Elijah's 4th

Elijah has been very excited about turning 4, and now it's official. We had a friend party for him the Saturday before his birthday with a few cousins and friends. He had fun that day and kept asking if he was 4 yet, and we'd tell him he still had to wait a couple of days until his actual birthday.

He was very happy when it was time to open presents from his friends...

Here's the party crowd singing Happy Birthday. Elijah wanted a Diego-themed party...

Once again, Christina made an amazing cake to match the theme, waterfall and all...

It's fun to watch how excited all the kids get as the wrapping paper starts to come off...

Elijah picked Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday dinner. My parents joined us. Lijah is waving in this photo, though it kind of looks like he's trying to shoe away the paparazzi...

We bought him a bike and helmet. He was excited and ready to ride, but it was a downpour outside so he was stuck doing laps between the kitchen and the front room. He got some really fun presents from his grandparents too...

Carson's Baseball

Carson is in the middle of his first baseball season. It's quite entertaining to watch a group of 6 year olds try to figure out the game of baseball. Carson loves hitting and playing catch, and is starting to understand more about base running and how to play in the field. It's a pretty laid back atmosphere, so it's perfect for the kids at that age.

We've practiced hitting and playing catch in the yard. He's got a pretty good arm...

He plays a mean shortstop...

They rotate around positions. Here he is playing catcher...

It's a home run!! Or at least a little blooper over the pitcher's head. You can see how much attention is paid by the fielders at this stage in life...

I've helped out in the field for a couple of games. It's a good way to be able to explain the game to him. My favorite jersey number as a kid was 2. He just happened to get that number. I thought that was cool...

Memorial Day

We headed into the mountains for Memorial Day this year and hung out at a couple of different lakes. It was perfect weather. These first couple of pics are near Echo Dam by Coalville. It was tricky getting to the water where we were, so we ended up driving to East Canyon Dam. The boys played in the mud and threw rocks into the lake. Clarissa kept picking these funky little green berry-looking things and sticking them in her mouth. We had a fun day.

Carson, a lone man on the long trail...

Elijah, complete with Superman cape and Mickey Mouse sunglasses...

As far as we could tell, Clarissa didn't actually ingest any of these funny little berry things...

The bigger the rock, the greater the splash...