Summer, fast and furious!

Well, summer vacation, came and went! I had a great time just being a stay at home mom, and playing with Ethan every minute of the day! I enjoyed every minute of it! Wednesday was back to work, and I have to admit, I had a MUCH harder time leaving him this year, than I did last year. At the beginning of last school year he was only 6 months old, and wasn't doing too much, but now he is SOOOO much fun! It's really hard to leave my little guy, knowing what fun I'll be missing out on!
He's talking so much now, here are a few of his words . . . mama, dada, dog, roof, meow, moo, oink, pig, juice, milk, water, wait, this, please, treat, out, down, elmo, cookie, toy, ball, noni, nana, apple, car, vroom, sleep, no, roni, and many, many more!!

My favorite things . . .

We have foam blocks, and I build them up for him to knock over, so while I build I say wait, wait, wait, okay, tip them over, so he says it all the time now too!! Too Cute!!!

When he points to what he wants, I grab things and say this? So, now he points to things he wants and says "this"!

I also love that he makes sound effects for everything. When he pretends to drive the cars around the house he says vroom, and when he pretends to play the wii he makes a whooshing sound.

In the mornings, he likes to sit at his little TV tray in the living room and eat his breakfast and watch super why!

He LOVES to be outside, and he especially loves water. He likes to run through the sprinklers, and play in his splash pool!

My little guy certainly makes me happy!

Vegas Wax Museum

Along time ago, in a galaxy without kids, when life was carefree and we could go on short vacations when ever we pleased, we went to Las Vegas with Gary and Rachel! We stopped at the wax museum, and today I stumbled upon these funny pics!

Here is Andy and Gary in great celebration after a victory!

This is me telling Pres. Bush that his speech sucks and he needs to change some of his points of view! :)

The Zoo!

We also had the opportunity to go to the Zoo while Colby and Suzanne were in town. I think that the kids enjoyed the petting zoo more! The animals were pretty lazy, and most of them were hidden at the zoo. So, the kids really didn't get to see too many animals, and the ones that they did see didn't impress them too much! I guess they're still a little too young!

Here is Julia and Colby! She's enjoying the carousel, and cried when she had to get off!
Here is Ethan and myself! He was crying during the carousel, and was more than happy to get off! Crazy, considering what a wild child he is!

Kennecott Copper Mine!

These pictures obviously do not do justice to the size of the copper mine, but they will have to do! It really is fascinating to see what goes on up there, and how big the mine really is! The tires on the trucks are over 12 feet tall, and the biggest haul trucks can carry 320 tons! Which means that the trucks are basically bigger than most houses are! Crazy huh? Here are Ethan and Colby checking things out! I've been to the mine before, but it's always fun to go up there to see where my honey works! He fixes the BIG trucks!

Petting Zoo!

On the 6th, we had a great day with Colby, Suzanne, and Julia! In the morning we went to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. Then afterwards, we came home and let the kids nap. Then we went to the living planet aquarium, and then up to Kennecott! Here is Julia . . . already showing a little leg to get herself out of jail! Colby, you'll have your hands full! :)

The goats loved Andy! They all LOVED having him pet them!

Andy and Ethan throwing food to the ducks!

Colby, Suzanne, and Julia riding the carriage at the petting zoo!

Ethan and Andy riding the carriage at the petting zoo!

Ethan and Julia loving the stuffed horses!

Colby and Ethan . . . pooped after a long day!

Happy Graduation

Mom, Dad, Colby, Suzanne, Julia, and Andy all threw me a surprise Happy Graduation Party while everyone was in town! The family joke is that I'm a self proclaimed genius! Here is the story . . . when I helped dad do projects before I was married, I'd finish doing something, like cutting a piece of crown molding, etc and I'd say, look, I'm a genius and laugh! This kind of just hung around, and now everyone teases me about it! So, the cake here is the proof of the teasing!

July 4th!

For the 4th, we went to Janet and Marty's house for swimming, playing, and a BBQ!!! We didn't hit the fireworks, because Ethan was asleep long before they began, but he sure enjoyed the festivities up to that point! He and Julia played cute on the slide! This was a first, they seem to fight over toys quite a bit! They don't know how to share yet!

Here is a precious picture of Ethan with Great Grandpa and Grandma!

Here is Grandma and Ethan swimming in Janet's pool! He really enjoyed the water!

Uncle Colby and Grandpa even took him off of the slide, and he was a brave little guy, and enjoyed every minute of it!

Splish Splash!

Colby and Suzanne have been in town, so we've been playing all week long! The first day they were here, we went to breakfast at Kneaders and had some to die for fench toast! Then we went to Grandma's house and played in the water! The kids loved it, but I have to say they aren't too great at sharing.

Land of the Free!

I was at kneader's this morning, having a fantastic breakfast, and I saw this great little wall hanging plaque that I just had to have. It stated "Land of the Free BECAUSE of the Brave!" What a great little quote huh?
My patriotism began on 9/11! I have to admit that I really hadn't thought too much about it, but it hit me like a ton of bricks on this day. All of America was united together it seemed, and once again we were reminded of who we are, and how sacrifice created this nation! I remeber every detail of this day. I was driving to work when I heard that the first plane hit, and sitting in the parking lot listening to the radio, as the events unfolded, a second plane hit, and the announcers declaring this to be a terrorist attack. I got to my classroom and turned on the TV, and watched all day long. My students had many questions, and we talked about what this event meant for our nation. There was fear, anxiety, sorrow, and unity in this tragedy. Since this day, every time I hear the national anthem, I get a few tears in my eyes, and I really feel a sense of pride in our country that I hadn't felt before. I am so grateful to live here, and to be a part of this great nation.
Thank you, thank you, and thank you again to those who have served, and who are currently serving this great nation.