Utah Trip July 2013

We had a fun vacation in Utah this summer.  We went up for Brett's family reunion and got to spend a few extra days with Justin, Kristen and their kids in Park City.  It was such a fun week. 

Visiting the Olympic Village in Park City

Brett and Justin mountain biked in Park City

Kristen and I went zip-lining in Park City!  It was so fun!

We loved swimming in the hotel pool with cousins!

Brett and his brothers wearing the same shirts they wore to the last family reunion about 20 years ago!

Luke loved this huge dog that belongs to Brett's cousin

Luke's Birthday Party

My phone broke so these pictures I sent to Brett are all we have  of Luke's birthday party.  It was quite an event.  Luke had been very specific about what he wanted for many months.  He wanted a Superman, Scooby-Doo, Frosty the Snowman party.  And that is what he got.  We had frosty the snowman cupcakes  ( made by my awesome sister), Scooby-Doo snacks and Superman came to visit.  To top it all off the kids swam and swam.  It was a great three year old party!

Fourth of July Weekend

I just love the Fourth of July!  We had such a fun day and weekend!

First up, was the first annual Faith and Freedom 5K.  A great way to start the day.  Then we headed over to La Verne for the big parade.  Actually is is really pretty dinky, but the kids love it!  That was followed by swimming and fire works.  Quite a perfect day.  

 On Saturday, we headed down to San Clemete for our cute little neice's blessing.  We are so ecited to have Emma Jane in our family!  From there we went to San Diego with the rest of the White clan overnight.  The time goes too fast when we are all together.  I am so grateful to live in a free country, and to have been blessed with such a wonderful family.

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Ryan's Race

On June 2nd, Ryan ran his first running race.  It just might be his last.  He was such a champ and ran the whole thing with out stopping.  He seemed so happy at the end when he got his medal.  However, to this day ( 3 months later)  he still asks me why I made him do it.  " I thought you might like it because mommy likes running," I say.  His reply, " Well I don't."

  I guess I'll give up my dream of a little running buddy in the near future.  

Nonetheless, we were very proud of him for running... even if he hated every step!

Boys Trip to Denver

Brett took a trip with Ryan to Denver for our niece's baby blessing.  We didn't tell Ryan until the night before. He was SO excited and Brett said he was a great traveling buddy.  They had a great time with cousins. We sure missed them though!

Our Summer at a Glance

Summer just flew by for us.  We kept ourselves busy.  I loved planning activities for us to do together.  We were free and easy and had a blast!

Here are a few of our favorite things from the summer:

Visiting a local butterfly pavilion:

A magic show with friends.  

Lots and lots and lots of swimming ( with and without swim trunks)

 A lemonade stand where the boys made $25!

 Skate Park with scooters. Luke calls them "cooters"

A trip to the fire station and free Slurpees on 7/11

And of course beach days!

Preschool Graduate

I am so proud of my little preschool graduate!  He has the same teacher, Mrs. Sara, for two years and we just loved her. Ryan learned so much and is very prepared for kindergarten.   This is as dressed up as Ryan would get for a non-church event.  No collared shirts for this kid.  Believe me, I tried.  He looked handsome nonetheless.  I loved what Mrs. Sara said about Ry. She said she could always count on him to help make peace and solve problems.  She said he would give up his seat when other kids were fighting over theirs. That made me the most proud of all.  I love the little boy he is turning out to be. 

Best buddy Nate

On to Kindergarten we go ( in four weeks)!  I am only pretending to be excited about this!

Happy Birthday to My Luke

Luke is three! This boy adds so much zest to our family. Luke is our little charmer.  He knows how to make friends and be a friend.  He loves people and can bring a smile to anyone's face.  

Here are a few tid-bits to remember about three year old Luke:

 - he can't say his s's at the beginning of words: snack is nack, sweet is schweet, snuggle is nuggle ( love that one)

-words that begin with f are often replaced with an s - weird, right?:   family is schamily, fly is shly

- he loves healthy food like nuts, salad, pita chips and hummus, guacamole and " picey salsha" ( can you guess what that is)

- all of his friends are Ryan's friends.  We need more 3 year boys around this hood.  Good thing Ryan loves his little brother

-he loves to be active.  He can scooter or swim for hours and hours.

-he is known for his impromptu compliments: he will randomly tell people they are beautiful or that they are his sweetie

-he is only semi potty trained and still uses a paci... gotta work on those

-he is a great big brother to Jace and has always been sweet to him

-he loves Superman and Captain America and gumballs

Luke is such an important part of our family.  We are so grateful he is ours.