Carter rocks at T-Ball!

Carter has started T-ball and he is loving it. He excels much more at baseball than soccer, probably because this is more of an individual sport. He is by far the best hitter on the team and he does really well at the catching. He loves to throw the ball really hard, so when he is playing catch he has to be reminded to aim for the mitt of the other player. It makes a mother proud to hear him get lots of compliments and questions about how old he is because he is so good!

I do have to take some credit , I have pitched the ball to him for more hours than I care to recall! During the winter when we would play at the church in the cultural hall I would pitch a soft ball to him and one time he hit the ball consecutively twenty times without missing!

Friday night at the Drive-In Movie

Cool drive-in seats in the van, yummy pizza dinner!

Serena fell asleep on the way there, but was awake for the movie.

Taylor has converted me to the fun of going to a drive-in movie. We go one or two times every year. It is great for families because you don't have to keep the kids to quiet and you can bring your own food. We saw the movie UP! and it was really cute.

I love pictures of sleeping babies

So sweet!

I thought how she had her arms and legs was so cute!

Are accidents contagious?

Serena was jumping on the bed last night (5/27) and fell off and bumped her head on the nightstand (feel free to sing about no more monkeys on the bed!). We went to the doctor and spent an hour and a half as they iced it, then put a gel on to stop the bleeding and then finally put on Dermabond. I guess she is destined to have bangs, since this is the second time she has cut her forehead!

It feels as though we might have an accident virus in our home...5/25, I missed the last stair going into the living room and twisted my ankle, it was swollen and painful for two days. 5/26, Aleeya climbs up one stair and then rolls back down. 5/28, I was walking upstairs and fell up the stairs (this has been a life long problem for me), I was carrying Aleeya so I fell on my knee since I couldn't use my arms. Then Carter falls down half of the stairs to the basement and I cut my finger with the apple slicer.

But we must have angels watching over us, because after I came home from the doctor with Serena and everyone got into bed it was late and I was kneeling down by the bed saying my prayers, when one of the screws came out of Aleeya's bassinet and it fell off of the bars that hold it up.

I must admit that I don't always kneel for my prayers, so I am thankful that I was right there and heard the bassinet fall and quickly got Aleeya out so there was no harm done. She is now sleeping in the pack-n-play and we REALLY will go and get a bed for Serena this weekend and then Aleeya can have the crib (this has been on the list of things to do for over a month).

Ogden Dinosaur Park

Taylor had the week of May 18 off. The plan was to be on "staycation" and go to fun places without paying for a hotel. The reality is that we spent the entire week working on the yard. The only thing we did, unless you count an ice cream cone at Arctic Circle, is go to the Dinosaur Park. It was fun to watch the kids run from exhibit to exhibit and dig for dinosaur bones.

The kids loved these character picture boards.

The display behind the kids is of dinosaur poop.

This is Carter pooping like a dinosaur!

Carter posing, Serena wouldn't get close!

Serena using binoculars that show you how a dinosaur would see.

Serena took off her shoe to step on the dinosaur print.

Do you need a band-aid?

Serena saw this picture in a magazine,

so she went and put a band-aid on Aleeya!
It was hard to get Aleeya to be still, so the picture is fuzzy!

Aleeya is crawling!

Aleeya has been doing the army crawl on her arms for about a month. She now officially is doing the real thing and she is fast!

The Dearden Family Visits the Dentist

This last week we all went to the dentist, our friend, Matt Young.

Carter let him look at his teeth, but that is about it. Everything looked good.

Serena let him do a bit more and it looks like she is cavity free. I attribute this to her deep love of toothbrushes.

Taylor and I also got cleanings and I am the only one with a cavity. Bummer!

Both of the kids are excited to go back, most likely for the toothbrushes and toys.

Nine Wonderful Years of Marriage

Taylor and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary on 05/12/09. I am still really glad we got married in the year 2000, so it is easy to remember how long we have been married. It feels like the time has gone fast and many things have happened. I am grateful that Taylor and I found each other (Thanks Steph and Staci) and I am looking forward to many more years together.

To celebrate we went to eat at Tepanyaki, a Japanese Steak House. We had never been there and it was a fun and delicious night, but definitely a special occasion place. Taylor commented that it would be fun to go there with a group of friends, but only if we and our friends were rich! :)

Preschool Goes to the Zoo!

During our neighborhood preschool we have interspersed field trips and this month we went to the Hogle Zoo. I was surprised at how long the kids would look at each animal exhibit. Serena really liked the monkeys and told Taylor about seeing them. She also makes a great monkey noise!

We still are not getting a pet!

This is the ONLY type of dog we will ever have!
Best dog food ever-croutons and water!

Carter and Serena continue to pretend that they are animals. They insisted that the food they have out is for a "real" dog!

Serena...do you think she needs a naptime?

This is dinner time even though she is eating pancakes!
How can she sleep with her legs up like that!

Serena doesn't take a nap during the day, but sometimes it is just too much for her to stay awake. I think it is funny to take pictures of her when she is asleep in non-traditional places!

Aleeya is seven months old!

I love it when babies throw their hands up in the air to sleep!

Sitting in the flowers in front of our house.

Aleeya is an amazing seven month old! She has conquered the army crawl and gets to where she wants to go fast. She is eating well and continues to be the easiest baby to put to sleep. She sits well and plays with toys.

Her social side is starting to blossom and she doesn't like to be alone in a room. I don't think it is separation anxiety from the mom, just from people, because she is fine as long as someone is with her.

We continue to get tons of comments about how beautiful Aleeya is and what gorgeous skin she has, especially now that it is tan from going to the park. I agree that she is so fun to look at, but I think part of it is that she has a really strong Spirit. Sometimes I just hold her and get the most powerful feeling about how special she is. When other people hold her at church, they also comment about how happy they feel when they look at her. What a blessing she is to our family!

The Garden is FINALLY planted!

Basically, all you can see is the forks labeling the rows!

In case you don't believe me about the weeds that have to be conquered, this is a shot of how most of the flower beds and garden looked!

So I have been meeting with a garden group and trying to get inspired, but I still am WAY behind in getting seeds in the ground for "cold" crops. I think I put it off because it is a lot of work to get the garden ready and then I also like projects that can be done and checked off my list and gardening is not that type of process. (There was a peak at my psychological hang-ups about learning new things!)

Stephanie, my friend and former mission companion, came and helped me get things going! Anyway, it does look cool to have forks planted and if I am lucky some actual vegetables will grow!