Halloween Boo Ha Ha

Happy Halloween!

How do you fall asleep?

Two weeks ago Powell learned how to climb out of his crib, so to avoid any major injury we turned his crib into a bed. We've had a ton of fun finding him after he's finally fallen asleep.

It's General Conference time again. For the past few years we've been going to the cabin on Cedar Mountain to watch and relax. The kid's do a good job watching and listening to the talks when we're there, and I always get a nap or two in. But I didn't nap through all of it, and if you didn't get a chance to listen to Sister Dalton's talk on Fathers and daughters I recommend it.

Anyway, this was Powell's first time to really enjoy the mountains. We walked to aspen mirror lake, enjoyed the changing leaves, ate yummy food, drank some hot chocolate, and the kids played together.

I love the picture of Darin and Powell's profiles. I think they look so much alike.

Hope is not lost!!!

Can you guess what Darin is posing next to? If you guessed my audi wagon you are correct! Sad but true story is: I was pulling out of Costco about a month ago and suddenly the engine died. I coasted to the side of the road and that's where I stayed until a nice man pushed me backward through an intersection to a safer parking spot. Darin and his dad towed it back to Hurricane that night. (Chuck is always willing to help us with late night truck and trailer adventures!) The diagnosis was not good. The timing belt was definitely broken, and that could only mean one thing...so was the engine. Darin and I have been making plans for the car's demise and a replacement for me. He has also been taking apart the whole front end of the car. (Does anyone know a boy who doesn't like to disassemble things?) But hope is not lost!!! Darin found the heads of the engine this week and they look perfect. Yay!!! It looks as if we have a few more years together. (The audi and I that is.)

book review

So we've started a new tradition this year of me reading a little to the kids from a chapter book every night after scriptures. I consider it a success since we've had far less children dozing off during scriptures, and I haven't had to read a barbie book to Lena in probably two weeks.
Anyway just finished our second book, Bullies in the Headlights, by Matthew Buckley. We all loved this book! It had us laughing out loud more than a few times. It's written from an eight year old boy's point of view. So funny! So much to relate to if you grew up in a large mormon family. It also has a great message to it that doesn't come across cheesy. My kids were glued every night!

Six Reasons

6 reasons I love this moment:

- eating breakfast outside
- Logan being a goofball
- Powell adoring him
- a beautiful day
- Sunday morning without early church
- frumpy hair

Tiger Power

Jack's 1st football game! Jack was the first and last player to touch the ball during his football game on Saturday. Jack tried out for kicker earlier this week and was exited to start the game kicking off. During the game Jack made some great touchdown saving tackles on defense as he played cornerback. A few of the tackles were made after running all the way across the field to the opposite side. Jack is quick!
On offense Jack is a wide receiver, but on the last play of the game he got a chance to play running back. The quarterback handed Jack the ball and he ran around the end breaking a few tackles and getting some good blocks. Jack emerged from the pack and was off to the races. He ran about 60 yards for the score as time expired.

Birthdays Are the Pits

For Logan's birthday we went to Las Vegas to check out an indoor skate park with a foam pit. Needless to say Logan had a terrible time (wink, wink.)
Here's footage of his second time flying into the foam pit. By the end of our three hour stint he was trying all sorts of things into the foam. Including a back flip without his bike. With some coaxing and bribing with skittles, Darin and Jack both overcame their fears and tried the big ramp into the foam, too. It's fun to watch my boys play!

Happy Birthday Logey

Happy Birthday Logan!!!
I don't know what we'd do without you.
What we love about Logan:
He is fun!
He gets excited about things and makes you excited about them.
He works hard and tries hard.
He's not afraid of gross things. (killing bugs, washing dirty dishes, and not taking a bath ha, ha!)
He is a great bike rider.
He knows how to overcome his fears.
He is kind and worries about others feelings.
He loves his brothers and sister.
He is dedicated and persistent.
He has an amazing memory that always includes details we've forgotten.

First Day Fun

We made it through the first week of school! Logan is officially a fifth grader, or one of the big kids, as Lena calls him. Jack's the middle man in third grade, and Lena brings up the rear in Kindergarten. She doesn't actually start until tomorrow so we'll add pictures of her later. I love seeing my kids happy and growing!

p.s. See that box on the driveway behind the boys. That is a grind box the boys built and painted with Darin this summer. They worked hard to earn it, and I'm so proud of the time they put in. For all you not so bmx savvy people out there. A grind box is used for jumping your bike onto and then sliding down the edge or doing tricks with pegs attached to your wheels. (video footage to come later.)

p.p.s. Powell walked around while we were taking pictures of Lena saying, "cheese." Sadly, he wouldn't hold still long enough to actually get a picture.

Does Bologna Inspire You?

This is what Lena did with her lunch today. I think pink lady is pretty cute if you like the cold cut type.

Sweetness

Powell and I were working in the yard this morning trimming, pulling weeds, etc. After a while I noticed I was working alone. So I found the munchkin in the corner of the yard having breakfast. Fresh grapes off the vine. Life doesn't get much better.

Oh, What Do You Do In the Summertime

When I was young almost every summer day was spent in our backyard pool with my brothers and sister. My brother, Mark, could do the best tricks off the diving board, and we made up some pretty fun games. "Shark" is still my all time favorite.
Now that I have kids we're lucky enough to use grandma's pool whenever we want. (Thanks Cheryl!!!!) I hope my kids have the same fun memories of being together on these lazy summer days.

Things

Most husbands get their wives things for their birthdays. Things like jewelry, clothes, appliances, cards you name it they're all things. This year I got a real Thing! I've had a thing for Things since our honeymoon in Mexico. Apparently so does Darin, so this year he decided to make it more than just a thing. It has now moved into the garage and we can see each other on a regular basis. Rust, dents and all. Oh baby!

Bike Week

Don't be mistaken by the title it's always bike week at our house. But this week was extra biketacular. We celebrated Father's Day with a BBQ at our house. Darin and his brothers and sisters got together and gave Mom and Dad R. new bikes. Aren't they cute?!!! (the bikes aren't bad either.)




We also made it to the Virgin Regional BMX races last night. Logan, Jack and Lena raced. Everyone came home with trophies. Lena told us last night while dancing around her room with her trophy that she had set a goal for herself to win a trophy the first time she raced. She is so proud, and hasn't stopped smiling since last night.

Loads of Fun

We're having lots of fun this summer, actually mountains of it. This is what I woke up to last Monday morning. This picture was after the sorting. Is was actually fun to do the laundry as I found evidence of our outing to Ivins and Gunlock. Slip and sliding in the backyard was also there. Specimens from Logan's Science Camp, and our weekend at the cabin kept showing up. We even found the showings of some BMX races. Now lets go somewhere else, so I don't have to do the laundry yet.

Let the adventures begin...

Adventures 2011 are officially underway! Hiking in Ivins and playing at
Gunlock were given a rating of "really fun!" by Jack.

Outside or nothing

See this kid. He's happy right. Yep! Everyday he brings his shoes to me and goes to the door. If by chance one of his darling brothers or sister happen to leave the house. He cries at the door until someone takes him out into the fresh air. I can't stand how cute he is in his swimming trunks.

Starting Again

I feel like it takes about two years after I have a baby to get out of the haze of sleep deprivation. So to update my blog when the baby is 17 months I think the fog may be lifting. We're having a great summer and it's just begun! We recently returned from Cheyenne, Wyoming. During our trip we drove to Denver to catch a Rockies vs. Cardinals game. We sat way up in the nosebleed seats. At the Coors stadium they don't even try to make you feel good about sitting in the cheap seats. They call it "the rock pile." It was slightly more comfortable. Darin and I had a great time! At one point during the game I asked Logan if he was having fun. He said, "It's o.k., but I'm glad to stay because I know this is really cool for Dad."