Yellowstone - Day 3

Day 3 was filled with a lot more driving then usual. We drove all the way up to Mammoth, and made a few stops on the way up and back. On the way up we saw Black Bears! A mama bear with 2 "bigger" cubs, like from last year. And then 1 BABY!! It was tiny and soooo cute! I wish I would have had my camera ready! Anyway, one of the bigger cubs climbed a tree so we walked over and took some pictures! I have a really cute video of Jaxon on Grandpas shoulders trying to find the little bear, but I am too lazy to upload the video. The pics will have to do!
It was so strange to me that these Elk just stroll around through the "city". They walk around wherever and lay down under the trees. Jaxon does not know "Elk", so he just called them "Deers". Look at the little baby one!

Just exploring around after lunch
Jaxon fell asleep shortly after lunch, so Joels dad and I went on a few more trails while he slept.
This was AMAZING!!!! One of my favs!
He took a long nap that day, so we drove out of the park to a little surrounding city to get some cheaper gas, snacks, and stuff. This it was welcomed us back into Yellowstone.
"For the benefit and enjoyment of the People."
Yes it is.
On the drive back to our campsite we came across an area where a TON of cars were pulled over and people were rushing into a field taking pictures of something. Apparently this is a common practice there, when people see buffalo, elk, bears, etc. Well we ALMOST just drove by the commotion thinking everyone was getting excited over something lame... cuz we couldn't see a dang thing! Well Joel and his dad decided to pull over and get out to see what was there. And sure enough, a big ol' grizzly bear was in a field across the river from us! We saw it for a minute, and right as Joel and his dad walked down to get closer for a picture, the dang thing hid behind a bush! And stayed there till we finally gave up and left!
Our last day is next... and was probably my favorite day!!

YellowStone - Day 2

Jaxon did soooooo good with all of the driving we did. He watched lots of movies, played with his toys, and LOVED looking out the windows to see all the wildlife.Next up was Old Faithful!! I have never been to Yellowstone before, so this was all new and exciting for me and Jaxon. We got there a few minutes after an eruption, so we walked around and waited for a good hour before the next one! We didn't mind though, we were all ready to be out of that truck!*Side Story* {I became "one of those moms" on this trip. The first time I saw the backpack leash things for toddlers I scoffed, glared at those moms and said to myself "I will NEVER use one of those on my child. How hard is it to just keep track of your kid? Hold their hand? Or stick them in a stroller?" Well after hearing about the trails and walkways at the parks, and the fact that Jaxon is a "runner", I decided to buy one. It took everything thing in me to put my pride down enough to purchase it. Soon as I got home I tried it on Jaxon and he LOVED it! He calls it his monkey "bat-packt"! Once we got there I was still sooooo hesitant to actually put it on him in public. But let me tell you, for things like this, we loved having it! He was able to do a lot more walking, and I was able to actually look around a little and enjoy myself. Instead of stressing about him running off or falling off the walkways. As soon as we got out of the car he asked for us to put it on! Now, let me say, for trips to the mall or Target, they still seem excessive to me. But, like many things when it comes to parenting, I once again ate my words! So judge me if you want, (trust me I got lots of crusties, glares, and some giggles) but I do not regret having it one bit for this trip!}
The biggest problem we had was sleeping! We went with Joel's parents, and all slept in a trailer. Jaxon stayed up late, and woke up early! It was a little rough on all of us! But during the day he took pretty good naps! He would totally crash by 1-2pm, no matter where we were!After more driving, we went and looked at more hot springs. I LOVED all of them! But I did have a favorite.... Sapphire Pool!The rest were all really cool too!! Just not as deep and blue!That was the "quick" recap of Day 2! Busy... but soooo fun! He was having the time of his life... can ya tell? :)

YellowStone - Day 1

We left for Yellowstone on Tuesday night. By the time we pulled out it was almost 9pm. We figured if we could get Jaxon to fall asleep we could get a good start on the long drive so we could enjoy our day more on Wednesday. We drove until about 1 am, and we were all exhausted!!! Unfortunately, our plan did not fall into place. Jaxon woke up right before we pulled over to sleep and didn't fall back asleep until like 3-4am! KILL ME!!!!! It was horrible! He wasn't being naughty or throwing fits, he just kept talking and talking and howling like a wolf at the moon!! (Something he has learned from Cat in the Hat a few days before). UGH! We all woke up about 7:30 still EXHAUSTED but decided to just get up and finish the drive.

On our way we had to see the Grand Teton Mountains. They are amazing! And so pretty!This has been labeled the "most photographed barn in America. The view is amazing! Joels grandma's ancestors built it. It was really cool to see, sadly the pictures just don't do it justice! Jaxon was just happy to be out of the car, running around!

A little while later we stopped for lunch! Jaxon spent most of the time throwing rocks into an ICE COLD little river! He waded for a minute... but quickly realized it was too cold, even for him!After lunch we stopped at Jenny Lake. Again, BEAUTIFUL! Those mountains make an amazing background to pretty much anything! Jaxon was asleep, so Joel and his mom went to check out the view at the outlook.

We got to the campsite just in time for dinner. Stretch those legs little man...

Check back for the rest of our trip... the best is yet to come! :)

The 4th!

Some of you may know this... the number of pictures I took over the 3-day, holiday weekend. 485. Yep. My camera might as well be attached to my body! But ya know what.... I got some good ones!!! So here ya go.... I will only post like half of them, don't worry! :)

{Lindon Pool~Saturday}

{Fireworks~Saturday Night}

{ "Beach" visit~Sunday afternoon}{Delta Parade and Park Day~Monday}
There were tons of little games and stuff for kids to do there. Jaxon won this frog-ball thing. He loves it! Another activity was a fish catch. Let me tell you again - I HATE FISH! But I knew he would love it. So I went in there with him. They filled a GIANT kiddie pool with water and fish. And in age groups, the kids got in the pool and tried to catch the fish. You catch it, you take it home kinda thing {Sick.}. Ok this was soooo chaotic first of all! I took Jaxon in the 3-4 year old group and so of course he was a little overwhelmed. He literally stood in the water the whole time watching those fish swim around his legs and stuff! {EWWWW} Meantime, Stef brought her friend (boyfriend??) who has 2 boys. They were scared of the fish and didn't want to touch them either. So Stef's friend decided he would just catch one for them. I took my sisters camera to document the moment of course. He did catch one... and I got some pretty cute pictures of them. AND THEN.... I reached down to help Jaxon out of the pool, and he slipped and fell. Well my instant reaction was to use both hands and pull him out... guess what fell into the water when I did that? My sisters 1 month old camera!!! AW!!! Worst moment EVER!!! Long story short, the camera is magically fine, the pictures of the crazy moment were saved and my sister still loves me!

{Delta Demolition Derby - Monday Night}

Jaxon LOVED the demolition derby... even though it got cold and windy! Joel and I had fun too! It's easy to forget there are people in there - you get so caught up in watching them OWN each other! At first Jaxon liked it, and was saying "beep, beep" "watch out" or "uh-oh..." But after a couple rounds he figured out that the point is for them to crash and tip over and stuff. Then he started saying "YEAH!!! CRASH!!" He would also help with the countdown... followed by "GO GO GO GO!!!" One of the rounds is more of a race, as soon as that one started he started asking "Where's Lightning?" Haha Not that kind of race, bud.
We ended up leaving before the fireworks.. it was just too cold, windy and the rain started. So we headed home.
And that was our weekend! I have noticed on my blog list, not many of you have updated about yours.. c'mon, I wanna see you fun things you guys did!

**Love/Hate**

A few things I LOVE about our little guy.
~ He will spend all day at the pool if we let him
~ Knows how to swim!! With arm floaties... but he is a pro!
~ Does roll call every now and then... "Mama? Dada? Jaxon."
~ When he is ready to leave, he will always ask very sweetly.. Home? Home?
~ He plays on his own so well! Parks, the pool, sand, toys, anything.
~ Give us lots and lots of kisses
~ If I am in another room... he will look around trying to find me saying "mama, mom, mama, mom, mama, mom." Once he finds me... he just says "hi" and walks away.
~ Every morning, {almost} we have scrambled eggs and ketchup. He gets the ketchup out of the fridge when he is ready to eat. The only meal he will consistently eat.
~ He will play in the tub long enough for me to do my hair, and long enough that the water is freezing when he gets out.
~ Without fail... will sleep AT LEAST 2 hours a day when it's naptime. Sometimes 3... 3.5... and still goes to bed before 8.
~ ASKS to go to bed! Yeah you read that right.
~ Such a movie boy.
~ Gives mom LOTS of cuddle time!!
~ Wrestles and rough houses with dad!

A few things I Hate... ok I don't hate them... I just love these Less!
~Loves to pretend to poop in the tub. Yep... pretend, by saying "mom, poop". Followed with hysterical laughing when I tell him don't you dare do that in the tub.
~ Fruit-snack-aholic!!!
~ Still won't drink milk, unless it's the boxed milk with a straw.
~ VERY picky eater now-a-days. He examines everything before he takes a bite.
~ Can get dirty in 2 seconds. Literally. Like 2-3 baths a day kind of dirty.
~ Wakes up very grumpy.
~ Loves to play {mess up} my hair.
~ Throws huge fits if he doesn't get to go outside when he wants.
~ Because he wrestles so much with Dad, he doesn't get much cuddle time with him.
~ Grinds his teeth for fun. {This is one I do HATE!}
~ In church, at the store, anywhere public, he finds it funny to announce {Yell} that he pooped. Even if he didn't. Ugh boys!


There are soooo many things he says and does that I never want to forget! But I do... and it's sad! I need to write them down. And get the camcorder out more. We love our little monster!

A Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my One and Only!!!!!
Today he turned 27!
Sadly he had to work today... but after work we had a little BBQ with his parents.
Tomorrow we will go to Tocanos and a movie!
{Probably Green Lantern}
But for tonight, being out in the summer weather was perfect!

This little boy sure does love you! Thanks for everything you do for us!!! I sure love you too!!! Hope you had a good day, love!
Now let's go party it up!! 27... almost 30! haha ;)

Happy Fathers Day!! Too bad it's all cold and rainy today! Otherwise we would be out using Joel's Fathers Day/Early Birthday present.....Joel has wanted a nice grill forever!!! We found a great deal on one and bought it a couple weeks ago! He loves it! And so do I... let me just tell you - that corn you see on the grill turns out.... AMMMAAZZZIIINNNGGG!!!! Oooh it's gonna be a good summer with that baby outside!
We have always joked that Joel is the "fun" parent. And it's sometimes true.. {this also makes him a total pushover with Jaxon! haha}! Weekends and evenings when Joel isn't in school are the best parts of our lives! Joel loves to play and keep our little guy busy!! Here are a few examples..... {not in any order!}

~Feeding the ducks~

~Bowling~~Mowing the lawn~
~Riding in his truck~
(He isn't quite tall enough to hold down the pedal for very long. So Joel uses a golf club for the gas pedal and Jaxon steers.)
These are just a few of the many things Joel does with Jaxon! They wrestle, play basketball, chase each other, and of course TEASE each other! NOBODY can make Jaxon laugh like Joel can!
He adores you.... and LOVES you sooooo much!
Makes me jealous sometimes... cuz he is a total daddy's boy!
But I would not have it any other way!
Thanks for being such a good dad to our little boy!
Did I mention I love my own little family??

We went to my dads house for dinner tonight! It was so fun to just hang out, talk, watch the kids play, and eat yummy food!

I love you Dad!! You have always been there for me and your sooooo funny! Your jokes make my day! I am so happy we live so close! It's fun to stop by and play! Thanks for being such a good grandpa too!! Jaxon loves you so much! {Even though he was a grump tonight!}

First of the Summer!

You know summer is here when the city "days" start! I don't like the carnival rides, greasy food, interesting crowd part of it. But the parades, activities, and such are kinda fun. And something different to fill our weekends with.
My amazing sister is on the UVU Latino Legacy dance company! So my mom and I went to watch her perform... she is gorgeous! And sooooo good! I love watching her! And I took over 300 pictures of her and her group! :) Joel stayed home with Jaxon cuz he was still napping. While I was there I noticed all the fun things the Orem Festival had to do. So we brought Jaxon back to check it all out! We got there just in time for the parade! Which he LOVED!! Especially the BYU cougar! His favorite part was probably all of this! Look at his face... "Wow dad! A firetruck!!"

Seeing how excited he was about the firetrucks, motorcycles and ambulances made the horrible traffic and parking worth it!
Thankfully all this satisfied him... and I got to avoid the yucky rides and stuff! Beside the hand sanitizer in my purse was gone. So you better believe I was avoiding them!! It was a fun night!
Plus... he was up late, and let Joel and I sleep in past 9 the next morning!!