The Children

November 2010

2011-08-07T17:49:00.003-06:00

Wait ... what's this? A new blog post? That's right, my friends. I'm back on the wagon. One of these days, I will not be constantly falling off the blogging wagon. I hope. Three kids has thrown me for a loop, but I'm determined to catch up and keep going with this. And let me also say to all my friends and family out there who have blogs of their own ... I am still enjoying your blogs! I may never comment because most of the time I'm catching up on your posts on my phone while I'm feeding the baby (which is annoying enough as it is), but just know that I still love keeping up with your lives and seeing your pictures and such. I'm just not expressing that verbally. :)

Last November, just a few days before Thanksgiving, is when we found out we were having ... (wait for it) ... another boy. (*small sigh*) Much to the major slight disappointment of some people. And yes, he was just as obvious with his "display" as our other 2 boys during the ultrasound. Ah, boys ...

Then Mama and Pata Jones were able to join us for Thanksgiving. It was a lovely feast, as usual.

While they were here, the boys challenged them to a game of Bed Bugs, which is right up there next to Operation on the annoying factor.

An Evan sandwich. :)

Owen demonstrating how to be cool (without any coaching ... where do they learn these things?).

Mom was kind enough to take me, Kate and Emily to see the NYC Rockettes in SLC. It was so fun and entertaining! I hope they come back.

One of my favorite parts of the show.

We had to see the lights on Temple Square without the grandparents because an incoming storm forced them to head home a day early. The joys of winter (or spring, or fall) travel between Utah and Wyoming!

October 2010, pt. 2

2011-03-21T08:30:00.000-06:00

The rest of our October was pretty typical.

We celebrated Casey's birthday (his cakes always turn out really bad--sorry, hon!).


We went to the corn maze and activities at Thanksgiving Point ...

which the boys loved a lot!

I enjoyed my gorgeous ash tree ...

until the first major wind storm arrived.

We decorated Halloween sugar cookies.

We enjoyed Halloween costume parades for preschool and Kindergarten.

We carved jack-o-lanterns ...

which turned out very cute/cool this year (as usual).

We had a Halloween "Spook-Up" (which is what Evan called a party) with our friends and family.

And, of course, the kids dressed up and went trick-or-treating.

But not for very long because it was freezing on Halloween this year!

October 2010, pt. 1

2011-03-20T15:05:00.006-06:00

October started out with a sad event. On 10/01/10, my last living grandparent, Grandma Berkline, passed away. She had been in a lot of pain so it was a blessing, but it's always sad to see someone you love go. We went to California for the funeral and made it into a fun little vacation while we were there.

This is the drawing Casey did of my Grandma when she was younger. What a beauty!

Owen being cute.

Evan being cute.
(We had a few umbrellas for shade at the cemetery. It was so hot!)

Emily decided to participate in the funeral by being a pallbearer. This gave us a chance to laugh a little at her expense. :)

Another light moment, which Grandma would have totally approved of, came when Jenny told us the story of how Grandma reminded people that her name, Frances, was spelled with an 'e' and not an 'i.' She was a funny lady and did not want any of us to be sad when she died. She wanted a big party. We pretty much obliged.

Bye to Grandma "Brokeline," as my kids would call her. See you later!

All the cousins (a whopping 2 families' worth).

We took the opportunity to go to Disneyland and California Adventure while we were there. The night and morning before we went were kind of disastrous. The power went out on just a portion of the street my Grandma lived on. Edison International said they were on the problem, but we don't think they sent anyone out to fix it until the morning. We spent that evening trying to get ready for a long day at the theme parks by what little candlelight and flashlight light we could find in Grandma's house. We had to buy ice to keep food in a cooler (which, luckily, was still there from the post-funeral luncheon). Everyone bathed and showered by candlelight. We couldn't charge phones unless we had car chargers. We had frizzy hair because we couldn't blow dry it and we tried to put makeup on in the dark (when we go to Disneyland, we leave early and make good use of all our time). And then, 5 minutes before we left ... the lights came on. Boy were we mad!

But we still had a blast and the boys loved it as much as the rest of us.

We spent time at Aunt Carol's house and got to see her turtles, kitties, giant spiders (those aren't pets), etc.

Of course we had to visit Seal Beach and walk down the pier.

And we can't forget the traditional photo by the seal.

Casey did some plein-air painting on the beach while we walked and played.

It was a little chilly, but not chilly enough to keep us away from the water.

We hung out in Grandma's backyard for, what has turned out to be, the last time.

And no California trip would be complete without a trip to the duck park.

A new and exciting feature this year ... the giant mushrooms.

And one of the favorite traditional activities at Grandma's is bouncing all the super balls down the stairs. We are going to miss Grandma and her home. We have a lot of great memories there.

September 2010

2011-03-20T14:45:00.004-06:00

I realized I better hurry and catch up before this baby comes. He's expected on the 29th, unless something happens before then. So I don't have much time. Here we go.

September started out with our 2nd annual Labor Day staycation. We went to the Children's Museum in Salt Lake first.

Some of the big kids enjoyed it as much as the little kids. We stayed the night at a hotel in SLC where we enjoyed some swimming, but not any hot tubbing because it was broken. [BIG frowny face]

We hiked to Bridal Veil Falls again where the boys hiked up for a closer look.

Emily and Kate hosted a murder mystery dinner party at our house with our cousins. That was fun!

And last, but not least, we celebrated Aunty Kake's birthday, complete with Birthday Bingo, of course.

August 2010, pt. 2

2011-03-06T21:39:00.006-07:00

I guess now would be a good time to mention that it was shortly before we went to Wyoming last summer that I found out I was pregnant. Which is why I've both gotten more behind and wanted to catch up on this blog. My other two pregnancies were a piece of cake. This one has been a little different. It was great up until the third trimester, but recently I've had problems with high blood pressure and general pain in "that" area (round ligaments, apparently). Right now my BP is borderline and as long as it doesn't jump back up and stay up, our 3rd boy will be joining us on March 29th. Hooray and yikes!

Here are the boys in front of my tomatoes when they were still kind of standing. The plants themselves were ginormous this year!

This was my thriving squash.

And this, my zucchini. It never got any bigger. I didn't think it was possible to kill zucchini, or at least not have it overtake the surrounding area. Somehow I managed to grow everything but zucchini.

This is Owen on his first day of preschool. This social, outgoing, talkative kid had a bit of a hard time adjusting, but he loves it. And I hear from his teacher, Miss Janae, that he is finally just coming out of his shell in class and talking in more than a whisper, being a little more rowdy, etc. That's the Owen I know.

It wouldn't be summer without a trip to Hogle Zoo! A few of the highlights were ...

the baby elephant ...

the giraffes (including the part where Owen was "that kid" who lost his flip-flop inside the giraffe enclosure; luckily it was just the outer perimeter and we were assured that it happens all the time) ...

this ginormous bird (and all of the birds who grazed the tops of our heads during the bird show) ...

the carousel ...

and the orangutans (who performed especially well when one of their handlers came over by us and talked to them and such).

We also visited the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.

This is Evan on his first day of Kindergarten. It was a bittersweet day.

Here are the two of them before we took Evan to school.

Here's Evan with two other Kindergartners from our cul-de-sac.

And here is his class lining up to go inside on that first day (the only decent picture I got of Mrs. Bunting).

I'm fat, fat, fat...

2011-02-15T23:08:00.002-07:00

Okay, we have to pause all the catching up for a quick look at the present. Owen's new favorite thing to do is play with Photobooth on Casey's laptop. We find random new pictures and videos on there almost every day. Here is one of his particularly hilarious videos:

August 2010, pt. 1

2011-02-13T22:16:00.004-07:00

August was such a busy month. It all started with an exciting event for Casey. He had a solo exhibition of his art at Communal restaurant in Provo.

It was so neat to see nearly every wall space covered with his paintings and drawings. The opening night coincided with the restaurant's monthly dinner club. We were able to come that night and enjoy some incredible food.

Several of Casey's family members came as well. We really appreciated their support and good company. (Sorry for the terrible picture ... just wanted to document who was there.)

One of the delicious courses.

Dessert ... mmmmm!

I had to include a picture of me with my dear friend, Jennifer. We used to be next-door neighbors, but I do not get to see enough of her anymore. Her husband, Joseph, is one of the owners of the restaurant and we really appreciate him giving Casey the opportunity to exhibit there. It was exhausting to prepare for, but it turned out wonderful!

Wyoming Trip--Summer 2010

2011-02-06T18:58:00.004-07:00

Last summer the boys and I headed to Wyoming to visit my parents. My mom knew we were coming, but she thought we were coming in August. We surprised her and came at the end of July. It was a fun surprise for her to answer the door and have the boys standing there. My sisters and I spent the next few days making last-minute preparations for a big birthday bash--my mom's surprise 60th birthday party. Oh, the web of lies we weaved! But it paid off in the end. She had no idea. She was completely surprised and it was a fun night.

While we were there we went to the dam Visitor Center at the Buffalo Bill Dam. It was lots of dam fun.

We saw lots of old dam equipment.

The boys had a precious moment (those are rare).

We got to look down from the dam walkway. WAY down! (Kate does not like the dam height!)

Evan got a dam penny (which he will proudly tell anyone). We also got dam pencils, dam pens ("This is my dam pen!"), dam cup holders ... lots of dam stuff.

We got to see the dam Jones brick that our family donated to the dam Visitor Center for. We had a lot of dam fun. And we kept referring to every dam thing for days on end because it really doesn't get old.

The boys got to ride on the tractor with Pata Jones.

We also got to see this little gem. Chloe is my cousin's girl and she is so adorable! She's not only easy on the eyes ...

she's incredibly entertaining as well.

July 2010

2011-01-23T15:43:00.019-07:00

Last 4th of July (well, 3rd, since the 4th was on Sunday) I took the kids to see the hot air balloons again. This time we went extra early so we wouldn't miss the filling-up and lift-off of the balloons. Well, we got to see them filled, but they were not able to lift off because of (apparent) windy conditions. Can you tell they rolled right out of bed for this picture? :)

I still can't figure out why they couldn't lift off, but what do I know. It was still fun to see them.

This was my favorite balloon, of course. That is my kind of Coke bottle! Just the right size!

We also did a little fishing that weekend. The kids loved it. As you can see they caught some pretty big fish! :)

I caught one about the same size and Evan was kind enough to take him off the hook and release him for me (I don't do that).

We also went to my cousin's house and hung out with her family and my other cousin's family and their friends. Here is a picture of all the cute kids! It was lots of fun!

Of course July involved a lot of sprinkler and/or pool days.

Evan liked the sprinkler high ...

Owen liked the sprinkler low (if he liked it at all).

Owen turned 3 in July! Evan and I went to Macey's and picked up this AWESOME balloon for him (although I think maybe it was a little bit more for me). I love how huge it is compared to him! We also grabbed a little cake, which Owen had to have for breakfast.

Owen loved his new real golf club from dad.

And his awesome old-school Little People (only bigger now) from Mama and Pata Jones.

We had all the cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents from Casey's side of the family over to celebrate with us. Aunt Anahi made amazing and delicious Batman cupcakes.

(By the way ... can you tell Owen went through a cheesy grin phase around that time of the year? This one is a great smile compared to most. I do think the really cheesy ones are pretty cute, too, though.)

We set up a Batman pinata in the studio. It was great fun for all the kids!

As I mentioned before, Evan had another round of swim lessons. This time it was with my dear friend Jennifer's kids. We used to be next-door neighbors so it was great to see her so often again. It was so much fun just sitting and chatting while they swam each day. And Evan was doing amazing things in the water by the time he was done. I included a video of him jumping off the diving board!

June 2010

2011-01-16T16:25:00.012-07:00

Last June was a busy and fun month.

We had a pretty incredible storm one night that produced a gorgeous sky.

And I was sure that I would be able to capture some lightning with my new camera. Well, I didn't, but the pictures were still beautiful.

Our great friends, the Peads, invited us up to spend a night at their time-share at Snowbird, a big ski resort near Salt Lake. The creek that runs through the Little Cottonwood Canyon area was a raging river at the time. On our way up to Snowbird, we were stopped on the road because of issues with the river overflowing and flooding and causing erosion. We were stopped right by the local CBS 2News truck where Cristina Flores was reporting on the situation right in front of us.

The kids enjoyed the ride up to the room in the cart with all the luggage.

The set-up of this place was perfect: a kitchen/living area in the middle (complete with hot tub on the deck) and 2 huge bedrooms/bathrooms coming off of that. Here we are enjoying a nice spaghetti dinner soon after we arrived.

Evan and Mallory headed straight for the hot tub after dinner.

I love this picture because it portrays their personalities and how they interact perfectly! Mallory is a little more aggressive than Evan and his face shows how he feels about it sometimes.

Here is the creek (raging river).

My cousin told me that someone she used to nanny was teaching private and semi-private swim lessons at his parents' house over the summer and asked if I would like to join them. Absolutely! It was the perfect solution for shy, water-cautious Evan. Christopher was awesome! He has a way with kids.

It's amazing that he would barely let his head touch the water the first day, but by the end of the 2 weeks he was bobbing. We went back for another session in July, which I will have more pictures of.

Kate got Emily a Slip 'n' Surf for her birthday. It's like a Slip 'n' Slide, but with a small, boogie board-sized surf board that you ride on. Here they are helping Evan. I played with the camera while they all tried it out, taking a ton of pictures that you can scroll through quickly to make it look like a movie. I included some of the best pictures here.

Here are the boys squirting Kate ... as if she didn't have enough water to help her along.

Owen liked to squirt other people ...

but he did not like to be squirted, accidentally or not! (He was not a water kid the entire summer.)

Here is one of Emily's best moves.

This one had a great splash. It was funny to see them try out all the different ways to "surf" ... on their feet, on their bellies, taking the board with them, having the board waiting there for them, etc.

This has got to be one of the coolest falls ever! Good job, Kate!

Even Casey tried it out. I think because he was a skater (as in skate boarder) back in the day he thought he could master this. Okay, not to bad ...

hmm ...

and he's down.

This kid sure enjoyed it, though.

Even Putty enjoyed hanging out on the deck and watching.

Cute!

And we went from that gorgeous day to this cold, rainy day in June. This was at the Orem Arts Festival where Casey had a booth set up. Owen was dancing to a guy singing with his guitar. I don't know where that kid gets it, but he has mad dancing skills! Of course just after he got set up outside, they moved inside the library because of the weather.

Here's Casey doing a drawing demonstration of his cousin, Miss Orem 2010 Bridget Kreis.

Here's a picture of the weather that day. Brrrr!

And just like every year, with June comes Pleasant Grove's Strawberry Days. Just like last June and the June before that and probably every June from here on out, we have pictures of the kids at the carnival on the same rides, with the same carnies, for the same outrageous prices ...

This one started out okay, but did not end so well. Owen freaked out. Luckily they were the only two on because I'm pretty sure they ended the ride early. The highlight of Strawberry Days this year was volunteering to work a shift at the city-run food booth. Most of the time I filled drinks and took money in the greasy little trailer, which wasn't the greatest. But I got to eat as many cups of strawberries and cream as I wanted, even bypassing the huge line to get mine. And you can be sure I took advantage of that little perk!

Mama Jones brought us some oranges from Grandma Berkline's tree in California and helped the kids juice them. There is nothing better in the world!

Cute picture of the boys with Mama Jones!

And since I included a picture of Putty I guess I should show proof of our other cat, too. Harriette found a nice box that my mom was using as a mirror stand to hide in.

May 2010

2011-01-09T16:20:00.003-07:00

Wow, two weeks in a row! That has to be some kind of record. Here is what was going on last May ... not too much. Or maybe it was a lot and we were so busy we didn't keep track of it.

Owen went through a phase where he was falling asleep during dinner quite often. It was hilarious. I even have video from this particular night to see if I could get the snoring on record. I don't know how he sleeps so soundly in that chair!

The big highlight of the month was Evan's graduation from his second year at the Nae-borhood Preschool. Here we are at the graduation ceremony.

He was much more involved this year. He actually sang the songs (sometimes), did the actions, etc. He even burst out talking to us very loudly a couple times. I'm not sure where that came from. It's not the Evan I'm familiar with.

This is the part where he got to play the 5th little pig who cried, "Wee, wee, wee!" all the way home.

Accepting his graduation certificate.

Evan and Miss Janae. We love her to death! Owen is currently in his first year at her preschool.

And some day when Owen is older, this picture will probably come back to haunt him. His Auntie Kake got him dolled up in her jewelry and hair clip and sadly, he makes an adorable girl. I guess it's only fitting; he's been mistaken for a girl a lot more often lately.

A New Year and An Old Trip to D.C.

2010-09-18T22:07:00.015-06:00

Has it really been 4 months since I've posted? Wow, how pathetic. Well I decided that one of my new goals this year would be to make regular blog posts. And now that we have early church, Sunday afternoons are the perfect time to do that. I want to keep these as sort of a family journal and hopefully print them into books someday. So there will be a lot of catching up at first (what's new), but then I hope to keep up on them. With a new addition to the family in 3 months I will have to keep up!

So last April, Casey and I were fortunate enough to take a week-long trip to Washington, D.C. We brought my mom home with us after Easter and she stayed with the kids. The original reason for the trip was for Casey to attend the Portrait Society of America Conference (I'll get to that later). But it was the perfect opportunity for me to tag along and for us to stay for a few extra days and see the sights.

The first couple of days we spent sight-seeing, which meant a lot of walking! But it was so amazing there that the walking didn't bother me a bit. Our first stop was Arlington Cemetery. What an awesome place! Very humbling and beautiful.

I couldn't get over the endless rows of gravestones and how straight they were.

Here are the Kennedy family graves and the eternal flame.

I'm glad they had these signs posted around to remind everyone (especially the teenagers there on field trips) how to act.

There were incredible gravestones everywhere. This was a really impressive one.

The Pentagon in the background.

Seeing the chairs all ready for a burial and the soldiers practicing folding the flag really made it real.

I loved the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Those young men impressed me so much with their precision and reverence for the ceremony.

Again, countless straight rows of headstones.

After Arlington, we made our way over to the Mall. Here we are with the Washington Monument in the background.

And here we are with the Lincoln Monument.

It was impressively huge!

The Gettysburg Address ... one of my favorite "quotes" that I memorized in 5th grade.

See how big those columns are? Crazy!

The spot where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech (see close-up below).

The Vietnam Memorial Wall--another solemn and impressive place. We almost walked by it. We thought it stuck out of the ground, but it's actually cut out of a hill. The top of the wall has a hill sloping down on the backside of it covered in grass. Does that make sense?

We walked as close as we could to the White House.

Which is not really that close, as you can see by this picture.

And then we saw snipers setting up on the roof and we got pushed back even further where we were out of direct view of the White House itself. All along the sides it is obscured by trees so once we got pushed back, that's all we could see.

We overheard someone say that the fire truck nearby meant that the President was either coming or going in a helicopter. So we waited for the action.

In the meantime, I was intrigued watching the guards checking every vehicle that came in so thoroughly. They had bomb-sniffing dogs, little mirrors that they would look at the underside of the vehicle with, and the drivers would sit outside waiting as they checked every square inch.

Finally, just as we started to leave (of course), the helicopters that had been circling (one is a decoy) got very close and the true Marine One helicopter landed on the White House lawn. And the excitement was over.

I love, love, LOVE the architecture there! I thought this building with the silver roof was just beautiful! I admire and respect the pioneers that came west and settled here, but why couldn't they bring some of those incredible architectural designs with them?

After the White House we headed to the other end of the Mall where we made a stop at the Capitol.

Here we are at the Capitol with the entire Mall behind us, all the way down to the Washington Monument. That day and the following day we visited several of the Smithsonian museums, as well. Then we made our way to Reston, Virginia for the Portrait Society of America Conference. Casey had entered this painting of Owen into their annual international portrait competition. It was selected from over 1,300 entries and awarded a Certificate of Excellence, which means it was in the top 15-30 of those that entered. So he went to the conference to accept his award, mingle with other incredible artists and learn from all of the classes and workshops they offered. I tagged along and enjoyed some free time in the hotel room and the surrounding area.

Just outside the back of our hotel (the Hyatt Regency Reston--very nice!) was this huge area full of offices, shops, restaurants, etc. and this cool fountain. It was fun to just walk all around and (mostly) window shop.

I was able to attend the awards banquet with Casey, which was very yummy and only slightly long and boring. (Don't mind the ghost lady in our picture ... weird!)

This was our dessert--a solid chocolate painter's palette with 3 different flavors of "paint" (mousse) and a paintbrush (rolled-up white chocolate). Yum!

Here is Casey up on the stage with all the other Certificate of Excellence winners.

Here is a group photo of all the top 30 winners that were there.

Casey's friend Ryan Brown was one of the top 15 Merit Award winners. (Too bad you can't see his painting behind them.)

After a fun weekend at the Conference, we went back to finish our sight-seeing in D.C. Of course we spent plenty of time in the art museums and galleries. This is the statue in the middle of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The place is ginormous! I'll admit ... I got lost a few times.

I think this is the National Archives. It was cool to see all of our major government documents in person.

We toured Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot (more on that later).

This was a cool Gothic church we saw while walking around. (Again with the architecture ...)

Here we are in the Metro. Once we figured it out, it was great. We booked both hotels we stayed in just blocks from a Metro stop and got around the city using that and our feet. One day toward the end of our stay was very rainy. The first thing we did that morning was go to the Holocaust Museum. What an experience that was. Again, humbling and a bit depressing, but so amazing and well done. Every museum there is so well done, down to the last little details. And it's almost all free! That's what I love about it.

We had a running joke that I would get a photo of the Washington Monument from every side and angle. I didn't include most of those, but this one that I took on that rainy day was cool with the clouds and the rain dripping down the top.

This is the Smithsonian Castle ... again, the architecture ...

This is in the Freer Gallery of Art. The building is this big square with this beautiful courtyard in the middle.

This big, fat robin bathing in the fountain was so cute.

And I couldn't believe the Japanese Maple trees there (the dark red one)! People try to grow these in Utah and they are so tiny, but if you can get it to live for any length of time at all, you are one of the lucky ones. The ones in D.C. were enormous and beautiful, as were all the trees.

The Smithsonian Castle again.

This is the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We didn't spend too much time in here, but we had to go see a few of the highlights, including some of the inspirational pieces for the Night at the Museum movies (see below).

The dinosaur (Rex?)

and the "Dum-Dum, you no give me gum-gum" guy.

All of the museums and galleries have such amazing works and incredible artists, but one of the highlights of the National Portrait Gallery was a collection of paintings by the American artist Thayer. This photo doesn't do the colors in this painting justice, but he created some really awesome works.

I had to take a picture of the Metro escalators for the kids. I knew these huge ones would have just blown their little minds!

This piece of the Twin Towers in the American History Museum was especially neat because it was a significant part of American history from my lifetime.

The other thing I enjoyed seeing in that museum was the original flag from the War of 1812 that inspired The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem. It is huge--30 x 34 feet. It spent years in conservation and they have it displayed laying down flat in very low light. It was very cool.

Ford's Theatre has a very cool and thorough display on everything leading up to the assassination of Lincoln. This is the gun that was used.

Here is where he was sitting when he was shot.

This is self-explanatory.

We also went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The kids would have loved it. They have some really great exhibitions. I was fascinated by the fact that they have symbols to represent each of the planets. And this is totally immature, but I found the symbol for Uranus to be highly amusing and totally appropriate.

Oh, and don't worry ... we made sure to visit the world's largest McDonald's inside the Air and Space Museum.

Last but not least, I had to take a picture of the most brilliant invention since sliced bread. These are the toilet seat covers in the Chicago Airport. I had never seen these before, but I was totally amazed and in awe. See the directions below.

And these are the pictures I took of the kids before I left, just in case I got a little homesick. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime. I would love to go back and take the kids when they are a bit older.

Easter 2010 in WY

2010-08-28T21:35:00.009-06:00

This year we got to spend Easter/Spring Break in Cody. It was a fun change. We arrived Saturday night and had to dye eggs to be ready for Easter the next day.

I'm pretty sure Owen ate all of his Easter candy within about 1 hour.

We got to meet this sweetheart for the first time. Miss Chloe is my cousin John's little girl and she is to die for!

Even Owen likes her.

My mom made Batman and Robin capes for the boys. Unkie John (what my kids call cousin John) is always such a good sport when it comes to playing with the boys ...

Isn't she to die for???

Of course we got to see plenty of the dogs and horses ...

I think Emily is demonstrating how much her ponytail matches the horse's.

And Kate is demonstrating the importance of blending in like a fly on the horse's back.

Determined to Catch Up

2010-08-28T21:20:00.003-06:00

Apparently last February was quite boring. I have 0 (that's zero) pictures from February. Oh well. March turned out to be quite entertaining. Mama Jones sent some costumes and the kids had a good time changing identities.

How great is this Big Bird costume??? I think I've convinced him to wear it for Halloween this year. It's hilarious!

This is Spiderman, posing as a firefighter. Or maybe the other way around???

And just as soon as they had gotten started, they were done. But don't worry. The costumes get plenty of play time.

And this is our little model. This might be an attempt at Blue Steel, but I'm not positive. I was trying to find the photos of Evan posing in the same outfit a few years earlier, but they are not on this computer. Hopefully they still exist and did not get lost in the deep abyss.

Way Back When Evan Turned 5

2010-05-31T11:12:00.004-06:00

The lucky kid had 2 parties since his aunts couldn't come the first night. He got a lot of fun things, thanks to sweet friends and family.

That is the Lego cake I made. It's no masterpiece. That's what's great about a 5-year-old boy: it's blue and it's a Lego brick and that's all that matters.

Here is one of many large snowstorms we had this past winter. I spent a lot of time shoveling this year. I had to get a picture of Owen in this hat. It was a little small, but so hilarious.

The boys made a snowman.

Owen was very entertained throwing snowballs at me through the door. That's the best way to get hit by a snowball.

Christmas ... in May

2010-05-23T19:26:00.005-06:00

Everyone please just ignore me while I catch up (still). I wouldn't care except that I want to have my blog turned into a book as sort of a family journal/photo album. So here's what happened last December ...

The boys talked to Santa ... together. (There is strength/bravery in numbers.)

We decorated the Christmas tree.

The boys enjoyed playing in the snow. I got to shovel it.

We put Christmas lights on the house with the help of the (in)famous Exterior Illuminator, T-Em.

Here she is posing with our cute snowman who put the burned-out bulbs to good use. (We discovered that even with a soft, snowy cushion at his base, light bulbs didn't make for very safe facial features for our friend. So we took his picture, then defaced him.)

I accidentally sewed my finger and managed to yank it out from the sewing machine so fast that the needle broke off inside. I was lucky--it came down right next to the bone. I was not so lucky when the doctor had to pull off my finger nail to remove the needle.

We enjoyed a cold and brief visit to Temple Square in SLC to see the lights.

Santa did indeed visit this past Christmas. Which proves the boys were good, I guess. Although there were times I would argue otherwise.

Casey designed us a lovely Christmas card with our wonderful new family photos. Sorry if you didn't get one. :)

November 2009 in 3 Pictures

2010-04-17T09:54:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving dinner at our house ... yummmm!

The resemblance is uncanny!

Owen discovered his love of scissors (which Evan didn't even know existed until preschool).

October 2009 in 6 Pictures

2010-04-17T09:28:00.009-06:00

Okay. I have to catch up. Have to! I have a new camera now, which I would like to start using and blogging with. So as hard as it is, I'm picking 1 picture per event for the last, oh, 6 months or so. (How pathetic is that?) And then I will try ever so hard to be good at keeping track of life as we go along. Here we go:

Last October we ...

~finished landscaping our yard, which involved lots of concrete, a new fence in the front (including gates to keep the kids contained), and plants and trees.

~made our 2nd (or 3rd?) annual trip to Hee Haw Farms (which was a lot lamer than year(s) past).

~watched Evan's preschool Halloween parade (cute and hilarious, as usual).

~carved pumpkins (with a Disney theme this year).

~dressed up and went trick-or-treating.

~found Owen the morning after Halloween eating the nerds off the floor that Evan had snuck up to his room and spilled all over (such a refined child).

The Happiest Birthday on Earth

2010-03-15T09:09:00.005-06:00

Kate suggested I add photos from her real birthday. Now that was a party! She, Emily and I went to California for a long weekend. We visited Grandma Berkline and on Kate's birthday, we went to Disneyland because she got in for free. It was so fun! Kate and Emily are Disneyland die-hards so it's great going with them. We were there from open until close. And it was extra special because the park was Halloween-themed.
(P.S. I stole these from Kate's Facebook. I didn't have a purse-sized camera so Em and Kate have all the photos. I would have stolen some from Em, too, but I didn't see hers on her Facebook.)

Here we are on the tram ride into the park.

I think this is in line for the Haunted Mansion. (One of these things is not like the others ...)

This was on Small World. Thank goodness Grandma gave us her fans to use that day. It was HOT!

This is Mullet Man and his woman. We enjoyed laughing at his expense.

Here is Kate, so scared of the pirates!

Here is Kate's birthday button. We kept track of how many times people told her "Happy Birthday." I think it was close to 50.

This is right before the BEST Star Tours ride EVER!
(If you get a chance, sit on the back row and lift up your feet and arms. Let the craziness take your body where it will!)

The Buzz Lightyear ride.

We got to eat dessert at the Blue Bayou. (Yes, dessert only. It's too pricey.) Little did we know that they were about to close down for good. We were lucky to even get a reservation ... and it was at 9:30PM, if I remember right.

The Blue Bayou.

On my favorite (NOT) ride, Splash Mountain.

Heading home in the deep abyss of LAX.

Fall Birthdays

2010-03-13T12:22:00.006-07:00

We celebrated both Casey's and Kate's birthdays back in ... oh, a few months ago. Does it really matter anymore? I'm still so far behind. That's okay. I'm catching up and that's what's important. Right???

Here is Casey opening a present from me (a picture of a new office chair b/c I knew he wanted one for painting but he's picky so I didn't bother with the hassle of buying one because I knew I would be returning it--I was right).

Owen with the candy that Kate gave to Casey.

A cute picture of Kate.

Casey opening a present from Evan: Lego Star Wars Wii game--just what Daddy (read: Evan) always wanted!

Oh, look ... Owen still has the candy.

I made a Mountain Dew cake for Casey since that is his favorite beverage. It wasn't that great, but I'm pretty sure Owen would have been happy with any cake sitting on that plate.

This was right before the spit ...

This was right after.

Owen and Kate playing before her birthday party.

I'm not sure what they're doing here, but it's cute.

Kate is really excited for her party. And her dessert--chocolate peanut butter bonbons.

Oh, look--Owen is joining in.

And Owen is right where the treats are. I think he likes them. They were pretty good. We had fun parties.

Family Photo Session

2010-03-13T11:37:00.008-07:00

I have tried no less than 5 times to upload pictures from our latest family portrait session (clear back in the beginning of October), but I just can't get it to work. So let me just direct you here:

http://webblisa.blogspot.com/2009/11/childs-family_26.html

or here to see all 40 photos we chose:
http://www.facebook.com/amandamchilds?ref=profile#!/album.php?aid=34720&id=1655324036

Casey's cousin, Lisa, was kind and patient enough to do our photos. I think she is incredible. I told her morning would probably be best because the kids would not be tired and cranky. Hmmm ... well, you just never know when kids will be in one of their moods. Owen would not crack even a hint of a smile for anyone. Especially Lisa. So the photos started out with a pouty Owen and a stoic Evan. After various attempts at making Owen smile, we finally succeeded. I just remember all of us looking like crazy people, which somehow ended in Owen being chased around and laughing and smiling. Success!

Lisa took our photos in Casey's art studio first. Then we piled everyone in the car and drove up American Fork Canyon. We found a beautiful spot with all the gorgeous fall leaves and the mountains in the background. Some photos look like we are in front of a fake backdrop because it's that perfect. At that point it was a little cool, but we made one more stop by the river and the kids nearly froze to death. (All for the cause, people!) I guess I didn't plan our outfits very well, as the kids were dressed in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. But we did it and got some great photos that I am so pleased with. Lisa, I can't thank you enough.
I love them!

September Staycation and Stuff

2010-01-28T21:23:00.005-07:00

Well, this past September brought some fun into our early Fall season. It began with ...

... a new bike! A big thanks to my cousin Jenny for this incredible, barely-used kid bike. We put some training wheels on and bought Evan a helmet and such. He was pretty unsure about it. I think once he gets better at it he'll like it more. It's a very hefty, heavy-duty bike, which is great, but I'm afraid if he ever falls it might do some damage on such a skinny kid.

Of course Owen had to have his turn on the bike.

We took a little "staycation" over Labor Day. We spent the night at a really nice extended-stay hotel in SLC. It had a little kitchenette with a front room and an extra bedroom. Em came along. We swam when we got there. Well, most of us. Owen is deathly afraid of the water. He still hates laying down in the bath. He says the water hurts his ears. I think the pressure freaks him out or something. Anyway, the next day we went to the Planetarium (again, Owen didn't appreciate the awesome little movie in the domed theater). Then we helped my cousin Holly and her hubby George move into their new apartment. It was fun to hang out with them for awhile. Apparently I didn't get any pictures during the actual staycation itself, but I got these of the boys trying on their new (cheap) goggles I bought them for the pool.

Owen has quite the healthy appetite. Especially when it comes to corn on the cob. He loves it. He can down 2 ears in one sitting. His polar opposite, Evan, hates corn.

Evan has started writing letters in preschool. I love that he loves to write now and draw, too. He draws the cutest people now, which I need to take pictures of, too. Here is one of his very first attempts at his name. So cute!

Random Stuff from August

2010-01-23T09:21:00.002-07:00

Evan started his second year of preschool with Miss Janae, who is quite possibly the best preschool teacher around. Of course, Owen could not be left out of the "1st day of school" pictures.

A rare capture of Evan's silly side.

A not-so-rare capture of Owen's silly side.

This was one of those zucchinis that went unnoticed under the plant's foliage. It got almost as big as Owen.

It was a little heavy, even for Evan.

Time for a Change

2010-01-16T14:19:00.002-07:00

I hate to admit it, especially to someone who shall remain nameless right now, but I'm ready for a blog design change. I never wanted to be "one of those people" who had a cutesy background that they got from some free blog template Web site (no offense, please), but I need a change. I tried to hint to this person who shall remain nameless (it starts with C and rhymes with "lacy") to design me an original blog. After all, "he" was the one who detested my black blog with the bright words so very much. But we won't. So until I can convince him that this would benefit him as well, or until I can figure out how to design something on my own, I will be "one of those people" (no offense, please) with the free blog template that you will probably see on several other blogs you view today. Don't be surprised if it changes quite a bit in the next little while. I have to try things on before I settle on something semi-permanent. Thank you for your patience.

A Gray and Beautiful Summer Day in August

2010-01-16T13:25:00.006-07:00

One Sunday in August, we went for a drive up Provo Canyon. Our first stop was the ever-beautiful Bridal Veil Falls. There was a break in the rain when we first started up the trail, but I was glad we came prepared with rain gear for everyone because on the way back to the car, it POURED. And poured, and poured and poured.

This is when Evan was obsessed with the binoculars Pata Jones had given him.

It was something cool, I'm sure.

They could not pass up an opportunity to throw rocks in the water.

It was a fun little hike. Even in the rain. Or, with the boys having so much fun, I should say especially in the rain.

We then headed up the Canyon and began the drive around the Alpine Loop. The next stop was Sundance. We thought about taking a ride on the ski lifts, but two things stopped us: the thought of being on those lifts in the pouring rain, and the fact that the kids would probably be scared to death the entire ride.

We did enjoy checking out the fish, walking around, and the use of Sundance's pristine bathrooms, however.

Next stop: Cascade Springs--an area full of beautiful natural springs with trails to walk around them on. The boys had a blast on our little outdoor journey, and we tired them out plenty for a nice nap for the drive home.

Summer 2009 Trip to Wyoming

2010-01-14T22:46:00.006-07:00

The highlight of our time in Wyoming was a camping trip with Mama & Pata Jones. I'm terrible at remembering to take photos, but I did get some while we were camping.

Pata Jones was outside sitting in his chair doing his crosswords. Evan went into the trailer, got his notebook and pencil, sat down and crossed his legs and got to work ... just like Pata Jones.

The boys with their fishing (or "pishing," as Owen calls it) poles, ready to test the waters.

Venturing out to find a good pishing spot.

Our first spot. Not successful, but fun.

Our second spot. Not successful, but fun. This picture was either just before or after Evan hooked Pata Jones' head. Yikes!

The best part, better than fishing by far, was the throwing of rocks and sticks into the water. These boys will never tire of that. I love the concentration on Owen's face. He is one serious rock-thrower with one serious arm!

That is one big stick they are throwing in the water!

The boys love their Mama & Pata Jones. How did Mama Jones escape a camping picture?

O-Dub Turned 2 ...

2010-01-14T22:21:00.006-07:00

... last July! Yes, still catching up. I vow to do better this year.

Here he is, showing us his fingers' version of "2"--too cute!

He may have finally mastered the art of opening presents by the end of the night. Evan definitely mastered the art of helping. Maybe a little too much at times.

Owen got some great stuff for his birthday. Stuff he really and truly loves and plays with. The sand toys (thanks, T-Em), the Magnadoodle, and these great golf clubs, just to name a few.

Casey's family all got together for dinner when his sister's family was in town, so we celebrated Owen's birthday, too. As the guest of honor, Owen was chosen to judge an art contest that night. This is evidence that Uncle Barry was trying to sway the judge. This behavior is highly frowned upon in juried exhibitions, but Owen ended up picking everyone as winners anyway.

Cupcakes ... mmmmmmmm! (That injury near his eye is from rolling sideways down the stairs. Ouch.)

Love that face.

One more random photo ... Casey's painting was hanging in the LDS Conference Center in SLC for the better part of the year. It was chosen out of numerous entries to be in the LDS International Art Competition. This is his mom and sister, scrutinizing. :)

17 photos : a recap of June 2009

2010-01-08T19:03:00.010-07:00

Owen discovered that he loves drawing and coloring. Oh, the concentration ...

Evan and Owen really do love each other. Usually.

Boys can, and will, turn anything into weapons. This just happens to be one of the "actual" toy weapons we own, and they love it.

The annual Strawberry Days carnival began with Owen's first--and last--ride. It was okay at first ...

but things got progressively worse ...

every time he went around.

It didn't end well, and I'm sure people thought we were torturing our child.

Oh wait. Everything's fine ... now that it stopped.

Casey was the lucky one who got (er, had) to go on the "big" rollercoaster with Evan.

Owen felt better just watching all the other rides from a distance.

Like Evan on the flying saucers.

Owen enjoyed the playground while Casey took Evan on a bathroom break.

I did convince him to go with Evan and me on the Merry-Go-Round. He survived. But he would NOT sit on the horse.

Evan was back for round 2 on the cars. This time, he chose the motorcycle. Can you just hear the sound effects being made?

The Strawberry Days parade was, um, interesting. No, really, it wasn't that bad.

Em can hardly contain her excitement! It drizzled on and off, ending with a downpour on all of the various royalty girls. That made for a good parade! :)

Misc. Facts About Owen

2009-10-15T22:26:00.005-06:00

1. He's cute. I mean, look at him! And those curls ... ugh--how can anyone resist?

2. Did I mention he's cute???

3. He likes to hold Putty. And babies. (I won't hold that against him.)

(Putty doesn't like to be held.)

(Some help this time.)

3. His name is Owen and he's addicted to binkies.
(Oh yeah, and he's adorable.)

Yum.

2009-09-23T12:51:00.011-06:00

(Photo stolen from Jennifer McRae)
(P.S. Jen, don't worry--you can see Suzy & Ryan back there behind us.) :)

This is what we had the honor and privilege of doing last night. I guess being the wife of a P712 artist does have a perk or two. Great food and great company--what more could we ask for? I highly recommend you give Communal a try. Don't leave without having the Chocolate Caramel Tart (which they better keep on the menu for a good, long time ... hint, hint). I could have died after I tasted that and felt like my life was complete.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

2009-09-08T22:17:00.008-06:00

Well, happy birthday 3 1/2 months ago anyway. We had a fun birthday celebration for Emily that included dinner at Los Hermanos, cake and ice cream, presents, and games. Here go the photos:

Kate helping with Em's yearly cake request: confetti cake with LOTS of confetti frosting.

I really wanted ice cream cone cupcakes. FYI, don't follow Betty Crocker's instructions on the back of the cake box for how to do these. Do it the good old-fashioned way where you fill the cones RIGHT SIDE UP and bake them that way.

So pretty!

We enjoyed having Emily's friend Ashley join us for the evening.

This was an evening of crazy faces in the photos. And here we go ...

Em laughing at Kate's whoopie cushion card. Great pick, Kate!

Checking out the Newf scrapbook that Kate made her (score again, Kate!).

Eyeshadow (MAC???) from Ashley!
(Side note: A couple months later, totally out of the blue, Evan said, "I really like T'Em's eyeshadow that she got for her birthday!" Should I be worried???)

Body wash from Owen and beautiful blue glass stones from Evan (they picked them out at the dollar store).

Kate was very excited about everything.

So was Evan.

Here comes the yummy part!

Evan put the sprinkles on.

Yummy, Kate? Or GF?

Yummy.

Hmmmm ... ???

Hmm ... ???

Peace out.

Just enjoying the evening.

They didn't look good, but I guess they tasted okay.

I realize I covered up the flash in this picture, but I think it's hilarious.

It was a very enjoyable evening for all. Thanks to Suzy, Kim, Kate, Margaret and the McKenzies for the encouragement! I hope to keep up on the blog a little better.

Apology

2009-09-01T23:16:00.004-06:00

Dear Blog Readers (do I even have any readers anymore?),
I apologize profusely for neglecting you for the past 2 months (has it really been 2 months since I've posted?). I won't bother you with excuses because I know you don't want to hear them, but just know that life has been ... well ... life. And that's the best I can give you.

I promise to (attempt to) recommit to regular blog posting, as long as I can somehow get my hands on a camera around here. In the meantime, please enjoy this little teaser as a preview to my up and coming post:

Look at that cute little girl in the pink crown. :)

Owen

2009-06-29T11:24:00.004-06:00

Casey took pictures of Owen recently for a painting. Here are a few of my favorites (er, the few that actually turned out).

It would be nicer without the drool, but what would our kids be without drool???

Owen has the best bedhead I have ever seen. These pictures were from a particularly "good" bedhead morning. I can't look at them without laughing out loud!

Evan's 2008-2009 Preschool Graduation

2009-06-26T19:59:00.007-06:00

Preschool graduation has got to be the funniest thing in the world. Evan finished his first year of preschool about a month ago and we got to attend his graduation. Owen loved it. Here he is dancing around.

He wanted to be sitting up there with all the preschool kids. (Oh, don't worry. We already have his name on the list for 2010-2011. I, for one, can't wait!)

A high five for Auntie Kake.

Here are the boys with Miss Janae. Evan couldn't have his picture taken with her alone, of course. Owen had to tag along. We love Miss Janae. What a great teacher!

Supposed to be singing ... (look at all the hilarious kids!)

Evan finally started singing about half way through the program.

Hats on ...

Here we go ...

Just about there ...

Yea! He's graduated!

And we can't wait til next year when preschool is 3 days a week instead of 2! :)

Owen takes it all in.

Evan is such a smart kid. We are excited to see what he accomplishes next year.

California Trip 2009

2009-06-19T20:03:00.008-06:00

I am finally going to blog about our trip to California back in April. It was such a blast. One of the few vacations I have taken that I was not ready to be done with.

First things first ... we picked oranges from my Grandma Berkline's tree the first morning we were there. We squeezed and squeezed and squeezed and drank orange juice to our hearts' content all week long (at least I did).

Picking the oranges was a little tough for the kids, but they enjoyed the process.

Grandma kept laughing because Owen would point to an orange and say "apple" and we would say, "No, that's an orange" and he would point to it again and say "apple." Funny kid!

Hauling in the load ...

Trying to haul in the load ...

Silly boys playing on the patio.

The beach (er, the bay) was a huge hit. Thanks, especially, to the fabulous beach toys we borrowed (thanks, Forts!).

Water and sand ... what more could 2 boys ask for? (Except maybe rocks.)

The BIG shovels were BIG hits!

They both LOVED the water ... until they both almost drowned (or so they thought).

Dig and throw ... dig and throw ... dig and throw ...

Evan was sporting these great Ninja Turtle goggles most of the time. Awesome!

After debating it for days and days, we finally decided to go ahead and take the boys to Disneyland. Owen was still free and they were both at a point in their lives where Mickey Mouse was still pretty cool. (And after hitting up the Strawberry Days Carnival in Pleasant Grove yesterday where we bought 20 tickets for $20 and spent 2-3 tickets on each [crappy] ride per person, we decided that Disneyland is a pretty good deal!)

We didn't have to do too much waiting, but when we did, the boys were pretty good.

Here is Evan checking the "nap" (he's pretty obsessed with maps lately).

Being a boy means taking any opportunity to throw projectiles into bodies of water. Here, the boys are picking up minuscule pieces of trash or gravel off the bridge to throw into the Small World river below where people were casually floating by in their boats. Yeah. Boys will be boys.

The boys enjoyed the play area just as much as the rides, I think.

Owen got a little tuckered out at one point. In fact, he and and Evan were riding in the stroller together (a no-no, I know) and I noticed, just in time, that Owen was falling asleep and falling forward out of the stroller. Whew. We narrowly escaped an incident.

We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride about 5 times. And later, after we were back home in Utah, Casey and I surprised the boys with their very own Buzz Lightyear "shooters." Owen, king of destruction, broke his pretty quick, but Evan's still vibrates and lights up and such. Great investments.

Mama Jones treated the boys to their first ears.

Owen really enjoyed the Pooh ride. It is by far the most tame, happy, sappy, sweet ride in all of Disneyland. Not a hint of anything scary or disturbing.
So Disneyland was a great success. And since Mama Jones came to California with us, she and Aunt Carol came and picked up the kids so Casey and I could hit a couple of adult rides before closing.

We had another adventure-filled day at the duck park (or that's what we've called it as long as I can remember). The kids loved feeding the ducks (which we saw later you weren't supposed to do).

Owen would get so excited when they ate his bread.

These big white geese were a little too aggressive. I'm pretty sure the one on the left is the same one that befriended a large man with a plumber's crack when we were there a few years ago. (Kate, do you still have that picture? I should post it. I looked for it in our pictures, but I think it got deleted when Evan deleted all those pictures of ours.)

The last night we were there we went to Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel. We walked around and saw the ponds of koi fish and the big colorful waterfalls, then headed up to the top of the parking structure to watch the Disneyland fireworks. Well, after waiting FOR.EVER, someone said it was too windy and they would not be having fireworks that night. BIG bummer. Evan, bless his heart, took it much better than I thought he would. He was soooo looking forward to it. And let me just say ... if Anaheim thinks that was windy, then we must have a tornado at least once a week in PG. Give me a break!

Here is sweet "Great-Grandma Brokeline" (as Evan called her) with the kids and me and my double chin.

Evan took this picture of Owen (who always seems to have a funny look on his face when Evan takes his picture).

Owen took this picture of Evan. Hilarious!

And Casey got to do a little plein-air painting in Grandma's backyard. Here is a view of her orange tree and bird bath.
It was such a great trip!

Sort of an Update

2009-05-22T13:41:00.004-06:00

Yes, I realize it's been an incredibly long time since I last posted. Totally unacceptable, I know. I really need to post about our California trip. In the meantime, I'll take the easy way out and refer you Lisa's blog where she posted some really cute pictures of both of our children. Lisa is Casey's cousin (and a pretty great photographer). They came to Utah to visit and we got the kids together to play one day. It was such a blast. Thanks, Lisa!

Easters 2009

2009-04-17T07:54:00.010-06:00

(Yes, it's Easters with an 's' on purpose. If you don't know why, shame on you.)

Here we are dying eggs. Very serious business for Evan.

Here are the pictures Casey got of the boys just before Evan's pre-church meltdown.

Our little model. We're so proud.

I see now where the pink drool came from.

After church, it was discovered that the silly Easter Bunny even hid eggs out in the studio!

Let the crazy poses begin ...

Cute one of Owen and Pada Jones.

I can't believe I'm including these in here. We tried, bless our hearts.
(If you want to see what the end stages of an allergic reaction to penicillin look like, see my ugly arms.)

And then things got messy ...

But don't worry. OxiClean took all that red and pink out of this cute little white linen shirt, too! :)

Random Update

2009-04-16T08:11:00.010-06:00

Sorry it's been awhile. Things got crazy around here. I hope to be a little more regular about updating again. Part of the problem is now that Casey's studio is finished, his camera is always out there so I never take pictures anymore. Poor excuse, but it's true. Here are a few oldies but goodies.

I was lucky enough to get a Wii Fit for my birthday. The kids were cracking us up trying to copy the yoga poses and such off the box.

Owen has to copy his big brother, of course.

Some of these look a little more like Charlie's Angels than Wii Fit. :)

Okay, this one is totally random and a little gross. But this is the blood left on my carpet after Owen fell and got a tiny cut on his head that bled like crazy before I noticed. I laid him down to change his diaper and put his pajamas on and this is what I was left with. I was also left with the cutest little baby boy sweater in the world covered in blood ... which I did not notice until about a week later. Now just let me take a moment to sing the praises of OxiClean. That stuff is the ultimate kid wonder cleaner. I used to scrub all my stained kids clothes. Now I just soak them in OxiClean. And for the carpet, I just dissolved some in water, poured in on, let it sit for a few minutes, then sucked it up with my SpotBot (also a handy tool). As for the sweater, the week-old blood came out with a soak in OxiClean. I love you, OxiClean. I'm done now.

Here is Owen getting his first haircut. At 19 1/2 months old. For a little perspective, Evan's first haircut was at 9 months old. Hmm. He didn't seem to mind it. He acted a little bored, in fact.

Evan is still not so sure about the clippers ...

Easter coming soon ...

Update on Owen

2009-03-01T19:22:00.004-07:00

Well, I figured since Evan was the star of our last post, it was Owen's turn this time. After all, he did turn 18 months old on January 17th. I'm proud(?) to say that, according to Dr. Arnold, Owen is now in the 3rd percentile for both height and weight (in other words, he measures the same as 3% of boys his age and less than 97% of boys his age). That's right--he's just a little guy. Well, except for his head, which is on the large side.

This kid is a total go-getter. He does everything his brother does and then some. He's a daredevil and a trouble-maker and he can throw tantrums like nobody's business. He climbs, he dumps, he opens, he closes, he fiddles, he jumps, he throws, he bothers ... but he's so dang cute!!! It's his saving grace.

He's getting to be quite the singer and dancer these days. And his vocabulary shocks me every day. I started keeping track of it a week or so before he hit 18 months, but all I got was a partial list. He says so much I couldn't keep up. Evan didn't say 2 words at his age! (Okay, not literally, but close.) Here's what we have so far:
please
'scuse you
cheese (for both food and camera)
bye-bye
hi
hello
I love you
all gone/all done
night-night
apple
thank you
mama/mom
dada/dad (he prefers mom and dad)
bubba (his nickname)
'nana (banana)
uh-oh
ow (for both "ouch" and "meow")
kikki (kitty)
fff-fff (woof-woof)
tickle-tickle-tickle
yea
wow
blue
more (in sign language, too! thanks, Ashley!)
juice
peek-a-boo
poop
snack (which sounds like "naaaaaaahhhh" with a throaty growl)
bubble
-my 3 personal "un-favorites" he learned from Evan are:
help
no
mine

And that's all I can think of right now. I might have to add more later. Owen is such a cute, fun kid. And while he is always making a mess or causing trouble, he is always providing a lot of comic relief, as well. Now if he can just get used to nursery, we'll be in great shape.

Happy Birthday, Evan!

2009-02-20T16:45:00.004-07:00

Okay, so this is, like, pushing 2 months late, but I got a little behind on everything with all the hullabaloo surrounding the studio open house. (Thanks to everyone who came, by the way. It was great fun and we appreciate everyone's support.) And now ... Evan's birthday, which happened January 4th.

It was a big day for Evan. He actually turned 4 on his first day in Primary as a Sunbeam. He's the oldest one by several months. He wanted a chocolate cake with blue stars. Well, I aim to please. (When the requests are that easy, at least.)

We had the entire Childs clan over for cake and ice cream that evening. Thanks, everyone.

The following night, we had his Aunties Kake and Em over, along with our neighbors Tim & Ashley and Mallory, Evan's friend (not enemies hardly at all anymore!). The night was a bit of a downer since Evan refused to, hmm ... how shall I say this nicely ... release his inner demons that had been stewing inside of him for several days. So we didn't get many pictures and I'm sure none of the aforementioned people will want to come back for a birthday party ever again. I don't blame them.

Happy Birthday, Evan! You are a funny, sweet, polite kid. You are a great helper and big brother. We love you!

Sneak Peak

2009-01-28T16:21:00.003-07:00

Here is one of the many AMAZING works of art that will be on display at the Studio Open House Friday night. (No, that is not a photo of a photo--it's a painting.) Details. Map. We would love to see you there. Yes, you. Facebook-ers, look here.

A Little Break From the Norm

2009-01-13T23:03:00.006-07:00

From Casey's blog:

Well, after a year and a half of construction the studio is finally finished. (Insert "Hallelujah" here!)

To celebrate studio550 we're having an open house on Friday, January 30th. So spread the word, it will be from 6-9pm. We're going to have artwork on display by some very talented artists around this area, you won't want to miss it. So please come by, check out some fabulous art and see the place that I've been talking so much about. We hope you'll come.

Although all are welcome, we'd prefer to have adults only please. MAP TO STUDIO

Note from the art historian in me:
There really will be some great art on display. A lot of the incredible artists in this area are a little too overlooked with all of the big names out there. If you want a cozy, mini-museum experience, come check it out. Or just come for the food. :) (But please don't hate me if we run out of food--I have no idea how to plan for this!)

Christmas in Wyoming. Pt. 5, More Pics From Dad

2009-01-08T22:25:00.011-07:00

Brrrr!

Casey opened his Christmas present early. And was crazy enough to use it.

Evan, ready for sledding (not an easy task).

The girls out sledding.

Mom and dad's tree. (Single tear ... cuz' I'm laughing so hard!)

Decorated. (Um, better?)

Christmas Eve, all in our cracker crowns.

Aunt Marsha and cousin John.

Jona and John. I take back what I said on the Christmas Eve post--THIS is the best talent of the night! Awesome, Jona!

Evan, in the midst of getting his new Christmas Eve jammies on.

All of us (er, most of us), according to height (not cool).

Couples ...

Christmas morning!

(Kate is wearing something under there, I promise.)

Yes, things with spinning lights also impress almost 4-year-olds.

A new, old-school style Big Wheel from Mama and Pada Jones (or, as Evan calls it, his "Bika-cycle Bike Big Wheel.")

Owen got an awesome Radio Flyer car that can be pushed by adults without bending over (yea!). It also has blinker sounds, radio tunes, and other fun stuff.

Way to make a mess, girls! (Ha ha.)

Everyone in their new waffle shirts/PJs (thanks, Mom!).

Owen's aunties styled his hair before his bath one night.

He makes a pretty cute girl.

Sweet new rides!

Owen fell asleep in his car as someone was pushing him around.

Oh my gosh, he actually tried the Guitar Hero!

Em has a real passion for rock.

And what can I say about this one? I'm sure Frodo appreciates his love Cabbage Patch Kid ear muffs.

Thanks for all the pictures, Dad!

This officially "wraps up" the Christmas posts (ha ha). We'll be skipping New Years, as we didn't do anything worthy of picture-taking. Next up: Evan's birthday. In a few days, I think.

Christmas in Wyoming. Pt. 4, Post-Christmas Craziness

2009-01-08T22:17:00.002-07:00

We spent a lot of time Wii-ing after Christmas. Here are the boys rocking out on Guitar Hero. Notice Em's perfect rock pose. I love it.

Christmas in Wyoming. Pt. 3, Christmas Day

2009-01-08T21:08:00.008-07:00

Okay, well, I said I would post about Christmas Day "tomorrow" and today is not tomorrow, but things have been a little crazy around here. There was New Years, then Evan's birthday, then potty training issues, and finally a house full of sickies. So here is Christmas Day:

Opening stockings

I'm not sure what's going on here, but I love that both their mouths are open.

Owen got a toothbrush in his stocking. Santa knows that small toddlers are suckers for toothbrushes. This kept him busy for a good long while.

What else kept Owen busy? Something with a button to push and spinning lights. Santa has this kid pegged!

Sweet hair, Owen.

About 1 week before we left for Wyoming, Evan decided he wanted a blue flashlight with a black button (I wouldn't let him play with mine). I told him to ask Santa for one. It became his new obsession. And guess what ... Santa came through! (And for only $1 plus tax ... including batteries! It doesn't get much better than that!)

The other thing he asked Santa for: black dinosaur guys (a.k.a. Bionicles). Way to go, Santa!

What else keeps Owen busy? Phones.
Check.

Casey had to get him a Star Wars guy.

I was opening a box full of boxes and got to this one (an Instant Breakfast box) and Evan said, "Your very own Instant Breakfast!"

What else keeps Owen busy? Toys that you hit!
Check.

I don't remember why he got the cutest, saddest face ever, but it sure was hilarious.

What else keeps Owen busy? Toys with noise. And buttons and balls. Check, check and check.

I guess we didn't get a picture of it, but the thing that kept Owen the busiest? A large ziploc baggie full of Little People (the small, old-school kind). He carefully pulled out each one and set it in his lap as he sat on the couch. When he was done, he put them all back in, one by one. And, of course, repeat ad nauseam.

Christmas night, cheesin' for the camera.

The boys and their aunties.

Again, sweet matted hair, Owen.

Christmas in Wyoming was great. I was a little sad we missed out on the white Utah Christmas, but it was so much fun that I got over it. Especially since that white Christmas was still on the ground when we got back and the cause of several car issues. Ugh. I'm so done with the snow!

Christmas in Wyoming. Pt. 2, Christmas Eve

2008-12-30T21:22:00.004-07:00

Two posts in one day! Didn't think I could do it, did you? We now continue with the "Christmas in Wyoming" series. This time, we will focus on Christmas Eve.

A little background info ...

Christmas Eve, in the past, was a huge event for the Jones family. It included my grandparents, aunt and uncle (yes, singular ... my dad only has 1 sister) and cousins. A grand total of 2 grandparents, 4 parents, and 11 kids ... and a partridge in a pear tree. As I got older I realized this was not a large family gathering (especially by Mormon standards), but it felt like the biggest party ever when I was little.

Christmas Eve was always hosted by the Harris family (our cousins). It consisted of a large, traditional meal, lots of talking by the adults and playing by the children, followed by a talent show. Over the years we have added a few more traditions: English crackers, a white elephant gift game, and non-serious talents. I think these came about out of necessity because as kids grew up and got married and moved away, Christmas Eve became slightly boring. And short. With the addition of the new traditions, the night is a long, exciting laugh-fest, much like the Christmas Eves I remember fondly as a kid.

This year there was an amazing turnout (apparently) for Christmas Eve. Mom and dad (they hosted), Aunt Marsha, Cousin John and wife Jona, 2/3 of my sisters--Emily and Kate, and the 4 of us. (We were also joined for dinner by a friend and her dad.) Holy cow! That's quite the party! (Okay, yes, you detect a little sarcasm, but it really did seem like a huge crowd when I was little.) Here we are watching old videos of past Christmas Eves (dad and Marsha in their cracker crowns). Ah, the good old days. Good times! Seriously.

I had to put this picture in because it shows Emily (on TV) as the talent show director for one Christmas Eve a good number of years ago. Oh, how I wish you could see the shoulder pads better!

Owen, cheesing away, as usual.

Owen, on Mama Jones' rocking horse. He would crawl up on thing all by himself, rock away, and get back down. So cute.

Here we are getting ready for Round 1 of the white elephant game. Owen knows how it's done. He just grabbed a present and ...

ripped away! We had to repair a few wrapping jobs.

One of Evan's "white elephants." (He got special "good" presents so as to keep him happy and not upset that he was getting something like an old walkman or a jellybean-pooping reindeer or some horrible thing like that. Oh wait, he would have loved those, I'm sure.)

Dad, Frodo and Mom, mid-game. This is serious business, folks.

Emily and Kate, waiting to perform Emily's talent, opera singing. (I'm still a little unclear on this one. I can't quite figure out if it's her "real" talent and she's just no Pavarotti (very close, though!), or if it's her non-serious talent.) Either way, it was hilarious as she sang (er, tried to--she laughed a lot!) "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with her flashing nose.

John, Jona and Marsha, anxiously awaiting the song. Do you see the excitement???

This is me, trying REALLY hard not to wet my pants!

Emily, mid-song. (I'm pretty sure this is the part where she sang, "shouted out with glee ... whoopee!")

Kate, the piano-accompanying reindeer.

Here is Jona, looking so cute before her clogging routine. I think it was by far the best serious talent of the evening.

Ah, yes. A blast from the past. See, back in the day, a young John would carry a much younger Kate in on his shoulders, wearing a trench coat, so she looked like a tall, strange, dancing girl. They recreated this incredible talent of John's this year with a 21-year-old, 5' 11"(?)-tall Kate on a 29-year-old John's shoulders. It's a good thing he's a Marine or this probably never could have happened. Way to go, guys!

Look at those glasses! Those have been in the costume box for years! Classic!

One talent you didn't see was a video of "Oh Cristmas Tree" played by Kate, Kate, Kate, Myself, Myself, and Myself on Wii Music. Seriously awesome. Casey also did a great job with his annual Xactware Christmas video, a parody of "The Office." Did I miss anything?

The evening ended, as did every Christmas Eve in the past, with Dad's Nativity video. It has evolved from a slideshow of photos of mom's nativities with a live narrator and music on a CD player to a DVD of photos of mom's nativities, complete with narration and music, but it is the same great scriptural story of the birth of the baby Jesus as it has always been. This was 11:00 at night, or so, and Evan is trying so hard to stay awake. He actually asked to take a nap after this.

It was such a fun night. I'm glad so many people came and that we were able to be a part of it. Thanks for the good times, everyone!

Tomorrow, the "Christmas in Wyoming" series continues with Christmas Day. (No, I am not doing another post tonight!)

Christmas in Wyoming. Pt. 1, Miscellaneous

2008-12-30T20:45:00.009-07:00

I know, I know. It's been FOREVER since I've posted anything. What can I say? Life got busy. Blogging fell to the bottom of the priority list. I should make some sort of New Year's Resolution to blog at least once a week in 2009, but I'll probably just break it so I won't even bother. I can only commit to doing the best I can. There you go.

We were crazy enough to head up to Cody, WY for Christmas this year. Most of you reading this can be grateful for the warm winter weather you enjoy on a daily basis. When we arrived, it was 23 degrees BELOW zero. 23 BELOW, friends! Can you even breathe when it's that cold? Hardly. But my sisters and I had a few good laughs as we were unpacking the car. We would pause, take a deep breath in through our noses, and marvel at how everything in there (if you get my drift) would freeze to the walls of your nostrils. I think our brains were already frozen. That is what 23 degrees below zero (yes, I said it again) will do to you.

Moving on ...

Here are the boys on Sunday in their matching shirts--Evan's too big, Owen's too small. Oh well. This is the best picture we got so it doesn't matter anyway. They were cute for a couple hours and that's all you need to know.

One of the highlights(?) of our trip was visiting Santa at the Cody, WY Santa Shack. Let me say, they have one of the best Santas I have ever seen and heard. Well, I guess they would. He is THE Santa. Right? Great Santa or not, Evan and Owen were not thrilled. Here is Owen after I shoved him onto Santa's lap. Evan didn't even get that close. Even after all the prep work and Evan telling us how he was going to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas, he could barely squeak anything out as I gently coached, "black dinosaur guys and a blue ..."
"Flashlight," Evan whispers.

It really was too bad because we got some pretty decent family pictures out of the whole event--minus the frightened looks on the kids' faces. I suspect this will go on for a few more years. The Children (all 4 of us) are not boldy social people so I really can't blame the young ones. Still, I feel this horrible, parental satisfaction forcing my offspring to sit on some large, red, bearded stranger's lap. I'm sure it's frightening, no matter how jolly and merry he is. We'll try again next year.

Stay tuned for more!

Snow Day

2008-11-10T20:11:00.002-07:00

Last week was our first big snow storm of the year. Evan was so excited to go outside and play in the snow. He lasted a good 20 minutes or so.

Owen enjoyed watching Evan play in the snow ...

and playing with the snow that Evan brought in the house.

Cheese!

2008-11-10T20:05:00.002-07:00

Owen really performs for the camera these days.

Halloween

2008-11-10T19:43:00.004-07:00

I'm finally posting Halloween pictures. The kids turned out pretty darn cute this year.

Owen was a little devil (nothing other than his usual self). The horns, cape, bag, tail, and pitchfork on his chest are old--I wore them twenty-some years ago!

Evan was a mummy. For the longest time he wanted to be a witch. One day I said, "Don't you want to be something else? Like, I don't know, a mummy or something?" (That was the first thing that popped into my head.) So a mummy he was. This costume was not old. Brand new sheets, half price at Target, ripped into strips. (Good job wrapping him, honey!) Economical, fairly easy, and so dang cute. I wanted to eat him ... and the little devil, too!

And then there's T'Em. By far the noisiest and smelliest fright that night.

How is it that kids know what candy is and how delicious it is before they've even tasted any?

Our mummy was a little more ragged by the time we came back from trick-or-treating.