Michelle was in town this weekend, so a bunch of us got together to see her on Friday at the park. It was so fun to see her again! We have missed their family! Come visit again soon!!
Just this past weekend, my amazingly talented Dad entered two of his paintings in an art exhibition in San Diego called 'Art Riot'. The painting above won Honorable Mention. 
Not bad for an amateur, eh? I am hoping to have the walls of my home soon adorned with a masterpiece or two (hint, hint). Way to go Dad!!!
As my friend so gently put it, I was one of those moms. Following him all over the nursery, snapping pictures of his first day. Luke wouldn't give me the time of day. Too many toys. Too much fun to be had. He ignored me as I sat there trying to coax a smile out of him. I got the feeling I was cramping his style. The other parents in there seemed to silently question my sanity.
So today I'll close the baby chapter of Luke's life (sniff, sniff). But I can't wait for the many years of "little boyhood" that await us!
Breanna brought down the kiddie table to color on during conference. She made an awesome portrait of Pres. Monson as did Jake. Luke had to be part of this. He looks so big and cute coloring with Jake and Bree. 
Luke is trying to get some bounces out of Jake.
Sunday night is Shake night. So, tonight, Jake and I were making the shakes and out of nowhere Luke hopped up right on the chair to get in the action. This week he started climbing on everything. Last night some friends and I took our kids to McDonald's for dinner. Luke was all over the play area but I thought I was watching him fairly well. Then I looked up to see him standing on top of the table next to ours. What a monkey.
Here's my first baby. Geesh how'd he get so big? Love the bright yellow Starburst that he had to put in his mouth BEFORE I took the picture. Cute, Jake!
Okay this was technically before Conference weekend, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway. Whitney came and stayed with us for the week and the kids loved having her here. They are guzzling root beer floats.
Deeeelish!!!
Luke loved Whitney and followed her around the whole week, begging her to take him outside or play with him. Whitney probably went home exhausted!
The miracle of the weekend was that Luke finally kept his eyes open! Way to go big guy!Here's a sample of Luke's new dance moves. He decided to go rock star with the microphone (I had no idea it was there until he grabbed it- what a ham). Looks like Luke's got some serious competition as Bree enters the scene and tries to steal the show and more importantly the microphone. Luke sees what's coming and he's not about to trade the Hannah Montana Microphone for some Chuck E. Cheese Medallion. Nice try though, Bree!
Grandma and Grandpa came to visit last weekend. Although their visit was way to short, I was able to take a few pictures. Here's Luke with his famous eyes-closed smile.
Grandpa and Breezy snuggle after playing our new HSM2 DVD game (thanks Polly!). Grandma and Grandpa did exceptionally well seeing how neither of them had ever seen the entire movie. They are good guessers!
Can you tell I have given up on trying to get Luke to keep his eyes open? This is Luke's signature dance move. He has been doing it since he started walking and anytime there is music playing (and sometimes when there's not), he'll bust out this move. It's kind of the Statue of Liberty/"Stop...in the Name of Love" while spinning.
Luke think's he's pretty cute. But catching him smiling for a picture these days is hilarious. When he sees the camera, he closes his eyes (flash anticipation) and then gives a huge smile. I must have taken a dozen shots of him and could not get one with his eyes open. 
Busted again! Thankfully it's the pantry, not the toilet today. This guy can sniff out sugar even when it's hidden behind closed doors.
Wait, I want to pose for the picture...let me just close my eyes...
Busted again?? Looks like Luke's off the wagon (or is it on the wagon - I need to get my sayings straight). It's so bad he's digging through the trash to support his habit. Either that or he's taken on Great Grandma J's thriftiness. Hey, there was some still left in the bottom of the can. 
Despite all the trouble, Luke is a really good boy. He reads volumes everyday.
And even folds his arms to pray. Now if we could only figure out how to teach him to close his eyes during the prayer! We love love love you Luke!!!
So, it turns out that little encounter Breanna had with the tree was more than just a bruiser. After the miracle "Slurpee" cure, Breanna watched a movie, relaxed on the couch and said her arm was sore. We gave sympathy, lots of love, then hauled her off to a BBQ at a friend's house. Breanna played dress-up, chased the boys around the backyard and was pretty much her usual self. She was favoring her sore arm though. Maybe a sprain, we thought. That night I decided to give her some Tylenol (how thoughtful of me!). I sent her to school the next day with a note for her teacher to excuse Bree from any strenuous activities. Her teacher e-mailed me later and told me Breanna didn't complain about her arm the whole day. 
Luke and Jake with matching expressions! They must think alike. We tried to get Luke to smile, but he was too busy trying to figure out what was going on.
Dad and Jake get ready to take off.
Cute Georgia and Breanna. Let's Go!!
Lukie was makin' the moves on Ava. Can't blame him, she's pretty cute! She was such a good baby, too! She just relaxed and enjoyed the hum of the bikes.
As much as Luke liked looking at Ava, that didn't last long. Even Ava can't compete with dirt. He was eating it by the handfuls and making some rather delicious mud pies. 
Breanna and I found the coolest hills. We are novice riders, so to us, it felt like we were on a roller coaster ride. When we got back from our ride, Sarah said she could see us going over the hills and we were so high it looked like we were above the trees. We got to watch Sarah and Georgia then Jake and Dad go and it did look really cool to see them up so high!
Here are Breanna, Jake and Luke after a great morning of riding! After we took this picture, Breanna went off for one last ride. She took a little detour though and ended up crashing into a tree. Jake came running, shouting, "Emergency!" Dad was already there helping Breanna and James helped get the quad away from the tree. Breanna was pretty shook up. I guess she was cruising along and looked back for just a second and the next thing she knew - "Hello Tree!" She has a few scratches and a very sore arm, but she is recovering nicely. Slurpees from Circle K do wonders for sore arms. 
We went to the Diamondback game last night with our good friends from NY. Here we are after the game; Tyler, Luke, Angie, Dennis, Ryan, Taylor, Breanna, Jer, Camie and Jake. Chase Field is such a cool ball park. The dads took the kids over to the playground area and they got to hit some balls as well. They had a blast. This was our first time staying to watch the roof open up for fireworks. Very cool! It was a sad evening for us though as the Dodgers took a beating. Jer was especially bummed about that. But we were impressed that Luke lasted the whole night. That might have been due to the sugar high he must have been on after the licorice, tootsie pops and skittles. He was so sticky and so was I, but we were both happy! And of course he loved Angie and cried when she left. He's the funniest baby! We're so glad we got to see our friends and wish we could see them more often!
Dennis, Breanna, Angie, Luke, Jeromy, Tyler, Jake, and Taylor
Today was the first day of school for my 2nd and 4th grader! Yikes!! Both were excited for school to start. They got up early and were ready waaay before it was time to go. Jake was a little bit nervous. He felt like throwing up all morning (cold sweats and all) and he didn't think he could make it, but he really wanted to go so he just made up his mind to do it. What a good kid!
Here is Breanna with her new teacher, Ms. Hayes. (Meanwhile, Luke is in the background unshelving all of Ms. Hayes' books while his negligent mother tries to capture the moment of her Breezy becoming a 2nd grader.) Breanna has always been so easy going about starting new things. She loves adventure and loves to make new friends. Her outgoing personality made the first day of school a piece of cake! And she even got to sit by her buddy Nicholas (from her Kindergarten class)! 
Later that day, Brittany, my good friend from NY came to visit us!! It was so fun to see her and catch up on old times. When her son was about 2, he locked himself inside my house while I was babysitting him. So when Brittany came to pick him up, she was surprised to find all of the kids and myself standing outside my front door (we had a glass storm door) looking in on her baby who was pounding on the glass, sobbing, wondering why no one would open the door for him. Our neighbor had to bring over his ladder and climb over our second story deck, to open the sliding glass door (thank heaven it wasn't locked) to rescue Aidan. Just one of the many fun memories for us to reminisce about. We used to have big time game nights in NY, so after dinner, we played Thurn and Taxis with Brittany. Although this was her first time playing, she annihilated both Jeromy and I! Just like old times!! We definitely miss Brittany and her family and the fun times we had in NY!
