Lion King and The First Day of .....School?

My amazing husband once again earned us an amazing treat! The agency had a contest to earn tickets to The Lion King! It was amazing! We made a date night out of it and went out to dinner before the show and then met up with practically the whole agency at the capital theater. The show was really cool and it was so fun to have a date night with Bryan. I told him we need to have them more often!

Outside the theater before the show

No matter what I do, or how hard I try, I can't stop Parker from getting older! If anyone has figured out how to keep your kids from growing up so fast, please let me know! So, since I can't keep Parker from turning 4 in Nov, we decided it was time to start preschool! He started on Aug. 31st and he LOVES it! He wasn't totally cooperative with me for his first day of school photo shoot, but with some compromising I was able to get some pictures of him before we went to school. He wouldn't let me take any at school, but maybe later this year I'll be able to get some! He goes Tues, Wed, Thurs and comes home every day talking about his friends at school and what they learned that day. I can't believe my baby is in preschool! So crazy!

Shades for the first day of school are a must!

Not exactly cooperative, but a good shot of his back pack!

This is my favorite!

And back to being silly!

August!

Wow, once again, looking at the pictures I tool in August, we were busy! The month started off with Youth Conference for me. It was a crazy time for me and my family between girls camp and Youth Conference! I felt like Heather and Gloria were raising Parker f0r me while I went to meeting after meeting after meeting! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! to them and other family and friends that helped take care of Parker while I was getting ready as well as while I was gone! Our stake did a pioneer trek this year, and boy was it a lot of work!!! I'm not gonna lie, I was not excited from the beginning. I thought there was no way I would be able to make the 9-ish miles we were going to walk with the carts, let alone the 10 1/2 mile hike out without the carts! But I survived it all and even had a little fun in between! We enjoyed turning cream into butter, making marbles, tug 'o wars, gunny sack races, stick pulls, pulling marshmallows into taffy and square dancing! There weren't enough young women, so some of the leaders had to dance as well so that all the youth were able to participate. I don't know how anybody even managed to move their bodies after pulling/pushing a hand cart the day before, but we had a lot of fun!
The following week we had playgroup at the zoo. It was so much fun going with a big group of our friends from the ward. Parker even went down the snake slide at the playground, which I don't think he has ever done! it must have been the peer pressure because all of his friends were doing it!
We also went to a Bees game with Vicki, Matt and Matson. Bryan's parents and his nephews were there too, but they weren't sitting by us. Swoop was also there since it was U of U employee night. Parker and I chased him down and got a picture with him, then later he came over to our section and was signing t-shirts that he had thrown out into the crowd. Parker had his U of U hat, so he wanted Swoop to sign it! It was fun eating ball park food and visiting with family. The game was ok (not a huge baseball fan and the Bees weren't very good that night!) and I think Parker had a really good time!

Trying to get a pic of us at the game, what a joke!

Parker was so excited to get his picture taken with SWOOP! GO UTES!

This poor girl! Swoop used her head as a desk to sign a bunch of shirts! She was a really good sport!

That same week Bryan and I went golfing with his sister Melanie and her husband Tracy. It is the first time I've been golfing in a long time and since getting my own clubs. We've been to the driving range several times, and I thought I was sort of getting the hang of it. My first tee shot we actually pretty good, and I thought I might actually do alright. We didn't keep score or anything and just played the best shot, but my game went down hill after my first shot. It was still fun and I hope we can go more so I can get some more practice!
We were also able to squeeze in a field trip out to the copper mine with Melanie and her kids before school started. I'd never been out there and it was pretty cool to see the actual mine as well as learn all the things that copper is used for!

The whole gang! Mel's kids, plus some friends, Mom, Parker and Matson! Mel and I were behind our cameras of course!

Parker and Bekah looking down into the mine

Parker had been asking all summer if we could sleep in our backyard in the tent. We didn't get any camping in this year until Labor Day because of how busy I was this summer, so we decided to go ahead and sleep outside. Well, we got it all set up and even took the portable dvd player out so he could watch a movie in the tent! Eventually we all went to sleep only to have Parker wake up at 3 am covered in hives! I have no idea what brought it on, but I spent about an hour up with him. I gave him a bath, gave him benadryl and rocked him for a while. Then he insisted on going back out to sleep in the tent! I ended up sleeping the rest of the night on a twin air mattress with him. It was ridiculous! The hives were totally gone in the morning, but came back again the next night! It was really weird and I still don't know what they were from! We'll see if we try sleeping out in the backyard again next summer!

Watching a movie in the tent!

Is it hot in here...oh wait, it's Bryan!

My hot, awesome husband is on fire again and earned us another amazing trip! So we headed to Vegas at the end of July for the Whittenburg Agency's 3rd annual Hotter 'n Hell Extravaganza! Bryan golfed, I shopped and had lunch with my college roommate Autumn, Bryan golfed, I played Bunko, ate lunch and shopped with Suz, Erika and Megan, Bryan played roulette with some of the other agents and their wives, we both ate lots of buffet food (the Mirage buffet was actually really good!) saw Terry Fator-hillarious! and a movie-Knight and Day, and had a great time bowling with everyone! The hotel where we were staying had a bowling alley and movie theaters! It was great seeing everyone again! We missed Tami, but we're so glad that baby J is here safe and healthy! Can't wait to meet her and can't wait for next year! Thanks to Mike, Suz, Layth, Lou and everyone at the home office for another awesome time!

Big Mike and Lou giving us 'instructions' and Lou is posing of course!

Laura, Lou and Megan--Gotta stretch before bowling this is serious stuff! Just look at Megan's game face! She even brought her own ball!

April was on our team and did really well! This is after a strike!

Ashley, who I've heard has some mad bowling skillz, was having a rough time that night, but still kept smiling and having fun!

Kyle was having a really good game!

The second game we had to do all this crazy stuff like bowl backwards, close our eyes, hop on one leg..it was very fun to watch!

Kyle hopping on one leg, he still had an awesome game even with all the crazy stuff we had to do!

Lou took this picture of us LOVE the bowling shirts!

Most of the bowling crew! I think everyone had a great time!

July In Review

Well, looking at the pictures I took in July, we had a busy month! It started with a trip to the movie theater to see Toy Story 3! It is a rare treat for us to go to the theater. We usually just wait and watch movies when they come out on DVD. Parker had a chart that he had to fill up with stickers he earned for good behavior. When the chart was full, his reward was to go see Toy Story 3. He only had a couple days where he didn't get a sticker. It was a great motivator for him! He did great at the theater and only had to go potty once during the movie! We spent the 4th of July at home this year. Everyone in Bryan's family went out of town and Bryan was heading to California that Monday for work, so we decided to just stay home. We went to the driving range, the library, bought our own fireworks (which we never do) grilled and ate outside, played the Wii and then lit our fireworks. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to spend time together just the three of us before Bryan left for almost a week! It was so hard having him gone and we were so happy when he came home!

Parker throwing pop its

Dessert was ice cream and brownies, YUM!

Watching our fireworks

Parker started swimming lessons in July as well. I was worried how he would do, and if he would freak out on me, but he did GREAT! He still doesn't like getting his face wet, but he is making progress. His teacher advanced him to the next level and he is still doing great! We also went to the dinosaur park in Ogden with Bryan's sister Melanie, her kids, Bryan's mom and Matson. It was a lot of fun! We saw the dinosaurs, ate lunch, played on the playground and in the education center.

His first swimming lesson

My brother Dustin, his wife Lindsey and their daughter Rylee came down to go to Lagoon and the zoo and invited my sister Heather, me and Parker to go with them! We had SOOOOO much fun!!!!! Parker and Rylee were really good at Lagoon. I was worried how Parker would handle the heat, lines and no nap, but he did GREAT! They got to ride all the kiddie rides they wanted and then were so patient while we went on some that they couldn't go on. Parker wasn't sure at first, but once we convinced him to go on a ride with Rylee, there was no stopping him! He loved riding all but a few of the rides (the log ride and rattle snake rapids weren't his favorites!) He also loved playing a couple games and of course the yummy treats! The next day we went to the zoo and once again the kids did great! I thought they might be so tired from the day before that it wasn't the best idea to take them, but they were troopers! Other than being a little crowded and extremely HOT it was a fun day at the zoo! I bought a pass this year and hope to go back several times!

Rylee and Parker on the Dragon Fly

Bulgy the Whale

Waiting for the bird show at the zoo

Riding the carousel

For the 24th we went on a hike with Bryan's family. We started out trying to hike to Donut Falls, but it was closed, so we decided to walk around Silver Lake instead. Parker was a little whiny and didn't want to walk at first, but he made it around the whole trail! I let him take some pictures along the way to distract him from the fact that he was still walking.

Waiting to see what the plan was since Donut Falls was closed,
he didn't want me to take a picture of him

He took this picture of his shadow

He also took this picture of this critter that everyone was feeding

Every year we make apricot nectar and sometimes jam from Bryan's parent's tree. This year Parker helped pick up the apricots off the ground and squish them into nectar. He was covered in apricots, but he had so much fun with his cousins!

Bekah, Parker, Hannah and Emma squishing the apricots

Bekah and Parker took a break from the apricots to watch a little Playhouse Disney
Here they are doing the dinosaur dance

11th Anniversary etc....

So, I know I am such a slacker! I'm going to try to 'catch up' in the next couple of posts. First Bryan and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary on May 14th. We went to lunch at Cafe Rio, and then to the driving range. Bryan's been wanting me to try golfing for a while now, so I decided to give it a go. We just shared his clubs and he gave me some pointers and I went for it. I am not good by any means, but it's something that I think we could enjoy together. He went and bought me my own set of clubs that day! We've only been to the driving range twice since then, and I think I am improving a tiny little bit.

Parker 'helping' me open my new golf clubs

We received some sad news Memorial Day weekend that my grandma had passed away. We miss her, but we're so glad that she isn't suffering anymore. She hasn't been doing well for a while and it really was an answer to prayers that Heavenly Father finally called her home. We were able to spend several days with family in Idaho and even though it wasn't the happiest of occasions, it was nice to see cousins and other friends and family we hadn't seen in a long time.

On a lighter note, I celebrated my birthday in June. It was a Monday and Bryan decided to take the day off. We took Parker to the aerospace museum at Hill AF Base. It was so fun! None of us had ever been there and Parker loved all the planes, helicopters and jets! Then Bryan's mom was nice enough to watch Parker while Bryan and I hit the driving range. Bryan even baked me a cake, which was awesome! Then the best sister in the world bought tickets to the Lady Antebellum/Tim McGraw concert! Sadly, I found out shortly after my b-day that Bryan's annual agency trip had been changed to that same weekend! After many days of going back and forth about what to do, I decided to go on the trip with Bryan and my SIL Alison is going to come down and go to the concert with Heather.

Parker and Bryan inside the only aircraft you could actually go inside. It's some sort of helicopter, that's all I remember

I had Parker stand next to this tire so you could get a sense of how big it was. I don't know why, but he started folding his arms in all the pictures he posed for that day, funny kid!

Parker loved the planes with 'shark' faces as he called them. He is REALLY into sharks right now, there is even one on his shirt he wore that day

They had really HUGE aircraft outside. Bryan and I had to duck to get under some of them. Parker didn't, but he saw us doing it and thought he had to do it too!

And finally, Parker LOVES taking pictures. If I leave the camera where he can get to it, I am guaranteed to find some of his photographic genius! Here are a few gems for you to enjoy!

My hand blocking my favorite paparazzo from snapping a picture of me in the dressing room!

He is very proud of the fact that he can write a 'P' all by himself!

And my favorite! His foot through the bench in the same dressing room mentioned above. Pretty cool huh?

So Busy!!!!!

So, girls camp is next week and I promised myself when it's over I will get caught up with my blogging! We've been busy enjoying the nice weather, FINALLY! And I have been crazy busy with my camp assignments! I have a ton to blog about including our anniversary, playgroup, my grandma passing away, my birthday and my favorite pictures that Parker took with the camera! Here is a little preview, enjoy!

Parker's cousin Addi taking a picture of him taking a picture of her

He took a picture of his foot, I don't know why