Who's That Movie Star?

Everett must have heard his Aunt Paula and I discussing how big sunglasses are so "in" right now.

Oh yeah, work it Everett!

The camera loves ya kid!

"Friend"ly Visits

Last week we were very lucky to have not one, but two visits from two of my dear BYU friends. First came Heidi, Thomas and Reagan. Reagan and Everett had met before, but that was before Everett became so mobile. This visit was much more fun - for both parties. We began the week by going outlet shopping. Both Reagan and Everett scored some cute p.j.s and Everett crawled away with some great onesies. After an exhausting day of shopping and strolling, we spent Tuesday just chilling and letting the boys nap. But before they could nap, they had to play of course!

Reagan: Excited to play, oblivious to Everett's presence.

Reagan giving Everett the once-over.

You can just see the hesitation in that glance.

Little does Reagan know, Everett doesn't take no for an answer.

Who in this picture looks like they're having the most fun??

On Wednesday we all piled into the car, and along w/Auntie Paula, we trekked up to Lake Lanier Islands Beach & Waterpark. It was hot, hot, hot and although we didn't ride any rides, it was fun to see the boys in their swimming trunks getting wet. Besides, it was definitely more fun having two little tykes in swimmer diapers and swim trunks, along with the constant re-application of sunscreen, than just Everett and I by our lonesomes!

Everett hasn't quite got a handle on the whole sippy cup thing.

The real baby Einstein

Everett's starting on his own "bear" face early.

Uh-oh, he's going for it!

My personal favorite pic of the lot. So much expression in one little face!

Mrs. Movie Star mom with Mr. Reagan

Everett is one of three things: tired, depressed or checking out his pudgy tummy.

Reagan and his blanket.

I like a man who's not afraid to bring his blanket in to a waterpark.

My friend Cat, whirled into town on Friday and we got a chance to explore a bit on Saturday. We started off by having lunch at The Varsity, which incidentally I just discovered is the world's largest drive-in restaurant. How bout them apples? Afterwards we hit Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Center, where we took the tour (and yes, I gave Cat behind-the-scenes info that the regular tour guide didn't tell her, since I am the resident expert on the CNN Studio Tour, thank you very much.)

It's somewhat ironic to me that there's a "Saved" billboard in the background since at the time this picture was taken there was a street preacher standing to my right screaming about being saved and knowing Jesus.

It didn't matter that these folks were getting wet. It was still practically 150 degrees outside with 100% humidity. No amount of frolicking in streams of water helps.

A view of inside the CNN Center from atop the seven story escalator, which the the tallest free-standing escalator in North America. (Again, how bout them apples?)

Thanks for stopping through the ATL Cat! And may this be incentive to you all: The next time you're in Atlanta, be sure to let me know and just like Heidi and Cat, I'll treat you to a good time!

Happy Birthday Will!!!

Today is Will's (a.k.a. Dad) 26th birthday. Yahooooooo!!!! Everett and I have a fun-filled day full of fantastically fruitful follies. Well, maybe not THAT fun, but it will definitely be a day to remember.

And for those of you who are quick on your math/numbers feet (that would NOT be me), that means Will was born on the 8th day of the 8th month in the year 1980. Just imagine how cool it will be when he has his 88th birthday!! I'm already planning the festivities, and trust me, you are all invited.

A special birthday message from Everett:

We love you Will!!!!!

A Possible Career Choice

We think Everett may have a future career in marketing. What do you think? Check out that product placement! (For those of you who don't know, BB&T is a bank.)

And now for a look at some of the other shots we took before we got that one:

As Homer Simpson would say, "Doh!"

My Buddy and Me

Among other names I have for Everett, one of the most frequently used is "my buddy". As a child of the 80's, My Buddy and Kid Sister dolls were all the rage. Ok, maybe not all the rage, but the commerical jingle could really get stuck in my head.

My buddy, my buddy, wherever I go, heeee goes. My buddy, my buddy, my buddy and me!

Since Everett goes just about everywhere I go, he is the model my buddy. And since I've managed to post just about zero pics of me, and since I know I like seeing pictures of my friends on their blogs, I figured I was overdue.

And so, here we are, my buddy and me:

What's up with the thumb in the mouth? He's just started doing that.

Man, I'm always surprised at how straight AND dark my hair is.

He's too cute! Luckily for me, and as evidenced above, he loves to be loved.

Peek-a-Boo!

One of Everett's favorite things to do these days is to pull up on anything on which he can get his chubby hands. Here are some frame by frame shots of him playing a mean game of peek-a-boo:

Some of you may remember a video a few months ago of Everett playing his toy piano. He has since graduated to the big leagues and enjoyed putting on quite the show on Grandma's and Grandpa's piano a couple of weeks ago. Everyone was surprised by his skills, and the grandparents were thrilled someone in the family would actually sit down and play the piano (since they couldn't get any of their own children to do it)!

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

Maybe we do having a budding Mozart on our hands after all?

The Destroyer

We have now entered into that wonderful stage of Everett's development where he will slobber, drool, rip, tear, wrinkle, and play with absolutely ANYTHING we happen to leave within his hand's length. We also know that we'll be deeply entrenched in this stage for quite some time to come. But as we've only begun our journey into torn books, important documents that now have crayon markings and other joys of little ones, we find the following pictures pretty amusing.

We take the blame completely, as we should have known better than to leave the Book of Mormon study manual on the ottoman in the living room. Silly us!

Caught in the act and doesn't even care.

The look on his face is almost defiant, "Yeah, so what I'm chewing up a perfectly good book cover?"

The end result: A mangled cover that he not only chewed up...

but also ripped off completely.

Good thing it only cost me a couple of bucks at the BYU Bookstore.

At least we know his diet is high in fiber!

Where, Oh Where Has My Little Boy Gone?

We had a momentous moment in our house last week. Due to Everett's standing-up efforts, we felt it was time to lower the crib mattress. I didn't think I'd really care, but boy, was it sad for me! I can't believe my little boy is growing up. :-( He looks like he's being punished or something, but he really does like it!

Growing, but still grinning. It's nice to think that some things will never change!

Happy Fourth of July!

In honor of the 4th, I found this fun quiz on msn.com. Have a go at it and let us know how you did:

Do you have what it takes to become a citizen?

When immigrants want to become Americans, they must take a civics test as part of their naturalization interview before a Citizenship and Immigration Services officer. The questions are usually selected from a list of 100 sample questions (see at http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/English.pdf ) that prospective citizens can look at ahead of the interview (though the examiner is not limited to those questions). Some are easy, some are not. We have picked some of the more difficult ones. Should you be welcomed immediately to the Land of the Free or sent home for some more homework? Find out! (PLEASE NOTE: These questions are as asked on the official United States Immigration and Naturalization Services Web site. Candidates are not given multiple choices in the naturalization interview, which is conducted orally.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13442226/


(I got a 90% and Will has yet to take it. Good luck!)