Backyard Adventures

The boys and I are really enjoying having a backyard to play in. It's very secluded with lots of room for exploring. Besides the usual bugs and such we've seen Monarch butterflies, a mama cat with her 4 little kittens, Elvis the neighborhood dog and this...


It's a box turtle that belongs to the neighbor. Apparently he survived all winter in the bushes, since she hadn't seen him for a year. Paul found him first a week or so before. I thought he was pretending that a rock was a turtle, but when I came to get a closer look it was gone. Jeremy found him later adn he was a fiesty little thing.

Here's the top part of our yard. (And the patio in the making.) On a clear day you can see downtown and Antelope Island. It's a pretty view at night too. The yard goes all the way to the wall.
This is the bottom part. You can see a little bit of how the stairs go down, the garden and some toys. There's also a playhouse, trampoline (which is Paul's favorite), grape vines and fruit trees.
Finally, here are my cute boys after playing in the sprinkler which they used to make mud of course.

Silly Sam

Sam is becoming much less of a baby and much more of a little boy. He's also at that fun (sometimes challenging) stage of quirky behaviors. Here are some fun (and not so fun) things about Sam-man:
Sam will go anywhere (running) if you say, "ready, set, Go!" I can say go here or there forever and he won't move until I say those magic words; then he takes off.
Sam loves to hold whatever he can find up to his ear, cock his little head, and pretend to babble on his phone while walking around the house.
He throws everything (and I mean everything) he can get his hands on.
He loves shoes and hats.
He enjoys pointing to and naming his body parts, especially his toes, which make him giggle.
When he's happy about something ( like seeing his binky) he claps his hands and says, "yea!" (sometimes it's so random it just cracks me up).
Sam gives me kisses when he's being naughty.
If he sees a pillow, he'll lay down on it and pretend to snore.
Sam can throw a monstrous fake tantrum.
If someone says anything about singing or a song Sam will break out into "E-I-E-I-O."
I'm sure there are so many other things which I can't think of right now, but needless to say, there's not much of a dull moment at our house lately.

Memories

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Welcome to Our Home

4th of July

We had a great 4th. It began with the Granite neighborhood breakfast and parade. We have been amazed at how friendly and great the people are in our neighborhood and ward. Next we walked down to the carnival at the Stake Center. Paul had a pretty good time. We went home for lunch and long naps and then took off to Grandma and Grandpa Gerritsen's for dinner, slip n' slide fun and fireworks. Jeremy also attempted to blow up several things in our old microwave. Paul was excited about the fireworks all week. He kept asking when it was time and if it was dark yet. His job was to pick them and hand them to Jeremy for lighting. He took it rather seriously. Honestly we didn't get a huge reaction from either of the boys this year, but I think they enjoyed them.

at the parade

watching fireworks

Caboose

The last of our nieces due to arrive this year was born July 3. Here are the boys with Addison Grace Gerritsen. Congrats Andy and Tina--she's a cutie!

Milestones

Sam has been jabbering up a storm--his vocabulary has really taken off and it's been so fun. He said his first sentence the other day in the pool--"get the ball." Of course he won't say it for the camera. He loves to climb too and can go down the slide at the playground all by himself. I also caught him up on a chair last week. He thinks he's pretty neat stuff being able to get on top of things and get into more things too. 16 months has been a very fun stage.
He had his first time out for hitting me. I put him in the corner and he looked around and giggled. Apparently, he thought it was great to go to time out like Paul does. The next time he hit I warned him that he would go to time out and he put himself there. I had to grab the camera--funny little guy.
Here's a video of him singing. I don't know why my boys refuse to perform for the camera, so this is the best I could get.

Wheeler Farm

We went to Wheeler Farm with some friends yesterday. The boys had a great time seeing the animals and playing outside. Paul said his favorite part was "walking, running and climbing trees." Sam splashed in a creek and had fun practicing his animal sounds. (He knows cow, horse, duck, kitty, bird and sheep now.) We did some letterboxing too, which if you haven't tried you really should. They have them all over the U.S. and the kids had fun on the "treasure hunt." It was fun to take a trip out on a warm day.

Tagged Times Two

This tag was at a bad time since we're getting ready to move and well, you know how that goes. I did this last night. The rules are you have to take ten pictures of the following things. And you have to do it right away. No straightening, cleaning or wiping your child's nose. Then you tag five others. So here it goes:

the kitchen sink (the dishes are clean--just drying!)the fridge (it really needs a scrubbing)the toilet (ah, come on)

the closet (I wish it was a walk-in)

the laundry room

favorite room (I don't really have one, so this is a new arrangement that I like)favorite shoes

kids (my sweet sleeping boys)

I tag: Kim, Delee, Kathy, Stephanie, Camille

A to Z About Me
A- Attached or Single?
Attached
B-Best Friend? my sister Delee
C-Cake or pie? Cake
D-Day of choice? Friday
E-Essential Item? shoes
F-Favorite color? pink!
G-Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears
H-Home town? Puyallup, WA
I-Favorite indulgence? dessert for breakfast
J-January or July? July
K-Kids? 2 boys
L-Life isn't complete without? My family
M-Marriage date?May 10, 2002
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 1 sister, 3 brothers
O-Oranges or Apples? oranges
P-Phobias? bees
Q-Quote? "snapdragon!"
R-Reasons to smile? summertime
S-Season of choice? fall
T-Tag 3 people: Kina, Delee, Susan
U-Unknown fact about me? I don't know how to swim
V-Vegetable? carrots
W-Worst habit? interrupting people
X-Xray or Ultrasound? ultrasound
Y-Your favorite food? Chocolate chip cookies
Z-Zodiac sign: Taurus

Another Cousin

Number two of three nieces arriving this year was born on June 4. Jeremy's sister had baby number four, Abigail Ada. She is probably the smallest baby I've ever held and very cute. Paul was so sweet with her and loves to hold her and got a turn to feed her too. Sam surprised me by whacking her on the head twice! I'll have to keep my eye on him. Congrats to the Dillinghams!