4th of July

We started out our 4th of July weekend in Logan since Justin's family from San Diego was in town. As it turns out, Jodi and her two boys came as well. Nolan was having a great time visiting his little uncles and cousins from California. We attended Courtney Petersen's baptism and Hugo Andrews' blessing. There was lots to do (the boys even tried fishing, but with no luck), but unfortunately it was a rough weekend. There were some extended family problems and on top of that we had a terrible hot night. Ezra just doesn't know how to sleep anywhere but his own bed (and I've mentioned before that he doesn't even do great there, either). So after only one night we decided we'd had enough excitement and couldn't bear another sleepless night.

When we got home, Ezra begged for a truck ride. It felt so great to head out in our clunker and be together on a dirt road. The boys had such a great time getting up close to the passing freight train and Ez was so comfortable that he dozed off... just like Grandma Moulton said she always used to do when the truck was theirs.

We went to the local parade with my sister's family. The kids were in the street the entire time waiting for candy to be thrown. After that it was off to Home Depot (our home away from home) and then home to work on the basement and yard. Luckily it was a cloudy, cool day. That night the kids were very excited for our four fireworks (yes, only four, but Nolan thought that was so great). Thank goodness we had pop-its and sparklers! They were a hit. Since aeriel fireworks are allowed now, we took a quick walk around our neighborhood to see them. There were so many! We ended the night with a big fireworks show, but we kept our distance from crowds so that we could get home quick since Ez was sound asleep. Nolan kept saying, "This sure was an exciting day. That was so fun!"

It was good to teach Nolan a little about why we celebrate Independence Day and the significance of the flag as it went by in the parade. I love our country and I'm so glad that my family and I get to live here.

Hiding Spot

We're still plugging along with the basement a year and a half after starting. It's nice that Justin and I can do more of the work now, so that my Dad isn't doing everything himself. It's nice to feel like we're actually contributing since it is our house. Justin is currently finishing up the electrical and I'm painting trim. Ez found a new hiding place under one of the sawhorses that I've been using to prop up the trim. He was so comfortable under there playing that he left me a present in his pants. Nothing like a private hiding place to make ya regular!

I have a feeling the kids won't love the basement nearly as much when it's finished. However, Nolan did say last night during our family home evening prayer, "Please bless that the basement can get done."

Wet Weeks

The past two weeks have mainly consisted of swimming lessons at the nearby pool. The boys can't get enough of the water. I think I was done after the first day. Ez just wants to be on his own swimming with floaties rather than participating in the Mom 'n Tot activities, so he's a handful. Plus I just don't love all that sun, chlorine, feeling like a wet rat, sunburns no matter how much sunscreen, and the packing up and getting out the door every day. Other than that, it's, er, wonderful.

But these boys really do love the water and Ezra is so wild! He jumps in over and over and always says, "Mom! Wot dis (translations: watch this)." It's pretty fun to watch since he's such a little guy. His jumps are more like little belly flops..

Nolan always loved jumping in when he was younger, too, but has had to learn to like it again. He's getting much more comfortable and has even gone off the diving board into his teacher's arms. He will also hold his breath and go under for a second or two. Good job, buddy!***Update: It was the last day of lessons today and Nolan now jumps off the diving board all by himself (wearing a life jacket) and doesn't even need to be caught. He really worked up his courage and has done so great this week!

Toddler Bed for Ez

Ez has started climbing out of the crib so we transformed it to a toddler bed. I wasn't ready, but I guess he was. He sure was thrilled with it (and Nolan), can't you tell? It was a rough start, but he seems to be used to it after a week. He goes to bed easy enough, I just wish he'd stay asleep all night and stop waking up at 6 a.m. One of these days I'll get 7 hours of sleep in a row, but such is the life of a mom!

Park Play

Grandma Sherri drove Keeley and Kamrie up last week for a fun visit. Nolan had been so excited to see Ethan and Kamrie but it turns out that Ethan couldn't come. Good thing Kamrie was so much fun that he didn't feel too sad after all. We went to Liberty Park for some good outdoor play time. The kids had fun on those rickety old rides. Nolan still talks about riding the fast ferris wheel.

My Dad drove up earlier and worked on the basement (it now has paint!) so we all went out to Spaghetti Factory for dinner one night. Wow, Ezra sure is a challenge at restaurants. He wouldn't stop taking my spaghetti and scattering it all over the both of us. He drove me nuts but luckily it was a delicious meal. I should know better than to go to a restaurant without Justin. He was on a business trip.

Ez wants to be outside all the time. Thankfully summer has finally arrived so that he can. Here's one thing he loves to do:

Birthday Parties for Ez

We had a fun party at our house a week before Ezra's birthday because some of my family from St. George were able to visit. It was fun to have cousins over, including Kamrie whom we don't see all that often. Ez was so thrilled with his new water table, bubble-blowing gun, and new sand/water toys. Also, if anyone is looking for a fun game for toddlers, we are loving Cranium's Cariboo Island. Nolan plays it very well, but even Ezra gets the idea and has a lot of fun. Ez was so funny when we all started singing the birthday song to him. He got happy and embarrassed at the same time, so he needed to cuddle into Dad.

We also had a party at Grandma K's house on his real birthday. There were many grandparents and other family from Justin's side. The boring white cake was fun once we cut into it. Nolan kept saying, "Isn't it so beautiful?" Ez would have known exactly how to blow out the candles if Nolan hadn't blown them out before he had a chance. What are brothers for? At this party, Ez got new books, a shopping cart, some clothes, some backyard toys, and a "Critter Clinic." This is also another outstanding gift for kids that are 2 or 3. It had great reviews on Amazon and has sure been a favorite of Ezra's. The little keys for the animal hospital rooms are a fun challenge. Ez kept making the piggy sound and loving his new pig, so I had to capture his piggy face.
Our weekend in Logan was really nice. Nolan had a motorcycle ride to Ryan's place park, we swam at Campbell's, we went to see Grandma K's band play at Summerfest (it was freezing cold, though), visited Moultons and rode their pretend pony, took little wagon rides to play in Campbell's backyard, and Nolan even slept outside in the tent with Grandma. As we were leaving home, he said, "I wish we could live at Grandma's. Her house is better than ours." We even had a little Father's Day celebration today just before going back home. Kathi made a delicious dinner and Justin got an ipod Nano and an iTunes card ... we're not sure if we're keeping it because, sure enough, he said exactly what I thought he would: "My phone already plays music."

Grandma K offered to watch the boys while we went to the temple and a matinee with Grandma P. Nolan was very excited for us to go. He kept saying, "Go, go, it's time for you to go to the temple. You don't want to be late." We saw the movie "17 Miracles." Though we can't recall all 17 miracles that they portrayed from the Martin Willie handcart companies, we loved the movie. It was beautifully done, even though it was apparantly low budget. We highly recommend it!

Letter to my Ezra

Dear little guy,
You just turned two and how the time has flown... and yet not really. There are still many long nights where you wake up multiple times, you scowl and whine, you make a sound which we lovingly call "the screeching eel," and you beg for "tweets" all day long. Sometimes the days are so long that we count down until Dad will come home and put up with your fresh batch of whining. Even Nolan tried to teaching you to say, "No whine." It didn't work.
But we love your angry, scowling face. In fact, we often ask you to make it. Maybe we should stop that. The best moments with you are when Nolan is making you laugh, when you are eating (because it's rare that you eat... period), when you come to us with a book then turn around and back into our lap, when you are playing outside, and when we come to get you from the crib and you say, "Oh, hi Mom" or "Oh, hi Dad." You might be stubborn and cranky, but your cute face and happy smile make up for it. You are so smart, you even know all your colors and can count to 4 on a good day. And you really do love to share, just not with Nolan. We are lucky to have your big personality in our home. Someday your strong will will be a great influence for good.
We love you, but please start sleeping through the night. After all, you are 2 now! And can we get some more of these faces? Please?
-Love Mom

And here's a note from Nolan. He asked me to help him spell out the letters, but he thought of what he wanted to say. It reads, "Dear Ezra, It is your birthday. It is a great, great day. -Nolan"

New Drinking Fountain

We have officially removed the hazardous pipe that Ez got stuck in earlier this week. I came home from youth conference to find that Justin had completed the new drinking fountain. This will be so handy when we're out in the yard. No more tromping in the house for a water break. Justin had a hard time choosing the color of spray paint. I laughed when he told me that he called my mom to get her opinion. The boys are so thrilled with it, too. And it turns out that there's a built-in "stool" for Ez to get drinks as long as Nolan will turn the spigot for him.

I wasn't as excited about attending youth conference this year because it was just our ward and I knew we'd actually have to put forth more work once we got up there, as opposed to when we attended at Snow College last year. It was held at the Heber Girl's Camp, in their convenient cabins. We did have a great time though. The youth in our ward are lots of fun, and so are the other leaders that attended. We really enjoyed planting flowers and hauling dirt at the temple, doing the ropes course and riding the zip line, and playing lots of games. It was nice that Justin was able to stay home with the boys. They had a good time except that Ezra had a stomach bug one night that he had caught from Nolan. Justin said he was up almost every hour. Um, yeah... I'm really glad I went to youth conference after all! Thanks for taking good care of them, honey! It's always good to get home and love on these boys.

Basement Update: My Dad finished everything up to the point of drywall. We hired the rest and now the mud and tape is finished! We've got the paint ready and we're choosing the carpet this week. It's getting very exciting around here. And very disorganized since we've moved everything from downstairs into one crammed storage room or our master bedroom.