Five!

Jake turned five in November. Josh was adamant that Jake have a party so on his actual birthday we picked up two of his cousins and ate some cake and opened presents. Not a big celebration but enough for Jake since he wasn't even asking for the party guests. He was very excited to get his glow-in-the-dark Thomas train track from mom and the Joker and Penguin from Grandma and Grandpa Stott.

He is such a sweet kid. He loves to tease, joke around, and play tricks to get people to laugh. He's very quick to say "I love you" and still lets me kiss him but puts definite parameters on it (I can only kiss him at home some days and only in the car other days, etc.). He's my little daredevil who loves to jump off of everything--you'll hear more about that in a future post. We love our Jacob!

Fall 2010

Since Christmas decorations come out by Halloween, I figure it's OK to post about Halloween during the Christmas season, right? Josh was a "Halo army guy" and Jake was Superman! Right before the church trunk or treat, Jake actually brought me the Batman costume that he's worn for the past two years. Now I realize Jake is a small guy, but even he has finally outgrown the Batman outfit. So, he went back to the closet and picked out the dinosaur costume. Since trunk or treat was outside, I wouldn't let him wear the dinosaur because it has a huge fleece tail that would drag on the ground. Since I made that one, I'm a little attached to it and didn't want it ruined. So, he went back to the closet again and got out the bigger Batman costume with muscles. Jake's grown, but not that much. So, he went back to the closet and settled for Superman. What a good sport he was! And he made a very cute Superman.

Baptism

We held Josh's baptism down in Arizona the weekend after his birthday. He was very excited and I was so proud of him. His Grandpa Smith performed the baptism and Grandpa Stott did the confirmation. It was wonderful to have both sets of grandparents there to support him. As Josh was getting ready for bed that night, I asked him how he was doing. He was so happy and said, "You know, I didn't feel any different when I turned eight, but I feel different now!" What an awesome kid!

Eight!

Josh just loves his birthdays and this was a big one. He turned eight which means his baptism was right around the corner. He was very excited to fly to Arizona for the baptism but before we left we had to celebrate at home. He got the Star Wars double light saber that he wanted and a Halo jeep made out of Megablocks. The dirt cupcakes we took to school were a big hit too. He was a little disappointed that we didn't have a party with friends but has seem to forgiven me.

Squeak's

After Pike's Peak we stopped at Squeak's Soda Shop in Colorado Springs. My friend had taken her kids there and it seemed like such a fun place I couldn't wait to try it out. It's a great sandwich and soda place that mixes (almost) any flavor and color soda you could imagine. I decided to try purple oatmeal cookie with vanilla ice cream and Josh had a red root beer float. Jake doesn't like pop, so he tried cookies 'n creme ice cream for the first time. They both loved it and we can't wait to go back! Next time . . . watermelon maybe in blue.

Pike's Peak

In our quest to have more adventures (fun ones, at least), shortly after school started we decided to drive up to the top of Pike's Peak. The drive was beautiful and wasn't nearly as scary as everyone described. Or maybe I'm just a scary driver anyway and I'm accustomed to it. Once at the top, we ate the world famous doughnuts and looked at the amazing 360 degree view. Josh could definitely feel the altitude change which the local EMT said would go away when we reached the tree line again. Sure enough, his heart felt fine as soon as we reached the trees. The body can be very strange sometimes. Right at the tree line was a spot with some great climbing rocks, so we spent some time exploring. The boys had a great time and now we can say we've been to the top!

I'm Back!

Yea! I have a computer that works and actually will upload pictures! I have a lot of pictures to post but also a lot of studying to do. So, little by little I may actually get something on here!