Braeden's 9 Month Stats

It is crazy to think that Braeden is 3/4s of a year old.  We had his 9 month appointment today and he is doing great.  He is still working on moving around the house to catch up with his brother, but that will come with time.  Right now we are just enjoying his great smile and hoping that he will start to sleep through the night soon.  Here are his stats.

Braeden's 9 Month Stats

Weight: 19 lbs 1 oz (38%)

Height: 28.3 in. (51%)

Head: 18.7 in. (96%)

Michelle didn't bring the camera and my phone died so her phone was the only option we had to get a picture of him during his appointment.  Sorry it is so hard to see the number on the scale, but Braeden sure did look happy.

Pioneer Day

For Pioneer Day, after we went to the splash pad with my mom, we headed to Michelle's brother Cameron's house to have a BBQ and to set off some fireworks and just have a good time.  The kids loved getting on the trampoline.

Drew use to be a little hesitant about the trampoline, but it seems that his fears have gone away and he just loves it.  He loved it so much he was going crazy jumping and running around on it that we thought there would be a few times that he would fall off.

Braeden enjoyed it as long as he was being held and not too much jumping around was going on, but with Drew and the other kids there wasn't much chance of that happening so he got a little scared a few times.

Uncle Russell and Cameron were nice enough to jump on the trampoline with the kids in their arms and then take them for a fast ride around the backyard in the wagon.  It was hard to make each kid wait their turn.

Braeden just thought it was the best to sit back, relax, and watch everyone do the different activities.  He especially like watching fly up in mid-air with Nettie.

My mom and Rachael left the party early to go to the store and then to go home and pack while the rest of us stayed behind for a little bit longer.  Although it wasn't dark yet, Michelle and I thought we should get home so I could spend a little more time with my mom before we left.  Cameron was nice enough to light a few fireworks before we had to go.  I must say that they are more spectacular in the dark, but the kids still loved them.

You could see the joy on the kid's faces.  As each firecracker was lit, Drew would look at it with an intense face and then he would smile as the sparks would begin to pour out and at the end of each firework he would clap his hand in excitement.

The weather was great and the company was even better.  We hope that Cameron and Rachel will be able to stay for a while in their house so we can spend even more time getting together at their place.

Grandma and Grandpa Cardon Visit

To escape the heat, and see the grand kids too, my parents decided to make a visit from Arizona.  They arrived on Tuesday afternoon after a quick visit in St. George with my dad's brother and his kids.  Drew was excited to see them.

For the last month or so my dad has been talking about going to this Italian restaurant that he heard about from one of his friends called Cucina Toscana, located in downtown Salt Lake.  He wanted to take us out for dinner there one night.  I pulled up their website and found that their prices were a little bit higher than our usual places to eat, but my dad didn't want to pass it up so we decided to go.  Michelle met us there after work.  None of us could decide on just one thing so we all got something different and had them split it four ways.  The food was actually really good and we had a great night out without the kids.

At the end of the dinner they gave us some hot coco with little biscotti.  The coco was just as thick and rich as I remember it in Italy, but it sure was good.  I did unfortunately spill a little on my white shirt, but luckily we weren't going anywhere but home after dinner.

Because we had our pass of all passes my parents wanted to go to the water park with us.  We went in the afternoon so their tickets wouldn't cost too much.  We were lucky enough to find out that for card members tubes were free after 5pm so we enjoyed a few more rides than usual and my parents even did a few.

On Saturday we just chilled at home for most of the day.  One of Michelle's co-workers was celebrating her 40th wedding anniversary  so we had to leave our kids and the rest of the family for a little while so we could drive up to Ogden and attend.

 Our church meetings don't start till 11am so it was nice to have the morning to rest a little and and finish preparing my lesson.  Church was really good and the kids had fun sitting with my parents.  That evening we had a good dinner and then Braeden got to spend some time with his aunt Rachael and his grandma Cardon.

My dad had to leave Monday morning to get back to work, but since both Rachael and I had the 24th off my mom wanted to stay till Wednesday morning.  That meant my dad had to drive home alone.  Good thing he likes to take drives.  It was sad to see him leave.

On Monday we were able to go to the Pioneer Pageant for free.  I had actually never heard of it before and didn't even know that it was held a few miles away from our house so we couldn't pass it up.  Drew really liked it when the Indian dancers performed and when the firetruck came by.  His next favorite part was the fireworks that were going off during most of the last part of the performance.  He loves fireworks.  At the beginning of the show they had some parachute people come down and try to land on a mark in the middle of the stadium and the whole time Michelle was having a heart attack.  Especially when one of them missed the mark and landed in another field.  She thought he was going to die or something.  Everyone was looking at her.

On Tuesday for the holiday we went to a splash pad about 15 minutes away from our house and although it was a little colder than normal we had a lot of fun watching Drew run around in the water.  We then had a BBQ at Cameron's house, but that's a post of its own.  We then headed home and my mom got her stuff ready for her flight in the morning.

My mom had to catch her plane early the next morning and we were sad to have both of my parents gone, but we will see them in a few months for Thanksgiving so we will just have to wait.  Thanks for the great time.

Bear Lake

So it it was time for our annual Bear Lake trip with Michelle's side of the family.  Kim and Mark were up in Bear Lake a few days before, using her mother's time share, which is next to our normal group of condos, and they asked if we wanted to come up early too.  I had to teach my Sunday school lesson, but we decided we could head out after church and make it for dinner.  This year on the drive up we decided to go through Logan instead of Evanston,WY.  I think it seemed shorter and it was a nice drive through the canyon and going past Utah State University.  I think we might try it again next year.  We met up with Kim and Mark and had a great spaghetti and meatball dinner.

On Monday morning we enjoyed playing in the park while we waited for the pool to open and then spent a little time swimming while we waited till we could check in next door at our reunion site.  Most of the rest of the afternoon was waiting for people to arrive and then hanging out with each other.

Tuesday was a beach day and both Drew and Braeden loved the sand.  We did try to keep Braeden in the grass and shade as much as possible so he wouldn't burn, but mostly because he has a hard time keeping the sand out of his mouth.

Wednesday morning we held the first Woolley 5k Fun Run/Walk.  Below is a picture of all of the participants.  Michelle used our kids as an excuse not to do it, but I wasn't allowed to back out. I hadn't been running in a long time so I was worried I wouldn't make it, but I ended up coming in second place.  I didn't break any records, but I was glad I didn't have to stop and walk.  It is sad to think I use to run all the time when I was younger.  Well, that's what 12 years and 45 pounds does to you.  The rest of the day was spent at the beach and then our annual talent show.  For the second time in a row I didn't have my recorder to play.  I will have to locate it at home for next year.

Thursday morning came around and at breakfast I was feeling fine, but soon after I didn't feel good at all.  Some of the kids were sick when they arrived and I think I might have caught something from them, but who knows.  I spent most of the day laying down while Michelle hung out with everyone else at the beach.  After taking some medicine and sleeping I woke up feeling a little better so I decided to go get some dinner.  A few of us decided to go to the local play house and see a show.  They were playing El Bandito.  It was pretty funny as long as you could follow the jokes.  After the play was over I started to fell sick again, but I needed to pack up and head back home so I could go to work in the morning.  Michelle stayed back to spend one last day with everyone and a little more time with Jill and Brian who came down from Oregon.  The drive back wasn't too bad, but I was glad to be out of the car and in bed by the time I arrived home.

Other than being sick we had a great time.  I wish I had taken more pictures like I normally do, but oh well.  Each year at the end of the trip we cross our fingers that this won't be the last time that we all get together at Bear Lake.  Fortunately by Thursday morning Grandpa had already booked the condos for next year so it looks like we're not done yet.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great week of fun and family!