Vacation to Moab, Part One

Last weekend, we went to Moab to visit Jennifer & Al (and Duke). Here are a few of the pictures we took:

Hundred Hands at Fremont Indian State Park (on I-70)
Picture of the fam at FremontGoing into a pithouseCanyonlands National Park - Island in the Sky
At the very edge of a cliffReally, really hot (the entire time we were there)Arches National Park: a cool archAnother cool arch. Wish I could remember the name of it.
Christian hiked out to Delicate Arch by himself. Since it was almost 100 degrees, I went back to the air-conditioned car with the kids.

Kaitlyn Blowing Kisses

I think someone likes Cheetos.
(And she also does a few signs.)

Two Videos

In this one, Aidan kept hiding in the laundry basket. Kaitlyn would alternate between crying and laughing, basically in the same breath. She did it over and over.



Here she is walking. She still prefers crawling, but she is getting better and better every day. At the end, she realized I was holding the camera so she hammed it up.

Memorial Day Weekend

We went boating to Newcastle (Kaitlyn and I for the first time ever in our boat).
What do you think Kaitlyn thought of being in the boat? Her face was like this the whole time:
We also went up to Three Peaks Recreational Area, which is only 10 minutes away from our house. We had no idea such a cool place was so close to us. (We didn't take very many pictures, but we look forward to going up there for picnics and possibly even camping.)
I love this cactus !And we took a drive to Milford, to see the Rock Corral Recreation Area. There are supposed to be some pretty awesome rocks (quartz crystals, snowflake obsidian) there. Too bad when we got there it was covered in snow.So, we went back down to Minersville to go rock hounding in the mines. We always have a great time there.

Aidan found a pet butterfly, which he carried around and even took home with us.
And, on the way home, we saw an antelope in the middle of the road, and got a quick picture as he was running away.Tonight, it looks like we'll be going camping to Sand Hollow. It will only be Kaitlyn's second time camping. I hope she sleeps tonight!

Kaitlyn's First Birthday

Kaitlyn's first birthday was on Wednesday. She opened one present (the darling shoes from Nana and Grandpa). We waited to have her party until Thursday, because Grandma Ruth was here.

Good morning birthday girl!Sticking out her birthday tongueShe loves this card that plays music from Grandma Jenny and Grandpa AlShe loved the frosting on her cupcake



With her brothersShe got lots of clothes from Grandma Ruth and us, a sun tent from Grandma Jenny & Grandpa Al, and a box of Corn Pops from the neighbors :)

End of Soccer Season

Aidan's soccer team did a wonderful job this season! Even though kids this age don't keep score, we know they won all of their games except one :) We loved their coach and team mom, and we loved all of the kids on his team (and their parents too). It was a very good experience this year.

After their last game, we went to Chili's to celebrate and the kids received their trophies. (The team mom is a manager at Chili's.)
Go Aidan!

Ethan's Second Grade Program

Should I blog about something if the pictures I took are so bad they aren't worth putting on the blog?

Ethan had a 2nd grade program last week, and it was so fun! They sang a bunch of songs, said some quotes and overall had a really great time. And so did we watching them perform!

Cub Scouts

Ethan is finally in cub scouts. He is SO excited about it! He has already done enough work to earn his Bobcat thingie, and a bead, and some belt loops (as you can see, I don't know much about scouts yet). He will be awarded these things at Pack Meeting this Thursday. Since Christian is the Cub Master, it is extra special for both Ethan and Christian.

Christian took Ethan to the scout store and purchased him a shirt, and the bandana and loopy thing that holds the bandana up. And now that he has belt loops earned, we will have to go back and buy a belt.

Yay Ethan!

I'm Pretty Sure This is What Kaitlyn was Thinking

I'm not sure what to think of these shoes. They feel weird on my feet.
Please take them off? Pretty please?
I guess I will finally acknowledge them.Okay, Mom, I guess I will give you a little bit of a smile.

Kaitlyn's First-ish Steps

Kaitlyn has been taking one or maybe two steps for a couple of weeks now, but for the last two days she has taken four, five or six steps. I finally got some on video! (Please disregard the pile of laundry in the background...) :) (P.S. Birthday posts will follow sometime in the near future.)

The Birds and the Bees

As part of Aidan's bedtime routine, he likes to ask Christian questions. Stuff like, "Where does electricity come from?", "How do stars disappear?" and "How does food get made?"

Last week, he had already asked Christian a couple of questions, and at this point, was just stalling his bedtime as much as possible. Christian finally said, "Okay, let's do one more quick question."

Aidan said, "Hmmm... Okay! How are babies made?"

Christian said, "Well... that question takes a while to answer, so I'll just say that when a mommy and daddy love each other, they make a baby. We'll talk more later."

~~~~~~~~~~

Last night, Aidan said, "I know how people get married."

Christian said, "Oh, yeah? How do they get married?"

(I was sitting there thinking, oh boy.)

Aidan said, "You get a piece of spaghetti, and each person sucks on one end. When you get to the middle, you are married!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Today, at lunch:

Christian: "Can you marry your sister?"

Aidan: "No! She's way too young. She's not 20 yet."

Me: "But can you marry her when she is 20 or 25?"

Aidan: "Yes."

Christian: "No, you can't. You can't marry your family at all."

Aidan: "Why not?"

~~~~~~~~~~

I love the innocence of children!

Ethan's Baptism

Ethan was baptized last Saturday. What a special day!

We had a luncheon before the baptism (the baptism wasn't until 4:00 PM).I asked Ethan to tell me how he felt on his special day, and this is what he said:

Today is my baptism day. My dad baptized and confirmed me. I felt excited, a little nervous at first. I had a warm feeling when I was confirmed. I feel good about my decision.

Three of my grandmas were here. (Nana, Grandma Ruth and Great Grandma Vicki.)

It feels warm when you are inside the font, but when you get undressed, it's cold!

Love, Ethan

Cutie

Kaitlyn was hamming it up for the camera last night, and we fell in love with her all over again.

Blankie

This is what Kaitlyn has started doing whenever she sees her blankie: