A Memorable Memorial Day

 1 out of 4 boys looking at the camera...not bad. We followed a deer trail down the mountain.  It was quite steep.



So close to the city yet so far.



We didn't see anyone else on our hike.  Shortly after this picture was taken we saw 3 deer.

Holden and Marcus were troopers.  The boys love "hiking in the mountains." The biggest challenge was keeping Holden from jumping in every puddle/stream he saw.

Uncle Shawn carrying Port.

I think this is the first picture taken of our family of 6.  About time!

Rain. Rain. Rain. We had planned to go hiking first thing this morning, but the weather wasn't cooperating so we did some projects around the house. The weather briefly cleared up this afternoon so we loaded the kids and Uncle Shawn in the car and went hiking in the hills behind East Lawn Cemetary. It amazes me that this is the first time I've hiked this section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail when the trailhead is within walking distance of our house (in fact, I go walking every morning with ladies in my neighborhood and we walk right by the trailhead!) In addition to breathtaking views, we saw the cemetary covered in flowers, 3 deer, and a variety of wildflowers. The downside was that it hailed on us for about 10 minutes turning the trail to mud, which made hiking slippery and dirty (the boys didn't mind). As can be seen in the pictures, the skies cleared and most of our hike was high and dry.

Wonderland Preschool Program

We've been hearing Holden sing songs around the house like "Self-Control" and "VIP". We got a formal concert at his end-of-the-year preschool program this morning. It was so fun to see him act out the songs and to sing (he joined in for about half the songs). Great job Holden!

Holden Kenneth McCord is 4 years old

Holden turned 4 on May 18th. We began the very rainy day with his 4 year check-up. Holden is above average for height and weight and healthy (the doctor remarked on his strength). I spoke at some length with Dr. Later regarding Holden’s anxiety and other concerns. I need to keep a close eye on Holden to make sure that he continues to progress and does not plateau. Also that day we went to McDonald’s for lunch and then to Chuck E. Cheese (Holden’s choice). It was so nice to have daddy around for 2 hours in the middle of the day and it pleased us very much to play and observe the kids. It was especially fun because Chuck E. Cheese was nearly deserted.

I was looking forward to observing Holden at his birthday party to see how he interacted with the other children. He was very excited for his friends to come and I was happy to note him playing well and joining in all the activities. I let him decide what he wanted to do for his party and he chose almost the same things we did for Marcus’ party – a trailer ride and an Easter egg hunt (can you blame him?). In addition, we threw parachute men off the roof, had a water gun fight, blew bubbles, traced everyone with sidewalk chalk, and went on a nature walk. We ate pizza, sang happy birthday, and opened presents too. The weather was ideal and Holden had a great time.

Thank you to Erin for being the photographer!

Picnic tables in the shade.  It's nice to be born in May.

WW and David Robinson enjoying pepperoni pizza,

College roomates Kjell and Grant on top of the roof about to throw paracute men to the kids anxiously waiting down below. 

Kjell let the birthday boy join him on the roof.  Later I saw Marcus wandering around up there unsupervised...if you thought I was laissez faire, meet my husband Kjell.

Marcus caught the parachute.

We hung out on the front lawn for a bit while Kjell and Grant hid the Easter eggs.  Here we are blowing bubbles.

L-R: David Robinson, WW, Thomas Sims, & Holden McCord



I had the boys hold onto a rope while we went for a walk.  L-R: Daniel, Wether, David, Thomas, & Holden.  Andrew and Kittione were in the backyard playing with trains.



Weaving through our neighbors' yards.

Easter egg hunt! Holden spies one in the tree.

Holden and I decorated his cupcakes that morning. 

Port Nordmark McCord at 4 Months

Sweet Port is 4 months old.  At his doctor's appointmet he was 95th percetile for height and 55th percentile for weight (about 15 lbs).  He's contiually rotated from his swing to his bouncy chair to his jump-up to his exersaucer (not to mention the Baby Bjorn, outside airplane swing and his carseat), but he loves to be in mommy's arms the most.  Port has an adorable smile and loves Sundays the best when he is guaranteed to be held and played with for 3 hours straight by mommy, daddy, and many other admirers.

In the Johnny Jump-Up



Marcus pushes Port and helps him jump.

Fiesta!

 Our uber-creative friend Muffin threw a fiesta for her husband's 30th birthday on Saturday night.  Here are the pictures she took as we entered:

My Scandanavian husband pulls off the Mexican look well...

Muffin wrote on her blog: "We had chicken taquitos and chipotle beef taquitos.(we also spent 3 hours rolling them the night before) chicken enchiladas (thanks to Aunt Marilyn), 4 different kinds of salsa, including pineapple salsa, cilantro lime rice, black beans and limeade. Then for dessert we had a very moist white cake with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting and non-alcoholic margarita cupcakes."

Needless to say, we ate well!

Mother's Day

Holden will be 4 years old in 10 days. I was proud of him for singing in church today with the other Primary children for Mother's Day. I thought he would have stage fright but he followed Marcus right up there. Here he is singing "I Am a Child of God".:
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This is a picture of Mommy and Marcus showing Marcus' new fish Marcus' room

I made this my Facebook picture this week in honor of Mother's Day.  I enjoyed Skyping with my mom this morning.

Soccer Star

Taking a Break

Bring a few legos and Holden is occupied for most of the game.  WW on the other hand constantly runs on the field after the "basketball", which Holden did at that age too.  At this particular game I left Wether home with daddy.

Part of the cheering section

Go Leprechauns!  Marcus is #14.

Marcus’ soccer skills continue to improve, as does his running tally of goals that he has scored.  We’re up to 27 goals, folks.  I’m trying to teach him about defense (he tends to be more of an offensive player), teamwork (don’t steal the ball from your teammates), and sportsmanship (it’s a good thing when your team scores…even if you weren’t the one to kick the ball in the goal!).   On the plus side, he’s fast and aggressive but doesn’t push other kids.  He’s tough and has a good attitude too.  It’s quite a time commitment to be a “soccer mom”…what’s it going to be like with not 1 but 4 boys in the soccer program?  Marcus begins t-ball this month and Holden will start soccer in the fall.

Hill Billies

One morning I looked out in the backyard to see Wether and Holden sitting in their wagon atop a dirt hill.  Upon closer inspection I found them both in their socks with the wagon half filled with dirt. 

Passport Photo

Whoops...I chopped off the top of my head.

I spent way too long trying to take my own passport photo.  For future reference, Costco charges $5 for 2 passport pictures that are done within 10 minutes.  Live and learn!