Paint my Face

It seems like every where we go, face painters charge $8+ for their artwork. So I bought our own facepaints and I bring it out every once in a while and do this...

And this...

Jackson is still scarred from Gavin's professional Zebra incident (see below)

so he happily stays paintless.

Sometimes I check on the boys at night and find this: Jackson crawls into bed with his big brother. Snuggles.

My Ringling Bros.

I took the boys to the circus one Saturday morning. Because I bought $4 tickets, we were in the nose bleeds and the boys were terrified of falling down the stadium. Jackson was glued to my lap the whole time and Gavin was bored with the clowns and magicians. I think really because we were just too far away.

But once the elephants came out, my boys were enthralled.

Here is Jackson's fake terrified-of-falling-face.

The elephants were so amazing. If you haven't seen it. You should.

But the thing that freaks me out is watching the tigers.

The tamer is crazy. He is in a cage with 12 tigers. Surrounding him on all sides.

And they are sassy with him. They bat their big paws and growl ferociously.

It's all just a game of dominance. The way he has to carry himself; now that is a real man.

rolling over

When we walked out to where our car was parked, to our surprise we realized we were 100 ft. away from the elephants. They were just hanging out in the shade munching on hay. I really was tempted to climb over the fences, throw my kids aback and ride one away. :)

That evening I was priveledged to attendthe General Relief Society Meeting at the Conference Center.

First of all, I was amazed to be in a structure that large and beautiful. It seats 21,000 people and it was nearly full of women that hold my same values and beliefs. I really was in awe. Secondly, it was such an honor to be in the presence of the prophet. I can't really describe the feeling I had. He brought such peace and calm into this room of almost 21,000 chatty women. When he walked into the room it was so silent one could hear a pin drop. To say the least, it was a very inspirational night.

Daddy watched the boys. Of course when I came home, this is what I found waiting for me on the floor. One tired pup and the other one barely waiting up for me. Lance, thanks for studying all day, sorry you had to miss out on all the fun!

Hanging out with Cousins!

My sister and her family came into town. It was such a short visit, but it was so much fun to see her kiddos and the boys had so much fun with their cousins. It's great to see them interact as they get older. I think this is the first time they've hung out where 3 of them can talk!

I wish I had more time with you Kim! There is no one in the world like a sister. Love you guys!

Jackson, Zander, Aaliyah, and Gavin

Park City

Over the weekend we went up to Park City to celebrate Lance's last day on "break" (he was still working full time every day). I just love Park City. It's so refreshing and artsy. It's like the Laguna Beach of Utah.

We waited a long time in line to have the kids faces painted. They were both excited. Gavin wanted to be a Zebra (which as you can see, I don't think had been a previous request) and Jackson wanted to be a tiger. Gavin went first while Jackson kept playing. As soon as Jackson got one look at his brother, he ran for his life. It still makes me giggle. Gavin's zebra face looked more like a mix of a skeleton and The Dark Knight's, Joker. Although of course we kept telling him how cute he looked. :) I think he was scared of his face too. I made Jackson just get a lightening bolt on his face and then he chased Gavin around with a wipey the rest of the day trying to take off his paint. It was so funny.

Crafting

Here are a few of my latest crafts.

My dear friend Kimberly provided the adorable lettering through her company I Wall Vinyl. Thank you Kimberly!

This is a magnet board for Gavin to hang up his artwork and projects. He always has multiple paintings or colorings hanging up that he is very proud of. He loves having a place to show off his work. (And mommy likes it too so it's not all over the fridge!) I found some metal wildlife
cutouts and made them into magnets.

Speaking of stuff on the fridge... this is what is on ours. This is a goal chart that I made for Gavin a while ago. If anyone wants the spreadsheet I will send it to you. You can modify it with your own goals and clipart. I just attached velcro to each circle so that it's as exciting as putting a sticker up everytime, but they are reusable.

This is where we keep all of the circles for his goal chart. It's magnetized so it's just right up on the fridge next to everything else.

Dinosaur Museum 2009

Once again I stupidly braved the biggest crowd of the summer to go to Thanksgiving Point's $2 Tuesday at the Dinosaur Museum this year. I promise I will not be going back next summer for Any discount day. The crowds make you feel like you are being herded through. Move or be trampled. The boys had fun and brought home some souvenir lizards.

Independence Day

We had a great fourth of July. We spent the morning with our "Siamese twin friends" (because of everything we have in common) swimming in their pool, enjoying all the good weather. We just love these friends. I am so glad we found them and have so much fun together. Here are some shots of Lance playing with the boys. Can you just hear the boys uncontainable squeals of laughter and delight?

Gavin terrified for his life coming down the water slide...

I know you wanted to see that one again up close. I can't get enough of it!And then here he is 1 second later realizing that he loved it.

This is a great group shot of everyone, but the moms. If you think Lance looks awkward, it's because he was moving in to give his friend Corey a gay kiss on the head for giggles. I especially love sweet little Tessa's (Jackson's girlfriend) smile for the camera.

Then we went to my Aunt Jan's for a BBQ and fireworks. She always has an amazing spread and goes above and beyond to make holidays feel so special. I got to see long lost cousins from England, New York and Spanish Fork. We had such a fabulous time.

Gavin liked the sparklers...

but wasn't such a fan of the fireworks...

Jackson held onto me like a monkey during the whole thing. He was tired by time the fireworks got to cracking.

Here was my attempt to take a family shot...

Until someone offered to take a real one.

Thanks everyone for making the holiday so memorable!

Dr. Gavin

    After Dr. Gavin carefully inspected daddy (his patient) with his new Wall-e flashlight, he diagnosed Lance with boogers in his nose, an ear infection in his ears, sugar in his mouth and prescribed some rain drops for his eyes. Daddy should see the Doctor more often!

Jackson's 2nd Birthday

For Jackson's birthday we had our besteez over for pizza, at Jackson's request. They gave him M&M's and dinosaurs which obviously was a big hit. They also had a little something for Gavin so he wouldn't feel left out. That was so thoughtful.

He was oohing with excitement in this picture.

Still freaking out...

Then throws his beloved sunglasses to the wayside in his pure excitement.

We literally JUST gave him a lawn mower for his birthday. He loves to push things. Strollers, cars, shopping carts, anything. So thankfully, this was a big hit.

He was very serious about blowing his candles out.

And very serious about eating his cuppycake.

I can't even believe this is him a year ago. Thank goodness he grew some hair. He was still just as serious about eating his cake back then! He is such a treasure in our family. I love this guy beyond words. He is so loving and mischevious and passionate about things. Like eating. (He is notorious for pounding all of the snacks in nursery before the other kids even see it coming). I swear we feed him. He is just a bottomless pit! He was born with a very strong personality. We butt heads the most I think because he is so like me. He is one determined little guy with very little fear. Lets just say he is the one that keeps me on my toes and I love him for that. He is such a momma's boy. He has always hated whenever I've held any other babies. He loves giving kisses and hugs and loves his big brother to death. He is always one step behind whatever Gavin is doing. Jacky, you bring so much joy to mommy and daddy's heart. We love you little Jackson. I wish I could keep you little forever sunshine.

My mom gave him a motorcycle for his b-day that he would NOT put down; in the store, in the car on the way home from the store, or the drive all the way back to Utah. On the way home from the store after buying it, he fell asleep holding it. Even though he was asleep he was still on alert because I tried to take it and he vice-gripped it and yelled "NO!" and then nodded back to sleep. It was so funny. Don't LET GO little buddy! You'r brother might play with it.

San Diegoooo!

I recently got to go to San Diego for my brother Keldon's highschool graduation. I drove the 14 hour drive with my 2 boys. We had such a great time. Congratulations to Keldon who is such a handsome and great guy. I'm so lucky that he is my brother and I am so proud of him. He also recently completed his Eagle Scout project, which I am estatic about. Sometimes I think it's hard to stay motivated towards the end of those, especially when your ready to move out. Great job buddy! We were sooo happy to see the beach. My boys saw the sand and immediately threw themselves to the ground to make... sand angels? They've been in Utah too long. I'm sorry to those friends I did not get to see. Why does it always seem so hectic to try and see everyone when I'm traveling? I wanted to to see alot of people and hardly ended up seeing anyone. Sorry, I'm a schlump.