Thanksgiving

Each year my kids make a big poster "I am Thankful For . . . " and they spend all week filling it up. It's a tradition that I really like because it gets them thinking of all the little things we are blessed with in addition to the obvious ones. This year we went to my sister's for Thanksgiving since her son was getting baptized. She fed 30 people and housed 28 of those. We all had a great time. Tim and I even got a chance to go on a run together in the 17 degree weather. Thanks Daniel for helping my older boys babysit while we were gone. We enjoyed dinner, we enjoyed the company and we enjoyed the view of the Tetons. On our way home we stopped to see Tim's brother and his family and enjoyed our visit with them as well. We drove home a different way and got to see some pretty land. Our kids did great with all the driving. We have a tradition of setting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving but we couldn't do that this year since we were gone. However, we did get home early enough on Sunday to at least set up the tree. We'll try to set up the rest tonight for Family Home Evening. I'll post pictures of the weekend later.

Happy 9th Birthday!

Little J. turned 9 today and it's a special birthday since he turned 9 on the 9th (his Jubilee year) and also it's 2009. We planned on having all the family over yesterday after the primary program for lunch and cake and ice cream but unfortunately Little T. came down with croup so only Grandma Karen and Grandpa Sam were able to come and stay. I'm sorry not everyone could come but I would have been more sorry if we would have gotten everyone sick.
Grandma Karen and Grandpa Sam got the boys these handsome matching shirts.

Little J. is such a blessing in our home. He always has a smile (just like his Dad) and is always happy and helpful and obedient. His enthusiasm for life is great to have in our home. He is always kind to his brothers and he is very smart. He loves Cub Scouts and has been waiting to turn 9 since he's been done with all of his Wolf stuff for months. He has already passed off one thing in his book and is anxious to get working on all the other requirements. Happy Birthday!!

"They're at it again"

Remember the big hole my boys dug in the backyard? Well, they are at it again. This time they were told not to dig where the pool would go anymore so now they are digging a giant hole under the swings. They have a mote around it too. The best part is how enthralled Little T. is with the process. He isn't even 2 yet but he goes out there with the big boys and plays in the dirt and in the hole just like them. It's fun to watch them being creative and getting dirty and getting along.
P.S. - I had to put this post on because Little J. requested that I make another post since they were digging again and he even told me to label it "They're at it again".

Cutest Little T.

Little T. is just so cute. He is 22 months old now and he is so fun right now. This morning as the boys were getting ready to head out the door, he grabbed his oldest brothers lunch box and turned to me and said "bye mom" and went out the door with two of his brothers. He was in his pj's still and in bare feet but he was going as fast as he could (he knew I'd be after him shortly). He made it all the way to the corner going just as fast as his little legs would carry him in hopes of being able to get on the bus with his older brothers. A few minutes after we got back to the house, he started trying to find out where Daddy is. He's been doing this for a couple weeks now. He goes around the house saying "Daddy work, Daddy work, Daddy work" until he is satisfied that he really is gone to work. Finally he'll go to the door to the garage and say again "Daddy work" before moving on with the rest of his day. We sure do have cute kids!

Daddy's little helper

Little T. has been crazy about his Daddy lately. He has especially taken an interest in helping cook. Here are some adorable pictures of him helping Dad cook. Here is is making granola. By the way if you want a great granola recipe talk to my sister. We love making her granola as a snack or as cereal.

All my kids have gone through mommy stages and daddy stages. Right now is this little kids time to be in a daddy stage. Thanks honey for being such a great dad to all of our boys.

Red Ribbon Week

What mom would let her children go to school with these kinds of outfits. I mean really, look at all those mismatched socks. Well, I guess I am one of those mothers. I do have a good excuse though. Today was the beginning of Red Ribbon Week. A week dedicated to teaching kids to stay away from drugs. Today was crazy sock day to "sock it to drugs". My kids got really into it wearing layers of soccer socks mixed with purple Halloween socks and white and black regular socks.
Even my 1 year old wanted to be like his brothers so we put some soccer socks on him too.

The Bus

All three of the older boys are now in school all day long. I thought Little T. would have a hard time not having his brothers to play with during the day but surprisingly enough he has done very well and even seems to enjoy having the time to play by himself with various things. He's been fine for a month but the last few days he has had a problem with letting the boys go out the door to the bus. He cries and tries to push his way out the door saying "bus, bus" to go with them. Yesterday the older boys were gathering their lunches and Little T. went to get a bag with a handle and carried it around with him. Again today, he wanted a lunch bag like his older brothers so I gave him one with a couple snacks in it. Fortunately I seem to have resolved the crying when the boys go out the door. We've walked to the bus stop the last couple days and Little T. loves to see the bus. We wave "bye bus" after the boys get on and then he watches the bus drive away. After that he is totally fine. Hmmm, maybe it's not that he doesn't want his older brothers to leave, maybe it's just that he wants so badly to see the "bus".

Poor Baby

A few weeks ago Little T. was having a rough few days. He had been knocked down by his brother, fallen off of the stool in the kitchen, and then he fell in the living room towards one of his toys. Although it didn't seem like much of a fall, he hit his head just right on the edge of the toy and ended up with a cut above his eye. (He was obviously eating when I took this picture. His cute face is underneath the food).
Within the same couple of days he got his finger slammed in the heavy sliding glass door. Within minutes it had turned purple. Then it was swollen, black and purple for several days. I'll spare you the gory details and end with saying that his entire fingernail fell off after a couple weeks.

He Can Open Doors

I know it sounds like a Sunday School lesson but I'm talking about Little T. Yesterday I put him down to sleep in his bed and closed the door. About a minute later he came proudly walking down the hall. I wasn't sure if I should be excited about this new discovering of opening doors or upset for him coming out of bed or overwhelmed at the new stage that this opens up. Actually I felt all those feelings all at once. The older boys enjoy closing the door and playing a board game in their room knowing Little T. can't get in. Now we will have to adjust things again to accommodate this new stage.

Little T.

Little T. meets a baby goat.

Summer Swimming Pool

Every summer we set up our pool for the boys to swim in all summer. These pictures were from back in June and we actually took it down this weekend (or we're in the process of taking it down - it looks like the last picture. It's a fun process and it provides HOURS of entertainment. My silly boys

Little T. gets a chance to splash around with the big kids. Big J. thinks it's funny to try to splash his mom.

While the hose was filling the pool the boys played "stick races" in the water. Little T. liked to drink a lot of the water.

Daddy was so busy at the beginning of spring that I set the pool up by myself for the first time. The hardest part is leveling the dirt (especially after the kids dug a huge whole right where the pool would go). But one of the funnest parts is having the kids and I play in the water while it gets filled up.

More camping fun

Just a cute video from our camping trip back in June.

Cub Scout Awards

Last night Big & Little J. both got awards at the pack meeting. They have both been working very hard to earn badges, pins, etc. Little J. received his Wolf Badge along with a gold arrow point and 4 silver arrow points. He also received several belt loops (BB gun shooting, archery, golf, and others). It was a big night for us.
Big J. received his Engineering activity badge, Traveler activity badge, Handyman and Outdoorsman. He also received several belt loops from participating in Cub Scout Day Camp. He is well on his way to receiving his Webelos Badge so hopefully we'll have more awards to tell you about next pack meeting. Both boys are working towards getting their religious knot. I'm so proud of my little Cub Scouts!! Keep up the good work!

Twin Lakes and Yosemite

In the summer our first camping trip was to Twin Lakes with a day trip to Yosemite. Here is one of the falls. The place was gorgious and we went early enough in the season that the falls were flowing full force. Unfortunately it was a very cloudy and occassionally rainy day. Fortunately on this hike it didn't really matter. We brought our ponchos for the rain but actually used them more just for this hike. You got soaked just from the mist from the waterfall . . . it was quite amazing but also made a difficult hike even more difficult. This is a picture at the bottom of the Falls. It was a much more difficult hike than we anticipated so I hiked back down with Tyler at this point and Tim took Little T. in the backpack with Big & Little J. all the way to the top. What a huge hike!
Much of the hike was full of these stone steps which looks easy but they were uneven, and very tall so you really had to step up on each one. Plus because of the rain and the mist, you had to dodge puddles all over those steps.

This picture is on the bridge at the beginning of the hike before it started getting difficult.

Look at my handsome husband with our handsome baby boy. Little T. is the only one who had was able to get to the top without any work.

Some of my cute boys with me.

This is at the top of the waterfall. Can you see their wet, matted hair from the rain and mist. The rain actually made it very humid and those ponchos were kind of hot. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoyed our trip and the views were absolutely gorgious.

My beautiful boys!

How do you keep boys from climbing trees? I don't really know the answer but this branch was very low to the ground so it was ok with me and they looked so cute.

All my great boys. This picture was at the end of the day after another hike but this time the hike was less than 1/4 of a mile and we had already had lunch and ice cream so everyone was a little more refreshed than after our first really big hike.

Back at Twin Lakes. Since it was early in the season and we went when it was overcast, it was too cold to actually swim in the water. My boys were ok with that but they still wanted to go down to the lake. They made sand castles and threw rocks into the water and thought it was just great.

Remember to check out the blog post called "No lions, No tigers but there were Bears" since this is the same trip where our belongings had a run in with a bear. Luckily we weren't at the campsite; we were still at Yosemite.

All-Star Soccer

Both Big J. and Little J. were chosen for the All-Star Soccer Team. The soccer league chooses a few excellent players who have good sportsmanship and work hard. Both boys were chosen from their team and they were very excited. The soccer league formed 2 teams from all the kids chosen and they competed in an all-star game. Big J. and Little J. were on opposite teams and they both played great. It was a fun game to watch (and not fun at the same time) since their game was played in the middle of a huge rainstorm. Everyone was soaking wet, the grass was totally muddy and everyone had fun. It was a fun game and the boys were proud to be on the teams.

What great looking brothers!

Summer Rainstorm

In June we had a fun rainstorm. We usually have one or two a year where we can have stick races down the gutters and play in the downpour. Little T. got in on the action and had fun getting soaking wet and splashing barefoot in the puddles. I sure do love a good rainstorm . . . and the smell of fresh rain is great.

Fishing Derby

Each June the boys go to the Kids Fishing Derby nearby. It is a free event with many volunteers to help the kids. Each kid can catch 2 fish. It's a great event and one of the only times the kids get a chance to fish. Here are the three older boys getting ready to fish.

Big J. with one of his fish.

Big T. as his fish gets taken off the hook by a volunteer.
Little T. will get his chance someday.

All the boys with the fish that they caught.

Little T. was quite fascinated with the fish. I loved watching his face - a fascinated

and disgusted look at the same time.
Little T. trying to figure these fish out.

The video catches the true fascination of seeing and touching a fish

for the first time.

First Day of School

Today was the first day back to school. The boys were so excited, and a little anxious too. They were even worried about me and how much I'd miss them during the day. Now typically I do miss them quite a bit but this year I've been very excited for school to start. Mostly because our summer has been so crazy and so I'm craving to have my regular routine back. The boys all have great teachers. Big J. was excited about earning "Brain bucks" and other fun things in his class, Little J. enjoyed doing math the most, and Little T. was the most excited about Lunch and recess (afterall was his first FULL day of school). Now it's just me and Little T. at home for the day. I thought Little T. would really miss his big brothers but he seemed to enjoy playing by himself. He did really well during the day, not seeming to mind not having his brothers; however, when they came home Little T. got VERY excited.

Trek

Tim was able to go on the Trek with the youth of the stake this year. It was in the middle of June. Everyone dressed the part of pioneers, pulled handcarts, ate dutch oven food, played games and had an exhausting and wonderful time. This picture was taken when he got home so he was tired and dirty but what a great experience.

Kindergarten Graduation

Kindergarten Graduation was a special day for Big T. He was so proud and we were so proud of him. Big T. with his graduation cap. We were glad that Tim was able to get off work to come. It's the first one he's been able to attend (teachers can't take days off during the last week of school).
Proud as ever with his cap and "participation award" (yes, everyone got participation awards; there is no official diploma).
Big T. with his teacher Miss Ewing

My cute sleepyhead

Little T. had a couple weeks of falling asleep in his highchair very often. We got a few cute pictures. Babies are just so adorable when they are sleeping, and even more adorable when they are sleeping in funny positions with food all over their face.

Burying Big T.

I'm catching up on all our summer fun. This is from the days of the Monster Truck Stadium. It was a Monster Truck Stadium, a regular hole, a stunt track for bikes, and a place to bury bodies. This time it was Big T. that got buried. I'm here to say that if you have boys, all you need for hours of entertainment is a shovel and some dirt.

Half Marathon

Last weekend both Tim and I (along with 2 of my brothers and one of my sisters) completed a half marathon. We had been training for the last 2 1/2 months. We all did better than we expected. One brother finished in about an hour and a half (that's really fast for those of you who don't know running). Tim finished less than 15 minutes later running much faster than his training (afterall, he trained with two rookies - one of them being me). Had he trained at his regular pace he could have been up there with my younger brother. Then my younger sister and older brother both beat me; yes my little sister finished before me but that's no different than how it was in high school track and cross country. I ran faster than I thought and finished in 2 hours 3 minutes. It was a great race, all downhill along a trail that follows the river down the canyon. Almost immediately after I knew I was in trouble; I could barely walk. I stayed that way for 2 days, walking like an old grandma but now I'm back to normal. Thanks little sis for letting us all stay at your place and thanks to my sister and my brothers for making it a fun race. I'd have pictures but Baby T. got a hold of the camera and it hasn't been the same since.

Drive-In Movie Theater

Last night we went to the drive-in movie to see G-Force. It was a fun, unique experience and the kids had a good time. We did not stay to watch Harry Potter (which started at 10:45pm). By then our kids were already extremely tired and ready to come home. It's rather inexpensive to go to the drive-in which makes me think we should have it be a yearly tradition.

Las Vegas Business Trip

Tim had a conference and state track meet in Las Vegas that he had to attend. We all decided to tag along and make a trip out of it. We went to Red Rock and did some hiking around. It was absolutely beautiful there. I know it's the Nevada Desert but all the different types of flowers (and cactus and sagebrush) were in Bloom. We climbed around and found all kinds of interesting rock formations and crevaces and such.

On the last night we had to switch hotels. We found a last minute great deal at an Embassy Suite Hotel. It was amazing. We've never stayed in such a nice hotel before. This is the fountain in the lobby that the kids liked watching. The elevator was glass and overlooked the lobby and all the rest of the hotel. We had cooked to order breakfast in the morning. We definately got spoiled.

We also went to Hoover Dam and we went on the tour which was cool (but a little busy since it was Memorial Day Weekend). The new road they are building is quite amazing.

This is a blooming cactus, just one of the flowers in Red Rock while we did our hiking.While Tim was at his conference, the kids and I went to a Splash Pad in Henderson. The kids had a good time playing and cooling off at the same time.

Even Tanner had a good time at the park. Aren't these boys the cutest things ever?