our Eastern visitors

Oma and Opa came from Virginia for Abbey's baptism. They stayed with us, and despite what they say, we are so glad they were able to. The kids loved having the attention and it was nice to wake up and the kids would be already fed. :)

Keagan and Oma

Easton and Opa

Parker with his folks

Thanks for coming Oma and Opa! Come back soon!

Cousin Abbey

At the beginning of September cousin Abbey was baptized. It was such a sweet baptism and then testimony meeting after the confirmation. Keagan and Easton both love Abbey so much and she is so good with them. She loves to dress Keagan up in all of her and her sister's dresses whenever Keagan goes over there, so, of course, Keagan loves her.

random thought

always have a couple of cans of chicken noodle soup on hand. you never know when someone is going to be sick and if you or the kids are sick, you don't want to be truckin' to the store.

1st day of joy school

Keagan is at joy school right now. She has been SO excited and has been waiting for this day for a while.

I walked her to her friend's house and she didn't even care that I left (so different from her big brother).

I think it was harder for Easton to say goodbye at our house as he watched me walk Keagan to her friend's house. But I think he will be a good helper when it is my turn to teach.

2 little ones in school...wow.

1st day of preschool

Last week Easton started preschool again. He was ready, I think he got bored in the summer.

This one was from last year. He has grown so much in a year!

preschool soccer

our first soccer game was last night. it went really well. the kids on the team got so excited any time Parker would tell them good job or give them a high five. Easton did good, but got a little tired towards the end, he has been sick the past week. as we were driving home he said to me, "Mom, are you just so proud of me?" and yes, I was.

he's got his 'fight face' on. watch out.

one of the funniest things happened after the game was over. I did snacks for this week and was handing them out to our team when a little boy from the opposing team came up and asked for one. I told him he wasn't on our team and I didn't know it I had enough. he walked away, switched his shirt to the white side (they are reversible) and came back and said, "I am white now, can I have a treat?" so, yes, I had to give him one just for his creativity.

fall soccer

I signed Easton up for fall soccer a few months ago and his first game is tomorrow. I am kind of frustrated with the city's recs and parks department. His team didn't have a coach---until Parker called them today and volunteered. Shouldn't they be on top of that with the first game being tomorrow? And then when I went to get the coaches packet, they couldn't find the jerseys. Sigh.
He knows nothing about coaching four and five year olds, so it should be interesting. I hope Easton has fun, that is all that I care about.
I will post about the first "scramble ball" game tomorrow. :)

an Easton funny

The other morning my mom came over and the View was on in our family room. President Obama was on and my mom commented about that. Easton said, "Ya, that is President OMonson." My mom thought that was so funny. It must be hard for little guys to remember two presidents, one for the church and one for the country.

This was the other day....he was a cowboy.....?

He insisted on the jacket and he put on an old tie, underneath the jacket, and of course, the boots. Not sure about the sword either, but I can never complain about him not using his imagination.

treasure

finding a new box of contacts in the bathroom that I didn't know I had when I am in desperate need of a new pair of contacts is as fun as finding a twenty dollar bill in your winter coat. only better--more like finding $35.

primary parade

This past Saturday our ward had a primary parade. We decorated Easton's bike and Keagan's baby stroller and they were so excited. Then we went to the church parking lot and had breakfast and the parade.

(Not sure why Keagan is screaming in the background, but she is two....so, you know...)
That face is much better.

Easton loved it and rode his bike in the parking lot by himself for a half hour after the parade was done.

They did some games after the parade. This is the tug-of-war. Boys against girls. (I am not sure how much the little boys helped, they might have made it harder.) The boys won one and the girls won one. Then the Elder's Quorum went up against the Young Men and the rope broke in half.

little ninjas

So, I signed Easton up for karate through the university here and he loved it. It was a great program and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I did gymnastics last year, and I know it has been a year of him growing and maturing, but I think this program was so much better.

Easton working with a partner practicing punches.
This is when he got his karate uniform. He was so excited and didn't want to take it off.

Easton with his teacher, Miss Alicia. She was really good with the kids. (I think it is funny how he is looking at her to make sure he is holding his hands right.)

Graduation night after he broke his board.

my little ninja

Easton has been taking karate lessons this past month and for his first belt graduation he got to break a board. I didn't think he would be able to do it, but he did awesome and was so excited. His teacher told me after that most kids his age need help breaking it, so she was impressed.

Parker Update

Last Wednesday he went to the orthopedic specialist and the specialist sent him over to have an MRI of his brain. The results were in this morning so Parker and I headed over to the Dr's office. Sat there for an hour and a half and talked to the doctor for five minutes. Frustrating. Results are no swelling in the brain and no tumor. (HUGE sigh of relief) But, we still don't know what is causing all his symptoms. So, the surgery orthopedic specialist (who we saw today) is sending us to his partner, the non-surgery orthopedic specialist next Wednesday. So, more waiting and not enough answers.

something about the sunshine, baby....

I found the kiddie pool in our garage and we played in it yesterday. It was a beautiful day and the kids had so much fun.

Easton liked chilling next to mom on the patio chairs.
I love how the kids get a bit braver each year. Keagan loved the pool and was much better than she was last summer.

How much do I love these two? So much. Even when I want to pull my hair out, I can't imagine what I would do without them.

And yes, the finale to the day. Keagan naked. Thank goodness for the fence. But, what an adorable toosh she has!

June 25...

ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!

Happy birthday, Aunt Abbey!

Parker Update

Parker had another MRI on Saturday. He has been going to physical therapy to help the pain in his neck, but the pain has gotten steadily worse. The doctor was concerned about that, so the MRI.

The doctor called with the results this morning. The disc in his neck that was swollen due to the accident has now been upgraded to "protruding." The doctor is sending Parker to an orthopedic specialist Wednesday morning to see if shots will help or if he will need surgery.

Sigh.

thank goodness for fences....

As I am cooking dinner, the kids are in the back in our wading pool. I look out the window and Keagan has suddenly become naked. Thank goodness we have a fence.

new keaganisms

Keagan has been such a chatter box lately and she says the funniest things sometimes.

One night I was trying to get her to eat some broccoli at dinner and she licked it, cringed, and said, "But....I like Cheetos."

Tonight I was making dinner and asked Easton if he wanted capers on his chicken. I didn't bother asking Keagan because I knew the answer would probably be no. When I was putting her in her booster seat, she looks at me sad and said, "Mom, I don't want my chicken on my paper."

As I was sitting on the couch tonight she came up to me, climbed on top of me and said, "Giddy-up horsey!"

so quiet

The kids are at summer camp for a couple of hours today. My house is so quiet, I am not quite sure what to do with myself.

Cali

This past weekend I took a quick trip to California with my mom to help my sister and her husband unpack. I left the kids with Parker and they got to play and hang out and I got to miss them. I needed it.

Look at Shelley's cute belly--just starting to poke out with twins.
They live about a mile from the beach.

We went to the farmer's market one day and the produce is a-mazing!

Then we went and got breakfast for lunch at a local spot. So yummy.

We went maternity shopping with Shelley because she hasn't been yet, and with twins, this is what she will look like sooner than we know. (She is wearing the fake belly, but I had to take a picture.)