Pinewood Derby Time Again

Todd's car was called the "Silver Sliver" this year. He won "Best Paint Job". It wasn't the fastest car, but it looked GREAT!

Poor Todd biffed it at the Father/Son outing. He kept telling people he tripped and caught himself with his face! He had a good attitude about it, even though his was pretty embarrassed by the whole thing. He didn't want to go to school and face everyone, but of course he did and he found out that no one really cared much at all. They asked about it and promptly moved on to other things. A good lesson for all of us ... we're, none of us, the center of the universe.

Todd is always sweet to share his old cars with Kate and Jack so they can race as well. He's a great big bro.

Amy's Wedding

So....I'm really far behind, because Amy (our niece) was married on May 9, 2009 and it is now July 9, 2009 ... but, hey, better late than never, right?! It was a beautiful day. We love Jono, and know that he and Amy will have a wonderful life together. No better way to spend a day than in the temple with people you love.

Sadie and Kate

Kate has the good fortune of having

a super-fun best friend. She and Sadie would spend every waking (and sleeping) moment together if they could only talke their mother's into it!

A Little Catch-Up on Jack

Jack is growing up so quickly. He spends most of his day outside jumping on the tramp, catching bugs, and riding his bike. He is expecially thrilled with his bike this summer. We have to watch him like a hawk. He tends to "disappear" up the street if we don't specifically tell him to stay in the back yard. YIKES!

He is such a special, fun, sweet and opinionated little man! Most of the time he keeps us laughing -- but he does have a streak of independence which erupts into a fit at least every day or so. Luckily Kate and Todd are old enough that they just put up with his "three-ness" and soon he's back to his sweet self again. That stubborn independence will serve him well in the future if we can help him channel it in a healthy direction.

Jack is so smart. His language skills are terrific. You can understand darn near everything he says and he can mimick nearly every sound now. He has come such a long way over this past year. This time last July he wasn't saying more than 3 or 4 words, now he talks non-stop. We're so proud of his hard work!

4th of July

Brad and I were asked to be on our stake's 4th of July float for the Rupert parade last Saturday. He was George Washington and I was Amelia Earhart. We had a great time. My friend Amber was Betsy Ross and we also had Elvis and three Iwo Jima soldiers on board. The theme was "Only in America", so each of the American icons was meant to represent something remarkable that happened because of the wonderful freedoms we enjoy. We won the prize for the "Best Use of the Theme." It turned out pretty cute. :)

Briggy

Every ounce of love, hope, faith, and prayer we have today is going to our little Briggy in Boston who is undergoing major heart surgery at this very moment. Thank goodness for the comfort of the Holy Ghost and the power of fasting and prayer, otherwise I would be a complete basketcase. I can't imagine how Juge and Stan are feeling ..... Actually, I imagine they're feeling the peace that only Heavenly Father can provide. They are two incredible people. I hope little Briggy can continue in a long and healthy life with this day as a tiny little blip on the radar screen. He'll probably never remember the intensity of this time. Thank goodness our memories fade. :) Hopefully he'll be able to go back and read about this time and realize how much he is loved.

If you want to follow Brigham's progress go to my sis Julie's blog. She's amazing, in that, through all this she is documenting and posting and keeping us in the loop. Love you Juge!!!

**Sigh**

So, obviously, I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon, but I'll attempt to climb back on! While there are many fun activities and experiences that have occurred over the past couple of months (end of school, piano recitals, baseball, swimming, parties and festivals, etc.) I'm just going to pick up from here and see where that gets me. Too overwhelming to go back right now. :)

The BEST NEWS ever that I have to share right now is that Jack is POTTY TRAINED!!!! (I think.) We've been working on it on and off since February, but he was not ready so I decided not to push. However, in May I decided that he was very capable and just needed to figure it out. So I promised myself that I would not put him back in diapers, or even in Pull-Ups ever again. Let me tell you something ... he went for 3 entire weeks and NEVER made it to the potty even once. I'm not even kidding you -- not once. Yikes. Let's just say I said a lot of prayers for patience and understanding and eventually (finally, last week) he came to me and said "Mom, I need to go potty in the toilet." I said, "Yeah, you sure do." (as I'm scrubbing the 1017th potty spot off the carpet upstairs). And next thing I knew he was in the bathroom doing it all by himself. As long as we're in a familiar place he does great!!! No accidents. The only time he's had a problem is when we're in a store or someplace where he can't see a bathroom. He doesn't like to tell me that he has to go because he wants to do it by himself. :) So typical Jack. What an independent boy he is. This stubborn streak he has will serve him well in the future. (At least that's what I keep telling myself.)

Anyhoo, major milestone at the Wilson house. No more diapers!!!!!!