Birthday

Since no one on my side of the family were able to attend the BBQ on Saturday after Trace's baptism, we had a party for his birthday the next day. He was spoiled again and very excited to celebrate the big 8! Liam was all too eager to "help" Trace open his presents. We ended the night with Trace's favorite chocolate bunt cake to help celebrate. Yum!

Baptism

For quite some time before Trace's birthday, we discovered that Kevin's younger brother, Josh, was coming into town with his family around the end of August and because she is about a month older than Trace, his daughter, Guinevere, wanted to get baptized in Utah since her cousins from California are all Catholic. We thought it was a great idea and tossed out that Trace may want to be baptized at the same time. Then, we asked Trace about it. He said "no" when we asked. He said he did want to be baptized, but just not with Ginny. We thought that was okay, and we were prepared to continue on that path until Trace heard his Dad and Josh making plans for the baptism over the phone. He said he changed his mind and he wanted to be baptized at the same time as Ginny. We made a few phone calls and it was on! It worked out that they both got baptized only 2 days after Trace turned 8. He got interviewed by the bishop and he said he wanted to be a member of the church and that he believed in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.
As we were preparing for the big day; I asked Trace; "What do you get after you get baptized?" (Looking for the answer "The Holy Ghost") Trace replied; "A new suit and a special towel". I guess I hadn't made it clear that those items were being purchased for him whether he got baptized or not.
One day I came home from work and opened the garage door when I pulled into the driveway. Trace happened to be in the garage filling up Raven's food when I pressed the door for it to open and I saw his little feet scramble as he was obviously startled. When I got out of the car, he said: "Mom! You scared the Holy Ghost right out of me!"
We did get him a new suit for his birthday and so he could wear it on his special day. When we were trying them on, he was checking himself out in the three way mirror and he said: "Boy, you ARE lucky Mom, I AM a handsome kid!" The store employees and customers all laughed.
When the big day came, everyone gathered at our ward building (which also happens to be the stake building) and we had a new member of our bishopric conduct and although he was obviously nervous, he was sincere and sweet to the two little kids he didn't know. My dearest friend, Cambria Young-Shore, played the piano for us and Aunt Chrystal and Aunt Shaunasee spoke. My Mom said the prayer and both Grandpa's were the witnesses. I was a little surprised, but Trace's foot came out of the water the first time so he had to be baptized again. Afterward, he said he brought his foot up on purpose because the water was so warm, he just wanted to stay there. He also told us about a floating spider that was in the water with him. He just was wondering if the spider had been baptized lots of times.
His confirmation went well and he shook the hand of each member of the circle. Such a handsome and respectful little boy. Afterwards, the Carrells had a nice BBQ in their backyard to celebrate the milestone of these two precious kiddos.

Josh and Ginny

All of the Carrell Grandkids except 2 were present, so we decided to take a picture will all 25 of them! There was even their only great-grandchild present! Left to Right, Back to Front: Braden, Hannah, Angelina, Kyli, Peter, Preston, Ethan, Cam, Emma, Emily, Guinevere, Cecilia, Sarah, (Baby Keegan), Lexi, Kaitlyn, Jason, Sam (holding Marionne), Becca, Izzy, Fischer, Boston, Trace, Daniel and James!

Build-a-Dinosaur?

So we found ourselves in the local mall on Trace's big birthday weekend and we walked by a store we've walked by several times before; Build-A-Bear. Without missing a beat, Trace said; "Hey Mom, remember how you said I could have one of those when I turned 8 for my birthday? Well, that's this weekend....." Followed by a big cheesy grin. Not sure how he remembers these things, but I do have some vague recollection of promising that one time I wanted to get out of the mall without the negotiation. I looked at Kevin and said; "He's right, I guess I owe him one". Since we had a little time to kill and the store looked pretty empty, we decided it was the right time to make good on that promise. We went in and looked at all the different kinds of bears you can get, including some that represent the good and bad guys of Star Wars and other favorite TV shows and movies of Trace. Much to my surprise, he opted for a random blue dinosaur. Not sure where that came from, but he was most excited! Then, you take it over to the heart station and they give your animal a heart, stuffing and sew them up! Then you can head over and give them a doctor check up, a bath, choose an outfit and clothes and finally, choose a name and print a birth certificate for your new friend. Trace was so cute while washing and checking his dinosaur! He looked in his ears and mouth, checked his heartbeat, gave him a clean bill of health and scrubbed him under the "water" (blowing air). When it came time to choose clothes, he had a hard time deciding, but went with a skull and crossbones tee shirt and roller skates. He chose to name him; "Sharptooth" even though he hasn't seen any of the "Land Before Time" movies. I thought it was so cute! The best part was when we got home, he decided that the dinosaur needed his own "bed" and then after he had "built" that out of shoe boxes and other things, he decided he needed "friends" to keep him company while he slept, hence more "beds" being created out of shoe boxes and luggage and even a toy treasure box. Such a sweet baby boy!

8 is great!

The second day of second grade was also my baby boy's 8th birthday! I simply cannot believe how fast he's grown up! Sometimes I feel like he's just months from moving out! Noooooooo!!! I'm starting to groom him to live with me forever....so far he isn't super jazzed about the idea.

I asked Trace what treats he wanted to bring to his class for his birthday and I thought for SURE he would reply with the standard "chocolate chip cookie" response, but he pulled out the request for rice krispie treats! Since you can't bring anything to the school that isn't store bought, Kevin went to Costco and found a large supply of individually wrapped treats. Kevin and I were both able to get off work and visit Trace as he handed out his treats. We got to see his desk and where he hangs his backpack, it was so fun! After school, we let Trace open his gifts from us. I swear, that kid is so spoiled! Oh, maybe not spoiled, maybe his parents just love every ounce of him fiercely.

His number this year is 19

Most kids want toys or video games, my kid likes to dress up

First day of Second Grade

For the first time in Trace's life, his first day of the new school year hasn't fallen on his birthday. Since his Kindergarten teacher moved into teaching 1st grade the same year he did, he was starting to think that every year he would have his birthday on the first day of school and he would have Mrs. Goodwater as his teacher. This year, when I checked the schedule, I was thrilled to see that the first day of school would be one day BEFORE his birthday! Yay! He was assigned the teacher, Ms. Martin and I reserved judgement because we didn't know her and I was just happy that the little bully that made Trace's 1st grade so hard was NOT in his same class, so we decided to give Ms. Martin a try. Trace was very excited to head back to school. He was going to be in a class with a lot more kids he already knew and lots of friends. He got a new haircut, new clothes and a new backpack. I took the morning off of work to go with him and help him know where to line up on the playground. While there, I got to see Mrs. Goodwater! Here's hoping that 2nd grade is a great experience for our growing boy.

Changes o'plenty

The day before Trace's first day of school and two days before his 8th birthday, he lost another tooth! Just in time for pictures.....sigh. He put it in his tooth fairy pillow and sure enough, she left him 3 golden Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in the pouch. He's getting be be richer than his parents with all this teeth money!

Dr. Swensen

Trace has been going to see the same pediatrician since he was born and because I asked for a referral, he's the same doctor that his cousins Becca, James, Braden, Emma, Lexi and Fischer all see too! Dr. Swensen is amazing and always remembers a lot about Trace and his cousins without looking at the chart! He said Trace is growing well and getting smarter and stronger every day. We always go to his appointments with a bunch of questions, but he answers each one in a calm, clear way and never makes me feel stupid for asking. Trace had his vision checked this time, a flu shot and a couple other immunization shots. I was impressed that when the nurse asked if he wanted the shots in his leg or arm, he picked legs. I guess when you have so little meat on your bones, you want the fleshiest part you can.

Solar Eclipse

August 21, 2017 was a rare thing in our area of the world. We were going to be able to see a full solar eclipse from the Northern US. I heard that such a thing hasn't happened since sometime in the late 1970's. When we were in Idaho for vacation, every gas station and store had "eclipse viewing glasses" for sale and they were pushing them hard. I think it was the only big thing to happen in Idaho for the last couple decades. In Salt Lake, we were only able to see a 97% eclipse, but it was close enough for me! It was dubbed by the news stations as the "The Great American Eclipse". So many of our friends and clients headed up to the close cities of Idaho to try and catch the "total eclipse". Since we had to work that day, we took a break around 11:00 and gathered outside on the plaza to see the monumental event. I gave Trace a good talk before dropping him off at daycare (ALTA Canyon Sports Center) and warned him not to look at the eclipse without his special glasses. He did pretty good I guess and when I asked him what he thought about it, he just said it "took forever" and "moved slow". It is the moon Trace....silly boy! On my office plaza, the husband of one of my employees put on a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume and carried a sign saying; "We thought it was just an eclipse too". Hahaha! So funny! I didn't take this picture represented below, but it was a good representation of what we got to see.