NO TRAINING WHEELS!!

We always had a joke that Kolten would be riding without training wheels before Britlyn would. Boy were we wrong! Kolten is so athletic, his balance and coordination is incredible for his age. But Britlyn sure showed us. One night the kids were fighting over the bikes. We bought Kolten this little bike from the DI for 5$.  It didn't have any training wheels, but thats why I bought it. They used to fight over hers, but he just liked to push it. Her bike is bigger and has training wheels on it so it was hard to walk beside with the training wheels. So this one was perfect! Anyway, when they were fighting, I told her to go get his bike. She said, I can't! It doesn't have training wheels! I said, well maybe if you ask dad he can help you ride it without training wheels! She liked that idea! So Luke held on to her seat for a few steps in the driveway and then he let go without her knowing. She rode it about 20 feet and we were so excited! Once she realized he didn't have hold of her she got scared and stopped! Then when I told her she was doing it all by herself, She was so shocked and just wanted to keep trying and trying! After that, he would just help her get started and then he would walk along side of her and she would just pedal all over the driveway and street! It was the craziest thing for us to watch! She just picked it right up! She is a total pro at it now, and the training wheels eventually came off on her bigger bike. She still makes me a little nervous, cuz she sometimes doesn't pay attention to her steering, but Im sure that will always be an issue since she is a girl :) but we are so proud of her! We are sure glad she didn't let her little brother beat her to it !! Way to go Britlyn!!

Britlyn's 1st day of Preschool

This year Britlyn gets to go to a public school for preschool! I love it SOO much better than the home preschool she went to last year! Although she had a really fun time last time, this year is so much fun for her! She absolutely LOVES her teacher Miss Mitchell. She is from Brazil. Her teacher fell in love with Britlyn right off the bat when she found out that her Uncle Kresdon was serving his mission in the same mission as her at the exact same time. We still haven't figured out if they know or remember each other yet, but most likely :) So they have had a connection from the get-go.  She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 hours. It is a fabulous little school! Whats even more fun is that I used to go to this school when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade. I actually cant remember which grade. I think 3rd though. anway, She is absolutely loving it!

Like I mentioned before, Kolten HATES to be left out of anything big sister is doing! He of course had to take a picture by the tree and sign :)
Every morning Kolten cries that she goes to school. He wants to go SO BAD! It is the saddest thing ever. He always points to himself and says "Toten, Toten" (Kolten) and then he nods his head and says "Ya, Ya" He always wants to go to school with her so bad! Some day buddy, Some day :)

One day when I picked Britlyn up from school, I was about the 7th parent in line. When I got up to the front and her teacher let her leave, she said." Britlyn is the PERFECT child!" Then she started the bowing motion towards me! She just kept saying, Seriously, she is soo good! I was a proud momma that day! :) She didn't mention that to any of the parents in front of me, so Britlyn must have really stood out to her! Gosh, she makes me so proud :)

little parrot

Koy loves it when Luke holds him way up high on his shoulder! He loves to be perched up so high. I call him a little parrot when Luke holds him like that. I just think he is such a cute little baby :)

Jumperoo Time

Lots of firsts for Koy lately. Well In the month of August anyway. We finally got the Jumperoo out. He gets so bored laying there or sitting in the bumbo, so we decided to spice things up and see if he liked the jumperoo! He does :) as you can tell! Im pretty sure I have some of the most handsome little boys :)

Bath Time

So I was brave one night and decided we would try all three kids in the bath at one time! It wasn't too bad, and Koy absolutely LOVED it! He thought the kids were so funny when they were splashing around, and the older two are so good with him. He would get a cup of water dumped in his face every once in a while, but for the most part, they were nice to him :)

 Kolten always tries to copy sister! Its so cute to see them interact! He is at such a cute age.

 Such a happy baby :) especially during bath time!

Bumbo time

This was Koy's first time attempting the Bumbo! He was a little wobbly at first, but is slowly getting the hang of it. He was about 4 months old in these pictures. He loves to spin the little toy and try and eat it! He's such a cute, happy baby :)

Its always a fun time at our house when I try to get a picture of ALL three kids at once! This was as good as it was getting. but it shows personality :)

Washington County Fair

This post is waaayy late. But better late than never! We have had so many fun things to do since we got here in St. George! It seems like there is a parade every few weeks. The kids love parades. This particular time, way back in August, we went to the Washington county fair! There was all sorts of carnival rides that the kids had a blast on! The favorite for Luke and I was the caterpillar roller coaster, but im not so sure the kids liked it as much as we did :) (we are mean parents lol) It was funny to watch their faces on that roller coaster, It wasn't really even scary, and I knew they would be fine on it so we just stuck em on it. Kolten was not liking it at all, and Britlyn couldn't decide if she liked it. She had a half laugh, half cry thing going on. We noticed that they started holding hands after it started going. Awww aren't they sweet! Afterwards, we asked britlyn why they held hands, and she said cuz Kolten was scared so I was holding his hand so he wouldn't be. Im not sure if that was true, or if it was cuz she was scared too lol. Anyway, they had a great time!

Happy Birthday Bud

I can't believe my little boy is 2 today! As I look back at where we were at 2 years ago, it is nothing but pure joy for me! We welcomed a SWEET little boy, who we wanted SO bad, to this world. It was not the most ideal birth story, but it is one that will hold an extra special place in my heart and one I will NEVER forget! From the minute Kolten was born, even though his daddy was half way around the world, he has been a daddys boy! I would like to thank Dr. Clinch for a memory that I will never forget, and he will probly never in his lifetime of delivering babies, know how much that one small act affected me. Right after I had Kolten, He held all 8 lb 2 oz of his screaming body, and he didn't place him on my chest, he held him up, turned him to the side and showed him to the webcam first so his daddy could see him! I like to think that is the reason they are such good buddies :)

Kolten you are such a joy in our family! You are so talented, athletic and sweet! I like to think of you as a big teddy bear!

You have the cutest blonder than blonde curly hair that everyone envys. Your lips are to die for, and your big hazel eyes make me melt everytime you look at me! Im not so sure how we managed to get such a handsome little boy!

You have an incredibley strong love, or maybe I should call it an obsession with Football and skateboards! I have never seen a kid as athletic as you at the age of 2. You can ride a scooter better than any of the kids on your block. Next to your dad, I think your hero is Uncle Kaydon. You would sit and watch him play football all day if you could. You love to try and catch the football and hike it. Im pretty sure you can't get any more "BOY" than you are. (we took you to the store to pick out your birthday decorations, they had all sorts of little boy things to choose from, but you knew exactly what you wanted...FOOTBALL. You grabbed the plates, threw em in the cart and we were done :) easy enough)

You aren't afraid of getting hurt and the only thing we have found you to be afraid of so far is really high places. It makes you mad when you crash or fall down and we run to your rescue. You HATE being babied in ways like that! 

 You would rather sit and watch Friday night lights or some random skateboard clips on dads iphone rather than watching kid cartoons. You do still love a good cartoon though. Barney at the present time. It changes often.

You love to play with your sister whom you have nicknamed "NEN NEN" and have an imagination that is beyond belief. I didn't think little boys liked to play pretend things, especially at a young age, but you do it so well! (I thank sister for this)

 You are so sweet and loving to your little brother, and it melts my heart when you give him hugs and kisses randomly. You love to help feed him bottles and give him his paci. I know someday you two will be best of buds. And I cant wait :) 

You love to "Hewp" with anything and everything and are very independent in most everything you do! The final result is usually a mess, but I'd rather you be happy and learn than to have a spotless house.

You love to read books and sing songs. You don't really know any words to songs, at least that you can say. but you know the tunes and the pictures of books.

You are your dads shadow! You love to go anywhere dad is going or do anything dad is doing. Not only are we lucky to have you, but you are SO lucky to have your daddy! He would give you the world! He loves you so much, and follows you everywhere you want to go! (maybe you could give dad some scooter and skateboard lessons haha. I have seen him crash a few times :) ) 

You are speaking alot more lately! Sometimes you randomly say things we didn't know you could say. Your vocabulary is quite large, but most people probly wouldn't know what you are saying. lately it has been "DO DAT" (like I said, you are very independent) You still will randomly make up a sign for a word you don't want to say. I love all the little signs you have made up to communicate with. You are a smart little boy!

You are going to eat us out of house and home and me and your dad joke all the time at what it will be like when you and your brother are teenagers, cuz we already can't keep the house stocked enough for you!

You hate being left out of the neighborhood kid games, or any even that is going on around you. You are always right there playing with the kids even if they are 5 years older than you. Mommy especially likes this. We love sitting outside in our camp chairs as a daily ritual, watching you ride your scooter and now skateboard up and down the driveway and sidewalks.

You outweigh your sister by 4 pounds. You weigh 36 pounds and wear 4-5t clothes. Shoe size 8-9. but we are perfectly ok with that :)

Im pretty sure little boys don't come more hard core than you, but at the same time as sweet as you! You are always on the go, smart, sweet, loving, big, athletic, sneaky, such a tease, but so loving. I wouldnt trade you for the world, and I know your dad wouldnt either! We love having you in our family! We can't wait for many more Birthdays to come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOLTEN

For Koltens birthday all Luke has been wanting to get him was a skateboard. I have been against buying him a skateboard for a really long time! When i think of skateboards, I think of a broken arm. So I was not about to BUY him a skateboard just so he could get hurt on it. Plus they aren't the cheapest toy on the shelf. Finally one day, after a huge fit about not having a skateboard, I caved and we took him to a skateboard shop. He walked in, saw all the skateboards and started jumping up and down yelling "BWOOT BOARD BWOOT BOARD" You could tell he was happy! The nice guy let him pick out a skateboard from behind the counter and then he set it up on the counter to get the wheels and stuff put on it. What Kolten did next was absolutely priceless and I never ever in my lifetime want to forget it! He heard the guy say, ok now lets build your skateboard, and instantly Kolten jumped up and down 3 or 4 times, clapping his hands yelling "Bwootboard" with excitement. Then he ran as fast as he could over to his dad, and gave him the BIGGEST hug his little arms could give around his daddy's knees! After I watched how excited he got over realizing that he was FINALLY getting HIS own skateboard, I would have bought him 100 skateboards. I think as adults, we don't realize the excitement or joy or wants of  our little kids. Kolten cant talk a whole lot. If he were 5 years old, he would tell me how bad he really really wanted a skateboard. So to know that inside him he has been wanting a skateboard as bad as he has been, and now he is finally getting one, it made my whole day!  He was in awe the whole time he sat there and watched the guy make his skateboard. He got to pick out the color for the top and of course, he chose blue! When he got done, they guy handed him the skateboard and he put it on the ground and Kolten just laid on it! He had a smile from ear to ear all the way home :) Now that, I will never forget!

 Here is the skateboard he picked out. Its a Lip Trix board

 Showing me that the guy is putting "BOO" (blue) on top.

 The finished Product!

 Of course he couldn't put it down even in the car.

 His first time riding it at home

 Sitting down has seemed more fun lately, and Im perfectly ok with that :)

 Dad seems to think he needs to learn NOW how to ride, but Im ok with the picture below haha

He likes to start at the top of the driveway and ride down it til he hits the little gutter where the driveway and road meet. he calls this "Bump Bump"

Happy Birthday Bud! We love you more than ever and are so glad that you are ours FOREVER :)

Lake Powell 2011

This year Lake Powell was a little different than usual! It was just our little family and Grandma and Grandpa Duwel. It was fun as usual though! Lukes Aunt Lori was kind enough to let us borrow her camp trailer which was SO nice. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much :) We were there for three days and two nights, which is just right I think. Not too long, and not too short!

The kids had so much fun riding in grandpa's boat, swimming, eating all the snacks and capri suns possible, and staying up late and waking up early! Im not sure times like this should be considered vacations for mom and dad :) but it is a fun one for the kids, and that's what matters!

Koy even swam alot! Daddy starts em out young :)

 Grandpa's boat is always their favorite!

 Eating some dinner

 Britlyn and Grandma loved jumping out of the boat to cool off in between daddy wakeboarding.

 Koy liked the boat too :)

 Kolten never liked to get in on these little breaks, but he sure had fun pushing daddy in :)

 We went for a drive to the marina, and he almost fell asleep. It is a kind of long boat ride!

 The marina has lots of fun things to do there! They especially loved the little kid swimming area and looking at all the big house boats that were docked.

 Brotherly loves...

They got a slurpee to share, and surprisingly they shared it really well! I had to document that lol

So once again we had a great trip to the lake! And the best part of it all was that it wasn't too far away from home this year :) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for making it so much fun!

(daddys highlight of the trip was Grandpa camped right next to a guy that had a really nice Tige boat. The guy was super friendly and nice and took Luke wakesurfing and wakeboarding behind it a few times! It was fun to see him get to have fun wakeboarding and surfing. he deserved it! He works so hard, it was nice to see him have fun for once)