AWAITED ARRIVAL

The Arkansas cousins are here. Let the good times begin.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE MARK!

He has some big fans in this household.
This guy pretty much walks on water according to the littles in my house.

Love you Mark.

For the Birds

The Lehi Legacy Center holds lots of different activities in conjunction with Round Up Days. Mind you. I am not really a bird lover. In fact, I'm not really an animal lover. I like them. But you won't find me hugging them, holding them, kissing them, cleaning up after them (which is one reason we don't own any). Unless it is a horse, then I'm good. But in particular, I've always thought of birds as dirty and kind of infected. Problem is I have boys. Little boys. Dirty, smelly, animal loving little boys. So I took one for the team and took them to this bird show. Verdict: I loved it. I'm not a hater. I said I like animals and am mostly intrigued by them. And since there was no touching allowed, it was especially enjoyable. And the boys thought I was so cool for taking them. So pretty much I am awesome and I learned a few things. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.(excuse the bird pun)

wanting for nothing

There is a song that our boys have learned that sums up exactly how they feel about their Dad.

My Daddy is my favorite pal and he helps me everyday.

It's plain to see, I want to be like him in every way.

He teaches me that honesty is best in all I do.

I'm very glad that he's my Dad,

and I know he loves me too.

I couldn't have imagined it being this good. I married a man who knows what his most important investments are on this earth and treats them as such. I know we will always be taken care of physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. So he of course got some tokens of our love and appreciation.

Dad was treated to a box full of surprises--watches with newly replaced batteries, cookies, and other treats. He has been talking about getting a family tent for a while and I finally settled on this 8 man tent that was a killer deal for Father's Day. So I guess a little something for him and a little something for all of us. Everyone wins!After church we went to Tooele to be with all of the Dad's in our lives. I don't think my boys could be more blessed. I think Mark summed it up perfectly shortly after we found out just how close we could have been to losing Ryan last year. He said to Ryan "You know that if anything ever happened to you your wife and your boys would want for nothing." I seriously can't imagine our lives without them in it. There isn't anyone that could fill the void of not having my own father here any better than my father-in-law. He takes a very involved concern in our lives and in teaching our boys to be helpful and grateful...as do their uncles.

Waiting for our Runner

Ryan ran the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay with Xango again this year. I love that he gets to do it (especially on their dime), but I hate that it takes him away overnight and all the next day. So to pass the time we had a pool party and then made Daddy this sign with the neighbor kids. Max was in awe of Dad's medal and told all his friends that his dad had won the race...which somehow they all believed and were very impressed that Max's dad was super fast. Way to impress Ryan.

Mrs. Fields Trip

I have to admit that I am not one of those mothers who has a list of places to go, things to see, and activities to do. I am one of those "lets head outside and see what we come up with" type mothers. But when my neighbor organized a little field trip to Mrs. Fields Cookie factory in Salt Lake...I was all in. It sounded like fun to take the boys with all their little friends from our street. Plus, I was feeling very anxious to do as much as I could with them before my surgery comes and I'm replaced by Daddy and grandmas. Once I finally found it, we had a blast. Any field trip that ends in cookies and ice cream is a winner in my book. Hair nets anyone?McCade and Max...buddies
Ready for the tour!

Investment

A good friend and neighbor of mine told me about this lady named JoD who has taught over 10,000 kids to swim. One catch. It's a sink or swim type method... okay not really, but it seems like that way at first. Drowning most often happens in infants and toddlers because they panic in the water and when they start to scream they inhale water into their lungs.So her first lesson is to get the kids not to fear the water when they go under. They only learn this by learning not to freak out when they go under. So incidentally, they go under a lot. She spends the first several lessons doing Bobs--up and under, up and under-- until they learn to quit crying, and start blowing bubbles underneath. Once they learn to remain calm, then she can get them to float on their backs, get to the wall, and turn over and get themselves out of the pool. And once they get it...Momma rewards them with a giant lollipop! I'm not gonna lie...it's not cheap, it's not easy to watch (at least for the first couple of lessons when they are screaming and you feel like you just threw them into a den of lions).Every day before swim we say a little prayer that we can be safe, not cry, blow bubbles, and listen to our teachers. I was telling Max one day after his lesson that I was proud of him because I knew it was so hard and scary for him. The next day after his lesson he got out and said to me "Mom, I can do hard things." So I'm thinking this is turning out to be more than just lessons in swimming.Luke is definitely one of the favorite clients. He just loves on Miss JoD and she falls for it...most days. I think sometimes she spends more time loving on him than anything else. I guess it's okay... he seems to trust her.Luke fell in the pool, fully clothed one day while trying to toss rings to Max. My first reaction was to jump in and get him as he first panicked. Then I saw his little arms go behind his head, and his belly and toes start to float up. That was right about the time that Max freaked out and grabbed his jersey, keeping him from floating up. Once I pried a very scared and protective Max off his little brother, Luke floated right to the top. He knew what to do. At that moment I knew it was worth the small fortune, time, and tears we put into it.

P.L.A.Y.

Baptism and BB-Q

Our cute little niece Camilla turned 8 and was baptized in Tooele. When I joined this family she was 1. I suppose that means I have actually aged 7 years right along with her, but she seems way more excited about it than I do. Afterward we went to the Pankratz house for some seriously good eats. Nobody does carne asada like Bryant. Ironically I didn't get one picture of Camilla, in whose honor we were all together. She must have been really busy greeting all her fans.

Brutters