Halloween 2011

This year Ethan wanted to be SuperWhy from the PBS Kids TV show "Super Readers". With my new job I didn't have very much time to work on costumes so instead of putting the "Super Why" logo on Ethan's shirt he got a big letter "Y" for SuperWhy. Since Ethan was going to be a super hero we decided the rest of us should be super heros too.

Jared was Super Dad and I was Super Mom...

Grandma Banner was down for the weekend and she dressed up as Bat Woman. Cameron was Super C (Super Cameron...but we ran out of time to make letter C for his costume).

We didn't do trick or treating this year. Instead we participated in the ward Trunk-or-Treat on Saturday night and called it good! The boys got plenty of candy!

They also LOVED having Grandma Banner with them for the weekend!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan!

Ethan turned 3 yesterday! We had a party at the park this year. Ethan had a blast at his birtday party and I had a blast preparing and decorating for the party. :)

Trying to light the candles....we only got one to light and the wind almost

blew it out before Ethan could.

Cameron quite upset that his ice cream cone ended up in the sand. YUMM!

Opening presents

Most of the party crew...

Thank you to all who made it to his party. You all made his day even more special and memorable.

ETHAN: Age 3

Ethan is really growing. He is 37.5 inches tall and he weighs 35 lbs. It is crazy to think he started out as a 7 lb. 14 ounce baby! Ethan is interested in motors, fans, and anything that involves any sort of mechanics. He loves climbing. He climbs up small trees, the playground and he climbs all over mom and dad. He speaks very well and can tell you almost anything with his words. He knows all his letters, numbers, shapes, and he knows the sounds that many of the letters make as well. He loves books! He also loves playing outside with his brother Cameron. Ethan has a strong will. He knows what he wants and he is VERY persistent. He also loves to boss his little brother around. :) He is generally pretty happy. He is particular about what clothes he wears. He always wants to wear jeans. He has his favorite shoes and shirts too. He always wants to wear a green shirt. Ethan is always lining things up in rows...he is very precise and has always had amazing dexterity for his age. Jared and I always joke that he will be our mechanic or engineer someday because his personality so plainly manifests so many traits that would lead to that type of a profession. Ethan loves to listen to and sing music. He always wants mom and dad to make up songs about whatever he is interested in at the moment. We have a garage door song, a blanket song, a smoke detector song, and many more. Ethan is obssesed with our garage door and every time we leave the house he asks to watch it open and close. So there you have it...a few things that define Ethan's personality.

We sure love our Ethan boy. He is so full of personality and energy. He keeps mom and dad on our toes. We love you Ethan. You brighten up our lives.

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

Grandpa Banner Visits!

Grandpa Banner came and visited us last weekend. It was so much fun to have him in town for the weekend. Jared was on fall break as well so we all got to go to the Phoenix Zoo together. The boys LOVED the zoo this time around. We paid a little extra for some attractions and it was SO worth it!

First we did Stingray Bay...the kids got to touch stingrays. Ethan felt one and decided that once was enough.

We also paid for a tour that took us around the zoo. Check out the picture Jared got of the boys! The best picture of the day for sure...

My HANDSOME husband....

The highlight of the trip for the kids was undoublely the splash park. Look at those happy faces!

We sure had a great time with Grandpa Banner. Come back soon Grandpa! We miss you! :)

Ethan Getting Ready to Pray

Thoughts

I have had a lot on my mind lately, about life, about what is most important. One quote keeps coming back to my mind, a quote that hung on the living room wall in my childhood home,"The greatest work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home." -Harold B. Lee.

I have felt an almost constant pull from the world telling me quite the opposite, that "just being a mom" isn't enough. That if I don't have degrees, wealth, world travels or a career that I have done nothing with my life and that I am worthless. I know these thoughts are lies to distract me from what is really important. I am sad to say I have fallen into the trap of these thoughts more than once.

With a lot of soul searching, thinking, and pondering I KNOW, once again, where I need to focus my time and energy. I know that within the walls of my home is where my heart needs to be. My kids need me NOW and I will be content and happy to "just be a mom"! I feel there are so many voices from the world telling mothers everywhere this same negative message. I want to be a positive voice letting you know that you are in the right place, doing the right thing and that you are laying the foundation of a GREAT work, a work that you may not see the benefits of for years down the road. Keep going! We are all involved in a great work! I am so thankful that God entrusted me to be a mother. I hope that one day I will truly become a great mother in the sight of God.

Website Launch

I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design about four years ago and had a goal to start a freelance business and get a website up and running that showcased my work. I know nothing about web programing or any of that sort of thing, nor have I had the means to pay someone to design a website for me. Having my own website seemed like a huge feat and in some ways it was. After four long years of constant setbacks and distractions I have finally created my own website. So may I present my business, Designedley (prounounced Design-Ed-Lee) by Marcie Austin...and my WEBSITE! Click HERE to see it for yourself. I am so excited to FINALLY have it launched.

Cameron is Walking!

This post is a little late in coming but Cameron is officially WALKING!!! Cameron has taken steps here and there for over a month. Finally he started walking more than he crawls about a week ago. Now he walks everywhere he goes. It took him a little over 14 months to figure out the whole walking thing and we are so proud of him! I am amazed at how fast the time has gone. My little baby is fast becoming a toddler...and I am not sure how I feel about it. Here is the proof.

More posts to come about some of our other summer happenings.

Summer 2011 Road Trip

I wasn’t sure how to post about this trip. We did so much and saw so many people. So at last I decided to do a journal entry from each day of the trip. Boring for my readers, but one of my main motivations for this blog is to keep a remembrance of the comings and goings of my family. So bear with me and you can feel free to skip the following entries entirely.

Our family started a 15 day road trip on June 26th. We traveled through 6 states and drove over 3,000 miles. We did all of that with a 2 ½ year old and a one year old. Many of you may think we are crazy. You are right. We are….and we will never do a road trip like that again….not while our children are that young anyway. So…there are 15 journal entries below, one for each day chronicling our adventures on our Summer 2011 Road Trip.

Here is a map of our travels.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

We left right after church today for our 15 day road trip. On our way out of Phoenix our air conditioning stopped working. Not good when it is over 100 degrees outside. We pressed on and finally arrived in Flagstaff around 5pm to gas up. After getting gas we started our car again and it made a really aweful grinding noise. We had someone at the gas sation that knew something about cars look at it. They advised us to get it fixed before we travled on. So we ended up in a hotel for the night. We took the boys to the park until it got dark and then tried to get a good night of rest. I was up half the night worrying about how much this was going to cost and if we would be able to travel as planned. It was a long night.

Monday, June 27, 2011

As soon as car shops were open, we called around and found someone that could get our car in. We dropped off our car at the shop and soon found out that the compressor for the air conditioner needed to be replaced. So we spent the rest of the day wandering around Flagstaff waiting for our car to get done. It actually ended up being a pretty fun day. We went to a teacher suppy store, ate lunch at a nearby chinese buffet, watched trains go by, smashed change on the train tracks, and checked out the old Flagstaff train station.

Cameron fell asleep in the stroller at the park so I set him up like this so he could sleep better. He slept for about an hour like that. :)

At last around 6pm our car was finally done. 700 dollars and a day later we got back on the road to Utah. Ethan and Cameron were both exhausted. We drove the rest of the night until 3am and finally arrived in Orem, UT. Thank heaven! I have never been so happy to arrive anywhere in my life!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

After breakfast we met up with Jared’s sister Jenna and her husband Dave for the afternoon. Jenna and Dave bought food for lunch. We drove up Provo Canyon and found a site that had a fire pit. We roasted hot dogs. Ethan fell asleep on the grass while we hung out.

We headed back to Janae’s and put the boys down for naps. It was a fun afternoon spending the afternoon with Jenna and Janae. Around 8pm all the Austin siblings, Jenna and Dave, Jacob, Janae and Jamison and Jessica and her daughter Austyn met up at a Nicklecade and spent the evening playing arcade games. After the nickelcade most of us met back up at Janae’s and visited until 1am.

Wednesday June 29, 2011

We said goodbye to Janae and Jamison last night. Sad. We ate breakfast, packed, and then left Orem to meet up with Jessica, Austyn, Jenna and Dave. We met at Ensign Peak near downtown Salt Lake City. The hike up to Ensign Peak was beautiful. Ethan and Cameron did pretty good. Ethan hiked along with his cousin Austyn much of the time. We reached the summit and the view was beautiful!

After the hike we all drove to the Gateway mall to play in the fountains. Our plans were spoiled by a rainstorm that came through. Jessica and Austyn had to leave soon after getting to the mall. We said goodbye to them and to Jenna and Dave. After the mall we met up with Jacob, Jared’s little brother, for lunch. We wished him luck on his upcoming wedding and then we got on the road and made it to Idaho Falls in about three hours. My siser Angie and her husband Ben and their daughter Abby live in Idaho Falls. We ate dinner together and spent the evening visiting.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Our agenda for the day started with driving to Rexburg. We took the kids to the splash park in Porter Park. Neither of my boys liked it very much. Sad. Ethan wanted to drink the water and Cameron just wanted to be OUT of the water.

After the splash park we took a tour of the new buildings on campus. It was fun to be back on the campus that I love so dearly. Jared and I met, dated, courted, were engaged and spent our first year of marriage in Rexburg. It always means a lot to me to go back and visit. We ran into my cousin Kaylee Banner and my cousin Jenica Jorgensen randomly on campus. It was fun to see them both. We found that hot spot to be on campus. :)

After visiting with them both for a while we headed back to Idaho Falls and put the kids down for much needed naps. We had dinner and then spent the evening at a park in Idaho Falls. Ben and Jared played Frisbee Golf while Angie and I played with the kids on the playground equipment. After the park we all went to bed half way early!

Friday, July 1, 2011

This morning started with more packing. We would be driving to Nampa, ID later in the day. Angie, Abby, Jared, Ethan, Cameron and I went to the zoo in Idaho Falls for the afternoon. The kids loved the zoo. Well, I think they did...Cameron kept getting frustrated that he couldn't touch the animals. He would reach out to them and then start whimpering because he couldn't touch them. We may have tortured the poor kid, but the other kids loved it.

My sister Angie and her daughter Abby. Abby is giving a tumbs up. So cute!

We left from the zoo to drive to Nampa. We arrived in Nampa just in time for a nice dinner on the patio and some quality time with Aunt Jennifer. :)

Angie and Ben were behind us on the road by a few hours. Once they arrived we all stayed up talking until 1am. (I must point out a trend on this trip. Going to bed before midnight was almost unheard of. No wonder I was exhausted pretty much every night by about 8pm.)