And now to catch up...

As I get ready to graduate, I'm finding more free time on my hands or maybe just feeling tired of studying. Either way, I've been thinking about getting on top of my scrapbooks but then opted for just updating the blog a bit. I want to wait on the scrapbook for when I can convince someone to come visit me for a week (she knows who she is...)! Until then, here is a rundown of the last three months:

Our visit to SLO (San Luis Obispo) where Ben & Esther live.

Uncle Ben, cousin Izzy, and Xavier

The SLO children's museum

Izzy's favorite spot at the museum

X's future job could be grocery checker...

or waiter...very cute.

At the beach with super-fine sand!

X and Z planted seeds for a project one day and we've all been fascinated with how they grow. I was the most excited when the sprouts came up and couldn't wait to show the kids. It was new to me to see how sunflowers push off the seed shells as they get bigger (first picture) and then how huge they can get (second picture)! "My" sunflower now is almost four feet tall, still growing, and has yet to put out the actual flower.

On almost no notice Joe was invited to interview at USU and since I was already planning to head to UT for a short trip, we just extended it into almost a weeklong family trip! So fun but unfortunately, no job offer this time.

We went to Cami's wedding...

and Makai's birthday party...

(playing with their candy bags from the pinata)

We saw lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Baby Addison was the biggest mystery to X. He has only been around infants and toddlers near his age. The in-between age of crawling and non-talking babies was something he couldn't quite figure out.

I got to see my sweet sisters and wish I could have seen everyone!

We made sure to honor our relatives on Memorial Day.

When I was newly called as a Webelos den leader in the Boy Scouts, I found a little "Mud Scout" outfit at Osh Kosh for Xavier, who I call my Webelos mascot. He usually prefers to stay home with Neen & Grandpa now but he did go to the Pinewood Derby and loved it.

He was right on the front lines for the races and as soon as they were over he jumped up and made sure he got a turn to race a car, too.

X and Z's "preschool" time with me hasn't been as innovative lately, but one of the ones I did like was our zebra day. We made striped cookies, played with black and white beans, read a story about zebras, and compared the letters in their names with the letters found in ZEBRA.

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One thing about living with and close to family is that X gets a LOT of presents and surprises. Grandpa brought home this Snap On car with a real tool to assemble and disassemble the car. He insisted I take a picture of him taking off the tires.

The kids got art projects, like these balloon farm animals, from Jennifer and couldn't wait to show them off.

And, of course, one good part of having two kids everyday is that they get many chances to practice sharing. :)

Xavier the artist...he drew two people from their head bones down to their knee bones and toe bones (he can sing the whole "Dem Bones" song). We'll have to post the video...

Buff baby boy. He loves to push around grandpa's little bikes all day.

X is learning how to be more independent, including figuring out how to reach out-of-reach things like sink water for washing his hands.

and last of all, the most exciting part of every day...tractor rides with grandpa!

Happy Daddy Day!

Daddy,

Happy Father's Day!

Love, Xavier.

Xavier "painted" his father's day card with water so I hurried to take a picture of it before it dried. He worked carefully on his card...

...and was so proud of his work.

Then he wrote his name on the back all by himself. Look carefully. I was pretty impressed.
See the sideways 'X'? Then the circle with the line down the middle is 'A' followed by an upside down 'V', an 'I' with a dot on top, a tiny 'E' he wasn't satisfied with, and an 'R' between his fingers that looks better than how most people write!

X and Z both love spelling at the moment, so to their delight, I pulled out Scrabble Junior Cheez-its for a snack the other day. They found all the letters for their names (and ate them) before helping me spell one of the best words:

What would we do without daddys?

We sure love them!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

Happy Birthday? Xavier cried and threw tantrums the morning of his birthday party. I worried, knowing that some of those "wrong side of the bed" days are just better to be left alone. I almost called off the party but he brightened up and the party turned out great in the end. Whew!

For months before his birthday, X told me he wanted two cakes--a dump truck cake and a Mickey Mouse cake. Then, in the last month, he changed to a dump truck cake and a Nemo cake. When it came down to it, though, he just wanted a dump truck cake. I thought it turned out really well! It's hard to be sneaky when he's with me 24-7, so I decided not to fight it and had him help me instead of making the cake a surprise. He was thrilled to put the frontloader on the cake and sprinkle the yellow rocks. He also got a big kick out of me putting frosting in the dump truck to make the "dirt" stick.

We decorated the house inside and out, front and back, with orange and yellow balloons and construction tape that said "Birthday Zone" on it.

X's Aunt Jenn took him in the morning so we could set up. The kids were so excited when they got their first look at the party zone!


Xavier immediately went to work at his workbench.

Lilia, Xavier, and Zelia quickly decorated their sand buckets before playing in the blue sand. (Blue sand is a lot of fun but I didn't plan ahead on what to do with all the spilled blue sand...)

Joe set up a demolition game that was a great hit!

and of course there was cake and ice cream...

...and presents!
(Sorry again to Zelia who got tackled by X over a mix-up
with the party favor bags and his presents)

And while we cleaned up, the kids got pulled in the wagon by grandpa's riding lawnmower. This activity is a daily favorite now. Even the dogs get excited!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Xavier!

P.S. Three seems to be a big turning point for Xavier. He feels very grown up (I'm "big" now) and everything he does revolves around that number. How many cars get to sleep with him at night? Three. How many crackers does he want? Three. Why is he going peepee in the potty now and why did he refuse the Sesame Street potty seat in favor of the big one? Because he's three, of course!