Girls Night Out = Boys Night In

I went with a group of friends to see Mama Mia last night. It's not as good as the play (movies never are) and even though it had Meryl Streep (she looked so haggard) it was still a fun night. It was super fun to see James Bond sing and dance! I had already seen the show once before with Brian (thanks again, hun) but it was fun to see it with the girls. Brian is great to stay home with the boys and let me go play!

This is how I found the boys when I walked in last night.....





You might notice the "sleep gun" propped up on the back of the couch? Works every time!!

A Serious Problem

As the boys and I turned to walk down the street today Jaxon brought a very serious problem to my attention. Water. Everywhere. Our front side park strip was completely flooded. Water was running over the curb and down the gutter. Brian had just finished wiring the last of the sprinklers early this morning and was now headed for an interview in SLC. Ah, rats! Not only was it flooding our park strip, but our neighbors grass was just as flooded in his park strip. Immediately I called Brian.

"Does it look like it's coming from our box?"

"Uh, I think so."

"Okay. Grab my wrench from the toolbox. You're going to have to shut off the water."

Leaving Ryker on the sidewalk in the stroller and Jaxon watching the water, I dashed inside to grab the wrench.

With the wrench in hand, I put the phone on the curb and waded into the murky, muddy water. I couldn't see anything inside the secondary water box so I just had to feel around through the mud until I located what I thought must be the turn off valve.

Meanwhile, back on the side walk.....

Ryker is crying in the stroller and Jaxon is yelling, "Mom! This a serious problem!"

With water past my ankles, feet stuck in the mud, reaching in past my elbow I tugged and pulled at that valve and it wouldn't budge. Cell phone on the curb, Brian giving directions, Ryker crying, Jaxon continuously yelling, "Mom! We are having a very serious problem!"...I'm feeling a little helpless.

Brian finally has to go into the interview so he tells me to call Hooper Water, because it's not a problem from our sprinklers. When the nice man knocks on my door he says, "Um, yeah. It's not our problem. We are in charge of the good water. You've got a bad water problem." Great.

Luckily he went ahead and called West Point City whose problem it actually was....or so we thought. The boys and I were able to mellow out a bit after a nice peanut butter and honey sandwich while we waited for the water guy to show.

Two city trucks and 3 city workers came to the rescue. After successfully shutting off our secondary water the workers realized that the source of all the water might just be coming from our next door neighbor. Sure enough, upon further inspection it turns out that the neighbors backyard is completely flooded and running into the front yard.

Not exactly my idea of a mud bath, but I suppose it will do.

One Word Tag

1. Where is your cell phone? couch

2. Significant other? Brian

3. Worst bad habit? throat-scratching

4. Hair? longer

5. Favorite food? pretzel

6. Your favorite thing? (besides family) reading

7. Your dream last night? weird

8. Favorite drink? water

9. Dream/goal? Broadway

10. Room you are in? bedroom

11. Your ex? married

12. Your fear? drowning

13. Where do you want to be in six years? content

14. Where were you last night? home

15. What you're not? brave

16. Muffins? none

17. Wish list item? grass

18. Where did you grow up? Clinton

19. Last thing you did? clean

20. What are you wearing? ring

21. Your TV? Word Girl

22. Your pets? dead

23. Your computer? old

24. Your life? good

25. Your mood? happy

26. Missing someone? friends

27. Your car? Escape

28. Something you are not wearing? socks

29. Favorite store? Tai Pan

30. Your summer? short

31. Love someone? forever

32. Last time you laughed? today

33. Last time you cried? church

Two Thumbs Up

We took both boys to the doctor last week for their well-check visits. Jaxon had his 4 year well-check and 5 shots! Ouch! He was due for his Hep B shot so we just had them go ahead and give him his kindergarten shots now, since it doesn't matter if they get them at 4 or 5. We just figured if they're going to poke him once, they might as well poke him 5 times! He screamed bloody murder as soon as they touched his leg. You would have thought he was being beaten!! He was fine within 15 seconds after the shots were administered and found out he got a sucker for each shot. When it was Ryker's turn for his 4 shots Jaxon got quite upset, "No! Don't poke Ryker!" He was very worried about his brother...he is such a great brother and protector. Ryker @ 4 Months

• 11 pounds 6 ounces
• 24.5 inches
• drools like a leaky faucet
• sleeps all night...still on his tummy
• likes to suck on his hand, binky, blanket, you name it!
• smiles and coos
• he's getting close to giving us a real giggle
• lights up when Jaxon talks to him
• pushes himself with his legs...scoots forward, backward, and in circles
  

Jaxon @ 4 Years

• 40.5 pounds
• 41 3/4 inches
• can identify all the letters in the alphabet
• knows his colors
• knows his full name, parents names, birthday, and address (mostly)
• rides a bike with training wheels
• can button buttons (apparently that's pretty good for his age)
• counts to 20
• counts backwards from 10

Both are doing very well and were given two thumbs up from the pediatrician.

Way to grow, boys!

Stellar Deals

Behold our deals....

Rubbermaid storage cabinet $79.95.....Our Price $12.00

Igloo Playmate Personal Cooler $14.99......Our Price $3.00

Drawer Organizer $4.24..... $1.50

Christmas Advent Calendar $8.98......$0.50

Microwave Bacon Tray $9.95.....$1.00

KeepBox 12 gallon storage container $15.00......Our Price $3.00

Split Second board game $12.00.....$2.00

Oodles board game $14.98....$2.00

Total $160.09.......... Our Total $25.00

Savings: $135.09

(all items had original tags/stickers/packaging except the two board games which were slightly used)

Where do you find such deals?

The D.I. ....... You Gotta Love It Baby!

For The Birds

We've been able to have Brian home for the past 3 weeks since he's between school and work. It has been so much fun to spend time together as a family, usually just doing everyday stuff, but we've tried to do some simple, but fun, things with the boys. Today we went to the Layton park to feed the birds and take some pictures.

Jaxon had a great time throwing bread to the ducks, swans, geese, and seagulls and they in turn had a nutritious snack compliments of whole wheat bread and Jaxon's incredible aim.

Here's a little smattering of our trip to the pond.

The cutest boys in the world!

Jaxon receiving instruction and strategy on the proper throwing technique

Peek-A-Boo! This little man loves to suck on his blankets

Here ducky ducky

The wind up

...and the release

The benefactors

Walking with dad

Aerospace Museum

We took the boys to the Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base today. Jaxon (as usual) was super excited to see all the "cool jets". He ran from display to display yelling "Whoa! Dad, did you see this one? That's cool, huh dad?" They have some great volunteers working there, one of which was very eager to show Jaxon and Ryker the education center for kids. Jaxon in his flightsuit
Outside next to one of the aiplanes wheels A way huge jet!

Brian and Jaxon in front of super cool helicopter
Jaxon and Ryker in the mini jet
This is the volunteer that showed Jaxon how to fly an airplane (yes, Brian was able to fly too!)
He (the volunteer) insisted that we let Ryker have a turn flying.
Brian and Jaxon in the demo cockpit.

We had a blast! It was fun to see the airplanes and helipcoptors, but the biggest thrill was in watching Jaxon. He definitely shares his father's passion for flying objects! In September they have a day when you can actually go inside some of the aircraft. We are looking forward to it!

Party Time

Jaxon had two birthday parties this year....lucky boy! On Saturday we had the Vincent's over for dinner, presents, cake and ice cream. I don't know why I get so stressed out prior to a big event (like my boy turning 4), but true to form I was beyond stressed before the party. Why all the stress? Oh, well, only because the Curious George cake turned out to be a completely horrid thing! I told Brian at least 4 times that I was going to the store to buy a cake. In his ever calm way he told me that it would be fine. In fact, after I gave up on the whole thing, he made the last batch of frosting so I could finish frosting the cake. Besides the fact that it looked like a monkey from a horror film, we couldn't get the frosting to turn brown. So we had a yellow cake with a scary gray monkey-type-thing on the top. Yikes! Seriously, it was disgusting and down right embarrassing!!

What I realized during my emotional cake breakdown was that the day was not about the dinner, or the hideous cake, but about my sweet boy. When it came down to it it was a wonderful night. Jaxon had a blast! He had a wonderful 4th birthday. He loved all of his presents, but his fav-or-ite was Optimus Prime. After the party he laid down on the couch in his Transformer jammies and fell asleep with him. He loves, loves, loves Transformers.Today was cousin Wyatt's 2nd birthday so we had a combined party with the Anderson family. We went to the pool by Wyatt's house had dinner, presents, a pinata, cake, ice cream, and swimming. Kayla made the baseball cake and cupcakes....they turned out super cute! (I don't know what happened to me. The creative gene hit all my sisters, but skipped over me. Oh, well. I guess that's why they have Wal-Mart.)

The cake and presents

The pinata...the kids couldn't break it so Marc stepped in and helped.
Swimming

Public Speaking 101

Jaxon's first talk was in Primary today. I have never been so proud of my little man! It was amazing. Jaxon stood up there all by himself and gave his talk while Brian and I stood in the back. I was beaming (and very close to tears). It went without a hitch until the very last line. Jaxon thought one of the teachers was laughing at him. He got really embarrassed and covered his face in his hands. I can't believe how grown up he is. It seems like yesterday he was finally old enough to go to nursery!

"I can show love for my family by working with my dad in the yard, making my bed, playing with my brother, helping my mom do the dishes, being nice. Jesus says love one another. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Jaxon's 4th Birthday

These Are a Few of His Favorite Things

* Transformers, Batman, Superman, Football, Basketball, Baseball, Cars

* Wendy's (hamburger, oranges, and lemonade)

* Making breakfast with dad...he loves choosing what color to make the french toast

*Playing in the dirt

*Helping change Ryker's diaper (he's surprisingly good at it!)

*Riding his bike

*Playing with cousins

*Playing games...Hungry, Hungry Hippos, CandyLand, Don't Break The Ice

* Reading stories

*Watching Saturday morning cartoons

*Doing dishes (a.k.a. playing in the water!)

*Being with his family

Jaxon has always had a very big heart, but seeing him with Ryker has added a new dimension to it . He adores his little brother. He loves to help take care of him, talk to him, hold him. It isn't uncommon to hear Jaxon consoling Ryker, "It's okay Rykes, brother's here." It is the most tender thing to watch Jaxon with his little brother. Jaxon frequently tells me that he will teach Ryker how to play basketball, talk, and do hula hoop. Ryker is lucky to have such a wonderful big brother. Jaxon is truly a blessing in our lives.

Happy Birthday, Chief!! We love you!

The Last Graduation...Or Was It?

Brian is officially a Physician's Assistant! The ceremony was by far my favorite graduation to date. Out of hundreds of applicants each year only 36 are accepted into the program. The graduation was for those 36 students and their families. It was small and personal and absolutely wonderful.

Each of the students were able to say a few words upon accepting their diploma. Every one of them paid special tribute to those who helped them through the program. Professors, mentors, friends, and family. Brian made (I say made because I didn't go willingly) all of us go with him to accept his diploma...because I guess it really was a family effort to get through PA school. It really was such a sweet gesture, and had I not been so embarrassed to be standing up there, I would have cried. After all the sacrifices, studying, and student loans we're finished with school...for now.

Accepting his diploma

Reading the Physician's Assistant Oath
Our family

Dinosaur Park

Brian has to work on Saturday so for Jaxon's birthday we took him to Eccles Dinosaur Park today. Jaxon was nervous at first, but after he was convinced that the dinosaurs were in fact not real, he thought they were pretty cool.

Jaxon did not want Brian to hold him up to T-Rex. At this point in the day he still wasn't sure that he would make it out of the park in one piece.

Never fail. The playground is still his favorite place to be.
It was a fun day and definitely something we will do again in the future.

Sesame Street Live

We were able to go see Sesame Street Live with all the cousins today. My brother and two of my brother-in-laws work for Hill Air Force Base. The Air Force hosted the free show. It turned out to be all about helping kids cope with military life i.e. their parents deployments, moving around, etc., They had lots of free stuff for the kids like DVD's, postcards, toys, balloons, posters. The best parts of the show were watching the kids reactions to the characters, Cookie Monster's sweet dancing skills, and the fact that it only lasted 40 minutes. Perfect!

Jaxon and Jeffrey with their light up Elmo spinner thingymajigsAll the cousins after the show

Jayne, Lauren, Wyatt, Jaxon, Jeffrey, Garrett, Isaac, and Ryker