Play, Play, Play

Ethan loves to play and play hard.

He loves his new slide and old pool.

He loves bubbles.
He even loves his cousins. I like to think that he is trying to comfort poor Gabe in this picture.
Here he is with his Lott cousins and he plays so hard and crashes even harder when the day is over after playing with these guys.
(Oops, where is Dreyton?)

Birthday week

In just a week Ethan will be 3 years old! Time sure has flown by. Over the next week I will be posting pictures and facts about Ethan, starting with the most recent and working my way back to his birth. Here goes....

Here he is at the This is the Place state park watering the plants in the garden. He sure is a good helper.

Who doesn't like ice cream? Well Ethan loves it, expecially if it's green, his favorite color.
My mom gave me an old pair of glasses that I used to wear back in the day and we tried them on Ethan. Doesn't he look smart?
Mike thinks he looks like the kid from Jerry Maguire.

Amazing what a year and some care can do

I know, I know, I've mentioned it before but I'm gonna mention it again. Our house was very neglected when we moved in. I was looking through some old pictures I took when we first moved in because my father-in-law wanted to know what our house looked like. I'm very glad he asked me to take these pictures so I could look back on them and see really what we have done to our yard and how much better it looks now than it did a year ago. Pay close attention to the grass.

Our back yard August 2007

Our backyard August 2008
Our front yard August 2007
Our front yard August 2008
I really credit it all to my dad and Mike for working so hard all summer long to find, fix, and get everything up and running on our sprinkler system. Thanks so much guys! Now if we could only get the inside to look as good as the outside....

Mayhem at the dino museum

$2 would seem like a fantastic deal to go see the dinosaurs at the Thanksgiving museum right? WRONG! It was nuts, fun, but nuts. My bosom cousin and I ventured out to see the dinos with four kids. The line was so so long. Surprisingly, it only took 10 minutes to get in though. I had a lot of fun and I know Ethan did too. Here he is with Jane and Hannah looking at the mural on the outside of the museum.Ethan has recently discovered the Utahraptor, but it looks like a velociraptor so he thought that was what this one was. Looks pretty scary, huh? It was the most dangerous dinosaur.
Oh the sand and water table. He just loves that place. Poor kid needs a sand and water table don't you think?
All in all it was fun, adventurous, you know what I mean, Julie, but fun!

Oww!

I have been working out with some of my gal pals in my ward and this week, after a three mile walk/jog, we lifted weights, my first time in a weight room in a very long time. I worked my thighs, obliques, and arms. My arms are now quite stiff I am having a hard time doing mundane things around the house. Mike tells me that it's a good sign and that I am getting stronger. I have no plans to not go with these gals next week, I will just grin and bear it and think about all the muscles that I am strengthening.

The next MT at Enterprise

The last few weeks when Ethan follows Mike into our room after Mike gets home from work to change, Ethan wants to put on Mike's tie and shoes and tell us he's "off to work at Enterprise!"

Do you think they'll hire him?

37 facts about ME!

1. Do you like blue cheese? I've really only had it once in a salad and it made me sick.
2. Have you ever smoked? No way! But ask my dad that question!
3. Do you own a gun? Nope!
4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? Fruit punch. That has changed now that I married Mike. He mixes fruit punch and orange and it is so tasty. Mmmm!
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes and no. I was really nervous the last time I went because I was afraid what the doctor might tell me. I got nervous when I was pregnant because my blood pressure wasn't the best and I retained water so it looked like I was getting fat when I stood on the scale.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I crave them, sometimes. I'll enjoy an occassional one.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story, hands down. (and it's really the only one I've ever seen.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I love orange juice, but I usually have milk or water.
9. Can you do push ups? Somewhat.
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring. And I love toe rings too!
11. Favorite hobby? It's a toss up-I like to read, love to blog, and enjoy cross stitch and embroidery.
12. Do you have ADD? Not that I'm aware of..
13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Sure do.
14. Middle name?
15. Name three thoughts at this exact moment. IMan I like this song. I really wish Ethan would just get a grasp on the whole potty training thing. I really would love to finish Breaking Dawn soon. It's so good!
16. Name three drinks you regularly drink. Water, milk, diet Dr. Pepper.
17. Current worry? Getting Ethan potty trained, fast!
18. Current hate right now? Changing Ethan's pants three times in an hour.
19. Favorite place to be? In bed reading.
20. How did you bring in the New Year? It was just me and Mike at our house painting the ledge in our family room.
21. Where would you like to go? Paris, New York, Anywhere if it's free!
22. Name three people who will complete this. Aimee, Catherine, Greg.
23. Do you own slippers? Yup and I love em.
24. What shirt are you wearing? Black, V-neck, very comfy and it was just $5 at Target.
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I never have but I'd like to some day.
26. Can you whistle? Yup, but nothing fancy.
27. Favorite color? Purple, always has been.
28. Would you be a pirate? Heck ya, especially if my captian would be Captian Jack Sparrow.
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I usually don't sing in the shower but today I was singing "When I Look into Your Eyes" by Firehouse. (I'd just listened to it.)
30. Favorite girl’s name? Ellie
31. Favorite boy’s name? Cordon, like my great, great, great grandpa, not the chicken bleu.
32. What’s in your pocket right now? Lint, probably.
33. Last thing that made you laugh? The last chapter I read in Breaking Dawn, I won't say what so I won't ruin the book for all you out there who haven't read it.
34. What vehicle do you drive? A 1995 Chevy Lumina.
35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? Last year I fell after I got out of Stef's car and skidded up my knee pretty bad and my ego was hurt pretty bad too.
36. Do you love where you live? I do now more than I did a year ago, but I could really do without the manufactured homes across the street that are unkept.
37. How many televisions do you have in your house? Two - family room and master bedroom.

THS class of 1998

Tomorrow is my 10 year high school reunion, so in honor of that, I decided to be brave and post my senior picture from that year. Any of you who have a THS 98 yearbook don't have this picture, but a horrible, horrible one. I hated it so bad that I went somewhere else, spent more money, but got a picture a lot better than that one. FYI I didn't have any good pictures from that year's school photographer.

Oh yeah! Big, poofy hair and really cool white jeans, and a puffy sweater. I thought I was so cool and looked so good! (Mike isn't a big fan of this picture! I gave him a copy to keep in his wallet and he's embarrassed to show it to anyone.) Thank you to all you out there who were friends with me back in the day!

Girls Camp 2008

This week was Girls Camp and Mike came up to be a priesthood holder, just in case. We had lots of fun. Here we are after we canoed. The girls were jealous because we paddled faster than they did and didn't go in circles. I credit Mike for how fast we went, he was my ancor.

Guess what? There was a zip line and I did it. It was so fun. Unfortunately, my camera has such a slow shutter that all one of my girls got was a blur of me. But that really is me.
Since Mike was helping the girls get situated and secure for the zip line, he was able to go down too. There was one harness that had a handle and we both got it. Looks kind a doofy huh?
We had a good time but I am so tired. The stake kept us up with their program until 10 then we had our ward devotional and got ready for bed. It was late late late. Then had to be up, have breakfast, and ready for a hike and at flag ceremony at 7! The girls were so tired too, they were begging to take a nap right after lunch and begging for bed by 9! I had to come home after testimony meeting the last night but the girls are all home and I am tired and ready for a nap!

Howe, ID

Last week we went to my grandpa's farm in Howe, ID, ever been there? We had a lot of fun and were able to do a lot of things. Everything Mike and Ethan did were new because they have never been there. Mike's favorite thing to do was ride the four wheeler.

Ethan's favorite was the baby calves on the farm.
We broke a pinata and that was Ethan's first time doing that too.
The farm has a school bus and my oldest cousin took us all up the mountain for a hike and lunch. Here we are, again, Ethan's first time on a bus. That brought back a lot of Jr. High memories I'd rather not discuss.
We had an open house birthday party for my grandpa who will be 90 at the end of the month. Mom put a great display table out with all kinds of pictures and memories of Grandpa and Grandma. There was a pair of overalls he wore when he worked on the farm and some old muddy, and probably manuery, boots. Ethan saw them and decided to try them on.
My son, the farmer. Wouldn't Grandpa be proud?