Mother Goose Games

Field trip season came to a close as I took part in Bear Hollow's Mother Goose Games.  I remember going on this field trip with Hank and it was one of the first times I witnessed his competitive nature.  I wasn't sure how much Max would get into it but he didn't disappoint.  He is more like his brother than I thought!

 There were many games to play mostly involving running and jumping.  I have another little athlete on my hands.  Most of the kids had no clue what was going on.  Max on the other hand was in it to win it.

I think these pictures illustrate my point precisely.  He had no problem dragging his teammates along.

 

After the games, one of the moms decided to take a bunch of pictures.  Max was compliant for the first 10 minutes.

 

But it went on about 20 minutes too long and he had enough.  

 

I mean he was pissed to the point of tears.  Poor kid, I mean how many pictures do you people need?

Good thing lunch was the next activity.  That turned his spirits around in a hurry.  

 

Sitting next to Bree also helped.  She quickly became his girlfriend as soon as he heard Hank had a love interest.  Bree is a lucky girl and she doesn't even know it!

All this field trippin' has been exhausting but so worth it.  Between Hank and Max, I've been on 7 field trips this school year.  I have to thank my willing babysitters who made it possible.  Thank you so much mom, Sarah, and Jeri.  I love spending one on one time with my boys.

8 months

Another month bites the dust.  Sam has certainly become more mobile over the past few weeks.  He is scooting, rolling, standing, and rocking.  His favorite trick is to stand next to his little table and take his hands off and stand unassisted for a few seconds.  I'm pretty sure he needs to crawl before he walks right?

I'm still waiting for that first tooth to break through.  He chews on everything.  We've started feeding him food off our plates and he loves that.  It's making baby food a much tougher sale.  He loves to try new foods.  He just smacks his little lips together and squeals at the sight of any food coming his way.  He is quickly losing interest in his bottle.  Why is he growing up so quickly? 

He is sleeping like a champ still, going to bed around 7:30 and sleeping until 8 or whenever we go in to get him.  Sam loves his crib, he really enjoys taking his time to wake up.

It's hard to believe these two will be in the same grade one day!  Sam is so stout in comparison to cute little Tuck.  Trust me, this won't be the last picture you'll see like this.  What would I do without my precious Sammy-boy.  He is amazing in every way.  What a little doll.  Oh yes, and he's a total mama's boy, the obsession is mutual!  I freaking love this kid.

32

How am I 32 already?  Obviously everyone ages and every year that number increases but for some reason, that number is really freaking me out.  I really love being in my 30's, in fact I don't want to go back to my 20's one little bit, it's what comes after the 30's that is problematic.  Time for my live in the moment mantra to start in.  Aging is just one of those inevitable facts of life, so I better accept it. It's going to happen regardless of how hard I resist it.  The best way to distract me from dwelling on getting older is to celebrate with my friends and family.  I like to spread my birthday parties out over the course of a week.  I began my week of fun with a shopping trip including my favorite ladies.  This has become a tradition and the opening of City Creek Mall came at the perfect time.  After indulging in some new summer duds, we were starving.  The Cheesecake Factory fixed that problem in a hurry.

 We wore our striped shirt uniform, not planned by the way, I swear!  Great minds think alike.

 I adore my sisters and my mom.  We don't hang out without kids and distractions nearly enough.  I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time.  It felt awesome.  These are incredibly busy ladies, so for them to give up 6 hours just for me, means a lot.

Randy took over the party planning from there.  He organized a Sunday afternoon golf outing with my parents.  Jeri and Jenni watched our kids so we could focus on our intense golf match!

My dad missed his golf date with his regular Sunday morning group and my mom actually dusted off her clubs and played all 9 holes.  Since I'm there favorite daughter, it's not too surprising.

 

 My game is a bit rusty but I had a blast.  Randy also invited our entire family to come over for a BBQ.  He prepared the food and everything was perfect.

 This is the beginning of many bbq's sure to happen this year. You know Bob Marley was blasting through the stereo.  

 

 Sam helped the birthday girl with the candles.

 He happily chewed on grandpa's glasses for 20 minutes.

 I love these beautiful ladies.

 I am so grateful to have my grandparents around to celebrate.  I really miss my Grandpa Karl and Grandma Joanne.

On my actual birthday, Randy surprised me and took the entire day off.  He bought me a new dryer and then took me to lunch with the girls.

Sarah, Kate, Mom, Jack, Tucker, and Sam all met us at Magleby's Fresh

 After a delicious lunch Randy took the boys to Target and they picked out darling cards and thoughtful gifts.  Max got me a make-up bag and Hank bought me some exercise shorts.  Later that night, my mom came over to watch the kids and put them to bed while Randy and I went to dinner in Salt Lake.  We found a new restaurant, Pallet, and the food was delicious.  It was such a beautiful day.  

Since my dad's birthday is May 2nd, the party continues.

Max and Hank were so excited to go to the Harley Davidson store to pick out grandpa's gift.  

 They really got into the biker spirit.  I'm terrified there might be a motorcycle in Max's future.

After much deliberation, they settled on a skull face mask and a sleeveless skull shirt.  Grandpa Curt loved it.

Happy Birthday to my incredible dad.  I am so lucky to have him in my life.  I love him so much.  Speaking of love, I most certainly felt it from everyone on my birthday.  I had so many calls, text messages, and visits from my family and friends.  It was overwhelming.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Last Week's Adventures

I have become hooked on instagram.  I love keeping in touch with my family and friends through pictures.  It also makes me more conscious of taking pictures of everyday life around here.  Here is a rundown of the past week.  There is never a dull moment!

 

 The weekend began with an airplane ride in our friend Ron's personal plane.  Yes, we have a friend that owns his own plane.  Pretty freaking sweet.

Ron, Hank, and the plane.  The boys had such an adventure.  I was a little nervous sending them off in a plane.  They came back safe and sound and ready to tell everyone about it.

 We had gorgeous, warm weather for most of the week which means, time to get the yard in order.  Randy loves yard work...haha.  He turned the sprinklers on to find a major crack in the pipes.

Good thing he had Anthony, Cohen, and Max on the scene to help out.  They talked his ear off all afternoon.

It never takes long for the neighborhood kids to find my Popsicle stash.  I love seeing Max with a posse of friends.  He has been a little antisocial up to this point.  These three are going to have fun this summer.

It was so warm, we broke out the swimming suits, invited the cousins over, and had a jaunt through the sprinklers.

It's been a long winter....these are some white boys!

It wasn't all fun times however.  Poor little Sam got a nasty cold, thanks to his brother Max who loves to share his germs.

He was miserable for most of the week.  Max also had some pretty rough days.  I took them both to the after hours clinic to learn they both had ear infections.  

They are hitting the antibiotics pretty hard and feeling much better, thankfully.  These two have lots of time to spend together while Hank is at school.  It's no wonder they had the same illness.

Max has moments of being the sweetest brother you've ever seen.  I wish he would get along with Hank that well.  Those two are fighting constantly these days.  I've threatened them with summer school more than once.

I volunteered to go on a field trip to the Bean Museum and planetarium with Hank and his class later in the week.  His favorite friend these days is Danny.  They are both "in love" with Emily and were vying for her attention the entire day.

She enjoys being part of this love triangle!  I told the boys in my group I would buy them a small toy at the gift shop and Hank chose a seashell key chain.  It was an interesting choice until I realized he had no intention of keeping it for himself.  He rushed outside and gave it to Emily.  He has been hit by the love bug for sure.  He even called her after school to play.  

 With moves like this, she can't resist ! 

I guess it's safe to say I'm chop liver these days.  My baby is growing up so fast.  He's quite the lady killer!

Speaking of growing up...Max is looking so old lately.  He always looks older after a haircut but man, I can totally envision what he's going to look like as a teenager from this picture.  What a handsome little guy.  As another weekend approaches I am amazed at how fast time is passing by.  I cherish every moment.  Time to gear up for my birthday!  I think I may just say I'm turning 31 again this year. 

An Update On My Face

Last night I spent an hour writing out my feelings about my face.  It was long winded and emotional and I felt better after I wrote it but realized no one else needs to read it, ever.  Long story short, the bell's palsy is much better but there was some serious damage done to my facial nerve.  I'm seeing a physical therapist who specializes in facial treatment and she is confident she can help me get my face back.  It's a long process requiring more patience than I think I posses, but it's really the only option I have at this point.  I can't give up now.  I have a good year or more of therapy ahead of me but I'm trying my hardest to stay positive and optimistic.  It is the best thing for my face after all.  I've been doing lots of yoga, meditation, and relaxation techniques even though my crazy life really doesn't allow for it.  Over the last couple years, I've been striving to be a more mindful, conscious, present person and this therapy requires all of those things.  I guess I should be careful what I wish for.  Let me share a few pictures that demonstrate things that are good for my facial recovery.  Mind you, this isn't a complete list, just pictures I have taken recently.  I have so many loved ones that do wonders for my mental and physical state, you know who you are!

 Sam is going through the funniest stage right now.  He is sitting up on his own and really trying to master the sitting to crawling maneuver.

 Meal time is his favorite and he will eat anything.

He's also started standing up to everything.

He moves all over in his crib now but always has multiple binkies around him just in case.  Watching a baby sleep is definitely good for my face.

 Sam said goodbye to his infant tub this week and hello to the big boy tub with Max.  So cute!

 How could these little faces not aid in my recovery?  If only they always looked so sweet and angelic.

 Let's not forget the most adorable 7 year old around.  Hank came home from school with some digits yesterday.  He pulled out a paper from his pocket with Emily's phone number on it.  He told me today he is in love with her.  I'm not sure that bit of information is good for my face but the fact he will confide in me like that is awesome!  Let's just hope he doesn't read this post until he is older.

 The annual Snow Springs Walk-a-Thon took place on Friday and Hank was pumped.  He woke up at the crack of dawn excited and ready.  He wanted to beat his record from last year, 12 laps, and he did just that.  Hank gives it his all no matter what he is doing.  It's one of his best traits.  He had every excuse to stop and rest but he pushed through.  He is my hero. 

So, I'm really trying to embrace the current state of my face.  I get a little panicked when someone pulls out a camera and wants to take a picture of me.  Randy took the following picture last weekend while we were out on the town with my dear cousin Riley.  Part of my therapy is embracing the good things about my face and not dwelling on the things that aren't so great.  So here it is, my current facial state...

I am able to overlook my less than perfect smile and focus on how much fun it was to hang with my cuz.  Riley and I were inseparable as kids, and here we are, all these years later, still kicking it and having a great time.  As I look through these pictures I realize just how wonderful my life is. No matter what my daily struggles are, Bell's Palsy and all,  I am a very blessed girl.

Easter 2012

Our Easter celebrations began with a field trip to Highland Gardens with Max's preschool.  His buddy Christian got to ride in our car and kept me on my toes the entire morning.  Let's just say the kids were less than impressed with learning about perennials, annuals, and deciduous trees.  It was sort of a snooze fest.

Even though Max was a little bored he managed to pay attention and answer all Miss Molly's questions.  After lunch we had an Easter egg hunt which instantly made the field trip fun.

Max and I always have such a good time together on the field trips.  Too bad I was chasing Christian around the greenhouse most of the time. 

The next day we colored eggs.  The kids were pumped!  They have been asking for weeks.  It was a little tricky juggling coloring eggs and a 7 month old baby.

Good thing I have Hank and Max to take over.

Sam was just wondering when he could eat again.

The kids spent over an hour carefully placing stickers and drawing designs on the eggs.  They turned out really cute.  I gave up full control to them which they loved.

On Saturday the kids woke up excited for more Easter celebrations.  We went to 5 mile pass with Randy's family to eat hot dogs and roll eggs.

It was a bit chilly for Sam but he didn't seem too bothered by it. Grandpa Stan got a kick out of him.

His Harley Davidson gear instantly made him look like a tough guy.

Everyone had to have their time with Sam.

Me and Sam

Grandma Griffin

Grandpa Griff

 Lennon and Sam are becoming best of friends. 

Speaking of best friends, these three are pretty tight as well.  

And then there is Mino-man, friends with babies and big boys alike.  I'm sure he did something productive with that rock.

Max really got into all the Easter festivities this year.  Rolling his eggs down the side of the mountain was a highlight.

Hank preferred to throw his eggs as far as he could.

Randy is always willing to demonstrated the proper rolling technique.  After our fun in the dirt we came home, showered off and I prepared a delicious Easter dinner for Randy's family.  I must have been too busy cooking because I have no pictures to prove the dinner really happened. 

Hank and Max went to bed early so the Easter bunny could come.  Hank was a little nervous about the thought of a giant bunny hopping through our house.  I told him not to think about it too hard.

The next morning the boys discovered a series of clues leading them to various prizes throughout the house.

  The Easter bunny left them "socker boppers" and it took about 3 minutes before blood was shed.

Sam seemed pretty unaffected by the mayhem.  He was too busy with his new sippy cups.

The Easter bunny also left Max and Hank some adorable Shawn White gear. 

Our next adventure was at my mom and dad's house.  After lunch we headed down to the pond for another egg hunt.

Sam was perfectly content in the shade with an empty egg and comfy blanket.

Max and Isabel

Hank and Dan played football.

Sam with his lady friends.

Some mother son bonding with...

Sarah and Jack.

and Hank and Annie

More egg rolling/chucking

Isabel and Hank

My parents back yard is an absolute haven for boys.  They have unlimited rocks to throw, a pond to fish in,  4-wheelers, dirt, and an open field perfect for any sporting event.  The weather was gorgeous.  It was a perfectly relaxing afternoon.  Sam ended the day with a luxurious bath.

I'm thinking he might be a little big for that sink!