U-T-A-H!

It's no secret--We LOVE Utah! And Blake was nice enough to let us spend almost two weeks there. We always get to do so much and it goes by too quickly. Here's some of what we did--

We finally got to go down and see beautiful Bountiful Pond and take a little tour from the master canoer and trivia king himself, my dad. We got a very thorough history of the pond, surrounding flora, and local fauna while paddling around the water. Max was a very good paddler, only losing his paddle once and using the paddle to help Grandpa splash (or should I say soak) Uncle Andy.
The whole family, minus Tony (where was Tony the entire time we were in Utah anyway?), met up at Kangaroo Zoo to see what all the fuss was from our trip there during the last visit. Boy did Kangaroo Zoo live up to its reputation and it sure was nice to have some other bodies help haul Max up the steep ladders. Jack was even big enough to get in on some of the action this time.

For Father's Day my dad got a special coupon for a Daddy-Daughter Date and he decided to cash in on it. I took him for a very special dinner at Del Taco (it was Taco Tuesday) and then to see Wall-E. We were going to get a treat after, but both of us were ready to go home. We're a good pair--two fuddiduddies. Right, dad? :)
We went down to Provo to visit Uncle Gage. We went to Rock Canyon Park to have a picnic and play on the playground. Max skipped out on most of the picnic, opting to splash in the puddles at the bottom of the steep hill instead, and then the playground was much, much, much too hot to play on. So, we headed over to campus so Gage and I could introduce the boys to BYU. I was happy Gage (the last BYUer until Caden 10 years from now) could be the one to help me show them around. After I explained to Max that this is where Mommy and Daddy went to school, he said, "Max go to BYU. Ride elevators." I guess he sees a lot of potential for elevators in all those tall buildings. Go Cougars!
My dad had the fun idea of going over to the elementary school field to shoot off rockets. Since Max is a big fan of pushing buttons, he was appointed the official launch master. He did an excellent job of counting down to blast-off and then pushing the button. We only lost one rocket (I didn't run fast enough) and even made time to go play on the playground by the school. And thanks to Aunt Bri, Jack was sound asleep by the time we got home.

We had to take advantage of Grandma's Zoo Pass, especially now that the new carousel is open. Our first stop was the train, but then on to the fabulous carousel. We walked right on, but unfortunately Max wanted to ride on the giraffe and that was already occupied. So, we waited for the next ride and ran to make sure we got them. We caught the bird show and saw the elephants, tigers, penguins, monkeys, and camels. And on our way out, we rode the train one more time.
And then, of course, there are the things I don't have pictures of--our daily lunch bunch, watching "The Chipmunk Adventure" (one of the best movies ever made), American Idol on the Wii, scrapbook shopping, Sunday dinner at Grandma's, playing with the Little People garage, and SYTYCD Party. We love being around family. Too bad we miss Daddy Blake so much. We leave early, early, EARLY tomorrow morning to meet him in Seattle. It will be a sweet reunion. Thank you family for the perfect 2 weeks!

Payback!

Since Blake started such a nice Mother's Day tradition of cutting Max's hair, I thought I'd start my own Father's Day tradition--a tradition that he'll like as much as I like the Mother's Day one. (Can you sense the sarcasm?) But hey, at least mine is for a good cause. 10 INCHES!

Lucky Charms

After Max's several requests to watch Aladdin this morning, I thought I'd be safe to turn it on for him to watch while I got in the shower. Well, after I was showered, I came to get him and this is what I found--
A ripped box, open bag, and lucky charms everywhere! The best part about this whole mess is there was not a single marshmallow to be found. So, Max's punishment (besides cleaning up) was to eat a bowl of non-marshmallows. I know, it's tough having to eat a bowl of sugar-coated cereal, but it's a harsh lesson everyone has to learn--you can't just eat the marshmallows!

Oh no!

There's a storm brewing. Tropical Storm Jack has been rocking back and forth on his hands and knees for quite a while and I have a feeling any time now this storm is going to hit and cause some serious damamge. Time to take shelter.

Big Sky Country

Since we had such a pleasant ride home from Lake Powell with Uncle Gage (we didn't even stop once) we decided that once we arrived in Bountiful, we'd hop right back in the car and drive 10 more hours up to Montana for my cousin Amy's wedding. But 10 hours was nothing in our deluxe travel vehicle. My dad has, unknowingly, decided to help us figure out which minivan would be perfect for our family by always renting a different one when he's with us. This van he rented had all the bells and whistles and Max was in heaven watching movie after movie in the very back with Grandma and helping to push all the buttons to open and close the doors and windows. Plus we were traveling in a very lively caravan that made stops at every casino. Once we arrived in beautiful Hamilton, the boys' vacation really started. There were endless people wanting to hold Baby Jack and the hotel had an elevator for Max with plenty of people willing to ride it with him. Jack dazzled everyone with his "what does a fishy say" skills and Max dazzled them by asking what number they wanted in the elevator and then pushing the correct button. The actual wedding was the perfect family affair--Saturday we helped decorate, made the food, and got our cameras ready to be the official wedding photographers. And the bows were tied beautifully, the food was delicious, and the pictures were fantastic (my favorite is of the cute little ring bearer's plumber's crack), if I do say so myself. After the wedding, we hit the dance floor and enjoyed the toasting. Well, mostly Max hit the dance floor and enjoyed the toasting. The next day, we turned around and hit the road for home. Montana is beautiful. We hope Daddy Blake can join us on our next trip to Big Sky Country.

Lake Powell Baby!

Did you know that the coastline of Lake Powell is longer than the entire United State's Pacific coastline? I know! Our Lake Powell trip has already come and gone. I really wondered how I was going to be able to entertain two little boys on a houseboat for 6 days with no major accidents and I can't believe it was that easy. Here are some of the highlights (at least the ones I have pictures of), in no particular order:

1. Leaving for the lake a little early so we could take a short 2.5-hour (that's a 5-hour round trip, people) detour so Jack could meet Great Grammy. Definitely worth it. Not only for Jack, but also for Max, who after being told NO several times from Blake, stole Grammy's candy dish and hid in the kitchen devouring the entire bowl. We love our little Grammy.
2. Celebrating Grandpa's birthday with him. Blake prepared a super-candle made from several matches and stuck it on top of a yummy rice krispy treat. Our happy birthday singing even got critiqued from the houseboat next door.
3. Riding on the jet skis. Max would go with anyone who offered to take him. He just sat back and relaxed on whoever was driving, not even holding onto anything. His favorite was riding in circles and he'd ask for it again and again. Even Baby Jack went on a ride and loved feeling the wind blow through his thin, baby-fine hair.
4. Playing a lot of games. Some of the favorites were Pit, Perudo, and Rummi-Kub. Some of the least favorites (at least for me) were Scrabble (I didn't even give it a try) and Boggle (Blake quintupled (is that a word?) my score on first round). And of course, some very fun Red Light-Green Light. And if no one would play with you, playing all by yourself.
5. Swimming off the side of the houseboat. Sadly, this is the only time I actually got in the water, but boy was it worth it. I loved swimming with my little family. Jack liked it for the first little while, swimming with Mommy and Daddy and lounging on the floaty pad. But once he was done, he was done. He was so done that he went right in and fell asleep in his deluxe accommodations--his bed in the bathroom. Max on the other hand, kept going and going. He went down the slide, jumped off the boat and banana, and even swam out to the large rock across from our houseboat (courtesy of a piggy back ride from Daddy Blake).
6. Getting and attending to injuries. We're sure lucky we had two doctors on board. On the first day, the wakeboard flew up and knocked Gage in the head. After seeing what a DDS degree can really do, I bet that gives Gage even more to think about when choosing his career.
7. Riding on the tube. I recommend both being pulled behind the boat and paddling yourself around the houseboat. Max kept wanting Grandpa to pull us faster and faster behind the boat, but I think the man power behind the paddling was plenty fast for Baby Jack.
8. Honoring our fathers on Father's Day. Especially our favorite father--Daddy Blake. It was perfect to be in Lake Powell so his boys could pamper him nonstop. The boys even presented him with another gift--The 2007 BAM San Fran Blog Book. I'm so proud of myself for keeping it hidden from Blake for over a month since I received it in the mail. It is 160 pages of heaven. Hopefully Blake likes it as much as I do. Thank you, Blake for being the best Daddy ever!
9. Trying to ski. Max made his first attempt at conquering the world of water sports. I'm actually surprised he even made the attempt. Blake prepped Max with a pre-ski pep talk, then had Max laughing as he shoved on the skis. (Sidenote: Aren't Blake's sunglasses handsome? When Vaughn saw them he asked if Blake borrowed them from Grammy. But nope, they are actually Gage's.) Then Uncle Gage got in the cold water to help steady Max while Blake knee boarded to the side of him to be there when he fell. Well, after Max was pulled for a few feet, that was it. He definitely got an A for effort and lots and lots of good job hugs. It was a good introduction to skiing for the next time he goes to the lake.
10. Going for boat rides--the classic family activity. Max was Grandpa's special helper, beeping the horn and always making sure to take out the keys and put them in the cup holder every time the boat stopped. And Jack tried to like his life jacket, but never quite got the hang of it.
11. Experiencing the Air Chair. The Air Chair was this year's new toy. The boys made it look so easy. They got so good at staying out of the water and Blake said it felt like he was flying. But the best was the trick attempts--I'll just post a picture of the attempt and not the landing.
12. Spending time with family. We're so happy Beth, Matt, Zoie, and Gage joined the regulars (aka the favorites) at Lake Powell this year. Max and Jack had so much fun playing with Zoie, even though neither of them would really play with her. And an extra special thank you to Grandpa and Nanny for making the entire week so much fun and easy. We love Lake Powell!

Two AND A HALF!

Has it really been a year since I did Max's 18-month post? Time DOES fly. I thought a year later, it was worth updating everyone that Max does now enjoy going to nursery. No tears. In fact, I'd even say he really enjoys it--especially the play dough. I am constantly getting back reports that Max is the best play dough eater in nursery. And who can blame him? It's just salty goodness, right? I can also tell he loves nursery from all the songs he comes home singing. He is a master at "Book of Mormon Stories" (Blake taught him this one, and Max can sing at least 5 verses), "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus", and "Families Can Be Together Forever." But my absolute favorite, and I think Max's too, is "I Love to See the Temple." And a year later from his first love affair with elevators in Missouri, Max still can't get enough of them. That's actually how we get him excited to go to church, with promises of riding the elevator. This kid dreams about elevators. No joke. Several times I've heard him talk him his sleep saying, "Ride the elevator. Push buttons." He is excellent at pushing the numbers for everyone in the elevator, and he is especially good at pushing the buttons at Blake's work, since they are letters. He'll push "S" and say, "S is for snake" or "P" and say, "P is for penguin." And I'm pretty sure he thinks all Blake does at work is ride the elevators. In the morning, after he asks where Blake is and I tell him Daddy's at work, he'll say, "Daddy go to work. Ride elevators." It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. Max is so observant. When we get in the car and start driving, he'll say, "Dis da way to Daddy's work" or "Dis da way to da park." And while we're driving he is constantly pointing out the things he sees. My favorites are the Costco trucks making business deliveries (this boy LOVES Costco--his Grandpas are so proud) and all the Toy Story posters around town advertising for the new Disneyland ride. Max recently shocked me when I came into his room wearing a University of the Pacific T-shirt. He pointed to my shirt and said, "That's Daddy's school." WOW. Max gets so excited when Blake comes home from work and we get to play family games. Currently his favorite is Red Light Green Light. It is hilarious. And I can't go without mentioning what a good big brother Max continues to be. In the second picture, he is holding up his hands, waving his fingers because I was telling him to look at the camera and smile and that's what we do to get Jack to look at the camera and smile. I love this little guy with his far apart teeth, his saggy diaper, and his serious face. I love you, Max!

Ahoy!

We couldn't wait until Father's Day to give Blake his present. In fact, I have been wanting to give this to Blake for a year now and I am so proud of myself for keeping it a secret that long. Blake is always gawking at the sailboats in the bay, wishing he would be out there, reminding me he did earn his sailing merit badge, and asking me if I ever want to own a sail boat. And thanks to some friends, we found the perfect place for Blake to live his San Francisco Bay sailing dream! Plus, I booked us the sunset cruise. It doesn't get more Blake than that. When we arrived at the pier in Sausalito I thought we were in the wrong place. No one was there. Usually there is anywhere from 12-30 people on each tour, but the parking lot was empty. After roaming around for awhile, we found our boat and learned we were THE ONLY ONES who signed up for that night--we had the entire ship to ourselves. Although the crew kept apologizing that there was no wind, I thought the weather was absolutely perfect. The sky was clear, our noses weren't bright red, and the water wasn't choppy enough that anyone (me) had to lean over the side. And since it was such smooth sailing we were able to walk around the boat whenever we wanted. The boat sailed out by the Golden Gate Bridge, out around near Alcatraz, then back to Sausalito. We saw very exciting things like a dead seal and huge pieces of styrofoam (which we fished out of the water--saving the world, one piece of styrofoam at a time). Both little boys loved it as much as their dad did. Jack was so good even though he was tired and Max was good at making sure everyone held onto the rope as they walked around the boat and didn't complain once about his life jacket.
And a happy early Father's Day to the best Dad ever! It's only his third Father's Day and this was the best gift he could imagine. Good luck topping it next year, Max and Jack!