All I want for Christmas...

Yup! That would be his TWO FRONT TEETH!

Hogle Zoo

The first week out of school in June (yes, I am just now posting it) we headed to

HOGLE ZOO!

We went with the other 3 Jacob's boys and had a wonderful time.

Here are just a bunch of the fun moments we had.

BABY ZURI


A few "friends from The New Nightmare Exhibit

These bats were a bit creepy. Out in the open of the exhibit. Free to fly around. Luckily they were all sleeping. Still watching the whole bundle of them breathing in and out... in and out..

CREEPY!

These little monkeys were hilarious! They were constantly jumping at each other and the wrestling. The boys thought it quite funny.

A quick pose for the camera...

A favorite of course is the water spraying elephant...

Tate was a bit nervous and chose to hide behind this tree and just point at it...

Waiting for the bird show to start...

And of course we HAD to ride the carousel!

Seriously my favorite picture of all... PURE JOY!

And to end the day... a little ride on the Rhino.

Hang on Tater!

See ya next year Hogle Zoo!

33 years!!!

"I had a birthday, SHOUT HOORAY! Everybody sang to me that day. One year older and wiser too. (clap) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!"

Yup. It's true. As of June 12th around 6:30 am, I officially turned 33 YEARS OLD!

I confess. I actually really enjoy birthdays. I do not dread the day each year that represents another year older. Not to mislead anyone into thinking that I LOVE finding new wrinkles, or a new creak in my body, that is NOT fun. BUT it is also not something I have much control over therefore no point stressing about it. Instead, why not take advantage of a day where you get to celebrate everything YOU! Seriously, you really only get ONE day each year for that. So as to not make everyone think that I am selfish.... here are a few things that my amazing family and friends did to make this day extra special.

On Friday night, my great hubby and a few great friends took me out to dinner. We went to Tuscanos at The Gateway in Salt Lake. Dan's parents were gracious enough to take on the boys while we went. THANK YOU!

Good food, good friends, and a hot date... what could be better?

Then...

Saturday morning came and my dear hubby let me sleep in. That is such a treat for me. I am usually up and moving by 5:15 am. I think I woke up around 8am. I had just wandered into the bathroom and put in my contacts. I was about to go downstairs to tell Dan that we should go out to breakfast. I was in the mood for some creamy hot cocoa and an extra big honey buttered scone. But not moments after that thought crossed my foggy mind, did Dan come upstairs to tell me that someone was at the door for me.

"Uhhh... who is it?"

"Just go down and see."

"Am I dressed enough?" (I was still in my PJs)

"Oh sure. Hurry. They're waiting."

"Ok."

When I came down, I saw my two brothers chilling on the couch with Tracen watching part of the World Cup Soccer game.

When they saw me, they said, "Hey! Happy Birthday! Let's go!"

"Umm.. can I wear shoes? Change my shirt? Put on deodorant?"

"Well, since we need to wait for Melanie (my sis), she slept through her alarm (typical:)), I guess we can give you a few minutes."

When we pulled into the parking lot of Grannie Annie's in Kaysville, I realized they had just pulled one of our traditional b-day traditions from high school.

(We used to kidnap our friends early in the morning before school and take them to breakfast for their b-days)

We, as Layton Lancers used to go to Doug and Emmy's or Sills Cafe, but it is now closed down. I guess Grannie Annie's is where the Davis Darts folks would go. Same awesome food, however.

Anyway, Melanie met us there. I got my creamy hot cocoa and overly large honey buttered scone. And we started a tradition I hope we can continue. How often do you get together with JUST your siblings? I mean spouses are great and all and we love to have them around, BUT it was so much fun to be just the four of us.

THANKS BRIAN, MELANIE AND SHANE!!!

We then met at my parents house for a B-day BBQ and some Father's Day Fun (which I will share details when I do a Father's Day post next week)

Dan's family had us over on Sunday for some scrumptious brownies and Dulce de Leche ice cream. YUMMY!

It really was a wonderful Birthday weekend!

BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO MADE IT SO!

Oh and as a side note. I stole this lovely video of my family singing a fantastic Happy Birthday rendition as I salivated over the delectable banana splits:

Mmmmm.... Yummy!

Raspberry Freezer Jam!

Why have not done this before? I could eat it plain several jars at a time!

Latest Randomnesses...

Well, it happened again...

Another loose tooth!

He came home from school with it good and loose. So he wiggled and wiggled and said he thought it was ready for me to pull out. Unfortunately, it was still attatched pretty good in several spots and my tugging made him cry. I felt horrible. So... he

WIGGLED AND WIGGLED AND WIGGLED SOME MORE

and then

Tracen pulled it right out!

He recently discovered that you cannot eat corn on the cob one front tooth gone and the other one quite loose. So sad.

Now on to the next crazy little man.

He sure does love jumping on the tramp. I am amazed at how well he can hold his own on it with his big brothers bouncing him all over the place.

So when he finally gets the tramp all to himself...

he shows off his latest tricks!

But his favorite trick is showing off his....
Yup! He is wearing the cutest big boy undies!
Wish I could say this was an announcement of POTTY TRAINING SUCCESS but...

IT'S NOT.

Not sure if it is him or me that is not quite ready to delve into that fun.

Tyler Graduates!

He's done it again!

And he is pretty darn pleased about the whole thing!

On May 22, 2010 he officially graduated from the best preschool EVER!

He also had one of the very best teachers... Miss Mary.
Tracen had Miss Mary too. They both have loved her.

Every time they graduate each kid gets his hand print with this cute little saying under it.
I confess I was a bit disappointed that it was not done on the burlap wall hanging like they have done for so many years. I was ecstatic when Tracen got one because I still have my hand print wall hanging from when I went to Kiddie Kollege approximately 24 years ago. Great tradition.

Here is his "report card".

(a bit hard to read here, but he got everything checked off)

Thought I'd better document the handwriting.
... and the official certificate of graduation!
At the end of each year the Kiddie Kollege puts on the best program where they sing all the songs they have learned and show off their counting and ABC skills including saying the alphabet backwards. Unfortunately that was NOT a skill from Kiddie Kollege I maintained.

Here is a pic right before they started the program.

Notice how every boy is sandwiched between multiple girls? I was happy to see that it wasn't just our son.
Tyler is on the top/back row with his hands hanging on the backdrop.

They sing songs for every season and holiday and each kid gets to have a special part representing one of those songs.

Tyler got to be UNCLE SAM for their "Dear America" song.

Oh. My. Was he cute. His sparkly blue eyes and big floppy ears were a perfect compliment to the red, white, and blue. My favorite is that the hat folds his ears down just right. :)

I also love that the Statue of Liberty is several inches taller than he is and Tyler is one of the tallest kids in his class.

It was a fantastic program!

Tyler you did AWESOME!
WE LOVE YOU!
*I am a little sad that we will have one whole year off from Kiddie Kollege before Tate starts. We sure do love being part of such a fantastic school.

Thanks so much KIDDIE KOLLEGE!

...AND...

Big Thanks to all the family that was able to come support him that day.

It sure meant a lot to Tyler!

Mother's Day (a bit late)

Well, Mother's Day did come at our house. I am just a bit on the late side getting this post done. Excuse? Life has been on the busy side (imagine that) and our scanner was out of commission for a bit. Anyway, it was a wonderful weekend.

On Saturday, we celebrated my mother and grandmother.

I attempted to make some FRUIT FLOWER arrangements of my own to give to each of them.

I confess I think they turned out pretty cute (and tasty).

Melanie, my sis, and I also went in together and got my mom a very cute BRAG BAG. Sorry no pic of that but it was lime green with slots for 9 4x5 pictures on one side. We got mug shots in black and white of each of the grandkids and the kitty to place in it. It turned out so cute.

We had a little BBQ over at my cousins house to celebrate. Thanks for hosting Stacy!

On Sunday, it would have been great to celebrate Dan's mom but his parents were in Germany doing a bit of site seeing. Lucky them. We were able to get with them just last week. We gave Dan's mom a beautiful hanging flower basket.

I did get to wake up to a scrumptious breakfast of oatmeal with huckleberries in it and chocolate covered strawberries. The boys, big and small, had made some fabulous cards and gave me the book "Percy Jackson and The Lightening Theif". Which, by the way, was a rather cute book. I finished it in a couple days. I confess it is not as magical as the Harry Potter series, and written more at a teenage level, but good just the same.

Dan also had put in some good hours, with some dedicated help from Tyler, to finish these two projects from the "To Do List".

They painted the swing that sits under my all time favorite tree in our yard...

I LOVE IT!
Little background: Dan surprised me with this swing on a previous Mother's Day about 7 years ago. We did stain it at one point, but over the years it had gotten quite weathered. So I am so very pleased to have it beautified.
They also spruced up another little bench my brother had made forever ago. It now sits on our "deck" with this cute little potted flower.
You can see it from our family room and it puts a smile on my face every time I see it.
So cheerful.
THANK YOU to all my wonderful boys whom I am SO PROUD to be their mother.

Speaking of being a MOTHER, it is that time again, I guess, to show the progress of "the belly".

25 WEEKS:
(One of these times I will actually take a picture when I am dressed up a bit and feeling cute)

So I also need to OFFICIALLY share our latest news on this growing babe...

Isn't he cute?

Well what you can see of him. Little stink is so wiggly and always had hands and feet in front of his face.

Which, did you catch it? I said HE!

Yes, we are officially having another

BOY!!!!

Can you tell?

WE ARE SO THRILLED!
I must confess that upon recieving the 1st news, I felt a slight twinge of dissappointment that I will not get to join the oh so pink world of pretty dresses and bows.
BUT... that twinge was immediately replaced with laughter and the feeling that this little man will be perfect in our family. It is so right. The bonds of brotherhood will be so strong.
Love it.
I also felt a strong impression that the Lord is trusting me with all these strong willed boys for a reason. He needs a solid army prepared for the future. I don't want to speculate as to what that is exactly, but I do know that good, loving, solid, strong in the ways of the Lord MEN are needed. As intimidating as that seems, I say bring it on. We are ready and willing.

I love being a MOTHER!