Cold Turkey...

Grif did it! He quit the binky cold turkey. The Dentist told us no more! We thought about preparing him for the big day but instead we just never gave him one again. It has been a rough couple of weeks for him with a lot of screaming but he did it and he is actually sleeping better once we finally get him to sleep. Maybe he cries so hard that he exhausts himself into a much deeper sleep. I don't know what it is but I do love to get more sleep myself. His days of gurgle talking are numbered. We will be sad to not here his closed mouth gutturals talking anymore but it will be a happy, happy day when I can understand him. Last night he cried for one and a half hours trying to get me to understand what he wanted. I offered him everything from food, drinks, favorite movies and even a bath. I just couldn't figure out what he wanted. I changed his diaper, you know all the fundamental baby tricks but nothing worked. He knew exactly what he wanted but I didn't. So I finally said, "Show me!" He grabbed my had and walked me back to my bathroom and said "bubbles"! He wanted a bath in my bathtub not his. Why? I don't know but it made him happy until he pulled the plug and let the water out and he was freezing. Oh the joys of having the TERRIBLE TWO'S!

Family picture day!

So we went and got our pictures done this morning. It was crazy trying to get Grif to hold still long enough to get a good picture but it will be so nice to have a family picture hanging on the wall with him in it. I love the Picture we took last year so much I can't take it down from the top of our blog so you'll just have to enjoy the pictures here instead. My favorite is the action shot of Grif kicking the ball, Jax picking his nose, Jar snickering behind his hands and mommy saying "No, no hold still!". I love our crazy family.

The Elephant Parade

A few years ago we went to the Elephant parade and the kids just loved it but we haven't been for about 3 years. We had to go downtown anyway so we decided to add some fun. When the circus comes to town they have a parade with the clowns, elephants, horses, dancing girls, mini ponies, but not the tigers. Jar and Grif didn't like the waiting but they loved the parade and the clown noses. We would make a pretty cute clown family. They waved the whole time, smiling and laughing. It was fun but we sure missed having Jax with us.

After we went over to daddies work to get the camera for our McTeachers night later after soccer. Jar hasn't been walking as much since he got his cast off and I didn't want to carry both the boys all the way there. So I thought it was our lucky day - good shady spot at the parade and front row parking at the arena. Then a news truck pulled up and wanted to ask us some questions about H1N1 and I thought about running because I don't like stuttering on camera. But the boys liked it and were good and cute too. When the story came out I didn't sound so dumb. So watch out Heidi maybe I will come work with you. J/K that would not be fun for me, I will leave the news biz all to you! You can borrow our clown noses if you would like.

I lost something....

Lately I have been losing something very important. My middle son disappears every once in a while and I can't spot him even when I am looking. One time he was just curled up in a little ball on the couch and just looked like a pile of laundry. He is just so quiet that sometimes it takes me a while to find him. This time I knew he was in his room but I just couldn't find him. I have lost in with a pile of stuffed animals once or twice but this was a new one. Stuffed in a box of clothes he actually looked quite comfy. Jax wanted to try and fit but he is just not nearly as flexible.

Oh Happy Day!!

Finally we get to start Preschool. The waiting is over! Jar could hardly wait to go to his school. He has been so impatient since Jax started school. He was so happy until there were about 50 new faces and he went and hid in the corner. One cute girl got a little too in his face and he ran away. I hope that she isn't scarred for life. It happened again the second day so I was a bit worried we really weren't going to make it to Preschool but now it is all he can talk about. I just keep thinking to myself that it really is a good thing that he missed the deadline for so many reasons. Next year he will be older, bigger and hopefully not as emotional. We'll see!!

Happy Birthday Jaron

How does time fly so fast? It seems that each year is getting shorter and shorter. Days end when we haven't accomplished everything we want to and boys grow up over night. Jaron is so happy to be five. For months he has been asking "Am I five yet?" Now he asks "Am I still five?" It makes me smile.

He got his cast off 2 days before his birthday so we had to have a be careful with his leg party. So the whole family - cousins, uncles, aunt, grandma, grandpa and one friend - all went to the Bees game together. Since Bee signed his cast he was hoping he could visit with him again. It was his lucky day because Bumble came an took pictures with the kids and then stayed a little longer to take a nap on Jaron. He was in heaven. We got to do fun things we don't usually make time for at the games; we rolled down the hill, rode the train, got glow bracelets and we even stayed to run the bases. It was a great night!





Some how he talked mommy into making him a Lightning McQueen cake. I was just going to make some cupcakes since we went to the pool to celebrate earlier in the day. BUT, Jaron reminded me that I promised months ago to make him a Cars cake. So we baked a cake and made it in a hurry but it turned out pretty decent if I do say so myself.

Bad News!

So sadly we had to go back to the hospital yesterday (for 3 hours). Poor Jar has displaced his fracture even more inside his cast. The good news is that he will stay in the same cast for now and will hopefully still get it off in a few weeks. Apparently your fibula is an unimportant bone so how straight it is doesn't really matter. The Dr. said we could displace it another inch or more and she still wouldn't do anything. So now we just keep on rolling, sooting or hopping to wherever we want to go until he is ready to walk on it again. It's a tad bit complicated sometimes but we can do it! What a trooper he has been he hasn't even complained about it, he just won't walk on it.

Not Again!!!!!!

On a quiet Sunday evening our peace and quiet was turned upside down in just seconds. We decided we needed a night at home to relax as a family instead of running around. So we all watched The Muppets Treasure Island. It wasn't quite bedtime yet so we sent the boys out back to play for a few minutes to get some wiggles out. It didn't last long though. The new game of butterfly (you jump around and flap your arms like butterfly wings) turned out to be dangerous. Well not exactly dangerous but it did produce a broken leg. Jaron just landed wrong and fractured his fibula (the little bone in the lower leg). We had just been joking earlier in the week that if were not careful Jar's little chicken bones might just snap. Well they did.

The Dr. reassured us that he is a healthy active little boy and it was just luck that it happened. His bones look good and his growth plates are healthy. For some reason we just have the unfortunate luck of breaking things. It's a little sad that the fracture clinic recognizes us already. It does put things in perspective walking around a children's hospital seeing the beautiful little children that have much bigger struggles than our own. We are blessed to have 3 healthy, active little boys.

YeeHaw Cowboy!

When daddy was little he had a pair of cowboy boots and would run around in them. Now it's our boys turn. Unfortunately we only have two horses to play cowboy with so usually we have to split up the chaps, boots and horses. Our poor cowboy hats have definitely seen better days but you can tell how much they have been loved. Grif will do anything to entertain and loves to pose for pictures.

Cousins Sleepover...

Sleepover2 - What do you do on a summer day when cousins sleepover and someone has a broken leg? We had a popsicle stand and had an awesome time doing it. They ran a great business and having Jaron limp up to the car window was a great business boost. They were all so shy at first but then they started really have a great time. So great we actually did it again the next day. They all thought that they were rich when they got their $4 cut.



We had so much fun playing dress-ups and selling popsicles bedtime was actually a breeze. Four tired kids and a dog make for one peaceful night. We could actually do this again.









After grandma's party cousins slept over. Well, there actually wasn't much sleeping but they all had an awesome time. They all set up camp in the basement and they were still rocking at 1:00 am when I finally had to remind them that they would have more fun in the morning. Fun we we did have, swimming, slip and sliding and a picnic at the park. The kids didn't want it to end but chores had to be done for cousins and nap-time was a must for us.

Happy 89th Birthday Grandma!!

Happy Birthday Grandma!! This year we just had a small quiet party at our house with the family. It is always so fun to spend time with Grandma and see the huge smile on her face when she laughs at the kids. We love you Grandma!!

Beautiful Bear Lake

Oh how I love Bear Lake. Last year we weren't able to go but this year we found a place to stay since we can't rent our favorite beach house anymore. We were sad not to have everyone come from all over but we were so happy to enjoy the beautiful blue lake. The boys loved staying in the cabin with cousins and Jar wanted to stay there forever. He cried when we had to leave our new house. The pool was nice to have to swim and play but the beach was as wonderful as always. We love watching the boys imaginations at work. Daddy even likes to get in on the fun and build sand castles. Mom decided to step up the cool factor and try wake boarding again. I got up my first try but man is it a lot more work than just having a good time on my skis.
And what's a Bear Lake trip without a good little row back to shore. We ran out of gas while we were out with the kids on the tube. No panicking aloud so we just pulled out the ores and rowed back to shore. Two nice ladies in canoes wanted to help so we let the tie on and row in front of us. The family just watched from shore and enjoyed the show.

Neil Diamond (look/sing alike) Concert

Coming to America today! The kids didn't know the music but they didn't care. Jaron danced the night away, Jax ran in circles and Grif just followed everyone else around. The fireworks were awesome!! Well for most of us. Grif hated them and screamed himself to sleep. Then Jar chewed on his glow bracelet and got glow junk in his eyes. What is life with out another adventure. We have just learned how not to panic and act quickly. We love our boys.

Summer Swimming Fun!

At the beginning of the Summer we decided that we were going to go swimming on Wednesdays. It lasted for a bout a week before life just kept getting crazier. Life is always full of adventures and schedules don't mean anything when boys get sick or mom has a root canal. We did sneak a small vacation in too. We really have made it to the pool more than once but this was a fun day with friends. Jaxon was preparing for his first swim meet so we had some fun practicing for it. He is doing great and is so proud that he can swim a 25 in 49 seconds. We went to his first meet on Saturday only to be disappointed when the meet had been moved to the day before at a different location. Oh well, we will just practice more and keep swimming!

Oh What do you do in the Summertime?....

Do you eat chocolate ice cream?...

or have a nice dream?...

Or wear lots of hats for fun?

Do you have barbeques?...

Or try not to lose (at volleyball)?....

Or swing in the hammock for fun?...

More Birthday Fun!!

We had a fun party with our friends at Jumpin' Jacks after Grif's Birthday. Then we went to Wendy's together. With a table cloth and birthday cookies we had an instant party. It was so much fun! The kids love playing on all the slides and are completely entertained for hours and then the best part is that they are exhausted when we go home! Gotta love exhausting activities.

Happy Birthday Grifin!

How did our baby grow so fast? Happy Birthday Grif we love you so much. "AAH GNN GNN GNNGNN GNNNN!" We celebrated lots with our little family, cousins without mom and dad, and finally again with Grandma's and Grandpa's. What to do when the parties over...

The kids had so much fun with their cousins party with Uncle Mark and Siri. Thanks again guys. It was awesome to have a night out and the Birthday boys loved their party. So did everyone else. Jax and Jar want to wear their t-shirts everyday!

Planes, Trains and lots of Fun!

What do you do in the summertime when all is does is rain? Do you go to pool, or play at the school? No! We go drive a long way to see some really cool trains and planes. Daddy took the day off and we went to see the Disney train which was pretty cool. BUT the highlight of our day I think was seeing all of the Air Force Planes. Grif fell asleep and when he woke up he just looked around with huge eyes and a smile on his face saying "I wan- one!" It was so cute. Daddy and Jax loved every machine gun and radar sensor. They were in heaven. Jaron was in heaven because he could dance around the huge museum as he went from plane to plane and throw rocks too when we were outside. We had to leave too soon but we will go back again. Jax was and awesome photographer and took lots of great pictures of all of the planes. We learned a lot but we want to learn even more.

After all the fun we stopped at the hospital to visit dad's buddy and his wife who had their third little girl. The boys fell in love with her and all wanted a turn holding her. Grif again kept saying "I wan one, I wan one" then he turned her head and gave her a big kiss. It was pretty cute.