It's a girl!!!

Todd and I were on our way to the toy store to pick out some birthday gifts for Logan and having a really hard time deciding what to buy him. He had already had a party and gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and Nana, but we usually save a just a few gifts from mom and dad and have cake for the actual day of their birth. Logan has always wanted a cat, and Todd always says, "I hate cats! How about a fish? pig? goat? hamster? rabbit?" But Logan really wasn't into any other options. Anyway, we pulled into Toy's R Us and next door was Petco. Todd was actually the one who suggested getting him a cat. Daddy totally came through! Logan probably told Todd about 100 times, "Thanks for getting me a cat, dad!"

So this is Pumpkin--- a.k.a Kitty. And yes, Logan picked the name Pumpkin just like every other orange tabby in the world. Logan love love love love LOVES Kitty. She is a great cat. The boys drag her around, take turns holding her, and she cuddles on the couch and in their beds with them. We put her in the basement at night (because the middle of the night seems to be her frisky time) and when we try to find her she is almost always in Logan's room. Not just on the bed, but on Logan's chest on the bed. She knows she is his kitty. Logan and Kitty sleeping together.

Kitty will sleep on almost any warm body.


Self explanitory. Check out that happy face.

On his birthday, just moments after getting Kitty. Best gift ever, thanks daddy!

The Birthday Month

Starting on Aug. 12 with T.J.'s second birthday, followed closely by Todd, myself then finally Logan on Sept. 15, we celebrate our entire family's birthday's in just a month. It's a lot to squeeze in! The boys had a combined party this year--they mostly have the same friends--and are really too young to mind if they don't have their own. We had it at this great park, shady with lots of old oak trees, and it turned out to be a really nice day. We had giant sandwiches, a pinata, and a potato sack race (because we live in Idaho and Elmo does it on Sesame Street). Here's a few highlights:

Gettin' ready for the sack race.

Awwwww!! I never get cute pictures of them together!




Logan got a jeep for his second birthday, so Nana got Tate the "Artic Cat" complete with truck bed and tail gate, and a shovel of course.

Tate doesn't like cake, so on his real birthday (not the combined party day) they decorated Elmo cookies.

Can you say S-L-A-C-K-E-R??

Alright...yes, I am a HUGE slacker and have not updated this blog in 2 months!! What can I say, it has been just a little busy around here! We have celebrated 4 birthdays (on at least 8 different occasions), had a visit from Nana, started a new job, and I now have Dirty Boyz gear in 3 baby boutiques and Mini Bazaar here in eastern Idaho. Oh, and I forgot that a friend and I are in two craft shows coming up in the next month. Needless to say, there hasn't been a lot of blogging time. I uploaded 212 photos today, so here's just a few with a promise to post birthday pictures later today. or maybe tomorrow. soon.

Recent and annual trip to the red barn to pick out some new pumpkins. Because the 8 we grew in our garden just weren't enough.

Logan's first day of Pre-Kindergarten, Tate had to have his own backpack too! (Thanks, Wendy!)

Check out the lip!!! Sad for hours after Nana left.....

Butterfly release party

Nana sent us a butterfly pavillion and some caterpillars that ate and ate and ate, just like the book!! They hatched while we were in Yellowstone, but luckily our neighbors took great care of them and fed them while we were gone.
Hey--where'd it go??

Off to Mexico!

Goggle fun

I purchased two pairs of goggles for $1.50 at Walmart. It was well worth the investment! Both boys are now putting their heads underwater and blowing a geyser of bubbles and laughing hysterically. I had to post some picts of their fun, because what else would I do with these cute pictures???

Logan really wanted me to post this one, he has his head underwater. It's a big accomplishment for a chicken like him. :)

Jackson Hole, WY

We also visited Jackson Hole, since we (well the boys and I) had never been there. We went to Jackson for the day and did the tourist shopping thing and stayed over night in Alta at a ski resort. There were tons of bicyclers, horseback riding, and you could take the chair lift up the mountain. The boys loved that, of course. I thought Logan was going to be scared, but it was the best part for him. They had a nice heated pool too. This was only the second time Tate has been in a real, big swimming pool, but he was jumping in without holding onto my hands and going all the way under water. It was amazing, he isn't even two! The kid has no fear. We are in trouble. Anyway, we had a great weekend getting to see a little more of the area. These pictures leave a lot to be desired, but no one wanted to humor my amateur photographer.

Yellowstone

Recently, Todd took two weeks off of his grueling U of Phx. schedule and we took a couple of road trips. We went to Yellowstone for a few days and stayed on Lake Hebgen. It was beautiful, the boys loved fishing and throwing rocks in the lake. Yellowstone was fun, but a lot of driving and hard with two little ones who needed to be carried, got hungry, needed a nap, wanted another snack, had to change shoes, needed a drink, had a stinky diaper, you see where this is going. It was a really cool place to visit though, if you can get past all those "stinky geysers" as Logan called them.