Jaxon Turns 8!

Today is Jaxon's Birthday. Yes, eight years ago at 3:38 PM (Eastern time) Jaxon made his way into the world. He was a much easier delivery than his older brother, McKay. I felt good enough to go and visit some friends in our ward down the hall from us in the hospital (they had their baby the same day Jaxon was born) the day after Jaxon was born.

Jaxon weighed in at 7 pounds and 13 ounces. He was 20 3/4 inches long. He was handsome from the very beginning. Here he is yawning.

Here is one of our quiet evenings at home a week or so after he was born. He looks so cute with his arms folded under his head.

Jaxon today. We went to Iggy's for dinner (Jaxon's choice) and opened presents there. Here McKay is doing the traditional "Heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head...."

Jaxon had just opened a Jedi robe. This kid LOVES Star Wars.

Josh having a turn "bumping" him on the head.

Jaxon is modeling the Anakin Skywalker glove he had just opened.

All the servers came and wished Jaxon a Happy Birthday and gave him an ice cream sundae.

They gave a sundae to Kayden too (all the boys got one). Kayden made a mess, but he sure is cute!

Eight Things That We Love About Jaxon:

1. He is very tender hearted and knows just when someone needs a kind word or hug.
2. He is a great dancer and loves to sing and dance to Numa Numa, his favorite song. Check out the video he took of himself below. It is well worth watching for a good laugh--the three minutes are worth it!
   
3. He has a great imagination and loves to use it while playing with friends. He loves to pretend to be a Jedi.
   
4. He is a great athlete. He excels in soccer, basketball, baseball and is also a Sr. Yellow belt in Karate.
5. He is a good brother. He is always fair to his brothers and watches out for them.
6. Jaxon is great at telling you whatever is on his mind. He is especially great at telling his grandpa that he can see his nose hairs.
7. Loves school and is a good student. He currently loves reading Fly Guy books.
8. He is a good friend to everyone and we couldn't be prouder of who he is.

Happy eighth birthday Jaxon! We love you!

The Utah State Fair (For Real)

We made it to the state fair this week! After our attempt last week, we were able to REALLY get to the fair this last Tuesday. Here are a few of the highlights:

There was a Shark Encounter Show there. Around the show they had exhibits that you could look at and interact with. The boys were in a shark cage acting scared because of the large shark right behind them.

Josh, McKay and Josh with the shark tank behind them.

They have an interactive area where you are able to work on a farm, and then trade in your goods for money, which you spend getting a snack. Here is Joshua and Jaxon milking a cow.

McKay and Kayden milking the cow.

Kayden planted a tomato seed. On the other side of the sandbox, he harvested his tomato.

Driving the tractors to the spot where they sold their goods.

There were cutouts of girls and boys showing that kids can be apart of the FFA (Future Farmers of America). Jaxon was less than thrilled that he had to put his head in the girl cutout.

Josh and Kayden. Kayden didn't care that his head was in the girl cut out.

They had a fishing pond at the fair that taught fishing safety and then let the kids fish for 30 minutes or until you caught a fish. All the boys caught a fish with the first five minutes of fishing. The fishing was catch and release (thank goodness). McKay was the first to reel in a fish. He was VERY happy about his catch.

Jaxon reeled in a whopper!

Josh was so excited! He wasn't sure exactly what to do! I wish I could have caught his facial expression in this picture.

Grandpa, Grandma and Kayden watched the boys fishing from the sidelines.

The fair would not be complete without a ride down the famous yellow and green slide. Here is Josh and I riding down. Grandma and Kayden were at the bottom waiting for us, along with McKay.

McKay and Jaxon got to go for a second ride later in the day. McKay is the one in red and Jaxon is the one in the middle wearing white. It was a great day at the fair and we had such a great time. Glad we made the trip back up. It wouldn't be the same with out our traditional annual visit to the fair. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for going with us each year to make it great!

Twinkie Mania

We had a White family reunion on Labor Day. As part of the festivities, we had a Twinkie eating contest. There were two rounds: one for kids ages 10 and under and the second for kids 10 and over. McKay and Jaxon did their best--because they wanted that prize of a whole box of Twinkies! (yuck) But they came up just short and lost to a second cousin, McKenna.

McKay putting his whole face into it and trying to get that Twinkie scarfed down.

Not only did they have to eat a Twinkie, but the Twinkie was completely covered in whipped cream. Jaxon sure made a mess of it all, but put forth a good effort.

The after shot. I have to say, Jaxon's face was a LOT messier at the end of the contest, but he found a napkin and put it to use before a picture could be taken. (In this picture: McKenna --the winner, Jaxon, Emma, Olivia, and McKay)

Jeremy participated in the second round of kids ages 10 and up. I have never seen Twinkies disappear so quickly as I did in this round. Jeremy was the first to finish his Twinkie and get his plate clean. It was a close contest. The boys were excited they were still going to be able to bring home a large box of Twinkies. (yuck)

The after shot of the second round. They were all a bunch of good sports. (In this picture: Jeremy--the winner, Matt Goff, Dave Goff, Jason White, Brady White, Keaton White, and Weston White) It was a fun afternoon and it was great to be with everyone and visit.

State Fair....Or Not

We thought it would be a great idea to go up to the state fair this week with Grandma and Grandpa Haacke. So we drove up to the fair grounds only to discover that we were a week early! Instead of just returning home, we went and grabbed a bite to eat and then went over to Temple Square and took the kids through the Church Museum. We had a great time and enjoyed all the exhibits, especially the "I am a Child of God" exhibit and we learned a lot of neat things about church history.

McKay is in fourth grade this year and is studying Utah History. At the end of the year they are going on a hand cart trek. He was very interested in this hand cart. When asked what he would put in there to take with him he said, "The TV and Wii." Good luck plugging it in!

The boys and a replica of a large ship that sailed the saints over from Europe.

The sleeping quarters in the ship that sailed to America. The boys (Josh top, Kayden middle and McKay bottom) were pretending to be asleep. Well, Josh and McKay were pretending, Kayden was just happy to be there.

Grandpa Haacke in the "I am a child of God" exhibit. We played while he took a snooze.

Kayden and Josh driving their magnetic cars to church and to the temple.

Josh working on "CTR" shields in many different languages.

McKay built a temple using blocks.

They had costumes there to put on so that you can act out the Nativity Scene. Grandma, Kayden and Josh were wise men and shepherds, I was an angle and Jaxon was the narrator.

Kayden taking care of the babies in the nursery. He was giving this one a kiss.

He was giving this one "pats" or I guess you could say he was burping the baby.

The museum had a replica of the original pulpit from the tabernacle. Josh is delivering is message from the pulpit.

Jaxon then gave his speech.

Following by Preacher McKay.

In a different section of the museum, they have a duplicate pulpit of the one in the conference center that was made from Preident Hinckley's walnut tree. Jaxon, McKay, Josh, Grandma Haacke, Grandpa Haacke and Kayden by the pulpit.

McKay, Jaxon and Josh by the Angle Moroni. This Angle Moroni used to top a meeting house in Washington D.C. It is about two feet smaller than the Angle Moroni that tops the Salt Lake Temple.
We had a great time at the museum. The kids were a lot of fun and I learned a lot and saw a lot of things about the early history of the church, the settlement and building up of the Salt Lake Valley. So needless to say, we didn't go to the fair, but we had a great time at the Church History Museum. Stay tuned for a post about the fair. I think we are going to try and make it back there next week!

Josh's First Day of School

Josh started his first day of school today with Ms. Sherri. He was so excited for school. He saw his friends and that was it....he flew out of the car! He had a great first day.

Grandma's House

Jeremy's grandma has been living in an assisted living center for the last couple of years. And Grandpa White died a few years ago. So the time has come to sell Grandma and Grandpa White's house. We went up last weekend for one final look around and to reflect on memories of the old house:

1. Grandma and Grandpa White coming out to the car to say good-bye and waving the sign for "I love you" as we drove away. (Jeremy's grandparents are deaf.)
   
2. Grandpa's all to powerful hugs that would just about knock the wind out of you.
3. Grandma giving her things to you if you complimented them. "If you like it, you can have it."
   
4. Grandma and all her many cacti.
5. Jeremy's family had many Christmas parties at the house. (I still marvel at how they all fit in that tiny house.) One year, Jeremy and his brother received Stomper Trucks for Christmas and spent the rest of the party playing with their trucks on the carpet.
6. The HUGE teletype that grandma and grandpa had for phone communications.
7. Grandpa teaching me signs that were naughty--he told me how to tell Grandma "You're crazy" but didn't tell me what it meant until after I had already shown the sign to grandma.

I feel privileged to have known and still know such wonderful people. They were great examples of hard work, love of the gospel and love of family. I know my family and I are better because of them. We love you Great Grandma and Grandpa White!

Summer Play Group

Josh has had a great summer playing with his friends. For one last hoorah, we took the kids to the Thanksgiving Point Children's Garden. The boys had a good time running around and playing and we also had a picnic lunch.

Joshua with his friends Dylan, Jared, and Kaden playing in the bear's den.

Kayden came along with us to Thanksgiving Point, he just wasn't as sure about playing in the bear's den.

They have a large Noah's Ark fountain in the children's garden that we let the kids play in at the end of the day. They were all soaked by the end (this picture was taken at the beginning). They were so wet their pants were falling off. Josh asked if we could go there again but next time wear swimming suits. I thought that was a good idea.

Joshua's friends Dylan and Jared in the fountain. Josh is in the background (wearing yellow).

It was a fun day! Josh is looking forward to school starting because all of his friends are in his class. He also is looking forward to more play group days. What a fun age to be.