Three peas in a pod

My friend, Kayla, and I have tried for a while to get these three kids to be buddies and it has paid off.  We will miss Kayla and Bryn when we leave in a few days for Hawaii.  We had one last play time at the splash park right by our house and had a great time. 

Rocky Mountain High

Heather (while driving): "Ooh!  We're getting ready to go into the mountains. Hurry--grab the John Denver CD and put it in."  Yes, we visited Colorado this past weekend to visit Doug's sister, Natalie, and her family.  We had a great time.  Due to Doug's injuries, we didn't do all the hiking and biking that Doug had been dreaming about for weeks, but we managed to have a great time enjoying the area with less 'foot' action.

We wandered downtown Grand Junction on Friday morning and fell in love with the city and the people.  They had cool things for kids to crawl on as you walked the main street and did a little shopping.

We visited the splash park before heading home for naptime. We thought Syd would be in heaven and Ethan would rather wander the streets, but boy were we wrong.  It was the opposite and Ethan was adorable to watch. He was screaming with excitement for a pretty solid 20 minutes in the water.

Friday evening we went on a short hike that wasn't too challenging for Doug's ankle.  It was just near their house and so much fun.  Doug and I wonder if Ethan will hike a few miles at this age. He had NO desire to be held and wanted to walk the entire time.

The view from Devil's Kitchen was spectacular and there was the longest echo I've ever heard. 

We managed to take a group photo after gathering kids from all around these rocks.

Saturday we headed to the hills near their home again but this time to lush green forest for a little canoeing.  They were so kind to us there and friendly. We paid $3 for a little picnic area for the day and all the kids recieved Smokey the Bear pencils and Ethan and Sydney inherited a plastic Snoopy dog that had been left by another child earlier...a little dirty, but a nice gesture!  Ethan and Sydney had their first experience in a boat and were a little nervous at the way it moved.  We made sure we had a third passenger to row while they were gripping tightl to us.

We had a great time that day with the Dave and Natalie and their kids.  You would think they had lived in the area for years, not months. They knew some great fun spots to visit.

While Ethan was running around the the day camp site, Sydney was content to sit in the stroller and asked me to put on her sunglasses.

Ethan couldn't stand to sit still and shortly after he sat in the stoller he attempted to climb out on his own...it didn't work well.

We ended our visit with a Saturday night BBQ at her church. I had a blast putting a little mohawk in Ethan's hair to match his shirt.

The downer of this visit was losing my wedding ring Friday afternoon and scouring the house trying to find it unsuccessfully. Thanks to Natalie and her family for helping me look. I was completely embarassed to find it while unpacking our bags today. I ran and hugged Doug before telling him I had found it and said, "I am so excited! I don't want to talk right now, just give me a minute."

Green Smoothies

We drink a green smoothie nearly every morning at our house and Ethan and Sydney enjoy it.  They know when I get out the spinach and pop 6-8 cups of it in the blender they are in for a treat!  The local smoothie shop has started making green smoothies and we have visited more than once.  A few friends I worked with in my church responsibilities in the Stake Young Women for 18 months or so invited us for a smoothie to catch up. I ordered a beet juice smoothie and I am glad I went for the larger size!  They wouldn't let me get my head in there to get a sip for a while.

They finally shared with me though.

A cow says "moo"

Ethan and Sydney are SO into animals right now.  We like to think they are geniuses at how much they are learning and talking but I am sure they are like most kids that want to try to say everything once they put their minds to it. 

We called our old neighbor, Mandy, and asked her to join us at Farm Country with her boys today.  We had a great time.  We've missed them since they moved over a month ago!

Thanks Mandy, Bryson, and Chad for joining us on a hot summer day!

We didn't get very far before Ethan was out.  He asked for a drink and I turned around and he was sleeping on the water bottle.  He had played hard!

Accident prone

We have loved our Aflac insurance policy (no, this is not an endorsement) because we've made money. We've covered our premiums every month with extra cash left over because of our filed claims on our accident policy.  It saved us when we received a check to cover our co-pays for Ethan and Sydney's 2 month NICU stay last year.  We are, however, realizing that maybe we are just accident-prone.

Two weeks ago, Doug proposed that we go on a Saturday morning hike.  We borrowed our neighbors really nice packs and Ethan and Sydney had a great time in them (at least at first).  We headed up a trail in Alpine after picking up Dallin, Doug's nephew, to join us.  Dallin had recently backpacked with his family and they had chosen a trail that was new to us.  Doug was, of course, thrilled at the idea of a new hike so we headed up. 

It was a little tricky for me to handle my weight shifts with a 21 lb child in a 10+ lb pack on my back. Several times I had asked Doug for his help. We ate lunch and Doug and Dallin continued up the trail to see a waterfall that was close while I started down because I was a little slower than the 2 mountain goats with me.  I didn't have a watch, but started to wonder what was taking them so long. Ethan fell asleep in the pack and I was pretty frustrated that they were going to miss their nap in their beds--we seem to pay for that later.  After reaching a fork in the trail, I stopped and Doug and Dallin came through the bushes within 10 minutes.  Doug was limping and they had quite the story with an injured ankle and spotting a large rattlesnake on the trail just 2 minutes after the injury.  I guess nearly 2 hours had passed since we parted ways and I was nearly to the car.  We hobbled along and went that afternoon for an x-ray to find out that it wasn't broken, just badly sprained. 

We took Ethan along to the doctor that day because the night before, he had fallen after tripping over his walker and somehow hit face first.  He got a bloody nose and his mouth was bleeding like crazy.  I held him over the sink while blood literally dripped from his face.  I was suprised how calm I was and ended up taking charge of the situation--my first bloody experience as a mom and I survived!!  The doctor told us that one of his 2 front teeth may die and that the little peice of skin joining his upper lip to his upper gums will probably never heal as it was severed.  Can I tell you how excited I am for family photos with a grey tooth until he's six?  Or maybe seven??  Ugh.

First baseball game

We had a great time at the Salt Lake Bees game tonight. Ethan couldn't stop running in the outfield where we were sitting and dancing whenever any music came on. 

We are trying to get in time with Shane and Kayla before we leave since they will move while we're gone...and we love their company!  We waited for a little too long in a short line to take a ride on the little train. There were three small 'cars' behind the engine and each car only allowed for 1 adult rider. It was pretty fun!  But by the look of the photos I took though, Kayla and I were smiling more than our kids...

"I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet..."

The opening line to one of E&S favorite books. With Doug having his last day of work last week, we have been playing hard while he has a few weeks off before our move to Hawaii.  We took a trip to the Hogle Zoo today and had a blast!  We asked Kayla and Bryn to join us for the discovery.  It was no Bronx or San Diego zoo (those are the only zoo's I've known) but the size was perfect for toddlers. 

After the bird show, we took a spin on the carousel. We were glad this one didn't charge for the adults to ride as well!  They loved it and Sydney didn't want to get off when we came to a stop.

They loved watching the monkey exhibits--which were many.  I told Doug that I was pretty sure monkeys were a cheap zoo animal because it seemed like half the zoo was filled with monkeys and there was no lion...lame. 

Ethan and Sydney are going to miss Bryn when we leave. We hope they don't move far away in November so we can still visit eachother.

We were twinners with our strollers. I copied Kayla's color choice in the end, it was just simply the best.  I think people must have thought we were a special group or something with our Chariots.  Thanks for your company Kayla and B!

Water weekend

My sisters have been planning to meet in Boise for a fun weekend before their kids started school.  The timing ended up being perfect with Doug defending his prospectus on Tuesday of the same week.  We hopped in the car without a lot of sleep and made the drive to Boise.  Ethan and Sydney did amazing and we only ended up stopping to fuel up and let them run around for a few minutes.  It was perfect.

We spent Friday at a state park in the Boise area and had a great time.  The water was a little nasty, but we just overlooked that part and played hard.  My sisters and I got out of the water commenting how we turn into kids when we're together--and I am so glad!  I haven't been very care-free since becoming a mom and it felt amazing.  Friday night we had a fashion show where the kids showed off their new back-to-school attire. They are getting so old with so much personality.  So adorable.

Ethan and Sydney discovered sand for the first time and I watched them closely to see how they would react when we live on the sand in just a few short weeks.

Sydney kept trying as hard as she could to squeeze the water out of the sand or something.  She does this a lot.  I wonder where she could get her intensity from??  I tell her to 'relax' far too often for an 18-month old.  Maybe I should follow my own advice.

Doug was ambushed by the neices and nephews and he had a great time.

Back on the shore, I discovered that Grace (E&S cousin) loves to eat sand.  I hope E&S weren't watching. Not sure how I'd do with that habit.  My sister, Sarah, and I are a lot alike.  She was squirming, but only a little...it's her 4th child.

Saturday we went to Roaring Springs waterpark. Ethan and Sydney weren't wild about it, but they had their moments of big smiles.  I tried to get them to sit still for a quick photo.  Now I have evidence of how fast they move...

We ate some pizza in the parking lot for dinner and the kids (minus the toddlers, of course) migrated toward the road to see how many cars would give them a little honk.  They were so excited and I think stayed in that same spot for 15 minutes. 

Thanks for the great memories!

New favorite things

It seems like every day we enter a new phase with Ethan and Sydney. They are learning so fast.  A few of their favorite things (besides TALKING all the time!)

Balloons!  (Thanks to Aunt Christine for having a baby so we could get balloons for a baby shower and to Aunt Michelle for giving balloons to daddy.)

Burt's Bees lip balm.  They are both obsessed!  I have to hide to put on my chapstick or they don't take no for an answer.  They try to put it on.

Standing up on their toy truck that Grandma and Grandpa gave them.  They both try to stand on it together for seconds, but that usually ends in disaster.

Eating!  They are great eaters.  Doug complimented me the other day saying that they will try most foods and eat such a variety.  Sometimes I don't know if I did anything to make this happen...I am just so glad they do!

Drinking. They love their fresh goat milk that I get from a neighbor and water.  They prefer to drink out of my camelbak waterbottle, so I finally broke down and bought them their own.  Don't took closely--they aren't the toddler ones. Evidentally they could choke on something on this bottle?

Books. Their cousin, Cameron, let them borrow "The Great Cash Wash" because they love anything 'doggie'. I think 3 days went by and I texted Cameron's mom telling her I'm so sorry the book has been mutilated, but with so much love! I've already looked on amazon and can't find a replacement. I guess it came in a Cheerios box.  I would pay some money to have that book on the plane ride to Hawaii!

Big day in the Marchant house

The past year has been consumed by Doug's work on his dissertation. His prospectus is a huge chunk of his dissertation that he needs to complete prior to doing his research, analyzing it and then finishing the dissertation as well as Doug being able to submit internship applications. Today, he met with his committee of faculty members to defend his 107 page prospectus in hopes of gaining their approval with a "pass" so he can move forward with his research and we can go on internship next fall (2012). Today was d-day and I am happy to share that Doug passed with flying colors! The committee requested very few revisions and we couldn't be happier, and we feel so blessed. We are so glad to have this chapter behind us tonight!!

Ethan, Sydney, and I surprised Doug as he walked out of the building on campus talking to me on the phone. We took him out to dinner to celebrate with some yummy Mexican food--our favorite.

I think we'll be celebrating until New Years here and in Hawaii.