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:

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.

Backtracking- Finally!

Jefferson finally lost his first tooth on December 13th, 2009- at 7 1/2 years old! He missed out on the "1st lost tooth" charts that teachers have in kindergarten and 1st grade since his teeth were being stubborn, but he was happy to finally experience a visit from the Tooth Fairy! He was a lucky boy. Since he had to wait so long for his first tooth to fall out, he got one Sacagawea coin ($1) and a JFK half dollar. Not shabby at all. Of course, his second tooth he didn't get anything for because the Tooth Fairy doesn't pay for teeth that the dentist pull out (c'mon, they have to fall out on their own!).

Finding the treasure the Tooth Fairy left for him:

Backtracking- Thanksgiving: Hoover Dam

After our trip to California for Thanksgiving with Nate's family, we decided to spend a couple days in Vegas, since we had to drop Nate off there for a business trip. We hadn't ever been to the Hoover Dam, so we drove out there and showed the kids where "Megatron" had been kept all those years.

The new bridge they've been building for awhile:


The Hoover Dam


Jefferson in awe:


Jenson hanging out in the van:


1st group shot


2nd group shot


We didn't take the time to walk along the dam, hopefully we'll go back soon and do that, but it was way cool to see in person!

School Pictures Are Here!!!

Overall, I can't complain about how the boys' pictures turned out. Jefferson's hair didn't stay put, Jackson's freckles kind-of make his face look dirty, and Mason was quite a challenge- just getting him to stand in front of the camera was difficult, and he was doing everything he could to not look at the camera or smile, so the fact that the photographer somehow managed to get a picture of him looking towards the camera without his eyes scrunched shut and his mouth in a frown was a miracle!

Summer Adventures

We did have some fun this summer, but I don't have a lot of pictures to show for it since I kinda broke our camera. It still takes pictures, but it's now more like a film camera since I can't preview the picture anymore thanks to my clutziness that led to dropping the camera for the hundredth time (dropping it 99 times is okay, 100? Not good.) and breaking the LCD screen. Since the LCD screen on our camera is also the viewfinder, taking pictures isn't particularly easy, therefore causing me to just not bother taking pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to get a new camera soon (Nate: hint, hint!). Anyway, here are the few pictures I did take and a brief description of what we did:

(Click on picture to see it bigger!)

To start off, Jackson and Mason got some haircuts-
Befores:


After:


We took a trip to California to visit family, and during one of our pit stops the kids enjoyed watching a train pass by:


While in California we went to the California Science Center (a free museum!) and the kids enjoyed looking at some planes, among other things (and I dropped and broke our camera), while Jenson hung out in his carseat:


We also celebrated some birthdays, while in California:
First Mason's


Then Mason's and Jackson's together later in the week:


We also went to the Los Angeles Zoo (but sadly, did not find any of the wax animal dispensing machines :( ):


We swung by Travel Town in Griffith Park for a train ride:

We also went to the Griffith Park Observatory, but I guess I didn't take any pictures there.

We had some fun at a park in Ventura (and since I can't see what I'm taking a picture of, I can't always do a good job of centering the subjects):


On our way home from California, we got a flat tire:


In pretty much the middle of nowhere:


It was an adventure that caused us a six-hour delay in reaching our destination of St. George for the night. Which led to us taking another trip back to St. George a couple weeks later, in which we did some sightseeing and hiking, and swimming:

Yeah, just the one pic.

We also had a fun free day at this place called Libery Land:


We celebrated birthdays some more-
Jackson's actual birthday:


And Jefferson's:


The Primary had a bike parade:


Jenson tried some baby food for the first time:


Mason took some self-portraits:


And Jefferson started playing soccer this year:


I also managed to get a picture of the boys in which they are all looking at the camera, just not all smiling:

And here's one of just Jefferson and Jenson:


The End
(that's not all we did, but pretty much all I have pictures of...)