Put those kids to work!

Mike had some help mowing the lawn this past weekend.  We are looking forward to the day when he can do it all by himself.  Kids getting older definitely comes with some perks!

Miles isn't the only help around here.  I hired Morgan to be my babysitter for half an hour (I was home of course).  She was so excited to have the responsibility all to herself and she did a great job.  She played with Meg and kept an eye on her the entire time.   I got so much done in 30 minutes - it's amazing how productive you can be when you don't have a baby on your hip.  Totally worth the $2 in babysitting fees.

Will's only job is to not be a weird-o.  We're working on it.  

Meg Walks (very short distances, but hey!)

Meg has officially started walking.  She never really liked to crawl and still can't do that very well, so she gets everywhere by cruising along furniture or walls.  Last week she stood up in the middle of the kitchen without holding anything and walked about 5 steps to me.  Now she stands all the time and takes a few steps before falling.  It's the cutest thing, and she is so proud of herself!  She is my youngest walker so far at 10 months old.

Taking a step!  

Will's fight...

If you think Will looks bad, you should see the bee!  

Poor little guy.  Although, he did have super hearing for a while.  How could he not with his ear like that.

The difference between having a brother and a sister...

The other day I was cooking in the kitchen while the girls were propped up to the counter watching me. I noticed they were being quiet so I looked up. That's when I saw the cutest thing I think I've ever seen... Morgan was whispering and gently rubbing Meg's cheek while they just stared at each other. They stayed that way for quite a while. Luckily, I had my camera right there so I was able to get a picture before they noticed I was watching.

Such sweet sisters!

Then there's Will. He is usually a very kind brother... Most of the time. Every once in a while he will do little things to Meg just to keep her on her toes. You know things like, push her over, snatch her toy, put her in a head lock...

Here he is playing in the water table out back with little Meg close by....

I heard Meg take a little gasp and when I looked over at her she was all wet. Will was standing right next to her with his bowl and a smirk on his face. When I asked Will if he dumped water on Meg, he shook his head no and gave me a look that said, how dare you accuse me of that. Now I wasn't looking so I guess I can't say for sure what really happened, but I have a sneaky feeling it won't be last time something like this happens when she's playing with brother.

I'm glad she gets to experience both having brothers and a sister. It will make her well rounded!

He is officially 1/2 an ironman!

Don't let that 1/2 fool you... This was one seriously challenging race.

Last weekend Mike completed the Bear Lake Brawl Half Iron Man. He didn't just complete it either, he picked it up, put it in his mouth, chewed it to pieces, and then spit it out like it was nothing. The race consisted of a 1.2 mile swim (which he did in 36 minutes), a 56 mile bike (which he did in 2:44), and a 13.1 mile run (which he did in 2:06). Overall he went over 70 miles in 5 hours 32 minutes and 57 seconds.

Impressive right! I mean, seriously impressive!!

Here he is right after the race. (I'm shocked he's smiling.)

Here's a shot of the fellas he trained and raced with. These guys are all in our ward and they have formed such a strong bond this past year. It may have something to do with getting together 4 days a week at 5am to ride bikes - some days they even did 2 a day workouts. Each one of these men have busy lives and had to juggle finding time to train in between being the sole providers for their families (they all have demanding professions), being great husbands and dads to their 4-5 kids each, and taking care of their church responsibilities. They almost always did their training during times when kids were asleep -either early in the morning or after helping put kids to bed. A group of good men right here, that's for sure!

Sitting around soaking up the fact that they survived.

Mike has many amazing qualities, but one that stands out to me is his mental strength. He can push himself to accomplish whatever he sets his mind to, and more importantly to do it well. I'm so proud of my half iron-man!

This does not bode well for him...

In school today Miles class made of list of the things that a first grader needs to be successful. His teacher told the class what they needed to do while the class wrote it down.

Here is what Miles ended up with...

It says "Listen".

When I asked Miles what else he was supposed to write he said, "uh, I don't know... I wasn't paying attention."

Awesome.

He's such a little stud-muffin.

Miles is just like his daddy... Always showing off.

He finally got the courage to run and flip off the diving board. He's not doing gainers off the high dive like his dad, but we are still proud!!

After changing the settings I got a better shot... I still don't have my camera figured out.

Meg's 10 months

This has been a huge month for this little lady. She is no longer a baby that just hangs around and observes - she is an exploring girl on the go!

I love this picture of her bare shoulders. They look so tiny and her forearm looks huge like Popeye.

She crawls even though she really doesn't like to all that much. She would rather crawl over to something and then cruise around on her feet.

Standing with no hands!

She loves to push her toys around and walk. She smiles and laughs and you can tell she feels so big.

And best of all she loves all kinds of food... She loves turkey and avocado sandwiches and the other night I made Southwestern Chicken Wraps and she gobbled it up. Here she is after a chocolate frosted cookie. YUM!

Just look at those beautiful peepers.

School's begun... FINALLY!!!

Does it mean that I'm a bad mom because I'm happy school started?? Because if it does, I guess I'm a bad mom. A really bad mom. Here's the before school shot.

My big 3rd grader!! It feels a little strange to think I have a third grader. She'll be learning cursive this year for crying out loud. But at least she hit the 40 pound mark last month. She couldn't start 3rd grade still weighing in the 30's. I think her "weight gain" can be attributed to her new found love of cheeseburgers. She asks for them all the time and says her body craves them. I am happy to oblige.

Miles started 1st grade. This will be a big year for him. He is now in school all day and he also started piano lessons and soccer this week. He is thrilled about all of it, but it's still the first week. We'll see if he changes his tune, but for now, he's doing great (he even woke up early and wanted to practice piano - where did that come from). He seems to have matured a lot this past year. I'm proud of him. And he couldn't be happier with his choice of new shoes. RED RED RED!

Will is also having a big year. He started preschool and LOVES it. He has the best teacher and I'm so excited for him to have something all on his own. He still sucks his thumb and is a little shy, but I think preschool will be just what he needs.

Will's buddy, Nels, is in his preschool class so of course he's going to have the best year ever! I kind of feel bad for their teacher - these two have a lot of energy!!! At least they are so dang adorable!