NO TRAINING WHEELS!!! AND NO STRIPES!!!

WE FINALLY FIXED RILEY'S BIKE TODAY, AND HE'S BEEN BEGGING US TO TAKE THE TRAINING WHEELS OFF SO WE DID. IT'S LIKE THIS KID HAS FOUND NEW FREEDOM! HE JUST SOARS ON THIS BIKE, AND LOVES TO CHALLENGE A RACE WITH ANY OTHER KID (OR ADULT) WHO HAPPENS TO BE OUT ON THEIR BIKE TOO :)

AND NO STRIPES! WE PAINTED THE ZEBRA STRIPES ON OUR HOUSE AND IT LOOKS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER (SEE PICTURE IN PAST POST). THE FUNNY THING IS, THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW FINALLY TELLING US HOW AWFUL THEY THOUGHT IT LOOKED, NOW THAT IT'S FIXED :)

WHEN SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO, SHE STICKS OUT HER TONGUE. CHECK OUT THAT HUGE BELLY!

BEN AND RILEY HAD A GREAT TIME HAVING SOME MAN BONDING ON THE TRACTOR. YOU COULD TELL RILEY FELT PRETTY COOL BEING IN THEIR, AND YOU COULD TELL BEN FELT PRETTY AWESOME OPERATING THIS BIG MANLY TRACTOR :)

A WONDERFUL WEEKEND

Riley turned 4 yesterday! This year he's old enough to really understand the concept of a birthday party, so we had a big party for him and invited a bunch of family and friends to play with us on a big waterslide. It was such a blast...I think everyone had a really good time and it was so fun to see everyone having fun! The waterslide is huge and fast and the best part was watching people pick their wedgies at the bottom :)

Riley seems to really enjoy wearing water accessories, even when they are not necessary. We got him a blow up pool for his birthday so my mom bought him a bunch of pool toys including these goggles, which he enjoys very much and is wearing at this very moment while I'm typing this blog, even though we are just hanging out in our living room.

These are our buddies Brian and Jackson. They had fun too! But at the very end of the party, somehow Jackson (who is Riley's age) fell and broke his leg. He is such a cute little guy and we feel so bad that this happened to him, but he is such a trooper and is doing okay. Luckily the hospital is really close so he was able to get some help quickly.

Riley and his uncle Sam (my brother), getting ready to race down. Sam is the best uncle ever, and always gives Riley little toys and treats. He plays with Riley and is such a sweetie :)

Riley and his cousin Kortely (that's Jackson behind them) running up the hill ready for another round!

When Riley was opening his presents, he was acting kind of antsy and sort of just pulling things out of bags and dropping them on the ground like he was in a hurry and couldn't focus. I realized after watching him dance around a little that he had to go to the bathroom REALLY bad but just didn't want to tell us because then he'd have to take time out from all the fun! This kid got a HAUL this year!

I love how little boys latch onto the idea of Superheros. And Spiderman is one that just never seems to go away through the generations. Well, I guess a Spiderman phase is a rite of passage for lots of boys :) Us parents are just along for the ride! I can't believe I didn't get a picture of his Spiderman cake.Malia has an impressive string of drool! Another wonderful part of the weekend was my mom visiting us for a few days. We were originally planning on driving up to Idaho to see her, but the more we thought about how hard that would be with Malia, we thought it would be better for my mom to come here. And we are so glad she did! We had fun and Riley really cozied up to her. He has changed so much just in the last few months. He's become more open to talking with adults and he's much more cooperative. He's always loved being with my Mom, but it usually takes a whole day for him to warm up. This time, it didn't take any time at all! I can't believe I didn't get any pics of Riley and my mom because they had so much fun together.
It was hard to see my Mom leave! I wished she lived closer, but I think I'll go visit her in a couple months. We had a great time going to movies, going to a nursery to get some plants and trees for our yard, and going out to eat. But I wish we had more time because I would have loved to go on a long walk with her.

And I can't forget to mention that Ben took Riley camping Friday night at his family's cabin. His Mom and Dad's ward was having a party so there were lots of people around. It's such a fun place to go! I'm glad they got to go :)