Camping and swimming

I don't know why I have waited so long to update but I was getting frustrated with the kids so they went to bed early and I figured this was a good time to finally do it. We have all been doing really well and have had a lot going on. We went camping last weekend at Box Elder Campground outside Mantua, Utah. We had a lot of fun. The boys enjoyed playing in the dirt and getting all dirty. Landen's favorite thing to do was throw rocks in the river. He was also freaking out about the bugs and I am not exaggerating, I really mean "FREAKING OUT!". Dade liked finding all the trash and playing with it, or just putting it in his mouth.

Last Monday Landen started his swimming lessons and Dade started on Tuesday. Landen is learning to be comfortable in the water, arm movements, floating and to put his face in the water. He is doing really well and he loves his classes. He asks me everyday if he gets to go to swim class. He is already a lot more comfortable in the water. He still has a hard time putting his face in the water but the teacher has been having the kids jump into the pool and he has no problem doing it. He has 4 more classes but I think we are going to put him in more classes as soon as we can. Dade's class is a mom and tot class so I am in it with him. His class is to get him use to the water and to be more comfortable with it. He has only had 2 classes and has only 2 left. As soon as we get into the water he wraps his legs around me and holds on for dear life. He likes to splash and that's the only way I can get him to have any fun. At the last class I had to put him under water. I am always so scared to do that but he did alright with it. He didn't like it very much but he didn't choke or cry so that was a big plus. We will probably get Dade in another class soon too.

Drew is down to one class now and its his photography class. He is really enjoying it. His work schedule is working out alright. It definitely can be hard at times but it sure is nice to see him more, especially with him only having one class. We will see how it goes when the fall semester starts.

I don't have much going on for me, just everyone else. I have read a lot of books lately. That's all I do on my down time. My house has even been getting neglected. I have a few projects that are started or that I want to do, I just haven't finished them or even started working on them. We try to spend a lot of time outside, especially when Drew is home sleeping and that's usually the time that I read. I think that's about all that is new with us so here are some pictures.


Playing at the park in Mantua


relaxing at camp




Our new tent. It has a lot more room.


Just relaxing in the big chair eating pretzels


I have been trying for so long to get this face he makes on camera and I finally got it.!

Taking a walk before leaving


My handsome boys


The boys after their swim lessons trying to warm up


After swimming on Thursday we went to the Gateway Mall and let the boys play in the water fountain


Landen had his hand just in the right spot so when the water shot up it hit his hand and sprayed in his face


Dade didn't like it as much.

Good News

We had Dade's Doctor appointment today with the Urologist. Dade first had an ultrasound then a nuclear test like the one he had before where they filled his bladder with a medicine to check the reflux. After the tests we saw the Urologist and he said that everything looked great. Dade's kidneys are no longer swollen, which means there is no blockage and he has grown out of the reflux. They gave him a 60%-70% chance to grow out of the reflux in 5 years and he did it in 1. We were so excited to hear this news. We do not have to go back for any more checkups and he is done taking the antibiotic. The only thing we will have to be careful with is when we are potty training we will have to make sure he is totally ready and that he completely empties his bladder so that he won't get a UTI. We are so thankful that Dade has grown out of his reflux so quickly.

I like free family activities

I keep falling behind and I am sorry. We went ice skating on Thursday! The Olympic Oval had free ice skating and free pizza for an Olympic appreciation day. They had ice skates that actually fit Dade. He wasn't sure about it at first but after putting him on the ice a few times he kept wanting to get back on. He even started walking on the ice with us holding him. Landen was walking in the ice skates really well off the ice but didn't care as much for the ice skating, which was kind of disappointing because he did so well and absolutely loved it the first time we went. We tried to have him use a walker but he had a hard time pushing it on the ice. Here are some pictures of the boys and there is also a video of Dade.

A lot to update

I keep falling behind on my posts and a lot has happened. Starting May 1st Drew's schedule changed at work. He is now working from 6PM to 6AM. He works for 2-4 days then has 2-4 days off. This last weekend he had a 4 day weekend. It has been nice to see him more and spend more time with him. Drew worked on the 1st and 2nd but had the 3rd and 4th off. My parents were in Kanab teaching a class, so we made a last minute decision to drive 5 1/2 hours to Kanab. We left on Monday around 6PM and stayed until Wednesday morning to get back in time for Drew to go to work that night. It was so nice to see them. It took Landen only a few minutes to get comfortable with Grandpa and not too much longer with Grandma. It took Dade about half the day before he was comfortable with them both. It was a long drive and a short visit but it was fun. Every time we see family it makes us miss them all even more. I have a lot of pictures from our visit. On Friday the 7th Drew had his graduation from Salt Lake Community College. Drew's cousins, Mandy and Amber, were able to come to the graduation. I am so proud of him. I had a good Mother's Day. Drew had the day off so I enjoyed spending the whole day with him and the boys. I also want to say that I love my mom and my mother-in-law. You both are wonderful women and we are so thankful to have you both in our lives. On April 30th Mandy Graduated from Utah Valley University so here are some pictures from after her graduation at her house.



Levi is Amber's son.


Drew with his uncle Dennis.


Us with Dennis' kids. Travis, Mandy holding Levi (Amber's son) and Amber holding Kaleb (Amber's other son).


On our way to Kanab.


Giving me his cheesy smile.


He never quite got comfortable with the dogs.


Landen and Grandpa playing at the park in Kanab.




Dade loves to swing, even though he really didn't look happy here.


Dade would not look at him at all but you can tell he thought Grandpa was funny.




Grandpa gave Dade a Ladybug and he kept trying to grab it.




Landen loved walking the dogs.


I got Landen to swim all by himself. He would only tred the water but its a start.


Dade was quite curious about grandma's drink. My mom was teaching the class so we didn't get to spend as much time with her.


Drew and I at his SLCC graduation.


Mandy, Amber and her kids with us. It was nice to have them there to help us celebrate Drew's accomplishments. We hope that all our family will be able to be here next year when Drew graduates from U of U. I am so proud and thankful for all the hard work he does to support our family.

Garden

Our apartments have an area on one side of our buildings that is set up for gardens. It only costs $5 for a small lot, so we thought it would be fun to have a garden this year. We are going to plant some tomatoes but we have to keep them inside for a while before planting them outside. Landen helped me plant them a week ago.





Here is what the tomatoes look like now. Landen loves to look at them and help me take care of them. I am so excited to have a garden and to see the plants grow so quickly.

My projects

Here are a few projects I have finished recently. I just wanted to share them because I am proud of the work I've done. I first made a play blanket for Dade that has tabs on the ends of it, crinkly paper that I sewed inside, buttons and patches.


I am missing a patch still because I can't find another animal patch I like.


We decided we needed a place to put our keys, instead of just any place we find, and loosing them by doing so, so I painted a nice piece of wood and Drew put some hooks in it for a key holder.





My last project was for a lady Drew works with who is very sweet. It was her birthday so I made a scripture bag for her. Drew just gave it to her yesterday and she was so happy she kept crying. She called me to thank me and said she has never had one before and she would never use another one and would pass it on to her kids. That is the kind of lady she is.


The bag is reversible, with one pocket that I made in to three pencil holders and two bigger pockets.

Easter!!

Our Easter was a lot of fun. On Saturday we had an egg hunt in our court. Drew took Dade to find some eggs and he tried to put him down to get the eggs but since we had about 2 inches of snow Dade was not very happy, so this is what they did instead.







Landen had a lot of fun and did really good finding the eggs.





Here are most of the kids that participated in the egg hunt in our court. They all look pretty cold.



After that the school had a little carnival that we went to. They had a few games for the kids.





They had a little egg hunt at the carnival too where they just threw a bunch of eggs down the sides of a hallway and let the kids go get about 10 each. Dade did better with that one.



Later that day we colored eggs. They both had a lot of fun doing that. Dade had more fun eating the color I think, but he still did a good job. Landen liked to put the eggs in more than one color and he kept dropping them. It was a lot of fun.















Easter morning the boys got to see what the Easter Bunny brought them, then we watched conference. Drew had to work at 2 so the boys and I just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of conference.