Home Sweet Home

Well, after almost 10 months of living in our apartment, I finally got my decor put up. The only thing I have had out is a few pictures of the boys on the wall. Yesterday, Brent offered to put up everything else I wanted. So, now I have more things on the walls and my Willow Tree statues out. It makes me happy to have it feel a little more like home. It's about time.

Get this party started!

For Derek's birthday, we invited our good friends, the Malmgrens, to go to the park and celebrate with us. We had pizza and cupcakes. Yum.

Derek enjoyed his pizza. I was breaking it up in little pieces for him, but he had obviously had enough of that. He wanted the whole thing! He actually ate quite a bit.

Derek is not a fan of grass. We were eating on the blanket situated next to some pavement. Derek was trying to find a way off the blanket but kept finding grass. He finally discovered the one tiny bit of blanket close enough to the pavement to get there safely without being bothered by the grass. He crawled off the blanket and went cruising around. He thought it was so cool. He had the cutest smile. He was happy to be free.

As Brent put it, I like to humiliate my children by making them wear the birthday headband. It makes for a cute picture. And no, I don't still make Elliott wear it (maybe his 2nd birthday, but not beyond that)!

Helpful brother. Derek wasn't too interested in taking off the wrapping.

He did like what was inside though.

Happy Birthday to you...

Elliott and Brigham hanging around. They have a great time playing together. They were having fun saving the world.

Fun on the swings.

Taking over the swings! Towards the end, we were the only ones at the park. It was great.

We had a fun time celebrating Derek's birthday.

Happy Birthday, baby!

Happy 1st Birthday, Derek!

Wow. I can hardly believe a year has gone by and yet so much has happened in that year. Derek is growing up so fast. Look how much he's changed in a year! I guess it's bound to happen especially at this age. Quite a difference. Derek is such a sweetheart. It seems like every time I go out, someone comments on how good and quiet Derek is. He is really pretty good-natured. He definitely has his moments, but mainly at home and usually when he's tired or hungry. Derek finally started crawling right about the 11 month mark. Now he really gets around. He cruises all overe the furniture and finally figured out how his knees work. It's so nice when they get more independent. Just the last couple days he takes steps while holding my hands. He's becoming an independent eater. He squirms and turns away if I try to feed him, but give him stuff he can pick up and he's all over it. He is such a joy to have in our home. He has the sweetest smile and the cutest nose scrunch. I'll have to get a picture of that. He has a great personality and can always make us smile.
Happy Birthday, sweet boy! I love you.

Math Wiz

My dad stayed with us a couple nights ago. The kids were happy to spend some time with Popeye yesterday morning. It was fun to have him here even if it was a very short visit. While playing, Popeye says "2 + 2 is ..." Elliott was quick to give him the correct answer and then comes right back and says "99 + 99 equals 198." Popeye was quite impressed, as was I. I know Elliott knows a lot of crazy things and he can add well, but I hadn't heard that one yet. He is learning all about really big numbers and likes to try to figure out how to write them. Just now he said "90 + 90 is 180 and 90 million + 90 million is 180 million." Then he wanted to write it down. He's learning. He is one smart kid. Watch out Kindergarten!

Internship

So, it's kind of old news, but Brent finished his first year of the MBA program and finally was able to get an internship! Hooray! Congrats, Brent! He started his internship last Monday with Beneficial Financial doing Fixed Income Analysis (aka researching bonds that the company has invested in). He was really blessed to get this internship because it goes along perfectly with what he wants to do when he finishes school - investment research. Basically it's the same thing except he'd prefer to research equities (stocks) instead. Out of all the internships he interviewed for or even applied to, this one is really the best match. He was very fortunate. They pretty much just threw him into research - they said here's an example, now do your own. That's it! He has really impressed them so far. They have been impressed with how good his research is. He's a natural. He takes the bus to Salt Lake every day, so we all get to get up early and take him to the bus station and pick him up in the evening. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.

I was really hoping to be somewhere other than Utah for the summer, but we're staying, so now I've got to figure out fun things to do.

Mother's Day Program

For Mother's Day, Elliott's preschool did a little program. When I say little, I mean little. They sung 2 songs and were done. Elliott wasn't very interested in singing or doing the actions, but it was cute all the same. You can see him mumbling the words.

Thanksgiving Point Farm Country

Last month we were able to go to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point with friends from MBASA (MBA Spouse Association). We got in for half price which was sweet! Admission includes a ticket for either a pony ride or a wagon ride. I figured for sure there was no way Elliott was going to get 0n a pony. I asked him if he wanted to ride one and he said no. He was pretty adamant about not wanting to ride a pony. So, we watched other kids riding ponies and then walked around for a bit and then we were by the pony rides again. He watched for a few minutes and then said he wanted to ride one. I was very surprised but thrilled that he overcame his fear and went for it! He held on tight, but he didn't freak out and I didn't have to walk with him, so it was great! He was so brave.

After the pony ride, I was talking to a friend and all her kids rode ponies, so she had one extra ticket. She asked if I wanted it, so we were able to do the wagon ride as well. Thanks, Claire! The boys enjoyed the ride. It was actually pretty rough. We got the wagon to ourselves. It was fun.

The boys had fun playing in the jail and the dance hall.

The following week we were able to go to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point (again for half price - definitely the way to go). Of course I left my camera at home, so I didn't get pictures. I took a couple with my phone, so I'll have to see what the quality is like and if I can figure out how to get them on the computer. Elliott had a great time at the museum.