Level II

Congratulations, Whiterney!!

Today she advanced to level two gymnastics at Academy West. She's been going there for about a year now and has made great progress. We love watching her improve upon her skill, and are amazed at her talent.

Way to go Whit!

Memorial Weekend

We sure enjoyed the holiday weekend this year. We started out in St. George with Bri's mom on Friday. It was a good visit, especially since we hadn't seen her since James was just a couple weeks old. Brian got a few things done around the house (such a good son), and on Sunday we were able to attend Sacrament meeting in an assisted living home, because Mom was invited to play the accompaniment music for them that day. That was definitely interesting! Brian and I said the opening and closing prayers, and they had speakers from the area (good talks).

Then after lunch, we headed north to Salina, where my grandpa (dad's dad) and Faye live six months out of the year. There are always good times in Salina! We were able to meet up with my parents and JenEric. We also got to see my dad's sister, Brenda, and some of her kids, so that was nice, especially since we don't see them often.

(Whit and Tay slept well at the Best Western.)

Monday began with a breakfast put on by the Lion's Club. We ate lots of good pancakes and eggs, and then got on our way to Wayne County for the visiting of the cemeteries.

My grandma (dad's mom) is buried in Bicknell. It's a beautiful place, as far as cemeteries go, so I enjoy visiting there. We also drove around Loa and Fremont, and I was able to show Brian where Grandpa lived as a little boy, and my dad recalled memories of his childhood, visiting his grandfather in those towns. Vardell is always good for a trip down memory lane - and I usually appreciate and hang on every word.

Whitney and Grandpa Taylor in front of his headstone

Steph, Mom, Dad, Jen

Grandpa, James, Dad, Steph

We went back to Salina and had lunch before heading home.

Thank goodness for portable DVD players! What did our parents do?

Mom, Faye, Aunt Brenda

I was glad to spend the weekend with family and begin the summer with a tradition.

Potty Train

If you've been at our house the last six months or so, you've seen this picture of the "Potty Train" hanging on the doors of our bathrooms. For about a year now, we've been potty training Taylor, and more recently motivating him with this train track. But it wasn't until three and-a-half weeks ago that I got serious about it.

Call me crazy - James was only about six weeks old, but I had had enough of the gross diapers that accompany a three-year-old. I was never going to be the mom that potty trained by allowing the child to roam naked throughout the house, but that's exactly what I did. I had heard of this method, but the reasoning as I understood it was to eliminate the absorbency of a diaper, so your child knows what it feels like to be wet or soiled. While I can see how this could be effective, I am not sane enough to handle the mess that would accompany such behavior.

So, I went ahead with my own reasoning behind the naked method: If there is no diaper or underoos to "go in" - he must choose the toilet. And gladly I proclaim, for the most part anyway - it worked! Yes, it takes diligence on Mom's part, but it's sooo worth it. This may not work for the "nice mom", but I think my kids understand my temperament and know they can't have accidents. To me, there are few things worse that urine or feces in your carpet.

And so we celebrate! Tonight for FHE, we had Family Out Evening and visited IKEA (for the first time) and purchased LOTS more track for Taylor's trains. He was so excited and we are so proud of him! Good job, Tay!

Color Me Pretty

Whitney has been attending an art class for kids at Robert's for the last couple months.

We just happened to be checking out one day when Brian saw the sign advertising it, and I'm so glad he did! It's been held every Monday, and the cost was just $5 per class.

Whit has loved it! She has drawn some pretty impressive pictures and they have painted with water colors too. For the last class today, they had their faces and arms painted.

She also got to showcase a couple of her favorite pieces at their Art Show, May 12. We invited grandparents to come along, and treated us all to ice cream afterward.

This may be something we do again in the future, and we'd recommend it to those with kids ages 5-12.

Very Important Person

Whitney was the V.I.P. in her class the week of May 5-9. She was elated!

Here is the cutie with the poster we made for display in her class. (Yep, we used the Cricut. Love it!)

Do you remember doing this in elementary school? I do. Man! I'm getting older.

2 Months Old

He's getting fat! I know, you're thinking, "yeah, right", but he really is chubby. Granted, we may have our own standard of "chubby", but I've never had a chubby baby, so this is chubby to me!

At his two-month well check-up, these are the stats:

Weight: 11 lbs 12 oz (49%)
Length: 24 inches (84%)
Head Circ: 15.5 inches (33%)

He is the first baby of mine to break, like, the 20th percentile! In fact, I don't think Taylor has ever even been on the chart! Way to grow, Big Baby James!

Mom's Day

Happy Mother's Day to me! (Oh, and to my mom, and Brian's mom, and Joan, and Grandma, and Faye, and all the moms!)

Today was a splendid day! The only thing that could have made it better - actually making it to church. But we are not quite in our routine. Yes, we blessed James last week, but that doesn't mean he is sleeping a whole lot yet; therefore, I am tired. Brian has been doing a great job at taking Whitney and Taylor to church all on his own the past couple months, but since today was my day, they stayed home and my wonderful, cute, adoring family took care of me!

They gave me presents: the movie Juno (if you haven't seen it, you should - perfect for Mother's Day), the cutest homemade cards ever, and a picture of the egg poacher that will show up via UPS this week! (I love poached eggs because it reminds me of staying at my Grandma Gwen's, and I've wanted a pan like this for some time now, so I gently reminded Brian that Williams Sonoma had them on sale around Mother's Day, and he was so good to get it for me.)

Then, as if that wasn't enough, I got breakfast in bed. Yea! I love breakfast in bed. I think it's just been since I was pregnant and sick that I had it last (I'm the luckiest to have Bri).

I must say that I really do consider myself the "luckiest". I have the best job in the world - that of wife and mom. I love my babies and love watching them grow. I love being a parent with Brian - he's an amazing partner. Thanks to my parents, and to Brad, Brian, Whitney, Taylor, and James for helping me be a mom.

Politically Correct

Brian has been fulfilling his civic responsibilities the past couple months serving as precinct chair, county delegate, and state delegate.

He attended caucus at a neighbor's home on March 25. He was hoping to maybe be a delegate for one of the upcoming conventions; however, only five people showed up and they had to fill 10 positions. Since one guy couldn't make it to either convention, everyone got a chance to participate.

My favorite parts of that night were things that Taylor and Whitney said. While Brian was gone Tay kept talking about how "Daddy went to caucus", and it just made him sound so big, even though he didn't know what that meant. And when Bri came home Whitney asked excitedly, "Did you win?"

...

For the next several weeks we were treated to junk mail like you've never seen it, receiving daily solicitations from candidates. We also ate a few very good meals thanks to said candidates, and got to talk to some interesting people.

The county convention was held on May 3 and took pretty much the whole day. Brian came home and had quite a few stories to tell about how there are some crazy dems out there masquerading as republicans! The good news from this day, Brian voted for Jim Bird and Mike Waddoups, who won.

The state convention was held today, May 10, and again took pretty much the whole day. Also again, similar stories about the quirky people. The sad news from this day is that Brian voted for a great candidate for Congress, David Leavitt, who lost.

I think all-in-all Brian has really enjoyed the experience. It's not over. He has a regular meeting every few months, and once in a while still receives mail or phone calls regarding his position. He told me that he really benefited from seeing how things at caucus and convention work, and also feeling like he had a voice to the candidates.

Blessed Day

Today in Sacrament meeting Brian gave James a beautiful blessing. We were surrounded by lots of family and close friends, which we appreciate immensely. It was a wonderful Sabbath morning.

After the block of meetings, we invited everyone to our home for a yummy luncheon. Again, lots of help with salads and sides - thank you!

It was par for the course - we had way too much food, but we managed to eat a lot of it, and we were also able to send some home with Michael, and also with Craig - thank goodness for hungry guys!

Why is it that the blessing days of my boys have also been Sundays on which major sporting events have occurred? On Taylor's it was the Superbowl, and for James, game one between the Jazz & Lakers. I guess it made for some family fun - I love having people in our home, and so it was good to have them stay even longer to watch the game. The part that was not fun - Lakers won 109 to 98. :(

Here is James in his blessing outfit (he wore what Tay did):

How 'bout them Jazz

Tonight Bri and I had date night at Energy Solutions Arena where the Jazz pulled out a win in game six against the Houston Rockets (113 to 91).

It was a good game until the end of the 4th quarter, when the Jazz just dominated, but if anyone is going to dominate, we prefer it be the Jazz.

We don't get to many games during the regular season, but let me tell you, if you've never been to a playoff game - that's the time to go! It's just good, rowdy fun.

Now there's no telling what will happen in the next series... I know, I know, it's LA, and it's all about Kobe, and we can't stand it. I'm sure the Jazz will win some, and I'm sure Kobe will blame a fake injury for that, and I'm sure Phil Jackson will excuse any losses as anomalies.

And thanks to Grammy & Grampy (probably mostly Grammy) for baby-sitting all three kids! Now that we have three, I'm weary of leaving them with someone, for fear the baby-sitter won't survive well! But we are so blessed to have such great family around, especially when we want to leave our brand new baby for a little while- that's always a little nerve-racking.

Preschool Days

So I can hardly believe it myself, but it's reality - Taylor is 3 and-a-half and will begin preschool August 14 at Sunshine Square. This is the same preschool Whitney attended and she is excited for Taylor to have the same fun that she experienced there.

His teacher's name is Miss Bonnie, and it's so cute to hear him talk about her and school already!

We are looking forward to this new phase and I'm sure we'll have many cute preschool stories to come.