Cousins

After they moved to Oregon, we missed Marci, Brandon and Rocky something terrible. It was so fun to have them back in Utah for a few weeks, and we're already looking forward to when they'll come back for another visit.

Dinosaur Park

Can you call a summer complete without a visit to the dinosaur park?







Just for fun here's Ethan age 6:


and Ethan age 3:

Another Summer, Another Batch of Swimming Lessons

All three kids in the pool this year. Ethan and Jo in their own classes and Ginny with me in water babies. It was great because it took up every morning for two weeks, most of which was while Matt was in Alaska so the time flew.

Sports

Ethan played soccer and t-ball over the past few months, and he definitely enjoyed soccer more. It's his kind of thing because he never has to stop moving. He had a silly grin on his face every game, even the one during a snow storm when half the other kids came off the field bawling because it was so, so cold. He surprised us by being pretty good too. Before his first game Matt said he would be happy if Ethan got at least one goal during the season. He got three that first game. So of course after that we became horribly competitive parents and had to hide our disappointment if he didn't score. He truly loved it though, whether he scored or not. And he was definitely one of the more entertaining goalies. Being in front of the net was like being on a stage and he had to show off his moves.


The t-ball season just wrapped up, and I can't blame Ethan for being relieved. It might get to be more fun when he gets into the older leagues where people actually get out and the entire team doesn't bat and run the bases every inning. I have to brag again though, because for the last few games they turned it into coach pitch, and Ethan always got a hit. I'll have to try and remember that and try to forget watching him pick his nose for ten minutes straight.

Birthday Cake

Ginny turned one year old! We had both sets of grandparents up to our place for a little party.


When it came time for the cake, Ginny loved the candles and singing. But then she stuck her fingers in the frosting, realized it was gooey, and didn't want anything to do with it. We tried to get pictures of her eating her cake but she wouldn't let a bite get anywhere near her. Oh well, we thought, more cake for us. Later, after the grandparents had left, I came upon this:


That's my little piglet.

Six

My friend Sue tagged me on her blog to pass on this random dive into the photo album that is our computer's memory.
So here goes:
Sixth folder, sixth picture, blog about it.

Looking at this picture my mind goes in a dozen different directions at once. Ethan is around 11 months old and we were just about to move out of the house on 36th street in Ogden that we'd been renting for a little over two years. Look at those cheeks! He certainly was no light weight.
He's sitting on the bear chair which Matt's sister Marci gave him for Christmas. Normally I'm very opposed to large stuffed animals, but that chair has been well used. Matt and I have both taken more naps on our kids floor using the bear chair as a pillow then I could count. It's been a usual spot for story times, a landing pad for daring jumps, and the ultimate end-all weapon in pillow fights. It's a lot flatter now than it is in the picture.
The backpack and folders on the couch in the back are a sign that the semester was in full swing for both of us. I was working at Weber State Credit Union and Matt was at UPS. We were just starting the transfer from Ogden and WSU to Logan and USU.
Ethan was such a good little baby, happy and easy going. I just can't believe how quickly he has grown from this chubby little cherub into the stretched out kid he is now. I miss having him as that snuggly little boy but I'm also glad to have the boy he is today.

Marci, I think your's is the only blog I read that hasn't been tagged yet so you're next!

All dressed up and nowhere to...splash?

So the kids have been trying to persuade me that it's time to put up the pool. They've been trying since last November, but now that we've had temperatures in the 80's I'm starting to actually listen to them. Joanna made the most convincing plea this morning when she came out dressed up in every piece of swimming paraphernalia we own. I guess today's the day.

Sick

We've got the King Kong of stomach flus rampaging through our house right now, smashing some of us into weeping piles of misery while the rest of us cower in fear, waiting for the moment it spies us and reaches out to crush us with it's cruel hand.


So far Ethan and Jo have been the ones to suffer. I've never seen these kids so sick for so long. Ginny has had a fever and sleeps a lot, and Matt and I have escaped so far with only sympathy nausea and exhaustion.
On a lighter note, our bird feeder is finally being visited (we've seen lazuli buntings and ruby-crowned kinglets) so the kids have something to watch out the window as they loll whimpering on the couch.