Birthday Boys

March is such a fun month at the Claridge home. Corban turned one on March 12th and Isaiah turned two on March 26. We threw them a cars party and all of their little friends came to celebrate.

It was as yummy as it looks.

Isaiah and Corbans friends that joined us for the party. Siennah, Isaiah, Corban, Jaron, Noah, Drew. Missing are Maycee and Lane! :)

Corban enjoying his birthday cake. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Isaiah to eat his cake for the second year in a row.

Exciting news:

Corban started walking about a month ago and I love it. He weighs 26 lbs and is getting to heavy to carry all of the time. He says "ball, mama, dada," and you can rarely find him without one in his hands. Corban has 8 teeth now and enjoys eating. :)





Isaiah is starting to talk! Yeah, I thought that this day would never come. He repeats everthing that we tell him to say but is still working on saying it by himself. Isaiah goes to "school" 3 days a week for two hours. He loves going and it has been a great environment for him to socialize! Isaiah is the sweetest older brother. He is very protective of Corban and makes sure that he is not doing things to get into trouble. I often hear "no, ban." In the morning they jibber jabber for a long time before they want me to come and get them. I am really blessed to have them in my lives! We bring me happiness, joy, and much laughter.




We are also expecting another baby in late Sept. or early Oct. We are quite excited about this addition to our family. I think that I am the most excited! :) People keep asking if I am hoping for a girl.... and the answer would be no! I would be excited either way, but I already have everything for a little boy. If it is a girl her name will be: Elia Marie, and if it is a boy: Isreal Benson or Ezekiel Benson. We will let you know soon!


I have loved the weather outside and have taken the boys to the park almost everyday for the last couple of weeks. If I don't, I have two boys standing at the door saying, "park, slide, swing" over and over again. Plus, if I take the boys between 2:00 and 4:00 Sonic has their blue coconut slushies half off. I crave them all of the time. (Which is good because I am trying to cut back on my addiction of at least 6 cans of Diet Coke a day.)



Jake is very busy at work as they are nearing the end of the capitol building. It will be a great ride to see where life takes us after this next project.

Until the next time.....

Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story"

It has been a long time since our family has updated this blog. As you can see Brooke got distracted and has not been able to return to finish her story. Truth be told, it has been so long I'm not sure I remember what the rest of the story is, but we did have a lot of fun down in Mesquite with the family. I do remember that we had a birthday party for two of the kids, and that we went golfing a couple of times. Since then we have obviously experienced Christmas & New Years. We spent Christmas with our family in Rupert, which was enjoyable, and for New Years Brooke Aunt Nicki came to visit us. I'm sure that most of you know that Brooke has been really involved in coupon shopping, and that is why I believe she has neglected our blog. She really loves it, and has taught many others the techniques on how to save money. That seems to be important in these troubling times. After posting this blog I'm going to encourage Brooke to get back into updating this thing. One last note of interest, we just got back from a trip to North Carolina where we visited our friends Evan & Gina. It was a lot of fun, and definitely different back there. I thought it was the funniest thing that after an inch of snow all the schools were cancelled and most of the businesses closed for the day. I guess we just are used to the weather here. I wish I knew more about what Brooke's experiences were there, because she spent an extra week there, but I do know that they have great barbeque restaurants there. I do know that we are very grateful to have a friend like Gina, she is a speech pathologist, and the time she spent with Isaiah and us, teaching us, has really helped Isaiah's language skills. Hopefully we can continue following her advice and he will continue to develop. Well, that about sums up the last few months, I will have to see if I can get Brooke's input added to this, but I do know we have been very blessed. I'll have Brooke add some pictures later!

Wonderful Turkey Day

I have so much to be thankful for that I don't know where to begin. This Thanksgiving, Jake, the boys and I took a road trip to Las Vegas and then to Mesquite, Nevada to spend time with family. Along our journey we were able to visit with every single immediate family member on both sides of our families. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. We saw everybody! That only happens once in a blue moon and so we were especially grateful for that.


Since this is kind of my journal, I am going to outline our journey with a couple of pictures.

Thursday -
We made the trek from Rupert, Idaho to Las Vegas, Nevada. We left at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at 7:00 p.m. We pit stopped along the way to visit Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, Grandma and Grandpa Claridge, Great Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, and Great Grandma Claridge. Other than that it was sitting in the car playing, visiting, and sleeping.
When we arrived at the Luxor, we met up with my brother, Zach, and my sister, Tami, and their families at Little Ceasers. The kids were all so excited to see each other. We sat out in the hall and chatted for quite some time before we made it into Tami's room.

Friday -
We woke up and the weather was perfect for an outdoor swim. The pool was heated and so undoubtedly the kids could spend all day in the water. We went to eat lunch at the Rio and then it was nap time. After naps, we went to the Adventure Dome (Circus Circus). That was a crazy ride. Isaiah was not quite tall enough to ride the rides, but one guy let him ride the airplanes and he cried the entire time!!! We rode with his cousin Austin, who loves airplanes, but after that ride was DONE! Sorry we ruined it for ya. :(

Saturday -
Saturday Zach's family and ours went to this "Old Town"at Bonnie Springs. They put on a Meladroma and a town hanging. They also have a petting zoo and a train ride. It was definately only a one time adventure. During the Town Hanging show, Isaiah felt the need to swallow a hand full of rocks. I found them in his poop during the next few days (too much information, hu?) When we got back, Jake took the boys and put them down for a nap while we watched the BSU football game. I went and played poker, and it was sooo much fun. This is the only time that I am going to mention playing because when I left the table, I was up $250. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Treasure Island with Zach and Tami. (It is way spendy, but it was the best food I ate the whole time I was there.) We went to the Balagio and watched the water fountain light shows. My nephew, Bryan, loved it. His face was so expressive as the water shot into the air.

Sunday- The fun only gets better
Sunday we went to church where Jake attended when he lived there. The boys that he taught while he was the Young Mens President, were ecstatic to see him. After church, we drove down to Mequite to meet up with the rest of the family, mom and dad and Lisa. We had our Thanksgiving dinner a little early and it was delicious.

I am not done, but I need to go to bed. Will be continued.....

Swimming at Givens Hot Springs

If you are from Nampa and have nothing planned for the evening, there is this "HOT" spot we love to go to. Isaiah went swimming there for the first time when he was 2 months old and we find ourselves there quite often with our friends Morgan and Elisa and their new addition, Aislynn.

Jake with his little water doggies. They would spend all day in the swimming pool if they could.

Look at that smile! He is definitely not camera shy.

We are going to turn Aislynn into a waterdog also. Isn't she darling?

Halloween

So... I know that this is a little late which is not like me, but in this case, better late than never. We were the "Cow" family for Halloween. " Mommy Cow Brooke with her calves Isaiah and Corban "

This year, we went with some friends to Skyview High School to beg for candy. The National Honors Society passed out candy at all of the classrooms. We loaded up. Isaiah didn't really care about any of the candy once he had his sucker, and Corban fell asleep the minute we put him in his stroller. Enjoy the pictures.

Little Cows in the grass pasture.

"Dressy" Hair Bow Holders

http://www.dressyhairbowholders.blogspot.com/
http://www.dressyhairbowholders.etsy.com

Tired of your hair bows being disorganized. I make hair bow holders for the princess in your life. Each one is a custom, one of a kind holder. I can make these for your child using the colors you would like or you may choose from any of the pictures I have listed. Each dress holds around 75 bows. This is a precious way to organize your child's bows.

Take a peek and let me know if you are interested in ordering one.

The "8" thing I was tagged with!!!

Eight shows I love to watch:
1. The Biggest Loser (while I eat pizza)
2. Dancing With the Stars
3. Chuck
4. Life
5. Judge Judy (I wish I could say what she says out loud, but until I become a judge, I will just have to keep it to myself.)
6. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
7. Intervention
8. Lipstick Jungle (Jake watches this with me, too. He can't help himself. He is a sucker for chick flicks!)

Eight things that happened yesterday
1. I colored Nemo pictures with Isaiah
2. I read books with Corban
3. I took my kids to the park
4. I did 5 loads of laundry
5. I went to numerous different stores looking for these dumb storage shelves that I couldn't find. (Sorry, I am still a little bitter.)
6. Made pizza for dinner
7. Played "Settlers of Catan" with some friends
8. Played with my kids!

Eight places I love to eat
1. PRIMO'S (It is my number one choice. You get all you can eat Pizza, Salad, and Pasta and Isaiah eats free!)
2. Chapalas
3. Red Robin
4. Olive Garden
5. Sizzler
6. Golden Corral
7. Pipers Pub
8. P.F. Changs

Eight things I am looking forward to:
1. No longer changing "crappy, smelly" diapers
2. Isaiah talking and telling me what he needs
3. Corban sleeping through the night
4. Having a backyard that my kids can run around in
5. Jake taking care of the kids so that I can get a massage
6. Jake coming home from work. (I look forward to that EVERY DAY!!!)
7. Going to Mesquite for our family reunion in November
8. Meeting Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (I know it sounds funny, but I really can't wait to meet them in person!)

Eight things on my wish list:
1. Fit into my clothes
2. Get my Doctorate by 2012 and teach at the college level
3. Raise happy, productive, and self-reliant boys
4. Read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year
5. Learn how to be in more that one place at the same time
6. Have eyes on the back of my head so that I can see what my kids are doing
7. Have dinner ready by 6:00 everyday
8. Always be a positive person

Eight people I tag
1. Elisa
2. Amber
3. Mel
4. Emily
5. Roz
6. Julie
7. Staci
8. Wendi