Yes, that is CJ

No, we're not going for a Billy-Ray-Cyrus-circa-1992 look

So it was time for a haircut

And now he looks about 5 years older

(is that good or bad?)

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- CJ is obsessed with coins lately. It's so cute to watch him take them all out of his coin jar and line them up, or pile them up, or put them one by one in new places, like Mattie's shopping cart, or their toy box, or a drinking glass. We try to catch him before he puts them down the vent or in Mattie's mouth though...

- I have friends - actually, a lot of them - like most of us do, but I hardly ever talk to most of them. Why? I dunno. Anyway, last week I spoke to my friend, Alycia, who is seriously one of my bestest friends in the world, who was there for me during some of the roughest times in my life, but whom I haven't spoken to in over two years! I'm pretty embarrassed to even admit that. Yeah, we've emailed a few times, but where has the time gone? And I think things like Facebook and blogs are partially to blame - who needs to give someone a call when you can catch up on their life online? Blah. Anyway, as you can imagine, we were on the phone for like 3 hours, promising to talk again in a week or so and to never let it go that long again. But what's great is that I think most of my friends are in the same boat and understand. And when we do talk, it's like picking up right where we left off. I've made so many friends over the years in the various places I've lived, it's impossible to stay in close contact with all of them, and it makes me sad...AND it makes me look forward to the day when we will all be together again and will have an eternity to catch-up!

- Mattie started giving closed-mouth kisses last week! But she still makes her "mmmmmmah" sound when she kisses, so she's not all grown-up yet.

- Speaking of being grown-up, I think I've mentioned before that CJ will call Bryce and me by our first names every once in a while, like when one of us is upstairs and he's downstairs and wants our attention: "Bryce? BRYYYYCE?" He gets this from us, because that's what we do. Well now he's started calling us something else we call each other - baby! Some couples call each other "babe", or "hon." Well Bryce and I call each other "baby," like 90% of the time. And now CJ has started doing it too, but again, only once in a while in certain situations where he's heard us say it before, like (exact quote from CJ), "What's wrong, baby?"

- And that's not all CJ has started saying. He now loves to say, "Oh my goodness!" He definitely gets that from me, and I'm just counting my blessings that's all he says, because despite the fact that I have a pretty clean mouth, there are other things I say that I'm glad he hasn't picked up on yet...like: "oh my heck," "oh my gosh," and probably the worst, "gosh dang it." Man, you gotta watch what you say around these little sponges! 

- Just today Mattie started standing from a sitting position, all by herself!!

- Apparently CJ thinks we live in a nudest colony, or would like to join one, because the last few days he just randomly takes off his pants, undies included, and proceeds with what he's doing. Maybe our next FHE will need to be on modesty...

- The other night we were driving home from a friend's house and the radio was on. As I was listening to One Republic's "All the Right Moves," I heard CJ singing in the back seat. At first I thought he was just singing his own song, but then I realized that he was totally singing the chorus to the song! It was hilarious and SO cute! And it made me realize that I really need to be aware of what I'm listening to and watching because nothin' gets by my little guy!

- Mattie has found a hidden talent...mega bloks (yes, that's how you spell "bloks")! We have those big blocks for toddlers, and she loves to pick them out one at a time and build them on top of each other. Maybe it's not that amazing, but I'm always so impressed every time.

- For the last two days CJ has decided he hates naps and has been throwing tantrums. Eventually he falls asleep, but we're talking after like an hour! And yes, he totally still needs a nap...and so do I! I swear, right when you get comfortable with something and get into a nice routine, toddlers decide to mix it all up. They're sneaky that way.

- Mattie has the funniest hair...it's so soft and fine, and so fun to play with. But whenever the back of her head touches something - i.e. in bed, in her car seat, etc. -  it gets all frizzy and crazy in back and so she ends up looking like an unkempt little kiddo all the time. Boo. 

- We sent out Bryce's graduation announcements today. So he better not let his senioritis keep him from passing his finals next week :)

- Bryce gets upset when I delete pictures right after they're taken. I tend to delete them if I don't like how I look in them or if they're just kind of a meaningless picture, but Bryce says I'm "deleting memories." I say they're not memories we want to keep. Who wants to look back at a fuzzy picture of the back of my head? Seriously.

- Have I told you how whenever we go anywhere CJ likes to list everyone who he thinks will be there? He names each person he can think of, and says their name in an asking tone. He usually starts off on track, but then gets lost in the plethera of names that he knows, and starts naming people like his uncle Brent and cousin Peter, who live in Michigan and whom I think he has met a total of like, 3 times. What's funny is that lately he's learned the names of our friends, or his friends' parents, as he sees it. So it's not just Brody, it's Brody, and Heather and Tyson. And what cracks us up the most is when he says Becca and Levi (Abby and Audrey's parents), it's "Becca and Leaf guy." Hahaha! Love it! 

- One more funny CJ saying. He gets kind of mixed up sometimes when he tries to say things that rhyme. The other day he was saying, "No way!" So I tried to teach him how to say, "No way, Jose!" But all that he could get out was, "No hay, whoa-say!" And that's still what he says. It's a total pick-me-up when you need a good laugh. Ah, love that kid!

Happy Monday!

"PETER POTTER"

Our friends, the Juassi's, had everyone over Saturday night. There was food and fun, but the only pictures we managed to get were of Audrey and CJ. These two had just discovered how to teeter-totter, and as we were taking pictures, we heard them singing. We couldn't make it out at first, but then we realized they were singing,

"peter-potter, peter-potter" 

Love it!

CJ's gonna miss his friends as much as we are! 

OH POOP!

The joy of parenthood

MISTY'S BABY SHOWER

Our great friends, Shay and Misty Wells, are expecting their first baby at the beginning of September. We're all so bummed that we won't be living in the same city anymore when Baby Wells makes his debut, so as soon as they found out they are having a boy, we had to throw Misty a shower. It was a blast!

The yummy spread

My edible contribution

My decorative contribution

It's a "cake" made out of diapers

TDW stands for Tristan Dean Wells (their favorite name so far)

Misty, the guest of honor

Paige, Misty, and Jessica munching away

Misty had a great turn out

Law School Wives

L-R: Jessica Sorenson, Mauressa Juassi, Paige, Misty Wells, Heather Dobbs, Becca Adams

I'm gonna miss these girls SO much!!

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- I've got like 10 projects I'm doing all at once right now, and I can't seem to keep my senses about me. As I'm working on one, I'm thinking about the other and feel anxious to get started there, so I do, and then I get distracted with other projects again. Hence, the pile of baby book stuff, pictures, receipts, Good Will donations, items to return/exchange, laundry, boxes, and cleaning supplies all over my house. I'm starting to feel the pressure of our up-coming move and like I really need to organize and de-clutter. Even though I absolutely LOATHE moving, I am looking forward to the opportunity to fight my natural inclination to be a pack rat and to actually get rid of stuff.

- I nap. Do you? You should. It's fantastic. I nap almost everyday when my kids nap. However, lately, because our baby monitor broke, I've been napping in CJ's room, on the floor, so that I can hear him when we wakes up. Otherwise, if left to his own devices, he either goes into our room and wakes Mattie up, or gets into our toothpaste and floss, or just makes a mess that I'd rather not clean up, so I sleep in his room...on the floor. Maybe that's why my back's been killing me :)

- CJ is definitely NOT a morning person (he gets that from me). Every morning Bryce and I wake up to two contrasts: Mattie laughing and smiling and bouncing up and down in her bed, and CJ crying within minutes of getting up. He comes into our room every morning and asks to go down stairs. If we don't take him immediately, he starts to have a melt down. And then it just continues for the first hour of the morning. He breaks down if he doesn't get his chocolate milk (which is really chocolate Pediasure) right away, he cries if we have him go potty, he cries if we put him down, he cries if we try to give him some real food for breakfast - ugh. The other morning he was inconsolable and had the sobs for a good 10-15 minutes and there was nothing we could do. It makes for exhausting mornings but we don't really know what to do. He's getting plenty of sleep - 12 to 13 hours - and it might be because he's hungry, but he refuses to eat anything. We've tried putting him back in bed, not giving him his chocolate milk until he's eaten something, no tv, time outs, games, playing, but nothing seems to work. At this point, we're just hoping her grows out of it soon.

- Bryce gave blood for the first time last Tuesday. Can you believe that?! He's 27 and never given blood! Of course, I've only given it once. I was a senior in high school. They used to come to my school once or twice a year for the seniors and staff to donate. I decided to do it, and besides almost passing out afterwards, it wasn't a bad experience. Everytime a blood drive has come around since then, I haven't been able to do it for some reason (pregnant, nursing, etc). Bummer, 'cause I like the animal crackers they give you afterwards...

- Bryce is a bath man. I don't know if you know that, but he is. He likes to take them at night before he goes to bed, or sometimes even in the morning. It's his favorite place to read and think. Many a page has been read, many a lesson has been planned, and many a crossword has been completed by Bryce in this particular place. Last week he was taking a bath in the morning, when CJ came in and was so excited that Daddy was taking a bath. He splashed in the water, told Daddy not to take a shower, and even put some of his toys in the tub with Bryce...because who can take a bath without bath toys, right? :)

- Mattie has dicovered an affinity for scarfs, or boas, or whatever you want to call it - she loves to have things around her neck: belts, pajamas, towels, even cords. Anything that is long enough to drape around the back of her neck, she'll do it. And then she'll just go on playing as if nothing is out of the ordinary. It makes me smile everytime!

- CJ's favorite song, or at least in his top 3, HAS to be Jingle Bells. It's April and he's still singing it...like every day.

- I experienced a small miracle this week. Seriously. Our kids have been sick, and I always think it's amazing when we don't get sick after our kids have been, but not this time. I started to feel it a little bit on Saturday, felt ok Sunday and Monday, but then got totally hit with it on Tuesday. Tuesday night I had the chills, body aches all over, and a fever. And I started to kinda panic. I haven't been able to run hardly at all the last two weeks due to the weather (and I really don't want to shell out $50 for a month membership at the gym, especially when I hate running on treadmills), and I had a race coming up this weekend that would help me cover some good mileage. It was a 25k, which is a little over 15 miles. I NEEDED to run this race - I find it easier and more motivating to run long runs when it's a race. And I NEEDED to run this week to prep for this race. And since I hadn't run since Saturday, I was beginning to panic, thinking, "If I get sick now, I won't be better in time to actually run a little bit before this race, and then I won't really be able to run well, if at all, for the race, and I HAVE to run this race. I need to know that I can do this." So after a day of praying and pouring my heart out about how important this was to me, I went to bed early. When Bryce came to bed he brought me something to drink and some IBprofen to help with the fever and aches, and I remember waking up several times that night, drenched in sweat. But when I woke up the next morning it was incredible! The sun was shining for the first time in over a week, my fever was gone, and my aches had passed. I still didn't know if I could do it, but I was going to try, so I went for a run. It wasn't my fastest time, but definitely not my slowest, and the fact that I could finish my run at all was suprising. I got home from my run and just thought, "Wow! Who does this? Who's totally sick less than 12 hours ago, and then goes a run the next morning? This is a miracle!"

- Speaking of the aforementioned race - the Spokane River Run - I was able to run it (and yes, it was on a Sunday - the first race I've ever done on a Sunday, and I felt pretty bad about it. But we still made it to church, so I feel ok about that :), and it was my first trail race...and most likely, my last. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, including running a marathon and even childbirth, and I'm counting my blessings that I've only got a few sore muscles and joints, and a blood blister on my foot to show for it!

- We went to Donut Parade this morning for breakfast. I know, not the healthiest, but it was fun to go as a family - and it was Mattie's first time. Mattie pretty much had an entire cake-with-chocoloate-frosting-and-sprinkles donut, and she was so clean afterwards....it was pretty amazing. It's sad to think that this was probably the last time we'll get donuts from Donut Parade...

- Last night we had Bryce's mom and dad and sister, plus our friend Will over for dinner. And then Bryce's cousin, Lisa, who is a Freshman out at Eastern (in Cheney) drove out to join us too. CJ has met her a few times, but it was like last night was the first time he'd really seen her, he was so enamored by her! It was hilarious! We've never seen him act like that before! He had the cheesiest smile and was just staring at her. And he kept waving at her and introducing himself (pointing to himself and saying, "This CJ"). But then when it came time for everyone to leave, CJ went around hugging everyone, but was super shy about hugging Lisa. I hope he wasn't embarrassed by the fact that he was just in a tee-shirt and his undies. Of course, he was picking his nose as he stared at her, so I'm going to guess not :) 

- Tonight I was reading a book about colors to CJ. It has various pictures of objects for each color. There happens to be a yellow teapot and CJ kept calling it a "teatop." Thought that was pretty cute :)

- My allergies have decided to tag-along with all the beautiful weather we are having and they are killing me right now! My throat is constantly itchy, and my nose and eyes itch too. Here's hoping you are itch-free!

Happy Monday!

SPOKANE RIVER RUN

Paige and Bryce ran the Spokane River Run with some of Bryce's family this weekend. It's the first race we've done since last summer, and only the second since we ran the St. George marathon 4 years ago. Bryce ran the 10k with his sister, Kelsey, and Paige ran the 25k with Bryce's dad, Greg. But this wasn't any ordinary race...this was a trail race, which is COMPLETELY different than a road race! None of us knew what to expect or what we were getting ourselves into. Imagine running around puddles, over logs, up hills, hills, and even more super steep HILLS, jumping over rocks, breaking through trees, and running on everything from dirt, pine needles, gravel, shale, rocks, to even asphalt (but only for a little bit). Sounds kind of fun, right? It was...at first. It was like running an obstacle course. But an obstacle course for over 15 miles? Not so fun. Paige went into the race thinking she wanted to run under 9 minute miles, but by mile 6, just wanted to finish the race. Thank goodness Greg was there to keep her going. Having said that, she and Greg were pretty happy with thier 9:57 pace (better than we expected). This was by far the hardest race Paige has ever done, and yes, that includes a full marathon!

The course map

The 10k

 

The 25k

The Mackay Family: Bryce and Paige, Kelsey, and Greg (and CJ is front and center)

after the race

BOWL AND PITCHER PARK

After the football games on Saturday, we decided to meet up for a BBQ at Bowl and Pitcher Park in the Riverside State Park here in Spokane. It's become somewhat of a Spring tradition among this group of law students that hopefully we can continue some how!

The Gang

Back row: Tyson, Brody, Heather, and Ryder Dobbs; Jessica, Jace, Sam, and Tate Sorenson; Lucy, Caleb, Erin, Jonah, and Kate Mayfield; Shay, Misty, and baby-boy-to-be Wells; CJ, Bryce, Paige, and Mattie

Front row: Becca, Abby, Levi, Brigham, and Audrey Adams; Teagan, Mauressa, Pierson, Beau, and London Juassi; Nate and Polly Anderson  

INTERCOLLEGIATE INTRAMURAL FOOTBALL

Spokane Parks and Rec department approached Gonzaga a few months ago about having an intercollegiate intramural football playoff between the local colleges, and who did Gonzaga ask to represent them? Only the oldest guys around - our very own Marmots! But don't let their age fool you - these old guys kicked some tail, and if it hadn't been for a controversial call during the last play of their last game, Gonzaga would have won the championship. Eastern and Washington State (whose teams were made up of undergrads) never saw them coming and certainly didn't expect to have to play so hard to keep up with these guys!  

Representing Gonzaga

L-R: Jake Brennan, Beau Juassi, Colin Willenbrock, Levi Adams, Tyson Dobbs, Bryce, Jake Williams, Nate Anderson, Nick Lemon, Shay Wells

Joe Albi Stadium

#1 Fans

L-R: Heather Dobbs, Paige, Mauressa Juassi, Becca Adams, Misty Wells

THESE M'LADIES

Becca Adams and Pollly Anderson

Misty Wells, Heather Dobbs, and me

We've only got a few weeks left together, so I'm so glad that we're taking advantage of the time we have left to have some quality "girl time." Last week we went to Bennindito's Pizza and stuffed ourselves! It was loads of fun and I can't wait until we get together again this week! 

UPPER MANITO PARK

CJ and his friend, Brody, found lots of fun at the drinking fountain (thank goodness they couldn't push the button hard enough to actually get more water out)

We practically took over the park with this crowd (L-R): CJ, Paige, and Mattie; Brody, Heather, and Ryder Dobbs;  Audrey, Becca, Brigham, and Abby Adams

What cuties! Brody, Audrey, and CJ

OUR FUNNY KIDS

CJ found a comfy seat to watch Sesame Street

Daddy's shirt: it got stuck on Mattie's head here, but it was actually headed for her neck - she LOVES to wear clothes around her neck :)

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- CJ loves to sing, if we haven't already mentioned it. Even though he gets shy while he's there, he absolutely LOVES his Wednesday morning music class. Our Stake Primary President, Cheryl Shirley, is an amazing woman with so much musical talent and we are so grateful that she gives so selflessly of her time to offer kinder-music classes for free! We're SO going to miss it!! Anyway, lately CJ's been singing Old McDonald, but instead of "Old McDonald had a farm," CJ's version goes, "Old McFarmy had a cow (or sheep or chicken)" :). We love it! He also loves to sing songs about his family: Gramma, Papa, Kelsey, Courtney, Kenya, Mattie, Mommy, Daddy, etc., usually to the tune of Jingle Bells or Twinkle Little Star. American Idol, here we come!

- I made Bryce watch New Moon with me last week. He liked it. 'Nough said.

- Speaking of movies, CJ not only loves Toy Story (1 and 2), but he also loves Ratatouille. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that CJ loves to cook. Maybe in a few years, he can take over making dinner...

- CJ's new thing is to say, "What, Mommy? What? What?" If I ask him what he's doing, simply say his name, or take something away from him without even saying a word, I hear "what? what, Mommy? what?"

- Mattie has started immitating everything we do. Not only does she comb her hair, brush her teeth, drink through a straw, use a spoon, wash her hands, and clasp her hands together for the prayer, but now she even cleans her nose with a q-tip, while blowing it! However, she tends to pick up on not-so-great habits as well, like picking her nose (thank you very much, CJ and Daddy!).

- When I put the kids to bed, I sing You Are My Sunshine to them before laying them down. I especially enjoy singing it to Mattie because it's just our time. I cradle her like she's still the little baby we had just a year ago, and she looks up at me and smiles and gives me sweet little giggles. I cherish these moments! Bryce sings to the kids too. I think his favorite is I Feel My Savior's Love. So sweet!

- Speaking of bedtime, I was sitting with CJ as he fell asleep, and I was reflecting back on my childhood night-time routine. Some of my most fond and warm memories are of my mom singing songs with me and reading to me EVERY night. She had this old, dog-eared bookmark-sized piece of paper with a long list of children's songs on it. She would bring it into my room every night and I got to choose which songs I wanted to sing. And I remember her reading me books from nursery rhymes to Little House on the Prairie. What stands out the most to me, now that I'm a mother, is the amount of time and effort this took. My mom worked full-time, then came home and took care of a house and 6 kids (times were tough and my dad worked hard too, sometimes 3 jobs at a time), but she still found the energy to keep up this cherished routine. I have to remind myself of this on nights when I'm done, and just want to throw the kids in bed and lock the door. And what's great is that I think my kids will have similar memories of my mom too. She STILL sits and reads and sings songs with her grandkids, and they ALL love it! Thanks, Mom, for your wonderful example! I love you!

- I was doing the dishes on Friday afternoon, and Mattie was amusing herself by taking out the dishes I was rinsing and putting in the dishwasher...happens all the time. She had a baby spoon in her hand when my phone started to ring, and what did she do? Immediately put the spoon to ear like she was going to answer it! I thought it was funny.

- I've been working on catching up on the kids baby books this week. Man, I am such a procrastinator! I have a pile of notes that I've taken for over a year of little milestones and cute happenings that I want to remember and I've really been able to brush up on my typing skills as I organize them all and type them up so I can print them out. And I FINALLY got all their birth certificates, blessing certificates, hospital pictures, etc, scanned so I can get back to work on their photo/memory books. I got out their baby books as well and decided that between the printed out journal, memory books, and actual photo albums I'm doing, I don't need to do a baby book too. It's just a lot of repetition. So subsequent children, you will not be getting a baby book. Sorry. But Mommy promises that you'll have 3 other references to get all the memories you need, ok?

- Friday night was Bryce's Law Review Vesting Banquet. I realize that I need something a little more formal than church clothes to wear to some functions. Anyway, it was great to visit with friends, but Bryce couldn't help but feel like there are lots of great people that we didn't really get to know and he wished he had spent more time trying. I, on the other hand, felt like our window in Spokane closed a little more, and with each game that ends, each weekend that passes, a chapter in my life that I've really grown to love is about to end. We couldn't find a babysitter, and CJ was sick, so I wasn't even going to go, but our good friends, Becca and Levi Adams (who happen to be our neighbors too), insisted that I go. They knew CJ wasn't feeling well, so instead of having our kids come over to their house, they split up and Becca came over to be with our kids for an hour and half, and then put them to bed. Then they switched, and Levi came over and checked on the kids once in awhile while they slept and he studied until we got home. Isn't that the greatest?! They are such good friends, the best of the best, as well as a few of the others we've made here, and I'm seriously dreading leaving them all. I'm scared to death of leaving these families that I love and moving to a small town, with little to distract us from the gaping whole that will be in our lives and may not ever be filled. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to forge ahead to the next stage in our life - great things await us, I know. But the sadness that grows each day we get closer to moving is undeniable. And yet, I thank our Heavenly Father that that's what currently causes me sadness, when I KNOW there are very many more things that could break my heart. Sooo...I'll continue to prentend like it's not happening, and fight the urge to withdraw, and, how does that song go? "Put on a happy face"...

- Speaking of moving on, Bryce and I applied to have a PAPER ROUTE this week. Yup, that's right. I know: two college grads, one with a doctorate, and we're gonna be newsies? Honestly, the pays not bad - $800-$1500 a month - and the hours will be perfect for us this summer. We can do it together in the morning, before the kids get up, and before Bryce goes to his bar review class. It's a way to get some much needed income without having to sacrifice time studying for the bar or having someone babysit our kids. And we can get a little exercise and earn some cash to cover summer expenses and save for some new furniture when we move to Wenatchee (CJ needs a big boy bed so badly, but we've been waiting until we move). And apparently paper routes are not what they used to be. In my day, it was my tween-age brother riding around on his bike with his carrier stuffed with papers, front and back. Now, you have to not only be at least 18 years old, but you have to have a reliable car! So anyway, we're just waiting to hear back from the Seattle Times. Seriously, though, I'm gonna feel pretty lame if we don't get the job...

- CJ's been sick the last few days and yesterday at dinner he started whining and said, "I can't taste it!" :(

- Mattie discovered her eyelashes this week. It's quite hilarious watching her poke herself in the eye trying to touch her eyelashes. And then she pokes me in the eye trying to touch my eyelashes.

- Mattie has been sick just the last two days, and even though she hasn't had a runny nose like CJ (yet), her little nose and cheeks are bright red. It makes it look like she's been outside in 30 degree weather.

- Whenever CJ wants us to pick him up he says, "Pick you up," instead of "pick me up." He's been doing that for months now, but then on Sunday night, I was going to take him to bed and so he went to Bryce to say good night. He gave Bryce a big hug and said, "Take you up." It took us a minute to figure out what he meant, but then we finally got it: he was saying, "Take me up," because he wanted Bryce to put him to bed!

- For the last few weeks Mattie has started doing this funny little thing, especially when she's tired. She takes the palm of her hand and slides it down her face, all while scrunching up her knows and squinting her eyes. It sounds funny, but it's pretty cute. Gotta try and get a pic...

- Mattie got into the snack bag in the diaper bag today. She pulled out a little Gerber fruit strip, and to my surprise, opened it all by herself! Man, I really gotta watch her!

- I feel like I've been drowning in snot and drool this week. Oh, what moms have to do...

- Mattie got a stucker, I mean, sucker stuck in her hair today. It was only in the ends of the back of her head, so it could have been a lot worse. I'm not sure how it happened, but I am sure that we're done giving her suckers.

- Mattie finally walked all by herself just this afternoon!! She's been walking for a couple of months now, but never wanted to let go of our hands. After working with her for just a few minutes today, she finally felt confident enough to do it...and she was cruising across the entire room just a couple of tries later! I can't believe my little baby is now walking. Guess it's time to start thinking about having another one ;)

Happy Monday!

SHE DID IT!

Mattie finally took steps all on her own today! And since she's been capable of doing it for months, she was practically running within minutes! Now that she knows she can do this, we wonder what else she'll realize she's capable of...

UNDER-WHERE?

We were headed upstairs to take a bath so CJ started to undress himself. Mommy asked him to grab his undies and bring them upstairs with us, and this is how he showed up:

STICKY SITUATION

This is just another reason why Mattie probably shouldn't be eating suckers yet:

MATTIE THE MOUNTAINEER...

...but not the walker yet! Mattie will climb in and out of things, up and down the stairs, all over the couch, perch herself percariously on the tray of her walker, or on the edge of the drawer in the lamp table, or on the armrest of the couch...yet she still hasn't gotten up the guts to take a step all by herself yet :)

Mattie tugged her toys along as she climbed back into her walker (after using the walker to climb all over the adjacent bookshelf)

LAW REVIEW VESTING BANQUET

Bryce and Paige attended Bryce's Law Review vesting banquet. In order to vest, each Law Review editor (everyone on Law Review is an editor) must write a publishable paper their third year. The papers are turned in and reviewed by the editorial board and determined whether it's of publishable quality. If it is, you receive the honor of vesting. Bryce has been grateful for his time on Law Review and Paige was proud to see him receive his vesting certificate. It was a nice banquet and we're glad that we got to sit with and enjoy the evening with some of our best friends, Shay and Misty Wells.

The banquet was in the McCarthy Center...hence the sports mural in the background

The Mackay's and the Wells'. We're gonna miss these guys like crazy! We better get to see Baby Wells this Fall!

Bryce and Shay: friends in school, in sports, in Law Review, in life!

So proud of her man!

MATTIE'S 1 YEAR PICS

PRO RUNNER

First, a belated birthday gift from Bryce arrived in the mail

Garmin Forerunner 205

Then, my amazingly generous in-laws bought me some new running shoes for the marathon

Mizuno Wave Creation 11

I think I'm ready to go pro, don't you?

Oh wait, you still have to be able to actually run

But at least these babies will get me going faster

Oh family, you spoil me so!

Thank you, thank you!!

EASTER 2010

We went to Bryce's parents' for Easter this year. Easter morning, the kids woke up to this:

The weather was cold and rainy/windy, so we had the traditional money egg hunt in the living and dining rooms.

Mattie was more interested in the candy inside the eggs, than the coins. 

 CJ, on the other hand, LOVED the coins!

There were some eggs hidden for us too, and let's just say, the "Easter Bunny" was very good to us this year!

After the egg hunt, we played with our Easter gifts.

Bryce and Paige even got a basket with goodies, one of which was a photo book of Mattie's first year. It was so special!

Snacking on Easter candy made us all ready for a yummy breakfast of strawberry french toast. CJ helped Papa in the kitchen.

After a day filled with Conference and a wonderful Easter dinner, Aunt Kelsey took CJ, who was dying to play outside, out for some fun before bedtime (the pic is horrible quality, but you can still see how much fun CJ is having).

The next morning was sunny and warm, so Mattie and CJ finally got their Easter egg hunt. Don't worry...even though Mattie's not walking yet, she found some eggs too.

 

CJ loved the hunt and found most of the eggs all by himself.

(this was CJ smiling but it was pretty bright, so it turned into more of a squint)

Mattie decided to pump up the fun by crawling down multiple stairs for the first time!

HAPPY EASTER!