Noah's Birthday!

We had some GREAT food and lots of fun in the pool while we all wished Noah a happy first birhtday. Noah had a lot of fun as well with a bit of swimming and a quick feast on his miniature birthday cake (you can watch him attack it in the above clip).

This was Noah's cake--if you can't tell, it is a caterpillar.

Lots of people were there, including Brad's parents along with Craig and Shannon.

Noah actually had fun opening his presents and still enjoys playing with his new cell phone.

We want to send out a BIG thanks to Wendell and Terri for their hospitality in hosting the event and for cooking the lions share of the food.

Question...

What does six hours in the pool do to you?


Answer:

This...


Not to mention how quickly it can make you go to sleep at night!

Catching up...

We have been BUSY!


We got back from a great weekend in Beaver where we spent conference with Grandma and Grandpa Foster--the kids got to see the houndies and even took them for a walk during the break in the afternoon session on Sunday. We had some great activities planned for the kids so that they would remain somewhat attentive while we listened to conference.



In other news... Brad has been up and down I-15 for the last few months spreading his name and credentials throughout the state and has a number of contacts because of it (the best prospects look to be Enterprise, Manilla, and Layton with a smattering of possibilities in Nebo and Alpine districts). We are not sure whether we have a favorite or not--drawbacks include the facts that Enterprise has limited housing, and Layton is too close to the U of U ;).

All joking aside, we will just be happy to finally lay down some roots in Utah.

On a side note, the kids have been up to a few things as well. Mae has learned to ride her bike without training wheels and rides to school just about every day that it is warm enough to do it. She loves her bike and wants us to watch her constantly because she is so good at it.



Mae has also kept pushing her swimming skills. She not only goes off the diving board, but can now swim the full length of the pool too.



Ian has been trying to keep up with his sister and wants to be able to ride a two-wheeler, but has to stick to his trike for now. However, he is getting better at swimming and will now swim short lengths from the deep end to shallow area (with and without his arm floaties). Those who know Ian should understand that this is a BIG deal for him, and this weekend he dropped our jaws by jumping off of the diving board! Mae, not to be out-done, immediately worked up the courage to go off the high-dive. We about freaked out because we didn't think that she would dare to do it.

A few pics and vids...

Lindsay snapped a few shots of the kids during our recent Dutch Oven cookout (FHE) outing to Red Cliffs while I set up a top rope for Mae and Ian to do a little rock climbing. We had a great time and we think that it is something we will do more of since we are back in Utah.

Gotta get a good bath shot every once in a while.

Noah has been crawling for a few weeks now (and is cruising on all fours with ease),
but this was his meager beginning.

Hangin' at the Fosters...

Last weekend we visited Paul and Molly in Richfield, UT for a few days. Brad found out there was a job available at the middle school there after having visited a number of the schools in the area. It sure would be fun to end up in Richfield so that we could live close to Paul and Molly again. When we lived near each other in Utah county we were able to do so much with them and we had TONS of fun.

This trip wasn't all business, though. We watch a few "Office" episodes that we had missed, played Settlers of Catan (Cities and Knights version) late into the night, watched City of Ember with the kids, rode the Rhino, played a the park and even got in a little shopping (yes, in Richfield).

Noah and Hyrum hung out with each other at the bar for every meal. The two had apparently had such a good time that when we took Noah away for a bath, Hyrum cried because he thought that he had lost his friend!


Ian is quite the narcissist (who isn't at 3) and always has to drive--good thing that his cousin, Lucas, is a good sport. These two were the best of friends and the most bitter enemies depending on the time of day--we think that they parted on good terms, however, and are looking forward to seeing each other again.


We threw almost all of the kids into the Rhino and headed out for a little jaunt in the hills just outside of town. The kids had a great time and begged to stay longer, but because we ran out of cookies we had to head home.


Nora and Mae had TONS of fun on this trip (we credit Avery and Lydia for being good enough sports to play with the "younger kids"). They had so much fun, in fact, that they spooned well into the night.


Thanks, Fosters, for showing us such a GREAT time! We will be back again soon--this time, however, you may only provide ONE yummy dessert dish per day, Brad got sick because he ate so many of your chocolate-chip cranberry cookies and ice-cream pudding--not to mention the black-tie Cheesecake Factory cheesecake we had for his birthday!

Hope to see you guys again soon!

Ice Skating anyone...?

...at least, that is what Ian calls it. For some reason the words "hiking" and "ice skating" are indistinguishable to him, but he certainly loves hiking. Anyway, here are some pics/vids from our recent "ice skating" outing to the red hill.

Even Noah had a good time in the kiddie pack!

Swimming with Grandma

My mom came to St George with her sisters for a little getaway weekend and invited us to her condo/resort for a swim! The kids had a lot of fun and we are thinking of hiring grandma as Ian's personal swim instructor--he was having a blast with grandma and became more and more daring in the pool as time wore on.

He loves jumping to his grandma!

Noah had a lot of fun too, but we forgot his floating toy thingy that allows him to chill in the pool--instead we all had to trade off with carting him around the pool and he loved it.

Mae was her usual self--having a great time!

I also discovered that she finally likes to be launched--without fear!

Thanks, grandma, for the invitation! We had a lot of fun and hope to see you soon--this time in Beaver!