Snip, Snip....

You gotta love Cookie Cutters for kid haircuts. Dane loves the video games and movies you can play while you get a trim. And it is way cool to be able to sit in a car or motorcycle instead of a plain old chair. Getting a haircut is not a new thing for Dane but this time it was Ian's turn and he did really well holding still. We did have Baby Einstein on and he was eating a sucker.
Mullett!
Mullett, no more!
Couldn't leave Dane out. Scary face!
Clean cut.

Good thing he didn't see the brothers after him that were getting mohawks. I don't think I am ready for that yet.

Two by Two the Fun Begins.....

Angie's Baby Shower!

We had a great time celebrating Angie and her Babies with a Noah's Arc theme party.

My mom's friend, Colleen, made animal cupcakes in two's. They were the cutest things ever! And tasted great, too.

I made balloon animals in two's for the centerpieces. They were fun to make and pretty easy. Animals not shown: pig, panda, and chicken. I took the pictures after the party and the sprinklers had come on and kind of ruined the other ones.

Angie got quite the loot for the babes. We can't wait to meet Jack and ?????

We Love You Angie!

Sun, Sand, and Fun! Oh My!

Our family trip to Bonaire was great. The cousins had so much fun together. Dane was just in heaven with so many buddies to hang with and Ian loves all the attention he gets from everyone. Dustin and I would have gone insane if it wasn't for all the help we had with the boys. These are only a sampling of the pictures I took. I still need to get copies of everyone's elses. Unfortunatly we didn't have the best wind for sailing. We were able to sail the first two days of the trip and then it hardly blew the rest of the time. Saturday morning when we are packing up to go home the wind was howling so Bob, Carol and myself hit the beach for a couple of hours and had the best sailing of the trip. Thanks to my lovely husband who did all the packing and for Auntie Megs for watching the boys while Dustin did some kiteboarding. With the wind so low it was the perfect opportunity to let the little kids practice their skills with a sail. They all had a great time. Dane loved it and did really well for being the youngest kiddo out there. I will post a video if I can figure it out. One of the trip highlights was when our friend Kenneth (who works at the windsurf beach) took us to a really cool cave. Jackson and Dane founds some old bones from a dead goat and were conviced they were from a little kid. Nobody told them otherwise since we figured we could use it as a threat to leave them there if they were naughty. There were tons of hermit crabs too that the kids liked. They founds some pretty bigs one's too. After the cave Kenneth took us to this really neat swimming hole where the waves crash into it. The water was so clear and there were tons of little seashells all over it. It was fun to stand at the edge of the pool and wait for a big wave to crash over you. Well, I am sure to be boring you know so enjoy the pics. It is nice to be home again especially since if finally feels like summer here.

We Made It!

After a grueling one week of training :) Myself and 3 friends rode 62 miles (a metric century) in the Little Red Riding Hood Race for the Cure. Participating in an athletic event is something I have always wanted to do but never had the guts. I always came up with many excuses why I couldn't race. Nancy, Sherry and Crickett didn't even give me a chance to find an excuse. Before I knew it I was signed up to spend half of a Saturday riding through beautiful farm country in Wellsville, UT. I am so glad I did this ride. We three amigos had a great time. We called ourselves Team Chatterbox because we didn't stop talking the whole time. We just took it easy and enjoyed ourselves.Above: Sherry (L) and Nancy. Me below at lunch. Check out the lady in the background scratching her butt!

Us at the finish line. My Aunt Lori and cousin Allison came to cheer me on at the finish line. Allison lives in nearby Smithfield. It was a total surprise. I loved it! I am so bummed I didn't get a picture taken with them. Thanks for the support Ladies!
Celebrating with our sparkling apple cider.
The after party at Nancy's gorgeous home. We sat in her sauna, swam in the pool, lounged in the hot tub and ate delicious food. What a great day. Anyone want to go for a ride?

Dane's Graduation

Today I feel really old. I am fast approaching 30, which is scary enough. But celebrating Dane's graduation from Preschool has really made me wonder where the time goes. My mind was playing fast forward during the kids program of Goldilock's and the Three Bears. Dane turns 5 this summer, then he starts kindergarten, next he'll be driving, going to college, getting married, having kids.... You see where I am going with this. Whew! I have to stop focusing on time going too fast and just enjoy the moment. The graduation celebration was great. Dane and I have really enjoyed being a part of the CCNS preschool program. His teacher, Stephanie, is an amazing person with so much patience and knowledge. My hope is that she hasn't decided to retire by the time Ian is old enough to start there. Congratulations Dane!

Our Trip to Thailand

The best things about our trip:

-Wonderful food. If you enjoy Thai food. We also had a delicious pizza for lunch one day.

-The best massages ever. They were 200 baht/hour which is about $7. We miss our daily massages. Anyone know a Thai lady wanting to earn some extra cash?

-Beautiful and cheap artwork. We got 3 original canvas paintings for less than $200 total.

-The Thai people are wonderful. So nice and humble.

-Beautiful white sand beaches where you can lay out and eat corn on the cob, cooked to order on a portable grill, slathered in butter, salt & pepper. Or enjoy fresh cut pineapple. Delicious! (The corn lady carries the grill up and down the beach on her shoulder!)

-Swimming in the ocean with Ra-Ra the elephant at the Sheraton Hotel on the island of Krabi. Seriously a dream come true for me!

-How cheap everything is. $1 to 32 baht. Example: Our scooter rental charge was $5/day

-Traveling with Kristen and Russell. We had a great time together.

The not so great things about our trip:

-Trying to get comfortable on a 17 hour plane ride.

-Hard beds in every hotel. Thank goodness for the massages!

-Having to walk through the stinking dried squid market in Bangkok. It was awful :(

-We didn't have the best weather for sunbathing on the beach. I wasn't able to get a real tan to replace the fake one I went with.

-It was hard to see how poor many of the Thai people are. They sleep where they work. Literally. They have a building with a store in the front and a kitchen and bedroom in the back. The kids hardly have clothes let alone toys.

-Missing the boys

Just a quick update from paradise

Greetings from paradise! We are in a town called Ao Nang at a little internet cafe. We just spent the afternoon on a secluded beach that you can only get to by boat. It was very beautiful. For about $3 Dustin got a foot massage and for another $1.50 we got a fresh pineapple to share. Delicious! Thailand is awesome and I recommend anyone who can should come here at least once in their lifetime. The people are soooo nice and everything is soooo cheap. We got the best massages we've ever had for about $7. Dustin is planning on going back for the 3 hour day at the spa and that will set us back about $20. Can't beat it. And the food is delicious too. The only thing that is bittersweet about being here is that my mom has been in the hospital in Rexburg, ID with Ian. Turns out he got pneumonia the day we left and had to be admitted for IV antibiotics and breathing treatments. My mom is so great and hasn't complained at all about having to sleep at the hospital. My sister Megan and her bro-in-law have been taking care of Dane. I do feel like the worst parent ever enjoying myself while my little one is sick. Actually both of the boys are sick. Dane got an ear infection before we left and is on antibiotics too. Thanks mom and Megan for taking such good care of the boys. I owe you two big time. I love and miss you all.