August 2012

August was fun because we got to have cousins Anna & Isaac come and stay at our house for a couple of nights while their parents celebrated their 10th (Hooray!) anniversary. Tanner and Anna have always loved each other, and it was fun to get to know Isaac a little bit better.

The kids spent time in the backyard playing in our kids car wash and relaxing in the hammock.

The roller coaster is always a big hit.

I already miss those warm, sunny summer days.

We were also lucky to get in a cabin weekend while Jeff & Rachel's family was in town. I didn't take many pictures, but I did get a few pictures of the little hike we took.

Isn't it just beautiful up there?

We walked up to the power plant and the kids loved that. It's not the same place that it was when I was a little girl, but it still has its charms.

Boys just can't resist water and sticks.

And of course Uncle Chris made things even more entertaining with a good game of Heroscape.

My boys completed their swimming lessons in August. They made great strides and had a lot of fun.

Anders was as patient as he could possibly be during the two weeks of lessons. Honestly, it's not so much fun if you have to watch from the sidelines.

Ethan loved the diving board this year.

Some sort of craziness possessed me to take the boys to the Ancient Life Museum at Thanksgiving Point on $2 Tuesday. It was so crowded we waited in line for a half hour just to get in. Once we were inside Bradon freaked out almost immediately and wouldn't get out of the stroller.

I'm glad I didn't spend more than $8 for this particular excursion, but the other boys did have a fairly decent time.

We had dinner at the Pizza Pie Cafe and the boys enjoyed their balloon creations from a nifty balloon artist that was there that night.

My boys enjoyed an extra long summer break this year since they're on D track at school this year. Ethan started 3rd grade this year and is delighted to have a great male teacher.

Tanner started 1st grade one day later. That was rough on me. It was a tough adjustment not having him home for half the day, and Bradon is really missing him in the afternoon. I think the days feel a little long to Tanner too, but he loves being grown up like Ethan and having lunch at school. His kindergarten teacher was so wonderful that his first grade teacher has been a little bit of a disappointment, but Tanner takes it all in stride and is making great strides with his reading.

After Tanner's first day of school we headed down to Provo for BYU's autograph night. We picked up t-shirts and posters and went to work.

Tanner's favorite part is always the track team's race course.

Ethan & Tanner got Ziggy Ansah's autograph. He's one of their favorite players this year.

Here's Ethan with Cody Hoffmann, Kyle Van Noy, Ross Apo and a few other players.

Bradon loves the racing too. . .

but he also wasn't too shy about getting some autographs as well. This is classic Bradon with his two fingers from his left hand in his mouth.

Even Ethan ran the course a couple of times.

Ethan got his picture taken with BYU quarterback, Riley Nelson. Say what you'd like about his football skills, but he's a great guy and a good role model.

Tanner snuck in a picture too.

This year they had some football drills set up and Tanner loved that as well.

At the end of the month, Brian and I celebrated out 10th anniversary. At first we were planning a getaway. Maybe a week in California, maybe a cruise or a trip to Wisconsin - we'd thought through it all. In the end, I felt bad about leaving my four boys behind for any great length of time, especially since Anders was really going through a rough patch earlier in the summer.

It finally came down to Priceline and a great deal at the Little America in Salt Lake City for one night. My mom and dad watched the boys for us and we checked into this dreamy suite. . . :)

Yep, the outer buildings at the Little America are not incredibly modern. The pink bathroom was a blast from the past and reminded us of our pink bathroom at our old house.

But we had a fantastic weekend. We went to dinner at The Roof and leisurely walked around Temple Square and browsed at City Creek.

My greatest blessing was being sealed to Brian in the Salt Lake Temple 10 years ago. That was such a special, spiritual day and it was great to be reminded of all the ways that the Lord has blessed us over the past 10 years. We have so much to be thankful for, and I am most thankful that Brian has always been sweet, kind, loving and understanding. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he saved Brian for me, because he is everything that I need.

I loved this picture of him coming back from checking out which competitor had equipment on rent at the temple grounds. :)  We enjoyed swimming at the hotel swimming pool, sleeping in and a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before coming back to reality. It was a fantastic weekend, and a much needed escape.

Bradon started his second year of preschool on the last Monday in August. This year the bus wasn't scary at all, but he's back to riding the bus all by himself again and he misses the kids that were his friends last year. This year they put him in a high-functioning class in hopes that the increased social interaction would increase his speech abilities. He's my little trooper and he's been doing great!

For about three hours twice a week I now have time alone with this little smiley face. Some of that time he naps, and it's crazy how quiet the house feels with only one child inside.

On the 29th, our actual anniversary, Brian's mom watched the boys while Brian and I went to the temple together. I couldn't help but get a little teary as I reflected on our 10 years together and as I thought about how in 10 more years Ethan will hopefully be on his mission. I'm so grateful for my sweet husband and my beautiful family.