Cutie

 

I know I've said this before - but isn't she cute???

 

This is Kenneth's birthday cake!

Fun in the sun

This morning at 3am Steve & Kenneth left for Fresno to help Steve's mom move. So - Daniel, Caitlin & I had the day to ourselves. When we couldn't locate the slinky from Chuck E. Cheese's this morning (I thought it was left at Red Robin), I decided to take the kids to KB Toys to get new slinkys. Caitlin loved the little pink "dresser/mirror" with matching pink/purple stool:

 

Later today (after naps) we went to a park with water. Daniel took his bike and once most of the kids left I let him ride around the water in it. Caitlin was VERY hesitant at first, but eventually joined in.

 

 

 

Tired....

As the night wore on (at Red Robin) Daniel got more and more tired, and Caitlin got more and more loopy (she was really funny and making all kinds of faces). Daniel didn't quite make it home awake...as you can see.

 

 

 

 

Red Robin

We went to Red Robin to celebrate Kenneth's birthday! It was lots of fun.

 

 

 

 

The newest Layton

 

This is Kenneth's new Gecko, Leapeth. He chose the gecko out himself and he named it, too. He's very excited about his new Gecko, and rightly so. He's been very patient and this has been 2 years in coming. Congratulations, and Happy Birthday my son.

Happy Birthday, Kenneth!

 

 

 

 

We've already had an exciting morning - as you can tell. Kenneth is very eager to get to the pet store and purchase a gecko to go into his new habitat. We are also going to Krispy Kreams for breakfast, Chuck E. Cheese's, we'll have Ramen for lunch (by request of Kenneth) and we're going to Red Robin for dinner. We will have a wonderful day celebrating our little man!

Cuteness

We went to Chuck E. Cheese's a few months ago. Caitlin discovered the photo taker. We got no less than 15 pictures that day. This one is my favorite.

My brother, the Soldier

Danny just called. He's going to Iraq for a year. He found out today and he's leaving this weekend. My heart goes out to his wife. He's going as a medic contractor so he'll make decent money and he should be "safe" at a hospital in the MIDDLE of the green zone. Here's my shout out - Danny - I'm proud of you. Danny is not even freaked out a little. This is what he does. This is who he is. He's a protector. He's a warrior. He's a medic. I know he's going to do a great job. I will miss him fiercely, but I couldn't be prouder of him.

More photos

 

Fountains at the Belagio

 

Steve & Pat

 

Volcano at Mirage

More fun!

 

All of us outside the Chocolate Factory (less Steve, who was working, of course)

 

AJ

 

Corinne & Pat

 

Kenneth assisting in the clown show at Circus Circus.

We've had a wonderful week of fun with the Hansen family who came to visit. We went boating, went to the Bass Pro Shop, went to the Chocolate Factory and spent a day at Circus Circus/M&M Factory/Cheesecake Factory/Fountains at Belagio/Volcano at the Mirage. The house seems empty - except for all the laundry that's been piling up! :)

Fun 'Vegas-style Vacation!

 

Corinne - what a beautiful young lady!

 

Noelle - what a cutie!

 

Caitlin - what a doll!

 

Corinne, AJ, Noelle

Tagged

Tagged!
I've been tagged to do this, so here goes...

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. Lehi Bakery sales/clean up
2. Secretary/Service Rep at a siding and soffit/facia/metal roofing business
3. Working for a CPA
4. Working as a CPA

4 Movies I Can Always Watch:
1. That thing you do
2. You've got mail
3. Brian Regan
4. Miss Congeniality

4 TV Shows I Enjoy:
1. Dancing with the Stars
2. Monk
3. House
4. King of the Hill (It's a Texas Thing)

4 Favorite Places or Things to Eat:
1. Thanksgiving Turkey
2. The Cheesecake Factory
3. Thai lettuce wraps
4. Ice cream (no nuts, please)

4 Websites I Visit:
1. blogs/caringbridge pages
2. My family.com
3. lds.org
4. wamu.com

4 Places I Love to Be:
1. At my own house with Steve & my kids (Or on the boat!)
2. At the beach
3. on a cruise
4. in my bed

Time Flies!

Well, I can't believe this week is drawing to a close already. This week has been full of celebrations (Steve's birthday!) and meetings (new leader training for me) and enrichment and swimming lessons and piano lessons. Angela and Alex left yesterday (at 4am) for Ohio so I've got the troops with me. We're having a great time, and we're starting to count down to our visitors coming on Sunday or Monday (translate...we're starting to CLEAN!). The Hansen family is coming with 3 cousins and the kids are really excited! We should have a fun-filled week next week. I took cupcakes to Kenneth's class today to celebrate his birthday (today is the last day of school). There were at least 3 other kids who had brought treats. I'm sure they'll all have a wonderful time and come home on a major sugar - high. We have swimming lessons again today and then a fun game night with a few friends!

We're back....again

We're back. We had a wonderful weekend. It was so great to get there before 2am and be able to visit a little. It was wonderful to have the kids play so happily, and it was of course an honor to be there for Annie's baptism. It was great to see all the Joneses and Sorensens. I've heard a lot about each of them, and it was wonderful to put names with faces. Thanks to each of them for welcoming me so willingly into their group!

Here's a photo of Kenneth and Annie - friends forever. (Isn't Annie's dress beautiful? Shauna made it! Great job you domestic diva, you!)



And all the kids - well, the Jones kids and the Layton kids. There were about 20 other kids there after the baptism. Leland (Shauna's Dad) counted 38 people who came for Annie's baptism. She is surely well-loved!

Saturday evening we headed down to Saratoga Springs and Kenneth got in a quick swim before a summer storm blew through. We had a lovely meal with Heidi (a long-time family friend), Missy & Darin & their 3 boys and Mom & Dad. Ben was in and out to a neighborhood party. We were going to watch a movie, but the deferred for my benefit, and we watched old "Monk" episodes.

We had a bit of a detour on our way home - due to a huge forest fire (over 160,000 acres burned). It added 3 hours to our journey and 80 miles. Thanks to Grammie Fellingham, though, my boys were well-bribed and behaved as well as I could have hoped under the circumstances. Caitlin was manageable and thanks to a book on CD that Angela bought, we arrived home with our sanity in tact.

We're off....again

We're leaving in about an hour for Utah...again. Tomorrow our friend, Annie Jones, is being baptized. Steve is staying home and catching up on several pressing projects. I'm going with Ben and my kids. We're very much looking forward to this weekend, and we'll be home late Sunday night.

Here are a couple of photos of Annie.

I love the second one - she just looked like a sleeping Angel...I had to take a picture. We love you Annie!

More photos!

Ben got to drive the boat - he even pulled Steve on the kneeboard!