T-ball

So soccer is over...his coach bought the entire team a trophy...how nice was that? Anyways, so now we're on to baseball, which he's totally been excited about FOREVER! I've only been to one game so far, but then again, they've only had two! He LOVES it and he's not too bad at it. For those who have done the little kid soccer thing, you might be familiar with the term "magnet ball"...well T-ball's not really all too different.This is Jaxon at bat. I was talking to my neighbor who has a daughter on the team and everyone started calling me. I look over and Jaxon's at bat saying, "Mom, WATCH!". Funny guy.
This is his celebration of making it onto first base! They have outs, but not really strikes. Everyone on the team gets a chance at bat and then they switch up. They are basically just trying to get them to understand which way to run and things like that.
Here he is playing the "pitcher"...basically standing there to catch the ball, or to be a target!
I LOVE this picture. He thought he was so cool with his hat on backwards!

Guess Who's Gone Green?!

This is the CVTD slogan to get people to take the bus. And that's just the challenge Chris decided to take. With gas prices here right around $4.00 a gallon, he's figured that it costs him $4 a day to drive to and from work...and it's killing us! SO...on Monday he came home from work and said he was going to take the bus the next morning with the neighbor who works with him. He got up early, left the house around 7:00 a.m. and made it to work! He got home that night about 6:30. So, he's decided it so worth saving somewhere around $50 a month to take the bus 3 days a week. So far, so good. Plus, think of all the things he can get done during the commute :)

Soooo Cute!

I LOVE little baby bums. They are SOOO cute. Last night we thought we'd give Jayden a little idea of what it's like to be a "big boy", so after his bath and sitting him on the toilet for a few minutes (he actually DID go), we put him in a little pair of undies for the evening. He was so confused! He kept pulling and tugging on them trying to figure them out. It took him a while to get how to walk in them vs. a diaper. Funny boy! We put him back in a diaper for bed. He's not really ready for potty training, but we thought we'd give him a view of the future!

Playing in the Sprinkler

The other day I got the sprinklers out to water the back lawn. It hadn't been particularly warm that day, but the grass was starting to look like it was drying up. Jaxon decided that it would be a good idea for them to go get on their swimsuits and play in the sprinkler. Kenzie and Jayden had a blast...Jaxon didn't even get wet!Check out the farmer's tan on this one!
She needs a swimsuit. She outgrew last years.
Kenzie being brave
Jayden giving it a shot

Jaxon modeling his swimsuit...it didn't even get a drop of water on it!

Congrats, Chris

Every June, Chris has an annual review with his boss to discuss his performance--things he's doing well at, things that need improvement as well as wage adjustment as determined by his performance. Well, today was the day. They said they were very pleased with his work and his efforts. They appreciate all that he adds to the company. They are hoping to have him be a project manager in the next few years (that's a big deal). They took a look at his wages (which they bumped up last year) and determined that his performance warrants a larger wage. So, YAY for Chris. He is getting a raise next week. They will discuss the exact amount when it gets closer to pay day (as it wont increase until the next pay period!) We are SO proud of him and glad that Cartwrights took a chance on him with his lack of experience and have come to see what the rest of us knew all along!

Jayden....

Before Jayden, my kids were just normal kids...I thought. They never really got into coloring on the walls or defacing family property. Well, Mykenzie did a couple of times, but Jax hasn't ever really like to color. Jayden, however, must be on constant supervision. He's always had a thing for the bathrooms. He lately discovered putting toilet paper in the toilet then flinging it all over the bathroom. It has a lovely spit ball effect--in case you were wondering. The other day I was reading my scriptures upstairs enjoying some peace and quiet when I discovered it was a little too peaceful and quiet. Jaxon and Mykeznie were upstairs playing with their toys but Jayden was no where to be seen. I sent the big kids to discover his whereabouts. A few seconds later I hear, "MOM! Jayden is covered in bubbles. There are bubbles EVERYWHERE!" I come running down to discover this:





Jayden had gotten his hands on the kids shampoo, discovered one of their little bath loofahs. Those two things, mixed with toilet water...you get the picture! Jayden himself was soaked from head to toe and covered in bubbles. I took his clothes off and called Chris to whine. He said (through a few laughs), "take some pictures!" So while I didn't get the picture of Jayden, here is his handywork!

Last Few Pictures of Vacation...

After the fishing and park Jaxon and Grandpa got out this cool toy and played with it for quite a while. It's an electronic circuit set. The pieces snap onto the board and you create circuits that do different things. This particular one made the helicopter blade spin and fly off. jaxon LOVED it. He is still talking about grandpa's toy.

Yeah, Mykenzie CRASHED! She was so utterly wasted!

The Aftermath of Our Tripmy cankles saturday night after a FULL day of travel

the lawn...it took FOREVER to mow! Can you believe how tall it was?!

Friday...

For those of you who are getting sick of my Boston pictures and blogs...we are almost done. I think by tomorrow we'll wrap it all up. I just feel like I'm extending my vacation everytime I look at the pictures. Friday morning dad made us his famous crepes...a special treat passed down from his dad. Then we went fishing at horn pond. When we were younger my dad used to pack all of us into the van and take us all fishing. I'm not sure how he managed 10 kids at the pond, we struggled with just the three and there were 5 adults!dad and the kids digging for worms in mom's flowers

Mykenzie was the keeper of the worms

mom trying to keep kenzie and jax from poking eyes out!

Yeah, he was a little difficult to manage. He wanted to play in the water which is why I'm behind him holding onto his pants.

Kenzie caught the first fish.

This is Jayden's tribute to Mr. Skeff. This is the only time I've seen him do it right!

Jax just could not get a fish. We told him one last chance and this is what he caught.

We put Jaxon's fish back into the water and let Jayden pull it out. Cheap, yes, but it was cold!

Everyone kept saying that Jayden is all about his mom, but in reality he worships his dad. Anything Chris does, Jayden is not far behind.

I'm sure mom will love that picture

Grandpa with the boys on the tire swing.

Grandpa pushing the kids on the tire swing. I think by this time Dad's hands had turned from purple to white!

The New England Aquarium

The penguin exhibit

Jayden sees eye to eye....with a turtle

Say "Cheese!"

Big Fish

There's actually a shark in the background

These turtles remind me of Crush in Nemo

Hands on exhibit--the kids were a little worried about touching things

Grandpa Lee and Mykenzie hold a starfish

This thing was HUGE!

"Loveless" (from Happy Feet)

On Thursday we went to the aquarium. You'll notice there aren't many pictures of Jayden...he was a little bit tired, but wouldn't fall asleep. The aquarium is a fascinating place to see. they have a huge tank--three stories tall full of ocean things...they had sting rays, sharks, sea turtles, and other HUGE fish. We got to see the diver in the tank going around and feeding them all. They also had a special exhibit on jelly fish that was really neat too. We saw fish that give off their own lights, we saw an exhibit about how fish swim in schools...as well as a few different species of seals. We had a great time!

Later that evening, we met up with my friend Skeff (who visited back in September) for dinner and visited with her parents--which was incredibly entertaining! It was a lot of fun...