Brothers

Tyler loves to lay down next to Camden. Here are a few of the shots I got of them together in the past few weeks

It's going to be fun watching these little guys grow up together.

Our Summer Vacation- The Wheeler Family Reunion

For our first Wheeler Family Reunion, we met up at this really old house in St. George(built in 1870). Alyssa commented that she loved the house even though it was a "little creepy."

There were some nice perks to the house like the pool...

 (although we had to keep a close eye on these two)

the rickety old play set that these two spent so much time playing on(the toddlers weren't allowed on it with out an adult for fear that they would fall off of it)...

and the tennis court that almost everyone got to enjoy.

 Mostly it was fun to get the cousins together.

 Alyssa and Robbie are always good friends when they get together.

Ashley and Lydia were best pals and did everything together, even when it was something that the parents didn't exactly agree with(like chasing a cat into an empty field full of sticker weeds with bare feet. That certainly wasn't their best moment). But they sure had fun together.

Tyler and Tommy sure had a lot of fun together, as well. Kennedi had fun with them, too, but we don't have any pictures of her getting in on the fun.

 And everyone took turns holding Camden, even the kids.

One of the highlights of the trip was our hike in Zion National Park. We started on the river walk trail. Those who were able, continued on up the Narrows. We had borrowed a hiking backpack for Camden, so we were all able to continue on.

We needed help from others as Tyler was too little for some of the wading spots and Ashley did not want to get her clothes wet. Fortunately between Daddy, Grandpa, Gawbie, and Uncle Bobby, we made it as far as everyone else. The water was freezing, but as soon as our feet were numb, we were great. Here is a picture of the Wheeler Men after the hike was done.

The reunion was a lot of fun. We are so thankful for all of the planning and hard work that Gawbie and Grandpa put into it in order to get us all together. We look forward to the next one.

Our Summer Vacation- The Tuacahn

We took a trip down to St. George a couple of weeks ago for a Wheeler family reunion. Since we were going to be so close, we went down a day early in order to see a show at the Tuacahn Outdoor Theater. This has been something on my bucket list for many years now and I'm so glad Danny sacrificed by staying at the condo with the boys so I could go. The scenery was beautiful.

 

 We saw the show "When You Wish" which had songs from multiple Disney musicals including Pocahontas, Tarzan, Little Mermaid, Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, Mulan, Aladdin, Snow White, and a few more.

 We had seats on the front row, which the girls loved. At least Alyssa did. Ashley didn't like it so much when the water started running right over the stage and the dancers started purposely kicking it at us. She can't stand having any wet parts on her clothing. She was glad when those water scenes were over. Alyssa and I agreed that those scenes were our favorite parts.

 

It was nice that it worked out meeting up with my parents so we could go to the show together. They were nice enough to buy the girls a treat before the show.

2 Months Old- a little late

So I've been finding it really hard to update our blog this summer since any time I sit at the computer, Tyler wants me to watch family videos with him. And when he isn't around, I usually have Camden in my lap(which makes it difficult to type). Enough excuses, though. Camden turned 2 months old on July 1st. We saw the first glimpses of his smile about a week before that. Baby smiles are the best.

This picture was taken on the 4th of July. We have a video of him smiling on this day as well, but it was too big to post on the blog.

While we were at our family reunion a couple of weeks ago, we had Aunt Maryn snap a few pictures of him. Here are a couple of our favorites.

 He sure is a good baby. He sleeps and eats remarkably well for his age. We still haven't moved him out of the bassinet because Tyler is struggling to move out of the crib. Our favorite moments are when he is well fed and not tired because he will look right into our eyes, smile, and make noises like he is talking to us. When we talk to him he will talk right back. We haven't figured out how to catch it on video, but it is so sweet when he does it.
Here are his stats:(on July 6th)
Weight: 13 lbs 12 oz
Length:24 1/2 inches
Up around the 80th percentile for both.
We sure love this little man.

Out and About

We are finally getting out of the house again. It's a new adventure with a baby and an always wandering 2 year old. I try to get the older girls to take charge of Tyler, but they don't always want to do that. When they do, things work out pretty well. When I need to feed Camden, things usually get a little tricky. The Lehi Library hosted a petting zoo last week. I didn't expect it to be much, but there were actually quite a few animals there.

The girls each took a turn holding one of the ferrets.

They even had this mama and baby goat and a pony. They all loved the animals and we even got to try out the new play equipment at the park(it was super crowded, so we have plans to go back another time).

 I also took them to the Children's Museum that we have annual passes for. Here is Ashley dressed up in her African attire.

Alyssa spent a good amount of time building this Castle/House. She managed to get a few helpers along the way. Even with the help it still took her at least 30 minutes.

It's funny, but the greatest challenge this summer in going anywhere has been getting out the door before friends come knocking. As a result, we have brought a friend along on a few of our outings.

Tyler's 2nd Birthday

It has been almost a month now, but Tyler turned 2. We celebrated by doing one of his favorite things--playing at the park.

Later that night, we had cake and ice cream and he opened his presents.

Tyler is so much fun to have around. he is so full of energy and says the cutest things. Some of his favorite things are balls and cars. He also loves to play outside, especially when it involves water. He loves doing whatever his big sisters are doing, as well. 

We had to take him to the ER the day before his birthday(a Sunday) which fortunately ended up being an ear infection rather than something more serious. Sometimes he loves to hold Camden. On Tyler's Birthday, Camden was 1 month old. Here are the two brothers together.

We love having Tyler as part of our family. Here are his stats:

Weight: 24.8 lbs

Height: 34 inches

Myrna Ginos-Beloved Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother

 

I've been trying to find some quiet time at the computer for the past two weeks in order to do this post. On June 6th, we lost someone very dear to our little family. First of all, Danny had the opportunity to grow up near her. He has told me many stories of going to her house throughout his childhood and the wonderful grandmother that she was. 

I had the opportunity to get to know her well while Danny and I lived with her and grandpa during our second year of marriage. I have many fond memories of coming home from student teaching and sitting with her in their living room and talking until Danny got home. We also played a lot of "Mexican Train" during those 8 months.

We moved to the Midwest after that and soon welcomed our first child. That was when the ice cream money and handwritten notes started arriving each month for Alyssa.We saw Grandma and Grandpa Ginos when we visited Utah, but that only happened once or twice a year. 

Here is a picture of the first time Grandma held Alyssa. Alyssa obviously had yet to learn what a wonderful lady she was.

 

 We also took this 4 generation shot during that trip.

 

When Ashley joined our family, the handwritten notes were addressed to her as well along with enough ice cream money for both girls.

We were so excited to move back to Utah again and be closer to family. Our kids have had the chance to get to know Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Ginos very well as we have spent holidays, birthdays, and Sunday dinners with them. They have even made it to a few of the girls special events, including this play that Alyssa was in.

 Tyler joined our family and Great Grandma was so excited to meet him and hold him. She also started to include him in the monthly ice cream envelopes. We took this picture about a month after he was born.

 When Camden was born, Grandma and Grandpa were living in their second home down in Arizona. She came to visit me the day before they left for Arizona and gave us a gift for the new baby boy. It was nice to sit and talk with her again and for the kids to all see her before she left. We had no idea that that would be the last time we would hear her sweet voice.
She came home from Arizona the day after Tyler's birthday. We hadn't yet had the chance to go over and visit her and introduce her to Camden when we heard that she wasn't doing well. We went to see her on the afternoon of the 6th. We knew at that point that she would not live much longer. We introduced her to Camden and placed him in her lap. She was unconscious, but from the moment Camden got in her lap, he calmed down and just stared at her face. We like to think that she was talking to him spirit to spirit. It was a very special moment for all of us present. We all said our goodbyes to her before leaving that afternoon, which was very difficult, but we feel honored to have had the opportunity to do that. She passed away a couple of hours later.
Her memorial service was the following Saturday. It was a very nice service and it was nice to reconnect with some of Danny's aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Grandma Ginos loved her family. She was always thinking of her great grandchildren and things she could do to brighten their days. She also loved music. She was a wonderful cook and taught me that the best meatloaf included everything but the kitchen sink. It was also much better the second day. We will miss her dearly but are grateful to know that we will see her again someday.

Alyssa's Choir Performance

Alyssa finished up her choir semester last week with a performance night. This choir is run by a lady in our neighborhood and mostly consists of kids from our neighborhood. Usuallyh there are a couple of boys, but no boys signed up this time so it was only girls ranging in age from about 5 to 12. The theme was strong female roles and included songs from Snow White, Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz, Frozen, and Annie. Alyssa's Solo was in the Annie song, so she got to dress up as Annie for the show. We didn't bother with the red wig. I did attempt to curl her hair, but it was driving her crazy, so we brushed them out before the show. She obviously takes after me because she really doesnt like to get dolled up. Here are a few shots of the group.

I really wanted to upload the video of her solo, but it was too long. This one is "Do Re Me."

She really did a great job with her solo. Really loud and right on pitch. Very confident. I was glad to have grandma in town to stay with the baby so I could go.