Parker's One Year Old!

Parker had his birthday when we were in Utah, so that was really fun. We went to my sister Cherie's house, ate dinner and then did cupcakes and presents. (All the pictures I took of him with his presents turned out blurry-bummer!) He didn't know what to think about the candle in the cupcake, but once he tasted the cupcake, he was lovin' life! When I told Braxton that Parker was going to have his birthday and he'd be one, he got so excited and said: "Oh I can't wait. He'll be able to play with me and run around." So I said, "I'm sorry, buddy, but he's not going to be much different. We'll just have to wait a while longer for him to be able to play with you more." It was pretty funny. Anyhow Parker's pulling himself up on everything and I'm sure he'll be my earliest walker. Braxton was 17 months, and Carly 19 months before they walked!! He's so fun to watch when he's playing. He loves to climb up on the couch and crawl back and forth and then he'll sit up and clap and laugh. It's quite cute. Well, my baby's not a baby anymore. The year flew by. It always does. I'm just always reminded how much more I need to cherish time with my kids. Here's a little video I took with my camera. Our camcorder battery died of course, so this is the only video I got of his birthday.

Monavie for Life Baby!

Our family took a short trip to Utah last week because there was the annual International Convention for Monavie in Salt Lake. It worked out great because Bryan could go to the meetings, and I could hang out with my family. I did go to an awards banquet that they had on Friday night. That was pretty cool. My parents watched our kids and we went to the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City where all the festivities for Monavie were being held. There were thousands of people there, but we were finally allowed into the area where we would have dinner. It was pretty cool. The lights were off except where the stage was lit and then on the surrounding walls there were a million little lights glowing like stars in the sky. It was a cool effect. We found a table in the back corner where we sat with my brother-in-law Jason, and Bryan and Jason's buddies, Alex and Steve Roche. Then we were joined by a group of four very interesting people. There was a couple from New Zealand, and another friend from New Zealand and then a friend of theirs from LA. They had great accents. I found it just pleasant to listen to them talk. The three from New Zealand had become diamond (a rank in Monavie) in two months which is incredible. They had some great pointers. The man from LA (also an Alex) had been in a couple of movies like Pretty Woman (the polo player that flirted with Julia Roberts at the polo match.) Anyhow he was very interesting as well and said he had given a bottle to Harrison Ford who told him he had already been given some Monavie! It was quite fun. Then they recognized the top ten people who had sponsored the most people in the business in the last year and the New Zealand couple was number 7. Then they called up everyone that had made a million dollars in the past year. I lost count; the stage was full of them. It was amazing and quite motivating. Then they auctioned off cars to raise money for the MORE project in Brazil. And at the end they had a very funny comedian named Bryan Reagan entertain us. He's really clean and a real crack up. Bryan and I had heard of him before, so we were excited to hear him in person. Overall it was an amazing evening.

Dinosaur Museum

Braxton loves the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point in Utah. He kept asking if we could go because it's about 5 minutes away from my parent's house, so he kept seeing it as we'd pass by. So we went Friday afternoon. Carly was scaredy as she calls it. Whenever she's afraid of something she says she's scaredy. So Grandpa held her most of the time. Atleast Braxton had fun.

Two in one!

Before we left for Utah, I had to get the brakes checked out on our van. The shop had to keep it most of the day, and I actually had a hair appointment that day, but thankfully the salon is just a couple blocks away, so we walked. The double stroller was in the van, so I put Parker in the umbrella stroller and we set out. Carly was basically running to keep up. Her little legs were doing double time, but when I asked her if she wanted to ride with Parker, she stated that she would like to walk. We were half a street away when she started to cry, so I put her on my back. But on our return trip I decided to put her in the stroller with Parker on her lap. They both had a great time; Carly was giggling the entire way home. I just had to take a picture it was so funny. They're nearly the same size!

A little pizza for the belly!

A couple of Saturdays ago, we decided to go to Pizza Plus for dinner. We had worked all day inside and out, so we wanted to have some fun. It's not too far from the house, so Bryan and Braxton rode their bikes which Braxton was thrilled about. They had video games there and candy machines. Braxton loved the video games and Carly loved the candy machines. There was also all you can drink soda, so basically the place was comparable to heaven in my kid's eyes. Parker slept while we were there, but then woke up in time for some pizza. On the way home, I got to ride our bike, and I thought it was great to have some one-on-one time with Braxton. He always wants to have Bryan ride with him because he's more fun and it's something that they can do together since they don't see a lot of each other during the week. Anyhow Pizza Plus was a hit with our family!

Star Student of the Week

Braxton was star "student of the week" right before we left for Utah. (I was glad it wasn't the week we would be in Utah. That would have been disappointing for him.) Anyhow on one of the days of the week, you are supposed to bring in a poster about yourself. They have the same teacher two years in a row at his school, so we decided to do a poster about his summer vacation. He was proud of it.

A soccer player and a ballerina.

Braxton started soccer a few weeks ago. I've decided he's not the extracurricular kind of kid at this point. He doesn't get excited about doing sports or anything extra that requires work. The first week we went, I had to force him out of the car when he realized he didn't know anyone because he was on a different team than he was last year. (He actually has a friend playing on this team, but he was on vacation the first week of practices.) So that was a little embarrassing as I'm dragging him across the field while trying to push a stroller with Parker in it and struggling with two camping chairs slung over my shoulder. He's okay now, but he doesn't love it. He'd rather be able to play at home after he's been at school all day. I don't blame him, but part of me thinks it's good for him, that he needs some kind of structured team sport, to learn new skills, make new friends and run around. And so I bring the hectic life of a soccer mom on myself with two practices a week and Saturday games from now until Thanksgiving, and then I added a dance class on top of that. But Carly needed something to call her own!

Now she's not just a princess but a ballerina princess!

London, Carly and Molly Powell waiting for their turn.

Carly doing her bunny hop across the floor.

I was so excited when I learned that Carly was going to be able to take dance this year. I didn't know if she would since you are supposed to be three when the semester starts and she won't be three until November. And then I nearly forgot about it until dance had already started, so then I thought for sure the class would be full and I'd be out of luck, but the gal who runs the dance studio is super nice and she said she could "sneak" Carly in. I didn't get to go to her first class because Braxton has soccer practice at the same time, so her Aunt Jenn took her since her daugter's in the same class. I was finally able to go this week, and it was just so cute. Carly loves, loves it. She asks every day if she can go to her dance class. She did pretty good in there with following directions.

And the Award for Most Cooperative Student of the Month goes to...

We have been very proud of the way Braxton has been handling 1st grade. He hasn't complained but has gotten up every morning and got dressed and ready to go. He's been working hard at school, and yesterday he received the Student of the Month award. At the beginning of each month, there is an award given to one student in each class. A category is always assigned to the month. This month it was Cooperation. So on Wednesday Braxton received the Student of the Month Award for being a Cooperative citizen! I could tell he felt good about it, but that night when Bryan was tucking him into bed, he was telling Braxton how proud he was and that he should keep doing all he's doing. And Braxton, getting a little concerned, said, "But Dad I can't get Student of the Month every month!" Of course Bryan assured him that he didn't have to try to do that. Keep it up Buddy!