the jolly old elf

We met Santa yesterday.  Wade was so excited, he's been waiting so long to see him.  

Santa was not quite his jolly old self, which disappointed this mama.  Luckily, Wade didn't mind and nicely told Santa that we would like presents.  Nothing in particular, just presents...made me laugh.  

Sam just stared at the big man a little nervously.  But when he spotted me again, gave me a big cheese grin just in time for the photo to snap.  

Great Company

Last weekend Phil & I got dressed up and headed to his work Christmas party.  It was nice to get out without the kiddos and enjoy some adult conversation.  

We even managed to get a decent picture of the two of us, in Phil's favorite prom pose.  

girl day

We had our annual girl party today at the ballet. It was beautiful, as was the company. I love these ladies more than they know. Thanks for a great afternoon.

Park

Phil got off work a little early today, so we ran to the park to play for a little bit.  Sam loved exploring, and even went down a slide for the first time.

Wade finally goes down slides by himself...yep, he's almost 4.

Sam has been walking for about 3 weeks now and I have failed to document it.  So here's a little clip to prove it.

Now, off to bake more pies for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  

You've had a birthday

I can't believe it, but it's been a whole year!  Sam turned one today and we had a party to celebrate.  We put up "hallorations" as Wade calls them (which he got from our Halloween decorations...can't quite say it right).

We opened presents.

And we ate cake.

Except Sam wanted nothing to do with his cake.

Maybe we'll try again tomorrow.  The poor guy was pretty exhausted by this point.  We sure love having him in our family though.  Happy Birthday my sweet Sam.

Disneyland

To say we've been counting down to this vacation would be an understatement.  I have always loved Disney, but to experience it through a child is a whole new experience.  Wade and Sam invited their best buddies (and cousins) to come along with us, because Disneyland is much more fun with a buddy. 

Wade was so giddy every time we met someone he knew. 

He was beside himself when he met Woody.

Phil was pretty excited to meet Woody, too.

The Space Ranger.

The Sheriff.

We attended Mickey's Halloween party one night and the boys got to dress up.  Everyone would see little Buzz and little Woody walking down the street holding hands and point and smile...because, well it's pretty darn cute to see best buds that way.  Then they would see little Pooh and Tigger and just giggle.

Wade was nervous to meet Mickey, who he adores! 

We all had such a great time, and Wade informs me that we are going back in 3 weeks...

11 months

I can't believe he is just one short month away from turning one. 

pumpkin patch

Today we took a quick trip to pick out our pumpkins.  Wade wanted to take home every pumpkin in the patch and tried to keep putting them in our cart, but we settled on just a few.  He actually understands Halloween this year, so it has been a fun few weeks as we prepare. 

take a hike

Last Saturday we took our little family on a hike to Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City. Our boys did so great and Wade was thrilled to go up the mountain.

This is the beautiful valley we like to call home.

trouble

I am fairly sure I did not give him permission to learn how to do this.

He also stood by himself for about 5 seconds today. Before I know it, he'll be walking.

it's time

I have fought it for a long time, but it's time to make the blog private. Shoot me an email if you would still like to view this little family photo journey of ours (jenbroadbent@gmail.com).

Thanks folks

preschool

Wade started preschool this week. He did much better than I thought. When I dropped him off he just turned around and waved and said "see you later mom." And he was rid of me just like that.

Summer Night Bike Ride

Sam has been bugging us for a while to go on a bike ride with him. Unfortunately, Wade has been reluctant to peddle his own bike, so we haven't been able to go on a family bike ride. But, this weekend Wade was invited over to his Grandpa's for an all-cousin sleepover, so Sam finally got his wish.

the real deal

We really needed to get out of the house last night, so we decided to take Wade "real golfing" (as opposed to what he normally does on the wii). We were a little nervous he would be crazy and just want to run around, but he surprised us. He really got in to taking lessons from his daddy. We may have a future pro in the family.

He was so happy to get the ball in the hole all by himself.

And this little guy was a good sport and watched from the stroller. Which was great, since he's been such a crabby pants lately. Good news is he finally broke his first tooth, so hopefully he'll get back to his happy self.

Oh, and the game was pretty close. Phil ended up beating me by one point...I choked on the last hole.

helper

Today I was vacuuming when I looked over and saw that I had a little helper. He informed me that he was vacuuming too....with his suitcase. Oh, and his tool belt. Love this guy.

(And yes, my camera battery is dead so I've been taking subpar pictures with my ipod. I'll get on fixing that!)

splash

We discovered this great little splash pad just down the road from us (that is free!). We had so much fun playing in the water today. Unfortunately, it is only open until Labor Day....boo. Well, at least we have 6 more days of fun in the sun.

9 months

Sam is 9 months old and fully mobile. Much to his older brothers dismay, his favorite toys are Wade's cars and he can often be found amoungst a pile of them. Wade is really not too happy about this and has spent more time than usual in the corner for pushing his little brother.

In the last week, Sam has also started pulling himself up on things (mostly me) so we've lowered the crib and started using the baby gates again. He also says dada and mama, although mama usually comes out quite whiney...why is that????

the lake

We invited ourselves to go to Lake Powell with my parents this weekend. As always, it was fabulous.

Thanks mom and dad for taking us!

6 years

Did you know today is our 6 year anniversary?

In the short 6 years we've been married it seems like we've been through quite a bit.

6- jobs between the two of us

5- vacations (with just us 2)

4- cars

3- moves

2- beautiful boys

1- dog

...and we're loving every minute of it.