Adventures in Wyoming

A couple of weekends ago, we went to Wyoming to visit my parents.  We haven't been there in a while, Zoe has a bit of a problem sleeping without her bed, but we had a blast.  The kids had a lot of fun, especially going outside with Grandpa.  They are such city kids.  They aren't sure quite what to do when we get out there, where there is room to roam around.

Robby's greatest adventure of the weekend was riding a horse.  My dad helps out on a cattle ranch across the road from our house.  They don't usually have horses there, but every spring, when it is time for the calves to be born, they bring horses to help out with the work.  Every year, we have asked Robby if he wanted to go ride and every year he has been too scared to do it.  I understand, a horse is a pretty big animal and if you aren't around them much, they are definitely scary.  This year though, he didn't even hesitate; he knew he wanted to do it.

You can see the look of pure terror on his face here.  He knew he wanted to ride, but actually getting on the horse was a little nerve racking.

It wasn't long though before he was completely comfortable.  He even rode with no hands for a while.  He was so excited.  I love watching him experience new things.  The light that shines in his eyes when he accomplishes something new is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

Unfortunately, it got a little cold and Zoe didn't get a chance to ride the horse.  She did get to go on her first 4 wheeler ride with grandpa though.  They just rode around the yard a few times, but she seemed to enjoy it.

Every time they would come around the side of the house and she could see us, she would get a big huge grin on her face.  It was great.

I am so thankful for my parents and the love they show my kids.  Robby and Zoe have a blast every time they are around.

8 Months

I am so behind that she is actually almost 9 months old now, but I did take these pictures when she turned eight months. (Click one of the pictures and it will open bigger and allow you to click through them, or click on view as slideshow.)





I can't believe how fast time flies or how much Zoe has changed.  She is totally different person than she was 8 months ago.  She hasn't changed a whole lot in the last month, but I was amazed looking at these pictures at how much her hair has grown.  Take a look at that 'afro.  It is much bigger than it was last month.  She doesn't wear it free much anymore because it is getting really hard to comb through, so I don't see it like this much.  It is getting so long.

It is also getting much more difficult to take her picture.  She will sometimes smile for me when she sees the camera, which is nice, but she won't hold still for long.  I was only able to snap a couple of pictures before she decided to...

tackle the dog.

After which she quickly started to eat my lens cap.

That is one adorable face.  I can't even tell you how much I love that girl!

Birthday Festivities!

We had so much fun for Robby's birthday.  I feel like we have been celebrating it all month, but I guess you only turn 7 once.

On Robby's birthday, we went with Kirk's parents and Emily to Tempenyaki, one of those Japanese BBQ places that cooks your food at the table with lots of fire and knife tricks.

Robby loves that place and has been begging to go for a long time, so we thought his birthday was a perfect time.  He had a blast and was really proud of himself since he ate his whole meal with chopsticks.  Zoe thought it was pretty fun too.  She loved the food and all the noise and confusion.  She freaked out a little with the fire though.  She liked to view it from a distance, but when it was at our table, with the heat and the noise, it was a little too much.

We also went shopping with Kirk's parents to buy Robby a new bike, their birthday present to him.  He got an awesome bike which he is totally in love with.  We also opened presents that night.  He got a card game from Grandma and Grandpa, an alarm clock from us, and the only thing he had been asking for, My Sims Kingdom for the Wii.  It is all worth it when you see a look on his face like this...

A couple of days later, my parents came, and we celebrated his birthday again.

I made him this great little Wii cake.  My cake decorating skills could use a little work, but he loved it, so that is all that matters.

Grandpa, Emily, Robby, Zoe, and I, then went to a BYU basketball game.  We had a blast.

I just had to throw in this picture of Zoe all decked out in her BYU duds.
The next week Robby had a birthday party with his friends.  Robby's best friend, Kalvin, is 6 days younger for him, so usually they just have a joint party.  This year, they decided to have a Star Wars party.  We made light sabers out of pool noodles and they had a big light saber war in the church gym.  They thought it was the greatest thing ever.  It was a big success.

Here we have the great Jedi's Robby and Kalvin showing off their mad light saber skills.

All in all, I think he had a great birthday.  Even though we maybe went a little overboard, I love celebrating his special day.  The day he was born was one of the greatest days of my life.  Being a mom is the best thing that ever happened to me and truly is something to celebrate.  I am so lucky to be the mom of such an amazing boy.  He is such an good kid, so smart, creative, independent, obedient, and loving.  The last seven years have been crazy but I am incredibly thankful for every single day.  It makes me a little sad to see my baby growing up so fast, but I can't wait to watch him learn and grow even more and to see what the future holds.

My Baby is 7

On the fourth of March, Robby turned seven years old.  I still haven't quite come to terms with the fact that I am the mother to a seven year old.  He is growing up way to fast, but I am so proud of him, and so lucky to be his mom.

Here are some of Robby's favorite things at 7...

favorite book:  The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

favorite color:  gold

favorite food:  cheese pizza

favorite movie: National Treasure

favorite thing to do: play computer

favorite subject: math

favorite ice cream: cookie dough

favorite TV show: The Amazing Race

I truly feel so blessed to be the mom to such a great kid.  I couldn't ask for a better son.  I love you bud!

I have lots of pictures from Robby's birthday so they will be posted soon.

Hair, Hair, and More Hair

Zoe's hair is getting so much longer and thicker.  It is still really soft and relatively easy to deal with, but it is also getting dryer and a little more unruly.  It gets fuzzy and tangled easily and so it doesn't look good for as long if I just leave it free.  So, I have been doing her hair a lot more lately.

Here are a few hairdo's from the last couple of weeks.

This one was a just a head full of twists.  This was a great hairdo because it stayed in for several days while still looking good.

I think it looks kind of like Medusa hair, but is very cute.

Look at those parts.  They are getting so much straighter.  I still struggle to keep them even, but I am getting better.

This is my very first cornrow.  I was pretty proud of it.  She was not about to hold still long enough to let me do any more, but at least we got one in and I thought it looked pretty good.  I did it right in the middle of her head since her hair is most consistent there, but it did make it look a little funny as the only cornrow on her head.  I put the rest of her hair in puffs and left it in for a couple of days, just because I couldn't bring myself to take it out, but it didn't look the best.  I am guessing it will be a little while before we are able to get a full head of cornrows, but at least now I know I am capable of doing it.

Just for fun, here are a couple of pictures of Zoe's hair when it is left to its own devices.  This is why I spend more time on her hair everyday than I do on my own.  I am not sure one why one side decided to stick up so much more than the other side.  You can really see here how long her hair is getting though.