Danny's Fav's

I keep thinking I'll write these things down in my journal or perhaps in his own little "memory book" - but it ain't happening.  So, here are a few of the cute things I want to remember about my danny at 2 years old and some translations too:
*"I DO IT!"  - for just about everything - especially for getting into the car and climbing into his seat.*"I too"  -which means I want one too
*"Jesus" -Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam - his song request before every naptime and bedtime.
*"blue!" -he has to have his blue quilt laid out perfectly on him when going to bed.  If I lay other blankets down, the blue one goes on TOP.  It's serious business.
*"mee-mouse" -his favorite cartoon is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  We watch an episode daily.
*"ball" -which does NOT mean a ball - it means WHOPPERS candy (which looks like a ball) - it's definitely his FAVORITE candy.
*"my turn" -after Hunter's piano practice, we usually have Danny's turn.  Who knows, he might be another budding pianist.
*"Baby" -when I ask which book we should read, this is his favorite.  It has a few pictures of babies, and somehow it has become the "baby" book.  The other favorite is "Monkey's jumping on the bed"
*He loves wearing his Superman jammies, his Mickey Mouse t-shirt, and usually throws a fit when I dress him without letting him choose his shirt for the day.  I think the biggest battle is just getting the favorite jammies off - I have to be pretty convincing to get those off.*How old are you?  "3" - No you aren't! - "3"  (who taught him this?)*He constantly feeds Maggie and when I catch him - he says, "for danny?"  "YES, the food is for Danny, not Maggie!!"  Needless to say, Danny is Maggie's favorite in the house these days.*He loves to do whatever his brothers are doing and he still has Mr. Magnetic personality - he's just too much fun!!

Earholes

While on a class fieldtrip with Hunter yesterday, we sat next to a couple of girls and another mom as we ate our sack lunches.  The girls started to talk about their upcoming birthdays.
Hunter says, "Oh yeah, did you know that Jenna is getting her earholes for her birthday?"
::::I'm in a stupor, not knowing what to say or how to respond::::
"You mean ears pierced?"
"What does that mean"
"Earholes, it means earholes."

Funny story

While we were in Disneyworld, we shared a bedroom with our boys. There were two queen beds and a pak-n-play for Danny. One night, we were all tucked in and saying goodnight to eachother in the dark. Shayne gave me a kiss (Seriously - very innocent kiss) and we hear...
"UGH! Are you guys KISSING?" (Cole)
"Remember, I'm the one sick here..." (Hunter) (He had an upset stomach and had been in bed long before the rest of us)
I wish it sounded as funny in writing as it did in person - but, it still has me giggling.
The next morning, Cole informed Grandpa:
"I heard my mommy and daddy kissing last night!!!"

Laura-ba-dora

A few weekends ago, our awesome friend, Laura, brought her hubby and baby to visit us! I think Maynrad and baby Carlo LOVED Utah and are already hoping to come back soon!..... RIGHT?!?!? Check out the fun we had together:

Tracy Aviary - Feeding the birds was definitely a highlight.

Do you see the little birdie attacking my hair?

We drove to Cascade Springs and it was BEEEEEAUTIFUL!

Doting parents - so sweet!

"I WAS SMILING!" The boys were quickly bored with lots and LOTS of family pics....

I wish I had this on video... we were just sitting and chilling and Cole started to "direct" us. Laura and Maynrad started to sing - and well, it just started quite the musical number. I think my parents would have been very impressed with Cole's directing skills!

The group of us.

A visit to Temple Square

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!