School, Sleepovers, and Singing

Jaxon started his second year of preschool a few weeks ago.  He is going to Kinder Cottage--the same place he went last year.  He's lucky that he gets to go this year with his cousin, McKay.  It's the only time they'll ever be able to go to school together since they are a year apart....they have been anxiously awaiting it.  The morning of, Jaxon asked me frequently, "how many more minutes"?

Jaxon had lots of sleepovers this summer with his cousins and friends.  I remember how much fun sleepovers were as a kid.

I also want to remember how much Jaxon enjoys music and singing along with it.  Hopefully he gets more of Jeff's musical talent since I have none to speak of.   His favorite songs right now are Good, Good Night (may not be the most kid-friendly song, but it did teach him the days of the week :)), How to Save a Life, and Airplanes.   I've been thinking about making the switch to start listening to kid's music in the car instead of mine....

True Blue

On Saturday, Jeff and I took Jaxon to the BYU game.  They played terrible and the game was pretty awful, but we still managed to have a great time.  I love being back on campus...brings back memories of college.  I love football and even though it looks like it will be a rough season, I still love the Cougs.  I like that Jaxon and Claire already love BYU and how excited they get to see Cosmo.  We hadn't been at the game very long and I didn't think Jaxon was paying attention to what the announcer was saying....he leaned over to me and asked if Luigi was on our team or the other team.  I told him that he was on our team and a favorite player was born.  Anytime Jaxon would hear his name he would perk up.  There weren't many highlights from the game, but it was great being together.  

Cotton Candy and Luigi were the highlights for Jax...

Our Little Gymnast....

If there has been one thing that I would say Claire would enjoy by watching her as a mom, it would be gymnastics.  She has always loved swinging on bars and hanging on everything, doing somersaults...she's our little monkey.  She is strong and quite coordinated for a two year old.  She's also got the petite little body of a gymnast.  I have always wanted to do a mom and me dance class with Claire and realized a few weeks ago our time was running out.  Once she turns 3 in 4 months, she can do the dance classes by herself.  I've heard good things about Bailie's so I called them up, they had one spot left and we started a mom and me gymnastics class the next night.

We've gone twice now and I'm so glad we are doing it.  Claire loves it...she tells me after class how gymnastics is fun and that she wants to go again.  She is fearless and a natural...her first time she was running and jumping in the pit, climbing up the ladder to the top rung, and doing flips over the bar with help from her teacher as if she had been doing it for months.  She loves getting stickers at the end and proudly shows them off to anyone who will look.

It's too hard to take pictures of her when I'm helping her, but she wanted to show Jeff what she had learned in her class...

AZ Fall 2010...

We had a great trip to Arizona...definitely one of our favorite places to visit....this was the hottest time of the year we've been...temps were from 100-110 degrees....pretty darn hot....

Wish I could take the travel out of traveling...it's always nice when you arrive...

We went to to zoo...

Funtastiks...

Yee-haw!!

And the Children's Museum....

Building with blocks turned into a block fight...

The kids tried their hand at different careers including firefighting, veterinarian/doctor, and working in a submarine....

Sabino Canyon was hot but still fun....the kids slept the entire time on the shuttle...

We visited the fire station...while there they told us they had just sent a crew of firefighters up to Herriman to help with the fire...we were following the fire pretty closely....the firefighter was so nice and gave us a great tour...

Weezer was awesome (see post below)...H & M was also great...Jeff kept teasing Jaxon that we weren't going to be able to eat when we got home since I used all our grocery money shopping...it wasn't that bad, but I did find some cute clothes for me and the kids...I wanted to wait and do the kids fall shopping and I'm glad I did...
We ate at some of the best Mexican restaurants...I'm pretty sure I gained five pounds.

There are fun traditions that Jaxon and Claire will always associate with Arizona and their Grandparents...

Eating french fries while driving through the tunnel...every night...

Making homemade pancakes for breakfast and having "tea" parties....

Swimming, swimming, and more swimming...doesn't matter if you're in p.j.'s or a suit...

Bubbles and waterballoons...

I love spending time with my parent's and am so thankful for all they did while we were there.  It was nice having Jeff all to ourselves for a whole week.  It always breaks my heart when Jaxon has to say goodbye...you can tell he tries not to cry, but just can't help it.  I was doing fine until he started to cry.  It was a wonderful week being with our family and my parents.

Mockingjay

I finished this book a while ago, but I still wanted to keep track of the books that I've read.  It's the last book in the Hunger Games Series which I have thoroughly enjoyed.  The first book was my favorite, but they are all great.   The subject matter in the series is a little on the darker side and when I found out what they were about, I didn't think I would be able to read them. That lasted about 10 pages...it became one of those books that has me turning on an extra show for my kids to watch so I can read a few more pages. They are intense books!   It's also one of those books that you don't want to finish too quickly because you don't want it to end.  Jeff and I read the last one at the same time...he always gives me different perspectives on books and makes me think about it differently.  I liked how the series ended...it was different than I expected, in a good way...I liked it even more after hearing Jeff's perspective on it.  I don't want to say too much about the books because I don't want to ruin anything, but the series is definitely worth your time.    I give this book an 8...the others both get a 9.  

Future Engineer...

I don't know if everyone felt this way growing up, but I always thought my dad had a cool job.  It was cool that he worked at a power plant and made electricity.  He would take us on tours every once in a while and I loved seeing what he did.  Jaxon got this same chance while we were in Tucson.  He is really into anything with machines and he loves knowing how things work...it makes me wonder if he will be an engineer someday.  His mind just seems to work that way...I know my dad nor I would mind if we had another engineer in the family.  My dad is the plant manager at the Tucson Power Plant and it was fun for all of us to see what he does.  On Sunday, we went to tour the plant, but didn't have long pants and closed toe shoes, so we could only see my dad's office and the control room.  The kids loved driving around and looking at all the different parts of a power plant. 

They also loved the train that brings the coal to the power plant...

Jaxon enjoyed seeing that part of the plant so much, that we went back on Monday for a more extensive tour.  We went to the top of the boiler (about 200 feet)...I was a little nervous walking that high with floors that you can see through, but it was no problem for Jax.  

Promise I'm not pregnant though the shirt would tell otherwise...need to retire that one for a while after seeing the pic below....

We enjoyed the views of Tucson from the top of the boiler...

We all had a great time touring the plant and learning more about how our power is made.  Jaxon told us that the power plant was his favorite part of our Arizona trip. 

We Heart Weezer!

It isn't often that you get to cross something off your life's checklist. Seeing Weezer live was very high on my list and definitely the only concert on the list. We bought tickets to Arizona's Fall Frenzy about six months ago and I (Jeff) have been looking forward to it with an anticipation greater than five Christmas' Eves. Aside from Weezer we got to see six other bands. Here are my impressions:

AM Taxi

Before: No opinion since I had never heard of them

After: Very impressed. Downloaded some of their songs.

Dirty Heads

Before: I bought their album to get myself ready for the concert and liked what I heard.

After: They have become the newest mainstay to my music collection. A very hard place to get to these days.

Drunk/High Guy

Okay, so this isn't a band, but it is one of the funniest things that has happened to me in quite a while. In between acts Amy and I decided to find some relief from the sun in the form of shade from a car parked on the premise. We were quickly joined by a guy that was quite inebriated by any standard.

We happened to be sitting in the midst of some ladies of an alternative lifestyle, when our inebriated friend leaned over and asked "Are you a lesbian?" I hope this question is as big of a shock to you as it was to me. My biggest fear is that you are reading this and thinking, "I can't believe that's the first time he's been asked that.

Now as a man, I had no idea how to answer this. He quickly followed up with "no offense, its cool" probably because I was staring blankly for what must have seemed like an eternity to our poor, wasted pal. I eventually muttered a feeble "no" and he proceeded to tell me what was wrong with a particular alternative female.

The moral of the story: I need some tips on looking more manly.

Before: Avoidance

After: Avoidance

Blue October

Before: Amy and I have both been moderate fans of Blue October

After: Amy and I are fans of Blue October

Devo

Before: Whip It...Into Shape

After: Skip It...And By It I Mean Devo...Forever

Primus

Before: Friends of mine who know music, like Primus.

After: Les Claypool is amazing at bass. Not amazing enough to make ME like Primus.

Sublime

Before: Sublime has a lot of songs I like.

After: Sublime has a lot of songs about pot.

Weezer

Before: My Favorite Band

After: One word, Cuomosexual.

Okay, maybe a few more. This is one of those rare times where I have lofty expectations only to have them exceeded. It was an amazing concert, with my amazing wife, watching an amazing band, it will be a few hours that I will cherish for the rest of my life