June Washington Trip

The first week of June was our Washington trip. We left a few hours after Korben finished his last day of school and drove as far as Twin Falls the first night. The next day we drove all the way to Vancouver, getting in about 8pm. A few things made the drive seem really fast:

1) The boys were angels and didn't complain at all, fight, or cry the whole way. They are awesome travellers!

2) Erika Jo was my travelling buddy and gave me someone to talk to and help with the kids when they needed something.

The purpose of the trip was to just have fun with friends. The last time I visited I ended up spending most of the trip taking care of our home to get it ready for the new renters - this time the trip was simply a vacation. We stayed for a week and it was awesome to get together with old friends, attend our ward and feel how missed and loved we still are, and to get to stay with my best friend and her family and see some sites.

Unfortunately, the trip wasn't all roses since every single one of us (my friend's family included) ended up with the flu and were puking at some point during the stay. Luckily it was only a 24hr flu, so once someone got it we just waited it out and the healthy ones did whatever was on the agenda that day. We didn't get to do quite as much as we had planned, but still did a lot in our week there. The other odd thing was staying in a house that is only a few houses down from the home that we own. It was weird to not be able to go inside our home and to see other people coming and going from it. It was nice to see that the renters were taking care of it though.

There were a few things that were on the "MUST DO" list while we were there:

1) The Kids Club

I really wish we could build a replica of the club in Utah because it is SO MUCH FUN - not only for kids, but for adults too! On the particular day that we went, it was Theresa's day with the flu, so we took her kiddos with us to the club and played for nearly 4hrs - and the kids were still sad to leave!

The pictures really only show a tiny smidgen of what all you can do at the club. It is literally ginormous. However, the favorite thing to do hands down, is to go on the "black slide". It is a tube slide that basically goes straight down so you end up flying out of it onto the mat at the end. As you can see - it can take your breath away.

2) The Enchanted Forest

We have been to the forest before, but Theresa hadn't so it was fun to take her with us this time. The boys had even more fun than before simply because they were both older and more independent. They loved going down the "rabbit hole" - its a tunnel that goes under the path and into Wonderland - you have to crawl on your hands and knees to make it through and it is dark...so not for the faint of heart. Korben remembered a lot of the places so he was our guide through the park. We went on slides, roller coaster rides, carnival rides, watched some light shows, and had a ball...that is until Judah decided it was his turn for the flu and ended up puking all over himself and Theresa. So our trip was cut a little short, but the kids really did take advantage of every moment that we were there.

Korben was so brave and went on the log ride with Erika and Theresa while I watched the boys. It is the biggest log ride in the Northwest and with a 40ft plundge makes the biggest splash EVER meaning they were all soaked - but Korben loved every second of it.

3) The Portland Rose Festival

On the day that we had scheduled to go to the festival, the boys and I were the only people not sick. We took care of the sickly and then I felt like the boys needed to get out rather than watch more tv - we were on vacation darnit! It ended up being a really fun date with the boys. The got to go on a few carnival rides (holy cow they were expensive), go to a petting zoo and see some exotic animals. Their favorite part however, was getting to "drive" the police car as well as put their brother under arrest and stick him in the back of the car. The officers were so fun with the kids and gave them stickers and candy - I just hope they understand that being the inmate isn't as cool in real life as it is to pretend. :)

4. The Coast

On Saturday, our final day in Washington, we decided to go to Astoria and the coast. Even though I had been puking that morning and Theresa was still feeling a little crummy, we weren't going to miss it. The boys LOVED going to the top of the Astoria Column. Korben was tentative at first, but Logan took his hand and demanded that they keep going. They started calling it the "Tower of Power" (from Backyardigans) and made a game out of it and then it was the coolest thing ever. The tower is 125ft high and 164 steep steps to the top. Even if you are afraid of heights, I would think the view would be well worth it. It is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. However, if you have a little boy with absolutely zero fear that decides to run around and around the top of the tower as if he is on solid ground, you may want to think about a leash...I'm just saying.

We were also able to go explore Ft. Stevens a little before they closed, and then headed to the coast to let the boys play in the water. We were lucky because apparently the week that I was in Washington, it was the first week of sunshine in a long time. This didn't mean that the water was warm by any means, but at least there was sun instead of rain. Upon arrival, Korben immediately found a stick and started writing his name in the sand. Logan made a game of running up to the water and then dashing away as if it was chasing him when the tide came in. Their lips were blue by the end, but they couldn't stop talking about "the big, blue ocean" all the way home.

We took off early Sunday morning. It was sad to leave Washington, as it always is, but we were excited to get home and see Mike. We had planned on only going as far as Twin Falls, but we got there around 7pm and the boys were traveling so well that we didn't see the point in prolonging the trip home. We stopped in Twin at Josh's house for about an hour and then headed on our way again. We made it home just before midnight. We told the kids we were going to surprise Daddy and let them ring the doorbell and be "sneaky". The look on Mike's face was definitely worth the 15hrs of straight travelling that day. The trip was a great first week of summer vacation.

Korben's Kindergarten Graduation

Korben's kindergarten graduation was SUPER cute. He sang lots of songs and was animated all the way through. The best part, was that after every song, he would bow over and over again till the next song would start. It was neat to see how much he had grown in one year - how his focus had improved, his speech was better, his friendships were stronger and he just looked older.

When they were handing out the diplomas he was great to clap loudly for each of the other kids. When it came to his name, the principle read it as, "Korbe Harrison". Mike rectified that by yelling, "Woohoo Korben!" in his most proud Daddy voice. I was all geared up for tears when he saw that his name was missing the "n" on his diploma. At the beginning of the year, a misspelling of his name was cause for great distress and many tears. However, as another testament to getting older and more adjusted, Korben just calmly said, "Uh oh Mommy, we need to draw on an "n".

I was so proud that day it might as well have been his high school graduation. Every day I am impressed with how hard Korben tries. I sure love our Kindergarten Grad.

Sleepy Logan

Logan hasn't taken regular naps for quite some time now, but occasionally he plays so hard that he will drop right where he is for a catnap. On most nights we will find him with a toy in hand or nearby as if he has played till the moment he just dropped. He can sure be a handful at times, but when he is asleep he looks like the most serene boy in the world. Here are some of my favorite sleeping pics of the Loganator.

I keep thinking he is going to grow into his eyelashes, but they are still just as long as ever.

I know this isn't a sleeping picture, but one day Logan wanted to take pictures with his Mommy...can't you just see the mischief in his face?

May Girl's Weekend

With such a big family on both sides, I'm sad to say that I don't know my cousins very well. This spring we tried to change that by planning a cousin, sister, aunt weekend in Cedar City at the Henley Manor our cousin's B&B.

Kimber rode the shuttle down and met me in Orem where we planned to head to Cedar City to do some hiking. We took Mike's mini to save on gas, but also to have the top down on our fun road trip. Little did we know that a storm would come in and our fun in the sun ended up being an adventure in the snow instead. Kimber and I laughed as the snow got so bad that we had to pull over every few miles to get the ice off of the windshield wipers. We kept passing a semi and then having to pull over again and again. By the end it was as if the semi and mini were old freeway friends and at the last exit he gave us a wave. I'm sure he was thinking all kinds of blonde jokes at our expense, but for me, it was nice to know someone at least noticed the tiny mini barely visible in the blowing snow. :)

Our group ended up being Alice & her girls, Silvia & Mary, and Kimber and I. Not as big of a group as we had planned, but it ended up being great for the first cousin get-together. The first night we ate loads of pizza, played some games, and headed to bed at a reasonable time.

On Saturday we went shopping, ate at a yummy sandwich place, and mostly just hung out and got to know each other better. It was cool to see how well everyone got along - and to see that even though we live different lifestyles, practice different religions, are of all different ages, some single, some married, it didn't matter because in the end we are simply family. That night we stayed up WAY to late talking about everything from babies to teens, sister-wives, to religion, to our parents and different childhoods. You name it, we covered it. The group chat ended around 1am or so, and then Kimber and I stayed up talking till about 5am. CRAZY, I know, but it was a blast to get to know the cousins and aunts that I grew up with but never really knew and then great to finish with a wonderful chat with my big sister.

(Back: Kimber, Mary, Silvia, Alice, Sandra; Front: Kate, Fawn holding Billy, Robin, Sara holding Maya, Taralyce)

One funny of the weekend was that before going, Mike's co-workers had found out that Robin Brown of Sister Wives was not only my cousin, but was going to be there. They all have a sort of crush on Robin and were jealous that I would get to see her. For fun, she wrote them a note and signed it, and then we took this picture for proof that she was actually there. The guys absolutely LOVED it and still have the note hanging up in the office. LOL

It was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait till the next GNO!

May Field Trip

In May, Korben had a kindergarten field trip to the Stringtown Railroad. It is a little railroad in Lindon, built through the backyards of 6 family owned homes. It is super cute and was within walking distance of the school. All of the kindergarten classes walked the few blocks to the "Railroad" where they had different teamwork games set up on many different lawns.

The kids had different rotations so they could play each of the games. At the first game, they got to collect "space rocks", the second was a hula-hoop challenge, third a version of "button, button, who's got the button?", and the final game was a conductor yelling out how many steps the kids could take and them racing to get to the end. When they made it to the end they became conductors themselves and could choose the amount of steps the other kids would take. If midnight was called they got to chase down the other kids. This was Korben's favorite game and he was very animated about calling out his number as the conductor. The Railroad also has a large garage with a screen where they show a snoopy video explaining how the transcontinental railroad was completed and met up in Utah.

1.Walking with his best friend Elliot 6.Waiting for his turn as conductor

2.Making faces with Bella 7. "Take 10 steps!

3.The hula-hoop challenge 8.Riding the train

4. Who's got the keys? 9.Racing to the conductor

5.Watching the railroad video

Finally, the kiddos got to take a train ride. The train is a one-eigth scale train and can hold up to twenty people at a time. It was great fun and something that we will do again since the Stringtown Railroad gives free rides at Halloween as a "Nightmare Express" and Christmas as the "Polar Express". The Field Trip was the last of the year and I was so glad to spend the time with Korben.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

When Kara was in the hospital delivering baby Zane, we had the opportunity to have Max with us for a few days. One of the best things about moving back to Utah is that the boys are getting to know their cousins. They just love Max, and Max loves them (hopefully Kara & James love it too since my boys tend to teach Max new things...)

The kids had gotten so dirty the first night, that we threw them in a bubble bath to play. They had a ball splashing and pouring and playing with toys. I snapped lots of pics, but this was my favorite - they all look so happy; hopefully it will be just one memory of many for these 3 boys.

Kara's "Baby Shower"

Near the end of April, Kara was about to have her baby and really wanted to paint her nursery. She didn't really need a baby shower, but we all wanted a reason to get together...so we called our weekend meeting a "baby shower" when in reality it was a sister-niece-daughter get-to-gether to prime and paint and create a cute nursery.

When we got to Kara's house on Friday, we went right to work and only stopped for a short food break. The first night we moved out the furniture, taped, primed, and painted the first coat. The room is kind of small and even with the window open it was just a tad fumy in there which made for silliness of the highest order (don't worry, we made Kara steer clear and stay in the hallway to take pictures).

That night we were all tired, so around midnight decided to knock off...which of course didn't happen since we are girls - and sisters. I think Cami and I eventually dozed around 3am. Not good for the body, but it was great for the spirit - I sure love my sisters!

The next morning we added another coat of paint, removed the tape, and put the room back together - complete with curtains, crib, and all the other baby stuff Kara would need. The room was SO CUTE! It is amazing what a little paint and some rearranging can do to completely change the look of one room.

(BEFORE)

(AFTER)

On Saturday, we did some shopping, eating, and lots more laughing. We got a movie to watch that was so lame we turned it off after only a few minutes. Instead we played multiple rounds of Wacky 6, laughed lots, and the gals helped me finish my primary lesson for the next day.

(Back: Cami, Kara, Caitlyn; Front: Kate, Erika, Kimber)

It was a wonderful, rejuvenating weekend with the girls. These are the times when I am so grateful we moved back to Utah - I will always miss Washington in some ways, but it is so nice to be by family again.

April Fool's 2011

There is a site that I follow called ourbestbites.com. It has wonderful recipes, but it also has excellent ideas for holiday foods, crafts, and just yummy creative stuff in general. Last April Fool's Day, I wanted to do some fun foods, and didn't really have a reason to so opted to not.

This year, I again, didn't have a reason to other than I wanted a fun project - and so a cupcake creation came to life. It was silly really, since none of us really like cake, and there was no way we could eat so many cupcakes even if we did. So I took them to the family party that we have after the Priesthood Session of Conference every year- funny thing is...they looked so real that the kids didn't want to touch them. LOL

Next year I will have to send them to Kimber's house since they seem to enjoy the oddness of it all. :)

Homes of Hope

The last week of May I had the opportunity to go to Ensenada Mexico to help build a home for a family in need. My brother Jim works for a company that sponsors the Homes of Hope/Youth With a Mission programs. His company paid for employees and members of their family to go to Mexico for 3 days to participate in a home build.

Our family group ended up being Mom, Kimber & her son Derek, Jim, Audi, and I. After arriving in San Diego, we rode a bus across the border and visited the Defender Direct welcoming center. Here are a few pics of our group (The first arriving at the center, the second on site):

Each day we met at the Youth With a Mission Center. We ate all of our meals at the center and were given instructions as to what would happen each day. For 2 days we worked from morning till night, only stopping for meals. The first day we painted walls, framed, wired the electrical, added windows and the door, and put up the sheet-rock. The second day we added shingles, painted the inside, added all the trim, and completed the home with furniture, cleaning supplies, food and decor.

My favorite part of the build was putting the shingles on the roof. It was hard work and I got a funny sunburn on my legs, but it was very rewarding and fun to learn a new skill.

(Isn't my nephew Derek super tall?! He is only 14 and was the tallest person on the build site.)

The whole event was full of spiritual and touching moments. Each day began with prayer, and we were able to work side by side with the family we were building for. It was a wonderful way to be reminded of just how lucky and blessed we are to live in America. The most touching part for me was the opportunity to play with the boy we were helping. His name was Rafael and he was 5 years old. It did my heart so much good to be able to help a boy that was the same age as my Korben. It was also fun that even though I spoke very little Spanish and he spoke even less English, we could still communicate with facial expressions, pointing, and a few words. I found that boys are boys no matter what culture - and entertaining boys is something I do know. :)

When the home was finished we all stood in a circle and shared the moments that impressed, touched, or just meant something to us. After each person spoke, we passed the home keys around till they eventually ended up with the new homeowners. Afterward, they got to see their finished home for the first time. We then knocked on the door and they were able to invite us in. It was a beautiful thing to see the happiness that we had created for this family. They were so kind and deserving and I know that even such a simple home will change their lives forever.

After 2 days of hard work, a family was able to start over with a new home, and we were able to leave changed for the better. It is amazing to think that a 20X30 foot home, with no plumbing, one bunk bed for the family of 4 to share, a propane stove, table and a few personal effects could be such an improvement from what the family was living in. What is even more amazing is that we in America somehow manage to complain about our living conditions! I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to be reminded of my many blessings, to be able to help bless the lives of a wonderful family, and to be able to make memories with my family in the process. Thanks Jim and company for inviting us and paying for us to have this opportunity! It is definitely one experience that I will never forget.

Our entire group - including the family - in front of the new home.

Michael Meets Mozart

I'm on the Jon Schmidt mailing list and this morning received an e-mail sharing his newest youtube video. Take a few minutes to watch. It is AWESOME:

It's 4:34am...

...and I am waiting for Korben to finish his chicken nuggets. That's right, nuggets.

To preface: Korben has had a horrible cough for 2 days now and for 2 nights I have not gotten a lick of sleep due to non-stop coughing and occasional puking.

At 3:30am I started looking for 24 hour urgent care centers. This was after a steam shower, vicks, cough medicine, inhaler and a vaporizer having ZERO effect on said cough. Guess how many 24 hour urgent care centers there are in Utah County? ZERO. ZIP. NADA. ZILCH. A billion kids in Pleasant Grove alone and ZERO 24 hour centers. Really?

Around 3:50 the crazed google search for home remedies started. I found one. We tried it. It worked. (Click Here for Remedy) It didn't completely get rid of the cough - but for the first time in hours Korben was getting a few minutes in between coughs. For good measure, Mike gave him a blessing and we said a prayer together. Mike was skeptical about the blessing because through the whole thing, Korben kept saying ,"In the name of..." over and over because he didn't want Mike's hands on his head. We both had a hard time holding our laughter in, but I like to think that God has a sense of humor - especially when it is 4am, you haven't had any sleep so are slap happy, and you are dealing with a special kid like Korben.

So in reality the home remedy definitely helped, but I imagine the blessing is what now has Korben sleeping - cough free for exactly 12 minutes so far.

Oh - and the nuggets were the first food he specifically asked for without prompting in 2 days. How can you deny a kiddo that?

It is now 4:52. It is silent in the house and I am off to hopefully get my first really good sleep in days. Yay!

Korben's Thoughts

Korben has hit one of his bursts of speech development again and the result this time around has made for lots of laughter. All of his little conversations stem from something he has been taught, or seen, but his take on all of it is quite amusing:

1) After playing Mario Kart Wii at his cousin's house:

K: Mommy we need to buy Mario Kart Wii.

Me: Well that costs a lot of money Korben.

K: Does it cost 1 cent?

Me: Nope, it costs a lot more than that.

K: 3 cents?

Me: Nope, even more than that.

K: 100 cents?!

Me: Korben, 100 cents is the same as 1 dollar. Mario Kart Wii will cost about 200 dollars.

K: >with raised eyebrow< Hmmm...Well then Daddy needs to go to work.

2)Monday morning:

K: Mommy?

Me: Yes, Korben?

K: I am a Mormon - just like Jesus.

Me: >stifling laughter< Yes Korben, yes you are. :)

3)After talking about families at school and having Jared live with us for 8 months:

K: Mommy, you are my mommy and Kate.

Me: That's true Korben.

K: And Daddy is daddy and Mike.

Me: Yep - that's true too.

K: And Logan is my brother.

Me: Yes he is.

K: And Jared is my other brother.

Me: Haha - no Korben, Jared is your uncle.

K: Oh. He's my uncle brother?

Me: No, just your uncle. :)

4) After hearing the Easter story and watching Tangled:

This one had us laughing for days. For our Easter FHE we made a cute craft where you make a paper cup look like Heaven (with blue paper and cotton balls) and then you can pull Jesus up into "Heaven" (on a string) after He is Resurrected. After his was finished, Korben started singing the flower song from Tangled as he rose Jesus to heaven and then said:

"Mommy, Jesus died. And then He was in the tomb. And then 3 days later Rapunzel sang and Jesus was alive again." (It worked for Flynn Ryder so I suppose he figured it would work for Jesus too.) Haha

5) After learning about different titles for girls and boys at school and having parents with a 9 year age difference:

K: Daddy, you are an old man.

Mike: Ok...ouch.

K: And Mommy is a young lady.

Me: Hahahahahahahahaha...Oh, sorry Mike. :S

6) No idea where he got this:

Me: Here you go Korben.

K: Why, thank you Captain Mommy!

7) We have been working with him for a while to not say "water like ice" when he wants ice water:

K: Mommy, can I have water...WITH ice?

Me: Sure Korben. You can also call it ice water.

K: Um... That's just silly Mommy.

I just love my Korbenator.

The other day he wanted to take pictures - so here we are in all our glory.

The Curious Tale of Wiggles Jr.

Once upon a time there was a fish named Wiggles Jr.

Now, to understand this tale there are a few things you should know:

1) Wiggles Jr. is a Tiger Oscar Fish. He is about 8inches long and will eventually be about a foot long. He is named after our first Tiger Oscar that we owned in Washington (see Wiggles here)

2) Oscar fish are commonly called the "puppy dog fish" because a) they beg for food, b) they will "play" with people, and c) they respond to and know who their owners are.

3) Oscar fish are quite strong.

~~~~~~~~~~

Our tale begins last week when Wiggles Jr. started to get very aggressive about eating his food. He is by far the most animated about begging for food out of the 3 Oscars that we have. Last week I dropped in his pellets like normal and ended up taking a full face of fish water as he lunged for them (with amazing speed I might add). It only took one fish water bath for me to start dropping in the pellets with an outstretched arm and a quick jump back with each feeding.

Fast forward to a few days ago where our curious tale unfolds:

I was talking to Kara that particular afternoon when Wiggles Jr. started performing his "I'm desperate for food, please feed me" dance. Without thinking too much about it, I grabbed some pellets, opened the lid, and at arms length dropped them in the tank. Within seconds Wiggles lunged up, up, and apparently had no sense of just how powerful he was because he jumped right out of his tank and flew straight towards me. I yelped (okay screamed) as his giant fish body came flying at my face and then fell to the carpet landing right at my feet. I yelled to Kara "Oh my gosh the fish just jumped out of his tank!" and threw the phone with one goal in mind - SAVE MY FISHY!

In a panic I looked for something I could grab him with (because as much as I love the thing, I was NOT going to pick him up with my bare hands). With no net in sight I ran to the kitchen thinking a bowl would do the trick. I reached down to scoop him up and instead of calmly sliding into the bowl like I imagined, about a foot up he decided to freak out and flipped out of the bowl, onto the piano, back to the floor and started flipping his body all over the carpet. Now realistically I know he was simply practicing some self preservation, but in my mind at the time it was more of a full on fish assault. If I had remembered that Kara was still on the phone and could hear everything, I might have exercised a little self control and decorum- but let's face it, I turned into a complete sissy-face and in between yelps was screeching, "Come on fishy, I'm trying to save you!"

I'm glad to report that our story does have a happy ending, and that after only one more fruitless try with one bowl, I was able to rescue him between two. Although he did give his best effort to escape them, he is again alive and well in his tank.

A few notes:

1) After Wiggles Jr. was safe and sound and my heart had slowed down a bit, I remembered that Kara was still on the phone. When I picked it up, I was answered with hysterical laughing which could only mean I had put on quite the show in my great fish rescue. I realized the whole thing-mainly my reaction, was simply ridiculous. Now don't get me wrong - it would have been sad had the poor fish died (let's be honest though, it would have served him right for his overzealous eating habits). The whole thing probably only lasted 30 seconds or so, but to me (and the fish I'm sure) it felt like a lifetime. Who knew a fish could evoke such sheer panic in a person? A little dramatic on my part over a silly fish? Probably.

2) I hadn't realized that throughout my hasty rescue, Logan had been standing by watching the whole silly thing unfold. After I sat down and he realized it was all over, he marched straight to the tank whipped out his finger and in his sternest voice possible demanded, "Fishy! You stay in your tank or you are going to have a time out!" This brought on a whole new round of laughter and was a delightful ending to an otherwise all to serious (to me) event.

3) Before this instance, Wiggles was the target of much bullying from the other two Oscars. He has, however, apparently gained a new sense of self assurance since his brush with death and has the other Oscars cowering whenever he comes near. So death defying stunt in fish = newly confident fish and current king of the tank.

~~~~~~~~~~

This story is, to date, the most odd thing that has ever happened to me. And that my friends, is the Curious Tale of Wiggles Jr. :)

Easter 2011

As our boys get older, all holidays seem to be more fun. Korben is excited for each holiday for at least a week in advance and that excitement rubs off on the whole family. This year we were lucky to have an addition to our fun - Max joined us while Kara was in the hospital having her baby (Yay!)

On Friday, Korben was thrilled to have an Easter party at school. I found a cute craft online and we had a blast making little bunnies for his friends. When he got off the bus he had whiskers on his cheeks, bunny ears, and a name tag that said, "Raisins". He soon informed me that "his real name was Korben, but his bunny name was Raisins." Haha

On Saturday we had an Easter Egg Hunt. The weather was perfect and the boys had a blast. We colored eggs in the afternoon with our neighbors and we got to see a brand new baby - so the day was pretty much perfect.:)

Baby Zane Auzro Hill - Isn't he a cutie?

The Three B's of March

Bed

Nearly every night we have a battle with Logan as to where he is going to sleep. Don't get me wrong, I love that Logan loves his brother - I do not love that he insists on sleeping in his brother's bed. Most nights it starts with lots of giggling, leads to someone getting hurt, and is followed up with numerous threats from Mike & I. But on occasion, Logan waits till Korben is asleep and then sneaks into his room - and this is how we find them.

I like having them in separate rooms for a lot of reasons, but a bunk bed is being considered. :) Bump The other day Logan had a run in with the cement. The worst part was that I could have prevented it had I immediately followed my instincts. Luckily his face is healing nicely and I don't think there will be any scarring. I suppose this is just one more accident to add to the long list Logan is making for himself. I took a picture, but it was day 3 of the healing process and doesn't actually look that bad. I did want to point out his disgustingly long lashes though. The ladies aren't going to stand a chance against him.Birthday I had a wonderful birthday complete with treasure hunt, a yummy cake (made by my 3 favorite boys), a delicious dinner, girl time with my sisters, and the exact gift I wanted. 26 years old - I am officially rarely ever the youngest in a group setting. This is odd for me since I have always seemed to be one of the "babies" whether it be in callings, at girls nights out, or just among friends in general (probably something to do with getting married at 18). This could possibly be less about my age and more of a result of being back in Utah - the cradle robbing state. LOL. All the same, Happy Birthday to Me.

A Little About Logan

At 3 years, Logan is a joy to have around. He keeps us laughing with his silly faces, his ginormous smile, and his funny antics. Here are a few captured moments of the cuteness:

Nothing like a cheeser smile :D

And making funny faces when playing with cousin Landon...

And sharing the goodness of Nutella (a.k.a. "Chocolate Bread") I feel bad because I often overlook the growth in Logan since standard milestones come so easily to him. We seem to document all of Korben's accomplishments and yet just expect them from Logan so don't make as big of a deal out of them. I am proud of Logan and love to see how much he grows and changes each day. So here are some snippets of Logan's growth (The Star Wars theme isn't necessarily "growth", just something he does often):

President's Day

For President's Day, Lindon Elementary had a "Patriotic Sing". Korben's class sang "This Land Is Your Land". He did such a great job - unfortunately the teacher stood right between him and I so the video didn't turn out. However, Korben was very obliging to give me a solo performance when we got home so that I could share it with the family. :)

Valentine's Day

This year for V-Day I was going to make a cute crafty gift for Korben's teachers and just have him write his name on it. The more I thought about it though, I realized that something I made wouldn't be nearly as special as something from Korben. This was an opportunity for Korben to thank his teachers by implementing the skills they have worked so hard to teach him. So I simply drew some hearts on colored paper, wrote down his teachers names so he would know the spelling, and let Korben do the rest. He cut the hearts, wrote all the names and drew the pictures all by himself. He even made sure that each teacher had exactly 3 stickers so that it was fair.

Seeing how pleased he was with himself was a wonderful Valentine gift for me. Considering that Korben used to cry over nearly every single letter he had to write, he has come a LONG way.

100 Days

Korben had his 100 days of school party this week. I had never heard of this, but apparently it is a big deal here, as you can see...

I think it's fun that they recognize that they are 100 days smarter. For Korben, the past 100 school days have brought improvements in his speech, his reading, and most of all great strides in his writing ability.Korben is still excited to go to school every single day. We are so grateful for the small classroom kindergarten he is a part of and for all the wonderful teachers, para-educators, and therapists that are working so hard to help kids with struggles like his. 100 days has made a huge difference for Korben and that is definitely something to celebrate.

7 Years!

When we were deciding what to do for our anniversary trip, we considered 3 things:

1) It had to be within driving distance (we didn't want to pay for flights).

2) It had to be warm (I am SO ready for winter to be over).

3) We wanted some sort of entertainment (a.k.a. this is an anniversary, not a honeymoon and we want more than just a hotel room)

So where did we go?

VEGAS!

We took off Friday afternoon in Mike's new mini. We averaged between 35 and 40 miles to the gallon even with driving in the new 80mph zone (which is fantastic btw). Mike was pleased with the gas mileage, but mostly just excited that we could drive with the top down since the weather was so great - something he hasn't really been able to do in Utah.

Friday night we went to a wonderful prime rib establishment in our hotel and then we headed to the strip just to wander. I have to say that we were a little out of place with the nightlife crowd, but I was just happy we could walk around outside at midnight in short sleeves and not be cold. :)

Saturday we decided to check out the M&M factory - a perfect place to get our kiddos souvenirs. Korben was so excited to see the pictures of us with the M&M's, but for some reason he has latched on to the car picture and keeps telling us "we need to got to Vegas so he can drive the M&M car".

After the factory we checked out more of the strip until it was time for The Tournament of Kings. I have always heard that it is a super fun show, and although we made it fun, it was really cheesy and not quite worth the money. Great for kids, but not something I would do again. The highlight of our trip and the entertainment we were looking forward to most was Mystere. I can't even begin to describe how fantastic this show was. The costumes, dancing, acrobatics, stage, singing...you name it, it was exceptional. 100% worth the money we spent. We are already planning on seeing some of the other Cirque du Soleil shows even it means we just take a day trip. Seriously...you want to see something amazing in Vegas...go to a Cirque show. On Sunday we decided to check out Hoover Dam before heading home. We took the tour and got to see and learn some really great things about the dam. At one point we got to see a rotor that was taken apart for maintenance- something that only happens every 20 years or so. (fyi- each of the black rectangles on the sides of this thing weigh 4tons. Isn't that crazy?!). It was a great reminder of how easy we have things these days and what amazing things we were able to accomplish without all of the modern technologies we have today. We were sad to say goodbye to the fabulous Nevada weather. I could have stayed at the Dam all day just to enjoy the warmth. Vegas was a much needed vacation and completely stress free thanks to Kara and Jared who watched the kiddos for us. It was great to spend one on one time with my best friend and play like we didn't have a care in the world. After spending 3 straight days together - 10hrs of which were in a car...I can safely say there is no "seven year itch" for us baby.