"The Greatest Show on Earth"

On Saturday I took Brighton to the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus. He's never been to a circus I thought it would be something he would enjoy. We invited Deawn and Brighton Holt to come with us for our mommy-son date.

Brighton's favorites were the silly clowns and the motorbikes in the big spherical cage. They got 7 motorcycles riding around in there at once! (unfortunately, I couldn't get a very good picture of it.) It was so fun to see all of the animals and acrobats, and we had a fabulous time!

Thank Goodness for iPods!

Last weekend we went to another RSL game with the kids. The kids generally do pretty well during the games, but this time it was a little cold and drizzly, AND they were tired. There were about 25 minutes left in the game and they started to get antsy... so Justin and I pulled out our iPods and we let them each watch movies on them so that we could enjoy the rest of the game. What did we ever do before iPods?

Chelsea is happy with a movie to watch and a comfy place to sit

Brighton watching Toy Story

This also happened to be the last RSL game before they move to the new stadium. We have been loyal fans since the inaugural season, and as excited as we are to be in the new stadium, I couldn't help but reminisce about the many games we attended as a family at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Our last time at Rice-Eccles

Summer 2007

Summer 2007

Summer 2005

Chelsea's Birthday Party

Chelsea absolutely ADORES tea parties. She has little tea parties in her room daily, whether on her own, with her dolls, or with her brother and sister. So, of course it came as no surprise when I asked her what kind of party she wanted for her birthday and she said "A TEA PARTY!". Since the guests would be 2- and 3-year-olds, I thought it might be fun to have a Mother-and-Daughter tea party.

The invitations

The "monster cupcake" birthday cake

The little girls' table

The mothers' table

Before tea time all of the girls were accessorized with purses and play jewelry, and they each got to decorate their own party hats

Of course, I had to make one for Siena, too.

I remembered from experience that 2- and 3-year-olds aren't really interested in playing games yet, so it was a pretty low-key party. We just let the girls dress up and play. But they seemed to really enjoy themselves, so I think it was a success!

Happy Birthday, Chelsea!

Chelsea turned 3 on Friday. We started the morning with waffles, berries and whipped cream-- per her request.

In the afternoon, Grandma came and picked her up for a little outing.

They went to the Build-a-Bear store and she got a new hot-pink teddy bear.

After dad got home, we went out and got some dinner.

And then we came home and she opened all of her presents.

She was in princess heaven!

She was so kind to let Siena wear one of her new princess dress-ups, and thus we were spared a major melt-down.

We sure love our little princess Chelsea. Here are some of our favorite things about her:

-From the moment she learned to walk she has always had a perpetual bounce in her step.

-Without a doubt, the most frequent phrase that comes out of her mouth is "I love you".

-She is the cuddliest, snuggliest girl.

-She has so much enthusiasm for the simplest of pleasures.

We just can't imagine our family without her!

Coloring

There are few things Brighton enjoys more than coloring, drawing and writing. But it really wasn't until he was 3 or 4-years-old that he started to enjoy it. Before that I just couldn't figure out why he wasn't interested in coloring. Now that I've been a nursery leader and joy school teacher, I can say that it is pretty common for boys to be slower at developing that skill than girls. That being said, it still surprises me that Siena, at a mere 16 months of age, is so interested in coloring books and crayons. Sure, she ends up eating the crayon that she's coloring with half of the time, but she will sit there for a long time, perfectly entertained by a crayon in her little hand and pad of paper to draw on. It must be the influence of her craft-y older siblings.

Lazy Saturday

It was nice to finally have a Saturday where we had no plans. Dad decided to take the kids to the park for some "soccer practice", and, since they were there they played at the playground and got some books at the library, too.





These are my favorite kinds of Saturdays... nowhere to go, and nothing to do but be together.

Siena and Uncle Matt

Siena has always had a special attachment to her Uncle Matt. When he was out here visiting from New York last week it was so cute to see how much she had missed him.

Siena

Lillian just emailed me these amazing pictures that she had taken of Siena when she was here last week. Can you believe those gorgeous blue eyes?


It's nice to have such a talented photographer in the family. Too bad she doesn't live closer to us...

Week-long Guests

We have really enjoyed our week with Aunt Lillian and cousin Ella. The kids can't seem to get enough of their cute baby cousin, and Brighton and Chelsea are constantly talking about how cute and how sweet she is. We're sad that they'll be leaving us tomorrow.

We hope they will come and visit us again soon...

Ella's Blessing Day

We were so glad that Blake and Lillian decided to bless their baby here in Utah instead of out in Indiana where they live. It's always nice to be together with family, especially for special occasions like this.

First Day of School

Tuesday was the first day of school for both Brighton and Chelsea. Chelsea has morning preschool and Brighton has afternoon preschool, so it is fun for them to have their separate school times. It was just so cute to see how excited they both are to learn and make new friends.

The Best Day of Our Lives

Saturday, August 30th was a day that Justin and I will always cherish and never forget. We waited so long for this day to come, and there are no words to describe how wonderful it was for our little family. We are so grateful for all of the people who sacrificed their time and travelled far to share this very special day with us. Thank you!