Swimming Lessons

The boys have two more days left of swimming lessons. They absolutely love swimming! Ethan is learning all the strokes and he swims 25 yard laps. Alex has learned freestyle and backstroke. He has great freestyle form. Drew is a fish. He can do a front float and swim, not so much with his arms, anywhere he wants to go. Peyton is sad he's not old enough, maybe next year.

24th Festivities

Yesterday was the annual 24th of July festivities. It started off with a great Family Festival at the park. The boys had a great time. There were carnival games and big blow up bouncy things. Their favorite was the fire truck that hosed everyone down during the 100 degree heat. (Peyton is standing in front of the fire truck before the hose started spraying everyone.) The boys were drenched from head to toe, so they decided that they wanted to get dunked. E, Al,and D all got dunked and then took turns throwing the ball to dunk others. The night ended with a barbeque and great fireworks. It was fun having Mom, Dad, Ethan, Natalie, Tots, and Addi here to celebrate. Happy 24th!

SU-Per-MAN

Peyton has decided he is Superman. He is constantly trying to get someone to take his shirt off and tie it around him like a cape. He then runs around, faster than a locomotive, and yells, "SU-per-MAN." The boys think this is absolutely hilarious and constantly encourage him. What a funny 2 year old he is!
PS These are taken with our old camera and I just noticed they're a little blurry since he was running around so fast! :)

Handsome Boys

Aaron held true to his promise of taking pictures of the boys. This morning before church he rounded up the boys and took them outside for pictures. (I had to go to church early to accompany the choir.) He succeeded in getting a really cute picture. He even photo shopped out Drew's black eye, a sprinkler, etc. Good job Aaron!!

The Terrible Twos

This is how I found Peyton this afternoon busy singing the "Clean up" song. Apparently he was trying to make himself some chocolate milk in Drew's room. How could you get mad though. I mean he was singing, "Clean up. Clean up. Everybody everywhere." This little incident means Peyton has officially entered the terrible twos :). He's darling though!! I love that little guy!

Photo Bug

So Aaron sold his beloved AK-47 to buy a new Canon Rebel XTI. The camera came today and it is very cool. It takes pictures so fast and in focus. The kids can't get away from us now :)! We were planning to take some new pictures of the boys tomorrow. Of course today Drew got a black eye and Peyton cut his head open. They're both doing fine. It just looks bad. We did manage to capture a few new pics. Peyton helped Aaron make a cake today. He decided he absolutely loves frosting. Mmmmm yummy!

Mmmm Yummy!

Alex loves to make his own peanut butter and jam sandwiches. As he was making one, Peyton decided to try peanut butter for the first time. His response, "Mmmmm. Yummy! My favorite!" He insisted on making his own pb & j minus the j. It kept him occupied for quite some time. What a delicious sandwich!
Addendum: We just put Peyton to bed. Aaron was helping him say his prayers. Apparently Aaron left out an important part because after Peyton said Amen he said, "Jones a mission." What a cutie!! My kids teach me every day!

Little Entrepreneurs

Yesterday Ethan and his buddy set up a lemonade stand. They sold regular lemonade and strawberry lemonade. Their stand was a hit seeing as how it was 104 degrees. They each made $3.25. Seeing the great cash flow potential, Alex and Drew set up their own lemonade stand bright and early this morning. They sold regular lemonade for 25 cents a cup. They each made $2.25 which they were quite thrilled with. Alex is working on his next business venture. He's thinking a pizza stand.....

Say Cheese!

Lots of fun times here lately. Drew and Aaron made homemade vanilla custard. It was delicious!! Peyton loves cooking too. He helped make eggs for breakfast. They turned out great! We love our boys!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a great 4th of July. It was quiet, but fun. Aaron grilled up some hamburgers and hot dogs paired with some fresh corn on the cob made for a delicious dinner! The boys put on a great fireworks show. It lasted for about an hour and a half. Peyton was quite nervous at first. He kept saying, "Scary." However, by the end he would say, "Like it. My favorite." A lot of our neighbors were setting off fireworks also. Anytime a Whistling Pete went off all the boys would yell, "Nice scream." We finished right around 10:00 pm. The boys are already sound asleep. What a great day!

My Trip to the Hospital By Alex

Yesterday I was sick. My tummy hurt so bad that I had to go to the emergency room. They gave me a wrist band and a blanket. Then the doctor comed. He talked to me about my stomach. Then they had to give me a IV. Then they gave me medicine. Then somebody nice gave me rootbeer to drink. Then somebody took some pictures of my inside. Then I took a nap to the CAT Scan. Then I rode a wheelchair back. Then I had to wait to finish. Then it was over. Someone nice wrapped my arm in a big bandage. And I getted to drink my rootbeer. And I getted to eat my suckers. Then I goed home. Then the next day I feeled better. The End.

(Alex is doing well. We're supposed to keep an eye on him today, but it looks like it's not appendicitis. Yeah!)

Camping

This past Friday was the Father Sons Camp out. However, since Ethan had Cub Scout Camp bright and early Saturday morning (6:30 am) the boys couldn't go this year. Aaron set up a tent in the backyard. Ethan, Alex, and Drew slept out all night. Ethan did comment that if he rolled off of his sleeping bag in the night the ground was a little hard :). The boys had a great time! Aaron took the pictures once the boys were asleep. However, E woke up to the flash!

Elder Christensen

Jeff left for the MTC on Wednesday. It was great having the entire Christensen Clan together before he left! It was awesome being able to go with him to the MTC. Same movie as when Wong went in. We were down in Provo today, so we drove past the MTC to show the boys where Jeff was. Unfortunately, no accidental spotting of Julio. Alex made a book for Jeff today. The first page said, "Jeff as a Missionary by Alex." He drew a picture of Jeff in a suit and tie with him. Pages 2-4 had pictures of Jones teaching different people. Page 2 said "God is true." Page 3 "Jesus will come again." Page 4 "Jesus died for us." Alex did this all by himself. It was so awesome to see Alex's testimony developing. It was in the mail by 8:00 am, so hopefully Jones will get it Monday.

Happy 2nd Birthday Peyton!

Peyton turned 2 years old yesterday! It is so hard to believe. However, he loves being a big boy. He has been potty trained for almost a month now. He even stays dry during naps and through the night. He speaks in sentences and has the cutest inflections! He was very specific on his birthday party. He wanted a "ham and doughnut party." He loved his "ham party." Yesterday we went to Build a Bear and he picked a puppy. We love our Peyton!

Personalized Plates

I always assumed personalized plates were really expensive here in Utah. Very few people have them, it's not like Montana were every single person has them because they are very economical and people from Montana think they are witty. As it turns out people from Utah just aren't as clever as people from Montana as the initial cost is half of Montana and yearly it is just $5 extra. So with my thinking cap on I came up with several clever ideas for new license plates for the new minivan. Unfortunately, Natali holds infinite veto powers on personalized plates. I did finally find one that resonated well with me and her. It shouldn't be too hard to guess. Here it is: