Happy 2nd Birthday Bubba!

Happy Birthday little Bubba! We can't believe you are already 2. Wow time flies. You had a wonderful birthday today. We all came in singing to you in the morning and you got to open some presents in your bed. We played around in the morning and then went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. You and sis had a blast (so did mom and dad, if we are being honest). You liked the carousal and the riding car the most and Sis liked the photo booth. We had pizza and root beer and opened some more presents with Aunt Charlene. You didn't even make it home before you fell asleep.Tonight we had a BBQ with your Grandparents (all of them) and you got to open even more presents and blow out candles (sis helped) and light fireworks (well, mostly smoke balls--they seem to be your favorite). Then Grandpa Bassett took you on a ride around the block--in the front seat!!! ( I think that was the highlight of your whole day.) Happy Brithday, little man. We love you!

The 4th of July

We had a wonderful Independence day. Unfortunately Trent had to work during the day so the kids and I went up to my parents' house the night before and I got to run the Kaysville 5K in the morning with my dear friend Erin. I was nervous seeing as how the more I trained the slower I got so I just focused on beating my last real 5K time (last year around45 mins). Imagine my surprise when I crossed that finish line and the clock read 33 mins(and some-odd seconds--I wasn't wearing my glasses)!!!!! A personal record!!!! I was so proud! And sweet Erin and Steve were waiting and cheering for me at the finish line. I love those guys!After a wonderful breakfast at my parents' house, my mom, the kids, and I headed down to the Kaysville parade. Man, that was a HUGE event!!! I don't ever remember it being such a big thing. Good thing Erin let us sit with her on her nice reserved spot otherwise we would have had to watch the parade from Layton!
After naps the kids ran through the sprinklers and played with Grandma and Grandpa. My brother, Jon, and his wife came over and we had a delicious dinner (thanks Kat!) and then headed home so that we could light fireworks when Trent got home.
The kids loved fireworks this year. However, don't give Grant a sparkler--he waves it around like a crazy man. Lesson learned. After putting the extremely tired kids to bed, Trent and I climbed up on the roof and watched fireworks all across the valley. It was a spectacular show (good thing we live next to some rich neighborhoods with people willing to blow their money on aeril fireworks!!! good times.)

Drew's Baptism

This past weekend our nephew, Drew, was baptized down in St. George. It was a wonderful weekend with family and I LOVED the heat!!!!! Here are some pics from the trip:

The kids at the hotel all ready to go swimming!!
Fun in the sun
Grant enjoyed Drew's baptism so much, he decided to baptize someone random doll in the bucket full of ice/water/pop cans.
Happy 8th Birthday Drew!!!

Happy 4th!

Here's hoping yall have a great 4th of July weekend! Ad I went to the firework stand today and bought "fireworks" for my kids (snaps, sparklers, smoke balls, etc) I was reminded of this part in the movie Joe Dirt. Makes me laugh every time. (and don't worry, I bought some that go "boom" as well)

I'm so behind on the blog. The following 5 posts are from our recent trip to California. Enjoy.

The Beach

The best part of California? The Beach. The main reason for going to California? The Beach. The cheapest activity in California? The Beach. Gotta love it. We went as often as we could. The water was freezing but that didn't deter Trent from getting in. He brought his wet suit(and more to share). I wasn't brave enough to get in but had a fun time playing with the kids on the beach. We dug holes, built sand castles, flew kites, buried each other, and dipped our toes in the surf.

Walking down to the beach with our little guyBuilding sand castlesFlying a kite with Aunt KatrinaBubba stealing Trent's body boardThe last day we went to the beach, all the guys got in. There was a rip tide that was taking them way down the beach so the lifegaurd told them to go down to another part of the beach. After a while, my dad came back and sat down on the mats. I was building castles with the kids but I could hear my mom and brother gasping and hudling around my dad. I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't make out detail, but he didn't seem to be bleeding or anything so I went on with my castle. After a few more "eewww"s I had to see what was up. I went over and he showed me his finger--totally crooked! It was so unnatural! He had tried to dive under a wave and hit the ocean bottom and dislocated his middle finger. He was laughing about it so we knew he was ok. He tried to put it back in but couldn't so then Trent tried to pop it back in and couldn't so we asked the lifeguard if he could pop it back in but legally he wasn't allowed (my dad was so embarrassed we even got the lifeguard!) so we headed out and Trent took him to the ER where the doctor manipulated his finger until it was back where it was supposed to be. Turns out it was hyper-extended and dislocated. Needless to say it was an eventful day at the beach!

The guysThe crooked finger (you can't tell as much in the picture, but believe me: it was BAD)The lifeguard coming to the rescue (not really. thanks for the ice pack though.)Grant taking off with the lifeguard's buoy. Little thief. . .

The Tide Pools

One day we went to the tide pools to see what little creatures we could find. We found crabs, sea urchins, anemones, star fish, hermit crabs, and small fish. Jane liked to find sea shells--even if it was just a fragment, she wanted it. Grant was more interested in getting wet. He didn't much like the tide pools until we let him splash and throw rocks.

Overlooking the Tide Pools. It's a heck of hike down and even harder coming up.Bubba checking out the big rock covered in Pelicans (and their poop)Jane found a starfish. I'm not quite sure she liked holding it, though.Throwin' rocks