Just Visiting

Sometime before we celebrated Will's birthday we made a visit to see my cousin Natalie and her son John. She and her husband Robert and staying with Natalie's other grandparents who conveniently live in Phoenix too! It was fun to watch the three boys playing together.

Natalie grew up in California and I grew up in Arizona so it wasn't often that we were together when we were younger. We sure had fun when we "reunited" at BYU. It was also nice to see Natalie's grandparents Ward and Sigie. They are the kind of people that make you feel like they could be your grandparents too!

David, Johnny, and Willim playing with the music table.

Our visit couldn't have been complete without a stop at Kimmie's house. Kim is my step-sister but I dislike that label because she is a real sister and is most certainly a real friend. It was fun to see her and Sean's new house too. It was a very nice place, she and Sean had it tastefully decorated and it honestly made me a little jealous since it will be awhile before we think about owning a home. We loved seeing baby Alex and David got a kick out of playing with his toys.

Alex, Kimmie, me, and David.

So nice to visit!

Happy Birthday Party William

William has celebrated his first birthday a few weeks early and the same was true for his second birthday. We take full advantage of celebrating with family! My Mom was kind enough to plan, host, and prepare a celebration at her house. Hopefully that doesn't make me a bad Mom--it just elevates her status a a good grandma--right?

Yum, breakfast.

Will LOVES his cousins!

A Happy (almost) 2 year old.

The highlight was, of course, blowing the candles off of his orange roll. He had a hard time waiting for the signing in order to blow. I just love the way his eyes shine in this video. He was so thrilled when he figured out it was all for him.

Finally digging into that tasty treat!

Time for Presents! Looking at the photos below it was hard to tell which boy was the birthday boy. David made his way into all of the excitement of gift opening. I'm pretty sure David ended up taking over a few gifts and that made Will pretty upset. I don't blame him!

Unwrapping the paper...

Opening the box...IT'S THOMAS!!!

I guess he'll have to share it with David at some point...

Do your children's birthday milestones always make you feel squishy inside?

*Sob* He's TWO!

That Dexter Dog Post

Isn't there a poem that involves boys and snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails? Boy, do we have some serious puppy dog tales. I never imagined just how much a little dog--and before meeting Dexter I was admittedly not a fan of tiny dogs--could steal my heart and most especially the hearts of David and William.

Meet Dexter. 8 serious pounds of dog...

Meet David and William--they insisted on watching Dexter eat breakfast every. single. morning.

After the boys were up Katrina and Devin would emerge from their room we'd always hear an emphatic "Dexter!!!" from both David and William. Dexter would come out to play. Every morning was a reunion.

It was hard to keep them on the rug and keep their little boy fingers out of the little doggie food and water. They often pretended to be dogs while they watched (read: interfered) with Dexter's meals.

While Dexter was a delight most of the time he did cause a little mischief. Hmm, sounds like two other non-canine little people I know. Here is a little video of Dexter nipping David's toes. It wasn't something Dexter did often but one can only stand so much love and attention from David...

One of the funniest incidents was when David dropped his tortilla. Dexter got to it and David scolded him saying "Dexter that is not a toy!" David promptly ate the rest of the dog slobbered tortilla. Of course there was a lot of voluntary feeding going on too:

And let's not forget the running, chasing, throwing, fetching, and tricks.

Katrina works from home and she was kind enough to occasionally take a break and play with the boys and Dexter throughout the day. Or rather intervene so the boys didn't completely overwhelm the dog.

I vividly remember David being very upset when he discovered that Dexter had gotten into some toilet paper in the bathroom. We all had a good laugh over that one.

Here is a video of David trying to throw Dexter's toy for a game of fetch. Dexter had quite the grip and David couldn't always get the toy away from him.

This is one of my favorite photos of Katrina, Dexter, David, and William. Katrina often had to hold Dexter so he didn't get too much love from the boys. She was so sweet to do this constantly!

David and William liked to crawl around the house on all four being doggies. They barked, wagged their "tails" and even licked (gross!)

William and David both loved Dexter's cage which they called a "cave." David also really like the fact that the cave had a handle. They were pretty sad when Dexter had to go to Las Vegas with Katrina.

We'll miss you Dexter! Come visit Boston soon.

Bring Katrina too (oh and maybe Devin)...

Phoenix Art Museum

If I could take a vacation with my Mom and sisters we'd spend the entire time in museums, at historical landmarks, and touring mansions. We'd prefer to do this in London or maybe Paris or Rome. A trip across the pond isn't in the near future so we make do with the local museum scene. I'm always in awe of what you can see at an art museum in your own town.

Once my Mom got us tickets to see an Impression exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. At the end of the tour was Renior's Boating Party. Our entire family sat and stared at it for an hour. It was so dramatic and beautiful. That is a moment I won't forget.

My Mom and I headed back for an afternoon at the Phoenix Art Museum with boys in tow:

Will graciously poses for a photo with Grandma and the dinosaur outside the museum.

William spent some time whining and then we realized we could give him a show on the iPod touch to keep him quiet. I always said I'd never be one of those parents...but it was much more enjoyable when he was occupied! We did pretty well and saw the main exhibit area and a few other interesting (strange?) modern art pieces.

Grandma and David leaving the museum.

Since this wasn't just a Mom and daughter date we stopped by McDonalds and my Mom treated the kids to a happy meal and some ice cream. Will decided to be his charming and funny self. We all had a fun afternoon.

Playing with his Happy Meal toy.

The Backyard

I didn't realize what a blessing a fenced backyard could be! Sometimes the boys played on their own while I was inside observing and sometimes we enjoyed the sunshine together.

A car made for two?

If I didn't know better I'd almost say he looked angelic with those rays of gleaming off of his face!

Dinner with Grandma and Co.

My parents are the kind of people that invite the whole family for dinner and won't let anyone bring anything. They plan and cook and set the table and you have to be pushy to even help clean up. It is very kind and generous and it just the just the way they do things. We enjoyed a nice Sunday dinner that allowed me to catch up Kimmie and Sean and Steve and Cara.

A scene that was repeated many, many times:

Grandma Kathy playing on the floor with David (and usually Will.)

I finally got to meet this darling boy!

Meet Alex. This is Kim's son, he was about 10 months here.

Brooke really enjoyed the kids too!

Here are two cuties Alex and Grace playing with some window stick ons:

I don't think we had seen Grace since she was a tiny, tiny baby.

This is my cousin Steve. (Med student at Midwestern and husband of the lovely Cara.) He's Grace's Dad. William literally thought that Steve was Brad. When Will saw Steve he dramatically lept into Steve's arms and Will wouldn't relinquish his hold until Steve had to go home. It was very sweet and it me feel a bit bad for leaving Brad behind for so long. I had no idea William missed his Dad that much.

Almost everyone!

Thanks Steve, you even got the kids looking.

The Von Shirt

If you knew Von you'd immediately recognize this as a shirt as one he would wear.

In his size of course.

Throw the Football or the Cup?

I guess it doesn't matter...it is just fun to play with cousins.

Anthem Park and Daisy Mountain Rail Road

Amy, Noelene, and I took a little outing with the boys on Grandma's day off. We packed a picnic lunch. It was a little cool with some cloud cover from a threatening storm but only for the Arizona people.

David got a little too close for comfort...

Walking with aunt Amy.

Going across the beam...it was high!

We'll gladly trade snow for sand.

And of course the highlight:

Train ride!

I can't believe this boy is almost 2! It was a fun outing. Amy was able to snap a really adorable photo of William (not this one) with her great camera and mad skills.

Suns' Game

This is the only photo of the game that I have.

Sorry, a little odd! Jack In The Box Man with scantily clad cheerleader:

Kent got some great seats from one of his partners and invited me along. I almost thought about not going because David got sick in the car on the way there. Noelene took over and David ended up being just fine. I think basketball is my favorite sport to watch. In my opinion it isn't quite as complicated as football and it is a bit more exciting than baseball.

I also enjoyed seeing Steve Nash and the Maverick's Dirk Nowitzki. Too bad the Suns lost. I almost fell asleep during the end of the 4th quarter...apparently I was still on Boston time. We sent Brad a picture message of me at the game and told him to be jealous but it didn't insight much commentary from him!

Lemons and Limes

Playing with a few lemons

(yellow limes actually, but I didn't want to confuse the boys)

was great fun for David and Will.

We spent most of the day after our flight with Grandma Kathy. Just look at that beautiful green grass. It was so refreshing to leave the piles of snow behind and step into the soft paradise!

Even now I can't get over how bright everything seems in these pictures.

Here are David and William helping Grandma and Grandpa with dinner. They both have Brooke's white shirts on because their clothes were dirty for one reason or another.

The boys were whisked from one activity to the next and had a chance to play with all the toys that had been "neglected" since our last time there. They remembered the little cars and other things that my Mom uses to play with them on the "picture phone" when they Skype together.

Sunshine, Sweet Sunshine

Or Home, Sweet Home. But let's be honest: we'll enjoying spring/early summer temperatures. I can't say that little fact didn't influence the decision.

The airfare was insanely cheap.

And for two more weeks Will flies free.

How could I say no?

The plane ride went remarkably well. VICTORY!

Happy Valentine's Day

I got my creative breakfast game on and made these sweet pancake hearts. If you know me you know this is a really big deal. I don't made tons of amazing food and it isn't usually cute.

The boys devoured them and recognized the shapes too!

We collected the mail and enjoyed opening Valentine cards from Papa Jack while still in Christmas jammies.

Who doesn't love getting mail?

Could that snow pile be melting?!