A Conference Weekend Surprise

Surprise! Papa came back for another football game. This was a quick spur of the moment trip. Ian had an extra ticket to this game and his dad really wanted to be there since they were retiring Jim McMahon's number that night. Jim flew in Thursday evening, hung out with me and the little ones on Friday (we ran errands and hit up In N Out) then went to the game against Utah State with Ian that night. They had a great time. Even though the Cougars lost.

Saturday morning we watched General Conference. After the morning session we split up. Ian took Beckett and Davin with him to the airport to drop off Papa while I took Talia and Weston to Weston's soccer game. We met back up at home halfway through the afternoon session of Conference. It was a busy day.

Sunday was more General Conference. The kids were restless though and we decided we needed to get out of the house between sessions, so we packed a picnic lunch and headed to a new park. We listened to the end of the morning session while we drove to the park. It was pretty empty for the first 30 minutes or so of being there. It was an absolutely beautiful day! We fed the ducks (Beckett loved it!). Then we walked around the little lake. We let the kids play on the playground for a bit too.

By the time we sat down to eat our lunch the park had filled up with people who had the same idea of getting fresh air between conference sessions. By that time though we hid out by our picnic table and just enjoyed the weather and our food. We were all hungry! It was just one of the perfect afternoons. The kids were good. We all had fun and the day was gorgeous. I'm so glad we went.

We headed home just as the afternoon session was starting. The little ones took naps, the boys played in the basement, and Ian and I curled up and listened. That night was nice and low key. Davin practiced playing chess with Ian and almost beat him. Have I mentioned that the big boys are taking chess lessons? They are taking from another neighbor and are loving it. They are almost ready to start trying out tournaments! Anyway, we had a wonderful weekend. It was so fun to have Papa here again for a quick visit and to listen to the leaders of the church share messages about following Christ.

Two Year Old

Beckett had his two year old check up at the doctor's on October 2nd. He was such a good boy and is perfectly healthy. He is a little behind on his language, but I'm not concerned because he is learning new words almost every day.

Beckett's 2 year old stats:
Height: 31 1/2 inches (2nd %ile)
Weight: 23.3 lbs (10th %ile)

Beckett is such a sweet, happy little guy. Since he turned two he has definitely started acting his age. He throws tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. He hits his sister and pulls her hair. I have no idea where he learned that. I've never had to deal with hair pulling before either! He does go in time out in the corner and stays there (unlike his sister). He says sorry and gives loves. He also is super happy to play by himself when Talia is at preschool or dance. When Beckett takes long naps Ian and I let him stay up late with us. He's always so stinking cute when this happens. He seems to know that he is getting special time. Anyway, we sure love our baby Beckett and are so grateful he is growing up healthy and happy.

Tiny Dancer

At the end of September Talia started taking dance classes! She goes to a basement studio in the neighborhood next to us. I love having it so close and it's nice and low key. Her teacher, Miss Tanya, is so good with the girls and Talia loves it. She was so excited to get all her dance clothes on for the first time and she spun around like a ballerina for 15 minutes before class. It made my heart happy to buy her tights and ballet shoes. So glad I have a girl! 

It's pretty exciting that Talia is old enough for extracurricular activities too. It makes her feel like such a big girl and it helps me remind her to act like a big girl. :)

Wilson's Blessing Weekend

Dad flew in on Saturday morning for the the weekend. Mel and Brad picked him up and brought him over to our house. We all hung out for awhile that day. Weston had a soccer game in the late afternoon. I had planned on us all going to the game, but it was cold and raining, so Ian took Weston to his game. 

Grandpa and I took the rest of the kids to the dinosaur museum to play for a little while. Then we all met up for dinner at Cubby's. We hadn't been there before. It was fun to try something new. The burgers were really good. We tried a couple of different types of fries too. The kids were starving and they ate all of their food, so that was a win! It was a really fun day.

Sunday morning was low key. Wilson's blessing wasn't until 1pm, so we had all morning to relax and get ready. We got there in plenty of time. We even beat Brad and Mel there! :) The kids got some wiggles out in front of the building before we went in and sat. The blessing was very nice. Brad did a great job and Wilson looked so sweet.

We took group pictures afterwards at the church. Mel put on a beautiful luncheon at Brad's mom's house. It was fun to visit with all the people who came. I even got a chance to snuggle Wilson. I thought it was a really nice day. We sure love baby Wilson and are so happy for Brad and Mel!

Sunday night we were pretty exhausted, so we put the kids to bed and started watching Brooklyn 99. Monday was chilly again, so we stayed inside. Mel brought Wilson over and hung out with us. We had a lot of fun just chilling and visiting with Dad. Mel took Dad to the airport that afternoon. It was a quick visit, but we had a wonderful time!

In Between

We got to have lots of fun grandparent time in September! First Grandma Denny and Papa came for the football game and Beckett's birthday. The next weekend Grandpa Bob came and spent the weekend with us. He was here for baby Wilson's blessing, but we got to spend some quality time hanging out with him.

Before he got here though we had some in between time. I got the house cleaned up again, did the laundry. That sort of thing. I had to run a few errands at the mall one day so we made a fun pit stop at the dino playground. It has gotten pretty ghetto and sad. I don't think it has funding anymore so as stuff breaks they just take it out. At least the big blue slide was still there.

When we got home from our errands/playing a package arrived. It was another birthday present for Beckett! He loves his big Thomas the train. Thanks Joy and Jules! So much fun!

Talia got some new jammies while we were out shopping. She wore them that night. In the morning she was modeling them. I have no idea where she learned to pose! Beckett also got a haircut during our in between week. He's such a handsome guy! Now he's all ready for Grandpa Bob to come!

Beckett Turns 2!

Sunday was Beckett's second birthday. It's pretty weird that my baby is two. He is such a joy and I am so glad he's a part of our family. He didn't really know what was happening but he loved it. He woke up to see all those inflatable dinosaurs and balloons. He immediately started roaring at the big dinos and playing with his siblings. 

We didn't have regular church because the Ogden temple was re-dedicated that day. Weston, Grandma, and I went to the temple re-dedication. It was pretty exciting taking Weston to that. It was his first real temple experience. He was a little wiggly but mostly seemed interested and was very good about being quiet and paying attention.

That evening Mel and Brad came over to join us for Beckett's birthday dinner. We had french toast and bacon for dinner because that is Beckett's favorite. After dinner we let Beck open his presents. He was very spoiled. He got elephants and dinosaurs and a tick tock croc. He got a shopping cart to push around his treasures and got new dino jammies and Thomas slippers. It was lots of fun.

Beckett loved being sung to. He tried hard to blow out his candle, but his air mostly just went up into his own face. Davin and I helped him out. He was not interested in eating cake at all. I think he was still pretty full from dinner and much more interested in playing with all of his new toys. The rest of us enjoyed his cake though. :)

It was so great having Grandma and Papa and Mel and Brad help us celebrate. I love this age when everything is so exciting still. Beckett is just the cutest. He roared and made elephant noises all night long. He is now officially two and has finally started saying lots of words and throwing tantrums. I love watching my kids grow! Happy Birthday my sweet baby Beckett!

Go Cougars!

Saturday morning I went and got my hair done first thing. By the time I got home it was almost time to leave for the BYU football game against Virginia. Talia and Beckett stayed home with a babysitter, but the big boys came with us to the game. The game started at 1pm and it was almost 90 degrees that day. So so hot! When we first got into the stadium the boys got to take a picture wearing a real BYU player's helmet. They were surprised how heavy it was.

We ate lunch in the stadium before we went to our seats. It was nice to be in the shade for a little while. We got free shirts since it was a white out game. We ended up soaking the shirts in water to help keep us cool during the game. Ian and I also went to the Cougar den and bought ourselves hats. I am SO glad I got a hat. I don't know if I would have survived without it. The game was still fun. BYU played pretty well.

Grandma took the boys down into the shade for most of the 2nd quarter since it was just so hot. They managed to survive to the end of the game after halftime. I ran down and met up with my old BYU roomie, Lisa, during halftime. I'm so glad we got to catch up in person! It was so fun to see her!

The game was pretty exciting and fun despite the heat. BYU pulled off a 41-33 win! It took forever to get out of the stadium at the end and I felt bad that we were gone pretty much all day, but Talia and Beckett had fun with their babysitter, so it was fine.

We were exhausted that night. Beckett helped me bake his birthday cake. I let him lick the beater for the first time. He loved it, of course. We vegged and I got the house ready for Beckett's birthday the next day before we crashed. :)