Griffin Run-Down

Yes...he is as full of it as it looks in this picture. Here is a run-down of Max's summer:

• Stuff peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the grill

• Hit dad in the back with a hammer

• Eat a sucker covered in hair at Cookie Cutters

• Pull out a chunk of moms hair

• Destroy Hank's Zoo (which took 2 hours to set up)

• Learn how to take off his own diaper

• Bump his forehead again...not sure how it happened

• Suck his fingers to a bloody pulp

• Learn how to say "peez" (please), ball, juice, and hot

• Play in the balls at the Children's Museum (see picture below)

• Gallop around fountains at Gateway Mall (see picture below)

• 

• Learn how to gallop... this is his new way of getting around

• Get a summer buzz (thanks to Weston, his stylist)

• Take a 3 hour nap every afternoon (this saves me)

• Kiss his mom, dad, and Hank every chance he gets

This child is full of personality and life. He always keeps me running but occasionally he wants to sit on the couch and cuddle with me...occasionally! I love those tender moments, it helps me get through the not so tender moments.

Now for a recap of Hank's summer thus far...

• Get a trampoline

• Jump on the trampoline for hours, but only if the sprinkler is on under it

• Earn another stripe in Karate (Master Augustine is very impressed with Hank's ability to focus)

• Become Master Augustine's favorite (he's a total teachers pet...I'm so proud)

• Operate a crane at the Children's Museum

• Run like a maniac around the fountains at the Children's Museum

• Look like a drowned rat
  

• Play with cousins Lucy and Isabel (Colby and Dyson have gone missing, haven't seen them once and Hank isn't happy about it)
  

• Determine he is right handed (Miss Molly doesn't know what she's talking about)

• Adopt Violet (Sarah's classroom fish)

• Get a summer "trim" (as Hank calls it) from trusted stylist Weston

• Wear "Jersey Clothes" everyday

• Anxiously await the birth of his newest cousin

What a precious boy he is. I've decided age 4 is the cutest age ever. He keeps telling me he's growing up...mainly to see this reaction from me NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (after which I fall to the floor in agony). He thinks it's pretty funny.

Now, as for what I've been up to this summer:

• Learning I have the bladder of a 70 year old (thanks trampoline for pointing that out)

• Working my butt off with Jillian Michaels only to eat everything in sight afterwards and totally cancel out any progress I should be making

• Jamming out to 311 newest CD

• Getting pumped to see them in concert for the 11th time next week!

• Anxiously awaiting Sarah's baby to finally come out.

• Being overjoyed with Sarah's new blog...check it out, totally sweet

• Hating yard work

• Loving playing school with Hank

• Obsessed with "So You Think You Can Dance"

• Obsessed with cheddar jack cheez-it's

• Loving my Netti Pot (works wonders for allergies and sinus infections)

This is Randy's summer so far.

• Working hard everyday selling policy's

• Restoring the old Grease N' Go truck

• Preparing for the 99 parades we are in this summer (really it's 4 but it seems like 99)

• Golfing whenever possible

• Spending every spare second he has with the boys, mostly on the tramp

• Hating yard work more than me, because he is the one who does it!

That about sums it up and we've only had one week of summer! More fun to come.

Blanding...The Base Camp to Adventure

Our hair is longer and our spirit is renewed after a weekend stay in Blanding! Anything goes in Blanding...you don't have to cut your hair or shower, you can eat cookies for breakfast, fall asleep watching T.V., ride 4-wheelers until you drop, and jump on the trampoline all day! It's no wonder why Hank wants to move there. On our way home we had a conversation with Hank that went something like this:

Hank: "Dad, we need to move somewhere."
Randy: "Where?"
Hank: "Blanding...we can buy a black 4-wheeler, and yellow 4-wheeler, get a dog named Red dog and a dog named Shooter, and a trampoline..."
Randy: "Where will I work?"
Hank: "You don't have to work, Grandpa Griff has lots of money, or you could get a credit card."

This conversation went on for an hour while we were stuck in traffic going through Spanish Fork Canyon. His enthusiasm for Blanding has earned him the name "Ranch Guy 4". Griff seems to think he is Ranch Guy 1, 2, and 3. Max proved himself quite the 4-wheeler rider. We took him on a four hour ride and he cried when we got home because he wanted more! This earned him the title of "Ranch Guy 5".

This is the morning before we left for Blanding. They were so excited...and clean!

Breakfast at the Old Tymer

Notice the hair getting longer!

Ranch Guy 4 didn't mind the rainy weather.

Ranch Guy 5 was such a trooper on our four hour ride.


This was after our marathon ride...he didn't want to get off! This is such a classic Max face!

Hank was reluctant at first to have me drive the 4-wheeler, but I think I proved myself. He kept checking on me the entire ride. "Mom, how are you doing? Does your back hurt?"

This was such a gorgeous ride! The weather even cooperated.


Apparently horses jump on the trampoline in Blanding. Hank really wanted to ride Stryder but Stryder had other plans. Maybe one day Griff will get some horses we can all ride...hint hint!


Max was OBSESSED with Red Dog. He knew were she was at all times. What a sweet dog she is. Max loved petting her and kissing her. It was the first thing he did when he woke up every day.
We had a great weekend but unfortunately my thoughts were back home. My sweet Grandpa Karl had some complications with a procedure in the hospital and we almost lost him on Friday. Sarah and mom kept me posted on everything and assured me he would be o.k. I hated being away from my family during this crisis. Everything reminds me of him, especially being outdoors around horses. I am so grateful he's doing better. If anyone can rebound from an ordeal it's him. It was so great to see him last night when we got home. Hopefully he keeps getting stronger every day. I love him so much.

The Award for Best Counter at Bear Hollow Preschool Goes To...

I know...the suspense is killing you!

Of course....Hank is officially the best number man in preschool! He recognizes numbers up to 100 and can count that high as well. What a little genius! He gets that from me.

What a little stud! He is totally rockin' that bear head band.

Hank got to be the flag holder as they sang "God Bless America" and he took his flag bearing responsibilities serious. Max kept his chair warm for him.

Hank did so well in school this year. I am so proud of him and the sweet boy he is. Thankfully we have one more year of preschool...I'm not ready to send him to Kindergarten! My babies are growing up way too fast.

Bula and Vinaka Fiji '09

I am in love with Fiji! It is the most incredible place I've ever traveled to. Hawaii pales in comparison. Fiji is more beautiful, the people are more friendly, and the experience is far more authentic. We had an amazing time...here is a recap with tons of pictures!

The plane ride wasn't as bad as I expected. We flew on the biggest plane I've ever seen. There are two levels on this plane. Randy and I sat upstairs which was pretty cool.

The first three days were spent on the main island at the Outrigger resort. This is the view from our room. It rained the entire time we were there. We still managed to keep ourselves entertained.

Randy and his signature drink...as long as it came with a flower on the side he was happy.

Randy singing with the band...I believe he's singing "Hotel California" here. He jammed out with them numerous times. He kept asking them if they knew any Def Leopard...surprisingly they didn't.

The food was amazing. We ate A LOT!!

These guys walked on fire for us!

By far the coolest thing we did was a whitewater river rafting trip. We had a two hour bus ride into the heart of a rain forest. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The rapids weren't too intense but enough to get my heart pumping!

Our river guide asked us if we wanted a back massage and took us to this waterfall. We climbed up the rocks and walked behind the water. I only made it half way, the water pressure was so intense I felt like I couldn't breathe. Randy went all the way through and the guide had him lay on his stomach and let the water beat down on him.

We had the coolest river guide named Moses. He's the one on the left and he had thousands of stories. He lives in the village along this river. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Bill Gates, and the cast of Survivor Fiji all were guided down this river by Moses.
We also had a day at an amazing spa near our hotel. Randy had his first massage and wasn't sure he liked it. I, on the other hand, could have one every day. Maybe he should have gone for the facial or pedicure!

After three days, we hopped on this helicopter to head to Castaway Island. Lets just say, it will probably be the last helicopter ride I ever take.

I am so grateful this wasn't the last picture taken of Randy. We had some technical difficulties as we were landing and almost hit a tree, which would've killed us both. Luckily our pilot had enough experience and managed to make an emergency landing on a near by island. Needless to say I'm not a fan of helicopters.


Arriving at this island, made me feel better about things. This is Castaway, aka my home away from home.

This crew welcomed us after our near death experience.

This is our "bure" or home on the island.

This was the view from our porch. Our own little hammock, lawn chairs, canopy, and beach! We could literally walk out the front door and go snorkeling or kayaking.

I practiced yoga every morning to this view. It was surreal, peaceful, and my new "happy place"

The snorkeling was fantastic. I've never seen blue starfish and they were everywhere. The coral was almost as amazing as the fish. I saw the entire cast of Finding Nemo.

Every night we had a setting like this. The weather was gorgeous. We found out our flight got cancelled so we were forced to stay an extra day. Luckily the guy that took us on this trip paid for us to all stay at Castaway instead of some creepy airport motel.

The staff really made us feel at home. Everyone knew our names and greeted us with a "Bula". These are a few of our favorites.

Ben, Randy, Annie, Sam, and the "Rock" in front. He sort of looks like the Rock, right Kate?

BULA!!!! Tuwai was full of personality and energy. We loved this guy. He called Randy "BRRANDY".

He even carried Randy to our boat as we left.

This is Kim and Steve, other insurance people. They were actually really fun to hang out with. The island was really small so we couldn't really avoid all the insurance people. We had so much fun this night. There was a crab race and Randy and I bid on the 3rd place crab and won $99.


Steven, the manager of the resort with Randy and Steve.

This is the insurance crew...we were by far the life of the party! The big guy in the middle owns the company who sent us on this trip. He was so entertaining and intense, I nicknamed him Chris Farley. He and Randy had a mean cannon ball competition.

I have never stayed at a resort where I felt like part of the family. I actually got a little sad when we left. You will never meet nicer, more welcoming people anywhere.

This is one of the reasons I love this place. There was a beautiful hand crafted basin to rinse the sand off our feet before we went into our room and they placed a beautiful flower in it. Those little touches were everywhere. I'm still on "Fiji Time", meaning, I'm moving in slow motion. The jet lag is kicking my butt right now which is why I've been so slow posting these pictures. There is something to be said for taking it slow and taking in the beauty of everyday. Randy and I have fun anywhere but I'm having a hard time finding enough adjectives to describe how wonderful this trip was. Hopefully these pictures do it justice. Thank you mom, dad, Jeri, Scott, James, Darcelle, and everyone else who took care of my babies while we were gone. It's so good to be home with them. I missed them so much.