Simple Pleasures

Ritz crackers & peanut butter. Yumm!

My Teacher Blames the Government.

When I was in H.S. my insane Physics teacher claimed that the government was slowly shaving seconds off of minutes & one day it wouldn’t really be 365 days a year. I think he might be on to something. Lately I’ve been thinking about how fast time is going by & just how big my boys are getting. Sometimes I wish I could just stop time. I see it running in front of me & I keep trying to physically hold it in my arms.

JaJa,

My sweet 1st born. It seems like just yesterday that I thought that there was a possibility that I would never have children & the sadness that I always felt because of it. Now I look back & I can’t even remember that pain. I see you with your friends or sitting around listening to your MP3 player or talking to me about girls (yikes!) & I’m in awe of you. When did this happen? When did you grow up? But then I catch glimpses of my little boy when you run up & hug & kiss me or when you ask for a coo-kie. Or when you make sure your hair is styled just right, before school, as you drink your milk out of a sippie cup. I’m grateful that I have you & that you have been blessed with wonderful gifts & abilities. I’m thankful that you chose to get baptized this year & that you have chosen such a wonderful group of friends. I am extremely proud of you.

Combi or Corn Beef as I call you these days,

I will always remember your 1st day in Primary & how you sat in class with your head hung low because you were embarrassed to talk. My heart broke that day. 2 years of Speech Therapy & now your Kindergarten teacher complains that you sometimes talk too much. It’s definitely bitter-sweet. I can’t believe how smart & amazing you are! Are you even aware of your skills? The fact that you can read at a 3rd grade level & do math at a 2nd grade level amazes me! Especially since you didn’t really start speaking until you were 3 1/2 almost 4. You are filled with so much confidence & you are so sure of what you want. Your smile makes my day especially when it is followed with a “can I, my best buddy?” I’m so grateful for the love & compassion that you have for others. I’m grateful for your desire to make others happy. You are truly amazing my best buddy.

K.B.

I remember making a mental note of every milestone because I knew you would be my last. In fact, all this came about because of you. When you turned 4 this year, I realized that that was how old Ja-Ja was when you were born. I had 3 little ones under the age of 4. Yikes! I look at you & think that there is no way I could do that now. It’s been fun to have you as a preschool student but I especially love the days we spend together alone while your brothers are in school. Those are my favorite! You make such a good little shopping partner! I love holding you because you somehow mold into me. I always tell you that you are like a little creature. You have so much physical ability. You are destined to be a star on any field. I can’t believe the flips you are able to do! You are growing up so fast but I guess you have to so that you can keep with your brothers! Maybe that’s why I like being alone with you because you are my little boy again. I’m so grateful for your funniness that cracks us all up. I’m also grateful for your amazing observations that always make me think, “what did he just say?” (this week you asked, “mom, how do you make a ch? cause there’s no letter that makes that sound.) You always say things like that!

This has been a great year & we have been able to create so many memories! We have been on some fun trips & we were able to experience many new things.

Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing me & giving me such an amazing family. Thank you for the reminder of time. These years go fast & I’m glad I enjoyed those years when you were little & at home with me.

I’m so grateful that you get to be children & that you get to do child-like things. That you have no real worries or fears. That you can go to bed & feel safe & protected. That you know EVERYDAY how much you are truly loved by us & your Heavenly Father.

Oh my little boys, please don’t grow.

I'’ll eat you up, I love you so.

It's Great To Be Eight!

His Baptism Announcement

He shared this special with some great friends!

The "crew" coming to celebrate afterward.

Going to his 1st Pack Meeting.

Disneyland 2009

We recently spent 5 wonderful days in Disneyland. Now I know that sounds nuts but we wouldn't have done it any other way. It was our 1st time going so we wanted to make sure we saw everything.


Favorite ride: "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad"
Most Memorable Moment: For the 1st 2 days you were unable to get on any 40" rides. On day 3 we taught you to "stretch your neck" & it worked! We're glad you didn't miss out!

Favorite ride: "Space Mountain"
Most Memorable Moment: You were chosen to fight Darth Vader. Although a little nervous, you fought him & won!

Favorite ride: "Tower of Terror"
Most Memorable Moment:

Culligula's Favorite Ride: "Tower of Terror"
Most Memorable Moment: Saving a spot for 2.5 hrs so that we could watch "Fantasmic". Totally worth it!

For me, my favorite ride had to be "Tower of Terror". I really just loved everything about being there. But I have to say, I loved ending every night with hot chocolate & a brownie from the bakery on Main St. Mmmm..... I miss that.

Big Firsts!

1st day of 2nd grade

1st day of kindergarten

1st day of preschool

1st soccer game of the fall season.

Las Vegas & San Diego 2009

Usually after a trip we are so ready to come home but this time, 10 days just wasn't enough.
We started off in Las Vegas for 3 days then we were off to San Diego & then back again to Vegas. San Diego was where I decided that I want to move into a hotel. Why not? They fed us breakfast & dinner & cleaned our room. It was so sad to leave.
Well here are some our favorites.

This was my favorite: The "Tank" at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. It is a swimming pool with a shark tank in the middle & a slide that goes through it.

Swimming was everyone's favorite. We did this everyday! These 3 are now little fish in the water!

Ja-Ja's favorite: the beach!

K.B at Coronado Beach

Combi & KB's favorite: Legoland

We spent 3 days there. Good times!

Legoland Sea-Life Aquarium

Now that you boys are getting big & in some ways easier, it made this trip even better. I can't wait to go on many, many trips with you guys! I love you & I feel so blessed to be your momma!

Next Stop: Disneyland Oct. '09

4th of July 2009

Island Pk - Virginia & Nevada City & of course West Yellowstone.

As always, the boys picked out some sweet Yellowstone t-shirts. (We do this every year!) You gotta love the Napoleon Dynamite inspired shirts.

It was another great 4th of July in Island Park!

Sports Camp 2009

KB participated in Sports Camp for the 1st time. I wish I could say that he loved it but... I can't. He didn't care to wake up early (9am) & he didn't like waiting his turn. Brother! Hopefully he'll like soccer camp better.

British Soccer Camp 2009

They had another wonderful week at soccer camp this year, despite all the rain.

Combi scored 2 goals during his final game & Ja-Ja scored 5 goals during his championship game.

We have loved being a part of the British Soccer Camp for the last 4 yrs & look forward to next year when KB gets to play!

Modeling Clay Masterpieces

So a few weeks ago, I had some modeling clay left over from preschool & I thought I'd share it with my boys. Who knew we'd have such a blast!
We seriously did this for 3 hours!

"Snake"

Ja-Ja

"Boy on a Surf board"

Combi

"Caterpillar"

KB

(I did a sweet Sponge Bob but I couldn't post it!)

We Love Ms. Bailey!

For the last 2 years, our little Combi has been going to Speech Therapy. Last Friday was his very last day. It was definitely bitter-sweet. We're sad to not work with Ms. Bailey anymore but we're happy for all the progress he's made. He's come such a long way!

Basketball Ends!

The basketball season is over! After having 4 hrs a week of practice & 2 games on Saturdays, we're looking forward to the break. At least until soccer starts this month. Yikes!

Season Highlights:

Combi: scored his only shot when my family came to visit.

KB: we're just glad he didn't hurt himself or anyone else.

Ja-Ja: blocked a shot, dribbled the ball to the other end of the court, & took a hit in the nose while making a shot. Nice...

Draper Temple

Last Thur. we took our little family to the Draper Temple Open House. We had such a good time! It was so beautiful & it was good to let our boys know what we do there. They are always wanting to know what it's like & well, now they know. In fact, Culligula & I went to the temple the next day & when we told them that we were going, they had a look of understanding now instead of the ol', "why can't we go?"
This has really motivated us to visit more open houses & do a Church History tour with them when they get a little older. We are really grateful for this experience.

Science Geeks

This weekend Tia Nelly, the science teacher, came for a visit.
She came well equipped with science experiments & the boys had a blast!

Thanks Tia Nelly, we love you!

Basketball All-Star

Here's my basketball MVP! Don't let the dress fool you. He's a maniac on the court! He can shoot, he can dribble & if he gets really lucky, he can walk and dribble!

Walking With Dinosaurs!

Tonight I took Ja-Ja & Combi to see "Walking With Dinosaurs- the Live Experience". For any of you that have dinosaur loving boys, this was a must-see! We loved it! It was a little pricey but worth every penny.


Culligula, thanks for my nice camera. Without it my pics would not have been possible since they didn't allow any flash photography.

Basketball Begins!

Ja-Ja & Combi had their 1st game today. They're on seperate teams but just so happen to have the same team name. The Rockets!

KB is on the Celtics. He doesn't play games, he only has practices. As soon as we get his shorts in (theyr'e on back order), we'll take his picture.

Disneyland Newbie

Alright I'm requesting some assistance from all you Disneyland experts. We are FINALLY going to go this year & of course I plan everything months or even years in advance (2011 cruise!). This is our dilemma, we don't know how long to go for. We only want to do Disneyland since we've done everything else. So do we do 4 days or maybe 5? We're getting a park hopper & we don't want to rush through...
Also, where's the best place to get tickets? I've heard getaway today has good deals. I'm partial to ARES travel who I have used a lot for other tix.
I would also like suggestions on eating & anything else you may find helpful. My favorite travel info website (mousesavers.com) said they have lockers outside you can put small coolers in. Has anyone done this?
Please understand that I'm a planner so details are important to me. So please share any tips you may have.
Thanks!

Game Goons

So our boys have never been into video games that much but now that they got a didj, that's all they want to do. We were trying to figure out how to limit the time or maybe take it away if they weren't behaving, ya-da, ya-da, ya'da.

We finally came to what I think is a good conclusion but you can be the judge.

We've decided instead of taking it away for bad behavior, they could earn it for good behavior.

For example, doing things the 1st time they're asked, helping their siblings out, blah, blah, blah.

Every time they impress us with their amazing behavior they earn 1 "game goon" which is good for 10 minutes of playing time. When they want to play, they just turn in the amount that they want. So I totally hope this doesn't blow up in my face. It seems like it might be a lot of work. They're keeping the jars in their room & I'm going to let them be accountable for keeping track of them. (they're good about stuff like that)

We're just sick of nagging them to get things done & to be nice to their siblings. Maybe a little positive reinforcement will work better. Wish me luck or give me some suggestions that have worked for you since we're new to the gaming world.

Didj Gaming System

Didj is Leap Frog's new educational gaming system for ages 6+. I wanted to buy it for my boys for Christmas but didn't care for the $100 price tag.
Costco carried it during the holidays for $90. I went in this week & found it there for $27 including 1 game.
I bought 2 of them & my boys have really liked it so far.
A few downsides:
-it eats batteries like mad & the charger has been recalled
option: ac wall adapter for $10
-the downloadable game it comes with doesn't save so you have to start from level 1 every time
Upsides:
-games are customizable: you can selesct spelling words & math problems at their level
-it's $27!!
UPDATE:
I found these Duracell High Draining rechargeable batteries that last forever! They come precharged & the can hold a charge for up to a yr.

Christmas Break

A few years back we deicided to start opening presents a few days early so that it wouldn't be so overwhelming & they could actually enjoy what they got. It's about a 5 day process.

Opening gifts

Snow playing at night

Opening presents- again

Celebrating Chewy's 9th b-day in his sweet sweater

Christmas Eve

Opening gifts on Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

That's right, straw glasses.

Christmas Day @ B & S's house.

Going to Christmas Village

Combi's face after his sledding crash

Getting ready to countdown to midnight

Duke's baptism

& finally "hanging" out at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.

I need a nap.