Keeping Up With the Joneses

Every year the weekend before July 4th Provo has a children's parade. I heard about it last year but never got around to going. This year it was our Stake Primary Activity so even though Mason is still in nursery we decided to go. I think the kids really enjoyed it, but we were blocks behind the rest of our ward (we probably made it one block for every 4 our ward made it) because Mason is SO SLOW on his bike. After a block of fighting him and carrying him, Myles, and his bike, I gave up and let him ride at his own pace until we almost got run over by the marching band and the police car at the end of the parade. So we only made it about 4 blocks before we were way behind the rest of the parade and turned and walked back to our car. Marshall was stuck at home showing the house, so most of the way I carried both boys and the bike in the 95 degree heat! I think next year we'll do strollers. . .

On Thursday Jessica and Annie were kind enough to help me paint Mason's room. Since we moved in it has been an awful shade of yellow that is far too bright. With just his little toddler bed and a rocking chair in the room it didn't look great. So we painted it a lighter shade of yellow, moved a queen size bed in there, and now it looks a lot better. Before During After

My brother Scott, his wife Annie, and their daughter Elaine are living with us for the next few months while Scott teaches an Economics class at BYU. We are having so much fun with them, and it is really great seeing Myles and Elaine interact. Elaine is only 2 months younger than Myles but we've noticed a lot of differences. The funniest thing is the differences in how they eat. When we put food on Myles' high-chair tray, he grabs as much as he can fit in his little hand, stuffs it in his mouth, and then repeats until his little cheeks are full and his mouth is overflowing. But when Elaine eats she will sit there for hours daintly nibbling on something until it is gone. Myles is also a lot more assertive (okay, maybe aggressive) when it comes to getting what he wants. Yesterday Elaine was playing with an empty cup, saw Myles coming towards her, and handed it out towards him while whimpering as though saying "just take it, please don't tackle me". Myles also likes...

I realize that most people are more technologically savvy than me, but my cousin Amber gave me a good tip a while back about checking blogs that I recently realized I actually was not the last to learn about! There is a thing called Google Reader (log into gmail, click on reader at the top) where you can enter in all the blogs you like to check. Then when you want to see if anyone has updated their blog, all you have to do is go to Reader and it tells you which blogs have been updated and you can read them right there on the page. It only works for blogs that aren't private, but it still is nice. Especially if you obsessively check to see if people have updated their blogs. . .

We went to the Strawberry Days carnival in Pleasant Grove today because it was right across the street from Marshall's work and he could join us on his lunch hour. Juliet and Lincoln ended up coming with us and Jessica joined us as well. We had a fun time and Mason and Myles were both crazy about the rides. First Mason went on the dragon rollercoaster which he has been talking about all year since he went on in last summer. Then he and Myles went on the Circus Train, Duck Ride, and Merry-Go-Round. They loved it so much and Myles was so happy to be riding like a big boy. Myles was pretty upset when we left, but they were both asleep in the car by the time we were at the gas station a block away. Note: Before Jessica or Juliet point out the I had no camera today, this picture is from when Mason rode the dragon roller-coaster last year at Payson Days.

I feel like we have just been on the run for the last few months and I'm waiting for things to settle. In the last 2 months I've been to California with Marshall, Hawaii with my family, Park City for a spa/shopping weekend with Marshall, Canada for 2 weeks, and then Delta for 4 days. I've probably been gone as much as I've been home, and I've been working the weeks I'm home. When we came home from Delta on Sunday Mason said "where are we going next mommy?" Yesterday Myles was still sleeping when I left for work at 7:30. Usually he is up at 6 AM sharp so I was surprised but not too concerned because we had a busy weekend in Delta and he didn't get a lot of sleep. He was coughing a little in the night and so I called the babysitter at 8 to see if he was awake and feeling okay, and he was still asleep. I asked her to call me when he woke up and by 9:30 I still hadn't heard from her so I called again. I told her to go in and wake him up. She did an...

Yesterday our neighbors Zoe (4) and TJ (2) came over to play for the morning while their mother ran some errands. As we were eating lunch Zoe said it was almost Father's Day and that she didn't know what to get her dad. I suggested maybe a hat and then she thought for a while and said "actually, I think I'm going to get him a shovel". Then I asked Mason what he was going to get his daddy for Father's Day and right away he responded "a new eye". I asked why and he said "because his eye will be dead because Zoe's dad will poke it out with his shovel." What a weird child! This morning at breakfast Marshall was helping Mason say the prayer (he usually says it on his own but he was pretending to be a baby) and after everything that daddy said, Myles would chatter in this soft little tone like he was repeating the prayer. He thought he should have a turn! He does so good folding his little arms when we pray.

We made it back from Waterton yesterday after a long 16 hour trip including a flat tire and detour. It was a great trip. . .here are a few highlights: The last few days we were joined by my brother Scott and his family. Here is Mason giving a kiss to sweet baby Elaine. She is such a cutie and her cousins worship her. The three Goates kids together again! My mom and Mason really hit it off. Every morning they would have "school" and Mason would learn different letters. So far he knows A, B, C, M, S, O, and N. He knows what they look like and knows which letters are in his name. Every night she would read him Toy Story before bed, and occasionally Myles would want to be included. My birthday came when we were up there and Mason picked out this Nemo cake that he was really excited about. That morning I woke up to him singing "happy birthday dear mommy." One of the funniest things about the trip was Myles posing for pictures. As soon as he saw a camera he gets this ...

Just a quick update from the North Country. . .I'm in Waterton with Mason and Myles and have been since Tuesday. My sister Jessica drove up with me which made the 12 hour car ride with two kids more bearable. It has been great weather and the boys are definately falling in love with the Park. Myles begs his grandpa for bike rides everday and Mason loves running back and forth between "cabs" (his slang for cabin). We went on a hike a few days ago and little Mason hiked the whole way without being carried. . .we think he will be able to keep up with his grandpa and uncles in the Uintas this summer. We are planning on spending another week here and then heading back to Provo next weekend for a few weeks before coming up here again. (hopefully this time with Marshall who is pretty lonely back in Provo).