I'm FOUR!

I can't believe my big boy is FOUR, crazy? He has been looking forward to this day since October 28th of last year when he turned 3 :-) We just love Kaden sooo much, he has so much personality. His favorite things to do right now are play the Wii, golf, play soccer, jump on the tramp, play games on any one's phone he can get ahold of, play in the snow (recent favorite), help mom cook (MUST push ALL buttons and crack ALL eggs)go to preschool, and LOVEs having a friend to play with almost always. He is a great sleeper, a pretty good eater, and still a teeny weeny bit shy if the situation is right. He loves going with his dad to any and all sporting events and is OBSESSED with BYU, much to James's dismay. We love him to pieces, can't believe your 4 either, buddy!

Breakfast in bed (mom and dad's bed)

Kaden's party was so much fun! I love seeing all the kids in their costumes! Kaden is Spiderman (the bad one) he says. I guess the black Spiderman is the bad one?????

We went to Fat Cat's on Wednesday in hopes of having some pizza and bowling....we got the pizza. No bowling, bummer.
Instead we went to the arcade and played some games. The kids loved it, of course!
Thanks for having a birthday buddy, and giving us an excuse to party for the week! We love YOU!

Tube time....

Our little Payton has had soooo many ear infections since she has been born, we finally took her in on Tuesday to get tubes put in! Everything went really well, I took her in and changed her into her little hospital gown. There was a sweet girl working there that came in and brought a little doll for her to color on. She blew bubbles for Payton until the doctor came and snatched her away too fast for me to even say goodbye....yes I did choke back a small tear for my girl :-) I couldn't help it. The whole procedure only took about 15 minutes, then I had a grouchy, much more angry version of my daughter back in my arms. I guess kids have a hard time coming out of anesthesia, and for about 30 minutes she was throwing the biggest fit of her life. Next came the nap and after that, a happy girl! I hope the tubes will make a big difference in her health!

It Snowed!

On Tuesday it snowed for the first time.....Kaden was super excited, could'nt stop talking about it.

So we had to put on these.....

Payton was lucky enough to get Kaden's hand-me-down coat, pants and boots.......

BUT, then it was too cold so we had to come inside for some hot chocolate.....

And Kaden thought he was pretty cute so we had better take 100 pictures of his face.

Piggies

Is it too much to ask (or wish) that my 20 month old daughter might have enough hair to put into pigtails of some sort? Yes? Ok, well I love her regardless, and the other day I gave her her first go at some pigtails. Mind you each elastic holds about 5 strands of hair :-) Cute, right?

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs!

Yesterday we took the kids to go see a movie, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs! Payton is FINALLY feeling better and was able to eat all the popcorn/candy/fruit snack she could stand to keep her entertained. I thought the movie was adorable, Kaden loved it too! Hadley and Payton were entertained by the movie for a moment then entertained each other running around the theater :-) And Preston was an angel, of course!!!

Thanks for inviting us Morgan and Hadley

(and thanks for the picture, I stole it off your blog!)

Hey MOM!

"Check out these RAD moves" Kaden says.......

I think he called this one the "triple bogey"

Awesome rad moves buddy. My sweet brother Tay picked up this board at a garage sale (actually guilted the guy into giving it to him for free) and gave it to Kaden. Gotta love it!

Payton's got a mouthful...

of what you may ask? Herpes. Yes, you heard me right. Full blown cold sores covering her lips, tongue, roof of her mouth and face. Without a doubt THE MOST awful thing you could ever wish upon a child. She can't eat a thing without screaming in pain, she can't sleep at night (bonus for me) and she is just plain unhappy, which is NOT like Payton.

Anyone for a kiss? Don't worry, it should clear up in a short week or 2.....

Until then, keep your distance!

Especially this guy, cause if he gets it I will cry myself to sleep.

update.

Wow, where to start? I have definitely been absent from blogging, however we have still been doing things, experiencing things......good and bad the past several months, that I have neglected to recognize on this here blog. I do envy all of you out there with the impressive talent to update daily, weekly, even monthly at this point! But we are still here and have a lot to share still......

I couldn't say any more without recognizing the life of the amazing man that we have lost this past month. John was such a wonderful person, father, husband, grandfather. Also many other things to many many people as I have found out over the last couple week since his passing. He was an incredible mentor, coach and friend to hundreds. I want to thank all of those who have taken the time to share their memories and given their support to James.

Kaden and his Grandpa "Mustache"

I know that John had a special place in his heart for Payton, his first grand-daughter in a family of all boys and all grandsons.
I think back to my early memories of John, being terrified when he caught me late at night as Megan and I tried to climb the roof into James bedroom window......He and Nila driving all the way down to St. George while James was on his mission just to see me dance at my Rebelette Review.......him spending countless hours helping us re-build our first house in Holladay, then spending even more countless hours helping to finish our basement in our new home........Payton constantly tugging at his mustache and pulling of his glasses.......him taking Kaden outside and playing baseball for hours and hours, even his last hours he was thrilled to hear of Kaden at his first soccer game scoring his first goal. He loved his kids and grand kids so much. There are too many memories to count, and those we will always keep close to our heart and never forget.


Until we see you again Grandpa John, we love you more than words.



We had a happy reunion a few months ago.....it seems now like they have been home forever! Greg and Jordan finally returned from their missions and Kaden couldn't be happier! 2 new friend to jump on the tramp, play basketball/soccer/Wii/football/golf/boxing/who knows what else with!

Finally reunited with jojo, at last (he loves greg too but I'm pretty sure greg never looks at my blog so I can say jojo's the fav)

First day of pre-school! Such a handsome guy, growing up before my eyes!

We did some fun things this summer, those of which include several trips to the zoo (of course)

And speaking of growing up before my eyes, little Payton girl is doing just that.

My life would not be the same without this little sweetie, I adore her. She is getting so big and independent. She loves to talk, eat, play with her friends (most favorite being her big bro whom she adores) and loves to follow me around, put on my makeup, accessorize her outfits. Gotta love it.

Powell.....and the sand cougar (Go Cougars) says Kaden

Powell babes Drew and Pay were best buddies on this trip, sharing toys and kisses.

Breakfast time, and this girl insists on feeding herself with her spoon.

she also insist on having her shoes on at all times...here we are strait out of the crib, she cried for 10 minutes until I finally put on her shoes over her jammies.

Whatever makes them happy is always my motto.

Golfing in the backyard's always fun......in the summer anyways

And now we are into soccer, and Kaden love love loves it.

We had many other events, Heidi and Sam got married along with Dan and Amber! I should have pictures BUT for some reason I don't, so just picture it in your mind. They were beautiful, both of them.
So there you are, an update. And hopefully many more to follow!