Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Snow, Snow, Go Away...Come Again....NEVER!

Well, we officially got our first snow of the season (and I'm sure there will be plenty more!). We woke up on Sunday morning and there was an inch or so of snow everywhere! For pete's sake, it's not even November yet! Anyway, Kaden was so excited of course so he had to get his new boots on and try them out so we bundled him up and he and daddy went out and what is the best thing to do with snow, build a snowman of course. Kaden named him Kyle Cone (NO idea where that came from, he's got quite the imagination). So, of course we had to get pictures of him all bundled and waddling out the door and with his new friend, Kyle. Luckily, the snow melted by the end of the day but Kyle is melting a little slower. Kaden checks on him each day but soon, he'll be gone. My two favorite seasons here are Spring and Fall and neither one of them lasts very long before the hot summer and cold winter hit. I'm trying to talk Ray into taking Kaden skiing this year but he thinks he's still too young. We'll see...if not this year, definitely next year. How can we live in Utah and not ski? People move here just for that which is crazy to me, but they do.

Side note...just as I'm sitting here writing, Kaden is yelling from the bathroom, "Mommy, I'm all done pooping." Can I just say how GREAT it is having a potty-trained child? The road getting here was EXTREMELY painful and frustrating but it's well worth it now. I can't even imagine a day when we can just walk out the door with no diaper bags and not having to empty the Diaper Genie every week while plugging our noses. All I can say is that I hope Jackson wants to be just like his big brother and catches on a lot sooner than Kaden did. It's amazing the things that mom's cherish, like pooping and peeing in the potty. :)




The best way to end the day, a cup of hot chocolate.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Say Cheese

Just wanted to share some more cute pictures of my boys. It's been a pretty uneventful week. I just got done with my last work deadline (October 15th) until the January busy season hits so I've been able to spend more time than usual with the boys. The weather is getting colder and it's more and more like fall each day and I think it will be snowing like crazy soon and there's already some snow on the mountains.

Ray is headed to L.A. next week on a recruiting trip for Omniture so it will just be me and boys most of next week also. Kade has really been into Legos lately and I've realized that I really like it too. There's just some sense of accomplishment from looking at a picture and being able to replicate it. Kaden's creations are a lot more creative than mine, my whole goal is to make it look exactly like it is in the picture, by the rules, now I understand why I'm an accountant...it's all about rules and exactness. Anyway, as soon as Ray gets home and life slows down a bit, we'll get our pumpkins carved and get ready for Halloween. Enjoy the pictures!

I guess it was too hard to try and get it from hand to mouth so he just stuck it in his mouth and started sucking on it.


Kaden now loves having his picture taken so when I take pictures of Jackson, I have to take one of Kaden.

Kaden with one of his best friends, Grady.

Jackson loves his Baby Bungee!

Kaden hates for Jackson to take a bath alone, there's just something so sweet about brothers taking a bath together.

Another tub time cheeser!




Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Yes, I Finally Conformed...Welcome to the Balls Family Blog

Yes, I am finally joining the rest of you and creating a blog. I'm sure that mine won't be as entertaining as some of yours, but I've convinced myself that it's the only way I'm going to get even close to keeping a journal. Plus, it's a great way to share pictures with families that are far away or somewhat computer illiterate.

Anyway, here we are in Riverton, UT...having now lived in our house for over a year and having added one more Balls to the clan so now we have two Balls (no pun intended) boys and no girls. It's all blue and green in our house. To all of our Washington and Maple Valley friends out there, we sure miss you guys and miss the rain and miss the mountains, but sure don't miss the high prices of everything. Does anyone know of an affordable, beautiful place with a temperate year-round climate? If so, let us know and that's where we're headed next. But, I am glad to be closer to my family (most of the time), especially my sister and her two boys and my two boys LOVE to get together, although we miss all the family that we left behind in Washington. Who knows, maybe we'll be back someday.

Anyway, I'll post some of my favorite latest pics and then log off for the night. Enjoy!


Kaden (3 1/2) and Jackson (9 months) with Grandpa Balls who came to visit for a day when dropping Katie off at BYU - Idaho


Jackson loves his sweet potatoes...no idea where he got his eyes.

Kaden and Jackson...brothers forever.


The last family pictures we had taken...it's already time for a new one and I can't believe Jackson was ever that small.


Kaden's 3-year-old pictures.