Spring Fun

No More Training Wheels!!!

Tressa had been asking for months if we would let her try riding her bike without the training wheels. We kept telling her she was just a little too young and that we didn't think she was ready (plus we just never felt like we had the time or energy to work with her on it). One day I finally broke down and let her try. I spent maybe 15 minutes with her. We went around the neighborhood circle twice and I helped her balance. The next day she asked if she could go practice. I couldn't come at the time because I was changing Xander's diaper or something. A few minutes later she came in and said she could do it all by herself! I came out to watch and couldn't believe it! She basically taught herself how to do it in just two days...what a determined little girl. She was so proud of herself and she's been enjoying her new skill almost every day this spring/summer.

Drillers Baseball

The kids love going to baseball games. We finally took them to the new Drillers stadium and they had a blast!

It's such a nice stadium...even has a playground for the kids.

Xander loved crawling up and down the big grassy hill out past center field. It was nice soft grass like you find in Utah...not like the gross coarse stuff that's all over Oklahoma. Xander was in heaven...it was so cute watching him crawl and roll all over the place. He even made the jumbo tron a few times.

T-ball

Tressa and Corbin both played T-ball this Spring at the YMCA. They both really enjoyed it, especially Corbin.

Xander wanted in on the action too...

That boy loves playing ball. It was tough to keep him off the field.

Here are some pictures of big brother Corbin in action...

Corbin was one of the more aggressive kids on his team. He always wanted to be the one to field the ball...which got him into trouble a few times when his teammates didn't like fighting him for it!

He also loved "sliding" into almost every base. It was hilarious to watch!

Here are a few pictures of Tressa in action...

Tressa is athletic and she liked playing T-ball, but I'm not sure it's her calling in life. Her favorite part was getting to see her teammates and getting a treat at the end of each game!

Kites

Now that we have a little more outdoor space we get to do fun things that we couldn't do at home before...like fly kites. One day the kids found their kites in the garage and asked if they could go fly them. I wasn't sure how they'd do...(last year Corbin was terrified that the kite was going to blow him away or something)...but the weather was perfect for it and it turned out to be really fun. They could pretty much do it all by themselves and they were pretty excited about that.

Ducky Pond

We have a favorite little pond over by our old apartment where the kids love to feed the ducks. It had been a while since we'd been there and the kids were worried that the duckies were missing us and thought they'd probably be pretty hungry. So, we went back to visit.

The baby geese are their favorite...aren't they cute?!

Xander wanted to give it a try too. I thought this series of photos was pretty funny...

Xander was pretty enthusiastic about his bread throwing...

...the ducks were not so enthusiastic...I think they were a little scared of him.

He would have gone all the way into the water to catch them if I had let him! What a brave little guy.

Easter 2010

The kids got invited to an Easter Egg Hunt at Bishop Anderson's house this year. He has the perfect property for an egg hunt...large grassy areas, a big deck, a pond, a barn, even donkeys! The kids had a blast!

On Easter morning the kids got to find their baskets and play with their new toys (and eat lots of candy). They got a few outdoor toys and were thrilled that Mommy let them play outside for a few minutes in their pajamas!

Tressa had a cute idea later that morning to make Easter coloring sheets for the whole family to color. This is what she came up with...

...she was so proud of herself. It turned out to be really fun. The whole family colored their pictures and hung them on the wall (which made Tressa feel extra special).

We had a pretty fun day just hanging out with the family. Here's Xander rolling around with his giant stuffed ducky. He's such a snuggly guy.

Later that evening we had dinner with some friends from the new ward, the Fields and the Wallaces. It was really nice to spend time with friends since we're too far away to be with family. They are awesome people and the kids all got along so well. We had a great time. We even tried out the egg cracking contest with the whole group. It was pretty fun...but not quite like home. The kids got into it a little more this year though. Corbin surprised me because he actually cried when his egg got broken...he's normally not so sensitive...it was pretty cute.

Here's me with Cali and Shana. The boys didn't want to be photographed, of coarse!

We did manage to get one family photo though, which is nice since usually one of us is behind the camera!

Tressa was super excited to make a new friend, Alyssa. They are the same age and will even be going to the same school next year!

Here are a few pictures of the kids in their adorable Easter outfits that Grandma Jennings sent. Can you believe she actually made Tressa's dress? It is so adorable...and all the little details are amazing! Thank you Mom...that was really special.

What a fun Easter...I love holidays.

Xander's First Birthday

I can't believe my sweet baby is already a year old! The time has passed so quickly with this one...it makes me a little sad. But at the same time it's so fun watching him grow up. I love seeing the wonder in his eyes when he discovers new things and watching him try new things. It's fun having other young children that get excited about his milestones too..."Look Mom! Xander is standing!!!"

We didn't do anything too over the top for his birthday, but we spent a lot of time together as a family that day. He was so happy and cute all day long, like he knew that day was all about him. We let him try ice cream for the first time...

... after a couple licks he grabbed the whole cone and went to town! I think he got Mamma's sweet tooth!

I wanted him to get plenty of play time, so we took him to the mall and let him crawl around on the playground. It wasn't very crowded that day so we were able to just let him roam around on his own. He was in heaven. He's still not very interested in trying to walk, but he has become a turbo crawler. He was crawling, rolling, climbing, sliding and giggling all over the playground.

Next he opened presents. He was really excited about the balloons and got pretty into ripping the wrapping paper. I don't remember the other kids being so into opening their presents at this age. I think he felt special getting so much attention. Tressa and Corbin were really cute about making it special for him too. They picked out gifts for him themselves and he had a ball with all his new toys.

Doesn't he look cute in the new hat Grandma Jennings sent?! He loves hats...but we normally can't keep them on him for very long. He thinks it's a pretty fun game to put it on and take it off, on, off, on, off...

Finally we sang to him and had some birthday cake. We got him his very own cake to demolish. Here's his first taste...

...mmm...sugar...

...good thing we stripped him down first!

It was so fun to watch him dig in like that! He's the first kid of ours to get so into it...I don't think Corbin and especially Tressa liked getting dirty at that age. What a goober. We love you little guy! Happy Birthday!