My cousin Matt and his wife Becca and their kids were coming down to Utah from Idaho for their kids' spring break and when we heard they were going to stay in a hotel we offered for them to stay with us now that we have all the space. They graciously accepted and we welcomed the six of them to Hotel Cardon. We enjoyed being able to see them off and on when they had free time between the different people and places they wanted to see and visit. The kids loved to play outside on the swing set and shoot a few hoops out front. Drew thought it was funny when the kids would slide down the slide he couldn't wait to try it himself.
One day their little girl was so tired she just laid on the ground with her blanket. Drew decided to join her and it was the first time he's ever just laid there without putting up a fuss outside of his bed.
On Wednesday Michelle and I took Drew to the Living Planet Aquarium that is just a few miles from where we live. Neither of us had been there, but some of her friends were planning on being there at the same time. It is a nice little place and Drew loved all the different fish.
Before returning home we went to the hospital to visit Michelle's sister Dy who just had a baby that morning. Little Leah May Valdez was born at 1134 am, 6 lbs 11 oz, and 20.5 in long. Dy was induced a week early because she had her baby so fast the last time (12 minutes after arriving at the hospital) they didn't want to risk it happening again and them not making it from Tooele in time. Well, after an hour and a half of being induced out popped this little thing.
She looked so small, but was almost 3 lbs bigger than Drew was when he was born. Both mother and child were doing great and Brett didn't look to bad himself. Congratulations Dy and Brett! We then headed home to have dinner with Matt's family and our cousin Jean-Jacques. It was fun to get all together since growing up we didn't have a chance to see each other all that often. On Friday Matt's family headed home so he could get a little rest before having to go on a work trip.
It was great to have them visit and fun to have some more kids around to play with Drew. We hope to be able to visit them in Idaho so they can return the favor.
About a month ago Michelle and I bought these Seven Peaks cards that would allow us to attend various sporting events as well as act as a season pass to Salt Lake's Seven Peaks Water Park, formerly known as Raging Waters. We hadn't been able to attend the last few events, but when we heard that there was a Utah Grizzlies Hockey Game and that several of Michelle's siblings were attending we couldn't pass up the opportunity to make our purchase worth while.
Our "free" tickets were in the upper section of the arena, which we thought would be terrible, but they actually turned out to give us a great view of everything going on. Drew loved all the action and kept clapping.
A fight broke out during the game and it was funny to watch the refs just watch the players take swings at each other and then after a minute break them apart. It was almost like it was planned. We didn't stay for the whole game, but it was fun to get out of the house and do something different. We will be sure to try and attend at least one of each type of sporting event allowed with the card, but I'm sure we will use it mostly for the water park starting at the end of May.
I know I'm a little late at posting this, but what's new. Michelle had another wonderful birthday season this year. Nettie was kind enough to send a birthday reminder to all of her friends and family so she was over joyed with all of the texts, phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages that she got all throughout the day. She felt so loved. As usual we took advantage of all of the discounts and free food that come with this special month. On her actual birthday we decided to go to Red Robin for dinner. To make it even more special a good portion of her family, including her parents, were able to come along. It was fun to sit around and talk as well as watch Drew and Nicholas make funny faces.
After dinner we headed over to Ben and Tina's place for some cake and ice cream. It tried to catch us singing Happy Birthday to her, but I was a little late on hitting the record button.
The cake was really good and we appreciated Ben and Tina hosting the party. Thanks everyone for helping make it a great birthday for Michelle because she deserved it for putting up with the Andrew's. She is the best wife and mother we could ask for. She is understanding and very patient as we learn the ways of life and the wife. She is amazing and we love her very much. I hope you had a great birthday Tinkle Muffin.
Here are a few pictures and videos that I found on my phone of Drew. Since I love him so much I thought I would share his cute little face with all of you. The first is with his Great Grandpa Woolley. We had just moved and I thought it would be nice for Drew to go visit. We found Grandpa in the backyard and Drew decided to help with the yard work and then give Grandpa a break by playing with him.
Drew loves to eat, but he also loves to make a mess. I prefer to put a bib on him so his clothes don't get as dirty, but I have a hard time getting Michelle to do the same. I love this first picture because it is one of Drew's favorite faces to make. It reminds me of this rat face I would do in high school or of an angry bunny.
Another thing is Drew loves music. He has this one toy, the one in the bucket, that makes music when you push the top button. Drew learned how to push it pretty fast and would push it over and over again. He now pushes it and begins to dance. As soon as he learns to walk consistently then he will improve upon his bobbing up and down move.
After having been in our house for just over two weeks we welcomed our first round of house guests. My niece Summer came to visit some of her friends from Utah and was going to spend a night at my sister Rachael's house so we decided to get together and have some pizza and hang out for a little while.
Next on the list was my younger brother Scott. Scott, who lives in Arizona, met up with his fiance Meagan, who lives in Provo for School, in Vegas to get their engagement pictures taken. Since Scott was on his spring break he decided to come up with Meagan to spend a little more time with her and with us. The night they got here we had dinner with Rachael and Amy.
The next morning Scott hung out with Meagan down in Provo and then they returned for another fun night at our house. We took a little photo shoot of them and we think they should consider using them either for their invitations or to put in their portfolio's for modeling.
Scott was here only another day before he headed back home and my mother was on her way to visit us. I picked her up from the airport after I got off of work on Tuesday afternoon. Since this was her first time at the house I gave her the tour. Once Michelle got home we went to dinner at Rubio's to use one of Michelle's birthday coupons. Later that night, after we had all gone to bed, my dad arrived. While they were here we did a lot of hanging out at the house, but we did manage to have some fun. We went on walks, trips to the store, watched a lot of the NCAA tournament, went to Kneaders for breakfast, went to the mall, went to Wal-Mart several times, and few other little things. On Friday night we got together with some family friends that live North of us. Meagan was able to join us for the evening. After dinner we returned to our house. While my parents talked down stairs with their friends the rest of us spent rest of the night getting Drew to try and walk. He did take a few steps pretty well, but it might have been more of a falling forward with a little movement of the feet rather than real walking. I wish I had gotten his best one on video.
On Saturday morning we went to watch Rachael play basketball with her ward team. Rachael was able to get some good game time in and help lead her team to a victory. The other team didn't have a chance. Just look at the three pointer she had.
We all enjoyed the game very much and surely brought the moral of the team up so high that it wouldn't have been possible to lose. After allowing Rachael to get ready we headed to Tucano's to use Michelle's birthday coupon.
As usual we ate way too much of some really good food, but enjoyed it none the less and couldn't pass up an opportunity to celebrate the Michelle's birth. The workers were kind enough to sing to her, but she had to share the song with another patron.
On Sunday we attended our Stake Conference. It was during Drew's usual nap time so he was a little fussy, but I was able to go into the primary room and let him play while I watched Stake conference on TV. For lunch we invited my cousin JJ and his wife Linda over for lunch along with Rachael and Amy. We enjoyed having some good food and a lot of conversation before it was time for my parents to get there stuff together and hit the road. As tradition goes, we had to get a photo with my parents and Drew and a couple of Rachael and I with them before they left for good.
We enjoyed their visit very much and It was great to finally have room to have people visit without having to make them stay the night at someone elses house. We look forward to many more guests so let us know if you're in town and need a place to stay.
