The boys and I got to visit my parents in Boise for a few weeks this summer. It was such a fun trip, jam packed with fun everyday. Here are a few of the highlights!
3 year old Quinn water-skied...or at least he water-sitted! It was awesome!
On our way to Idaho we stopped in Vernal a few days to visit Grandma P. A bonus I got to see my old mission companion Sora Sarah!
Now we each have 3 boys and a girl! So fun!
These boys love visiting Great Grandmother Peterson! They love all of their second cousins in Vernal.
For my mom's birthday this year the boys each planned a date to take her on when we got to Boise. No one was more excited than Caden! He waited 6 weeks for this day to take Grammy to Ceramica to paint. He came to the door to pick Grammy up, he said, "I'll pay, but you drive Grammy." The worker at Ceramica taught Caden how to make his dog look like it had real fur with a marbling technique, he got to use shaving cream and everything. His little ceramic dog Bingo is now a prized possession.
Ethan took her to see the Angry Birds movie (he let Grammy choose). They got popcorn and drinks and went to Walmart for a Lego souvenir afterwards.
Fun day at Quinn's pond and a little surfing on the Boise River.
Loved the dollar and 50 cent movies next door to Grammy's house.
A night fishing at the lake. The fish weren't biting, but Caden wasn't giving up! Right before the sunset they reeled one in.
The next morning Grandpa made the fish for breakfast. He told the boys that whoever ate one of the eyes would get a milkshake. Caden took him up on it!
They took the motorcycle to Fanci Freeze for the fish eye cookie dough shake.
We all love Hunter!
After a few weeks of non-stop fun my mom helped us drive back to Colorado to give my problematic pregnant leg a break. On our way home we got to see Weston, Erica, Scarlett, Holland and Grandpa and Nada. Such a fun vacation!
Yesterday was an exciting day getting to see baby #4 on the ultrasound. Everything appeared healthy and good. We discovered that this baby is very active, the ultrasound tech said we have a little pistol on our hands. When she tried to take a picture of the face, the baby put an arm over it's face. When she tried to take a picture of the spine, baby somersaulted to the other side. When she tried to take a picture of the foot, baby would kick it's legs. We knew immediately this baby would fit in our family just fine!
The ultrasound tech kept asking me what I had eaten for breakfast, I was too embarrassed to admit that on the way to the appointment I felt shaky and I found a Slim Jim in my purse to eat. After seeing this baby move, there's something to be said about "Snapping" into a Slim Jim!
Clark and I stopped at Party America on our way home from the appointment to fill a giant balloon with confetti and helium for the boys to pop to find out the gender! We were pretty excited with our giant balloon!
Ethan was voting for a boy. Quinn was adamant telling everyone that he was having a baby brother. And Caden said, "I want a sister just to see how she will handle this family."
Watch this video to see the results:
It's official! Caden is 6! Oh how I love this boy! He is sweet, intense, smart, thoughtful, creative and fun! He loves art and creating, he loves playing with his brothers, and he loves going to school. Instead of wanting a birthday party he wanted some fun family time...that somehow turned into 5 days of a Caden celebration. What a party!
Friday night the boys went camping with Clark as part of the Father and Sons Camp out. It was a perfect way to start the celebration. The boys absolutely loved the night with their Dad in the mountains, and I loved that Quinn called it "mom's night off."
Flash was a little bright!
Quinn was so comfy in the tent he couldn't wake up, he missed the hike and everything.
On Saturday afternoon we went to Colorado Springs to the trampoline park.
Afterwards we went to Red Robin. Shy little Caden was equally delighted and mortified when the waiters came out singing with an ice cream sundae for our birthday boy.
Monday night was the circus! So much fun with these 3 little clowns! I laughed and laughed watching their reactions to the guy doing crazy tricks on the Wheel of Destiny. They were so amazed by everything. Quinn kept yelling "awesome" in the lady's ear that sat in front of us.
He woke up the morning of his birthday to find decorations, wrapped presents, and fun signs around the house. He loved it all!
Quinn and I surprised him at school with lunch.
He had a fun afternoon opening presents. Lots of new art supplies for the little artist.
The birthday boy requested cheese fondue for his birthday dinner. I still have no idea where that came from!
Instead of cake he wanted ice cream sundaes.
We sure love this handsome 6 year old!
The only video that turned out from the night. This was right before bed and he was a little hyped!
I love my daily conversations with Quinn. 3 1/2 has to be the best age! Lately Quinn has been carrying around a little set of scriptures that he has. He insists on sleeping next to them in his bed at night. I finally figured out that it is from the song he has learned in primary called "Scripture Power." One of the lines says, "scripture power keeps me safe from sin, scripture power is the power to win." To a little boy who spends half of his day pretending to be a super hero, scripture power really is a super hero like strength for him. I love to hear him sing that song and pump his little scriptures into the air. The other day we left the house without our scriptures, he pointed out that we had forgotten and said he wouldn't have his scripture power. About 5 minutes later he said out of the blue, "it's okay mom, as long as I have the scripture power in my heart I will be able to deflect my sins." It cracked me up!
Quinn insisted on checking out this puppet from the library. He calls it the "3 toed slob," and is pretty good at imitating a sloth's voice.
Just ready to save the world!
He was so proud to come with me to the school. He insisted on wearing his backpack...and of course cowboy boots always!
At the school skate night a few weeks ago he figured out the best way to get around was to ride on the skate trainer.
For a couple of days he wore this bandanna and made us all call him "baby Scout."
Mother's Day felt extra special this year. I have 4 wonderful reasons to celebrate...Ethan, Caden, Quinn and baby #4 coming in October. I feel so blessed!
My boys did a wonderful job of spoiling me on Mother's Day. I got lots of sweet cards and gifts all throughout the day. And to put the icing on the cake, Clark replaced our broken grill with a new one and made lobster tails (which totally grossed the boys out) and steaks for a special dinner.
I loved this questionnaire that Caden filled out at school about his mom.
My last surprise at night was finding all of the boys' prized stuffed animals tucked into my bed. So sweet!
Caden lost one of his top front teeth while eating a popsicle. Such exciting news! And he looks pretty cute with a gap in his smile.
That night with great anticipation he left his tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy. Somehow the next morning when he checked to see what she left he found nothing! How could she have forgotten Caden? Clark saved the day by helping Caden write her a letter and stick it in the mailbox.
It said: Dear Tooth Spy and Tooth Fairy,
I lost a tooth yesterday, and it looks like you couldn't fine me. We moved to Pueblo. This is our new address: I'm sending you my tooth, would you please send money. From Caden
When he got home from school he found a letter addressed to him! A sticker and $2 from the tooth fairy! That letter saved the day!
My favorite part of the whole day was when Clark caught Ethan trying to discreetly get money out of his piggy bank to slip under Caden's pillow that morning when Caden was so sad. These brothers don't know how lucky they are to have each other.
