Parading Around Town

We love the festivities of Art City Days.  Some years we participate in many of the events offered.  Other years...not so much, but we nearly always have the children's parade and Grand parade on our agenda of things to do each year.

For the children's parade, the boys like to wear costumes. I dressed up this year as a monkey and pushed Ella, my baby banana, in the stroller. Garrett was obliging and donned the clown costume, thus continuing tradition. Each of my boys has done that now. Brevin and Spencer chose to go the Marvel Comic character route. They looked pretty cool with their masks. After the parade, Grandma and Grandpa Park took us all to lunch at Burgers Supreme.  That was fabulous!

For the Grand parade, Jason happened to find a great spot for spectating.  We had a front row seat for catching candy and for Garrett to charm all of the beauty queens by running up to wave to them.  I was glad that the weather was quite pleasant for sitting at a parade, and Ella enjoyed a nap from the comfort of her baby sling.

Well, until next year!

This post authored by Amber

Play Ball!

To fully enjoy this photo, click to enlarge to see the look on Brevin's face.  Priceless! 

Summer got off to a running start....literally.  We ran from here to there to get boys (and Jason who was a coach for the T-ball team and an assistant coach for the coach-pitch team) to ball games that were nearly every day of the week.  Miraculously, there was only one game that was played simultaneously during the whole season.

Though it sounds crazy to try and have two boys involved in a sport at once, it was really fun to watch games as a family and support each other.  It was also amazing to witness the improvement in the boys' skills from the beginning to end of the season.  And, holy cow!  Now June is over! 

This post was authored by Amber

We Have a New Hob-BEE

It's official!  We are beekeepers.  We've been meaning to be for quite some time.  We've even had the boxes waiting in our garage for a number of years.  So when Jason's brother let him know he discovered a swarm to be captured (while I was gone to St. George), it was a pretty simple process to collect the bees and bring them to the spot we had reserved for them in our backyard.

Upon our first hive inspection, we determined that we have Golden Italians, and they are a very gentle variety.  With our new bees, we hope to reap the benefits of increased garden production and maybe even harvest some honey.  At the very least, we have really enjoyed observing the bees.  They are fascinating!

This post authored by Amber



Just A Little Road Trip

A quick weekend "jaunt" to St. George allowed the children and I to have a chance to visit with extended family and to cheer on competitors who ran in the triathlon in Brad's memory.  Although the visit was brief, it was fabulous!

Ella got to meet Grandma & Grandpa Funk for the very first time (and they got to see just how cute she is in person).

At the event, the children kept themselves entertained by blowing bubbles and telling silly jokes.  They loved it!

At the end of the day, I put Ella and Garrett down in my bed and went into another room to visit with my brother.  When I came back into the room, they looked like this:  

Isn't that the sweetest thing!

This post authored by Amber

Four Months. Five Months. What's the Difference?

Can you see it?  These pictures were taken one month apart from each other (Ella is four months-old on the left and five on the right). According to her doctor check-up at four months, she was slacking when it came to weight gain and head growth.  Height was a different story.  What can I say?  She is tall and skinny with a little head (that sounds like Daddy's genetic pattern).  And while I don't have official measurements to confirm her five month's growth, these pictures seem to indicate a similar trend. Even with the addition of solid foods to her diet, Ella is a lightweight.  That's okay, though.  At least she's happy (and still fits into her baby sling).

Ella at Four Months:  She recognizes faces and responds, especially to Mom.  She has started to reach for and grab at things.  She is beginning to babble lots more in efforts to communicate.  She can roll from her stomach to her back and she can sit pretty well with the support of her Bumbo chair.

  Ella at Five Months: She has been introduced to solid foods and seems to like them.  She will scream between spoonfuls if you do not shovel the food in quick enough for her liking.  She can roll from her back to her front as well, now.  She effectively reaches for objects and brings them to her mouth (I love it when babies learn to do that with their pacifier!), and she loves to talk, talk, talk.  She seems to have a pretty easy-going disposition and is a trooper when it comes to being "man-handled" by her brothers (who are all pretty smitten with her). She appears to know and respond to her name.  She will interact well with anyone, but she has begun to show a definite preference to Mommy when it comes to being put to sleep.

This post authored by Amber

Well, It's on to First Grade

That's right.  Spencer completed Kindergarten, and it was made official with a program of songs for parents and a presentation of diplomas.  Spencer sang all the songs at full lung capacity.  What can I say?  The kid really likes to sing...loudly.  I loved the pictures we got of him doing all the different choreography.

We have sure loved his teacher, Mrs. Miner.  It's hard not to love someone who loves your child, and she did just that. 

Man, that year went by fast!

This post authored by Amber

Boy Turnin' Three

Isn't that just about the sweetest, most innocent little face you've ever seen?  Don't be deceived by those adorable baby blues, though.  This kid is a typical three-year-old. (Well, he's a typical three-year-old Park boy, that is.)  He likes to dump things out, throw things, and be destructive.  He enjoys climbing, wrestling, and sword play.  He is confident, assertive, and sometimes a bit bossy, but he is also thoughtful, inquisitive, and affectionate.  What can I say?  The Parks are passionate people. And this little guy...well, he makes me laugh every day (and makes me clean up a billion messes every day, too.)  Our lives would be pretty boring if we didn't have Garrett around.  Surely, he is something worth celebrating.

Garrett's 3rd Birthday Party:

I've been wanting to use this design concept for a birthday party invitation for a while now, and it just so happened that Garrett actually likes Toy Story. The timing was perfect, and the party wasn't too bad, either.

We celebrated with extended family when everyone was already together for Mother's Day.  Garrett opened presents (he was excited about his "lick-o-lish"), we sang Happy Birthday about five times because Grandpa kept lighting the candles, we ate green alien cupcakes (the idea came from here), we drank green slush, and we watched Garrett's year-in-review video. 

Garrett's Birthday on May 12th:

The birthday hoopla is simply to suit my fancy.  All Garrett really cares about is blowing out candles.  That being the case, I made sure to incorporate candle blowing throughout the entire day in each of his meal items of choice (french toast for breakfast and chicken nuggets for lunch).  Note to self: candles stuck in hot foods tend to melt, tip over, and leave a residue of wax within the food items.  

Garrett decided he wanted his birthday dinner to be pizza.  The older boys tried to convince him to go to Pizza Pie Cafe, but Jason and I were more "persuasive" and he chose to visit the local establishment of Two Jack's Pizza.

I made a small cake for our family to enjoy (and to give Garrett one final chance to blow out some more candles).  It turned out to be a compilation of ideas that I found on the internet.  I'm glad I took a picture the moment it was finished, because as I went to feed Ella, Garrett decided to eat the number 3, push Buzz Lightyear halfway into the cake, take a bite out of the headboard, and use Woody to smash footprints into the base of the bed.  Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was able to salvage some frosting from the garbage to fix all of the cake's blemishes. Awesome.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Garrett! 

This post authored by Amber

Pedestals

 Mother's Day 2011

Our bishop was driving by our house as Jason was taking pictures of the children and me.  He was kind enough to stop and offer to take one of the entire family.What a great Mother's Day gift!

I recall a sacrament meeting talk given some years ago on Mother's Day when the speaker said, "Every year on this day, we put mothers on such a high pedestal, that all the women go home feeling guilty."  Well, since then, I've let go of all unreal expectations I've had for myself and for my children...well, at least my Mother's Day expectations. 

Why should this Sunday be any different, simply because we're supposed to honor mothers?  I know I will still have my "battles of the bench" in trying to keep three rowdy boys reverent.  I will likely struggle to console a child who is in a great gulf of woe and misery because his brother is now sitting in his spot. I apologize if the plastic dinosaur, thrown in a fit of tantrum, hit you in the back of the head.  I'll have the intuition to hand the babe off to daddy just before she spits everything up that I just managed to feed her, and I'll try not to laugh too loudly at the sight of him dripping wet in his suit.  (I'll even do the laundry...eventually.)  I should definitely still expect to be called upon to remove my son from nursery for using the chairs as a weapon.  I will delve into my arsenal of dirty looks to flash across the Primary room at the son who is giggling with his neighbor when he's supposed to be singing Praise to the Man. I will do all this, and more, and it won't seem so bad.  I'll just "chalk it up" to another three-hour block survived, and there's no guilt in that.  In fact, I think I'll just take my place on that pedestal, thank you very much!

This post authored by Amber

The Month that Was April

 While it sits among the list of shorter months, we were still able to stuff April with enough celebrating, tradition keeping, and vacationing to make the past thirty days seem to burst at the seams with excitement.  And while I did not spread out the blog posts into manageable, consistent musings, I decided it would be a bit much to try and write a post for each event retrospectively, so I've resorted to a picture summary of all that took place with brief descriptions (because Heaven forbid if no one in cyberspace knew of all that we do in the Park household!).

And now, for your viewing pleasure, THE MONTH THAT WAS APRIL:

We thought the last of major storms were over and felt it safe to set the trampoline up.  It was a bit premature because a huge snowstorm dumped on General Conference weekend (and there were several smaller snowstorms to follow). Gotta love Spring in Utah.

Parents were invited to a RAD Kids demonstration to show what the students had learned during the past year in the program. I'm so glad that Brevin was able to participate in the personal empowerment program. And nobody better be messing with my kid!

We made a near week-long trip to St. George for Spring Break.  We had a wonderful time with the Olson family who invited us to join them in their parent's home.  We did a lot of hiking, visiting with family, and soaking in the practically perfect weather.  It was fabulous!

 Jason was gracious enough to share his birthday candle blowing with Garrett.  He also shared his special day with a Cub Scout Pack Meeting that was unexpectedly given to my charge on the Friday we returned from our trip.  Because the Pack Meeting was on Tuesday, we celebrated Jason's birthday the day before with dinner at Joe Banditos and angel food cake.  Thanks for being such an angel, Jason, and working with me on that one!

Ella at Three Months:

This girl is "all girl" and not because we constantly dress her in pink and frills (because she doesn't have much of a choice in that).  It is because she likes to talk.  She also loves to be talked to.  And don't think about leaving  her in a room all alone, because she knows when she's alone and she will protest with emotionally charged cries.  I'm telling you, it is a different cry than anything my boys ever did, and good gravy!  It's pathetic!  Thank goodness she is a relatively content child.  Ella's smiles make up for her cries anytime, and she is also doing that a lot more now as well, so phew!  

NuSkin holds an Easter-egg hunt for children of employees every year.  Brevin is no longer eligible to participate so we had him assist Garrett in collecting eggs while Jason and I ran between two areas of the field with cameras, trying to get equal shots of Garrett and Spencer. And yes, they "cleaned house" (too bad not literally).

Everyone had a fun time coloring the 3 dozen Easter-eggs that I hard-boiled......well, maybe not everyone.  (Actually, Garrett had a blast, too.  Every so often he would make this face, though, as he waited for his eggs to color.  It was hilarious.)

The Easter Bunny came, and Ella won the prize for healthiest goodies.  Her eggs were empty and she got rice cereal.  It's nice when your kids don't care what they get, isn't it?

And finally, what would Easter be without all the Park grand kids posing together before being released to hunt for their eggs.  Garrett was searching for orange, Spencer for sports-themed, and Brevin for Spiderman eggs.  All eggs were located and so it was off inside for a scrumptious potluck meal before the rainstorm moved in.  Gotta love Spring in Utah!   

This post authored by Amber