O Bountiful!

While Blake and the crazy part of our family were busy blistering their bottoms on their bikes on their 8 day trek down the coast, the rest of us non-crazies were spending a very relaxing time in beautiful Bountiful. We spent plenty of time doing a lot of nothing. And we have hardly any pictures to prove it. Especially since the majority of our cameras were with the crazy bikers. We went to the park (both the real park and the backyard--poor city boys don't know about backyards), went shopping, ate a lot, and spent some quality family time. We lounged outside by the blow-up pool and ate fresh, warm strawberries and raspberries off Grandpa's bushes.
A big group of us went to the movie "Up!" and all loved it. It was Jack's first movie in the theater and he sat like a good boy for all but the last 15 minutes. Well, as long as he had a licorice in his hand. As for Max, in the middle of the movie between bites of popcorn and M&Ms and drinks of his lemonade, he loudly said, "I LOVE the movie UP!" A success. Plus we totally enjoyed the tribute to Fenton's, one of the best ice cream places ever.

Grandma also took us to the zoo one day. And before my camera battery died, I got a picture of the most important part--the carousel. We're lucky the carousel has two elephants or there would have been some serious tantrums.

One morning I took the boys up to the temple for something to do. Of course we ended up at the fountains. Max was in heaven and poor Jack was running around so much, trying to find a place where his little arm would reach the water that he got pretty thirsty.
Jack and I got back to San Francisco last night and Max, Grandma, and Nanny join us tonight to cheer the bikers across the Golden Gate Bridge tomorrow. We can't wait for the sweet reunion.

A Child's Prayer

Lately Max's bed time prayers have gone just like this. Every night.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Bless Grandma and Grandpa to sleep all night in their beds.
Bless Nanny and Grandpa to sleep all night in their beds.
Thank you for our teacher, Thomas S. Monson.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

So, Grandma, Grandpa, Nanny, and Grandpa, if you are wondering why you've been sleeping so soundly lately, there's your answer. And if you haven't been sleeping soundly, well, you're in Max's prayers.

Happy Father's Day

A big HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to our own Daddy Blake. Since we were unaware of his work plans yesterday, his father's day surprise was foiled. So, instead he was showered with coupons galore (My favorites from Max: A game of go-fish and 5 minutes of wrestling. Blake immediately cashed those in!) drawings from primary, and a fabulous dinner (if I do say so myself). Blake's only Father's Day request--no picture. Ha! Like that was going to happen. We love you, Blake!

California Coast Trail

If you didn't know, my husband is crazy. He thought it would be fun to bike the Pacific Coast from Portland to San Francisco. And if Blake wasn't crazy enough, he also found some other crazies to join him on the 652 mile leisure ride. The fun starts next week, so tonight we decided to drive the last leg of the trip to see what they were in for. And if next week is anything like tonight, they are in for some windy windiness. (Ha that's funny--windy AND windy. And by windy and windy, I mean curvy and blowy.) So windy that Max got carsick and lost his dinner. And so windy that I thought Jack was going to blow away. I mean, look at these pictures near Point Reyes.On the up side, there were several small towns advertising 4th of July pancake breakfasts on the route--the exact day the bikers will be traveling through. So, at least if they need a break, there will be places to get a quick snack. Good luck bikers!

THIS

This is where I found Jack this afternoon. Fabulous. I guess his big brother is teaching him some valuable skills afterall (said VERY sarcastically). And guess what he was doing while he was up there? Knocking on the window and saying, "Daddy! Where are oo? Daddy! Daddy!" Lately, it's the only place he's seen Blake; waving good-bye through the window. Sad. Blake, please come home so we can spend more time with you AND so you can take a turn getting Jack down from his new hang-out.

Goodbye Friend

It's that time of year again. Today we had to say goodbye to our dear friends. I first hung out and really talked with Michelle the night before Max was born. The next year is basically a blur but I'm sure was filled with lots of playgroup fun. But after that, thanks to blogs, I vividly remember all of the so many play dates and field trips. I can think of no better way to explore our beautiful city than by pushing around a stroller next to a dear friend. As for Max, I know no one will ever replace Audrey. They are the best little friends and I'm pretty sure Max is going to get sick of me showing him pictures of the two of them together to make sure he never forgets. We sure love these friends and all the memories with them. I really think there's something special about San Francisco friends. It's like saying goodbye to family. Except it's not goodbye, it's see you later, right friends?

Brothers and, Finally, Friends!

I remember Rachel had a post like this about Ruby and Chloe, and now, FINALLY, it is my turn. Hooray! And actually, I probably would have never noticed on my own, but lately, at the park other moms have been coming up to me, asking when my boys started to play with each other nicely. And so I started noticing. Most people ask if it started when Jack started walking, but I think that's when Jack just became more of a threat. Really, I think they started being friends as Jack started talking more and more. Now he walks around the house saying, "Mac, where are oo?" and "Mere Mac!" And {usually} Max is good to answer back and they can have a nice little conversation. They've started sharing (yes, sharing!) toys and play fun games like ring-around-the-rosies and hide-and-seek together. But my absolute favorite is hearing them talk to each other when they wake up in the morning. Sometimes Max will go get them drinks from the fridge, give Jack toys to play with in his crib, or just get in the crib and play with him. And I'm sure their relationship will just keep getting better and better. Especially through the teenage years, right? It's good to have nice brothers.

My Family

Oh, you didn't know that is a picture of my family? Well, let me explain. A couple months ago we went to a focus group for a new website, Kidlandia. At one point the man was asking the kids if they'd rather be a king or a prince. When Max was asked he answered, "I want to be a horse." And the rest of the day he was a horse, naying and galloping everywhere. I thought that would be the end of it, but oh no. Max has been a horse ever since, but mostly when we're walking to get the car. And I actually enjoyed the horsing since, apparently, a horse gallops much faster than a boy walks and a horse also doesn't need to be pulled along by his mother. Eventually Jack caught on to the fun and also started naying and running as we were walking to the car. One day Max proudly said, "Look! Jack is a horse like me. But I'm a big horse and Jack is a little horse." And there you have it--my big horse and little horse. As for me and Blake, well, one day, I thought I'd be a fun mom and also be a horse as we were walking to the car. I started naying and galloping, but Max turned to me and said, "Mommy, only me and Jack are horses." Then, as a group of people walked by, Max said just loud enough so everyone could hear, "Mommy, you are a big cow!" And so, I'm a cow, mooing after my naying children. The next day, Max came into our bedroom and greeted me with, "Good morning, cow!" and so Blake got the story. Of course Blake didn't want to be left out of all the barnyard fun so he asked Max what animal he was. Max answered, "A little kitty cat." Ha! But Blake didn't like that answer so he told Max he was a lion. And so Blake's a lion. (I wish I would have known you could request changes.) Max makes sure we stick to our respective sounds, and I'm sure we're quite the site. And so, that's my family. Handsome, huh?

Ashley in SF 2009

Did you know that Ashley has been to SF to visit us every single year that we've lived here? Talk about dedication! We tried to do SF things that she's never done before, but they didn't always quite work out. Plus she just happened to be here as we were coming down from our traveling high, so many outings were cut short by very tired, ornery boys. Good thing Ashley likes Friends reruns as much as I do.

We went to the Discovery Museum with beautiful view of the bridge.
We tried to go to the Exploratorium, but since it was free day, there was a line all the way around the building. We opted for some pictures by the Palace instead and ended up at the park by the Full House houses.
{The following picture courtesy of Max}We went to the Academy where I only had enough treats/bribes to last through the rain forest and a little bit of the acquarium before we had biggest melt down of the week. The white crocodile didn't even make these boys happy! (Sorry you had to witness that, Ash.) But, on a happy note, a butterfly did land on Ashley's bag. At least there's one good memory.
Before Ash left we made sure to stop by Chili's for lunch. It's tradition, after all. Thanks for visiting us Ash. You don't have to wait until 2010 to come again, you know?!?

Ashley's Birthday!

Ashley flew all the way to San Francisco just to hop in the trusty Accord the next morning and drive down to SoCal for what I'm sure was her best birthday celebration with her most favorite people EVER! After checking into our hotel, we hopped back in the car and went to the Newport Beach temple. Beautiful. And if the usual fountain entertainment wasn't enough for our boys, there were dozens of wild rabbits to chase. They were a little too fast for us, but we had so much fun. For dinner we ate at Spaghetti Factory, where Blake surprised Ashley by having the waiters come over and sing. Lucky girl. But don't worry, as soon as she blew out her candle, she handed the yummy spumoni over to us. Spaghetti Factory is the best with Ashley!
On Ashley's birthday morning we thought we'd let the boys sleep in as long as they wanted and then head over to the happiest place. Well, the cock crowed at 6 am and we were at Disneyland as the gates opened, ready for a fun day. And let me tell you, we maximized every minute we had. Since we had four tickets available for fast passes, but only two riders since one of us always had to stay with the boys, we always had a fast pass ready for someone. But I'm getting ahead of myself--first things first--we had to go on Dumbo. And the carousel. Then Alice and Wonderland. Then Teacups. THEN we split up--Ash and I went on Space Mountain while Blake and the boys went on Buzz Lightyear. Then Blake waited in line at Nemo while the rest of us went on Autopia. Then on Nemo. Then lunch.

Then Indiana Jones, the Jungle Cruise, Jack falls asleep, Pirates (Did you know Pirates is Ashley's favorite? That's what she originally told Max on the way down in the car and then when she tried to change to Space Mountain, he wouldn't let her.), Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones again, the train, Toontown Rollercoaster, Roger Rabbit, Matterhorn, Space Mountain again, It's a Small World, and the carousel one last time.

And somewhere in between all that fun we met some of our favorite people. Jack has never waited more patiently in a line than when we waited to meet Minnie. He pointed and waved at her the entire time. When we finally got up there he couldn't stop staring at her, reaching for her nose, and blowing her kisses. I'm sure it was the best day so far in his short life.
We made it home in record time, only stopping to switch drivers. Happy Birthday Ashley! Thanks for inviting us to your party!