Briggs Family

Spring Fun

2010-07-20T15:56:00.008-05:00

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

2010-07-04T08:36:00.006-05:00

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

2010-05-02T17:41:00.007-05:00

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!

Tresssa's latest masterpiece...

2010-05-02T17:34:00.004-05:00

...at least it was washable marker. She is quite the little artist. Still can't believe Corbin let her do that to him though! What a good sport.

Catch Up Post - February 2010

2010-04-18T14:24:00.007-05:00

We had several "firsts" this February.

CORBIN'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

Corbin had his first day of preschool at Miss Kendyle's house. Kendyle is a lady in our ward who runs a preschool out of her home. She has turned one of the rooms in her house into a really cute classroom with lots of toys and activity centers for the kids. Several of the other kids in our ward go there too. I wasn't sure how Corbin would do, but he absolutely loves it! You can just tell from these pictures that he's pretty proud of himself. What a big boy!

He is such a likeable boy. Miss Kendyle says that all the other children fight over who gets to sit by Corbin or play with Corbin. Good thing he's had lots of practice with sharing and taking turns!

TRESSA LOST HER FIRST TOOTH! (no...she really DID loose it)

Tressa first told me about her wiggly tooth when we were in Utah visiting our family. At the time I thought she was making it up because she saw that her cousin Rachel had lost 7 teeth already. Finally one day I checked it out and found that it really was quite loose! Then one day she came home from school with a huge smile on her face and one of those little treasure chests with her tooth in it. She was so excited about it! She kept opening up the little box to show us again and again. Unfortunately, one of the times she opened it to show Corbin was in the car...we hit a bump and the tooth went flying. We never did find it. She was SO heartbroken. I explained that the tooth fairy would still know she lost a tooth because she'd be able to see the whole in her smile. We put her tooth fairy doll and the empty treasure chest under her pillow that night and it all worked out just fine. Tressa couldn't believe the tooth fairy brought her 3 whole dollars!

TRESSA HAD HER FIRST SOLO DANCE PERFORMANCE

Tressa's dance teacher has really taken an interest in her and has been providing private lessons for Tressa at no extra charge for months now. She thinks that Tressa is very naturally talented. I'm just glad she enjoys it so much. Here are some pictures and a video clip of her performance. I was so proud of her remembering all the steps without any help.

DADDY DAUGHTER DANCE

Okay, this one isn't a first, but it was still worth posting about. I let Tressa pick out a special dress for her date with Daddy. She chose one that came with a matching dress for her baby doll...so cute! We did her hair all fancy and she totally felt like a princess. It sounds like they had a blast. She came home with a corsage, her face painted, and a bracelet she had made. She couldn't stop talking about her special date with Daddy. I'm so glad they were able to spend some quality time together.

Catch Up Post - January 2010

2010-03-31T19:44:00.019-05:00

Aren't you all impressed? After this post I'll only be 2 months behind! We had kind of a lot going on during the month of January so be prepared for a marathon post.

XANDER'S FIRST HAIRCUT

Upon arriving in Utah for my brother's wedding it occurred to me that Xander was looking a little scruffy with his crazy long hair that likes to stick straight out the sides. I decided we should get it cut so that he'd be cute in all the wedding pictures. My sister knew about a really fun place in Draper called Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids. It was such a cute place all decorated in bright colors with fun things like cars for the kids to sit on and even a little indoor playground to entertain them while they wait for their haircut.

Here's the 'before' picture...

during (did not like those clippers much)....

the balloon made things all better...

and finally, the handsome 'after' picture...

I'm proud of you buddy! You survived you first haircut! He even got a cute little certificate with his picture on it. We tried to make it fun for him but I think he was probably hoping we wouldn't have to do this again anytime soon!

At least he'll be handsome for the wedding pictures!

THE WEDDING

Unfortunately I didn't get very many good pictures from the wedding, but Tony promised to send me some soon so maybe I can do a re-post later on. Here are a few of the half decent ones we got with our camera.

Here's the whole wedding party on the steps at the temple.

Here's a candid shot of Tony and April that I thought was pretty sweet. They are such a beautiful couple and I think they have a really loving relationship.

Here's the happy couple at the family dinner (held at the Joseph Smith Memorial building).

Here are the kids in their matching outfits. Grandma Jennings was thoughtful enough to buy these cute little outfits in the wedding colors for all the grandkids so they would feel included.

It's been a while since I've posted a decent photo of me and Jason...one of us is always on the other side of the camera it seems!

Here's me and my little bro... who's not so little anymore. Tony, I'm so happy for you and April and for the life you are starting together. I'm proud of you for being so accomplished and successful for your age and for never losing your charming sense of humor.

Me and the Xand man...those cheeks are just so kissable.

Cousins and best buddies, Rachel and Tressa.

brothers

We are so happy to have April in our family and we felt so blessed to be able to make it to the wedding and share that special time with them. We wish you both the best!

FAMILY TIME

Before and after the wedding we got lots of good quality time with both sides of the family. Here's a cute picture of all the Jennings grandkids (sitting in order by age) taken at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I can't believe we got them all to look at the same time! So cute. My kids sure had a fun time hanging out with all their cousins. It makes us want to live closer!

Here's Corbin with his cousin and new friend, Zeke. This is our first visit where Zeke was big enough to play with Corbin. It was fun for him to have another boy to play with (he's used to playing with sissy). They loved playing with Tony's trains together. What cute little buddies.

I really like this picture of Rachel all snuggled up with her new cat. If you look really close you can see that Rachel is wiggling her loose tooth with her tongue. She cracks me up. Rachel and Tressa spent quite a bit of time playing together with the cat. Unfortunately I think it may have involved repeatedly throwing it off of Rachel's bunk bed, but I can't be sure since they closed the door and wouldn't let anyone in.Speaking of animals, Xander got his first exposure to Grandma Briggs' pugs, Maxx and Sadie. I was nervous about taking him over there because they can get a little wild and I thought he would be terrified. Tressa and Corbin are even still nervous around them sometimes. Sure enough he started fussing immediately when he saw the dogs, but then we noticed he was reaching down and trying to jump out of my arms. Apparently he was fussing because he wanted to touch them...he wasn't the least bit frightened. Here he is petting Sadie. He loves dogs and ever since he met Grandma's babies he makes this funny little panting/barking noise whenever he sees one. It's so funny.

Here's a cute picture of the Briggs grandkids piled on Uncle Jordan's lap. I was so glad we were able to get them all together during our visit. Even though there's quite an age difference, Becky and Brandon have always been so fun for my kids to hang out with. They are such sweet kids.

We also got to meet Jordan's girlfriend, Kelsey on this trip. She seems like a really good match for Jordan. She was really fun to hang out with and so sweet with our kids...she personally protected Corbin from the scary Chuck E Cheese robots (he was terrified of them!) Here they are winning a bunch of tickets for the kids.

Tressa was pretty excited about winning a few tickets of her own (with Grandma's help).

Even Xander got in on the action this time. he loved driving this little car.

One thing we really wanted to do before going back to Oklahoma was take a drive up the canyon to show the kids what mountains and real snow look like. They spotted the mountains from the airplane and kept pointing them out when we were out driving around. It's one thing Jason and I really miss about Utah. Here are a few pictures we took up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Isn't it beautiful?

All in all it was a wonderful trip. Not only did we get to spend some good quality time with the family, but we also got a much needed break from the stress of everyday life. Writing all this makes me want to go back again already...or hey, how about permanently! Even though we have lots of friends here and have enjoyed our time in Tulsa, I miss my family so much and there are a lot of things I miss about Utah too.

CORBIN'S FIRST BIG BOY BIKE

Switching gears now (no pun intended)...Corbin has been too big for his tricycle for some time now. We've been holding off giving him a two wheeler because it was the only thing we could use to bribe him to sleep good at night. Well, he finally filled up his chart and earned his bike so here it is! He was SO thrilled. He jumped right on and took off. That kid has no fear...he is all boy.

I can't wait for the weather to warm up a little so that the kids can take advantage of the quiet culdesac we live on and ride those bikes to their hearts content!

XANDER UPDATE

Every little kid has to endure the embarrassing bathtub photo that Mom couldn't resist putting in the family photo album right? Here's yours little guy. Xander loves taking baths now that he can sit up and move around really well. He loves to splash around and play with all his bath toys, especially a little basketball hoop we got him recently. I'm pretty sure ball was his first word too...anyway it's his favorite word these days. I think he's gonna be a lot like his brother...totally into cars, trains and balls.

Catch Up Post - November & December 2009

2010-03-25T15:41:00.011-05:00

So here's part 2 of my catch up posts. November and December were pretty busy months for us.

THE MOVE

We found a little house just a few miles from our apartment that we decided to move in to at the beginning of November. Over all I think the move has been worth it...now the kids have some safe outdoor space to play and we don't have to deal with noisy neighbors and such...but boy is moving a pain! I still have boxes in the garage that I have not even gone through and I haven't hung any pictures yet...sad isn't it!? I don't know what we would have done without the help of some of Jason's co-workers and students from the flight school. Here's a picture of some of them hanging out in the moving truck. It was funny because Tressa and Corbin just climbed up there and joined them. I had to get a picture. We also would not have survived the move without my Mom who flew out to help us. She single handedly packed and unpacked the kitchen and the kids rooms which made the transition SO much easier on our whole family. It was especially nice for the kids to be able to walk into their new house with their rooms all set up so they felt like they were home. We also had lots of help from friends with watching the kids during the week of the move so that I could pack and clean. Thanks everybody!

Speaking of friends...

FRIENDS

Shortly after the move we had a little get together to say goodbye to the Carney's (who moved out of state around the same time). It was good timing because we got to have one last hang out before our move too. It's silly that we only moved a few miles away and now we don't see everyone nearly as often, but we are in a different ward and stake now so we don't get to see them at church functions anymore. I've had a few nights out with the girls since then, but we are definitely due for another group hang out. We are so blessed to have had such a great group of friends here in Tulsa. It has made being away from family a little easier. We miss you all!

the guys...
the girls...

me and Lacey...

I totally miss this girl! We lived in the same apartment complex for a while and had lots of fun hanging out together. She was such a good friend...always offering to do things for me (everything from watching kids to coloring my hair to taking pictures of the kids) and SO much fun to just chill with. Our kids were pretty good buddies too so we had lots fun play dates. Miss you guys...hope you are doing well!

FAMILY TIME

It had been a while since we went flying and Xander had never been, so Jason took our family to Ponca City one day in November. There's a fun little Mexican restaurant at the airport there so we just flew out for dinner and then flew back. The kids had a blast. They love sitting up front with Daddy and getting their turn to fly the plane. Xander did really well for his first flight too. He enjoyed watching the take off and landing and he pretty much slept through the rest.

Corbin, pilot in command

Jason is always happy when he's in the air...maybe not so happy that I was trying to take pictures of him while he was prepping the plane though. :)

TRESSA'S 5th BIRTHDAY!

Can't believe my baby girl is 5! She had school on her birthday so I brought a cake to share with her class. She LOVES school and is friends with all her little classmates, so that was really fun for her.

Later that day we opened presents and went out to eat. It was kind of a low key birthday this year since she had a big friend party last year, but she got to do some of her favorite things...school, ballet, eating out, and spending time with the family. You could tell she felt really special and grown up on her day. She is such a joy to have in our family and we love her to pieces. Happy birthday Tressa!

CHRISTMAS

It was kind of weird being away from family this year for Christmas, but having a nice quiet day all to ourselves turned out to be pretty great. It was nice to not have to go anywhere or be in a rush. We let the kids open their presents at their own pace and stop to play with stuff if they wanted to. We didn't even get dressed until much later in the day when they wanted to go out and play in the snow. Can't believe we actually had a white Christmas! That was so much fun for the kids.

Here's a picture of the kids next to the trees that they decorated all by themselves.

We went and saw the lights at REMA again this year...it's become sort of a tradition for us. All three kids really enjoyed it.

Here are some pictures from Christmas morning:

"I can have chocolate before breakfast?! I LOVE CHRISTMAS!"

Corbin can't get enough of anything that has to do with cars. He was thrilled with all his new toys and literally spent all day engrossed in play.

Xander got pretty excited too. He was way more into opening presents than I remember the other kids being at this age. He helped rip the paper off and got really excited about everything he opened. It was so cute!

The big gift for the kids this year was a play set for the yard, but we weren't able to set it up because of the weather. I'm sure they will get plenty of use out of it when it warms up...they were super excited about it.

Jason was pretty excited about his new toy too! His parents surprised us with a Wii.

Group hug with Mommy...sweetest kids ever!

The kids had a blast "shoveling" the snow and building snow men and a snow car (Corbin's request) later that day.

We missed our extended family this Christmas, but we had some great quality time with the kids. We couldn't have asked for anything more!

Catch Up Post - September & October 2009

2010-03-25T09:52:00.010-05:00

Okay, so it's now been almost 7 months since I've posted something on the blog...pretty much since I started working overnight at Target. What can I say, it has been a little busy around here. All of my free time is spent sleeping these days! Grandma and Grandpa have really been wanting some pictures though and I've been wanting too get caught up on the blog too. So, here's a quick recap of September and October.

SOCCER

This season was really fun for Tressa and Corbin because they were able to play on the same team. Tressa was still 4 at the time and Corbin had just barely turned 3 so they were able to play on the 3 & 4 year old team together. It was pretty cute watching them buddy up as teammates.

Tressa showed quite a bit of improvement over last year. She was still a little timid and didn't want to get bumped around by the other kids, but she held her own and even scored a couple goals this season. Go Tressa!
This was Corbin's first season. I knew he was athletically coordinated enough to play, but I wasn't sure how he'd do with following rules and taking direction from the coach. He actually kind of surprised me. He absolutely loved soccer and he did really well listening to the coach and staying focused. There was one funny incident that I witnessed during a game though that I just have to share. The coach had the whole team sitting on the sideline and was going into a lot of detail about some play he wanted them to try..."you go up the middle, then kick it over to so-and-so on the side, then they will dribble up the field and pass it back to so-and-so..." They were nodding their heads like they were getting all this even though I knew they were just going to go out there and chase the ball in one big clump. Just then Corbin looked up at the coach, held out his fingers and said "I'm three." As if to say, "what do you expect buddy? we're only three years old!" It was so cute! I just giggled.
Little Xander thoroughly enjoyed hanging out on the sidelines with Mom and Dad. He's the first baby I've had that likes sitting in the grass. He would sit there plucking out blades nearly the entire game (when daddy wasn't tossing him in the air that is).

HALLOWEEN

I was pretty lame about keeping up our traditions this year...I was just too exhausted. I didn't let them choose what they wanted to be this year (we just went with what we already had) and we didn't even carve pumpkins this year. What a bad mother I am! But we did manage to take them to a couple of the pumpkin patches in town and we took them trick or treating at the mall. They had fun and I don't think they really even noticed the stuff we didn't get around to.

All ready to go trick or treating! Tressa is dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Corbin is Spiderman...which he knows is a super hero that all the other boys like but he has never actually seen the cartoons or movies. Xander was cute as can be dressed as a tiger.
Corbin thought those fake muscles actually made him stronger...he even (no joke) tried to lift our car. Wrong super hero buddy! He sure loved hauling things around in this little wagon though. He's such a boy.

Tressa was thrilled to get to ride the ponies this year. I think she shares her Mom's love for horses.Isn't he adorable?! He's so easy going...he just sat there letting me snap a million photos. "Hmmm...I'll just play with these little pieces of hay while Mommy keeps making funny noises and pointing that thing at me." Could NOT get a smile...but this one turned out pretty cute. I love his pretty blue eyes. Someone was kind enough to take a picture of our whole family...and it actually turned out pretty good!

I just love fall! Those were some really fun months for our family.

Teeth, Tongue & Toes

2009-08-23T15:12:00.006-05:00

Xander sure has been a busy guy lately!

He got his first two teeth,

discovered his tongue,

and loves trying to grab those toes!

Oh, and we also gave him his first taste of baby cereal this week.

He looks a little confused!

What a cutie pie!

Tressa's First Day of PreK

2009-08-23T14:50:00.004-05:00

It's that time of year again...it seemed to come so quickly this year. Where did our summer go? Tressa started PreK at her new school last week and is loving it so far.

For being such a Mama's girl as a baby Tressa has come a LONG way. She was totally excited about going and didn't flinch at all at the fact that I was leaving her in an unfamiliar place with people she didn't know. What a big girl. I am so proud of her.

She was excited to find out that four of her friends are in PreK at her school this year. Unfortunately none of them are in her class, but she does get to see them a few times throughout the day at recess and she's already been telling me about her friends in her new class. (She calls all of them friends, even if she doesn't know them yet..."And there's one friend with long curly hair that was wearing a blue shirt....") When I asked her how the first day went she said "It was pretty good, but they didn't teach me how to read." She has high expectations! Love you Tress, you are a cutie!

Corbin's 3rd Birthday

2009-08-23T14:31:00.006-05:00

I can't believe my little guy is already 3! He is growing up so fast. After we dropped Tressa off at school on Monday I told him it was his special day and he could choose what he wanted to do. To start things off he wanted to go get a donut for breakfast. He chose this football one. After he was all done he practiced holding up three sticky fingers instead of just two. He was really proud of himself all day for being so big. It was so cute.

After donuts we went to the store to get some party supplies and to pick up his cake. This is the one he chose...race cars, big surprise!

That afternoon we met some friends at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. It's one of his favorite places in the world right now. All the kids had a blast playing games, eating cake and just being goofy!

After the party we went home and Corbin opened all his presents. He was pretty good at ripping the paper off by himself this year. He got some awesome toys and was really excited about everything.

Probably the funnest thing about his birthday was the day after when I spent the entire day playing all his new toys with him. He was in heaven. I love you bud!

New Family Photos

2009-08-16T14:24:00.006-05:00

I've been feeling really guilty about not doing this sooner. Xander is 5 months old now and we just barely got updated family pictures done. My friend Lacey took the pictures for us and did an incredible job. The whole photo shoot went pretty well...mainly because my kids like her so much that they'll do whatever she tells them too! If only they'd listen to me like that! Actually I probably shouldn't complain too much - they really are good kids. And don't they look adorable in their matching outfits?

Goodbye July!

2009-07-31T11:55:00.013-05:00

I can't believe the whole month went by without me taking the time to post something! I guess everything just gets a little off schedule in the summertime. We've been busy doing all our favorite summer activities this month. We've been hanging out at the park, riding bikes, swimming, and we even took the kids to their first water park. I didn't get any pictures because we were too busy having fun...and I was too wet to hold a camera! But we did get a few pictures of the kids at the pool. This was Xander's first swim.

Tressa has come a long way this year with her swimming skills. She's not afraid to go under anymore! She can swim without a floaty, but she still prefers to have one for security.

"Watch me, Mommy! I can jump in all by myself!!"

Corbin's a pretty good swimmer to, but definitely not comfortable on his own yet. He prefers splashing around the shallow water and spraying everyone with his water squirter to actually swimming in the pool. But if he can rope someone into catching him in the water he'll jump in over and over and over...seriously, he never gets tired of it.

We also had a fun 4th of July celebration which started out with a Drillers baseball game. The kids wore the matching patriotic T-shirts that Grandma Jennings sent.

We splurged and paid a couple bucks for them to play on the jupiter jump at the game.

It was pretty hot and Corbin was a little sweat ball afterward.

The kids even got to meet the mascot that night...well sort of. This is as close as I could get Tressa to stand to him for a picture. She is putting on her brave face. Corbin was hiding behind me.

There were fireworks after the game and all three kids really liked them this year. I thought Xander might be frightened by the noise, but he was giggling through most of the show! Tressa and Corbin loved it too.

On the actual holiday we went to the Haynie's house for a barbecue. They were so nice to have everyone over. Here's a picture of our whole family in our red, white and blue.

Corbin and Tressa had a blast playing in the back yard and Jason and I enjoyed having some down time and just hanging out with everyone. It was a really fun day.

We also had a fun visit from Grandma Jennings this month. We just love it when she comes because she takes such good care of us! Jason and I went on two dates while she was here and she took me on a shopping spree at Kohl's and Children's Orchard. I love shopping with my Mom because we shop the same way. I guess Jason knows who to blame now for my shopping style...never been one of those people that can be in and out in 5 minutes.

The kids loved spending time with Grandma too. They make up for lost time by demanding her attention 100% of the time that she's visiting. She is very patient with them and so loving. She makes them each feel so special.

Xander turned 4 months old this month and also broke his first tooth. He's about to get another one and has been slobbering and chewing on things like crazy.

This second tooth has been a little harder on him for so me reason. He's had a fever and has not been his usual happy self. Here's what Tressa and Corbin have been doing (among other things) to help him feel better. So sweet!

Branson Trip with Briggs Grandparents

2009-06-28T16:16:00.012-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa Briggs came to visit a couple weeks ago. It was a special visit this time because we decided to make a mini vacation out of it by spending the weekend together in Branson, MO. Jason and I took Tressa and Corbin there 2 years ago and had a really fun time, but Corbin was too young to participate very much and he doesn't remember it. We also thought it would be fun for Jason's parents to see more of Oklahoma (and Missouri). There's so much to do in Branson so we knew it would be a hit with everyone.

On the way there we stopped for lunch in Venita, Oklahoma. There's a famous McDonald's there with a dining room that is literally on top of the freeway. The kids (especially Corbin) got a kick out of watching all the different cars and trucks go under them.

There's a Blue Bell store there too, so we ended up stopping on the way home for ice cream. Yum!

Grandma made the hotel arrangements and got us a large family suite so that we could all be together. There's something so exciting about staying in a hotel for kids. When we first got there the kids were running around like crazy and trying out everything. They were really excited about the prospect of getting to share a bed "like a sleepover!" Given the sleep problems Corbin has sometimes even at home I was a little worried at how they'd do sleeping together in an unfamiliar place. It actually worked out really well though - we wore them out so much during the day that they were too exhausted not to sleep. They shared the pull out sofa and loved it! Thank goodness they are lightweight enough to not feel those bars in their neck and back. I laid on it for 10 minutes to read them a story and already had a headache and a backache...it was a really thin mattress. Didn't seem to bother them!

We spent most of our time during the next two days at Silver Dollar City which is a western themed amusement park. Of course the first thing the kids wanted to do was the rides. It was fun that they were big enough to go on some of them with us and on the kiddie ones by themselves. Tressa was pretty proud of herself for being so big...especially when it meant she could go on something that Corbin couldn't. Corbin wasn't so sure about the rides at first, but he warmed up to them and had a great time too.

Since we had enough adults to take turns with the kids we got to do some of the roller coasters too. This one that Jason and the kids are standing by goes upside down 5 times. I forgot how much fun they are!

The kids also enjoyed the old west area of the park where they got to feed goats, play in an old school house, explore a log cabin, and take a train ride.

Then we headed over to the giant playground where the kids could shoot foam balls at different targets and play on a giant splash pad. Once we were all wet anyway we went on a couple river rides...think water slide...in regular clothes. Good thing we brought extra clothes because we got drenched!

We enjoyed some really good BBQ food, skillet meals, funnel cakes, frozen lemonade, fresh fruit and kettle corn while at the park. Grandma said she got a few laughs and funny looks when she was pushing the stroller back from kettle corn stand. I guess people thought that was an awfully big bag for one little boy. Hee hee! Don't worry folks, he shared with the rest of us!

Grandma bought Tressa and Corbin each a souvenir too. Tressa got a fancy umbrella with her name on it and Corbin got a little baseball bat. They love them.

Of coarse, not everything was perfect about the trip, but I have to mention these things anyway because it will be funny to look back on. We had a couple of near meltdowns with Corbin on the first day at Silver Dollar City. He was hot and tired and he kept asking me to carry him. I knew there was no way I could carry him around the park all day, so I tried getting him to take a turn in the stroller or let Grandpa or Daddy put him on their shoulders. He refused to do any of those things for very long and I did have to give in a couple times and carry him. So on the second day Grandma suggested that we rent a double stroller for Corbin and Tressa to share. I wasn't sure if we should bother since Corbin refused to ride in our stroller the day before anyway, but I'm so glad she went ahead and got it because the kids LOVED it. Apparently this kind of stroller is way funner than our regular stroller. They were all smiles and giggles.

It was funny how many times people smiled at them and asked me if they were twins. I guess they look about the same size when they're sitting down. It made for a good napping spot too!

Another unexpected glitch was the Veggie Tales show. Last time we went to Silver Dollar City we went to a few of the shows to get out of the heat. They were really pretty entertaining and the kids seemed to enjoy them. But Corbin was terrified of the Veggie Tales show this year. It was crazy! Jason had to take him out because we couldn't settle him down. It's funny the phases kids go through, but I guess I can kind of understand how a giant singing tomato could be a little scary for a 2 year old!

At the end of each day the kids still somehow had energy for swimming at the hotel...in fact they wouldn't take no for an answer. They didn't care if it was getting dark and the water was cold!

All in all it was a really fun trip...and so nice to spend time with Jason's parents. They totally spoiled us!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We love you!

June is flying by...

2009-06-21T16:54:00.014-05:00

So much has been going on these last few weeks that I haven't had a moment to blog about it! We had a fun trip to Branson with Jason's parents last weekend and I'll do a separate post about that soon. But here are some photos from the first two weeks of June so you can see what we've been up to.

We took the kids to a Driller's baseball game....it was Xander's first time!

He did pretty well for a few innings, but then I think he got a little overwhelmed with all the noise. I seem to have a knack for sitting in front of the loudest person in the stadium for things like this! So, Xander and I spent about half of the time walking around outside while the kids enjoyed the game (and their snacks) with Jason. Jason and I joke around that the kids love watching baseball...until their snacks run out. It's partly true, but I think the kids really do enjoy the atmosphere and they were even cheering on the players (of both teams)!

Xander is 3 months now and growing so fast! Here's a cute picture of him in his sailor outfit that I took a couple weeks ago. His expression looks like 'what are you making me wear Mom!?' but I think he might have just been flinching from the flash.

He is such a blessing and we love him so much. Who wouldn't want to wake up to this sweet face?!

It continues to amaze me how sweet Tressa and Corbin are with him. They ooh and aah over every little thing he does and they are so helpful at entertaining him. Here's Corbin holding "baby Hando." He even shared his Wubby with him... and that's a big deal!

Jason celebrated his 32nd birthday on the 6th. We had a really fun family day and Jason got to choose where to eat for lunch and dinner. We ended up going to Cici's and Buffalo Wild Wings. The kids get so excited about birthdays. Here they are eagerly looking over Jason's shoulder while he opened his presents.

We love taking walks on Sundays with the kids. We hadn't been out to the big pedestrian bridge that crosses the river in a while, so we decided to go out there a couple weeks ago. The kids are getting good enough on their bikes that we thought we'd let them ride across this time instead of walk. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast!

Don't mind the hair...it was a little windy! By the way I have since cut it all off! You'll see the new "do" in my Branson pics (coming soon).

Finally, the kids finished up their swimming lessons right before our trip. They both did really well and loved going to the pool every day. It got to be a little exhausting for me though, getting all three kids to the pool every morning by 9:30. Tressa's lesson was first and then I had to take Xander to the nursery so that I could get in the pool with Corbin for his lesson. It got a little old doing that for two weeks and I think Xander had pretty much had enough of the nursery too. But I'm really glad we did it so that the kids can enjoy the rest of the summer safely in the pool.

Tressa was definitely the most improved swimmer this year. On the first day she was scared to jump to her teacher, but by the end she was able to jump in by herself and swim half the length of the pool! I was so proud of her! Way to go Tressa! She was pretty proud of herself too and has been begging to go to the pool just about every day since.

Corbin was pretty fearless to begin with and probably the most advanced in his class (one of the oldest too...so that probably has something to do with it.) He is not swimming on his own yet, but is pretty comfortable in the water and does great with some kind of floaty. Oh, and no problem jumping in to me or the teacher. He'll even go under the water a little with no problem. For some reason he got such a kick out of the part where the teacher asks them to get their ears wet. He'd lean his head over in the water, pop back up and just giggle. It was so funny!

Here's Corbin with his teacher, Amanda. Amanda was Tressa's teacher this year and last year too. She is so cute with Tressa and really helped her feel comfortable and confident.

So the summer is off to a great (but busy) start. I'll post pictures from our Branson trip soon!

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-26T15:30:00.008-05:00

What a difference a year can make! We went to the lake again this year for Memorial Day, but it was WAY more fun this time because the kids weren't afraid of the sand! (They freaked out last year...didn't want the sand to touch them...wouldn't even get near the water...we left early....I blogged about the whole experience last May if you want to check it out.)

I came prepared with water shoes this year, but they didn't even need them. They kicked them off after only a few minutes and dove right in. They loved playing in the sand and swimming in the lake. Jason and I had a blast too. We love being with our friends and having fun with the kids. The barbecue was tasty too! What a great day.

It's fun to watch them play together. They were chasing each other, splashing around, and just being silly.

They were touching the sand (and rolling in it and throwing it and shoveling it and squishing it between their toes)....on purpose....and liking it!

Corbin kept piling the muddy sand on his toes as thick as he could. Then he'd run to the water and say "See, it comes right off!" Then he started burying my feet too. He got a kick out of that.

Those aren't freckles. It's sand all over his face and in his hair.

Tressa's favorite thing was swimming with her floaty ring.

Xander was such a good baby. He was content and happy the whole time even though he couldn't participate much.

We can't wait to go back!

New Park

2009-05-21T17:38:00.009-05:00

It really felt like summer yesterday...no more rain! We had a fun evening with the kids at a new park here in town. It was really nicely laid out and had some unique playground equipment. (It has a neat water playground too, but it wasn't working when we were there.) The weather was so beautiful yesterday. It was the perfect day for the park. We brought a picnic and enjoyed the view of the river and then the kids played their little hearts out. Here are some pictures of the fun time we had.

Hooray for Summertime!

No Sleep!

2009-05-18T13:45:00.003-05:00

We aren't getting much sleep around here lately...and it's not because we have a new baby. Xander is already sleeping through the night most of the time. It's Corbin that's getting us up every night. What am I going to do with this boy?!

"Me not tired Mommy...me not need a nap..." Here he is a few hours later.

And here's how I found him one morning. Jason was so tired from the long night with Corbin (which eventually ended in Jason giving up and putting a video on) that he didn't even wake up to repeated kicks in the face from Corbin.

Ugh!!!

Smiles!

2009-05-14T19:29:00.007-05:00

Xander turned 2 months old on May 9th. Now I can start counting in months instead of weeks! I can't believe how fast the time goes. He is now 11 lbs 11 oz. and 23 1/2 inches long. He's right in the middle on the growth charts and is following the curve almost exactly. The doctor says he's a machine! He is such a good baby...the past two months have been so fun! One of my favorite milestones in a baby's development is when they learn to smile and coo. It's so rewarding to watch that big toothless smile stretch across their face. Xander's first real smile was probably at 5 or 6 weeks, but it was pretty difficult to catch on camera. It was hysterical to watch the smile develop. First you'd see it in his eyes, then he'd contort his mouth in every possible way, and finally he'd get the right muscles working and a full smile would appear. His smiles are getting a lot more efficient now and he coos a lot too, but I thought this series of photos was so cute because it shows the progression from the closed mouth crooked grin to the open mouth lip curl to the full on smile. What a cutie.

He's pretty dang cute when he's not smiling too.

I even love his sad face. Look at that little pouty lip!

First Trip to the ER

2009-05-11T20:11:00.007-05:00

On Friday evening when Jason got home from work he found me in our room changing Xander's diaper. He was giving me a rundown of his day when we suddenly heard a loud thud followed by a screeching cry coming from the living room. I immediately felt the panic in my chest...it was a cry like I've never heard before. So I knew it wasn't just the usual bump or bruise or 'he took my toy' scenario. I rushed in to see Tressa bent over on the floor next to the coffee table holding her eye. She had been running around the living room pretending to ride a two-wheeler and tripped head first into the corner of the coffee table. We were so lucky that she didn't hit her eye, but there was quite a gouge on her forehead. I hope it doesn't leave a scar on her pretty little face!

We are kind of surprised that Corbin wasn't the first to go to the ER, since he's a lot more careless. And that dang coffee table made it through all their years of learning to walk without being a problem! Now I'm thinking maybe I should get rid of it. The ER doctor told us 3 patients had already been in that day for collisions with the coffee table.

Tressa was pretty panicked at the thought of getting stitches at first. I just held her and told her it would be okay. She's the type that likes to know details. She wanted to know what was going to happen. So I told her it would be like a special date with Mommy. We would get to go to the hospital together and we'd probably have some time to snuggle and watch a video in the waiting room before the doctor took a look at her cut. I told her I wasn't sure if he would need to stitch it up or not, but that he would know how to fix it. I told her that the doctor would be gentle and would numb her owie so that it wouldn't hurt if he had to stitch it up. She brought her favorite blanket to help her feel better.

Things went pretty much according to plan and she was calm the whole time. Even joking around and laughing at times. The cut was straight enough that the Doctor thought Dermabond (basically superglue) would do the trick. He put some numbing gel on the wound, pinched the skin back together and applied the glue. Afterward he told her what a good patient she was and gave her a popsicle. She thought it was the greatest thing in the world! All better.

Jason and I were hoping to be able to use this incident as leverage with the kids whenever they get rowdy..."Don't jump on the couch please, you don't want to crack your head open again" or "No running please, you don't want to have to go the emergency room like Sissy did." But she had such a good time at the hospital that I almost think she wouldn't mind going back! What a trooper.

Xander's Blessing

2009-05-05T22:44:00.014-05:00

Xander was blessed on Sunday (May 3rd) by his Daddy.

It was a beautiful blessing and despite the fact that I was wrestling the other two kids during the whole thing, I could really feel the spirit.

Xander is such a sweet special baby. Jason said he was cooing during the whole blessing...so cute. I can't wait to watch his life unfold. I feel blessed to be his mother.

My parents joined us for this special occasion, which I really appreciated. It's times like these that it's really hard being away from family. It was really nice to have their love and support.

It was my Dad's first time meeting Xander. Him and my Mom took turns holding him all weekend long. And they still managed to spend some quality time with Tressa and Corbin too. At lunch on Sunday a few hours before they had to leave Corbin looked up at us with those puppy dog eyes and said "I ho horry Gamma and Gampa hab to go home!" It was really sweet and heartfelt. It's so neat that my kids are so close to their grandparents (on both sides) even though they live far away.

After lunch we got on the computer and found blessing pictures from Tressa's and Corbin's blessings. It was really fun remembering those events and comparing pictures. I was surprised at how much all three of them looked alike at this age. They are each about 2 months old in these pictures. You can definitely tell they are siblings at least.

Tressa, February 2005

Corbin, October 2006

Xander, May 2009

It was such a good day, but it was hard to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. We love you guys! Thanks for celebrating this special occasion with us.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:00:00.009-05:00

Easter Egg Hunt

Dying Eggs

Easter outfits - coordinating colors this year!

Easter baskets - the Easter Bunny came!!!

Annual egg cracking contest - Tressa was the champion!

A Little March Madness...Snow?!

2009-04-04T16:39:00.007-05:00

I can't believe we had enough snow last Saturday to build a snowman! It was even real snow...like Utah snow. It stuck to the ground, but it was light and fluffy instead of the icy stuff we usually get. It was also good packing snow. We actually made snowballs, snow angels and snowmen! Even though I think it's crazy that we had a snow storm in March, the kids and I really had a good time playing in it.

Tressa enjoyed running around making lots of footprints. She also made a couple snow angels, snowballs, and even her own little snowman.

Corbin is such a boy. All he wanted to do was clear the snow off the cars! It was so cute.

Here's what Tressa's snowman looked like the next day. It was in the sixties and everything melted. Crazy weather.

Precious Baby

2009-03-27T17:49:00.013-05:00

Xander will be 3 weeks old on Monday. I hate to jinx myself by putting this down in writing, but he is such an awesome baby! We feel so blessed. He eats good, sleeps good and is happy and content. He seems oblivious to the noise that the other kids make and he even patiently tolerates it when they smother him with kisses. He nurses well, takes a bottle well and doesn't mind being passed around. He likes being held, but he will also let me put him down or carry him in the sling. I know I'm slightly biased, but I also think he's pretty dang cute. We could not have asked for a better baby. We love you Xander!

HUGE thanks to my friend Lacey for taking these precious pictures of Xander. She is so talented! She also took some awesome pictures of Tressa in her ballet outfit a few weeks before the baby was born. You can see more of her stuff on her photography blog(http://www.laceycphotography.blogspot.com/). Thanks Lacey!

Baby Xander is Here!

2009-03-12T19:38:00.006-05:00

Xander Dean Briggs

March 9, 2009
8 lbs. 5 oz. 21" long

Baby Xander joined our family this week. I can't believe he's finally here. I was induced on Monday, March 9th. We arrived at the hospital at 5:00 am. They got us in a room and all ready to go by 6:00 am and he was born just before 11:00 am. It was pretty quick and smooth. I only had to push one time and he came flying out...Jason said the doctor almost dropped him.

He is healthy and happy and so far seems very calm and easy going. Oh, and by far my best nurser...which is awesome! It's so stressful when the baby doesn't catch on or doesn't eat well, but Xander has it down already - YAY!

Our first family photo

The kids were both so excited to meet their new little brother. They have been so sweet to him and are always wanting to hold him and help take care of him. Xander is a lucky boy.

Grandma Jennings and Grandma Briggs both came to help out with the kids and I don't know what we would have done with out them. It was such a treat to see them and they were a huge help! They helped make the transition smooth for the kids too by making sure they got lots of attention. We love our Grandmas!

Welcome to our family sweet boy!

Tressa's First Ballet Performance

2009-02-21T15:12:00.009-06:00

I took ballet classes when I was Tressa's age. I liked going to ballet class. I loved my yellow "birdy in the tree top" costume. But when it was time to perform...I wasn't so sure. I remember a picture that was taken of me just moments before my class was supposed to perform at the mall (I'll have to see if I can get a copy from my Mom to post). I was wearing my costume and looking up at my Mom in terror. Apparently I refused to get on the stage and my Mom took me home. Needless to say, that was the end of my ballet career.

Tressa's temperament is a lot like mine was as a child, so in the back of my mind I was fearing a repeat of my little stage fright episode. She loves ballet and has been looking forward to her first performance for months. The performance was cancelled and postponed twice because of weather...(hence the Christmas music on the video clip, even though it's February)...so there was plenty of time for nerves to build up. But they also got lots of time to practice and a couple dress rehearsals to help them prepare. Tressa really LOVES ballet and does a great job. I tried to help her feel special and excited about the whole thing, but I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from her on the big day.

Okay...so obviously I was a lot more worried about it than she was. It wasn't a big deal to her at all. She wasn't the least bit nervous - just excited. And she did a great job! Jason and I really enjoyed watching her. She was so cute! Afterward she enjoyed watching the rest of the groups perform and we gave her a bouquet of pink tulips. She was very proud of herself and felt so special. I'm proud of my little ballerina too.

Here are some pictures I took at the dress rehearsal:

Felicity, Tressa, Gabby, Jillian

sitting pretty

arabesque

curtsy

cutie

Here she is on the big day!

Tressa & Jillian waiting to perform

the performance (she's on the right end)

hugs from Daddy

so proud

my ballerina

After the whole thing was over and we were in the bathroom changing her clothes Tressa excitedly asked "Mommy, will I get to do a performance again sometime?" I smiled and said "Sure sweetie!"

What can I say...she doesn't get it from me.

Fire Station Tour

2009-02-16T13:21:00.008-06:00

We took the kids on a fire station tour a couple weeks ago for playgroup. All of the kids really enjoyed it. They got to tour the whole station, see the fire trucks up close, and one of the fireman even put his gear on for them. Corbin LOVES fire engines and is always the first to point them out on the road. He was funny to watch on the tour because he was so excited and curious, but was also a little cautious. He wanted to explore, but he wanted me to stay right by him and hold his hand once in a while. It was really cute...he was totally into it and even paid attention to what they were saying. He was popping out all kinds of new words later, like "emergenhee". I asked him if he remembered what number to call if there was an emergency and he perked right up with a big confident smile and said "1-9-1!" Close buddy!

Tressa really liked the tour too. She remembered the last time we went and had been asking me if we could go again. Her favorite parts were climbing in the fire truck and trying on the fireman's hat...oh, and she apparently really liked the fireman too. Later that day we were driving around and out of the blue she said "Mom, that fireman who tried on the fire clothes for us sure was a handsome guy huh!" He WAS a handsome guy...but she's not supposed to notice stuff like that yet is she?! I thought it was so cute and funny. I told Jason about it later and he teased her a little about it. He asked her if the fireman was more handsome than he was. When she nodded he scooped her up and said "What?! Nobody's more handsome than your Daddy!" She replied "Okay, Daddy....but that means nobody is prettier than me, right?" What a smart girl.

White Trash Sledding

2009-01-31T20:26:00.012-06:00

I still remember our first winter here in Oklahoma, which we kind of rolled our eyes at because it was so mild compared to Utah. There was one or two days of snow and barely enough to cover the ground. We were out shopping on one of the snow days and the traffic was horrible. We attributed the delay to a bunch of hillbillies that didn't know how to drive in the snow. Come to find out the traffic jam was actually the result of cars that had literally parked in the middle of the road. No, they weren't broken down. It was just the most convenient place to park for sledding down the grassy slope right next to the nearest freeway ramp (we're a little short on mountains and hills here). Not only were they parked in the middle of the road and sledding ten feet from the freeway, but instead of sleds they were using laundry baskets, storage bins, cookie sheets...seriously. And it wasn't just one crazy family, there were tons of people doing this. Jason and I couldn't believe it! We were cracking up at how white trash it was. Then again, if it only snows once or twice a year would you bother to buy and store a sled? Three years later, I'm ashamed to say we have joined the white trash sledders (but don't worry...we found a quiet safe little hill in our apartment complex). The kids had a blast.

Boys will be boys.

Not one of his brightest ideas.

"I help you Daddy!"

Who needs a hill anyway?

Snowball fight. Actually it was more like snow chunks. The snow was icy and hard to form in the shape of a ball, so they were limited to chunks they could find near the walkway.

My little snow angels.

Family Bowling Night

2009-01-30T14:28:00.005-06:00

We only go once in a while because it's so expensive, but the kids have sure taken a liking to bowling lately. They LOVE it! I think they feel pretty cool that they can do it all by themselves (if you don't count the gutter bumpers and the ramp). It's so cute watching them. They like to choose their own ball, lug it to the ramp all by themselves, watch anxiously as it rolls toward the pins and jump up and down in excitement afterward (even if they only manage to knock a few pins down). They cheer each other on and give lots of high fives and they even like wearing the funny shoes. Here are a few pictures of the fun time we had.

The only part they don't like (as you can tell by Corbin's face) is when it's time to leave!

So Creative

2009-01-29T11:31:00.003-06:00

Tressa is such a little character sometimes. She has quite the imagination! The other day Jason was watching a hockey game on TV and was trying to get the kids into it so that they wouldn't make him put one of their shows on. They were pretty curious about the skating on ice part. Tressa disappeared into her room for a few minutes and came out looking like this.

"Look Mom, I'm a hockey player!" She said as she started "skating" around the living room. It was hilarious.

Daddy's Little Buddy

2009-01-28T15:55:00.005-06:00

For months Corbin has been going through a Mamma's boy stage and has been a little clingy. But I think he's starting to come out of it a little lately. He likes to mimic what Jason does and follows him around the house. Anytime Jason's home Corbin will run and get a toy to play with Daddy. Usually it's a ball or car of some sort, or sometimes they just wrestle or tickle. But the other day Jason was reading in bed one morning (he's one book ahead of me in the Twilight series ladies!) and Corbin grabbed a book of his own, climbed up in bed and joined him. He didn't ask Jason to read it to him, he just wanted to look at it on his own, he wanted to do what Daddy was doing. It was so cute.

And here he is helping himself to a lick of Daddy's ice cream cone, even though he's got his own in the other hand. He also kept insisting that Daddy have a lick of his. What a character.

Nesting

2009-01-28T15:28:00.003-06:00

I've had a sudden burst of energy over the past few weeks and I've been nesting like crazy. Getting things ready for the baby, but also just purging and organizing in general. I even went through the kids rooms and tried to get rid of old clothes and excess toys. I was able to go through Corbin's stuff mostly without his knowledge, chucking the junky things that he doesn't play with anyway. But I decided to elicit Tressa's help when decluttering her room because I was sure that if I threw something out she would somehow realize it was missing (even if she never plays with it) and get upset. So I made piles of similar items and allowed her to choose a certain number of items from each pile that she really loved, played with and wanted to keep. She did really well and we got rid of a lot, but after we went through the stuffed animals she started to look a little worried. "Are we giving these animals to the needy children?" she asked looking very thoughtful.

"Yes, sweety. To the kids that don't have any stuffed animals."

"But...will I ever see them again?"

"No sweety, but that's why we kept all your favorite ones."

"Well, can we maybe give them to one of my friends so that I can still visit them sometimes?"

"I think all of your friends already have stuffed animals."

She started looking teary eyed at this point. So I came up with a plan. "How about we take a picture of all the animals we are giving away so that you can always remember them."

She thought it through. "Okay Mom, but I don't ever, ever, EVER want to get rid of the picture, okay?"

"OK."

After we took the picture she seemed to feel much better and we went on with our evening. I got the kids in the bathtub and started bagging up the things we had purged from her room. Every so often I heard a sad little voice calling from the tub as Tressa kept thinking of items we'd tossed. "Mom? Did we throw away the (some junky toy she hasn't touched in months)?" I started feeling a little bad and I let her rescue a few things, but then I had to put my foot down and tell her that there was no more space to keep things, so if she wanted to take anything back from the junk pile she'd have to get rid of something else. She got over it after that. I know that adults often get into the bad habit of keeping too many things...becoming pack rats, but I couldn't believe my 4 year old had such strong feelings about her clutter. It was so cute. I think she felt good about getting rid of it in the end, especially since we were donating a lot of it. Hopefully it won't be so traumatic next time!

A Break from the Cold

2009-01-18T17:13:00.006-06:00

There were a couple days during the holiday break where it actually warmed up enough to take the kids to the park without jackets. (I'm ready for another one of those days about now...it's been so COLD!) I think everyone else in town had the same idea as we did that day. The park was super crowded with kids trying out their new Christmas toys (bikes, scooters, roller blades, skateboards, kites, etc.) There were even some friendly games of soccer and football going on. Corbin had been asking to go to the park for weeks. He just didn't seem to think the cold weather was a valid reason for not going to the park. I was relieved to finally be able to get him off my back...and he was ecstatic. He knows there are three things mommy won't let him do in the cold weather: wear crocs, roll the window down in the car, and go to the park. So now anytime I let him do one of those things he excitedly asks for the other two. For example, there was one day that I was in a hurry and didn't want to fight about his shoes so I told him he could just wear his crocs. His face suddenly lit up and he exclaimed "Hab my window down in da car!?" Anyway, we were all glad to have a break from the cold and the kids had a great time at the park.

We played on the playground...

Went for a walk...

And rode bikes...

Jason even got out his old remote control car for Corbin (which was a big hit)!

How about These Names for the Baby?!

2009-01-18T16:52:00.005-06:00

So, we've been having a little trouble coming up with a name for the baby this time around. How about these? (left to right) Vikas, Hitesh, Nishant, Sidharth, Jason, Rajiv. These are some of Jason's flight students that we had over for dinner one night during the holiday break. They are all from India and Sri Lanka...and I have no idea how Jason can keep those crazy names straight! They are all super nice guys...very polite...very hard (for me) to understand. I thought it was really thoughtful of Jason to invite them over since they are all away from their families right now. What a guy! He is a great instructor and really likes his students...but maybe not quite enough to name our child after one of them. Hmmm...back to square one I guess.

Briggs Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T16:53:00.011-06:00

This was our first year spending Christmas away from our families. It was a little weird not being together. We missed the traditions and being with them of coarse, but it was actually kind of nice to have a quiet Christmas at home with our little family this year.

The kids had a fun time helping me decorate. Corbin reminded me to turn the Christmas lights on each day.

Tressa and I made a gingerbread house this year. Corbin kept trying to eat all the candy, so we had to banish him from the project.

Tressa learned some new Christmas songs at school and got to perform them for us at their "Christmas Praise" concert. She was so excited to be on the stage! She was beaming at us and waving between songs. It was really cute.

We went to see the lights at RHEMA with the Carneys and they were kind enough to take our family's picture. The kids had a blast running around and pointing out their favorite colors, except for Corbin who was fussy because I wouldn't hold him the whole time. (He's been super clingy lately...maybe in anticipation of the baby's upcoming arrival....but we've actually seen some improvement in that department lately....thank goodness!)

Christmas Day was really laid back this year since we didn't have to do any running around to visit family. It was really nice to let the kids open presents at their own pace. They spent the whole day playing with everything they got. This was the first year that they were both old enough to know what was going on and be excited. It made it more fun for me and Jason too.

They loved finding all the little treasures in their stockings and they were both pretty exuberant unwrappers this year.

They were just as excited to watch Mom and Dad open presents. Here's Daddy giving them hugs to say thank you for his new wireless Rock Band guitar.

Here's Corbin with a motorcycle he'd been eying in the store for weeks and a new remote control train.

The one item Tressa consistently asked for this year was, of all the things you could want, a bath robe. I'm not sure why she wanted it so bad, but she was sure excited to get it. She ran to try it on immediately.

Corbin's main gift this year was a train table. He is VERY into trains right now. We found a couple stores in town that have display train tracks set up for customers to play with...we were getting a little tired of taking him there every day...it's all he wanted to do. We were expecting a big reaction from him when he walked into his room and saw it all set up. It was kind of funny because he didn't have an immediate reaction. He just went straight to playing with it as if he was afraid it would suddenly disappear. After a few minutes it finally sunk in and he got really excited...he was practically skipping around the table. It was hard to get a good picture of him because he was so focused on playing. This is the best I could do.

Tressa's main gift was a wooden doll house. It's big enough for Barbie dolls to fit in and the furniture is so cute. She has been loving it! Even Corbin likes to play with it sometimes. I wish I'd had one when I was little. They make the best toys now.

They also got a school bus tent from Santa which they love to play in together. I had to get a shot of Tressa's staticky hair after hours of play.

That evening we had some friends over for dinner and games. It turned out to be a really nice Christmas.

Tressa is 4!

2008-12-30T17:50:00.012-06:00

Tressa turned 4 a few weeks ago. We had quite the celebration this year. She had a family party while we were in Utah, then we took treats to her preschool and celebrated with her classmates and she also had her first friend party. She LOVED being the birthday girl!

We had both sides of the family over for her birthday party in Utah. It was fun having everyone together. I was getting frustrated at Tressa though because she was being so grumpy and just not acting like herself...I thought maybe it was because she had just gotten up from her nap or was maybe a little overwhelmed by all the attention, but found out later that she just wasn't feeling very well. She held it together until almost everyone had left and then she spent the next several hours throwing up! Poor thing...I felt bad for being upset at her.

It really was a fun party and I think she still enjoyed it despite her upset tummy. We did a Barbie Princess theme. My Mom found some cute decorations and a pinata and I got her a Barbie Princess cake with huge roses on it (roses were part of Tressa's criteria for "the most beautiful cake of ever"). She got some really nice gifts and felt really special having everyone there.

Here's Tressa and cousin Rachel (who didn't leave her side) by the cake.

Tressa's cousins were all eager to help her open her presents and see what she got.

Tressa wanted her piece of cake to have a rose on it. I should have clued in that she wasn't feeling well when she hardly touched it. She's wearing a special birthday crown in this picture that Rachel made for her.

Uncle Jordan held the pinata (he was glad it was the kind where you just pull the strings to make the candy fall out).

At the end of the party Tressa wanted to try on her new Sleeping Beauty clothes that the Pemberton's gave her. She came down the stairs looking like this.

It was literally less than 5 minutes later that we were in the bathroom over the toilet. I barely got her dress off in time. Luckily it only lasted that one night and she was happy and healthy for the rest of our trip.

She had school the day after we got home and wanted to bring treats to share with her class. We made sugar cookies and decorated them with different kinds of sprinkles.

Tressa loved having me and Corbin come to her classroom. She was being really cute about showing her little brother around and telling him all about what she does at school. I brought her a crown/headband that said "Birthday Queen". Her teachers lit some candles for her to blow out and all the kids sang Happy Birthday to her. She felt pretty special having her moment in the spotlight at school.

It was really fun watching her with all her classmates.

Round three of Tressa's Birthday marathon was a Kindermusik birthday party with all her friends. This was her first year having a friend party and she was so excited about it. She helped me make the invitations and put together the party favors, which we tied to balloons in the colors she picked out (pink for the girls and green for the boys).

She also picked out her own cake. I let her choose whatever she wanted in the catalogue at Albertson's. She chose a castle princess cake with figurines that she could keep. It even came with a sash and tiara!

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the party. They got to play instruments, sing, dance, hear a story and even play with a giant parachute.

After the cake all the kids swarmed around Tressa as she opened her presents. It was funny to watch them inch closer and closer with each present she opened. They were all so excited...it was really cute.

Tressa is such a good girl - she really deserved every minute of the week-long celebration. She has always been my little helper and is so thoughtful and responsible. She tries really hard to choose the right and she loves being a good friend and big sister. She amazes me. We love you so much Sweetie!

Turkey Day Trip

2008-12-28T21:50:00.019-06:00

The kids and I went to Utah this year for Thanksgiving to spend time with family (poor Jason couldn't take enough time off work so he stayed home). The past couple years we've gone to Utah for Christmas, but we knew I'd be in my third trimester at Christmas time this year, so we opted to visit at Thanksgiving instead. It's always nice to be with my family. They absolutely spoil us when we're there. My Mom always goes out of her way to make us feel at home. She had our room all set up, toys for the kids to play with, their favorite foods in the cupboard and she volunteered to babysit several times. I got a much needed break.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house where we enjoyed all of our family's traditional festivities.

My mom and sister, Emily were wonderful chef's...

Zeke (nephew) helped too...

My dad carved the turkey, it smelled delicious...

Tressa snitched the olives and put them on her fingers (just like we did when we were kids)...

Corbin was thoroughly entertained by uncle Tony (my youngest bro) and the cool train set he brought over...

After dinner the kids were a little restless so uncle Tony took them outside for a quick game of football. It was pretty cold, but they needed to get out and run around.

Later when things calmed down a little Grandma read a few books to the grand kids

and we played a rousing game of BINGO...with prizes and everything. BINGO is a tradition in my Mom's family and we really get a kick out of it. We call out all the cheesy jokes as the numbers are called..."B4"...."and after" (hee, hee, hee)....same jokes every year. And everyone reminisces about prizes we won in previous years...like the 5 lbs. Hershey's bar I got one year when I was a kid. My mom finally chopped it up and put it in cookies because I was never going to finish it! This is the first year Tressa was big enough to have her own card and actually understand the game. She doesn't look it in this picture, but she was thrilled to play the game and she loved her prizes.

Another highlight was the beautiful Christmas dresses that my Grandma Spratt sent for Alie, Tressa, and Rachel. They tried them on right away and danced and twirled all around the house.

Later that evening we stopped over at Grandma and Grandpa Briggs' house to visit.

Tressa enjoyed playing the memory game with her cousin Becky. I remember playing the same game with Becky when she was about Tressa's age. It was really cute to see them play together...Becky is so sweet to Tressa.

Later they went downstairs and danced while her cousin Brandon played Guitar Hero.

Highlights for Corbin were playing blocks with Grandma (she was so patient to keep building towers for him to knock down with his cars),

and rough-housing with uncle Jordan (Jason's youngest brother).

And of coarse they loved playing with the dogs (except for when Maxx tackled Corbin and tried to bite his ears)! Here they are with Sadie...she's the calmer of the two dogs and the kids love petting her and snuggling up with her.

It was a wonderful holiday - all except for the fact that Jason wasn't with us. In fact, the poor thing was sick to his stomach on the couch all day and couldn't even stomach a bite of the pumpkin pie I left for him. I figured at least he probably got his fill of football, but he must have been REALLY ill because he said he hardly watched any. I felt bad that we were so far away and couldn't take care of him.

A couple days later we went back to the Briggs' house to celebrate Nanny's 90th birthday! (Nanny is Jason's Grandma) What a remarkable woman.

We spent the rest of the trip doing fun things with both sides of the family....Chuck E Cheese with the Briggs Family, the children's museum with Emily, Sarah, and our kids, and since most of my family had to go back to work after Thanksgiving I got tons of quality time with my big sis, Emily.

Doesn't she look awesome! She recently lost some weight and is looking so skinny and beautiful. Since I'm in the process of getting more and more hugely pregnant I didn't want to stand next to her! Actually I loved every minute together...even though she looks way better than me. We went shopping, saw the twilight movie (and both decided to read the books), did some fun things with our kids, and she even treated me to pedicure and massage as an early birthday present. She's the best! We both dream about living closer to each other so that we can spend more time together. Her daughter Rachel is about 16 months older than Tressa (same age difference between me and Em) and they are the best of friends too. They loved spending as much time as possible with each other and even got to have a sleepover one night at Grandma's.

Before it was time to go home, we snuck in a trip to temple square with Grandma, Grandpa and uncle Tony to see the lights. Afterward we had hot chocolate at Tony's new house.

That was probably the last time we'll be traveling for a while since the baby's coming in March. I'm so thankful we were able to go....we miss you guys already!

"World's Friendliest Player"

2008-12-27T15:07:00.004-06:00

Tressa's first soccer season is over. Her final game was at the beginning of November and we were glad it was the last because it was getting too cold!

We were all bundled up and huddled as close to the building as we could to block the wind.

Tressa was a really good sport. She played the whole game even though it was cold and windy. Here's a picture of her running down the field (at the back of the pack) with a newfound friend on the other team.

Some of her teammates were not so tolerant of the weather....here's her buddy Jack at the beginning of the game.....

and by the end of the game.....

he never went on the field - I don't blame him!

Later that day we had a team party at Outback Steakhouse (owned by the parents of one of the players on her team). The coaches gave out medals to all the kids and they each got a certificate that highlighted their particular contribution to the team. Tressa's certificate said "World's Friendliest Player." She was thrilled to get her awards and so proud of herself.

Corbin is looking forward to trying it out next year. Maybe they can even be on the same team!

Today's Our Anniversary!

2008-11-11T16:47:00.006-06:00

Eight years ago today Jason and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. I can't believe how the time has flown by. When I look at these pictures it feels like it all happened yesterday...

The happy couple...

Bride and groom...

Love you Babe! Happy Anniversary!

Fall Photo Shoot

2008-11-08T20:16:00.006-06:00

I've been wanting to get some updated pictures taken of Tressa and Corbin together, but didn't want to pay a professional...seems like we are at the portrait studio way too often and the cost adds up quickly. Lacey told me about Woodward Park and we planned a day to take our kids there for a photo shoot. The park was beautiful and there were lots of great places to take pictures, but it is SO dang hard to get both kids smiling and looking at the same time! Between squirrel chasing, rock climbing, puddle jumping (Corbin actually fell face first into a muddy puddle about 15 minutes into our photo shoot, but luckily he was wearing dark clothes so you can't really tell), leaf picking, hill rolling and running wildly through the open spaces we did manage to get a few good pics....but maybe next time I'll leave it to the professionals! I'm trying to learn how to use photoshop, so maybe I can fix/enhance some of the pictures, but as of right now these are my favorites:

Little Mommy

2008-11-08T14:15:00.005-06:00

The kids are at a really fun stage right now. They are playing together more and more now that they can communicate better. Usually Tressa is kind of the boss and Corbin goes along with it, which I think is so cute...and sometimes really funny! The other day I had just gotten out of the shower when Tressa came running up to me and asked if I could open Corbin's toothpaste for her. When I asked her why she said "Well, I already helped him go potty, put underwear on and I combed his hair. Now I just need to help him brush his teeth." Corbin is not potty trained so I had to go investigate this one for myself. His diaper was laying on the bathroom floor. He really had gone in the little potty and was wearing underwear. She even managed to get his pants back on. It just made me laugh. They both seemed to be having a pretty good time so I decided to let them be while I finished getting ready. While I did my makeup I could hear Tressa down the hall in Corbin's room..."Okay buddy, it's time for your nap." She then proceeded to go through the whole nap/bedtime routine. She got him a drink (climbed up onto the counter and got a sippy cup out of the cupboard then filled it up with water in the bathroom sink). Next I heard her asking him to choose a book .... "No, how about this one instead," she said next. Then I heard her ask him to sit on her lap. I grabbed my camera and got a picture of her "reading" to him. She can't read yet but she did a pretty good job of telling the story and was pointing out different things to him....and he was totally content to sit there with her (that's the amazing part)! Next she turned the light off and sang "I am a Child of God" to him. He kept saying "Happy Me, Tretta....Happy Me..." because he wanted her to sing Happy Birthday instead, but she just kept on singing. Then she shut the door, blew him a kiss and said "Nighty night Corbin, I love you!" He called back "Lub you too Heehee (sissy)." Sooooooooo adorable. Tressa is such a little Mommy....and Corbin is a very good sport!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T21:28:00.009-06:00

Halloween is such a fun holiday for the kids. This year they got to celebrate almost all month long. We went to two different pumpkin patches here in town. They loved checking out all the pumpkins (and rolling them, climbing on them and trying to pick up the huge ones). They also got to do the hay ride, pet the animals, ride the tractor tricycles, pull each other in the wagon, climb the haystacks and run from playhouse to playhouse.

We each carved or decorated a pumpkin and we even made one for the baby. Here's our little family of pumpkins:

This was Tressa's first year to participate in a costume parade at school. She was so excited and felt pretty special wearing her costume to school. Here's a picture of her and her friend Maddy. Maddy is a Southern Belle and Tressa is a princess. Aren't they cute?!

Tressa wanted to be a princess this year (I'm sure we'll have many years of princess costumes). Corbin still doesn't care too much about what he wears, so we thought it would be cute if he was a frog prince to go along with Sissy's costume. I was going to try to make both of their costumes for the first time this year. My Mom always did such a good job sewing our costumes and I think it made Halloween a little more special. The last couple years I haven't planned ahead far enough, so I ended up just buying them. This year I started looking at patterns about a month ahead.....I still didn't finish Tressa's costume until the night before she had to wear it (must get that from my Mom too!) By the end I was asking myself why I was spending all this time sewing a princess costume when there's no shortage of such costumes in the stores, but I think it was all worth it in the end. She loved the dress and felt so beautiful. I ended up finding a frog costume for Corbin at my favorite thrift store, so I didn't bother making it...but I added some special touches like the feet and a crown. When I first bought it he almost threw a fit when I asked if he could try it on. "No! Don't want dat Mommy!" But we made a big fuss over how cute he looked and when he figured out that he would be getting candy if he wore it he actually tolerated it for most of the ward party and for trick or treating at the mall.

For the first time in our married life Jason actually dressed up this year too, kind of. We found this really great mullet wig and he wore it to the ward party. I couldn't look at him without cracking up. It was hilarious!

More cute pictures of all the fun things we did for Halloween this year:

And the holiday season begins.....

It's a Boy!

2008-10-29T21:07:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I was wrong again! I really thought this one was going to be a girl, so I was skeptical at 18 weeks when my doctor said "I think it's a boy." But I had another ultrasound Friday at 20 weeks and it was pretty clear. So Corbin's going to have a little buddy to run around with...a partner in crime...oh dear what am I in for?! Hopefully Tressa can help me keep them under control. Us girls are going to have to stick together.

face

profile

little legs

boy parts

We can't wait to meet the little guy!

Day Out with Thomas

2008-10-29T15:31:00.012-05:00

Corbin is really into Thomas the Tank Engine right now. Tressa likes it too, but sometimes denies it because she thinks it's for boys. Actually, Tressa was the one who found an ad in a children's magazine for "Day Out with Thomas" and asked if we could go. I looked online and found the dates and the nearest location and we decided to go. The kids were so excited! They looked forward to it and talked about it constantly for weeks. Corbin kept saying "Ride choo choo? Ride choo choo?" Finally the big day arrived and the kids were in heaven.

They got to play on the playground, tour an old train, hear some Thomas stories, play miniture golf, watch the model trains, play on the jupiter jump, meet Sir Topham Hatt, play with the toy trains and of coarse ride the Thomas train. They even got Thomas tatoos and balloons at the end. Don't you wish you were a kid again?

I love how she's standing in this picture...my little ballerina.

I think I know what to get this boy for Christmas! He would have played all day if we'd let him.

State Fair 2008

2008-10-22T16:54:00.008-05:00

I love this time of year because there are so many fun things to do with the family. Jason and I took the kids to the fair a couple weeks ago. Here are a few pictures of the fun time we had.

"Just for Kids" building...

"On the Farm" exhibit...

Petting Zoo...

Rides...

Big Boy Bed

2008-10-15T22:13:00.007-05:00

A friend of mine was getting rid of her daughter's toddler bed and asked if we wanted it. I figured it might be a good idea to get Corbin out of the crib soon so that by the time the new baby comes he doesn't still think the crib is his. Plus, he was starting to climb in and out of his crib (making it not so safe anymore). I'm one of those people who doesn't function well without sleep, so I was hoping this whole transition would be smooth. I tried to make it as exciting and appealing as possible for Corbin. I took him to Wal-Mart and let him pick out his bedding. He was so excited about getting to choose and quickly attached himself (literally) to the Thomas bedding. He wouldn't let anyone else hold the package all the way through the store, all the way home, and all the way up the three flights of stairs to our apartment. He was hugging it and smiling the whole way...so cute! Tressa was being really sweet and excited about it too. She wasn't jealous at all, she was just excited for him. "Corbin, you get to have a big boy bed! Isn't that exciting?" "Corbin, I love your new choo-choo bed!" We also rearranged his room a little and moved his lamp down where he can reach it...which was thrilling for him. I don't even know how many times he turned it on and off that day. Once the bedding was on he and Tressa spent the next few hours playing on it and snuggling.

Basically he LOVED his new bed.....until it was time to sleep in it! Those first few nights were pretty rough. He didn't want me to leave him alone in there and he kept trying to come out of his room. After a few days he learned the rules "No out...stay in....Mommy happy" and he's been doing great ever since. He's pretty proud of himself and he loves being a big boy. Way to go Corbin!

It's a Guy Thing

2008-10-05T22:59:00.003-05:00

Guy Thing #1:

Corbin has always been fascinated with things that have wheels. I remember when he was just a few months old he would knock down Tressa's baby stroller and start spinning the wheels. He's all about trucks, cars, trains and airplanes lately. I can hardly keep up with him when we are on the road together. He's always pointing out different kids of vehicles and he gets upset if I don't acknowledge that I saw it too. It's difficult because not only do I have to keep an eye out for interesting vehicles, but I also have to decode his word(s) for them. For example, a cement mixer is a "round and round" and a school bus is a "schoo but." He's pretty good with "truck, like Daddy's", "plane...daddy in?", "dum truck", "S oooo V", "bike", "helcopper" and "trattor", but he still says "wee ooo wee ooo" for anything with lights/sirens, and "wee" for car. He also likes feeling the breeze and hearing the traffic noise. Almost every time we get in the car he says "Peas Mommy, window down?"

Here are couple pictures of him on a tractor at the zoo. We went to members night and they had a farming exhibit. He was having a rough time that day and sitting on that tractor totally cheered him up. He was pushing all the buttons and pretending to drive it...he even made the lights go off and on. He was so proud of himself.

Guy Thing #2:

Can you believe my 2 year old is already watching sports on TV? If you know Jason very well you believe it. Almost every evening Corbin can be found curling up on the couch with Daddy right before bedtime to sneak in a little football or baseball. He loves balls and sports, but I think he likes the time with Daddy best. Here they are assuming the position.

Soccer Chick

2008-10-05T22:22:00.005-05:00

Tressa signed up for soccer this year with a few of her friends from church. We weren't sure how this would all pan out because Tressa is a bit of a girly girl, but at the same time she's pretty athletic. Lately she's really shown a competitive side too...if you don't believe me try playing Candy Land or Memory Game with her. She hates to lose. Everyone in my family is sitting there thinking...hmmm this sounds familiar! I was the same way as a child. My siblings stopped wanting to play games with me because I always had to win. Anyway, Tressa is really loving soccer. She is definitely not the most aggressive kid out there. The girly girl side of her is not going to risk get trampled by the pack just to get one kick at the ball. But she's a pretty good runner and has no problem keeping up. She understands the game pretty well for a 3 year old and keeps herself near the action most of the game. She also loves being outside and I think she feels special that we all come to watch her play. She is always so proud of herself after practice and games. I'm proud of her too for trying something new and doing her best.

Kicking a goal

Isn't she cute in her soccer gear?

Hanging out with soccer buds Riley and Jack. (Chase was sick that day or he would have been right there too).

Tressa's 1st Day of Preschool

2008-09-15T21:35:00.007-05:00

I can't believe Tressa is in preschool. My little girl is growing up so fast! She started last Tuesday and is LOVING it. She was so excited for her first day. We had been talking about it and looking forward to it for months and I was a little worried that after all that build up she would be disappointed. What if school turned out to be different than she imagined? I was also a little nervous about us being separated for such a long stretch of time (she goes twice a week from 9:30 to 2:30). I tried to prepare her the night before. I told her what the schedule would be like and I warned her that some of the kids might be a little sad or nervous about being away from their parents.....(I didn't want her to lose it if she saw some other kids having a hard time). She interupted me and confidently said "But I won't have to worry about it because Daddy gave me a blessing [she felt so special getting her first back-to-school blessing]. I'll just give them a hug and tell them their Mommy will be back." Needless to say, she handled the whole thing like a pro and I didn't need to worry. Even though she's only 3 I think she was really ready for this. She loves learning, making friends and feeling all grown up. I am so proud of her...and she's pretty proud of herself too.

I think little bro had the hardest time of all of us with sissy going to school. He threw a major fit that morning and he tried to sneak into all the pictures I took of her (like this one). He was probably a little jealous of all the extra attention she was getting, but I think part of him was also sad to not have her around. Is he trying to give her bunny ears?

Don't worry Corby, you'll get your turn and your sissy loves you. After her first day Tressa came home and said "When Corbin is big enough to go to school he won't even have to worry because I will be there just in case. I can help him and show him what to do since I have already been to school." (Yes...she really does talk like that.)

My proud new preschooler:

Here's Tressa and her friend Maddy looking really excited for their first day:

After Tressa told me all about her first day on the way home I asked her if she felt like she needed a nap. She said "No, I rested during nap time at school." (They get like 30 minutes for rest/nap time toward the end of the day.) But I think she was a little more worn out than she thought. Here she is a couple hours later asleep in the La-Z-Boy. So precious.

Summer's End

2008-09-01T22:55:00.035-05:00

I can't believe summer is almost over (with the heat we're still having you wouldn't know it)! I guess I should explain the lack of posts over the past couple months. Things have been a little busy around our house! After our vacation at the end of June I came home to a new and exciting and slightly overwhelming church calling...Primary President (gulp). My first thoughts when the Bishop called me in were...Isn't this a calling for grown ups?...Wait, I don't have a big house and a mini van!...and are you sure I'm the person you meant to call? (even the Bishop was double checking his notes to make sure this was right). But after I got over the initial shock and organized myself a little I was actually pretty excited about it. I've always loved children and I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now. The kids are a lot of fun and they are so eager to learn about the gospel. Tressa LOVES having me in primary every week. I've caught her pretending to be primary president a few times at home. One time she was even playing primary with a girl she met on the Burger King playground, who I'm sure was not a member, but she was just going along with it anyway...it was so cute. So, basically a lot of my blogging time has been spent preparing sharing time lessons, getting my presidency organized, etc., etc. But things are slowly getting easier and faster now that me and my counselors are a little more organized and have some experience under our belts.

Jason has been a busy boy too! He spent most of June and July in an intensive study course preparing for his final FAA exam. He had to quit his job to do it because the schedule was so intense. Mind you, the exam he was preparing for was quite intense too....involving an oral exam with an FAA official who can ask you whatever he/she wants to (out of a bank of oodles of questions) and can grill you as long as they please (Jason had heard horror stories of people who had 8 or 9 hour orals, luckily his was "only" about 3) followed by a flight with the official which is like a driving test (in the air), but again the length of the flight, the number of maneuvers, and the questions he/she asks you during the flight is all up to the examiner. It's a miracle that anyone can pass that test! I'm so proud of him for doing it! He passed the exam at the end of July and is now a flight instructor at Riverside Flight Center.....which means he is building hours quickly and actually being paid to fly...woohoo! He is loving it. Once he has 800 to 1000 flight hours he can start applying for the airlines. It really is wonderful to have a light at the end of the tunnel. Way to go sweetie! It is all going to be SO worth it in the end.

Of course we managed to sneak in some fun things this summer too! Here's are some highlights from July and August.

Softball

Jason played on a softball team this summer with a friend from school. The kids loved going to the games and running the bases afterward.

They are his biggest fans! (I kinda like him too.)

Blue Bell Creamery Tour

We toured the Blue Bell Creamery with some friends from the ward for a playgroup activity and sampled the yummy ice cream afterward. The kids had a blast.

Mmmmmm....ice cream.

Friend, Melissa with her youngest (of 5!), Luke. I love this picture. His shirt pretty much sums up how he's feeling right now!

The boys.

The girls.

Friend, Heather with her two youngest (of 4, soon to be 5!), Landon and Mason. They were such good sports about wearing their little hats!

The Berzas twins.

Those Turner kids have always been so sweet to my kids. Here's Claire lovin' on Corbin.

Best Buds sharing a second (or maybe third) scoop of ice cream.

Corbin trying to wipe his own face...so independent these days.

"I scream for ice cream!" (Actually she just smiled and wore this cute little hat, but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it.)

Swimming Pool

Cannonball!!!

Teaming up on Daddy...get him guys!

They LOVE swimming! (If only Tressa had done swimming lessons at the end of summer...when she's used to the water and actually enjoys it...I'll have to remember that for next year.)

Water Playground

Running...

jumping...

splashing...

catching...

smiling...

getting soakin' wet...

and just having fun!

We spent many a day at the water playground this summer. It was a great way for the kids to cool off.

Ducky Pond

There's a duck pond across the street from our apartment that the kids love to go to. There are always tons of ducks and geese at the pond and they aren't shy about waddling right up to you if you've got food. I think they might be the best fed ducks in town, but if we go too long without seeing them Tressa will let me know..."Those duckies must be getting really hungry!" We go there so often that we can even recognize some of the ducks and we know which ones swim together, etc. We really should name them and call them our pets!

A Visit from each Grandma!

My Mom is a teacher and Jason's Mom is a school nurse, so they both made it out to see us this summer before they had to go back to work. We LOVE it when Grandma comes! The kids love spending time with Grandma and Jason and I love the break!

Grandma Jennings

Grandma Briggs

We love you both and miss you already!

Zoo

We got a family membership to the zoo this year so we've been taking advantage of it (when the weather's not too unbearable). Here are some photos from our most recent trip to the zoo with the Laceys (I have three friends named Lacey) and their kids.

Tressa and Corbin feeding the birds.

Jack feeding the birds. Look at Corbin's face in the background. Hee hee! Not looking too sure about being close to animals with claws, beaks and wings.

Lacey & Riley.

My little monkey.

The rest of the gang on the train.

And for those of you that made it through this unbearably long make up post...you will be among the first to know my exciting news....I am pregnant! We just told our families yesterday, so it's officially okay to let everyone else know now. I'll post more about this later, but I'm due on March 15th. So now you know why my tummy has been sticking out a little more than usual and why I didn't get in the pool at the party last Friday...if you saw me in my swimsuit there would have been no hiding the fact that a baby's on the way...or you might have just wondered what the heck I'd been eating lately!

Wubby (Blankie)

2008-08-23T22:43:00.007-05:00

Many of you may know that Corbin has a special blankie that he calls "Wubby". He's had it since he was a baby and he's pretty attached to it. We have one spare Wubby that we got as a result of a meltdown in the baby aisle at Target one day when he saw a blankie identical to his on the rack. He really thought it was his and wouldn't leave the store without it. He likes both blankies and he sleeps with both (so I guess it doesn't really do any good to have a spare), but the funny thing is that he can tell them apart and he really prefers the original Wubby.

I usually try to be pretty sly about washing his blankie so that he doesn't really know that it's gone, but I forget how well he understands me now and I made the mistake of telling Tressa that I needed her to get out of bed so that I could wash her and Corbin's sheets. Corbin was standing right next to me when I said that. He looked up at me in panic clutching his blanket and said "Wubby?" I replied, "Yes Corbin, Mommy will need to wash your Wubby too." Huge crocodile tears suddenly formed in those big brown eyes and his little lips turned down in a really sad frown. It wasn't like a tantrum or anything, he was genuinely mourning the temporary loss of his blankie. He was crying so hard that I felt really bad. I started showing him the stains on his blankie and told him that his blankie really was very dirty, but that I wouldn't wash it if he didn't want me to. I tried to tell him how nice it would be to have a soft, warm, clean wubby to sleep with that night. He just kept sobbing. I went about my business getting the sheets off the beds and started loading them in the washer. I figured I'd just have to wash his blankie another day. When I came back down the hallway with more sheets to load he was up on his tippy toes tossing his blankie in the washer, trying to stop crying. It was so dang cute! I gave him a big hug and told him he made a good choice. He started to calm down a bit and kept saying "keen wubby".

Later that day I went to check on the sheets to see if they were dry yet. He followed me to the dryer and waited. When he saw his blankies he sighed in relief, snatched them up and took off. After I finished making the beds I found him on the couch snuggling with both wubbies...happy as a clam.

Happy Birthday Corbin!

2008-08-17T16:03:00.020-05:00

I can't believe my little guy is already 2 years old. Happy Birthday Bubba!

We spent most of the day on Saturday celebrating with him. In the morning we took the kids to one of those playgrounds will all the inflatable slides and such. He is very active and loves jumping, running and playing ball so he was in heaven at this place!

The rest of us had fun too!

After lunch and nap time he opened his presents. I had them all set out with a bouquet of balloons in the middle of the living room to surprise him when he woke up. He was SO cute and shy when he came out. He had this look on his face like "is all this for ME?!" What a sweetie!

For dinner we took him to Incredible Pizza (a lot like Chuck E Cheese for those of you who aren't Okies). He snarfed down his pizza and had a blast riding the rides and playing games.

Enjoying his "woo beer"....

Riding the "too too"....

Afterward we unveiled his car cake, which he was very excited about, and sang to him.

He kept snitching the frosting while we were singing, it was so cute. I'd have to say my favorite part of his birthday this year was hearing him tell me how old he is. He'd stick all five fingers out and say "Doo"!

I can't believe how fast he's grown! Here's a picture of Corbin on his blessing date (about 2 moths old). I wanted to put a newborn picture up, but I don't have them on my computer and couldn't figure out how to post one from my shutterfly account...ughh...maybe I can figure it out and update this later.)

Here he is on his first birthday.

And here's my handsome boy today!

Love you Corbin!

Fourth of July Fun

2008-07-19T14:18:00.007-05:00

Here are some pictures from the 4th. I took the kids to the park for a picnic during the day (Jason had school...even on our nations birthday!?)

Jason isn't much for crowds and our kids are sometimes scared of the noise that fireworks make, so we came up with a good solution this year. We loaded pillows, blankets and snacks in the back of Jason's truck and parked it at the top of the hill at our apartment complex just before dark. We were high enough up to see several shows at once, but far enough away that the fireworks weren't too loud. While we waited the kids had fun throwing poppers and playing with glow sticks.

The next day we took them swimming and went to a neighborhood party. They always plan a fun theme and go above and beyond with the food and games. It was a blast!

Disneyland Vacation

2008-07-11T16:10:00.023-05:00

Okay, so we've been home from vacation for about two weeks now and thanks to a bug that I caught on the way home I haven't been feeling well enough to do much since then. I am just now getting back into the swing of things and I've been dying to write about our trip. Our vacation was jam packed with fun things to do and see, so I have an overwhelming number of pictures. I decided to pick out some of my favorites to tell about the trip and there's a slide show at the end with more (if you can believe it) pictures.

Of coarse every vacation begins with the planning and the packing. I hate packing! It takes me forever because I try to think of everything we could possibly need. I tend to over pack a little, but when you have little kids it's hard not to. I even packed Jason's things this time because he was so busy with school, flying and test prep studies. The kids were pretty excited when I got the suitcases out. Tressa knew what that meant, but Corbin may have been a little confused. He was trying to pack himself and his few favorite items (blankie, dinosaur, Elmo, and fishy crackers) in my suitcase. I think he was afraid of being left behind....he did not want to get out of that suitcase!

We had an early flight (6:00 am!) and our friend gave us a ride to the airport. We had to leave at 4:30 - now that's a true friend....thanks Carney! Despite the early flight time, our kids were awake and excited. They love airplanes and traveling.

After a long trip (about six hours if you count our layover in Dallas) we made it to California! Tressa was so excited to get there that she was the only one who didn't really sleep on the plane. But as soon as we got in our rental car (where she could actually see California) she zonked right out!

Our first stop in California (Jason's top priority) was In n' Out Burgers. We ate outside and the weather was beautiful...good old Southern Cal! Jason and I enjoyed our burgers while the kids fed leftover french fries to the pigeons.

We were the first in our family to arrive and we couldn't check in to the hotel until late afternoon. Since we had some time to kill we thought we'd walk the pier at Seal Beach. This was a great idea because not only was it beautiful and scenic, it warmed our kids up to the idea of spending a day at the beach. They got to see the ocean for the first time and watch everyone having fun in the sand from a safe distance up on the pier. (You might remember that my kids had a bad experience with sand at the lake on Memorial Day). They loved running up and down the pier and looking at the water (and in Corbin's case trying to climb over the edge).

Later that evening my sister Emily and her family arrived at the hotel. It was a much anticipated reunion...especially for Tressa and Rachel who couldn't wait to get their matching princess jammies on.

The next day was spent at Huntington Beach. Despite my fears, the kids actually did pretty well at the beach (those beach socks worked like a charm!). Neither one really liked being in the water, I think the sound and movement of the waves was a little too frightening for them. But they loved playing in the sand (more so away from the water), looking for seashells, pointing out palm trees (which Tressa said are actually called "beach trees") and just hanging out with the family.

Here's my brother-in-law Ethan burying Rachel (my niece) in the sand.

Here's my bestest (and only) sister, Emily with cutie pie Zeke.

And here's our traditional feet-in-the-sand photo. Me and my sister have some weird obsession with photographing our feet.

Thumbs up! Can you do this with your toes? It's a special talent that runs in my family...much to Jason's dismay (he hates feet and this is all I have to do to gross him out.)

This post is getting really long and you haven't even seen pictures from Disneyland yet...so here goes!

We had a 3-day park hopper pass that I thought would be more than enough time at Disneyland and the California Adventure Park....but there is SO much to do there! We didn't see everything, but I don't know if our kids and our feet could have lasted much longer anyway. So the three days was just about perfect. The very best thing about Disneyland was that my parents came with us....they were a HUGE help with the kids. They didn't have an agenda of their own other than to be with their kids and grand kids...they were so helpful and they made it a magical and meaningful trip for all of us.

Highlights for me and Jason were the rides we got to do together, the time we spent with my family, and the kids' reactions to all the fun things they got to see and do.

The fam at the Disneyland entrance:

Me & J on the Matterhorn:

J right before he got drenched on Splash Mountain:

Me and Em at California Adventure:

Highlights for Tressa were seeing the castle, meeting the princesses, the rides, cousin Rachel, the sparkly sidewalks, her Cinderella doll, her Minnie mouse balloon and the special time she spent with grandma and grandpa.

The top three things on Tressa's list of things to see were the castle,

the merry go round (of all things?!),

and Cinderella. We almost didn't get to meet Cinderella. She wasn't at the princess breakfast we went to so later that day we (actually grandma) stood in line for almost an hour to see 3 more "surprise" princesses at the Princess Fantasy Fair. My heart sank when we went behind the curtain and didn't see Cinderella anywhere. Tressa was happy to see Pocahantas, Snow White, and Belle, but I knew she was really hoping to meet her favorite princess. Then, just as we were taking photos with the last princess Cinderella came walking up to take her place. The dramatic last minute entrance made it even more special! Cinderalla could tell that Tressa was a big fan (since she had a Cinderella doll, necklace, etc.) and gave her some extra hugs and attention. I was so relieved and Tressa was just beaming!

After she met the princesses, learned how to dance and walk like a princess, and had story time with Sleeping Beauty my Mom paid for her to get her face painted. From all the excitement she fell right asleep in Grandmas arms soon after.

Disneyland is so magical for someone her age. That made it fun for me and Jason too. On our last day at Disneyland as we walked toward the park entrance she looked down at the sidewalk and said "Mom, the sidewalk is sparkley...I think it's because Disneyland is such a magical place!" Then we practically bumped into the man who was selling balloons. Tressa had her eye on one the day before, but we never saw the balloon guy again after that. Even though they were charging seven bucks, I couldn't resist. Tressa got the last Minnie Mouse balloon and is STILL talking about it constantly. On the shuttle to our car she said "I had a wish to get this balloon and it came true Mommy!" She was SO happy.

Highlights for Corbin were the playgrounds, the parade, certain rides (he wasn't so sure about some of them), toon town, his mickey ball, and all the attention he got from the family.

Here he is on one of the playgrounds. This one was shaped like a ship and had a nautical theme. He loved steering the boat and pushing all the buttons.

Here we are right before the parade started.

Not looking too sure about this train ride!

Trying to lift the dumbbell in toon town. Look at those muscles!

Grandma and Grandpa bought him this mickey basketball and he LOVED it! He still cannot be seperated from it.

As if that wasn't enough fun...we got to spend a couple more days in California after Disneyland. We went to a Dodgers game, went swimming at the hotel, explored a local children's museum and I even tried sushi for the first time at a restaurant called Tadai.

The Angels are Jason's favorite baseball team but they were out of town all week. He wasn't going to leave without seeing a baseball game so we caught a Dodgers game one afternoon. The stadium was pretty getto and the Dodgers lost, but we enjoyed just being there and the kids even got to run the bases at the end.

Here are some pictures from the pool. The kids had a blast.

The museum was really fun too! They especially liked the Bob the Builder exhibit.

And here we are at the mall after our sushi dinner. I thought it was a nice picture of our family.

What a fabulous vacation! We can't wait to go back.

Tressa's First Attempt at Swimming Lessons

2008-06-17T22:06:00.005-05:00

I decided to put Tressa in swimming lessons this month for her first time. I was hoping to get her a little more comfortable with the water in time for our vacation next week. I think we accomplished that goal, but she is still pretty timid in the water. Time will tell, but I'm not sure if swimming is her thing. Bless her heart, she tried so hard to be excited about it each day and she always came running to me after lessons as proud as can be, but she looked just miserable out there. She was a really good sport. She listened to her teacher and went through the motions, but I think she's still just a little too fearful. It hit me how far behind the other kids she was when a mom sitting next to me said "Gosh, you just don't realize how much coordination it takes!" when the teacher was working with Tressa on scoops and kicks (I'm sure she meant well). Granted, Tressa was the youngest in her class....but she is naturally a pretty careful and timid child. I don't think I was a very good swimmer either. I took lessons and got through all the levels, but I think it was only because I was so darn competitive....if the other kids could do it so could I. I loved doing tricks off the diving board and meeting friends at the pool, but I can't say I loved or was actually very good at swimming. Jason, on the other hand, is a really good swimmer. He was a life guard as a teenager. So maybe there's still hope for Tressa. I'm just going to keep exposing her to it so that she can at least learn to be safe in the water. We've gone to our pool a couple times since the lessons and she is doing better and better each time. And despite the fact that she's not a very good swimmer, she still really enjoys the water. She's been asking to go to the pool almost every day. I'm really proud of her for not giving up. Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks of lessons.

I'm really trying to like this Mom!

Back float (Tressa called it a starfish...I think this was her favorite part of swimming lessons. She'd always say, "Mom, I hope I get to be the first one to do my starfish today!")

Practicing kicks

Her face says it all....She was supposed to be in the water with the rest of the class holding on to the wall, but I think she just couldn't do it any longer. This was the last day of class. She asked her teacher if she could sit on the side until it was her turn.

I think these might be a little tight! She only agreed to go all the way under the water once...and she insisted on wearing these to do so.

Jumping in...way to go sweetie!

I love my "comfty cozy" princess towel.

Jason's 31!

2008-06-12T22:57:00.006-05:00

Here are a few photos from Jason’s birthday on Friday. It has been a long hard year for him and this week was busier than ever with the instructor test prep course he’s been taking. I am so proud of what he’s accomplished and I’m excited for him to start seeing the fruits of his labors in the upcoming year. At the end of the 7 week course he’ll be taking his final flight test to get his instructor certification and he’s already got an instructor job lined up. Then he’ll just instruct and build his hours until he’s able to find a job with the airlines. I admire him so much for having a dream, knowing what he wants, and going for it. Happy Birthday Hon!

Here's Tressa helping Dad unwrap his present from her. She was so excited about her gift that she insisted he open it first...and she helped him open it...and she told him what it was before he could lift the lid! Jason got a good laugh out of it. He made her day by wearing the outfit she got him for dinner that night.

I think it might be time to switch to those little candles with numbers on them!

My little cake eater!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

2008-06-12T22:37:00.006-05:00

With all the rain the past several days Corbin has become my little weather man. Here he is watching a storm one evening.

Every time he heard the thunder crack he'd look at us and say "dat!" or "what dat!?" He didn't seem to be frightened by it, just curious.

Although he liked watching the storms and pointing out the rain, he was pretty bummed that we couldn't spend much time outside this week. He kept asking to play T-ball (he calls it B-ball) and I had to tell him that it was too wet. For days he kept pointing out the puddles and saying "rain." Today the ground was finally somewhat dry at our apartment and the weather was nice. The first time we left the house this morning he excitedly exclaimed, "No rain.....B-Ball!!!" It was a pretty busy day, but I couldn't turn him down after he had waited so patiently all week. We made some time for T-ball this afternoon and he was all smiles.

Tutu Tressa

2008-06-08T23:16:00.004-05:00

Tressa has been loving her gymnastics class, but her heart is really set on ballet. So, I found an inexpensive ballet class for her to try out this summer. I made the mistake of telling her about it 2 weeks before it actually started. She’s been asking me about it and trying on her ballet clothes almost daily.

Here she is putting on a “ballet conference” for me.

I didn’t get any pictures of her first day of class last week because Corbin was climbing all over me, but she was just glowing! She was grinning ear to ear the entire time and she did such a good job listening to the teacher and trying to do the steps. The teacher was surprised that this was her first lesson because she did so well. I explained that she’s never had a formal lesson, but that she’s been practicing at home. She also loves checking out “Angelina Ballerina” videos and ballet books from the library and she even has a ballet card game (which she asks me to play with her almost every day). Even Corbin is picking up some moves (much to Jason’s dismay)! His favorite one is plié, which he does more like a squat and jump.

Mmmmm...Ice Cream!

2008-06-08T22:28:00.006-05:00

Here's Corbin having an ice cream cone "Ah Daddy" (with Daddy) at the mall. He's really going to town with that thing....I'm surprised he gave Daddy a lick!

Beach Bummer

2008-06-02T21:47:00.011-05:00

Here's Tressa and Corbin having a blast playing in the sand at the park. These pictures were taken exactly six days before Memorial Day.

Okay. Now here's Tressa and Corbin at the lake on Memorial Day. You would have thought we were trying to drown them with the fuss they were making!

Do you like the 80's aerobics instructor look Tressa is sporting? She insisted on putting her shoes and socks back on because she didn't like the sand sticking to her feet. Corbin wanted his shoes back on too. Neither one wanted much to do with the beach, period. Granted, it rained that morning so the sand was wet and sticking to everything, but none of the other kids seemed to mind...some of them were literally rolling in it! On top of the sticky sand and a sand castle that was kicked into Corbin's lap, it was just about nap time and I don't think either of them was feeling that great to begin with. Corbin was just getting over something - which he so kindly passed on to Tressa. So, I probably shouldn't have even tried to bring them. But it sounded like so much fun and I was sure the kids would enjoy themselves despite the fact that they weren't 100%!

Oh well. It wasn't a total loss. Before the traumatic beach incident we did manage to spend some time with our friends. We barbecued, the girls chatted, the guys played catch, the kids played T-ball & ran around..... and the scenery was beautiful! We were disappointed to have to leave early, but I could see that our little beach bums were not going to buck up and get used to it, so we called it a day.

Here they are 30 seconds into our drive home.

Anyone want to wish us luck on our Disneyland vacation in a few weeks?!

Tumbling Tots

2008-05-31T21:28:00.016-05:00

Tressa and Corbin have been taking gymnastics classes for the past several months and have both really enjoyed it. Maybe it's in their blood! (I was a competitive gymnast during my grade school days. I decided to quit when it got to the point where I had to decide if gymnastics would be my whole life. I also was getting a little too tall. The final straw was an injury that kept me off my feet for long enough that I felt like I couldn't catch up.) Anyway, we actually kind of stumbled upon this class. It's offered by a local community center and we thought it was going to be a dance class. Tressa showed up in her leotard and tutu and we were a bit confused by all the gymnastics equipment. I asked Tressa if she wanted to give it a try and ever since she's been asking me if it's Thursday yet because she can't wait to go to gymnastics. Then I found out about a class for kids Corbin's age that was right after Tressa's. Since he was already trying to take over the gym each week anyway, I decided to sign him up too. This is my first attempt at video clips on the blog, but I thought it might be fun to see them in action, so here goes....

Here's Tressa's bridge. She was very proud to be the only one in her class that could do it all by herself.

Tressa sitting on the beam...

doing her butterfly pose...

a handstand...

a somersault on the beam...

hanging from the bars...

and sitting with the whole gang (they're supposed to be making silly faces, but Tressa blew a kiss instead)

Corbin jumping on the trampoline...one of his favorite things about gymnastics!

Oh yes, he also loved the balls...

and anything involving jumping...

and here he is on the bars...

Tressa loved showing Corbin how to do everything and praising him for every little thing. Here she is giving him a big hug after he did a new trick on the bars.

Such cute little monkeys!

Sunday Best

2008-05-28T21:48:00.006-05:00

These are typical outfits for church on Sunday. They look like they're going to their first prom, don't they?!

Tressa wants to wear this dress almost every Sunday because it makes her feel like a princess. She says "It's just like Cinderella's dress because it has wing tips [poofy sleeves], except Cinderella's dress in blue and mine is purple." She loves everything about Sundays...getting dressed up, going to church (especially primary), pizza (our usual Sunday lunch), and extra time with the family. She is so proud to be in the primary and absolutely LOVES it! Anytime someone asks her how old she is, stranger or not, she says "I'm 3 years old and I go to primary!" Last week she had to stay home because she was sick. She begged and begged me to go, but she really was not in good shape. I was late to church because I spent at least 15 minutes convincing her to stay home with Daddy. I think I had to bribe her in the end.

Corbin doesn't have much say in what he wears yet, so he often wears this suit to church. I think he looks so handsome and grown up in it. He is at that age when holding still is impossible, so church is sometimes challenging for him (and us)! I have to bring my bag of tricks (snacks, drinks, books, toys, blankie, crayons, etc., etc.) each week to keep him from literally bouncing off the walls and running through the chapel. He struggled for a while with the nursery (he didn't want me to leave him at first), but now he's doing really well. He likes the toys and the chaos. Last week I asked him if he had fun in the nursery and he said his first full sentence: "I did bubbles!" well...actually it was more like "I di bubbas!" but close enough!

My favorite thing about Sundays? Afternoon nap...for sure!