O & P

While Brad was in India, I took some pictures of the boys to send to him.  They turned out pretty cute!  I can't believe how fast these two are growing.  They are both so fun, full of personality, and add their own special tone to our family.  Owen is busy, smart, clever, and determined.  He's a singer, a great helper, and an awesome big brother.  Porter is easy going, sensitive, sweet, and attentive.  His sensitive nature keeps us in check with the tone & volume of our voices (a little bit challenging with Owen), and that has been a great blessing to our home.

Porter-- 8 months

Owen-- 2 1/2 years

Sunny St. George

Over Mother's Day weekend I was able to drive to St. George with my cousin and meet up with my mom & my aunt for a Girl's Weekend.  We had a little party crasher in the form of a 7 month old baby boy-- but he was so good, he hardly slowed us down!  And I think he may have had the best time of all:

1.  Bathing in the sink

2.  First taste of ice cream

3.  Undivided attention of 4 ladies

5.  Catching up on all the latest Hollywood gossip

6.  First time in a pool

Yeah, he had fun!

We shopped, ate yummy food, swam, read, watched movies, explored downtown & the farmer's market, chatted, relaxed, and enjoyed the time together!   

None of us were ready to head home come Sunday.   While I drove back to Salt Lake, Brad got on a plane to India for a 12 day business trip.  Yikes!  That was a long time to be on my own with the little guys, but we survived and I'm glad I got a little "Mommy Time" to give me a needed boost right of energy for those two weeks!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nothing beats a homemade chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven!  

Good to the last crumb!  Yum!

Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival

We love getting together with Marla & her boys.  Marla and I are walking buddies, and try to walk almost every morning together with our double strollers, toys, snacks, drinks, blankets and/or hats, in tow.  It's quite the spectacle I'm sure, but we do it!  The boys usually do great, and enjoy "sharing" toys back and forth, talking, looking for trucks/tractors/buses, and eating/drinking.  We usually walk about 3 miles-- go us!  I really enjoy our walks & our talks.

Now that the weather has warmed up, I've ventured out on a few excursions with Marla & her boys.  In April we ventured over to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival.  The boys always have such a great time together.  And luckily Owen is starting to be less of a runner, so I don't dread taking him out to big, crowded areas as much as I used to.  (Oh man, last summer.  Pregnant mom + Running toddler= Awful.  So glad we are over that.)

It was a fun afternoon!

Porter just enjoying the ride. He is always so good when we're out and about.

Owen & Kaden loved feeding the koi fish.   

 

This picture reminded me a lot of the picture below when Owen was 1.  Can't believe that was almost 2 years ago.

Can't end an afternoon with friends without rolling down the hill.  Maybe the highlight of the afternoon for Owen!

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

The day after we got back from California we all came down with colds.  Since we were detoxing from our 10 days of vacation, and home-bound with colds, I figured we might as well start the potty training!  Owen had 3 accidents over the first 2 days and since then has been accident free!  He even wears underwear at night.  The 2nd night of potty training Brad decided to cut a hole in Owen's pacifier.  (We had been talking about doing this for awhile, but I didn't think doing it at the same time as potty training was the best option for my sanity.)  Surprisingly he did awesome!  A few confused minutes of sucking, followed by the statement "Paci broken....trash."  He threw it away and hasn't looked back!  He fussed a little the first night, but has done great.  My little guy is growing up!

 Owen's been sporting the no-pants look quite frequently lately...what a cute little tush!

The last known picture of "Paci".  RIP.  You were a great friend, but now it is onto bigger and better things.  Like talking without a mouth full of rubber, or closing that open bite!

And one last picture of this 7 month old cutie, just because!

Disneyland!!

We had the chance to visit Disneyland on our last day in California.  What the perfect ending to a great trip!  Grandma Fox watched Porter while Brad, Owen, my Mom & Dad, Taryn, Luke, and I headed up to "Mickey's House" for the day.  Owen was a little unsure about everything at first, but after a mid-day nap and switching over to California Adventure he perked up and had a blast.  He has been talking non-stop the past week about 'Mickey's House', 'McQueen & Mater', 'Buzz & Woody', and the 'rocket' he went on.

Such a fun day!  Cars Land was amazing!  Loved watching my little Owen light up when he saw his favorite characters come to life & loved watching my little siblings face their fears on Tower of Terror & Splash Mountain..  And can I just say that a stroller pass is the best thing ever!!

Thanks for the great memories Mickey!

California Trip!

A few months ago, Brad was scheduled to leave for a business trip to India on April 1, the day my mom & the kids were leaving to head back to San Diego.  So we decided that the boys and I would join them!  At the last minute, Brad's trip was postponed to May, so we bought him a plane ticket for a few days later and made a little vacation out of it!  Driving down to San Diego with the boys was so easy since I had all my helpers!  Taryn did great feeding & playing with Porter, and Grant kept the DVD's coming for Owen.

 Owen got to sleep in his own bed in California... we had a few early mornings with the new freedom. More time to play, I guess!

 Porter's first avocado.  Yum!

 Owen's first trip to the dentist.  He did great!  

After Brad flew in, we stayed the night in Coronado.  The next day we grabbed breakfast, walked along the beach, and then headed back to see our boys (but not before grabbing some rolled tacos for lunch!).  It was a fun little getaway! 

 Coronado beach

LOTS of park visits to enjoy the warm sunshine!!  My boys were sporting their BYU pride!

After the park Owen got his first slurpee.  That thing was gone in no time!  He loved it!

This cute girl had her baptism while we were visiting (part of the reason for the trip too!).  Hard to believe she is 8.  I just love my cute little sister!

Mom, Taryn, Dad

I was so happy that my Grandparents were able to make it to the baptism so they could meet Porter and we could visit with them.  

We made sure to get a picture with my other grandparents too.  

We love them all so much!

We had one free day that we decided to make our beach day.  Can't visit California without a beach day, right?  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it was the only cloudy/rainy day of the trip.  Owen was sooo excited to go to the beach, so he and Brad walked along the water for about 10 minutes while I stayed in the car with Porter.  After they were officially cold, we headed over to see the sea lions at the Children's Beach, and then walk over to the La Jolla Cove.  It was still a fun day, despite the uncooperative weather.

Owen freezing by the water

 Checking out the sea lions 

Bundled up for our walk down to the cove.  Porter was slightly confused about the whole thing, but he was a good sport.

Owen loved playing on the trampoline.  It was very (VERY) dirty, hence the black marks all across his face, but it worked well to get out some wiggles in between Conference sessions.  

Fresh fruit, avocados, sunshine, beautiful flowers, friends & family.  Aaahhh.  I always love visiting home.