What A Good Day!

The day of Brevin's baptism was so lovely. All throughout the afternoon and evening I kept commenting to Jason, "What a good day! Wasn't it such a good day?" And it was, really.

The morning started early as Jason went over to the church around 9:30 a.m. I followed shortly after with Spencer and Garrett. It was so nice to see that our group had been assigned to meet in the chapel.

Brevin shared his baptism program with a neighbor from the ward that he'd become close friends with over the summer. (Her family shares a backyard property line with us.) The program was simple and included an "impromptu" musical number by Brevin, Spencer, and Amiee and her sisters. (We were never able to get them together for a practice.) Then all who had joined us for the occasion were invited to the Relief Society room to watch the baptism.

Of particular note, Brevin took in a huge gasp of air following the prayer and preceding the immersion. You would have thought he was preparing for a deep sea dive. It initiated a wave of laughter (slightly suppressed and of the reverent variety, of course).

After the confirmation and a few words from bishop Patten, the meeting was concluded and we went outside to take a few pictures before heading back to our home for lunch and, of course, cake and ice-cream.

Like I said before, it was such a good day!

Here are the pictures to prove it:

Both Jason and Brevin are sporting new suits. Don't they look handsome!

I have now come to the conclusion that the more people you add into a picture, the less likely it is to turn out well.

Green was the theme (inspired by Brevin's favorite color as well as the color of the CTR shield).

With family gathered, it was the perfect opportunity to sing happy birthday, have cake, and open birthday gifts.

Did I mention it was a good day? Oh, yeah. I guess I did.

This post authored by Amber

It's Great to Be Eight

This summer, Brevin celebrated a milestone birthday.  He turned eight years old, and that's kind of a big deal around these parts.  It's a literal "right of passage" into church membership (more on his baptism later!), the Cub Scouts organization, the Faith in God program, and U10 soccer.  I am thrilled that I have some extra keep-my-child-busy-doing-worthwhile-activities ammunition in my arsenal now.  I can better combat Brevin's recent desire to play video games all day (although the Cub Scouts program has a video game academic belt loop and pin...go figure!). 

And of course, with a birthday comes the traditional celebrations and hoopla.  This year was an off year for friend parties, and that's okay, because we did a big family shindig after Brevin's baptism.  The morning started off with his birthday breakfast request of pancakes shaped in the number eight.

He received gifts among which included a new suit, scriptures, a Cub Scout uniform, and--what do you know--more video games.

I let him invite a friend over to play for the day, and he and Cameron spent the majority of their time together playing video games.  (I am noticing a trend here.)  That evening, we went as a family to Brevin's restaurant of choice, Pirate Island Pizza.  I'm relieved to see that Brevin and Spencer's tastes have evolved  from McDonald's and Chuck E. Cheese's.

And to show that Brevin did do a few other things besides play video games during his past year of life, here is his year in review video:

Happy Birthday, Brevy-Boy!

This post authored by Amber

Pioneer Day

Because I have a fetish for holidays, I am glad when I have another chance to celebrate.  Living in Utah has the added benefit of another summertime holiday--Pioneer Day.  It is also another occasion where fireworks are allowed (just not the ones that come from Wyoming).  We marked the occasion with a family get-together in Orem for homemade ice-cream and cookies and such. Then it was off to home for a personal firework show courtesy of Sam's Club and our personal pyro-technician, Jason. 

This post authored by Amber

Fishing With Dad

Brevin and Spencer continually work toward earning special outings and activities, and recently they selected to go fishing with dad.  We thought we'd try a close location that we'd never been to before on an evening during the week.

We made a quick jaunt to Salem Pond to see how the fishing would be.  It turned out to be a lovely evening for the entire family.  Spencer had a few bites and Brevin managed to reel one in.  The pictures I took turned out nicely, too.  I'd say that it was definately a successful evening of fishing.

This post authored by Amber

Little Creek Ranch...Big Family Reunion

Since they were aware we would be returning to Little Creek Ranch for a summer family reunion, our boys were counting down the days until we would go to Paragonah Canyon.   This would be a reunion for the three blended families on my side to come together, eat lots of food, play games, and simply have a great time visiting.  We did a few other things as well.

We played in the water and launched water balloons:

We competed in a number of sports activities and various feats of skill:

Spencer lost his first tooth while there (don't worry, the tooth fairy managed to find him and deposit a gold dollar in the bottom of his sleeping bag):

We played the whipped cream game (a new family favorite activity):

And we rode horses:

Another highlight of our trip, although I don't have pictures of it, was exploring the sponge beds in the nearby pastures.

The trip did not disappoint.  It lived up to the every bit of anticipation that was assigned to it.  It also made for an opportune time to announce to all of my family in one setting that we are expecting a baby in January. (So, consider that a golden nugget of information for all those who endure to the end of my lengthy posts. You're welcome!)


This post authored by Amber

The Bombs Bursting In Air

This year, the celebration of our nation's birth took us to Burger King for a flame-broiled Whopper (what's more American than a big, greasy hamburger, right?).  Following dinner, we headed with Jason's family to the Stadium of Fire where we participated in the largest Eagle Scout induction ceremony, watched spectacular fireworks, and listened to a variety of incredible music.  Oh, and did I mention, we saw Carrie Underwood in concert?! 

Yeah, it was all pretty cool, but I think this will still always be my favorite part of the fourth of July celebrations:  

This post authored by Amber

Indiana Spence

Spencer turned six this year.  Six!  When did that happen?  Well, to mark the occasion, he requested an Indiana Jones-themed party for our family gathering.  We did not do a friend party this year (I take even birthdays off) which is a shame, 'cause I'm sure there are so many cute things you could do around the Indiana Jones theme for a friend party.  Maybe he'll still think Indiana Jones is cool come next year. Nevertheless, I tried to make his invitation and cake worth remembering.

Here is the invitation:

Here is the cake:

Here is the year in review video:

Any questions?

We held the party the day before his actual birthday. When he woke up on the 28th, he requested to have bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast for his b-day breakfast. 

That evening, our family went to Pirate Island Pizza for dinner.  It was a great way to celebrate!

This post authored by Amber

Who Said Thirteen Was Unlucky?

The end of June marked thirteen years of wedded bliss for Jason and I.  We decided to celebrate by going to Chef's Table, one of the only "high-end" restaurants in Utah Valley.  

Our table fronted large windows overlooking Provo.  The food was delightful and the service was impeccable.  I found myself glancing around from time to time to see if anyone noticed if I used the wrong silverware or if I directed my spoon through my soup in the incorrect direction. No one seemed to care (or at least no one kicked us out of the restaurant for lack of proper etiquette).  It was very enjoyable, and at the end of the meal, we were feeling a bit self-indulgent, so we asked to see the dessert menu. Ooh, la, la!

Don't you think thirteen years was worth a treat like this?  I do!

This post authored by Amber 

I Know...It's Been A While.

I practically had to dive into the photo archives in order to find images for posts that remained....well....unposted.

Oh NO!  I did not give a shout out to the cyber world about how amazing my husband is on (or around) Father's day.  Shame on me!

I'll spare everyone the list of reasons why I think he's groovy.  Suffice it to say, we've been married for thirteen years now, so there are plenty of things that I like about him, one of which is this:  Jason is the only person who can manage to pose with our three boys and get a decent smile out of everyone.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding (whatever that means)!  Did I mention, happy father's day?

This post authored by Amber

The Happiest Place on Earth

If you've noticed a little extra bounce to our step, a golden shimmer to our skin, and an overall heightened contentment in our attitudes, then you'll know we've just recently returned from our trip to Southern California. This was an extended family experience that had been several years in the planning, and it was FABULOUS!

We left early Saturday morning to drive to our first night's destination in Primm, Nevada. After a slight hiccup with our reservations, the boys did a little swimming (in a freezing cold pool) and followed that with a quick roller coaster ride at Wild Bill's. We made a poor attempt at sleeping comfortably before we gave up and left early Sunday morning to head to California.

Check-in time for our hotel wasn't until the afternoon, so we drove straight to Huntington Beach for a quick fix of sand and surf.

We left the beach to check in, clean up, and head to dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. I effectively kicked off my vacation by eating an obscene amount of food, but I enjoyed every bit of it!

We had a five-day Park Hopper Pass, so starting on Monday, we hit the rides. It was nice knowing we had several days to fit everything in. That allowed us the flexibility to come back to the hotel in the afternoons for a bit of swimming and napping. Even still, we were all exhausted at each days end. I thinks that's why we slept so soundly at night.

Here are just a few photos taken on the trip:

This was quite possibly my favorite part of the trip. Both Brevin & Spencer were selected for Jedi Training (more on that later).

Brevin & Spencer loved the Indiana Jones ride (and it's a good thing, too. They rode it about ten times!)

Okay, so we had a wonderful time, but shouldn't that be expected? I mean, we were in Disneyland after all!

This post authored by Amber