Winding up at Jackson Hole

Anybody else grow up going to Jackson Hole, WY? My family has been going there for years and I wasn't about to miss the chance when it presented itself this year. For one thing, Caleb and Greg are self assumed cowboys, and I knew they would be in their element. Plus it's just such a fun and beautiful place and I got to be with my family. Marc didn't get to come, so we really missed having him there, but other than that it was a great trip.

Here we are with big foot. The trip couldn't have been complete without this, right? Also, notice Greg with the toy pistol. Anyone who knows my family knows that my boys are gun fanatics. If you had asked me as a new mom if my kids would have toy guns I would have told you no, but here we are 4 years later and my kids have every gun toy known to man. Funny enough, Greg's first toy gun was bought on a trip to Jackson when he was about one by my dad. I thought for sure it would have been Marc's family who would start the mayhem, but no. Grandpas will be Grandpas and boys will be boys.

Caleb decked out with boots, hat and pistol- riding the fence.

Left to right- Lily (my sister Julie's girl), Lian (my youngest sister), Greg and Caleb all eating candy sticks.

One of the days we went to Jenny Lake and hiked a little and then drove a little farther up to Jackson Lake where there is a diner at the Lodge where my family loves to eat. They also have a perfect view of the Tetons on the back patio. Thanks Mom and Dad for the invite to go on the trip! What a perfect way to wrap up summer.

Birthday announcements!

Marc's birthday was on Thursday (17th). He had a busy day doing OBGYN rotations and studying- as usual, but we managed to fit in some birthday festivities too. We had Marc's favorite cake- yellow cake out of the box with store bought chocolate frosting. (What does it tell you when your husband requests that you not make anything from scratch?) Oh well? We got him a few little gifts picked out by Greg and Caleb one of which was a bag of Salsa Verde Doritos. they were pretty excited for him to open that one.



But the best part of the day was when we got to go pick up marc for lunch. We got to see the office where he's doing this month's rotation and since the doctor is a OBGYN she also let us use her ultrasound machine. That's right folks- we've got number three on the way (due Jan. 31). It was really nice of this doctor and she even let Marc be the one to do it. There are a few perks to having him in Medical school!
So here are Greg and Caleb with the picture of the new babe. We're all really excited and feel really lucky. Greg says the baby is a boy but I know our families all seem to be voting for a girl. We'll let you know in a month or two.

I don't have a picture for this. . .

So, I don't have a picture for this, but last night at 2:30am Greg comes bursting into our bedroom and b-lines it for the bathroom. It woke Both Marc and I up, so we waited to make sure things were alright. (It's not that unusual for Greg to wake up in the middle of the night to pee-- he drinks enough for three kids.) So, there we are waiting for him to do the deed, but instead of tinkling in the toilet, we hear something else. I thought maybe he just missed and was going on the floor or maybe in the shower. I went to check on him, and sure enough, there he is not peeing in the toilet but in the trash-can next to the toilet. Luckily he got it all in the can and none on the floor, so I counted that as good enough and sent him back to bed half delirious. So, I go lay back down and Marc and I just can't stop laughing about it. He's one funny kid!

Summer Blitz

Well, summer is passing by at warp speed as ususal. I can't believe it's already mid-July! My blogging update has been long overdue but there's been a lot going on. The boys and I spent most of June in Utah. We were trying to get out of the way so Marc could study in crazy mode for his board exams without worrying about us. Marc came up and met us for a few days at the end of June as it was my B-day (June 26th) and our anniversary (June 28th).

One really great thing about Marc's family and my family is that they live about five minutes away from each other and we all get along really well. So on my Birthday we had a big barbeque at my parents house with all my family and all Marc's family too. So it was a great opportunity to get a picture with our kids and their cousins on both sides.
While we were there, Greg discovered a new love. We took him to the batting cages, wondering if we were jumping the gun a little as even I have a hard time hitting the ball. But, much to my embarassment, Greg was practically better at it than I was.
Here we are at Marc's parents house target practicing with bow and arrow, handmade by Marc's extra talented mountain man father.
And finally, we made it back to Nevada just in time for the 4th of July. We have never been in Vegas for this holiday so we were a little lost as to where to go for fun, but we found a great parade out on Boulder City which is a small town about 15 minutes outside of town. Greg and Caleb got a little restless because it was kind of long and, of course super hot, but at the end they had a huge water fight with all the floats and the crowd so that made the day.



Marc started his rotations- and suprisingly enough he got put with an OBGYN to start out. Her name is Dr. Stevenson and, so far, Marc has been really impressed. He got to sit in an some surgeries last week, one of which was a C-section. He thought is was so cool. Now he's just anxious to get these board exams over with. Soon... soon!

The Big TWO for Caleb!

Yesterday was Caleb's birthday and he got this super cool tent in the mail from Grandma. It was a bit of a trick putting it up seeing as how I'm no girl scout, but we managed and our two little mountain men had a great time playing in it.
Here's a picture from the inside. Roomy isn't it? Continuing on with the western theme, I made this cowboy boot cake.
And here we are trying to light the candles which Caleb kept blowing out before I could light the other one. It was a fun day. Can't believe he's already two!

Where does the time go?

Have you ever looked around and realized that life is passing by too quickly? I could swear yesterday I was running around with bear feet, a bad perm, and a teddy bear on my t-shirt. Now, all of a sudden I am the mom, and my own children are growing up before my eyes, doing the same things that my sisters and I were doing not so long ago. This week has been one of those times when my fast paced life seemed to slow down just long enough for me to see life as the miracle that it is.

It all began with my oldest sister Angie and her new baby who we went to meet for the first time this last week. There's just something about a new baby, especially when it belongs to your sister who you have literally known every second of your life. Angie and I are only 13 months apart so we have shared a lot since we were babies. Toys, clothes, friends, and a multitude of experiences. Now we get to be moms together.

Baby Cal 5 days old.

So maybe I was already feeling sappy with the new baby and all that, but the next event of the week was Greg's fourth birthday. Four years has passed so fast. I, of course, know that everyone loves their kids and that all of them are special. But sometimes it just hits me how lucky I am to have my children. Greg is more EVERYTHING than I could have ever imagined. He is cuter, smarter, funnier, and crazier than Marc and I knew was possible.
Here's an example: A few weeks ago we had a ward service auction to raise money for the youth camps. People from the ward offered different services and then all families were given a paddle so they could bid while they ate dinner. Being the penniless students we are, we stuck to buying small items from the bake sale table and weren't paying super close attention to the actual auction. I left Marc to manage the boys while I helped the YW run the bake sale, so needless to say he had his hands full. Marc was chit-chatting with another couple in the ward when all the sudden they said, "Oh-oh, Greg just bid on something!" Sure enough, Greg saw everybody having fun with the paddles and wanted in on the action. So he picked ours up and started bidding away. He won too! Luckily it worked out OK. He ended up winning a free swimming lesson and it only cost us $15.
What would life be like without Greg? Dull, dull, dull. We are so happy and grateful for Greg in our family. Happy Birthday buddy!
Not to be outdone, Caleb is following right in Greg's charcter filled footsteps. Here he is-about to go swimming in Marc's parent's hot tub. He insisted on wearing the goggles. If someone had pulled me aside at 17 and asked me where I thought I would be in ten years, I would have probably told them that I would be a mom with a couple of kids. However, I never knew then that I would also be having the time of my life and loving, if not every minute, then almost every minute of it. Cheers to motherhood, childhood, and life!

Let's Celebrate Passover

Most people may not know that Marc's school is actually a private Jewish school. And although we're not Jewish, it's really been a nice thing since he gets all the Jewish holidays off. This weekend was Passover so Marc didn't have school Friday or Monday so we celebrated by doing a few extra things. Greg has been begging us to take him bowling lately, and so we finally went. It was a hit. Both Greg and Caleb could have bowled forever.
Caleb's favorite part was waiting for the ball to come out of the hole.
Greg got the highest score. Marc and I each planned on bowling a game, but Caleb was so excited that we ended up letting him take all Marc's frames and Marc and I just kept taking turns boling my game. I guess we weren't on a roll or maybe I just dragged Marc down because our ending score was 97 and Greg's was 100 (but in our defense, Greg did have bumpers).
Marc also did a triathlon this weekend. He and some other students at his school participated together and Marc was the first through to the finish line from his school. Yeah dad!