Texas/ Arizona Adventure!

We just got back from an amazing trip to Texas and Arizona. We flew to TX to see Scott's mom, Kelly (his sister) and her kids. We had a fun couple days there then decided to drive to Tucson to see his brother Luke and his wife Melinda and their baby Isabella too. It was a long drive, especially since there were 8 of us in a 7 seater van and I got to sit on the floor the whole way, but well worth it to get all of us together at once! We spent a couple days in Tucson and got some good family pictures. All the girls got their nails done, compliments of the oh so talented Meli! It was great! Back in TX, after a quick recovery from our overnight driving, we spent about 4 days straight at Sea World and loved every minute of it. Connor and Ayla were best buddies and they were both barely tall enough to ride some really fun roller coasters and water rides. They both really loved the river rides and had a knack for getting SOAKED on it. It was so fun to ride some roller coasters again and fly down slides in inner tubes too! Nana was a life saver watching Haydn and Trayte sometimes while Scott, Kelly and I got to take the big kids to do the big rides. That's definitely the way to do a theme park. We got to feed dolphins, watch Shamu, Sea Lions, and water skiers perform. The water park was a great hit as well as a way to stay cool in the Texas heat! The best part about the trip was just getting to be with Scott's family and get to know them better! We hope it happens again more often. A big thanks to Luke, Meli, Susan and Kelly for letting us crash your homes and play with you guys!

ALL DONE!!!

Just so you all know...SCOTT FINISHED THE BAR! We can't believe it is all over. It seems like yesterday he started law school. As of Thursday, July 31st, he was DONE. Hopefully forever! We won't know until October if he passed or not, crazy huh! Congratulations to the most amazing man! I love you tons! We have a great Texas vacation coming up we are really excited about where we will get to see his family. We are looking forward to having a lot more time with him these days!

Haydn's Words

I was trying to get Haydn to show off his talking a little for the camera for the other day. He cooperated a little but mostly was just being silly and cute. Here's a video of this cutie. Sorry it's a little long, I have a hard time putting my camera down because my kids are the most adorable things in the whole world.

Wii

For Scott's law school graduation the kids and I got him a Wii. It has been well loved ever since! Our favorite game is Mario Kart. Even Haydn loves it as you can see!

Visit With Family

Yesterday we had the privilege of having my grandparents and some of my cousins (Victoria, Kylie, Melody and Jason) visit. We took them to the sprinkler park and had a blast. Scott had the kids doing all kinds of endurance challenges (the water is ice cold)! Connor had such fun with them--especially Jason. When we put him to bed we explained to him that they were leaving in the morning he broke down in tears and said, "I don't want Jason to go, he's my best friend!" It was so nice to have visitors!

Teddy Bear Picnic

Last night we went to a Teddy Bear Picnic at our local community center. It was great! We ate our picnic and they provided ice cream for everyone. There was a man that did an awesome job with music and dancing for the kids. Both Connor and Haydn were totally into the music and we dancing and doing all the moves with the guy! I was so sad I forgot my camera but we got a good picture of Connor and his batman face paint(this was the first time he's actually wanted to get his face painted and he even let them do it over his eyes--what a kid!)


CHEESE! With their teddy bears!

Eating Adventures

Haydn has recently decided that he can feed himself. He's actually very good at using a spoon or fork and getting food into his mouth (with the grace of a one year old, of course). The video was taken a few weeks ago and is the epitome of how meals are at our house. My small children love playing while eating (I'm sure yours are angels with perfect manners). Today, Haydn thought of a faster way to eat his yogurt. It was very effective as well as super cute!

Pool Blast

We are having soooo much fun now that the pools at the local parks are open for the summer. It is so refreshing to play in the cool water on a hot day. The pool we go to has a great mushroom-like waterfall in the middle that is really awesome! Haydn is quite the little dare devil! He can run in and out of the waterfall, crawl on his hands and knees and sit in the water up to his neck all with no fear. He frequently takes plunges under the water, because his body isn't big enough to withstand the water throwing him about in the deep parts, but it doesn't phase him AT ALL! I'll help him up and he'll immediately want back down and go back to what he was doing. I've even seen him fall under and get himself up before I could get there. It amazes everyone watching! Connor can stick his head under the water and keep his eyes open to see where he is going now too. My kids continue to be water babies! Sorry there are so many pics. I took over 200 at the pool today. The boys were being so cute I had to make myself put the camera down!

Big Bed Troubles

Haydn has been sleeping in his toddler bed these days. For the most part, I can count on a little trouble getting him to stay in bed but he eventually gets it. He's had some funny things happen though. Yesterday at about 4 am I heard frantic screaming from the boys room. I went to Haydn's bed and although I heard him clearly I couldn't find him ANYWHERE. Finally, after searching all over his bed and the room, I knelt down and found a foot. He apparently had fallen and rolled under the bed and was trapped. As soon as I pulled him out and laid him down he was out--seriously as quick as snapping my fingers he was out again. Then last night Connor came downstairs about an hour after I had put them to bed and said, "Mommy, Haydn is sleeping so funny you have to come see! He has his feet on the floor!" Here is what we found... I love finding both my boys in silly sleeping positions. They are both such wiggly sleepers.

Big Beds For Big Boys

Here come the big boy beds! Connor just turned 4 and is growing like a weed! We had talked about getting him a twin bed at the end of the summer when we actually have steady income but then found this awesome bed frame! Someone was going to throw this awesome race car bed out so we snatched it up and Connor is THRILLED! I love how you can put your child in a bigger bed and all the sudden the seem small again!
Since Connor moved out of the toddler bed I decided to see if Haydn is ready for it. He's already climbed out of his crib before and instead of waiting for him to do it again I thought I'd at least see if I could get him to stay in bed. Well so far so good, I'm happy to say. Last night I sat by his bed for about 5 min laying him back down every time he sat up. When that didn't work he just laid there and kicked his feet around and played with the rails until he fell asleep which took another 10 min. At nap time today I sat by the door and had to tell him to lay down about 5 times and then he fell asleep within about 10 min. Looks like he might be ready! I can't believe I have to take the crib down again! Last time I did that I cried, I guess we'll see what happens this time.
So here are some cute pics I took while they were napping soundly today...