Dinosaur Museum

My good friend Carol and I took 6 of our 7 kids (I left Brecken at home with a babysitter) to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point on July 9.  We had a great time!  We really lucked out - it turned out that the week we went, they were having some kind of dinosaur birthday party complete with a giant dinosaur made out of balloons, face painting, and crafts.  The kids love the dinosaur museum (especially Gavin - he thinks he is a dinosaur half the time) but had even more fun this time.  It did help that we took them to McDonald's afterwards.  

Baseball Fun!

Dallin loved getting to play coach pitch baseball this summer.  He did great batting and playing out in the field.  He really had a lot of fun - especially since he had some friends on his team (Jackson, Alex).  My brother Scott and his 3 kids (Michael, Maddisyn, and Braxten) even got to come to one of Dallin's games.  Another time, Ed's brother's kids from Florida got to come (Morgan, Samantha, Jordan, Stuart, and Raeleigh).  I love getting to watch Dallin play sports - good thing because I have TONS of games to look forward to.

2 of our Favorite People - Big Gavin & Amanda

We love Big Gavin and Amanda.  They lived near us when they were dating and when they first got married (last February) - they came over all the time and we loved it.  We were so sad when they moved away (especially Matthew because Amanda was "my Manda").  But luckily, they do make it back to Utah once in a while and they always stop to see us - which makes us so happy.  So, earlier this month when they were in town, they came by.  Big Gavin even built a really cool fort with the boys - they loved it!

Volcano Time

For Dallin's birthday last month, one of his friends gave him a volcano kit.  What a great present! You get to build the volcano (pretty simple) and then 2-3 very long days later (after being asked about a million times if it was time to erupt the volcano) you get to make the volcano erupt.  Ed and the boys had a great time building it and erupting it!

***We have been out of town so I am a little behind in blogging - so hopefully this week I can play a little catch up from before our trip and from our trip (we went and saw my sister in Oregon and her new little baby).

9 Months Old Today!

I can't even believe it - my cute little baby is 9 months old today!  In some ways it seems like yesterday that he was born, but then in other ways it seems like forever ago (the first 7 months were really long and hard - even though I know many others who have harder times with their babies).  But, I must say that now, Brecken is a FABULOUS little guy.  For example, today my brother Scott & his wife (who are in town from NC) were over with their 3 cute kids and Brecken just sat on the floor for over an hour just playing with his toys.  He is starting to have a personality and be so much fun.  I just love this little guy!

DeGraffenried Family Reunion

Every year, around the 4th of July, Ed's Mom's family has a little reunion up Santaquinn Canyon in a campground called Tinney Flats.  Everyone just meets up there and we eat dinner and get caught up, a little bit, with everyone (and there are a lot of people).  This year, there were over 125 people.  Our boys love it because there is a little river right there that they can play in - but it is really cold so they don't get all the way in.  Next year I have to remember to bring 2 pairs of shoes for them - at least I did remember dry clothes.

Swimming Lessons - June 2008

Dallin and Matthew just finished their first session of swimming lessons for the summer.  For the past 4 years, we had gone to the Hadfield's - but they didn't do lessons this year - so I took the boys to Ivory Ridge Swim & Tennis Club for lessons.  The boys loved it there and it is really close.  I LOVE that I didn't have to walk up a HUGE hill like at the Hadfield's.  Plus, there are tons of lounge chairs for the moms and a kiddy pool (only 1 1/2 feet deep) that Gavin could play in - or as he thought, take lessons in.  Dallin was in level 3 and Matthew in level 1 (just to be safe).  After 2 days, they moved Matthew up to level 2 because he was doing so well (and he was the only kid in level 1 and level 2 only had 2 kids in it).  Dallin is getting so good.  He learned several different strokes.  And Matthew, he can actually swim now.  I love watching my kids learn and grow!

Duckie Lake

Last Saturday, the boys woke-up and asked their dad if they could go to "Duckie Lake" - one of their most favorite places to go with their dad.  Sometimes they take the canoe but that doesn't work as well now that there are 3 of them (3 boys plus dad).  They fish (usually without hooks but Ed got a license so they could really fish this time), feed the fish, play on the playground, go on little hikes, & have a fabulous time.  The boys love hanging out with their dad - and luckily for them, he is really good about taking them places and doing things with them.

Up on All 4!

What a happy day!  There is hope that one day my little Brecken will crawl!  Not that I am in any hurry for him to be crawling, but he hadn't shown ANY interest up until today.  Actually, he still has never even rolled from his tummy to his back.  He can roll from his back to his tummy - and he doesn't even get mad any more (at least not for awhile).  

It all started when he was sitting on the floor in front of his dinosaur toy playing with his other toys - this little guy LOVES playing with toys!  After a little bit I realized he was no longer sitting up but on his tummy and actually up on all four, and even rocking back and forth a little bit.  I love this age!  They are changing so quickly and discovering so many things.  It is so much fun to watch him turn into an animated little guy with some personality!

My 4 Boys at 7 Months Old!

I finally got Brecken's picture enlarged at put up on the wall.  I take pictures of each boy around 7 months old, blow them up, and put them on the wall going down the basement stairs.  I love having them on the wall - it is so much fun to see them as little guys, even though they are 7, 5, and 3 now.  It is so amazing to me how different each boy is.  But they are all so cute!

Happy Birthday Big D!

Dallin turned 7 yesterday!  I can hardly believe my oldest is 7!  We had a fabulous day.  The day started with swimming lessons, which Dallin LOVES!  Dallin & Matthew now say they want to be "swimming lesson teachers" when they grow up.  After swimming lessons, we went home and finished getting ready for Dallin's birthday party with his friends.  The party started at 2:00.  A little after 2, when most of his friends were here, the doorbell rang.  What a great surprise!  My brother's wife and their 3 kids were at our door.  It was such a surprise because they live in North Carolina and came to Utah for a visit without us knowing.  It was so much fun to have them come over - and just in time for the party!

At the party, we decorated water bottles, played on the blow-up waterslide, played water balloon volleyball (which the kids loved and didn't want to stop playing), and had a water gun battle.  It was a very hot day, but luckily, some clouds came out and a little breeze came - it turned out to be a great day for a party.

For dinner, Ed met us at Chili's - Dallin's favorite restuarant.  The kids were all so good and loved eating out.  The Chili's "surfers" (as Gavin calls them) even sang to Dallin and gave him a milkshake for his birthday.  During dinner, out of no where, Dallin said, 

"I am so spoiled on my birthday.  Mom & Dad, you spoil me so much on my birthday!"  

That right there made it all worth it.  What a sweet boy!

After dinner, we went home and opened Dallin's presents.  He got the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, Scooby-Doo characters, markers (he LOVES to color), and the one thing he really wanted - Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii (Matthew was very excited too).  

A little later, some of our friends came over and we sang Happy Birthday and had some of the really cool cake (and by cake I mean 4 box cake mixes and one of my really yummy chocolate cake from scratch - and 3 hours of just decorating the cake - I really like making fun cakes for my kids) that I stayed up until almost 2am making (not complaining - totally my choice and it was worth it).  Dallin was very happy with his monkey surfing on a banana cake.  He even said again, "I am so spoiled on my birthday" and that "This is the best day ever!".  It really was a great day!

Dallin's Birthday Invite

It was Dallin's birthday & his birthday party yesterday.  I just realized I never posted the invitation to his "water" birthday party.  At first I had him talked into a Scooby-Doo party (since my boys love to watch Scooby-Doo).  But, after we went to Lake Powell (which I still need to blog), he had to have a Lake Powell Houseboat party.  I did manage to talk him into a Water/Beach Monkey party (beach monkey because I found really fun beach monkey stuff that worked well for a "water" party).  So, here is the invitation and hopefully pages from his birthday will follow soon.