I finally gave in and cut Spencer's hair. There really isn't much to cut, but the ends were getting curly and the top was a little long. I took him to a place in town that specializes in children's haircuts. 
He sat in a car and played with an Elmo phone the entire time. It only took about 5 minutes, but surprisingly, he didn't seem to mind. 
Spencer looks like a big boy now! 
This year for Father's Day, my sister had a friend make matching ties for Papa Tom and all the grandsons. Tyler will be here this week to wear his with the boys. The ties turned out so cute! Thanks for the great idea Jill!!!
In the grand tradition of his parents, Parker had his first toilet papering experience a couple of weeks ago while his friend, Derick, was here. The victim was Karlee Rudd, a 19 year old girl in our ward whom the boys have a little crush on. She had crashed their sleepover unexpectedly so they decided they wanted to TP her house. They scrambled around to find dark camoflauge gear (Parker wore his church suit because it is a dark blue :) ) and then covered their faces with black and brown shoe polish. Once the backpacks were loaded with toilet paper, we were off. We staked out here house, driving past it to see what we were up against. Once we circled around and parked, we were off. It was fun teaching them how to quickly get the TP off of the roll and to throw it in trees. 
We were almost out of TP, so I headed back to the car while the boys finished up. I was busy taking pictures, when all of a sudden, Karlee's older brothers rushed out onto the porch. The poor boys froze like a deer in the headlights. I yelled, "RUN!" and started the car. Once inside the car, we took off and headed to Burger King to celebrate. The boys were so funny to listen to. It was all they talked about for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, the Rudds were good sports and were even proud that the boys had chosen their house to TP for their first experience! 
To celebrate Spencer's 1st Birthday, we invited our family and friends to Donney World for a little cake and waterslide fun. Despite being unseasonally cool, we had a blast going down the waterslide. 
One of the Young Women in our ward, Lindsey Hull, made Spencer an Elmo cake with his own little cake to dig in to.
Spencer loved the cake but ate it very delicately. He even wanted to share it with Grandma Vicki.
We ended the party after opening the gifts. It was such a fun way to spend this day. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us!
Happy Birthday Spencer! Our little miracle baby turned one on Wednesday, June 10th. He is such a sweet baby and has brought us so much joy this past year! He is crawling all over the place and pulling himself up to furniture. He finally cut his first tooth the day after his birthday. Spencer is my little chatterbox. He says mama, dada, night-night, cookie, Jesus, Bear, dog, yucky, stinky, eye, and ball. He calls Parker "Ahh" and loves doing anything his BB (Big Brother) is doing. Spencer knows how to wave bye-bye and raises his hands when he is "all done" in the high chair. He is still a dancing maniac and rocks out whenever he has a chance. He is in love with Bear and chases him around the house. Fortunately, Bear returns the love, even if it is a gross lick on the face. At his doctor's appointment, he weighed 20lbs. 13 oz. and was 30 3/4" long. It has been such a great year for our family having this blessing in our lives. We love you Spencer!
Sorry for the gross picture, but I had to post my most recent "Mother of the Year" moment. I was on the phone with my sister having a fun conversation and failed to notice this. 
Suddenly, mid-conversation, I scream into the phone. What is my first instinct? Wipe it? No way! Got to grab the camera!
Second grade came and went in the blink of an eye. We had an amazing class this year, both with the students and the parents. It was incredible to see the changes in the kids this year. They really grew up a lot. Parker is now reading chapter books completely on his own, doing multiplication and fractions, started cursive, and grew a couple of inches. He is becoming more grown up and also embarrassed by things that are not cool (like character Band Aids are suddenly no longer "cool").
Parker received 2 awards that were voted on by his classmates; one for "Best Friend" and the other for "Most Athletic" in the class. He was so funny because when we got to the car, he asked me, "What does Most Athletic mean mom?" I told him it meant best all around in sports and he replied, "Cool!" 
Two new 3rd graders! Joey and Parker with Mrs. Allison.
To celebrate the end of the school year, Parker's class had a party at the local bowling alley. It was the first fieldtrip I was able to attend this year--thanks to Nana Ann for watching Spencer! Parker's team came in first and he had the second highest score with 105. He definitely bowls better than his mom! 
One of my favorite things about summer in Brentwood is all the toads and frogs that are around. There is nothing like opening your windows at night and feeling the cool Delta breeze while listening to them down by the creek. Justin happened to find a toad in our backyard the other night and it kept the boys entertained while we sat on the front lawn. 
Spencer has discovered the fun in our extra bedroom aka the "Toy Room." While Parker was at school the other day, Spencer sat in front of the closed door to the toy room and threw a fit. Nothing would distract him. He wanted in...now! I finally gave in and as I opened the door, Spencer gave the most evil little giggle. He knew exactly what he was doing and that he was getting to play with his big brother's forbidden toys. He went straight for the Bakugan balls and cards--Parker's absolute favorites. When he was done playing with those, he grabbed the self inflating whoopee cushion, another of Parker's current favorites. I must admit, it was a lot of fun and I felt like we were getting away with something! :) 
We had our most recent pack meeting out at Camp Fetterman, the infamous location for our Father and Sons outing each May. Parker was so excited to take me on a tour of the property. He showed me everything I have been hearing about for the past 4 years. Before the campfire began, we showed Spencer the animals. We learned very quickly that he doesn't like horses. Just look at how he is gripping Justin's shirt.
According to Parker, the two best things about Camp Fetterman are the campfire and the zip line. 
Even Spencie took a turn on the zip line with Daddy's help.
The sunset was just beautiful on our way home. Justin pulled over so I could get a few shots of the view. It was an amazing summer evening and the Brentwood corn was just starting to grow. 
I am sure that when you think of Mother's Day you think of flowers, chocolates, breakfast in bed, etc., etc. Well, my husband nearly died when he came home with this. 
In the 11 years we've been together, Justin has done an exceptional job as a gift giver. I think it was his one saving grace that kept this sleep deprived mom from becoming the next woman portrayed on the Oxygen series "Snapped." He had decided to go run some "errands" aka Mother's Day shopping. I stayed home with the kids, excited as I imagined what he might be getting me. Several hours pass, and I am ready for him to come home so I call to check in on him. Before we hang up, I jokingly add, "And make sure it isn't an animal!" He sounds flustered and I begin to panic. For 15 minutes I wait at the front window and sure enough, Justin pulls up and proceeds to get an aquarium out. Lucky for him, I had the baby locks set and he couldn't get in. He turned back around and left to try and return it. Long story short, he can't return the lizard, the oldest child cries about us selling the lizard on Craigslist and the lizard now becomes an early Father's Day gift. I can laugh about it now, but it took about 24 hours to get to this point. Parker learned a very valuable lesson that day about what not to get your wife for Mother's Day. I ended up having a wonderful day with my boys and got the best present of all--a nap!
The entire 2nd grade at Parker's school recently put on a musical about dinosaurs called "Dinomotion." It was full of fun and silly songs. The best part was watching Parker's embarrassed face the entire time. He made the cutest faces! Spencer loved the music and danced throughout the performance.
