(Sorry about the quality of some of these pictures. Our camera broke last summer, and while it still takes pictures, I can no longer "see" what I'm taking a picture of since the viewfinder/LDC screen is broken. Some of these pictures were taken with my phone so I could make sure I got the picture right.)

For the people outside of Utah...

This is what's going on RIGHT NOW!

Mason- Our Super Helper!

Mason loves helping out, and since he is also the quiet observer, he often figures things out completely on his own. This video is an example of that:

Happy Birthday Leo!

Leo turned 17 in February, so we had a little party for him. One of his friends brought over his karaoke machine and Leo and his friends spent most of the night singing songs. After having his first ice cream cake a couple weeks before, he requested that his birthday cake be an ice cream cake, so I got a yummy cake from Coldstone.

The cake and the birthday boy making his wish (notice the nice off-center picture courtesy of my broken camera!):

Backtracking- Snowboarding

Nate took Jefferson and Leo snowboarding for the first time in December. We took advantage of a 2-for-1 lessons promotion the resort was offering and Jefferson was able to take a 4-hour lesson and Leo took the 2-hour lesson. Jefferson did really well for his first time, as did Leo. Afterward, they were both anxious to go again. Unfortunately, it took until the end of the season to get back.

Some video of Jefferson snowboarding (that Nate took using his cellphone, so poor quality- oh, and one is sideways):


A picture of Leo:


Video of Nate boarding through the trees (also sideways):

Backtracking- Auto Show

Every year we check out the Utah International Auto Show, and this year was no exception. It's fun to see all the cars- from the concept cars, to new car, redesigns, and the exotic. This year was a bit of a disappointment since some automakers chose not to participate, meaning fewer cars to see and some dealerships also brought used cars- umm, not what I'm at the auto show to see!

We still had some fun and enjoyed seeing this car (especially Jefferson):


I told Nate that I'd be okay with him getting a Bumblebee Camaro as his "mid-life crisis" car (which he's been planning for for awhile- it's been an Audi TT, but he's wavering on that now).

Leo enjoyed getting in cars and pretending he was driving it:

Backtracking- Jenson's 1st Birthday!

Following the tradition I started with Jefferson, I made Jenson's birthday cake to match his stuffed animal- the Elephant. I couldn't decide on a cake design, so I made two, hoping one would at least turn out, and I think they both came out better than expected!


With the candle


And the birthday boy!


Singing "Happy Birthday"


Impatiently waiting for cake


Testing it out


Digging in


Complete mess


Opening presents (after a quick bath)

Jenson!

Jenson kicking back in the pool- first time swimming and he loved it! (7/2009)


Being silly (3/2010)


Nate was trying to get him to do he angry face but no matter how many pictures we took, the camera couldn't snap the picture at the right time.


(4/2010)

Easter Eggs!

Here are the boys (and Jefferson's best friend, Daniel)being silly while waiting to dye eggs:


The dyeing has begun!


All of our dyed eggs:

What's wrong with this picture?

Yep, the boys are all bundled up in their snowsuits to go hunt for their Easter baskets and Easter eggs. Happy White Easter!

Easter bunny tracks:


The boys all find their Easter baskets!

Primary Talent Show

Jackson signed up to "sing a song" for the Primary talent show. Of course, we didn't find out until the Primary leaders passed a list around in Relief Society to notify parents of what their children signed up to do, the week of the talent show (which was very smart to do, otherwise a lot of parents would have been clueless, and a lot of kids would have been unprepared). I asked Jackson what he wanted to sing, and he said "shake, shake song." I told him that that probably wasn't a good song to sing, so pick another. He chose "Fireflies" by Owl City. He sings it for his preschool teachers all the time. So we practiced it several times and no matter what, he sang it as a whisper when we practiced. I wasn't expecting much better for the talent show. Jefferson ended up joining him up front to sing. If you listen real close, you can just barely hear them sing along. It was cute because Jackson didn't quite get how to use the microphone and the leaders ended up having hold the mic.

(Click on picture to watch)



By the way, Jefferson had the words printed out to sing from, but Jackson sang from memory.

Backtracking- St. Patrick's Day!

Jefferson made a Leprechaun trap for his class. The bright circle in the middle is a faux gold coin that when pulled on collapses the stick, therefore "trapping" a leprechaun inside. Unfortunately, the leprechaun saw right through the trap and managed to sneak out unharmed.


We had a "green" dinner. I totally forgot to put green food dye in the egg mix for the Creme Brulee french toast, so I improvised and dripped the food dye onto each slice of bread and then spread it around to make a green clover.

Silly Mason!

Mason brought "big dog" with him one day to grandma's house. When I picked him up later, I told him to go get buckled in the car, while I gathered the rest of his stuff. I came out to find this:

He put "big dog" in Jackson's booster seat and buckled him in. I guess he wanted to make sure that "big dog" was safe just in case we got in an accident on the way home. Here's his super cute face: