After Party

After Grandma's big party, we had some dinner and headed back up to the cabin. We hadn't gotten a chance to build a fire, so even though it was late, we let the boys stay up to roast some marshmellows.
It took them a little while, but they got the fire going!

Andrew had found the BIGGEST marshmellows I've ever seen while we were at the store and insisted on getting them. Peter was in heaven!

I enjoyed roasting a marshmellow myself, but quickly remembered how much I DON'T like eating them and threw it away.

Ammon enjoyed his, though, and kept roasting more and more!

Bonding

Something about this trip gave Peter the chance to totally fall in love with his uncle Danny. Actually both of my boys enjoyed having time with him. He was there at the cabin with us one of the nights and also spent a lot of time with Peter at the party. He took Ammon on a hike and just played and had fun with the boys. I am very lucky to have great brothers who are all so fun for my boys to be around. (Not to mention my sister's husband who is great too - can't wait to get the pictures from Katy of Ammon at the beach with Uncle Jeremiah!)

Happy 75th Birthday, Grandma

In my mind I have an entire post dedicated to my Grandma and the legacy she has given her family and taught us through the example of her own choices and life. She is an amazing woman and I could never do justice in expressing my appreciation and love for her. Rather than try to get into all of that right now, I want to write about the way we celebrated her 75th birthday.

We planned a surprise party - we meaning her three children and their families. This was a big feat because more than 2/3 of the family traveled from out of state for the sole purpose of coming together and celebrating the life of this woman we all adore. It was expensive and inconvenient, and one of the best things I've ever done!

We held this event at a local institute building. The kids hid under the table waiting quietly (well, as quietly as little kids wait) for the moment when they would be able to jump out and yell, "SURPRISE!"

We had a delicious meal. Grandma was surprised not only by her posterity, but also by a couple who also traveled from Utah to see her. They were instrumental in her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints almost 50 years ago. It was a fun reunion for them.

There was lots of fun visiting (here you see my Dad and my Grandpa). It isn't often that we get such a complete group of us together. Even at weddings and reunions we don't have this good of a turnout. Everyone made Grandma a priority and we only had three people who couldn't come.

We had food, games, and an open mic time when we were able to share our memories of Grandma and things we've learned from her. I can't describe the sense of pride that fell over me as I listened to the impact that this woman has had on each of us. So many of my views on life have been shaped by her - and many of them are views that I have taken for granted and didn't necessarily know where I got them.

I was able to make a quilt for my Grandma on behalf of the entire extended family. On it, I included a label, which was my attempt at capturing some of the deep feelings I have for her. It said this:

Laurel June Johnson Cochrane

In celebration of your
75th birthday
We, your posterity, present you with this quilt.

As our
Mom,
Grandma
and
Great-Grandma,
Your life has been a blessing through the generations.

Today we honor you.

You have been our pioneer;
Our example;
Our friend.

We love you more than words can say.

Cabin in the Woods

While everyone was looking into various options for accomodations on the trip, my dad stumbled across this cabin. It was big enough that we were able to split it with them. We were all excited to do something a little bit different as we have spent a lifetime of vacations in Southern California. The cabin was similar to our situation at home - they got the upstairs and we had the downstairs. We shared a kitchen (which never got used anyway - we were on vacation), but had the luxery of our own entrance (something we do NOT have at home...) It was a perfect little place to stay. We loved it!
We woke up in the morning and Andrew went on and on about how he would love to have just the two of us come back sometime. Gotta admit, I was kind of on board with that idea! Of course, I think I'd take just about ANY trip with just the two of us. The second honeymoon concept is just really appealing and it's something we've not managed to do thus far.


Peter had fun visiting with Grandma Lynn. She taught the boys about acorns and they had fun finding them to show her.

After a while we headed down the mountain in search of breakfast (remember, we didn't use the kitchen) and an impromptu stop at Katy's condo where they had spent the week. I am so glad we went - the boys had a blast swimming! Ammon could not get enough of the waterslide and, because it didn't open into a pool, we were able to let him run free without worry. Peter had a huge tantrum as we tried to change him into swimming clothes. Once he got in, he was glad we had pressed the issue though. He was in heaven (and, if I remember correctly, had another tantrum when it was time to leave...)

Vegas Rides

We headed down to Southern California last week and stopped in Vegas long enough to let Andrew ride the Big Shot and other rides at the top of the stratosphere. We were going to CA to attend a surprise birthday party for my Grandma, so my Dad and Rebecca were driving a couple of hours ahead of us (my mom had flown down earlier since she didn't have a work schedule to consider). Rebecca and Dad waited in Vegas for us so that Andrew could ride with my sister. Although I am a fan of rollercoasters, I have a weird aversion to the Big Shot type rides. Couple that with a slight fear of heights, and there is NO WAY you are about to get me up there riding this thing. We figured stopping in Vegas on this trip was providing Andrew a rare opportunity to have someone who would ride with him!

I did something I rarely do - I gave up my camera. I allowed it out of my sight, and more dramatically away from where my children would be playing for a couple of rare hours in Las Vegas. This was done with the strict instruction that Andrew take the camera and gets lots of pictures documenting his fun experience on the rides. Rebecca was going to be up there with him so she would be able to snap whatever shots they wanted.

My beautiful plan was ignored, however. I got nothing of the boys that whole day, and, in the mean time, Andrew returned with about 10 pictures of my sister and ONE picture of himself. Yeah... I was a little miffed...

Optimus Prime and Grandpa

Rather than shredding sensitive documents, my dad likes to go out to the fire pit and burn them. This time he decided to enlist Ammon's help. Unfortunately for my dad, Ammon was unavailable. But Optimus Prime was happy to step up to the occassion and do the good deed. They had fun wadding up the papers and starting the fire. It was amazing how long the fire lasted because in the middle of this process we got what was the beginning of two straight weeks of insane rainfall. I don't think everything was able to be burned that afternoon, but they got a good amount of it done, and enjoyed some male bonding time in the process.

Chuck E. Cheese

June started out with a birthday celebration for a cousin (yes another one)! This party was for Willard who was turning 4 (Andrew's sisters son). We were invited to go to Chuck E. Cheese - an activity much enjoyed by Ammon and Peter. Ammon has constantly been asking to go back. I kept telling him it was too far away (down in Provo) but last week he found one up here. Now I need a new excuse...
The boys had more tokens than they really new what to do with, which meant endless fun! Ammon was old enough for me to let loose on his own. Peter was less interested in all the action, but still had a really good time.

Rides and games galore! And of course, Aunt Kara had brought some yummy cupcakes. What a fun evening.

What a Stud!

Here is my handsome boy heading in to practice his primary talk for Grandpa. He did a great job. Andrew and I had no idea he could read as well as he does until we were working on this talk with him. He needed much less prompting than we would have thought.

Up

Every year Andrew and I enjoy going to the drive-in together. It is something I remember doing with my family once or twice when I was growing up, and I just love making it a staple summer activity. This year we decided that the boys were old enough and the right movie was playing to bring them with us! What a great family activity! The boys were so excited as we loaded up the truck.
I love just being out in the fresh air. There is just something so fun about hanging out in the fresh air waiting for the sun to set. Not to mention enjoying the beauty of the actual sunset!

As part of his admission, Ammon got a free glow-stick. He picked a green one (his favorite color) and was absolutely thrilled with it.

Peter had fun munching on all the candy and treats we had brought. I have to admit that Andrew got a little carried away when he was sent to the store for movie treats! We had a ton of stuff!

I love having good family time. What a great night to remember!

Random Day in May

Since learning to ride his bike without the training wheels, Ammon has made it a habbit to ride to the corner whenever we go anywhere. He stops there, and while he gets into the car and puts on his seatbelt, I throw his bike into the trunk. It's caused a few problems - sometimes we don't coordinate which corner we're going to meet at... But for the most part it's been a lot of fun for both of us.
On this particular day, we headed over to my sisters house. We brought Peter's bike with us too, and he had a great time riding with his cousin Isaiah. They are best friends and have a great time together!

As often is the case, what started out as a morning visit with my sister turned in to an all day affair. At some point she ended up back at my house and we made dinner for everyone. The children and the adults all enjoyed having the kids eat outside! They had a fun dinner playing as loudly as they wanted with a few bites here and there, and we had a blissfully peaceful meal inside as adults.

What a great day!

Beach Fun

Thanks to my sister Katy, we recently discovered a beach in South Jordan! For the most part, DayBreak Lake does not allow play in the water. But there is a section of it on the north end that has a little beach area. We had a fun time playing there one day with all of the cousins on my side. (We were expecting some of the cousins on the other side too, but they had car problems that day...)
Ammon had tons of fun playing in the water and in the sand. It seriously felt like we were on vacation. We had a great time!

This beach portion of the lake is also conveniently located by the park! Of course Peter enjoyed the swings and Ammon had a great time climbing around.

On a completely random sidenote, I also saw a branch (at least an inch thick) that got sliced off a tree by two HighSchool aged boys playing frisbee. I had no idea that a frisbee could be so dangerous!

Sunday Afternoon

New Look

I was typing on the computer one morning when suddenly I felt Ammon there by my side. He quickly got my attention by saying, "Look at how handsome I am!" I looked up to see what in the world he was talking about only to discover that he had taken the hair cutters to his head and shaved off a front middle section. I was literally speechless. Andrew was also there in the room with me, but hadn't looked at Ammon yet. When he noticed that I was unable to speak, he looked at Ammon and was equally without words.

I had just barely cut Ammon's hair (which is why the clippers were still out having been left to charge) and had LOVED the length it was at. Honestly, it was probably one of my favorite haircuts he had ever had! But the damage was obviously too great to have any options other than to shave it all!

Thank goodness it is summer. And more than that, thank goodness he is a boy! I don't know what I would have done had a daughter ended up with this hair trauma!

Graduation

After two years of lots of fun and play, Ammon graduated preschool. He will be starting Kindergarten already reading and, like all kids his age, with a great love and enthusiasm for school. He really had a great preschool and I am so glad he had the opportunities to attend.
His class put on a great graduation program with lots of songs recapping the cirriculum that they had covered this year. Andrew was able to get work off to attend, so Ammon had his parents, his brother and both Grandmother's there to cheer him on.

Ammon also enoyed spending time with cousins. Last year Kylie (my sisters daughter) was in his class and this year Michael (Andrew's brothers son) was in his class.

Peter was happy to support his brother - after all - they had cake!

Reflection

Since turning two, it seems to me like Peter is growing by leaps and bounds. I really think that this age is one of my favorites. The year from Ammon's first birthday to his second were torturous for me - his second birthday seemed to bring the sweet relief of sanity as I watched his little personality really come to life. Peter at that age didn't leave me as harried, but I have still found myself enjoying this new transistion from toddler into boy a favorite of mine.

There are moments when I want to keep him little forever and snuggle that guy always. But typically I am just reminded to cherish these moments while I have them. And as I watch my little boy get taller every day and slowly venture off to bigger and better accomplishments in life, I mostly just feel my heart swell with pride as I silently cheer him on.

Two-Thousand Fifty

Ammon's final field trip with South Jordan Montessori Preschool was a visit with a beekeeper. He invited us into his home where he gave us a presentation about Bees. After that, we went outside where we were able to get hands on with some of his equipment and look at the hives themselves.
It was surprisingly interesting to learn little known facts about bees. No one got stung, which made it more pleasant than it would have been otherwise...

One of the things the beekeeper asked us was to guess how many bees live in a hive. Children and adults alike took a variety of guesses. For the most part the guesses were round numbers like 10, 100, 500 etc. But not Ammon, always beating to his own drum, he guessed 2,050. His guess actually was the closest to the correct answer (6,000). I was so impressed with Ammon for coming up with such a specific and unique number. I thought he must be really thinking through this.

Turns out, 2,050 is his new favorite number. I can't tell you how many times I have heard that be his answer in the month since this field trip. Maybe he just continues to pull that number out because it was the winning answer on the field trip. Or maybe it had already become a staple response for him and I just didn't notice until then. Either way, there just really is something cute about a 5 year old talking in numbers that are so genuinely beyond their comprehension.

Nap Time

We are getting to an age with Peter where nap time is more and more tricky. We were getting ready to abandon the practice altogether as the late naps he was having were interrupting bedtime habbits. After a couple of days with no nap, however, Peter started his own napping rituals. Two days in a row I found him asleep all on his own.

Since then we have determined that naps are still an important part of our lives, but we don't force them every day. It's a work in progress. Personally, I just look forward to him growing out of the need altogether and getting bedtime back to a really steady schedule.

Two Wheeler

Thanks to my talented sister Katy, Ammon finally gained the confidence to ride his bike without training wheels! It has been a blast to have him zoom all over on that little bike with his newly discovered ability. Unfortunately it happened the day or so AFTER Andrew's bike died, so they have yet to be on a ride together. Still, Ammon has had many fun adventures with his bike (some approved - other's not approved...)

Ammon's first big bike adventure was to ride by himself to Grandma Peggy's house (a little shy of a mile, I think). He was equipped with a home-made map and my cell phone. Apparently the map didn't do it's job, because he did miss the street. Grandma Peggy ended up riding her own bike out in search for him. She couldn't see him and so she tried the phone. That worked! Turned out he was about a street past where he had needed to turn. They got back to her house together and had a wonderful afternoon together!

Ammon and I have also ridden to his new school together. Hopefully by August, when he starts Kindergarten, we will both feel comfortable having him ride his bike to school.

Almost every time we leave to go somewhere, Ammon will ride his bike to the corner where we will then load his bike into the trunk and pick him up to continue on our way. It has been a lot of fun!