The Boy Turns 4

Im sad to report that Pep turned 4. ;) Im also sad to report that his birthday was fairly anticlimactic and I feel horrible about how things turned out but he really didn't seem to mind.
His birthday was spent in Utah, which was good. However Andrew was still in Illinois, which was bad. We kept it extremely low key. All the boy wanted to do for his birthday was go for a hike up in the foothills and so we packed a lunch and went with Grandma and Aunt Amy and Wyatt and AlDee to the crystal pits. It really was a blast.
My Dad wanted to do something for all of the kids (since they couldn't be there for AnDee or Isaac's) and so instead of just doing a party for Pep we did one for all 3 of them. We had cousins and friends over and we had a cake with candles on different sides for each of the kids. We sang Happy Birthday to all of them and they all got to blow out their candles... which was hands down Peps FAVORITE part.
We didn't do any presents because we planned on doing a birthday celebration for just Pep when we got back to Illinois so Andrew could be a part of it.
When we got home to Illinois we took Pep out to Target where he picked out his present. He choose a marble run and it has been a big hit at our house. My dad went to the bakery and bought a HUGE Thomas the Train cake (We are talking disgustingly huge. Ridiculous.) We had no idea it was going to be as big as it was. Luckily, after great effort from our family to eat it (and only making a tiny dent) Andrew took it to work were the people will eat anything and they finished it off for us.
Here is the worst part of the birthday fail...

This is the only picture I got of Pep on his birthday.

And this is the only picture I got of any of the "celebratory" stuff... The cake... after the kids had already picked all the stuff off of it.

I failed. Big time. Luckily my son is very forgiving and never even thought anything of it.
I absolutely adore this boy. He is so smart and so stinking funny. He keeps me on my toes and has a bit of a temper but I love it. He is sweet and has started to take very good care of his little brother and his sister whenever he can. He is still obsessed with trains and Im totally ok with it. He has made our entire family avid train lovers. He is grumpy and stubborn but its hilarious. There is something so unique about him that I cannot put in to words. He is not your average kid. His mind works differently and it is beautiful and amazing and totally inspiring. If you haven't ever had the chance to spend real time with him, you need to. He. Is. The. Coolest.

Odds and Ends

AnDee really enjoyed her dog cousins as well. Spike was a real win with my kids. The poor little dude put up with a lot.

We of course had to visit our long time friend Kevin. I am pleased to report that he is well and still growing.

 I tried to play soccer for too many hours and discovered that my feet aren't quite as calloused as they used to be.

Gross right?

AnDee got her very first "official" hair trim. ( I usually do it at home... which is really a bad idea)

Thanks Mindy!

We played in the foothills and couldn't get enough.

 Ike wouldn't slow down. AnDee and Pep were busy discovering the flowers and plants and trees and Ike was on a mission to get down the trail as fast has he could. Fortunately Bernie played baby sitter and wouldn't leave his side. Sometimes I really love that dog.

Dog Cousins??

Even Bernadette got to play with her cousins(??) Both Heather's bulldog and Phil's French bulldog came and visited and Bernie was in heaven. Some how I didn't get any pictures of Bernie and Eliot (My moms dog) but they were pretty much bffs the whole time.

  Miss Bernadette also got her hair did..

She also went to the vet and got some meds (sedatives) for the ride home so she didn't puke the whole way. It was lovely.

St. George

We spent 5 weekends in Utah. I spent 4 out of the 5 in St. George and my kids spent 3 of the 5. We couldn't get enough. We got to spend one weekend with Dad and Dave. One with Grandma and Grandpa Naugle, Sam and Amy and their kids, and Stevie. And one with Aunt Amber and her kids.
Serious SO. FUN.
I have about 200 pics from these St. George trips, I tried to narrow it down but I still have an extreme amount. I apologize in advance.
 Dad and Buggy on the red rock..

Dad and Ikey..

 Pep and Dave.

 We did a lot of hiking in the perfect weather and picked up a few friends along the way...

This was our first friend, his name was Jolly.

 Jolly went on lots of adventure with us and Pep literally cried when he decided to part from us. (he didn't die. Just escaped)

 Our next friend was this guy...

 (Pretty sure everyone in this particular park that morning thought I was totally crazy. So what if Im 30 and standing in the middle of a pond trying to catch frogs?)

 He didn't stay with us long though, we had to put him back in his pond so that he wouldn't shrivel up and die in the St. George heat.

 AnDee got to go with me and Grandma Pam to get her very first pedicure! She was unbelievably happy about this and could not stop giggling.

 Cousin tub pic (AKA: Blackmail)

 One of our absolute favorite spots was the river. Its perfect for little ones. Its warm and shallow and no one else was ever there. We spent lots and lots of time just splashing and playing in the river.

 This occurred for the very first time ever.... all three kids sleeping on Mama's lap.

We visited this place a couple of times. It was super cool. It was actually on an Indian reservation and they had all sorts of traditional dwellings that you could go in and info on what tribes lived in them and how they were built. Like I said, super cool

 He does make a really cute little Indian maiden doesn't he?..

 Pep is a booger...

 We caught lots of caterpillars and Aubree really wanted to be a part of every picture. (I couldn't stop laughing. She was jumping in every picture she possibly could.)

 These 3 became really good buds. Ike has been having Gracie withdrawals lately.

 Again.. Pep is a booger... however the Warbird Museum was SO COOL! We loved it. Until Pep wouldn't pose for a pic and the old man threatened to take his pamphlet away if he didn't smile.

  Again at the river... this time Ikey decided to bathe in the sand and I had to baptize him to get it out. Which he really really loved! (thats a lie. He screamed the whole time)

Side Note: My parents gave Ike an alter ego name (Larry) while we were in Utah. Ike likes to turn in to the devil at random moments throughout the day. One minute he is Ike (angel) and one minute he is Larry (the devil) When he turns in to Larry he does things like screaming, biting, pinching and eating copious amounts of things (dirt, sand, rocks) that he shouldn't be. When we were in St. George with Andrew's family we went to a lake and I spent the entire time trying to get Larry to quit eating dirt and drinking really really nasty lake water. That night as Ike was falling asleep he was jabbering to himself and this is what I hear "Ew! Dirty water! I LIKE dirty water!! I DRINK dirty water!!"
Larry is going to be the end of me...

  On our last night there, Amber and I were even brave enough to take all 8 kids out to eat! It wasn't nearly as big of a disaster as I had imagined it being.

 This girl right here is THE BEST.  Seriously... I can't wait until she is old enough for me to fly her out here in the summers to play with us. My kids adore her and she is the best little babysitter.

St. George was most definitely a highlight of this trip.