Daddy and Holden Talking

Colors

This is my first attempt at downloading a video - isn't technology great? Now both sets of grandparents can feel a little bit closer to Holden and Marcus, even though they live far away. Now, if only I could learn to rotate videos...

We painted the wainscoting and trim in our office white (it used to be dark brown) to lighten up the room.

Say Uncle (and Aunt)

Marcus and Holden were such good little boys while visiting Seaside last week. Of course it did help that their uncles and aunt pretty much entertained them non-stop (thank you!). Marcus loved to wrestle and ride on Uncle Joshua's back (right, first picture). One night I said, "ride the horsey" but instead of climbing on Joshua he went and found a toy horse, held it between his legs and galloped around the room. Uncle Tryg (left in first picture) caught a chicken for Marcus to pet and took Marcus swimming in the river but was a little turned off when Marcus had an accident while on Tryg's shoulders! We all had a good laugh. Kye (curly hair) carried Marcus around in a backpack and patiently let him touch anything he desired like tractors, tree stumps and huckleberries. Much to Bjorn's chagrin (blue shirt last picture), Marcus requested the Little Mermaid everytime it was quiet time. Bjorn was a good sport and watched the movie with him on several occasions. He also took Marcus swimming in the ocean while Kjell and I were frantically getting the sand off of Holden's face (another story). Aunt Emma-kate had to work quite a bit while we were visiting but still managed to win Marcus' heart in their one day together. He especially likes looking at the pictures of he and Emma-kate. Carl (not shown) came to meet his nephews one night but we weren't quick enough to get a picture, which is just fine since he is practically Kjell's clone. Holden slept "like a log" and enjoyed being passed around to many willing arms. We had so much fun, we're already planning our next trip to Oregon.

Oregon

We're back from a fabulous weekend in Oregon. Marcus has gone through the pictures several times saying the names of all of his uncles and aunt, although for some reason he calls Bjorn "orange". I have some great pictures of Marcus & Holden with Kjell's family, which I will continue to post.
Since I am very tired right now from a long day of traveling and unpacking, I'm going to let Grandma Ruby (Kjell's mom) summarize our trip:
"I’ll start with the highlight of the week and that was the visit of Kjell, Olivia, Marcus and Holden. My, what sweet grandsons I have, wouldn’t you agree? K & O arrived Friday afternoon and left Seaside this evening and they sure packed a lot into their short visit, and we shared many of the activities with them. While here they went to the beach 3 times (Marcus is crazy about water.....he loves it!), had a BBQ with the Smiths (Bruce & Linda, Austin, Mike & Melissa plus McCords), hiked around the place checking out the change in the landscape with a number of alder trees missing, rode bikes to the Mainline and hiked to the top of Carl’s Mountain, visited Aunt Erna and Uncle Perry, went to Church with us (of course), threw rocks in the river at Grandma’s house, picked blackberries and blueberries, baked two blackberry pies, etc. I throughly enjoyed playing with Marcus and Holden and getting to know them a little better. For me, the best part of their visit was on Sunday when Kjell ordained Bjorn as an Elder in the Melchizedik Priesthood. Through Kjell a beautiful blessing was given to Bjorn. Thanks Kjell, for being there and for being worthy. If Dad hadn’t had to work, he would have done the ordination, but Bjorn didn’t want to wait until Dad was available. I think it all turned out for the best."

Reverse Psychology

When Marcus wants me to quit paying attention to that pesky baby and come play with him, he yells "Mommy, here!" in his cute little New York accent while pointing to the exact spot he wants me to stand. Seeing as this amuses me greatly, I often oblige and go stand where his chubby finger meets the ground at which point he looks confused and keeps playing. Being a modern mom, it's not beyond me to practice a little reverse psychology when the situation permits. Soooo, when I'm carrying a diaper bag, my purse, my car keys, a sippy cup, and a baby carrier with an increasingly heavy baby all the while propping open the garage door and Marcus decides to discard his shoes and run upstairs to the playroom he doesn't want to play in until it's time to go, I yell "Marcus, here!" in my authentic New York accent (born in Long Island) while pointing to the ground. It doesn't work.

Photo 1 - Holden chillin' in his bouncy chair
Photo 2 - Marcus and Andrew playing with the hose
Photo 3 - Enjoying being wet in the heat

Beautiful Provo

What a week! Kjell's EMBA program began on Monday and took him away from us quite a bit. Still, he managed to come home after school and work and spend a few hours with us before beginning...the dreaded word...homework! The first picture was taken at a dinner on campus. Kjell will be in class on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the next two years. Anyone want to come visit?

The second picture is of Rory (our neighbor) and Marcus. They're watching the Little Mermaid together after swimming in the pool in our backyard. Marcus received a gift from "Gramma Juanita" this week, which he is wearing. It is the perfect motto for Marcus - "Monkey see, monkey do, monkey get in trouble too."

The last 3 photos are of us hiking at Sundance last night. The kids loved being carried around outside. The highlight for Marcus was being able to throw rocks into the water (of course).

I'm feeling quite rested since Holden has slept through the night for the past 2 nights now! He seems to grow daily (both in size and sweetness). Uncle Shawn has been staying with us for the past week and has been very helpful in holding Holden and listening to music with Marcus (and babysitting at the last minute for us).