When Aunt Rara Comes to Town

It's been a tradition for Laura to come home from school and visit us for Memorial Day weekend.  She came in 2010...just days after Autsin was born -- making her the first person on my side of the family to see the Little Monkey.

And then she was here in 2011 to celebrate Austin's FIRST birthday.  And I'm pretty sure this began his obsession with Aunt Rara.  He seriously can't get enough of her, and he asks about her every day.  I admit, she is pretty cool.

So, of course she came this year...and brought her fiance, Scott, with her.  Austin talked about them all day before we picked them up from the airport.  But, true to Austin's style, once we picked them up he was stone faced and seemingly unamused...or even quite unhappy...that they were even there.  With enough tickles and smoochies, though, they got Austin to open up.  And it was all downhill from there -- the show off was unleashed!

Laura and Scott flew in on Thursday evening.  On Friday we went downtown to see some of the sights.  We visited the troll under the bridge, gasworks park, and ate some amazing burgers and onion rings and Red Mill  Burgers (which was featured on the TV show Man v. Food).  We came back and the boys (minus Austin, who went to bed) went to see the Avengers, while I hosted a bridal shower for Laura.

Saturday morning we had tickets to go to the Mariners game, and we decided to visit Pike's Place Market before heading down to the stadium (no pictures of that).  It was the perfect day for a game.  The M's lost, but we all had a great time.  Austin loved cheering "go Mariners!" at both appropriate and random times.  I wish I would have taken more pictures at the game...or really throughout the weekend in general.  I don't even have physical evidence that Scott was with us.  I guess they'll just have to come visit again!

Just found some evidence.  Aren't they cute?

Austin Turns TWO!!

I can't believe my little baby is TWO years old (as of May 27th).  The first year felt like an eternity to survive, but the second year sure flew by.  And I fear that it only gets worse!!

When Austin woke up we gave him quite the overwhelming attention.  We kept saying "Happy Birthday Austin!"  And, groggily, he'd reply "happy birthday..."  He didn't quite get what all the hullabaloo was about.  We told him there was a surprise downstairs -- to which he couldn't resist his excitement (he does know what surprises are)!

His first birthday surprise was an awesome train table and train set.  We got the table and multiple train sets for FREE from some good friend that were desperate to get it out of our house.  We were honored to help them in their time of need....  Plus, Austin LOVES it.  Doesn't he look quite irresistible in the little train hat?

I was snapping photos right and left, of course, which Austin could only tolerate for so long.  He lost his patience with me and told me to "GO!"  Then he hid below the table.  He's got a little attitude sometimes.

Aunt Laura and Uncle Scott were in town (posts about their visit coming soon), and we invited  Nana and Papa Spader over for dinner that evening.  After our delicious meal Austin opened his presents.  We could have given him any ONE of his many presents and he would have been more than satisfied.

Nana and Papa gave him a monster truck and some squirt guns (which have already been taken away for squirting me in the house multiple times).  We got him his very own lawnmower and a trike (which we're actually borrowing for the summer from another good friend for FREE...we love our friends!).  My creative sister bought Austin his very own wallet and made him his own license, cash, debit and credit cards.  It is so cute.  He likes to keep his wallet in the trunk of his bike...for obvious reasons.

And then....the cake!  I wanted to do a real cutsie cake just for Austin, but then I got lazy and decided to do a delicious cake for all of us.  I completely forgot to buy birthday candles, so Austin had to blow out tea lights.  Luckily we only needed two of them.  Austin -- and the rest of us -- approved of the cake and ended the night feeling stuffed and satisfied.  Happy Birthday Austin!

"Painting" the Deck

At least once every day Austin will go to the back door and scream "aside! aside!"  And, lucky for him (and me), we had some beautiful sunny weather a couple weeks ago and I could let him go "aside."  He could spend hours outside just beboppin' around.  Unfortunately, though, we just had landscapers rototill and fertilize the yard so Austin could not go on the grass.  He was only partly amused with hanging out on the deck, so I had to come up with some fun things to keep him busy and off the grass.

Enter paintbrush, spray bottle, and lots and lots of water.  The first day he spent TWO hours straight "painting" and spraying.  It was heavenly.  I can't wait until summer is officially here.

P.S. Don't you love his sun hat?  My mom got it for him in Thailand.  All the school kids are required to wear them during recess to keep their necks from burning.  Austin loves it.  Thanks Mom!

The Perfect Easter

I was so excited for Easter morning.  Since I was young I've never been able to sleep well the night before Christmas and Easter.  And, if anything, it's only gotten worse since having Austin. It's not about the gifts, either.  It's about all that comes with these holidays: family, food, love, and the peaceful, joyful feelings that come from reflecting on our Savior.

So I was wide awake at 6 am ready to go.  I put a delicious french toast casserole in the oven and then waited patiently for Toren and Austin to wake up.  And when they did they were not disappointed.  A trail of candy-filled Easter eggs led Austin to his Easter basket filled with bubble bath, color wonder markers and coloring book, and a mini suitcase.  He was so happy.  Toren got new basketball shorts and I got new Pyrex pans (yay...).

I'd been looking forward to going to church because I had the most handsome outfit for him to wear.  My good friend, Kristine, sent me this outfit before Austin was even born.  I've been waiting for TWO years for him to wear it.  The wait was worth it, don't you think?  THANK YOU KRISTINE!!

After church we all took great Easter Sunday naps.  When we woke up we headed out to my aunt and uncle's house for a big family dinner.  The weather was beautiful.  We ate (way too much) while the kids romped around in the backyard.  It was the absolutely perfect Easter Sunday.

Having a little baby only deepened my love for the Savior and His Plan of Happiness.  Every day I'm grateful for the sacrifice he made on behalf of me and my family, and my knowledge that he lived, lives, and that I can live forever with Him and my family.

Ward Easter Egg Hunt

My Mom came back from Rexburg and spent a week with us.  We had such a great time.  It was hard to have her go, even though she'll be back for the summer in just a few months.  Toren and I took advantage of the free babysitting and went to see The Hunger Games (loved it), we enjoyed lunch a Chipotle quite a few times, and Austin was spoiled beyond belief.  Sadly, I really only took one picture.  It's pretty representative of how Austin spent the week with Nana.

The Saturday before Easter our Ward hosted a little Easter egg hunt for the Nursery and Primary kids.  Austin didn't need any help figuring out what to do, and he filled his basket in record time.

Austin is the one trying to walk the dog in the group picture above.  My friend brought her amazingly gentle and obedient (something we're not accustomed to) dog, Philly, to the activity.  After collecting a sufficient amount of eggs, all Austin wanted to do was walk Philly.  She acquiesced.  He walked her all around the park.

Weekend Visit to Pullman

We love an excuse to go to Pullman -- especially when we get to hold the sweetest little newborn ever.  Maren delivered little Hunter William just four days earlier, and I can't believe she still wanted us to come.  But I'm glad she did because I couldn't get enough snuggles from little Hunter.  And Austin was in need of some good roughhousing.

We arrived Friday night and the raucous began!  Austin absolutely loves his cousins...probably because they fuel his wild side.  These little boys ran and jumped the whole weekend.  It's amazing that such little bodies can't have so much energy.

But, like I said, Toren and I spent most of the weekend cuddling sweet little Hunter.  He is the most precious baby.  I don't think we ever even heard him cry once while we were there.  Austin was fascinated with Hunter when he took the time to notice him.  Mostly he was preoccupied with his much cooler older cousins.

A local photographer needed to build up her portfolio of newborns, and arranged to take some pictures of little Hunter.  She was nice enough to take a few of all the boys individually and together.  We brought candy, cookies and gum to bribe the boys into sitting still.  It wasn't enough.  They're willful little guys, and would barely sit still...let alone crack a smile.

And, yes, these are the best ones!  Luckily, the ones of Hunter are absolutely adorable.

Nana Arrives

I guess it's time to catch up...as usual.  Maybe someday blogging will be a priority in my life.

My grandpa was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in October.  Traces of the cancer had spread to a few other organs, and the doctors gave him six month left to live or 13 with chemotherapy.  He started treatments right away.  My mom scheduled a trip to come home and visit him (and, by default, us!).

His scan a couple months later showed that the tumor had shrunk by 50% and the traces elsewhere in his body were completely gone. The doctors were surprised with the results, and we considered it an answer to many prayers.  He moved on to another chemotherapy drug, and his most recent scan revealed that the tumor was getting significantly weaker.  The doctor's were so impressed and said that their might come a time when he can stop treatments all together because the cancer will be gone or benign.  It's really been a miracle for our family.

But my mom still came for her visit!  The day after we picked her up from the airport we headed for Spokane.  My mom was going to visit Laura, David and Mandy in Rexburg and Toren needed to be in Pullman for the weekend.  So, met Toren in Spokane, stayed the night, and then parted ways the next day.

Nana's iPad was the highlight for Austin.  It was an absolute lifesaver on the drive...since he only napped for about 45 minutes of the 5 hours it took us.  He's almost convinced us into investing in one before our next long trip.

He loved hanging out in the hotel, even though we made him sleep in the bathroom.