Happy Birthday Preston!

Happy Birthday my little baby boy!  I now have a house full of kids.  No babies here anymore.  What a great little boy Preston is.  We're so glad to have him in our family and to celebrate his birthday! 

We had an easy, relaxing day.  Hanging out and playing together.  Preston loved his new birthday bouncy ball.  I mean LOVED!  I forgot about boys and throwing balls.  The girls didn't do that as much.

He is a sweet and handsome boy.  He is always getting into something, but we love him anyway.  He is trying to say things, but I'm not sure what they are yet.  He loves to bang on things. And lately his favorite activity is going up and down the stairs, and up and down, and up and down....

Preston is eating most things with the family and was quite ready to dig into his own birthday cake. 

He even ate half of the candle....

Happy Birthday Prestomonious!  We love you!

Swimming With Cousins

We were so excited to be invited over to Aunt Bethany's house for swimming!  I don't usually venture out with 5 non-swimmers, but we had lots of flotation devices and super Aunt helpers!  Thanks Bethany and Becky!

This makes me laugh!  I love cousin Tyce in the background.  They had an awesome time and would have stayed in ALL DAY!

Me and baby Preston, who took quite a while to warm up to the pool.

I was so thankful for all the floaties.  I really need to get my kids swimming.  Geesh!

This is how Preston ended his day.  He wore himself out.  Tired tired baby.

We're hoping to be invited again soon.  It was so much fun.  I'm thankful for my sisters-in-law!  Thanks Bethany for providing the pool and otter pops, and Becky for the watermelon and pictures!
Yay!

So Long, Utah!

We sure will miss Utah.  It is the best place to be in the summer.

We'll miss rolling down soft, green, grassy hills.

We'll miss relaxing with family.

We'll miss eating ice with our cousins.

And we'll miss being with our Grandpa that we love so much. 

So long, Utah!  Can't wait until next year!

Utah Valley Half Marathon

DUN DUN DUN....

Here it is.  The whole reason we took the Utah trip in June.  The thing that has consumed a lot of my time and a lot of my thoughts since September.  The Utah Valley Half Marathon!!!!! (Can I get an Oprah voice with that?)

When Preston was born I realized I had no more excuses.  It was time to get in shape.  This opportunity got thrown at me and I am so glad I did it.  I've never run before, so this was definitely a challenge.  I started running with the couch to 5k program and for some reason now I can run 13 miles.  CRAZY!!  I'm still pretty slow, but I'm proud of the accomplishment.

Luckily my sister decided to do it with me, so we were able to train and run the race together.  Thanks Sara!

The race went pretty well.  The first 8 miles flew by, but the last 5 were pretty rough.  It was so nice to cross the finish line.  I keep joking that now I never have to run again.  I think I'm still recovering.  Or else I just turned into a 5 year old, because I'm worn out by 8pm.


I'm so glad I did it.  And I'm so glad it's done!  I still don't love running, but I sure hate it a lot less.  I really feel like I have had extra help from my Heavenly Father on this.  I know that He wants to see us improve and accomplish things.  And I know He loves us and wants us to be happy in whatever our endeavors are.  I am so so thankful for that.

Woohoo! Running!

Farm at Thanksgiving Point

This year we did the farm at Thanksgiving Point.  There were some tantrums thrown by the eldest, who wanted to go to the dinosaur museum, but the farm won out.  Or, should I say, cheapness won out?  Dang, expensive dinosaurs!

We narrowly missed Caitlin bringing home a baby chick.  Luckily she only had two dollars, instead of the three required to buy one.  I did not want to have that fight.  Unfortunately, I think she's saving her money for next year.

The kids rode the ponies. And Preston played in the nice Utah grass.  Lucky Utah!  Arizona grass is not my favorite.  The farm was fun.  They got to take a hay ride and see lots of animals.  Caitlin came home in love with a horse named Belle.

Draper

I have a deep love of cemeteries.  I get it from my mom.  But I also think it's partly because I have such a deep love for my ancestors.  Especially the Brown family, who I am related to through both sides of my family.  Phebe Draper Palmer Brown and her family settled the town of Draper and it is named after them.  So, when we're in Utah, we try to visit them.

There is also a park made in honor of some of the early settlers of Draper.  This is a statue of my relatives, Ebeneezer and Phebe Brown.  The kids don't really love this like I do yet, but I'm working on them.  Ethan already remembers who they are and spotted them in the park immediately.

Woohoo!  Ancestors!

Looney Baboons

I was going to put this is with our Bean Museum post, but I felt the baboons deserved their own post.

First, Miss Olive!

We love our Olive Baboon!  She is a little bit crazy looking, has no ropes to block her, and is at just the right height.  The perfect picture combination!  This was Preston's first year, and the first time we've had full kid cooperation.  Yay!

Drumroll please....

Yay!  And if you missed or would like to revisit previous years here is 2010 and 2006, 2008, & 2009.

Also, did you know that a family of baboons consists of 7 members?  We've arrived!