Our kids!

We had to take some pictures this weekend of the kids all dressed up. Aaron took them just outside in the back of our condo. I personally think he did an AWESOME job! Anyway, here are some updated pictures of all the kids.

Happy Birthday Connor!

Four years ago, Connor was born. Callan picked out his name. I was working at a daycare and there was a little boy there named Connor and Callan called him "Baby Connor" and when we told him that we were going to have a baby, he asked if we could name him "Baby Connor", so we said yes.
Connor is my pay back for all the stuff I put my parents through! He is VERY STRONG WILLED. He is stubborn and can make you want to SCREAM and then he will turn around and give you this sweet, angelic smile and you know you should throddle the kid, but you just can't! He makes us laugh all the time and he is his older brother's shadow. I always tell people he is going to be our child that is hiking with friends and is on the edge of a mountain and thinks "Hmmm, what would happen if I jump off this mountain, and half way down realizes it was a BAD idea!" I love him and am excited and interested in seeing what the future holds for him and what he brings to our family. I know for sure laughter and adventure! Happy Birthday my little Conman! I love you.

Life

We went to Lagoon a couple weeks ago with family and most of the time I stayed with my sister in law, Alison and my neice, Kinley in Kiddieland and watched Kinley and Connor ride the rides. Aaron and I did a few of the roller coasters, but mostly he went on them with Callan. Okay, when I was in high school and even college back when, all the rides seemed fun, or I'm starting to realize that the particular boyfriend that I had when I went there, and that does include Aaron. I was just enjoying his company and didn't really pay attention to the rides. Now, before any of you start thinking, "Well, Aaron must not be that enjoyable", stop right there, Aaron and I rode on rides, but we had kids with us and being the parents, we were not about to make out in front of our sons. And, I know all of you are gasping because I said "make out" on my blog. But when you go to an amusement park with a boyfriend, you hold hands and kiss quite frequently, so ya, Aaron and I paid more attention to our kids. Anyway, it was noisy, dirty, and just annoying because you are around other people that you don't know that are even more annoying. We got off the water ride called Rattlesnake Rapids and we were all DRENCHED and as we were exiting the ride, I overheard some girl say "Oh my gosh is my hair going to get wet, because I will die if it does, my hair is my life." Okay, I'm sorry, but you are at Lagoon in 90-100 degree weather and you are sweating and then you are in line for a water ride, really, how stupid are people that they think they are going to stay pretty! I had my hair in a ponytail, and by the time we left, my clothes were sticking to me from a combination of sweat and water and my hair was FRIZZED out all over! Anyway, I want to clarify that I had a very enjoyable time with the family, but either I'm too old to go to Lagoon anymore or I just need to go with Aaron alone or with other adults. I am not asking anyone for their opinion on this latter question. lol
Now, to speed up to yesterday. I went to an Elementary School, a Middle School and a College and basically got to see my whole life flash before my eyes! I always try to have the attitude that I am young at heart, but it was a interesting realization to me that life happens and you just go with it, whether you like it or not and whether you are thinking about it or not!

Updates!

Yes, we are still alive! Life is just so crazy for us. Time is flying by and I always tell myself I will post when I can post pictures, well, someday, when I actually do the pictures, you will see them, but for now, I'm just going to write everyone our update.

Aaron just spent 4 days up at Snowbird at a Botany Conference and did a presentation that he felt REALLY good about. In past years, he has waited until a couple of days before he has to leave and hurried and got his presentations ready. This time he KNEW exactly what he was doing. He always loves hanging out with other scientists who actually understand what he is doing and can carry on a conversation with him!
He also had a manuscript published for the first time. He is THRILLED about that. I am still TRYING to read through it. I would offer to send anyone a paper copy, but I can guarantee you you wouldn't understand a word!! Even his parents, who get pretty much everything he explains to them, didn't understand it. So overall, everything is going pretty well for him.

I am doing good. I am back to belly dancing and getting my butt kicked by it! But, I love it. I am busy running kids to their stuff. I am trying to lose weight from having Carson and trying to walk as much as I can during the week. I still have quite a tummy from Carson, so if you see me, I'm just fat!! Sorry, I'm tired of being asked if I"m expecting or when I'm due. I am working on it! I'm finding that when women say that each baby takes a little of their brain away, they're not lying!!

Christine is doing good. My dad has been kind enough to take her a couple times this summer, so we can go do some stuff with the boys. We are EXTREMELY grateful to him. She will go into the 8th grade this year! I think Aaron and I go into shock mode when her life comes up, because she will always be our baby!

Callan is now 8. He was baptized last April. He is getting so big and so smart! He is literally a MINI version of Aaron! He is always creating new inventions and drawing things and coming up with new ideas. He gets very frustrated if he can't figure something out and make something work. He is doing a sports camp this summer, but unfortunately, we have had a lot of stomach bugs going on and he hasn't been able to go a whole lot. He is excited to start the 3rd grade.

Connor is all boy. He challenges me everyday and is so stubborn, sometimes I just want to scream! Then, he shows me his smile and somehow, he gets out of trouble! He goes outside and copies Callan and runs all over and I can always tell where he is, he makes this motor sound really loud.

Carson is now 4 months old. He is rolling over and is trying to crawl and sit up! He also tries to stick both fists in his mouth at the same time! He is adorable and the other boys and Christine love him to death.

Well, that is our update. I will try to do better on blogging!