Summer is FUN

The boys are growing up SO much lately it is amazing. they are learning to communicate with us which is AWESOME. They are also learning to play with eachother more and more every day. Skyler is super good at helping me clean up, but Connor needs a little work on that. Connor makes the messes and Skyler cleans them up.

Right now the boys are really in to stickers, especially Skyler. They help at church for sure, but sometimes this is how he ends up.

They also like to climb in things still. The newest thing they have found it is to empty out the linen closet, and climb in there.

24th of July
We did our own little firework show on our driveway for the boys. Connor was scared silly, and didn't really care for the loud noises at first. Skyler was scared a little at first, then came around, but didn't want to leave my side.







Splash Pad Fun
We have taken the boys to the splash pad near our home a couple times. We like to go to this one because it isn't really busy. It is hit-n-miss on if they will like the water that day, which is another reason we like this one because they have a fun park not 15 yards from the splash pad. There is lots of grass for the boys to run around, a basketball court to play with daddy, and a pickle ball court that they like to run around in. Yeah, we like to come here, if for anything else to wear the boys out!







Skyler




Connor

4th of July in Hatch

So in family tradition we went up to the "Wood" family cabin for the 4th of July. There with us was Jared and Jen and thier family, Dana and Kimo and their family, and Kimo's mom, and our mom. We had such a fun time. It is such a small town, we just let the boys run around outside and play on this little bike/scooter thing in the street. We were actually unsure that we would be able to go because there was a chance that Skyler may have had Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. He had sores all over his tongue, and hadn't eaten much, due to the pain, all week. We decided to try it out though, and it was totally worth it. They had so much fun, and really enjoyed spending so much time outside. We also got to sleep in the basement, which is definitely an experience, the cabin is not the most glamorous of cabins, and needs some work, but is seriously SO much fun. But anyway, David sleped in bed with Skyler and I sleped with Connor. We don't really have the opportunity to cuddle up with the kids to sleep, they would rather be in their beds, so for me this was a treat to share a bed with Connor. David said that Skyler was a bed hog...which I can see. That was why they didn't last too long sharing a bed.


HATCH TOWN PARADE
Well as soon as we got there Connor spotted a boy with a patriotic bunch balloon, which punch balloons are one of his FAVORITE toys right now, so from that point on, he had nothing else on his mind. Eventually the boy was so awesome and just let Connor have the balloon. My mom also gave the kids pinwheels, and Skyler loved his. He had a hard time getting it to work, but that didn't stop him from trying. Mom helped a little. Then we just waited and tried to grab the candy. The boys didn't really get it, but I think they still had fun watching all the cars. Connor was trying to go in to the street, and almost got hit by a quad.





FOOT RACES
Skyler and I have been practicing for the last few months for the foot races they do at the "Carnival" type-ish thing, so we were VERY excited. Anyway, they called the one year olds, and Connor didn't want to stop swinging, so it was just Skyler. They said, "Ready-Set-Go" and Skyler didn't know what to do. I tried to help him, and I think I was the only parent shoving her kid down the lawn, everybody else was waiting at the finish line calling their child. I probably looked like a total fool, but either way, we had fun! I don't think he won, I think my nephew, Aiden, did. GO AIDEN!




FIREPLACE FIASCO
I was in the kitchen prepping for dinner and asked my mom to help me keep an eye on Connor. Needless to say, I don't think either of us were paying much attention until my nephew Jay came in and told us he was in the fireplace. Of course we had to take advantage of the photo opp before cleanup started. Thank goodness Grandma Carma was around to take care of that part!



MOTORCYCLE RIDES
One of the perks of going with family is that you get to benefit from all their fun toys they bring. My sister-in-law brought her beach cruiser (bike) that was white with pretty pink flowers and a pink basket in front, as well as a children's seat attached behind the back seat. I didn't get any pictures of it, but I took the boys on so many rides, it was GREAT.

Then there were the REAL toys. My brother, Jared, took Skyler on a ride on the quad. When it was Connors turn, I think the loudness of the quad scared him (loud noises do that to him, don't get me started on the lawnmower). After seeing how much fun Skyler was having on the bike, I think Connor was jealous. Anyway I ended up taking him, and he absolutely loved it.




AT THE FIREWORKS SHOW...
Believe it or not, Hatch actually get a pretty good firework show. So we went just outside of town (a whole mile away) and parked and waited for the firework show.

While we were waiting the older kids got to do some fireworks so I brought some glow sticks for the little ones. Skyler loved the glow sticks and wore them around his arms all night


The boys kept us on our toes as they ran all over the place, and my mom kept ALL the kids busy with her pocket full of candy! Skyler even ate some, my mom was quite proud!



Once the fireworks started the boys were finally still. Connor was a little scared at the loud noises, but that was over within seconds. They sat on our laps and just looked up in the sky, it was a lot of fun!

Kids are growing up

So the boys are really growing up. They are starting to listen to us better, and learning a lot. They understand what we are communicating, and that is super fun now. They are picking up on words. Words that they say (though we might be the only ones to understand) are: please, more, cookie, shoes, juice, bye bye, milk, help, cheese, no, ball, papa and poopoo (they get those pixed up sometimes, sorry papa Craig) and that is all I can think of right now. They are so cute, they say "PEEEEZEEE" anytime they want something, and when you look down at them rubbing their chest (the sign for "Please") and a HUGE grin as they say it, it breaks your heart if you have to say no. Skyler can count to 3, but 2 is definitely his favorite number, 1 and 3 are hit an miss. We say 1, 2, 3... GO. He also mimics me when we go through books and say the colors, he also says apple. Connor can say GoGurt (their favorite after nap snack) and mama. As they are learning more, we aren't signing as much, but we still work on it, and I can definitely see how signing has helped with their communication.


The boys are also learning to play and associate a bit more with each other. They push each other around in the laundry basket (until they broke it) and in the toy cars. I think a language of their own is in the works, because they talk to each other and seem to understand each other, though we have no idea what they are saying. They like to sit next to eachother and eat their snacks on the couch. They love to jump on their trampoline, sing and dance. They like to head bob to rap music in the car. We go to the pool about once a week, and they love to go down the hydrotube slide. They really like balls and balloons, especially punch ball balloons. The boys go everywhere and keep us on our toes, and are seriously so much fun it is ridiculous!



I looked out the window and what did I see...... A chicken staring back at me!

That's right, we were sitting around one afternoon, and out of no where a chicken shows up on our front porch.



For Fathers Day I dressed the boys up (see below) but Skyler's shirt, boots and pants were on the big side, I asked David if he looked like he was going to go in to a school with a gun or something, but he said the tie pulled it together, but once we changed him out of his chirch shirt and tie.... I dunno, what do you think?


Sleeping Patterns:

Toddler beds have been a REAL challenge and we have to stay in there with them until they fall asleep. We did get a music player that projects an image on to the ceiling, and that seems to be helping. I think the fact that it stays light so long doesn't help very much either.

Connor still sleeps with his blanket in his mouth


Skyler loves to look at his books before bed


HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
In tribute to David for Father's Day, I would like to say how awesome of a Dad David is. He is so good with the boys, and so supportive of me. I couldn't have asked for a better guy. For Father's Day I got the boys all matching ties, and they looked SO cute for church. I had to speak in church, which was OK I guess. I got to get up and publicly make fun of David for forgetting me on Mother's Day. So I guess we are even!

Utah Summer Games Sprint Triathlon

So I know we haven't posted in a while, and I promise I will do a family post in the next few days. I wanted to do a post on the Utah Summer Games Sprint Triathlon I did last weekend (June 13, 2009). The triathlon consists of a half mile swim, 12 mile bike ride and a 5K (3.1 mile) run. I have been training a bit with the Southern Utah Triathlon club and learning so much. I am really enjoying this sport and changing it up from just running.

So to start out the day I woke up at about 5 AM and left the house with my bike stuffed in the trunk of the Jetta. I got to the lake and set up my transition station. Went and got branded with my race number, division and age on my arms and legs, then basically waited until my wave of swimmers left.

We got in the water, and it was chilly (thank goodness for the wetsuit Dana let me borrow). This was a new experience for me swimming around so many other swimmers, getting kicked, kicking others, running into people, dodging other swimmer, etc. I did the swim, and it was a little more difficult than I expected. This was probably the longest open water swim I have done thus far, and it didn't help that the water was a bit on the choppy side due to the overcast weather.

I got out of the lake, and walked/ran on the asphalt, that had tons of little rocks digging in to my bare feet, to my transition station, got dressed, put on my super cool new shoes and started off on the bike.

Now... anybody who has done this bike course know a little something about..."THE HILL!" This is a hill that is pretty steep and is about 3/4 of a mile to a mile long. You hit it about 3-4 miles into the bike ride. Up until this point I had not been successful at completing the hill without having to stop and walk at least once. This was the thing that made me most nervous about the race, because I was afraid if I got off, I wouldn't be able to get back on. Well, I am proud to announce I made it up the hill without stopping! I am super glad I got my road bike fixed up for this. I bought it about 8 years ago, never road it, and it has been hopping from garage to garage all this time, and taking up a permanent residence in David's Grandma's basement for the last 5-6 years. I took it in to the bike shop and asked what the lesser of 2 evils was, the half way decent mountain bike, or the old road bike. HANDS DOWN it was the road bike, and I seriously LOVE my "new" old bike!

During the bike ride it started to rain just a bit. It was nice because it wasn't so hot, BUT being from Vegas... land of the "slipper when wet" roads, this made me a bit nervous. I did take caution and had a safe bike ride.

Then I got off my bike, put it back, and started right on my run (keeping on my cool new shoes...that's why I got them, good for the bike and the run, since I don't have shoes that clip in to my bike pedals). As I exited the state park, what did I see... my ever so supportive hubby cheering me on! That was so great! I had a strong run, and about 2 miles in I started to wear a blister, since I wasn't wearing any socks. This didn't slow me down though! And I finished the race. Now, I am NOT built for speed, so my time wasn't the fastest, but I felt for ME.... I had a strong race. I didn't even stick around for results, I just packed up the bike and headed home.

We didn't have a camera, so here are a few pictures from camera phones

My transition station



David catching a photo on my run



See the Zazoosh (not so flattering) photos:

The Swim
http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/215100807

The run
http://www.zazoosh.com/events/searchPhotos/215?evtId=215&query=262&x=0&y=0

I am bummed I didn't get a picture on my bike, so sad!

I notice that I squint my eyes, so I always look like I am in pain... I promise I'm not :)

Here is my results page as well, again, my times are not very good
http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/detail/805585139

Basically the times went like this:
1/2 mile Swim: 21:57
Transition S2B: 4:40
12 mile Bike: 56:38
Transition B2R: 1:20
5K (3.1 mile) Run: 31:53
TOTAL: 1:56:31

My goal was 2 hours, and I didn't even think I would do that, so mission accomplished!