Tour de Cure

Cannon has been itching to go biking through the canyons here ever since we moved to the mouth of Sardine Canyon. Personally, I don't understand the draw of biking somewhere so STEEP and UPHILL. Plus, you use the same roads as the crazy auto drivers. And eventually, you have to go back DOWNHILL. Yikes.

Well, he finally found some time over the last two months to do some day-time bike training. Didn't do as much canyon biking as he probably would have liked, but he got into good enough shape to ride in the Tour de Cure on Saturday. It was 60 miles (although they mistakenly added almost 10 more), and orginated and ended in Brigham City. Up until that day, the farthest he had biked was 40 miles. That was Thursday. Needless to say, he was tuckered out by the time he finished!

I'm proud of him. He's on the lookout for more races to be involved in. Maybe a triathelon or something.

Here he is in his ATK (work) team jersey.

It's been Father's Day for a month!

Jackson and Jordan have been so into creating lately. Especially Jackson. He started making Father's Day gifts as soon as Mother's Day was over! That gave him plenty of time to make his many creations. Here's my favorite. I'm not even sure what's inside this envelope, but he made it two weeks early and put it on Cannon's pillow.

Here's the translation for those unaccustomed to reading the handwriting of a first-grader, "Dear Daddy, In this envelope is something for Father's Day but don't open it this minute or you will get in trouble. Love Jackson"

Here's my favorite picture by Jordan (he made a whole book, but this was the cover letter).

Translation. Dear Daddy, and a picture of Daddy. My family, with a picture of us. The two brown ones in the middle are Tanner, who is crying (notice the angry eyes) and Jordan, who is giving Tanner his blankie. (One of the other kids also drew a picture of the family, in which Tanner was also crying. Describes our new two-year-old perfectly.) Then a picture of What I did Today. Can't remember what that one is about. Then The Pet I Wish I Had. The kids have been working on the pet thing for a while. It'll never happen. But it was a good idea to send the message through while Dad is so happy with his kids! I love you. From Me. And a picture of Jordan. He's brown because that's his current favorite color.

Here is Sydney presenting her coupon book to Daddy. So cute in the morning, aren't they??

Then, as a special treat for Tanner (at least that's what Tanner thinks), my Dad stayed with us for the weekend. Tanner is "Gampa's" shadow.

We had a BBQ that evening with some of my siblings, and we all had a fun time and ate good food. Mmmmm.

Here's Rodney. Paul and me. Cute Tanner.

I love you, Cannon!!!

Soccer Mom

Not sure I deserve the title, because, honestly, I'm a grouch when I have to get everybody ready for soccer games Saturday mornings. Find all the shirts, shin guards, cleats, and water bottles. Then get everyone IN the car, to the field on time. Lug all the water bottles, snacks and folding chairs, keep Tanner off the field and away from everyone else's balls, water bottles and snacks. Watch the game - with interest, of course. Gather everyone up, along with said water bottles, snacks, and folding chairs, to get the the NEXT game on time, and repeat the whole thing. Keeping a toddler happy the whole time. I love soccer - but not all the STUFF involved in getting there and back!

We had a great season, though. This was season #2 for the twins. They have improved leaps and bounds! Last year, the goal was to keep them AWARE of where the ball was, and maybe kick it once or twice in the game. We were lucky if they kicked it in the right direction. By the beginning of this season, they at least understood the whole "our team needs to score in that goal" concept, but how to do that was beyond them. Their coach put them on defense as full backs and showed them where to stand, then they stood in the same place all game and watched it pass them by! By the end of the season, they had figured out when and how to move around the field while still defending the goal. They were getting pretty agressive and paid attention the whole game. It was so fun! I loved watching them get excited when the ball came to their side of the field. They would jump up and down as it came closer. Loved it! Check this out. Jordan in number 11, Jackson is 5. They are wearing black shorts, and you can identify them by the jumping and windmills arms. Their grandma is cheering them on.

Sydney played her first season. They played 3 on 3 with no goalie. She's a little athlete! She jumped right in a scored three goals her first game! She was fast (at least the first half) and pretty agressive. She had a ton of fun, mostly.

I think her favorite part was watering the grass with her water bottle.

Well, who doesn't love the water bottles and snacks when you play soccer?

Mother's Day (only a little late!)

I had to add this picture, even though this was weeks ago. Jackson and Jordan plotted for days, no, weeks, to plan my mother's day! Their idea was sooo cute! They made me a fruit sculpture. They (with Dad's help) made a pineapple into a couch, then made little fruit people to sit on the couch. So cute! I loved it!!!!

Tanner's 2!

He's so cute. Adorable. And now he has the age to describe what his personality has been for months. He's 2. I can't say Terrible Two's, because he's just too darn cute to deserve that. But he really keeps me moving to keep up with him. He's so different than the other kids were at his age. He totally cracks me up one minute, then exasperates and exhausts me the next. He has been saying, "Daddy" very clearly for forever now, but just barely started to ask for me. It sounds like "ba-ba". He loves to read books, and even reads the paper when I'm done with it most days. He eats a ton, and asks for bread ("ba"), crackers ("ca-cah"), or snack ("snack") constantly.

Here is his cake.

I know, kind of boring. This is actually the second cake I made for him. He's still allergic to milk and eggs, and while I've figured out how to avoid milk pretty well, I had a hard time making a cake with the egg substitute. The first one just fell apart, and the second one was well on it's way to doing the same thing when I decided to just leave it in the pan and frost it right in the pan! It looked kind of sad. But the poor guy had so many food problems on his last birthday that he didn't even have a cake at all! So this is progress!

He LOVED his Geotrax train set that he got for his birthday. He's such a boy. Cars and trains fascinate him.

He is also graduating to a toddler bed from the crib. This kills me. I wish I could keep them in cribs until they are 10! But he will soon be sharing a room with his baby brother, and we must make room. So far, after four days, it looks like we'll have a smooth transition! (Please keep your fingers crossed!)

So, happy birthday, cutie! And PLEASE don't grow up too fast!

Singing Chameleons

Okay, I've been away from blogs for a long time! That's actually good news. I am now well into my second trimester (wait - I think I'm actually starting my third), and I've felt so good that I've been working on other things that missed my attention during my nausea-filled first trimester!

The kids were involved a play last week put on by Missoula Children's Theater. They audition on Monday, practice all week, then perform on Friday and Saturday. Somehow (I think I was tricked), I ended up having a part in the play too, so it was a family affair. the play was Robinson Crusoe (loosely based, at best) and Jackson, Jordan, and Sydney were Chameleons. I was Mrs. Crusoe. They did some hilarious dances, and I think Sydney stole the show with her dancing. She even turned around and shook her tail at the audience a few times. The twins were pretty amazing too. Here's a clip. I don't think this one really does them justice - it's at rehearsal, but you can get an idea.

Auditions.

I'm glad it's over. The kids are dying to get the DVD we ordered.

Boy or Girl - Can you tell??

so, here is a picture and a clip of our ultrasound today. Can you tell whether it's a boy or a girl?? =)




Here he is waving!