Ode to a Tractor

Thank you dear tractor:

For the thousands of hours of fun

For the many loads of dirt you hauled

And most of all, for the entertainment you gave a 2 year old for so much time.

I will miss you greatly, my new bike just doesn't do or haul half the things I made you.

Love you and I am mad at my dad for throwing you away while I was gone.

Nait

(We as parents are eternally grateful, and are very sorry that you broke in half!)

Swimming Lessons

Ethen had 2 weeks strait (Monday-Thursday) of swimming lessons at the aquatic center.

At first I thought it would be great, Nait and I would swim while Ethen was in lessons, and then we would get to hang out for a while afterwards in the outdoor pool.

YEAH . . . . That lasted all of about 2 count them 2 days! Oh well. Ethen had lots of fun and really learned a lot. He went from a level 0 to a level 2.5 after 2 weeks.

He learned to freestyle swim.

He learned the Rocket. (which will help them learn to dive later on)

He learned to back float. (by the end he was doing it himself)

The team cheer at the end.

He really had a lot of fun and loved his instructor Paige. (Unfortunately I can't convince him he probably won't have Paige again next year.)

9 Years

Grateful for the 9 years we have spent together, and the many years to come. I have been blessed to have such a wonderful husband, friend, confidant and father to my 2 awesome boys.

I am truly blessed.

Love ya babe!

Ethen Turns 5

Ethen turned 5 on June 19th.

Here are the TOP 5 reasons why we love the guy!

5. He has ALWAYS been a wonderful helper and BIG Brother. No matter what he DOES love his brother and looks out for him!

4. He is SUCH a smarty pants, Sometimes to his mom's dismay, but he loves to learn and is ALWAYS right!

3. He has such a sweet and loving personality. He is always making sure you are OK.

2. His Laughter. I LOVE to hear him Laugh.

1. Look at that face! How could you not love the boy!

I count my blessings every day I was blessed with such a wonderful son. I love him and I am glad is his my first! Happy Birthday Ethen! Love ya bunches!

Ethen's Birthday Party

Ethen is turing 5! This is the first year we have done a REAL friend party and he was VERY specific about what he wanted to do.

Invite 4 of his VERY BESTEST friends . . . . .

Take them miniture golfing. . . .

And go down the VERY BIG slide on "those bean bag things."

Now, I will say that golfing with 5 kids 5 and under. . . . . .

is a challenge . . . . .

and we had our casualties along the way . . . .

But they all had a lot of fun and it was WAY worth the time in the sun. Matt and I had a blast watching them run all over the course and running up and down the soft play arena.

And best of all: "It was my best birthday ever Mom!"

(I am not sure how to flip this. It was right when I filmed it! oh well)

Zoo Day with Grandma

Yesterday we got to spend a WoNdErFuL day at the Hogle Zoo with Grandma. Talk about a perfect day to be there! Not too hot, not too cold, JUST RIGHT!

The Ghost of the Bayou, one of 10 RARE white alligator (or is it crocadile?) he has 9 other brothers! If his eyes hadn't been moving, I wouldn't have believed he was real!

This is the boys favorite part at the new Elephant exibit. It is a HUGE wooden elephant that sneezes and blows water all over whoever is in front. The boys thought it was hilarious!

Nait

Ethen and Grandma

Can I just tell you that the bird show was FABULOUS! So worth the 25 min and there isn't a bad seat in the house! Just make sure you keep your hands in the car at all times!

And of course you had to have the talking parrot. Nait thought it was very funny.

We got up close and personal with Rinos

and the Giraffes.

And it was great to see a tiger AWAKE!

Look Mom! No Training Wheels!

So I have to give MAJOR props to my friend Linda, who gave us the tips on how to teach Ethen to ride his bike without training wheels. I have to say we had our doubts that it would work, but DOUBT NO MORE! It REALLY works, and I would suggest to anyone the same technique.

About 3 weeks ago we took off the training wheels AND the pedals of Ethen's bike. He didn't like the idea at first, but got used to pushing himself around with just his feet. On Monday I took him with me on my walk with Fonz at the Logan River Walk. It has hills and bridges and Ethen did really well on the 4 mile walk. At one point there is a hill that he picked his feet up and just cruised all the way down, and then wanted to do it over and over. At that point I knew he had his balance and was ready to try with the pedals on.

Matt held on for the first little bit until he got a handle on his balance..................

And then off he went. All on his own, without looking back.

And we haven't been able to get him off since!

So here is a little video of my BIG BOY riding his bike WITHOUT training wheels. What can I say, I am one proud MAMA, and yes, I cried a little!