Grant's Birthday

Grant woke up to a Happy Birthday banner on his bed.  He was so excited.  He appreciates the little details.  He loved all of the birthday decor we put up and the "Happy Birthday" and "5" that we drew (with a chalk marker) on the windows and mirrors in the house.

Brett wanted me to take a picture of his bed too.  :)

Grandma & Grandpa Jackson came over that night and gifted Grant with a Captain Moroni (Grant is loving Captain Moroni right now) and two swords (just like Capt. Moroni's).  He was thrilled.

It was getting late and Keith and I were tired.  We really just wanted to put the boys to bed, but we told Grant that we would roast marshmallows and have a campout in the back yard.  So we did.  They thought it was so much fun.  I sang the boys to sleep in the tent and then Keith put them in their beds in the house.  

A couple days later Grant had a birthday party with some friends and one of his favorite cousins that's his age.  We played some fun games in the backyard.  Keith made them all airplanes and they flew them around for a while.

We played with the parachute.  We also had a ball throwing contest and a relay race.  And of course the kids loved just running around doing their own thing for a while.

We barbecued hot dogs and had a yummy chocolate baseball cake.  Thank you Costco!  I was going to make Grant a cake shaped like a number five and then the day before I got smart and had Keith buy a cake.  I'm so glad we did that.  It was such an easy and fun birthday party.

Camille was such a sweet heart and napped in her swing for most of the party.

I love to see the temple

We recently took our little family to the Gilbert Temple open house.  It was so beautiful!  I loved being able to take my kids there.  It will be dedicated this Sunday.  I look forward to going there again soon with Keith.

We found a nice shaded spot to sit after we toured the temple.  We fed Camille while we waited in line and then she slept the rest of the time.  What a gal!

Someday we'll go back and get a nice picture when the sun isn't blasting in our eyes.  Until then, this will do.

 The boys were excited to see Angel Moroni.  They pretended to be blowing a horn just like him.

We found another little shaded area to take shots of our boys.  Grant is so goofy when he gets his picture taken lately.  I love the liveliness he adds to his photos.

I told Brett that if he let me take his picture I'd get him a strawberry shake.  So he did.  And then we went to In N Out and we all got a cheeseburger and shake.  Isn't he a heart-breaker?

Happy Birthday Grant!

Today Grant is 5 years old.  Keith and I were were chatting last night about how amazing it is that just 5 years ago we were at the hospital welcoming our first baby, and now we have three!  When Grant arrived I cried and I couldn't stop starring at him.  He was so perfect.  He brought us so much joy and still does today.

We stayed up late decorating for Grant's big day and putting out his presents.  Keith even set the kitchen table so we could have a nice breakfast together (yogurt and granola).  This morning, as we tried to get the last few minutes of much needed sleep, I heard Grant in his room say, "It's my birthday!"  and then a gasp followed by "Oh, a birthday banner!"  I had hung a little banner across his headboard last night.  It was so cute to listen to his excitement.  Then he went out to the family room and was even more excited about the decorations and the presents that were waiting for him.  So we pulled ourselves out of bed and went out to enjoy the morning with our cute kids.

One of Grant's gifts was this jump rope.  He took it to school today for show and tell.  I remember learning to jump rope around this age and I loved it.  Grant is getting the hang of it.  We'll have to practice this afternoon.  :)

Happy Birthday Grant!

Fun in the sun and a shout out to my Valentine

Last weekend was warm & sunny.

So we played in the sun.

And then it got HOT outside.  So we pulled out the sprinkler.

 And then we saw a bird on our new bird feeder.

Camille spent a lot of time relaxing.

 Keith spent the majority of Monday putting together his new shed.

The boys brought out their tools and helped.

Let me tell you something about this man of mine.  He may have gone to the ASU basketball game against University of AZ on Valentine's Day, but he TOTALLY made up for it by getting up with Camille that night so I could get a full nights sleep.   And I was able to sleep in on Monday because he was here to take care of the boys and Camille.  I am so grateful for the breaks he gives me so that I can get much needed rest.  Around here we all know that Mom is happier when she gets some good sleep.  And that makes everyone happier.  :)  Life sure is great with Keith!

Saturday and Sunday

I just love it when our family has time to relax together and enjoy the day at home.  This past weekend we had lovely weather and spent a lot of time outside enjoying it.  

Here's the boys eating M&M's in the shade of the citrus trees.

Somehow Brett didn't get his nap in during the weekend.  It's getting harder to get him to take a nap when his fun big brother is home to play with.  He's looking pretty tired here.

Camille resorted back to her pacifier from the hospital.  And she's getting bigger every day.  We're finishing up the last few newborn diapers and then she'll be on to size one.  

On Sunday afternoon I spread out my favorite blanket and tried to take a nap in the sunshine.  Then little Camille came to join me.

Then Keith got a nap while I took pictures of the boys playing.

This is our new "tree house."  Keith put the play house under the grapefruit tree.  It's the perfect little cozy spot in the corner of our yard.  Grant brought out his tools and started working on his house and I gave the boys cups of water and paint brushes so they could "paint" their house.  They have spent a lot of time out there together.  It's just the thing we need these days.

From around the house

Lately we've been home A LOT, which I haven't minded very much since we have room to roam around here (compared to our last house).  Grant and Brett are getting a little tired of it though.  Meanwhile they can be found doing things like driving their cars and trucks around the house and wearing PJ's all day.

 Camille does a lot of sleeping.

Here's an exciting day when Keith and our neighbor poured some cement in our yard for our shed.  See how Brett is copying Grant?  He copies him ALL THE TIME.  It's so funny and cute!

 Brett LOVES suckers!

We like to get Go-Gurt's from Costco and put them in the freezer.  It's a great snack for outside in the afternoon.  

One day dinosaurs lined up in our hall.

Handsome Grant waiting for the school bus.

Last night we had homemade pizza for dinner.

We had a babysitter for the boys and she was so excited to hold Camille when we got home.  Camille wouldn't taker her eyes off of her!

 Baby Camille gets some exercise.