Off the radar....

Well...I think it's been about a month since my last blog post. Wanna know why?....BECAUSE IT TAKES FOREVER!!

Also, I left my memory card reader at my mom's house for the ump-teenth time. And she's mailed it to me.....a lot. I wasn't going to ask her to do it again. So I didn't. And I went without a camera until we bought the new one at the beginning of this month. The memory card reader for the old camera....still there. Cuz I haven't been home in over a month.

To sum it up. We've been pretty busy. Parker started school this month. And he's also working full-time. So work plus night classes keeps him out of the house a lot. And our weekends have been pretty busy too. (see following posts). And I just kinda took a break for a while.

I've done 4 new posts after this one. So enjoy the new plethera of pictures!! More to come, because Parker and I just got back from our weekend in Sun Valley. But these 5 posts have taken the whole of the evening since I've been home from work. And my family needs me. So I'll have to get those Sun Valley pics later.

Playing Together

It doesn't happen much. But the other day Caleb and Angie were actually playing together! He rolled on the floor with her. And he played pattie cake with her. And they laughed together. It was so cute. And I got some pictures. Don't they look alike?

Swimming

One of the perks of having a sister who works at a hotel.....discount hotel rates!! Thanks to Katelyn, our trip to Utah didn't involve driving to from Idaho and then back in a single day. She got us a couple rooms at the hampton inn where she works in Provo. Therefore, we got to all go swimming together after Lagoon! Just incase those kids weren't worn out enough.... Caleb kinda had a breakthrough in the pool that day. Caleb has always been pretty afraid of the pool if he can't touch. He'll jump 5 feet off the countertop to your arms....but won't jump one foot off the edge of the pool into your arms. He's TERRIFIED!!

Emily worked with him in the pool. She got him to kick his legs, and hold him out at arm's length (he always wants his arms tight around your neck). And he even jumped off the edge of the pool a couple of times!! And right at the end, I got him to hold his breath while we went under water. He didn't like it....but he didn't cry either. A complete BREAKTHROUGH!

I'm completely convinced the boy needs swimming lessons....from now, and every summer until he can do backflips off the diving board.

Lagoon 2010

Every year Parker's dad gets free Lagoon tickets through his business. This year, Katelyn had a weekend off, and Robyn wanted to get out. So she made a last-minute trip home. And on her way up, Mom and I came down and we all met up for a weekend at Lagoon. We invited our friend, Emily and her daughter Paige as well. It was SUPER-FUN. A little exhausting.... considering there were 5 children and 5 adults. We did nothing but kids rides the whole time!! With the single exception that we broke off in pairs once after lunch to ride that new ride "Wicked". By-FAR the best ride at Lagoon. A jump-start of 0 to 60 in like 3 seconds, then into a vertical up turn....followed by a 180 degree vertical DROP. Followed by a few cork-screws and loops, makes for a......WICKED ride. That was the only "big" ride we went on the whole trip. The kids had a blast, but man was that day exhausting! Here's our pictures from the day.

There were a few rides where Robyn had to convince Lucas that it was fun and not scary.

Caleb, on the other hand....had a BLAST. He even went on one of the "frightmares" rides and wasn't scared.

New Camera

Well we decided it's time for a new digital camera. The other one was a gift we got about 2 years ago. It's been a good camera. But lately the action shots of the kids have been pretty blurry. And kids won't stop for pictures. So, I figured it's time for a new one. It seems like so far, digital cameras only have about a 2 year life. Anybody else have some in-put about that? It seems like 2 years is also the perfect time-span that the cameras are WAY cooler and you need to keep up with the times anyway. So here's just a few random pictures and videos about the kids and how much they've grown!
Caleb has out-grown all his clothes again. I just had to buy him a whole new wardrobe for fall/winter. All his pants are too short. And Angie, of course, still outgrows her clothes every 3 months! I feel like I'm CONSTANTLY buying things for her!...and not because I can't resist how cute it is. But because her stretched out legs and body just can't hold the same outfit for very long.

Angie just started waving "hi" and "bye-bye". And she can clap her hands. She also likes to scream. I'm not talking, a loud baby yell....I mean....SCREAM. She thinks it's fun....especially when I'm feeding her babyfood. No word on if she'll have teeth like her brother or not. She's still got nothin. But....she's only 8 months old. There's still time. I'm trying not to get my hopes too high.

Caleb has learned how to count on his fingers. He's been able to count for....forever. But the actual comprehension of knowing how to count how many fingers, or how many chicken nuggets on his plate.....was kinda a blur until about this month. Something clicked, and now he's counting everything. He spends more time counting things on his plate than eating his food.

He's also had quite a few lessons on what words we're NOT supposed to say. Too much coming out of the TV I'm sure....and some may think WAY too young for such a lesson. But censorship is hard. I know if we would shut the tube off a little more, it wouldn't be an issue this young in life. But....it is what it is. And he's learned. And now he has become extra cautious, and likes to ask me "can we say......_____ mommy?" when he hears something new. 98% of the time the answer is, "Yes son, we can say that."

Caleb is also learning about what it means to be "respectful." And about how we don't talk with an attitude to people who are older than us....especially moms and dads....and grandmas and grandpas. Also when he does something he's not supposed to, and then is supposed to apolagize. He's learning how to do so nicely and respectfully....and not with the growly "sorrr-yyyy!!" kind of way. And he likes to try things out. Say it out loud, and then ask, "Mommy, is that being respectful?" Usually, the answer is no. But I think he's starting to get it.

Caleb has also proven himself to be an AMAZING big brother. He adores Angie. He picks her up and moves her when she's gotten into something she shouldn't. He's VERY protective of her. And has even begun to play with her a little bit.

As you can see from this video....Angie loves to grab things! Anything she can reach. Which makes her a PAIN to hold in church. If she's facing you, she's grabbing your face or breaking my jewelry. If she's facing outward, she's grabbing the people who sit in front of you. I'd just let her crawl around on the floor....but that's no good either, till the sacrament is served. Too much traffic in those aisles. She's also getting very......loud. as I mentioned earlier she loves to scream. And she does.

Only in Filer

Here in Filer (about 2 blocks from my house) is this old truck that is painted up to look just like "Mater" from the movie Cars. Caleb has to stop every time we drive by it.