I'm going there someday!

Okay, I've already been there but went to walk around the grounds today with Ethan. We got some great pictures of the Temple & Ethan.

So, as I'm sure you can guess ANY body of water is a HUGE hit with an almost 5 year old.

Ethan got to go into the waiting area of the Temple when he announced to me with great energy that he had to go to the bathroom. This is where we ended up and he insisted on the poses.

LOVE the doors!

 I feel so blessed to have been able to be married in such a special place, it truly is the house of the Lord.

 Again, just gorgeous!

 Look at that smile!

 Holiness to the Lord, House of the Lord!

What a handsome little guy! 



At the Zoo

The Zoo has free days during their off season and we were able to take Ethan to see the animals (the free hours were during school on a Wednesday...bummer for the other kids). Ethan LOVED the animals from a distance, but if he thought we were getting too close he would let us know. One of his favorites were the "Seebras"

I thought the Gorilla would scare him, but he really seemed to liked him. The zoo has some buildings with monkeys in them...Ethan was freaking out the whole time we were in there!
The Eevents (not to be confused with his cousin Everett) were also a favorite!
Ethan had a fun day at the zoo, next time we go we will take the whole fam!

Booty Boy

For Christmas this year Ethan found big boy pants (a.k.a. underwear) in his stocking. Ethan is excited about the Potty, but doesn't quite get the idea yet. Ethan has a hard time pronouncing big boy and it comes out booty, so Ethan wears booty pants...fitting I'd say.

What a cute Booty Boy!

This cracked me up!! Ethan was throwing a little tantrum at the bottom of our stairs this morning so I decided to ignore his fit. After a while there was silence and I came down to see him fast asleep in this position on our hard wood floors...ouch, that can't be comfortable he must have been really tired!!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Ethan is now 2 years old! Ethan recieved clothes and books from dad, mom, Brennen & Devin (not shown), books from grandma & grandpa (not shown), a fun elmo/cookie monster ball from Ari, a see-n-say from aunt Heather & fam. and a ball and playdough from Brian & Elaine & fam. Thank you everyone!! Ethan loved his party.

Check out the creative wrapping job done by his aunt Elaine...very fun!

Thank You

Ethan had so many helpers when he was opening his presents.

Thank you Aunt Heather, you did a great job picking out this gift!

Ari tortured her poor baby brother, she wrapped his gift in 4 different layers of wrapping paper. He was at the store when she purchased his gift and she knew how much he loved the gift she got him. It's a half elmo half cookie monster ball that shakes and talks when you push on their faces, he has so much fun with it.

Ethan and his birthday cake, it was a cute monkey ice cream cake. Okay just a side note on what an awful mother I am, I decorate cakes but almost NEVER make my kids own cake, after all of the party planning I just don't feel up for the challenge. I do love a good monkey theme for a cute little boy!

Ethan blew out his two candles with ease...he'll get his birthday wish this year.

Before and After

Thank you to Kari for sharing her new found treasure, here are my before and after photos.




















Also thank you to Sarah for her quick and easy link instructions

It's pumpkin time!

Mom & Dad doing the carving.

Ariana decided that she did not want to hurt her pumpkin this year so she drew a sheep on it because if you ask her-sheep rule.

Brennen was quite animated while he was gutting his pumpkin.
Devin rolled up his sleeves and went strait to work.

We tried to get Ethan in on all of the fun, but he doesn't like to get his hands goopy. All lit up! Oh by the way Ari's is an indoor pumpkin apparently.

Skating

Just a few pictures of the kids playing on their skates.

Brennen is getting really good on his skates!

Don't worry, Chris is right beside him.

Ari just relaxing

Devin is still working on his technique. Here he is gliding down our road that is on a hill.

This is Devin stopping and yes he falls on purpose.

Here he is chilling out before he makes another run.

Ari getting prepped to skate.

Ethan just loved having the skates on, I thought he would be scared but he was a real trooper

He saw an airplane in the sky and this is what he did so that he could see it better of course.

He's not a good boy

So I just wanted to share a conversation my brother had with their two year old son Everet just as we arrived at their house last night. Brian was changing Everet up in his bedroom when Brian saw us pull up to their house. Brian said "Ethan's here, Ethan is such a good boy" Everet replied very casually, "No". Brian countered by saying "Ethan is a good boy" and again Everet calmly said "No". Brian went through it one more time and then asked Everet what he was then. Everet's response was "He's a baby". So for all of you out there that are not good boys...you are babies!

the park at dusk

Here are a few pics of our venture to the park down the street from us. The kids had a great time. Dad was able to go with us this time although he did homework off to the side he was able to get into the action later in the evening, we just love having him around and with his new schedule it seems that we have him a lot more.

It's pretty easy to get a good picture of Brennen, he just loves the opportunity to have his picture taken...isn't he so cool!
Ethan was not afraid of anything...but mommy was afraid for him! He would walk to the edge of every high point on the playground. Lucky for mom he has a great big sister and older brothers who love and help watch out for him.
It was pretty hard to get a picture of Ari without the growth on her ear. Mainly because she avoids having her picture taken and the only time I could sneak a picture in was when she was distracted by Kara...Thanks Kara!!
Devin and Brennen loved playing on the see saw, they got a bit crazy on it, but what do you expect from fun lovin' boys.
Ethan was petrified on the swing. He kept pointing over to the other kids on the swings so I though we would give it a try (we have never had much luck on the swings before...Devin was the same way) and once I let go of the swing he clenched on for dear life as the expression on his face changed from uncertainty to pure terror. Poor kid, I think we'll give him a break before we try that one again.