Not a Fan

Poor Will is so not a fan of his first taste of real food. Our cute little boy is growing up too fast! This past week, after being in denial of his true age (almost 6 months) I finally gave him a bit of cereal. I'm not sure if it's the taste or texture yet but hopefully he will learn to like solids. He is still a really cheerful baby and only cries when hungry or tired. How did I get so lucky? He is content to just lay around or sit in his bouncer or bumbo. As long as he can see what is going on he is happy. Which is why the kiddo doesn't know how to roll over yet. Well actually this week he has learned to go from belly to back, occasionally. I'm not worried it will come I just think it's funny he has no desire to move. He's just content.

The End

For Labor Day weekend we decided to give a big farewell to summer by having a bbq, playing night games, making smores and sleeping out in the tent. I honestly would have loved to go camping somewhere in the mountains but since selling the trailer- sleeping in a tent doesn't appeal to me anymore. I'm becoming a softy! But Riley kept asking "where are we going to go hiking?" so it made me miss our trailer a ton! We had a fun night and the kids loved the surprise I made for them- night bowling, I put glow sticks in water bottles. They worked amazingly and after a few rounds of bowling the kids played hide and seek with them. It was such a cool effect to see patches glowing around the yard. Once it got late Ben and the kids (with their glowing water bottles) got comfy in the tent and I headed inside (don't judge- I need one good night sleep before starting my graveyard shifts on the weekends!).

Kinda where I left off...

The end of the summer was a busy one for us. Ethan headed to scout camp (yellowstone) with Ben. Gone the WHOLE week. I honestly about died when Ben volunteered- after years of being in the YM, I was looking forward to a camping free summer. I'm glad he went it was a great experience for both of them.


While they were gone Jake had his 11th birthday. I surprised him with a trip to seven peaks with a few of his friends- seriously a huge surprise. He woke up and was eating breakfast when I casually asked him where his swimming suit was so I could wash it. I placed his pass and swimsuit by the front door and at 9 o'clock Pam came by to get him - just stared at me and then jumped in his suit and was gone. Afterward they all ended up here for pizzas and water balloon fights. After home for dinner they again grouped back up here for a movie. Talk about a birthday- full from beginning to end and he's said it was awesome! Music to my ears!


Now that he's 11 he moves on to 11 year old scouts and he is sooo excited to with his friends again. He received his Arrow of Light.



We headed to the Salt Lake County Fair so that we could take advantage of all you can eat Fat Boy Icecream. Yes - all you can eat - which means I will not divulge how much I ate but oh were they good! Jake alone had 4. We all ate enough for it to be worth the 2 bucks per person and everyone was happy. The fair was ok Ben referred to it as ghetto and I must say the Grant county fair actually puts it to shame. But at least they had good ice-cream!



Ethan is in 7th grade this year and started one day before the other kids-sevvy day. He was asked to be on the leadership team and is also a techie for the school play. I love to see his excitement when he gets to be involved with things, especially when he has to try out for something. He was chosen to be a techie for the play after writing a paragraph , among other things. How could you not be chosen when you end your paragraph with "cuz baby I'm a firework". He keeps us entertained.



Jake and Jocleyn started school the day after Ethan. Jake is in 6th grade with Mrs. Overy (Ethans last years teacher) She is already findingg out that Jake and Ethan are complete opposites- I tried to tell her, I think she was surprised at just how different they really are! Jocelyn is in 1st with Mrs. Andersen (Jakes 1st grade teacher)- she's already finding out that Jocelyn is a lot more talkative! She is very social and has a lot of friends.




Riley started kindergarten a week late (torturous) and has Mrs. Crockett (after being passed between different times and different teachers numerous times) we found out on back to school night who his real teacher was and the correct time. What a hard thing for him to be bounced around but he is adjusting well and learning fast.




He turned 5 the day before school started. Talk about cutting it close. He picked golden corral for his birthday dinner ( they love the icees). He had an awesome star wars lego birthday party. The kids played games (starwars bingo, find princess leia, musical chairs and dress up, complete with princess Leia hair. Riley had picked the perfect assortment of dark side and jedi candy and each kiddo went home with a lightsaber and a star wars cup full of candy of their choice. Riley was pretty happy with it all and still talks about it.






Owen is still Owen -home with me and occasionally not taking his naps! I need these more than he does. He is currently obsessed with Diego, and after watching the Diego halloween , he has decided to be a bat for halloween. Just like Diego. He was finally tested for his speech delay and was pretty far behind but of course insurance won't cover services for him- we now have some decisions to make. But he improves everyday and I practice with him daily, so much that now if I try to get him to pronounce something he says kkkkk, like he is practicing, even if the word is not a k word- it's pretty funny. Owen also had a birthday and is now a three year old, things can only get better from here. Right?

He helped me make cupcakes- he put on the sprinkles and toy story decorations. He picked Mcdonalds for his birthday dinner and I am happy to say no incidents with other kids- see, getting better already! He still keeps us all on our toes- by now we're getting pretty exhausted!

So far behind...curse our hard drive!

I am falling behind on blogging (not the only area in my life right now) But with blogging I am SO FAR BEHIND. I blame it on our computer- no really. Normally I am against blaming things i/e the kids, my job, sleep, having an infant, laziness. This time I am making the exception. Our hard drive is full-completely full! So after scouring the ads for a great deal we broke down and purchased some external memory mainly for the amazing amount of pictures that have taken up our large internal memory. So in the next few days as I make sure everything has transferred, I will again have access to my pictures and start blogging again. As for now I will try to refrain from thinking of all the birthdays, vacations, first days of school, milestones and just randomness, that I have not been able to blog about yet. Maybe I'll just go enjoy other blogs for the time being- oh poor me :)!

Fathers,Stars,Stripes,parades, and Cowboys=Summer!

Ben had a great Fathers day this year- at least I like to think he did. A new grill w/ a smoker, an amazing book about fathers and a nap after church. How could it have been better? Ethan had the cutest idea during church and as soon as we got home he began on his surprise. He outlined everyones foot on a piece of paper, each one inside of the other- from smallest to biggest. The result was something that will be treasured and loved forever as a reminder of our large family and love of his dad.


The 4th of July was postponed at our house for a few days since I had to work on the 4th. The older kids did stay up on the 4th to watch the Thanksgiving Point fireworks from the backyard, but the good stuff we saved till Friday. Glow sticks have replaced sparklers at our house and the kids love it especially when I get pictures of them in action. It's so fun to watch the kids be entertained by fireworks although the tanks tanked -they don't make them so they roll anymore- the spinning ones with the long bangs at the end made up for it. The kids had a blast and haven't stopped talking about what they are going to do for pioneer day fireworks.






Lehi roundup came and went this year without much participation from us. We did go to the parade because Ethan helped in pulling the ward float. It was hot and busy and frankly I only stayed so the kids could get some candy.


I'm pretty sure that each cowboy has a particular way that he wears his hat and Owen has a way of his own- he stores his bread in his hat! I'm not sure why- I've stopped asking why a long time ago when it comes to this kid. What I do know is he is full of personality and is darn cute! As far as the bread goes he wanted some for a snack and happened to wear his hat most of the day and in his mind maybe it sounded like a good idea.

Are You Ready?

Harry Potter! 'nough said!!!!

What a Blessing

Here are a few pictures of Will in his blessing outfit and the blanket that Bens mom made. I can't believe how he is always alert and smiley. His first smile was on June 1st and his first giggle was the day he turned 2 months old (June 24th). I can't get enough of this sweet boys cooing! It's like he has so much to say and just can't get it to come out.