Memorial Day Part 2

Okay I think that I am done taking pictures for a while! Here is the rest from our trip! Enjoy!

Sunday we went to church and then we walked around the Oakland Temple. It is beautiful and it is up in the hill and looks out over the bay. So pretty!

Brayden ate dirt and Matthew played in the water... the normal.

Then Monday we went back into San Fran. We went on this old cargo boat from the late 1800's. It was fun and I got a little sick, I don't know if I will ever be able to go on a cruise!

No slacking on this boat boys! Get to work sweeping the floor, you gotta earn your keep around here.

More steering wheel pictures :o)

Eating at a seafood restaurant on Pier 39, yum!

Watching the seals at Pier 39. There were a couple seals playing king of the mountain, Brayden loved it. He was upset when we left.

Of course we rode a cable car!

We had a fun time. Thanks Devin and Missy for showing us around and letting us crash at your place! Now it is your turn to come and visit us!

Memorial Day Part 1

We had a wonderful time over Memorial Day Weekend! We went to visit Nate's brother and sister and their families who live in the bay area. The kids had a great time playing together. I took about 120 pictures in 4 days so I decided to split up our trip into 2 posts. (Don't worry I won't post all 120. I did have to bribe Matthew with candy to get him in so many pictures. It even got to the point that we would get back in the car and he would be saying, "Cheese, I need more candy now!" :o) Here are some pictures from the first 2 days. Enjoy!

On Friday we went to the beach and it was freezing. Missy and I stayed safely far away from the water. But the kids had fun running away from the waves.

Saturday it was cold and raining all morning but we still got out to see the sights. Matthew was so excited to see this cool bridge and didn't quite understand why we just kept looking at it instead of driving over it.

Right up by the over look for the Golden Gate bridge is an old (really old like late 1800's) military bunker. The kids had a great time running around and pretending they were locked up.

I am such a tourist but I couldn't help myself. Here is a picture of us actually driving over the Golden Gate bridge!

We ate lunch at a park. Matthew ate about 2 bites of his sandwich and then decided that it was his duty to keep all of the birds far away from our picnic tables, of course all of the kids joined in. Matthew's other favorite game is "steamroller" (thanks Dad for teaching him that one) So he had to teach his cousin it. Good thing Hadley can hold her own!

The big race!

Then we were off to Muir Woods. "The best tree lover's monument" Nate felt right at home :)

Actually while we were there the kids were running around playing (finding sticks) and this man walked by and shushed us! I couldn't believe it! They really take their outdoors seriously in San Fran!

Brayden and his cousin Tanner are only about 1 month apart. They weren't really too sure about each other but maybe one day they will be friends!

Just beware of the bears!

By the end of the day it was nice and beautiful and not raining!

Packing

This morning I was packing for our trip to SFO for the weekend. And this is what Matthew packed in his suitcase:











What more could you want? Socks and your teddy bear!






Brayden trapped again. It is a tough life!

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam

Since January I have been teaching the Sunbeams. To be honest when they first called me I thought, "What have I done to deserve this?" But most Sundays it is pretty fun and I love the things that come out of little kid's mouths. It can be quite entertaining! So here is a conversation that happened between me and a little boy in my class a few weeks ago:

Me:(the lesson was on families) What are some nice things that your family does for you?

Little boy: My dad goes to work! (he says these things while jumping up and down raising his hand b/c for a 3 yr old this is the most effective way to get your point across)

Me: That is nice. Does he do that to make money for your family?

Little boy: Yeah. And my mom, she just goes downstairs and eats and eats!

Me: Oh really? I am sure your mom will be glad to know that is what you think she does all day.

Then today I was helping a little girl say the closing prayer and I see this same little boy sneak over and start shoving all of this little girl's cereal (our snack for today) in his mouth. So I whisper, "Evan stop" and he looks at me and smiles and starts shoving faster!
(Just a side note also during the prayer we hear a car alarm go off so of course all of the kids rush to the window to see what is going on. Come to find out later that Brayden found the bishop's keys, Nate teaches the priests in the bishop's office, and pushed the panic button...little trouble maker!)

Anyway, each week is an adventure at church!

Zion NP

Zion National Park

Last Thursday we decided that we would go to Zion National Park, since our national parks pass expires the end of this month. So Friday afternoon we packed up the car and drove to St. George and stayed in a hotel. Then Sat morning we drove to the park. It was so beautiful! And we had a great time. The boys did wonderful. We went on a little hike... 2 1/2 miles to some waterfalls and pools. 2 1/2 miles doesn't sound very long until you are carrying a kid uphill (ok so Nate carried both the boys and I just carried the backback with snacks and water. I started calling Nate a pack mule and he didn't think that it was very funny but I enjoyed myself). Matthew got soaking wet and of course I didn't throw in an extra pair of pants for him even though Nate told me that I should. I guess my life would be easier if I would just listen to my husband. :) Also, as we were getting ready to get on the bus to go into the park, we were at the vistor center and I was having Matthew use the bathroom and he decided that he was done and hopped off but he didn't realize that it was so far down. He lost his balance and face planted on the cement floor. Poor kid he scrached up 3 of his fingers and we had to head back to the car for the 1st aid kit. For the rest of the trip he refered to his fingers as the "potty owies" Yeah, as if we needed another reason for him not to like the potty. I am beginning to think that it will just never happen. But once we got past the visitor center parking lot and into the park it was a lot of fun. And since it is only 2 1/2 hours from our house I have a feeling that we will be going back! I was sad to think that we might not get a national parks pass again but things are looking up as there are 5 national parks in Southern Utah! Anyone interested in going? Just let us know and we will meet you there!

Doctors, Duck Ponds, and Cigarette Butts

Today was a long interesting day. We had doctor's appointments this morning at 8:45. I don't know what possesed me to schedule them that early, especially since we had never been there before and had to fill out loads of paperwork. And on the way there I turned the wrong way and got a little lost so I was 15 min late. The lady at the front desk when I walked in took my name and then looked at her watch and sighed. It was a good start. So as I was filling out paperwork that seems to ask you the same questions over and over, I mean really how many times do I have to tell you my kid's birthday? Anyway, Brayden was making friends ok not really he was bugging everyone. He took some kid's toy and then tried to take some lady's cell phone and he tried to finely shred all of the paperwork I was filling out. So we go back with the nurse and get the boys weighed and measured. Matthew weighs 36 pounds and Brayden weighs 21 pounds. No wonder my legs burn and feel like they are going to fall off when I take the boys for a bike ride! Then we go in to wait for the doctor, Brayden goes right to the trash can and starts beating on it and Matthew trys to pull off all of the paper they have on the table. The doctor came and he is really nice. He told me that Matthew is a beast as he is in the 90% for weight and height and I just looked at him like "Hello I know, I am the one who has to drag him up stairs for a bath every night" Oh and he did tell me that because it is so dry here that we should try to not bathe our kids every night and I laughed and said, "They are boys and we have a sandbox I am not sure that will happen!" We also had 5 shots. One for Matthew and 4 for Brayden. Matthew was a champ. It didn't even phase him a bit and he thought that it was cool that he got a bandaid. Brayden screamed bloody murder and kicked the tray full of needles off the table. He was so mad. Matthew kept telling him "It's okay Brayden, you all right" :) So as we were leaving I had to fill out more paperwork for Brayden and the receptionist told me to just sit down behind the counter and fill it out. Bad idea, Brayden found the drawer were they keep the co-pay money and was trying to pull out the papers then he moved on the the printer trying to push all of the buttons. Matthew ate about 3 suckers while we were waiting. I am sure they were glad to have us outta there!
Then we ran to the store and then to the park to feed the ducks with some friends. It was a fun day but I think tomorrow we are going to stay home and take it easy.



Here is Matthew and his friend Quarter (Porter) feeding the ducks. It was quite the drop off into the pond. It made me so nervous. I was sure Matthew was going to fall in. Brayden stayed safely in the stroller the whole time and ate lunch.

We also played on the swings! Lots of fun! Brayden also kept finding cigarette butts everywhere and he kept putting them in his mouth. So gross! You would think with the nasty taste he would spit them out but nope, I had to pry one of them out of his mouth. I really hope that he gets over this putting everything in his mouth really soon! Mommy's nerves can't handle it much longer!

To end our day we took a nice bubble bath (against doctor's orders).

Outside

I was cleaning the kitchen one morning, and it got really quiet (never a good sign). So I went looking for Brayden to find him outside in the bin of toys. Playing and content as ever! He is becoming our little climber and he has no fear...a bad combo!