A day at the farm....

We gave the boys a few choices of where to go for a family outing. Mike and I were hoping that they would choose to go for a hike in the mountains. Instead, they chose to go to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. It was so much fun and the boys really liked the wagon ride. Tate talked to almost every animal and his favorite phrase was, "oh cute."

Dylan milking the cow. He told us it was like "pushing on an eraser."

Dylan on the wagon ride.

The animals came right up to the fence and the kids loved this.

Tate loves the water. He has wanted to be a fish in water since he was born.

Labor Day in Parowan.....

We spent Labor Day weekend in Parowan this year. We enjoyed all the celebration activities, but we most enjoyed spending time with our wonderful family. The boys love visiting with their cousins and my parents went to extraordinary measures to provide hours of fun. The girls had pedicures on Saturday (we barely made it in time as we had to stop numerous times for Dylan to use the restroom..he was excited to see his cousins)and the boys enjoyed the car show. We stayed with my Grandma and had a nice visit with her.

The cousins at the parade. Grandma was a sport to sit through the parade.

Dylan and Payton at the carnival. These two are "bestest friends."

A few of the cousins . We went to the carnival on Saturday night and the boys ate too much cotton candy and had fun with these little people :)

Little man Tate is all smiles!



Uncle Nick and Tate. Tate resembles Uncle Nick's looks and Tate was happy that Nick took him down the slide a few times.

Tate and Ty waiting patiently for their ride.

Top 5 things of being in Parowan on Labor Day:

#1: Spending time with family.

#2: I love to visit with friends that I went to High School with.

#3: The parade. It has many long gaps and there are more entries every year.
#4: I loved the pedicure with the girls this year.

#5: The fireworks were really good and it was new this year.

First day of Kindergarten.....

The big day arrived and our little Dylan is now in Kindergarten. Mrs. Laurtizen, his teacher, had given him a "brave bracelet," to wear for the first big day. She told us the "brave bracelet would remind us to be brave and happy when we came to school because sometimes mommy's and daddy's cry happy tears." Dylan had his brave bracelet on as soon as he woke up. I think the mommy's need brave bracelets too. He looks so big and handsome.

We are so lucky that our school is within a short walking distance. I am glad he is close to home.

When I told Dylan to get his backpack, Tate went and put on his "ackpack" too. He was a little disappointed when he had to come home and take a nap. I am not used to it being so quiet. I could get used to this for a couple of years.

Dylan and his neighborhood classmates. I hope he develops strong friendships and these boys are also in our ward and come from great families.

l This was a sad moment that I will not forget. Dylan was walking in with his class and he held out his little hand and said, " I love you mom. See you later." The hand wave is something we do that we learned when we read the "Kissing Hand." I just took a picture and cried behind the camera.

I was dying to pick him up and this was how happy he was. He could not stop talking about his day and he was so excited. He told me, "mom I know that I'm going to really like my class and Mrs. Lauritzen." I am so happy for him.

Daddy and Dylan at the "Knight's Feast." We had pineapple glazed salmon, sweet potatoes, brown rice, orange sunrise drink, and brownies with Haagen Dazs strawberrry ice cream. We talked about the first day of school and what are goals are for the school year. It was so much fun and I hope it will become a memorable tradition for the boys. I had heard the idea few years ago and wanted to make it a tradition. The boys helped me make the crowns and we all
wore them during dinner. Mike also offered to give Dylan a blessing, but he told us, " I think I will wait until I am eight." I want to blog about Dylan turning 6, but I am going to wait a bit to
catch my breath.

Dylan and Mommy at the "King's Feast."

A little catching up time....

It has been really busy this summer and my blog has been ignored for a bit. Here is a little up-date and a few blurps about our comings and goings. July 4th festivities were a lot of fun. The boys loved the parade and then we had our annual neighborhood barbecue which is always fun. The Jepson's scones tasted great while watching the fireworks. We did meet up with our friends at the pool in the afternoon, so the boys were pretty tired the next day.

We are up way past our bedtime and are all smiles.
Tate had very little patience while waiting for the fire trucks.
Dylan had a comfortable chair during the parade.

Our Uncle Chase also married our new Aunt Keisha. We love Keisha and we are so happy that she joined our family. She is darling and they make a gorgeous couple. The boys have been fortunate to see two family weddings and both Uncles were sealed in the Temple. What great examples for our kids! Congratulations Chase and Keisha!! We are so happy for you and wish you many happy years.

My cute little nieces, Addie and Raegan.

Dylan and Payton are always inseparable.

A hike in Albion Basin......

A few weeks ago we went to Albion Basin and hiked to Secret Lake. It was a ton of fun and beautiful up there. I love to see God's Creations and I can't believe that we had not been on this hike before. It is perfect for kids. The boys never complained and they did not want to leave. It started raining lightly and then the sun was out by the time we reached the lake. We will definately do this again. I hear that it is beautiful this time of year because the flowers are blooming. Maybe, we will be going back sooner then later (we did this in July). It was only in the high 60's and we all loved the fresh air. And yes, there was snow!

Tate and the encounter with a spaceship...

Our poor little Tate took a fall in the shower and had to make a trip to Primary Children's to be put back together again. He was in the shower and I heard a loud crack and then Dylan started screaming. There was a ton of bleeding and by the time I was able to slow the bleeding down, I lifted his lip up and it almost went to his forehead. The frenulum(what holds the upper lip to the gum/bone) was completely gone and there were 2 gapping holes. He must have a high pain tolerance because he did not cry much at all. The bone on the upper gum was also apparent. When the ER Physician saw Tate she said we were so blessed that it did not cut through the outer lip. It was amazing that did not happen. They had to put about 15stitches in his little mouth and they let Mike and I stay in the room during the procedure. Here is the conversation as the sedation was wearing off.
Mommy: "are you ok honey? It's mommy."
Tate: "Mommy I see spaceships."
Mommy: "You see spaceships."
Tate: "um ha. They have lasers and green guys."
Mommy:"What color are the spaceships?"
Tate: "Red and the lasers are red!"
Mommy: "well you need to tell the spaceships to go home now."
Tate: "Ok mommy." .
By this time the Oral Surgeon and the Nurse were trying so hard not to laugh. I also noticed that they were in green scrubs. The problem has been that since the "spaceships," appeared; Tate has been asking to go to the hopital to see the "spaceships" almost every day. Mike told him they have gone back to space and has recommended that we invest in a telescope for Christmas so we can show him where the spaceships belong.

It's Summer Time.....

Summer is finally here and we are enjoying the warm weather. The boys are playing in the backyard all the time with neighbors and friends. They have had water gun fights, played on the slip and slide, played in the pool, and the swing set has become a knight's castle. I enjoy hearing the laughter and watching their imaginations soar.

Dylan was in a basketball workshop for a week at the beginning of June. The Bingham High basketball team taught the kids many skills, and Mike and I laughed when Dylan would do his push-ups and sit-ups during the warm up. All I can say is priceless! I tried to capture a photo of the push-ups and the sit-ups, but I was laughing too hard.
Dylan has been in swimming lessons at Mrs. Amee's home. He has learned a lot and was thrilled to see Mrs. Amee again. Mrs. Amee's daughter and her husband have been teaching swim. They are great with Dylan, and as you can tell from the photos he is still a little unsure of the back stroke, but he loves to be in the water.

Tate has been very busy as well. He loves to dress up and we never know who he is going to be next. He is either Batman, Optimus Prime, BumbleBee, or Robin. Oh, and we can't forget Buzz Lightyear. He loves to play at the park and in any type of dirt or sand. He has loved Dylan being home for the summer and they have been playing well together which has been a pleasant suprise.