A Date with Uncle Blake

Aidan was a little devastated when Blake and Estee informed him that he would be wearing a HOT PINK tie for the wedding. Aidan is a boy of all boys. Doesn't like any signs of girliness and pink is girly. Yes, he got this from his dad. They are on the exact same page when it comes to boys wearing pink...........they shouldn't.

Well with months of lecturing and prepping Aidan about having to wear the tie without complaining, I told Aidan to cut a deal with Blake. So he came up with this deal. He wanted a date alone with Blake to Nielsen's Frozen Custard in Bountiful, UT and here's the kicker, they had to wear CAMO. See that manhood just exuding from him. Well, Blake took the deal. Aidan was so excited for his date. We were swimming when Blake told us he would be back in about 40 minutes to take Aidan out. Aidan hurried home from the pool and got ready. He put on his camo shirt and his camo shorts. He sat right at the front window waiting for Blake to come home. It was so cute to see him so excited for his special date alone with Blake. I don't know if Blake remembered but luckily he was wearing camo too.


As planned they went to Nielsen's for concretes, only the best ice cream ever. I guess while they were there Blake told him he could order whatever he wanted. So he ordered a cookie dough concrete. Then he looked at Blake and said can order a root beer too? Blake said, yep. Boy was in heaven. Blake told Aidan a secret that night that he wasn't allowed to tell anyone until the night before Blake's wedding. He loved that too that he had a special secret with Blake.

Aidan's got a good Uncle who keeps to his promises.

We couldn't stop smilin'!

During our trip to Seattle, Ryan and Aidan accompanied Grandpa Arden on a business trip to Tri-Cities. Arden wanted to show Ryan and Aidan the ranch. Aidan got to feed the cows, see some bulls, and play with some dogs. He had a really good time there.

Feeding the cows.

Now the real reason and drawing force to get them to go on this trip, no offense Arden, was a visit to Ryan's uncle, who owns some Ferraris. I know ranches are cool and all but honestly what can top a ride in a Ferrari?

Can't you hear him saying, "I'M TOUCHING TWO FERRARIS RIGHT NOW!"

What cute spoiled boys.

When I talked to them on the phone about their adventure they BOTH said they couldn't stop smiling, as evidence in this picture. They were in absolute heaven! Thanks Uncle Jeff!

Can't you hear Ryan saying "I'M DRIVING A FERRARI!"

Ryan has divulged how fast he drove this car, which he claims is way slower than normal because Aidan was in the car, but I will not offer this information because I know some Grandmas would have his head if they knew. But Ryan has gotten into some serious trouble and has been grounded from driving Ferraris for at least a few months.

Calypso Cove

Summer has begun! We love being at the pool!

Goodbye Pre-K

Lacey graduated from preschool. She attended for two years and is officially ready for Kindergarten. They had a cute little graduation for them. She has been practicing a song for a month that all of us know very well now. She did great. She also received the award of Sugar and Spice. They said she is a great friend who is always there. She is the first to help someone when they are sad. She is so sweet and very GIRLY. Perfect award for her. I am so happy for her to move up to kindergarten. She wants to be like her brother so bad, riding the bus, reading, writing etc. I did get a little choked up during her graduation. She is such a beautiful girl and I love seeing her progress but it is hard to let them grow up. I can't wait to see how she blossoms as a kindergartener. She is so READY!

A Getaway

While Ryan's mom was in town we planned a little getaway. After the fun at Great Wolf Lodge, she took the kids home and we stayed another night at a different hotel. We went to see Iron Man 2 and also to Maggiano's for dinner. We had been there one other time in Seattle and were very excited to find one in our part of the country. We both had awesome food. Totally planning another trip there.

The next morning we headed to King's Island for a day of Roller Coasters. Our first ride was Firehawk. This one they tip you on your back so you are facing the sky. You climb to the top facing the sky and then it flips you over for the rest of the ride so you feel like you are flying. I was so nervous for this one. I think it was because it was my first ride of the day and it was so different.

Vortex.....................

Invertigo.............

Diamondback.............

After the first ride I was good. We stood in lines for awhile but hit all the rides we wanted to. It was a lot of fun to be just me and Ryan.

We drove home to quickly jump back in the car to take Ryan's mom and brother to Church hill Downs to watch a couple of horse races.

Again, Eva took the kids home and we stayed the night at a hotel right on the waterfront. It was fabulous.

It was such a good break for us. We always enjoy our time alone. Thank you Eva and Nick for making that possible for us. We are grateful.

Great Wolf Lodge

As part of Aidan's birthday celebration and really just a part of Granny's visit, we went to Great Wolf Lodge. It is a hotel with an indoor water park. The kids loved it. The room was like a cabin and it had a bunk bed area for them with their OWN tv.

Just down the hall was the indoor waterpark. It was nice and warm inside and no need of sunblock. Love that. The slides varied in scariness. They had little Cassidy slides and then big Ryan slides. I was surprised that Aidan and Lacey went on some of the bigger slides. Most of them had tubes with them. There were some that we could go together and others you rode solo. It was such a great place. We went the night we got there and then as soon as it opened the next morning. We had to take full advantage of the place. It was a BLAST!

Birthday Boot Camp!

Today was Aidan's 7th Birthday! We started the day with Banana Muffins and hot chocoloate per request of the birthday boy. He got a ride to school with his good friend and had lunch with his dad and his Granny.

He was so excited for his party. He helped plan the whole thing. Invitations, games, and cake. Five of his school buddies rode the bus home with him for his Boot Camp Birthday party. In all we had 13 soldiers show up. It was a well energized party. It had rained all day until about 2p.m. and then cleared up just long enough for his party. We were so lucky! Thirteen 7 year olds in my house at once? That would have been insane.

We dressed up everyone in war paint and dog tags and took their picture.

We played several army games. We did an obstacle course.We made the soldiers carry a wounded soldier across the lawn and back.

We had a granade launch and a paper airplane flying contest. The boys loved it.

I made Aidan a Tank birthday cake. It was so hard to make frosting such a gross color but it looked pretty realistic.

He got some great presents. He loved getting gift cards and even money. He also got a new bike. This is the look on his face when he realized it.

We were exhausted after it all. So worth it though to see how happy Aidan was. Happy birthday, Aidan boy!