Antelope Island

Last Saturday, Ashton was sleeping Noah was playing with Trains and Jason and I were in the office both on our computers.  Jason said out of the blue, lets go to Antelope Island now those that know Jason he doesn't usually come up with ideas like this.  He is happy and content to stay at home, while I am the one that loves traveling and going on little adventures.  So I jumped on this idea and said lets go.  We had to wait till Ashton woke up, (which incidentally was only a few more minutes, thanks to Noah) and off we headed. 

I none of us had ever been there before so I thought I would be fun.  We got there and headed to the visitor center, cause you have to see the visitor center, it was small but was kind of cool.  I think that best part was actually right outside, there were about three birds nests that had baby birds in them.  We stood and watched them for a while, it was fun to see the mom bird come back and all the baby birds sit up tall and open their mouths for some food, and off the mom would fly again. 

Then we headed down to the water.  It was quite the walk to get down to the water, the sand was so deep and soft that with every step you would sink in the sand, it was not easy going.  The boys were both so excited to go and play in the water.  Noah had insisted on bringing his ball with him.  He didn't let it go till he got in the water.

Ashton decided he needed to collect rocks on his way, he had so many at one point he couldn't keep them all in his hands. 

The water wasn't as stinky as I thought it was going to be and the boys had a blast playing in the water.  They could of stayed there for hours.  They were throwing rocks and mud and Daddy even showed them how to skip rocks. 

We had to practically drag them when it was time to go.  I wasn't really prepared for them to get in the water and get wet so they were both soaked from the waist down.  We ended up having to take their pants off on the way back.  Noah wanted to be carried and I didn't want to get soaked so I took his off.  Ashton started to complain about his shorts hurting his legs, so off his went and he walked back in his underwear and shirt.  I am sure that some people would be horrified by this but oh well. 

Overall it was a fun little outing and the boys had a blast so I count it as a great outing.

Closet Remodel

So last week I decided I wanted to do some kind of project, and I came up with the master closet.  It has never been super functional, it was fine but not great.  So after getting a few ideas I decided I could fix it and make it much more functional.  I actually changed my mind about three different times during this process and made some changes along the way.  But now it is done I am thrilled with how it has turned out. 


Before: Just three bars and a shelf on the top nothing great and there was this wasted space in the corner that we couldn't do anything with.

After:  I built shelves on one side and then raised up the bars so that the bottom bar wasn't hitting the floor.  Then I added a fourth bar to make more space.  I also was able to get rid of the dead space in the corner.  I just shortened the left side so that the clothes could go all the way across when you walk in.   The whole closet got a fresh coat of paint and I was finished. 

I had these vinyl wall decals, I decided to put them in the closet.  Originally I thought I wanted to paint some kind of design on this wall but this was much easier and quicker to do. 

 I am super happy with how it has turned out so far.

The joys of raising Noah

So when Noah came along I just assumed that he would be like Ashton was, easy going and just went along with just about anything.  Now Ashton did have his melt downs and fits but they were few and far between and you could easily distract him.

But Noah has been a whole different story.  He wasn't an awful baby he just wanted to be held a lot and wasn't entertained with the tv (don't judge me with this one, sometimes you have to do whatever works) like Ashton was.  Then he became mobile, things improved somewhat when he was able to crawl and get where he wanted to go.  Then he started walking, he was walking at 11 months which was much earlier than Ashton did, and he became even happier, he could follow everybody around and things seemed better, or so I thought.  

Then started the tantrums, I can't remember now when they exactly started but whenever Noah was told no he would throw a huge fit.  It didn't matter where we were if you told him no or you tried to get him to do something that he didn't want to do he would let you know about it.  Diaper changes (we still have issues with this one), getting in his car seat, changing his clothes, going inside, sitting in the high chair, being told no, trying to take a picture,  are just a few of the things he throws fits over. 

This fit was especially wonderful, we were riding the lift at Sundance and he threw a fit trying to get out of my arms the whole ride down the mountain.

Now this may be my favorite picture of all, he was throwing rocks and I told him to stop.  He threw himself down on the ground and cried like his life depended on it.  When he was done and he stood up, there was dirt and rocks all over the side of his face I couldn't stop laughing.  It was one of those moments that the only thing to do was to laugh and take a picture.

I love this little kid to death but, over the last year he has been a great method of birth control.  I have had no desire for another child while he has been so difficult. Even though I do want one more I don't think I could handle a baby and this little monster at the same time. 

Now I hate to jinx this but the last few weeks Noah has started to mellow out a little bit, we still have fits  but they are starting to be less and less and I am thinking that he is leaving the Terrible Two's that he has been in the last year, even though he hasn't hit 2 yet. 

He has been wanting to cuddle with me and I LOVE it when he snuggles in on my shoulder and tucks his hands between our bodies, it is just precious.  It goes a long way with helping to neutralize all the fits that are thrown through the day.  I will walk in the family room and he will pat the couch next to him and want me to sit by him and then he crawls in my lap, how can I not love it when all he wants is me to cuddle with. 

The only downside to this attachment that he has is that if I am around, there is no one else that can help him or do anything for him but me.  Some nights by the time 8:00 rolls around I am so ready for him to be in bed so that I can do something without him hanging onto my leg or needing to be in my lap at all times.  I am just hoping that this sweet little boy that is emerging is going to stick around for a while, cause I kind of like him! 

July 24th weekend

Jason had taken all last week off so we spent most of our time working on the deck.  By the time the weekend came around we were both ready for a break and needed to have some fun.  We got some fireworks to light off with the boys.  Ashton originally was very excited about this but once we started lighting them he was scared and wanted to head inside. 

I made him sit by me and kept telling him it was fine and there was no need to be afraid.  Noah on the other had sat in my lap and wasn't bothered at all by them.

Sunday we decided last minute to head up to Sundance and ride the lift.  I figured it would be cooler up there so it would be a nice break from the heat.  We stopped at Mom and Myron's house on our way to see if they wanted to join us.  So we all piled in our car (it's so nice to be able to fit 7 people) and headed up the canyon. 

 

We got our tickets and headed up the mountain, I love to be up Provo Canyon it just feels like home.  Noah was quite thrilled with our little adventure for most of the ride up then he decided he didn't want to sit still any longer.  Ashton rode with Mama and Pappa, and loved the whole ride.

So we had to get off at the top and let him run around for a while before we got back on the lift.  I am still amazed at how different my two boys are Ashton will be still and enjoy what is going on and Noah doesn't enjoy anything unless he is going full speed ahead.  It definitely makes for some interesting times around our house.  This is a typical example with Noah, everyone smiling for a picture and Noah is throwing a fit, hopefully he will grow out of this soon.

Ashton puts up with mom having the camera out and wanting to take pictures pretty good these days, he will even smile on command most of the time.  Although here is saying mom I am done with pictures right now :)

Noah decided to scream and carry on the whole way down the mountain, we did get a few minutes of peace when we passed some other people coming up and an older gentleman said "Hey stop that crying" and he actually did at least for a few minutes. 

During he struggles he managed to lose one of his crocs, so when we finally got down to the bottom he had to run around with only one shoe.  It didn't bother him at all, now I have a good excuse to go and buy him some new shoes :)

 

It wouldn't be a stop at Sundance without getting  a sucker so we all had to have one and just walked around and let the little boys get some of their energy out.  It was an awesome afternoon. 

Afterwards we headed back to mom and Myron's and had some dinner and played a few games of croquet.  It was a great way to end the weekend.

 

4 years

I can't believe that 4 years have passed by so quickly.  I wouldn't trade anything for the years that we have had together. 

 

There have been good times, not so good times and everything in between, but I have had you by my side so no matter what we go through I know that we will be able to get through it together.

Love you babe, and here is to many more years together.

Happy 4th of July

We had an awesome 4th this year.  I have been wanting to take Ashton to go and see Toy Story 3 for a while now I knew Noah wouldn't sit through the whole movie so we haven't gone.  Well we decided to go to a matinee and see how it went.  We made it to the first show which was at 10:20 and there were only like 7 other people in the theater so it was perfect.  Noah sat still for about 40 mins then he just wanted to wander we were in the back of the theater so I just let him walk around and he was fine.  I never could of done that if there had been a ton of people there.  Ashton loved it and sat for the whole movie. 

I wanted to get some pictures of the boys, but as usual only Ashton would cooperate. 

We came home from the movie and Noah had a nap then we headed down to Mom and Myron's for a BBQ to celebrate Tyson's 18th b-day and the 4th.  As always the food was yummy and we had a lot of fun hanging out and playing croquet.  Our last round was a really close one and I ended up the winner, which was fun, I never win playing croquet.

I tried but was never successful in getting Noah to smile or to put down his toys for a picture, maybe next year he will be a more willing participant.

The weather was beautiful, only like 75 degrees which is unheard of that I can remember on the 4th of July.

Tyson wanted pumpkin pie, instead of cake it is his choice every year, a little weird but hey it's his day and he can choose what he wants.

Deck update

So this is where we are with the deck.  the main structure is done we just need to get the railing up.  This has been a huge undertaking but it is so awesome to have a deck that I don't feel like it is going to collapse when I walk on it. I will be even more excited when it is totally done and I don't have to worry about the boys getting out on the deck and falling.  One hospital stay for a child is enough for the year :)