Milestones

It's almost the end of April already!

Over Easter weekend, we were lucky enough to have John's parents out to visit for a couple of days.  Though our visits are always too short with family, we really enjoyed having them out.  We got to celebrate Easter and show them our new home and neighborhood.  We even went to Temple Square on Easter and went out to dinner.  The boys adore their Grammy and Grampy and were so excited to decorate their room and show off all of their tricks.  We have been so grateful for the wonderful relationship we have had with them throughout our marriage. They have been so kind and supportive -- even when it was less than convenient for them.  We're glad our kids have had a chance to build such a strong relationship with their grandparents and I'm so grateful for my close relationship with them.

I wanted to hop on and post a few pictures and a video of the kids today.  Since the sun has been shining so much and the weather is starting to warm up a bit, Andrew and Mason have finally had time to get out and ride their bikes.  They love to get outside and be active, even if I have to force them out initially.  Once they're out there, they hate to come in. :)

Andrew has been riding with training wheels since he was 4 because we never had any level ground to teach him to ride his bike without them.  Things sure have changed now that we're in Utah!  About a week or two after Grammy and Grampy left, we took his training wheels off his bike and he took off up the road without any problems.  John and I ran beside him all the way up, turned him around, and ran all the way down again about a half a dozen times.  I nearly died, but Andrew has gained such confidence knowing that he can ride that bike all by himself.  It only took him one more day to learn how to start and stop himself without help and now he wants to ride ALL the time. :)

Mason is having a hey-day with his bike as well.  He still has training wheels, but I think those will be off by the end of the Summer.  These kids are awesome. :)  For now, he races Andrew all over the place, and sometimes he rides his scooter (though it's not nearly as fast!).

Andrew showing off

A couple of weeks ago John's uncle Gary and his wife, Janet, came to visit us, too!  We've been so lucky to have visitors!  They were kind enough to take us out for dinner at my favorite restaurant (Chili's), and we had a nice visit.  Their stay was even shorter than John and Carolyn's, but we were grateful to have them stop in while they were travelling through on their way back to Seattle.  We love our family!

Here are a few pictures of the family. Enjoy!

~C

 At the Monster Truck Show

 In the Toy Room

 Andrew reading to Mason

 Mason playing You To The Rescue

 Mason with the Horton mask

 Play time at Utah Lake

 Outdoor Fun:  Tether ball!

 Mason on the dirt bike with Daddy

 Andrew on the dirt bike with Daddy

 Some of their favorite time is computer time

 Donut Date at Andrew's school

Mason visiting Andrew's class for Donut Date

Springing

Hi Everyone!

   Well, it's officially April and officially Spring!  Here in Utah that means that it's April and we may still have another snow shower or two before we stay warm continuously.  The last few weeks have brought such warmth and beauty as I've seen the grass getting greener and the trees start to bud and flower.

   Andrew is really enjoying his new school.  He has a wonderful teacher and a great group of classmates, though he rarely actually says anything about them.  He'll have a comment now and then about what they do at recess or how many Beyblades his friends brought to school that day.  That kid would KILL for his own Beyblade, but he'll have to wait until he earns it. ;)  He's learning how to ride his bike, again, and will soon have his training wheels off.  He's getting so independent and I love to see him learning new things and making new discoveries.

    Mason is on the verge of reading. He starts Kindergarten this coming Fall (boo hoo!) and he can hardly wait.  He really wants to be in Andrew's class, but that's not going to happen and he's bummed about it.  It seems like he is growing more and more every day.  He certainly talks more now than he ever did, but he usually has pretty intelligent things to say, which is a nice breath of fresh air from the fluff that I talk about all day.  He really likes learning new things and asks great questions.  He says a lot of funny stuff, too, like "I'm such a bugger for beating you again!"  His love of board games is one of the things I love most about that kid. He always wants to play games, and I welcome that with completely open arms!

  John and I are grateful for our jobs and even more grateful for our extra space.  John has enjoyed having a garage back and a big yard to care for.  He has turned on the irrigation a few times to make sure everything works, mowed the lawn, fertilized, and overall just enjoyed making plans for our yard.  He is less than satisfied with his job, as has been the case for quite some time, and now he's putting in applications for Corrections and Police departments in the area.  We're hoping something good will come from that and we'll keep praying, crossing fingers, etc.

  Well, that's our update for now.   Enjoy the pictures.

-C