Matt

Happy Birthday to my one and only! Today you turn 32 and as each year passes I find myself more in love with you than the year before. I feel so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man.

Thank you for the best memories and experiences of my life. Thank you for working so hard for us each day. Thank you for being an incredible father to our sweet children.

Another birthday, another year--I look forward to many more than I could ever count. On this day, especially, I hope you know how loved and appreciated you are. All my love, Happy Birthday!

Seth

Oh, my little Sethie, Happy 4th Birthday! You are getting so big and I can't believe you are already 4. You feel my life with laughter, love, excitement and challenges :). I feel so blessed to be your mom.

So healthy and strong, full of life and wonder I feel sad when I see how fast time is going, but look forward to what joy and fun your little life will bring to you and I. I love to watch your mind tick. You are so quick and witty that sometimes I think you are much older than 4. It has been fun to watch you learn and grow.

You speak your mind and do not let anyone tell you what to think or feel. You are confident yet sensitive and loving. No one can melt my heart with the words, "I love you mommy" like you can.

Thank you for bringing so much joy to me and our family. There is no one else that could ever come close to the spot you hold in my heart.

At 4 years old Seth loves:
*going to preschool
*anything that has to do with the movie "Cars"
*playing soccer
*being with his brothers
*playing with friends
*visiting Cedar City
*going to the park with Ampa
*playing wrestle with dad
*books (being read to and memorizing them)
*trying to find a reason to say "burp" or "diaper"
*running errands with mom
*when Logan comes over
*finding reasons to get out of cleaning up toys
*playing the DS or Wii with Wade
*eating all kinds of fruit
*new shoes
*"Max and Ruby" TV show
*candy
*playing outside
*laughing

Happy Birthday Seth! Love you!

Jess

My sweet little sister turns 28 years old today. I don't know what I would do without her. My best friend since the day she was born and, I know, before. I feel so blessed to have her close by and to watch her raise her darling babies.

Such a wonderful mother, wife, aunt, daughter and most of all sister. Happy Birthday! I love you!

Family Birthday Fun

Each year I always say that the end of October begins my "crazy time of year" which continues on and finishes after Christmas. I don't know who I am kidding, it is ALWAYS crazy around here and I am sure Christmas will not be the end of it either (especially with our little princess arriving!)

I do have to say, though, that it IS crazy to have 3 IMPORTANT birthdays fall right in a row. Each year I try to think of ways to make each one of my special peeps feel like it is their own day. This year, Jess and I decided to have a family party where we could exchange gifts on the Sunday before the birthdays and then celebrate each one during the week on its own. It worked pretty well.

I made dinner and we had cupcakes and ice cream. Unfortunately, another thing that can happen at the end of October is sickness. Trent, Dane and I were all not feeling too great. Jess was/is also still recovering from her recent tonsillectomy. With all that aside, we still had a good time.

Seth was thrilled with his presents! We gave him a bike, but his favorite is the "Lightening McQueen" from Jess and her fam. He keeps telling me, "Mom, I just love my blue Lightening so much. I am so happy I got it for my birthday." Jess and Matt liked their presents as well, but nothing trumps a kid on their b-day. Each birthday person got to blow out the candle on their (cup)cake as we sang to them.

It is a crazy time, but I feel blessed to have so many wonderful people to worry about and to wish a happy birthday!

Matt's Marathon

Matt joined the marathon bandwagon and ran his first in St. George last weekend. It is such a crazy time in our lives and he still managed to train and work hard enough to finish and accomplish this life goal!
I have to admit, I was envious of him and wished I could have been out there running by his side :). He did a fantastic job and feels great he was able to do it. He ran with some friends who also did a great job and offered a fantastic support system.

It was a lot of fun to travel to St. George and be in Utah around so many family and friends. Matt had a lot of support and a lot of people proud of him.

We could never have done it without the help from Mer, Gary and Shirley--thanks for watching our kiddos!! Because they watched them, I was able to cheer Matt on at 2 different mile markers during the race which was so wonderful!

After the race and some much needed R&R, we were able to spend a few more days in Cedar. Our kids, Matt and I LOVE visiting Cedar. We always have a great time with Matt's family and REALLY LOVED the COLD weather. Fall in Utah is the best!

Mama

Trent is at the BEST age! He is sooooo much fun and we love him to pieces! He has all four of us (Matt, me, Wade and Seth) eating out of his little hands. It makes me so sad to think he won't get to be a baby for much longer :(. I know he is little and will bounce back quickly, but it still doesn't seem fair.

He is filled with so much life and is a joy to have around. Since he has been walking, he has found his independence and is loving it. He is babbling like crazy and carries on conversations with me all the time (in baby language.) He jabbers on and on while we drive and I love to hear his little voice.

Outside of babbling, he says mama, dada and yeah. He uses dada and yeah (used to cheer or to say yes) in context, but mama is the word he uses for anything else. He says, "mama mama mama" when he wants to eat or drink or when he wants basically anything. It is so dang cute.

Trent has an obsession with hats. I don't know what it is about my kids and accessories (remember Seth loved and still does love shoes), but they are hooked. I have a drawer in my kitchen low to the ground that is filled with things he loves to pull out and play with. It is almost like clockwork to watch him go through his stuff.

He will always get Wade's "Diamondbacks" hat out first. He puts it on and proudly prances around the kitchen while wearing it. He will then walk to where my pots and pans are and pull out a blue colander I got from "IKEA." He then proceeds to prance with this one on his head too. Sometimes he even does both--he is such a funny little weirdo! :)

Trent is also my best eater. He out-eats Seth every time. I started him pretty early on finger foods because I feel so over baby food :) which has ended up being great because he loves to eat real food--especially dinner. Anything with cream of chicken is his food of choice. He will down a casserole, chicken pot pie, etc faster than we can convince Wade or Seth to "take one bite."
Although he is a great meal eater, he is not a fan of the usual kids favorites: mac n cheese, hot dogs, etc. (which makes it a little difficult when we have a babysitter) He wants it homemade and, as Matt and I say, gourmet!

This baby boy is so much fun and makes me laugh and love more each day. I am so thankful to be his mama.