Jack's 3rd Birthday

I don't know why, but I feel like he should be so much older than 3. Maybe it is the attitude that he gives me. I can just imagine what he will be like as a teenager, just kidding. He is a pill, but so much fun. We celebrated a day late, but still had a ball. We had family and friend over for a weenie roast and cupcakes.

What a cheese!

His first real bike!

Everyone was so eager to help him open his gifts.

He is definitely a bat & ball kid!

Visit to Philly

We just got back from our trip to Philadelphia. What a trip, it was great. Ryan rented GPS for our car so that we wouldn't get lost, but when you make two wrong turns, the GPS doesn't always take you the shortest (or safest) route to your destination. We ended up driving through West Philly, the worst part of town and people are so rude! We got honked at a lot. While it was a little scary, it was cool to see everything. I love the architecture out there. Ryan & I went into the city the first day and I was able to see all of historic Philadelphia. We toured Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It was so cool to hear all the stories about how our country was formed. I am so thankful for all the sacrifices that those men and women made to give us the freedoms that we have today.

Us next to the Liberty Bell.


Independence Hall. The statue in the front is of George Washington.


This is the Franklin building.


This is the court room inside Independence Hall.


This is the assembly room where the Declaration of Independence was finalized.


And here we are, freezing our buns off! It wasn't bad until the wind kicked up.

The next day we spent with the Cullens. This is really the reason we went. Ryan got really close to this family. He always said that he felt like they were the reason he was sent to Philadelphia. The oldest son, David Jr., just got home from a mission to England. It was so great to meet them. They are a such a great family. I felt like I already new them and we had a great time. We went with them to a Christmas tree farm to get their Christmas tree. Then they introduced me to my first Philly Cheesesteak. I have to admit, I was skeptical, but it was sooooo good. The next day we were able to go the David's homecoming, and Ryan got to see a lot of people from his mission. It was a great experience and I am so glad that we were able to go. I think the only bad part was the flight home. It took us almost 10 hours to get home because of delays, but well worth it. A great memory.

I think the boys had a blast with Nana & Papa. I am not so sure it was such a blast for them. Nana survived two days by herself with them, then Papa took over on Saturday and helped them build a snowman. Thank you Mom & Dad!

Conrad Update

For those of you who I haven't seen or talked to in a while, I thought I would give you the rundown on what we have been up to.
Ryan is still with Pearson Education. He really enjoys his job. We were hoping the he would get an outside sales position this next year, but it doesn't look like that will happen. Who knows, maybe it is for the best.
Myself, I am just running around crazy these days. Who knew being a stay-at-home mom would be so hectic? I love it though. Being with my kids is the best.
Brock is in Kindergarten. We had some troubles with his teacher, I don't think they were meshing very well. But they opened a new class and Brock got in, so he is now going to all-day kindergarten. He loves it! And he loves his teacher, Ms. D. He gave me a scare when I went to pick him up from school, he was nowhere to be found. After about 5 minutes (which seemed like an eternity) I spotted him walking toward me from the other end of campus. When I asked him what he was doing, he simply said "I was walking home!" He thinks he is so big.
Jackson is missing Brock a ton, but he is a good helper at home. I try to break up his day by taking him to the gym, but he doesn't like that very much and has gotten us kicked out a couple times. He is getting big though, he will be 3 on the 12th. He thinks he gets to go to school now.
Porter is in no hurry to do anything. He is 14 months now and still not walking. He is fast on his knees though. He just sits and waits for someone to leave the door open and he is gone. The boys aren't always the best at shutting the door when they go in and out. Needless to say, Porter has had a ball when he has gotten out to play in the water or mud! He is so much fun. He will repeat or I should say try to repeat everything you say. He is getting good at throwing a good tantrum too. He loves being the baby.
Ryan and I are headed to Philadelphia next week. It will be the first time Ryan has been back since his mission. One of the kids that he baptized is coming home from his mission, so we will get to be at his home coming. It should be a lot of fun. My mom is watching the boys, I don't think she knows what she is getting herself into. I think they will have a lot of fun, they love being up at my parents, they can run free.
Oh, almost forgot, Brock & Jackson are both in wrestling. They love it! I don't know how much wrestling Jackson does, he just runs around the room. Brock does really well though. It is the first activity that we have put him in that he really showed some interest in.
Well we are all doing well and hope you are doing the same. We love you all!

Pictures

We had picutres taken of the boys recently and boy was it an ordeal. For one, the boys never, ever sit still for more than 3 seconds and secondly, there was way to much going on around them to pay attention to taking pictures. We tried to get some group shots first, but when that wasn't working we did individuals, which turned out great. We were just finishing Jack's individuals when Brock comes walking up, dripping wet. He had fallen in the lake at the clubhouse where we were taking the pictures. Needless to say, we did not get those group photos. Taffy was gracious enough to come back the next day to try again. Thank you so much Taffy! I think she really captured the boys perfectly!

Taffy just followed Porter around while he crawled in the grass.


Brock, prior to falling in the lake.

Brock, after falling in the lake.

Jackson was being a stinker!


Brotherly love!

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Most everyone I knew had a blog, except me, until now. I finally bit the bullet. I figure it will be an easy way to keep everyone up to date on what is going on with the Conrads. Thanks to everyone that has shared theirs with us, we have really enjoyed looking at them. Happy Posting!