Birds!!!

So, we've had some house guests this summer. A cute little bird couple built a nest in our carport. It was so fun watching them work together to build their home. And amazing to see how they can use such random items, and it sticks together! Well, pretty soon we noticed that the female bird was spending a lot of time sitting in the nest, so we figured there must have been eggs in it! It was fun to watch the male bird. He would come over and land on the side of the nest, the female would fly off for a while, and the male would just stay there, watching over the eggs. The mama bird would come back, and daddy bird would hop over to his post nearby and just hang out there. Well, pretty soon those eggs hatched. The kids came running in yelling "THE BABY BIRDS HATCHED!!" They were so tiny. I have to admit, I was afraid one was going to fall out of the nest. I really didn't want to have to deal with that! Luckily, they all survived. They were kind of noisy. Mom and Dad flew in and out all day, taking turns tending and feeding them. And those funny baby birds would squawk and open their mouths as wide as they could to have a turn being fed. It was really interesting to watch. Within two weeks, those babies were as big as their parents! I couldn't believe how fast they grew, but it seems like all they did all day was eat, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Then one Sunday, just two weeks after they hatched, we watched them getting flying lessons from their parents. It was so cool seeing the parents helping the first one. It landed funny on the fence, and we were a little afraid that "he" was stuck, but after a while, and with mama and daddy birds' support, he was flying again. They would only fly a little way, then they would stop and rest for a bit. Pretty soon, another bird was gone from the nest, then another, then finally the last. It was weird to see the empty nest. For the next few days, they were gone flying in the morning, then back squawking for food all afternoon. Our kids even named them. There were four, so they named them after themselves (since there are four of them too!) Then suddenly they were gone for good. Empty nest! It was abandoned for a couple of weeks, then suddenly this week, mom and dad bird are back! They added some random items to the nest (there are long horse hairs hanging down from it) and mom is spending a lot of time sitting in it again. We are wondering if there are more eggs! Our kids are so excited, and hoping to see some more babies soon. One thing that really struck me was the teamwork between the parents. They really worked together. Not only building the nest, but tending the eggs, feeding the newly hatched babies, and teaching them to fly. It was really neat!

B is for Bubbles!

My boys LOVE bubble baths. They are so funny in the tub. I'm trying to learn how to use my new flash, and they were the perfect models! I wanted to capture a memory of how much fun they had taking bubble baths. When I think about how fast they are growing up, it makes me kinda sad. One of these days, they aren't going to want to play in the bubble bath together anymore. It's already killin' me that B is going into first grade, and Hayden is in preschool for the last year. Where did my baby boys go? I love them so much. The conversations we have are priceless. They are getting really fun as they grow up, but I just can't believe how fast time flies. It's such a great reminder to me of how much more I need to be playing with them, before they don't want to play with me anymore. I love my little buddies!

Big Changes

Eryn is growing up so fast! She is going to be in 6th grade this fall, which at her school is MIDDLE SCHOOL! I can't believe I have a kid that old. She is such a great daughter. She's so fun to be around. She decided a couple of weeks ago that she needed a haircut. Her hair was getting so long, and it was hard to manage. Brushing was a pain! So finally, after days and days of asking, I called our friend who cuts hair, and she came over and gave Eryn a really cute haircut.

Then, the very next day, we headed to the orthodontist to have braces put on! Another crazy thing for me to think about... I was in 9th grade when I got my braces on, and didn't get them off until my Jr. year in High School (which was SO frustrating!) And now, here's my sweet Eryn getting braces in 6th grade! Lucky kid! All the crazy braces memories are coming back to me, like how sore your teeth are when they get tightened, how weird they felt the first few days, how depressing it was to not be able to eat certain foods... but Eryn is going to do great. And doesn't she look so cute!?!?

A Day at the Beach

So apparently there is this really cool beach... in UTAH! In Herriman, they have built this fun little beach next to their pressurized irrigation reservoir. They put in sand for the beach, then it extends half-way out into the water (to a wall, where the bigger kids can still touch - then on the other side of the wall, it's just dirt and rocks and much deeper). My sister Jana invited us to all go up and play! Our kids were so excited to go. We stopped and grabbed a pizza on the way there, and it was so funny, because the whole way there it just looked like typical Utah landscape, and suddenly you go over this little hill and there you are - at the beach. (Well, there is still typical Utah landscape around it, but anyway... it is this cute little beach!) The kids couldn't get out of their seatbelts fast enough. We threw the towels out onto the sand, quickly ate some pizza, put on sunblock and life jackets, and the kids were in the water. (Okay, most of us got sunblock on. I forgot until it was a little too late, and my back got a bit fried.) The kids could have stayed there ALL DAY. The swam, played in the sand, swam some more, played in the sand some more... they had a blast! And I loved watching them have so much fun. All my sisters and their kids came, along with my sister Jessica's sisters-in-law and mother-in-law (who my boys think is their other Grandma! - and who was the best life-guard ever!) It was such a fun day, we can't wait to go back and take Jared. The kids missed him and said "We GOTTA bring dad here!" Watch the slideshow below of some of the fun pictures. (And for my sisters, I actually have a ton more pics of your kids... I'll send them to ya!)

My Dad the High Priest!

My Dad's bishop has been trying to convice my dad that it's time he became a High Priest. Of course my Dad didn't feel he was old enough for that (HEHE! We had to tease him about that since Jared is one!) Finally, my dad decided that he'd accept that "call" and said ok! He made sure that it happened while Jess was up from Arizona. My Dad is a great guy and I look up to him. We got to go to my Grandpa Grace's, who ordained him. It was SO awesome. My Grandpa has always been my spiritual hero. He's amazing. His testimony of the Savior and His gospel are very inspiring to me. The ordination was so neat. I'm so glad we got to be a part of it. We love ya, Dad, and we are so proud of you!

A few pictures from the day - Left: Dad and Mom with Grandpa. It's so good to see Grandpa up and around! Top Right: Mom and Dad with all their grandchildren! Bottom Right: "Great" Grandpa Grace with a few of his great-grandkids!

A Visit from the Arizona Gang!

We have been counting down the days for Jess's family to come up from Arizona to visit. It is so hard to have them live far away, so we were super excited to see them. Mom flew down so she could help Jess drive up. We were sad that Matthew couldn't come up, too, but we were happy to see the others. We did some fun things together while they were here. After we visited the Oquirrh Mountain temple, we got together at Grandma Cheryl and PapaBob's house to BBQ, play, and hang out. The kids always have such a fun time together. There was only one injury noted... and that was my kid! Bryson was pushing Kaitlyn in one of those little Cozy Coup cars, and pushed her right off the edge of the cement. She is too big for the car, so her head was hanging through the front and hit the ground, and her hands got crushed a bit. She had some bruises on her fingers, but she seems to be okay :) We only wish that the Young Fam could be here for more than a week. Hurry up and move back to Utah already!