Activities

Kyle and Blake, playing with some of their Christmas presents.


Kyle, you handsome little guy!


The paint around Blake's mouth is proof that he still needs to sample things just to find out how they taste.
Thanks to Aunt Dixie for the markers, paint, brushes and paper. They are all very nice! The boys will be busy with these for a while. Thanks again!

More Bouncy Ball Woes

Blake is talking so much now! One of my favorite words he says is "YEAH!" because of the way he says it.
Last time we were at WalMart, as a reward/bribe for being good the whole trip, I told Blake he could have a bouncy ball. I put 2 quarters in my pocket just for this purpose. So, after checkout, I say, "Blake, do you want a ball?" He responds "YEAH!!!" So cute. So we go over to the ball machine, put in the two quarters, turn the handle, and ... nothing comes out! Yes, I got ripped off. Poor Blake. I momentarily forgot that I was at WalMart and figured maybe a manager could assist me. But there are no useful managers to be found there. And since it was four days after Christams, the service desk line was wrapped around the building.
Sorry little buddy. Maybe next time.

White Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We sure did. There is so much snow on the ground I doubt we could even drive down the street if we wanted to. Our laundry room has been transformed into the mud room and we shovel our driveway more often than we get mail. But it is pretty.
It was way more fun to watch the boys open presents than to think of celebrating the last of my twenties as I turned 29 on Christmas Day. Here are some highlights-


Santa brought Kyle an Optimus Prime transformer, which he has been really wanting.


Blake had been so good about not messing with the presents before Christmas. It didn't take him long to get into it.


Sorry about the cropping, but I still liked this picture. We had to go sledding. I never appreciated how much work it is to get two little people bundled up, boots hats gloves, dig out the inner tube and fill it with air. Before we even started I was almost ready to be done.



As is tradition, the kids love the box. Brian made them a little house out of the box my RECLINER came in. Yes, I got a recliner. I am spoiled. It is even a lazy boy. I need it, I'm getting old.
I love Christmas.

Oh the joys of parenthood...

Right after we finished our bathroom, I walked in there to find Blake up to no good. He had done his best to fill the toilet with everything he could think of. When I caught him the wastebasket was upside down in the toilet, the contents floating around. Well, I did my best to resolve the situation. However, it was completely plugged. We tried everything to get it working again. But on day five we realized whatever was in there would not dissolve. So Brian had to once again remove the toilet. Once it was out, we could finally see what had caused the problem. The culprit?

Never would have guessed that a 50 cent bouncy ball could have caused such a problem.

Done

The downstairs bathroom is finished.



Brian did such a good job! Thank you!



Now for the other 100 projects to do around here. :)

Thanksgiving

I love thanksgiving. It is a good excuse to get together and eat yummy food. And in the quiet moments to contemplate all the wonderful blessings we have. Brian's neice went into labor that day so most everyone went to visit her. But Bonnie still came to our house and it was fun to have her.




Blake loves butter. He would eat an entire cube if I would let him. While I was cooking it got really quiet. Quiet is bad. I looked over and there was Blake, on the table eating butter. This dish was full before he got ahold of it.

We found our way to Star Valley where there was quite a bit of snow.





Dad and Kyle built a snowman. Kyle mostly just ate the cereal that we used for the eyes. It was a pretty fun holiday.

It's Time

When I created this blog 2 years ago I really felt like I should make it private. But part of the fun is connecting with friends you have lost contact with. So I left it open for whoever. But it is time to make safety a priority so I am also going private. Please leave me your email address if you would like access. You may leave it in comment form here or send it to me at tara826@yahoo.com.
Take care.

Tile

We accomplished a little something around the house this weekend. New tile in our downstairs bathroom.
It is nice to have a handy husband. Thank you Brian for spending your Saturday working. I know it wasn't much of a break after doing the same thing all week.

Here is Brian removing the old floor. Our home is not very old but this floor was in bad shape.


It was a lot of work and pretty messy.

This is what we started with:



The wallpaper was pretty awful. So my big helper Kyle and I removed it. If Kyle looks younger here it is because these pictures were from back in May.


And here is the semi finished result. You can see we still have a ways to go until it is done but the tile is such an improvement. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hope you have a great day!

I miss you!

I've been tagged...

Here goes:

I Am – usually a happy person
I Know – the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real
I Want – to be a great cook
I Have – two sweet little boys and a good husband
I Dislike - headaches
I Miss – playing two square with Bridget
I Feel – great when I get a good night’s sleep
I Hear – Blake begging me for candy
I Smell – pumpkin pie that Brian made last night
I Crave – fast food
I Cry – very rarely
I Laugh – at the blue collar comedy tour
I Search – all day for toys, books, the boys’ shoes & jackets, my cell phone…
I Wonder – what the boys will look like when they are grown
I Regret – not being a more outgoing happy person at an earlier age
I Love – being a stay at home mama
I Care – too much what other people think of me
I Worry – about money
I Remember – how hard it was to move around a lot when I was younger
I Believe – that God is more compassionate than we can know
I Dance – never (Remember Elaine from Seinfeld?)
I Don't - write in my journal enough
I Argue – with Kyle when he gets sassy
I Write – the history of my Grandpa
I Can Usually Be Found Watching – my kids or MMA with Brian
I Win – when the eternal pile of laundry is FOLDED!!
I Lose – when I gossip
I Wish – I could fix everyone’s problems
I Listen – to the spirit the best I can
I Can – accomplish food storage
I Am Scared – of losing my boys or Brian
I Need – to clean the car out
I Forget – which way is right and left
I Am Happy – in my little home

Now I tag Bridget, Janaea, and Susanna. :)

Happy Halloween

The boys had a pretty fun Halloween.


Blake was a cute little ducky. He really liked the trick or treating. He just wanted to stop along the way and eat all he had.


Kyle, who has been looking forward to this for a while now, was a transformer.
Cousins Steve, Katelyn and Brook came.

Steve was so excited that in most of the pictures I took of him he was just a blur. But this one came out, he was Iron Man. Katelyn was a witch and baby Brook was a bunny. Cute. It was really fun to have some family over. Thanks guys!

Is anyone hearing his words?

So with all the talk about politics lately, it is hard not to get caught up in it all. I have been listening to both candidates for quite a while now and I just have to voice my opinion.

I am not a socialist. Therefore I will not vote for Obama.
"Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII

I have heard it said so many times these past few months that Obama sounds presidential, and looks presidential. But his words! Listen to what he says!

What about our military? Here are Obama's own words

The hateful Jeremiah Wright has been his reverend for 20 years.

Finally, thank you Huntley Brown for summing it up so well.

McCain is not perfect. But he is patriotic, honest, and a good guy. So come November 4th he's getting my vote.

Dumptrucks

I was getting pretty tired of the squabbling between Blake and Kyle everytime we went outside. Kyle has his amazing dumptruck from Grandma Bonnie and Blake wants it so bad. Yesterday Blake got his very own. He knew what to do with it right away.




I am still waiting for that amazing picture of Blake and Kyle both looking at me at the same time, smiling all cute, both pushing their dumptrucks and both in the view of my camera. I think I will be waiting a while for that one.


I need to update an early blog. We no longer have a kitty. We just couldn't tolerate an indoor animal. We now have two cute little frogs who stay inside their tank. Much better!

Hogle Zoo!

Since it was such a beautiful fall day we had to get out and do something. After a long drive, made longer by Kyle asking if we were there yet over and over, we arrived at the zoo. Wow, it was packed. The main parking lot was so full we went in the back entrance where we had front row parking and no wait at the gate. We felt kinda special. Since the weather was nice the big cats were out and standing right next to the fence so we could actually see them up close. Well, as close as you would want to get to a tiger, there were two fences.

Brian's favorite was the mountain lion, my favorite were the cute little monkeys. Kyle loved the crocodiles.


Blake loved the animals but this lollipop was pretty exciting too.


Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Don came. It was great to see them both. The kids love them.


This isn't the greatest picture in the whole world but you get the idea.

p.s.-I have started running. I made it 2 miles.

Newest Family Member

Even though I didn't really want a 4 legged furry creature, we adopted a kitty today. The boys are so excited. Blake follows her around giggling. She is a very affectionate kitty and seems to be tolerant of kids, in fact she cuddles with Kyle voluntarily. She is nameless so far. The Humane Society called her Gabby, but we will probably rename her.

Here is Kyle, who is looking so much more grown up lately.

For me the more exciting news is that Brian replaced the toilet in our upstairs bathroom. The old one had a broken jet and it was impossible to clean. The best part of that deal is that Brian has had time to tackle some projects around our house. So, yay! The kids and I both got something today.

Boys = Bugs and Other Yucky Stuff

Blake loves worms. The proof is here in this picture. Yes, he is trying to give it a love.



Good of you to share, but you keep it.

Peaches

Although they didn't last long around here, the peaches were very good this year. I wish we had 3 more trees so I could can some.

The Last 5 Pounds

Ok. I am going to do it. I really am. I'm ready. Here goes. And now that I have posted it on my blog, I have to do it. I am going to lose the last of the baby weight.
I just want to feel like me again. The goal is not too far off. But the end is the hardest. The plan? No more soda, french fries or late night chocolate. I can do it if I can still have an occasional whopper (mmmm). But it will have to be with no cheese. So it's water instead of pepsi, and raisin bran for bedtime snack instead of a snickers bar. Ok, this is going to be hard. Anyone want to join me? It will be better than going it alone....

Entomologist?

You can't help but wonder what your kids are going to be when they grow up. Blake may very well end up studying bugs. He loves them so much that when he sees one, he stops, lays down on the ground with his face up next to them, and squeals with delight. He loves them to pieces, literally. Hence all of the one legged grasshoppers in our yard.
This morning he found a fly with a broken wing in our house. Oh the joy. It couldn't fly away so he got to touch him and "love him and call him George." Maybe I should learn how to be so happy that I squeal when I find a fly in the house.
I've tried to watch him closely so he doesn't try to snuggle with a wasp. If he ever does, it may be the end of his love of bugs.

Star Valley

Labor day weekend was spent in Wyoming. Although it is more work for me the kids love it.

It is just fun to play with cousins. They are built in friends.




I'm slowly losing the battle to get a kitty. Brian and the boys all want one. But I am anti still. I'm hoping that if Kyle visits other peoples pets he will be satisfied. But I know its only a matter of time.

The Park

Brothers.


I love living right across from a park. The boys do too.

Filling the Spiritual Bucket

My sister in law Melissa and I took a short little vacation this past week. After arranging 8 million things for the kids so the house didn't fall apart completely while I was gone, we were off. Dads on duty! It was so PEACEFUL. We went to the Joseph Smith movie, the West Jordan temple, out to dinner (without saying in an ever escalating voice "let's try to sit still, can you be a little quieter, use your straw, don't climb under the table, don't throw food!") and to a few of the CES classes at BYU. It was awesome. I wasn't feeling overwhelmed as a mom, and I felt like I was hanging in there and even doing ok on housework. But spiritually I have been really behind. These few days were so needed! I can't say enough about the great things I learned in the classes. I have come home endeavoring to be a better mom, wife and daughter of God. I have once again committed to reading my scriptures every day. Why is that so hard?
I have to admit that at first I was a little annoyed at BYU. They didn't have any Dr. Pepper. Just caffeine free beverages. But it was pretty amazing that all the classes and even the play we went to started with an opening prayer. Yes, we went to a play. I had to make sure I got all the girly things out of my system while Melissa was my companion.
While it was fun to go, it was also fun to come home. I was missing my boys. Brian was great! The house was very clean. This past day the boys have been following me around a bit, been giving me lots of hugs. Guess they missed me. :)

Raspberries

There are lots of things I love about my house, but one of the best is the yard. We have lots of room, a peach tree and raspberry bushes. Kyle remembers the raspberries from when we first moved in last summer and has literally been looking forward to them to bear fruit again for a year.
This is of course all new to Blake. But I think he may already be a bigger fan of them than Kyle. As soon as I mention the word raspberry, he is hollering "bee wee!" (berry) and making a beeline for the back door.


Look at that cute belly.


It was worth waiting one whole year.


Thanks big brother.

I was hoping to be able to make jam this year but the berries disappear so fast that I won't have jam. But I do have some cute pictures and the boys will have some fun memories.

A little dirt never hurt

Oh darn...dropped my candy on the floor.


No matter.

Children's Museum

The boys had so much at the Children's Museum. Instead of having to say "no no, don't touch that" I could say "Sure, go ahead!" Both boys were so happy. Kyle was running around so excited. And Blake was so happy he was squealing.

There were big sea shells that they could actually touch.


They have fun together.


Grandma Bonnie came along. It was so nice to have her! She would watch one while I would chase the other. Both boys love to visit her. She is a good teacher and Kyle loves to read with her. And Blake loves to cuddle with her.


Blake! So sweet. I love those blue eyes.