Clayton thinks he is so funny when he finds dad's shoes and wears them around the house. He even stops to look at his reflection in the oven and laughs. So cute!
Okay, so this is sort of a stupid post, but the freakiest thing happened yesterday afternoon. It was quiet in the house (Clayton was down for nap) and I was reading when I heard a loud squeaky noise outside. I ran to the front door and looked out and saw like 300 birds on my front lawn! It was so loud! I took these pictures. The weird part was that after they flew away, they went on the roof for like 30 minutes just walking around. I could hear their feet tapping and them fighting with each other on the roof. Yes, fighting. It was creepy. I just thought I would share. 
Saturday night Clayton decorated Halloween cookies. Well, he at ate more than he decorated. It was funny because instead of just pouring sprinkles on the cookies, he put sprinkles on one by one. We ended up spending an hour decorating a dozen cookies. He seemed to have fun though.
Clayton had these pictures done by Grandpa Jim last week. I couldn't decide on what to dress him as this year, so I bought a batman and a vampire costume.
Jared and I went to New York last week for his old college roommate Jeff's wedding. We also took our niece Olivia with us to scope out some colleges that she might apply to in a couple of years. We had tons of fun but we missed Clayton so much!
I just thought these were cute of him. The other night he got out the broom and cleaned the whole floor. He also likes to dust, and clean the fridge. He's a good little helper.
We had a small party with my family on the 29th with cake and ice cream. Aunt Dina, Uncle Chris, Casey, and Olivia gave him his big wheel which he is starting to get the hang of. He can't quite reach the pedals, but he can push off with his feet. 
Clayton just turned 2 years old on the 29th, so we decided it was time to change his room up and change his crib into a big boy bed. He seems to really like it. So far he hasn't fallen out, but we put pillows under his bed just in case. He got a TV from us, and Grandma bought him the table and chairs. 
Jared and I dressed Clayton up and took him to the park hoping to get some cute pictures, but he wouldn't pose for us, so this is pretty much the best out of 20 pictures we took. He wouldn't sit still for one picture! 
Today we decided to get out of the valley for a little while, and thought it would be fun to do a picnic somewhere up in one of the many canyons that lie to the east of the Salt Lake area. We settled on Little Cottonwood Canyon, and drove a few miles up to a little campground/picnic area. We didn't really do much in the way of hiking around the area, but somehow Clayton managed to get himself dirty. Like, really dirty. Rambo dirty.
The main thing he did was sit down in a patch of dirt under some trees, pick up handfuls of dirt, and throw them. Which wouldn't have been as bad if he hadn't decided to throw into the wind. So handful after handful of dirt went flying and settled back on him (sticking easily on his freshly sunscreened skin). He is definitely all boy. I cannot imagine Clayton's dainty friend Hailey getting this dirty, under any circumstances. You will also notice Clayton wearing his new monkey backpack, which is really a covert harness. It may seem kind of like a leash, but with a boy who runs at the first sign of freedom, it is actually a kind of helpful way to keep him reined in.
Tina's friend Jamil from high school and her daughter Hailey came to visit us for a week, and just left on Tuesday. Hailey is less than two months younger than Clayton, so they are pretty much into the same things and liked hanging out. We took tons of pictures of them together, but here are just a few.
Here is one of Hailey flashing gang signs. 
Clayton had a lot of fun with Hailey. He also got this new monkey backpack, which he thinks is pretty rad. 
Hailey liked playing on the swingset. Especially while holding a measuring spoon. Because, you know, swings just aren't the same without an accurately measured teaspoon.
Most of the time, Clayton and Hailey liked just hanging around, watching TV, and getting into trouble around the house. We were all glad to have them out here, and Clayton especially hopes Hailey comes back to visit again soon. Tina and I can tell that he misses her already.
Today was Tina's birthday. She has officially reached the ripe old age of 29, which is about as insignificant a number as you can imagine. We have Jamil and Hailey staying at the house with us right now, and we had Tina's mom and sister Dina's family stop by for some cake and ice cream. I think it was a decent birthday. We had cake.
And here is Clayton with cousin Casey. Clayton is wearing the new shirt he got especially for today's festivities. It's pretty rad. Also, Tina's Dad, Paul, couldn't make the trip up from St. George. But he did send a pretty awesome gift, which Kris brought with her. Yes, friends, it is a photo of Paul from 1985, which has been at their house in St. George and which Tina and I have been coveting for years. It's pretty much the greatest photo I've ever seen. To borrow a phrase I've heard Paul use before, what do you get the person who has everything? Answer: THIS PICTURE--
My photograph does not remotely do justice to the original. I cannot possibly express how awesome it is. Paul, you are a dashingly handsome man. And this particular phase in your fashion history would make Cotter and Borat proud. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Clayton got his hair cut today, and it was definitely needed. You can see that he had gotten a little shaggy from the picture below (at Salt Lake's downtown library square a few weeks ago, with cousin Liv in the background). Tina had the good fortune of taking him for the haircut, which basically means holding him down while he screams bloody murder for 15 solid minutes. I've been there. This is why we procrastinate his haircuts as long as possible. But the end result wasn't too bad, and he now looks like a very proper little boy again. Clad in camo.
In other news, Clayton's friend Hailey from the D.C. area is coming to visit today, and she is bringing her mom Jamil. They will be here for a week, and Clayton is very excited.
Okay, so Jared is out of town for the weekend visiting his friend Kevin from BC, so Clayton and I have the weekend and the house to ourselves. You can see he gets away with more when Jared isn't around. We had Arby's and sat on the counter in our pajamas. We also had movie night and watched the Bee Movie. For you that haven't seen it, it's pretty cute. Clayton actually sat through half of it. Of course we had popcorn and snacks to keep his attention during the movie. We miss daddy, and can't wait for him to be home Sunday!
Poor Jared. He spent almost five hours last night mowing our backyard. We took this picture after and he had 28 bags of grass when he was finished! 
and I just got back from a week long vacation in Mexico. We went to the same resort we stayed in on our honeymoon. If anyone is interested in going toMexico, you have to go to the Mayan Riviera. It's about 45 minutes from the Cancun airport,and we stayed at the Barcelo resort. It's all inclusive, and only a 10 minute drive in a cab to Playa del Carmen, where you can shop and catch a boat over to Cozumel (which I wasn't that impressed with). Okay, so these aren't the most attractive pictures of us, but I have had a few people ask to see pictures, so here they are.
