Brian and I flew into Getwick, England. Spent a day there seeing all the beautiful castles, and history there. The next day we went to Switzerland. We flew into Zurich and took a train to Interlaken. It is a beautiful little town. I loved the architecture of the houses there. And I love how they had their wood stacked so neatly and all the same size. The next day we spent in Barcelona, Spain. This ended up being our favorite place. Great food, lively city and historical as well. The weather was nice and our hotel was a great location. Right by the beach but on the 33rd floor and you could see the whole city. We had a great time.

First time in a taxi.

The wood stacked on the side of the houses in Switzerland.

Our train ride to Geneva, Switzerland

The chapel that is continually being built by anonymous donors, that was designed by Gaudi.

1. I thought it would be really good for the boys and I to get to know our grandparents a little better, so we started visiting a set of grandparents each Wednesday. We make a craft in the morning and then take it to the grandparents.

Our first week we visited with Grandpa Tingey at his office and brought him a valentine card. Then we went to Grandma Tingey’s grave site and left her a special valentine.

The second week we went to Grandma and Grandpa Stucki’s house. They have a little collection of toys the boys like to play with, and then Cole always asks them for a piece of their candy. He also ate all of Grandma’s grapes.

The third week we went to Grandma and Grandpa Tobler’s house. They also have a collection of toys the boys like to play with as well as some candy. They also love to go and get kumquats from the backyard.

For our fourth week we visited Grandma and Grandpa Bowers. Grandpa was actually gone but he stopped back long enough for Cole and Will to sing “Twinkle Twinkle.”

2. I started Bootcamp Las Vegas on February 1st and finished through the end of the month. It was definitely hard, but I loved it. I went to the 6 am class, so most of the mornings were cold (especially with Las Vegas wind, ugh). I have gotten so much stronger though.

For Christmas, my mom had given my sister and I some basic cake decorating classes for January. So in January, we had four classes where we learned how to bake a cake properly, ice it properly and use different decorating techniques. I am definitely not that good, but it was fun to learn. I hope to use some of the techniques on future birthday cakes.

Here is a picture of the boys helping me bake my cake before class.

On Christmas Eve, it is a tradition to eat dinner at my Grandma and Grandpa Bowers house. They leave near the Las Vegas Temple, so we stopped there before dinner. The boys like when we stop by there. We got a few fun pictures there that night.

Cole really wanted a spiderman skateboard, so Brian printed out a chart of chores that Cole had to do for a whole week. After the week was up, we all went to ToysRUs to get the skateboard. Luckily when he tried skateboarding he realized it was a little too hard and decided to get a spiderman razor. I think that is a much better choice.

Will still isn’t talking a whole lot, but he sure has a lot of personality. He loves dancing, singing, and especially loves books. He is hard to get good pictures of though. This is one of my favorite recent ones. (Look at those dark, deep eyes.)

In the evenings, the boys wrestle with their dad. It is pretty funny to watch. Here are two pictures of them clobbering him on the couch. Will got worn out and ended up just laying on him.

Since Cole got a new bike back in June, Will got Cole’s old one. He hasn’t been able to reach the pedals until now. So Cole was trying to help teach him.

I took the boys to Gilcrease Ranch Orchards for the first time. We went to get a few Granny Smith apples. The boys had a pretty good time and I thought it was beautiful there.

Will turned one. This was a milestone, because his skin got so much better and he was not as fussy.

Cole turned three and had a spiderman party. He loves the super heroes.

We have been swimming a lot in our pool this summer, but to get out of the house and in a cool area, we have spent many days at the mall playground.
Will has learned to climb the toys, and Cole (now completely potty trained) loves the little toilet.

Cole got to be a big boy at Lagoon theme park with his cousin Maddie. They got to go on most of the rides without an adult.

My brother, Clark, and sister-in-law, Shawnie had their first child, Braxton.

Here is one of the most recent pictures of all my boys. They love to lay on their dad.

And lastly, Cole started preschool. Crazy. He likes to dress himself now, so on his first day this is how he got ready…

The second day, I let him pick out his shorts and I got to pick the shirt. He seems to really like his teacher and class.

Cole turned 2; and he is learning so fast. He copies everything we say and adds his own flare to it. It is so fun to listen and watch his personality come out.

Cole’s favorite person is his Dad and does whatever he does. He noticed Brian putting his hands in his pockets.

We got our pool done right at the very end of June and Cole has loved it.

Cole got his first real cut. Right near his eye.

Cole’s most recent picture. Being excited before church. He likes going to nursery now and loves Sister Musser (one of the nursery leaders).

Will is really starting to interact with people now. He has such a cute smile and deep dark eyes. He started on baby foods about a month ago. He likes them, can you tell…

He is also starting to do really well sitting up by himself.

Will’s most recent picture. It was his first time wearing actual church clothes. They made him look so old.

Last week, Brian and I had our fourth anniversary. It was a great day. Brian has always been the best gift giver. His gifts are always so thoughtful. When I woke up (about 6:30, he had already been up with both boys for an hour) I came out to the table and found that Brian had laid out personalized cards of the things he loved about me.

Later that night, while my Mom watched our boys, we went to the Wynn Buffet and then to see Le Reve. It was a great night.

We went to Newport with the Harris’ and the Smiths’. It was a lot of fun. We all stayed in Rachel and Josh’s condo.

One of the days we went to Disneyland.

As we were all walking into the park, Cole and Maddie held hands. It was so cute.

Rachel and Will. I know Will’s hat didn’t match his outfit but it sure beat him getting a sunburn.

This was on our first ride, which was Pirates. Cole was scared but liked it, Will also liked it which surprised me.

Our family was talking about who was what characters and we decided Cole is most like Nemo (which is also his favorite character) It was nice of Rachel to buy him a Nemo hat.

The next day, while the men went golfing, we had a little picnic outside Rachel and Josh’s condo. It just so happened that it was all orange food.

Also, Will is getting a lot stronger and is somehow able to hold up his heavy head. He is now able to sit in the Bumbo chair. It is not his favorite thing, but it keeps him happy for a few minutes.

I have a few more fun photos to share, but Brian is out of town with the camera, so I will post them later.

Also a little update on the boys…

Cole has been saying so many more words lately and is also learning his colors. He also poses for maybe a second when I ask him to say “Cheese.” These are a few of those pictures…

Cole loves water. He knows how to climb up our bar stools and get on the counter, so I tell him the only time I will let him up there is when I can be there. I also felt a lot more comfortable with his feet in the sink so he wouldn’t stand up on the counter and fall, so this is how it started…

And this is how it ended…

Will is getting bigger each day. He is such a sweet boy. The only thing we are really working on right now is letting him cry himself to sleep. I hate it.

Here are a couple of new pictures of him.

Saturdays are Brian’s gardening and fix things days. This last Saturday, he had Cole help him fix the water pipes? outside. Here they are together…

Cole sure is a funny boy. He knows how to please a crowd. The other day he put Brian’s shoes on and I thought it looked funny, so I asked him to smile for me. This is what I got.

Will is a little different then Cole when it comes to rowdy-ness (is that a word?) He prefers softer voices and people. Poor boy has a loud mother so that doesn’t really work well when I am feeding him and trying to show excitement for Cole. We are working on it. Meanwhile, he loves people who are soft with him, like Grandma Tobler. She softly rocked him back and forth in her hands and h fell asleep (which never happens).

I also like this one of Will and Brian. Sorry about the red eyes on Will, it looked funny when I made them black since he wasn’t facing right on.

Also on a side note; I had seen lots of diaper cakes before and thought they were adorable, so for my cousins bay shower, I made one. This was the result.