Happy 3rd!

Mason is 3.  He is such a funny kid, very talkative and social, and a little crazy sometimes.  He loves to do puzzles and read books, and he likes building with blocks.  He is a great backseat driver and gets upset when cars run red lights, (not like that ever happens in Utah).  He is very curious and likes to see things for himself.  For instance, he wanted to eat an extremely old and hard tootsie roll and I said it was too hard to chew, but he asked, "Can I see that it's too hard to chew Mom?"  Sure Mason, go ahead.  So he did and spit it out.  "Oh, hey Mom, it was too hard to chew so I think I should throw it in the garbage."  Or if I tell him something is all gone, he has to see in the box.  "Oh, it's all gone, Mom."  And it is like that all day.  He has to "see" everything, so if I make a claim of any kind, I have to be able to prove it.  Keeps me honest I guess. 

 

We went to a nickel arcade on his birthday and he loved driving.  He also loved the mallet and hitting the crabs as they went by. 

 Grandma and Grandpa from Minnesota even made it for his party!  Yay!  We were happy to have them visit for a few days with Aunt Kari who just got back from her mission in California. 

 

And since he loves cars so much, I made him a car cake.  Though I know it isn't perfect by far, I think for my first ever effort at a fondant cake, it turned out pretty good.  I probably should have read about working with fondant before I did it, but I learned a lot from just doing it myself and I enjoyed doing it.  And Mason loved it so who cares about a few mistakes? 

 

Happy birthday little Mason man.  Love you forever!

Minnesota

Yay for Minnesota!  We had a great time at our family reunion in Minnesota last month.  We all went to a lake for a few days and Mason loved the boat and tubing.  And pretty much everything else.  It was a beautiful place and I'm really glad we went.  It was a great chance to get to know cousins and aunts and uncles we rarely get to see. 

  Mason and his cousin Saul are only 10 days apart in age and after a few days of being unsure of each other, they seemed to get along great.  Too bad we can't see them more.  And Keith?  I'm told he made this face a lot for cameras growing up, so I'm thinking this picture is a perfect snapshot of his childhood.  Being with his siblings must have just made the past come back to him. 

The Mall of America.  Always love LEGO Land.  Mason loves blocks, so this was fun for him.  And he loves Toy Story, so making Woody out of blocks was like MAGIC.

 Despite being a little terrified during the drop at the end of the log ride, I think he enjoyed it.  And he definitely enjoyed hanging out with cutie pie cousin Megan.  Those two had lots of fun together...when they weren't fighting.  :)



 Oooo jellyfish!  The aquarium at the Mall of America was pretty fun.  In the tunnel where the sea life swims over your head, Mason kept squatting down to the ground every time a shark went over him, and he would watch them pretty closely to make sure they didn't get him.  They made him pretty nervous.  But, Mason loves Julieann so he was pretty happy to get to hang out with her.

 

At Emily's house we did a little activity for the kids and this was Mason doing the chicken dance in a hula hoop.  Hehehe, sooo cute and it totally cracked me up.



And playing with the "little guy" as Mason calls Reese.  And that bunny never had so many leaves to eat before, I'm sure of it.  Mason kept them coming. 

 

Thanks for the memories Minnesota.

New Mexico

 July, New Mexico.  I hadn't been there for 10 years and Keith had never been there.  We were only there for a couple days and it was a lot of driving, but I'm glad we went since all the extended family was there and it had been so long since I'd seen any of them.

The local highschool put on a public volleyball tournament. Keith is in the green shirt. He got a few good spikes in.  

 With my Grandma and Granddad. Poor Mason, sick again and a little grumpy.

 At the party for my grandparents, there was a program that involved each family in some way.  Here are my mom's grandkids (and 2 bonus kids) singing.  Nobody was quite sure where those kids in hats came from...

Mason and Ethan being amazed by Mitchell's awesome dance moves. They really were awesome. 

 At Karen and Randy's house chillin' in the pool.  Mason loved that dog.

 

 

Hopefully it doesn't take 10 years to go down there again.  Keith says he could see himself living in New Mexico.  I'm not so sure I could live there with all the local wildlife though.  Rattlesnakes and tarantulas out your front door?  No thank you.  But it is fun to visit.