Daddy's Day

June 17 - We have pretty much the best daddy ever.  Just sayin'.  So, we tried to give him a pretty special Father's Day.  He definitely deserves it.  I don't know if it was as fabulous as he deserved, but we tried to make it a special day.   With early church, we didn't have a ton of time for breakfast, so we ended up doing frozen breakfast sandwiches.  That was Logan's idea.  I think we did it last year and Logan insisted it it was our new tradition.  They loved giving him breakfast in bed and it was crazy getting off to church, so we had to wait until after church for presents. 

The kids were SO excited to give Daddy their presents!  It was hard to wait until after church.  They each made him a card and filled out a questionairre about him - Their answers were hilarious!  I'll post them below.  They also each painted him a rock - They picked the craft.  I gave them several options of things to make and that is what they chose - Paper weights.  They wrote things like "You Rock Dad" and painted them Aggie blue.

 

Opening his gifts - Logan gave him a Darth Vader book about dads.  It is kind of like a comic book and they have loved reading it together.   Rylee gave him a picture we had taken.

 

This picture.  Framed for his office.  What cute little Aggie fans!  

 Avery gave him a Aggie shirt with the new Aggie logo and Bronson gave him an Aggie hat. 

 They also got him a trophy card that played the Superman theme song. They love those kind of cards! And we do kinda think our daddy is Superman.  he does so much for all of us! 

Cute kids with Daddy

I don't know of too many daddy's who spend as much time playing with their kids as ours.  He is SO great to do fun things with them - play legos and Princesses, let them help him in the yard, take them on special lunch dates, let them tag along on his errands.  He really is the best.  He is so great with them and a great example for all of us and does so much to help me around the house.  Sometimes it hurts my feelings  a little how much my kids adore their dad.  I wish they looked at me the way they do him.  But I love that they love him so much and their favorite time of day is when he comes home from work. 

Here are their little questionarries and answers about daddy.  I will have to take pics of the cards and post them because their cute little handwriting makes it better. 

Avery's answers:

What is Daddy's name?  Darren
What does Daddy do for fun?  Play
What does Daddy do at work?  Fix someone's teeth
What are his favorite things to eat?  Chocolate coins
What does he like to drink?  Diet Coke
How old is Daddy?  2
How tall is Daddy?  Um...Big!  Giant Big!
What is Daddy's Hair like?  Black
How much does he weigh?  100 dollars
What makes Daddy the best?  Cuz I love his "hi-pad"
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Play Barbies and Dolls
How long have you known Daddy?  One hundred
Where did you and Daddy Meet?  At the Dream Hos-table!  (Logan was saying something about Logan Regional hospital, so Avery was trying to say that, but came out with Dream instead.  So cute!)

I loved cute Avery's answers!  She said some funny things.  I don't know where the chocolate coins came from but she definately knew about Diet coke!  And I love that she said he weighed "100 dollars". 

Rylee's Answers:
My Dad's Name is:  Darren
Dad is __ 02 __ years old - I think that was supposed to be 20
My dad is great at:  Soccer
When Dad was my age, he liked to :  Play outside
If you looked at my Dad, you might say he was...  Handsome  (I loved that answer!)
It would be cool if his name were.... Spongebob
His favorite color.... Green
Dad likes to cook.... Pancakes
When he's bored, my Dad likes to.... Play with me
My favorite thing we play together is... Play Princesses
I love my Dad because...  He plays with me

Logan's Answers:
What is Daddy's name?  Darren
What does Daddy do for fun?  Take naps
What does Daddy do at work?  Dentist
What are his favorite things to eat?  Chocolate
What does he like to drink?  Diet Coke
How old is Daddy?  32
How tall is Daddy?  6 feet
What is Daddy's hair like?  Spikish  (I loved that one!)
How much does he weigh?  175 lbs
What makes Daddy the best?  he's my dad
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Play
How long have you known Daddy?  6 years  (first he wrote 32 years and then he thought about it some more and changed it to 6...)
Where did you and Daddy meet?  Valley Hospital

Such fun cards!  Can you tell how much they love their Daddy??? 

We went to my parent's house for dinner.  My kids made similar cards for my Dad and I wish I had those answers, too.  They were so funny!  When we were there, I found the kids doing this - They were all laying under the apple tree with Grandpa eating an apple.  So cute!  Grandpa was also singing them some song about "you and me under the apple tree"  Rylee sings it now every time we go there.  So cute!  They have the best grandpa!  He would (and does) do anything for them!

 I tried to sneak some pictures without them noticing, but they caught me!

Rylee, Ethan, Gpa B and Avery

They LOVE grandpa! 

We are so lucky to have such great men in our lives!  The best daddy and Grandpas any kid could ever have!  Happy Father's Day to our special Daddys! 

Meeting the Fam

Darren and I both come from LARGE families, so our children are very blessed with a big support system of lots of people who truly love them.  I am so glad that they have so many wonderful examples and people to look to.  It is one of the biggest reasons that we wanted to come back to Utah after Darren finished school - so that they could be around all these people who care about them so much!  So, once Bronson was born, he had a lot of introductions!  The first people to hold Bronson after he arrived in our room (after Mom and Dad, of course) were his siblings.  And then he got to meet some more family. 

Just a few hours after Bronson was born, Bronson got to meet 3 of his grandparents.  My mom and Dad made the drive up right after Bronson was born.  I wanted my kids to meet him first so they were driving around in the parking lot and waiting for their turn.  They couldn't wait and I am so glad they were there to meet him so soon.  They do so much for us and I know that their family means everything to them!  

Bronson and Grandma B

Bronson and Grandpa B - If you can't tell by his BIG smile, my dad REALLY loves his grandkids.  I think that is when he is his happiest! 

Bronson and Grandma Pat - Darren's parents are wonderful to help us out all the time.  Grandma Pat was watching the kids when Bronson was born and brought them over for us.  Bronson is Grandchild #20 on that side of the family, but they are so great to do so much for ALL of those!

My little brother, Kyle, who is 12 came up with my parents to meet Bronson, too.  Unfortunately, the hospital had a rule that only siblings and those over 14 could visit.  My dad is a bit of a stickler for rules and so he told Kyle that he would just have to wait in the waiting room.  Darren took Bronson out and held him up in the window, but I still felt bad that he didn't get to hold him.  Later, my mom came back for another visit and snuck Kyle in.  He is really tall for his age, so he was easily able to pass for 14.  Bronson is very blessed to have TWELVE uncles and NINE aunts!!!  Kyle is the youngest uncle, but he is the first to hold Bronson.  Kyle is so much fun to have as an uncle - He is so great to play with the kids!

On Day 2, Bronson met Great-Grandma Pauline

And Great-Grandma Mary

And his very first Aunt!  Aunt Vanessa and her hubby Uncle Brian.  My poor sister Heather really wanted to be the first Aunt to meet Bronson.  She had her schedule all arranged so that she could come, but ended up having Bronchitis.  She decided she should stay away, which was for the best, but we were both so sad.  So, Auntie V got to be first!  Aunt Vanessa is the money aunt.  She loves to bribe the kids with pennies and every time we come home from seeing her I find all kinds of change in the laundry that was in the kids' pockets! 

And here are a few more pictures of Bronson with his brothers and sisters.  Boy, were they in love!  They wanted to hold him over and over and somehow he survived all the LOVE and hugs he got from them!  These were from their hospital visit on day #2. 

Logan is the best big brother any kid could want.  He is so kind and so gentle.  He talks to Bronson in the sweetest little voice and can't wait to teach him so many things.  He is so excited to finally have a BROTHER! 

Miss Rylee is such a little mommy!  She thinks she can do whatever mommy can do and she is a natural at holding little Bronson.  She really loves him....Maybe a little too much at times...

And sweet little Avery is just loving her tiny brother!  I hope that she still loves him after he comes home and she realizes that she is NOT the baby anymore.

Those were all the introductions while Bronson was in the hospital, but there were a few more a little later.  We took Bronson to Salt Lake for some newborn pictures when he was 9 days old (May 5) and he was finally able meet Grandpa Bill. 

And also Uncle Bradley.  I told him to make sure and post this on Facebook because the chicks would dig it :)

And the NEXT weekend, we went down for Mother's Day (May 13)and Bronson was able to meet some more family.  I didn't get too many pics, but here are a few...  Bronson and Aunt Heather - She was SO excited to FINALLY meet him after being sick with bronchitis!  He also met Uncle Jay and Robin and Ethan, but I didn't get pictures with them for some reason. 

Bronson and Uncle Dean - They were in Florida at Disneyworld when Bronson was born so this was their first chance to see him. 

Uncle Dean and Aunt Laura

He also got to see Uncle Jeff over Skype while we talked to him.  Jeff is a really great Uncle and LOVES his nieces and nephews so much.  I think leaving them was one of the hardest things for him about leaving.  So it was really fun to introduce him to Bronson, even if it was just over the computer!  

 
 For Memorial Day, (May 28) we spent the day with the Webber side of the family and Bronson finally got to meet lots more aunts and uncles and LOTS of cousins!  I didn't get too many pictures for some reason.  This is Bronson with his newest cousin Bridger.  They are just 2 weeks apart, but little Bridger is so tiny that Bronson looks HUGE next to him!  His cousin Madi spent most of the time holding him.  She loves babies!  He got passed around a lot and was perfectly content with all the new faces to entertain and snuggle him.  

On Father's Day, we got a picture of Bronson with his closest cousin on the Boman side, little Robin.  They are a little more than 3 months apart.  It is so fun to have cousins close in age! 

What a lucky little boy!!!

4 Years Ago...

Four years ago today, we spent the day packing up our condo in Vegas and getting ready to start a new chapter in our lives.  We were finished with school and ready to move to a new state and start a job and a bunch of new experiences.  After a long day of cleaning and packing, we got a phone call that my Grandpa had passed away.  It was bittersweet because it ended his battle with cancer and all his pain, but it was hard to let him go.  He is dearly missed.  Especially by my sweet babies who never even got to meet him!  This post is what I wrote right after he passed.  I'm so glad I have it.  Reading it brought back so many fond memories of what a special man he was.  We love and miss you Grandpa! 

Beach Geezers...I Mean Boys!

June 30 - Every summer, there is a car show near our home and as part of it, they do a concert. It is always an oldies band. The first year we moved here, it was 3 Dog Night and last year it was America. This year, it was the BEACH BOYS! I was so excited! However, as it got closer, it looked like we probably wouldn't be able to go. Logan had tball and we had some other things going on. We bought my dad some tickets for his birthday because he is one of the biggest Beach Boy fans of all time, and Darren's parents bought tickets, too. They ended up with an extra pair, so at the last minute, we went to the concert and it was SO GREAT! We had to go a little late and I was so bummed when we were trying to get in that they were singing "Surfing Safari" and we missed it! The Beach Boys have SO many good songs and I have so many good memories of the Beach Boys growing up. The only thing I really remember listening to when I was little is the Beach Boys and Elvis! And...for being so OLD (the 2 original Beach Boy members that still tour are 69 and 70 years old!!!) they were great! We had so much fun!!!
Darren and IThe parents - We all went together and had lots of fun! There was some Beach Boys mega fan that was sitting close to us. She was about 18 and dancing the entire time and SO excited about the show. Darren's dad went down and danced with her and I think it freaked her out! After the concert, she asked for a picture with him and the people in front of us were asking each other who he was because I think they thought he must be famous. It was pretty funny!
The Beach Boys
My favorite part of the whole concert was watching my dad! He was SO happy and having so much fun. I tried to get a good picture of him, but this was the best I did. I loved seeing him so excited about something! It was a great night!!!