OUR HOUSE

Maui

2011-12-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

Better late than never!

2011-10-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here is my handsome kindergartner on his first day of school. He did totally awesome. Why did I fret and worry for the past year about this day? Probably because I hate to see him grow up so fast, and he is gone all day. I like having at home with us, I was worried about Tyson not having his buddy, and I knew life was going to get a bit more busy, oh ya, no more vacations during school months. But it's ok, the boys loves school, he loves his teachers, he loves his friends, he loves all the new things he is learning. He has started to read, which I am so excited about. It will open a whole new world for him. It is so fun to see how far he has come in only a couple of months. I love to see his confidence in himself, and how proud he is of himself when he accomplishes something new. Love it, love it, keep up the good work buddy.And Mister Spicy Tysie. He started preschool with Ms. Julie and with Lacy. He is such a fun kid, he keeps us on our toes. One day we were driving home from church and he asks"Mom what does separate mean?" I probably didn't do a very good job, I told him you take two things away from each other. I asked why. He said, "Sister Elson said she was going to seperate me and Issaac today at church." I laughed, he had no idea what she was talking about. I guess he and Issaac were talking a bit to much during singing time.

He loves everything he is learning, he comes home with great craft projects, he sings new songs to us and is learning so much about the world around him, he even learned how to write his name. Today he told me he wished he could go to school everyday. It is so fun to see how excited he gets as he trys to figure out what he is going to learn about that day. Don't grow up to fast Buddy.
The Saturday after school started I participated in the Climb To Conquer Cancer walk that goes to the top of Snow Bowl. I have wanted to do this every year since we came to Flag and finally my good friend Tera said she was on a team so I joined up. What a great experience. To climb that mountain was a bit hard, but not really hard. we walked with 4200 people alot of whom were cancer survivors, now that's hard work. All ages, all walks of life, Tera's niece Haley who is 9 is a cancer survivor, she is an amazing little girl. I felt very privelleged to get to know her better, see her strength and see her make it to the top.
Tessa at 3months old. we got these cool scarves on he climb.
Dylan turned 6 on the 31st of August. He wanted his usual chocolate cake, but this time with the Green Lantern symbol on it. I love his cheeks all puffed out.

He got to have one of his favorite buddies come and help him celebrate, and he got his favorite things, an angry bird, and Star wars legos. Can't believe he is 6.

Summer 2011

2011-09-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

You would think this blogging thing would get easier for me, I just can't keep up with it. I rarely even take pictures anymore. New Goal take more pictures of my kids, they are growing to fast.

Tyson turned 4 at the end of July, I seriously can not believe he is four. He is my jokester, he enjoys life to its fullest, most of the time. He has an incredible imagination, and loves to play with his brother. Sometimes I feel sorta guilty because I don't play with him very often, but he and Dylan they can play and make up stuff all day. It really is so nice that they love each other so much and can keep each other entertained, especially with a new baby. I was really worried how he was going to do when Dylan started school. It has been quite and adjustment for him, but it is also easier for me to play with him when Tessa is sleeping. We play whatever he wants. It has been good for us to bond more.
A couple of pictures of Tessa, this one is around 3 months. This one shows how long she it.

This is at 3 months, she is my little sweet pea.

We had some wonderful rain storms this summer, that left these awesome puddles. The boys play in the same puddles every year, they watch at the windows for the puddles to get bigger and then as soon as the rain stops they b-line it for the water.

I love these of Tyson on his bike, he kinda looks like the wicked witch of the west.

And then of course there are the mud fights, which usually end up with rocks in the eyes and crying.

We also went camping with friends out to JD Dam, it was so much fun, even if I didn't get any sleep. The kids had such a great time, I don't think I have ever seen a cuter dirty group of kids.

This is Tysons new thing, he won't smile for pictures anymore, all he gives is a crazy face.

The proof is on the hands, oh they were so dirty. When we got home around 5, Marty cleaned out the van and I turned on the slip and slide, they washed all the dirt off before they got in the shower. I thought it was a brilliant idea.

Tessa loved being out side, she slept great and was happy. It was so nice, I think she was kinda sad that she didn't come home as dirty as her brothers.

She smiles!

2011-07-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

Tessa started smiling the other day, this is all I could get of one.

She is so cute.

2011-07-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Tessa is 7 weeks old, i can't believe how fast the time goes. We weighedher last week and she was almost 9lbs. she has gotten alot longer also. She is sleeping so much better, I think we finally got her days and nights right. Last night she slept 6 1/2 hours. I feel like a new mommy with that kind of sleep. She has started to smile a bit, it is fun to talk to her and play with her and have her react more to it.She doesn't really like headbands, but they look so cute.
Tessa celebrated her first 4th of July in Clay Springs with Grandma and Granddad Perkins.
She got to meet alot of Great Aunts and Uncles and alot of cousins at my dad's family gathering.
She also got to ride in her first parade.
I am grateful for this counrty we live in, I am grateful for the freedoms we enjoy.

Tyson with his little flag.

Tera came over yesterday to show me how to make Tessa blessing dress, I am so excited for it. I think it is going to be so cute. I was working on it last night, I cut out the tooling skirt thing, I thought it would be funny to put it on Tyson. He thought it was ok to put it on, then when it looked like a dress and I wanted to take his picture he wasn't so happy. I love his expression.

8 years

2011-06-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

Marty and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on Sunday the 5th. We took the kids and a picnic and shot guns on Saturday to celebrate. Marty and I both got drawn for bull elk this fall and I am very rusty when it comes to shooting a large calibur rifle. I need alot of target practice and the boys love to go out to this cinder hill to climb, run and roll. We bring home alot of black cinders. Dylan taking a few shots with my Smith and Wesson. He didn't like it very well, little to much for his hands. I love watching my boys learn to shoot. I grew up around guns my whole life and both Marty and I really love to collect and shoot them. Keeping our kids safe is very important to us, so we decided that we were going to teach them gun safety at a very young age, you have to if you have guns in your home. We keep them locked up and they have to tell us the 3 rules of gun safety everytime they shoot a gun. Marty also plays a find the gun game with them, when they find the gun they aren't allowed to touch it, the first thing they do is tell an adult where they see it. It has been a great teaching tool to keep them safe if they ever come across a weapon in a weird location.
Tyson taking his turn. Next time we will bring a smaller gun with not so much kick.

Marty with his super cool gun. I love shooting this one as well.

We had a great time dispite the wind, the boys were great and Tessa slept the whole time, so we really got some good shooting in, needless to say I need alot more practice.

Sunday afternoon we were hanging out as a family, Dylan was making his own smoothie concoction and I had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for all the blessings in my life. I really am so blessed. I have wonderful kids, Dylan and Tyson have been so patient with me since Tessa has joined our family. They are such good buddies, they really do such a good job entertaining each other. Tessa is such a sweet baby, it just feels like she has always been here. I am grateful for Marty, he encourages me and supports me in whatever I want to do. I am thankful he chose me to spend eternity with. I love every minute that I get to spend with him. He is such a fun, kind, giving guy. I love him forever.

I am grateful for our wonderful families, and grateful to wonderful friends who help me when I need it most. I am grateful to my Savior for making up my mistakes when I just don't quite have everything together.

Sweet Tessa

2011-06-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pictures of our sweet Tessa. We just love her, she is a pleasant, calm baby. I love her sweet little baby sounds, I love it when she stretches and scrunches up her little legs, she is just a sweet as can be and she is growing to fast for me already. Her brothers love her and protect her already. Tyson gets a little rough at times because he loves on her so much. We are grateful she is here, it is like she has always been here. I am thankful for my little family, Dylan and Tyson are such wonderful boys, we have a great time with them. I am looking forward to the summer to hang out and play and enjoy friends and warm weather.
One of these days I will sit down and right down her birth story, it is hard to find time, but I will try.
Tessa had her two week appointment she only gained 2 1/2 ounces so she was up to 7lbs 4 1/2 ounces. but she grew about 2 inches in length, she was 21 3/4 inches.

Family Pics 2010

2010-12-10T10:59:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of my favorites.

Mister model

It's a good thing he's cute.

Daddy is their whole world. These guys always have a good time together.

This one is my absolute favorite. These boys love each other so much, they really are best buddies. I am so lucky to have such wonderful boys.

Tribute to the end of summer.

2010-11-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

I know summer has been over for a while now, but I am slow.

I have to say that I loved this last summer, I was so sad when it came to an end. I guess this is one way to go back to those fun, warm summer days. I don't think we stayed home more than a handful of times during the week. We have such amazing, fun friends and there was always some adventure to go on. We hiked, swam, played at the park, and ate to our hearts content. So these are a few highlights of our last days of summer.

Lots of blue frosted cupcakes.
Breakfast with our sunglasses on.

The flood, this was the worst that we saw.

Chocolate milkshakes in the middle of the kitchen floor for breakfast.

A sandwich break in Kayenta.

And we couldn't leave Kayenta without a picture of a stray dog.

Tyson turned 3. Everytime he hears someone say 3, he says,"Hey, I'm 3."

The boys dug a hole for our underground water storage.

Keep digging Tys, you're almost done.

500 gallons of water storage, good job guys.

I tore the boys room apart for a remodel. It's not quite done yet, so I can't show the finished product. One day.

Building crazy cars on a day we were actually home.

Dylan turned 5.

The county fair, the boys always have such a fun time on the rides.

And of course the demolition derby, I didn't take one picture of that.

Thanks to everyone that made our summer the best one yet. We look forward to next year, we'll see what kind of fun we can stir up next year.

Durango Part II

2010-10-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

I am playing catch up before Halloween.

We ended our Durango vacation with a lot of fishing and the train museum.

I have no idea who took this picture, but it is one of only two that I am in, and I am fishing with Dylan and I love it.

Being crazy on the tracks.
This was heaven for my boys, who cares about riding a train for 4 hours, this was so much better. We got to explore inside and out of 5 or 6 retired trains. We spent hours here, Dylan loved the model train set.

Tyson was totally excited about sitting in the conductor seat, he pretended to shovel coal, haul cars, he was very much playing the conductor role.

We stopped in the gift shop and they each got to pick a train, this was the only place they could find to drive their trains. I love this picture.

We had such a great time. It was so relaxing, our house was awesome, it was a little tough to leave. Tyson asks almost daily if we can go back.

Dylan turned 5

2010-09-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

Am I responsible enough to have a 5 year old. Yesterday I didn't feel like I was.
Anyway Dylan turned 5 on Tuesday and is so excited. He thinks he can do more things because he is 5. I'll hear him talking to himself and he says he is going to do something because he is 5. We went in yesterday for his 5 year check up, he is 46 1/2 inches tall, 97th%, and 44.5 lbs, 75th%. He is becoming longer and leaner. He also has a sinus infection, 3rd one in less than a year. Darn weeds.
He loves life, rarely ever has a bad day.
Loves playing with his little brother, they can play for hours together.
He is so friendly, he loves to meet new kids and makes friends quickly.
He tries so hard to please everyone.
He is super smart, and loves learning new things.
He is a great eater, he will try just about everything, and if there is dessert, he will eat everything on his plate. I can always tell when he doesn't like something because he says, "yum this is really good", that means he doesn't like it, but he will eat it.
He is learning to play sports, man can he smash a baseball, and he really wants to play hockey.
Boy do I love this kid, he makes me want to be a better person. I am thankful for him everyday.

Durango

2010-08-28T15:24:00.001-07:00

In the middle of July we decided we needed a little break. We decided to take a little trip to Durango for a few days of fun with our friends the Anderson's. Marty was nervous to leave, monsoon season started with a bang, there has been a lot of flooding because of the fire on the mountain. We had no idea the water would make it to our house. We have the most amazing friends that watched our house and sandbagged for us while we were off having fun.

I forgot to take a picture of the house where we stayed, it was pretty amazing. The boys had alot of fun running up and down the stairs and playing baseball with the huge vaulted ceiling. They even loved their master closet turned bedroom that they slept in. The closet was huge, it seriously was the size of a small bedroom.

My favorite part was the huge partially covered, multi level deck, and the pond that was about 15 ft from the house. We enjoyed our yummy meals alot more on that deck, well I did anyway.

Marty and his buddy Spencer were rock climbing buddies back in the day and if you go to Durango you have to go rock climbing. We found a great spot for them to go, it took a while for them to get the ropes set, the kids started getting a little restless, there isn't alot of space to run around on the side of cliffs, imagine that. Dylan decided he was going to be the first one up. I love this picture of Tyson and he's thinking Dylan is going up there?

Dylan getting in his harness.
He was pretty nervous at first, and kind of had a little, no huge break down, but he really wanted to do this climb.We just encouraged him and encouraged him and he just took off. Once he decides he is going to do something there is no stopping him.

He made it all the way to the very top of the rope. I almost cried, Marty did cry, he was so excited, now he is going to have a climbing buddy.We spent alot of time fishing. We caught those silly fish with bread, it was like fishing for idiots, we could fish with bread and they would just jump on our hooks. Now that is relaxing, and so much fun.

Second part to come.

Back tracking

2010-08-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

July 17th my parents celebrated 40 years together.

We celebrated their special day on the 4th of July weekend.

I took the boys and we went Clay Springs to celebrate the 4th of July. My Dad drove his big tractor in the parade again this year.

My brother surprised them with this sign on the tractor. It made my mom cry. Grandma, my sister in law Tangela and myself rode on the trailor with a bunch of the grandkids, they enjoyed throwing candy at the spectators, no I mean literally throw candy at them. We had quite a few people running from us.

I am thankful for my parents, I've seen them struggle quite a bit the last few months, but their faith in Heavenly Father has never waivered. They know if they always trust in Him all will be well. That's probably one of the biggest things I've learned from them growing up with a large family, they always trusted in the Lord and we always had the things that we needed. Another things is to love my family, they have so much love to give. They love all of us kids, no matter how hard we are to love and they love their grandkids. My dad is so cute with his grandkids, I love to see my boys with him. They have worked hard their whole life for everything they have. They are always busy doing something, traveling, planting, canning, pulling weeds, feeding animals you name it, they are always busy. Rarely do I ever see them sitting idol for very long. I have a really hard time sitting still for very long, it must be where I get it from.

I love my parents, they are amazing examples, I am thankful for the things that I love in my life, that are because of them.

Happy Birthday Tyson!

2010-07-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

Tyson is such a great kid. We are so lucky to have him in our family. He loves life, exploring and doing new things. He is seriously so funny, he loves to sing songs and change the words, he thinks it's hilarious. He even uses one liners from movies. He has become quite the little artist lately, painting and coloring is very relaxing for him. He has discovered that gum is pretty cool to chew. That's the first thing he asks for when he wakes up in the morning, "Can I have some gum gum?" With a little mischevious grin on his face. He loves books, movies, swimming, and food. He really is such a fun kid, and has an amazing imagination. He really is pretty entertaining to watch while he's playing. He loves to play with Dylan, he is his best buddy and recently they like to play house and Tyson is the dad and Dylan the son. It's really pretty cute.
We are so grateful for Tyson, I hope he has an amazing and fun year.

He's 3 finally!

2010-07-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

2010-06-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

Does life get any better than this? Not for this boy.

Tyson's day revolves around a popsicle, but today it was a chocolate ice cream cone.

He sure does enjoy his treats.

2010-06-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday and Happy Father's Day!

Marty celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday.

We had a fun party for him on Friday night with friends, we had all of his favorite things, we ate Subway sandwiches, pasta salad and cookies, and played softball. It was tons of fun. We love you and hope you had a super day.

You are the best dad to these sweet boys. You show them a great example of integrity, hardwork, love, friendship, kindness, laughter, and respect. We love you, your the best.
We hope you super dads out there have a great day.

A Little Vacation!

2010-06-15T20:47:00.001-07:00

Last week Dylan and Tyson went to the Valley for a few days of fun. Monday we met up with some of my girlfriends that I grew up. We had a great day visiting and letting the kids play together. 5 boys and 1 little girl, aren't they all so cute?

We enjoyed lots of swimming and playing with friends and spending lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lisa.

On Wedesday Grandma and I took Dylan and Tyson to The Phoenix Childrens Museum. What a cool place. The boys loved it, I loved it.

Here we are in the "Climber", it is an amazing three story jungle gym made out of leftover construction materials. It was awesome, we couldn't even find the top story, it was a little confusing to get through.
Dylan loved these vacuum tubes, they freaked Tyson out, he kept getting his hand stuck.

They loved the sand table.

Little grocery store.

We spent most of our time in the "grocery store". I think they really liked it because they could get whatever they wanted and wasn't tell them no the whole time, and beside the fact that it was their size.

Tyson decided to ditch the small cart when he saw this baby. He unloaded ever single object off of every shelf. There was nothing for the other kids to play with. He was sure proud of himself though, smarty pants.

Then there was the art room. Tyson loves to paint and saved painting for the last. And it was awesome, they got to paint a castle.

I loved the smocks. Tyson was so happy, and so cute. Doesn't he look like a face card from Alice in Wonderland?

We had such a fun day, I forgot the picture from the noodle forest, next post I'll get it in there. I highly recommend it if you are in Phoenix and you need something to do for a few hours.

Boys+dirt+water=

2010-06-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

Playing Superman and Cooking

2010-06-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

This was our entertainment on a hot afternoon. Flying off the couch onto a pile of cushions.

Dylan getting fancy and doing some spins.

They were exhausted after doing this for 45 minutes.
I love it when Dylan and Tyson help me in the kitchen, and I love it that they can even cook a few things without my help. Here Dylan is putting a crumb topping on a cake for me.
This was Dylan's finished product, New York Style Crumb Cake, yum.

And Tyson is a master at tomato soup. He loves it and eats it for lunch quite often.

All I do it turn the stove on and pour a little milk for him, he does the rest. I think it makes him feel like a big boy.

I love these boys, it is amazing what they can learn, even being so young. Our days are feeled with lots of fun, I love finding new things for them to experience, and seeing their reactions. Somethings they like, some they don't.

Lucky Number Seven!

2010-06-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

Wow seven years huh. I asked Marty this morning if it felt like yesterday that we were married. He took a long time to respond, he had to really think about it. We have accomplished alot in seven years. He finally responded with, it doesn't feel like yesterday, but it doesn't feel like a million either. Good answer.

I just have to say that I love this man, probably more than the day I married him. He works hard for us everyday. He loves his boys, and he loves me. We have so much fun together, he can make me laugh more than anyone I know. He finds humor in the strangest places. I love that about him.

We were planning to go on a three day quad ride, leaving from here and making it to Payson. We have to postpone for a bit. Sounds like so much fun. I love that he likes to take me on crazy adventures, keeps me on my toes. I never know what he will come up with next.

Happy Anniversary Babe!

Seven Days in LA

2010-06-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Marty and I went to LA. Marty had another sales training and I went along for a nice relaxing week. I had hoped that the weather was going to be really nice because I wanted to spend some time at the beach, but it was freezing. I had to buy a sweater. I was bumbed.

We land in LA and the first thing we do is catch a cab and go to Hollywood, we were going to participate in The Amazing LA Race. I love the real Amazing Race and I always thought Marty and I would do awesome. We were both so excited. The race was a foot race to who knew where. We knew nothing about LA. Oh ya and we were carrying our luggage on our backs. Marty and I have packing down to a science so we don't have to check luggage. He has a backpack and I have a backpack and a big purse. It got pretty heavy and I got a little grouchy. Our first stop was the Hollywood Bowl, an outdoor venue for concerts, the place was huge. It seats over 17,000 people and we had to search for our clue among the seats. We solved a puzzle that lead us to Graman's Chinesse Theatre. Funny story, there were people stashed around from that were supposed to give us clues or whatever. Small note there are a billion crazy people in Hollywood, I wanted to just punch someone. This lady kept coming up to us and offering us a country music cd. Well we didn't want a music cd, then she would come back and say I really think you might like it. Well we didn't get it, we had a few free calls to Bob who was over the race to ask for clues. He said someone was trying to give us something but we wouldn't take it. Inside the cd case was the clue. Hello crazies. We had to put our hands in certain celebrities hand prints to find our next clue. We got on the metro and heading to down town LA. We saw the Angels Flight, and old trolly car that goes up and down a very steep hill. We were in such a hurry that I didn't even take out my camera to snap any pictures. Total bumber, I could have had a few winners. We then headed across the street to this super cool open market. There was tons of yummy food everywhere, I just wanted to stop and eat. I hadn't eaten since 5:30 and it was after noon. We then went to the library which had this beautiful garden, then we went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. We got back on the metro. It was a long ride, it felt good to take off the packs and rest. We headed back to Hollywood and had to find a certain stars name and use the first letter to find our last clue. It took forever. Bob said the race would take about 3 1/2 hours, it took us 5 1/2 hours, we came in second to last. I was exhausted, I got pretty frustrated a few times because certain people wouldn't listen to me. Now looking back on it, it was so much fun. I think it would have been a bit easier if we hadn't of had our pack. Sorry that was a condensed version and it was pretty long.

We did go back to Hollywood on Friday night to go and see Jimmy Kimmel.

That was way fun. The guests were ok, and we got to go to an out door concert, I can't even remember the name of the band. It was pretty bad though, it was dead silent while they were playing. We did get to see ourselves on tv though.

We rode the metro home, probably not such a good idea. We rode through the worst neighborhoods in LA. I was a little nervous. At one point when the car was totally packed we were two of three white people. It felt like I was back in Sao Paulo. I loved riding the metro.

Ok, I had to blend in with all of the crazies taking pictures with the "stars of the stars". So I took a picture of one as well. I got a bad glare.

We had a good week, I got so spoiled not having to worry about cooking three meals a day and

having to clean my house. I read, watched tv, went for walks, worked out and relaxed.

I was totally rejuvenated and ready to come home, and tackle our busy summer.

Next post will be about the boys vacation at Grandma's house.

Preschool Graduation

2010-05-30T09:16:00.001-07:00

Tuesday was Dylan's last day of preschool. The kids sang songs they had learned through out the year. They were so cute singing their ABCs and The Number Rock. Dylan was pretty sad that it was his last day. He's excited about going to kindergarten though.

He was excited to get his little diploma.
Could have been his college diploma for all he cared.

He has really come to love these ladies. They are pretty special in my eyes as well. They helped him when we just didn't know what to do for him anymore. This program has helped him so much, I can't say enough good things about it. Dylan has so much more confidience in everything he does. It makes me happy and kind of sad, he is growing so fast, and time is flying.

Miss Tanya, Miss Anna, Miss Jodie, and Mrs. Brown

Good job buddy, we love you.

Hello Spring!

2010-04-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know what else says spring besides baby animals. During spring break I took the boys to my parents house to see all of the new babies. They got 9 baby goats and lots of baby bunnies. Dylan loved this little guys so much, he wanted to bring him home so bad. Look at that smile.

He really loves chickens also, we just need to get his Dad on board with the idea of getting some animals.
One of the cute kids.

Mom checking on the kids.

Tyson wasn't really into holding the animal, he got a pretty good scare from the turkeys goobling at him, so he didn't stick around long for pictures.

2010-03-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

I forgot one thing. Tyson loves the Three Little Pigs, which he calls the Ten Little Pigs. Dylan and Tyson can be found playing this alot during the day. They switch from being the pigs, to the big bad wolf. I love it when Tyson is the pig, he is so cute when he says, "Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin I will not let you in." It is seriously so funny. And then when he is the wolf, and he huffs and puffs really hard to blow the house in. Sometimes if I ask him to do something like, Tyson can you please eat your dinner. He says, "I'm not Tyson, I'm the big bad wolf." And I have to ask, "Big bad wolf, can you please eat your dinner?" Then he happily does so. Funny kid.

This Boy!

2010-03-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

I just had to do a post about this boy of mine. I love the stage that he is in most of the time. He is 2 1/2 and is mister independent in a lot of things, but still wants almost everything done for him. We butt heads a bit in this area. He is so funny and super smart. He loves to laugh at himself and funny things that people say. He says the funniest things, a few of my favorites, "Oh, I am so proud of you." to himself after he finds something he has lost. After a little episodes of anger, "I'm getting happy." Then a pause, "I'm happy now." And he'll throw his hands up in the air and be so excited. All happening with in about 20 seconds. Makes me laugh everytime. And "OK, maybe I can do it."

He is growing so much, he just went through a huge growth spurt, all of his cute baby fat is almost gone. He's going to be long and lean like his dad and brother. I had to get out 4T pants for him, it kind of made me sad, he is only 2.

We have also been working on potty training, I think he is finally potty trained. Ya ho.

I love, love this boy. He still lets me hold him like a baby and cuddle him and kiss his sweet cheeks. He is fun to be around and play with, he has really gotten into playing make believe lately, he loves to play with his trains on the Island of Sodor. He loves to play with his brother, and gets so excited when we go pick him up from school. I am glad that they are such good buddies.

When the wind blows in Doney Park!

2010-03-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

This is what happens to roofs. This so happens to be our roof.

I came home from doing an errand Friday morning and the back porch was leaking. I thought to myself, That's no good. I told Marty, he came home and got out the ladder to take a peak and this is what he found. Gotta love those 60 mile an hour wind gusts. That's why we have homeowners insurance right?

Your hands smell like pee!

2010-02-25T07:41:00.000-08:00

Funny story..
A couple of weeks ago I was dropping Dylan off at Primary and I gave him a hug and told him goodbye, somehow my hand was near his nose and his said, "Your hand smells like pee." I was taken back and didn't know what to say, but " I washed my hands when I went potty". I didn't think anything of it until sometime this week I was playing with Tyson and he was playing with my hands and said, "You hands smew wike pee, mommy." "What?" was my reaction. I smelt them they didn't stink to me. So my question is why do my boys think I smell like pee? It could be for the fact that I spend alot of time in the bathroom with them, Tyson is still potty training, and Dylan thinks I have to go with him because something is going to get him. I promise I wash my hands, I feel like a millions times a day. I guess there are just some smells that won't wash off after awhile, according to my kids. I even had Marty smell them and he said they didn't smell. Maybe they are just being boys.

And this is what happens..

2010-02-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

....when you play baseball with Mom in the house.

We were just playing a friendly little game of ball and I hit the ball a little to hard and it smacked Dylan right in the mouth. He was so sad. And I felt horrible.

Poor guy. Sorry buddy.

A Project!

2010-02-10T12:12:00.001-08:00

My unorganized laundry room was driving me crazy, and we were snowed in one day, Marty needed a project, so he put up another shelf for me. He also needed something heavy to sit on the shelf so he could get it level. Thank goodness for heavy kids because I really didn't want to get up there. Tyson loved it. I am grateful for a handy hubby.

I am a little embarrassed to show this mess, but the after picture is so worth it.
My mother-in-law gave me some can organizers, made by shelfreliance, for my birthday. It took a whole to take everything off of the shelf and reorganize with the can rotaters. The kids had so much fun taking stuff off the shelf, then there were boxes. The ended up playing cars with them for a while. Then Dylan and Tyson helped but all the canned stuff away. It was like a party they had a blast. They still go in there and play with them. Putting groceries away now is so much easier because the boys want to do it. Hurry, they don't even realize they are helping out, don't tell them either, they'll stop.

And the after, it looks so much better.I am so thankful to have food on my shelves. I was just reading an email about some members of the church that are in Haiti, they have almost nothing. They have little drinking water, but they have enough other water to make sure they had clean clothes to wear to church. It is very humbling to see them in their circumstances, you can just see the faith in their eyes, they know they have nothing but feel blessed to be among the living and have the gospel in their lives.

Snow Storm January 2010

2010-02-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

That brown spot by the fench is Bear. He loved all the snow. Marty started throwing a frizzbee for him in the front yard, he found it everytime in all that snow.

We'll just shovel the snow off of the lawn for you Dad.
The boys loved sliding down the slide with the snow on it. They would go down, wait a while then go down again. Eventually it got to the point where they would only go down a couple of feet and get stuck, but they had a blast.

The Abominable Tyson(sorry that is probably spelled wrong)

Lots of snow, tons of fun, got to stay home and work on projects. I am sad that JoAnn's roof caved in, I need some fabric. I was also thinking about putting Dylan into skating lessons, he really wants to play hockey, but the ice skating rink fell in as well. Oh well.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun week leading up to Christmas.

It all started Monday evening for FHE, us, the Browns, Morriss, and Larsens went to sing Christmas carols at The Peaks. The boys were excited, they knew exactly what to do, they had seen an episode of Cailou and his family Christmas caroling to an assisted living home many times. Tyson was more interested in exploring and running around the place. Dylan was so cute, he has really enjoyed learning and singing Christmas songs this year. And for a kid who has a hard time in new situations and around people that he hasn't met before, he did so awesome. He was handing out candy canes and giving out hugs. I was so proud of him, he just loved all of those little Grandmas and Grandpas like they were his own. I know that they appreciated his little act of love. It was so nice to bring a little cheer into their lives. We will definately do that again.

The rest of the week we spend playing and baking and getting ready for the big night.

Christmas Eve, we had our second annual Night in Bethlehem. The kids love this, I love doing this, we eat bread, meat, cheese, with fruits and veggies. We sit on the floor, we act out a live Nativity. The kid loved getting dressed up and playing their parts. Dylan insisted on being Joseph, and Tyson was a shepard with Heath, and Austin. Riann was Mary, Shauna was Elizabeth, and Autumn was the angel. The dads were the wisemen.

We ended the night with some fun Christmas poems brought to us by Isaac, and Dylan has memories The Night Before Christmas and he told everyone that one. It was a great night, such a great way to prepare us for our Saviors birthday.

Dylan and Tyson actually slept in, which never happens. They were so excited to see that Santa had come. It was so fun to see the excitment on their little faces.
Tyson loves playing his daddy's guitar, so he got his own to jam on.

Dylan got trains and a train movie and a race track.

They both told Santa that they wanted teddy bears. They love these bears, Tyson's is almost as big as he is. He is so funny he will lay down on the floor and pretend like the bear is beating him up. No idea where he came up with that.

It was such a fun morning, we even got a visit from Grandma and Granddad Perkins. That was a great gift in it's self. Thanks for the visit.

That afternoon we drove to Tempe to visit Grandma and Grandpa Mortensen for a few days and to go to Great Grandpa Mortensen's Family Christmas Party.

We had such a wonderful Christmas, there is always stress and a little sickness involved, but worth every second to see those cute little faces so happy.

Wow, I am way behind.

2010-01-06T10:15:00.001-08:00

We went to Tempe the weekend before Thanksgiving for a visit to Marty's family and to get family pictures. This is a tradition that Marty's mom has kept every year since she married Marty's dad. It is a good thing she does this because I wouldn't ever get family pictures.

We went to Freestone Park in Mesa. It is a beautiful park, and a very popular place for taking family pictures. I thought these turned out great.

Lots of different Santas!

2009-12-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday Marty was invited to join an elite group of internationally successful plumbers, he even got to have a steak lunch. I decided that since I wasn't privileged enough to be invited that I was going to treat the boys to super elite day of Christmas fun. We went to the grocery store for some supplies, then we headed for the Mall. Last week I took the boys to Big Lots and had them each pick a toy to give to Toys for Totes, and we were going to drop it off and talk to the police officers, which they were very excited about. Tyson was a little awe struck by the officers.
The plan was to say hi to Santa and play at the play place. I don't push Dylan into doing stuff much anymore, so they played for a while and when he was ready we went over to see Santa. He really wanted to go first but pushed Tyson head of him instead. I didn't have my camera, but Tyson's face was classic. He just starred with no expression the whole time, it was hilarious. Dylan was all smiles and so excited once he realized it was ok. We had such a great time, they are so fun to hangout with, I just love, love them.
On the way home Dylan and I had the following conversation.
Dylan-Mom there are lots of different Santas.
Me-Yep you're right there are lots of different Santas.
Dylan- Why?
Me- Well , because there are so many kids in the world, there have to be alot of Santas to be able to get to all of their houses.
Dylan-Oh, there is the North Pole Santa, the Santa from the church, and Santa by the big tree.(at the Mall)
These were all of the Santas that he has seen this year. I was impressed that he was so observant and noticed that they were not the same. So now we have 3 Santas coming to our house this year. We have to make cookies for all of them. Cute stuff.

Polar Express

2009-12-13T08:16:00.001-08:00

Thursday Marty's parents came up for a visit and to join us on the Polar Express.

Before our adventure to the North Pole, the boys got a surprise gift dropped off on the door step from Santa, new pjs. Dylan kept saying "Oh thank you Santa, Oh thank you Santa for the new jammies." That was only the beginning. We decided not to tell them what we were doing until right before we got to the train station. So worth it, they were so excited. If you know Dylan and Tyson, trains are their world, and to be able to ride on one and go to the North Pole, wow that was so exciting for them. They have both had the spirit of Christmas so much this year, it has been so cute to watch them. I have enjoyed watching the wonder and magic of the season through them.

At the depot waiting to get on the train.

Dylan looked out of his window almost the whole time. He was so cute, there was music playing, and he just danced and danced and watched himself in the reflections of the glass.
Arriving at the North Pole, Dylan was a little disappointed that we couldn't get off the train and take a tour of the North Pole.

Finally the moment they were waiting for, Santa. I kind of thought they were going to freak out, but no way. They have talked about Santa for so long and finally he was real to them, they loved him.

Dylan got to give him a high 5. He was a little sad that he didn't get to spend more time with Santa, he said after Santa passed, "But I want Santa to sit next to me." He didn't want to see him leave.

What a fun thing to do, it was so worth it to see that magic in their eyes. I hope that they understand that Christmas is really about our Savior and His birth. We have talked about that alot and they love Baby Jesus and the story of the Nativity. I hope they can see Santa as someone who loves our Savior and loves all of God's children. And as someone who is so giving, so kind and so happy. We hope that you all have a magical season.

Pies and Perkins Family Christmas Party

2009-12-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize how much I like to make pies until this year. I made a couple of pies of the Daddy Daughter Date for the Activity Day girls. They turned out pretty good so I decided to make a couple more for Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving at home by ourselves this year. It was a nice quite day. Dylan had pinkeye and a cold, so he was a little miserable. It was nice to just spend a few days as a family. Dylan and Tyson are great helpers in the kitchen, these boys are going to be great cooks when they get older.

We even made some little individual pies, the boys loved those.
My family has a tradition that we do at our family Christmas Partys every year. We make homemade Christmas tree ornaments and an exchange game with them, everyone gets one even the babies. It has been fun in the past years and it is even more fun now because the boys get to help make their ornaments. We made these little mice for them, so cute and very simple.

This was the first year in quite a while that everyone was at the party. There were 35 of us jammed into my parents house. These are all of the grandkids. Tyson wasn't feeling good and didn't want to be in the pictures so Grandma and Dylan were holding him down. My dad is holding the 3 babies that were born this year.

And this is my whole family. I am very grateful for all of them. I wish we could spend more time together, I love them all and hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

Last Weekend

2009-11-28T19:20:00.001-08:00

Last Friday we went to Tempe to spend a few days with Marty's family. We had a busy weekend planned, but we had alot of fun.

We dropped the boys off Friday morning with Grandma. Marty and I got to have a whole day date. We had a great day together, he is really fun to hang out with. To top off our date, he took me to Rubios for dinner. I love Rubios.

Saturday morning we went to Freeman Park for family pictures. It is a really popular place for pictures, I think there were 10 other families there taking pictures also.

There were some duck ponds, the boys loved watching to ducks and throwing dirt in the water.

I thought this was a cute one that I took of the boys.

There was a little kind of carnival inside to the park that had a train ride. We had a few minutes to wait before we could get into the park and this boy could hardly contain himself. He wanted to ride that train so bad. I snapped this pic of him waithing by the gate. Man he is one handsome boy. Tyson was very also very excited.

On the train.

There was a little ferris wheel. Dylan laughed the whole time and Tyson was very nervous, we finally got a little smile. Dylan rode three times.

After a morning of fun we went back to Grandmas had some lunch, all of us girls got ready to go to Phantom of the Opera, Marty took Dylan to a walk in clinic because he got pink eye, and Tyson took a nap.

Phantom was awesome, so glad I was able to go. The music, costumes, performance was just amazing. I loved it.

After Phantom Marty and I went to a friends wedding reception in Pheonix.

Sick Days!

2009-11-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is what happens at our house on sick days. We play marching band, Tyson plays in his underwear and Dylan and I in our pjs. We put a lot of miles on the trains and cars, did some crafts, colored and watched way to many movies. We are all feeling so much better though.

This was really fun. I have a stack of magazines and I had the boys go through and find pictures of things they are thankful for, we cut them our and glued them to foam sheets. It was fun to have them repeat back to their dad and grandparents the things they picked. I put a loop on them and they are hanging in the kitchen so they can see it everyday.
And this is what happens when I have a busy day of baking. I gave each of them a little flour in a bowl to drive there trucks through. The flour didn't stay in the bowls very long. Big mess but they were happy and let me finish my pies.

Halloween 09 and a few other things.

2009-11-05T12:18:00.001-08:00

Dylan and Tyson were so excited for Halloween, they even got to wear their costumes quite a few times which was nice. Dylan really wanted to be a mountain lion, but I couldn't find a mountain lion costume. He decided on being a brave lion. Isn't he so cute?

And here is my Tyson chicken. He actually had two costumes this year. The first was a dragon, which I bought a couple of months ago, then I saw these chickens at Old Navy. He had to be a chicken, for those of you who don't know, Marty calls him Tyson chicken. He did get to wear both costumes though.
Excited to go to the church for Trunk-or-Treating.

I tried a new breakfast the other day, pumpkin pancakes. I've wanted to make them for a long time, but I get a little nervous making new things around here, most of the time nobody likes it but me. Well this time was it was a hit, Marty liked them, and Dylan said, "Mom, I love pumpkin pancakes." Phew !

My mother-in-law showed me these cute stuffed pumpkins when I was down visiting last month. I decided to have the Achievment Day girls make them for our last activity. It was a huge success, they loved them. They all turned out so cute, and the girls even named their pumpkins. So I had six leftover and my goal for this month is to finish my unfinished projects and I really wanted to get these done. So here is one set, I think they are so cute.

I am so proud of this boy!

2009-10-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Man do I love this kid. He could move mountains if he wanted to. For those of you who know Dylan very well, know that he has anxiety about new situations, and old situations for that matter. Like crying everytime we dropped him off in nursery for 18 months. He has always just been an anxious kid. We decided to put him in preschool a few months ago hoping that it would help him get ready for kindergarten. Well needless to say it was not good. He hated it. The teachers said he just wasn't ready, maybe try again next year. I was so discouraged, we just haven't known what to do to help him try to get over this. So I thought great another year of this and he will probably do the same thing next year. I am so thankful for answers to prays and teachers that thought enough about Dylan and realized that there was a problem. I got a call we got the ball rolling, we are working with some wonderful people who have set up a great plan to help Dylan work his anxieties. So last week was his first week back to preschool, I'm not gonna lie, it was rough. I was ready to throw in the towel a few times, but his teachers kept encouraging me as well, that everything was going to be ok. Well starting yesterday at the primary program, I was finally at peace and knew that he was going to be just fine and we are going to get through this with no problem.

The primary kids have been practicing their program for a couple of weeks, Dylan had his part memorized but wouldn't say it into the microphone. When it was time for the kids to go to there seats, Dylan asked me to walk him to his seat, and I did. The Sunbeams were first to say their parts, I was expecting some crying and his teacher pulling him to the microphone, but nope, he marched himself up to the podium said his part clear as day. I was so happy. Marty and I were standing in the very back, if the congregation would have turned around they would have seen two proud parents doing the happy dance. I was so proud of him, it just brought tears to my eyes. Then today on the way to preschool, he asked if I could walk him to his class. I was more than happy to do that. He walked into class, being so brave, he gave me a hug and a kiss and said see ya later mom. I cried all the way home. This is a huge milestone, I am so proud of him.

What's going on at our house.

2009-10-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

P90X

Marty and I started P90X about a month ago, the workouts are intense, but we really like it. I have so much more energy since we started, I need all the extra energy I can get. Marty even does yoga now.

Dylan and Tyson like to hang from the pull up bar.
Ok, Tyson doesn't like it so much.

A couple of weeks ago I took the boys and we ventured down to Tempe for a few days. The boys spent time with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lisa. I went and spent a day with my girlfriends that I grew up with. (Myself, Tara, Tana, and Amy) We spent the first 18 years of our lives together and now we go years without seeing each other and we live in the same state.

We had a great time catching up with each other and letting the kids play. Tara has 3 1/2 year old named Brett, Tana has a 2 1/2 or so year old named Traven and Amy has a 4 1/2 year old named Dayson. Pretty cool we all had boys first, the second kids are 2 boys and 2 girls. That is one reason why I went to visit, Tara had her second baby a few weeks ago. Pretty good story, she was born in the car on the way to the hospital. I love my friends, we've had a lot of fun together through the years.

Friday before we came home we went to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lisa. Sorry, once again these are out of order.

Grandpa got Dylan and Tyson a treat. Dylan sucking face with an Italian Ice.

And Tyson with his oreo ice cream bar. Love the tongue. He got a few baths in the drinking fountain from this tasty treat.

Tyson enjoyed watching the monkeys eat breakfast, and pick bugs off of each other.

Dylan was starting to get bored.

This was a really bad picture, but I had to keep it in. Dylan was tired of me telling him to sit down and smile for the camera.

Last weekend our friends the Thom's took us to the coolest place, they call it the boulders. It is less than 15 minutes from our house. The boys loved it. We each brought our own dinners, chili and cornbread. We enjoyed a nice evening, with good friends, good food in a beautiful place.

Aunt Lisa came to visit last week. We had a good week, it went by way to fast. She is so much help and the boys love her. She taught me how to use my cricut, which I am so excited about. We did a couple of crafts. We made trick or treat signs, the other side says give thanks for Thanksgiving, and we did the three pumpkins. I forget how much I love doing crafts.

And we made Halloween sugar cookies, yum, yum. Thank you Lisa for all of your help and for playing lots of trains.

One last thing, I have to say that I love fall. It is my favorite season. I love getting out the long sleeves, and sweaters, the colors of the changing leaves, the smells in the air, the crafts, getting to make stew and soup and chili, getting out the decorations, pumpkins, I have discovered that I really love pumpkins, especially anything pumpkin that you can eat. I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls the other day. I just love this time of year, it is fun to have kids and see them have fun with the season also.

Labor Day weekend

2009-10-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

I am getting to be so lazy.

Here is Labor Day weekend at the County Fair. We got there right when they opened on Saturday morning. It was awesome, no one was there, we didn't have to stand in line to wait for anything, and the boys were so happy and excited to be there. Tyson was so excited because he was tall enough to ride on the same rides as Dylan. Of course they found a train. I love Dylan's expression, he must have seen something really cool. Tyson wasn't really sure what to do.

Dylan the conductor, I am pretty sure he would have stayed there all day.
And there were bulldozers for Tyson.

And the bumble bee ride that Dylan loved last year, Tyson loved this year. Dylan wouldn't get near it.

And then the best part of the whole day, except for the model train exhibit, was the DEMOLITION DERBY. It was awesome. We packed a lunch, which you're not supposed to bring in your own food, but I am not paying $7.00 for a turkey thigh thank you very much. Dylan and Tyson loved it. To this day, everything is demolition derby. I think this might keep them going until next year. Marty was totally into also, he already has plans of building a car, and finding a driver. Dylan and Tyson have already picked out colors for their trucks, Tyson's is purple and Dylan's is black.

The Tuesday after the derby we had our own little demolition derby. I got in a tiny accident in a parking lot. You would think the boys would have been a little scared, nope they were like ya, smashing cars. They thought it was awesome, not so much for me.

Molokai part II

2009-09-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday we got up and got ready to go to church. When we got to the church house a member of the bishopric said church was cancelled because of the fire. A fire broke out on Friday night and the roads were closed so the members couldn't get out. Also alot of the men were fighting the fire. When we left on Tuesday it had burned about 7000 acres. They were in there dry season and it was really dry. So we just decided to go drive around and explore some more.

Hi Mom!
This is the wharf. The ferry is the ferry that goes to Maui.

We drove on a dirt road forever to the south side of the island, to a place called Lono Harbor. It was a really pretty place. There were some little bays that would have been perfect for snorkeling. The beaches were really nice also.

A picture of us, I learned how to use my timer on my camera.

Monday we went beach hopping and did some more snorkeling, and relaxed.

Tuesday we went out on a boat with Captain Mike to do some snorkeling with the sea turtles. He took us out about a mile from the coast. I was totally nervous I thought it was going to be alot deeper than it was. I forgot to take pictures, I was to caught up in being scared. I had a life vest on so I was totally floating, but I thought the water was deep so I freaked out a bit once I got in the water and the water was freezing, ok by my standards. I don't like being in cold water. Marty was trying to be very encouraging and supportive through all of my whining finally he said, " Just put your face in the water." I did and I was fine. It was super amazing, we saw a whole bunch of really colorful fish. We really wanted to see the turtles, if we put our head out of the water we could see them coming up for breath a little ways off and we would go over to where they were, but could see them. We figured they just went below us and camoflaged into the rocks and stuff. So we were swimming with them we just couldn't see them. I only lasted 45 minutes, I was to cold to stay in any longer. I got in the boat and Marty went chasing turtles. The Captain and I would see them pop up and we would tell him how far to go. He didn't ever see any, I guess they were to fast. Some of those turtles were huge though. I would have loved to swim close to one.

After that we had a while before our plane left so we went out to a look out over Kaulapapa.

There was this cool wall and the seacliff wall just on the other side, but I had to get one of these shots.

I snapped this one of us with the timer. Funny story, when we got to the lookout there was another couple, I always ask if I can take pictures if I see couples with no one else around. Then I ask them to take ours, works out quite nicely, we both get a couples shot. Except this time, Marty and I weren't in the picture. Hummmmm. Whatever, the timer worked good too.

Then we went to the airport, gave our cool rental jeep back and got on our little plane and flew to Oahu. We waited there for 3 hrs before our flight home. We had a wonderful trip, it was nice to just hangout together and get over my fears, and just live at a slower pace for a few days.

2009-09-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

Aloha!

Two weeks ago we left for Hawaii, we decided to visit a new island this time. We went to Molokai, which is considered the most Hawaiian of all the islands. There are only 7000 people who live on the island. We left Thursday morning from Pheonix, it takes about 6 hours to fly and we had a nice flight. We landed in Honolulu around 12:00 and then got on this small plane that took us to Molokai. Now I get nervous on big planes, and when I saw this I got really nervous. But it was a nice smooth 30minute flight. We met a young couple on the plane, kind of hard not to talk to new people when you're almost touching. Becky and Eric from upstate New York, they were there for a brother's wedding.

From the plane, flying over Molokai. There is alot of farming on the island, and it gives people jobs, most of it is genetically modified corn that a company is doing research on, so it can't be eaten. The locals don't like having it there and not being able to eat it, but it brought much needed jobs to the locals. Almost everything has to be brought in to the island. When you hear that milk it like $6.00 a gallon, it really is, we bought a half gallon for over $3.00. So food is super expensive. They teach the young kids and talk alot about sustainablity, like grow a garden, and go fishing, and hunting. There are deer, wild pigs, wild goats, and wild turkeys, that they can shoot for food,.

So we landed, got our totally awesome rental car, sorry next picture. a 4 door jeep. By far the best rental car we've ever had. We were kind of sad to give it back.
Then we went to find our place. I loved it, again by far the best place we have ever stayed. It was so cute and had a washer and dryer. I brought home no dirt laundry. We enjoyed our quite mornings listening to Hawaiian music, eating our cheerios and toast on the balcony where you could see the ocean in the distance. It was very relaxing.

Then we went exploring. We drove to the east side of the island, we were staying on the west side. The island is about 60 miles long and 20 miles wide. We got going up this one way, windy road, we didn't make it the end, it started to get late and we decided we better go back. I am sad we didn't ever have the time to go back. There was a waterfall you could hike to with a guide and some white sand and black sand beaches on the other side of the mountain. So we heard. Maybe next time.

We stopped at this beach called 20 mile beach. It was a little beach, but it was supposed to be good for snorkeling. That is Maui in the distance. Pretty cool, we could see Lanai from the west side of the island.

Friday morning we decided to ride some mules down to a peninsula called Kalaupapa. The only way down there is by this trail, boat or plane. We went down 1700ft, there were 26 switch backes. It was only about 3 miles but we went straight down. It was tough on the knees, I finally just had to bend my legs so there wasn't so much impact on my them. I had a sore bum and sore knees for a few days, but it was well worth it.

Marty on his mule.

This is what we went down.

This was the top of the trail and that is where we were headed.

This town was a leper colony. Anyone who contracted lepercy was banished here. There were anywhere between 7000 and 8000 people who lived down there. Right now there are only 18 people who had the disease or are decendents of others who had it. It is now a National Park, so they take care of the up keep of the town and restoring the buildings. The Department of Health go in once a week to take care of the former patients because most of them can't see and can't walk and are in poor health. We stopped at a little market for a potty break, everyone was friendly, they even had picked some fresh mangos for us before we got there. We went to another smaller town called Kalawao and saw another colony and some beautiful scenary. There was a Father from Denmark, named Father Damien who went there in his twenties and took care of the sick people and built the colony and churches, then contracted the disease and died in his 60s. Pretty interesting place, kind of sad, yet beautiful.

This was the view from Kalawao. Absolutely beautiful. See that little island, that is where ships would bring people with lepercy and dump them over board and then they would have to swim to the island. And those seacliffs are the tallest seacliffs in the world.

After we arrived back up to the top, we went to a macadamia nut farm, and learned about macadamia nuts, and ate them.

Saturday we went to Dixie Beach and Marty taught me how to snorkel. For those of you who know me very well, know that I don't swim very well and deep water freaks me out. So I was freaked out, but thanks to a wonderful, supporting hubby who pushes me to grow and learn new things. I learned how to snorkel. The rest of the day went beach hopping and I have to say that I am now in love with snorkeling.

We also got to spend some time looking around the little shops in town, and there was a farmers market going on, I bought more mangos, a papaya, and a large avocado, like the ones I used to love to eat in Brazil.

We walked up to a point and got this shot looking down towards our condo. That beach is called 3 mile beach, whick is the longest beach in all of the Hawaiian islands. White sand beach for 3 miles and no one around, priceless.

4 year old.

2009-09-03T13:22:00.001-07:00

Dylan turned 4 on Monday. He was at Grandma's house in Tempe and had a great day. Last week we had a little prebirthday party for him before we went out of town.

Grandma and Grandpa gave Dylan and Tyson a play kitchen for their birthdays and they love it. They play so well together with it and that helps me get the real dinner cooked. They love to use the ironing board as their table.

Dylan helping me make his birthday cake.
Everyone had a great time smashing the penata.

Blowing out the candles.

We just love Dylan, he is great boy. He loves to make friends, and gets along with everyone. He is such a sweet, happy kid. He is really smart, loves to read books and sing songs. He loves his trains and to be outside, he is such a good big brother and a big helper. We love you tons Bud.

2009-08-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our friends the Masons came into town for a baby blessing. We had a lot of fun keeping everyone entertained. They have a little boy, Damien he is almost 5. He and Dylan had a great time together. They played so well and kept each other entertained while the rest of us visited. Friday morning we decided to take the boys to the Cardinals first practice. It was pretty cool. It was kind of warm outside and the boys weren't into that until they saw Reckers or however you spell it start kicking the football, then they thought it was pretty cool.

Damien and Dylan posing. Damien got Dylan into Transformers and Star Wars. One of the many faces of Tyson.

Dylan watching the football, after it was kicked.

After practice we went to Marshall pond and fed the ducks. The ducks full really fast, but the boys stilll had fun throwing bread and rocks into the water.

Saturday morning we went out in the forest and shot balloons.

This is Tyson first time shooting a gun, he knew exactly what to do.

I love this picture. Both Dylan and Tyson really like to wear my high hills. After church on Sundays I always kick them off in the kitchen, then Dylan and Tyson take turns wearing them. Tyson always falls out of them and Dylan is very kind to help his little brother get them back on.

Gotta love it, one day shooting a gun and the next wearing high hills.

2009-08-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to my parents house in Clay Springs for a family reunion on Saturday. Friday night most of my brothers and sisters and their families gathered at my parents house for dinner. We made 13 dutch oven pizzas. The last time we did this was for my dad's 50th birthday, that was 13 years ago. I don't know why it took us so long to do it again because it was so yummy. If you haven't ever done this, I think you should, this is the best pizza ever.

I am so bummed because I didn't take any pictures of the reunion. It was for my dad's family and the purpose was for my Granddad's 100th birthday, and to show off the cabin that my dad and his brothers rebuilt. And of course I didn't get any pictures of the cabin. Next time I go home I will take some and post them. Reunions are interesting, it was blazing hot, there were like 500 people there, more than half of them I didn't know. There were some activities for the kiddos but Marty and I spent to whole day chasing them around to make sure they didn't fall on the rusty nails or get ran over by a car. We spent so much time doing that, that I didn't get to visit with the handful of people that I did know. They were chasing kids to so we would pass each other every once in a while. I guess that's how it goes when you have little ones. It was still good to go and see everyone.

Yum, homemade ice cream and rootbeer.

Dylan and Tyson riding a little train that was being pulled by a tractor.

This is was Tyson came out wearing on his birthday, he says"Ok lets go"

Ice cream cones for a sweet birthday treat. Tyson doesn't like birthday cake, but he loves ice cream.

Tyson's two year stats

height 361/2" 94%

weight 32lbs 89%

2009-07-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Tyson!

I can't believe it is finally here. The boys have been talking about birthdays for months, Tyson has been so excited, I think or maybe Dylan is more excited.

Here are few fun facts about Tyson......

he is a very funny kid,

loves his dad more than anyone,

sings the ABC song

talks alot

sings alot

loves to play with his brother

know exactly what he wants

loves Thomas the train and tractors

loves the outdoors

loves his dog Bear

favorite foods are soup and oatmeal

very social

loves a good adventure

has a very short attention span

There is alot to this kid, we love him more than anything, and we are so happy is in our family.

Hope you have a happy birthday buddy, we love you.

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-10T20:07:00.001-07:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend. We went to visit my family in Clay Springs. We had a lot of stuff planned, we started Friday night with a family reunion. My parents ward does a flag raising ceremony and breakfast really early the morning of the 4th, they have done this for as long as I can remember. It is great to see everyone come back home for a visit. Marty's sister Lisa came with us and his parents met us at the church to help us celebrate the day and it was also Lisa's birthday. After the breakfast we went back to Clay Springs for the 1st Annual Clay Springs 4th of July Parade. My Dad drove a tractor and pulled a trailer with hay, so a bunch of got to be in the parade. We watched for a while, the boys got tons of candy and then we jumped on as my dad was driving by. The boys loved it. I really hope they keep this up and it gets better and better every year.

After the parade everyone in town met at the park and had a little carnival. There was even a chance for someone to catch a greased pig. We let the boys play and eat popcorn for a while, then we went back to my parents house for a BBQ.

My Dad and Tyson getting ready for the parade
Look at all of my suckers mom.

Cute picture of Tyson.

This is the biggest tire swing I have ever seen.

Dylan playing a game at the carnival.

Sorry this got out of order. This is my brother's milk cow. She is very friendly.

That is alot of popcorn. Tyson said, "I want this."

So have any of you ever seen an old merry-go-round like this? This death trap used to be at the little elementry school that I went to as a little girl. It had been there along time when I was there. I just remember the big kids getting that thing going so fast and a bunch of little kids would try to jump on, and they would drag along side and then fall off. I have great memories of those big kids just laughing their heads off. Anyways, because of liability reasons I am sure, it was moved from the school to the park across the street. Let the town folk be responsible if there is an accident.

I love this picture of my dad and Tyson.

This is Marty, my dad and his dad bucking hay. That was Marty's first time "chucking hay" as he called it. He got to milk a cow for the first time, and go to his first rodeo. He had a busy day.

The rodeo was great by the way.

Then finally on Sunday my brother Darrell blessed his baby Clay, and we had a dinner afterward.

We were all exhausted by the time we got home. I love going to visit but it just wipes me out. Monday morning I had big plans to get right back to work and get the house cleaned and organized. Well someone else was going to make sure I got some rest one way or another. I got super sick and slept about 3 hrs on my bedroom floor and did nothing the rest of the day. Dylan and I were the only ones that got it, could have been food poisoning or just pure exhaustion, I have no idea. But we are all better and we had a great time, can't wait until next year.

Happy Birthday, and Walnut Canyon

2009-06-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

Thursday was Marty's 29th Birthday, I think he enjoyed his day, he got to shoot his new gun and his parents brought his new truck. Doesn't it look awesome? We even got to go on a date, Marty's parents watched the boys. We went to Black Bart's the food was very good, the waiters sang Broadway song's, it was very entertaining. We ended up celebrating all weekend, we had a little party Friday night, we went to Walnut Canyon Saturday, and today is Father's Day. I hope he had a great weekend. Marty is the greatest dad, his boys love him more than anything. I love that he helps me so much with them, he can tell when I am at whits end and he gives me a break. I love you Babe, have a great Father's Day.

This weekend was free National Park pass day. I have wanted to go see Walnut Canyon ever since we moved here, but didn't want to pay the fee to get in. Yesterday was perfect. The Larsens and the Morriss came along with us. We looked like we were on a toddler field trip. The kids did great and had so much fun. The cliff dwelling were awesome, seriously amazing to think about how those people survived in those kinds of conditions.

Tyson loved to explore the ruins, he did so good even though he was very tired. Marty kept him on a leash so he wouldn't go over the side. There are over 100 stairs that you have to climb to get out of the canyon, and climbed almost all of them, he looked like a little monkey. He couldn't do the last 20 or so. He did so good, and he had a fun time.

Dylan had a blast, he loves going on hikes. He had slept until about 9:00, it was a good thing. He did this with no problem at all, and he didn't whine one bit on the way out.

Taking a little rest, before the last big climb.

What a fun day, I am so glad we finally got to see some cool stuff around Flagstaff. This was about 15 minutes from our house. It is great that we don't have to drive hours to see some really beautiful stuff.

I have to say congrats to my siblings who have all had babies in the last few weeks. My sister Sharilyn had a girl on the 28th of April, her name is Caitlin. My sister in law Tangela had a boy on the 10th of June, his name is Clay. My sister in law Teresa had a boy on the 18th, Marty's birthday, his name is Hunter. That makes 21 grandkids for my parents.

2009-06-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

Marty and I had a fantastic anniversary. We dropped the boys off at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin in Tonto Village, near Payson, the boys were so happy the barely said goodbye. Our plans were to hike to Horton Spring and camp. We timed it just perfectly, we were pretty much the only people on the trail. We took the dog, he loved it, the water, trees, sticks everything, even with an infected tooth. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to the spring. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. It was up hill the whole way and I was tired. It was worth being tired, it was so beautiful. We were the only people camping, it was the best camping spot I have ever camped in. We had such a great time, it was so nice to just spend time together and have a conversation without being interupted. We didn't even have a watch, only disadvantage to that, we had no idea what time it was when we woke up. We packed up and headed out. When we got to the truck, even after 2 1/2 hours, it was only 8:30.

Happiest dog in the whole world.

This is were the spring comes out of the mountain.

The trail was pretty rocky and rugged.

There were alot of little falls and beautiful wild flowers all over.

After we got back , we played with the boys and had a nice lunch. Tyson went down for a nap so we took Dylan the the fish hatchery. He loved feeding the big trout, and seeing the holding tanks full of fish. Pretty cool place, if you've never been you should go sometime.

Then we took him fishing, we didn't catch anything, but he had fun.

And this is what you get when you have too much fun, you fall asleep with your ice cream cone.

6 Years!

2009-06-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Has it been 6 years already?

Time flies when you're having fun, we always have fun together. I'm thankful Marty pulls me out of the norm, and gets me to do fun things with him. Last year we went to Hawaii and had so much fun, this year we are going camping together. I haven't been camping in about 7 years. I love him more than anything, thankful he loves me and takes care of our little family.

Camping, camping, camping!

2009-05-31T18:21:00.000-07:00

This was Tyson's first year for Fathers and Sons campouts and he loved it. He still asks almost everytime we go somewhere to go camping. He got to go two weeks in a row. I enjoyed two relaxing weekend of yard sales, I found some really fun stuff.

This was the first week of camping with the ward at Gooseberry Springs. I always feel left out from these things because I never get the whole story. This is after he got his face washed, I wonder what he looked like before the face wash.
This was the second weekend after camping at Willow Springs with my Dad and my brothers and their boys and my brother-in-law . This was one happy boy. I really think he would live in the forest if we let him.

This year was a record breaking year for fish, between all of them, they caught 16 fish. I love fresh trout, we enjoyed a nice fish dinner thanks to the guys.

Marty was teasing my nephews by making the fish talk crazy. Dylan had a blast camping also. He didn't seem to make it into any of the pictures, he was always busy doing something else.

Growing up so fast.

2009-05-13T20:36:00.001-07:00

I have noticed the last couple of days how big Dylan and Tyson are getting, especially Tyson. He used to pass under the edge of the counter without hitting his head, now he hits his head and he can't figure out why.

These guys are becoming very good buddies, they keep each other company. They both are in love with Thomas the Train. They enjoy watching, and talking about Thomas. They both have almost all of the other train names memorized. I didn't think they would ever like the same things at the same time. They are so cute.
This could be why Tyson is getting so big, he eats all the time. This would be sour cream.

It is amazing that there is even any food left for dinner after these two help make it. They are good helpers in the kitchen.

Today we planted flowers to give the boys something to do this afternoon. My pots aren't very fancy but they had fun.

Tyson's turn planting his flowers.

Not sure what the dog is doing, the dirt must smell good.

2009-05-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day

to all of you

Super Duper Moms

out there.

Love you Moms.

Easter and other happenings!

2009-04-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

This is a common place for both Dylan and Tyson at various times during the day. They both love to play in the water, and for some reason it drives me crazy. May have to do with the big wet mess and two soaking wet boys.

I wanted to take the boys to an Easter egg hunt so bad on Saturday, but I am a wimp when it comes to freezing, blowing snow, so we had our own and they loved it.
Tyson was so funny, he couldn't really figure out what was going on. There were eggs everywhere and he was a little bewildered as to where they came from. He kind of just walked around with a confused look on his face, after a while he got into it.

Thanks to Grandma for their cute Easter outfits, Tyson was not having the photo session, this was the best I got of my little bunnies.

The bunny cake was a tradition in my house growing up. I had to carry on with it. The boys loved it, neither of them like cake, but they had a good time making a mess.

If you take a close look at Tyson's mouth he was telling Dylan, "No touchy, no touchy."

A few days ago Dylan took a pretty good spill and slid across the floor on his upper lip. His lip was so huge, seriously worst fat lip I have ever seen.

That would be Tyson dancing on the counter in the back.

The wind has been blowing so bad and crazy lately, it drives me crazy. I hate to go out in it and the boys have been sick so I got out some long drawing paper and traced out their bodies. They loved it, especially Dylan. He saw it done on Sid the Science Kid on PBS, so he was totally into it.

You can see his fat lip a little better.

This kept everyone busy for quite a while.

Dylan has learned to write his name, I am so proud of him. I have been asking him if he would like to learn how to write his name and he has always said no. I didn't want to pressure him, I knew he would do it when he was ready. One night a couple of weeks ago, right before bed he said he wanted to right his name. I was leery at first, you know right before bed, tempers are short, attention spans even shorter. But I said ok, I wish I would have taken a picture. I wrote his name out a couple of times, we practiced writing the letters one at a time and then put them all together. He did it seriously in about 15 minutes, I couldn't believe it. I guess when you put your mind to it, you can do anything.

I didn't get Tyson's whole body out lined, he couldn't hold still long enough. He had fun coloring on the paper and wall with his crayons.

The finished product.

We have a good time together during day.

Out of blogging mode!

2009-04-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am so out of blogging mode.

My new goal is to read one book a month, a step up from last year. I read one book. Anyway, I am reading a great book called A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander, it is a great book, kind of a murder mystery, romance, set in the 1800s, in England. So I have neglected everything else that should get done. It is a quick read, I will get back to normal when I am done.

Now for a little catch up. My pictures are totally not in order as usual.

This little monkey fell out of his crib, onto his head the other night. So guess who is sleeping on his mattress on the floor, under his brothers bed? But the funny thing is, he loves it. Last night was the first night that he rolled off. He kept half crying for me at 3:30 this morning. I decided to check on him, and he was curled up in a ball in the middle of the floor, half asleep. I felt kinda guilty so I him in his pack n play. It is kinda cute that after we put them to bed Dylan gets under there and falls asleep with him. I need to get a picture of that one.

The last week in March Marty and I went to Austin, Texas for the week. Marty had some contractor selling classes that he went to on Monday til Friday, so I had the whole week to explore Austin all by myself. I spent most of the week lost, even with a GPS. We had a few falling outs, it put me in the middle of no where a few times. But things are better between us now.

Austin is a beautful city, so green and has lakes and rivers and springs. Fun shopping, museums, lots of yummy places to eat.

My favorite part was just going into stores and just looking to see what they had, like Bed Bath and Beyond. I have been in the one in Flagstaff one time, and it was rush in and rush out. I looked at everything in that store and got some great decorating ideas, now if only I had the time and money to go back to the one in Flagstaff. I went to the spa not once, but twice, so awesome, I loved it. I went to a movie all by myself, I felt like a big girl.

Marty go out of his class at 5 everyday and because of the time difference it didn't get dark until about 9, he got to see quite a bit of the city also. He enjoyed his classes very much and was excited to get home and get to work and use all of the new stuff he learned.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

This is Barton Springs, the city has made it into a swimming pool, very interesting place. 32,000 gallons runs out of this spring everyday.

I found this place that had a zillion peacocks, there were some nature trails all over that went down into a lagune.

I loved this trail, I thought it was so pretty and peaceful.

This in Congress Bridge, it is in down town Austin. There are millions of bats that sleep under this bridge and every night at sun down they fly out. It is quite the spectator sport. Marty suggested we go on top of the bridge like these brave folks are, I didn't want bats flying into my face, but I really wish we would have gone up there,we could have seen them alot better.

This is a park in down town, the parks here a just beautiful and old. I would have loved to take some nice pictures with Marty in some of these places, the only people we could find around were homeless, Marty asked if I liked my camera. I do love my camera, I don't really think they would have ran off with it, do you?

There were alot, I mean alot of homeless people, I felt bad for them. So as pretty as these parks were, I have to say they did not smell the greatest.

Marty saw this pretty little rose and asked me to take a picture.

State Capital building, in such pretty place. There were protesters on the front steps, protesting, putting people on death row.

I was on one of my nature walks, this is Lake Austin, down town in the back.

Marty and I as we started off on our adventure.

We had a great week.

The boys stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Mortensen in Tempe. They had a fun week also, except for Tyson's double ear infection, that wasn't very fun for him.

Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the boys, they loved every minute of it. Dylan wakes up and asks if we are going to Grandma's house.

It's been a while!

2009-03-11T19:44:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has been along time. We got a new computer and for some reason it has not liked my blog and not allowed me to post new stuff and read other blogs. It has been very frustrating but today, look what I can do, I am so excited.

Just a little catch up on out life.........

Marty's Grandma Beirman passed away in February, she was 85 and the sweetest Grandma ever. She loved her family, we will all miss her.

Marty's Mom turned 60 in February, she had a surprise Birthday party that looked like so much fun, we weren't able to go, but I hope she knows how much we love her and appreciate everything that she does for us.

We went to visit my family in February, and celebrated what would have been my Granddad's 100th birthday. It was good to see all of my Dad's family together and eat Grandma's homemade noodles. They are so good.

The boys got to spend a little bit of time doing some chores on the farm, they love the animals and to help feed them.

We were bored one day and I decided to make newspaper hats for the boys. I used to make these all the time when I was a kid. We pretended like we were pirates and made a treasure map and everything. The boys loved it, we had so much fun.

I love this picture!

Tyson turned 18 months the end of January and my friend told me how to potty train an 18 month old, so I thought I would give it a shot. I had my doubts, but it worked. Tyson is loving his "bunkas" as he calls them. He is so cute. He has done so well, and I am so proud of him for putting up with my craziness.

I snapped this shot after a long day, looks like Dylan had a long day also.

Life is good, we all healthy, happy and crazy.

To My Valentine!

2009-02-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love you, you are the best Valentine ever.

2009-02-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to Mesa to help celebrate my Uncle Bob's 80th birthday. I was great to see so many family members there to show their love to Uncle Bob. Marty asked him if he had any words of advice for the boys. He said,"Drink lots of Pepsi." Uncle Bob could always be found with a Pepsi in hand, no matter what time of day it was.

He used to tease all of his nieces, he always said we were "good looking boys". He always got a good giggle and squirm out of us.

We all love Uncle Bob, hope he has many more happy years.

When we were on our way home, Marty realized we were close to Mesa's Historical Museum were he restored an old tractor for his Eagle Project. He wanted to stop to see if it was still there and it was. There were two other tractors with it so we let the boys climb on them for a while, they both love tractors so it made their day.
I was taking to long taking pictures, Dylan had more important things to do beside stand there and wait.

What is it about steering wheels and boys?

18 Months

2009-01-30T19:08:00.001-08:00

This muddy kid had his 18 month check up the other day.

He is growing up to fast.

Weight: 28.5 lbs 70%

Height: 34 1/2 inches 97%

Boy do I love this kid, he is one of the funniest kids that I know. He is super smart and talks like crazy. Today he said, " I a silly baby." and counted to 3.

He loves life, he gets a gets a little crazy if he has been in the house to long. He loves to be outside driving his tractors, swinging and going down the slide.

We love you Tysie.

18 Months

2009-01-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

Remember this guy?

2009-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Remember Teddy Ruxpin? This is the new updated version. Grandma Mortensen got him for

the boys for Christmas. They have both love sitting down and listening to his stories. Tyson calls him baby. Except I think he may be teaching Dylan bad things. The other day Dylan had all of his cars lined up and crashed a train through them and said," I killed them." I asked where he learned that and he said from Teddy. I don't think it came from Teddy, I think he was the closest thing around to blame. So we had to have a little talk about not killing things.

The boys love him, thanks Grandma.

Two Birthdays and a Marathon

2009-01-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to wish my girlfriend Tana a happy 30th birthday, and wish my niece Bentley a happy 1st birthday.
My sister-in-law Ann Marie ran her 1st marathon today. Wow, what an accomplishment. She also used it as an opportunity to help raise money for their cousin Susan's foundation. What a great cause. Good job Ann Marie, we love you and are so proud of you.

I'm a princess!

2009-01-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while I was folding laundry Dylan was playing and kept laughing and pointing at pictures in the room. I couldn't understand what he was saying, I kept saying "What?" and he would just laugh and finally I heard the word princess. I asked him what he was talking about, and he pointed at one of our wedding pictures and said, "My mommy's a princess." and kept laughing. He thought I was a princess because of my dress. Funny kid.

Little Helper!

2009-01-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Tyson is in love with my vacuum. Lately I can't get it out without having him go crazy to help use it. It works out perfectly though because I can make the device shorter and he can vacuum the tile for me.

I hope he never grows out of this.

Dylan's a Sunbeam!

2009-01-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Yes that's right, Dylan is a Sunbeam. We have been prepping him all week for it. I thought we might get away without any crying, boy was I wrong. Poor kid, he is just not good in new situations or old ones for that matter. He didn't ever get used to nursery. Marty stayed with him for a while in opening exercises and by the time they got to class he was OK, thank goodness. We can only hope next week will be better.

He came out of class wearing a crown on his head, forgot to take a picture sorry, and I said, "Oh, nice crown Dylan," He said, "No, I'm a king." Oh sorry.

We have been trying to give Dylan more responsiblity around the house and trying to get him to pull up his own underwear after he goes to the bathroom and such. Today I was asking him to help put laundry away and he was whining about it, I told him he could help me because he was a big boy now because he goes to Sunbeams. He was very adament and clear that he is not a big boy, that he is still little.

Catching up!

2008-12-31T18:23:00.001-08:00

Wow where did the last two weeks go. I need to play some serious catch up.

I hope everyone's wishes came true in this Christmas season, but mostly I hope everyone enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

Here is what we have been up to the last couple of weeks....warning picture overload.

Dylan took this little Santa hat off of one of their stuffed animals and they both have had so much fun wearing this little Santa beanie. Tyson's turn and he usually hates hats, but for some reason liked this one.
Tyson's first time playing in the snow for real...last year he was to tiny.

Dylan has had so much fun in the snow, from driving trucks to digging a snow cave. Sorry didn't get a picture of the snow cave.

Santa Kitty

(oh the things we do to our kitty)

Christmas Eve-The Christmas jamas.

(Shhh don't tell Tyson, his were Dylan's from last year. He doesn't know any different.)

Christmas Morning-The Loot

Train table from Santa, they both loved it. Dylan spent every waking moment playing with it.

Dylan asked Santa for a sled.

The stocking.

Tyson waiting for his quad ride.

Dylan waiting for his sled ride.

Improvising, we haven't made it out to the forest to find a good sled hill, so Marty made due with the quad in the backyard. Dylan loved it.

Dancing with the Santa one last time before he gets put away for the season.

Playing under the tree one more time.

We had such a fun Christmas, it was so nice to just play with our toys and watch movies and just enjoy each other. The boys had such a fun day, it was so fun to see the excitment in their eyes. When Dylan went to bed Christmas night he asked me if Santa was coming tomorrow. Don't think so.

We hope everyone has a happy, safe, and healthy New Year!

Precious Gifts

2008-12-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

We have had a crazy couple of weeks and I have neglected my blog. I got a new camera and I am so excited about it. Here are a few pics from the new camera.

Given a little love.
One of the many faces of Tyson, he looks like this half of the day.

Look at those eyes.

Funny kid

Winter Wonderland

Marty says this is Bear in all his glory. He is such a cute dog.

Yes that is my cat in my tree.

This is how Dylan plugs his ears since he got his cast on.

Pushing snow

Tyson's first taste of the snow.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas season. We have had so much fun with Dylan this year. He is just so excited about Christmas, he was afraid of Santa but everyday he asks where Santa is. I tell him that he is at the North Pole making toys. He loves the Christmas lights, and reading about Baby Jesus. The kids have made the season so much more enjoyable and fun. I love my kiddos.

Zoo

2008-12-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

When we were in Tempe last week we took the boys to the z00, enjoy the pics.

Before the zoo we grabbed some lunch, this Christmas tree was in the restaurant. When we walked in the door Dylan saw it and yells at the top of his lungs, "Look Christmas."

After we ate Dylan disappeared for a sec and I turn around and see this. I thought he was licking the ball, so I told him to stop because he puts his mouth on everything in public. He wasn't licking it, he was looking at his tongue in the reflection.
This is so cute. They are looking at the fish in the pond just inside the zoo entrance. Dylan thought Tyson was going to jump in the water.

Dylan was totally obessed with seeing the rinos, that is all he talked about the whole time and the rinos were at the end. By the time we got to see them he was so done with the zoo.

Can anyone say pink eye!

Tyson and I at the giraffes.

Crazy thing happened!

2008-12-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

What a crazy week. Tyson is a horrible teether, he was cutting 6 teeth at once and screamed for a week. Poor baby, he is much happier now. Then Dylan got the stomach flu, first time ever. I didn't much like that experience. He kept telling me, "I just want my belly to feel better." Break my heart. He is all better and happy also, his appetite has increased dramatically since then. We then had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends Jeron and Anne Hatch and their two boys Thomas and Hyrum. We thought we were going to have a nice relaxing weekend at home with each other and the craziest thing happened, we put the boys to bed like normal, about 30 minutes later I hear Dylan screaming his head off. I ran in their room to check on him and he was holding his arm. He likes to climb into bed with Tyson sometimes and I guess he was climbing out of the crib and slipped and fell on his arm. We kept him up for a while to watch him and he just kept crying and crying, he eventually fell to sleep and then woke up a few hours later complaining about his arm and crying. We stayed up pretty much the rest of the night and Marty took him to the ER on Saturday morning. It was broke, they called it a green break. They spent half of the day at the ER and Dylan came home with a nice splint. He took a nap and when he woke up he was ready for it to come off. He was pretty happy on Monday when they took it off and then not happy when he got his new hard cast on. He has to have it taken off one more time to make sure it is healing straight. Then he will wear a cast for about 6 weeks. I thought we would have a few more years before our ER visits started. Then after all of that I got the stomach flu, can I just tell you how much I hate that feeling. Enjoy the pics.

The kiddos getting ready to stuff their faces on Thanksgiving dinner.

Tyson now folds his arms for prays and last night started saying amen.
Hair cut night. Dylan sporting his underwear and the nice back over his arm, so hair wouldn't get in the splint.

Tyson, my neice Macie and Dylan, we made these cute turkey hats, they were a little late but what a fun project.

Dylan showing off his splint.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, we hope you all had a wonderful day with friends and family.

We have so many things to be thankful for this year.....

Healthy, wonderful kids

our home

beautiful area we live in

great job

great friends

supportive family

our callings

safety

good health

and

the wonderful feelings of love and comfort that our Savior has blessed us with.

I also wanted to give a shout out to all the thousands of turkeys that made it into homes across the country, thanks for filling our bellies and for the great nap.

2008-11-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

All of that time at the gym paid off.

Who taught Tyson to talk? Pay close attention, he is saying cheese to the camera.

2008-11-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

In June Marty's cousin Susan was diagnosed with colon cancer, she is only 25, she was married in January to Justin Turley. It came as a shock to everyone.

This year was the first annual 5k to help fight colon cancer. They wanted to do something different, so it became the undy 5000, as in underwear. Yes, we were to run in our underwear. Well I did not run in my underwear, but quite a few other people did.

Earlier in the year there was a race in Philedelphia and about a month ago there was a race in Dallas. Marty's sister Ann Marie lives in Dallas and was able to run the race there. She also flew in Thursday night to be with the family and run the race on Saturday. Marty has quite a large family and they are very supportive of each other. Everyone that could, got together on Saturday to run this race for Susan. She was represented very well, at least 18 Mortensen's, and over 60 people who ran on her team. There could have been more, no one ever really got a head count. It was awesome to see the strength that this family has, I am sure that Susan was able to fell the love of her family and her friends.

I have wanted to run in a 5k all year, but I was full of excuses. I had no excuse not to run in this race. Susan would have ran it if she could have, hopefully she will run it next year with us.

I had alot of fun, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Marty kept up with his sister, who runs all the time. I kept thinking I was going to find him passed out somewhere along the course, but he did awesome.
Grandpa pushed the boys in the stroller.

Aunt Anna holding up Dylan with our teams sign.

Tyson crashed somewhere along the way.

After the race, we are still smiling.

We had a great weekend. Felt so good to do something good.

Excited for snow!

2008-11-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me, know that I am not a fan of cold weather. I freeze in the winter. Marty and Dylan have been so excited for the snow to come. Almost everyday Dylan asks where the snow is. Sunday night we got a little bit of snow. Monday morning Dylan got up and looked outside and saw the snow and he was so excited. He was running around saying "snow outside, snow outside". I couldn't help be excited too. I guess his excitement for the snow will help me make it through the winter. After breakfast we got him all dressed up in his snow gear and he went out and walked around and played in for almost an hour. He came inside and said that he was done playing in the snow and that he was cold.

Runny noses, sore throats and coughs!

2008-11-09T14:35:00.001-08:00

So that pretty much sums up our week. Tyson, the weakest of the tribe members caught a cold last Sunday and spread it to the rest of the tribe. Yes, I have been watching Survivor. It has been kind of nice to just have a lazy week after the one we had last week. Good excuse not to go anywhere. On Tuesday when Dylan started coming down with it, he came to me and said, "My mouth hurts mommy." He opens his mouth really big and points down his throat. I took a good look and sure enough he had a nasty, red throat. It is kinda nice when they get older, they can finally tell you where hurts.

On top of having a cold Tyson is still trying to cut his 1 year molars. I have been giving him carrots to chew on the try to get them to break through. Dylan loves carrots also.

These are my sick little bunnies.

Funny Dylan story

We let him watch The Incredibles for the first time on Friday movies night. I wasn't to sure about letting him watch it, I thought it might be to scary for him. Well he loved it. Today during Sacrament meeting Dylan pulls out Tyson little church blanket and hands it to me and says, "I want to be a super mommy." At first I didn't understand. Then he says it again but with both hands on his hips, and says, "Like this." He was pretending to be like Buddy on The Incredibles and he wanted me to put the blanket on him like a cape. I finally got it that he wanted to be a superhero. I had a good laugh.

Crazy week!

2008-11-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

Why do I always put things off until the last minute? I signed up with my sister to do a craft bazzar about 3 months ago, I worked really hard to get some stuff done when we first signed up, then I decided that I had plenty of time to get stuff done so I stopped working on my projects, until about 10 days ago. So if any of you have been wondering why I haven't returned any messages, checked blogs, answered my phone, is the reason. I have been sitting at my sewing machine for most of the day. My poor kiddos and hubby. Sorry! The craft fair was yesterday and I am so glad it is over. I don't have any pics, my sister took some and when I get them from her I will post them.

As for the rest of the week these are the kinds of things that happen because I wasn't paying attention to my kids.

Dylan wanted a cup of milk and he decided I wasn't moving fast enough so he decided he would help himself.

I did take 10 minutes and carve some pumpkins, I totally cheated though. These are craft pumpkins, no mess. Dylan and Tyson loved playing with them.

Sorry these are backwards, one of these days I will figure this out.

I didn't really let Dylan use the knife.

This is what Tyson did while Dylan helped me.

Loving the pumpkins. Tyson enjoyed throwing his around like a ball.

I love this picture of Dylan.

Eatin' the loot after the trunk or treat at the church.

Tyson enjoying the moment.

Aren't these the cutest bats you ever saw?

So unoriginal for them both to be bats, I know. I wanted Tyson to be bat a long time ago. I found one on Old Navy.com and had to get it and it was on sale 12.99, sweet. When it came a few days later Dylan opened the package and was so excited that it was a costum. He wanted to put it on, I kept telling him it was for Tyson and that it was to small. He didn't care. He stuff his 4T body into Tyson's 2T costum, he looked so funny and didn't get a picture, but he wore that costume all afternoon. I was made at myself that I didn't order two. I had a hard time trying to decide what Dylan should be, then a couple of Saturdays ago my friend calls me from Old Navy here in town and says they have bat costums for 5.00, and they were giving out 5.oo coupons at the door so I could get it for free. Sweet, so I had he pick one up for me. Dylan was so excited for his costum.

It was a crazy week but everyone survived.

We couldn't end Halloween night without a call to our friends at Poison Control, they usually have to be involved in the activities. Dylan was chewing on one of those glow in the braclet and it broke open and he swallowed some. It was crazy looking in the dark because his mouth was glowing. But I didn't hurt him, he just needed to drink water and wash his face because the stuff irriatates your skin.

Harvest Festival and Dylanisms.

2008-10-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while.

Last weekend we took the boys to a little harvest festival at Warner's Nursery. We met up with the Ross' and let the boys run around for a while.

Dylan and Cooper decorating some yummy cookies, they also painted some nice rocks.
Sorry about the big bum behind you Cooper. That lady just wouldn't move so I could get a good picture.

There was a little petting zoo, Dylan loved this guinea pig. There were some rabbits and some chickens and llamas. We let Tyson pet one of the rabbits and he isn't the kindest kid to animals, and he latched on to this poor little bunny, it totally freaked out. I have it on the video camera.

Tyson decided that these buckets of trees were a nice place to sit.

Tyson sitting on top of the hay maze,

Dylan and Cooper had fun chasing each other through the maze.

Dylanisms

Sorry this may not be appropriate but I think it is funny,

Dylan was going number 2 the other day and it wasn't going as smoothly as he was hoping for, so he is sitting there pushing, " It's harder." he says, I said, " It's hard to push out?" He says,"Yes", then he says, "It hurts my feelings."

I had a good laugh.

Last night after baths, Dylan climbs on the toilet and then onto the counter and he is looking at himself in the mirror and laughing and talking. I was sitting on the floor getting Tyson dressed. I said,"Dylan you need to get down or you are going to slip and crack you head open and then we will have to take you to the hospital." Dylan says, "Ok, I'll get a new head."

Dylan likes to stand on his chair at the table. A few weeks ago he starting saying what the giant says out of Jack and The Bean Stalk, Fe Fi Fo Fum I smell the blood of an englishman. This morning at breakfast he stands up and says," Fe Fi Fo Fum a smelly englishman." Sometimes he gets words mixed and jumbled. I thought it was funny.

Could this be a problem?

2008-10-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a big problem. Yesterday I was helping Dylan out in the bathroom and when I came back into the kitchen this is what I found. This is a recreation of course, he climbed on the table a zillion times yesterday. Dylan was about this same age when I caught him standing on the counter. I had to take all the chairs away from the bar. I think I will have to do it again, and take Tyson to the bathroom with us from now on. Tyson kind of looks like a little troll in this pictures. Kids gotta love um.

Week in review!

2008-10-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry no pics this time. Just a few things that have been going on this week. We had the boys last day of gymnastics on Thursday. I think Dylan is going to miss it, he loved the trampolines.

We rode the quads alot this week. Monday night we saw 6 deer, all females and then on Wedesday we saw 6 more, 4 males and 2 females. We love going out and spending as much time as we can riding and walking around. The boys look forward to it. We have bought the boys all of their winter clothes so we can spend a little bit more time out there and they won't get cold.

I finally finished canning my tomatoes, that was a job, but it was well worth the work. I got 53 pints and 32 quarts.

I do not know how to make sugar cookies, but I always try to make a batch and use cut outs to match the season. I tried my hand at a batch this week. My record still holds, they did not turn out. Dylan loves to help, and he loves to use the cut outs, so I guess it doesn't really matter that they didn't turn out. He was happy, and he ate them anyways.

Tyson is a smarty pants these days, he soaks up everything, good and bad. He has been saying "no, no" for quite a while and this week he has added smacking Dylan in the head and saying "no,no", he has even been hitting me. Where did my sweet baby go? I thought it was funny the first time he did it, and I thought it was just some fluck thing. I didn't think it would stick around, then he kept doing it over and over again. How do I teach a 14 month old that hitting is not nice. Hopefully since he learned it, he can unlearn it. If that makes any since.

I am so thankful for my kiddos, I am thankful that I can stay home with them. I love being their mom. I love all of the adventures that they take me on everyday.

2008-10-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

I ve had the boys in gymnastics the last couple of months, they have both loved it. They love to run around on the soft floor, do forward rolls, hands stands for Dylan, rings, and the best thing of all the trampolines. Dylan calls them bouncolines. He loves, loves them. We all had a fun time, but I am kind of glad the classes are coming to an end. We will do it again in the spring maybe. Flagstaff Gymnastics is building a new place, it will be open next summer. It looks totally awesome, I am excited for the indoor batting cages. Marty and I spent alot of time at the batting cages in the Valley, we have missed not having them up here. Kind of weird that Flagstaff has never had batting cages. Hope you enjoy the little video, Dylan makes me laugh. Oh, and the farting noises in the back ground is Tyson giving me raspberries on my arm, I promise.

2008-09-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry, this is backwards scroll to the bottom first.

These are some pumpkins that my dad grew, the picture doesn't do it justice. These things are huge. I kept trying to get Dylan to sit on one so you could really tell how big they are, but he wouldn't. The pumpkin patch is so cool.
This is what my mom and I canned, 23 pints of beets, I loooooooooovvvvvveeee beets, and 13 pints of tomatoes.
My parents have a wood burning stove and my dad has cut wood his whole life, it is getting harder and harder for him to get it, but he still loves to go out and cut is every year, he also really loves good help. While we canned, my dad, brother and Marty went and cut two loads of wood. They were gone all day and were very tired and dirty when they got back. Marty had fun, but he was pretty sore the next day. You can see why, those pieces of wood are huge.

Marty tells a better story of what happens when you go cut wood with my dad and brother.

Tyson playing peek-a-boo. Grandma and Granddad have the best toys to ride on, this little pedal tractor is a favorite and Tyson loved it when it was his turn.

Dylan spent alot of the weekend trying to catch baby bunnies. He would just climb right in the hutches with the rabbits and catch a baby, there are only like 17 babies. He came home with some pretty good scratched on his face, arms and hands. I was never with him when he did it, so I didn't get a pic. He was holding one of the bunnies on Sunday, he says to me, "I take this one home." He looks over at the mom and says,"Sorry mommy." He looks down at the baby and says, "Sorry baby." We had a good laugh.

Can someone please explain to me why the days and months go by so fast? I have been running around crazy for the last month. Doing what? I have no idea, but it seems like there is always something that needs to be done. I haven't even returned phone calls from friends, sorry Kristi. The good thing is that we are all healthy as horses and the kiddos are happy, for the most part.

We went to visit my parents last weekend. My baby sister turned 24, that's impossible because I'm 24. We saw her sweet baby Collin, such a cute kid, little skinny for a 5 month old, well not really, my kids were just huge at that age. Who knows where the camera was, so I didn't get any pics, next time.

My parents garden is huge, they have enjoyed all of the delicious veggies and so have all the neighbors and have of Flagstaff. My dad says that giving it away is half of the fun.

My mom and I canned beets and tomatoes all day on Saturday. I grew up canning with my mom, she does an amazing job. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Baking Dylan's Birthday Cake!

2008-09-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

I let Dylan help make his birthday cake, he was a good helper and had a fun time.

He likes to brake the eggs, we only had to fish out the shells of one.

He did such a good job, he bugged me the whole day to let him eat one.

I had to frost it while he was taking a nap, and I forgot to take a picture. Then I had to hide it. He kept asking for it after he woke up.

This was the final product. My mother-in-law gave me a cookbook called the Cake Doctor and this was one of her recipes. I thought it turned out pretty well.

We hauled the cake out into the forest, we ate dinner with friends, and Dylan blow out his candles and we had cake and ice cream. Not many three year olds get to have a birthday party in the forest. We are so luck to live in a place where we can enjoy beautiful forest only a couple of minutes from our house.

Lost and Found!

2008-09-08T12:10:00.001-07:00

Dylan found the camera, hip, hip, hurrah.

I stayed home from church yesterday because Dylan was sick, at one point he was jumping on the couch(ya, real sick huh) and I was in the kitchen. He said something,"Look mom opening presents." I looked over and he was looking at his birthday pictures on the camera. I was so excited, I was jumping up and down, and hugging him, and kissing him, I was so excited. Now I can show you all of the cute pics that I took last weekend.

Last Saturday Dylan found this pretty butterfly in the garden. The poor thing had a broken wing so it couldn't go very far.

Dylan was mesmerized by it, he played with and held it and talked to for a really long time.

So sad!

2008-09-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

I lost my camera! I am so frustrated with myself because I can't remember what I did with it. I have turned my house upside down looking for it. I am pretty sure it got thrown out with the trash from Dylan's birthday. I am so sad because it had the cutest pics of the boys from last weekend. I will just tell you about them since you can't see them. We took the boys to the fair, we saw the animals and then Dylan decided he would like to try some rides, we all rode the ferriswheel, Dylan then wanted to ride a little train. I didn't think he would ride by himself so I went with him. There was a little bumble bee ride next to the train and he wanted to ride that one also. No one could ride with him on it so I strapped him in and I told him he was going to have to ride by himself, he said "OK!" If any of you know Dylan and how he is about being left alone and he didn't kick and scream, I was shocked. I got the cutest pictures of him riding the bee, he was so happy and proud of himself for doing it alone.
I took pics of Dylan helping me make his birthday cake.
And finally, Dylan's birthday was on Sunday. I am so sad all of his 3rd birthday pics are gone.
No use crying over spilled milk.
Today we spent the morning at the Route 66 Days. It was basically just an antique car show, some people had craft booths and food booths set up. Marty loves old cars so we walked around for a couple of hours and looked at cars. The boys did so good, it was kind of our first Saturday outing in Flagstaff. It was a little warm out, we took the stroller and the boys just hung out and were happy. I was so glad, it was a happy, delightful day. I think we will do it again.

Happy 3rd Brithday Dylan!

2008-08-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Dylan, we are so glad you are part of our family, we love you very much, you bring so much joy to everyday. I love to see the world through your eyes. You have always been such a sweet, layed back kid, for the most part. You are always so quick to give a compliment, I hope you will always be like that. We hope that you have a very happy day.

Look how far Dylan has come...

potty trained

loves the out doors

loves his trucks

loves to sing songs(I am a child of God, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, ( Dylan says "sunbink" cute huh), Old MacDonald had a farm, Wheels on the bus, Itsy Bitsy spider.

loves to dance

loves tv

knows and recognizes all the letters of the alphebet

counts to 20 almost, he skips 14, and 15

loves to make his brother laugh

Dylans stats

weight: 36lbs 90%

height: 41 inches 90%

We love you buddy, life wouldn't be the same without you.

Every party has a pooper!

2008-08-30T06:39:00.001-07:00

All summer I have wanted to go either camping or out in the forest, build a fire and roast marshmellows. Finally for Dylan's birthday we did it. The original plan was to go camping with the Ross' but Tyrel had to work late so that one didn't happen. We decided to go out and build a fire, make dinner and have smores. Samantha, Cooper and Trip met us out there. Cooper is Dylan's little buddy, they play together so well. They had so much fun out in the dirt and rocks. I thought there would be enough stuff in the forest to keep them occupied, but they were like little tornados, (mostly Dylan) once I broke out the paper plates, plastic cups and utensils. We went through almost a whole package of plates, I should have taken a pictures, there were plates and cups every. I am not complaining, I think it was funny. It happened so fast that I didn't even realize what had happened until we went to clean up before we left.

We had been out there only a couple of hours, the boys had so much fun, we all ate dinner and ate smores. Poor little Trip was sleeping in his car seat and Tyson thought it was a good idea to put rocks all over him. Then Cooper took his turn, and I'm sure Dylan had his chance of getting a few on him also. He just slept through it all. After dinner we were sitting around visiting and the boys were playing, Dylan was digging a hole and he says " I'm tired." He pooped out first at his own party, so we packed up and went home.

I wish we had done this sooner, it was so much fun.

Those tangs saw alot of dirt.

"See Tyson, this thing right here is to fill up with dirt, you have to make sure it is all the way full though."
See we can rough house even in the dirt.
These boys are so fast, I couldn't ever get a picture with them both looking, so here they are not looking.
Samantha teaching Dylan how to roast a hotdog over the fire.
We love smores!

We weren't out there an hour and Tyson got totally drenched, that kid loves water.
What a happy kid, he could live outside.
The boys had fun beating on that ice chest with that fork.
That's hot!
Tyson got kind of tired too.

What goes around, comes around.

2008-08-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Poor Tyson has "hand, foot, and mouth", it has been going around and finally stopped at our house.

We went on a family quad ride and Tyson didn't feel good and all of his pictures looked like this, poor baby.

Who says boys don't like flowers?
"Look mom a bird"

Dylan really likes corn on the cob, we got out in the trees and there were all of these tall flower stalks(you can see the one behind him), I don't know what they are called, but when he saw them he said "Look mom carn." He calls it carn.

We love dirt!

2008-08-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Marty had a project in the back yard on Saturday, he dug a 200ft trench across the yard and Dylan loved it.

He was so tired from climbing in and out of the trench all day.

Playing in the dirt.

Thinking about eating the dirt (looks like he has already had some).

Dylan can't have all the fun. Tyson just layed right down and started pounding away.

So happy!

Good "clean" fun!

2008-08-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

We got a really nice rain yesterday that left some big puddles (Dylan calls them pedals) in the drive way. I took the boys outside to see what Marty was doing, I turned my back on them and when I turned around they were both in the puddle, that was not my intention, but they had a good time splashing around.

Dylan spent most of his time trying to get away from Tyson by pushing his car all over the place, Tyson thought it was great chasing after him.

Poison Control on speed dial.

2008-08-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a super busy day for me, I had vt appointments and a planning meeting for enrichment in the morning. It was good to visit with my sisters and help plan a fun enrichment for September. I got home fed the boys, and put them down for their afternoon naps and took care of some stuff around the house. I was excited all day for the dinner we were having with the sisters in the ward. It seems like it has been a long time since I have just sat and visited with other women, so I was so excited. Marty came home early from work, he has been working on a project in the garage, so he headed out there after he ate some lunch. The boys woke up, and we all headed outside. I pushed the boys on the swings for a while then, they wanted down to play. I was pulling weeds and cleaning up some stuff and "watching Tyson", I turned my back on him(we were both on the lawn) I turn around and he is munching on something, I took the rest of it out of his hand and it was a mushroom(the kind that grow in grass after monsoon storms). I have been very vigilant about getting them out of the grass when I see them because I just knew if Tyson ever saw one he would eat it, well I missed one and he found it. I freaked out, ran and got Marty, he called Poison Control, they said he would probably start throwing up, and that he had to take a picture of it and email it to them. My first thought, no second thought was great now I get to spend the evening at the hospital, not at the relief society dinner. Is that horrible of me or what? Tyson did not start throwing up, he was starving because it was dinner time and we didn't want to let him eat anything until we heard back. They called back a few minutes later and said it was most likely nonpoisonious, but that they were going to email the pic to a mushroom doc to determine if it was, thank goodness he said it was nonpoisonious also. In the end everything worked out, Tyson was ok, and I got to go and have a nice relaxing dinner with the ladies in the ward. Seriously though, I think I will put Poison Control on speed dial.

Weekend in Clay Springs

2008-07-31T13:26:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to my parents house in Clay Springs for a family gathering and cleanup day. It was good to see alot of Aunts and Uncles and spend time with cousins that I haven't seen in years. The boys had such a fun time, especially Dylan. My dad has alot of animals and Dylan loved holding them.

I'm not sure where Tyson was all weekend, this is one of the only pics I got of him.
My mom and dad with the boys, Dylan had other more important things to do besides get his picture taken.
This is one of my dad's gardens.
Just hanging out with the guys.
Dylan found this pipe layed over some stumps, and said it was his horse, I guest he needed a horse to go along with all of the other animals.
One of the many baby bunnies at Granddad's house.
This is their baby pig, if you look really close through the fence you can see Dylan's head, he really liked the pig.
And this was Dylan's favorite part, the baby goats. One of the goats had twins, they are so sweet and cute. Dylan's first reactions was "Can I have one dad?"
This video is so funny, I am not sure that it is going to work though. Dylan and Macie, my sister's little girl, love to play together. They found a "stage" and did a little song and dance routine. It was so cute, Dylan loves to jump off of high things but he is a clutz. Enjoy, I hope, if not I will try it again.

Tyson's Birthday

2008-07-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday the 27th was Tyson's birthday, I really wanted to post some baby pictures, but I can't seem to fine where I put them, so here is one of him eating his cake. He didn't really eat it, but he really liked to squish it and smear it all over himself.

Here is just some random information about Tyson, he is the sweetest kid, always looking for a hug or a kiss. He has a scream that makes your ears ring. He loves to be outside, and screams when he has to come in the house. He eats anything he can find. Words include, daddy, this, that, nana(banana), night, night, mama, D(Dylan). He loves to laugh, and play with his brother. We love him to death.

Stats from the doc:

Height: 31 1/2 inches 90%

Weight: 24 lbs 13 ounces 75%

Fun in Tonto Creek

2008-07-23T13:00:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to visit Marty's parents at their cabin in Tonto Village, near Payson. We always have a good time. After we got there on Friday, we decided to take the boys to the creek and do a little fishing. The rest of the time we just relaxed and let the boys play, we had a great time. Sorry this pics are totally out of order.

Dylan really likes marshmellows.

We had to keep taking Tyson out of the creek to put him in the sun to warm up.

This would have been cute if we were looking at the camera.

Dylan really likes to collect sticks in the forest and pretent to build a fire.
Dylan likes to play baseball, he is going to make us alot of money someday.

Look at that handsome kid.
Dylan telling Tyson to be quite and not splash because he was going to scare all the fish away.
Tyson splashing anyway.

This kid has no fear of water, he just plopped himself in the cold water and splashed to his hearts content. He didn't care one bit that is was cold. We had to take him out a few times and put him in the sun to warm him up and he just screamed.

Swimming lessons

2008-07-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to do some swimming lessons with Dylan, today was our last day. The first day was pretty rough, first off we were late, Dylan does not like showers at all, so he wouldn't rinse off to get in, then he didn't want to get in the pool, finally after long exhausting talk he got in. He got to play for about 10 minutes then lessons were over and quess what he didn't want to get out. He has improved one hundred percent from the first day. He now loves his shower power, as we call them now, he loves to get in the pool, hold his breath and let me put his head under, but he still hates to get out. This is quit embarrassing because he screams and thrashes around, so I just throw him over my shoulder and climb up the steps and all of the other parents stare at me like I am nuts or something. So I have been doing this for two weeks and my back has been killing, so on our last day I treated myself with a little visit to the chiropractor, it was much needed and I feel great. Most important I am so proud of Dylan he has overcome alot of his fears, I think he will be much more confident that he can do anything he wants to. Good Job buddy.

2008-07-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

It has been a while, I keep thinking I don't have anything to blog about, then I start thinking and I realized I have alot to blog about.

Dylan and I just had the funniest conversation, I don't know where it came from.

I was reading my emails and Dylan was coloring and I think he accidently drew an ice cream cone.

He comes over to me
Dylan: My tummies growling.
Me: Oh, your tummy is growling, are you hungry?
Dylan: Ya
Me: Do you want some apple sauce?
Dylan: No, tummyache.
Me: Oh, you have a tummy ache.
Dylan: I need an ice cream cone.

I just laughed, sorry dude not at 8:30 in the morning.

I will post some more later,

Our computers have been on the fritz lately, I think it has to do with the fact that we have two kids who are absessed with them. The laptops have been spit up on, had water dumped on them, dropped, stepped on, beat on, there are little bits of crackers and bread and who knows what else caked around the keys. A few weeks ago something sticky got around the enter key, it is kind of hard to do anything without an enter key. Oh ya and the ac adapters don't work very, the batteries don't stay charged, we have to keep them plugged into the wall and if it gets bumped just right it shuts off right in the middle of typing an email, or blogging. The sad part is they are only like 2 years old, we bit the bullet and ordered a new one. Dylan and Tyson can have the old broken ones, but I am pretty sure they will like the new one better.

2008-06-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

One of my childhood friends came to visit last weekend, I feel bad I didn't get one picture with her little boy Traven. We let the boys play in the sprinkler, Dylan did not like it, Tyson loved it.

Dylan and Tyson love Marty's hammock that he brought back from Brasil.
Saturday night I gave the boys hair cuts, we decided to buzz Tyson, he doesn't even look like our baby.
I think he has come to terms with it.

2008-06-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Marty!

You are the greatest,

we love you.

Albuquerque, part II

2008-06-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry these got out of order. I'm still learning.

Marty and Tyson at the Rio Grande.
This is everyone, sorry it is a bit dark.

( Dylan, Ethan, Spencer, Tyson, Laura, Marty)
Ahhhh!
We went to the temple and of course Dylan loved the fountain.
Ahhh!
In the beginning, Marty and Tyson walking to the Rio Grande.
Tyson so happy to be in the dirt.
Marty, I think I will just go for a little swim.
Dylan throwing rocks in the river, he finally gave up and looked at the camera.
I love this picture.
The boys playing.

Albuquerque

2008-06-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

We went to Albuquerque last week to visit our friends Spencer and Laura and Ethan. We hadn't ever been there and we had a great time. Marty helped Spencer do some work on their bathroom and Laura and I took the boys to the zoo. They have the neatest zoo, we didn't get to see all of the animals because the boys got hungry and tired and it was hot. Here are a few pics.

Dylan's favorite and my favorite part were the polar bears. There were 3 huge bears, we got to see one of them swimming under water and the other two were hanging out on the rocks. Very cool.
The two cougars were just on the other side of the glass taking a nap.
There where quite a few giraffes, here are two babies in the back ground.
Tyson just hung out in the stroller, as long as we were moving he was happy.
One of the 5 elephants.