Mom, Dad, Lads and Little Lady

Quick Summary

2010-09-17T10:44:00.004-06:00

Here are some quick snippets of our happenings up until July or so (I got tired up uploading pictures so that is as far as we go this time). We are going backwards in time...

Jenna is smiling more and more. She was straight faced for the longes time but is loosening up as she gets older.

Clint ran Ragnar and had a great time with his team. The running...not so much, but he finished!

We took as exciting trip to vernal in May. Hooray for dinosaurs!

The boys love Jenna and are very good to her.

Reading is definitely a favorite past-time at our home.

Mitchell played coach-pitch baseball this year and loved it.

Grandma and Grandpa helping Caleb and Mitchell re-visit their infant pasts.

Jenna and I got to visit Katherine and her family in Massachussets this spring. It was so fun to see them.

Jenna and her cousin Trevor (who are only a few weeks apart) and their matching outfits.

Jenna and Trevor loving (?) their forced bonding moments.

At the least the moms were having a good time.

Mitchell had 3 of his 4 boy cousins who are close to his age in town. They had fun at their sleepover.

Caleb turned 3 in February. He asked for a Lego-gun birthday cake. I'm glad he liked it because I got frustrated and quit as I was trying to frost it.

This was taken at a museum of South Jordan called the Gale Museum. The print on the scale reads, "Babies weighed for free". Apparently grocery stores are where people would weigh their children in days past.

I love my kids!!

Jenna's Photo Shoot

2010-02-06T14:14:00.004-07:00

I recently met up with a childhood friend. She is a photographer and was kind enough to take some pictures of Jenna. Below are some of my favorites. The dress Jenna is wearing is her blessing dress. It was crocheted by my very talented mother.

Comparisons

2010-01-31T09:55:00.003-07:00

I've been wanting to compare the kids baby pictures side by side, but since I don't print out pictures anymore I figured this was a great way to do it.

Jenna

Caleb

Mitchell

Christmas and Jenna Updates

2010-01-28T09:54:00.007-07:00

We had a fun Christmas. The boys are posing in their pajamas from Grandma Chris and Caleb is modeling is unrestricted access to chocolate.

Caleb and Mitchell were very happy with their presents this year. Caleb is a big playdough fan. That is what this smile is all about.
This is how Mitchell feels about Legos.

Santa visits my parents home every Christmas Eve. Caleb makes us laugh on a daily basis.

Cousin Love

Mitchell adores his cousin, Zach.

This is how Jenna spent most of her Christmas.

Updates on our home. This is getting ready for stucco.

We have drywall!

Jenna updates:

A few days after coming home.

First Bath

A few weeks old.

Mitchells 2nd or 3rd time holding Jenna a few weeks ago. He hasn't held her since. He claims he is scared of her. Silly boy. But he loves her. He tells us that too.

I love this picture!!

One month old.

She is always making this face. I would worry except Mitchell did the same things as a baby and he still turned out intelligent....thankfully.

Announcing.....Jenna!!

2009-12-22T13:23:00.003-07:00

Early Sunday morning (the 20th) we received an early and very unexpected Christmas gift. Little Jenna was born.....3 weeks early. This is the first time we've had a baby before the scheduled induction date so this was very new for us and I felt like a first time mom when I went to the hospital. I was sure they would laugh at me and send me home but, thankfully, they didn't. Jenna was born at 4:11 am and was 6 lbs 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She has dark hair and blue eyes. Her fingers are very long which is different than both of her brothers shorter, thicker hands. Mitchell is very excited about his new little sister. In response to a question about his parents wherabouts he answered, "They are at the hospital with my baby, Jenna". He is also proud to know that his sister looks very similar to him. Caleb isn't fully convinced that Jenna isn't our good friend's baby, Spencer, even though Spencer is 6 months old and a good 10-15 lbs heavier than Jenna and a boy. But he is excited to help out when asked.

Our Christmas Gift

One of the first time opening her eyes.

Getting dressed to come home.

Ready for home. Her aunt Katherine bought her this outfit that will match her cousin's outfit when he is born. His due date was the day before Jenna's! The yellow blanket is the one I came home in when I was a baby.

Getting Out

2009-12-02T10:42:00.004-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. We spent the day in Wyoming with Clint's family. The food was great and the kids had a fun time playing outside in the warmer weather. I forgot my camera though so the only Thanksgiving picture we have is of Mitchell with his turkey apple he made in preschool. He was very kind and let Caleb eat most of it.
Thanksgiving weekend we took a trip to the Gateway Discovery Museum. It was awesome. The kids can touch everything and they loved it. We will definitely be going back there again someday.

Here are Caleb and Mitchell as police officers.

Caleb loved playing in the water.

They have a great place to build with really big blocks. Mitchell loved the crane and Caleb loved dressing up as a builder.

Earlier in the month Grandpa helped Caleb and Mitchell build a snowman. It was great in it's glory. This is after a few days of melting. Their favorite part was when its head fell off.

More building progress--Walls and Trusses

2009-11-22T18:54:00.005-07:00

We took a ride to go visit the property. We were excited to be greeted with trusses and walls! The pictures are showing different rooms in the house.

This is our kitchen.

This is the top of the stairs looking into the bed rooms.

This is the great/family room.

This the bonus room lookin east.

This is looking out the dormer window south.

This is looking at one of the bedrooms in the bonus room.

This is the other side of the bonus room facing west. (The window is wrong. It is going to be two windows in each bedroom.

This is the cold storage room.

This is the basement roller derby rink.

This is looking toward the bathroom, stairs, and bedrooms in the basement.

Basement bedroom

This is the kids bedroom.

This is the garage entry ways. The kids are in the pantry doorway.

Here is a better picture of the doorway into the pantry.

And last, but not least, an outdated picture of the house. As of today, we have the caps on the trusses and sheeting on the roof in the bonus room. Let the fun begin!

All I want for Christmas. . .

2009-11-22T17:51:00.006-07:00

Dear Santa,

Mitchell, Caleb and I went to the stores to get some ideas for Christmas. We thought it would be a good idea if we took some pictures so Santa would know what to find. I thought it would be fun to post some of the (poor quality because of cell phone) pictures.

Mitchell is writing the following list:

1. AT-ST

2. Flashlight (really he wants one that goes on your head)

3. Millennium Falcon Lego Set

There were a lot more things on his list, like transformers, X-wing, construx, books, lego indiana jones for wii, and so on, but I didn't take the time to take pictures of everything. He was writing his list and while I was demonstrating how to write a list, he started copying what I had written. I guess it's easier to spell when you can copy than having to think about it. It was pretty funny. Now he's going through the toy books and saying things like: "Nope, don't want any of those" and "Wait a second, that is awesome" and my favorite "Mom, do we have (Fill in the blank) in the storage unit, I really miss that". Becca and I joked last night how Christmas will come again once we start unloading the toys and stuff from the unit again.

Caleb was a little more busy and less specific. He wanted to push buttons on any toy that had them. He did slow down to pick up and pose for a few things. This was his list:

1. Lego TIE Fighter

2. A Cars fishing pole

3. A Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger.

He wanted Thomas stuff today and a flashlight to go on your head as well. He is really funny about Christmas. He is learning that he gets toys and candy. I think Mitchell may have something to do with that. We'll see what we can do to help him learn a little about the real reason. . .

It's been fun with Caleb because he can see the neigbor's Christmas lights. One night, they were a little late in turning on the lights and Caleb talked Grandma into calling them up to turn on their "Critt-mass Wites". There is a nightly check to ensure the neighbor's lights are on, and of course they have updated their timer to ensure that the little boy won't be disappointed.

Scary frights and building sites

2009-11-14T13:20:00.007-07:00

We have had a fun Halloween! It started with fun pumpkins that the kids drew and then carved.

Mitchell was a bat and Caleb was a ghost. They loved going around and getting candy.

Mitchell wanted a scary pumpkin.

Caleb wanted a skull with a coy smile. I thought it looked a little like Jack the Pumkin King

A few days prior to Halloween and today, it snowed. The kids love the snow!

The weekend in between gave us 60's so we went to the Zoo and found some turtles.

They loved the play part of the zoo more than the rest. It was a fun trip.

Nice weather brought us a lot of progress on our house. Caleb is dancing on the floor.

Mitchell and Caleb almost gave their parents an aneurysm as they would show us where the stairs should be (look for a hole right behind the boys).

We have WALLS! And I'm not talking about Keven and Cary.

The weather was nice the rest of the week, and we came by today to see a huge change.

The kids played in their bedrooms.

Ross, Susan, Becca, and Mitchell are looking at where each of the rooms will be. (They are standing where the master bath will be.

This is the door from the garage.

And last but not least, a view from the front. This is the garage side, but it's easy to say that we are pleased with the progress. we hope to have the beginnings or all of a roof on next week. The weather is turning cold, so we better hurry!

The work is started!

2009-10-25T13:45:00.006-06:00

We have DIRT!

The kids were very excited about watching a "digger" dig a hole in the ground. Mitchell loved playing around and on the dirt.

Caleb was excited to throw rocks into the hole. He didn't get to, but he tried.

We had to hold him back a few times from jumping in! Actually they were just posing, but sometimes it's hard to sit still when you are two.

Next, we had our foundation poured! Moving right a long!

We were happy to have grandma and grandpa home for a few days before they went off to Boston, but the kids are super excited to have grandma and grandpa back home for halloween. Mitchell and Caleb have their costumes and are just waiting for them to show them off.

Caleb is down by one of the footings of our new house. This is the corner of the garage.

Mitchell is standing in the front of the house by one of the window wells. They loved seeing and playing in the dirt.

Here is a shot of of the footprint. The left side is the garage. The room in the front of the picture will be our cold storage, or as my dad said, "our gun room". It should have enough room to put some stuff in it.

Here is a shot in the other direction with me and the boys.

We got a chance to go to Thanksgiving point with Dave and Darci's family. We had a couple of silly pictures and had a lot of fun!

Caleb got to drive the school bus.

We got to cheer on our favorite pig at the pig race.

Caleb loved the corn pit.

So did Mitchell.

We had races with some fast cars!

They really enjoy being "rule breakers" in timeout.

Becca, Cary and the kids went and picked out colors of everything for our house. To keep entertained, the kids spun around on the chair.

It's amazing as the boys get older how much they like each other. This used to be a rarity, but it's been much more consistant.

I hope you didn't mind the hodgepodge of pictures and brief descriptions. We found our lost camera and had to combine some pictures from my phone and our camera to make a post for us. It's turning into a fun experience for us and the kids watching things happen. I hope the weather will stay mild until we can get the exterior on. Hopefully we'll start seeing wood next week!

Let it Begin!

2009-10-11T20:38:00.004-06:00

Let us now begin the countdown! We have some dirt, a mortgage, and a building permit! We are told that the house will be done around Valentine's day. We are very excited. We don't expect to be finished by Valentine's day, but we hope that will be the case!

Here is a picture of our ground breaking ceremony.

Here is a picture facing north looking at our lot. They are our new neighbors.

This is a picture of our exciting weeds. It facing west. Our back neighbors are on the other side of the canal. We will have little wooden play set left back there that we will hopefully be able to salvage. It looks like it's in good condition, but will need to be reassembled.

Here is our view out towards the south east. Our driveway will come right up to where the van is parked.

We'll keep an update of what is going on, but for now all we have is dirt. Monday or Tuesday, will will have a big hole in the ground. We are now praying for nice weather and fast subcontractors. Until then, we are enjoying life at the Clement home.

Mitchell turns 5!

2009-09-07T09:26:00.003-06:00

Michell had a birthday and we celebrated per his request. To start off, he wanted a birthday cake that looked like an AT-AT. Becca passed the test and created one of the coolest cakes yet!

Mitchell is getting bigger. He's looking like a little Man in this picture. I'm grateful he finally got some flashlights so he can leave mine alone. We have already gone through a set of batteries.

Next on the list was a friend party with games and treats and favors and presents and lots and lots of FUN! The theme was an ARMY party. Keven and Cary let us use their back yard and his dreams came true. The weather threatened to rain, but it was a pleasant morning. The trampoline was the main attraction, but . .

The TANK pinata was the Biggest "hit". Hannah was the first to hit it and made sure it knew she was tough.

In the end, it was MOMMY who got the killing blow.

Afterwards, we descided that parties like that should only be for super special birthdays like 5. BTW Caleb has enjoyed all of Mitchell's presents as much as he has. And Mitchell has been very good at sharing his presents.

Summer of Fun

2009-08-23T20:49:00.008-06:00

Becca would like everyone the opportunity to experience a little of what we did for our summer. Here is a picture of her taking a breather during the my birthday party:

I got a chance to go to scout camp at Bear Lake with my brother and dad. We played a lot and earned a few merit badges. They are tryint to tie a monkey bridge.

Here are a few neices and a friend having some fun playing the Wii.

We put together the bunk bed from my childhood. Mitchell, Caleb and Becca all helped putting it together. Mitchell loves the top bunk. Caleb is loving being in a big bed.

Here is a picture with me and the boys at my last Court of Honor. They got to see me get my beads from wood badge. It was a lot of fun to have family and friends there.

Caleb and Hannah love slurpees. They played a lot all summer long. It is a little tricky not living so close to them.

Caleb was Mitchell's biggest fan during the soccer season. He loved to cheer him on and watch the games.

We got to go to Lagoon with my work. The boys loved every minute of it. They got to go on a lot of rides and eat some fun food. This will be a repeat for next year!

Mitchell's a great little soccer player. He loved playing with me just as long as I go easy on him. This game was great for him. He followed the ball and came out with a few goals in the end.

This is the finished product of our kitchen. We were very excited how it turned out. It surely helped when we sold the house!

Mitchell's last day of school was a pirate program. Here is a picture of him after the program with his friend Jaiden.

Here was a during construction picture. It was a big mess, but Becca lived through it!

Here is another pre-kitchen picture for the history books.

Caleb and Hannah playing in the back yard again.

The best news for last: It's a GIRL!

We sold our house and are now homeless squatters. We are now living with Becca's parents. We hope to be able to have a better idea of where we are going to live within the next few weeks. I'll try to be better as we build our house and post the progress.

Last Winter Days

2009-03-01T10:13:00.005-07:00

These last 2 months have been full of fun, sickness, and finally melting snow. We are excited for springtime!!

Our annual cub scout cake auction was at the end of January. Clint made a rice krispie treat cake catering to the gluten-intolerant people in our ward. I made cupcakes for the primary kids to bid on with their small change. We had a fun time. The monkeys were definitely the most popular and the most fun to make. Mitchell had a great time helping me and was very excited when I told him he could eat all of the broken M&M's.

I don't know what it is about swim daipers but the kids LOVE dressing up in them.

I think they're ready for warmer weather...........

It has been really neat being a part of the Draper Temple Open house. Clint and I both had opportunities to volunteer. We are planning on going with the primary kids on March 14th to take the tour but I wanted to go more than once so I convinced my parents to come with me and the kids a few weeks ago. We had a great time. Mitchell saw a picture of a cougar in one of the rooms and said, "Mom, there's a BYU cougar in the temple!!". Clint has raised that boy right. This picture is of us waiting for the bus just outside the temple.

Caleb's birthday was in February. We were planning on having a little party at our house but unfortunately Caleb was feverish on his birthday so we just had a little celebration with just us. Caleb had a great time blowing out candles and opening presents. We were trying to teach him that he is 2 years old. After awhile we would ask him "Are you two?" and he would answer in a deep, growly voice "NOOOOOOOOOO" then laugh hysterically. Caleb still has his little girlfriend, Hannah. I would be lying a little bit if I said I didn't set this up for a picture. They are so cute together!!

Crazy 2008

2009-01-04T20:05:00.003-07:00

I (clint) was charged with creating the blog for the new year week, and I started this last Sunday, and finally finished this. . .

Last week was great! We finished off the year with a bang. Mitchell got a soda science kit for Christmas from his cousin Porter and we got a chance to use it. Mitchell and I didn't know Becca was awake when we did the experiment of Mentos in Diet Coke, or you would have the pleasure of watching a video of him knocking it over and soda shooting all over the driveway.
If you haven't seen the two guys that put on a show using the Mentos and Diet Coke, here is the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM.

We came in and did some more experiments using Dr. Pepper and salt. Mitchell wanted to be extra safe, so here is a picture:

In one experiment, we almost shot soda up on the ceiling from the kitchen sink, but luckly we could stop it before Mom would get mad at us.

Caleb and Mitchell enjoyed the neat dancing macaroni noodles in Sprite. But they didn't want their picture taken.

Besides the excitement of playing with soda, we really enjoyed ourselves. I have a new job at Overstock.com. I was able to have a short week and stay home. It worked out because Becca had strep on New Years Eve. This made for a short evening without any major festivities. We also went to Wyoming for a Christmas party with my family. It was snowy and the roads were horrible on the way up, but the way home was smooth sailing. It was fun to go swimming with them. Mitchell is excited to be at school, and I am loving my new job.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T13:29:00.006-07:00

We have had a wondeful Christmas day so far!! I've really enjoyed sewing this fall and so made pajamas for the boys this year. I let Mitchell and Caleb pick out the fabric just to make sure they would like them. I really wanted to try to make footsie pajamas for Caleb so I did. They turned out so cute! I love them and he will even wear them. They were both excited to wear them last night and wore them for most of the morning. The best was when we could hear them giggling in the morning and found them lying together in Caleb's crib looking at books! (Heather, notice the dog that Caleb is holding. He LOVES it and carries it around everywhere!)

The kids have enjoyed their gifts. Mitchell was really excited to know that Santa had come to our house. Seeing the gifts under the tree wasn't convincing enough. He had to make sure that he had eaten the cookies and milk we had left!

We hope you all have had a great Christmas day!

Happy Halloween, Thanksgiving, & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-21T16:12:00.005-07:00

Clint working in the computer world means that I hear a lot of technical jargon that I don't understand. One that he used more in the past was "zipping". I know that is pretty common, and yet, I don't understand it. I only understand that it takes something big and makes it smaller. So I hope this transfers well. I am "zipping" our holiday blog. You get three Sorensen holiday experiences for the price and effort of reading just one post.

Halloween was great! Mitchell wore his dinosaur costume from 2 years ago and it only looked a little too small for him. A few days before Halloween he participated in his pre-school Halloween program. Right before it was to begin he informed me that he had some business to take care of in the bathroom. I knew if he went he would miss the entire program so I asked him to wait the 5-10 minutes that it would take for it to be over. He was not pleased and spent the majority of the program either sitting on the floor or looking at it. (There were no accidents for those of you wondering. Mitchell has excellent control.)

Trick or treating was a success. The kids loved it. The best part was that after a few streets Mitchell told me that he had enough candy and was done trick or treating! Caleb did better than I thought he would do. He went to everyhouse in silence but as soon as he would close the door he would burst out "Drick or Deat" and "Dank doo". Maybe next year he'll speed it up and actually say it to the people handing out candy.

Thanksgiving was great. We spent the day at my parents home. I've always loved Thanksgiving meals but for some reason this year everything tasted more excellent than ever. I can usually eat a little sandwich later on in the evening but I had stuffed myself so full this year I could barely make room for a piece of banana cream pie. Thanks Mom and Dad for having us over!

The highlight for our kids the past few months has been the snow that has come (and melted away much to Mitchell's dismay). Mitchell thoroughly loves the snow. I've never seen someone get so giddy because it is snowing. He got into his snow clothes as soon as I would let him. Caleb didn't want to miss out on anything until he fell into the snow with his gloves off. Then he wasn't such a big fan. He still loves watching snow through the window from inside the house.

We are all excited about the Christmas season. We have enjoyed doing weekly advent that my uncle and aunt gave to us years ago. We have invited Clint's home teaching families over each week for dinner and had them stay for advent. Basically we just didn't want to sing alone. Mitchell really enjoys when the families have kids his age to play with. And they love taking turns blowing out the candles.

For our primary sharing time this year we had all of the kids participate in an advent. It was very cute and the kids really enjoyed it. Our music leader orchestrated the event and did a wonderful job. Mitchell had the part of a sheep. I made him his sheep hat the night before. He wasn't sure he wanted to wear it but did really well today. He wore it the entire time and was enraptured by the nativity. I've never seen him quite so attentive.

Even though I've been terrible about blogging (and taking pictures) when I got the camera yesterday to take Mitchell's picture Caleb came running up to get his picture taken. He definitely has NOT forgotten how to cheese for the camera!

I think that our biggest present of the season is that Clint got a new job. His last day at Energy Solutions will be January 31st. He starts at Overstock.com on January 5th. The pay and insurance are better, it's closer to home, and (my very favorite) he won't be traveling. We are very excited but will miss the good friends that he has made at Energy Solutions.

Merry Christmas to you all!! Have a wonderful holiday!

Autumn Time

2008-10-26T19:54:00.007-06:00

I am so excited to post these pictures. Clint and Keven requested a few weeks ago that Caleb and Hannah be Raggedy Ann and Andy for Halloween. I went to get some pictures framed at Jo-Ann's and while there found a pattern for these costumes. Usually sewing is a bitter-sweet thing for me. But even while I was picking thread out (which happened quite a bit) I didn't get mad. I was too excited for the end result. It was worth every second of time I put into it!

There was no way of getting these two to hold still or smile at the same time. But what was amazing was how long they kept the wigs on. Cary and I both thought it would last 10 seconds. They kept them on most of the night. Cary and I were only holding wigs for about the last 20 minutes of the night. I was very impressed!Mitchell was a dinosaur for the church party. He wore the same costume 2 years ago. He is a much more willing participant this time than last. We had to force it on him two years ago. Here is a picture of him with his three good little friends from the ward. (The costume has a dino head and gloves but it was too hot for him to keep them on.)

Our boys have been so excited about leaves falling off the trees. This leaf pile has replaced the sandbox for the season. One afternoon my mom brought Mason over to play for a little bit. They had a great time getting buried together.Saturday night we went to a local farm the was showing "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and giving hay rides for free. We went on the hayride first then watched the movie two times. Clint was standing in line for doughnuts during the first movie and Mitchell didn't mind sticking around to watch it again!Saturday, before the movie, was demo day. The county forced us to take our 30 year old metal shed down. It was a lot of work and we filled our trash can plus a kind neighbor's. Clint burned a big pile of wood and there is still a big stack of metal waiting to be picked up. It was a good little shed and we'll miss it. But it was nice to throw a lot of trash away that had collected there AND it will be nice to have a larger driveway to ride bikes on (and shovel in the winter).

Sicko!

2008-10-19T18:06:00.004-06:00

Once a month my parents have my family and my brother's family (the only two left in Utah) over for Family Home Evening. For the activity the kids carved pumpkins that my parents had grown in their garden. They had a great time, though Mitchell was not a fan of the pumpkin guts. (I'm not sure what my face was doing during this picture.)

The kids drew numbers to see which pumpkin they got. Caleb got the biggest. Clint helped him carve it and couldn't resist putting Mitchell's pumpkin stem that had fallen off in Caleb's pumpkin's mouth. That jack-o-lantern is setting one fine example!

Mitchell really enjoys competition. He is always racing us. He races to get dressed, eat breakfast, use the bathroom, anything he can think of. The other day I told him that he "smoked" Clint in one of their races. Now, from Mitchell, we often hear, "I LOVE to smoke!". Oops.

I've taken on sewing Halloween costumes for Caleb and his little friend, Hannah, this year. They are now complete and I will post them next week. But while I was sewing I couldn't keep the kids away from the pins. They had started putting them into a fabric chair so I asked them to find something else. Poor Snoopy.

Surprisingly enough, while playing with pins the boys got along really, really well. Mitchell was very protective of Caleb and made sure that he wouldn't hurt himself. This was taken during one of those "brotherly love" moments that was brought on by sharp instruments. Caleb was pretty sick for most of this past week. He was feverish for 4 days straight and near the end of the week got a pretty congested nose. Luckily after my brother, who is a chiropractor, adjusted him his fever broke and he was able to sleep better. This picture was taken during the sick period. He was a sad little boy.

Is it Christmas time yet?

2008-10-12T19:47:00.002-06:00

Mitchell woke up this morning, saw the snow outside and excitedly asked, "Is it Christmas time yet?" Clint tried to explain to him that we need to have Halloween and Thanksgiving first when Mitchell interrupted and told him that he already knew those things. But because there was snow outside it needed to be Christmas time. I hope that we have a white Christmas this year or we will have one 4 year old that won't believe us when we tell his it's Christmas morning.

After church the snow had melted much to Mitchell's dismay so he was very excited when it started snowing AGAIN during dinner. He didn't waste any time gearing up and heading outside. He absolutely loves the snow!This is Caleb with his little girlfriend, Hannah. They get so excited to play together. We know that Hannah wears the pants of the relationship. She likes to bully him around, but he takes it like a man. One afternoon we found them outside holding hands on their way inside. As soon as we got the camera out Caleb let go to pose. But they had no problem re-enacting their affection for the camera!

Seconds before this picture was taken Caleb reached up to the stove and burned his hand on a pot. Luckily he didn't touch the burner or the burn would have been much worse. To cool his hand down I let him hold his hand under the cold water. It wasn't long at all before he forgot about his hand! He loves to play in water!

Shhh! She'll never know. . .

2008-09-28T14:07:00.010-06:00

Becca is sound asleep in the chair and I know she wanted to update the blog today. I thought I'd take a stab at it for once. I know that the best part of a blog is the pictures, but I might find a good story to talk about by the time I've posted everything. . .

We recently finished taking out our post and wall that separated a hallway and our family room. The county has a yearly clean-up project and sets out dumpsters in the neighborhood for us to throw out are garbage. That encouraged me to pull up the carpet and do my yearly tree trimming. The room still needed a lot of work as we reconstructed the ceiling to hide the channel that is reinforcing our support beam. We also needed to touch up the paint and mud the holes in the walls. We took out some great looking carpet (dark green and some nasty brown) that was hidden under the existing carpet. It was heavy and dirty work, but it all came together after Becca did most of the mudding and textured the ceiling. We refinished and carpeted the toy room as well.

The bottom of the wall is the chalkboard paint. Mitchell loves to draw on the wall and is starting to write notes with our help.

This is a picture to Caleb riding Nick with Korrine's help. My family came up and we had a birthday party for Mitchell at the first of the month.

This is a picture of Caleb and Hannah on the way up to Cecret lake. Mitchell ran up the whole way and then we had dinner. It was much easier than hiking up Timp.

I know that it won't compare to Becca's posts, but I hope she won't mind me posting it.

3's

2008-09-07T19:34:00.011-06:00

3 Joys
1. My family. At times the love and happiness they bring into my life is overwhelming. I didn't think I could ever love anyone as much as I do Clint, Mitchell and Caleb.
2. Feeling like I've accomplished something at the end of the day. I am a list maker and I love it when I am able to check everything off on my list before the day is through.
3. Helping others. I don't do it enough but when I do get the chance to give meaningful service I feel really good. I know that is a "Sunday School" answer but it is also the truth.
3 Fears
1. Hurting loved ones. I hate knowing that I've offended someone whom I love.
2. We have an enormous Chinese Elm tree in the backyard that leans toward our house. Every time that it rains or is really windy I am terrified that it will fall or get struck by lightning and crash into our home.
3. I love my boys but am afraid that I will only ever live with boys for the rest of my life.
3 Goals
1. I'd love to go back to school but I need to decide what I would want to do first.
2. Decide what I want to do as a career (NOT nursing) after my kids have grown.
3. I would love to have a girl.
3 Obsessions/Collections
1. Routines. I try to put my kids down at just about the same time every night and we do the same routine every night. I have also developed one in the mornings which I think really helps things go smoother. I really believe that my kids do better because they know what to expect. And I do better too.
2. Gardening. Looking at my yard you probably wouldn't know it but it takes more time and money than I have to do what I would love to do. Once all my kids move away I would love to putter in my yard all day.
3. My feet. This is not a healthy one. Since high school I have noticed that I have really high arches. Since then I have (probably incorrectly) blamed them for numerous things that I can't do: run, rollerskate, iceskate, stand on my tiptoes, water skii, wakeboard, balance on one foot, and the list goes on. I find myself staring at them wishing that I could somehow push the arches down permanently.
Surprising Facts about Yourself
1. I have never been skiing or snowboarding. I live 15 minutes away from some of the greatest ski resorts in the country but am too afraid to try it out. (Refer to obsession #3).
2. I love to write poetry. I don't write anything meaningful. It's mostly just goofy stuff but I think that it's really fun. In high school a friend and I had a mock gender dispute via poetry that was written back and forth. We each wrote 3 or 4 poems. Those were good times.
3. I hated Mexican food until Mitchell was born. Clint came to the hospital eating Taco Bell and even though I just eaten my whole dinner tray I ate most of his dinner as well. Since then I have been a little obsessed with finding good Mexican food.

Thanks, Heather, for the tag. I don't usually do them but it was good to think about some of these things!

I tag: Aubrey, Lori, and Debbie S.

What a Day! (and month!)

2008-09-04T13:35:00.010-06:00

Some of you have asked that we finally update our blog. I've been meaning to get around to it but just haven't found the right motivation. Today I heard from 3 different people. The fire has been lit.

I hope that your scrolling finger has been adequately warmed up for the upcoming mass of pictures that is to follow.

August Pictures/Events

Clint's 29th birthday cake. Mitchell chose the design.

Happy 29th Birthday Clint! We had lots of family and friends over. It was a lot of fun.

The family that wears underwear on their heads together stays together.

Some of us were more excited than others.

Independence Exhibition

Sorensen's "Home Grown" Outfitters

Hiking up Timpanogos with Clint's scouts

Hiking Down Timp. with Clint's scouts

Unable to put weight on my feet any longer after hiking Timp.

Hot Rods in the Backyard

First BYU game of the 2008-2009 season. Go Big Blue!

September Pictures/Events

Riding on Great-Grandpa's Lawnmower

Working in Great-Grandpa's tool shed

First Day of Pre-School

Just a reminder that some of you asked for this.

First day of school continued. His desk is dangerously close to the toys. On his desk are fruit loops to make a candy necklace. It never had a chance of making it home.

First day of school is also Mitchell's 4th Birthday!

Wearing the crown that he was supposed to wear at school but saved it for me and dad instead.

4th Birthday cake. He has a new fascination for batting. I throw about 30 pitches a day.

That night he told me, "Mom, I was being shy during the birthday song."

It only took about 4 blows. I'm glad it didn't take Clint 29 blows.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MITCHELL!

In his words, "I'm bigger and healthier than you now".

Catching Up

2008-08-03T15:17:00.004-06:00

We were lucky enough to have a fun, family-filled July. One of the more exciting events happened early in the month when Caleb got stitches in his right foot. We had some friends over to play and as they were playing in the sandbox one of the boys accidentally stabbed Caleb in his foot with a shovel. Luckily Caleb did really well in the Emergency Room. There was very little crying as he received stitches. It's now healing up well and looking good. Shortly after the incident Mitchell informed me that he wants to wear shoes in the sandbox from now on.

I'm trying to take every Friday and do something fun with the kids outside of our home. This was a picnic adventure we had at Silver Lake a few weeks ago.

The week before last my brother, Nate, and his family were in town. It was a week of non-stop fun. We went to the zoo, the dinosaur museum, had a family home evening in the mountains, the Church History museum, played in the fountains at the Gateway, spent an entire afternoon at a family friend's pool and did fireworks for the 24th. The cousins had a great time together! (And the adults, too!)

THEN, the next week we spent with Clint's family in Estes Park, Colorado. The kids had a great time with their aunts and uncles. Mitchell really attached himself to Clint's brother, Nicholas and would have done anything for him during the week.

While there we went hiking, traveled to Denver to see the aquarium and the mint. We also drove around the Rocky Mountain National Park and played at a local fun-stop that had go-karts, batting cages, bumper boats, etc. My two favorites were the aquarium and hiking. While at the aquarium we were watching the tiger pace back and forth in his pen. Mitchell went in for a closer look and as soon as the tiger spotted him he started bounding towards him and smashed his face into the glass. It was really funny and a little disconcerting at the same time knowing that a tiger had wanted to eat your child.

We went on a 9 mile hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park with some of Clint's siblings. (The kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa.) It was beautiful! The only bad parts were the two very painful blisters on my heels. I think it finally may be time that I buy some hiking boots.

4th of July

2008-07-06T13:27:00.003-06:00

I love the summer! I love kids playing in the backyard and getting wet. I feel so much more free during the summer and so I think it's appropriate that we celebrate our nations freedom during the summertime.

We dared to go camping on the 4th of July. The evening was a lot of fun. We enjoyed cooking in the Dutch ovens and playing games by the lantern light. There were caterpillars everywhere and I thought it was really cool until I realized that they would turn into the millions of moths that were dive-bombing my face all night.

This happy picture of Mitchell is in no way indicative of the amount of sleep he received while camping. He would NOT stop talking until about 1 or 2 in the morning when he finally went to sleep.

Caleb was very interested in the fire pit. Luckily he never burnt his hands but did get a taste of how hot it can be when he placed his hands on the outiside ring of the fire pit. The heat scared him enough to keep him away for the rest of the camping trip without actually burning him.

We're pretty sure this will be our last camping adventure of the summer.

I've learned something new this past week. Apparently babies can start sucking their thumbs at 16 months of age. Caleb just started and is now a dual-wielder. He'll suck one for a few seconds then switch to the other. Temporary?--We have mixed feelings.............it sure brings him a lot of happiness.

T-Days

2008-06-29T21:50:00.007-06:00

I'm realizing that with almost every weekly post I am adding quite a few pictures. Blogging is the only form of scrapbooking that I would ever try to attempt so I add all of my favorite pictures every week.

Sadly, Clint is away from us this weekend. He is in New Mexico doing some work. It's harder for me to be alone with the kids on the weekends than during the week because Clint is usually

home all day and so I feel especially lonely. Thus, when our friends, Keven and Cary, invited me to attend Taylorsville Days with them this weekend I was excited to accept their offer. They were very gracious and offered to help me with my kids since they only have 1 between them. I say only 1 but their 1 was more rambunxious than my 2 put together. This is a big thing for me! I went for a long time knowing that Mitchell was the most busy and wild child in any group that we were in. I wondered, at times, if I would ever be able to sit down again while my children were awake. I think that may be how Keven and Cary were feeling yesterday. But my prayers were answered yesterday. Mitchell and Caleb were very calm and easy to watch during our very eventful day!

The morning started early with a trip to Harmons for some breakfast and then to the parade. Mitchell and Caleb were both fans. Especially when the candy started raining down. I included a picture of our favorite float that I think was a very clever idea.

After the parade we went home for naps and then went straight back for some swimming. Taylorsville has a great pool for little kids. The shallow end is really big and Caleb and Mitchell had a great time running through the water. Mitchell would really love to be able to go down the slides that are at a few of the pools that we've been too, but he just isn't quite big enough yet. He has about 2 inches (and some swimming knowledge) to go. He will start swimming lessons in a week or so and I'm really excited to see how he'll do.

After swimming we had some dinner and then went to save some spots for the fireworks. They had a bunch of little kid rides and Mitchell ventured on a few of them. He went on one that was similar to the "Big Shot" in Las Vegas that takes you up and then drops you down quickly. Mitchell was so excited to go on and did really well. He looked a little scared at first but then quickly decided that he was having a great time.

On the way back to our fireworks spot we grabbed a "Snowie" to share. It was an obvious hit and brought us closer together.

While waiting for fireworks they had a Niel Diamond impersonator doing a concert. He did a really great job. If you weren't thinking about it too much you would never know the difference. Here is a (about 1 1/2 minute) video of Mitchell and Caleb enjoying the music. Both of their grandma's will be proud! (The quality of the video isn't great because it was getting dark outside and it was taking too long to load with high quality.)

My parents nicknamed Caleb "Houdini" while he was staying at there house because of his ability to independently manuever himself wherever he desires to go.

Mitchell had a great time hanging out with his friends. I love this picture of him with Keven and Cary's niece, Madison, on the blanket.

The fireworks show was great! The kids and I really loved it and it was worth the day we had today. By the time nap time came all I could think of was "Lions, and Tigers, and Bears. OH MY!!"

We're excited to have some cousins spending the night with us tonight. They are really cute girls and having committed to helping me do some chores around the house tomorrow. They are great with Mitchell and Caleb and so it should be a fun day.

Georgia on Our Minds

2008-06-22T21:41:00.009-06:00

We've been playing catch up this past week and thus didn't get a chance to update our blog until now. On June 10th Clint and I were able to fly out to Atlanta, Georgia (with no kids) for a week of business and vacation. After flying into Atlanta we drove to South Carolina where Clint did some work. As soon as he was done working we hit the road. Clint served his mission in South Georgia so we took our rental car and toured his old mission sites. After 1500 miles on the road I felt much more familiar with his mission and the stories that he has been telling me for the past 7 years.

The first place we stopped was actually in South Carolina where he had a chance to serve in Bluffton and Hilton Head. Hilton Head is a resort island but his accomodations there were quite the opposite. The place he stayed was nicknamed the "Roach Coach". The name tells it all. Unfortunately that particular trailer had been taken down but I took a few pictures of similar ones.

This was the local dumpster. I thought it was amusing.

Near where he was staying was an inlet from the ocean. Clint tells me it is called Bluffton Beach. I can gaurantee you that I would never see anyone with a beach ball and towel there to soak up some rays. In the picture all of the little things that look like rocks are really hermit crabs. They are EVERYWHERE.

In Bluffton we were fortunate enough to catch a family that Clint had gotten to know pretty well while serving there. The husband's nickname is "Barefoot Barry" because he never wears shoes. He had nicknamed Clint "Reverend Sorefoot" while he was there. Since then Clint has used rev_sorefoot for e-mail addresses and other computer-related user names.

Near Bluffton, South Carolina is Savannah, Georgia. I was very excited to visit that area. I had heard that it was very beautiful and full of history. We had a really good time there. We spent a few hours on the river walk and spent some more time walking and driving along the squares. It wasn't as beautiful as I was hoping but I had probably built it up too much in my mind. My favorite part, weirdly enough, were these huge, crooked staircases that led from the river walk to the road. As you can see Clint had to take a work call so we took a break on the stairs and I was lucky enough to be asked by an old, drunk bum in the alley to reset his "new" watch that he had just purchased for a dollar. After I did it he argued with me for a few seconds that I hadn't set it to the right time.

After Savannah we made our way to Southern Georgia. It is so green. I love the trees but driving through them for 1500 miles can get boring! The highlight of the trip was visiting with a family that Clint had spent a lot of time with in his first area. He was even fortunate to teach their niece who was baptized. They live in a really small town and live on a street bearing their name. The parents live at the end and almost all of there family live nearby. We were lucky enough to have almost all of them (even those who live out of town) there while visiting. They fed us dinner, let us pick blackberries, and had us stay to play games with them. It was a blast!! Here is a picture of Clint with this wonderful family.Overall it was a wonderful trip. Clint and I had a great time together and it was fun to visit the places where he served and grew to love. I really feel like I understand him better because I have visited these places and I am really grateful that we were able to do so. My mom had the kids while we were gone and they did great. But by the end of the trip I was VERY anxious to see and be with them again.

This kind of stuff is much cuter when you've been away from your kids for awhile!

The day before we left for our trip Clint wanted to prove to me that he knew how to sew a pillowcase. I had bought some fabric a few days earlier but wasn't sure how to go about it and Clint was trying to tell me how because he claimed he knew and had done it before.. I was skeptical. Later that night I had been downstairs and when I came up this is how I found him. The pillowcase turned out great!

One Wedding and some Destruction

2008-06-08T13:54:00.011-06:00

For a really long time Mitchell would have nothing to do with band-aids. His first few years he would barely flinch when getting hurt because he was just too busy to notice. But as he has slowed down (a little) he has started noticing when he gets hurt and is concerned at the sight of blood. Thus band-aids are now part of his working vocabulary and he requests them often. The problem is that he is scared of getting them wet and absolutely hates it when they won't stick appropriately. I made the mistake once of using scotch tape to re-fasten a band aid. It didn't work very well but is now Mitchell's cure for a loosening bandage. Here is a picture of his handiwork.

After almost 7 years of marriage and 2 children we have finally graduated from our starter small-apartment-sized table to a family edition. It is quite the luxury and we are very excited about it. The day after putting it together we had Megan over for dinner and Clint's brother, Shawn, and his wife, Emily, surprised us by a visit. We were excited to have them all over because we could finally fit them all at one table. Here is a picture of our table's maiden dinner voyage.

That same evening we underwent a long overdue haircut for Caleb. Mitchell was still excited about using the clippers but was disappointed when we told him we wouldn't be letting him cut Caleb's hair. Megan, our hero, stepped in and let Mitchell PRETEND to cut her hair. She is a saint and Caleb was glad for the company.

I'm sorry for those of you with weak stomachs. Caleb was having a hard time during the haircut so Clint pulled out the camera to cheer him up. This is Caleb in the war zone.

Congrats to my cousin, Tim, who was married this past Friday. They had their reception Thursday night so they wouldn't have to worry about it after their wedding today. I think that is a pretty smart idea. We loved being able to go to the Salt Lake Temple to see them married. Caleb slept during the wedding but Mitchell was able to spend time with some of my cousins during the ceremony. He loved it. They told me afterwards that they played the gummy bear guessing game for 10 minutes straight. That is where they would hold a gummy bear in their hands and he would guess what color it was. AND he got to eat if afterwards. 10 minutes of that game equals fully sugar-loaded. He was a wild man on the temple grounds.

Our weekend was topped off by the taking down of our wall downstairs that forms the unnecessary wall between our family room and bathroom. The kids really got into the destruction. We are loving the extra space it gives. The tricky part will be moving the support beam that is now in the middle of that area.

Memorial Day Week

2008-06-01T15:31:00.015-06:00

Happy late Memorial Day! Ours was a good one. We always love any day that Clint stays home from work. We celebrated the day by having family and friends over for brunch. We recently purchased a new Wii game called Wii Fit. To play you stand on a rectangle platform than analyzes your weight, BMI and center of balance. After being, unmercifully, analyzed you can exercise, do yoga, strength training and play balance games. After eating we projected the Wii onto our wall and played Wii Fit with the family. The obvious favorite for the morning was hula hooping. I didn't take any pictures that day but I DID steal a picture from my mom's blog of my dad hula hooping. It was awesome. The game also analyzes your age and almost everyone there received a score higher than their actual age (that's bad), but my dad got an age about 20 years younger than he is. Way to go Dad!

Hair cutting used to be quite the dramatic event at our house. We finally figured out how to make it fun! Well............most of us are having fun.Some of Clint's co-worker friends invited us to go camping this weekend. They have invited us beforehand but this was the first time we were brave (delirious) enough to go. We got so excited we even bought a new tent so that we wouldn't have to sleep in the van or torture Jay (one of the friends) by sleeping in their trailer with them. We did a practice run to see what it would be like and I wondered at the end if we had just purchased a cheap addition to the house. It's huge! We love it. It worked perfectly for putting Caleb's portacrib inside and sectioning it off so that Caleb wouldn't be able to see us and keep himself awake. Mitchell was excited about it too. He was dying to sleep in it until Jay and his wife, Sarah, showed him the bunk beds in their trailer..........he hasn't slept in the tent yet.

Clint's other friend, Nhut, has a boat and they were nice enough to let us go boating with them this weekend as well. Caleb and Mitchell both loved it. Mitchell surprised us by excitedly getting into the raft and laughing and smiling while he was being pulled behind the boat. He did really really well until the driver decided to test his limits and went faster and started turning more. Then the smiles turned to tears. But we were so proud of how well he did! We received many a thumbs up during the ride.

Of course, because we were camping the fishing poles came out. Mitchell and Clint both love the time that they get to spend together behind their fishing poles. They didn't catch anything but we saw some pretty impressive casting by Mitchell.
Our camping trip ended Saturday afternoon when Caleb wouldn't sleep in our blazing hot tent and we had changed his (it seemed like) 1ooth runny diaper. We had two tired, grumpy campers so we took them home and washed the car. They loved that activity. Mitchell helped scrub and Caleb kept our bucket full of bubbles.

While getting things put away and dinner ready I passed by the kitchen window and saw Mitchell in this outfit. If only I could wolf whistle over the internet!

The Zoo: a day of uneven odds

2008-05-25T20:00:00.006-06:00

This past week was my last week of watching a couple of boys from the ward. I will still be watching 1 girl 3 days a week, but that will be it. I'm ready for a babysitting break. The little girl, Tierza, that I watch is really easy. She doesn't need a lot of attention and she takes a nap at the same time as Mitchell and Caleb so I don't mind having her here at all.

For our last day watching extra kids I decided to take all of the boys to the zoo. It was me and 4 boys under the age of 6. We had a nice lengthy talk in the car on the way to the zoo about how they needed to stay close to me and do what I ask. They did pretty well for the most part. A ride on the train after looking at all the animals was a great bribing tool. That was definitely the highlight of their day. It rained for awhile while we were there and so the train was closed. It broke their hearts when I told them that. So instead we went to play at the little playground they have there. After about 20 minutes the sky cleared and the train opened and they were very excited.

At the zoo Caleb developed a new cheese face. As much as I loved the last one I think that the new one is a little less intense. I hope that it's here to stay!

The animal highlight was the leapord. It was pacing back and forth in front of the window and Mitchell was laughing hysterically every time it would pass.

We were able to go to Wyoming this weekend to support Nicholas. He turned 16 today and was ordained a Priest. Congrats Nick! It was also Daniel's birthday. We had a good time celebrating their birthday and visiting family. Because of the increase in run off this spring the water pressure changed in Lyman and somehow contaminated their water. So while we were there we couldn't drink any of their water and even had to use bottled water to brush our teeth. The kids had the shortest baths that they have ever had in their life. It was pretty interesting. It was testament to food storage. Clint's parents had enough water stored that they didn't need to rely on the city for water like a lot of other residents did. Luckily the situation cleared this afternoon and they are able to use thier water again.

Kidathon

2008-05-19T13:55:00.003-06:00

This past week I watched other people's children every day except for Wednesday (and Saturday). Monday was a whopper of a day with 7 kids including Mitchell and Caleb. The picture below shows a picture of them all at lunch time. I don't think that I have ever been so thankful for macaroni and cheese. Luckily all the kids got along really well. The only problem was that it was raining outside and so we were inside for most of the day. But the kids did great and I survived to tell about it. Mitchell and Caleb really enjoy having friends over so it's been nice for them to have kids to play with. They'll be sad when this week's over because I won't be watching as many kids anymore. I will only be watching 1 and she's a girl. At least I'll have fun; I get to do her hair once in awhile!

We bought a knight costume before we had kids for a murder mystery dinner. Mitchell found our costume box awhile ago and found the sword inside. Later he found the entire knight outfit and has been having a great time with it. Caleb, not wanting to be left out, puts this knight helmet on whenever he gets the chance. He can't resist cheesing for the camera so he wouldn't leave it on for the picture.
One of my really good friends that I grew up with just graduated with her teaching degree and is moving back to the area. We are way excited. Each time she comes Mitchell tells us afterwards that "only Jeni can tickle me....nobody else". He loves playing with her! Caleb also warmed up a bit and let us take a picture. Congrats, Jeni, on your new job! We're so excited to see you more often!
As always, we're enjoying the warmer weather. Last summer a friend from the ward gave us this mini roller coaster. It has been a big hit with the kids....even Caleb. Mitchell loves to help him ride it. I'm always afraid that he will fall but they have such a good time that I let them do it. (He's only fallen once so far!)

Hanging in the Backyard

2008-05-11T15:48:00.009-06:00

Caleb has been a lot of fun to watch lately. He is mimicking our actions and is making new discoveries everyday. This may be a little inappropriate but kids are so innocent that I think it is so cute. This picture of Caleb is him discovering something about his body. He is very interested.For the past two weekends we have had some pretty nice weather and luckily we've been able to take advantage of it. As I wrote before, we finished our sprinkler system last weekend but our fence is still gone. It is our neighbors fence and they are still trying to decide what they want to do. They have talked to us about putting up a vinyl fence (which would be awesome) but we're guessing that they're waiting for us to offer to pay for some of it........not gonna happen. We would much rather just put up some new posts and put the old fence back up. We're cheap skates and not afraid to admit it. So until they decide, we're living with some pretty big holes on that side of the yard where Clint and our neighbor dug out the cement blocks that were holding the posts up (until the wind snapped the posts in pieces). Mitchell is making the most of the holes. He likes to climb inside and take his trucks and shovels in with him. Caleb wants to be where his brother is. The picture you see was taken a few minutes before Caleb followed Mitchell in and subsequently got stuck, feet up, inside the hole. He wasn't hurt so I can say that it looked pretty funny and I wished that I would have gotten a picture, but I pulled him out quickly instead of letting him suffer. Yesterday we spent most of the day outdoors again. For our date on Friday night, Clint and I spent over an hour at Lowe's browsing the garden section. We picked out a few plants and got some wood chips to put in our backyard by the sandbox. We also got vegetable and herb seeds. So Saturday we spent the day planting and fixing up the backyard a little bit. We also bought some cement so that Clint could cement the swingset into the ground. I have been watching kids from the ward this past week and I spent a lot of time holding the swingset down while they went as high as they could in the swings. It was fun to put our hand and the kids' footprints int he cement. Mitchell was a little wary but after watching Caleb go right for it he decided to have a turn. As a little girl my family had put our hand prints in some cement by our basketball standard. As I grew up I loved comparing how big my hands had gotten compared to the tiny ones that I had imprinted. I hope that the boys have the some enjoyment.

After we were done working we spent a little time "relaxing" in the sunshine. That is what Clint was attempting, anyway.

Sprinklers Status: Completed

2008-05-04T13:52:00.002-06:00

We accomplished a major milestone for our family this past week. We finished our sprinkler system and it only took about a month to complete. I am so excited for all of the extra time that I'm going to have this summer that I spent the past few summers hauling hose around our yard. Hopefully our backyard lawn will finally fill in now that it will have some more consistent watering. I'm also really excited to watch the kids run through the sprinklers this summer. It will be a blast.
I think that Clint wishes that he could just rest now but we already have the next big project in our sights. We are going to take a wall down in our basement that creates a hallway that doesn't really need to be there. But removing it will include moving a major support beam unless we want to have a random pole in our room. It's going to be fun! (Says the one who won't be doing most of the hard labor!)
Sorry about the lack of pictures. I'll be better this week.

Warm Wyoming Welcome

2008-04-28T14:54:00.041-06:00

Clint's brother, Daniel, came home from his mission in Taiwan about 3 weeks ago. (I put something in a post beforehand.) But his homecoming wasn't until yesterday, April 27th. We drove up Saturday afternoon after naptime. I'm so glad that the kids do well driving in the car. Mitchell really looks forward to driving to Wyoming because he knows that we'll be driving over the mountains and that there are train tracks along the freeway. Caleb also does pretty well. I'm pretty sure that he was eating for most of the 2 hour drive. It was great.

Daniel did a great job with his talk. He spoke about the spiritual experiences that he had while on his mission. It sounds like he really witnessed a lot of great testimony-building experiences. He also paid tribute to each one of his family members and how they've touched his life. It was really nice. He shared his gratitude that Clint has been a good example of honoring his priesthood. I'm not sure that there could have been a more touching thing to hear.

It was fun talking to Clint's family and Daniel's friends afterwards. There were a lot of people there and I wanted to make sure and get some pictures. As soon as I pulled the camera out Clint and Daniel started doing some questionable poses......I didn't include those pictures. This was definitely one of the cleaner ones.

Mitchell also had a great time. One of Clint's cousins had a baby just a week before Mitchell was born so it's been fun watching them grow up. His 2nd cousin's name is Ellis and he lives in Wyoming so they don't see a lot of each other, but when they do they get along really well. They spent most of the afternoon playing together. The baby picture is of them just 2 weeks after they were born. The orange one on the left is Mitchell and Ellis is on the right. As Ellis was leaving yesterday they gave each other a great big hug. I got a picture but it wasn't a very good one so I included a side-by-side one instead. (A before and after if you will.)

This is how Caleb spent most of the afternoon.

He must be a lot like his Aunt Korrine because this is how she spent most of the afternoon.

This last picture was taken last night after we came home. When we come home from out of town we always dump everything by the front door then systematically start putting things away. Caleb took advantage of my purse being on the floor and had a great time with the wipes. I thought it was too cute to pass up taking a picture.

Dad-less Week

2008-04-28T14:29:00.013-06:00

This past week the kids and I survived without Clint. He was on a business trip in Connecticut from Monday morning until Friday. I hate to say that we are becoming accustomed to him leaving....but we are. We still miss him a lot, of course, but it's no longer a crying fest while he's gone. It helps that we had a really busy week. It started off great with a dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Clement's house. Mitchell set the table all by himself. He is becoming a really great helper. He is very willing to do little tasks like retrieving diapers and putting stuff down in the crawl space.

Caleb also enjoyed himself at Grandmas.....mostly. Both he and Mitchell suffered from nasty coughs during the week and so Caleb wasn't as happy as he normally can be. But he still didn't seem to mind when his brother started sitting on him. Sorry about the image of Mitchell with food in his mouth!

We also had our good friend, Megan, over for dinner one night and were able to have dinner at the Wall's house another. Despite the fact that our favorite dad was gone, the week was still full of fun and good company. We even got to go to "Old McDonalds" with Grandma Clement. It was Caleb's first experience in "the pipes" (as Mitchell calls them). They had a great time.

The best part of the whole week was when Clint came home. He came home Friday and we spent the afternoon on a date while my mom watched the kids. As we came home from the date Clint surprised me with an extended date. My mom had taken the kids home and Clint had a bag all packed for me. We spent the night downtown and picked up the kids the next day. It was really fun. He and my mom did a great job surprising me.

Birthday Fun

2008-04-20T20:04:00.011-06:00

This past Tuesday was my 26th birthday. Hooray! It was a great day (except for the snow). Clint and the kids did a lot of fun things for me. Mitchell and Caleb had a great time helping Clint blow up balloons. They loved learning about how to make them stick to the ceiling and walls.

Clint and the kids had a great time making the birthday cake. I am including a video of Clint making the cake. I apologize to any of you who may have found a surprise in your piece. Mitchell also had a great time frosting the cake. He really loves to help in the kitchen. He was able to count out all 26 birthday candles as well.

We had a lot of family and friends over for the evening. Caleb's favorite visitor was his pediatrician and uncle--Dr. Uncle Paul. He has been a bit shy lately about going to other people but didn't hesitate at all to climb into Paul's lap. I think the fact that Paul had chocolate cake sitting in front of him may have been a factor, but cake didn't persuade Caleb to sit with anybody else so it must have been due to genuine affection.

Thanks to everyone else who able to come! We really missed those of you who couldn't.

We have had a problem with our toilet for the past few months. It was leaking from the tank a few months ago so Clint got out his tools and fixed it.....almost. The major leak was gone but it was still leaking very very slowly. We weren't sure where the leak was coming from and Clint hates to do plumbing so it got put off especially as we started the sprinkling project. But the procrastination came to an end this past week when I noticed a large puddle of water near the base of the toilet. Clint eventually had to take the whole toilet off and investigate every piece to find where the leak was coming from. Unfortunately he had to replace more than just where the leak was (obviously you can tell that I don't know the name of the piece that was broken) but he also had to replace the connection from the wall pipe to the toilet AND the main water shut off valve coming in to the house. It was quite an adventure. Luckily he only took 4 trips to Lowes before he had it all fixed and the kids enjoyed helping him with his tools.

Friday evening Clint took Mitchell to a scout camp-out at Grantsville Reservoir. This was the first time that Mitchell had ever been camping. We have been too wimpy in the past to attempt camp outs with him because we didn't know how well he would sleep. We were scared for a reason. He did really well eating the tinfoil dinner, roasting marshmallows and hanging out with the scouts but when bed time came he could not sleep. The wind had really picked up and was blowing the tent cover around which was making noise. So this is what Clint heard all night.

Mitchell: Dad, The wind is being noisy.

Clint: Close your eyes and go to sleep, Mitchell.

Mitchell: Dad, Dad! It's really bright outside. (There was a full moon)

Clint: Just close your eyes and sleep.

Mitchell: Dad, I need to use the bathroom.

Clint: Go outside then and go pee.

Mitchell: Where?

Clint: Go stand by the car.

Mitchell: Okay..................Dad. It's cold.

Clint: Put on a sweatshirt.

Mitchell: (puts on sweatshirt and goes outside)...............................................Dad, it's too windy to go pee.

Clint: Just stand close to the car and pee.

Mitchell: It's too cold.

Clint: Just hurry and do it.

Mitchell: (Goes and relieves himself and comes back in)............................Dad, the wind is being so noisy.

Clint: Go to sleep.

Mitchell: Dad, I'm cold....I want to snuggle. (He then proceeds to drape his entire body over Clint's and continually kicks his feet against Clint's legs).

Apparently this went on and on during the night with a few breaks of sleep in between. We'll probably put him in his very own tent next time (if there is one!).

Saturday was another exciting day of working on the sprinkler system. Clint spent most of the day working outside in the wind. In the late afternoon he started noticing some microbursts and hoped that they wouldn't bring a large tree limb falling down on top of him. A few minutes later a microburst picked him up off the ground. The same microburst also blew over our neighbor's fence taking our satellite dish down with it. Our neighbor is in New Mexico working and Clint is going out of town tomorrow so it could be awhile before its fixed. In the meantime hopefully the fence will keep our neighbor's weeds at bay so we won't have to pull as many from our lawn.

Cousins

2008-04-13T20:57:00.011-06:00

We have had the fun opportunity to see my sister, Katherine, who is in town from Boston. She will be here for the weekend and it has been great to be able to spend time with her and her youngest son, Timothy. Timothy is only 1 month younger than Caleb but, unfortunately, was born with some brain abnormalities and so is cognitively and physically delayed. He is a very sweet little guy and it is wonderful to feel his sweet spirit when he is around. Caleb spent part of the evening carrying Tim's picture around and showing it everyone who would look. He also tried to play with Tim by shaking his toys that were dangling by his head. Tim very sweetly rolled over and put his thumb in his mouth so he wouldn't have to watch the toys crazily flying around the space above him.
We spent this evening at Grandma and Grandpa's house eating pie and ice cream. Upon arriving Mitchell and Caleb were shy of their Aunt Katherine but soon warmed up. Mitchell was giving her multiple running and jumping hugs before we left that evening. Caleb took longer to warm up but after he eyed Timothy's strawberry-milk bottle Katherine gave him his own and they were much better friends.

Mitchell and Caleb also really enjoy the company of their cousins who live here in Herriman. Mitchell and Zach love to box and wrestle together. They are seen here eating, and wearing, ice cream cones together.

This past week we also had the very fun opportunity to have Clint's brother, Daniel, come stay a night with us before he leaves for Boise for his new job in a week or so. I feel bad because I didn't take any pictures so I don't have any to post...but we had a great time. Mitchell and Caleb both adore Daniel. Mitchell was so excited that he got to take his Uncle Daniel everywhere that he went for a day.

Sprinkler Weekend

2008-04-07T09:48:00.015-06:00

After a few summers of watering our lawn by hand we are ready for an automatic sprinkler system. This has been a project that we've thought about a lot but have always felt too intimidated by. Luckily, our neighbors, the Walls, offered to help and so we started the project this past Friday evening. We split a trencher rental with the Walls and set to work. The trencher is a pretty slick machine unless you have a lawn full of tree roots which we do. There was more time spent breaking through the roots with an axe than with the actual trencher.

Saturday morning Clint was able to finish trenching the back lawn. Luckily we don't have any neighbors that are around this time of year so Clint didn't worry about starting at 7 in the morning. By the afternoon they had finished the boxes and the stop and waste valve. We're excited to be this far along. Unfortunately it is snowing outside right now so it could be longer than we planned before it is totally completed. I'm ready to wait for a long time. I'm just satisfied knowing that I won't be watering our lawn with the hose this year!

Studying the plans and marking the lawn.

Our friend, Keven, wielding the trencher.

The cheering section.

Above is a picture of Mitchell getting dressed to go to bed. He was having a great time especially because I wasn't getting upset for once while he was jumping on the bed. I was too busy laughing.

Yesterday was a fun day. Mitchell and Caleb were really interacting and having a great time together. The picture above is of them "wrestling". It was more like Caleb laying on the floor holding still while Mitchell sat on him. But they were having a great time. Mitchell was wrapping Caleb in his blanket and telling him to go to sleep while he sat on him. Caleb thought it was hilarious. Later on we were on the couch reading scriptures together and Mitchell was sitting next to a kitchen towel that he had been playing with. (I'm not sure why.) Caleb came walking up and quietly stole the towel and slowly walked away looking back at Mitchell. When Mitchell realized what happened he burst out, "Hey! Caleb!". Caleb started laughing hysterically and ran away as fast as he could. He got Mitchell laughing as well while he was being chased.

Catching Up

2008-03-30T15:26:00.035-06:00

We had a great Easter weekend. Easter may have not seemed like it was that long ago but it seems to me that a lot has happened since then. I was planning on updating right after Easter but then started re-"decorating" the blog and lost the time needed to do a real post. As more blog-worthy events occurred I felt less and less motivated to update the blog because I knew it would be a big chore when I decided to tackle it. Now is the time. Thus...... we had a great Easter weekend. Saturday morning we took the kids to an Easter egg hunt in Taylorsville. I have a terrible habit of forgetting the camera when we do fun things but I remembered for this event. Unfortunately our batteries died after the first picture of Mitchell playing on the playground at the park while we were waiting for the hunt to begin. Luckily Clint had his phone and was able to snap some shots afterwards.

The Easter egg hunt had three different areas for the different age groups so Mitchell and Caleb were split up. Clint went with Caleb and I with Mitchell. It was a very cold day. Right prior to the hunt I was holding Mitchell and explaining to him how the hunt worked. Mitchell had his own ideas. When they blew the horn Mitchell ran to the far end of the field and picked up his first egg. He was the only one to run that far and could have picked up a basket-full of eggs in that area but he decided to only pick up one and then proceeded to run to the other end of the field before picking up another. He did this 3 or 4 times then realized he wouldn't be getting any more eggs if he continued so then buckled down in one area for the rest. But he only got a few more because of the large number of children that were there. When all the eggs were gone I excitedly commented on the eggs that he did get. I was sure that he would be disappointed by the few numbers in his basket. But he surprised me. He WAS crying but it was because he wanted "eating" eggs instead of toy ones. He didn't even care much about the candy that was inside the "toy" ones.

Clint helped Caleb hunt for his eggs. He sat Caleb by the basket and handed him eggs, one by one, for him to drop into his basket. He felt bad about helping him until he started watching other parents who were grabbing eggs by the armfulls for their children and dumping them into their baskets. Caleb was very excited about the candy that was in his eggs. He LOVES sugar.Saturday night we had friends over and colored Easter eggs. Mitchell had a great time coloring eggs. He loves Charlie Brown and Snoopy and has been watching "The Easter Beagle" all year. If you want to watch a little snippet, click on this link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zOiRUDhyzi0

The link only shows the first part of the film and doesn't include the best kitchen scene, but the first part gives you a sample of what's to come. There is a scene where Peppermint Patty and Marcy are decorating eggs and Marcy can't figure out how to do it right. Mitchell thought that he needed to make all of the mistakes that Marcy did and so after decorating one of his eggs he proceeded to bite into it with the shell on. Just like Marcy, he realized that he does NOT like to eat Easter eggs. We did eventually get him to eat one that had been shelled and made into a sandwich but he didn't like that much either.

After decorating eggs Caleb went upstairs to take a bath. His girlfriend, Hannah, also needed to take a bath and so they took a bath together. Caleb loved it but Hannah did not. She likes to have the bath water all to herself and Caleb wouldn't stay in his own space. He's an active bath-taker and likes to move around everywhere.

I had meetings Sunday morning so I wasn't able to watch the kids find their Easter baskets. I was glad that Clint took pictures. He tells me that the kids didn't care much about their baskets. They didn't even notice them until Clint pointed them out and they still didn't pay attention. Mitchell got a new white shirt, tie and belt in his basket. He had been asking for a belt for a few months and was excited to get a new belt but apparently he was worried about putting on the shirt and tie. He told Clint that he didn't want to be a missionary yet. Clint showed him that he was wearing a white shirt and tie and wasn't a missionary so it was okay if Mitchell wore one. He looks so grown up in his new church outfit.

During naps after church the "Easter Beagle" came and spread out the eggs we had colored the night before all over our back lawn. Mitchell doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny. There is only an Easter Beagle. Mitchell had a great time gathering them up again. Caleb took an extra long nap that afternoon and so didn't help gather eggs, but he was excited to examine the loot that Mitchell had found.

Monday evening was exciting as well. We underwent a project where we enlarged our garden and moved some sod around. It was a dirty project and Mitchell was in the thick of it. When it came time for bed I put him in the bath tub against his will. He had wanted to stay outside and continue helping Clint. He wasn't very excited when I started washing his hair. He started throwing his head around in protest and in the process slammed his head against the soap holder. He immediately came to me for comfort and I didn't worry too much about it until I noticed that he wasn't calming down as fast as he normally does. So I pulled his head back to look and found a pretty nasty gash on his forehead. I knew he needed stitches but called on Clint for a second opinion just in case my emotions were jading my judgement. He agreed that he would need stitches but we decided that we didn't want to take him to the ER so we superglued it together instead. I'm not sure that we did the most proffesional job but it is certainly better than if we had done nothing at all AND he only missed his bedtime by 1/2 hour instead of hourS. As you can tell by the picture below it's not affecting him emotionally at all.

The excitement continued through Tuesday. Clint's little brother, Daniel, who had been serving a mission in Taiwan was scheduled to arrive home that evening. We went to the airport at 8 pm and waited for almost an hour when Clint got an e-mail from Daniel saying that he was stuck in LA because they hadn't been able to get through customs in time. Clint's family was SO disappointed. Clint has some younger siblings in middle and high school and they had really been looking forward to their brother coming home.

Daniel wrote and let us know that he would be coming in the next morning. Clint's family stayed over night with us and we were up bright and early at the airport the next morning. When Daniel came down the escalator Mitchell ran to him as soon as he got the chance and jumped right into his arms. He wouldn't leave Daniel's side until it was time for us to go home. We were very surprised. We assumed that it would take some time for Mitchell to warm up but he must have remembered how much he loved Daniel before he left for his mission. It was so fun to see him come home. It's always entertaining when foreign speaking missionaries come home and can't remember how to speak English.

Friday afternoon we took a trip to the Living Planet Aquarium. They have story time every day at noon in their sunken ship. Their story-teller had dressed up in a star-fish costume and had sea puppets for the children to wear while they sang a song. It was great. Mitchell was enthralled and Caleb could have cared less. After story time we walked around for awhile and Mitchell had fun looking at all of the different fish. It is amazing how much he has grown up the past few months. We went to the aquarium for the first time last October and he wasn't very interested but he was very interested this time and made an effort to remember some of the names of the fish that we saw. He had an especially fun time playing on their boat exhibit. Caleb was very tired and didn't have much fun at all. He is walking all over the place now and I thought he would love their coral reef play area. They have tunnels everywhere and in the tunnels are little aquariums of fish for the children to look at. Caleb was too tired even for that. We'll have to take him again when he has more energy.

Thanks for taking the time to read this very LONG blog and look at our pictures. I am glad that every week isn't as full as this past one was. If they are I'll have to learn to update our blog more often!

Failed Attempts

2008-03-24T15:22:00.002-06:00

I apologize to any of you who view our blog for the next couple of days. I am trying to customize our template and am TERRIBLE with colors and anything creative. If you feel like gagging at any time please feel free to immediately close your browser window and try again later.

Mr. Safety

2008-03-20T15:14:00.004-06:00

I'd like to introduce you to our household Danger Prevention Officer, Mr. Safety. Rest assured that any time he rides in your car, seat belts WILL be buckled. There have been a few instances where I have forgotten to buckle him up before rolling out of our driveway. Before we hit the curb I'm certain to hear, "MOM!! I'm not buckled! I'm not safe!".

With the coming of the warmer weather Mr. Safety has been excited to ride his bike. He has taken trips around the backyard cement and has also ventured out on the streets with his family. For instance, last week he was able to ride his bike alongside his father on a trip to the local dollar store. Though the ride was slow, he enjoyed every second. Currently on training wheels and riding right next to his parents we haven't been too motivated to purchase him a bike helmet....but apparently there isn't a need. A few days ago Mitchell (independent from his parents) scavanged in the crawl space and found a bike helmet that was given to us as a wedding gift. He put it on, went outside and proceeded to ride his bike. I'm hoping that Mr. Safety stays with us for awhile. We will enjoy every moment of his presence until Mr. Invicible invades.

2008-03-12T22:37:00.012-06:00

Lately when I try to take pictures of Mitchell he refuses unless I offer to let him take pictures afterwards. Thus I was very excited when he let me video tape (not just flash a picture of) him answering questions. You may notice a funny cut. I had him answering questions about our phone number and address and didn't think it would be a good idea to post those. (You can also see in the background that Caleb is now walking. Hooray for Caleb! He started walking last weekend and is getting better and better everyday.)

We are loving this warmer weather! Sunday evening we went for a walk and let Mitchell ride his bike around the neighborhood for the first time. He did really really well. He was fascinated by watching himself pedal which didn't help him steer but Clint was there to keep him out of the gutter and away from the cars so he probably figured that steering wasn't a priority. After cruising around we hung out in the backyard for awhile and broke in the swingset for the upcoming outdoor season.

We were excited to have part of the Chris and Becky Adams family come visit today. Chris was up taking loads to the dump and brought Thomas, Nathan and Will over to play. They had a great time. I felt very outnumbered--5 boys to 1 girl. When Chris knocked at the door to pick them up Thomas said, "I hope that's not my dad" and told Chris that he was going to stay here "forever and ever". I'm glad that he had a good time. Mitchell and Will had a good time as well. They interacted more than I expected. They were throwing toys and making each other laugh. It was fun to see the Adams family again. We're so sad that they moved away!

You'll never guess how I spend a lot of time!

Nap Adjustments

2008-03-05T10:36:00.010-07:00

We're back! We have been places and done things since we last updated but I have a terrible habit of forgetting to take my camera. We went to the zoo with friends on Friday morning and it was a lot of fun. The animals were very active. The zebras and bears were playing like I've never seen them before and the tiger was moving around. He/she is usually dormant when we visit. Mitchell and Caleb were having a great time. As usual the train ride was the highlight of Mitchell's day. He was more content to watch the train chugging than he was watching any of the other animals. We'll have to go again soon (with the camera) before it gets too hot.

Our main obstacle of late is attempting to switch Caleb from 2 naps to 1 nap per day. Beforehand I would put him down in the morning and he would take a great nap but when I would put him down in the afternoon he would stay awake in his crib for over an hour before falling asleep. It felt as though he was in his crib (awake or asleep) all day. So we're venturing into the 1 nap arena. He is struggling. I took this picture yesterday during lunch. He could barely keep his eyes open while he was eating. In an effort to keep his eyes open he would arch his eyebrows as high as he could but his eyes never opened more than what you see.

Yesterday we went to the library. We were looking at books and we found one about a boy who was deciding what he wants to wear for Halloween. I'm thinking that is what spurred on Mitchell's desire to wear costumes today. I told him that he could play in our costume box after I finished cleaning. I don't know how many times he asked if I was finished cleaning yet. When I was FINALLY done we pulled it out and he tried on all the costumes. I made this dragon/dinosaur costume in 2006. At that time we practically forced him to wear just the main body suit. There was no way he would even touch the gloves or the hat. The top picture is of him 2 years ago after we got it on him. (He DID wear it willingly for Halloween but still wouldn't have anything to do with the gloves or hat.) The bottom picture is of him today. It was his first time wearing the additional pieces so I got a picture of the complete costume for the first time. Better late than never.

One last anecdote: Yesterday morning I was repulsed by the amount of hair on my legs so I decided I would take time to shave (including my knees and armpits) at any cost. So I trapped Caleb on our main floor by blocking both sets of stairs. I put him in a midst of toys and sent Mitchell outside to play. Caleb started crying right away as I walked up the stairs but I was undaunted. I set to work in the shower and did what I set out to do, but by the time I was finished both kids were screaming and I was feeling pretty anxious. Instead of taking time to dry off completely I bolted out of the bathroom dripping wet wrapped in a towel. I came downstairs to find Caleb screaming with snot covering his face and Mitchell screaming with his fingers caught in a drawer. I felt terrible. I immediately picked up Mitchell to comfort him. As he was screaming in my arms Caleb had crawled over (still screaming) and was trying to get me to hold him. In reaching up for me he had felt my newly soft, smooth and wet legs and was rubbing them over and over again. Maya also came over and claimed my other leg by licking it over and over again. Ahhhhhhhh motherhood!

Cakes

2008-02-20T14:31:00.008-07:00

Clint came home from work on Tuesday and thanked me for putting Caleb's birthday pictures on our blog. People from work had asked about Caleb's party and he could simply direct them to our blog. He also told me that his co-workers wanted to know what the other birthday cakes I had made looked like. Clint made it seem to them like there was no way I would let him post those pictures because I'm too humble. The only cake that I'm not humble about is the pirate ship. The others definitely needed work. But sometimes its nice to do the unexpected, so I'll post the others as well.

Clint's coworkers---enjoy! (Everyone else enjoy them too!)

Mitchell's First Birthday 9-05

Mitchell's 2nd Birthday 9-06

Mitchell's 3rd Birthday 9-07

Happy Birthday Caleb

2008-02-18T21:43:00.007-07:00

This past Saturday, the 16th, was Caleb's first birthday. The day started out with Caleb and Clint spending the morning together while Mitchell and I were at a primary activity. Caleb and Clint don't have many opportunities to spend one-on-one time together so it was fun for both of them. That afternoon the kids took a nap while we decorated Caleb's alphabet block cake. We have a tradition now where we make fun cakes every year for the kids' birthdays. They certainly aren't proffesional looking but we have a lot of fun making them and the kids get excited about them. (At least Mitchell does anyway. I'm sure Caleb will when he gets older.)
After naps we got ready for the party and had Taco Bell for dinner. Previously when we've had Taco Bell Caleb has devoured his tacos, but not that evening. He must have saving up for cake and ice cream.
His party had a great turn-out. His Clement grandparents came along with his Uncle Dave and Aunt Darci and their kids, Marissa, Hailey, Zach and Mason. Our good friends, the Walls who live down the road, were able to make it as well along with their daughter, Hannah (who is Caleb's girlfriend), and her Uncle Ray. Caleb thrived on all the attention of so many people. He has always been happier with more people around. He went from person to person smiling and showing off.
Caleb especially loved his cake. Once we placed him in his high chair and put a rather large piece of cake in front of him he went nuts. He was taking cake in by the fist-fulls and would only take breaks occasionally to get a drink. He ended up eating 3 big pieces of cake and 2 large scoops of ice cream by the time we decided he should be finished. He was undaunted by the temperature of the ice cream and would have continued eating if we would have let him. He went straight from his chair to the kitchen sink to be hosed down.
On his birthday Caleb decided that it was a good day to start walking a little bit. He didn't start walking fully but progressed from hardly any steps to 3 or 4 at a time. He really enjoys walking back and forth from his parents or anyone who is close by. He showed off at his doctor's appointment this morning by walking from my legs over to Dr. Uncle Paul to investigate his stethoscope. As a side note he weighed 25 lbs and is 31 inches long. He is a big boy.

Not only did Caleb get a party on his birthday but also got one the next day as well. Clint's parents weren't able to make it on Saturday due to their teenagers' busy schedules so they came down Sunday to celebrate. His grandpa was very cute. The picture above is a picture of them together right before the opening of the presents began. He loves to spoil his grandchildren and barely waited for everyone to gather before starting to have Caleb open his gifts. He had called us a few days before asking what we thought would be a good gift for Caleb. We gave him a few ideas and he ended up purchasing all of them much to the delight of Mitchell. He enjoyed the gifts just as much if not more than Caleb did.

A Boy and His Dog....and other stories

2008-02-15T16:21:00.008-07:00

Mitchell loves his dog, Maya. He made this very apparent the other day. We had some friends over for awhile and while they were leaving Maya escaped out the front door. Usually Maya is very obedient (when she is already confined in the walls of our home). But if she gets outside she doesn't want anybody to know that she's associated with us. I think she's embarrassed. If I try to catch her she runs further. The best option has been to just let her come back on her own terms.

While she was gone Mitchell was watching and waiting for her by the front window. After 10 minutes of Maya not coming back he started crying frantically that he didn't have a dog anymore. I told him that she was probably out investigating the neighborhood and would be back shortly but inside I was starting to plan out what I would tell Mitchell when she didn't return. I was also wondering when the appropriate time is to start hanging posters and putting ads online. It only took a few more minutes for Maya to return and Mitchell was very excited.

A few hours later I found him hugging Maya and very sweetly telling her how much he loves her, and showing her with his arms just how big his love is. "Maya, I love you THIS much" (with arms extended as far as they can go).

Last Sunday during dinner Caleb was having a hard time being happy. He and Mitchell are both recovering from colds, coughs, and fevers that plagued them last week. Usually when my children are having a hard time I end up making a fool out of myself to try and help them be happy. That day was no exception. In an effort to change Caleb's grumpy mood I started pretending that I was going to eat his hand. That progressed to me kissing his hands and arms. He really liked it so I really got into it. To get some better smooching action I moved from my chair to Caleb's side (as shown). At this point shown in the picture I think he had had enough.

Valentine's day was great. Mitchell enjoyed writing his name on Valentines and giving them to his friends. He also enjoyed getting Valentines especially the one from his grandma. He could hardly wait to open the package that had arrived a few days before. Clint surprised me and the kids with balloons when he got home from work. I had asked him to pick up some for the kids but he also got a boxer-wearing monkey balloon for me. I'm sure it will last longer than flowers and bring more enjoyment to the whole household. Clint never ceases to bring fun surprises to our home. I'm so glad that I have him for my husband. He is a wonderful spouse and father!

Friday Night Action

2008-02-05T20:50:00.001-07:00

This past Friday night we had the opportunity to watch some of our friends' children. In all there were 6 kids at our house all under the age of 5. I rather enjoyed the full feeling that the house had but Clint was pretty overwhelmed. He was ready to put the three babies to bed by 6:30.

Caleb really enjoyed having friends Hannah and Ethan who are closer to his age. Hannah is only a month younger and Ethan is a few months younder. I also especially enjoyed having Hannah here for the evening. I couldn't keep my hands from playing with her long, curly brown hair. Caleb would have loved to get his hands in it too if we would have let him. He was able to get a few fingers into Ethan's face. Luckily Ethan is a very sweet baby and didn't mind the attention until Caleb DID get his fingers into his hair. He recovered quickly and didn't hold a grudge. He was smiling at Caleb later on in the night.

Mitchell Rocks!

2008-01-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to dinner at the home of one of Clint's co-workers. He and his wife invited their neighbors and our family to come over for dinner and play games afterwards. Due to the nature of Clint's work there was, naturally, a projector handy to enlarge the Wii gaming experience for the evening. Clint's co-worker, Jay, had seen me play Guitar Hero around Christmas time and had been telling his neighbors about it. They asked me to play for them that evening. I did put on a performance but it was nothing to Mitchell's. He demanded a turn and was just as intense about playing as the rest of us. He even got 2 notes right in one of the songs that he played. He's definitely on the fast path to "rock"dom.

Friends? Rivals?

2008-01-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening was the annual Cub Scout Cake Auction. About a week beforehand Clint and our good friend Keven decided to bring cheesecakes dressed in school pride to see which would sell for more. It's too bad that a bet wasn't made because even though Keven worked harder and made his Ute cake fancy, the BYU caked pulled through for the win.

Rare Moments

2008-01-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

If you ask Mitchell what he thinks of Caleb he'll tell you that he loves his little brother. He is very excited to share a room with him. When we stay at other people's houses and you ask him where he should sleep he'll tell you that he needs to sleep with Caleb. However, if Caleb comes within 2 feet of where he is, his inner demon is unleashed. Mitchell also is an unwilling partcipant when it comes to picture-taking. He runs in the other room or hides his face if the camera comes out. So I'm hoping that this picture is showing what can potentially be a constant in the future!!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

2008-01-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

Clint took his scouts on a winter campout last night. He has been talking about this for awhile and his scouts have been really excited about it. Before he left he told me how worried he was that the boys wouldn't be adequately prepared for the cold temperatures. Luckily he only had to bring one boy home, but what's funny is that he made a pit-stop here to gather some stuff that he, himself, had forgotten!

When he came home he showed me his pants that he had been wearing while they built snow caves. They were frozen solid. I reminded him that we have some warm, waterproof, snow pants and he immediately put those on.

They had a lot of fun. They built 5 snowcaves total and only 1 collapsed. It collapsed because Clint was over confident about how high he could dig it out. It didn't fall in until everyone was out, though. My biggest fear was that a cave would collapse on the boys so I'm glad that everyone got out safely.

The coldest it got was 17 degrees below 0. I'm sure glad that I slept in a warm bed last night!

Let the "Cheese" Begin

2008-01-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

We did it. Book club was last night. After hearing friends Cary, Megan and Missy talk about their blog pages I was finally convinced that our family should start one as well. My creativity level is inadequately equipped for this type of thing so this will be a make-fun-of-us-only page. If you find yourself pleasurably informed by the end I'll consider it a bonus.

Mitchell has figured out how to take pictures by himself. He and his friend, Alex, got a hold of the camera yesterday and were taking picture after picture. While Caleb was bathing this morning I looked at all of the pictures and found over 50 that they had taken. There were various pictures of walls, stairs, celings, arms, legs, blurs and an occasional picture worth saving. They had a blast.

Caleb's camera discovery is that if you see the camera aiming towards you, you should cheese as big as you can. He'll be crying hysterically when you point the camera his way and in an instant he is smiling. I'm excited for when we get pictures taken at a studio. I'll bring the regular camera along and we shouldn't have any problems getting him to smile.

Clint is finally back at work (at Energy Solutions) after a week of playing and traveling. He was able to go to an all-expenses-paid trip to the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. He had a great time. He was picked up by a limo and driven around. He ate a 2 lb. lobster and sat at a suite at the game. I'm surprised he came back home at all! The day after coming home he flew right back out to New Mexico for a business trip for 4 days. By the last day Mitchell was telling me that he was "really ready for (his) daddy to come home". We all were.

I'm starting my second week as the Primary president in our ward. I'm finding myself on the phone more than I have ever been before. This will be a very good opportunity for me to stretch out of my comfort zone where I very comfortably love to remain. I'm still selling Avon, driving kids, and have just started watching a friend's child one day a week. It's good for me to have a variety of errands so I don't get too obsessed or drowned by one thing. I like to drown in a diversity.

We'll try hard to keep this up. We're excited to view others blogs as well!