Back to School...

This year has gone by SO fast!  
August 6, 2012.  Jackson started 2nd grade!  What?!  He is getting to be such a little man!  It's sad and wonderful all at the same time. :)  He is always very excited about school.  (Love that!)  And he is a great little student. (Love that too!)  He really excels in math and spelling and his reading is getting better and better!  He works hard, and it shows! We are SO proud of him!  

August 14, 2012.  Harrison started Preschool!  This was big for him!  Last year we did a small preschool group with some friends, and he did really well.  But this year we felt like he needed to do some social stretching to prepare him for Kindergarten next year.  So we enrolled him in a "real" preschool where he had a new teacher and a new place and would have to make new friends.  It was a little scary for both of us!  :)  But like the brave little champ he is, he didn't even cry!  Even though I could tell he wanted to!  And it's been  wonderful ever since!  He loves his teacher!  He has made lots of new friends!  And he is noticeably more confident and outgoing!  We are SO proud of him!  

I know I say it all the time, but they are growing way too fast!  I'm sad to see my little boys disappear!  And at the same time SO excited about the big boys they are now!  Sometimes I wish I could go back and savor it all a little (or a lot) more!  That's why I'm grateful for these moments that remind me to do that in the here and now!  Oh how I LOVE my boys!  

Happy Born Day Patrick!

August 1, 2012.  (I'm sad that I am so far behind that I have to date my posts!) The boys helped me shop for him and get everything ready.  He had to work that day, so we surprised him when he got home.  We had our own mini party! He would really be totally happy with nothing more than his cake.  ;)  But we were feeling generous! :)

He is such a ham, totally singing to himself!  :)

And a bit of a cheese-ball!  But he's my cheese-ball!  :)  

He's such a great husband and father!  Sometimes I feel really bad that I can't spoil him the way he deserves!  But there will come a time for that, I suppose!  Until then, I just really hope he knows how much I love him!!!  

PS. True love is taking 3 kids to the mall for 2 hours to shop for birthday presents!  And if you've ever been shopping with our 3 kids, you know how true that statement is!  :)  

Patrick Joined the Party!

The last week of our stay, Patrick flew in to join the fun!  The first thing we did was take the boys to Lagoon.  :)  We didn't pack a camera, since we were all riding, so I only have a couple pictures from Patrick's phone.  But we had SUCH a good time!  Both boys were tall enough to ride anything they wanted. We managed to get them on a couple of roller coasters!  Although it was really funny to watch the ride employees measure my 4 year old... and then measure him again after asking his age.  hahaha.  

We wore ourselves out, rode everything we wanted (some twice), and got wet!  :)  Patrick and I also learned that getting old sucks, and rides that spin are not fun... they are obnoxious!  Those were also the same rides the boys would have ridden over and over again!  :)  We're excited to take them again!

Patrick and I also got to go to the temple... together... for the first time in years!  It was tremendous!  I love him SO much!  And I'm so grateful for the eternal blessings of the temple!  And if I had to be stuck with someone forever... I'm super glad it's him!  ;)  

We also had family pictures x 2.  (That was Patrick's favorite part of the week, he LOVES getting his picture taken! HA!)  
The Swain Family:
  (Will have to be inserted later, I don't have them yet!) 
The Salisbury Family:

The week ended with a "1st Anniversary of Her 29th Birthday" party for my sister that I chose, Angie!  :)  It was a giant party of 2... we are so awesome we are all the party we can handle need.  Hahaha.  We went all "high school" and ate ourselves sick, watched a chick flick and stayed up til nearly dawn - sleepover style! Without any kids! (What?!)  It was absolutely wonderful to be able to spend her big day/night with her!  We have been friends since 5th grade.  She is my thick and thin person!  My cry it out and keep my secrets person!  We have always been this perfect balance of opposites. She doesn't just know my history, she lived it! And I really can't even imagine who or where I would be if I hadn't had her all these years!  Love her so much!  
(I should totally scan in some awesomely embarrassing pictures from the past!  :)  Yep, it's on my list!)  

We also got to see some old friends and neighbors - the Chapman clan!  We love and miss them so much!  Such a wonderful family! :)  The trip ended with a final farewell party with as many of our family and friends as we could get! It was a fun night and it made saying goodbye a little easier!  

...And then we were off... back to real life and the heat and getting ready for school!  Our trips to Utah are full of so many great memories, I am so glad we got to have such a fun and full stay this year!  We are so blessed!  

UT Part 4

I probably should have started with a warning:  This is going to be a lot of "Parts"!  ;)  We were in UT for 3 weeks.  So I'm just trying to get it all in!  Bare with me! :)

Week 2 was just as busy!  We got to go to Hoggle Zoo with Pops, Kenny, Jenny and her kids and Alex tagged along too.  :)  It was HOT!  I live in southern AZ... I know hot!  It was (soaking in sweat, dragging our feet, contemplating laying down and dying) HOT!  But we all survived and had a good time regardless!  :)  They have changed the zoo a lot since the last time I was there, it is pretty impressive.  

 Everyone except Harrison.

The polar bear enclosure was reminiscent of Sea World.  And it was at the top of our favorites list.  Plus, Mr. Bear was super photogenic!  :)

 She really makes herself comfortable!  :) 

Later in the week we had a field trip with Grama Salisbury, Cameron, Sammy and Erica to SLC.  Our destination was the Hansen Planetarium.  We got to ride the train... 

 That would be 'pain' on Harrison's face! Hahaha.  

I love places like this.  Entertaining and educational... and air conditioned.  :) 

 And just for fun, here are a few from the Dinosaur Park.

Holy crap... these posts are long!  But at least they are full of really cute kids!  :)

UT Part 3

When I said it was busy, I wasn't exaggerating!  We also made a trip to the Dinosaur Park.  Got to have some fun play dates with friends. Did some swimming. I even had an afternoon of recovery and pampering with my mom and then a fun night out with a friend! :) We didn't waste a second! :)    

On Friday I got an invite from some AZ friends (The Weech Family) to join them on their family vacation (also in UT) for some river rafting!  I totally jumped at the chance. They are such great friends and so much fun! We tamed the wild Weber River. ;)  

I really didn't think it would be too rough, but I was pleasantly surprised. With not 1, but 3 waterfalls!  And my seat for the ride... was right there on the front! Which didn't seem bad until we hit said waterfalls. ;) It was a blast!

And of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Utah if there wasn't some horseback riding!  :)  Horses = Happy Boys! They will take any chance they can get to ride.  And the Greens never let us down!  (This could be one of my favorite pictures ever!)

 She loves her some Uncle Kenny!

 Jackson, riding all by himself!  :)

She LOVED that horse!

 Harrison, riding all by himself!  :) 

And this was all just our first week!  :)

UT Part 2

The 4th of July!  Oooo, it's my favorite!  And Utahans just know how to do it right! :)  We like it so much we started celebrating on the 3rd, with our Salisbury peeps. We ate and did fireworks. ...And yes, Harrison is wearing heavy duty ear muffs to do sparklers!  He wasn't taking any chances!  Hahaha.

These cousins couldn't get enough of each other!  :)  (Side Note: Both my boys have serious problems with loud noise!  Clarification: loud noises they are not responsible for!)

On the 4th we had a very full day.  It started at the Layton Parade with both our families.

Reagan figured out very shortly after arriving in Utah that she pretty much had every person she met eating out of the palm of her hand!  hahaha.  She could get just about anyone to do whatever she wanted! :)  It made her easy to find though, all I had to do was look for a crowd! 

Then we got some rest before we went back for the fireworks with our Swain family! (This picture cracks me up! There must not have been anyone paying attention to her!)

Love me these little people!

The whole group!  ...And Jackson's eye. Haha. He's behind Heather's head.  :) The fireworks were awesome!  And the perfect end to a great couple of days!