Happy First!

Ben celebrated his birthday while we were in Utah.  I know everyone says it, but I can’t believe how fast this year has gone by.  He’s going to be off to college before I know it.  Sigh. 

We went all out and got him his very own cupcake.  Don’t worry, there was cake for the rest of us too.     First he wanted the lit candle… Then he wasn’t so sure about the cake… Then he showed it who was boss. And basked in the attention and sugar rush that followed.  There was plenty of help opening gifts.This one was my favorite. And this one was Ben’s favorite – his first iPod.  Which he dropped off the ski lift the next day.  But that’s another story. Here are some things about Ben:

• He has little interest in learning to walk.  Crawling is working out just fine for him, thank you very much.  He can stand for short periods of time.
• He loves to eat.  When he’s done, he will nonchalantly drop his food onto the floor or stuff it into the corners of his high chair.  If you catch him, he will pretend he was going to eat it. 
• Sometimes if he’s hungry he will go back to the aforementioned food in the high chair.
• He will fake laugh along with anyone.  Carter got mad the other day that he was laughing at him because Samantha was.  He also imitates coughs.
• He has been an early teether.  He has 8 teeth already and his top molars are just breaking through.  It’s been a rough couple of weeks. 
• He can say hi, sit, stay, Mom, uh-oh and no (although it’s nanananana).  He will also nod yes and shake his head no. 
• He weighs 23 lbs 6 oz 9 (50-75%) and is 30.5 inches long (75%)
• He hates the car seat.  I finally turned it around the other day and it was the first time he didn’t scream and cry when I buckled him in.  The screaming did start shortly afterwards.
• In general, he has been a happy, laid back baby.  We’re all hoping that happy baby comes back after these teeth are in!

We love you kiddo!

Mount Timpanogos

For those of you who don’t know where Mt. Timpanogos is, it’s in Utah County, it’s the second highest mountain in the Uintah Range, the 47th most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States.  15 miles up and back.  My dad has hiked it over 25 times.  He has taken each of my siblings to the top at least once.  I hiked it with him when I was 8 or 9.  I remember it being one of the hardest things I have ever done.  I tried again in high school with friends and made it to the lake.  From there you can see the summit, and it was just too daunting.  I have been determined to hike it again for a long time.  I convinced my sister that she should do it with me.  My dad is always a willing hiker, and my mom and other sister were willing to watch my kids all day, so off we went!  We actually did better than we expected and made it to the top in 5 hours, without any major stops.  It was absolutely amazing at the top.  on top of the sense of accomplishment from making it to the top, it feels like you are on top of the world.  I took so many pictures, but really, they don’t do it justice.  Utah County from the top:Deer Creek?  I look Asian because of the wind.  It was brutal at the top! I am so glad that Amber was able to do it with me.  “I’m the king of the world!”  Nerdy, I know. Coming back down.  Were we really just up there?  It was so beautiful and peaceful up there! We had some friends hiking along with us:We saw 3-4 mama goats with their babies.  So cute! And we made it!  I still kind of can’t believe we made it.  I would do it again in a heartbeat though.  Anyone up for next year?

Fishing with Grandpa

While I’m not a big fan of canoes in general (too many traumatic experiences, the worst being canoeing on a lake full of alligators in Florida) one of my favorite things when I was little was fishing.  And one of the best ways to fish is on a canoe.  Carter was determined to get us out on a canoe and in the end he won out.  We left much later than any serious fisher would approve of - I think we were finally on the lake by 10 or 11.  We went up to Payson Lakes.  The lake was really low and really green and since it was later in the season, we were pretty much the only ones there.  Carter caught the first fish of the day, and it ended up being the biggest.  He was so proud of himself.  Then Samantha caught one.  Then they got bored.  And hungry.  Luckily I brought along snacks.  Otherwise we would have been done then. After yelling at them to sit still about 100 times, 1 bag of Gummy bears, 2 boxes of raisins and a lunch break,  I think Carter and Samantha caught 5 total.  Poor Grandpa couldn’t get any fish hooked.   They would eat his bait, but he ended up with an empty hook every time.   Maybe next time.  Samantha and I got to wear the “Titanic life jackets” as my sister calls them.  This is probably the same one I wore when I was her age.  We totally rocked the orange.  In this picture Carter is holding up one of the fish.  Samantha was going to hold one too, until she felt it.  She dropped it pretty quick and settled for holding a part of the chain.  And at the end of the day, this is what we ended up with. We had a great time and made some great memories!

Utah

I think I have finally recovered enough from the flight to and from Utah to start posting about our trip.  I will never fly with these three again.  At least until they are older.  Ben was an absolute nightmare both ways.  We made the mistake of booking an early flight on the way back and so Carter and Samantha hopped on the naughty train for the flight back.  In spite of the disastrous flights, we had such a good time!  We stayed longer than we have in the past – 2 weeks – but it was nice not to feel like we had to cram everything in while we were there.  I also looked at is as more of a vacation and planned what I wanted to do while we were there.  What it came down to was me reliving some of my favorite childhood memories.  As it turns out, most of them were on a mountain.  I miss those mountains a lot.  Anyways, prepare for picture overload!