Casey's Birthday

The first day of Casey's Family Reunion was Casey's birthday, so he got to celebrate with his whole family. We had driven up the night before so we could relax and not be driving on his birthday. I made Casey a banner, baked his cake, and prepared for his special dinner that night. We had marinated tri-tip (which Casey grilled and did a fantastic job!), broccoli, and bacon-wrapped shrimp. I was so busy cooking I forgot to take pictures of the dinner, but it was delicious! Then we ended the day with the cake, Triple Chocolate Breyer's ice cream (Casey's favorite), and presents. I always put a lot of thought into Casey's birthday because I think he is pretty special and love him so much and want it to show by everything we do. Case, Happy Birthday again! I'm already looking forward to next year! :) Thanks to everyone for their help the day of and for all the wonderful gifts, cards, and calls! I know he appreciated them!

The cake. I was really happy with the way it turned out.

Blowing out the candles is serious business :)
Opening presents. I got Casey these shoes that he has wanted for a while and I'm glad I did because he looks great in them!

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 2

The other fun thing that we did Memorial weekend was go to the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale town. Thanks to Charity and her roommate we were able to get in with a buy one get one free coupon which made it a worth it since it is not a very impressive zoo. Of course, no zoo is really that impressive after being to the San Diego Zoo : ) It seriously took us about 30 min to go around the whole thing. We spent the most time in the children's play area. Charity was able to come down and meet us after work, so we headed to Fairytale Town just to say we've been. Then we went back to the zoo and rode the carousel before heading out.

Cooling off with Dad
Along came Mr. Crocodile, quiet as can be...

Casey showing off his wing span

Fly like an eagle

Weston dominating the web in the play area

Fairytale Town

Weston showing the slide who's boss

Riding the carousel with Aunt Charity

Being silly as a family

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 1

We had a fun-filled Memorial Weeked. I got to go to the Denio's swap meet for the first time and discovered their wonderful farmer's market. We got the biggest mangoes I've ever seen in the states. On our way home from Denio's we saw a cool park (Royer Park in Roseville) that we had never been to and decided to take Weston the next day. He especially had fun on the swings as you can tell. There were a lot of kids there and Weston also enjoyed observing all of them.

Flying high on the swings

Wild, Wild Weston

Mother's Day

I'm back and starting off where I left off with Mother's Day. Mother's Day is always a great day just because we have Weston in our lives. I just love my little man, and Casey did a great job making it special for me this year. He made dinner for us (with only a little help from me) which was delicious (Mango Chicken, Mandarin Orange Salad, and Hawaiian Rolls). He always gave me a spa treatment as my present, which I loved. I also had a new, cute dress to wear to church thanks to Casey's Mom. I guess the only downside was having to cut up fruit before 9am church for the Mother's Day breakfast we hosted for our ward (the joy of being on the Enrichment Committee), but it did turn out wonderfully. Here are a few pictures we took to document the day!

Over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house we go...

Casey's mom had surgery on April 20, so Ashley, Charity and I took turns going up to help take care of her. I went up the first week of May with Weston and we had a lot of fun. We watched movies, I got to try out new recipes every day, and took it easy together :) Unfortunately it rained most of the time we were there, but our last day there we were able to enjoy some sunshine. I'm so glad that we were available to go up and help!

Weston eating strawberries

Saying goodnight to Grandma Playing in Grandma's gadget drawer. I just love his scrunched-up, cheesy grin :)
Smelling flowers Photo-op with Grandma at the park
Walking with his sticks. This boy LOVES sticks!

I interrupt this blog for an important message...

I still have plenty of stuff to catch up on, but I wanted to give some kudos to my wonderful husband. First, he got an ovation for a successful year as a staff 1, which means he impressed somebody his first year and was given an award of $1,000 to show for it. Casey likes to play it off likes it is no big deal, but not many people get this special recognition. I'm so proud of him and had to share.

Second, Casey planned an awesome date for us last night. He surprised me by having Charity come and watch Weston and then we headed to Sunsplash for Night Slides for 2 1/2 hours. I can't even tell you how much fun we had. It was the first night that the night slides were open so there were a lot of people, but we got to go down every slide and our favorites a few times. It was the best date we have had in a long time. Thank you baby! and Thank you Charity for watching Weston!

JD's Visit

Josh came for a much needed visit at the end of April and it was just like old times again. We did a lot of fun stuff while he was here: mini golf, In-N-Out, bowling (I bowled a 157 :) ), BBQ, Josh made potstickers, and just hung out and reminisced. It was so great to see him and we were sad to see him go, but at least we get to see him in November when he comes out to run the marathon with the rest of the boys. We can't wait!

Casey and Weston racing at the arcade in the bowling alley

All the boys at The Fountains

Josh with Weston and Paisley. It was his first time seeing both of them since they were born.

Happy Easter!

I told you I was behind :) We had a quiet Easter this year, but we had fun watching Weston get into his first basket. Jason and Ashley hosted dinner at their apartment and we all brought some of our favorite dishes, then Charity hid eggs for an adult Easter Egg Hunt. The Golden Egg had $20 in it and was found by Jason, but we all faired pretty well. One of the eggs had M&M's in it and Weston and Paisley had the pleasure of enjoying that when Paisley accidentaly opened it. It was quite the sight watching her stuff as many M&M's into her mouth until Ashley decided she had enough :)

Weston's standoff with his Easter Basket

It wasn't looking good for the basketWeston - 1, Basket - 0. Maybe Next Year... Enjoying the spoils from his victory
Trying hard to open the egg with no luck
Luckily for him, Paisley had it easier (notice the stick he found)
Looking in awe at the bubbles with Paisley

Happy, Happy Birthday Weston Dear...

On March 31 or baby turned 1-year-old. It went by sooooo quick. I could hardly believe it. All the sudden he seemed more like a little boy than a baby. Here are some fun things he started doing around that time and a few of my favorite pics:

-Goes to get balls, cars, his shoes, and books for me when I ask.
-Can do "Popcorn Popping" hand movements when we sing the song.
-Loves sticks and rocks, mixed in with a little dirt, but mainly sticks.
-Loves Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches.
-Went through a no smiling stage
-Points to our noses when we ask him where's Mommy/Daddy's nose
-Talks on the phone and says "Hi"
-Does not like to hold hands
-Likes to wander around our apartment complex looking for rocks and sticks
-LOVES music and loves to dance. We have little family dance parties :)
-Turned around his carseat and he loves it. He just sits and observes all the cars around us.
-Can climb on the toilet seat, on the toilet tank, then onto the counter.

Showing off how strong he is just like Daddy First time in his carseat after we turned him around. You can see how excited he was :)
Climbing on the toilet

Likes to sit in his toy basket and play with his toys

Loves bubble baths

Showing off his mad dancing skills. He has a preference for rap music. I wonder where he got that from :) I had to put both of them on because I liked them so much

Weston's First Haircut

A few days before Weston's actual birthday I decided it was time for a haircut. It was a getting a little long and scraggly looking, so we got out the clippers and Casey did work. Weston was so good the whole time. He didn't cry once and he hardly moved. His hair grows so quick, it is already time for another cut.

Here we go

Taking it like a man

All done!

Isn't he handsome? :) He looks like such a little man.

Wiggly Weston's Birthday Party!

Prepare for some blog overload. I'm a little behind :) On March 28 we had Weston's first birthday party. Its' hard to believe we've already reached such a big milestone. It was a bug theme and we had it at a nearby park. It turned out great! Weston loves to be outside, so we couldn't have had it a more perfect place. All the food turned out, a lot of our friends were able to come help us celebrate, and Weston had a good time, which is really all that matters. Thanks to everyone that was able to make it, for your wonderful gifts, and for making Weston's 1st Birthday a great one!

The Food. We had Jello Jigglers in W's and 1's, chocolate covered worms, dirt pudding cups, funfetti cupcakes, an edible arrangement, and Weston's cake.

It didn't turn out exactly the way I imagined, but I was happy with it.
I was quite proud of my edible arrangement. After seeing how much they charge for the real ones, I decided I could make it on my own.

Playing with his cousins. My sister and her family were able to come up. It was great to have some of my family there along with all of Casey's.

Cake Time. He just liked to play with the frosting at first.
Getting into it
Our messy little man. He didn't disappoint.

Family picture

Opening presents with a little help from Dad and cousin Paisley

Checking out his stash. His toy collection doubled, but he loves them all!