Happy Labor Day!

For this last Saturday of the summer Eric and Chad decided to through a BBQ for the neighborhood. When I first got there it was just those two and half a dozen kids but as people came out to watch their kids play they all wandered down to try some of Chad's bratz and Eric's tri-tip...

Normally we don't let Collin play in the alley and for good reason! I don't know how many times my heart stopped as he rode right across the street... Still. he's getting pretty good on the skateboard - especially the long board.

Two of Collin's favorite neighbors, Eric & Nick. Many a morning I go out looking for Collin only to round the corner at the end of the block and see him on Nick & Leah's patio chatting away. Or hanging with Eric who has given him and Aiden shades and soda pop so they look cool hanging out. They are both really patient with him and I really appreciate their befriending my kid.
Hanging out... They pretty much hung out until it was movie time - around 8 pm (Chad wanted to lose his farmer tan) All summer Eric has hosted outdoor movies Friday & Saturday nights at the end of the block.

Now that summer's over he may finally get to put away the 30 foot screen he made...

David & Sharon's New Blog

You'll notice a new entry on my blog list ... I would like to welcome my sister, Sharon, to the blog world :) She texted me today to check out her blog and my other sisters had already beat me to it. When I added her to my list I thought she would be at the top of the list but Marj still has the most recent blog posting... Sorry, Sharon, you'll have to be a lot faster if you want to make it to the top of my list when Marj is out there blogging away...

You'll notice a new entry on my blog list ... I would like to welcome my sister, Sharon to the blog world :) She texted me today to check out her blog and I added her to my list... and Marj STILL has the most recent

1st Day of School!

Today was the first day of first grade. Collin was really upbeat about going again...
Colin's all set with his dragon shirt and rain forest backpack.
He has Ms Beshid again this year.
Collin was supposed to draw a picture of himself at school... if you look close you can see the dragon, tiger and even the yin-yang sign from his shirt. It wasn't long, though, before he flipped the paper over and drew pictures of tropical birds.

As soon as I left my sad boy at school I went and did some good guilt relieving retail therapy... let's just say he'll have the best sack-lunches ever!

The Last Day of Summer

On the last day of summer we went up to Ellie's grandparents' beach house (we really just went up so Paige could give us haircuts but the rest was fun too.)

Ellie & Collin on the Rocks (Collin's "before" shot)
Ellie, Kelsey & Kayley (Collin in the background)
Kelsey & Kayley washing their feet after playing on the beach.
Collin, Kayley, Addison, Ellie, & Karissa... It's so great that the cousins all get along so great and have a lot of fun with each other. (the "after" shot)
I was so surprised when I saw the sand. Last time we were there it was the lowest I had ever seen it, most houses had a 4 foot drop after their last step. This time it was the highest I had ever seen it - about 8 feet higher than the last. There was only half a dozen steps to go down. It really made t nice to watch the kids because they were so much closer & they enjoyed it more because there was no high tide when they couldn't go down and play.

For the Birds

Collin loves tropical birds...

When Lisa told Collin that her parents have two macaws he wanted to go see them. He drove down with Tiana to take her home on Friday. That may seem like no big deal but that was 4 hours in the car for the possibility to hold a bird!

Lisa's dad has a whole band set up in the garage so after the bird Collin was able to rock out...
Back at Tiana's house I had to drag him away from the girls - he loves to hold Addison and play around with Karissa.

A Sad, Sad Day!

Caught in the act!

After Kelsey's nap today she let herself quietly out of her room and whispers, "I did it, Mom." What'd you do? "I got out."

The day I've been dreading has finally come - Kelsey can get out of her crib!

I'm still not exactly sure how she gets out all the way since I don't hear a "Thud!" but I was able to catch her in the act tonight - baby Houdini was performing this feat in total darkness even though it doesn't look like it because of the flash.

So I've decided to try to hang on as long as I can and just keep putting her back in every time she gets out and hope that will work otherwise it's going to make for long bedtimes and non-existent naps.

Awakening Her Prince

Kelsey has found herself a comfy spot to do her favorite thing - suck her thumb and play with her belly button.

but there is a method to the madness... as long as Chad pretends to be asleep Kelsey will give him kisses to try to wake him up.
Kelsey's very proud of herself for having woken up the prince (who immediately falls back to sleep - smart prince)...
If the kisses don't work (she normally have a limit of about 3) then she just tries to pry your eye lids open... This time she got caught!

I love seeing my family playing together!

Grandpa Lonnie

It's amazing how a man who didn't have any kids ended up having several grandchildren.Lonnie may have cringed a bit when Lisa called him "Gramps" but it was great of him to come over to meet his newest grandson, Brennan. Lonnie has been a great influence in Chad's life - taken the time to teach him how to weld and several other very useful skills. We all love to bits!

Safety First

I'm so glad Kelsey already knows to put on her helmet... even when she is stealing the brand new neighbor's bike - welcome to the neighborhood! (Actually the kid was sweet and wasn't even crying as she drove off on his trike :)

Collin's nephew Brennan

Collin loves his Uncle Trevor so he was especially excited when Trev's little boy, Brennan, came to stay with us from Hawaii. He's a little cutie, nearly 5 months old and 20 lbs (OK, not so little) Collin & Kelsey had a blast playing with their cousin.

The Olympics

Collin got to participate in the Primary Olympics. He and Charles rocked on the 3-legged race.
Afterwards Collin climbed one of the trees... I think the helium balloon helped him climb higher.

Fringe Benefits

Soon after we moved in Chad made me drawers for my pots & pans...
Tonight I came downstairs and my tiny pantry was pulled out...
but by the end of the night I had 6 new shelves, 5 of which pull all the way out so now I can easily get to the stuff in the back.

Is it any wonder he's so busy doing remodel jobs on every one's kitchens?!

Boy Trip to Utah

Chad & Collin were only home for one day before they took off to Utah with Grandpa for his great-grandchild's blessing.

You would think Collin would be sick of hotel rooms by now but it seems when Mom's not there telling him not to jump on everything he has a lot more fun...

Chad & Collin stopped by to see Marj & Ike to give them gifts from Grandma in Costa Rica and to play for a bit.

Saturday night they went to a rodeo - of course Collin met all the princesses.

Collin found a horse just his size.
Cowboy Collin had fun watching all events (he even named them all when he talked to me). Even before this he would dress up as a cowboy to play with the neighbor kids but now, thanks to dad and grandpa, he has a horse and cowboy hat too.
It's been so many years since I went to BYU I probably wouldn't even recognize most of it. This is the new Smith Field house where Collin watched Chad's cousin, Kurt practise with the BYU football team.
Kurt is a back up quarterback this year - but it's only a matter of time before it will be Collin (if his dad lets him ever play football... or go to BYU...)

On the way back they drove through Zions and saw some beautiful country.
Collin likes to imagine what it was like when there were dinosaurs roaming. Near St George there's even a place where you can see dinosaur tracks in the rock.
They like to take time and feed the elk. The animals are friendly and come right up looking for food. They had a great time but it's nice to have them home.

I'm an Aunt!!

Ok, so this shouldn't be anything new... I actually have 23 nieces and nephews, this is even the third one this year but I'm still excited. Debbie first made me an aunt about 14 years ago and hasn't for 8 years. She had 3 girls and we all thought that would be it. Now, shortly after her 44th birthday, Carsten James has made an appearance.

Carsten quietly slept most of the time I was there which always adds to the sweetness but I have to admit he is a beautiful baby (I think even cuter than Kelsey at that time). He has fine, short dark hair all over his cute little head.
Kelsey takes a peek at her new cousin. She thinks he's the cutest thing ever!
6 years ago, Micah was Kelsey's age when she visited us in the hospital to visit her new cousin, Collin... You can even see little Avarie in the background... how time flies.

Carsten woke up for a minute to look up at Aunti Chris.

Costa Rica

The guys were only home for one day before they left again so I didn't get all the stories yet... But I wanted to post the pictures while I was at my friends and using their fast Internet.

So enjoy the pictures and come back and see if I've put captions on yet.

Manuel Antonio

While down in Jaco they visited Los Suenos (you'll have to excuse any misspelled words- I'm horrid enough in English...) where Chad and I stayed last year. The pool is about an acre big. They kicked back, swam and played some volleyball.
My happy boy!
At Manuel Antonio they had a photo safari. I can't begin to list all the animals they saw - though lots of monkeys and reptiles.
Collin and Grandma take a quick rest.
The safari ends at a secluded beach were Chad was able to catch some waves.



Once again Collin met a friend to play with.