LOVING the Summer!!

It's been yet another fun-filled weekend.  Despite the recent setback with Noah's asthma, we're all feeling well and finally getting out to enjoy life again.

As I was pulling pictures off the camera, I found some very cute ones from the date in the park with Grandma & Jon last week.  So here they are:

 

 

 

 

With such enjoyable weather, we've enjoyed many more days at the park.

 

Thursday was my birthday.  It was just another ordinary day and we hadn't planned anything fun for my birthday because I had to work and Jon had to go to work  before I got home, so we wouldn't be able to see each other until Friday, at which point we were leaving town.  It was to my surprise when Jon called to tell me they'd shuffled some things around at work and he had the night off.   I got home from work to 10 balloons tied outside, a banner across the garage door, balloons all over the floor inside and another banner with streamers.  Jon went all out and he said the kids really had a fun time helping him out.  Jon also arranged for a  babysitter so we could go out to dinner.  We tried a new place called Rickenbachers at the small city airport.  The food was great and it was neat to sit there and watch the small airplanes and helicopters come and go.  We both sat there commenting over and over how much the kids would like being there to see all the airplanes.  We have plans to take them back soon.   I got so spoiled by Jon and my family.  I have a personalized coin holder for my government coins and am excited to get it set up at work to display the handful of coins I've received and hope to receive more over the years to continue to fill it.  I was also spoiled with shopping money and fun personal relaxation and pampering certificates.  Yeah for some ME time.  It was another good year!

Dining at Rickenbachers

On Friday, we got to go spend some time with some friends at Bear Lake.  These are friends Jon has know since high school and it was so fun to catch up again, visit and have fun.  There were 18 of us, so lots of kids, high levels of noise, but so much fun.  It's just too bad that we could only stay overnight and we weren't able to enjoy more time in such a nice little area with great friends.  When we first got there, we took a walk down to the marina to feed the fish.  I was expecting to feed some little trout or something. . . instead we ended up feeding carp that were the size of footballs.  They were HUGE and would come right up to the surface to eat.  I got to pet a lot of them and thought that one couldn't easily snag one with both hands.  Too bad they weren't football sized trout.  After a late night visiting, the men went for a round of golf with the moms and kids went to the park.  It was such a beautiful day with tons of things for the kids to do.  I enjoyed chatting with the ladies and realized that I definitely need to try hard to spend time with other people because I really do enjoy getting together with friend. . . which I rarely make the time to do.  After the park, we spend some time at the pool. . . but the water was WAY too cold to spend much time there.  Then, we were sad to leave our friends.

 

 

 

 

 

          

On the way home from Bear Lake, we turned down our street and saw this little mother duck walking her family down the gutter of the road just off of 3500 W.  They were headed back towards the busy street, so we stopped to herd them back into the subdivision, hoping and praying that they would find safety.

On Sunday, we went to church, had a nap, then the kids and I got to go to dinner with family and to celebrate some belated birthdays and one early birthday.  I love spending time with my family . . . it's so comfortable and relaxed.  After dinner, the kids and I enjoyed a little swim.  Noah's like a little fish and loves to set out on his own in in water wings.  Tayton was testing out her wings on her own this time and would scream like a banshee because she's start to list and then take on water (in her face and mouth).  She has yet to find her center with those wings, but we're working on it.  She absolutely loved going to the side and jumping off into my arms.  She squealed with delight every time and continued to ask to go again and again until the air got too cold and once again she was shivering with cold.

Monday, we visited the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park.  It's such a great little nature type preserve has done such a great job of displaying dinosaurs all over the property.  We all enjoyed it a lot and hope to go back many times. . . in fact, we bought a pass that will allow us to go back as well as enjoy the Ogden Nature Conservatory, Union Station and Tracy Aviary as well.  it will be a fun-filled summer for sure!!!

 

 

 

Wyoming Weekend

We were all sick over the Mother's Day Weekend, so we weren't able to go to Wyoming to spend time with Grandma and Papa as planned, so we planned to go this weekend instead.  Wouldn't you know, the kids got sick over the weekend while we were there.  Dang!  This menopausal weather of 90 degrees one day, followed by a rainy 44 degrees isn't good for these little bodies.  They don't know how to adjust.

Despite the fact that it rained the entire time we were there and the fact that the kids were sick, we still had fun.  The kids favorite part was seeing the kitties and riding the four wheeler.  Actually, when we asked what Noah's favorite thing was about the weekend, he said that he like sleeping in the same room as Tayton the very best!  We put Tayton in the crib and Noah in the bed.  Bedtime was still 8 p.m. while visiting Grandma and Papa, but the kids didn't end up falling asleep until around 10 p.m. because they were up playing with each other   The first night when we went up to get after them, Tayton had somehow gotten out of the crib and was playing with Noah. . . but Noah somehow was naked.  He said Tayton took his clothes off.  I doubt that!  The second night, when we went up to get after them, Tayton was getting naked.  What is it with kids taking their clothes off?

We did a few projects for Grandma and Papa, we took care of sick kids, we got to ride the four wheeler a little, played with the kitties, did some bead projects and just enjoyed being with family.  Noah and Tayton followed Papa around like little puppies.  Whenever he'd go outside, they'd have to go with him to pick up pine cones or just to turn the sprinklers off.

Jon was able to take his Mother out for a belated Mother's Day lunch this week as well.  They went to lunch, enjoyed some time at the park and just loved spending time with Grandma.  

The kids enjoyed stringing beads when we got home from Wyoming and then thought Sony looked awfully nice wearing the new bead necklace.  Poor Sony!  He's a saint!!

 

Jon discovered a new park this week as well.  They have fun toys to play on and a great little hidden path in the back with a dried out river bed, a fun bridge and just a really pretty, fun place to go for a walk.

Here's to wishing, praying and hoping for a healthy week this next week!

Quotes from the week:  I never remember all the cute things they say, but here's what I do remember:

• While getting changed, Noah notices the gun cabinet at Grandma & Papa's house.  "What are those mom?"  "Those are Papa's guns."  "To get the bad guys?"  "Maybe.  If it stops raining, maybe we can get Papa to take us outside to shoot one." "But not me Mom, I'm too little."
• Jon fetches Tayton after she's being noisy at night and he finds her naked, in her tiny, quiet little voice, she says, "Sorry Daddy" with these cute sad eyes that would win anyone over!  
• While sitting at Costco having dinner, Tayton is playing Peek A Boo with the couple behind us.  When they won't pay attention to her, she hollers out at the top of her lungs, "Hey Guys!"  until they look at her.  She definitely loves the attention.  

Precious Moments

It's been a slow week because we've had a bout with the flu this week or something short lived.  Tayton had one day of a fever last week, but then this week, Noah had a day or running a fever of 101 and just laying on the couch all day, but the very next day he was fine.  Go figure. . . but then of course, it was my turn.  I ended up with a sore throat and horrible body aches.  I've never had body aches like that before. . . my bones hurt.  Literally, my bone were in horrible pain and all my joints hurt for 3 days.  Wow. . . I finally went to the Dr. and he said I had tonsillitis and a viral infection, but he gave me an antibiotic for it anyway.  At least it didn't last long, but it wasn't good because I had only worked 1 day at my new job before taking the very next 3 days off sick.  Grrr.  We had planned to go to Wyoming to visit Grandma and Papa this last weekend for Mother's Day, but then decided that due to our illnesses, we'd better stay home and try again another weekend.

On Friday, we were all finally feeling better so we went out to dinner and then went to Krispy Kreme's for some donuts for dessert.  The kids REALLY like that place and it was Jon's first time going too, so he was thrilled with it too.  Jon and Noah each got a fresh off the rack glazed donuts while Tayton got a frosted one. I was trying to be good on my diet and didn't order one. .. but then shared a little of everyone elses.  Did you know that when the red light is on, you get a free fresh donut for everyone in your party if you make just one purchase.  Interestingly enough, the kids could care less about eating their treat, they only care to watch the process through the windows and watch for all the rejects to come along so they can point every one of them out.

 

I've been practicing with Tayton's hair. . . but it's not going so well.  She normally gets a ponytail or pigtail because dad's home to do her hair in the morning and I'm not, so I really enjoy doing it on the days I am home.  It's nice to do something  a little different, but I'm really not doing well at french braiding.  I still need some practice. I definitely do better on one side rather than the other, but that's what the huge flowers are for.  Not only are they cute, they hide all the imperfections.

On Saturday, our neighbor had a 5 year old birthday party.  We all had a lot of fun, but especially the kids.  It was nice to watch Noah come out of his shell a little and ask the other kids to play with him, swing and do other fun stuff.  

 After the party, we invited some friends and neighbors to come over for our first Crane Cinema Movie in the backyard.  I never like to plan up the party, but I really like getting everything set up, thinking up the food and having everyone here.  Not very many people were able to come, but we still had a handful and it was still fun.  We weren't into watching another animated show, so we chose Annie instead.  A fun, family friendly musical that we're all familiar with.  We love doing these type of activities and will continue to invite friends, family and neighbors to join us.  Let us know if you'd like to come to the next one.

The rest of the time, we've just been hanging out a lot at home and enjoying the nice early summer days.  We're getting very excited for swimming days and lots of birthday parties in May.  Summer is officially here!

It's interesting that I still have those moments where I look at my life and can't believe it's mine. . . in the best way possible.  On Mother's Day, Jon had to go to work at 3 p.m., so after a nap, the kids and I enjoyed playing in the back yard.  Noah finally mastered his bike where he's now riding 100% without training wheels and he loves to go practice every single day. Then we had a bath and were reading our stories outside.  The kids started chasing each other as the sun was setting and it was just such a peaceful moment. . . no one around, kids giggling on our deserted street. . . it was a serene moment where I looked at those little people and felt so blessed so have such beautiful, healthy kids that I'm so proud of and love with every fiber of my being.  Later, when we were all tucked in bed, Noah came back out of his room to go potty and he came up to me, gave me a huge hug and said, "Mommy, I love you!!!  Happy Mother's Day!"  Best gift ever!!

Planes, Parks, and Golf

This has been a busy and fun week! Here is a picture of the kids playing with their new favorite bath toys. Letters!

This Tuesday Noah's preschool teacher Ms. Jenae texted us and said she was under the weather and would not be having preschool that day so we invited the neighbors next door to go to the Hill Aerospace Museum http://www.hill.af.mil/library/museum/
with us. the kids had a great time but did fight over who got to ride in the stroller. We got to see some planes that mommy's group works on. Noah really liked the planes that had "Shooters" on them that were for shooting bad guys! If you get a chance I recommend you go. Also it's free!

Tayton and I fed the horses while Noah was in preschool on Thursday. We bought a huge bag of carrots from Costco that we keep in the cold storage room downstairs for just such occasions.

On Friday we had a daddy son date and a mommy daughter date. This is something we are trying to do at least once a month so that we get more one on one time with each of the kids. They really look forward to it. I told Noah that I was going to take him golfing and he would ask me multiple times a day when we were going to go golfing. I took Noah to the course by us and was told that only kids that are 6 years and older are allowed to go golfing on a golf course in Utah. Good thing Tiger woods didn't grow up in Utah or he would have never gotten the practice in he had by age 6.  We remedied the situation by hitting balls at the range instead. I got the biggest bucket of balls they had and we split them down the middle. Noah actually finished his before me and hit some of mine too! Noah loved it! He really loved putting on the practice green as well and even hit a 6 foot putt! He obviously takes after his dad! :)

here is a video of Noah hitting the ball!

Tomi took Tayton to the park for their date and she said they had a great time as well!

Even though it isn't quite summer yet we got the water lizard out to jump through which is always a good time! Saturday afternoon Tomi got all crafty and made some cute flower hair clips for Tayton. I told her they a very nice for the 5 minutes that Tayton keeps them in her hair ;)

Well that is about it from the Crane house but I did want to leave you with my 2 favorite quotes of the week.

Noah asked me if I could go out back and play with him and I told him I had some chores to do and to have Sonny (our dog) go play with him instead. His response was.

"Awwww Sonny doesn't play he just poops!"

When I took Noah to preschool on Thursday I was helping him hang up his jacket and backpack when his cute little friend Cami hit with this little nugget.

"Your kid has a crush on me!"

Well good bye for this week!

Written this week by the slightly slower half of the Crane parenting group, Jon