Redwood National Forest

My sister Sarah, her husband, Brandon, and little Anya.

The boys fell asleep in the car on the way there so my mom was nice enough to stay with them so we got to hike by ourselves.

California Posts

This weekend we drove to Northern California to visit my sister, Sarah and her family for her first daughter's baby blessing. This was the first time I've been able to see Anya. She's 3 months old now. We had a really fun weekend, site seeing, visiting with family, going on some runs, and eating good food. We're already planning a way to go back!

My boys liked their new cousin Anya. She didn't seem to mind them playing with her feet. Bryce's squealing did get to be a little much for her.

This was taken at Piedmont Park. Its a really cool park near their house with lots of shaded walking paths and a stream that runs through it.

Bryce's Latest Mode of Transportation

I think Bryce is just going to be one of those kids thats going to do it his way and on his time.

What we've been up to lately

The boys and I have really enjoyed being outside in the nice weather these past few weeks. Its been so nice to be at my in-laws house with a nice yard and places for the kids to play. I've been so excited to plant a big garden this summer for the first time since Tyler was a baby. I hope to have better success then I have in past years. Since the kids play so well outside I think I'll have more time to dedicate to it. I need to add a picture of the finished product but here's the boys "helping" me plant everything last Saturday. Bryce has eaten more than his fair share of grass and dirt and Tyler loves to inspect everything in the dirt with his magnifying glass.
They also love riding their bikes on the patio. Just this morning Bryce learned to ride his backwards. In usual fashion - Bryce does everything in reverse first. Andy thinks his theme song should be Coldplay's "Fix You" Stuck in Reverse...

I've also been running again! I've been trying to get out at least 3 times a week and have kept it up for a month now. I bought this great double jogger on KSL this week and I love it. Its so much easier to use than our old one. I'm hoping to run a half marathon at the end of the summer. It'll have been 6 years since my last one! Tyler and Bryce are good training buddies. Tyler likes to bring along the stop watch and tell me how fast I need to run or how much time I have left. This morning as I started he said "ok, 20 hours Mom Go!" When I was done with my 3 mile run I asked how long it had taken me and he said "3 hours." I gotta work on my speed.

Misc. pics from my phone

Tyler loves "lawning" with his dad.

For a kid who gave me so much grief over poor sleep habits in the first year of life, he really can fall asleep just about any where now.

Including the shopping cart in Costco.

One of Tyler's favorite things to do is throw rocks in the River near our house. He couldn't wait for his best buddie Kye to come over and join in the fun. He asked me about it all week. Here's the two Samoa friends still loving the water.

The Many Faces of Bryce

Serious

 

Distraught

 

Happy

 

Focused

 

And Really Goofy

My Super-Incredible Tyler

Tyler woke up this morning and said "I'm the best, Mom. I'm a surfer, a super hero and a 'credible (what he calls the Disney characters in the movie "The Incredibles."' He's fascinated with Super Heroes lately and runs around the house with his Nerf sword and blanket behind him for his cape telling me he's "fighting crime." Except I think to him crime is an actual person he fights. He often asks me about different super heroes super powers and he asks me what his super powers are. I always tell him he has super powers for helping his mom, making his brother laugh, making mom smile, and making people happy. He also adds that he's super strong, fast, and he can jump super high. He's always "saving" Bryce and I from different apparent dangers around the house. We're sure glad he's around cause we need saving a lot.

Moments from Tyler's Day:

Mom: Can you go potty bud before we leave?
Tyler: (very matter of factly). No, sorry I can't. I'm a super credible and super credibles don't go potty.
Mom: Oh no, Super heroes do use the potty. In fact they wear big guy underwear instead of pull ups.
Tyler: (More heated and serious now) No! They don't! They wear pull ups!

Mom: Can you do something for me Tyler? Can you can go downstairs, go potty, put your pants back on, wash your hands, pick out a book and get in bed? Then I'll give you some fruit snacks before your nap.
Tyler: Thats too many somethings Mom.