Jimkeepers

The tale of the Jimkeepers goes back many years to when a bunch of rowdy teenage boys became friends.  Well, somehow those crazy boys became men.  I love it when we can all get together.  We were extra lucky to have Lee and Jaclyn in town from Georgia.  It would be so nice to have them closer (hint, hint:)).  

We met at a beautiful park in southern Orem.  We fed ducks

we picnic'd and the kids played 

and the big boy's played 

Oh, and Owen has a fierce love of dogs.  He is always chasing after them. . which I have to watch out for sometimes.  He gives kisses over and over again to dogs and Ollie was his new love:).   

Arizona Summer

Months ago Brett suggested that we go to Arizona for a week after our Disneyland adventure.  All I could think was July + Arizona = NO!!!  Well, after a lot of talk I finally gave in and I was glad I did.   The 110+ degree temperatures really weren’t as bad as I was dreading.  Swimming makes everything more bearable, along with all the fun with family.  We spent a lot of time in the pool and the boys even took some swim lessons with their cousins.  I really feel like both of the boys have improved leaps and bounds this summer.  Hyrum likes it when I call him little fish when we’re in the pool and Noah then usually insists that I call him scary shark.  Our boys are so cute!

Disneyland 2

Hyrum and Noah both got to fight the dark side as Jedi’s in training, along with most of their cousins.  That was a great experience!  Hyrum also got to have his birthday at the happiest place on earth.  He is FIVE!!! I can’t believe that we have a five year old and he is such a joy to have in our family.  He is curious and always asking questions about everything.  We tried to make the day special by taping streamers up in the hotel while he was asleep so he could wake up to something special.  We also let him pick out a big ice cream cone.  He ate about half of it before he decided that he was full (yes, this boy has a lot of self control) and was ready to open presents.  He gave the rest to Noah who demolished it.  I’m just glad we put down a towel on the floor:)

Noah is now tall enough to go on the Tower of Terror, which of course means that Brett insisted he tried it once.  I won’t even go on it!  Anyway, he did try it, he didn’t cry, and all he said was “I don’t like that fast elevator”.  He’s such a brave boy.  The kids also got to dance away at the Phineas and Ferb show.  (I love the top picture with Hyrum in the air as he was jumping)

We got to see their Aladdin show which is just the coolest, funniest, Broadway-esque show to see.  With all the fun  the kids would get pretty zonked out which means I got in some extra snuggle time. 

There was a lot of waiting in lines, but the lines overall were great.  It was fun seeing the sea of like colors with our matching shirts.

Disneyland

Ok, so these are not in order, but I’ve spent the last week looking at these pictures and trying to figure out how to post about 100 pictures onto the blog.  It was really hard to condense them, but these were some that I wanted to remember.  Carsland was AWESOME! 

There were some other awesome rides and people to meet.

There were some great treats to cool us down.

We did some fun Disneyland trivia that brought in the Partridge competitive gene and kept our minds searching.  The boys really loved all the rides and spending time with cousins.

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

As I rapidly approach the big 3-0 there are some things that must get done.  Donating my hair is on my list:).   I always thought it would be really neat to donate my hair .  I've cut a handful of peoples hair when I was working in a salon as they donated it.  I  thought it was a neat thing, but at the time, thought it wasn't something I could ever do.  As I get older I know that I'm not the type of person to have hair down to my bum when I'm 40, 50, or ever again.  So, three years ago I committed to grow my hair out until I was 30 and donate it, because my grey hairs aren't decreasing in number and the desire to dye it will only increase.  I didn't quite make it to 30, but I did get it long enough to donate, and that's what matters.  As I've been preparing for the donation I learned a few facts.  It takes 20-30 hair donations just to make one wig!  A single real-hair wig costs over $1000.  My hair is a small contribution, but I hope it will make someone happy and feel beautiful.  

  

Before:

My hair went to the middle of my back, and when I looked up at the ceiling it would touch my pants.  I, for the most part, found my long hair to be incredibly annoying. It was always in my way, hot on my neck, collecting baby spit-up, getting pulled easily, etc.  For my boys though, my hair was a play-place and they loved it.  One of Noah's favorite things to do was to hide under my hair and play peek-a-boo.  Hyrum liked to twist it and tie it into knots. Owen liked it when I would tickle his neck with the ends.  The boys loved it when I would be the tickle monster and let my hair down so it would tickle their faces and necks when I would pin them down. (I took the picture below so they could remember what it looked like).  I've had long hair for the majority of their lives, even thought I feel like it was such a small portion of mine.  Cutting it off wasn't hard for me, but I can completely understand why some people have such a hard time getting rid of their long locks.  I can now empathize with the situation.  As for me though, we had a little hair party with the   remains:

What to do with 10+ inches of hair before it goes in the mail?. . . 

 After: 

 I know I look kind of creepy in this picture, but I forgot to have Brett take a picture before he went to work, so I was trying to take it myself:). . I love my new haircut! 

Farewell hair!  Hello freedom!

9 Months !?!?!?!?!

     Our baby seems to be growing up SO fast!  I can't believe he's already 9 months.   Our little Baby bubbles is such a sweet part of our family, and I'm so happy to have him with us. Owen is a happy baby.  Jerry Seinfeld said, "A two year old is like a blender with the lid off". . . well, in Owen's case it's nine months. This little man is go, go go, nonstop.  People ask me if he ever just holds still, because for the most part he is anywhere and everywhere except sitting still.  I cook dinner, and he takes EVERYTHING out that is in and spreads it on the floor.  I feed him lunch, and what's not in his mouth is everywhere on the floor.  I put my makeup on and he 're-organizes- our closet:

When we are outside (up until last week) he would beeline it for any and all dirt and stuff it in his mouth, while pulling out all the flowers that stand in his way.  (Luckily we found out babies that crave dirt are deficient in a certain vitamin and so after putting him on Poly-Vi-Sol drops he doesn't eat dirt as often) With all of the dirt meals he was able to get a lot of baths:

We've always called him Baby Bubbles and from the above picture you can see how fitting that is.  He LOVES the water.  Owen is our first baby to blow bubbles in the water at about 7 months.  It's his favorite thing to do during baths.  He will actually stick his entire head in the water and blow bubbles over and over again.  This was his first bubble bath in a long time, and so the bubbles threw off his bubble-blowing groove, but he still dunked his head a few times. 

Owen is a FAST crawler, he stands alone for several seconds, walks along tables and chairs, says Momma, Baba (which means brother, and several other things), and Mmmmm(which means he wants yummy food).  He is such a joy to our family.  He loves his brothers so much and sometimes laughs just when he sees them. He is already wrestling with the boys and giving kisses to everyone he loves.  He's affectionate, curious, energetic, and determined.  

Water!

It's been REALLY hot here lately and I've been dying. . . I realize it doesn't compare to Arizona heat, but still.  We decided to finally get the Slip and Slide out for Family Home Evening this week and it was a hit. . . for all ages!  We got it out again on Tuesday in the front yard so that the neighborhood kids could play too.  It was fun.  I think the pictures say it all:)

 The big boys have been taking swim lessons for the whole month of June and it's been great seing them improve.   Noah was always making his teachers laugh and he was very comfortable in the water.  Hyrum was SO excited to get his head under the water this year and be a 'little fish'.   He's been practicing his ice cream scoops and treading water.