Logan trip

A few weeks ago we did a overnight trip to Logan. I had never been up there before and we thought it would be fun to take the boys on a short trip. We had a great time. Started out with a dinner at Chuck-a-rama across the street from the hotel, which the boys loved. It was easy to find food they would eat and it was quick, so a good choice. Don't think I would really choose to eat there again, but it was good food. Then after dinner we went to the American West Heritage Center. They had a big corn maze, a  huge slide- just a  long hill covered in a tarp, (Daniel and Nathan LOVED that!), a hay castle that Andrew thoroughly enjoyed jumping from the walls into the hay, and a wagon ride. We didn't get there until  after 7, and stayed until 10. We were glad the boys had such a good time. The next day we went to the zoo in town and had some Aggie ice cream before heading home.

 The boys did a talent show for us at the park! It was hilarious!


We made a stop at the Hill Aerospace Museum. That was a great stop for the boys. Nathan was a little disappointed I think that we didn't get to go inside the planes. He saw 3 men at the museum wearing vet hats, and asked if they were pilots. One guy talked to Nathan about how he flew 5 planes in the museum. It was cute to see Nathan listening to him.

 There was a fun hands-on area for kids where they could try on different costumes and had a couple of cockpits that they could sit in.

Summer Camping Trip

Last weekend we did a one night camping trip up in the Wasatch Mountains. It was beautiful. The campground ended up further up than we thought, but the van did amazing and handled the bumpy dirt road really well! We took all of our bikes with us and the boys liked riding around. Daniel's training wheels didn't do quite as well on dirt, but he was a trooper and kept trying even when his wheels were just spinning. All three boys loved the DIRT, and I just had to smile and say, oh well, we're camping.

Andrew loved helping out with the cooking the next morning. He ate all the sausage his brothers wouldn't eat (it was the wrong shape...) and finished all the pancake they left on their plates.

It was pretty chilly the next morning, so  the boys were all bundled up and riding their bikes to keep warm!

Nathan found this stick and had fun marching around with it.

This was the dirt road to the campground. The campground was just a few miles north of cascade springs.

We had to stop and check out the stream.  Andrew really wanted to go for a swim. The other two were content to throw sticks and rocks in the water.
This was at Cascade Springs. It was a great walk for the little guys. It would be fun to go back and walk more of the loop around. Andrew loved all the waterfalls and stopped to roar at them all. That is his new sound for almost anything, excited, any animal, mad, funny,etc.  Daniel was watching for fish a lot of the time- we didn't see any though.

We drove home thru the Alpine Loop (paved roads!!) and Scott told the boys to watch for animals. We didn't see any, but the boys sure had fun imagining! They saw tigers, dinosaurs, baboons, monkeys, giraffes, you name it, it was there that day! Beautiful drive and cheaper than the zoo. We certainly enjoy the mountains that we live by. It will be fun to explore and see more as we venture out with the boys!!

A moose on the loose

A couple of weeks ago, Scott went to scout camp with the priests in the ward. So it was me and the boys for a few days. I was looking for something to do, and I found a hike that sounded like it was a great one for kids and short. So we drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon and found the trailhead. The boys were so excited, and then disappointed to see the high water had cut off the trail. I have to admit the high water was kind of scary- I had to have a big talk with Nathan and Daniel about staying away from the water.We said a prayer before we started, and they did a great job staying away from the water. Andrew was in the backpack most of the time and seemed to like that. Anyway, long story short, we hiked up to a cool bridge on another trail and sat on the bench to have a snack. Nathan tells me, "there is an animal crossing the stream."

And if you can tell, there is a MOOSE walking our way!! I was pretty nervous; I told the boys they needed to stay on the bench, hold still, and be quiet. I didn't know what I was going to do if it came our way. Me and 3 kids on the mountain seemed kind of dumb at this point!

But, she wondered down the trail and away from us. That made me happy. And we got some pictures, so that made it fun. When we told Grandpa about it, he asked Daniel if he saw a moose on the loose. Daniel told him, "No, we saw a moose on a hike." So there you have it.

We went to Copperton Park last night and Andrew loved it. He really loves swinging.

Happy Birthday Daniel!!

Daniel is now a busy, wonderful 3 year old!! We decorated his room with streamers and balloons, which he was excited about in the morning. Nathan picked out a toy knight and horse to give him, Daniel loved it. It was fun to see Nathan thinking about what to get his brother. That afternoon, Andrew went to G&G Johnsons, and we took the older boys to see "Cars 2." They loved it, I really loved the new short pixar before the movie- Toy Story Hawaii Vacation.

Here is the Mater cake he requested., Daniel said he had to be blue.

 Here is Daniel new bike. He is a little speedster chasing Nathan down the sidewalk.

We opened presents out in the back yard.

 The birthday hat. We got this at Disneyland last fall and are starting to have all the kids wear it on their birthday. We almost forgot, so he wore it right before bed for a few minutes.

Daniel got a package yesterday from Opa and Oma and Anne. He loved it. See the bear card- it was a big hit with all the boys. Andrew especially likes to roar at it. And he spoiled his dinner tonight with a kinder egg. It made him happy!

Happy Independence Day

Scott made this video for the 4th of July this year. All the scenic pics are places that we have been. It also features both our dads and some pictures from their time in the Army! Go army! This really hits home for me and makes me very proud and happy to be an American. We are blessed to live in this great country.

Projects around the house and yard

I decided that we needed to show all of the things we have been working on lately- i.e. the last few months!!

We have a playground in the backyard now. It has been wonderful. The boys especially love the sandbox and swings.

 For family night last week, Scott led the way in building the bird feeder. The boys thought that was especially cool, cuz they had seen a Bob the Builder show where he had built a bird feeder too! I like to watch the birds that come in the morning. 

I LOVE this pic of Andrew- this is the face he made when I said, "smile!" Isn't he a cutie?? He loves the red shovel, and puts up a big fit if one of the other boys has it. He is the tool boy, he loves to get into the shed outside when we leave it open and find Scott's tools. Especially the hammer. This pic also showcases the border Sco built around the playground. It turned out great and keeps all the woodchips contained.

The bench on the front step used to be black. The paint was chipping off like crazy, so I thought about stripping it and starting anew. But I decided that that was a lot of work and just went with spray paint!! Primer and a few cans of red did the trick! I love how it stands out. Also notice the ivy that we are attempting to tame. That plant is a BEAST. It looks nice when under control, but it grows like crazy and sticks to everything. If anyone knows how to get the old sticky tendrils off of stucco, let me know. We pulled the ivy down last summer and I still can't get the root junk off the column.

This planter is between our driveway and the neighbors yard. There hasn't been anything there but weeds that we kill off every month or two, so I decided to get a few plants and some mulch for it. I planted all perennial stuff, I want it all to grow and hide the electric boxes in it!! I hope they will be happy and grow. I love smelling the lavendar, it brings back many good memories of family vacations. I think I might plant several more lavendar plants around the yard.

This is our front room wall. Not the greatest picture, but it shows the cool lantern we hung up (2 euro from the basket factory!!) with an led candle. Also the window that I have had for 5 years at least and finally spruced up this spring. It had so many coats of paint on it. I stripped it all down and found some really pretty hardware that I love. Then we blew up a picture we took from the sacred grove in NY, and now we have a window looking out to it.

This is Andrew's room. Scott learned a few electrician skills installing a ceiling fan/light. The boys rooms get so hot at night and this really helps cool the room down.

Another shot of the playground and cute Andrew!! More to come later!!

My crazy boys....

Tonight Scott is working on a home improvement project, and I don't want to just sit around being lazy while he is working hard on putting up some shelves in our food storage closet in the basement. I am way excited for the shelves, cause the ones that were in there were way wimpy and most of our food was just in bags and boxes on the floor. Our basement has a somewhat finished room- I think the previous owners were just in a hurry to get it done, cause alot of the walls are not straight, the doorframes have big gaps and the lights don't work in half the room. So its a work in progress! Thankfully, its not an urgent fix up, so we are taking our time!!

We are looking forward to spring and sprucing up the yard and hopefully putting in a playground for the boys. They love playing outside, and it will be fun to have a "park" as Daniel tells us we need in OUR yard! Although the simple things are pretty entertaining too. I was picking rocks out of an old flowerbed and we saw lots of worms and spiders, and 1 ladybug. Nathan and Daniel were pretty fascinated. I had gardening gloves on, or I wouldn't be holding worms for them!

 

 Nathan loves his little legos, and Scott has helped him build some ships, walkers, etc from Star Wars. Nathan loves looking online for ideas (i.e. pictures) and then building them. He told me we needed to take a picture of this ship  so that other kids could see how to build their own Bobba Fett ship. So get building! Unfortunately, Andrew can reach up to the table covered in the lego and can pull pieces down from the edge. Not good- I am not sure where all the lego is going to go now....

One afternoon the boys thought it was the funnest thing ever to throw diapers (new ones!) down the stairs. I think I was doing the last blog post! Anyway, then they had to get costumes on. I am glad they had fun, but not so happy that Daniel likes to do it all the time now.  My own fault though.

I love the look on Nathan's face here. He looks so serious- but a cowboy hat and pink sunglasses?!?!

He is my sweety! Last week he was sounding croupy one night, and I was sleeping with him. We had a long night with a humidifier in his face, several trips outside to get the wheezing to stop, and priesthood blessing from dad, he finally was doing better. He was hugging me most of the night, and coughing in my face.  But how could I be mad when he also kept saying, "Love you mom." I am glad he is doing better.  

 I had a birthday, thankfully we didn't have 28 candles for the cheesecake! Although the boys were great helpers in blowing them out. We went out to dinner that night too, a perfect birthday celebration- no cooking! But the greatest part of the day was when I opened the gift from my wonderful husband and parents. They bought me a plane ticket to go to Germany for a week in May to spend with my mom and sisters! I was so surprised and excited! I have a deadline to get Andrew weaned now.

 OH MY! Look at these cute german boys! Authentic lederhosen! We are going to do some great outdoorsy pictures when its green outside. They loved wearing them. Andrew wore his to church ( I thought it was too cold for the other two boys to wear theirs) and he was way cute! Makes me think of my little bro wearing his lederhosen.

We had burritos the other night and the boys HAD to do a tortilla-head like in Toy Story 3. They thought it was pretty fun and not quite as easy as it looked in the movie to move him around. He was a little more stiff the next morning though!

After all those fun pictures,  I don't know that I need to say much! I guess there wasn't much about Andrew. He is almost 1 and you can definitely tell he has big brothers who get him to laugh by pulling his cheeks out to see his teeth, or throw toys at him or knock him down! I wish he wouldn't laugh everytime- it really encourages Daniel to keep doing it. At church last sunday, Andrew was having fun trying to take another baby's pacifier, and push him down! When he actually pushed him down and the little guy started crying, Andrew just looked up with a very surprised look. It was funny, Andrew just thinks that is how to play. Guess we need to work on his play time skills before he plays with babies his age.

This is for Katie!

I have a confession- I love looking at other people's blogs, but I am terrible about posting anything on my own. My sister said that I have the cutest little boys to show off and I should tell about their adventures. So, here is a quick post. The boys are cutting paper in the kitchen right now, a favorite, yet messy, pastime lately. Andrew is amazingly sleeping thru the ruckus of the other two yelling and playing this afternoon. We, or at least me, am feeling the effects of cabin fever. I am sooo ready for warm weather and to get outside. It seems like we are stuck in the house when its cold outside. I guess I am just wimpie and don't want to go out, and therefore Nathan doesn't want to go out and play. So Daniel won't last as long on his own out there. Although he is a little basketball player. He likes to go shoot hoops out back most days, rain, snow or sun. It is pretty darn cute. He loves anything involving balls, and is always running and jumping. I am convinced he will someday have the first broken bone in the family! Nathan would much rather stay inside playing with his little legos, recreating Star Wars scenes with the ships, etc that Scott helps him build. Andrew is almost 10 mo. old. It is flying by quickly. He puts up with lots of tough love, especially from Daniel. He loves playing in the toy room and crawling up the stairs. I discovered this week that he will crawl to the edge at the top of the stairs and squeak/yell until we come to get him. He loves eating and is learning that if he cries loud enough during the night or early hours of the morning, he can get us to come and check on him! I think we are going to be letting him cry more and realize that he needs to be sleeping at night... not playing. As for me and Scott, not a whole lot new. Although we have been enjoying a Christmas present we got. The TV show "Alias" seasons 1-5. It is been super fun to watch, but has lead to more than a few tired mornings with the boys!

Enjoy a few pics from the last couple months! I am off to help pick up the diapers flying down the stairs. I guess that's what hapens when you ask a 5-year or 2-year old to get a diaper for the baby brother!! Fun times!

Goofy boys in their cute new christmas pjs!

Enjoying a warmer day outside- a first for Andrew! He loved crawling around in his little snowsuit. I think he will love the backyard when its warm.

Scott combed his hair (with a little gel) after bath the other night- pretty stylin', huh?

We went to the aquarium last week, it was really fun and a perfect size for little kids. But I loved it too. They had an electric eel with a sign you could touch and feel how the same jolt as if you had touched the eel.  It made my arm all tingly after barely touching it, Nathan touched it for like 20 sec! Talk about a numb arm!