4 Years Old

4 years ago on August 22nd, this sweet boy joined our family.

Caleb has waited FOREVER for his birthday to come. He's so excited to be four!! Caleb definitely has his hard things about him (#1 being his sleeping as I've posted in the past), but we have loved every minute of him being a part of our family. Here are some of the things I love most about Caleb:

1) He tries so hard to be a good boy and make everyone happy. He's just plain sweet.

2) He is always asking questions and loves to learn.

3) He is such a hard worker. He loves to help me clean, loves to help Daddy build, and just works hard at whatever he does. Recently he worked really hard to learn to ride a bike, swim, and now as we're learning to read.

Due to the timing of his birthday and the cut off for grades, we've really debated whether to put Caleb in the grade he should be in knowing he'll be THE youngest in his grade, or to hold him back so he can be the oldest. We've decided to put him in the right class, but because of this, I work extra hard with him. He has come so far this past year, and he's right with all the other students in our preschool class. I love being able to teach him in preschool to see his progress. He is such a smart boy.

Here are more birthday pictures with my family. One of the presents we got Caleb is a real t-ball bat and balls. He has such a natural athleticism in general, but he really excels at baseball. We know that this will be a fun talent for him to pursue in the coming years.

Caleb blowing out the candles on his dinosaur cake.

We love you Caleb! Happy birthday sweet boy. Here's to another year of waiting...

One Year Older

We were so happy to celebrate Caleb's 4th birthday this past Monday. On Saturday, he got to have 4 friends over for a dinosaur party.

We first decorated some dinosaur headbands:

Then we went dinosaur bowling with dinosaur pins.

Jumping for joy at a knocking all the pins over.

Playing a dinosaur matching game.

The kids had to walk across the room while balancing a "dinosaur egg".

Next, we went outside to dig for some dinosaur fossils.

And inside we "hatched" some dinosaur eggs to discover what kind of dinosaur was inside.

Then we ate some dinosaur Jell-O eggs that had a dinosaur fruit snack inside!

Carter inhaling his dinosaur egg.

Eating dinosaur cupcakes.

Opening presents

We debated about doing a friends party this year, but Caleb was so set on it. He had such a fun time that it was worth all the work and effort!

Daddy & Son Day

Caleb and Matt got the opportunity to go bowling together last weekend. Caleb's only been one other time probably about 18 months ago, but it definitely made an impression. He's wanted to go again ever since!

Here's the excited bowler.

Looks like a strike!

The final score. Matt's looking pretty rusty. :o) At the beginning of our dating relationship, Matt and I went bowling with several friends. I was shocked when he pulled his own bowling ball out of the car before we went in. Who owns their own bowling ball?!? Matt used to bowl once a week with work friends before we dated and apparently got quite good. He has a very aggressive spin in his bowling game and would score anywhere from 180-220 on a regular basis. Looks like he needs more of those weekly practice games. :o)

What a great time. Thank you Daddy!

Family Vacation

After my sister's wedding, we headed off for a short vacation since my brother and sister-in-law were here from Utah. We went to the Goliad, Texas and rented a ranch. As a family, we LOVE these vacations and the chance to play games, talk, and, in this case, swim!! Having a swimming pool in the backyard was a wonderful activity for the kids. We went swimming mornings and evenings most days. Caleb made some great progress in his swimming. If you look closely in this picture. Caleb is swimming from my brother, Clayton, in the middle of the pool, to me by the steps.

Although playing games with kids is difficult, we got a lot of game time in, especially during naps and late evenings. The game that dominated this family vacation is Dominion...great fun.

I didn't do very well at taking pictures, but between meal times and games, there really wasn't that much to catch on camera. Here's Caleb, Dallin, and I taking a break from packing up in order to practice taking pictures of ourselves. It was difficult for them to understand how to look at the lens rather than the view finder.

On the way home, we figured it would be a good idea to check out the history of the city since it has a role in Texas' independence. This is a picture of the Presidio, La Bahia, which Texans took control from the Mexicans in 1835. The first declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas was signed here. After losing the Battle of Coleto in 1836, the Texans surrendered with the promise that they would be set free in a few weeks. However, Santa Anna (Mexican General) ordered that all the survivors were to be executed. In the Goliad Massacre, 342 men were killed and 28 escaped. Colonel Fannin was killed last after watching the execution of all his men.

The Fannin monument to commemorate the massacre.

Even though it was short, it's always wonderful to spend time with family. We missed Lindsey and Derrick though who were on their honeymoon. It was especially fun to spend a lot of time with Jared and Kari's family (my older brother) before they move to the Netherlands. We will sure miss them! Hopefully they don't get too attached that they don't want to come back after the allotted 2 years! I'm so grateful for my family and that we are all such great friends.

Lindsey and Derrick's Wedding

My sister, Lindsey, got married on July 30, 2011. Everything went well with a luncheon at 11am, wedding at 3pm, and reception later that night. It was great to meet Derrick's family!

The beautiful bride

Walking out of the temple

All the grandkids on our side

Siblings + Derrick

Siblings

Sisters

More sisters

Clayton and Kara are expecting in October

Congratulations Lindsey and Derrick!

Bouquet Thief

When taking pictures after the marriage ceremony in the temple, Carter understood his job to steal the bouquet from Lindsey at all times. He would walk up to Lindsey and whine until she handed over her bouquet. (After about the third or fourth time, she probably was getting a little annoyed.)

Then he would take the bouquet and pass them off to someone else. For whatever reason, he didn't want Aunt Lindsey to hold her flowers.

Mommy with her little thief.

The only picture I got of the back of my hair. I wanted to do an up-do because it was going to be so hot taking pictures. So I watched tutorials online earlier in the week, and had one shot to get it right because I didn't practice. It turned out pretty well, but it was time-consuming (Matt didn't appreciate having to do most everything to get the kids ready), and I walked around with 48 bobby pins in my hair all day.

Entertainment when not needed for pictures: Grandpa

Lindsey's Reception

The Cake

Feeding cake nicely

Decorations

Table setting