Older than Dirt??

May 2012

There are many milestones in life- first step, first word, first day of school, last day of school, college, getting married, having kids, and the last milestone- turning 30.

 

Just kidding. To be honest, during high school thinking of being 30 seemed so far away. It felt like life would be winding down and everything would be a breeze from here. As I got a little older, and much much wiser, I quickly realized that life was just beginning. I still feel young,  I still have NO IDEA what I want to be when I grow up, and life certainly is NOT slowing down. So I was actually really excited to be turning 30. 

I am an official adult now! 

Having a birthday in May it is always a given I will choose something to be cooked outside on the grill. I think for the past few years I have picked Shish Kabobs, and each year they are getting better and better. 

The weather is always a chance, you never know if it will be too cold still but we took a chance, and with the help of our party planner extraordinaire- CONNIE, we had a great party. 

And hey look, there is the missing sister Katie! Nice to see you Kate! 

Sweet Ella and Bonnie showed up! It's not a party without Ella!

Party planner Connie and Saige chatted the night away, we just don't see Connie enough, none of you Loganites actually!

Grant didn't want to miss his favorite Sister in Law's birthday so he flew in just to wish me a happy birthday. Thanks Grant that meant so much, next time bring your wife and kid. haha (Sorry you had to come under certain circumstances, but it was brave of you to come alone, and we love any chance to see you!)

And the decor, what is a McDonald party without decorations!?!?! 

Balloons galore, signs everywhere reminding me that I was turning 30, potted plants, and of course dirt pudding cups for dessert! 

Does this look like the face of a 30 year old?

Five more years Connie, just you wait!!

Mimi made the cute pudding cups, and I am pretty sure I ate my fair share of those flower shaped cookies! 

And what is a party without whip cream filled mouths?!?!

So excited for the new chapter on life, excited to be thirty, to be looked at a little more grown up at work but still have the fun ability to be a kid. Thanks Mom and Dad for bringing me to this world 30 years ago, hopefully the past 10 have been a little bit easier than the first 20! 

And Matt thanks for putting up with this crazy girl. You may be the most patient Man in the world. And I love you and cant wait to spend the next 30 with you! 

(missed you Staci, Candace and Josie, and almost baby Rory)

hey you bike rider.....

One of our summer goals was to get rid of our training wheels. Saige has been eager but Milo wasn't quite ready. I put it off for a little bit, but after talking with our friend Jen, she shared with me her tip to get her kids riding their bikes training wheel free! PUSH THEM DOWN THE HILL!!!

My Dad had mentioned the same technique but I was a bit hesitant. For some reason Dad's can get their kids to do some things that Mom's just can't- or maybe it's just me being a baby! So to hear that Jen did the same thing, I figured it was okay to try. 

We were sitting out on the lawn, and thought "Hey our driveway has a slight hill, let's try it there, and see what happens?!!?" We tried it twice and she was off! Needed a little practice on her turning but she had it! Had I known it was THAT EASY, we would have done this months ago! She loved the new found freedom, and wanted to go around the neighborhood any chance she could! 

Milo was next, his bike was a little too big for him to try so I pleaded with Saige to switch him until he learned how. After a few attempts Milo picked it right up as well!!

YAH WE ARE TRAINING WHEEL FREE!!

We love our family bike rides-Matt holds on to Bull and we all head out around the neighborhood. So if you do see us, don't laugh! Wave, say hello, and join us! We love the company! 

Milo's Preschool Graduation.

May 2012

Milo's first year of preschool was coming to a close with Mrs. Tori at "Smart Cookies". Milo has had such a great year-meeting new buddies, going to Mrs. Tori's house and talking about a batman toy that she keeps in the basement (the things this kid gets excited about!).

What is cooler than monkey glasses, spider man watches, and a spider man tattoo. 

Let alone his handsome face, a bow tie and suspenders. Man this kid knows how to get right to my heart! 

I asked Milo to tell me what he thought about school and he continued to give me the thumbs up, apparently our families sign of happiness. He has learned so much, social and educationally, and has really enjoyed his teacher. Mrs. Tori has been very patient with him, and he really has a special place for her, and her son Graydon, Milo talks about him all the time!

Mrs. Tori put together a fun program, had them sing their favorite songs and showed off their number and letter skills. Its fun to see what they learn when they are away from home. Our kids share bits and pieces but don't love to share everything- something I am trying to crack!!

Afterwards we enjoyed cookies and treats, and had to get a picture with Tori. Milo was so excited to take his picture with her, and asked if he could give her a hug. 

We then snapped a few photos with Milo's future wife, our friend Brynn! So grateful for our dear friends, the Fords, helping us to get Milo to school this year-Val we owe you! 

(Thanks to Matt, Mimi and Banka for coming to the program-I did have a photo of us together but cannot find it!!!)

Afterwards Mat had to head to work, and I asked Milo what he wanted to do. He asked if he could go to Thanksgiving Point and walk around. I was happy to oblige, and we spent the afternoon walking the gardens, grabbing some lunch and enjoying some time together. 

So excited to have the kids home a little more, and to be able to do some more fun things together during the day!

Cause who doesn't love to wear your shades everywhere you go! Yah Summer! 

Don't mind our procrastination.

Please don't mind our little catch up. We will be posting from May 2012-Now, trying to catch up. 

Trying to document our crazy lives. 

And making sure that we don't forget those special moments that life is made of.

Think of it as a last hurrah for summer and bringing back those fun memories. 

Tooth Fairy and Uncle Josh

Milo was blessed with very sensitive teeth. It could have been the orange juice I gave him when he was young, but to make myself feel like not such a terrible mom I like to think that he just has cavity stricken teeth. Especially his two front teeth. 

 Poor kid has had his fair share of fillings, and they seem to not want to stay in his front teeth. I think he may make them fall out if he can feel anything on there. 

Well we have the most amazing dentist, seriously I say that with all honesty. Uncle Josh Smith !!! Even though he may be Matt's brother, I would still say that if he wasn't!! He is so patient with Milo, he allows Milo to calm down, and is so playful that Milo has realized that the dentist is not a scary place. It wasn't the case on our first visit! 

But after the same filling falling out, and the hole getting bigger in his two front teeth we decided that we would have Josh pull them out. I think I may have been a little more nervous for Milo, and he does way better if it is just Matt there, so Saige and I went shopping and Matt and Milo headed over to the dentist to pull his teeth. 

Josh had everything ready, may have bribed him with a dollar, and they were in and out of there in less than 45 minutes and two less teeth. Milo was such a trooper! He couldn't feel the front of his face, and kept pulling his lips out to make sure they were there. But never once did he complain about his mouth hurting. 

After talking with him that night about the day, he quickly jumped to his feet and asked me how the tooth fairy was going to find him tonight. He asked a lot about how she get inside our house, what she looked like, and what she did with the teeth. He then asked if it was possible to ask her if he could keep his teeth. He wanted to show is friends and his cousins what his teeth looked like outside of his mouth. I had him draw a picture for the tooth fairy so she would know what to do. 

He slipped the drawing and his two teeth under his pillow and quickly fell asleep. Saige was just as excited as he was to see what the tooth fairy would do and they asked if they could sleep on the floor next to each other so that they could both check under his pillow together in the morning. The tooth fairy wrote Milo a little note with her little handwriting and thanked him for being so brave, and left him $2! He was more excited that she took his note then anything! 

But he came running into our room, way too early, and way to ornery for us all. he is anti-pictures usually but this morning was even worse. Thank heavens he did not have school the next day. 

And the kind tooth fairy did leave his teeth for him to keep. Although we, she, is regretting that one as we have found he takes them everywhere-Gygi's, the store, church, and to his friend's house. He loves to show people the nasty things, and they may have made it through the washing machine in his pocket. 

Love this kid, and so glad that we have a great dentist to take care of us! 

Soccer man.

Soccer and t-ball are one of those things that are just a part of childhood. I had those awkward photos of the 2 sizes too big shirt, with my perfectly braided hair, and poofy bangs. I played t-ball, not very well, as all the photos I have are either the posed team photos or of Bonnie and me out in the grass picking flowers. Maybe that was just me. 

Milo has asked to play soccer for about a year. Our buddies, the Barney's, are huge soccer fans, and Milo wanted to be able to play something like his friend Jake. My worries were that Milo was going to have the same abilities as me and really not know how to play. 

We signed up to join the Northern Utah County League, and got on a team with a bunch of our neighborhood friends, which makes it even more fun. Maybe more fun for Matt who can do some teasing on the sidelines. But the more I thought about it I realized that a lot of these families are very athletic and their 4 year old kiddos could probably beat me at soccer any day. I quickly warned, Amanda and Candice-two of the other Mom's- of my concerns and they laughed and reassured me it was no big deal.

At our first practice I was a little surprised at his abilities and his desire to play and learn more. He has two great coach's,THANKS ALYSSA and BRANDON, and have taught him so great moves. They both are so good to be supportive and are very patient with him, and all the players actually. 4 year olds are not the most patient and really just want to do their thing but these two coaches do an awesome job of keeping everyone under control. The kids came up with the great name, YELLOW DRAGONS, and we were so excited to have our own yellow jersey! GO #7!!

Got to his first game, and we all laughed at the little bumble bee soccer that was being played but luckily there are some good players on Milo's team that kept ball moving pretty well. Milo had some really great kicks and was able to dribble to ball several times down the field. 

After a few attempts Milo scored his first goal. He was so excited, turned back to make sure that we saw what he just did. With huge excitement came running over gave Matt and I both high fives and then ran back out on the field, with a little extra confidence in his step. I wish that this picture wasn't so blurry, because after that first goal, Milo became a different player. He lined up with his other teammates and started rubbing his hands together. He bent down and made this intense face, like he was out to get those other kids. 

He then had to take his turn sitting on the sidelines. He was heartbroken, why did he have to take turns? Why can't he go out and score another goal? We quickly told him it was part of the game, and that everyone needs to take a turn sitting out. It was then his turn to go back in, and this competitive kid came out again. I have never seen this side of Milo, and was actually relieved to see it. He loved to play! And for his real first time playing was actually pretty good. He scored a 2nd goal that game and has been determined to score ever since. 

I am so excited for this handsome yellow dragon. He has found a sport he loves to play, made some new friends, and is able to get some exercise (he reminds me after each game, how good it is for him to run  haha). He gets so excited for each game and practice and loves to kick the ball with our across the street friend Andrew. His poor sweaty head gets so hot, its that big head of hair, it usually looks a little something like this afterwards, and he wouldn't have it any other way. 

Milo's first day

Oh boys.

Milo has been so eager to go to Miss Dawn's. Saige went to Miss Dawn's last year and when I told him that he was going there this year he was super excited. To him this was and is the big school. 

Milo has a little bit different way of doing things. He is a slow morning guy. Loves his breakfast nice and at his pace, in front of a "kids show", and not to be rushed. 9 am preschool is a little too early for him, which is good. 

We slowly ate our breakfast, tried to find something he liked to wear, and then grabbed his Spiderman backpack-the one thing that got him out the door. I asked him for a few photos of his first day, and I could barely get a smile, a blocked smile. 

He then offered to let me take a photo of the backpack. 

We jumped in the car, and headed to school and I finally got a smile. Phew.

And once we got to school I got a huge smile, and a big thumbs up. Milo takes a little warming up, and is having a few issues with me dropping him off. Seems to want me to stay, and worries about missing me. I am hoping this phase will go quickly, but I just reassure him I am going home to clean and he won't be missing a thing. He loves Miss Dawn, and is so excited to show me the letters and the rules that he has learned all in the first week. We celebrated the day with a Popsicle on the porch and a conversation about all his new friends. 

It's a little odd having some time to myself, some days it goes by really quick and then there are other days that I cannot wait to go grab them from school. Bull doesn't offer much conversation. 

I am so grateful for this guy. He really is a tenderhearted boy, but loves his home, surroundings, and his Momma. He loves to read, learn and of course be just like Saige. We are excited to see him push his boundaries, learn some new things and to spend time away from home. We love you Milo boy.