Who is That Masked Woman?

Scout convinced Lincoln to let her try on his beloved Halloween costume. Lincoln has never even seen Batman cartoons. But, he knows it's cool and the action figures are cool, so I happily bought him a pre-made costume. I don't sew and I'm not really ashamed of it. Okay, maybe a little. Scout loved running around in this costume. Hopefully Lincoln won't want to try on her princess costume.

Who needs training wheels?

Well, my worst fears have come true. Lincoln is now officially faster than me on his bike. Truthfully, he was even with his training wheels on. Yesterday, his friend Gavin, came over to our house to show Lincoln that he had taken off his one remaining training wheel. He was fast as lightning and Lincoln was in awe. He went right to the backyard and asked Dave to take off his training wheels. Today, he is riding down to Gavin's house and back. I'm sure by the end of the week, he'll have signed up for a triathlon. Where did we get this athletic little kid? It's a mystery to us! A couple of videos (for Dave's viewing pleasure) of Lincoln riding his bike and also showing off his ring pull-ups. Notice...no shirt again.

No More Bug

Last night I was putting Lincoln to bed. I had just read him some books and then I turned off the light. I said, "I love you bug. Goodnight." He said, "Mom, why do you call me bug?" I said, "I don't know. Maybe because you're cute as a bug and it's just fun to call you that." He said, "Well, please don't. My name is Lincoln." How can something so sweet and innocent be so gut-wrenching. I just said okay and that I would try. How do you stop a nick-name? Not, that I'm going to. He's not the boss of me! =)

Ravishing Raspberries

Lincoln and I went with our friends Allison and Dallin to a little raspberry patch to go "razzburry pickin'", as Linc would say. We had a great time at this cute little place. It's all on the honor system and after you pick, you just weigh them and leave the money in a can. I love country folk! We went intending to get enough for making jam, but due to time constraints could only pick a few pounds. Needless to say, our portion is pretty much gone. We love the berries at our house. So, we'll have to go back. Dang! I would highly recommend doing this (even with kids). So much fun.

Eating more than picking.


Weighing and paying.

Ana Day is a Special Day

My sister and her family were able to go to the temple with Ana last week. It was a wonderful day and we were so happy we could be a part of it.

Bike Doctors

So, I had another one of those "what are you doing?!" moments. Why do I still not question what my kids are doing when they are quiet for longer than normal periods of time? Lincoln told me that they were "fixing" his bike in the garage. Whatever, just have fun. So, I went along my merry way and then went to check on them. I found them with screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches. The handle bars were off, half of the wheel was off, as well as numerous screws and bolts. Who knew that a kid could do this? We had recently taken our car in to the mechanic and told him it was at the car doctor. So, when I came out he told me they were just being bike doctors. How can you resist that? On a side note, you may notice that he is rarely wearing a shirt these days. Somehow he got in his head that when he pretends he is a "worker guy" his shirt needs to be off. I guess he's seen too many construction workers lately.

Fun with Friends

Amber and her girls came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. Amy and Scout are only two days apart. As I left the hospital two years ago, I went by Amber's room to see Amy who was born only a few hours before. Unfortunately, I will not be a few rooms down from Amber again when she gives birth to her third girl in a couple of months. =) We had fun catching up while the kids played. Lincoln adores Samantha who is over a year older than him. She has no problem letting him know how she feels. She is the perfect older sister. Thanks for playing with us girls!

New School

Lincoln's first day of preschool. He was so excited, he could barely wait to go and see his teacher and his new friends. He's been twice now and absolutely loves it.

Scout had to have her picture taken too for the first day of school.

Caves, Glorious Caves

We went with Steve and Debbie and our friends Beka and Kent and their kids to the Timp caves over Labor Day. I hadn't been there in years. After an initial dark cave scaring, the kids ended up loving them. So very interesting....and cold.




Tyse and Lincoln discovering these weird things that looked like phones, but were bigger, had cords, and were connected to the ground. Oh, youngins!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a great 29th birthday. My friends in the neighborhood all met up for snow cones at our favorite snow shack down the street. It was great to have something adults and kids enjoy together. Then my sister whisked me away for a pedicure (courtesy of Steve and Debbie), lunch with my dad and Bonnie, and then a day of shopping. Shopping for Katie's birthday....some may say that doesn't sound like me! Well, it doesn't. Unfortunately, we were shopping for the family reunion the next day. But, it was still fun to be away for the day. Then we went to Tami's where her kids presented me with a beautiful cake they had made for me. (A thank you for all the years Dave and I have made their birthday cakes.) Little did I know the only reason my sister wanted to spend the day with me was because Dave was working on a secret project for me at home. I came home to an(almost finished) closet organization. My handy husband had built me shelving! Hooray! Thanks everyone for a wonderful "last birthday". =)

Family Reunion

My dad's side of the family had a reunion. The camp was great. We did a course where we learned to rely and trust each other. We got to climb,rappel, dig in the dirt, paint rocks, tie-dye shirts, hike, paddle boat, and have a lot of fun with cousins.

Trip to St. George

Tami, Meili, Dave, and I went to the Tuacahn in St. George to see Les Miserable. If you haven't been to that theater, you must try to go sometime. It was absolutely spectacular with the outdoor scenery. And the bats...well they just added to the ambiance.


While down there we had to visit one of our favorite parks, Zions. The kids love it there.



And of course, we were visting Grandma and Grandpa Chase. The kids love walking the desert landscape looking for animals and bugs and plants with Grandma.

Visit from the Stephens Clan

I'm so behind in posting, it's ridiculous. Almost a month ago we had my wonderful Uncle Brad and Aunt Melissa and their kids come to visit. I think they had a lot of fun and we had a great time too. Some highlights from the trip. (Thanks Melissa for some of the pics.)

Seven Peaks

Adam rock climbing in Rock Canyon.

Linc and I after climbing up to the top of where the kids were climbing to.

Scout taking a turn with the hose.

Brad having fun trying it out at full blast.

Matthew getting some tips on how to roll hose.

Camille showing off her new turnouts.

Probably my favorite parts of the trip included watching the Olympics with all the fam. This one was during one of Michael Phelps' amazing moments. Can you tell we were a bit excited?!