Have you walked with them?

Thursday night, the kids and I went to see "Walking With Dinosaurs" at the US Airways. I knew the little boys would really get into it, but I invited the big kids to come along also if they wanted to. We had a great time! I think Wes was a little scared when we were first walking in....a little late (we got lost!) so it was dark and dinosaurs were roaring. But, then he quickly warmed up. I think he thought those dinosaurs were REAL. When the tall Brachiosaurus came out, Weston waved, "Hi Dinosaur, Hi, Hi!!" It was a cute little wave - fingers close together, hand curved slightly - like one was signing the letter c in sign language:). Wish I had a picture of that! He was in AWE. And, Zane thought it was pretty cool too. The dinosaurs were so neat to just sit and watch move around. It was a great show. I think even the big kids enjoyed it.

Our Life Scout

So, let me take this opportunity to brag about my boy. Last Wed. night he earned his Life Scout along with several merit badges. Todd and I are so proud of him for working so hard...and having so much fun (I always wanted to be in scouts! I was one of those girls jealous of the fun things they got to do in the name of merit badges:)
He is already talking about how quickly he can earn his Eagle. What a good boy!
And, since I am on a bragging kick (and it's good for my boy to know how proud I am of him...and how much I love him).....let me tell about another thing.

A couple months back he was called to be the Deacons Quorum President. When the Bishopric member came to our house, he asked Todd and I about it first. Hmmmm. Our son? The one that we have to DRAG to church and MAKE him go to scouts half of the time. Was he crazy? Think about all those meetings. I was stressing just thinking about trying to get Lance there. Well, we told Bro. Whitney when he asked Lance to do it to make sure that Lance was aware of all that it entailed. So, Todd and I nervously awaited the outcome as Bro. Whitney asked Lance to do it in another room.

So...he asked....and so Lance accepted.

And, a miracle happened. My boy is growing up. Every Sunday he has to leave an hour earlier for his presidency meeting. And, here's the kicker...HE GETS OUT OF BED AND INTO THE SHOWER WITHOUT ME EVEN ASKING. Every week!!! He never complains about it...well, almost never:). Last Sunday, he went TWO hours early for two different meetings. Then, he had the three hours of church. THEN, Lance went to several houses to deliver Fast Offerings. AND THEN....(yes, there's more)....he went to visit a boy at his house.

WOW! I am Shocked and Amazed and oh, so Proud. He's becoming quite the young man....until he reverts to his old habits of tormenting his sister. Have I told you about that one? Sierra can reach the highest pitch known to mankind when she shrieks his name. But, that's for another post.

Todd Goes Deep Sea Fishing

A beautiful sunrise taken from the boat.

For Labor Day weekend, Todd took his employees, Devon, Greg, and Jordan, on a dish sea fishing trip. They headed out of CA and went down south into the waters off of Mexico. There, they fished for dorado (sp?) and albacore tuna! It sounds like it was a great "guys trip."

Here, Todd is with one he caught. He is insisting that Jordan (who took the pic and emailed it to him) must have photoshopped...and shrank....his fish:). Sure, Todd, we believe you if that makes you feel better! I think he caught a total of three (or 2?) fishes. They all had a great time.
Jason decided to also come along with the Mow Power group and caught some of his own fish!

Then, Jason and his family came over for dinner last night and we all had some very tasty fish to eat! Thanks, Jason and Todd! It was delicious!!

Pucker Up, Dad

So, Lance hands Todd a piece of Warhead candy ...with no warning of course. (yea, Lance is a lot like Todd is his own conniving, trickster way). Todd, expecting a sweet piece of candy, gets caught off guard....just a little:). It was soooo funny. I missed the first minute or so (the best part -i.e. the best facial expressions) cause I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. I couldn't get the camera out fast enough.
Todd actually took the candy out and was going to toss it cause he couldn't handle it. But, I told him that I'd try one if he could be man enough to finish his candy.

I guess I got a milder flavor - cause mine wasn't that bad. Or I'm just that tough:).

So, we had to have a rematch. And, I got lemon. WOWEE!!! Whoever could keep it together with wa straight face was declared the winner.

Lance took the picture - hence the nice cropping job.

Lance's Bike Repair

Like Father, Like Son. Lance is becoming quite the mechanic ....and bike repairman. In fact, on this particular day, we had FOUR bikes in our garage....three extra. He seems to be always working on his friends' bikes. Maybe instead of a Mow Power, he'll have a Pedal Power someday:).

Like Big Brother, Like Little Brother.

After watching Lance, Weston makes sure his bike is up to specs now.

Woe Is Me

So, Todd takes a picture of Sierra and I at Wes' bday celebration. He hands me back the camera. I go to check how the picture turned out. Immediately, I think "Boy, do I look ol....". But, before I can even finish that thought, Sierra chimes in, " YOU LOOK OLD, Mom". Oh, woe is me.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Weston!

The baby of our family turned THREE on Monday! Boy, does time fly! Above, he plays with one of the highlights of his bday - the balloons:). Kids are like magnets to balloons for some reason. He had a lot of fun playing with them.
We went to Jungle Jim's or Jeepers to celebrate as a family. One of Wes' favorite meals is pizza, so, of course, we had to have some. Yummy.

Wes, Zane, and Sierra getting ready to SPIN!! The kids had a lot of fun riding all the rides there.

The "big boys" in the family seemed to disappear for a while. It was great to see them hanging out and having their male bonding time.


After Jeepers, we headed home to open presents and have the cake.
Happy 3rd Wes!



Grandma Cake and Papa gave him a Leapster2, but we call it his "gameboy". For the last several months, he has tried so hard to get his hands on his brothers' nintendo ds. So, now, he has one of his own. Look at that concentration!



We gave him a bike since he's a big boy now. We'll just need to wait a month or two to have some good bike riding weather.








Grandpa and Grandma Beanie gave Wes his very own teepee to play in....one that Grandma made herself...just for Wes!
What a cool fort! I think Zane is really going to enjoy this gift also.
I foresee a sleepover in it this weekend.


Gianna, Wes, and Alivia trying out the cool, new, teepee.

Since Papa and Grandma Cake sent their gift in the mail, we thought they'd enjoy seeing Wes open his present on our family blog.

Happy Birthday Weston. We're glad you're ours!