Happy 4th of July!

Yes, I am officially 13 days LATE! But, it is because we have had so much fun lately that it has taken me so long to post about it. And... it has taken me almost an entire week to even write this. So here we go.

On the 3rd of July, my family has an awesome tradition! We all go to my parent's house for a BBQ (this year we had Hobo Dinners/tin foil dinners/ whatever you call them--YUM) Then we do fireworks and play games. My parents had created an AWESOME relay race for couples this year. Too bad I did not video tape it. Too funny and very fun. The grand kids also have tons of fun riding around the yard on the mini 4-wheeler. (This I actually have video of.) Then we all set up our air mattresses, sleeping bags and pillows out on the back lawn and settle down for a great movie on the projector screen and sleep over out under the stars! Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the set up this year. Then we wake to a scrumptious breakfast and we all head off for our 4th of July celebrations. I think this is such a fun tradition. Thanks Mom and Dad for always hosting.

This year on the 4th Dan and I were feeling a bit LAZY (hence going to sleep around 3am) so we just hung out and visited with my parents and siblings for the first portion of the day. It is always so nice to just sit and visit. We then headed to the OTHER Jacob's family and let the boys play in the pool for the afternoon. That evening we spent with the Kemp family. They are always so kind to let us join them for their festivities and the fireworks were GREAT!

On the 5th, the Kemps had us come up to Pineview for a little water skiing/ wake boarding/ knee boarding etc... I must admit that my body was a bit achy from the slalom skiing I OBVIOUSLY only get to do once a year. Dan, Tracen and Tyler had fun on the knee board. (the boys thought that was pretty fun). Thanks again Kemp family!

So HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! Hope y'all had great ones too.

"The time has come," the walrus said, "to talk of many things..."

So I have yet again gone too long without posting and therefore we will "talk of many things". But please do not quit too soon. There is a "special treat" for all you loyal readers. I may need a place to stay for a few days once this "someone" sees what I have done.

We have again started up our sleep over trades with the "other Jacobs boys". I must say that I think this is a brilliant idea. We had originally started this last summer but had to break from it since Christy and I both had new babes and weren't quite ready to add more to the mayhem yet. The plan is that once a month we trade off having our boys (just the older ones for now)come over to spend the night with their cousins. It is usually a Friday evening to Saturday afternoon or so. This gives us parents a night and a day "off" to do whatever we want. (House projects, yard projects, A DATE, or just a lazy day. Because Dan and I have decided that our kids will only be able to have sleep overs with their cousins (sorry-no friends... this world's a little to weird for that anymore), it gives them that opportunity. It has really been a GREAT thing. We love having the boys come with us and we, of course, love having some time off too. So we got to have the sleepover at our place last week and here are some cute pictures. The boys share beds for now, but as they get older I am sure we will pitching a tent in the back yard or making sure the sprinklers are off so they can sleep on the trampoline. Ahhh, GOOD TIMES! So Flying J has a yearly work party that is quite famous among the staff and we decided it was time to make an appearance. So last Friday Dan got off a bit early and we headed to a nice park somewhere in Ogden ( I honestly have no idea where we were ). They had 3 of those huge blow up slides and jumping things, delicious food, and of course lots of the famous prizes (including 3-4 different Wii's, digital cameras, digital picture frames, stadium seats, BBQ grills and so much more). Unfortunately Dan's name was NOT drawn this year, but... maybe next year? Anyway, the boys had so much fun. Here is a picture of them showing off their face/arm paintings.

Next topic is regarding Dan's work. I am(well he is too of course) happy to announce that he has recently been promoted! He is now "THE TOP DOG" over his entire department! What "THE TOP DOG" means, you will have to ask him for the details, but I do know that he is very excited for the opportunity. Of course this means a great deal more responsibility but also the chance to make some much needed changes for the company. His shift will stay the same, which we are so happy for and of course the pay increase and bonuses will be such a blessing!

Ok so get ready. This is has got to be THE REASON you all keep reading our blog. Here is a little video clip of "someone" dressed up in his "Little Red Riding Hood" costume (this was part of the costume he wore for a great skit he was part of for my families yearly family reunion- no this is not his normal attire) having a bit too much fun. Maybe if Flying J could see him in these finest moments, they may have wondered about their decision to put him in charge. I so debate weather or not I should claim him and I have decided... YES he is mine every bit! THIS is just one of the many reasons why our house is NEVER boring! Be sure to push pause on our playlist and turn up the volume on your computer.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the great fathers in my life. Thank you! I chose the above pictures because I felt that they showed little moments where these amazing men have shined in their roles as dads and grandpas.

I was so blessed to have had the awesome dad that I have. He was always very involved in EVERYTHING I did and he still is so much a part of my family's life. He loves his grandkids and they think he is so cool. I knew that if I found a husband that reminded me of my dad, I would be doing good. THANK YOU DAD. I hope I can always be your D.D. (Daddy's Delight)

I also have an amazing father-in-law. I have always known how much he loves Dan, me and now our boys. He has been so kind to us in so many ways and a great example to follow. THANK YOU. We love you.

Now for the LOVE OF MY LIFE. (feel free to stop reading, this might get a bit mushy)Wow. How do I sum up all that I feel for him. I guess I had better just stick to his role as father. Dan is so wonderful. He is so great at playing with the boys. He gets just as silly as they do. (not hard to imagine) I often feel that I have 4 CRAZY BOYS instead of just the 3. But really I wouldn't change that. He teaches them to work hard, to love to learn and to be kind to others and he loves being part of all they do. But I have to say that the part of Dan I adore the most in his role as dad, is the DEEP DEEP LOVE he has for his boys. The proud look in his eyes, the tears shed, the pure laughter all express it. He would do ANYTHING for them and he works hard to make sure that they know it. Dan is a SUPER HERO in their eyes. They love him so much. What more could you ask for? THANK YOU sweet heart for being everything to them and to me. (SPICEY)

So below I have written a little blurp about each of my boys. I hope that Dan and I can raise them to someday become SUPER HEROES in the eyes of their children.

Tracen Daniel (5 years)

Tracen is growing so fast. I am constantly amazed at how quickly he is changing. He loves to learn and sometimes is too smart for me to keep up. He recently graduated from preschool and is so excited to start Kindergarten. He is starting to read and is getting very good at addition and subtraction and the beginnings of multiplication. He is always asking questions and trying to figure out how this crazy world works. His imagination is very vivid. He and Tyler spend hours in their own little worlds, namely the world of Harry Potter. One of the pics shows him with his Harry Potter Wand. He loves his friends, especially his cousins and his little brothers, and loves feeling "so free" on his 2-wheel bike. WE LOVE YOU TRACE!

Tyler Keith (3 1/2 years)

Tyler, sweet Tyler. How I love our Tyler. He is the one that keeps us on our toes and shaking our heads. We never know what he'll come up with. He is his own little person and does things on his own time. He knows all of his letters, colors,and most of his numbers. He wants to do everything that Tracen does. He is especially excited to start preschool in the Fall. He is very active. (hence the badly scraped up nose from falling on the patio) He is the comedian of the family. He loves that he has blue eyes like his Grandpa Stratford and often comments about it. He loves playing with his "best friend Trace" and wants to be just like his cousin Riley when he grows up. He has quite the imagination and is always tellings us new stories. WE LOVE YOU TY!

Tate Leo (9 months)

You'd think that by boy #3 I would be better prepared for how quickly these little ones change and grow. But I am still amazed. I think Tate is in one of my very favorite stages. Dan and I have absolutely LOVED watching him become his own little person. He definately lives up to his name. Tate, meaning cheerful and Leo meaning lion. He is by far our most smiley baby and he is so easy to laugh. But he also does not hold back in letting you know exactly when he is not happy with something. He is an excellent screamer. He gets so proud of himself when he discovers something new or learns a "new trick". He is sitting and spinning himself around. He rolls around but hasn't quite figured out the whole crawling thing yet and he might not. (Trace and Ty never did) He loves to stand and walk around with help. He thinks his brothers are the funniest things ever! He is the kind of baby that makes you think you could have a "million more just like him". WE LOVE YOU TATER!!

Its my Birthday- Have a Party!

Yes, it is true. Today is my birthday and I am admitting it! I do this because in my "old age" I tend to feel the need to "discuss" things a bit. I am officially as of 15 minutes ago (6:30am), 31 years old ! I thought I'd add a few pictures of my youth. Probably to make me feel better. Sorry about the raw scanned picture. I didn't want to take the time to edit it. Lazy I guess. Another sign of old age? I want to talk about "age categories". My hardest B-day was when I turned 25. I'm not sure exactly why, but to me that B-day felt like the one where I was leaving my youth behind and I was entering into the "I am SUPPOSED to be all grown up" category. Then I turned 30. Surprisingly enough that was good B-day. I was not affected by that at all. But today, turning 31, I don't know, it feels kind of "weird". It is somehow so "official" or something. Like I am now really "in". I am no longer teetering between eras or something. I remember in my teen years thinking that those IN their "30's" were supposed to be an experienced mom of several kids, driving carpool in their minivan, not quite fitting into the "young mom" group at playgroup (because I have more than 2 kids and my oldest is actually in school), and I can no longer figure out what the "in" style of clothing is and frankly don't care. Well, I am all of that. But what I do realize is that I am very happy with where I am in life. I love being a "carpooling minivan mom" that has had a bit more "experience" with my kids and doesn't really have to care whether or not she "fits in" or is wearing the latest style of clothes. I think it is hilarious that I could pull out some of the clothes I wore in junior high and high school and they would totally be "in style". (think 80's stretch pants and long shirts with belts and HUGE earings!) I now know and understand why my parents style of clothing got "stuck" in a certain era. I have come to realize that as CRAZY as this stage of my life is right now, I REALLY LOVE IT! I am so blessed to have had GREAT PARENTS who taught me so well and LOVED ME so much. ( Of course as my parents told me many times, you don't fully realize that until you become a parent yourself.) Thank you. Oh and thank you to my mom for the 2 days of intense labor, with NO DRUGS, only to have me come out showing my best side first (I was breech- butt first- See I have been confused from the beginning) and to have my dad make the comment, after all of me was finally out, "Oh she does have hair!" Sorry mom, that had to have hurt. Thanks mom and dad for all your hard work and for loving me inspite of all my "shananagans".
So I guess the point of this little post is to say, LIFE IS GOOD! No matter what "age category" we enter into we are still the same "youngster" (is that the word I am looking for?) inside just with a little more "experience" and hopefully a little more confidence with who we are (especially as those "happy lines" begin to appear). Thank you to all my wonderful FAMILY and FRIENDS. I have an amazing husband whom I love dearly and who I know loves me immensely and for my 3 CRAZY BOYS who keep me moving. I am so lucky in this life and I totally look forward to experiencing my next 30 years and the next 30 and the next 30 and... OK wait... actually I think I will just take this life one day at a time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HOORAY!