3 Years Old!

From This...

To This...

I really can't believe that our little "Mado" is 3 years old. What an amazing 3 years it has been. He has brought so much joy into our lives and taught us so many things. He has grown and learn so much! Lately he has really been into Buzz Lightyear. He says things like, "Don't worry, Cayden Buzz Lightyear will clean up" and "Buzz will make dinner". One of my favorite things he does right now is "blast off" whenever he has to be lifted for ANYTHING he says "blast off" or "To infinity and beyond" as you lift him. He has even changed his favorite color to green because of Buzz. He really is so fun to be around. He is very excited to be 3. This morning he requested a candle and ice cream for breakfast. I think we'll make him wait though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Big Boy!!! We love you so much!!!

Thanksgiving Week

We had a great Thanksgiving week. It started on Monday when my brother Mikey came into town. Jared has taught Cayden how to play the PS3 so he wanted Uncle Mikey to come play the "jumping movie" with him. So, Chris, Mikey, and Beth came over and hung out. They kept Cayden busy so I could finish getting my house ready for company. On Tuesday I had to work but I was glad my boys got to spend the day with Mikey. Cayden adores him. I picked up the boys and after chatting for a bit I headed home because Jared's sister Jessica and her family had arrived in Denver. I headed out to the airport to pick up Jared from his return from Park City. His flight was delayed but I was sure glad that he made it home.

Wednesday rolled around and we finished our shopping for Thanksgiving. We were hoping to meet up with Jess, Sean, and the kids earlier but with the way things worked out we didn't get to see them until the evening. They joined us for dinner and then we headed out to Monkey Bizness. We had so much fun! It was great to be able to play too. That's what I love about Monkey Bizness, they don't care that the adults play.

Tayler and Cayden in the jungle gym
Tay, Jared, and Jake coming down the big slide

Jacob LOVED the slide!

They have a toddler area to play in too!

Jared and Cayden even got in a round of Air HockeyCayden got very excited when he scored.

Thanksgiving morning came quicker than expected. I told Jared he needed to go play football and have fun since he had been working so much lately. I pretty much had the food covered and had a game plan of when to get everything cooked. So he and Sean went out and played football with Tim, Chris and Mikey. Jared said they had fun. He sprained his ankle but it healed up quickly. He said he enjoyed spending the morning with Sean. When they finished football they went to the airport to pick up his mom who was also going to be joining us for Thanksgiving. Oh, I guess I should mention that Jared and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. It was a little stressful but it was fun. I cooked my first turkey! Thanks to my mom and dad for the oven roaster and for guiding me through the process of cooking a turkey. The turkey was AWESOME! Everything I cooked was all hot at the same time and just in time to eat.

Everyone arrived around 3:00 and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Jess made amazing rolls and a tasty salad as well as putting together a veggie tray and Julie made the pies. Sean made awesome gravy from what I understand. I'm sure I would have loved it too if I actually liked gravy. Thanks everyone for helping to make our Thanksgiving dinner great!

Jared helping Cayden load his plate.
This was Jacob's last "first holiday" It was fun watching him eat his first Thanksgiving Dinner.

On Friday we didn't brave the crowds but Jared and I went out Black Friday shopping. We dropped the boys off at my parents house and convinced Mikey to join us. It was a very fun day of shopping. We were able to complete both birthday and Christmas shopping for the boys. Later that evening we had family pictures with my family. There are some REALLY cute pictures. Then we headed over to Jared's aunt and uncle's house.

On Saturday we woke up and headed to Julie's apt. because Jess and Jared's mom had decided to head out early to beat the storm. Jess had to drive since Sean flew home for the BYU game Saturday. We were sad to see them leave but knew it was a good decision to beat the storm. We have done that drive in bad storms and it is NO FUN! We had breakfast together and then they headed out.

Jacob and Jackson "playing" together.
Me with two of my SUPER CUTE nieces (Tayler and Rylee) I just love them to death.

We wish that more of Jared's family could have come but we know they had a wonderful Thanksgiving in their parts of the country. We were so thankful for the family we did get to see and we had a wonderful time with them. It really was a special holiday. Thanks for spending your Thanksgiving with us.

~Love To All~

Milestones

Jake has had a few "milestones" this past month. The first of them being his first steps. We were at my mom and dad's house because I was picking them up after work. If you know Jacob you know he loves stuffed animals. So it was no surprise that he "technically" took his first steps to a stuffed animal.

The next milestone was really a milestone that I had to allow him to overcome. His first haircut. I loved his hair. I refused to cut it. I said I would not cut it until his first birthday. Well, I came to the realization that his hair was really long. So when Jared got home from Park City we cut his hair. I was so sad but I did it. I cried afterward because I thought he looked silly with such short hair. But everyone else loves it. So I guess majority rules. He is just a cute kid anyway.

BEFORE

AFTER

We are anxiously awaiting more milestones. Its hard to believe that in only 12 days he will be 1. CRAZY! Where does the time go?

~Love To All~

Family Night Out

For our latest Family Night Out we decided to take advantage of the free night at the Museum of Nature and Science. Cayden was very excited to go the museum. He wanted to see the dinosaurs. They have an exhibit right now that is all about life in the Amazon. They had lots of cool things. It made Jared miss Argentina a little bit when he saw the pirhanas, capybara, and howler monkeys. It was cute to see him tell Cayden all about everything they saw.

On a boat "touring" the Amazon River.

Enormous catfish. Ewww!! (On the other side you could reach inside the belly to see what it ate)

Holding the Anaconda

Cayden loved being "inside" the fish tank.

Jakey really liked the dinosaurs too.

Jared CAN hang like a monkey!

The boys like the toddler area in the body exhibit.

One last, very tired, picture with the dinosaur.

After the museum we grabbed a quick bite to eat at A&W. A nice cold root beer from the tap was a perfect way to end a family night out. I love nights out with my boys!

~Love To All~

Halloween

I know I'm way behind But I wanted to share our Halloween fun with you. This year we decided to dress us as the gang from Phineas and Ferb. Cayden was Phineas, Jake was Ferb, I was Candace (the older sister), and Jared was Jeremy (Candace's boyfriend). We went to our trunk or treat on Saturday before Halloween and had a blast. Then on Halloween we dressed Cayden up again and took him out to do White Magic. Growing up I only went trick or treating a few times. My mom didn't like the idea of us going out and begging for candy and then threatening to play a trick on someone if they didn't give candy. So we did White Magic. We made all sorts of treats and goodies and took them out to neighbors and home and visiting teaching families. We gave treats and got candy in return. We still dressed up so it was still fun for us. And to tell you the truth, the few years I did go trick or treating I felt really silly. So Cayden did White Magic this year and then we took him trick or treating to a few houses in my parents neighbor hood. We had fun, the weather was GREAT, and Cayden loved being Phineas.

Phineas, Ferb, and Perry the Platypus

Candace and Jeremy
Our gang before the trunk or treat

Our little Ferb (Can you tell his pants are purple?)
Our car eating "Jeremy"
Our happy little Phineas with Perry on Halloween night

~Love to All~

Jared Thinks I Need a Girl.

Cayden was putting curlers in my Grandmommy's hair so I wanted to see if I could put them in Jakey's hair. Jared wasn't home when we did it. He and Tim were at the priesthood session. I just love to play with Jake's hair. After Jared saw these pictures he told me he was cutting Jake's hair. I wouldn't let him though. I love my boys. I don't need a girl. Do I?
~Love To All~

Camp Cheley

Yes its true. I went camping, in the mountains. Don't get too excited though. It was at a summer camp with cabins and running water.

Every year the 5th graders go on an educational camping trip. This year I got to go because we had 3 of our students go and my boss didn't want to be stuck with a certain difficult student the entire trip. So I went along. I was a little nervous after I said yes because I knew nothing of this camp. "Camp Cheley?" I thought. I didn't even know where it was. I found out it was up near Estes Park and its a for real summer camp that houses 400-500 kids ages 9-18 for 2, 4 week sessions.

Day One: We boarded the bus and headed up. We got to camp, hiked up a HUGE hill to get to our cabin, unpacked, and went back down for Orientation. Then we ate our sack lunches and began the activities. Our first class was 2 hrs of Orienteering. After that we hiked up Mt. Cathedral. Yep, I hiked up a mountain pushing one of students the whole way. I literally pushed her up the mountain. But she was so glad she made it to the top.

Day Two: We went to Rocky Mtn. National Park. The weather was great and the park was beautiful! Then we went back to camp, ate lunch and began the rest of our afternoon. We hiked down to a beaver pond. Then the kids got to do a ropes course. Then that night we went out with our students to do a night walk. Each student had to walk back up the trail alone in the dark back to the lodge. We walked with 2 of our 3 students. We were so proud that they each did it. The sky was beautiful and I had never seen so many stars or the Milky Way before.

Day Three: We woke up and packed our bags. We cleaned up the cabins and headed down for breakfast. After breakfast we headed out to our last adventure. McGregor Ranch is a ranch that is now a museum used to teach how people lived during the late 1800's-early 1900's. It was beautiful out there. After the ranch we went back to camp, ate lunch, loaded up the buses again, and headed for home. I couldn't wait to get back home.

It was a wonderful experience. When I reached the top of the mountain I almost cried. It was such an accomplishment for me and all I could think was that I wished Jared was there to do it with me. I was able to see the beauty that Heavenly Father created for us and be a part of it. When I saw hundreds of thousands of stars at night dotting the sky mixed with the Milky Way I thought about returning to live with my Heavenly Father. I thought if being a forever family and being so grateful that I was sealed to my wonderful husband in the temple. My boss will probably never know how wonderful the trip was for but I am so thankful that she asked me to go.

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Me at the top of Mt. Cathedral.

A view from the top.

Me and Lyla at the top. (my student I pushed)

Rocky Mountain National Park (Alluvial Fan)

Matthew and me at RMNP

The Beaver Pond (Can you see the lodge in the water?)

Pretty trees at the pond

Turkey Rock at McGregor Ranch

I'm still not a big camper but I'm warming up to it.

~Love To All~

A Day in the Mountains

On Saturday we took a trip to the mountains to get some pictures with all the beautiful Fall leaves. It was such a gorgeous day and we had such a wonderful time. I love spending time with my family. It was hard to get good pictures of Cayden because he is in a weird phase of life to where he refuses to look at the camera. But as soon as Jacob saw the camera he cheesed right up. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

If you haven't taken a trip to the mountains yet. DO IT NOW and enjoy the beauty our Heavenly Father has give us.

~Love To All~