I did it!!!!

OK, so maybe I didn't figure things out on my own, but I got them figured out. I spent a lot of this morning over at Nicole's house as we tried to figure out what was going on. We finally figured out what it was!!!!

We were saving my pages in photoshop at the maximum resolution or whatever it was, a 12. We figured out we need to save at High or an 8 and that did the trick.

So here is the original page I came up with although I like the one Nicole did really fast as a test page. So sometime next week or so, I may switch back to that one!!!!

Thanks Nicole...your the best!!!!!

Frustrated

Here it is 12am (way past my bedtime!), & I am messing with this silly blog. I have Photoshop Elements & don't have a clue how to use it...so Thursday my friend, Andrea and her kids, came for a visit. She taught me how to use Elements. She also gave me a "great" website for making and posting my own layout for my blog.

Well guess what?! I have spent that past 3 hours trying to get the dumb thing to work. I erased all my old formats etc. to try this formula out...& it didn't work! So then of course I had to try and go back and fix it, so it was the same as before. I decided I was just going to make a new background by using the template I had before and replacing it with simple scrapbook paper that I have downloaded.

Needless to say I am very very very frustrated (did I mention how frustrated I am?).

I am going to call another friend tomorrow, (so Nicole, if you don't answer your phone, I'll understand) to come help me & see if I can figure it out!

If anyone has any ideas how to do it please let me know!!!! AAAAAAAK

Preschool Here I come!

Wednesday, August 27th Ryan had his first day of Preschool. He was very excited to go to "school" and be a big boy! He gets to go to school MWF for 2.5 hours a day.

Ryan picked out his own outfit for the first day of school!

Nathan didn't want to be left out of the first day festivities!

Here is Ryan at Preschool!

While Ryan loves school, Nathan does not like have Ryan gone for a few hours a day! Even though Nathan & I go for a walk & come home and play, he is always asking for Ryan. He is always really excited to get Ryan from Preschool. Hopefully he'll get used to it and enjoy the "alone" time with mom!

TRAX - Mixed Reviews

As I mentioned in the post below the boys ventured onto Trax for the first time, at least the first time for Nathan & the first time Ryan can remember. Seeing the train both boys became very excited, but when we were up close, Nathan wasn't quite so sure. In fact when we got on & started going he cried. He didn't like it a bit! Ryan on the other hand, was having a blast! He kept telling us how fast we were going & all the neat things he could see from the window.

The trip back to our cars after the Bees game was a bit different. Nathan actually had fun & didn't fuss a bit! These are some pictures from that adventure on our way home! Yes, it is dark & Ryan is watching intently out the window! The boys can't wait to go again someday!

The First "Bees" Game

Ryan & Matt received a free ticket to a Bees game each for playing/coaching T-Ball this past spring. Because it was the last week the Bees would be playing at home, we figured we should take the boys and go to a game. We invited Papa to come with us. As long as the boys were munching on something they were happy!

Ryan, even got to meet Bumble & have his picture taken with him twice. He was really stoked about it. About the time it got dark, Ryan kept saying, "mom it is time to go home...because it is past my bedtime." What kid on earth would ever say that to their mom!? I guess he was bored, (not munching on any yummies). We stuck it out & had a blast.

I think Ryan's favorite part was riding "Trax" to get to the game! He keeps asking when we can on "the train" again!

Fish Lake & Fish

August 14-18 our friends Nicole & Curtis invited us to go with them to Fish Lake for the weekend. We weren't about to turn down that opportunity. So Friday afternoon off we went for a fun weekend.

We stayed a little cabin that Curtis' family owns. It was great. The boys were so excited to sleep in the same room together.

On our first morning (Saturday) we took the boys fishing. This was the first time that Nathan had gone & Ryan kept asking, "Can we go fishing at Fish Lake yet?" His wish finally came true. Here are some of the pictures that we got of the "men" fishing.

Matt & the boys didn't catch a thing...well OK, Ryan caught some moss that got caught on his fishing line!, but that doesn't really count. Ryan was really bummed out that he didn't catch a fish. So we told him that after dinner him & daddy could back and try again.

Still no fish, but the boys, especially Ryan had a blast. He rode Nicole & Curtis' backs & we played "Duck-Duck-Goose". We even managed to get a picture of all 3 boys by the lake. Nathan of course loved digging in the rocks & getting rides too!

After fishing we went back to the cabin for a bed-time treat. We made "indoor" s'mores. We just cooked everything in the microwave. By the last s'more, the men had it down pat! Here is a picture of Matt, Ryan & Nathan watching the "smarshmellows" grow!

Thanks for a great weekend Nicole & Curtis!!!!

Swimming 101

We finally signed Ryan up for swim lessons! He went for 2 weeks at the beginning of August. He had a blast!!!!! He learned forward "ice cream scoops" (putting ice cream in the bowl...freestyle), backwards ice cream scoops (taking them out)...and "superman" (both hands above his head). He also learned to blow bubbles when his face was in the water & to go under water without being scared. It was great. I am so happy he enjoyed his lessons. He can't wait for more next year!

Ketchup 'N Such

The 23rd of July, I had made some "Dinosaurs", aka chicken nuggets, for lunch for the boys. I was busy doing "mom" stuff & when I came back to help Nathan down from his chair this is what I saw....


Yes, that is ketchup in his hair. He decided to give himself a shampooing of ketchup! I guess, at least he had fun. of course he went straight to the bathtub to get clean.

I decided to draw a picture of a pioneer wagon to put on GranDee's wagon the next morning for the Pioneer Day Parade. Ryan wanted so desperately to help me paint it that he got out of bed at 10:00pm to help me paint. He was in charge of the brown. Great job Ryan!

Pioneer Day

The boys & I went up to GranDee & Papa's for breakfast & a neighborhood parade. The parade was a lot of fun. For this little neighborhood parade, somehow the organizers of the parade were able to get the South Jordan Fire Department, Ambulance, & Police Department to come join us! Ryan had a blast being in the parade, but Nathan didn't like all the noise from the various emergency trucks!

Later in the afternoon, my family came down to be in our Primary parade & a fireworks show. We had some time to kill between the parade, dinner & the fireworks show (a.k.a for it to get dark), so my brother set up a slip-n-slide and the kids had a blast.

Of course an innocent, slip-n-slide turned into a full fledged water fight between my nephew, Dylan & Hattie (Steve & Angie's friend from Ohio). It was a ton of fun to watch & Hattie got even with Dylan, a few weeks later!

Honey I'm home!!!!!!

(Disclaimer: This is a long post...but it is about my most favorite place & people with LOADS of pictures- I'll try to break it up)

My favorite place in the whole wide world is the Oregon Coast...specifically Cannon Beach.
To get started here are some random pictures from our adventure at Cannon Beach.

Ryan & Nathan digging in the sand.

At first, Nathan wasn't so sure about getting sand on his hands...but later he couldn't get enough.


Look, I found a shell!







Playing in the sand with toys is much more fun!

Anywhere along the Oregon Coast is my home away from home, my sanctuary, where I find the most peace. That may sound a bit odd, since the coast is always windy, noisy & cold (at least in Oregon), but it is true. Since moving to Utah & having my parents move here too, it is a rarity that I get to visit my favorite spot. But this year, we decided to go, since the boys & I would be picking daddy up from the airport in Portland, we were already half way there, from Central Oregon.

As we started planning our adventure to Cannon Beach, we decided that it make our trip even better if we invited my best friend, Autumn & her family to join us. I gave her a call & they loved the idea...she loves the coast too! I was excited to know that they wanted to come too, that would give us the chance to spend time with her family & get caught up with each other.

Sunday, the 13th of July (happy anniversary - on the 12th - I love you Matt), the boys & I picked Matt up from the airport & off we went two hours or so to the coast. When we arrived in Cannon Beach our room wasn't ready yet, so we took the boys down to the beach & let them run around, dig, spin & throw sand. A boys haven! The wind was blowing like usual & I think we were the only people in shorts & t-shirts soaking in the cool weather. Most people on the beach had shorts on, but then had sweatshirts or big jackets on ( I guess they thought it was cold).

My friends, Autumn, Doug & their boy Benjamin, showed up about an hour or so after we did. The boys were instant friends (they get that from their moms'). It was truly like being home again, but in a new stage of life!

After unloading everything, we took the Ryan & Benjamin back down to the sand (Nathan was sleeping). The boys wanted to fly kites, so off we went. Ryan had a Buzz Lightyear & Woody kite & Benjamin had a red, black & white kite, which Autumn so nicely pointed out were the Blazers colors. The boys had fun watching us get the kites up. I must say I had no problem getting our kite up! Ryan even tried his had at flying the kite...but the wind was quite strong & I think it made him a bit nervous. After a while, he started "chasing" the kites around & trying to help Doug get his kite up. Ryan decided he wanted daddy to come & fly kites with me...so Doug, Autumn & Ben, went & got Matt while I hung out with my kite. Matt came out with Nathan's kite, "Cars" & up it went no problem. We were having fun as Ryan continued to chase them around, when all of a sudden the two kites got tangled together. I was trying to move so that we could un-tangle them when all of a sudden my string broke & off went my kite. I few seconds later, there goes Matt's too! We were able to retrieve them, but we called it a day with the kites. Good 'ol handy Matt was able to fix them although we haven't tried them out again just yet.

That night we made pizzas & all three boys helped out. After getting the kids settled & in bed, the four adults stayed up 'til midnight or later just chatting & catching up on old times. Both Autumn & I made the comment that although it has been almost 2 years since we saw them last, when we get together again, it is like we haven't missed a beat! I guess that is what true friendship is all about!

Monday morning, we woke up to beautiful weather. No fog or anything of the such in the air! After feeding the boys & getting everyone ready for the day we headed to downtown Cannon Beach for a little shopping. We all got a few fun things & then back to our rooms for lunch & naps.

Without fail, low tide was ALWAYS while the boys were napping & so we never got to walk out to Haystack Rock & look at the tide pools. I was a bit bummed, but maybe next time. Of course, the boys, especially Ryan & Nathan wanted to head back out to the beach to play in the sand, or so we thought! When we got out to the sand, all the boys started digging in the sand & attempting to make a sand castle, but that didn't last too long. Before long, Ryan was off running with the waves. He was our little wave runner. He would chase the waves out to sea & then the waves would chase him back to shore. He had a blast & he got soaking wet. Now I mentioned in a previous post about how cold the water was in central Oregon...this water was even colder, but Ryan didn't care. He just kept running & jumping with the waves. He didn't want to stop, even when he was freezing cold! Nathan even got his feet wet, but preferred the sand to the water. At some point Ben joined in a bit with wave running until Ryan accidentally knocked him down while the waves were chasing him back to shore! Ben was done...so we told our boys it was time to go & eat some dinner.

We went to my FAVORITE place to eat, MO'S. They have the best of the best clam chowder. I am not one to eat seafood, but I love their clam chowder. So naturally, I ordered that & Matt ate fish! The boys' had grilled cheese sandwiches that were served on Frisbees! They sure loved that.

After eating all that we could & buying some souvenirs we went back to our room & made S'mores. The kids enjoyed it, as did the adults.

The next morning, sad to say, it was time to leave the beautiful coast. I was sad to go, & to leave my dear sweet friend, Autumn, that I always miss terribly. But, we said goodbye after taking several pictures. I can't wait to go again!

I already miss you Autumn!!