Bro-Sis Day

I love these kids!  No matter the hassle or frustration, these kids are so cool!  Today was such a fun celebration of them, being siblings and being together.  It was great!  Let me tell you about it:

Our shirts for the year and they turned out so cute!  

I think it just helps bring them together a little bit more to be walking around as a team.  And it sure makes for a smile on my face to see them riding their bikes to school telling each other they are great friends and feeling proud to be in their shirts.  

 After school they were able to make their crowns.  Peter wore his the rest of the day and Caleb obliged for the picture.  I think he may be getting too old for this tradition.  Haley totally snubbed the crown but loved gluing it together.

 Rob got tickets to the Bees game from work and what a fabulous Bro-Sis Day activity.  We had such fun cheering on the team and hanging out.  What made it even more perfect was that all the boys were able to get a ball from the night.

 

Every time the opposing team was at bat their first base coach came out looking for a kid to give a ball to.  Willy was the first of our three that he approached.  It was funny.  You can see Peter talking to the coach in the picture above.  The coach first said that he would give the ball to the kid if the kid would cheer for his team instead of the Bees.  Then he rattled off all sorts of advice and funny things to say.  Among the few that Rob heard were: remember to put the toilet seat down, do your homework right after school, don't play video games, don't use a cell phone, remember to give your mom a card on mother's day, clean your room, eat your fruits and veggies.  It was awesome!  So, when Willy was up there talking to the man and getting his ball Willy's face was blank.  He had no idea what this guy was saying to him.  He just stood there until the guy was finished then proudly came back with his ball.  Caleb got a foul ball thrown to him by the Bees' first base coach, so he did not talk to the other team's guy.  After Caleb got his ball Peter really wanted one.  He was worried he would not get a ball, and so was I.  I told him to watch for the coach to come out next time they were at bat and just maybe he would notice Peter.  As luck would have it, Peter got his ball!  I was so happy for him and relieved!  I kind of would like to say it was his awesome crown or that all 4 of our kids were wearing their cool shirts, but he called Peter up and gave him the talkin' to.  Peter was so happy to have his ball.

 Here they are right after Peter got back with his ball.  Caleb and William also got their balls signed by the bee, Bumble.  It was such a fun game!

When we got home I had one more fun little present for them, finger lights.  They had a blast with them, stayed up too late playing with the lights and fighting off bad guys, and went to sleep excited and happy.  That is how a holiday should end.  It was terrific!  

I wrote this poem for my boys a few years ago and I think it still holds true, even though we have added a sister to the mix.  I think this poem sums up why we celebrate Bro-Sis Day.  It is to make them strong, to help them remember that they love each other, even when someone will not share.  It is to help them remember that their family is the most important and the coolest of all.  I love my family and I know they love each other.  Today was a good reminder of that.

We are three brothers

Caleb

Peter

William

together in this family,

sent from Heaven above to live in unity.

We may laugh or cry

we may fight and play,

but together as brothers forever we'll stay.

As we grow up and move along,

we can be friends and keep each other strong.

For when the day comes and Jesus is here,

we as three brothers will stand up and cheer!

We will be ready to choose the right.

We will be ready to follow Christ's light.

And as we three brothers stay strong in God's love,

we will be ready to dwell in Heaven above. 

"I like to look for rainbows"

For two years now we have done a rainbow birthday for William, he likes them that much.  So it was very perfect that this month's song in primary was, "When I am baptized" where it talks about rainbows and being the best  we can be.  He is such an awesome kid!  We were so happy to celebrate his life and how sweet he is.

This is William's last photo of being three, and he wanted to take it with a bouquet of flowers he had just picked.

Four years old and so happy about it.  We spent time playing, going back and forth from the school for assemblies for the boys, and then we ate dinner together as a family.  I think our favorite part of the day was when he got to paint his wooden birdhouse.  He loved concentrating on it and making it his own.  You can see it in the picture below.

Like I said, William loves rainbows.  When I saw this recipe for rainbow bread I knew I would make it for him.  It was fun to make, fun to cut into and yummy to eat.  And yes, his fish - Twilight - is still alive.  Yeah!

We also went to the cabin to celebrate William's birthday, too bad the weather was not cooperating.  But you can see the windsock William made for the cabin.  That windsock got broken-in with all that wind and hail.  William loved watching to move around.
William is such an easy going boy.  When people were asking what to get him for a present I could only tell them that he loves everything.  He will happily play whatever game his brothers are playing.  Sometimes they really get annoyed that he tries to be so much like them, but he loves to dress in Caleb's old soccer jersey and call himself a little Caleb.  However, he also has his own intelligent way of expressing himself and being a big boy.  He is always eager to help cook or learn something new.  He is a sweet big brother to Haley and Haley loves being Willy's buddy.  He really brings a sweet, pleasant spirit to our home.  I hope he keeps this easy-going personality and that he continues to be such a happy boy.  We love you, William!

Mother Nature's surprises

We took a trip to Scofield for Memorial Day weekend.  It was planned to be fun with kids getting wet and fun had by all.  What was not planned was to have wind the entire time and then to wake up to snow on Sunday morning.  No thank you, Mother Nature!  But kids being kids, mine made the most of it and had fun anyway.

 Cute Miss Haley standing on the dock and taking the sights in.  It was so windy that one little kid even got blown off his dock when he was trying to fish.  But my kids were fine, they just needed to wear jackets and hats and pants the whole time.

An example of my kids having fun even though the weather was awful.  Peter and Haley had a blast playing in this very long grass.  Then when it started to hail Peter played his own game of, I do not think I can even begin to describe it.  He was pretending the hail was something and killing it and swatting it out of the sky....  The point is he had a great time.  And so did Caleb.  They did not care that it snowed at least 4 times while we were there, they were at the cabin and were determined to have fun.

 The scene that I woke up to Sunday morning.  Not what you expect for summer time fun.  We even took a trip down to Price to get away from the bad weather.  The boys had fun seeing some of places that Rob and I lived and hung out.

We even went to the farm that I grew up on and I shared some childhood memories of growing up there.  Fun is where you find it, as long as you are prepared for a few surprises now and then.

Random updates

It has been awhile and although life seems pretty mundane around here we have had some moments to remember.  

 

First up, Caleb hurt his knee at school about 2 weeks ago and was given crutches to help slow him down until his knee healed.  He was jumping rope at school when his knee locked up on him and he could not move it or walk on it.  At times I had to remind him that the crutches were not a toy but a tool to help his knee.  No one knows exactly what happened but the doctor said to use the crutches.  His knee is finally feeling better now and he can move around without the crutches.  

While Caleb was still on crutches he participated in the Pine Wood Derby for our ward.  He had fun designing the car and painting the car, but sanding the car was TORTURE for him.  He says that next year he is just making a replica of the Knight Bus from Harry Potter, just so he does not have to sand at all.  He named his car The American Eagle and won a prize for the best named car. He enjoyed the night and although his car did not win for speed he was pleased with how it turned out.

Lastly, our garden is planted and already producing beautifully.  My boys (mainly William) have been enjoying the strawberries from our garden and Peter is so excited that there are apples growing on our tree.  He is a big fan of apples.  We even have peaches on our peach tree and we are anxiously waiting to watch it all grow some more.

A wonderful day!

This day has been absolutely wonderful!  Seriously, my living room is a mess and I do not even care because today has been so great.  Why?  Well, we had Jonah and Jonathan over for a sleepover and my boys love being with them.  It was so much fun.  This morning after breakfast we loaded up in the truck and headed for Scofield, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day.  It was perfect up there!  Ok, to get the one bad moment out of the way - Caleb injured his back.  Somehow, we will not go into detail, he fell off a dock and hurt his back.  But even with that he was able to bounce back and play in the water and enjoy himself.  He still hurts but it will get better.  

With that out of the way we can get back to the beauty of the day.  

They could not resist the water.  I tried to deter them from getting "too wet" but in the end even I gave in.  That is what we go for.  The lake, the water, the dirt and sand and rocks.  The wet clothes lining the deck and the kids sitting in front of the heater in the cabin trying to warm up before they go out there again.  They said the water was freezing but that did not stop them.  Oh, and Haley is going to love this summer!  She was right there with them.  Maybe not up to her waist, but still loving every minute of it.

They played on the tube, paddling themselves around in the water.  They threw in rocks and found sink holes.  They played in the sand and went through three changes of clothes.  But therein lies the genius.  I thought to grab extra clothes going out the door from West Jordan.  So, those wet clothes did not mean much.  There were backups!  Brilliant!  I sat there on the beach with them all playing in the water and I relished every minute of it.  I thought about the laundry I did not have to do or the dishes I did not have to clean.  I thought about the messes that would wait and it was wonderful.  I love the cabin for that.  That we can just go out to the lake and play and not worry about all that responsibility.  It was super!  Not to be forgotten was that we also saw our first deer of the year.  Peter was the good eye on the deer this time.

But the time came to leave and my three boys were sad to go.  They wondered why we were not staying the night?  Come on!  We always stay the night.  But we needed to get Jonah and Jon Jon back home and so we headed out.  And driving through the canyon was this sweet sight:

They were so tired and they needed somewhere to rest their heads.  They love each other so much and it is fun to watch them together.  They loved playing in the water and coming up with spy games to play and light shows at night.  They are awesome!
When we got home the boys packed up their stuff while Haley and William followed a duck that was walking around our neighbor's yard.  Haley loved it and William had fun picking flowers.
Well, after Jonah and Jon Jon left the greatness of our day did not end.  We had a yummy pancake dinner and then William let us know he would need a bath after his sticky dinner was done.  While Haley and Willy took a bath Rob was a Knight in Shining Armor and cleaned up after dinner.  See, what a great day!  After that the boys hunkered down to watch their new favorite movie, "How to Train Your Dragon."  They love it and I loved it too!  It was so fun to watch together.
And now there is a sweet peace in my home as they are all asleep and happy.  What a good feeling to have.  Caleb went to bed hurting but still okay, a blessing.  Peter went to sleep happily thinking of Toothless the dragon and all the fun games he would play tomorrow.  William went to sleep with his hand sweetly placed on my shoulder.  And Haley went to sleep while Rob fell asleep in her room.  This family of mine is awesome!

Oceanside 2012

It is hard to narrow down a week long trip into a few sentences.

While reading this you will see that we got to see some dolphins. I think that was one of the highlights of the trip. We saw probably 10 or so dolphins, gently riding the waves and going around the pier. Then at one point they picked up speed and went to jump the waves with some surfers. It was so fun for all of us.

Caleb's favorites were: playing at the pool, playing with his cousins, seeing the dolphins and seal at the pier, playing in the condo and going to the beach.

Peter's favorites were: Watching "How to Train your Dragon," the Easter Egg hunt, the palm trees and surfers, and seeing the dolphins and the seal.

William's favorites were: Watching the surfers, seeing the dolphins, drawing in his vacation journal, watching "how to train your dragon" and playing with his cousins.

Haley's favorites were: Walking on the pier, seeing the pelicans, and playing on the beach.

Rob's favorites were: Taylor guitar factory, watching the pelicans dive into the water to catch fish, and being with his family.

Diedre's favorites were: Walking on the pier, playing with my kids on the beach, the Easter egg hunt on the beach, seeing my funny footprint in the sand, playing croquet with Caleb our final day, seeing the sunset our final night there, and seeing the dolphins!!!

Haley walking on the pier, she enjoyed putting her fingers in her ears.

Our visit to the Mormon Battalion, the boys enjoyed panning for gold.

Haley enjoyed the sand, surfers and the waves.

More of the ocean. That is what we went for.

Rob's sandcastle that lasted long enough to get a picture. No the waves did not destroy it, little kids did.

All of the boys loved the pool and the hot tub. Caleb would have stayed there all day if given the choice. However, the wind off of the beach made it rather cold poolside.

The Gray Egg Hunt

Croquet on the beach.

Diedre's unique footprint. So cool.

Right before we left for Utah. One more time to look at the pelicans, watch the surfers and see the ocean. It was a great vacation, it was so fun to see everyone and spend time together.

Those first sweet words

This is my cute baby and last night she started saying her first official word. Well, we have always joked that maybe her Santa interpretation, or her cat sounds might be her first word; but I think this is official. I know, I have vacation pictures to put up and details to remember from that. But this just could not wait. She is so stinkin' cute! We were reading a book that said baby a lot in the text. Suddenly Haley started on her own. We have all loved it. And now she even says mom and dad for me. And tonight when I was reading to her she folded her arms for a prayer. I said a quick one for her and then I told her to say amen. She did her very best amen, starting with the A sound and ending with the N sound. OH, we are making progress over here in Gray-land. It is so happy.