Preschool and Halloween

Zach started preschool! It's so exciting! He loves going. It's a good thing all around because it broadens his horizons, gives him something to do, gives him something that's just his, and gives me some time during the day. Usually Cade naps during preschool, so I get some time to get things done or work out (if Jake's home). It's great. He really likes his teacher (it's one on one). And he gets to go with his cousin, Ashley! He loves it.

Every morning he asks me if he gets to go to preschool today and then he asks if Ashley will be there. It's so great! Cade misses him while he's gone, but like I said, he usually naps, so it doesn't sting too bad.

Thanksgiving Point Scarecrow Festival

My parents took us all to the Scarecrow Festival, which was really fun! The boys had a blast playing games, eating candy, jumping in bounce houses, feeding ponies, etc, etc. There were pony rides, animals, scarecrows, pumpins, face paints, the Headless Horseman, hay ride, snowcones, and corn dogs. What a night!

I know this is blurry, I'm sorry, but it's the only one I got and it was a highlight.

Mmmm, snowcone.....

Pumpkins are supposed to be jumped on, right?

I got this costume for Cade, and he looks really happy in this picture. But every time I put it on him, that happiness lasted about one minute. He hated the feet and the hands and the hood. But he didn't notice the hood so much because he hated the hands SO much! So, this was not his official costume, though he looks mighty cute in it.

These are the boys' costumes. Zach was a very muscley Spiderman, which he loved. He loved the mask, too until he wore it 3 or 4 times and realized that he couldn't eat candy with it on. Then it wasn't so exciting anymore, seeing as how candy is so essential to all Halloween parties (we went to several).

Cade was a little Sheriff's Deputy. We made this costume for Zach 2 years ago and it worked out so nicely, we did it again. The pants and shirt match Jake's uniform really well, then we added a "duty belt" with kids police toys on them (including the hand cuffs of course), and Jake's name tag and badge. If you saw him with Jake in uniform you would be very impressed. He makes a cute Deputy.

So, then there was Grandma Bailey's Halloween party. I went as the Cat in the Hat. Zach was so excited that I was dressing up, too. It was fun for him because I hadn't dressed up any of the other times he was in costume.

There were all kinds of games like a ring toss onto a dino. Good throw Cade!

Nice form Zachary!

Ghost bowling

Eating donuts off of a string. No hands!

I'm going to get you, delicious donut!

Yummy!!

This game was a hit with the boys, and so cute to watch!!

Halloween night we always go to Jake's brother's house to trick or treat. He makes a very good spook alley for trick or treaters. Most of the family gets involved, even a couple of the nieces and nephews this year. They build a 3 room "alley" and go all out. They make elaborate costumes and scare people to death. It is quite famous in his area. It was a parking lot on his street because people drove over specifically to go through the spook alley. It's very fun, so we go over for that and trick or treat in his neighborhood. It's lots of fun and the cousins get to be together. They are best friends!

This is Dave on stilts. He was kind of a scarecrow and probably the scariest one.

Deanne is also on stilts. They had clown room and a couple of the clown masks were terribly creepy!

I wore colored wigs with my sisters in law, Kristin and Tracy.

And this is a picture of Cade's trick or treating experience. He really only visited 2 doors. He didn't like it much. He was kinda freaked out because most people answering doors were dressed up. He loves candy, though, so the 2 pieces of candy he got, he just sat in the stroller and ate while the other kids ran from house to house.

Zach, on the other hand was a trick or treating pro. He was very motivated and I think he may have begged for extras at some houses. He tried to grab about 7 extra Otter Pops at one house. He would get his candy, run back to us on the sidewalk, show us how much candy he had and run to the next house. If we were in an area where nobody was home for a while, he'd be the one leading the way (running) to the next house with lights on. "This one, guys! Come on!"

Lots and lots to blog...

Cade's first birthday was a long time ago...

This is how it started with yummy cake

And this is how it ended...

Our sweet, sweet and cutest Bubba. Boy do we love this little guy! He is so smart like his older brother. He is talking quite a bit these days (even if only we can understand him). He LOVES BALLS and BOOKS. He prefers that Dad reads to him (over Mom) because he does all the funny voices and sounds.

Hates the car because there is no freedom, it's like he's strapped down or something... ahhh!! He is a climber. He will climb a ladder, stools, couches, kitchen chairs and tables, anything he possibly can. And when he gets to the top, he stands tall, bounces a bit and laughs triumphantly.

He loves his bro like always, but is more confident in trying to do all Zach does. He follows him around and drives Zach crazy sometimes. It's great. They actually get along wonderfully and play and wrestle a lot.

He always wants to feed himself. Sometimes I forget and can't figure out why he won't eat until I realize that he just wants to do it himself and will starve until I let him. Speaking of food, he loves yogurt and fruit and candy (he IS our son!!) and sometimes that's all he'll eat. Our favorite is when he sees something someone else is eating that he wants, he just keeps his mouth open as wide as he can and follows them around until he gets what he wants. It's a precious sight to see.

He's so curious and, of course, gets into everything. He likes to feed the dogs and dump the dog's water all over the floor everyday. And loves the bath. He likes to be chased around and tickled. And it's the sweetest thing in the world when he spontaneously, out of nowhere, climbs up onto me or Jake just to give us a hug and kiss. He's very loving.

WE LOVE YOU, CADE!!

Temple Square

Cute Zach with cute smile

Always acting silly and crazy, especially when you want to take pictures at the temple.

Quite GQ of our little one, huh? I love this picture. It's just him.

And cute family at the site it all began... (we got engaged at Temple Square and married in the Salt Lake Temple; it's a special place for us)

Fishing at Strawberry Reservoir

Pretty Sunset

The boys played on the shore and dug and collected rocks while the fish were busy staying away from our hooks.

My three boys, whom I love with all my heart. We did actually get a fish on, but he fought pretty well and won. We had him all the way up to the water's edge, when the line caught and broke and set the poor fish free to die on his own (probably).

This night, we fished until dark and went back and tried staying in the Lodge at Strawberry, but Cade got really sick and was throwing up all over our hotel room. Poor kid (and also poor cleaning staff). We decided in the middle of the night to drive home to be near the comforts of home (and hospital if the need arose) and hopefully Zach would get some sleep, because believe me, he was very interested in the puking. He was all riled up but quickly fell asleep (finally) in the car. What a crazy night.

Not to mention that something similar has happened to us at that very Lodge. Last year we were staying there and Zach hit his head and was acting really funny, so we left there late at night, too (not as late) and rushed him to the ER. And the time before that at the Lodge, everything went fine except that Jake broke his fishing rod. And all these times we've never caught a fish. I think we are cursed in connection with that Lodge. It's fun, though to go up there and do that, so Jake thinks we should try again, but why tempt fate?

Our Paris and London Adventure

We have been absent from the blog scene for a long time. I think I had too much to blog about to know where to start. So, today I'll start with our trip to Paris and London. Jake and I left the boys with my mom and went with Jake's sister Deanne to Paris and London. We had a blast!

We flew into Paris and immediately rented a car and started driving. Thank heaven for GPS navigation systems because even with it, we had a hard time getting away from the airport. I think we made at least 3 circles before we got out. The Paris airport is huge! Jake did all the driving and did a great job. The first day we only drove for 2-3 hours because we didn't sleep on the plane (no wine like the rest of the people around us). I think that day was my favorite because I loved seeing northern France and the French countryside.

We decided to stop but we didn't really know where we were or anything. We used the GPS to help us find a hotel and we just showed up and asked for a rate. We got a good rate at a Best Western in Hardelot, France. It was a very nice place in a beautiful area. While looking for a hotel, we drove through several little towns (very little) and we all loved seeing the buildings and houses. It was a blast. We ran into a little church and cemetery in Condette, France. It was really neat, but not as old as we first thought it would be.

This first night was fun to see some rural areas and all the French countryside. We got a wonderful taste of France and Deanne decided she would love to buy a second home there. I promise to come visit!

The next day we continued driving to Calais, France where we took the ferry across the English Channel to Dover, England. The ferry took about an hour. The interesting part of all this was we rented a car in France where they drive on the right side of the road, like us, and the steering wheel is on the left. So, when we drove off the ferry in England we were in a car with the steering wheel on the left and drove on the left side of the road. It was a very strange experience just to be passenger, but probably worse for Jake as the driver. He did great, though, and only needed 2-3 reminders to stay on the left when he was accidentally trying to drive on the right.

So, using the nav system, we drove all the way into London that morning. We parked on the street with all our luggage in the car. We were quite nervous about that, but did our best to hide it and then crossed our fingers. So, that day we got tour bus tickets and tickets to Wicked. We spent that afternoon on the top of a double-decker touring London and then saw Wicked at the Apollo Victoria theatre. We loved it. Wicked was the only show we could get tickets for that night and it was the one show both Deanne and I would have picked out of them all. We were so excited! And it was great!

We stayed in London that night and the next. Our second day in London consisted of more touring and the Tower of London. We really enjoyed this, too. There is so much history there with good stories and interesting people. Also, we were always drawn to the REALLY old stuff and the first Tower was built in 1078. We liked that. We got to see the crown jewels and a special exhibit of Henry VIII's personal armor, as well as the execution spot where Anne Boleyn and others were beheaded. Always fun.

The "Look Right" pic is to remind us of our confusion walking around the street and forgetting which way to look for oncoming traffic. We naturally look to the left before we cross. And when it's a one-way street, we would only look to the left, but that can be disastrous in London. We nearly had an accident or two. That's why they've painted signs on the street.

We saw all the wonderful and fun sights we could see in a quick 2 day London trip and decided that we would definitely return to England someday.

Then we took the ferry back and drove back into Paris. Paris is a beautiful city and we enjoyed it almost as much as London. I think we would have loved it just as well if it hadn't been for the extremely expensive nature of the city and the naturally "rude" Parisians. It's just their nature, but it's hard to get used to as an outsider.

We spent 3-4 hours in the Louvre, which isn't even close to enough time, even for a cursory visit. But we enjoyed it, nonetheless. It's enormous! The building itself is beautiful and worth a visit. They've got SO MUCH in there, it's overwhelming. But we took an ancient artifacts tour and saw the oldest artifact in the Louvre, which is about 9000 years old. Of course, we saw the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo among many other famous pieces of art. I enjoyed the small bit of ancient Egyptian art and artifacts we saw. It's so interesting. Egypt is on my short list of places to visit.

Our favorite site in Paris was the Notre Dame. We saw it at night the first night and then spent some more time there the next day. The stained glass windows are incredible and mind blowing. We were there during mass, so it was nice to hear the music echoing through that cathedral. But our favorite view of the Notre Dame was from the back. There is a little park behind there where it's quiet and the view is amazing. It's so detailed and different from anything else. We enjoyed some time back there taking pictures and relaxing and watching people.

One of our nights in Paris, we decided to go out for a nice meal (we pretty much ate as cheaply as we could the rest of the time, which was not cheap at all). Jake found a 4 star restaurant away from the tourist sites, kind of hidden. It was great! Nobody spoke English so nobody could tell us what we were seeing on the menu, but we did get a couple of recommendations through broken english and acting out motions of a duck, etc. I got the duck, which was incredible. Jake got a pork steak and Deanne got eggplant lasagna. It was an adventure and we definitely enjoyed eating out on the streets of Paris. It was a memorable experience.

Of course we spent time at the Eiffel Tower. We went at night when it's lit up because it's so much prettier. Something new that they weren't doing when I was there in 2003 are the twinkling lights. Every hour for 5 minutes they turn on these extra lights that twinkle (picture on the left). It's really cool and a great addition to a beautiful sight. Everyone just waited around for the top of the hour to see it. At the Eiffel Tower, we were messing around taking pictures and being silly and had put our bag down. Luckily Deanne and Jake noticed a guy inching closer and closer and eyeing our bag before he got a chance to grab it and run. So, due to Deanne and Jake's attention, he turned away and then Jake stared him down til he left. We were nearly victims of a prevalent type of crime in Europe.

What a trip! Of course we saw a lot more than I've shown and talked about. It was an experience to remember. I'm really glad we went but it was probably too long to be away from the kids. They did great at Grandma and Grandpa Bailey's, but we won't be doing that again until they are much older. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU mom, for taking such good care of them. They sure do love you. A day or 2 after we got home, Zach asked me if I would go on another trip so he could go stay with Grandma Bailey again. I really don't think he missed us at all. They had a blast!

It was great to be there with Deanne, who is always a lot of fun. Now we want to go back and do everything else we weren't able to do this time. Maybe next time we'll schedule in some sleep...

First Steps

Just like he's been waiting for us to catch up with him, Cade showed off his awesome balance this morning by walking several steps at a time all by himself. Lately, I've been walking him around only holding one hand and thinking he's been doing well. This morning, Jake was laying on the floor and Cade climbed up his leg to stand up and just let go and stood there like it was nothing. So, we started encouraging him to walk back and forth between us. At first he was hesitant and tried to drop down to crawl, but within a couple of minutes he gained the confidence to want to try. It was great. He got better and more confident within 10 or 20 minutes and was taking several steps. All day he practiced more and more. He stood up without anything to hold onto all by himself, he voluntarily let go of me to walk away from me and voluntarily let go of things to walk toward me. How fun! Go Cade!!

Time for Splashin'

I thought the kids would probably enjoy a wading pool, but when Grandma Bailey brought this out and the boys got in, they had a BLAST! Cade loves the water, so he spent his time crawling to the edge, sitting down, crawling to the other side, sitting down, etc. Zach spent most of his time running as fast as he could and jumping in. When Zach would run away, Cade would go watch him at the edge, then as he came running back toward the pool, Cade crawled away shrieking and laughing and usually sat down across the pool just as Zach jumped in. Then he'd laugh and laugh. It was fun to watch them. They had a great time. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bailey for the fun!!

First Haircut and "Wrestle Time!"

Take a look at Cade's baby locks. It was high time we did something about them...

So, this is what we did...

His first haircut. He did great. We just sat him in front of a youtube Mickey Mouse Playhouse and he held a comb and didn't think anything about the clippers dad was using. Jake did a great job on a moving target: a wiggly baby head. The first haircut is always so sad, because they grow up in an instant. Suddenly he doesn't look babyish anymore. I remember feeling the same way about Zach's first haircut. He looks very handsome now and very un-babyish.

The boys LOVE "wrestle time" with dad. Zach is always climbing and jumping on Jake whether it's "time" or not. And Cade is learning quite quickly. They have a blast together. Cade is amazed at the tricks Zach does (or Jake does to Zach) and loves watching and climbing up on Jake. Zach will do this craziness forever. We have to be very clear and stern when it's time to stop. These boys LOVE their dad!!!!