The Preschool Smile

I've heard about the "Preschool Smile" before, and I had been secretly patting myself on the back for my parenting finesse that Hazen had never developed it. Um, wrong. Please take note of this ridiculous little grin he has now taken to use for every picture we ever take! It's squinty, and entirely unnatural, but he's so stinking cute that I can't really hold it against him.

Strawberry Days Fun

This is the 3rd year that I've been blogging about Strawberry Days, and it has gotten no less fun. I love Strawberry Days. I love living in this smaller town where often, I can drive down the road and see someone I know. It no longer feels like a place we're just stopping off, but a place we can call home. That, my friends, makes me happy.

We intended on doing our family pictures for the year at the carnival. This idea, in theory, was rock solid. In execution, it was not so awesome. Can you imagine trying to get a 3 year old to FOCUS when there was so much going on around him?? Not so easy. So, after about 25 minutes, rather than get mad, we decided to scrap the carnival idea, and find another locale for our family pictures this year.

On Saturday, Jason and I signed up for the 5k. The last time that I had run this race was 2 years prior. I had actually trained for the race, but still really struggled. This year was a totally different story! I took 9.5 minutes off of my time, and wasn't even hurting afterwards. I was really proud of myself!

I went home and showered, and then Hazen and I headed back to the station to watch the parade. We were able to sit on top of one of the engines to watch the parade, so we got some of the best seats in town! The only downside was that it was really hot up there! Hazen loved watching for Daddy to march by in the parade.

After the parade, we had the PGFD yearly BBQ at the station. It was fun to be able to catch up with everyone and eat some yummy food. I always love Strawberry Days, and I can't wait for next year, when we're done with school, and can enjoy it even more!

Self Defense

About a month ago, Aubrey, her mom, Sam and I enrolled in a Self Defense class put on through Orem PD. This class was different from traditional self defense classes in that it taught more street fighting, and how to "fight dirty". This meant one thing. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I started the class thinking that it would be just ok, and I wasn't especially excited for it. However, after the 2nd week, I was hooked! Not only was this class a ton of fun, it was informative, and it was a great workout! They will be doing another basic class in a few months that we hope to attend, and then there will be an Advanced Class later this year that I'm definitely interested in! My Tuesday nights are now a little more dull without going to self defense with my buddies!

Mr. Handsome

A few months ago, Aubrey called me one morning and told me to put Hazen's Easter Outfit on and meet her at an Orchard to take some pictures. We were only there for about 20 minutes, but I'm blown away with the results. Look at my beautiful child!!

Sleepytime

There is one person in our household that is always getting adequate sleep- Hazen! I can't stop myself from taking pictures of him when he's sleeping. He is so stinking cute.

We had a big transition in our house a few months ago. We decided one day that it was time to move Hazen to a big boy bed. We told him that that's where big boy's sleep, and that it was a very special treat to be able to sleep in a bed like that. His first nap went well until about 30 minutes before he traditionally would wake up, he fell out of bed. It scared him, but after a hug, he was fine. I'm pleased to say that little buddy hasn't fallen out of bed since! I didn't want to get one of those bed guards because 1- They are really expensive, and 2- They are hideous. For the first few weeks, he would get out of bed unless we came and got him. This was AWESOME. Then, for another few weeks, he was getting up freakishly early. This was really irritating, because he would come and get me to come hang out with him. Then, recently, he's been staying in bed until about 8:30, and then going and sitting on the couch in the living room and quietly playing. He also goes and gets himself some crackers, which is pretty funny. Hazen loves going to sleep in his big boy bed, and I love my good sleeper!