Paul McCartney

Well, this was one of those things I never thought I'd live to see. Daniel decided to take me to see Paul McCartney at the Energy Solutions Arena at the beginning of the month. I have always loved The Beatles, I grew up listening to them and watched my mom dance to their songs in the kitchen. I've seen the movies and I have most of their songs. So this was the best birthday/anniversary present he could have given me!!!

But first we went to a pizza place called Settebello. HOLY COW you have to try it!!!!

I order the "Capricciosa" 

This delicious pizza had: Crushed Tomatoes, Prosciutto Cotto, Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Mushrooms, Olives, Mozzarella, Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

YUM!!!

Now, Paul McCartney's "OUT THERE" concert

This was me when Sir Paul McCartney came on stage:

This was one of my favorite performances "Live and let die"

Before the concert

McCartney sang 39 songs (Beatles songs and Wings songs) for about 3 hours. Nobody opened for him. He doesn't need that. He's a legend, even now I can't believe I got to see him live!!

I will forever love this 4!

Daniel, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks for such a wonderful gift!

Mission Impossible

On May 26, we took Darren to this new place we found at the Newgate Mall in Ogden to celebrate the end of the school year. Ryan and Max came along and I must say we had a pretty good time (we missed you Megan!)...The place is called "Glowgolf" (glow-in-the-dark miniature golf) and they also have the "Laser Maze Challenge" in which you have to work your way through a series of lasers as fast as you can while trying not to brake any laser beams and I think this was the one the kids enjoyed the most!
Ryan was able to set a record on his second try and Max was sooo close to set a record too ( I think he missed by 3 seconds) but Darren had the best time breaking every single laser he could and making them go off (of course I didn't get a video of that one :/) What a goofball!!

Laser Maze Challenge by Funovation

Darren

Max

Ryan

Ryan's record

#8 Swag

Daniel

Yep, they all felt like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible ;)

It's great to be 8!!

Well, it's almost here!! Next month  Darren will be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We're all super excited especially Darren. I honestly can't believe he's almost 8 years old :) As we prepare for this big day, we have focused our Family Home Evenings on the topic of Baptism and we have had some fun activities to go along with it. Last week we made a list of all the things we needed to do before the big day and yesterday we got Darren all dressed up and took some pictures for his invitations. I'm definitely not a photographer and the pictures truly show my lack of skill BUT I gotta say that Darren's "cuteness" makes up for it.

Baptism Invitation

For some reason I can't upload the rest of the photos here...so here's the link to youtube

IT'S GREAT TO BE 8!!

Christmas in April!

Darren loves Christmas songs, even in April...but it's really not Darren's fault, both Daniel and Darren are constantly exposed to my David Archuleta's Christmas CDs, so yeah, sue me :)

                                       

A place for everything and everything in its place.

One of Darren's favorite places to go to is the library, whether it's the "big library" (Main library in Ogden) or the "little library" (Roy branch), he always finds interesting books to read. This time he just couldn't help it but to give the librarians a "hand" by organizing the books on the "popular"shelf. He started with a couple of books and a few minutes later he had a ton of them on the floor and ended up organizing all the shelves. I couldn't help it but to smile watching him as he carefully organized all the different series by number. I kept thinking somebody would come and be upset at how Darren re-organized the books but I honestly didn't care *shrugs* because the books looked SO much better afterwards and they were indeed in order. It reminded me of an episode of Curious George we used to watch together called "Book Monkey" where the librarian Mrs. Dewey leaves him in charge of the library to stack and sort books. When George has trouble finding a certain book, he decides to rearrange them, first by color, then by size. But then Steve tells him that the proper way to arrange books is by subject.
Darren really enjoys organizing and sorting so I just had to sit there to watch and wait until his job was done :)

Meg

Our days at home are, for the most part, calm and quiet. We have great days together, but they are even better when Meguire comes to visit. She's a wonderful little girl who's not only our backyard neighbor but Darren's best friend. There's something VERY special about her that makes our lives happier and better.
Meguire has been Darren's friend since he was 3 years old and she was 4. I will always love her not just because she's beautiful inside and out but because she brings so much joy to Darren's life, he adores her. She's always been so patient with him and has been able to handle Darren's "quirks" like nobody else. She plays with him and listens to him, she's helped him in ways that only a child like her could and she is probably not even aware of how IMPORTANT she is to us and especially to him. She can do more than any other friend, she can play with his special toys, drink from his cups and even wear his socks haha.
We have created many memories together. Kelly, her mom, has been kind enough to let her spend time with us and I'm so grateful for her and for trusting us with Meg... If I ever had a daughter (which will probably never happen) I wish she was like her.
I have loved making crafts with her and watching her grow. I have loved watching her smile and making both my boys smile. She's funny, nice and loves to hug and be hugged. She's easy going and VERY well behaved (great job Kelly and Lawson!), she can come over and stay home for hours at a time and we don't even feel it as a burden. She is always welcome and she will always be a part of our family.

Like star dust glistening on fairies' wings

Little girls dreams are of magical things.

                                            -- Sherry Larson

Extreme Book of Numbers

Darren has been fascinated with big, HUGE numbers, he's been researching and totally immersed in them. About a month ago, he decided he wanted to share this knowledge with the world by writing a book about all these crazy numbers. He is completely convinced that it will be a huge success since "everybody must be very interested in numbers" (just like he is). We wanted him to feel accomplished and work towards a goal. We were a little concerned about the whole publishing thing because Darren kept insisting that Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble would buy his book. We told him we needed to start small and sell the book to family and friends and see how it goes.
I love to see him so motivated and with a desire to share something that's so important to him.
I love that he believes in something with so much passion.
In the eyes of  a little kid EVERYTHING is possible... heck, why not?!

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe."
Gail Devers

PS

If you would like to own a copy of this fascinating book please give me or Dan a call or feel free to leave a message here. Thanks! :)

The Leonardo

Last week we went to The Leonardo which is a "contemporary Sci+Tech+Art museum" in Salt Lake City. Here's some videos we took there. 
Thanks for reading and watching :)

Rub-a-dub-dub

Darren having a blast with a bubble bath. Thanks Carmen

Better Together: Darren and Daniel Video

Carmen got her creative juices going and put together an awesome video showcasing Darren and I hanging out after my two races last year; the City Creek 8K and the Layton Classic 10K.
Darren was so excited after both races. The 8K pictures are right after the race when we took a walk in the great City Creek Canyon. We paused by a river and tossed rocks in. Darren really got into the rock throwing and then of course he ran down the canyon as fast as he could look for rocks to throw in whenever he saw even a little bit of the river. It was a beautiful day.
After the 10K we also went for a short walk and ended up sitting in the Layton Park. Carmen, Darren, Bebe Giraffe, and I sat and made up stories. On this particular day Darren was telling us about his building. Exciting facts such as how tall it was, what type of rooms is in it. Darren has such an imagination.
Special thanks to Carmen for putting these special pictures together in such a wonderful way.

He is Reading!!

Carmen has started transferring our old videos to the computer. Among the videos moved so far is this gem. One of the first examples of Darren either repeating words he had memorized or reading. We think this video was recorded just after Darren turned 2 (around 2 years and 3 months). Take a look at the beginning of Darren already starting down the road of being much smarter than either of his parents. Notice that he Says "Boynton" when Carmen asks the author's name.

Oh My Oh My Oh
Dinosaurs!
by Sandra Boynton

Dinosaurs HAPPY
and dinosaurs SAD.
Dinosaurs GOOD
and dinosaurs BAD.
Dinosaurs BIG
and dinosaurs TINY.
Dinosaurs SMOOTH
and dinosaurs SPINY.
Dinosaurs WEAK
and dinosaurs STRONG.
Dinosaurs singing a
dinosaurs song!
Dinosaurs COLD.
Dinosaurs HOT.
Dinosaurs CUTE
and dinosaurs NOT.
Dinosaurs EARLY.
Dinosaurs LATER.
Dinosaurs crammed in an elevator.
Dinosaurs PLUMP,
dinosaurs LEAN.
Dinosaurs RED BLUE YELLOW and GREEN.
Dinosaurs looking right at YOU
to say GOODBYE because we're through.

Wonderful Wubbzy Fun

One of Darren's (and frankly ours also) favorite cartoons right now is WOW! WOW! Wubbzy. As Darren has learned to handle the mouse and the computer better he has discovered the joy of video games (aaahh a child after my own heart). Especally Nick Jr. and Noggin video games. The WOW! WOW! Wubbzy games make him laugh hysterically. Carmen has captured Darren enjoying one of the Wubbzy games for all to enjoy.

Enjoy!!!

The Polar Express

Our Trip to the North Pole!!