Here we go again...

John has been working out of town in Morenci (near Safford, about 2 1/2 hours away) on and off for the past month. We just found out yesterday that it looks like he'll be there for the next several months. He's got 1,000 water meters to put in, and he's gotten 30 done in the past two days (which is more than they were anticipating), so it'll be about six months that he'll be gone. Luckily he'll be home for most weekends, so that is a huge relief. He was gone for about 4 months last year, so I know what I'm getting into. However, last time he left when Dallin was only 3 days old, and during that time Bryson had his leg injury, so I had one infant and one kid that couldn't walk. This time around Cory will be in school, and Dallin is a lot older (a year next month!!), and I'm assuming there won't be any major accidents - knock on wood - so I figure that it'll be quite a bit easier. I am so thankful that he has steady work, he has survived several rounds of layoffs and we are proud of him! We'll miss him bunches and bunches.

We've got the countdown going until Cory starts school. Can't believe he starts next Tuesday!!! I went school shopping for him a couple of days ago, and that was way fun. I'm excited for him to have this experience, and hope that it's a good one. He's had such a hard time adjusting to primary at church, and they have finally had to assign him a teacher for just him. I hope that he does ok!!! Is he really 5 already?? We've got an appointment scheduled with a developmental therapist coming up, so we'll see what happens there...

We got to go swimming today. We've all got interesting designs on our backs and shoulders from me not rubbing the sunscreen in right!

We've had a couple of funny comments from the boys, and I wanted to get them in writing so I can remember them.

"Daddy, you're getting old. Soon we're going to have to buy a new one." - Bryson (Daddy, age 25)
"Mama, sometimes when you tell me things, it makes my brain hurt." - Cory

Thanks, guys! You gotta love the way their minds think.

Bryson's 4th Birthday

Bryson turned 4 on Saturday, July 19th. He got to choose his meals for the day, so he chose Fruit Loops for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, and macaroni and cheese for dinner. He really enjoyed his junk-foody meals. We threw a party for him in the morning, and he had a lot of his friends over. It turned out really fun, and the weather cooperated. He got a lot of toy cars/trucks, and was thrilled. In the middle of opening presants, Bryson got up and made an announcement, "Thank you all for getting me such great presants!" then he sat back down and continued opening. One of his friend's mother's asked me if I had been practicing this with him, but no, it was all him.

John and I got him a fire truck and a purple Chevy (just like Daddy's!). He sleeps with these ones!

And here are the three brothers celebrating Bryson's birthday. I love how Dallin's hand is on Cory's leg. Dallin looks up to Cory so much - plus he has a sucker.

I love my Bryson, and I just don't know what I'd do without him. He's such a joy. He's gone through a lot this year, with his leg injury and all, and he just never complains. I love being his mom!!

The 4th of July

The 4th of July is totally one of my favorite holidays. We always have so much fun celebrating the birth of our nation. This year we had a Goates family reunion, although we were missing a lot of people - Jason and Alissa in Hawaii, Reenie on her mission in Spain, and Grandpa and Banana in California.

We met at the church at 8 for the 2nd ward breakfast. We ran into some good friends while we were there. Here is our little family with the family of Kristi, Landon, and Corgan Prisbrey, and the family of Jessica, Jon, Karsten, and Adon Rutherford. It was a lot of fun catching up.

and here is to contrast....

After the breakfast we went to my parent's house. The kids enjoyed a slip n' slide while the adults watched National Treasure 2, then we all enjoyed a BBQ.

After a really yummy lunch we went back to our house for naptime, then headed over to the ball field for the firework show. We always show up around 5 to have a picnic and to get front-row seats. Nanny entertained the kids some toys she brought, and there was face painting too. The firework show was really great.

Mom's Birthday

My 25th birthday was this last week. The family totally spoiled me, it was way fun. John got me roses (tee hee) and an ice cream cake. I love that Dallin is being sneaky in the flower picture.

Here is John and my little sister Shelisa working on my cake.

One quarter century old - ewww!

Cory was totally adorable to me. He made me watch a Winnie the Pooh movie because it had a really yummy looking cake on it. He wanted me to see what he wanted to get me. He also kept bringing me rocks from outside. He told me they were special rocks for my birthday (awww!). Then in the evening he knew that my parents and sister were coming over, so he took it upon himself to decorate. He got out some Christmas wrapping paper and draped it over our sterio and TV. Then he took some rubber snake toys and hung them carefully over the doorknobs. I totally wish I'd taken pictures of that. I swear, that kid is about as sweet as they come!

"But Cory's my brother!!"

When Bryson makes a bad choice, the typical punishment is for him to sit on his bed. However, Cory REALLY doesn't like to see his brother in trouble, and feels very responsible for Bryson, so he often attempts to come to his rescue saying "You can't do that to Bryson, he's my brother!" Well, a few days ago Bryson spit on Dallin (his entire his was wet, yuck!), so he was sent to his bed. Cory was in the other room, so he didn't hear what was happening. When Bryson realized Cory was not coming to the rescue, he understood that he had to argue in his own defense. "But Mama, you can't do that to me, I'm Cory's Brother!!" And he kept saying it over and over for probably the next 20 min or so. "But Cory's my brother!!" I had to go to the other room to laugh.

Dallin has started pulling himself up to a standing position this last week. He's so wobbly, and he still looks so small to me. It's amazing to think that in a few short months he'll be walking. He's also been transitioning from two naps a day to one. It would be nice if we could agree on a set schedule.