chepeta

pool days

Hooray for warm days, sunshine and the pool! Ben and I went to the pool with Tahnie and Brynner the other day. The boys played together a little more than last time. At least they stayed close to each other so the mommies could hang out with each other instead of chasing them. Tahnie and I got brave and dunked our little ones all the way under for the first time. Both were traumatized, but they survived!

latest obsession . . .

When Ben was about 10 months old, all he wanted to do was play in the running water. The phase ended and we moved on. Little did we know that it would come back in full force. Every time we pass the sink Ben lunges and pleads and begs to play in it. Of course he usually wins. Luckily he is pretty good at saying bye bye to the water when playtime is over.

fireworks!

This post is a little after the fact, but aren't they all? On the 3rd of July Ben went to his first fireworks show at the Eaglewood Golf Course in Bountiful. He thought the paratroopers were awesome. We had to keep moving so we could watch them for as long as possible. Surprising enough Ben really did enjoy the fireworks show! The big noises definitely scared him a bit, but he was so fascinated by the huge lights in the sky that his fears were forgotten. He "ooohed" and "aaahhhed" at the appropriate moments. He kept pointing and grunting to make sure we didn't miss the show. At the end he threw his hands up in the air and did his confused "oh!". Clearly he wanted more.

powell videos!

lake powell

In spite of my digital tragedy I am going to post some lake powell highlights. Ben is quite the little road tripper. He took a snooze or two on the way. The last hour was a little torturous but isn't it always? Ben made a new best friend: Uncle Jason. Those two are inseparable! Ben will not go to anyone except for Scott and I without a fight, but the whole week he dragged Jason all over the boat and could care less where we were. It was a great break for us and a quick education for Jason about how exhausting toddlers are! The water was really cold when we were there so Ben only got all the way in a couple of times, but he loved to dip his toes in and splash in the water filled tote on the front of the houseboat. Ben woke us at 5:30 am every morning and promptly dragged us to the front of the boat to go and play on the beach. He got so frustrated when the lizards and ants ran away from him, but he satisfied himself with throwing rocks in the lake. We celebrated father's day with a pirate themed party! So funny. Everyone got all dressed up and everything. Ben loved driving the houseboat and ski boat. He would grab the wheel and spin it and make vroom sounds (video soon to come). Our ride home marked a new milestone. Our first MAJOR barf in the car. Yeah for us. We were pulling over to get some beef jerky and all of the sudden chocolate milk and orange gatorade explode from Ben's mouth! Keep in mind that we are miles from a service station or "town" in which to get assistance. So we have to beg the beef jerky salesman on the side of the road for water to try to clean up. He was an angel after he realized what we were up against he appeared at our car with clorox wipes of all things! Hallelujah for him! (Note to self: Always have cleaning supplies and a barf bag on hand.) We made it home with a pukey carseat that I had to dissasemble and reassemble. Fun.

trip to the zoo!

Ben LOVES the zoo and thanks to Grandma Gwen's season pass we get to go whenever we want!! Hooray. Everytime we go he gets more and more excited about the animals. This trip he was thrilled with the monkeys and kept trying to make monkey sounds. His favorite part was the 30 second train ride. He didn't want to get off. He cried and cried when it was over. So sad. We had Becca with us and Ben thought it was wonderful to have a little playmate to point stuff out to.

xbox protege

Am I in trouble or what? Ben has watched his daddy play and he knows how to turn on the tv and the xbox by himself. He knows how to hold a controller and he knows that the buttons make things move. The really scary and funny thing is that he will hold up the headset to his mouth and try to talk to people! Watch out gamers Ben is coming for you! There is an avatar that Scott has created for his profile that will wave and spin and yes even burp when Scott pushes the right buttons. Ben gets so excited and waves right back at him!

tonka truck and mr. frog

Ben loves to push and pull and occasionally attempt to climb in his tonka truck. He has had mr. frog (Ben can rename him later) since the day of his birth and they have been attached ever since. The older Ben gets the stronger the attachment has become. When I go into his room to get him after a nap or in the morning he always holds out mr. frog for me to see and then snuggles him in really close. He usually packs him around for a while and takes him on adventures. It is so cute!

Happy Birthday Wilford!

Wilford turned 91 years young this week. We had a party and Jeff and Nicole's to celebrate (it was also Jeff's birthday). Wilford came in his traditional attire that I love so much: bucket hat and velcro shoes. He loved his birthday card from Erica and Jonathan. He just couldn't believe they made it on a computer. The best part was that it came with a certificate good for one night out on the town to a restaurant. He kept asking me what the fanciest restaurant is so that he could go there. Wilford was one of the very first family members of Scott's that I met. Since then Wilford and I have been close buddies. The first night we met he talked to me for over two hours about the war, Jewish fabrics, and the dirty butcher Stalin. I was laughing so hard on the way home I literally had to cover my mouth and bite my tongue! Since he has told me all about his wife's pregnancies (I got a full nine months of those stores), and most recently about how he came to call his wife, Violet, flower. They went to go see the movie Bambi for a date when they were young and the skunk in the movie is called Flower and he asked her if he could call her Flower and she said, "You can call me flower if you want to." Just like the movie and the name has stuck ever since. We love you Grandpa Wilford!

digital devastation . . .

so i was going to post some more fun lake powell pictures tonight, but i have fallen victim to a digital catastrophe. i have lost all of my pictures that i took on the trip with my professional camera. (michelle i am deeply feeling your pain from christmas. linda i am so so so sorry.) i am sick to my stomach. i can't believe it! i am always so crazy about triple checking everything. i guess it was bound to happen sometime. sucks to be me. luckily i still have the pictures from my point and shoot. but i am so depressed about losing those other files!! as you can see from the previous post there was some really good stuff yet to come! DANG IT!!!