Provo City Airport

Today Amy took Matthew and Ryan to the Provo City Airport for a tour. Ryan was really excited to be outside and loved all the new things to look at. Matthew wasn't too sure at first - the big planes were a little scary, especially when one of them started up. But then he got to see some planes flying in the air and he started to warm up. Before long, Matthew wanted to ride in every plane he saw!


The guide at the airport let the kids sit in one of their Katana planes. Matthew thought it was great. He loved all of the buttons and gages. He even managed to turn something on! Don't worry - there wasn't a key in the plane. Matthew liked it so much that he sat in the airplane twice. We also went into one of the hangars where they had some helicopters and the flight simulator. We were able to watch one of the pilots fly an airplane on the large "video game" screen (that's what they called it for the kids). At the end of the tour Matthew got a little red plastic plane and a coloring book. It was a fun day!

Ryan walking?

Just a few days ago we were wondering if Ryan would ever really start crawling. He had been army crawling for some time and on occasion he would crawl with his belly in the air. After our swimming trip Ryan has started to crawl for real. Also he has started to stand up and balance on his own for a few seconds. Then today he started to cruise along the furniture. It is almost like he is ready to walk. Ryan among other things has also started saying the "D" sound, "G" sound, and the "Y" sound.

On Wednesday, Amy finished the Harry Potter book. The kids were a little neglected that morning but it was nice to finally be able to talk with her about the book. Matthew also said some other fun things. One day when we asked him to put away his cars he responded by saying "absolutely." Amy made him lunch one day and he said it was "beautiful." We think he got those words from "Little Einsteins" because we don't remember saying them in our everyday conversations. Then when we were going to the store, I had parked the car too close to the pole and Amy couldn't squeeze in. Amy told Matthew that she was going to have to wait for Dad to back up the car. Matthew then told Amy, "Mom you are too fat to get into the car." We all laughed. Matthew's imagination has also taken off. Today he was eating a hot dog for lunch and he decided that it had become an alligator and was going to eat his peas for him. He likes to get his pillow and blanket and pretend to sleep under the table. Our tomato plants have started to give fruit and we are happy to eat the BLT's.

Water Slides and Farm Animals

This week I had Monday and Tuesday off. We thought it would be a good time to do some fun things around Utah County. On Monday we decided to go the Veterans Memorial Pool and Water slide in Provo. It was great! Matthew and Ryan both enjoyed the water. Matthew didn't like the little pool as much as the deep pool and the water slide. The first time I really had to talk Matthew into the water slide but after the first ride that is all he wanted to do. Amy took Matthew down the slide a few times but at the end she isn't tall enough to keep Matthew out of the water. After the second time of getting too much water in his face at the bottom of the slide, Matthew informed Amy that he wanted dad to go down the slide and not her anymore. Earlier Monday morning we told Matthew that we were going to go someplace fun. In response he said, "Are we going to Kmart?" Looks like we need to get out more if "fun" is going to Kmart. Sorry we don't have any pictures of us swimming but this is a "G" rated blog.

On Tuesday we went to Thanksgiving point with the boys to visit the "Farm Animals." Matthew was very excited. He loved the baby horse and all the other animals. He really got into the cow sounds and Amy and Matthew enjoyed a horse drawn wagon ride. After we had visited all the animals Matthew was able to go on a pony ride. As soon as he got on the pony he gave it a hug and told him that he loved him. Kids are really funny that way. All in all they were both very enjoyable outings.

Amy and Ryan's week in review!

Amy and Ryan have had another busy week. With Amy's Primary President responsibilities she is always doing something and as you can see from Matthew's post the kids take up the rest of her time and energy. Ryan on Tuesday was able to sit up on his own. On Thursday he pulled himself up on a chair leg. On Saturday Ryan was crying in his crib and the cry sounded odd. After further investigation Ryan was found standing in his crib holding onto the edge of the crib. Consequently, the crib was lowered a level and Ryan is now safe again in his crib. Later on Saturday, Ryan was climbing up on Amy and he would stand up and then let go of her and balance for a second. Ryan is also found an ability to find electrical cords in any room. He will find them, army crawl to them, and the chew on them. Last Ryan wants what ever Matthew has.

Harry Potter 7 - Sunday, 2:38 a.m. - Done!

On Saturday Morning around 10:30 a.m. Kevin started reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was a great read. I finished it around 2:30 a.m. early Sunday Morning. Amy was very kind to let me read all day long and ignore the kids. I'm sure I'll get my turn when she starts reading the book. Of course I don't want to ruin the read for you but it really is a great story. Drop me a line when you want to talk about it. I still have one or two unresolved issues.

Matthew and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

We all have our days but today was a very exactly what the title indicates. Hats off to Amy for not acting harshly. Time-outs were plentiful and love was without end.
The day started out pretty normal, Matthew was down-stairs waiting to eat his breakfast. Kevin keeps some Advil in his lunch bag and Matthew somehow found it and was trying to break in. Luckily Amy got to him before he could break the child-proof container. Then a little later when Amy was up changing Ryan, Matthew climbed upon our bathroom counter and found an old pre-natal vitamin and tried to eat it. Matthew said to Amy, "Mom look what I chewed." Showing the chewed pre-natal vitamin spit out all over the bathroom floor. "It didn't taste very well."

Next Matthew asked to go pee on the potty so he could get the last car. Amy sat him on the toilet but he wanted to do closed so he could have his privacy. Of course after the door closed he pulled all the toilet paper off the role. Then Amy was feeding Ryan upstairs and Matthew was supposed to be watching "Letter Factory" when Amy came down to find Matthew on the top of our Kitchen table reaching into the kitchen sink. With a goblet from our china cabinet and pumping it full of soap from the soap dispenser. Amy was baffled to see that he could get into the china cabinet but what he had done was to pull the bounce-around into the kitchen and he used it for a stool. Of course he was quickly sent to time-out and his small cars were taken away.

Later that day Matthew had been put to bed for his nap. Amy heard some noise from his room and opened the door only to find...Matthew had found Amy's sewing kit in the closet and dumped all the pins, needles, and thread all over his bed. It was a miracle that he didn't get hurt. Time-out again for Matthew. After this Matthew decided not to take nap and Amy was putting Ryan down for his nap. After securing the home and all our valuables Amy took Ryan upstairs and gave Matthew a warning not to get into trouble.

So after Amy came down from putting Ryan to sleep Matthew said, "Mom come look at the phone." So Amy followed and Matthew showed Amy the poo that he had placed on the toy-phone from his dirty diaper. Lucky for us it was just a little poo on the the toy-phone and it had not ended up anywhere else. Well that was about 4:00 and Amy had done great to enjoy the tribulation. Love the sinner, hate the sin.

Other funny things Matthew said or did this week was: On Monday Matthew came to Amy and said: "Mom-here's a booger." handing over a recently extracted booger. On Wednesday as Amy was driving the boys past a church Matthew said: "Church says I love you to Heavenly Father."

Disneyland Trip - Planned

Amy and I were able to schedule and confirm our trip to Disneyland this fall. We are going October 10-14 and we will be staying in the Ramada outside the main gate. With the proximity of Disneyland to our hotel we should be able to go in and out of the parks based on our children's napping/eating needs. Everyone is excited and happy to have a vacation.

Pullups, Potty, and the King

This week Ryan and Matthew have been up to all kinds of crazy things. Ryan is starting to pull himself up from the ground. He is working on sitting up from a crawl and he is almost crawling the right way (still army crawling). He is very funny. He loves the water and loves Elmo. He has seven teeth and is working on #8. He loves to play with balls or whatever Matthew won't let him play with. He is starting to clap and he loves to sing when Dad is playing the piano.

Matthew went pee in the potty tonight and he got the King as a reward. Matthew told Amy a story..."This is a true story about Heavenly Father and it makes sense." Matthew is also convinced that Ryan, his brother, is his sister even though he is a boy. He is always telling us the he will listen and obey we are just waiting for him to start. One of the funniest things that Matthew told us was when he told us that he didn't like the choices we gave him and he wanted to make his own choices based on his options. Too smart for a two year old. Matthew also likes to jump on his bed and sing "Winnie the Pooh" and "The ABC song" he will yell it as loud as he can. He also runs around the house and has his own little dialog. After hearing it from his mother, Matthew called Ryan a "Little Stinker" when he took one of his toys. When you play with Matthew and you try to share toys he will always give you a bad toy. For example if you are playing cars he will try and give you a block.

Tuft Family Party

(Matthew, Ryan, Dillon, Mylie, and Makenna) On Saturday we were able to visit with Amy's family in West Jordan. Adam, Brynn, and Makenna with Brad came down from Logan to visit. Brynn announced that she is expecting twins and we are very excited for them. It was nice to speak with Kyle and Brittany about their new home in Preston, Idaho and about selling their home in Magna. It really was a great treat to spend some time with the family. With all the changes going around us we can see the blessings of our Father in Heaven upon our family. Matthew and Ryan had a lot of fun playing with their cousins and on the ride home they both feel asleep because they were just worn out. It is always fun to see the extended family.

Kevin's Birthday

Another birthday has come and gone! It was a great day. It started out with a great breakfast and some doughnuts. My coworkers came down and sang happy birthday and it was exciting. After lunch Amy had arranged for some of my workers in Conferences and Workshops to surprise me with cake and ice cream. It was a nice NASCAR cake. After work I went home and we had some KFC for dinner and opened my present. Amy does a great job of making birthday's fun. It is sad to realize how much my birthday revolved around food...I'll have to fix that for next year.

Kids Workshops - July

Today Matthew, Ryan, and Dad attended the monthly kids workshops at the Home Depot. The project was either a storage box or a sail boat. Matthew built a sail boat. First, they started out by sanding the edges on the wood. Second, they nailed the block of wood to the base. Last, they glued the mast to the base of the boat.

Matthew had a lot of fun and got a orange home depot apron and a certificate for completing the sail boat. Next month they are building toolboxes.

You are on the wrong path

While we were driving to Walmart today, Matthew said, "You're on the wrong path." It took us a bit to figure it out but we normally go to the Walmart in Springville but today we were going to the Walmart in Orem. Matthew noticed this and told us that we were lost. What a funny and smart kid.

Here is a cute picture of Ryan peeping around the corner of the door. He sure is getting closer to crawling.

Fourth of July 2007

We spent the fourth of July in Perry this year. We really enjoy the community breakfast, small town parade, and the little children's carnival. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Tams and we spent a lot of time playing with Grandma's water slide and trucks. Matthew and Ryan both had a great time with their cousins. In the evening on the fourth we lit a few fireworks but for some reason both Matthew and Ryan don't like fireworks. Funny boys. I will post a photo album on our website soon that will show you all our pictures. We really did have a lot of fun.

Matthew Married?

After church today we asked Matthew what he learned in primary. He said that he learned about families and show us the picture he colored of a family. A few minutes later, out of the blue, he told us that "I got Married." Amy, as the primary president, is looking into what type of actives are going on in nursery.