep head butted Rex when he was trying to feed it.

Moab- Arches

We left a Thursday night after Rex got off work (June 9) and drove to Moab to meet my parents. We stayed at a pretty nice hotel.

Friday morning we went to Arches National Park. The boys did pretty well on the hikes. Ian tripped a couple times so he wanted to be carried for a little after that. The hike to Landscape Arch, Ian didn’t make it all the way, my mom took him back and they waited for us. It was nice to go with my parents. And they were able to take some pictures with the four of us together (which doesn’t happen that often).

Jaiden was done by the time we got to Sand Dune Arch. He did not want to get down in the sand at all.

Ian loved Sand Dune Arch, he loved playing in the sand. There were some kids that helped bury him in sand and he helped them.

It was so fun. Thanks, Mom and Dad!