All about Hunter

Our little Hunter is growing up so fast. These past few weeks have been CRAZY busy - filled with special events for our 8 year old. Here are the highlights:

A family party at the park. Hunter and his cousin, Carson, are a 1 year and week apart. So, I tried to make it special by making a cake for each of them. Shayne and I decorated them ourselves!

The birthday bash at Chuck-e-cheeses was almost a tragedy! We did NOT pay the big bucks for the birthday party arranged by them - we did our own thing and thought it wouldn't be a big deal. Well, our cheapness almost devasted the birthday boy when Chuck-ee came out and greeted two other birthday parties and put special plastic crowns on their heads. It was SOOOO sad to see Hunter's eyes well up with tears... luckily, Chuck-ee saved the day and came over to our table too. He gave Hunter a big hug and suddenly, it was ok that he didn't have the crown (that would have cost an additional $120 dollars!!!!).
Hunter requested cupcakes for this big party.




I love this picture of Hunter's friend - we didn't do the "fancy birthday" thing - but we did give each of the boys OODLES of tokens to play games.

Danny's favorite ride.... over and over, and over and over.

Next came Hunter's first Pinewood Derby with the Cubscouts. It was a little bit of a sad night for this guy - his daddy helped him make the coolest looking Batmobile - seriously, it was a beautiful car. But, looks aren't everything. The car officially took last place every time and poor Hunter was crushed. We promised him that next year, we'll learn the tricks of the trade and we'll be better prepared with a fast car - not just a cool looking car!! Who knew that everyone in our neighborhood was hiding serious engineering skills? I'm grateful that the scout leaders had an award for each kid. He left a happy boy.
Now for the biggest event. Upon turning 8, Hunter had the choice to be baptized a member of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He made this choice for himself and we're so happy for him and his decision to follow Christ. We had lots of family and friends come to celebrate the special day - a BIG hug to everyone for being a part of his special day. Hunter is such a sweet, sweet boy and truly tries to do good in all he does.

I always get nervous about posting names of other families on my blog, but this little friend came a long ways to come see Hunter. Thanks! And I'm amazed that this "little" friend is a year YOUNGER than Hunter. Hunter gets frustrated that he isn't taller just because he's older, sorry son, but this is going to be the story of your life.

What a lucky boy to have 2 of his great grandma's here plus both sets of Grandparents.

A group photo - There are a few missing!!

Disneyworld

Yes, we're vacation junkies. And when we noticed an AMAZING incentive from Disney to get a free meal plan PLUS we had enough Southwest credits to fly our kids for free - we decided to splurge and just do it. We invited Grandma and Grandpa to come and they said "OF COURSE!" It was a MAGICAL week for all of us. Even as were returned home - we were ready to go again. You know how sometimes you need a vacation after the vacation - well, Disney is AWESOME. We wanted the week to keep going! Here are some fun pics to relive the magic in no particular order.

boys will be boys - we found lizards and snakes while waiting in lines and next to buildings!

We celebrated Hunter's 8th birthday while we were there. Grandma is AMAZING and somehow she found a cupcake, candle, and a lighter to celebrate the end of the day. She even got the crowd to sing for him as we waited for the fireworks to start!

The only picture of the whole troop together!
Danny LOVED these pretend guns on the Tom Sawyer island. I think he could have stayed a few more hours there.

Best buddies.

"World Record: 20 straws in a milk shake!"

At Epcot, the boys got to make masks. I love seeing their age in just their coloring - so cute.

I think this is my favorite picture from the week.

Danny was MESMERIZED with the characters. What a fun age to be there!

It was HOT and HUMID. We found a splash pad to cool off in while the big boys did big rides. Can you hear me saying "Danny, not in your mouth!"

Thanks for going wish us Grandma and Grandpa! We'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Family Reunion

At the end of August, we had a family reunion with the Hunter side of the family. Not everyone could come, but those of there definitely made a few memories to keep us chuckling for years to come.


I tried to make this picture bigger - I'm obviously not so great at editing pictures.
4 Generations - Julia, Chanin, Grandma, and Cheryl

Cheryl organized "olympic" events for the whole family. This was one of my favorite pics - you should have seen Sheldon doing high hurdles!



Another favorite - the challenge was to do Trekie fingers - notice that grandma does it just fine. Shayne had a tough time with this challenge. hee, hee

We were under the impression it was going to be a big cabin for everyone to sleep in - well, it was a BIG ROOM with LOTS OF BEDS. There were quite a few families with small kids who didn't sleep so well in strange places. In the end, there wasn't much sleep happening around here. We could hear other people upstairs perfectly fine though - maybe honeymooners??

If you want to hear another good story about a 90+ year old woman and her son-in-law trying to climb over her bed to get to the bathroom - just ask. ahhhhh, sweet memories.
Did you know there was a huge waterfall in Idaho? I didn't! It was BEAUTIFUL!

It's a rare moment to get a smile from Cole! So sweet!

This little dude kept everyone entertained. Seriously - he is the life of the party everywhere we go.

Day 30

A dream for the future:

With three boys, I have a dream of a high adventure trips when they are all teens. I've come up with many ideas - and honestly - I'm game for any of them! I've been told that I'll want these younger years back when my boys are teens - but I look forward to stuff like this...

• white water rafting down the Colorado river or Snake river (I did this when I was a teen).
• a canoe trip on the Canadian border (did this with my family when I was a teen too!)
• visit a 3rd world country and do service - such as building homes or building schools
• camping (although I have a feeling my boys will get plenty of this in scouting)

That concludes my 30 day journal folks!

Day 29

Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days:

• I hope my boys will continue to love school!
• I hope Hunter will be self-motivated to be a great cub scout. What kid doesn't love badges?
• I plan to continue being healthy and active. Perhaps another Century ride?
• I plan to run a 10K and not puke afterwards. Not that I've puked yet, but I just don't see it being an easy task for me.
• I hope Shayne will continue to do well in his job and find joy in it.
• I hope and dream my sister will have a baby.
• I plan to be a better mom, cook, cleaner, and wife.
• I hope my boys are polite and appreciative to their peers and family.
• I plan to have more family vacations and family dinners.
• I dream of our family having one more - boy or girl - I know someone is still missing.

Day 28

Sorry - I've been distracted that last few days, so I'm back. I'll try to finish the last 3 days in a timely manner.

What's in your handbag/purse:
I HAVE a purse - it stays in my closet and maybe gets to see daylight 1 time a year. I really want a new purse with lots of color - but I'm too cheap to buy one. My REAL purse right now is my Vera Bradley diaper bag. Love it - and at the same time - it's been a 2 year committment and it's starting to look a bit shabby. I carry diapers, wipes, hand sanitizer, a few pens, and sometimes there's a lingering snack in there that saves the day when a kid starts going nuts. Oh, and it holds my wallet! I think my wallet holds a few treasures itself - whenever I look through the "pocket," I smile to see pictures of Hunter and Cole from 4 years ago and a picture of me and Shayne in Jan of 1996. I also have a more recent picture of the boys - just in case of a desperate emergency. I hope I NEVER have to use them for that reason.

Day 27

Your worst habit:

I have several bad habits!! One of my worst is my nail biting - seriously - it's disgusting and I'm the one doing it! And now Hunter does it too - OH NOOOOOOOOOOO! There was once an elderly, German woman who told me at church, "That is a disgusting habit - you should stop that at once." I was at least 24 years old at the time... it discouraged me for a while. I've tried chewing gum - till my jaw feels broken. I've also done fake nails - I chewed on those too. Sometimes I can get my nails to be semi-long and nice looking - I almost feel like a true lady... :::sigh:::

Day 26

Your week in great detail:

Ummmm, I should have written it down as I went through the week - I can't remember!

Monday:
Slept in till 7:30 (recovering from sleepless night at the family reunion in Idaho)
Drive kids to school
Grocery shopping with Danny and Cole
Go to "Let's Play Music" class with Cole (he loved it!) and neighbor watched Danny for me
Work on a picture book about the Family Reunion - it has to be done by Tuesday to get my "Freebie" Shayne's parents stop on their way home from Idaho to give me more pictures and edit my progress.
Pick up kids from school
Find out that babysitter is sick and frantically call to get another!
Teach lessons till 7pm.
Get kids to bed and I probably finished up the book.

Tuesday:
Ran 4 miles plus two extra laps (1/4 mile) - I want to get up to a 10K by October.
Take kids to school
Run to The Roller Mills - hoping to use a coupon Shayne bought.
Fix lunch for me and a friend - YUMMY chicken shish-ka-bobs with artichoke hearts and lemon wedges. Celebrate our boys going to Kindergarten with cake!
Teach a couple lessons
Pick up kids from school
teach more lessons till 7pm. - once again, babysitter did not show! (a different one) and luckily - Shayne got home after 1/2 hour of chaos.
Run to Cole's Soccer game - late.
Bath time for the kids.
Shayne gives Cole a Father's Blessing - first day of kindergarten tomorrow!

Wednesday:
Swimming Aerobics with the best teacher ever - this is not a class for an "easy day"
Take kids to school - including Cole to Kindergarten. I stay to watch him go into class. I spend the morning trying to remember that it was only a few years ago that I did this with Hunter... will my Cole seriously grow up this fast too?
Danny and I go home and pick rasberries then do laundry.
Pick up Cole - celebrate his first day with an artichoke. YUM!
Spend time reading with Cole then he has a friend come over to play.
I clean more.
Pick up the big kids from school.
Shayne takes Hunter to soccer practice.
We all go to Trafalga for a little family fun. We play miniature golf.
Bedtime

Thursday:
Yoga class at the gym. Why doesn't Yoga ever seem EASIER?
I DO NOT take kids to school today - I'm babysitting my neighbors kids so she can go on a school field trip with her 5th grader. I have a 1 year old and a 5 year old - suddenly Danny has become super stingy about sharing his toys, booster seat, or his mommy. hee hee.
lunchtime - go pick up Cole. Get the other little guy out the door to his carpool to his kindergarten class (Cole is sad that he only had 10 minutes to play with his best friend.)
Put the little ones down for a nap and I clean all the floors - sweep and mop then vaccuum.
Neighbor comes to get her baby and she kindly picks up the big kids too - since Danny slept till 4pm!!! WOW!
Go to Hunter's soccer game
Rehearsal with Wasatch Winds Community Band - I'm soooo out of shape - but glad to be there.

Friday:
Spin class. Wait a minute - you already had a run down of this day. I'm not going to say it again.

Saturday:
Get up at 5:15 am to help get the boys out the door with their Papa and Grandpa to go fishing. I go back to bed. :-) And sort of sleep.
Go on a bike ride with my mom and my sister. I pull Danny and little Maiya in the trailer - it was a beautiful ride around Mapleton. So many HUGE BEAUTIFUL HOMES! And it definitely smelled better than my hometown.
Watch the series "Wives and Daughters" with my mom all day - It was such a great lazy day. My kids played (or fought) all day with their cousins and I enjoyed a day of 'do nothing.' We don't go home till after 7pm.
I spend the late hours deciding how I'm going to run Primary Singing Time the next day.

Sunday:
I did my hair today. Yes, that is an occassion - I never, EVER, fix my hair. It takes too much time and I'm reminded that it'll probably be another 5 months before I do it again. (straightening my hair, that is)
Go to church with the family. It was a rough start with some pouting an crying - but we all get there eventually. I even get a hug from Hunter. We're both sorry for losing our tempers.
I do a fun activity with the Primary Kids to help review the song "I Know My Savior Loves Me" - I think they enjoyed it.
Shayne and I make an awesome lunch of Pot-stickers, fresh broccoli, and rice. Put Danny down for a nap and we decide to nap too - 3 hours of BLISS.
Decide to move all our "seasonal" decor to the huge shelf we built in the garage. We have a LOT of Halloween and Christmas stuff..... A LOT.
Have a family Movie Night. Probably wouldn't recommend the movie to other families - wasn't as good as I hoped. Oh well.
Bed time.

Hope you aren't crying from boredom.