Pre-Wedding BBQ

Ever since "the weddings" have begun in our family Lizzy has always joked that she just wanted to have a BBQ instead of all the stress of a formal Wedding.  Well Mom and Dad decided that she still needed a formal wedding, but that she should get her BBQ.  So on August 24th Lizzy and Jon had their BBQ.

 It was truly a fun evening.  There were lots of family members and friends who came very far to support Jon and Lizzy on their very special day.

 Ethan had a fun time eating his hotdog and drinking rootbeer.

 Dad, Lizzy, Megan (Lizzy's best friend from BYU), and Megan's mom.

 Mom (Grandma), Ethan, Bonnie, and Clyde.

 Jon's friends.  I can't remember their names at the moment, but they are some of the friendliest and kind people I have met.  I hope to have friends like this someday.

 Grandma (Great Grandma), Whitney, Jeane, Nick.

 Rada, Barbara, Courtney, and Josie.

 Landon, Me, Keith.

Marion, Ethan, Landon, Me.

The evening was so much fun.  Thanks Mom and Dad for all the delicious food and for having everyone over to your home.  We are truly blessed to have such wonderful parents who love and support us no matter what we do.  Thanks Lizzy and Jon for getting married so we all had another excuse to get together. 
p.s. Man I look skinny, why don't I look that way in the mirror?

Arizona Science Center

 While in Phoenix this summer we had the opportunity to go to the Arizona Science Center.  It was so much fun to go with Grandpa, Josie, and Rada. 

 There was a great area with water that we could launch red, orange, and yellow balls into different stations.  The boys had a great time throwing the balls and getting a little wet.

 We also learned about rivers, wind, weather, and the earth.  The boys had a great time playing with the sand to make room for a new river.

 Josie even helped the boys build houses so they could knock them down in an earthquake.

We had such a fun after noon, and loved being with our family who we don't see very often.

City Creek Splash Pad

 In July we decided to take advantage of the hot summer day and go to City Creek Mall with Kak and Dan.  We met for lunch and then made our way to the splash/water area.  The boys and I had a fun afternoon playing in the water and visiting with Kak and Dan. 

We were so glad Kak was off from school, and could relax with us, but are super excited for her to become a PA. 

A Day at the Beach

In July we decided to take a little break from things, so we headed to the beach.  The boys love to play in water and dirt so we decided it would be a perfect outing.

 Aaron was the wonderful Daddy, that we all love, and took the boys out in the water and spun them around,  had a mud ball fight with all the kids, and laughed and was silly with the boys. 

We also had a great time building sand castles, sitting in mud holes, and turning the boys into mermen.  It was such a fun afternoon.  We wish Daddy could be home all the time to have fun with, but we sure are grateful for all of his hard work, and the times that we do get to all be together.

Happy Birthday!

Wow, I can't believe my first born has turned 5.  The past five years have just flown by.  It seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms completely in awe at the amazing gift of being able to get pregnant and then to become his mother.  I love spending my days laughing with him, listening to his great stories, and watching him play with his vivid imagination. 

We had a little Lego Star Wars Party for Ethan.  I made his cake, which I have such a great time doing, and then we sang him Happy Birthday (Landon's favorite song right now).  He opened his gifts and then got to play with his cousins.  It was a simple party/get together this year.  We are starting to do the every other year friend party thing.  Which I think will be good for all of us. 
Ethan we love you so much and hope you had a wonderful 5th Birthday.  We are so very blessed to have you in our family.  Happy Birthday!!

Peanut

Ethan's preschool allows the kids to take home their class pet. Ethan was the last in his class, but was so excited when his turn finally came around. Peanut is the class pet and as you can tell he is a stuffed elephant. Ethan loves to snuggle stuffed animals and had a great afternoon showing Peanut all the fun things he does after school. They jumped on the tramp, ate snacks, and played with his cousins. It was so cute to see Ethan with Peanut and we are glad he could come to our home.

Sod Party

We finally have grass!!! We had to reschedule laying our sod two times because of the weather. It always seemed to rain the day before we were going to lay the sod so the place where we were going to get our grass couldn't cut it. Instead of laying our sod on a Saturday we ended up getting it on a Tuesday. I was a little nervous that we wouldn't have enough people to help, but Aaron has a lot of really great friends and our ward came over to help. It took a little over 2 hours to lay about 20 pallets of grass. Needless to say we have all had a great time running around in our bare feet and playing in the water.