Payton's Last Soccer Game

We had the last soccer game of the 2007-2008 season today. Payton has improved so much over this past year. He is a great little soccer player. Most of all, he has so much fun playing soccer, which is really all that matters right now. He begs Tim to play soccer with him every single day. They play soccer in our entryway at home almost daily. Payton was lucky to have Tim as his coach. Tim is a wonderful coach (no, I'm not biased). He is so patient with the kids and has really tried to teach them some skills this year. He worked hard to teach the kids how to keep the ball inbounds. They all did such a good job by the end of the season. He also works hard to make sure they are having fun. We're sad to see the soccer season ending, but look forward to another wonderful season next year. Great work, Payton & Tim!

Parker's Play School

Parker was in a little play school this year. He loved getting together with his friends every Monday. It was the perfect thing for him to do before starting preschool. He learned some new things and made some great friends! Here are all the kids at our end of year party (except for Skylar...we missed you).

Payton's Animal Report

Payton had to present an animal report to his Kindergarten class. They were asked to research an animal of their choice, fill out a worksheet about the animal, bring a prop and tell the class about their animal. Payton wanted to do his report on Tigers. We went to the library and checked out a bunch of books about Tigers. We also searched the internet and found some cool pictures. Payton really wanted to make a poster for his prop. I let him make the poster himself. No help from Mom. He did a great job! He was excited to tell us about his report. He practiced presenting his report to us a few times.

I'm glad that he was excited about this homework assignment. It was fun to work on this assignment with him and actually learn some new things about Tigers myself. I'm grateful to be able to learn with my children every day. I hope that Payton & I will both continue to love learning and love doing it together. Who knew that I could actually learn something from Kindergarten?!

Welcome Home, Wrights!

We are so excited that Jdub & Andi are moving closer to home. They aren't exactly HOME, but it's close enough. We'll take it! We were so lucky to have Ashton & Brice play with us for a couple of days. Ashton even got to sleepover. The boys loved it! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the boys, but I got this great shot of Brice. Isn't she adorable?!

Dinner with Grandma Patty

My Mom came out to watch Payton play baseball tonight. Afterwards, she treated us to dinner at Chili's. Thanks, Mom! Payton is lucky to have so much support from his grandparents and family. Thanks to everyone who has made an effort to come see Payton play soccer or baseball. He loves it!

Birthday Weekend

THURSDAY, MAY 22ND

On Thursday, I turned 30-years-old. I know it sounds sad, but it actually wasn't at all. I feel like my life gets better every single year so I have nothing to complain about. Bring on the thirties!

My Mom & sister came over and brought lunch, balloons and cupcakes. They played with the boys while I got some things done (that was the best present). I had so much fun on my birthday receiving so many nice phone calls, cards and gifts. Thank you everyone for being so thoughtful! We topped off the night by getting some yummy Cafe Rio for dinner. It was great.

However, the next day was the best part of my celebration.

FRIDAY, MAY 23RD

Tim & I took a day trip to Las Vegas. On Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. Tim's parents came out to our house to watch the boys and we headed to Vegas for the day. Our flight left at 8:45 a.m. We got to Vegas at 9:00 a.m. (we gained an hour). We took a shuttle to Planet Hollywood and had breakfast at the Planet Dailies Restaurant.


This was the first of many "work" related phone calls Tim took throughout the day. Luckily, I didn't mind, it kept him busy while I was shopping!


After breakfast we began our shopping trip. We shopped at the Miracle Mile Shops. Our first stop was H&M. I was a little disappointed with their selection, but still walked away with a bag full of things. Next stop, Sephora! The mecca of makeup. I was in heaven. Then we hit Urban Outfitters. (Since we still haven't been to the one here in Salt Lake.) We shopped many other stores in between, but these were the ones worth mentioning. Then we hit the strip to sight see and head to another shopping destination.


As you can tell from this picture, Tim clearly needed some new sunglasses. It's a good thing we bought him some.


Tim was impressed with this building that was being constructed and wanted his picture taken with it. Weird!


After some more shopping at Caesar's Palace we caught a shuttle and headed back to the airport. It was a busy traveling day and we were worried about getting through security. However, it ended up being a breeze, especially with no luggage. They had a Ruby's diner in our terminal so we ate dinner there.

This is Tim & I posing with our new sunglasses on.



Our flight left at 5:45 p.m. and we were back home by 9:00 p.m. It was such a fun day! I would love to travel this way more often. We were so tired by the end of the day. It was nice to come home and be with our kids. Thank you Ann & Kent for watching the boys. It was a nice break and the best birthday present ever!

SATURDAY, MAY 24TH

I went with some of my friends to Dear Lizzie for a little birthday lunch. This little boutique & cafe were darling! I had a fun time with my friends. Thank you girls, it was a wonderful afternoon!

Dani & Michelle

Camille, Me & Cooper


After lunch, Tim & I took the boys to see Speed Racer. The boys really liked the movie and Cooper did great. It was a fun Saturday afternoon activity.


After the movie, we headed up to my parent's house for another birthday celebration. My brother & I share a birthday so we always get to celebrate together. No, we are not twins, we are exactly 3-years apart. This is my crazy brother. I think he was a little excited about his birthday party!


Tim was taking the pictures so he made sure he got the perfect shot of me. Thanks, babe!


Payton wanted to be in the picture with us. This is Clint doing his "David Archuleta Smile."


Clint showing off Tim's awesome wrapping job.


Me showing off my new PB condiment set. So fun!


Payton & Cooper. Payton still LOVES to hold his little brother.


Payton took this picture of Cooper.


Parker being his wild & crazy self!

Father & Sons Campout

This weekend our Stake had a Father & Sons Campout at the park. I think it's a great way to camp with little kids! Payton & Parker were so excited. Tim was also excited, but a little reluctant to miss the Jazz Game. Fortunately, somebody brought a tv and they were able to watch the game. Unfortunately, the Jazz lost!

They had a great night at the park. They played games and had a fireside. The boys had so much fun playing with all their friends at the park. They slept really well and came home the next morning so excited. I'm so grateful that my boys have these opportunities to bond with their Dad. Thanks Tim, for taking them!

Also, I had a wonderful night home alone with Cooper. Most people would do something fun...rent a movie, go shopping, hang out with girlfriends. These were all things that I considered doing, but instead I decided to CLEAN!! I know, I know, I'm so pathetic, but I really wanted to clean and reorganize some things in our basement. So, that's what I did. It was such a wonderful night. I loved it!

Oh, Parker!

Here are a few random photos that I've taken of Parker throughout the last month. This child keeps me on my toes all day long. He is so funny! I have a hard time getting mad at his crazy little attitude because he makes me laugh so hard.

He loves to make silly faces for pictures...


This is Parker over at Grandpa & Grandma's house one Sunday afternoon. He had obviously had a long day! When I asked him what he was doing in this picture, he said, "trying to poop." I thought he would say, "sleeping." However, he was correct, when he woke up from his nap there was a little poop in his underwear. Parker is "potty trained." I guess he figures if he does it in his sleep he can claim it was an accident, although it was something he was clearly "trying" to do!


Every day we have a nap time routine. Read a book, get in bed, Mommy has to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," give hugs and kisses, turn on his music, say "Goodnight...I Love You...Sweet Dreams" and shut the door. Lately, he has wanted to include Cooper in the routine. After we read a book, Parker gets into bed and I have to lay Cooper down next to him and sing them both, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Then he has to give us both hugs and kisses and say "Goodnight...I love you...Sweet Dreams" to both Cooper and Mommy. It's so sweet!



Oh, I just love my crazy little Parker!

Eme, Cooper...and Eric!

We got the cousins together on Sunday and wanted to see if they were keeping up with each other in size. They were both 6 lbs 13 oz when they were born, 3 days apart, but Cooper didn't gain weight as fast as Eme in the beginning. Now, it looks like he's catching up to her.

Cooper wanted to sleep and Eme kept hitting him in the face.




Eric is deathly afraid of babies. Especially, newborn babies. He claims that he won't hold them until they crawl or walk. I can't remember which one. Nevertheless, this picture proves that is not true. Here is Eric holding Cooper. Tim just walked up and set him in his hands. Thank you, Eric, for not dropping him!



Also, here is another picture that proves Eric CAN hold a newborn baby. This is Eric holding Payton as they met for the first time. We were saying goodbye to Eric as he was leaving on his mission to Equador.

Payton's Lego Birthday Party

Payton really wanted a Lego Birthday Party this year. I really wanted to do something simple and easy. I was hoping to avoid a big party. The last two years, I've planned fun birthday parties for Payton and put a lot of time and energy into them. This year, I didn't have much time or energy. So, I told Payton that if he wanted to do a birthday party with friends he could only invite a few friends. This was SOO hard for Payton because he wants to invite everyone he knows (which we've done in previous years). He's also really worried about leaving people out. Fortunately, we were able to compromise.

Here was the simple and easy invitation. Payton and I made them together. We bought a box of LEGO fruit snacks and cut out the LEGO symbol then glued them onto these simple invites. It was fun to actually let Payton help me.


Here is the LEGO cake, decorations and party favors. I do not like making cakes. I've never made a cake for my children's birthday parties, but we found this LEGO cake recipe so we had to do it. I know it looks horrible, but once again, Payton got to help and he loved it, which is really all that matters, right?


When the kids came to the party we had a jar full of LEGO's. They each got to guess how many LEGO's were in the jar. The child closest got to take the jar home at the end of the party. We played some LEGO games and made LEGO maracas.


Payton LOVED opening presents


We did cake and ice cream and then it was time for the party to end. It was so simple, easy and fun. I really should do parties like this more often!!


After Payton's little friend party, we had all of our family over to celebrate. Payton couldn't believe how many presents everyone brought. Our families are much too generous. They spoil our children rotten, which Payton loves (but his parents dread)!


Payton was so excited about all his new toys!


Thank you Daddy, Clint & Grandpa Ock for putting together some of his LEGO's for him! Payton had such a fun day celebrating his birthday.