five

Grant made some pretty great requests for his birthday celebration. He told me he wanted for Cori and I to wake him up on his birthday morn by punching him with Hulk hands. I thought he was kidding, until he spent an entire afternoon musing about what it was going to be like. So we bought some Hulk hands and hid them until the big day. That morning, Cori and I each took a giant green fist and gently beat him awake while singing happy birthday. He was so so happy about it.

Grant's birthday fell on a school day. He was pretty happy to get to be the king of the hill in more than one location. He requested basketball cupcakes for his class just like last year. Love it!

And we had lunch at McDonald's. This is still the biggest treat to him. The one nearest us has a clean play place and diet Dr. Pepper. Could be worse.

School was good.

We had pizza for dinner and did some swimming. Then he blew out candles and opened presents from family near and far.

Instead of a party this year, Grant opted to take two friends mini golfing. I barely got them all buckled in before the presents started flying in the back seat.

Ah, good times. The afternoon got pretty hot, so we rounded off our outing with some frozen yogurt. So far, from all reports, its good to be 5. Soccer starts up again next week. Grant has been counting down the days. He loves going to school. I almost wish we had him in a 5 day program this year. Tuesdays and Thursdays are a little boring for him, I'm afraid. But I'm grateful for this last year with with my buddy at home. The last five years went too fast!

a quick visit

Grandpa Randy and his partner, Mondo, were in town a couple of weekends ago. They joined us for dinner and some swimming, and came with birthday presents in tow. This time of year is busy for us in the birthday department as will be more evident in the following posts. They gave Grace, Grant and Eden these cute pjs that have glow in the dark bones. Everyone is over the moon for them. The best is Eden asking us to "put [her] bones on" every night. It was a fun evening with them. Brett and Tiff made the drive up too. We enjoyed our dinner al fresco and relaxed and talked. Hoping their schedules bring them to Phoenix more often!

baby girl turns two

I don't really know how this is possible, but Eden celebrated her second birthday about a month ago. She had the illustrious honor of sharing her birthday with the inaugural BYU football game of the season. We had some college friends over to watch the game and eat birthday cake. Eden patiently worked at blowing out her two candles and after blowing her bangs off of her forehead several times, finally extinguished those wish makers. She got to celebrate some more with Grandma Sandy and Papa Ray when we met up in St. George over labor day. And she enjoyed packages and phone calls from Nevada.

As quickly as her birthday snuck up on us, she has morphed from a toddling baby into a babbling toddler. She is a busy girl - happy, curious, fearless and feisty as ever. She knows how to throw a pretty decent tantrum. But once the frustration passes, she is quick to dry her tears and she is good about saying sorry. Eden loves (read: is somewhat obsessed) with electronics. It is hard to deny her our phones when they make her so happy. But we set boundaries with the occasional fit-filled consequence.

Eden is using lots of words. She loves to parrot back the things we say to her and has started stringing words together on her own. I love this stage. A sampling of some of our favorite first phrases and words from her:

messy hands! - a phrase exclaimed at every meal, and sometimes following every bite.
bep pips - how she says necklace and/or bracelet. She is on a jewelry kick lately.
please/thank you - She has started saying them without prompting, sweet baby.
Mickey pub house - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a favorite show right now. It runs a close second to
Stuffins - Doc. McStuffins. Disney Jr. changed their line up and we don't get to see it as often.
gahko milk - chocolate milk
show you - when we can't understand what she is saying, she will take us to it.
Eden do it - always a treat
here ya go, Mom/Dad/Grace/Grant - repeated endlessly until we look at what is in her hand
oofdah - Thanks Grammy Marla!

and, my favorite from yesterday morning....

Mickey pub house bum pretty! - referring to the Mickey on her diaper.

other notables

After a little break during the summer, we are off to the races again in our stake Young Women's presidency. We are entering our second year together. The second year is nice. We almost know what is going on around here. August to November is a busy season for us. We started out with the stake back to school dance followed quickly by Stake Auxiliary Leadership Training. The training was a special experience. We take our Ward leaders' time very seriously - they give so much to their callings already. Over several weeks, we prayed and worked and fleshed out at least three different concepts for the evening before it felt right. Our time together that night was a powerful lesson to me about the miracles that happen when the Lord and the Spirit lead. Pretty amazing. Last weekend we had our annual multi stake Priest/Laurel ice skating activity. Next weekend we are putting on a Sadie Hawkins dance for the Priests and Laurels of our stake (at the request of the Stake Youth Committee). There will be dinner, dance instruction and games. I've got my date! And then we have our stake harvest dance and multi stake youth conference. All the preparations those events entail will take us up to the weekend before Thanksgiving. Ward Conferences will start after the holiday season. As always there are monthly visits and weekly presidency meetings. Girls Camp is on the table again and budgets and calendars are coming due for next year. It isn't without its stresses, but it is good work. It is happy work. We have a strong unity in our presidency that makes it all a joy.

I installed a backsplash in our kitchen. We still have the cabinet hardware to install yet, and then I'll post a more detailed report. It was a project I went back and forth on for several months. The kitchen I was imagining in my head wasn't super compatible with the cabinets, counter tops, and flooring we have already - not to mention the other super traditional finishings our house came equipped with. If this was our forever home, we would invest more into customizing. But as it is, we decided to work with what we've got. And we love how it turned out. Clean lines, old world/rustic charm with a bit of traditional flare. The cabinet hardware is more contemporary and I'm hoping the contrast will be what I had in mind... The project was meant to be completed on a weekend that Cori was away traveling. My desire to make my deadline was further fueled by Cori's quiet confession that he would be amazed to see it done by the time he got home. Alas, I wouldn't finish until several days after he got home, but he was nice about it.

We are always happy to have visitors. Aunt Tiff and Uncle Brett stayed with me and the kids the weekend I was feverishly tiling away in the kitchen. Brett made a big bowl of guacamole. Tiff consulted with me as I was making decisions with the the tile layout. Then, in between their rounds of golf, they played and crafted with the children so I could work.

We also got to see Cori's cousin, Jeremy, and his fiancee, Alyssa while they were in town. Jeremy is part of a jump rope team that competed on America's Got Talent last season. Grace and Grant watched every one of his TV performances and were pretty excited to meet him in person. Alyssa is a real sweetheart too.

The spire is up on the Temple. Grant, Eden, and I stopped by yesterday to take a picture of the progress. The completion date of the Temple has been pushed back. There is a backlog on the exterior stone order from the Texas stone quarry that the Church uses. But we spied some stone samples beside a portable unit (pictured right). They look beautiful. We heard that the angel Moroni statue had been delivered and that it was in the church parking lot. Well, he had safely been put away before we got there yesterday. I'm sure the statue is carefully crated but I would sure love to snap a picture of the kids with him before he goes up!

labor day in st. george

We got to spend the Labor Day weekend with Grandma Sandy and Papa Ray in St. George. Aunt Tiff and Uncle Brett made the road trip up with us. We got to spend lots of time with Uncle Damien, Aunt Danielle and their crew who live nearby, and Uncle Ethan and Aunt Megan made the trip down with Joshua as well. The weekend was so much fun.

We pulled into town and the girls changed into swimmies while Cori and Grant headed out to play some golf with Brett, Tiff, and Ethan. The cousins had a great time at the splash park downtown.

We did the usual Sunday things - Church and a fantastic meal. Then we visited a couple Church history sites. We took the tour at the Brigham Young house downtown. Again, I love stuff like this. It is so intriguing to me. These sites are calm and peaceful. We love hearing the stories of the people who lived there. And the sr. missionaries that serve there are so sweet.

Taking in some shade at the Jacob Hamblin home. Jacob Hamblin was the Church's ambassador to the Native American tribes as the pioneers were settling across the west.

The next day we went for a hike at Red Cliff. We got out there before the day got too hot and too crowded.

Brett just didn't want to put that book down! Unfortunately, when he did put it down to help children around the ledge it fell into the pond. :(

Grammie Sandy and Papa Ray effortlessly keep up with our busy crew.

That afternoon, Cori, Tiff, and Brett hit another round of golf. They headed back to Phoenix that evening.

The rest of us showered and gussied up because we were headed to Tuachan. We saw the magical stage adaptation of Aladdin. Few things are as cool to kids as seeing make-believe come to life. The musical is packed with the works: live animals, fireworks, a 3-D trip through the cave of wonders, and a magic carpet ride that flew right over our heads. The setting at Tuachan is natural and beautiful. The weather was perfect. Grace and Grant are still talking about it. In great detail. Thanks so much Papa Ray and Grandma Sandy! What a treat!

W* family reunion

All of my siblings now live/work/school in California. It is a wonderful place to visit anyway, so we all went west for our family gathering. We bunked up in a beach house right on the coast at Capistrano Beach. We loved spending a little time with Uncle Jared. He is the perfect blend of fun and chill.

One of the outings we made was to the San Juan Capistrano Mission. I love going places like this. It is so fascinating to see how people lived, what life was like for them. Our darling little tour guide raised a few eye brows. ("The mission of the church was not to obliterate the civilization that was here already, but to overlay it and create a new culture that was not Catholic, nor aboriginal, but a blend of them both." I've never heard Californian history laid out quite like that before.) The tour was, none the less, very informative. And the mission is a beautiful and peaceful place to visit. Also, the children were thrilled to pieces taking turns riding in Super Grandma Bettie's chariot.

Can I just mention again how much I was missing our Nikon this whole trip. :(

Grammie brought a few projects. Gracie, of course, was overjoyed.

We enjoyed most of our meals cooking for each other at the beach house. But we went out one night to the Fisherman's Restaurant on the San Clemente pier. After dinner we strolled the pier and watched the surfers and the sunset.

After a morning bike ride...

It was a real treat staying right on the beach as we did. The children got into the sand almost every day. Cori got up on a surfboard. And Super Grandma got her toes wet.

Quality family time. Ha! Just kidding. That photo was absolutely, kind of, staged.

We were super grateful that Kevin drove down to spend one night with us. Gotta love some Phase 10.

We spent a day at Legoland. We had never been before. It is a fun place, nicely suited for younger kids. We especially enjoyed all the little shows. And we were very impressed with the mini cities and the Star Wars displays.

Our final outing was to Sea World. I had a giddy, little kid feeling in my tummy the night before we went. As a child, I was a bit obsessed with marine life. My dream was to become an oceanographer and work as a whale trainer at Sea World. We go way back, me and Sea World. Cori and the G's sat in the splash zone every single show. 

Such a great week! Thanks Mom and Dad. Definitely worth missing the first week of first grade.