Pine Valley

Thanks to everyone who called, sent cards, or left comments for my birthday. I had a lovely day. Riley and I went to the Painted Pony for dinner (thanks Carolyn for babysitting). It is my favorite! Riley had arranged to have roses and a b-day balloon on our table when we arrived. We had a great time getting all dressed up and having grown-up conversation while eating grown-up food.

Now to switch the focus off of me. We went up to Pine Valley last Sunday for a little family get away. We had such a nice time. We had a picnic on the front lawn, went for a walk, and all took naps. A perfect Sunday afternoon.

OOOH....The Birthday Girl!! The Birthday Girl!!

For those of you that don't know, today is Erika's birthday! It was so nice to receive a birthday post from her, that I thought I would attempt to return the favor. So, here are a few reasons why the boys and I love Erika (in no particular order):

1. She is a lot of fun! Just ask the boys. In this family, Mom is the party animal. Whether it's clapping and cheering (or crying) to an episode of "So, You Think You Can Dance," dancing the Nutcracker in the kitchen, or building the "Ultimate Fort" for story time, Erika keeps our house entertained. She also has a real knack for coming up with fun activities for the family. If it were up to me, we would be a VERY boring bunch.

2. She is a sweetheart. She has a soft spot in her heart as big as Norway. When it comes to animals, loved ones, and especially our children, Erika's heart melts at about 50 degrees. It certainly doesn't take much. I love this about her because it's so easy to see how much she really cares about our family.




3. She is a do-er. For any of you that know me, I would be like the "bizarro" version of Erika in this respect. I never get anything finished, or sometimes even started. Obviously, this is a constant problem for someone like Erika to live with. Nevertheless, she has remained a consistent do-er, and that means a lot for our family. If something needs getting done, she does it, and finishes it as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter what. If not for her, we would probably be living in shambles!

4. She is a great cook. Erika has always been a great cook. I think it is something that just comes naturally to her. Thankfully, her undying devotion to the Food Network has helped develop this talent. I can never remember her failing at a recipe, and many times she has simply "thrown something together" from stuff around the house that you would have to pay top dollar for in a restaurant. This is definitely something I appreciate more than the boys do at this stage of their lives, but that just means more for me.





5. She is artistic. For as long as I have known her, Erika has been into some form of artistic expression: interior design, photography, scrapbooking, needlework. Needless to say, she is always good at them, and has always been determined enough to really develop them. It makes her such a well-rounded person. We joke that the reason she has to develop these skills is that she can never find something that is already made the way she likes it. Whatever the reason, she is a great example to our boys of developing your talents.

6. She is a healer. Okay, this may sound a little cheesy, but it's totally true. Not only as a physical therapist, but as a Mom. I can't tell you how many times Erika has made my aches and pains go away, or how many times we have run into a former patient that is so glad to see her and let her know how much she helped them and how well they are doing. For the kids, Erika has an amazing ability to be able to defuse a situation. She knows just how to get one of the boys to settle down. If we are experiencing a child "meltdown," it usually only takes Erika a few minutes to come back with a dry face, a smile, and hugs all around. The boys really know who can make them feel better!

7. Erika hates the phone. Maybe "hate" is a strong word, but it's not too far off. She does not like to answer the phone. She can talk on it, but doesn't really like to unless it's the only way to communicate with someone, and even then...We have all tried to find out where this comes from, but no one really knows. So, if you are calling our house and happen to be parked out front and the garage door is open, the car is in it, and Haydn is playing in the front yard and yet, no one answers, now you know why. The good news: Erika is a religious message checker. However, this doesn't mean she will actually get on the phone to call you back.




8. She is the best "best friend." Erika is a great friend. She is thoughtful, caring, and fiercely loyal. I have never seen a more perfect example of true friendship.

9. She loves sappy TV shows. Some of her favorites are "Beverly Hills, 90210," and "The Andy Griffith Show." She's even been known to watch "Leave it to Beaver" when the opportunity presents itself. This is probably due to #6.

10. She loves her family. Honestly, there is no doubt Erika would rather spend time with us than do anything else in the world. And that means a lot.

Oh flip

This little camcorder is so much fun. No Oscar winning clips, but it has been fun to play with and so easy to use.

We have been trying to get Haydn's prayers recorded for sometime now because he says the cutest stuff. Unfortunately I got busted!





Then funny little Taite!!

I can shoot in manual!!

This may not seem like a big deal to most of you, but since I got my camera over a year ago I have wanted to learn how to do this and always thought it was impossible. Well, hopefully, I am on my way to taking better pictures. As I mentioned in my last post I went to a photography workshop taught by Kellie and Staci as an early birthday present. It was wonderful!! Here are a few pictures I took. Criticism or praise are gladly accepted.

Blogging Slump

I hate when a post is left up for too long, but I haven't felt like we have done anything "blog worthy" recently. Which is funny because we have been very busy. So the following is a blog post about nothing at all with no pictures. So feel free to stop reading if you want.

We had a lovely Father's Day weekend. Riley gave me an early birthday present so on Saturday I spent the day at a photography workshop. Riley got to spend the entire day with the boys. Nice present huh. Actually thanks to e-mail notifications and online banking Riley had discovered his father's day present so he got that early. (a flip camcorder - super fun, hopefully more videos to follow) Sunday we went to church, visited with Colby, Jessica and Jillian, had dinner and helped Riley move into his new office. I know not super interesting, but helpful to dear old dad. Haydn discovered the water cooler with the Mount Olympus cups and let us know he was going to go and get another "mountain drink" He is too smart for his 2 years of age.

Riley is officially moved into his office and loving it. He was even able to meet us for lunch at the St. George city splash pad after we went to story time today!

We have started our backyard renovation with an expanded patio. Riley broke up the broken concrete. Now ladies what could be better than seeing your sweetie swing a big heavy sledge hammer and busting up stuff. HELLO!! Haydn was his little assistant and had so much fun playing in the mess. Anyways the concrete has been poured and looks really nice. I haven't included any pictures because we had to turn off the water and since we have reached 100 degree weather the rest of the yard looks horrible. We are planning on putting in a new sprinkler system that will actually water the lawn, decorative curbing, new grass and bushes at the end of July. I promise to include pictures then. Super huge thanks in advance to Riley and his dad for being willing to put in a yard in St. George in July!!

Last but certainly not least has anyone seen the new Ethan Allen commercial? I am obsessed with it. We have tivo and I usually only watch t.v. after the boys are in bed so I'm always watching recorded shows and fast forward through the commercials (side-note: if anyone is on the fence about tivo go for it!!! It is life changing! I fought Riley about it for so long saying it wasn't necessary, but I absolutely love it. I am a stickler about letting the boys watch t.v. so this way I can still watch Opera, So you think you can dance and the Food network at night and with out commercials - talk about time saver. Love it!!) Anyways, anytime I see the Ethan Allen commercial I have to stop and watch it, sometimes even rewind and watch it AGAIN! Which is crazy to do for a commercial. If you haven't seen it keep your eyes out. It is beautiful and makes me want to jump into my t.v. and live amongst the Ethan Allen world.

Well if you have made it this far I commend you! Thanks! I promise the next post will have pictures or even video. So this is the end of my ramblings - good night.

Bathroom Cabinets

Well the painting hiatus has officially ended. We took on our master bathroom cabinets this past weekend. All the cabinets in our house are the same (boring) so we thought we would jazz up the ones in our bathroom and try to give them an updated look.

Here is what they started out.

We took a dark almost black paint color and thinned it out with water so it took on the effect of a stain. We added the hardware. We have an odd number of cabinets so we added the pull bar on top. I think they turned out nice.


Daddy's little helper.
Otis overlooking our progress.The finished product.

Random photos

Haydn mowing the lawn. (Do you see the serious look on his face. He doesn't mess around)

His "Cars" book to help the time pass

Cute Mable. Who couldn't fall in love with that face?

What are you up to?

Riley: He is moving into a new office in St. George and is very excited to not have to go into Hurricane anymore. They have a shower and gym in his building and a barber shop. So we should see a skinnier and less shaggy Riley with the move as well. This was just an added bonus. He is loving the water law work and is very busy. They have a summer clerk that plans on joining Sanders & Snow when he graduates next year.

Erika: I have gone from working 30 hrs/wk to doing PRN as a physical therapist. It took me a while to adjust, but I am loving being home more and the boys are MUCH happier. I do miss my cute pregnant patients, but I'm sure I will go back someday. Until then I am enjoying a life of story time, trips to the park and library, walks, and imaginary play.

Haydn: He is considering becoming potty trained. We are still in the negotiation phase. He has been going more frequently on the toilet, but still not ready to commit. His favorite color is orange. His favorite meal is chicken and corn. His new favorite toy is his bubble lawn mower. His love for cars is near obsession and doesn't seem to be fading.

Taite: He is pulling up to stand and cruising along furniture. He is very curious and into everything. He loves his brother and our cat and dog. He always races over to their dishes when they are eating so he can pet them while they are distracted. He is starting to pick up some signing. His favorite is "all done".

We have a pool!!

Well not really - Eric and Carolyn gave us their old sand box and we turned it into a pool for the summer. The boys had a blast playing in it this weekend.

Uncle Garrett made a quick stop in St. George on his way to Washington D.C. for a week and brought Haydn these awesome Japanese pajamas. We thought he looked like a jedi knight so he grabbed his light saber and showed off his mad skillz! Complete with sound effects.



In other news after 10 months Taite finally has a tooth! He has been growing up so much lately. He is pulling up to stand and will cruise along furniture. He has also developed the intrest in cars and loves to push a car back and forth making his Vrooom sounds.