{Party Number Two}

Sunday, we celebrated with the Collett side of the family. It was Ellie's birthday as well. We had a great time! We sang Happy Birthday (multiple times), opened presents, had cake, played in the dirt, played on the swings, ran with balloons, blew train whistles, ate suckers, ran some more and enjoyed being together. (Most of those things were what the kids were doing.) It was great to get together with family. Braiden had a great time and loved being with his cousins. Happy Birthday Braiden and Ellie! We love you!

Blowing out the candles! He got so excited.

Gavin and Aunt Jenny

Braiden opening one of his gifts! Thanks everyone!

Ellie holding her baby. She couldn't get enough of it:) It was so sweet.

Whitney and McKenzie enjoying the party! What good sports wearing their conductor hats:)

Happy Birthday Braiden!

I can't believe Braiden is already three years old. Time has flown by. I love birthdays, and so I wanted to try and make Braiden's extra special. When he woke up, we made Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast. He loves both pancakes and Mickey Mouse and so he thought this was really cool. He then realized that his door had been decorated. It had signs and crepe paper hanging from it. He thought it was so fun to run through.

What a goofy face!

Braiden then got to open one present in the morning. We then had him wait until dinner to open the rest. He got a kite. He is so excited to go and fly it.

For lunch we took the family to Brick Oven. Braiden got a postcard in the mail where he got free pizza, garlic bread, drinks and a lollipop sundae at Brick Oven. We had so much fun. He could hardly wait to get his pizza. They even sang Happy Birthday to him. I don't think he quite knew what to think about that. It was a delicious lunch. We then came home to get ready for his birthday party. We celebrated with the Peterson side of the family. The Collett party is on Sunday, pictures will be posted later.

We had it out in our backyard. It rained right before and then right after, but we were lucky it was nice during the party. Braiden is such a lucky boy to have such wonderful family. He was spoiled rotten. He got new clothes, books and toys to play with. Thank you so much to everyone who came and helped celebrate! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! and Thank you Tayson, we loved the Thomas book:)





At the end of the party. The three kids each got a Conductor hat, we had to have a Thomas the Train party. They also got a train whistle and a lollipop. This is a picture of them blowing their whistles. His cake was a mess! I try to make things really nice, but it just didn't turn out. I ended up making this instead. Oh Well! He loved it anyway. It was a great day and we are so excited to have a three year old. Happy Birthday Braiden! We love you:)

Salem Fun Run

The three of us after the race

Go Trisha!

Mike and JT racing to the finish line

Braiden and I bringing up the rear

Braiden wearing his new shirt

Let me start by saying I am not a runner!!! The Collett family decided that some of them were going to be running the Salem Fun Run and asked which member was going to represent our little family. None of us wanted to do it at first. JT then changed his mind and decided he wanted to run. When we found out that Braiden could do it, I thought I would push Gavin in the stroller and run with Braiden in the 1 mile event while JT did the 5k with the other members of the fam. We practiced one time. Braiden made in around and we had a good time. The morning of the race came. Braiden was so excited. We got lined up (finally after having to wait forever for everyone the check in, I am not complaining just explaining why Braiden was done before it had even started:) and then the blow horn sounded. We took off. Braiden ran for a minute. I ran for a minute, and then it started to all go down hill while we were trying to go up hill. Braiden didn't want to run, he was to preoccupied with everyone else. Everyone else then passed us. We were the very last people. This was turning into my worst nightmare. I have never been a good runner, and I know I had a three year old with me (soon to be) but I really didn't want to finish last. We kept going. Then JT saw us and took our picture. Braiden decided he could run a little for Dad. Then he decided he was done. He did not want to finish and I wasn't going to make him. This was something we were doing for fun, not torcher. We went back and stood around for a little bit. They then announced they were still waiting for three runners. I figured we better check in with a time. Come to find out, only three people had entered in my category, so I got a bronze medal. How hilarious is that!?! The 5k then started. JT, Mike, Carol, Trisha, Katie, Kristy, Jenny, Brad and Wyatt all ran in this race. They did great! JT finished 2nd in his group and got a silver medal. Wyatt and Madison (1 mile) won their divisions. Everyone finished and had a good time(if running is considered a good time). The funny thing is they had a drawing afterwards and Brad and JT won 1 month gym memberships. Kristy and I won bikes. Yeah, I won a bike! It was a good time. We all did have fun. We then finished Salem days with the parade. They throw so much candy it is crazy. This kids loved it and we had a great day. We then went boating with Kristy and Katie and their fams. It was fun. I am a wimp though, the boat scared me. I just don't trust the water. Braiden and Edward were having so much fun. Thanks to Austin and Kristy for inviting us. I promise next time I will try harder to relax:)

The Tractor Pull

THE TRACTOR PULL

One of the tractors in the pull and JT's good friend

Waiting in the car...

still waiting in the car....

and waiting a little longer in the car!

This is an event that was going on for Salem days. JT thought it sounded fun, so we headed down to the fairgrounds. The internet said it started at 5:00 pm. We got there and only a handful of people were around. It was starting to rain and the wind was just a blowing. We decided to sit in the car and wait and see what happened. Nobody came. I made JT go and check to see when it was going to start. The man told him 6:00 pm. We ran to get something to eat and then hurried back to our spot. The weather still wasn't the best, but they were going to pull anyway. We waited and waited and waited. Finally, it started around 6:45 pm. The boys and I were done before it even started. We watched for a little while and then decided to head home. We couldn't handle being in the car any longer. The tractors were neat and Braiden loves them, but by the time things got started he was not interested anymore. Looks like we will have to try another tractor pull sometime, only this time we will make sure of the time before we spend quality time in the car together:)

Fishing up Payson Lakes

My Grandma and Grandpa Roach went camping this last week. They were nice enough to let us come up and have dinner with them. We then let the boys go fishing at the lake. Grandma and I were going to push the stroller around the lake while the boys fished. Braiden and Gavin were in the double stroller. It is big and usually not bad to push unless there are a lot of holes, gravel or the road leans down on one side. Unfortunately, this was the case most of the way around the lake. Gma and I got a great workout. By the end, we were all ready to be done and are not planning on pushing a stroller around there for a very long time:) The boys didn't catch any fish, but we sure had a great time visiting with Gma and Gpa. We are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents. I love them so much! Thanks Gma and Gpa for letting us come:) We love you!

Gma, Gpa and JT standing by the lake

Gavin before the long ride around the lake

JT helping Braiden fish, and exciting new project for them to do together

{Canning Peaches}

Our peach trees are too small for peaches, so we were lucky enough to get some from Grandpa Allan this year. I love being able to grow food in your backyard and then be able to can, freeze, and eat it! It is so rewarding but it is also a lot of work. JT and I decided to can peaches the other night. JT worked so hard:) I am so grateful he is willing to help me with these projects. We went to Gpa Allans the other day and picked the peaches. We then came home and bottled them. Braiden was a big helper. He really enjoyed eating the peaches while we cut them up. It is so fun to be able to work hard as a family. We are really going to enjoy this fruit for the next year. Thanks to Grandpa for letting come and get peaches. We are so lucky!

The 24th of July

Ed and McKenzie

Madison

Ben and Braiden playing rung-ho

Braiden at the parade

The Collett and Allan families at the parade

We had a fun filled day that was packed with excitement. We started off at the park with the Allan clan at the parade. The parade this year was pretty good. Braiden really loved it. He got to dance, eat candy, and play with his cousins. We then headed to Gma and Gpa Roach's house for lunch. We had sloppy joes, and of course homemade ice cream and raisin filled cookies. My favorite:) The kids got to swim. Braiden jumped in the pool in his clothes because I didn't bring his swimsuit because we needed to get to Katie's house for another party. We then left for Katie's. The kids played and had a great time. We then went to Gma and Gpa Petersons for a little dinner. Afterwards we came home and did fireworks outside. The wind was really picking up, so we decided not to go to the big fireworks. I just got Gavin asleep and Uncle Richard called because he couldn't believe I wasn't coming. Braiden and I decided to hop in the car and go see the big fireworks. JT was nice enough to stay home with Gavin. It was a crazy day, but a great one. We are lucky to have family so close:)

The Carnival

We usually don't attend the carnival when it comes to town, but this year we promised Braiden he could go ride the carousel. We went on family night, so it was packed with families:) Braiden loved the rides. He rode with Edward. Katie, Bryan, Ed and Trumann came, along with JT's mom and dad and my mom. The boys went on the carousel, the cars, the motorcycles, the boats and Braiden went on the Tilt-O-Whirl with Grandpa Jim, Grandma Carol and JT. He was laughing the whole time they said. Gavin and I stood by and watched. We had a great time.

The Annual Stock Parade!

Mom and Gavin

Jim, Katie, Ed and Trumann

This is my favorite picture! They just randomly put their arms around each other!

Look at the beautiful horses!

I know a lot of the time, people complain about going to parades. We have found the perfect one. Not very many people go to it. It only lasts about 20 minutes, there is candy and horses. What more could a little boy ask for? It is the stock parade. They do it every year on the opening night of the rodeo. Braiden loves it. We had a lot of fun this year. My mom, JT's dad, Katie, Ed, and Trumann all came with us. It has turned into a fun tradition.

Carrots, Carrots, Everywhere!

This year we have planted a huge garden. My sister-in-law, Analisha wanted to do it with us. We have planted a large variety of things. The other day we picked all of the carrots. It is so fun to plants seeds and see all of the fresh fruits and veggies come. It has been a lot of work, but it will be well worth it!

Fun at the Park

Braiden with his hat and face painting.

Braiden getting his face painted! (They all got to choose a tattoo and have it put on)

Right after he made his hat.

-Bowling to get a prize-

The 24th of July is a huge event for us! I love it. We have so much fun with all of the events the city has for everyone. The Saturday before the 24th they had games for the kids in the park after the children's parade. I decided to venture out with the two boys and let Braiden have some fun. It was so hot, but we had a blast. Braiden got a paper with around eight different booths he could visit. He got to bowl, throw a ball, shoot a gun, make a hat, get his face painted, fish at the pond, and search for treasure. He came home with some really fun prizes to show his Dad. He couldn't wait for Daddy to get home from camping. Braiden makes me smile and laugh all of the time. I love his personality and will cherish the moments while he still likes to hang out with his mom:)