Max's Final Year at Bear Hollow

Max finally began preschool last week, nearly 2 weeks after Hank started school.  He wasn't nervous one bit and entered preschool like the seasoned veteran he is.  Last year, his first day was the day Sam was born.  He has really matured so much over this past year.  He isn't nearly as nervous to talk to his teacher or friends.    

He was really stoked to have fresh stitches to share with the class.  His street cred is through the roof!

Miss Molly has a circus theme going on this year so when I picked Max up, this is what I found...

 He excitedly reached into his school bag and pulled out a bright red clown nose.  Needless to say, it was a successful first day of school.  It doesn't hurt that his girlfriend last year is in is class again...ahhh Bree.

An End to Summer

Labor Day weekend marked the end of summer fun for us.  Max had no school the entire week before so we decided to make the most of it.  Sarah, Jack, and Tucker invited us to Farm Country earlier in the week. Max loved riding the horses and picked the biggest one.  He's a natural.  We've been to Farm Country several times but this time seemed especially fun.  Max is such a great age right now.  He is so fun to hang out with 

My mom had the genius idea to hit up the splash park in Highland.  Since most kids are back in school, the crowd was very minimal.  Definitely the time to go.  The weather has been so gorgeous.

While Jack and Max were running around like maniacs, Sam kept close to grandma and did a bit of splashing of his own.

He also discovered Jack's uneaten nuggets from Wendy's.

He's showing me just how delicious they are.  The kid loves himself a nugget!

On Sunday, some friends of ours invited us to go to Oktoberfest.  I've never been and everything I read about it sounded like fun for the entire family.  The only thing I failed to consider was the size of the crowds over the holiday weekend.  I couldn't believe how many people came out.  I also didn't realize we would be dropping 200 bucks over the course of the day.  Oh well, what do you do?  Have a great time, which we did.

Hank and Max started off the day with some awesome face painting.  My little tiger and rattlesnake patiently waited in line for over an hour to jump on the trampolines attached to the bungee cords.  Thankfully, Sam decided to take a little snooze during that! 

When it was finally time for their turn, Max jumped for 20 seconds and decided he'd had enough.  Hank on the other hand said it was totally worth it.

We pressed on, braved the crowds and made sure the kids did everything they wanted to do. I promise Randy was there too, man I need to take more pictures of him!  We had a great time catching up with our friends as well.

Snowbird provided the perfect backdrop.  The leaves are changing, and the views were spectacular.  If nothing else, it got me pumped for the upcoming ski season! 

My parents invited us to Riverside on Labor Day for one final swimming date.  The day was going great until lunch time.  As I went to put Hank's pump on, I realized his site had come completely off.  Good thing I came prepared with needles and insulin.  I quickly gave him a shot so he could eat, wrapped the kids in towels and headed over to the snack bar.  My clumsy little Max, tripped on his towel and smacked is chin on the concrete steps.  Upon examining, I just knew stitches were in his future.  Randy and Hank took Max to the nearest Instacare while I stayed at the pool with Sam.

Max is no stranger to getting stitches!  He wasn't worried one little bit, in fact Hank was the one shaking in his boots.  He was so worried for Max, such a great big brother!

There is never a dull moment around here.  We have had such an incredible summer.

Sam is going to miss eating watermelon nearly every day.  

I just hope the amazing weather will hold for a few more months.

My early morning runs have been spectacular.  

I'm looking forward to all the excitement we have coming up in the next few months.  Farewell summer, it's been a blast!

Growing Up

It's a sad fact folks, another year has cruised by and my kids are growing up.  Hank started 2nd grade last week and this was him on his first day.  He was less than excited to begin another school year.  School is a bit more complicated for Hank thanks to his diabetes.  I made all the necessary preparations, first meeting with his new principal (who is amazing), meeting with his teacher, Mrs. Roberts (amazing), and getting all the paperwork out of the way to ensure an awesome year. I am so lucky to have such a great school that is willing to accommodate my every request.  Hank's getting used to a new schedule and a new routine and feeling much more at ease.  His diabetes has been behaving for the most part.  

Hank and Max have both improved their acrobatic skills tremendously.  They love it when Randy bounces them even higher to make their tricks more spectacular.  They must be growing up since I don't worry about them falling of the tramp nearly as much as I used to.

Trust Hank to pull bunny ears behind Max and ruin a perfect picture with Grandpa Sherm.  What a little punk.

Max starts his final year at Bear Hollow Preschool next week and he is ready!!  I can't believe how much Max has grown up this summer.  He is making friends, playing sports and getting taller by the day.

Max is so pumped to finally have a turn in the spotlight.  He even scored a goal in his first game.  Good thing he has such an awesome big brother to show him how it's done.  I love the characters he plays all day.  He won't even break character during his games. I'm pretty sure he was a ninja for this game.

And Sam....holy cow, he is walking!!! He took off two weeks ago and is getting more confident by the day.  I have some awesome pictures of him I will save for his birthday post.  Only one more week being a zero year old.  How is that possible?  I'm clearly not getting any older why is everyone around me growing up so fast?

13 Years

 Can you believe it? Thirteen years have passed since I married this man.  Instead of making everyone who reads this gag, I'll make it short and sweet.  Randy is the total package for me.  He is compassionate, yet strong, he is hilarious and sensitive, and no one has my back through all life's craziness more than him.  I am the luckiest girl in the word to have him as my companion and best friend.  We've been together nearly 17 years and after all that time I can still say there is no one I'd rather hang out with.

We have so much fun together and our anniversary was no exception.  We played golf at Mountain Dell and  spent the evening in Park City where we dined on delicious food and later listened to tunes and danced the night away.  It was perfect.  Lucky for us, the celebrating continued into the next week when 311 made their annual visit to Usana.  Of course we were in the pit at the front of the stage!

I've seen 311 at least 15 times and I dare say this time was the best yet.  Just like our marriage, with each passing year, it just gets better and better.  I love you baby!  Here's to many, many more years together.

A Week with the Griffin's

Today was the first day of school for Hank.  I'm still in denial about summer being over so I'm going to post about one of our final weeks of freedom.  Rick and Anna flew in really late so my kids were thrilled to see them the next morning.  Rusty, Collette, and Owen arrived shortly after and the party officially started.

Owen and Max bonded immediately.

Max loved every minute of it!  Owen loves to wrestle and Max was happy to accommodate him.

Sam and Owen had some cute moments as well.  Owen was such a trooper and handled all of our craziness like it was nothing.  

I am so lucky to be so close to all my nieces and nephews so it was critical for me to spend some quality time with Owen, my only out of state nephew.

I know it was tough for Jeri to not feel 100% but she refused to miss out on any of the action.  I was so happy to take the entertaining pressure off her for the week.  She was able to go home and rest whenever she needed and then come back for more fun.

There was a plethora of babies, that is for sure.  Good thing Dyson and Hank had it under control.

Grandma Griffin hosted a dinner one night in her back yard.

Sam and Owen couldn't help but embrace all evening.

Owen happily helped Grandpa Griffin with the yard work.  Randy and his dad began a project after dinner that kept us entertained all evening.

Introducing Randy Griffin's tree trimming service.  Just a little warning...you may not have a tree left when he is done.

Max found a comfortable lounging chair to watch all the action.

Hank decided to stay behind with Rick and Anna to play an intense game.  I can't even remember what game it was, I only know Hank came from behind and beat Rick.

Hank could not have been happier about it! Especially after enduring endless trash talking from Rick.

The next morning we hiked up to Timpanogos Cave.  Randy and I have been wanting to take the kids for a long time.  I haven't been to the cave since I was little and it was awesome.

Hank and Max were all smiles before we headed up the trail.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Max but he really surprised me.  He did his best to hike without assistance from Randy or me.  He was so excited to see the cave.

Of course I had to snap some photos of the adventure.

After a day of hiking we took family pictures at Thanksgiving Point.

I couldn't get over how cooperative the babies were.  This is one of my favorite shots I snagged with my phone.  Such adorable kids, holy cow!

The rest of the week was spent swimming, golfing, and enjoying each others company.  I hosted my fair share of BBQ's and there is one thing I know for sure, the Griffin's like to party!

Griff was on hand to provide assistance in the kitchen and on the grill.

This isn't white trash one bit!  He liked it, I swear.

It was non-stop fun, I tell you.  The fun continued until early in the morning most nights, especially with Rick and Anna staying under our roof.

I haven't laughed so hard in a long, long time.

Good times, good times.  I've got the best in-laws around.  Come back soon ya'll!