Catch up!!

Well folks. I feel like I have been completely lost to the cyber world as of late. Our main computer has crashed and left me to the "old fashion" resources of communication. I confess, I don't think I have done so great with it. I now have to watch the news on TV at a certain time on a certain channel or heaven forbid look in a newspaper. And to find out the weather? Take it as it comes I suppose. I have to call people on the phone or talk to them in person. Thank goodness the cell phone still works. Or I could just wait till the next day when Dan will be able to leave his lap top home. Whew! Anyway, it is because of this "great excuse" that I have found myself behind in keeping up with "The Blog". So lucky you, there are 4 new posts you can read. I know you have all missed us greatly, so ENJOY!
*Oh and if you are terribly concerned that there is no Easter post that is because our computer crashed when I was in the middle of downloading pictures for it. Therefore, it did not get completed and the remaining pictures to go on it are on our other computer. So... when that computer is fixed (and hopefully we haven't lost all our pictures) I will finish that post. But you'll have to look back in time for it because it was created right after Easter. Anyway...

Dangerous Weapon...

So many of you that have seen me lately may have noticed a little extra feature I have obtained lately. (hint: not the baby bump)

If you have only seen me from a distance, like some of my ward members did on Sunday and I stood in front of y'all, you may have thought, "Boy she's got some major baggage under the eye. She looks so tired." or "Someone ought to let her know she's got some serious mascara smears going on." or "Poor girl, did her mother not tell her that eye shadow goes ABOVE the eye?"

But if you actually got closer you'd notice it is none of the above.

Yes. That is a real BLACK EYE.

You may begin to wonder if Dan has left town in shame, or if being that I live in a house of wild boys, one of their "dangerous weapons" (swords, sling shots, magic wands, light sabers, etc...) unfortunately made contact with my cheek bone. But no, it is also none of the above.

I was attacked by none less than a certain birthday present from a certain sister of mine. Silly sister, She thought a YOYO would be a "safe" gift. WRONG!

That's right, my friends, a YOYO!

Tracen was trying to show me a new trick when the darn thing went "the wrong way" and connected with my eye.

Lovely. How long do black eyes last?

21 Weeks!!

In honor of 21 Weeks down....here is the current BUMP!

I also feel it an appropriate post to tell about a certain dream I had a few nights ago. My "pregnancy dreams" are pretty darn wacky. Unfortunately, they sometimes include horrific things happening to my family, are very disjointed, and quite outlandish or no matter what is happening in the dream somehow one of my old boyfriends will randomly show up in it. (I was a bit weirded out by that until I read in an article about dreams, that that was normal during pregnancy). Anyway, in this particular dream, I was out dancing with a bunch of girlfriends. A group of guys came up to us and started chatting. I happened to notice one particular guy that I thought was just... well... HOT! We started talking and he asked me out for the next day. I remember, in the dream, feeling so twitter-pated, my heart beating wildly, and little butterflies in my tummy with anticipation. So the next day as I was getting ready for this BIG DATE with this really HOT GUY, I found the perfect outfit. It included my favorite pair of "skinny jeans" that I just knew would look fabulous on me. Well, as I was pulling up those favorite jeans, they got stuck. They simply would not go over my booty and I definitely could NOT do up the button. WHAT?!? AHHHHHH!

It was then that I realized I was largely PREGNANT and this "HOT GUY" was my amazingly HOT HUSBAND, DAN! I woke up chuckling. :)

So here's to the next 20 weeks of growth!

Tracen turns 7!!!!

Well...he's getting older and there is nothing we can do to stop him.

It always amazes me how quickly time goes by. On April 14th, 7 years ago, this little guy with a really big head, finally joined our family. Little did any of us realize what a great example he would be for all of his brothers (and parents).
It is kind of a harsh reality to see that your "baby" is half as tall as you, is learning stuff (good stuff) that you didn't teach him, is smarter than you in some areas, likes his independence, must go out into the world for learning and growth WITHOUT you, and is growing in maturity every day.

Harsh BUT wonderful.

We are so proud of the person Tracen is becoming.

He is such a good boy with such a pure heart. He is a fabulous big brother. So protective and of course, quite the tease. He is smart and loves learning. He is remarkably smart with math. He understands concepts in 1st grade that I swear I did not really grasp until Junior High.

He loves soccer!! He is playing quite well. It is so fun to see him figure out the game. He loves teaching Tyler about all his "secret moves".

He loves to read. He is becoming more interested in the stories in the scriptures and always wants to know WHY something happened and how it applies to him. He has recently finished reading the second Harry Potter book and is excited to move on to the next. He is enjoying learning a few of his favorite melodies on the piano. Namely the Harry Potter and Darth Vader (Star Wars) theme songs. He has quite the ear. He learns like his father. If he hears it, he will figure out how to play it. The trick will be making sure he is paying attention and learning how to read the actual notes which mom, for some reason, thinks is very important.

He has decided he is a Jedi and wizard in training.

This is the inspiration for the Star Wars themed B-day party he had to have.

So... I did my best to oblige.

Tracen had some pretty strong requests for his B-day cake.

He really wanted a Strawberry-Apple cake with cream cheese frosting.

I confess, I was a bit stumped on how to pull that off, but it did turn out quite tasty. Then he told me exactly how the decor on top had to be. The frosting had to be blue (imagine that paired with pink cake), it had to have the STAR WARS logo on it, lots of stars all around it, and with a red and a green light saber crossing on one side and a blue and a red light saber crossing on the other side. Now I am absolutely NOT a cake decorator. Nor do I have much talent in art.

So... this is how the final project turned out.

I tried.

He also wanted to have Beer Rocks and green salad with Italian dressing for dinner.

All of these requests were written on his Birthday Wish List which also included...
wait for it...
Ooops! So that is the only picture I actually got of it.

He got a purple 'Mace Windu' light saber complete with lights and sound effects from Tyler. The boy is in heaven or at least constantly living life as the newest Jedi knight.

What is a gift without the matching "sing the Star Wars theme song" card telling him, "May the force be with you."

Also on the B-day wish list.... a Magic 8 Ball... Thank You Sammy, Riley, and Zeke!

Complete with specially made card from Sammy.

Tate gave Tracen the much wanted Star Wars shirt.

Mom and Dad went more for the Safety 1st route and got him a bike helmet that actually fits him.

Grandma and Grandpa Jacobs also took the safe and smart route giving him some CASH that Tracen already has BIG plans for. Thank You.

Some of his birthday guests included:

Zeke, whose favorite part was the food.

Tate, the little brother that couldn't get over that it was NOT his birthday.

Riley waiting ever so patiently for some cake and ice cream.

Tyler who was just as excited as Tracen about the light saber, beer rocks and yummy cake!

Sammy, whom Tracen is trying hard to turn into a Jedi, but will not succeed because Sammy is really a muggle-born wizard. We all know his parents have no magical talent what so ever. :)

And of course the BIRTHDAY BOY himself.

We then, of course, had another birthday party on Sunday with my side of the family. Sorry no pictures. We got to celebrate all the April birthdays!

Aunt Kenzie's was on the 1st and Aunt Melanie's is on the 14th with Tracen.

We had a lovely BBQ with the tastiest burgers off the grill, salad and the best flavor of jello of all time.... Black Cherry with Cool Whip on top.

The kids love Grandma and Grandpa Stratford's back yard!

They had loads of fun playing soccer, playing in the "stream" (that has no water in it yet), and throwing rocks in the pond.

We then did presents.

The ladies both got some really yummy smelling items and Tracen was spoiled yet again.

Complete with:

"The Lorax" By Dr. Suess (such a favorite) from Aunt Kenzie and Uncle Shane

An electric YO-YO (which has proven to be quite dangerous-that's another story) from Aunt Melanie and Uncle Ty

Some "classic" chapter books from mom and dad

Math (add, subtract, and multiplication) flash cards from Tate and Tyler

Giant beach towel, some money and telling time flash cards, the game "Guess Who", a very cute book called, "I Can Read", and...

Roller Blades!

from Grandma and Grandpa Stratford.

Thank You!!!

(psst... I only write down the list of gifts because this blog is a record for our family and I think Tracen will enjoy reading back and remembering what he got for his birthday and who they were from)

Anyway, we always watch the birthday persons "movie" at the end of the party. Therefore there were 3!!!

I love seeing Tracen's first year of life. Dan and I realized, however, that our plan for the next "Tracen movie" was when he turned 8. That's next year! We better get gathering. That's a lot of life to record.

Well, Tracen, we hope you had an OUT OF THIS GALAXY BIRTHDAY!

We Love You.

May THE FORCE always be with you.

Big Thanks to everyone who loves him.

St. George!!

Spring Break was fabulous!

We finally got the chance to head down to the beautiful red rock and warmth of St. George!

Dan's parents have bought a home down there in Green Valley. Their plan is to rent out this home until they return home from their next mission. Then they will sell their home in East Layton and retire where there is plenty of warmth and GOLFING!

So, they closed on the home on Monday and while it was still vacant they offered to let us stay in it. We headed down there Thursday afternoon and spent the rest of the weekend playing and relaxing. It was so WONDERFUL! Thank You Leo and Tricia!

We have some fantastic friends and family that live down there and we took full advantage of getting to be with all. Kwint and Gina are only there for a couple more weeks before they leave and move to Heber to start their next adventure. We are so happy we got to spend time with them. All the boys had so much fun together. Thanks so much for your hospitality! Feeding us, playing with us, lending us all the things I forgot :), talking, playing, eating, and lending me your maternity clothes. It felt so much like old times. We are so excited to have you back living a bit closer.

We were also lucky enough to have one of Dan's cousins, Shannon, in town visiting her parents that also live down there. So we took an afternoon and got to hang with her and her cute kiddos at a great park. Can't wait to get that Jacobs' reunion pulled together. We definitely don't get to spend enough time with that side of the family.

My cousin Tami and her crew had us over for breakfast one morning. Not just any breakfast, of course, but the biggest, cheesiest, tastiest omelets, fruit, muffins and juice ever!!! Kaleo is quite the omelet maker! Thank You! It was also fabulous to see my other cuz Julie (sisters) and her crazy friends. Unfortunately Dan got a bug of sorts and had to head back to the house to spend some quality time sleeping and hanging out with The John. So the boys and I got to spend the rest of the day lounging at the pool with Tami and fishing boulder rocks out of it that Tate insisted on throwing in. Oh how I LOVE 80 degree weather and a cool pool. But best of all I absolutely loved catching up with me wonderful cousin. I LOVE YOU TAMI! Wish we lived closer. I guess it means we really need to come visit more often.

In between getting to be with family and friends, we spent some of our own little family time exploring and climbing the red rocks. Seriously the best place for little boy and big boys (and girls). So much room for adventure and figuring out "cool tricks". So much FREEDOM! Of course this is the only time I actually pulled out the camera.

They loved all the caves and crevices to hide in.

Did I mention how much the BIG BOY liked it too?He thinks he's so tough!

Tate really wanted to climb THAT rock.

Hey! Where'd THOSE big guns come from?
Show Off!

Tracen had to leave his mark like everyone else.

Tate was fascinated with spaces that were just his size.

Oops! Who was in charge of the camera?

Tate loved his freedom! And climbed everything. Seriously NO FEAR!

The picture really doesn't capture this right, but this rock was a bit on the steep side. Tyler seriously scaled it without a second thought. Unfortunately Tracen froze about half up and needed a bit of coaching from Dad.

It's hard to be shown up by your little brother.

Especially a little brother that really is no wimp!

And neither is this little brother.

SUCCESS is so SWEET!

Tyler had this pose in just about every picture. Love It!

Of course you have to check out the View from Dixie Rock!

A bit more climbing from the boys.

A few pics with me and the boys.

Oh and the hot shot doing a few pull-ups.

Wouldn't want to miss a chance to work on those guns!

Oh now look who has the camera! Paybacks I guess!

They were amazed with how much space there was.

The entrance to one of the narrows.

Once upon a time Dan and I and Kwint and Gina used to squeeze our way through this lovely crack. Well, actually Dan never could quite fit because of his rippling pectorals. Now neither of us fit. Me, because of the bulge I'm working on. So unfortunately the boys didn't get to go through it. Sorry boys. Next summer! I promise to leave the babe with muscle man and give you the chance to go a bit further than this.

For now... this is me standing over the narrow.

And Tyler showing off his bravery and completely freaking his mother and older brother out!

That was a bit too close to the edge for me.

More of the Boys and I.

Great belly shot -eh?

Dan's parents came back through St. George on their way home from a rendevou in Mexico. So we went to dinner with them Saturday night to a Mongolian BBQ place. Surprisingly enough the boys have taked about how much they loved the food there even more so than when we went with Kwint and Gina to Priate Island Pizza. I personally have to agree with them. So tasty.

Sunday morning we went to Kwint and Gina's sacrament meeting with them and Leo and Tricia. We headed out right after the sacrament so we could get a head start on the long drive home.

The drive to St. George had gone so smoothly, we weren't quite prepared for the craziness that would occur on the drive home.

Starting with the Mom.
Or maybe it was the Dad.

Nope, just three crazy boys smashed in the back of a mini van.

Can't wait to go back!