First, 9 Months, Fun, And More

I realize it has been a few weeks since my last post. It seems like we have just been really busy living and enjoying life. In addition to riding bikes, playing slip n slide with all of the neighborhood kids, and having some fierce competitions on our new Wii, here is a quick update of what has been happening.

Brother Bear has started first grade! He is attending the brand new school in our neighborhood. His teacher seems to be a really good teacher. He likes school so far, but hates having to read and do homework every night.

Sister Bear has been on her best behavior since Boston has gone back to school. She is anxiously counting down the days until PreSchool begins.

Baby Bear hit the 9 month mark on the 3rd. Cody took her to her well child check up and reported her height as 28 3/4 inches (70th percentile), and weight as 17 lbs 6 oz (8th percentile.) Baby Bear has started to do lots of fun things this month like: climbing on top of everything, playing peek-a-boo with the blanket, clapping and playing patty cake, getting into everything including purses and toilet paper, and showing us how big she is!

And believe it or not, she has taken her first steps and is starting to walk more and more everyday. ( I will post some video of those cute wobbly steps soon!)

This weekend we took the kids to Boondocks with Papa Bear's family.

Here are all the girls and baby C2:

And the guys:

The first thing we did was try out the bumper boats. Papa Bear got soaked by everyone. Then we tried the Go-Karts. Sister Bear and I chose a super speedy green car and passed everyone! I realized both of us have a need for speed and can be super competitive. Sister Bear squealed the entire time and kept encouraging me to drive faster and pass everyone. The second time we rode, we didn't do as well, and she was really bummed!

GpaA, Aunt J, Aunt and Uncle JJ, Brother Bear, and I also played laser tag. I made Brother Bear play even though he was crying and didn't want to. (Sara, I too am one of "those" mothers.) In the end he loved it and wants to play laser tag for his Birthday. Our team got killed by the red team! But it was still pretty fun. We also played the arcade games and let the kids buy some little goofy prizes with their tickets, and then the guys had to try out the batting cages.

After Boondocks, we went to see Papa Bear's Grandpa at the hospital. He had a heart attack last weekend, and we are hoping for him to head home tomorrow. He looked really good, but seemed a little disoriented-- who can blame him with all of us crazies in his room. Grandma was kind enough to buy us dinner at the cafeteria, and we got to catch up with Cody's Aunt and Uncle.
Last night we took GmaShopper to dinner at Rodizio's to celebrate her 60th Birthday. Happy Birthday GmaShopper! We had a great time, and hope you did too!

I think that about catches me up! We are heading camping at the end of the week, but will have more adventures to post soon.

Food and Fun on the Fourth

Do you know what I love about every single holiday? Good Food! And the Fourth of July was no exception for us with a yummy fish fry. Let me introduce to you our personal chef....

My dad!

With a little assistance from my Little Bro (M Fatty) and Mom of course!

Dad cooked up blue gill and bass, as well as GpaW's most delicious french fries (which are Baby Bear's new favorite food), and onion rings. Yummy!

Not only did we have good food on the Fourth, but we had some good times swimming with the kiddos in Gma's pool and then enjoying some good ol' traditional street fireworks.

(Gotta Love the Post Swimming Hair-DO!)

(My cousin Amanda has a couple of fun pics on her website... http://www.mandapalooza213.blogspot.com!)

Friday morning before the fish fry we took the kids to see Wall-E. It was cute... but, there was hardly any talking during a good portion of it, so, Sister Bear had to commentate.

"Oh, Wall-E is trying to clean his trash."

"There goes Wall-E to his station." (Station is what she calls his house)

"Wall-E ran over his Pet!"

I swear, the little girl could not keep quiet. I'm surprised we didn't get hushed right out of the theatre. But the kids had fun and really enjoyed it-- It's not often that we take in a movie at the theatre.

Then on Saturday night we headed to the Bees game (along with 13,100 others) to enjoy the most boring baseball game I have ever watched- the Bees got killed. (Even Papa Bear said it was boring-- so you know I was bored out of my mind!) But, it was fun to be with the Papa Bear's Fam and the "Big Fireworks" were well worth the admission to the game. Sister Bear loved the "Big Fireworks." Brother Bear enjoyed the Fireworks too, but between us, I think he goes to the games for Nachos and a Pepsi. Baby Bear , on the other hand, fell asleep during the middle of the fireworks. I guess the noise didn't bother her at all, but I guess it really shouldn't considering the big brother and sister she lives with.

Speaking of Big Bro and Sis, they are out of town for the weekend visiting Grandpa and Grandma, and Baby Bear seems somewhat lost without them. I thought she might enjoy the peace and quiet, but I think she really misses them. She seems really grumpy, but that may be due to the little tooth that has pushed it's way through! Who knows? If she doesn't miss the two of them, I know that I sure do!

And since the kids are out of town, mom and dad invited Papa Bear and I over on Sunday for dinner. Dad barbecued steak, and while Papa Bear can cook a pretty good steak, there is still nothing that tops my dads barbecuing!

Happy Eating!

June Photos

June Update

June was a very busy month for us.
Brother Bear graduated Kindergarten and was awarded a gold medal for reading, and got a perfect report card. Cody and I are so proud of him.
Sister Bear had her dance recital and did a great job. She danced tap to Hey Hi Ho, and ballet to Sad Giraffe. My favorite part was the facial expressions she had during Sad Girraffe- a pouty face that turned into a beautiful, big, smile.
Baby Bear has been learning new things too! She crawls everywhere, pulls herself up to everything, and then cruises as fast as she can. She also loves to play cars with Brother , knock over blocks, and is starting to experiment with finger foods. Lately she makes this squinty eye smile that just plain makes me laugh.
Over Father's Day weekend, we went camping and fishing with my Dad, Mom, GpaW, Aunt LoLo, and UncleC. We had a great time. We caught quite a few nice fish, but Papa Bear made the catch of the weekend when he was able to snag and reel the umbrella that the wind had blown into the lake. We drove up to the snow and had a snowball fight, and even got the kids to go to bed after GpaD thought he heard a young bear near camp (which we actually think may have been coyote pups.) And Brother Bear did a really great job at spotting deer out on our drives. We can't wait for the next camping trip.
We also took the kids Lagoon. They were so brave and rode everything their height would allow them to, even some rides that Papa Bear wouldn't. At the end of the day we let them run in the fountain- Sister Bear was soaked in a matter of minutes and Brother walked out of there without a drop of water on him. It is so funny how different they are. Baby Bear didn't get to come, but got to spend the day with GmaC.
We also went to the annual W Family Reunion at Kelly's Grove up Hobble Creek near Springville. It was fun to see and play games with all of my cousins. The kids had a great time playing water games and making new friends.
I think that is a quick little blurp about our month of June. Enjoy the pics- afterall, we know that's all anyone wants to see anyways.

Major (League) Baseball

Memorial Weekend was all about baseball for our family. We took a road trip to Denver to watch the Colorado Rockies play. The kids did pretty well on the 6 hour drive from GpaA'a and GmaShoppers house to Denver. It rained/snowed most of the drive, but when we got to Denver the weather was really nice. When we arrived on Friday, the guys went to the game and the girls took the kids to the Denver Aquarium. Sister Bear liked the SeaHorses and Brother Bear Liked the Giant Sea Turtle. There was a cave that had a flash flood that made all of the kids cry. We had to go back through it to get out, and I have never seen Brother Bear run so fast. We even dined with the fish. We had a really good time. Both A and I forgot our cameras back at the hotel, so we purchaed a disposable camera. I'll post some pics in a few days. The guys had a good time at the game, but it went into extra innings (13) and they didn't get back until almost midnight.

On Saturday we stolled down the 16th Street Mall and hung out at ESPN Zone before going to the game.

The game was fun, even though the Rockies lost, and the kids favorite part was meeting Dinger (the mascot), and eating Nachos and Cotton Candy.

We headed back to Roosevelt on Sunday, and took Sister Bear to the Emergency Room with a bladder infection. No Fun!

Monday we made our way home and then went to the Bees game. Boston's team, the Defender's,were the Field of Dream Team. They were introduced on the field, got their picture on the jumbotron, stood on the field with the Bees Players during the National Anthem, took a tour below the stadium, and got a ball or a shirt from the team. Brother Bear loved the player who gave the boys gum from the bucket in the dugout.

But the best parts...

Meeting Bumble,

and Sword Fighting (Hey they're five and six!)

Boston is 6!

I can't believe it! My baby boy is six years old. He had a great birthday. On Saturday we celebrated with Papa Bear's family. We went to Fat Cats and had a great time bowling. When it wasn't Sister's turn she kept us all entertained by dancing on the colored squares or climbing up the ramp.

After bowling we spent some time in the sun. It was so nice to be outside. Baby Bear got the first feel of grass in her toes and had fun practicing her newest accomplishment of sitting up!
Brother played with all of his new toys, and the kids colored all over the driveway with chalk, played some hoops, rode bikes and scooters, played in the sand, and had friends over. I think Libby (our Lab) was the happiest-- she finally had some company.

Today Brother celebrated with my family. GraD made him a fishing pole that he is very excited about. And Papa Bear and I got him a new bike. But with the rain and cold he won't get to ride it until tomorrow.
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Happy Birthday Brother Bear!

Check out my Easter Slide Show!

We had a really fun Easter. Because church doesn't start until 11:00 the kids had plenty of time to find the eggs and the baskets that the Easter Bunny hid. Baby Bear's basket was hidden by the entertainment center. Sister Bear found Baby Bear's in no time and was bummed that it wasn't hers. Sissy's was tucked under the kitchen table, and Brother's was hanging on the shower head. The kids looked really cute in their new Sunday dress. In the afternoon we had a fun easter egg hunt at Gpa and GmaW's. But we missed rolling (and racing) eggs down Gma and Grandpa F's driveway.

Giving Blogging A Try

I think I will give this 'blogging thing" a try. For about a year I have been reading my cousins blog. I think it is a great way let family and friends, who we don't see nearly enough, know what is happening with us. I also hope it will help me keep my resolution of keeping a family journal this year.

2007 was such a wonderful year for our family, I was somewhat sad to see it end. We took some wonderful trips- San Diego with the Papa Bear's Family, Yellowstone with Mama Bear's, and we even got some camping trips in.

Sister Bear started dance lessons this fall. She is doing so good, especially for being the youngest in the class. Their first performance was in December. She stuck her tongue out most of the time. Just call her MJ!

Brother Bear started Kindergarten this year. He also played soccer and baseball. He is really getting to be a good little baseball player. Always paying attention.

In November we welcomed Baby Bear to our family. She was born on GpaW's Birthday. She is such a good baby-- a real sweetie. I can't imagine our family with out her.

I hope we are lucky enough to have 2008 be as wonderful as 2007.

Wish me luck with this "blogging thing!"