Happy Birthday to Greg!

Greg celebrated his birthday yesterday and we had lots of fun. The kids are always up for a party and were especially excited because this one was for their dad.


We are so happy to have Brian, Cathy, and their darling girls visiting for a few days and we're extra-glad they were here to celebrate with us!

Sweet Cathy insisted I be included in the party picture. You may notice my awesome shirt...I decided to give BYU another chance this week and I'm sure glad they delivered!

The kids all loved the cupcakes! Sorry they were pink--that's all the bakery had. (I will be making Greg his favorite carrot cake on Sunday when we celebrate with the rest of our families, but ran out of time yesterday and had to settle for pink cupcakes instead.) It's okay--Greg is totally tough enough for pink, right?

That's a pretty delicious candle Abby is chewing on there...she actually just liked to dip the candle in the frosting and then lick it off.

The kids were really excited to pick out some treats and balloons for their dad. You can't see it very well in the picture, but I let them each choose a balloon at the store. Awesome for Greg, because Abby picked out a very nice Elmo/Sesame Street balloon and Garrett opted for Thomas the Tank Engine. Lucky Greg!

This is awesome. Seriously awesome. Garrett and I built Greg a tower out of Diet Coke cans and put a label on each one with a reason why we love him. We used 34 cans, because that is how old Greg is...or isn't. Greg told a friend the other day he was turning 34 on his birthday and I didn't really think much about it, but just went with it. His friend called him up yesterday and asked Greg if he was sure he was turning 34. Greg thought about it for a minute and did the math and sure enough, he's only 33! Needless to say we've gotten some good laughs about the whole thing and I told Greg it was the best birthday present he could have asked for because he got a whole year of his life back that he didn't even have to live.

Brian and Cathy gave us a gift certificate for the Anniversary Inn and offered to watch our kids a night so we could use it. (They are awesome, I know!) It's pathetic, but the only nights we've ever spent away from our kids was when Greg was in the hospital, so we were definitely past-due. Now obviously it's a little bit tacky/corny/weird/plain-old-disgusting to take and share pictures of your themed-hotel room, but I couldn't resist this one because it was just so Greg, if you know what I mean.

Our room was set up like a drive-in movie theater, complete with this old Ford truck. Those of you who know Greg well probably already know that he happens to dearly love his old Ford truck, so he was quite interested in this old relic. We walked in our room and the first thing he did was pop the hood so he could check out the engine. Let's just say I took second place to the truck and he spent a good amount of time tinkering with it and checking it all out before announcing that he really thought the truck still ran and he was pretty sure he could start it up if he had the right tools. Awesome, honey. Just awesome. (He was pretty excited when I took out the camera and told him to say, "Cheese!")

I decided I might as well help myself to the movie pack since Greg was clearly more interested in the old Ford than me...

All things considered, I think it's safe to say Greg had a fantastic birthday. We can only imagine how great next year will be when he REALLY turns 34!

September 18

***I sat at my computer for like 5 minutes trying to come up with a title for this post, but it's just random pictures that are quite ordinary, but fun or cute. For lack of better ideas, I decided just to name it today's date. Boring, I know. Let me know if you have a better idea. I think I'm just really tired tonight and can't come up with anything.


My brother, Brian, rode in the LOTOJA for the 9th time. It didn't work out for us to go this year, but we were sure proud of him and Garrett was instrumental in helping Brian get ready for the big race. He locked his sights on the "air pumper" the moment Brian brought it in the house and could not wait to help Uncle B get his tires ready.

We enjoyed cheering for the Aggies at the football game. The kids LOVED it and Garrett was actually semi-interested in the game and very interested in Big Blue. I look kinda scary in this picture, but I love Garrett's sweet smile so I'm posting it anyways.

Garrett is so excited for Halloween and pulled out some old costumes so he and Abby could practice. You may notice the "Mary Poppins" playbill in his hand. He is still obsessed with the show and says "Thank you for Mary Poppins" every night in his prayers.

There's nothing like a giant 18 month old in a 3-6 month sized costume. She insisted on wearing it for a good portion of the day and I cracked up every time I looked at her.

Abby loves to snuggle with her daddy. She doesn't even care when he dozes off...

Greg's parents and grandparents came to visit today and we had such a great time. The kids loved having them here and Garrett was so excited to show them all of his toys, books, tricks, songs, etc. They were so sweet with the kids and it meant so much to us to have them come. We really enjoyed visiting with them and it made me think about how quickly the years fly by and how time softens people. Greg was telling his Grandma what a great influence his Grandpa had been in his life and how much he admired him for all of the good things he had done. She said something to effect of how far he had come and how different he was now in his later years and told us a story about when they were newlyweds and living in Salt Lake City. She loved to dance and there was a dance at the University she looked forward to every year. She said she knew he wasn't much of a fan of dancing, but told him she really wanted to go and she wanted him to go with her. He was going to school and working two jobs to support them, but he agreed to go and she was so excited. He had worked a 12 hour shift and was just going to take a "nap" while she got ready. She got herself all dolled up and couldn't wait to go, but when she went to wake him up, he didn't budge. (Now I know for certain where Greg gets his sleeping genes from...) Back to the story: she tried everything, but he was exhausted and she could not wake him up, so she just went to the dance by herself. She kind of chuckled as she told us, "I remember crying the whole way as I walked up that hill and feeling so sorry for myself. I think that is one of the saddest times I've ever felt throughout our whole marriage, but it seems so silly now."

And now here are they are...so many years later. I loved it when we were getting ready to take the picture and Grandma told Grandpa to "put his teeth in." Aren't grandparents just the best? I miss mine so much, but we are blessed to have these two still with us.

After they left, we took the kids for a little walk in the wagon. When we got back, Greg and I picked a few things in the garden (mostly weeds--haha) while the kids played outside. We heard them giggling and looked up to see Garrett pulling Abby around while she chowed down on a tomato he had picked for her.

For the aunts and uncles far away, here's a video of the kids playing. It's nothing special, but I thought you might like it. Just try not to miss them too much! :)

What Freedom Means to a 3-Year-Old

We were watching a September 11 tribute today and Garrett saw the Statue of Liberty and said, "That's a funny guy. What's he holding?" I launched into a nice tribute about America, explaining that the Statue of Liberty represents freedom and told him how blessed we are to live in a country where we can be free. He asked what it means to be free and I told him that it means you can do anything you want to do and be anything you want to be. His eyes lit up and he started grinning and then asked, "Does that mean I can see a witch?"

I think we'll try the patriotic talk again next year...maybe a little further away from Halloween.

Big Stuff for a Little Boy

Garrett has had a big week--we're talking lots of excitement for a 3-year-old!

First, he got to pick tomatoes with Grandpa Willy. If you don't think picking tomatoes is that exciting, then you don't know Garrett. The kid LOVES tomatoes and has been waiting (very impatiently) all summer to pick them. He was so thrilled when we visited last week and the tomatoes were red and ripe for the pickin'. Happy, happy, happy Garrett. (And yes, he eats tomatoes like most folks eat apples.)

Then, we headed to the Capitol Theater to see the traveling Broadway show of "Mary Poppins" with Eric and Gini. Garrett is a big-time fan of everybody's favorite nanny, and we were so excited when Eric and Gini had a few extra tickets and invited Garrett and I to come to the play with them.

I am the worst ever self-pic taker. (Greg takes great selfies so I usually don't have to worry about it.) This is the best I could do.

We got in trouble for taking these pictures inside the theater...OOPS!

The show was truly spectacular and we had such a great time. I was nervous about taking a 3-year-old to a Broadway show, but he did so well and I had such a fun time with him. He loved the music and the dancing and was completely mesmerized by Mary Poppins herself. The special effects were awesome and Garrett loved it whenever Mary Poppins would fly with her umbrella. I will never forget the look on his face when they sang "Let's Go Fly a Kite." It was so sweet and as corny as it sounds, it was magical just being there with him and seeing him so excited. My favorite number was "Step in Time." I'm a sucker for a good tap-dance routine and this one was absolutely incredible! They even had Burt dance up the walls and across the ceiling. A-MAZ-ING! Garrett has been dancing around all week and loves to turn anything he can into a stage for him to perform. (I realize this is the part where his uncles start cracking jokes about certain family members who may or may not have taken dancing lessons, but trust me, it's cute when Garrett does it. And remember, Garrett's very manly father was indeed in "The Sound of Music" and "The Wiz," so I think Garrett comes by performing naturally. It's in his blood. Oh yeah, and I stood on the back row of "Brigadoon" when I was in high school, so I think he's golden.)

As an added bonus, we got to walk by the 2News studio on the way back to the car after the show. I'm a big fan of Mark and Shauna at 10 and it was fun to see them in person. Greg likes to tease me that I have a thing for Mark, so I snapped a picture just for him.

They were in the middle of the weather segment and Mark and Shauna were just hanging out and waiting to come back on air. I pulled out my camera to take a picture and Shauna turned around just in time to wave. Mark also waved, but it was right after I had already taken the picture. Sad. :(

Almost as exciting as seeing "Mary Poppins" and Mark and Shauna in the flesh, Garrett started pre-school!!! Hooray for our grown-up little boy! He was so excited for his first day that he hardly slept the night before--like we're talking it was after midnight when he finally fell asleep and he was up during the night and then up at 7 AM and ready to rock. Pre-school doesn't start until 9:00, so we had plenty of time to get ready and even take a few pictures.

Check out that awesome backpack--Garrett is pretty fond of it.

Gracie also started pre-school on the same day, so we met for lunch at McDonald's after to celebrate. Garrett was thrilled to show off his monster.
Gracie also had a few things to show off...

Aren't they cute?

Greg has been out of town for the past week participating in his yearly "hunting and gathering" pilgrimage. He was pretty bummed he missed Garrett's big first day and called us multiple times throughout the day to check in and get all the highlights from Garrett. Garrett was excited to tell his dad all about the monster he made and the water table he got to play with. He was totally exhausted after his big day and was out for the count at 7 o'clock that night and slept until 9 the next morning. That is one tired little redhead!

The next morning, he told me he would get his own breakfast and he wanted it to be just like dad's...and then he got out the Oreos and milk. Awesome.

And just when you think his little life couldn't get any better, our awesome friend Jake offered to take Garrett for a ride on his tractor.

Not just any tractor, but a combine with a discharge auger. Yeah, Garrett knows his tractors--and their parts--and he was thrilled.

Poor Abby, on the other hand, was devastated. I kind of forgot that she loves tractors every bit as much as Garrett and she was absolutely heartbroken when she didn't also get to go. Jake is great, but sending both of our rugrats with him on a tractor would fall somewhere in the cruel and unusual punishment category, so Abby just had to cry. Poor little thing.

And just for your pleasure, here's Garrett doing his "Step in Time" routine at Fredrico's Pizza. He's good.

Abby-Cakes is Growing Up!

This post is past overdue, but Miss Abigail is over 18 months now. Wow!!! We took her in for her check-up and she is doing great. She is a big girl--she is almost off the charts on her height. The doctors have a formula they use to project a child's adult height based off their size between 18 months to 2 years. It's not foolproof, but they told us they are projecting she will be somewhere around 5'10". Holy cow! She'll be almost a full head taller than her momma! Go Abbs!!

Here are a few Abby highlights...

Don't let this picture fool you. I was so thrilled to see Abby actually playing with her doll that I had to take a picture of it. She is quite the little tomboy and likes everything her big brother likes. She wants to do everything he does and it has never occurred to her that she might actually be smaller than him. She is especially fond of tractors/"tactoos," horses/"hawsies," and dirt.

Don't worry. All hope is not lost--I do my best to remind her she's a girl by dressing her in frilly things like this and putting bows in her hair. (Thanks to my cousin, Kami, for the cute dress.) She rips the bows out just as quickly as I put them in, but I keep trying. Wish me luck!

She loves treats/"ta-eats" and is constantly asking for them and trying to sneak them. She has learned the art of dragging stools and chairs around to climb on and get what she wants. Ice cream/"a team" is another one of her favorites and she hangs on the freezer door and whines multiple times a day. Thankfully, she also likes apples and is easily distracted, so she occasionally does eat something healthy.

Abby is also a big Elmo fan. Garrett never really got very into Sesame Street, but Abby picked up on Elmo somewhere and she loves him. I didn't even realize she knew who he was until we were in a store one day and she about fell out of the cart reaching for an Elmo toy and calling out "Elmo, Elmo, Elmo." I was going through some hand-me-downs from my sister and came across these slippers. Abby was ecstatic when she saw them and insisted on putting them right on--which brings me to my next highlight: the kid LOVES shoes. Like borderline-obsessed. She always has to have her shoes on and if she sees anybody with shoes off, she'll bring them a pair and insist they wear them. She also likes to go into my closet multiple times a day and try on all of my shoes. What a kid!