Mexico

In May we took a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with our friends, the Fell's. It was a much needed and incredibly perfect trip! We stayed at a very nice timeshare resort and somehow it seemed that everything just happened to work out perfectly. We did lots of fun activities including a zip line tour through the "jungle", an evening boat ride to a "remote" insland and visited a quaint beach town called Sayulita. We enjoyed a few relaxing days by the pool and a few active days by the pool playing water polo, volleyball, soccer and kayaking. The food was delicious and I will especially always remember eating tons of quacamole & chips and one particular meal at Mr. Taco that was fabulous. We also hit the town a few nights and enjoyed dancing and socializing at a few of the local clubs. It was an awesome trip that I will always remember.

Where are the legs?

So the other day I stopped by the mall to get a new bra and had to bring my little Ethan along with me. Lucky Kellin was still at school and Ethan is fortunately young enough to not really notice much when I change in front of him. Anyways, we were standing in line to pay and I look over and notice that Ethan is pulling the skirt up on one of the mannequins. Oh no, I thought, maybe I shouldn't have brought him bra shopping with me after all! Trying to play it cool, I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "looking for her legs. Where are they?" I breathed a sigh of relief and was actually pretty impressed with him that he noticed that this mannequin didn't have any legs. After all, where else would one look for legs anyways?? He's such smart little guy :)

Run 4 Kids

Here are some pictures from Kellin's second race- it was a 1K and he really booked it on this one! I don't know how much he actually likes to run, I think it's really more for the medals he gets for finishing. This one the medal they gave out was pretty lame, little plastic ones from Oriental Trading. Not nearly as cool as his first one he got in the Tuff Kids Run. His next race is the Iron Man 1 mile and for that they get an actual Iron Man finishers medal - awesome!! I might steal it and pretend it's mine!! I'm so proud of him for running in these races, it's great exercise, great for his self-esteem, and fun for him to experience a positive form of competition that doesn't focus on winning or being the best. Just having fun, exercising, and enjoying this beautiful planet we have.

Magic Poop

As most parents probably do, whenever we think Ethan has a stinky diaper, we check to make sure and then take him upstairs to change. Sometimes Kellin & friends he has over to play also notice when Ethan has a stinky diaper and so Kellin will check to see if he is poopy and then come tell me. Apparently, Ethan doesn't like this very much and so, being the very clever little boy that he is, told me one day, "mom, you can't see my poop. It's magic poop. You can't see it." So now, whenever I tell him he is stinky and needs a diaper change, he informs me, that no, he is not, it is magic poop and I can't see it. And me, being the very clever mom that I am, say, "Well, even if I can't see it, I sure can smell it and it smells stinky. It must be very stinky magic poop."

Easter 2010

As I packed our bags for Easter weekend I kept thinking, "this just isn't right". What isn't right you may ask?? Packing boots, scarves, heavy jackets, long pants & sweaters for Easter weekend, that's what is not right. But, such was our Easter this year as we headed from Sunny St. George to cold Springville for a weekend visit with Kade's family. Growing up in Southern California, my Easter memories are of green grass, flowers in bloom, warm, sunny weather, and egg hunts at a park somewhere. So packing for the snow just felt wrong. As we pulled up to the gas station to fill up before hitting the road, we noticed plenty of out-of-towners stepping out of their cars to bask in the warm sun, obviously visiting from Northern Utah to escape the snow and cold. And here we were, about to travel 3 hours North right into the cold. Along the drive, Looking out the window I noticed the gradual change from green to brown, from flowers to snow, from sunny skies to cloudy ones. And as we pulled into the driveway, I hesitated in the car for a few moments, shrugged on my winter coat, and braced for the cold. Now, anyone who knows me, knows I do not like cold weather. I spent several cold years in Northern Utah and as soon as Kade graduated school, I booked it out of there. Needless to say, I think we will surely invite Kade's family to our house next Easter.
But, I do have to say, that although the weather for our Easter weekend was awful, everything else about it was wonderful. Saturday morning we went to an Easter egg hunt at UVU, where Kade's dad works, and the boys had a great time decorating cookies, coloring, and collecting eggs. Kellin searched and searched for an egg with a golden ticket in it, and luckily pops had connections and was able to get both boys one. After the egg hunt we met up with our good friends the Fells and headed to Alpine to visit a special candy store to stock up on some Easter candy. The store is called The Peppermint Place and has some really great deals on super cute candy. Later that day we went back to kade's parents house and ate (of course) a delicious dinner and hung out with family & friends.
Easter morning we awoke to 6" of snow, so instead of saying Happy Easter, we all wished eachother "Merry Christmas" as the boys searched for their Easter baskets and eggs. The Easter bunny asked us to "reduce, reuse and recycle" this year, so the night before the boys put out their Easter baskets and each picked 20 eggs that we had from previous years and put those in their basket as well. Then, the Easter bunny filled their basket and their eggs and hid them for the boys to find. The Easter bunny would like us to do this every year, bonus - it saves mom some money at the store :) After collecting endless amounts of candy filled eggs, we ate a delicious breakfast and enjoyed and day of lots of yummy food and visiting with family. We headed back home Sunday evening. I was excited to get back to warm weather, but the boys insisted on taking a cup of snow home to Saint George, since we don't get much of that where we live (thankfully).
Another great part of the weekend was getting to finally meet our new baby niece, Maeley. Kade's sister Lonny had her several weeks ago and we finally got to see her adorable little face. She is a doll, and I am so happy for Lonny & Josh. Meeting her made me wish even more for a little girl of my own, and I really hope when I finally do get pregnant again, it will be a girl. It's a little strange, but I just know that I have a little girl waiting up there, and I really hope we get her some day.
Here are some pictures from our Easter weekend:

Decorating cookies at UVU.

Yummy frosting!

I see you!

Kellin & Maeley at the egg hunt.

Not too sure about the Easter bunny!

Coloring at UVU Easter egg hunt.

Kellin & Ethan with their eggs.

Searching for a golden ticket with grandma & pops.

Easter morning Egg hunt - I found a golden egg!

A golden egg with money!

Thanks Easter bunny!

Ethan & baby Maeley - Ethan loves babies!

Ethan pretending to give Maeley a bottle - so sweet!

Kade, Maeley, Ethan & Kellin

Child for sale...

This was definately the case last week - I don't know what was going on with my little Ethan but last week I seriously felt like someone had secretly exchanged my child for another one. Ethan has always been a very strong willed, determined child but let me tell you, last week, I seriously considered posting an ad on craigs list! Ok, maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but he definately pushed my patience to the limit. All week he had this incredibly grumpy attitude, with just about every phrase including the word "no!" in it, and all the other phrases including the words, "I do it myself!" When I would talk to him about being nice and using kind words, he would turn his head, look away from me, and cross him arms over his chest! Honeslty, I feared for my sanity and thought oh my, how long is this going to last? What have I done wrong? Even Kellin was getting frustrated with him, and kept asking me why Ethan was being so mean. By the end of the week, I was so grateful I had a weekend trip planned with Kade and some friends. Unfortunate for my niece who agreed to watch the kids for us, but much needed for me. We returned on Sunday morning to the same grumpy, grouchy alien child and I thought, alright, I can do this. It's got to just be the terrible two's, this too shall pass! Then, a few hours later, trying to understand the dramatic shift in behavior, I put my finger in his mouth to feel around for new teeth and sure enough, two big molers are coming in the back. All I have to say is that when this kid is teething, he is a bear! The last time he was getting new teeth was when he had the biting problems at the day care and had to be "suspended" for a month! Thankfully, the teeth must have broke through overnight because yesterday morning we awoke to our sweet little Ethan. Seriously, it was amazing. Instead of "no!" it was "thank you mom" and instead of "I do it myself" it was ok, mom!" And I am not exaggerating! All day I just kept holding my breath hoping the monster Ethan wouldn't reappear. Even at bedtime, he was happy to get into his crib, didn't throw a tantrum, and went right to sleep. He played great with Kellin and even shared his toys with other kids at the splash pad. Who knows which child will wake up this morning, fingers crossed it's my sweet little Ethan, otherwise that ad really might show up on craigs list!

Kellin's First Race

Following in the tradition of his mom, Kellin ran his first race - it was a 1 mile run and he did awesome. We had originally signed him up for the 1/2 mile but decided to switch him into the mile since his friends were running in that one. I really thought he'd end up walking most of the way but he tried his best and ran as much as he could. He finished in just over 13 minutes and crossed the finish line with his good friend Braden. They even had bibs & timing chips and got to go get free food from the runner's court when they were done. I'm so proud of him! We've been trying to find a sport that Kellin seems interested in, so far no luck with tee ball and soccer. He has taken to swimming really well and also running, maybe he'll be one of those individual sports kind of kids, kinda like his mom! I tried out for softball & volleyball and didn't make either team (I blame the mean PE teacher/coach that hated me - Mrs. Davis!) so I ended up on cross country, track & swim team! All the sports I didn't have to try out for! Anyways, here are a few pics from his race day: