Toddler for Hire

Toddler for Hire: Two year old "helper", very motivated self-starter, experienced in climbing on to counter and into sink by himself, loves to "help" without being asked. Enjoys baking cookies with mommy, very quick hands and often attempts to dump ingredients when mom's not looking. Willing to do windows. Call 1-800-ISO-CUTE if interested.

Rulin' the School

This is Stephenie, aka "Madame Secretary", Senior Class Secretary at Kearns High.

Being involved in Student Government is a big responsibility and takes a lot of time, but there are also perks such as free entrance to school sporting events, reduced fees for dances etc. Mom and Dad are hoping it will also help out when applying for college scholarships!

Last night we were discussing the different types of honors she wants to get so as to add special cords or collars to her graduation gown. Whoooah, slow down! It is still September, right? I'm afraid this year is going to go by way too fast.

Beautiful in Blue

Here is Steph before the homecoming dance. Unfortunately I was at work when she left so I didn't get to see her. (Which also unfortunately means Dad was left to the picture taking and only got two shots!) Regardless, she looks stunning and L'il bro must have thought so also. Steve said when Alex saw her he kept gasping and saying, "Ohhh, preeeetttty!" Hopefully she's having a great time tonight at the dance.

Alllll Aboarrrd!

As I've mentioned before, Alex loves the movie Polar Express and as he gets older he gets really excited over trains. When we were on vacation, we took him to a cute place in Sonoma called Train Town.

This little train takes you through several wooded acres and stops partway through at a petting zoo. The exciting thing for Alex was when the conductor came and punched his ticket just like in the movie Polar Express.

Grandma is a "soft touch" as she says, and bought Alex this little toy train and adorable hat. It was so fun to watch him, he was in awe.

He also got to ride the carousel a couple times and loves to watch the video of himself which he calls "horsies and Poo Pess" (Polar Express)

One happy little guy!

Geeked Up

Pretty dang cute, eh? This is what happens when you are a two year old with a teenaged sister...believe it or not this is a fashion statement. (The glasses with the lenses missing). Steph refers to it as "geeked up". Pretty fitting description. Along with being aware of the latest fashion trends, Alex is also known to randomly quote lines from rap songs..."Get out my face!" or "You a jerk"! If you think that's bad, let me tell you what Steph taught him last night. He pulled up his shirt and said, "Look at me titties!" Of course Steph laughed hysterically so it just encourages him!

"Hahmelyon, sae messy"

Just a little tip from one mom to another... When unloading the groceries, if you've just purchased a watermelon, DO NOT leave it sitting at the top of the stairs in the presence of a two year old. BUSTED!!! (Both literally and figuratively) Alex is looking at this photo as I'm typing this and he keeps saying over and over, "Hahmelyon, sae messy". (Watermelon, it's messy) I guess that's good that he acknowledges for every action, there is (in this case) a very messy reaction.

Sun, Sand, Surf and ...SHARKS?!

We had a most excellent day at Stinson Beach while we were in California. Now, keep in mind that this is Northern California and you really never know what you're gonna get weather wise at the beach. Even if it's a clear, sunny day inland, you may get a cold, foggy day on the coast. So I was so psyched that it was sunny, warm and no wind, it couldn't have been better. To make the day even better, luckily it wasn't until we were packing up and getting ready to go, that the beach patrol drove down the perimeter of the beach instructing all swimmers and surfers to leave the water. They didn't explain why, but I had a hunch. Sure enough, Steph looked it up online that night and there had been a Great White sighting. Several beaches were closed for the next few days so I'm glad we went when we did...and really glad we didn't see Jaws while we were there.

This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip.

A few days later, we went to my sister Lesley's house for dinner and swimming. My other sister Lorna, who lives in Utah, was also in town for our reunion, so there were a ton of cousins and they had a blast. At least with a pool, you don't have to worry about any wildlife encounters. I take that back...there was a dead toad in the pool that sent Steph runnning into the house. We eventually coaxed her into coming back out!

I love that all the nieces and nephews in my family get along so well and love spending time together!