Happy Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.

Christmas this year was busy.  All of my sisters came home to spend Christmas with my parents.  It was a very full house.  On Christmas Eve we headed over to my parents around 5.  My little sisters were all already there.  We had made up a crock pot of soup to share with the family and my little sister Caitlin had made a different type of soup.  When everything was ready we sat down to have dinner with the group.  The soup went over pretty well and Jonathen even ate his entire bowl and asked for more.  Usually we have to fight with the boys to get them to eat soup.  We had laid my niece, Catherine, down for a small nap during dinner since she was very fussy and rubbing her eyes.  When she woke up she was still rubbing her eye and it was extremely red.  We discussed it and thought maybe she had gotten something in her eye that needed rinsed out.  That was when I noticed a fairly long hair inside the eye that was so red.  The poor little girl had an eyelash in her eye.  We tried to get it out with saline eye drops and washcloths, but all we managed was to completely upset her.  She would hold her eyes tightly closed and then slowly open them to see if we were going to put something else in her eye.  After a few seconds she would blink and start crying all over again.  She was so upset.  Her parents decided to try a stream of water into her eye.  They finally managed to get the eyelash to come out.  Once we got her calmed down a little and fed we gathered everyone into the living room.  My father read the Christmas story to us out of St. Luke.  Then we sang Christmas carols.  We took a few requests, but the kids were starting to get a little grumpy.  After finishing the singing with "Silent Night" per custom, we headed downstairs to have each person open one present.  By tradition this present usually has some sort of pajama wear in it.  All of the kids got new pajamas to wear to bed and have on the next morning.  Jonathen was extremely excited to see that his pajamas had Elmo on them.  After everyone opened their one gift, Kyle, Wesley, Jon and I headed home to put the boys to bed.  We were past their bedtime and they went to bed very quickly.  I then grabbed the Santa presents and headed back over to my parents to have my dad help me with a assembly project and to set up the boys' stockings.  When I got over there I brought most of the presents in and then my mom realized I was there and sent my brother-in-law Scott out to help me finish.  By that time I only had one gift left to bring in and Scott didn't get to carry anything.  He did however get to help me put together Kyle's office chair since it would be needed the next morning for seating.  It went together pretty quickly and then all I had to do was finish putting together the Radio Flyer wagon that was Jonathen's Santa gift.  I had started the project at home and then could not get the locking nuts to tighten completely since I am a little weak.  My brother-in-law Don helped me there and soon my wagon was finished and ready for the next morning.  During this time, my sister Caitlin had been trying to get her little girl to sleep.  Catherine was extremely tired, but completely refusing to fall asleep.  I even tried rocking her while Caitlin filled stockings with candy.  She was quiet while I held her, but thought I was funny.  Nathaniel, my baby in my belly, kept kicking her and making her giggle.  Her parents finally laid her down after 11pm.  I went home a little after that to get some sleep since we would be getting out of bed at 5am the next morning.  When I got home, Wesley was whining and needed his covers pulled up.  This proved to be how the entire night went.  About every two hours Wesley would cry out and one of us (usually Kyle) would have to go tuck him back in and give him a hug.  He had us awake a lot of the night.  At 5am we got out of bed and woke our children up.  We took Jon and Wesley to the bathroom and put slippers and coats on them and drove over to my parents house.  We woke everyone there up and headed downstairs to start the present opening marathon.  Wesley loves opening gifts and will help anyone who will allow him.  Wesley did get the Superman toy he has been asking for since we visited my brother in October.  Jonathen got the Batman that he has been requesting also.  I made my boys quilts this year which took me a lot of the year.  They were finished for Christmas and I didn't even have to stay up Christmas Eve to finish them.  I also made a scripture bag for Wesley since he will be starting Sunbeams next Sunday.  He is really excited to be going to Primary and I wanted something for him to carry all of his stuff in.  We even put a missionary Book of Mormon so he has his own scriptures and everything.  After all the presents were opened we headed upstairs for the traditional Christmas egg breakfast.  My sibling all really enjoy this even if the do not particularly like eggs.  After breakfast Kyle, the boys, and I headed home to get ready for church.  We headed to church early to save seats and Kyle was in the Christmas program.  We needed to sit in the front since my sister Jennifer had surgery and can't really bend her leg right now.  I saved the entire front row and some of the row behind it to make sure we had enough places to sit.  We did!  Kyle narrated one of the songs and suprised my sisters a little bit since they had never heard Kyle's voice projected.  **Kyle's voice is very deep and carries quite far. Which is why he was requested to do this.**  After church we headed home, changed our clothes and went back to my parents house.  Crystal's family showed up earlier than we thought and we got to spend the day with them and their kids.  My boys were sleeping when the came so didn't see them until later.  We had Christmas dinner around 5 and got to try to fit all of us around the table.  Overall it was a wonderful Christmas and great to see all of my sisters and their families.  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and was able to enjoy this Christmas season.  We love you all and  hope you have a Happy New Year too.

Jonathen and Aunt Jennifer with Jon's present from Grandma and Grandpa Meyers

Wesley and his present from Santa. (A "giant" Superman)

The boys and our Christmas tree.

Thanksgiving

It was another crazy week for us.  I had to work on Thanksgiving so my parents, sister Jennifer, Kyle, and the boys held Thanksgiving dinner until I got off work.  So we ate at 6:30 pm.  It was a good dinner and the boys both seemed to really enjoy the evening.  Kyle had circled a few items in the Walmart add so I headed to Walmart at 9:40 pm.  I got to the store and seriously considered turning around.  The entire Walmart parking lot was full and so was most of the JCPenny parking lot across the street.  Mom called about that time and Dad came out and parked my car while I walked inside.  Once inside I was pretty sure I had lost my mind for purposely putting myself in this insanity.  I found my Mom in the back of the store and we succeeded in getting some pajamas for the boys.  We then got the present for Kyle that I came to get.  We tried to find the Wii that Mom was looking for and failed miserably.  In fact, Mom and Dad were not able to get any of the things that they came for.  The trampoline was sold out even before 10 when the sale was supposed to start.  I got quite a few toys for the boys and felt it was a productive evening for me.  Mom and Dad went to Twin after Walmart while I went home.  I got home a little after 11 and went directly to bed since I had to work at 7 am the next morning.  On Friday, I got off work a little early and headed directly to Boise.  Kyle's neice, Lydia, was going to be baptised early the next morning.  We got in to Emmett around 8 that night.  The next morning we got up and got ready to go to Eagle for the baptism.  Lydia was baptised and Wesley kept asking me who was going to be baptised next.  With both Stephen and Lydia getting baptised this month he felt we should keep going.  We went bowling that night with all of the cousins.  Wesley and Jonathen had a really good time.  I even managed to beat one of my nephews.  I am usually one of the worst bowlers so that was kind of a suprise.  Jonathen even got second place in the younger kids group.  On Sunday we had an ordination to attend.  Daric, Lydia's older brother, was being ordained to the office of a teacher.  It was quite a busy weekend and we headed home after the ordination.  After getting back, we headed over to my parents since my sister Caitlin was in town.  We ended staying and playing games with Caitlin and Scott.  It was a fun night. 

Baptism Time



The boys at the airport in Salt Lake City





Wes and Jon at Monticello



 

My family standing with Thomas Jefferson



From left to right: Jack, Amelia, Stephen, and Matt

My nephew Stephen turned eight this year so we planned on making a trip out east (Richmond, VA) to be there for his baptism.  My brother and his wife, Amelia, were very kind to plan Stephen's baptism for a time when my family and my mother would be able to come out.  Stephen's birthday was in October, but they planned the big day for November 12, 2011 so we could come out.  My mother gave one of the talks and I got to lead the music.  Amelia's mom even got to come out for the big day so she gave the other talk.  It was a great day and wonderful to see Stephen baptised.  The next day Matt took us out sightseeing since we were going to be in town just for the weekend.  We went to Monticello since it was somewhere I wanted to go see.  I have never been back east and was somewhere I really wanted to go.  It was great to see Thomas Jefferson's home.  It is a very interesting place.  We headed back home the next day.  So we flew out on Friday, spent Saturday at Stephen's football game and baptism, Sunday at Monticello, and Monday flying home.  It was a crazy fast trip, but great to see my brother and his family and celebrate Stephen's baptism with them.  Matt and Kyle even got to watch the Boise State game together.  My brother and husband act the same during football games.  They both yell at the TV as if the players can actually hear them.  I have always found it funny to see grown men yelling at the TV screen and jumping up and down.  The boys did really well on the plane.  In fact, Jonathen fell asleep during take-off every single time.  Wesley slept on the second leg of each trip and did pretty well.  He was a little grumpy upon waking.  We were extrememly tired when we got home on Monday.  Jonathen will tell anyone who asks that he got to fly on a plane like Batman.  It is really funny.  He really enjoyed the plane even though he had to sit on someone's lap the whole time and wasn't allowed to go anywhere.  The last plane trip from Dallas to Salt Lake was extremely full.  The entire 1st class section was filled with leaders of the church.  While waiting to get to our seats Wesley got to shake hands with Elder Christofferson and talk to him.  He also got to talk to the pilot about the plane.  We had quite a wait and it was good for Wesley to be able to talk to people while waiting.  When asked about talking to one of the twelve apostles he usually tells people that Elder Christofferson's name is silly.  Kyle and I thought it was really neat and I hope Wesley will remember some of that experience.   

Halloween

 Halloween this year was the year of the superhero.  Wesley was very insistent that he was going to be Superman this year.  He even picked out his dad's costume this year.  We went shopping early so we could make sure we got the superhero outfits that were being required by our children.  Jonathen did not know which superhero he wanted to be, but was sure he wanted to be a superhero.  He finally decided that he wanted to be Spiderman.  Wesley's outfit had to be altered since his outfit was a bit too large.  He does make a very cute Superman though.  Jonathen was so funny.  He loved having the mask over his face.  They both had muscles on their outfits that made me want to giggle.  At the last second I decided to put an outfit on since I always dress up for Halloween.  I went and put a skirt and some fairy wings on for my costume.  Wesley came in and saw my outfit and informed me that I could not possibly be a fairy without a crown.  So I had to quickly put a crown on since my costume was not believable as it was.  Daddy got to wear his Batman shirt and say he was Batman.  We went to a few houses and got more candy than my children needed.  Our neighbors tend to let each child have more than one piece of candy so Wesley took 3-4 pieces at every place we stopped.  Jonathen was not very sure of the whole process at first, but got much better at it by the end of the night.  They even got to go show Poppa and Grandma their outfits and get some PlayDoh from Grandma.  Wesley ran from the car to each house saying he was "faster than a speeding bullet."  I kept telling him he was the slowest Superman I had ever met.  Sometimes Wesley walks very slowly.  We had a very good night and by the end of the night the boys were very tired and ready for bed. 

Ultrasound!

For those of you who did not already know I was pregnant; Surprise!  We got to have our ultrasound yesterday.  It felt really late since on the last pregnancy we had the ultrasound at 16 weeks.  This one was not until 20 weeks at request of the hospital radiology department. Oh well.  We took the boys with us so they could get a little more used to the idea of a baby.  Jon sat and watched quietly, as he is known to do, for most of the appointment.  Wesley had a comment for everything.  He even at one point stated that he was sure it was a frog not a baby.  The ultrasound technician got to laughing at that one.  When it came time to find out the sex of the baby it was pretty obvious.  In fact, Kyle and I were able to tell long before the technician told us and pointed it out.  It will be another little boy. 

We were even able to get a few 3D pictures so here he is.

18 Months Old Already!

Jonathen had his 18 month appointment on the 19th of September.  He is getting so big.  He weighed 23 lbs (10th percentile) and was 34 inches tall (90th percentile).  So he is one tall skinny boy.  He does not seem to be so lanky, but the numbers say he is.  The doctor asked if Jon was mobile and then looked down to find Jon climbing all over the chairs in his office and decided he didn't really need me to answer that question.  I told him that I occasionally find Jon at the top step of the ladder to Wesley's bed and actually wish he was less mobile.  Jon gives Wes a run for his money sometimes on what he is willing to climb and do.  He also asked if Jon was saying 4-10 words.  It almost seemed as if Jon was answering the doctors questions since he chose that exact moment to get his shoes and say, "Shoes on, please."  Dr. Graham actually laughed.  He told me that my older boy should have taught me that boys usually don't potty train until about 2 1/2 years old.  I informed him that Wes started potty training at 20 months and had no problems.  He said I should not expect the same out of Jon, but Jon has already started going potty in the toilet at night before getting in the bathtub.  Jon gets really excited when he is allowed to go potty like a big boy.  We will start Jon around the same time that we started Wes since Jon appears to be ready to potty train.  He is getting so big already and is excited to be a big boy.  He loves to have us blow raspberries on his belly and will lift his shirt and then pull your head down if he feels you are not moving quickly enough.  I love my little boy.

Summer Vacation

 Okay, so this is really late being posted. We went to Seaside, Oregon back in June. We were there for a week and it was great. We left Saturday morning from Rupert and started the long drive to Seaside. It was a very long day in the car. The boys did okay for the first part of the trip. They got to watch movies and they both took a few naps. We even stopped at Multnomah Falls.  It was beautiful and nice to get out of the car for a little while.  Once we passed Portland is when we had trouble with the boys. Jonathen woke up and and cried all the way to Seaside. It was through very windy roads and was difficult for me to turn around and talk to him since it made me nauseated every time I did. I do not handle being in the car for very long. Once there we found our condo and checked in then went to go find some food. It was really late, but we were able to go to find a pizza place close by. The next day was Sunday so we took it pretty easy. We went down to the beach with the boys and showed them the ocean. Jonathen was more excited than Wesley to see the ocean. It as fairly chilly outside so we had to wear jackets, but we got to put our feet in the water. Wesley and Jon were able to find some sand-dollars that they took back to show their dad.  On Monday we went to the Seaside Aquarium.  Wesley was able to hold some hermit crabs and touch starfish.  They even got to feed the seals.  Kyle and Wesley did that since there was no way I was touching raw fish.  Later we drove down to Haystack rock in Cannon Beach.  It was a few miles away, but totally worth it.  We were able to go down to the tidepools around Haystack Rock and see some more hermit crabs and anemones.  It was really neat.  We went to a restaurant that overlooked the beach.  It was really fun.  Tuesday we went to the Oregon Zoo in Portland. We drove an hour to get there.  The zoo was packed that day since they were having a special that day.  We stopped going into enclosed spaces; since every time we did we got stuck.  The boys really enjoyed the day and got to see lots of animals.  Wesley even got to see lions which the Hogle Zoo in Utah that we normally go to does not have lions.  After the zoo we stopped by Red Robin and got dinner before heading back to Seaside.  Wednesday we went to Tillamook. We got to tour the Tillamook factory and see how cheese is made.  We then had lunch there in the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  We also got icecream and cheese samples.  On Thursday we went up to Astoria.  There we went to the Maritime Museum.  We looked at different boats and learned about how dangerous the Columbia River can be.  We even got to tour a light boat that used to mark the entrance to the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean.  The boys were really excited to walk around on a real boat and see where the sailors slept.  On Friday we spent the day actually in Seaside.  We walked down the promenade and visited the stores.  We went down to the beach again and made sandcastles.  Friday was kind of a rest and relax day before heading back to Rupert on Saturday.  On the way back we stopped in Boise and had dinner with Caitlin and Scott.  It was beautiful in Seaside, but cooler than it was back here.  We swam most nights, but couldn't stay in the pool for very long before we were freezing.  It was great to get back home.

Cauldron Linn!

We decided to go visit a local attraction for Memorial Day this year.  It is know as Cauldron Linn.  It is off the beaten track.  We tried to go visit it a few years back and could not find it.  This year Kyle and I did a little research before heading out and had a pretty good idea of where we were going.  Mapquest had Cauldron Linn listed, but had it on the wrong side of the river.  However, it got us close enough that I could find an unamed road on the correct side of the river that did actually lead down to the falls.  Cauldron Linn is difficult to get to and probably required four wheel drive to get all the way down.  It was rainy in the morning so the area was a muddy and the falls had quite a lot of mist.  My family went a few years back and the water was probably 5-10 feet below the rocks.  This year it was only about a foot below the rocks at the top of the falls.  It was an amazing site.  Kyle and my father decided to take a muddy path that was closer to the edge, while my sister Jennifer and I took a higher path that was a little less muddy.  I had Wesley with me and Kyle had Jonathen.  About the area the two paths converged I heard Kyle call for help and looked over in time to see him slip and fall.  He started to slide and put Jonathen down on the ground.  I had to place Wesley in a safe spot and tell him not to move.  I then moved over to get Jonathen and make sure Kyle was not going to slide any farther.  My father and I both saw Kyle go down and it scared us beyond belief.  He was able to stop his slide and get back up, but there was a second where I was scared to death.  Jonathen was not fazed by this incident at all.  He kept pointing at the falls and saying water.  He really liked it even though it was cold and rainy.  Wesley on the other hand was cold and nervous.  He kept asking his dad and poppa to get farther away from the edge then they were.  After Kyle fell and got all muddy he walked Wesley back to the car while the rest of us took a few more pictures and then decided to join him when we realized it was starting to rain in earnest.  By the time we got back to our vehicle we were wet and cold and called it a day.  The falls were beautiful. 

Afterward we took the boys home and put them down for a nap.  When they woke up we went over to my parents and had dinner with them and my sister Elisa and her son Shayne.  Overall it was a good day.

I have a Superhero in the family.

Wesley is really in to superheroes right now.  He loves Batman, Superman, and Spiderman.  He even has his own cape with a "W" on it.  He wears that cape everywhere and needs to have it on to help.  The other day I was sewing and Jonathen had discovered my box of safety pins.  He quickly found how much fun it was to throw the safety pins in the air and watch them rain down around him.  Wesley came in to the room and surveyed the situation.  He then looked at Jon and very calmly asked him, "What do you think you are doing?"  Jon responded by continuing to throm the safety pins around him.  Wesley then knelt down next to Jonathen and said, "Remember, I am a superhero and I can help." 
I then started to laugh.  It was really funny.  Wesley looked up at me and asked me what was so funny.  I told him he was.  He then informed me that he wanted me to stop laughing because I was being silly.  This made me laugh harder.  I love my little superhero and my destructive one year old.  They make me laugh every day and keep me guessing as to what they are going to say next. 

Happy Birthday/Mother's Day to me!

My birthday and Mother's Day are so close sometimes that it feels like one big celebration.  Kyle and the boys were very sweet this year.  They got me several books, which I always appreciate, a couple of covers for my Miche purse (these allow me to change the color and look of my purse without getting a new purse) and a new Wii game, Country Dance.  We were able to celebrate my birthday with some of my family and go out to Wesley's favorite restuarant, Guadalajara.  Elisa, Don and Shayne were able to be here since they were just getting back from New Mexico.  It was great to have them and they got me an awesome necklace.  Mom, Dad and Jenn were there and got me some great scrapbooking supplies, a jacket, and a new book that was signed by the author (from Jenn).  Overall it was a great week.  Thank you everyone for making such a special day.  How old am I you ask... Ha, that is for me to know and you to guess.  Sometimes even I struggle remembering.  I stopped getting older in my head about 7 years ago.  Oh well, you are only as old as you feel and I am not old. 

Easter!

I had to work this weekend so Easter was a little different this year.  The hospital has a big Easter Egg Hunt every year.  Since I was at work, Kyle brought the boys over to the egg hunt and I came outside to help him.  The 0-2 year olds stand in line and some helpers give each kid a handfull of eggs and toys.  The first age group to hunt for their own eggs is three years old.  So Wes actually had to go get his own eggs.  He did not get a lot since he was a little nervous.  He did pick up some toys and he says that he had a good time.  We colored eggs at my parents with Elisa and her son Shayne on Saturday night.  Then Sunday they held the Easter Egg Hunt until I got home after work.  So after six last night my parents had a big Easter Egg Hunt for Hallie, Wesley, Carter, Shayne, Jonathen and Catherine.  The kids all got a lot of eggs.  Wes and Hallie got the most, but the littler kids got the eggs they wanted.  We then came inside to have Easter dinner with the family.  It was nice to have most of the family home.  We always miss Matt and his family, but Matt called and talked to my mom while we were preparing.  The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves.  Overall, it was a pretty good Easter.  Next year I should not have to work so it will be a little easier.

Jon's Ears

Jon has been very sick lately.  He had an ear infection when we went in for his check up at the end of March.  He completed a course of amoxicillin, but got worse by the end of the 10 day course.  We went back into the doctor and got a different antibiotic.  He finished that course and appeared to be doing better.  He was talking more and was not running any fevers.  Four days after he finished that antibiotic he started running a fever again and pulling on his ear.  I also noticed he was not eating as well.  We went back into the doctor and got yet another antibiotic. We also noticed white spots on his tonsils at that appointment.  The next day I noticed that he was getting white plaques on his tongue.  It appears that Jon has developed a case of oral thrush due to the antibiotic.  We ran to Ridleys and picked up some Gentian Violet and started treating him Saturday night.  He is now walking around with a very purple mouth.  As long as it helps then it does not matter.  He is still extremely whiny and I am pretty worried about him.  I hope he gets better soon.  I do not like seeing him so sick.

Wesley's Birthday!

Wesley turned three on April 17th.  He is getting so big.  We decided to let him have a party with his friends this year.  He decided he wanted a Super Why! party.  He invited some of his friends and his cousins.  He had a three of his friends come and his cousin Catherine and her mom, Aunt Caitlin.  We colored Super Why! masks and then we played Pin the Mask on Super Why!  One of Wesley's friends did not want to wear the blindfold and had to place the mask perfectly on Super Why.  It was really funny to watch them.  Then we opened presents and had cake and ice cream.  I made the cake into a book with Storybook village and the Super Readers on it.  It turned out pretty well.  I wished more people could have made it, but he had a pretty good party anyway.  He got a lot of superhero stuff.  He really liked all of the presents.  We also got him some board games that he has really enjoyed playing with his parents. 
Wesley had a doctors appointment the next day for his three year well-child checkup.  He was 38 1/2 inches tall (75th percentile) and 27 lbs. (10th percentile).  Talk about being a bean pole.  He has lost weight since his 2 year check up, but the doctor was not worried since 2 year olds are such picky eaters.  If he had not gotten taller he might have worried, but since he was still growing they felt it was okay.  He had an ear infection so he got a prescription for antibiotics.  He is really good about taking his medication.

Jonathen Well Baby!

Jonathen had his one year appointment on March 28th.  He is getting so big.  He weighs 21 lbs 3 oz (25th percentile) and is 30.5 inches tall (75th percentile).  He is very tall and getting skinny.  He has been having a problem throwing up lately so I asked the doctor about it.  Dr. Graham listened to Jonathen's lungs and looked at his ears.  Turns out Jon has an ear infection.  Dr. Graham gave Jonathen a prescription for amoxicillin.  He has been taking that for over a week and he was still sounding terrible.  He actually started to sound worse than he had.  He was kind of wheezing and appeared to be struggling to breathe.  We went back to the doctor today.  Dr. Graham rechecked his ears and listened to his lungs again.  He said Jon's ears look exactly the same as they did before the amoxicillin.  He also said Jon has pneumonitis.  He prescribed a stronger antibiotic for Jonathen and I went and picked it up. Hopefully this one will help more than the the first.  Jonathen is not grumpy though.  It is hard to tell when Jon is sick because he is still a very happy baby. 

Spring Break

Spring break was two weeks ago.  So we went down to St. George, UT for the week.  We were really hoping it would be nice and warm down there.  It wasn't exactly warm, but it was warmer than here.  We had a few rainy days and some nice wind storms (didn't realize the wind was going to follow us), but overall it was a fairly nice week.  We took it easy for the week.  We drove down on Saturday and got to our condo around 5 pm.  We had booked the 3 bedroom presidential condo since it was the open when we were booking.  I knew it would be a little bigger than the other condo's, but I was wrong.  It was huge.  One of the other condo's would have fit in the kitchen and living room.  It was an amazing place.  It was so nice I had to take pictures because it was the style of house I would like to have.  Sunday we hung out around the condo.  My parents joined us that evening for dinner as they were driving through.  Monday we headed out and did some shopping.  We went to the outlets and got quite a few things.  Monday night we went to Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum.  It was an interesting place.  It had animals from six continents that had been stuffed and arranged to look like their different habitats.  The point of the museum was to support wildlife conservation through legal hunting.  Wes and Jon really enjoyed seeing the different animals.On Tuesday we went to Zion's National Park.  We took a small hike to Lower Emerald Pool.  It was a "easy" 0.6 mile hike.  Wesley did pretty well until we got to the pool.  It had been a pretty wet day and there was a waterfall that went directly above the path.  The path that passed behind the waterfall was extremely wet and muddy.  We tried to continue on the path for a little bit, but once Wesley got upset we decided to turn around and go back to the car.  Why was Wesely upset you ask?  His feet were muddy.  He did not like having mud on his shoes and was really upset.  On the hike back to the car we passed other hikers headed out to the pool.  A lot of these hikers saw Wesleys muddy feet and would make comments about him having fun.  In response to these comments Wesley would whine, "I don't like mud."  Most of these people felt that he should have thought it was funny since he was a little boy, but Wesley was extremely upset.  Jonathen enjoyed the hike a little bit more.  I also had mud in my shoes.  I was not exactly wearing hiking shoes of any kind.  In fact, I was wearing flats and managed to get mud inside my shoe.  When we got back to the condo I got to spend some time cleaning all of our shoes, pants and socks.  You would not believe how hard it is to get red mud out of white socks.  On Wednesday we went to Dinosaur Tracks at Johnson's Farm.  It was a museum of dinosaur tracks.  Wesley got to touch some dinosaur tracks and see a dinosaur skeleton.  It took him a little while to warm up, but once he decided to participate he really enjoyed himself.  Jonathen, of course, enjoyed the entire thing.  He pretty much enjoys anything we do as long as he gets to walk around.  Thursday we had a quiet day.  We got up Friday and started the drive home.  It was a snowy drive.  It was hard to come back to snowy Rupert after a nice week in St. George.

Jonathen's Birthday!

Jonathen turned ONE! He is growing up so quickly.  He is walking very well and he tries to tell us things.  We had a small family get together for him on Wednesday, March 16th (his birthday) at Guadalajara.  This is both Jon's and Wes' favorite restaurant.  Probably because the owner loves to come and talk to them.  It was a nice evening.  Jonathen got some neat presents.  He really enjoyed the construction car set that Grandma & Poppa Reddington gave him.  Wesely really wanted to help Jonathen open and play with his presents.  Jonathen was fascinated with the candle on his cake.  He really wanted to grab the flame on top of the candle.  I had to blow out his candle at the very end of singing "Happy Birthday" before Jon could have a chance to grab the flame.  Overall, it was very exciting to celebrate Jonathen's first birthday.  Happy happy birthday Jon-Jon dear.

Jonathen being sung to.

Jonathen opening his presents.

Jonathen's birthday cake.

Haircut time.

Wesley's hair has been getting quite long for some time now. I have meant to cut it, but kept finding other things to do with my time.  I finally decided this week would be the time it got cut.  I asked Wes if he wanted Mommy to cut his hair or someone else.  He originally said someone else, but his someone else was Daddy.  Daddy was very adamant that he does not cut hair.  So I convinced Wesley that Mommy could cut his hair.  So today while Jonathen was sleeping I sat Wes down on a stool in the bathroom and got to work.  I used clippers on the sides and back but cut the top with scissors.  I think it turned out pretty well, especially since it was the first time I have used scissors to cut hair.  I always just do Kyle's with the clippers.  Here is the final product.  He looks so much older with his hair cut. 

My little Daredevil!

It is always amazing how different two children can be.  They look similar and they have the same parents, but their personalities our polar opposites.  Wesley was very easy as a baby since he was so cautious.  He did not do anything that he had not made absolutely sure was safe.  Jonathen, on the other hand, tries everything.  He thinks nothing of climbing on top of things and standing up on unstable sufaces.  In fact, he thinks it is funny.  We have steps and stools around the house to help Wesley get up to do things, but are just now realizing the hazards they represent.  Here is Jon up on Wes' step stool in the bathroom.  He also climbs the step ladder in the kitchen, his rocking chair in the living room, and any other stool or object he can get on top of.  He also really enjoys the stairs at Poppa and Grandma's house.  He has fallen off of several of these things, but it does not seem to stop him from climbing all over them.  Wes never climbed on anything so we are having to adjust to having our own little daredevil.

Look who's walking now!

Jonathen started walking this last week.  He will take 5 or 6 steps before falling/sitting down.  He is very funny.  He stills crawls for the most part, but if I stand him up he will walk.  He does not need to be walking to someone either.  He will walk towards his toys or to other people.  He is getting so big.  He talks and tells us about his day.  He will just jabber at us and expect us to respond.  He is growing up so quickly.  Wesley is really into superheroes right now.  He even has some superhero pajamas.  He has an Ironman toothbrush and Batman shirt.  I was not expecting the superhero stage for another year or two, but oh well, it is not that bad. 

We also bought a new vehicle this last week.  We have been talking about moving to a larger vehicle and Kyle has been looking for a while.  We had decided that we would probably be getting either a Yukon XL or a Suburban.  We figured we would need the seats for when we have another child (No, I am not pregnant, just plannning ahead) and the storage space for strollers and stuff.  We ended up heading down to Pocatello on Saturday to look at some Yukon XL's at Cole's Chevrolet.  Kyle had looked them up online and was pretty sure that we would get one.  When we got there they had two: one red and one metallic blue.  I thought about getting the blue one since Wesley loves blue.  My love for red vehicles won out though.  I have always preferred red vehicles and this was no exception.  Both had the same features and the red actually had less miles on it.  We have a lot of special buttons that I need to take the time to figure out.  We even have a backbumper camera so when we are in reverse it turns on and we can see behind us on a screen on the rearview mirror.  It is difficult to not look behind me and in my side mirrors like I was taught.  We are really happy with the Yukon and plan on keeping it for quite a while since we will not be needing a larger vehicle.

Happy New Year!!!

I will take a moment at the beginning of this year to catch up on everything that happened at the end of last year.  I have been slacking off for a few months so this could take a while. 
Halloween -

We celebrated Halloween on Saturday, October 30, 2010 since Halloween would have been on Sunday.  We got both of the boys dressed up and ran to their babysitters house first.  We then met up with my little sister Elisa and her son Shayne to go to the rest of the houses.  Wesley really enjoyed trick or treating except he kept saying his bucket was too heavy.  His daddy ended up carrying his Elmo bucket for him.  We drive to most of the houses we visit anyway since we live in the country and nothing is that close.  Wesley pulled in quite a haul considering he is only 2 1/2.  Our neighbors give out tons of candy and kept trying to give Wesley even more.  When we finished visiting the 8 or so houses and stopped by my parents to see what we got some pictures.  As I was going through Wesley's bucket to see what candy Wes had I found the ball from our hitch inside his bucket.  No wonder his bucket was heavy.  He must have put it in while we were stopped waiting for Elisa to join up with us.  Jon did not understand what we were doing, but he was warm in his lion suit and was fine being carried from door to door.  Here are some pictures from that evening.   I, of course, dressed up also to take my boys out.

November -

Jonathen has started crawling and is into everything.  This really gets on Wesley's nerves since he is used to having his toys to himself.  Jonathen is also starting to use words and really likes to say DaDa to everybody.  We finally convinced him to call Poppa by his name, but Jon only uses Momma when he is upset and wants something.  We celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents this year.  Grandpa Welch wasn't able to make it due to the weather and we missed him greatly.  It was a busy day and I worked the next day.  I missed out on all the crazy shoppers(oh darn).

December -

Another crazy month.  Jonathen has 7 teeth and is working on breaking in number 8.  He is getting really big and tons of fun.  We had Christmas parties to attend and treats to deliver this month.  It kept us pretty busy.  Kyle's parents are leaving for a mission at the end of the month so we went to their farewell on December 12th.  Kyle's parents gave good talks and Kyle's mom even made him cry during hers.  After the sacrament we had a large family gathering to eat and talk.  After lunch we went to see Grandpa Welch and got to watch some old videos of my family when we were little.  It was kind of funny watching us.  After we got back to Rupert I was busily trying to get some projects done.  I did not quite succeed in getting everything done and am still working on the boys' new quilts for their bunk beds.  Christmas was a crazy day.  I had to work on Christmas day so our plans changed a little from our normal Christams day activities.  Christmas Eve I prepared a potato soup so we could have an easy dinner when Crystal and Danny arrived with their children.  We weren't sure when they would be coming, but were hoping to see them early.  They ended up making it around 6:30 - 7:00 pm.  We had dinner together then read the Christmas story and sang carols.  We then opened our usual pajamas to wear Christmas morning and put the kids to bed.  Wesley went to bed pretty easy and I started to put together his Santa present.  Dad helped me put Wesley's tricycle together and it didn't take very long.  Kyle had to put together Jonathen's later and apparently it was more difficult than my project.  After getting Jonathen to bed we stayed up playing games with my parents, Crystal and Danny.  Knowing I had to work the next day I should have just gone to bed, but instead stayed up til after midnight.  I am such a dork.  The next morning Jonathen sat up in his portable crib at 4 am and yelled at me.  He didn't cry just yelled.  I tried to get him to get a little more sleep, but he was having nothing to do with it.  So at 4:45 am I got up and got ready for the day.  At 5 am the rest of the family woke up and we went to work opening presents.  Wesley was really excited to see that Santa brought him a tricycle (Wesley calls it a bicycle) and Mator the Greater.  Wesley loved opening presents and really enjoyed the whole morning.  Jonathen adores his Santa present.  It was a stride and ride dinosaur and he loves walking behind it and cackling as he goes.  It was rushed opening presents and at 6 we headed upstairs to eat breakfast and I left by 6:35 to get to work.  Work was absolutely boring and slow.  The day seemed to drag by.  But soon enough it was 5:30 pm and time to head home to have Christmas dinner with my family.  Overall, it was a good Christmas.