Let the training begin

Mattson has received his first deployment:

Greetings from NAS Jax - hope you are enjoying your summer! The Commanding Officer of NAS Jax would like to personally invite Mattson to attend his upcoming airshow. If you could email me your mailing address, CAPT Scorby will send Mattson a VIP Invitation when he mails them out at the end of July. Invitation will include 4 passes to the CO's chalet - please have him include the name of his guests, my guess is that it will be Mom, Dad, and younger brother. Thanks!
Commander Mark C. Scott - Naval Air Station Jacksonville

How cool is that?

BU-BYE

By way of background; at his 18mth check-up we were referred to a specialist because Grayson had exactly 0 words. More specifically he only had 1 sound; "Uhh". It is a very expressive sound and can be varied to fit the situation. Where do you want to go? "Uhh" Would you like some yogurt? "Uhhh".

Theories ranged from ear infections to not needing to (we already have running commentary courtesy of Matts) to developing a new language (gruntese). Needless to say, we have been working on this with Gray. Now he points to everything and wants you to name it. It goes like this; "Banana; uhh. oatmeal; uhh. water; uhh". You get the idea. This week he finally started mimicking a few sounds although Mattson astutely noted "Gray only likes "buh" words".

But, as of today we have a word. That's right; a full-on, understandable, independently generated word. Today was Reed was leaving for work Gray raised his little hand (he does the high school, I'm too cool to really wave, wave) and said Bu-Bye!!!!!

"Bu-Bye"

The little Hun (see below)

In semi-related news; Matts has started training for the Imperial Navy. This entails diving practice (without his lifejacket but with goggles, of course), running around our house doing acrobatics and launching "firepower" at every surface. Gray alternates between being a trainee and "the little hun". Finally, all training MUST be accompanied by the "We are man" song from Disney's Mulan.

The hills are alive...

This past weekend Reed and I had the great treat of going to a costume party. The theme was "Sound of Music" and the idea of a costuming Reed and myself was truly daunting. But, never fear, my many talents came into play. And by talents I mean "outsourcing". Basically, I know people who know how to do things. This week it happened to be Ariel's mom. With her costuming skills (seriously, she does costuming for a local theatre in Denver) and my love of sequins we were set. Add to our skills the theme of "Sound of Music" and we were set.

For those of you who don't know, not only did my family watch "The Sound of Music" so many times that I can still recite the entire movie today(No, I'm not exaggerating; ask Reed about our recent movie night). But, as part our ambassadorial duties in Sweden my siblings and I were the VonTrapp family singers. I'm completely serious, we even did the actions to "So long, farewell". I guess in retrospect dressing up isn't all that bad :)

There is so much more I could say, but let me sum it up with this:

Suede pants (women's size 10): $10.00

Trim for the leiderhosen: $10.00

Tassels for the knee socks: $1.00

Reed's face on seeing his costume: priceless

The lonely goatherd and his lovely lady

It was a wonderful night full of food, friends and of course, the sound of music.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.

***A HUGE thank you to Ariel's mom who did an AMAZING job of turning Reed and I into the marionettes, complete with strings.***

Happy Father's Day!

I'd like to wish a very Happy Father's Day to all the men out there. I have been very fortunate to have many strong and caring men in my life. I am especially grateful for the wonderful role-models that my boys will have to look up to. And because I love a good list here's top five favorite things about the dad's in our family:

Reed (with Elle)

1. He makes everyday an adventure.

2. He is secretly (or not so secretly) all of our children's "favorite" (yes, even Elle's).

3. When he's around there's always laughter and fun.

4. He works incredibly hard to provide a good life for our family and give our boys every opportunity.

5. He gets to know everyone and anyone, then says the craziest things and they love him for it.

Grandpa Greg with Grayson (less than 1 hour old)

1. He has made us all proud "Reagan-philes".

2. Magically, his flight schedule lines up perfectly with his grandchildren's locations (SLC to Tokyo via Denver?) and important dates (Gray's birth).

3. He takes my crazy boys "exploring" and they love him for it.

4. He always makes time to take me out to lunch when I'm in town.

5. He is the most Christ-like man I know.

Grandpa Don and Matts

1. 99.9% of the time he is "just peachy".

2. Gracie is his 7th and probably favorite child.

3. He understands why it's ironic that Harry Connick Jr. and Barbara Streisand sing Christmas carols.

4. He keeps the pond stocked with snake food, aka coi fish, and lets Matts name them crazy things like "Tanker Truck".

5. Underneath his gruff exterior he is very thoughtful and kind (Hot Tamales anyone?).

Check out my Slide Show!

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day we had a great day filled with sun, friends and of course, food. We started off the day with sand volleyball and then went to Adam and Kandis' house for a delicious BBQ and some badminton. After the boys passed out in the car and awoke two hours later we decided to wear them out again by going to the pool. Finally, we wrapped up the night with a trip to the scary Mexican restaurant where they are "Open Everydays"

Let the games begin

Now, I want a clean fight...
(No idea where Gray's clothes went)Building the Pyramids of Eygpt
Gray displaying his crazy skills
I LOVE this hat. It was given to us by Stephanie "Struhs"(I can't remember her married name). Granted, it's a little dorky and Gray will probably kill me later but, it's so good for his little skin and it makes me happy everytime I see it