4th of July fun 2009!

This year we spent the 4th of July together with our little but growing family. All of my family was out of town but we enjoyed just spending the day together.

Our day started out with our ward Annual 4th of July Breakfast. This was our first year attending and it will probably be our last. They served french toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage. The french toast was over cooked and the eggs and sausage were undercooked. The eggs were slimy and the sausage was still pink inside. The only thing that was perfect was the store bought juice. Needless to say next year we'll make our own breakfast.

After breakfast we headed down to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center where we went to the annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival. It was so fun walking the streets of Cherry Creek and seeing all different kinds of art. Its all for sale but pretty expensive so we never buy anything. Its just fun to go and see what people can do. I think it helps to give Jared more ideas too. We just enjoy hanging out and looking at good art.

When we were done at the festival we went to the food court at the mall for lunch then we headed home. Once we got home we all took naps. We were pretty exhausted. Walking around in the sun is tiring! When we woke up we headed out again to find some poppers and sparklers for Cayden to play with. We had to go to one of those tents to get sparklers because all Wal-Mart sold was things that pop. After we found the sparklers we headed home. We fed Cayden, neither of us were very hungry because of such a big lunch, and then we took him out to the balcony to play.

I threw a popper down and he laughed hysterically at the sound it made. He couldn't quite throw them down hard enough so Jared taught him to step on them to make them pop. You would have thought he was in Heaven with how happy he was popping them. Then we brought out the sparklers and he had even more fun. Here are some pictures from our evening.

After we were done playing with sparklers and poppers we went inside for dessert. S'MORES!!!! I had been craving them for weeks so I was very excited to finally eat one. It was Cayden's first and he was a big fan. They ended up being dinner for Jared and me. Quite the nice 4th of July dinner huh???

We hope every one had an awesome 4th of July. We are so thankful for this country that we live in and for the freedom that we enjoy every day.

Ok. So this may be the last blog for a few weeks. We are headed to Florida today and can't wait for an exciting vacation!!!

~LOVE TO ALL~

I LOVE Summer

Its been so great to forget what day it is and not worry about what time it is or even worry if I have to be somewhere. I love Summer. Its been great to just hang with Cayden all day and play. Here is an update of our fun the past few weeks.

We took a last minute trip to Utah over Father's Day weekend. Thanks to Jared's sister we were able to go and have a fun weekend with everyone. We got in LATE Friday night. On Saturday we had a lazy morning and then took a trip into Tooele so I could check out the children's books at DI. I was successful and pleased with the books I bought. Then we headed back to the house and waited for Jared's sister Jess to come out with her kids. (Thanks for coming out to see us Jess) We had a BLAST playing and hanging with them. Then Saturday night we went to Jared's 10 year High School Reunion. It was actually a lot more fun than I expected it to be. I'm glad we were able to make it.

Jared and Julie's group of friends. That's Julie's date laying on our laps.

This was the ONLY picture we got of the two of us. We looked awesome though!

Special thanks to Jared's mom for being an awesome Grandma and watching Cayden for us. Sunday rolled around and Cayden and I gave Jared his Father's Day gifts. We headed out to church and then were back on the road on our way home. Cayden is such a GREAT traveler. Thanks to the Utah family for making it a fantastic weekend.

When we got home it was back to work for Jared. But Cayden and I anxiously wait for him to come home everyday. In fact Cayden misses him so much he calls him (without me knowing) almost every day while he is at work. We try to keep busy while Jared is gone. We had Spencer over for an entire day to play with us. The boys had SO MUCH FUN. I'm so glad that they get along so well.

Comparing and enjoying lunch.

Exploring on the playground.

Jared's sister Julie came back to Denver from Utah so she could catch her flight back to Kuwait. When she got here she said she brought Cayden a present. Out of her bag she pulled the perfect pair of pajamas for Cayden. They have Lightning McQueen ALL over them. He was so excited. We finally washed them so he could wear them. The morning after the first time we wore them he refused to let me take them off. He would have worn them all day if I'd let him. We now have to hide them during the day or else he wants to put them on. Needless to say, he gets ready for bed SUPER early now. ;) Thanks Julie for the great gift!

It has matching pants too!

He had to go find his Lightning McQueen car as soon as he put the jammies on.

On Tuesday of this week I decided to take Cayden to the free movie at the theatre to see if he would enjoy going to the movies. Well the movie was Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. He sat and watched for about 3 minutes and then wanted to be all over the place. About 40 minutes into the movie he was getting really naughty. So I asked him if he wanted to go home and he said, "uh huh." So we went home. I don't think I'll be taking him back to the movies for a while.

Figuring out how to sit in the booster seat.

Mommy and Cayden scrunch picture!!

Jared had today off so we decided to use our Elitch Garden's passes and go to the water park. Cayden was in HEAVEN!!! He found the best of both worlds...water and slides. He was exhausted after an hour of playing. We had so much fun though. Tomorrow we are very excited to be able to go to the annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival. I'll post pictures from it. We can't wait!!

We hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!!

~Love to all~

Fun Times

We have had lots of fun lately. I am totally loving being home with Cayden. Its fun to spend all day with him and know that I'm not missing out on anything. We have explored lots of new things lately too. About two weeks ago we went up to Loveland to help Kimmy build a "loft" in her basement for her daycare. Ok I didn't build, Jared did, Kimmy and I watched the boys and just hung out. There wasn't a whole lot we could do. After Jared and Tyson finished the "loft" we went and picked up some KFC and went and had a picnic in a sculpture park. I think Jared was in Heaven! Here are some pictures from the park. It was quite awesome!

Cayden and the pig (he climbed up on his own)

Jared joining in on the fun

This is the hand you hold on the circle of kids sculpture. The hand Jared's right hand is holding.
Cayden and Spence petting the "dog"
This one was one of my favoritesI really liked this one too. It has two right feet.

Jared's sister Julie arrived for a visit on the 12th. It was fun having her here. We did LOTS of shopping. I think Cayden got a little tired of the shopping trip.

So we took him to the play place at the mall. He really enjoyed it. It was the cutest mall "playground" I had seen in a long time. Jared was even given the day off to hang with us! It was fun to have him spend the day with us.

On Monday after a little more shopping Julie planned to meet up with a few of her friends at the Zoo. However, the weather wasn't all that fantastic. So she changed plans and headed to the Downtown Aquarium. Cayden and I decided to tag along. It was so much fun watching him explore. He loved all of the fish. Sometimes he would just stare, other times he would point and most of the time he was just trying to climb all over everything. Its a pretty cool aquarium I just wish it was a little bigger and the staff were more friendly. It was fun though.Since we are heading to Utah today for the weekend I wanted to wish a very happy Father's Day to all the dads I know. A special wish to my dad who has been such an amazing father and grandfather. He always knows how to solve a problem and always has the best advise and listening ear. I love you Daddy. A special wish to my Granddaddy who never missed a soccer game, school play, or choir concert. And who didn't get mad after I got in an accident in his car. And a very special wish to my wonderful husband who makes sure everyday with his son is a great one.

I also have a birthday wish that I don't want to forget. A VERY HAPPY (early) BIRTHDAY to our beautiful, smart, fun niece Meggy. We love you so much and hope you have a wonderful birthday!!!

~LOVE TO ALL~

Water Parks and Plain White T's

So I haven't blogged for about two weeks. But there are really only a few things to blog about so here you go.

Last Saturday after doing some work in my mom and dad's yard we decided to take Cayden to a little water park that my mom found. So we headed to Old Navy to get a new swim suit and a UV shirt and off we went. It took a while for Cayden to really start playing. When we first got there he just stood on the edge and watched all the other kids play. After a while he decided it looked ok and he was ready to join in the fun.

Cayden playing with the dog at Old Navy

Cayden taking a drink

It was a little windy so being wet it got kinda cold.

Wednesday rolled around and Jared and I decided we would head to Sonic for a nice free root beer float. Why is it that people get crazy when free things are involved? It was a mad house!!! The line of cars was ridiculous and people kept trying to make their own non existent lane. If everyone just had enough patience to stay in line we wouldn't have been hit almost twice. It was so crazy that I sent Jared on foot to get the floats and Cayden and I parked in a nearby parking lot and waited. Jared quickly returned and we were on our way home away from the madness that is caused by free merchandise.

Ok. One last bit of EXCITING news. Jared and I got exclusive tickets to a rooftop Plain White T's concert. A local radio station was hosting the party and the only way to get tickets was by calling or e-mailing the station. Jared sent in an e-mail and a few days later he got one from the station saying that his name would be on the guest list. It was AWESOME!!!! They are one of the only bands I've seen live that sound as good as they do on their albums. It was also neat because it was almost 4 years ago to the day that Jared and I went on an "unofficial" first date to see them before they got so big. It was a great (and cheap) date night. Thanks Jared for a super evening.

This song is called "Hey there Delilah". Its one of my favs so I was glad they played it.

Ok. That's all the exciting stuff. I only have a day and a half until summer vacation. WOO HOO!!! I hope everyone is enjoying beautiful spring weather. Its almost officially summer!

~LOVE TO ALL~

Cars and Weeds

When I moved to Colorado I came without a car because mine died in Orlando. So when I moved here I knew I wanted to buy a car. After being here about 8 months I still didn't have a car. I spent a month in Florida and while I was down there I talked to my Granddaddy and he said he would co-sign on a loan so I could get a car. Two days after being home from Florida I went car shopping and bought "Stella" my 2001 Sunfire. I LOVE MY CAR. Other than we have never had to do anything major to fix it, until now. My dad borrowed it while I was in Utah and said that the battery light was on. The car kept running so we didn't bother with it. We though it was just the battery. Then last Sunday my brothers borrowed it and it died on them in the middle of the road. Luckily they were close to home so they just pushed it home. Now we knew it was the alternator. It would have cost us $700 to have a mechanic fix it. But my own personal mechanics were able to fix it for about $200. We had to put in a new alternator and battery. What a blessing it was something they could do.

GIANT THANKS TO: Jared for being willing to get down and dirty to save $500 bucks, Chris for finding Jared better tools, Mikey for getting down and dirty with Jared and helping Dad problem solve, Daddy for being the computer wiz/problem solver, and Timmy for sacrificing his Dave & Buster's mini baseball bat for the cause.

With everything that has been going on...hospital visit, missionary farewell, trip to Utah, Bronchitis, and lazy brothers...my mom and dad have not been able to get in the yard and start beautifying it. Cayden LOVES being outside and my parents have a fun backyard that he loves to play in. This week when I went to pick him up after work all he wanted to do was play in the backyard. Well, right now there are dandelions everywhere. And after Hurricane Cayden there will be many more. He loves to pick and blow the dandelions. Sorry Mom and Dad. We'll be over on Saturday to help get the yard back in order so that Cayden doesn't have anymore dandelions to blow.

What a Week!!!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Happy belated Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms I know and wonderful women I know. Jared woke me up just before 7:00 and had a tray ready for me to have breakfast in bed. It was the first time I'd ever gotten breakfast in bed. It was quite nice. Then Cayden woke up and he and Jared gave me my gift. It was a "Special LOVE Memory Jar". It was full of wonderful memories of our life together. It was a great trip down memory lane. We went to church with my family because my "soon to be" missionary brother was speaking in church. My parents bishop also asked if the Crabb family would sing on Mother's Day so we did. We sang Love Is Spoken Here and we all made it through without crying. After church we went back to my parents house for a bit and then headed out to the Stake Center so Matt could be set apart as an Elder. We took a few pictures while we waited for Matt and the Stake Pres. to come in. Spencer does everything his uncles do. Elder Matt Timmy and Cayden were pretty tired after a long day.

On Monday we hopped in the car SUPER EARLY to head to Utah. I was able to take time off work to drive out with my mom and Matt. Kimmy and Spencer followed in their car so they could stay in Utah longer.We stopped at McDonald's in Rawlins to stretch our legs

Cayden and Spencer wrestling on the hotel bed.

This was Cayden's first time in a hotel. He really enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it better had he actually slept in the pack and play. But the boys did have a lot of fun running a muck.They really had a grand time splashing in the tub!

And we couldn't keep them away from the air conditioner!!!

Wednesday rolled around and it was time to take Matt to the MTC. It was so much harder to see him go than I could have ever ever imagined. He is so ready to serve but I was not ready to let him go. I know he will be a great missionary and he will dive right in and love doing the Lord's work. (side note: we did already get a letter from him and he said his first day went GREAT. And he was happy to report that his building does not have the "tree of life" showers.)

Matt, Thanks for setting such a great example for your nephews. WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Wednesday night my mom drove Cayden and me out to Stansbury Park so we could spend what little time we had left with Jared's mom. Cayden had a BLAST playing with his Grandma. I had a good time watching them play.

It was a fantastic week. I just wish I didn't have to go two years now without seeing my little brother. But I guess that's life.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

~LOVE TO ALL~