He's reading!!!

We've been working with Austin the last couple of months on learning to read. It really is amazing how fast he's learning and catching on. It also helps that he was expressing desire for it and has always loved books. We're so proud of him!

Austin-isms retired

"That bridge is very...scientific looking" (he says in deep thought)

"That really freak-ed me out!" (while rafting the river and hitting some "whitewater")

"How did Heavenly Father create the world? I mean, he's small and the world is BIG! I bet he had a super fast rocketship!"

"Dad, I was a good boy today. Can we just hang out?" (trying to avoid bedtime)

"Check out my moves! I've got moves you haven't seen!" (breakdancing on the floor)

"I'm not CUTE, Mom. I'm HANDSOME, remember?"

"But I like to bug Carson. It's my JOB."

"Mom, you look different." (Me: "How do I look different?") "Well, you look really pretty!!!" Ouch!

"I don't like all this craziness! What are we going to do about it?" (while in timeout)

"Don't I look FABULOUS??!!!"

"Dad, Mom says I'm special so you need to treat me nicely!"

"I like to move it, move it! Mom, do you like to move it, move it?" (from the movie, "Madascar 2")

"Um, excuse me, you're cramping my style!"

"Dad, where did you get your whiskers? Did you get them from a cat? (Dad: "No") Oh, did you get them from a dog?!"

"CRAP! That's what I say in Chinese!" (don't ask where that came from)

"Mom, can I be the boss of Carson? I want to be someone's boss!"

"You need a Physical Therapist. My dad is a Physical Therapist!" (he tells an old man in a wheelchair)

18 months

Our baby is sure growing up! He really isn't a baby anymore, he's a full-blown toddler complete with temper tantrums, a stubborn streak, new-found independence, mess-making, climbing everything, and a vocab that seems to expand everyday.

Here are Carson's stats as of today when I took him to the doctor for his 18 month check-up:

Weight=31 lbs (95%)

Height=34 1/2 inches (92%)

Glad to know he's not a runt! Here are some recent things about Carson and his latest endeavors:

1. Carson still loves to shake it, especially to certain movies like "Madagascar 2"(one of our faves) and his Baby Einstein musical book.

2. He's still obsessed w/ balls. In fact, we have to strap him into the stroller at Austin's soccer games because if we let him out, he runs after the ball and all the kids. I guess we'll have another athlete on our hands!

3. Some of the words that Carson knows (which is about 20 now): Mom or "Ma" (which he says all the time for no reason), Dada, Ball, No, Mine, Bubbles, Jesus (pronounced "JeJe"), Wow, Whoa (another word he says all the time), Cheese, More, Hi and Bye.

4. He's gonna be a biter, darn it. When he gets frustrated, he tries to bite anything close to him. Even his big brother (Austin's finally getting a taste of his own medicine). Gotta love that.

5. Carson's favorite toys besides balls are stacking cups, trucks, airplanes, and pretty much anything Austin is into. He even knows all the sound affects, including guns. Swell.

6. So far, he loves Nursery. We have no problem putting him in there. No tears, no clinging onto our legs. He goes right in and plays with the other kids. He also loves song time and playing Red Light, Green Light. Carson is very social and definitely has a way of drawing people to him. It probably doesn't help that he's got a pretty irresitible smile w/ dimples!

7. I love that Carson is the first person to remind us to say our prayers at meal time. As soon as I put him in his high chair, he quietly folds his arms. How cute is that!!!

8. One thing Carson has started doing the past few months is screaming when he's not getting his way. Yeah, it's really annoying and we're hoping he will get over that soon. Does he really have a choice though? :)

9. He's finally down to 1 nap per day (most days) which is nice because it frees up my mornings a bit. Still a good sleeper during the day and night though, but I have to say, a lot of that is our training.

10. Last, but not least Carson is turning out to be just as busy as Austin is. He gets into everything, wants to climb everything, makes messes everywhere (esp with food), and runs from one thing to the next without thinking. I'm afraid this is a good thing and a bad thing.!

Go Tigers!

The team

Austin all decked out in his uniform

Racing for the ball

Go Tigers, GO!!!

Go Silver Bullets! (who lost to us!)

Austin started soccer yesterday with the Meridian PALS program. We missed the first game/practice last Sat because we were in UT, but he was so excited to start the season! Their team is called the Tigers and it consists of 4 boys and 2 girls. Oh, and Eric is one of the Coaches. I was a little apprehensive at first after the main coach told me that the first week/game didn't go so well (major melt-downs by all kids and some physical issues!), but we were all pleasantly surprised to find the kids playing GREAT together as a team (as good as 4 yr olds can work as a team, that is), understanding the basics of the game, and most importantly, having FUN!

Austin surprised us by a couple of things. First, he didn't beat anybody up! WHEW!!! Second, no melt-downs at all when someone would dribble the ball away from him (in fact, he just laughed the whole time), and lastly, he would give all the kids high-5's when they scored a goal (including the other team) and even helped a couple of kids up when they fell! I was seriously wondering what happened to our Austin. He was one of the only kids that could've played the whole time if they let him and he always had a smile on his face. It was great to see him having a blast, working with his team, and not being a poor sport. He played great too, no goals this time, but he was a great defender, always going after the ball from the other team (like we worried he would have a problem with that though) and running and dribbling the ball down the field. Can't wait to watch the rest of the season!

SLC trip

After Eric's race last Saturday, we drove down to SLC for the week to spend some time with family and friends and to do some fun outings. (I also did a couple of Twisted Silver shows.) We moved around a lot (we stayed with Brett and Heather in Logan, then my Grandma, then Jenni, and lastly, Kimi), which was kind of a pain, but gotta spread the love, right?! It was so much fun to go to the Zoo, the Dinosaur Museum, go to lunch with friends, and spend time with Jen and Kimi. It was definitely busy, but always worth it! Driving around SLC made me miss some aspects of living there-the proximity to the mountains, BIKING, great places to eat (Cafe Rio, Rumbi Grill, Red Mango), and being near family. Don't worry Boise-we aren't going anywhere (at least not for awhile)! I also gotta go to try out a new health club in town called Lifetime Fitness. One word, AMAZING! How sad is it that a gym made me want to move back?! The kids had a great time during our visit and thanks to everyone who put us up (or put up with us!) We love you!!!

We went to Hogle Zoo one day and had a blast!

Austin and a monkey

Riding an elephant's trunk-they were a little hesitant at first because the fake elephant makes noises like sneezing and snoring-it was hilarious!

The newest addition to the zoo-Zuri, the baby elephant making her debut! She was the cutest thing ever weighing 250 lbs and only 36 inches tall! She just followed her mommy everywhere! The kids were completely fascinated with her!

Aunt Kimi w/ the boys in front of the zebras

Carson was mesmorized by the giraffes and kept pointing to them!

Just to the right of us is another baby animal-a giraffe! She was just sitting there watching all the people go by!

The baby giraffe taking a little snooze-look at how she bends her head around and sleeps on her back!!!

A jaguar pacing back and forth in his cage-Carson kept trying to pet him through the glass!

The Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point in front of a life sized Triceratops!

A life sized Megladon-bigger than a great white shark! Austin was just a bit scared of this!

Digging for fossils

Carson doing the same

Some large T-Rexes in the background

Aunt Kimi's house

Eric's Triathlon

Getting suited up and geared up for the cold water!

Heading out to the start line! Don't drown hon! :)

Some of the fam to cheer Eric on-Salli, Kim, me, Alan, McKenna

Finishing the swim, heading to the bike transition

The boys in the car cheering Dad on along the bike course!

Along the bike course, heading downhill and trying to pass everyone he could!

At transition, getting ready for the run!

Almost to the finish line! GO ERIC!!!!

Crossing the finish line in 2 hrs 57 min-the boys there cheering their Dad on

Me and my hot hubbie (and I mean hot BOTH ways! :)

Bret, Eric and Warren-all finishers! It was Bret's 40th birthday that day! What a way to celebrate it!

Eric completed his first triathlon yesterday, called the Bear Lake Brawl. He chose to do the Olympic distance course which is a 1 mile swim (in cold, choppy Bear Lake), a 26 mile bike course, and a 6 mile run. He's been training with his boss, Bret, for the last few months, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed! The swim was his hardest leg mostly because he's never swam "laps" in his life, but he was consistent and had plenty of workouts in open water (ponds, lakes) too.

Race day began at 9am, sunny skies and actually not too much wind. He was a little nervous about the swim, of course, but ended up doing it under his goal of 45 min (41 min). Not too shabby for his first swim in a choppy lake! On the bike, he was looking to make up some time, and ended up finishing in 1 hr. 13 min. We drove along the course and stopped several times to cheer him on (I think it got a little annoying to him after awhile!). He was passing everyone though-the bike is definitely his strong leg. On the run he was feeling the fatigue set in, he had sand in his feet still, plus it was pretty hot, but he finished the 6 mile course in 54 min. (Not as fast as his training pace, but still good). Overall, he finished in 2 hrs 57 min and 15th in his category (his goal was to get under 3 hrs). The best part was having a lot of his family from Logan there to cheer him on and motivate him, including his boys. Austin especially loved seeing his dad out there! We are so proud of him for his accomplishment and can't wait to see him do the Boise Half-Ironman next year!

First Day of School

Looking all handsome and grown up!

Building a space ship (I think?) with magnets

Austin has been asking all summer long when preschool would start again. Alas, it finally has (yeah for all of us!) and he was so excited to go meet his new class and teacher. Luckily for us, Austin makes friends very easily, doesn't have a shy bone in his body, and jumped right in when I dropped him off. After the first week, I asked his teacher, Mrs. Hauter, how he's doing and she said "that boy might just be the most energetic, excited little boy I've ever met!" Hmmm, have we heard that or what. This year he goes 3 days/week for 2 1/2 hrs (same place as last year) and it's nice to only have one child for a short time! Carson and I go to the gym or run errands while Austin is gone. I'm looking forward to the new things he will learn and improve on as we prepare for Kindergarten next year!

I Love to See the Temple

While my sister was in town Labor Day weekend, we took the kids to the Boise Temple Sunday night for FHE. Austin was very fascinated by it, however, really bummed he couldn't go inside! It was a beautiful evening and we got some great shots!

Last summer hoorah

Labor Day weekend, in my head, marks the last weekend before summer ends. Not that Fall officially starts then, but it just seems like as soon as Labor Day weekend is over-the weather starts to get cooler, the pools close down, kids are back in school, etc. (Which isn't a bad thing, right?)

This weekend we were lucky enough to have my little sis, Trish in town! We did lots of fun things too-we swam in the pool, biked the greenbelt, floated the Boise River, went to the movies, BBQ-ed, watched college football, and took the kids to the Temple. Busy and fun, that is our motto!!!

Trish w/ the kids on our way to the Boise River greenbelt

Biking the greenbelt

Austin contemplating life upon a dinosaur at the park

Lovin' this of Trish and Carson

Austin feeding the squirrels

Eric taking a snooze on the park bench-he had swam a mile and biked 25 miles already that day (in prep for his triathlon in a week)!

Trish and Eric just chillin'

Giddy-up!

Eric and the boys watching the fish in a pond

Carson ready for the action on the Boise River

Eric and Austin on the raft

Eating lunch along the Boise River while rafting

Austin on the prowl for sticks and rocks to throw

Carson being adorable (as usual!) w/ his belly sticking out under his life jacket

Throwing rocks in the river

Trish and Austin rowing the raft

Me and the boys trying to stay somewhat dry (which was hard w/ Eric in the raft!)

After floating the river, we played at Ann Morrison Park (cool fountain, huh?) while waiting for Eric to bike up to our car. And no, I did not pee in my pants-that is from rafting!