Finally Done

After a week of working on our new swing set it is finally done! This thing was a beast to put together.

Here is how it started- it took us about two hours just to label all of the wood and hardware.

Jon's dad was there the first day to help. This is pretty much as far as they got the first day. The base structure was the hardest because you had to make sure it was perfect or everything else wouldn't line up.

The middle of day two we had the swings up. The boys were so excited- the swings are still their favorite part. Unfortunately neither of them can pump on their own yet so I have to constantly be out there pushing them!

By the end of day 2 we didn't want to quit working when the sun went down so we brought out a light and continued to work for a few hours. We finished the picnic table, slide, ladder and the floors of the two platforms.

The rest of the week we only had an hour or so when Jon got home from work so we weren't able to make as much progress. Day 3 we got the rock wall up and some of the side rails.

The end of day 4 we got the rest of the side rails done and one of the roofs finished.

We took a brake on day 5 and Jon and I went out!

Saturday we finished the other roof, filled the sandbox with sand and staked the whole thing down. Jon did such a great job putting it together and the kids absolutely love it!

Tell me this smile doesn't make it all worth it!!!

Mormon Prom

Every year a bunch of stakes in the area get together and throw a Mormon Prom. It's for anyone 16 and up and you have to wear a modest dress. Carli got asked by a cute, popular kid in her ward and she was more than excited about it. After he asked her she turned around and gave a pump fist and said, "Yes!" She then turned to all of the sisters (we were all there for Sunday dinner) and told us that we are her team. I was make-up, Christy was hair, Holly was the photographer and was to tell her that she looked pretty and Bethany was to help with the dancing!

So I went shopping with my mom and Carli to help her find a dress. Carli fell in love with this one- she loved the fact that it was red and that it had sequins on it. The night of the dance we all helped get her ready and she looked so pretty. I'm not sure who was more nervous about the date- Carli or my mom!

Carli really wanted to reenact a scene from the show 'Full House' so she had my dad walk down the stairs in front of her and film her making her entrance!

Finally her date arrived and she was pretty excited about the corsage! They took a few pictures and then they were off!

The next day at church I talked to my friend who chaperoned the dance and she told me all about Carli and the little diva she was. Apparently Carli decided she was sick of her date and wanted to go dance with everyone else so she spent the majority of the night trying to get away from him. She even threw her corsage at him and told him that he was too bossy! The sad thing is that she was the one that was being bossy the whole night! Overall, she had a great time and I think her date was a good sport about it. There may not be a second date though...

Grandma and Grandpa Draper

Jon's parents came down for the weekend which was so much fun since we don't get to see them very often. Friday we all went to Disneyland and California Adventure. The boys loved having their Grandma and Grandpa there to ride all of the rides with. They wanted nothing to do with riding with Jon or me! The weather was perfect and it was just a really fun day.

You might notice us holding up a little paper doll in some of the pictures. Our nephew sent us Flat Stanley and we are supposed to take him with us wherever we go and take pictures with him. Flat Stanley got to ride a lot of fun rides!

Grandpa Ron and Nathan driving the bumper cars.

These little seats in Bug Land were so cute!

We rode a bunch of rides and then got their famous corndogs for lunch. After eating Grandpa Ron and Jake enjoyed listening to a little band that was playing.

Max started to get really fussy and tired and so Lorelei sang and rocked him until he fell asleep- something neither Jon nor I have ever been able to do while he is in our arms! He slept for a good 45 minutes or so. Unfortunately we forgot sunscreen and put the sweatshirt over his head a little late resulting in a lovely sunburn on the left side of his cheek!

Nathan wanted to ride the Tower of Terror ride so we decided to let him try it. I was a little worried that he was going to be scared and freak out, but he ended up loving it. I just told him that the Twilight Zone movie thing was silly and not scary and he actually believed me! What a brave little kid!

When we were done with California Adventure we headed over to Disneyland. The kids were pretty tired by this point but we really wanted to ride a few of the rides over there. We went straight to Small World since it just recently reopened, but the line was way too long and the kids were losing it. So we just went and rode the Tea Cups and the the Merry-Go-Round and decided to call it a day.

Nathan was really cute and wanted to hold Max's hand the whole time. Max's head really isn't bigger than Nathan's, I think it's just the angle- or at least I hope it is!

We then took the kids home and left them with a babysitter while Jon's parents treated us to a delicious dinner down in San Clemente at Beachfire Grill. We stopped and showed them Jon's new office on the way which they were really excited to see.

Saturday morning we went to Jake's baseball game. He was so excited to have everyone there to cheer him on. He kept look over at the stands where we were sitting with a huge smile on his face. He played a great game- he had two good hits (without the tee) and fielded quite a few balls. I love this picture of Grandma and Jake after the game!

The rest of the day Saturday was spent working on a project in the backyard (pictures to come). Jon and I went to run an errand and when we got back Lorelei had dismantled our entire swingset all by herself! It was pretty old and rusty and had seen it's last day so we'll be taking it to it's final resting place at the dump this week. We ended the day with a little Inn-n-Out and then they left early Sunday morning to drive back to Utah for the Draper temple dedication.

Overall we had a fun weekend with Grandma Lorelei and Grandpa Ron and we can't wait until we get to see them again!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Love this little leprechaun!!!

A sneaky leprechaun visited the boys bedroom while they were at school and left a gold coin, a shamrock and a green sucker for each of them.

Jake came home from school wearing this leprechaun hat- he was pretty excited about it!

For lunch I made the boys green eggs, cereal with green milk and green water. We are firm believers around here that breakfast is a great meal any time of day!

Here is our delicious looking green dinner! I had Enrichment tonight so I didn't have time to make a big green dinner. Instead we had green Macaroni and Cheese, green beans, green jello jigglers and green lemonade. Luckily they server dinner at Enrichment so I didn't have to actually eat this dinner! The kids were pretty excited about it, though.

I love that Max is trying to steal Jon's food while he has his other hand in his own food. You don't get that big by only eating your own dinner!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Jake's Jog-A-Thon

Friday Jake participated in his first Jog-a-thon! He started off running pretty fast for about two laps. He then started to get tired and wanted to walk for a while. I stepped in and ran a few laps with him and then Jon walked a few since he was in his work clothes and didn't want to get all sweaty! Jake's aide was awesome and ran right behind him most of the time. Nathan wanted to run a lap or two so I ran a few more with both of them. I didn't get to go running that morning since we had to get there so early to cheer Jake on, so I was more than happy to at least get a few laps in. I just wish I had dressed more appropriately and that I had brought water!

Go Jake, go!

Dad and Jake

Jake, Mom and Nathan

Ms. Andrus and Jake

The cheering squad- The Kindergarteners were supposed to wear red so Nathan, Max and I all wore red as well to show our support (Nathan's red shirt is under his sweatshirt)!

It's hard to see, but if you look closely Jake has 22 tally marks on his back which means he ran 22 laps in 30 minutes! I'm pretty sure he didn't actually run quite that many, but I was so proud of how well he did! Oh, and thanks to Jon's dental practice for sponsoring Jake at $2 a lap!!!

Later that day Jake had baseball practice. At the end of the practice the coach gave Jake the game ball from the previous game! The ball hog isn't on his team anymore and so Jake has been doing really well with fielding the ball when it's hit his way. They've also started pitching to the kids and Jake has had some really good hits. Way to go, Jake!!!

Lakers Game

Our friends gave us tickets to the Lakers v. Phoenix game last Thursday. Jon and I have never been to the Staples Center so we were pretty excited. The last time I went to a Lakers game was when I was a senior in high school and they were still playing at the Forum!

Unfortunately this was the best picture we got of us. Jon was holding the camera up and trying to take the picture and after three attempts he refused to take another one!

The game ended up being a blow-out (Lakers won, of course) but it was still so fun. They are even better in person than they look on tv.

We went out after the first quarter to find something to eat since we were starving. We found these giant hot dogs that came with BBQ sauce and onion rings on them. They were pretty good, but definitely not worth the $11.75 each that we paid for them!

Overall it was a fun night! Thanks, Eric and Josie, for the tickets- we owe you big time!!!

Baseball and a Lost Tooth

Jake started baseball last week and so far he is really loving it. He's on the Dodgers so of course Jon went out and bought some Dodger's parphenilia for himself so he can wear it to the games- way to show support! Jake's uniform is really big so I might go buy him some smaller white pants. Thankfully the belt is adjustable so it keeps the pants up! We found this out after Jon tied the belt in a big knot and when the coach saw how ridiculous this looked he showed us that it is actually adjustable!

Jake stayed in ready position the entire time he was out on the field. Every game they have buddies that come and help out. When no balls were hit Jake's way, his buddy would find balls for him to catch and throw back in.

Unforunately the ball hog from soccer is on Jake's baseball team as well. I didn't think this would be a big deal in baseball, but I was wrong. As you can see from the picture Jake was so excited that a ball was hit to him but right as he went to scoop it up Dallas swooped in and grabbed it like he did with every ball hit anywhere near him. So frustrating. I just wish his parents would say something to him. Oh well.

Jake's team is hitting off of the tee right now, but eventually they will start hitting pitched balls. Jake had a couple good hits!

He struggled a little with running the bases. He just wanted to run after the ball that was just hit instead of running to the next base. His poor buddy was getting quite the workout trying to get him to go in the right direction. It was pretty funny to watch!

Sitting in the dugout waiting for his turn at bat.

Jake was pretty excited after the game. He came running over to us saying, "I did it! I played the baseball game!" What a cute kid!

We're number one!!!

After yesterday's game Jon was waiting in the car with the kids while I ran into Costco. Jake's bottom tooth has been loose for a little while now and Jon looked back and saw blood all over Jake's face. He climbed back and realized that the tooth was barely hanging there so he pulled it out. Jake was so excited to show me when I got back to the car. I can't believe that I have a child old enough to be losing teeth!

Jake left his tooth under his pillow last night and woke up this morning to M&Ms and a dollar! The Tooth Fairy must have known that Jake doesn't really care about money and that he would be way more excited about the candy!

My little boy is growing up.