Blogging Sabbatical

We're back from our unintentional blogging sabbatical. After finally making the decision to go private, I had not taken the time to go through with it until now. So here is what we have done in the meantime...

We planted our garden...

And learned what happens when you "whack" a tomato plant with a shovel...

We made strawberry jam...

We learned to swim (or at least got a little better this year)...

We cooled off from the heat....

And felt the sand in our toes...

We watched a home town parade and are still eating the taffy...

We lit a "$20 dollar bill on fire" (that is what Brad calls fireworks :)....

And went to another Bees game....
And we had a good time with family and friends.
That's the condensed version and hopefully I'll be able to stay caught up on my posting for the rest of the summer.

Here are a few funny Owenisms from the past few weeks...

Me: I'm not grumpy.
Owen: You are grumpy Mommy and that's a lie.

Saying his prayers "And bless that Mason's Grandma will go home so I can play with him today."

Throwing a penny in a fountain "I wish that Sam's diapers weren't so stinky."

Telling Owen that Trevor's Grandma is Grandma Green, "Tomorrow will she be Grandma Pink?"

I still have a few more things to catch up on for the month and a couple of tags to do so I may even post a few more times this week. At least I got a pretty good start today.

Going Private

Brad and I have discussed making our blog private for a long time now. As most of you know, Brad does most of his business online and we have recently been contacted at home by some of his customers. His parents even received a call late one Sunday night with questions about product they had ordered online! If you type Brad's name into a search engine, both our blog and his business contacts come up. So needless to say, it is time to take precautionary measures to keep our personal life private.
We have loved catching up with family and old friends through blogging and hope that our decision doesn't change that. Please post your e-mail on our comments and we'll be happy to include any one who is interested. Thanks for your understanding!

Catching up

We have had a crazy couple of weeks around the Auernig house and I've haven't blogged about a couple of milestones. Brace yourselves, this will probably prove to be a long post!

First of all, Sam had is first hair cut. He has been sporting a semi-curly mullet the past few months and we decided it was time to take care of it.

Business up front, party in the back!!
Before
After

I'm happy to report that not a tear was shed in the whole process. We love Leah! She cuts Brad's, Owen's and now Sam's hair. He looks so big with his wispy baby hair gone!

Also, Owen graduated his first year of preschool this past Thursday. He has had such a fun year and is very excited to go back for his second year of preschool in the fall. During his program, they called each child up to receive their certificate and a little book. His teachers had asked the kids a few questions about their favorite things and what they wanted to be when they grow up. Here's the video:

That's right folks! Our son wants to be a bat when he grows up! Not Batman, just a bat. We aren't sure what that is about but whatever floats your boat right?!?

In preschool programs past, Owen doesn't want much to do with the singing and has preferred doing tricks in front of the row of kids. (He is the second to youngest child in his class.)The Christmas program was held in the Primary Room of his teachers' ward building. There was a picture of Christ on the back wall and Owen made the decision to turn around and "sing to Jesus." The majority of the pictures and video we have from that production are of the back of Owen's head. Needless to say he did so much better for graduation. He actually participated and stayed in his chair for most of the hour long program. Here's his favorite song, in which he is appropriately holding up a picture of a monkey:

Owen with Mrs. Jenn & Mrs. Louise. They have been such great teachers!

Over Memorial Day, we were able to relax at the Farm. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire, took naps, and watched movies while it rained.

Pop-pop and the boys at cemetery. Owen was on a mission to leave a pine cone on every head stone.

Sam loved the horse in my parents' backyard.

Grandma Cindy Price and Owen planting giant sunflowers.

While at the farm, Owen decided to open his own store selling miscellaneous stuff from around the house. Sam couldn't resist Owen's little display and had to touch everything. Owen was getting so frustrated with him and yelled for me to "Come get Sam. He's not buying anything. He's just stealing." I love the funny things those two come up with!

Happy Birthday Owen!!

It's official. Our Owen is no longer a toddler. On the 15th, Owen turned 4 years old. I can not even describe how fast the past few years have gone. I feel like I blinked and now our baby boy is in preschool. (I'm sure all of the mom's out there reading this are hearing me on this one.) I will always remember holding him on the wee hours of the morning the day he was born and feeling so overwhelmed that I could love something so much so quickly. Owen has been a joy from the minute he came into this world. In one second, he helped me become who I have always wanted to be. A mommy. Owen's mommy. Sam's mommy. I am forever changed by our sweet little boys.

Owen has a great sense of humor & keeps us laughing every day. He has always been content to do things on his own time frame. He gave up his binky on his own one day out of the blue. He decided that one day he would start walking and he did just that. He decided it was time to sleep in a big boy bed and he did without getting out of bed one time for months. When asked if he wanted to sing and dance with the other kids in nursery, he sat on his chair and said "I don't do that." He has always just done his thing. Owen has always been a talker. He said his first word at 5 months old, which of course was "da da." :) Since then, he has never stopped! He loves to tell jokes and will talk to anyone who will listen. He gives the best hugs and always tells me I look like a princess (even when I'm sitting around in my sweats!) Owen is the kindest, most loving little guy. We're so grateful to be his family.

Here are some pictures of the big 4 year old day:
Owen's first real bike!

Sam gave Owen the Diego Safari Rescue game for the Wii. Do you think he liked it?

Some good ol' silliness from the Auernigs!

The fam with the Lightning McQueen cake.

Owen & Sam finished out the day laughing and wrestling!It it so much fun to have little boys!

Happy Birthday O-Daddy! We love you bunches!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Baseball has always been a Price Family tradition. From my Great Grandpa who played for the Red Soxs to pretty much every aunt, uncle and cousin, we all played baseball. Now that we are older, we still enjoy a good baseball game. For my dad's birthday this year, we gave him tickets for the whole family to go to the last nights' Bees Game. It was so cold!!! We bundled up the babies and we had a great time. We can't wait to go again, hopefully when it's warmer!

Owen, Aunt Shannon, and Aunt Laurie heckling the players. He loves his big foam finger. He took it for show-and-tell today!Ge-Ge, Pop-pop and Sam
Sam trying to stay warm with his bottle. Cute Hadlee having a little cotton candy.
Ryan, Malerie & Hadlee
Matt & Heather
Me & Brad

Brad & Sam

Thanks for the great hoodies Grandma Cindy Price & Pop-pop! The boys love them!

Owen & Grandma Cindy Price

The Fort

Brad & I decided that for Owen & Sam's birthdays this year, rather than giving them a bunch of toys, we'd get them a play fort for the backyard. We bought it this past week (Thanks for your help getting it home Uncle Matt! :) and built it this weekend with the help of Uncle Matt and Grandpa Kurt. It took most of the day Saturday but in the end was definitely worth it.

A Day at the Park

Today was a beautiful day! A perfect day for a play date at the park. We went to the Fire Truck Park with the Butler and the Elliott boys. It is Owen's very favorite park. We can't drive anywhere near it without him asking if we can stop and play. He has been waiting to go all winter and he was so excited that today was the first day of many for the summer.

Parker, Mason, Owen & Trevor

It was so fun to see the five little boys running around playing together. I couldn't manage to get them all in one picture! So here is cute little Ian!

Staci & McKenzie

Today was Staci's birthday! We love ya Stac!
Parker & Trevor

Owen & Mason

Ashleigh was a great sport to attempt the slide with that many little boys climbing on it! What a cute mom!

Sam is a little small for the big toy except for the slide. He loves to watch the bigger kids & I think he still has fun just being outside. He truly is a big guy stuck in a little body.

Today it feels like summer is finally here. I just hope it sticks around for longer than a day!

Oh Happy Day!

Friday was a huge day for our family. After years of hard work Brad graduated from Weber State with his BA in History and a minor in European Studies. Words cannot express how excited we are and what relief Brad felt to no longer be under a looming deadline with the next project or paper. We feel like we are starting a totally diferent life and can hardly wait to spend some long awaited time as a family during the week!

This is how our kids spent most of the ceremony. A few months ago, we took Owen to my cousin Suzie's wedding dinner and found that a gameboy really helps a three-year-old pass the time more quickly! My mom just kept sending the games his way! He yelled, "YEAH DADDY!!" loud enough for Brad to hear when they called his name, which they almost got right. Brad J. Auering. Close enough!

Grandpa Kurt & Grandma Carlyn wrestled Sam for me which was a huge help!

This picture of Owen & Brad pretty much sums it up! So I have to take this chance to tell Brad how proud I am of him. He is such an incredible husband & daddy. He has worked so hard to support our family while finishing school and it has given me the chance to me a mom. For that I am eternally grateful. I can't begin to count the nights he stayed up to the wee hours finishing homework because he always made time for our family in the middle of whatever else he had to do. Our boys think that their daddy is a super-hero and I'd have to agree! I love you more than you could ever know Bradler and I look forward to what the future brings!