Catching Up. . .

I know I have missed WAY too much so I am just going to start fresh. Some highlights of our life lately are:

1. Keane turned 4. Our camera broke so I had no camera for a couple of months. But he had a really cool shark cake, ate Panda Express (his fav) and went to see Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs (because he is still not over his dino-obsession.) Happy Birthday Keane, we'll always have the mental images!!

2. Little brother Brian got hitched to the beautiful Haylie Farnsworth. It was lovely and I wish I could hack Annie Randall's website so you could see some really gorgeous pics but yet again we were without a camera and so I hacked this one off the family website. Congrats!

3. Halloween. It was simple but fun for us. Thanks to my neighbor Brenda for taking a pic of my kids while we were trick or treating. As you can see we have a she-vampire (she wore high heels the entire time we were trick or treating), a cop who rubbed his mustache off (I swear he looks like Ryley in the second pic--seriously where are his eyes!!!), and a cowboy who was supposed to be a redneck but refused to wear his coonskin hat. We'll take what we can get from Cash these days. We had fun just trick or treating around our hood.

The night before we went to the school carnival in our neighborhood and the kids got kind of overwhelmed in the huge crowd. As they finished a game, Lucy and Keane went over to pick a prize from the bucket and I saw a neighbor and said hi to her for literally less than a minute. I looked down and Lucy was at my side and Keane was not. Keane is a very cautious child and NEVER wanders, so I knew he was somewhere panicking. We frantically searched for him and a couple of minutes later we saw him standing alone with crocodile tears streaming down his face. I felt awful. Through his sobs he explained that he was trying to find a mom or dad to help him but he didn't know who were the nice people and who were the strangers. Sad. So we went home feeling exhausted and as we walked in he says to me, "You were not the bestest mom tonight because you lost me and you forgot my jacket!" Okay I deserved that. But seriously I know that I am not the only mom who has lost her kid for a couple minutes!

4. Lucy broke her arm. Yup it finally happened, our first broken bone. It is simple math really--

Rollerskates + Hill at the Park - Wristguards = Lots of Copays > X Rays + Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist

Now imagine all of that over the Square Root of Lucy in bad mood divided by a cast that developed a lovely odor. It was a simple buckle fracture and she had to wear the cast for about 4 weeks so it was not too bad. She was definitely glad to have her arm back though. These pics were taken the morning she got her cast off. Keyword here is morning. She doesn't love mornings and most of them she makes faces similar to these, which she specifically asked me to not post on the blog (oops):

5. Lucy got Student of the Month at her school. She never ceases to amaze me with how smart she is. Everything comes pretty easy for her so far and she adores her teacher. So cliche, but she is growing up too fast and we are always sooooo proud of her. They give the award out at flag ceremony in the morning and this is what her teacher said about her, "Lucy is a hard worker. She strives to do her best every day. She always comes to school with a smile on her face. She is a great friend to her classmates. I enjoy having her in my class." Which I think is funny that she shows up to school with a smile because she leaves every morning with the face you see in the above pictures. Way to go Lulu.

Here are all the classes lined up for flag.

Her brothers are so supportive aren't they. haha.

6. Cash turned 2!

I love this kid's mug more than anything. He keeps me on my toes for sure but he is just so loveable. It makes it easy to love him when he is literally a miniature version of Tyler in every way. Happy birthday Mad Dog!

The cake is supposed to be a stencil of a money sign but it didn't work out perfectly. Oh well. The cake was homemade chocolate cake from scratch (The Fat Sisters recipe--love that cook book!) He liked it so that is all that matters.

7. Obsessing over this place:

We are planning a trip for hopefully sometime in the Spring but we are counting on Santa to help us out with some tickets or gas money or something!!! Lucy was 2 last time we went and Keane was 4 months. They are the perfect heights and they love everything Disney. I know it will be a blast and I am literally losing sleep thinking about how much fun it is going to be. It's the happiest place on earth you know.

8. Speaking of height requirements, we have been using that excuse a lot lately to get the kids to eat better. "You better eat your fruits and veggies so that you can ride Space Mountain!" Well Cash has been trying extra hard. . .to the point of exhaustion. Check it out. The music from "UP" is playing in the background. Funny. I love that movie.

9. Missing these guys a lot lately. We are used to having them around and are still getting used to the fact that they live in UTAH!! Looking forward to hanging out at Thanksgiving.

10. I have been doing a lot of this lately:

Running, not cross dressing. I have been training for 6 months for a race that is coming up very very soon. I am super excited and just ready to get it done so I can sleep in past 4:30am for once!!! Let me know if you have any ideas for any good running or work out songs that could help keep me going. Wish me luck!

Best Wife in the Nation! (Sorry Chris!)

Not only can she do what all wifes and mothers do on a daily basis and do it well she can fish with the best of them.  Last month we were able to take a trip with Aubree and Chris to fish some waters in Idaho and like always they didn't let us down. 

The only thing better then catching a fish is having your wife catch one as well. 

                                                          Some other pics from the trip!

I love u!

Summer Summary - Episode Two

Ouray, Colorado.  If you have ever been there you know that is enough said.  This place is beyond beautiful.  It is like no country I have ever seen.  We were lucky enough to sneak up to the Clarkson's cabin-under-construction for the 4th of July.  We planned on camping next door to the cabin since they were still working on this masterpiece, but when we got there and saw the bear paw and nose prints on the windows of the cabin, it didn't take much to convince us to stay in one of the empty rooms.  There were windy cliffside roads that would make anyone dizzy with nerves, amazing peaks all around us, streams, old historic mines, and did I mention a lack of oxygen!!  Elevation was around 13,000 feet.  Muchas gracias to the Clarksons for there serious generosity in letting us stay there.  This was a fun adventure for all of us.

Fourth of July Morning Parade

Damon, Colleen, Sage, Emma, Monson, Soren, Thane, and lil Liam!!

 

If you think you have been on serious quad rides before you are wrong.  We took all the kids up this mountain. . .

Yeah and it was hours and some extreme off roading.  But the view was completely breathtaking.  We felt like we were in the clouds.  And I had a hand on each kid because this is no place to trip and fall--believe me!!  Talk about anxiety.

Some more of the view.

Lake near the cabin.

The town is nestled down into a small valley surrounded by these towering peaks.  On the night of the 4th, when it gets dark, everyone decorates their jeeps and rides down the canyon into the town.

Then they shoot the fireworks off right up and over everyone.  I think that Cash's face is the perfect nervous excited face.

It was by far the coolest 4th of July we have ever experienced.  Thank you Clarksons!!!!!

PS-At the risk of appearing narcissistic and just down right embarrasing I am posting this picture.  There came a point on the quad right when I just couldn't take it anymore.  I yelled to Ty "Stop the quad!"  I leapt off and began spinning on the green hills and singing "the hills are alive"!  If I only had the dress--darn.  Does this count as stopping and smelling the roses?  It was invigorating, and I got a standing ovation from my audience (well Ty). You would do it do if you saw mountains like these.

Summer Summary

Contrary to what our blog has reflected, we had a completely unforgettable summer.  Now that we are over our depression (due to its end), we are finally ready to talk about it. 

Mission Beach 2009 . . . Wheeler Style!

We had been looking forward to this trip for a long time and it did not disappoint.  We went for early morning walks searching for shells, critters and even found starfish!

Ate super healthy . . .

Swam hard . . .

There may have been a serious game or two of ultimate frisbee (is that brotherly love or a take down?  Nice stride Shelby!  )

Boardwalk bike rides. . .

Fun with cousins . . .

Played in the sand . . .

Some of us love the sand more than others.

Can you just hear his thoughts?
First Pic: "Oh yeah, cookies sound good."
Second Pic: "What in the ?!?!?"
Third Pic: "ARGH!"
Fourth Pic: "Score! I found something resembling a cookie in the sand!"

 

Did I mention that I somehow talked Ty into running a half marathon with me, Nikkii and Stephen?? It was magical to say the least.  Can't you tell by this pic (that I stole from Nikkii's blog) how magical we are all feeling?  No but seriously, we had Coach riding a cruiser behind us armed with water and power gels.  Running at the beach is always the best running ever and it was so fun to be able to do it with these hoodlums.

Stay tuned to see how many of them I can talk into running a marathon with me this November!!

Cash was quickly put in charge of animal control . . .

Fun at Belmont Park . . . (which one of these two looks like a more capable driver?--scary!)

 (pic by Matt)

Just so many happy faces everywhere . . .

Okay so here are the real happy faces.  We had to attempt a family pic so Matt Blonde my bro-in-law took some really cool pics.  I love, LOVE, LOVE my in-laws.  We have so much fun together and they are truly my bestest friends.  But the main reason I love them is because they laugh at my jokes and are really good at doing dishes.  Haha.  Definitely looking forward to many more beach trips with these folks.

 

By now the kids are sorta done smiling.

 And so the sun sets on Episode One of Summer Summary.  Until next time. . .