LATELY

Caleb just finished a course of 10 days of swimming lessons. We signed him up the day after we got home from Snowbird, where he sat on the steps at the pool the whole time. He really enjoys swimming as long as he can touch the bottom of the pool, which made this pool the perfect place for lessons. (Minus that it was indoor which bummed me out).

Caleb did great and absolutely loved it. And a class of all boys too!

On Monday afternoon, I went to get the mail and along with it I found the cutest card made by Caleb for Cindy, our mail lady (whom we adore!). It was colored, stapled and simply adorable! It even said "To Cindy, From Caleb" and had a large print "Thank You" message. The funny thing is, I had no clue about it! When I brought it in the house and asked Caleb about it, he yelled "That's for Cindy!" He grabbed it and ran it back out to the mailbox. Come to find out the kids made these cards in primary!  I also found out we had a mail sub that day  because Cindy's dog had died. So Caleb made her day when she was feeling sad the next day! Here is a note we found in our mailbox a few days later...

Cindy said she had to write "balloons" b/c her husband said they looked like little "spermies", lol.

Justin has been taking Caleb on early Saturday morning daddy outings, so cute. The last two weeks  included Ensign Peak and the South Jordan Hot Air Balloon fest.

 Last week when my neice Maddie was over, Caleb wanted to make a hat like the one he saw in his Curious George show. He tried to explain to us how to make it, and we were really confused because it was so detailed. After a failed attempt, we pulled up his show online so we could see it, and about an hour after we started, we had this (see below). Then Caleb decided he wanted to sell the first hat we made for 25 cents. So we wrote the price on it and he put it on our porch. Later, there was a knock on the door, a quarter on the porch and no hat! Caleb was elated!

(Great idea Maddie, thanks!)

On my baby sis's birthday, she invited us all to her house for Karaoke and cake. Look at my cute parents singing! But really I wanted to post this pic because I'm glad I got my older brother Scott in it. Just wanted to say what a nice guy he is and how much I love him. He is always the fun one with all of the kids, and baby Alexa (Cindy's) will go to him over anyone else. He is almost always holding her.

Seriously, just a sweet, sweet guy.

And a few more pics from Snowbird that I found on the camera that wasn't working for a bit. 

When we came out of the Canyon, we were dazzled by the most beautiful sunset.

Beeeautiful!

Last Weekend: Snowbird Family Reunion

Every year, Justin's moms side of the family goes up to Snowbird for a family reunion for the whole weekend. We usually only go up for a day or two, but we have a good time! I don't think our pictures going up the mountain on the tram stood a chance to turn out non-fuzzy with the speed we are moving, but I like them anyway so here they are.. (Thanks Aze and Chris for taking them).

Caleb with his cutie cousin Gus.

 Atop the mountain, it was beautiful!

Back at the lodge. We spend a lot of time visiting with family there too.

See you next year Snowbird!

SEALed with a Kiss

Our camera broke a few weeks ago, so I don't really have pictures to share this time (besides a couple of oldies). So I hope I can make this post interesting anyway.

First, a couple cute things Caleb has said lately...

"Mommy, what's more 'portant for us...Jesus or Water?" Wow, where does he come up with these things?

Caleb: "Why don't some people have any kids or babies?"
Me: "Well, who are you talking about?"
Caleb: "Like Teacher Joy??" (His preschool teacher who is a grandma)


Now, a few things we have going on...

Sealed with a Kiss: July 7, 2004

Justin and I recentlly celebrated our 8th Anniversary! We went to the Park City Marriott and had a great time shopping, eating out and just being together. I didn't get around to the awesome blog post I was planning to write about our marriage, but that's okay. True love doesn't have to be proved to anyone. I love sharing my life with my best friend!

Justin:     Work and family, you know the usual. But have you seen his hair lately? I talked him in to growing it out a little and it looks awesome! Can I tell you how much I love his curls? I'll have to post a pic soon. My sister just gave me her old camera. :)


Me:         I am going to be starting a new therapy this week, in hopes to get the rest of my health back. Justin read an article about a month ago about a therapy that helps all types of autoimmune diseases, and he told me about it. This last month I have been reading a lot about it and getting excited because my husband supports me in trying it although it's quite expensive. The therapists that provide it are in the U.K. or Mexico! Anyway, the therapy is a probiotic patch I will put on my arm, which is supposed to provide the means to calm down my immune system so it doesn't overreact to everything. It Includes 3 years of follow up product and over the phone assistance. They have 80% success rate within 4-6 months with issues exactly like my own. It's near impossible to find stats that high with any medicine or therapy! Anyway, I am feeling hopeful and excited. Here's to hoping that I can eat my families delicious Christmas dinner this winter without getting sick???!!!

I am also excited about this upcoming new begninning...Kindergarten for Caleb, in just over a month!

Summer Fun

Justin's super-busy time of year at work is March- mid June. His hours are so long and his days so stressful that when things slow down in June, he wants to take days off to spend time with his family! He has taken several days off in the last few weeks, and we have all loved it. Here are a couple of the things we have done together. 

 We went on a short hike in the canyon to this cute little waterfall. Caleb loved it. And Justin took a bunch of pictures.

 He put this one on as his phones wallpaper.

 

Justin wanted to take a pic of me next to this danger sign. I used to be a thrill seeker, but this is as dangerous as I get anymore. Life is too precious, and I've realized that I'm not invincible!

The following weekend, we went to the Kennecott Copper Mine. I hadn't been since I was a kid, so I'm glad Justin talked me into it. Look how HUGE the tires on the mining trucks are! Can you even see Caleb next to it?

In case you were wondering what interesting animals have been hanging around our place THIS week, here they are. Newly hatched birdies, huddled in the space between our pillar and our roof, right where their mom built her nest. We get to hear the cutest little chirps all day long!

A Phenomenal Father

This is a typical scene in our home. These two are always bonding in one way or another. It probably wasn't the nicest of me to sneak in and snap a pic of Caleb and daddy while they were eating breakfast, but sometimes you've gotta get some candids! So minus the chewing faces (still cute in my opinion), look how sweet they look in their matching Father's Day attire! We gifted the ties to Justin last night, because it was killing Caleb not to tell him what we got for him. But let's be real, I'm probably the only one who got really excited about the ties. (Maybe too excited as you will see in the pic below where I matched their blue and black at church today too!)

ALL ABOUT MY DAD

By Caleb Seal

(Filled out in primary, where I was subbing in his class)

My dad is 34 years old.

Caleb was the only kid that knew the correct answer to this question. He could also tell you how old I am too.

My dad was born in our house.

Of  course he was, haha! We are always telling him that daddy has lived in this house since he was born.

My dad's favorite color is red.

That's a pretty good guess, since he's a big U fan, but I'm going to ask Justin b/c I don't think I know!

My dad always says "C'mon Bud!"

Very true, Justin takes Caleb pretty much everywhere he goes, even to his own dentist appointments!

My dad's job is working on the door.

Justin has been fixing a bunch of doors in our house lately, so since Caleb has no clue what daddy really does for work, he thought of the work he has been seeing daddy do this weekend.  

The first thing my dad does in the morning is get dressed.

That's silly! Why do you get dressed before you shower Justin??

My dad laughs when I make funny faces.

Yes, that, and all of the funny things that he says. Which I inevitably repeat in case Justin missed it.

My dads favorite food is sandwiches.

I was thinking he'd say pizza, but ham and cheese sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, and the occasional PB&J all with a side of chips seem to be some favorites too.

I love my dad because he takes me places.

True, like when I woke up from an indulgent Sunday nap this afternoon to find they rode their bikes to the park, where they were hanging out and looking at bugs.

No kidding, Justin is an absolute PHENOMENAL father.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Birds, Doctors, and Girlfriends! OH MY!

First, a few pics from Caleb's last day of preschool.

They had a field trip to Tracy Aviary.

I was in charge of these two cuties. Our neighbor Davis is one of Caleb's best friends, and they look like they could be brothers.
(Or on this day, ironically like twins!)

 A few of his besties...

 

Apparently "CHEESE" isn't the best word to say anymore.

 

Sadly, Caleb got extremely sick on his preschool graduation day, and he ended up with an IV instead of a diploma that day. But look what a good sport he was. (After he got some electrolites back!)

The other day, Caleb told me that Miranda (the girl next door) is his "girlfriend."

So yesterday, they were wearing twinner outfits (ironic!) and I asked him who his girlfriend is, because I felt she deserved to know.

 He exclaimed "Miranda!" and she grinned from ear to ear.

She obviously has no problems with that, so I called her

 mom so we could laugh about the news.

Busy Busy!

We have been SO busy lately, that I have left a lot of my favorite internet sites in the dust, including facebook, pinterest, and our blog! (This is opposite from the norm for me.)This weekend is the first time I have felt that I have a minute to catch up. So here you have it, a few things we have been doing lately.

Caleb had a pre-school fieldtrip and got to ride Teacher Joy's horse.

 He got to do this last year too, and boy does he love it.

We went to the City Creek Center downtown about a month after it opened.

Caleb loved the water fountains and his pizza dinner.

 We flew Caleb's new birthday kite at our West Jordan park.

It was a sunny and windy day, and I loved laying on the grass watching the kite overhead.

Then Justin handed me the kite string. Wow, those winds really were strong!

In the 8 years I have lived here, these 2 ducks (I think it's these same ones) have camped out in our backyard almost every spring, and the mama duck usually lays her eggs there! One morning this week I found them on our front porch, so I quietly hid next to the door and rang the doorbell for Caleb to find some of his favorite friends at his door. They probably came for some breakfast becasue Caleb always likes to feed them!

(When I opened the front door, they walked up like I was inviting them in! Not gonna happen.)

Here is an example of one of the reasons that we have been so busy lately. We have been fixing up the house, including our guest bathroom, a new tile entry, a couple new doors, a new roof, and a new sprinkler system is coming! Justin is doing a lot of this himself, and I am going crazy trying to clean up around a construction zone.  

 

 I think I'm going to paint the trim on that little mirror black to match too.

Busy, busy!

Family Pictures

I can't seem to get these pictures on here without them  doubling up, but I am going to post a couple anyway....

How cute is our little man?

I will probably be posting more of my favorites on here soon!

Thirty was Flirty and Fabulous!

 On my birthday, Justin went camera happy at my sister Krystal's party.



Sporting my new scarf from my sis Sheila.



It was actually a dinner so we could meet the guy Krystal is dating, but since it was on my birthday, they made a cake and sang to me. (Twice that night!)

Like I said, he was camera happy.

(Look at those awesome-huge earrings Cindy gave me! Love them.)

Justin also gave me some of my favoirtes...Gerber Daisies!

Thanks Babe.

I'm 31 now.

But I must say, thirty felt flirty and fabulous!