Happy Birthday Jared!

We celebrated Jared's birthday over a week ago but we've been gone and things have been crazy, so I'm catching up. All of you who know me know how much I love this guy; he's such an awesome dad and he's so good to me. He takes such great care of our little family and I just love him to pieces.
So here's how the day went:
8:00 AM: Breakfast in bed and gifts.
I took the kids out and we all went shopping; I found some cool stuff for Jared at the mall and Jordan went "shopping" in our garage. He found some cool stuff like golf balls, tees, golves, etc. and he was so excited to wrap up his findings and wait for the big day to give his dad his present.

9:00 AM: I set up a tee-time for Jared and one of his best friends, Dan Kooyman up at the Mtn. Course @ Wasatch (his favorite place to play). He didn't know he would be playing golf so he was all grins when I told him Danny was on his way to pick him up. I had the entire day to finish my to-do list (pick up balloons, cake, etc. for later). Jordan was my little helper and was so proud that he was helping make dad's day special.

3:30 PM: Kids, Pizza, Movie on - check. Babysitter - check. Change of clothes in car - check. Birthday boy home with smile on face - check. Off on the road, just me and my honey off to our next stop: Sego Lily Day spa.
After we had a couples massage and a warm bubble bath we got showered up and ready to go to dinner. We had some time to kill so we just sat by the fire and talked and enjoyed the ambiance.


7:00 PM: on the road. I told Jared we had dinner reservations but I didn't tell him where. We kept circling South Towne mall and I think he knew something was up, but was kind enough to play along...
7:30: We ended up @ McGrath's and we had a room full of some of our closest family and friends. It was so fun and it meant the world to Jared to see everyone there. Happy Birthday babe - you are so loved!!





Birthday Party Part II
So I tried to make this one a surprise but I had to fill him in so he could take care of his to-do's; we left early the next morning to go to St. George and Las Vegas for the week.
We love St. George; the weather is always so nice and we love to go on long walks, play at the parks, swim, golf, etc.




Jared and Jordan at Sunbrook: Jared took Jordan golfing for the first time and it was the cutest thing. Jared's been telling him for months now, "when you're a big boy I'm going to take you golfing with me" and he finally had his moment. Jordan felt like he was the biggest kid on earth. He even hit a few good shots and learned some golf etiquette since he was on a real course. I told Jared that in a few more years he'll have his own 4-some; dad and his 3 boys!




We took the kids to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and then went to the Pizza Factory:


Uncle Layne and Aunt Diane were in town so we got to see them one night for dinner:

We spent the day swimming, had naps, and then went to dinner:










And then we were off to Las Vegas for a few days. Jordan was convinced that we were at another Disneyland because he saw the Exalibur Hotel and he remembers staying there once... somehow that got linked up in his head that the castle hotel was in Disneyland. Hmmm... Vegas - not quite Disneyland!
We walked the strip and had dinner at Hawaiian Tropic Zone by the Miracle Mile Shops:



We went swimming at the pool; the kids loved the lazy river:



We went to Ceasar's Palace and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. All three kids fell asleep during dinner, so we successfully wore these boys out. We piled all three kids in the double stroller and walked back to our hotel.





The next day was our day to head on home; Jordan had one special request: he wanted to go to the M&M store and buy some candy. So that's what we did. And that was the end of the trip.

Sand Dunes, and Zoo (X 2)

I have a quiet moment so I'm going to get these pictures posted and then I'm off to bed. My bed is definitely calling my name tonight; Tiffany can attest to how busy these little bodies can be. We chased our boys around at the Zoo today for a few hours (it was packed!) and we really didn't even make it very far. But it was so fun just being with Tiffany and catching up. I just love her to pieces... and her boys; love those boys!
Here's the two of us and our little crew of boys:

And last week Jared took Jordan to the Zoo. It was a fun day for Jordan; his preschool took a field trip to the Zoo and he was really excited to show his dad the blind cave fish and the bats. Here's Jordan and Max (one of his little friends from school):

Sand Dunes (sand dōōns) defined:
1. A hill or ridge of wind-blown sand.
2. A heavenly place for boys of all ages.
We took our three boys, a motorhome, dirt bike, 4-wheeler, and buckets of monster trucks and tonka trucks to the sand dunes last weekend and let me tell you, this is the place to be if you have little boys. Oh my, they could not get enough of this! The sand dunes really is a piece of heaven on earth and I think we'll be frequenting this spot quite a bit over the years. Here's some pictures of our boys:























My favorite part of the trip was watching movies in the space above the driver's seat; the spot that Jordan claims as his bed. Our whole family was cuddled up in blankets watching movies in that tiny little space and I thought to myself: it really doesn't get any better than this. I know these little boys are going to grow up so fast.... but right now I have my whole family cuddled up together, at the sand dunes, watching movies together. It was just a priceless moment for me.
OK, and I had to post a few pictures of my growing baby boy. Here's Cayden at 3.5 months; he's getting so big!