Happy Birthday Ian

Birthday time! I can hardly believe Ian is 3 yrs old. We celebrated pretty low key. We had hamburgers and hotdogs, then cake and ice cream on our lawn. Aunt Mimi (not Mackenzie, but my sister Miriam) was here for the weekend and it was great to see her, and Uncle Spencer and Aunt Jeni moved back to Utah this weekend (yeah!) so they were here. Why oh why didn't I take pictures? Anyway, the pictures I did take were of my so professional looking cake (above) and Ian opening some presents. He got a race track, baseball bat, balls, and mitts, Batman, and a fishing pole. Ian has a thing with fish. I don't know what it is, but I decided after about 3 stick fishing poles he has made me make for him, it was time to get him a real one that's a little more sturdy.

One more project down

Yeah! The deck is finished. The deck is finished. Started July 2007, ended June 2008. It was worth the wait. Brad did a great job. And to celebrate, for Father's Day, we decided it was time to grill=)

Bouncin' off the walls

So, this summer me and the kids made a list of things we want to do around here since we don't want to stay home all the time anymore (they fight more that way). I got a calender out and we've scheduled the summer away (I think I'm slightly OCD). Anyway, so Bouncin' off the Walls is really the name of this place we checked out last week. It's in Sandy and they have these huge blow up things and this slide that is very very big (I was a little scared to go down it). Anyway, every Wednesday from 10am to 1pm they have Mom and me or Dad and me time and parents are in free and only 5 and under kids are allowed. It's great. I can imagine older kids would make it scarier for little kids. All three of mine had a blast. I think we'll do it again. My rating for this activity is five stars=)

Swim Lessons

Aaron is taking swim lessons again. He loves it this time (probably because he's not afraid to put his head under the water). It's only 1/2 an hour, 8 classes in two weeks, but I'm thinking of enrolling him again when it's done and for the full hour in July. He's getting really good, not so much in skills, yet, but in confidence.

the craziness

Lani is growing up fast. And she is showing us who is boss. You'd think by the third I would remember that at a year I need to have everything baby proofed, but I didn't and I don't. Lani likes to make messes, pull everything down on top of her, pull my hair (it's a fun game we play), and is even climbing on kiddie chairs. She loves to practice going up stairs, but forgets to not go face first when going down. Luckily, she is a little conversationalist who yells constantly so I know just where to find her. Oh, she also freaks out if I leave her anywhere (there goes any future gym trips). She clings to me and already has a flare for the dramatics. Despite everything, she is the most adorable little thing.

We won the lottery!

Okay, we didn't win any money. I was searching for some alternative schooling for Aaron a few months back and came across Entheos Academy. It's a charter school in our school district which means it's publicly funded, but doesn't have to adhere to the same exact guidelines as mainstream public schools. Anyway, I put in an application, but you are admitted by the luck of the draw. I didn't think we had much of a chance, but Aaron's name was selected and he attended orientation tonight. Their philosophy is called expeditionary learning which is basically a hands on approach. I like that they foster the theory that you learn by doing. Plus, they have solar panels on top of the school. I think that's cool. The school is still relatively young (about to start their 3rd year) so we'll see how it goes.

Park City

For Memorial Day Weekend my sister flew in. We picked her up from the airport and headed to Park City. It was a nice getaway and we experienced some new things. Because my sister is a die hard shopper, we went to the outlets first, but after a couple hours there Brad was a little tired of the boys, plus Ian sat in something:) We checked into the Governor's Suite at Hotel Park City, then headed out for some dinner. Brad chose the Hapa Grill which was really great. I tried sushi for the first time. I was feeling daring and it wasn't bad. The boys have decided they really like chopsticks. After ice cream we hung out at the pool (mostly the hot tub, really). The boys had waited all day for the promised pool trip and were not disappointed. Sunday morning we had brunch at Stein Erikson and it started snowing. Crazy, huh. We walked around Main Street, then the boys were ready for some rest. We all took a nap until almost dinner time when we tried out Ruth's Chris, a famous steakhouse. It was nice to get away from home and great to have a fun time with Aunt Sara. Here's some pictures.