the hair

i gave mason his first haircut last sunday and we had some mixed emotions around here. mason was thrilled because he got a sucker, calvin was jealous so he got a haircut too, russell was hungry (it was fast sunday) and a little grumpy because he had to get his hair cut too before dinner, and i was a little sad because the curly mop is gone and my baby boy looks SO big now.

here's a before shot (from last month sometime) that gives you a good idea of the aforementioned curly mop:

and no, we're not potty-training yet. he likes to sit there before he gets in the tub (like calvin). he has actually gone once, but i'm pretty sure it was just a coincidence.

another before shot with a straighter version which means his head didn't get as sweaty that day...

pre-cut...

and AFTER

my handsome boys on a walk sunday evening:

silly boys

both boys in a baby bathtub, calvin in daddy's glasses, boys in big boots

tools

calvin's new favorite song is "video killed the radio star," from "the wedding singer" soundtrack and these boys love to dance...

summer's over; here's what we did

we had a whirlwind vacation during russell's month off this summer. we visited with most of the roberts clan for the 4th of july and dawson's blessing in kansas. katy and dan were gracious to host everyone for a busy and fun weekend.

loved the pool!

sun-bathing beauties kenzie and laney, pool shots, and miss marin trying the stairs

we tie-dyed patriotic shirts (russell has a bowl of dye, not a severed finger...).

calvin loved the swing-set too...

john, westin and savannah with their catches and my boys fishing in their jammies:

katy's ward had a 4th of july activity at a park, complete with a game of kickball. i was on one of the teams and my boys were on the other...

family pics before it started raining (above) and after (below)

boys love to play (and pose) in the rain...

fireworks

we made a quick church-history stop at the liberty jail in missouri on the way home

thanks to katy for putting us up in your awesome new house and for the pics i stole from your facebook...=) it was so fun seeing everyone.

the drive was 26 hours round trip! but the boys did great, we decided to push our luck and join our ward members on a trip to palmyra, ny. we left for the 9 hour drive to upstate new york two days after we got home from kansas. we had such a good time with good friends from church.

waiting for the hill cumorah pageant to start...

not sure why i didn't take any pics of the actual pageant...it was dark, so maybe that's why. anyway, it was lots of fun!

we toured the joseph smith family farm

log cabin:

view of palmyra temple from farm outside the sacred grove

smith family frame home, calvin and friends kade and kanigh sword-fighting with sticks outside the sacred grove (inappropriate, but pretty cute), and with friend haley and her boys touring the printing press building where the book of mormon was published

at the top of the hill cumorah

we also enjoyed the pool in our hotel, a delish dinner with everyone at the cheesecake factory, and a day trip to NIAGARA FALLS...


we rode the "maid of the mist" boat tour and i decided to leave the hood on my poncho down. sadly, the camera ran out of battery before we could get a shot of my awesome soaked hair. mason wasn't thrilled to get wet, but the rest of us loved it!



it's been a really hot summer here, so we frequented the woodland mound splash park...
(calvin's friend kanigh had his birthday party there)


we also went to the cincinnati zoo, which was really hot, humid, and smelly, but entertaining.
the boys sure loved it!

happy fall!

my baby is one

actually, he's 3 1/2 and my second baby is 14 months! it's so hard to see my boys grow up. it's been such a fun year with our sweet mason, though! he's been a trooper with all the changes this year. he was 8 weeks old when we moved across the country and then waited 7 more weeks to get into our house. we've done lots of traveling too and we're so glad that he's an easy-going boy. what a blessing to have him in our family!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

mason is happy and full of mischief. he still looks so much like russell, except he has a curly mop of hair on his head that i refuse to cut for fear of losing the curls! he runs around these days and wants to do everything his brother does. he loves to climb and dance.

mason is mastering the sound effects that boys seem to inherently know. he likes to play cars and trains with calvin and makes a "woof" sound like a dog. he has learned to say "please" in sign language and "no" with his words and these are his two most-used communications (at least one is polite). he also says "hi," "hello," "mama," "dad," and "dog." oddly enough, he sits in time-out when we ask him to and seems to think it's pretty fun, which we need to work on. he's a good helper and likes to clean up and put his clothes in the basket.

mason has become a great eater, which is a total change from a few months ago. he loves fruit, veges, cheese, pasta, and any kind of meat. and, cake of course.


mason loves to give hugs and slobbery kisses. my favorite is how he puts his head on my shoulder and pats my back when i pick him up. we sure love this brown-eyed boy!

beginner's luck

we decided that to have a true "ohio" experience, we need to grow something while we're here. our first attempt at a garden turned out pretty well. in february, we planted tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, habanero peppers, and jalapeno peppers and grew the plants inside until may.

in april, russell and calvin measured and tilled a great spot in the backyard. we planted local sweet corn, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins, cantaloupe, green beans, lettuce, carrots, onions, and strawberry plants.

we planted our tomatoes and peppers outside just after mother's day. these two pics are in early june.

here's a late june and mid-july shot:

this was just one day of picking cucumbers...we've had so many that i've given away probably 10 or so every week in addition to trying to use them!

here's a more recent shot...

i got the "prize-winning 100 lb pumpkin" seed packet (unknowingly, of course).

amazingly, everything has grown! our corn has been excellent and we were able to freeze some for later. the melons should be ready soon and we've actually been getting strawberries for a couple months. the peppers and tomatoes are just ripening and we're going to attempt some salsa-making and hope for beginner's luck there as well.

i decided that i really like gardening. it's a lot of work, but we've learned a lot and it's definitely rewarding. last night, we had corn, cantaloupe, strawberries, and tomatoes from our garden at dinner and we felt so self-sufficient! anyway, we're already planning some revisions for next year (lots fewer cucumbers!), so let's hope our luck holds out.

the rest of winter, spring & half of summer

time to catch up. it's so hard to update this when it's been so long, but i've decided i need to start. my new year's resolution of writing in my journal isn't going so well, so i need to document our family's memories somewhere. for now, we'll go with highlights for each month:

FEBRUARY

russell turned 29! we had a little get-together to celebrate (with rainbow chip cake, of course). it snowed a lot that month, too.

russell made a lovely dinner and dessert on valentine's day
and, mason's cute toothy grin in the tub


MARCH

we had some rainy days and decided to make a box playhouse
and, i seem to have a surplus of tub pics, so mohawks in the tub


APRIL

we dyed sports-themed easter eggs this year

we had easter dinner with our friends the schenk's. pam made a delish feast and we brought lemon blackberry cake and these huge egg truffles for dessert.

russell had spring break! one of the days, we rode a little ferry across the river to augusta, a cute historic town in kentucky for ice cream

we also visited ripley, ohio, which is known for the underground railroad activity before the civil war. the rankin house is up on the hill. we had lunch at a 50's style diner... note my delicious burger and onion rings and russell's marshmallow rootbeer.
and, here's an unrelated, but cute shot of mason helping me unpack groceries.


MAY

i woke up to breakfast, a box of chocolates, and cards from all my boys on mother's day

my mom came to visit for 2 weeks! we took her on the ferry to augusta, to ripley (the top left picture is from the rankin house on the hill looking out over the river), to the aquarium in newport, and to woodland mound, a hamilton county park with a fun splash playground (bottom picture is calvin with his friend kade).

mason turned one! calvin made him this banner and we had a fun time celebrating, which i'll post about separately, very soon! we loved having grandma here and were sad to see her go.


JUNE

mason got a new big boy car seat in preparation for july's road trips. he loves facing the front like his brother. we got to go to lunch and catch up with the holt's, our friends from freshman year at byu.

russell took step one of the comlex board exam on june 15th (and we just found out this week that he passed!) and then he was done with school for a month. we went to woodland mound with playgroup friends, the aquarium, and a cool butterfly exhibit at the krohn conservatory in cincinnati:

we got to walk around with the butterflies everywhere and try to hold them. it was really hot that day, and it's in a greenhouse, which is why we look a little wilted in these pics. it was fun though, and we also discovered eden park, a great spot in cincinnati.

and, here's father's day and some recent pics of these silly boys. i still have our road trips to post about too, but i guess this is a good start. happy summer!

6 years

6 years of marriage
5 more years of school/residency
4 homes in
3 states
2 sweet boys
1 happy couple

i love you, russell!