Happy 2012

Can you believe it? It is 2012 already. Here's to a new year of laughter and good times. And an updated blog might be nice too. Happy New Year!

January

January is already over? I feel like this whole month has gone by in one big blur. The weeks have been pretty much the same - school, work, errands. And I have to admit that I haven't done my best lately at documenting things. Here's a quick run-down of some recent goings-on before I forget.

Kevin: Keeping busy with work and church responsibilities. We are busy trying to get one of the downstairs rooms painted and the carpet put back in after our water leak at the very beginning of the month. We were thinking of trying a new color down there (instead of pastel purple) and although the boys wanted blue or green we decided to just go with the neutral color already in our house. We may be kind of boring, but at least the name of the color is Tequila. :) That ought to add a little spice to place. Kevin has also enjoyed watching a few football and basketball games. And he even got some time to play Civilization last night. Woohoo!

Amy: Still pregnant and going strong. We are down to single digits on how many weeks left for this little guy to come to our family. I am hitting the big and awkward stage, making it hard for me to bend down for too long. Kevin thinks I should get one of those sticks with the grabbers on the end. Who needs those when you have kids to do it for you? :) We are in the process of getting some new baby gear since ours have started to expire. We are also still working on a name. Both Kevin and I have our lists, but no consensus yet. Hopefully sometime soon!

Matthew: Loves school, at least going and participating. At the beginning of the school year he was very excited to do homework, but has recently changed his mind a little. He loves to read; his new favorites are the Magic Treehouse series. We can't keep them around fast enough before he devours them. I guess he got that from his mother. He loves playing freeze tag at school during recess and apparently sets "freeze traps" on the playground, a fact he is very proud of. He loves watching football and basketball games with his dad and usually chooses a team to root for. He can't wait to start soccer in the spring.

Ryan: Just as funny and crazy as ever. He loves to sing, but doesn't want anyone to pay attention to him while he is doing it. He is very creative and loves to show off his drawings (usually some form of bad guys vs. good guys) as well as his Lego concoctions. He finally learned to write his name with a capital letter at the beginning with lower case letters following. This has not been his favorite thing since he thought everything should be written in uppercase. He takes joy out of the simplest things and has the cutest laugh and sense of humor.

Zachary: Growing and learning more everyday. He loves to be like his brothers, so much so that he will change what he is having for breakfast just so he can be like them. He is learning how to go in the potty and just transitioned to a big boy bed. So far both are going relatively well, although I know as soon as I say that we'll hit a snag somewhere. He is a typical two-year-old - strongly independent and very stubborn. He has a great imagination and loves to play with cars and Imaginext guys. His very favorite thing has been the Nerf ball-popper gun he got for Christmas. He thinks it's great to get the monsters.

That's about it for now. More adventures to come!

Halloweenie

*One of many October posts. Catch-up time once again!

Every year Kevin's aunts put on a great Halloween party on his grandpa's farm. They decorate the barn and the fields with all kinds of Halloween stuff. They set up fire pits to roast hot dogs and marshmallows (thus the name Halloweenie). We try to go when we can because the kids have so much fun, and this year certainly did not disappoint.

The boys looking at all of the decorations.

R2-D2!!


With Aunt Jeneile and Darth Vader

Kevin at the Dead End Cemetery

On the train cars

The tractor ride

Thanks so much to our aunts for putting on such a great event!

Like Father Like Sons

Kevin has this extremely amazing talent of being able to tune everything out when something interesting is on the TV. Apparently it transferred to his sons. Notice not one of them looked up when I took a picture of them all watching a movie. Talent, I tell ya.

Camping

So we braved our first camping trip with all of the kids the weekend of July 24th. I was very excited to be up in the mountains and the kids were excited to have their first big sleepover in the tent away from our house. Let's just say that Kevin was mostly excited.

We left on Thursday afternoon and reached our campsite in the Spruces up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Our little campsite was just right for the boys - lots of trees, dirt, and a little stream that ran through the back part. I was actually very impressed that we only had one water casualty while we were there - Ryan tried to jump on a big rock and missed. After seeing how cold it was the other boys decided not to follow suit.

After we got the tent up, we went for a walk to find little sticks for the fire. We found where the bathrooms were and even took a tour inside. I had told Matthew and Ryan about my experiences camping there as a girl - i.e. one big hole in the ground to go in. They were surprised - and a little smug- that the site now had flush toilets.

After the stick gathering we headed back to camp for dinner. The boys watched the brave little chipmunks and squirrels race around the campground getting their little paws on every bit of food they could. Zachary was actually not a fan of the little critters and started saying "Shoo!" everytime he saw one.

After dinner we went for another walk to distract the boys because Matthew was impatiently wondering when the marshmallow roasting would start. We told him he had to wait until it was colder and a little darker, but try reasoning with an overly anxious 5-year-old. We went back to camp and I convinced the kids to have some fun by throwing rocks into the water. That finally got their attentiion! After lots of splashes we were finally ready to make our fire. Bring on the s'mores! Ryan wasn't impressed - he wanted the licorice instead. Zach and Matthew thought they were great. We had fun talking around the fire and making up stories about Star Wars and Cars.

After s'mores we started to get things put away. We started to get ready for bed after the first star came out. The boys were tired, but somehow got their second wind when we got inside the tent. It was a lot of bouncing and jumping and giggling, all fine and dandy for a few minutes but not so great when you are trying to get them to go to sleep. And on top of it all Zachary was not very fond of the tent or the graco he was sleeping in. So after splitting up the boys and singing some songs, we finally got the kids settled down and to bed, I'm guessing somewhere around 10:00. Zach was quiet but didn't fall asleep for a long time. The night wasn't exactly a restful one, but I was happy to be in the mountains nonetheless. I had finally dropped into a deep sleep when I start to hear the birds chirping outside. I knew that would be our wake-up call. Sure enough, Zachary started to rustle and let us all know about the birds. It was about 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning.

Well, since everyone was up, we thought we would get some breakfast going. Pancakes and eggs are always yummy. The kids had their breakfast and we started a small fire to keep them warm. After clean-up the kids informed us they wanted to go home now. Home? Really? You don't want to play outside in the dirt and rocks? We could go on a hike or go up to the ski resorts for a walk. Nope. They had done what they wanted: rocks, water, dirt, s'mores, tent, sleeping bags, and bugs. Zachary wasn't exactly a happy camper with his little amount of sleep and was even more irritated by his furry friends. So we packed up our stuff and headed out at 8:30 in the morning. I was sad that we left, but eveyone else was ready to go. Zach and Ryan fell asleep on the way home because they were so exhausted and Zachary took a four hour nap later that day. I guess camping was too much fun for them!

Overall I think the kids had a great time. We'll have to try again and use the things we learned so we can stay longer next time. If there were only a way we could get the birds to sleep in...

4th of July Weekend

This was a busy week for our family. Here is a quick recap of our weekend.

We started at the Hogal Zoo. It was military appreciation day so we got to see all the military families and a lot of military vehicles.	Matthew doesn't quite measure up to the smaller zoo animals but he is one wild and crazy boy.	Ryan loved seeing the monkeys -another group of animals that appreciate going crazy and climbing over everything. He is our little monkey.
Ryan and Matthew went over to see this large elephant statue and right as he was getting next to it...the elephant made a funny trombone sound and it scared Ryan. You can see him running away.	Grandma and Grandpa Tuft came with us and showed us the Bird show. It was great. The boys really loved the birds flying so close.	Here you see Matthew striking a pose at the bird show.
Ryan enjoyed the bird show...but he decided to be a show of his own until it started.	Of course the train ride was the favorite of all the activities. Here is Zach with Dad.	Amy and the boys had to sit in the front of the train. Matthew told us his favorite part was the train.
Here is Ryan with his aunt and cousins in Perry for a little firework fun	Dad was in charge of the fireworks and Matthew was having too much fun.	This was the first year our children weren't afraid of fireworks. It was great!

Are you ever having so much fun that you forget to take pictures? We do. Here are some of the fun things we did, but we forgot to take pictures. We had our traditional fourth of July Chicken with Grandpa and Grandma Tuft. We played on Grandma and Grandpa Tams' waterside and with their squirt toys. Matthew, Ryan, and Dad went camping in the backyard...and they all survived a night of sleeping in a tent. We enjoyed the traditional Perry fourth of July breakfast and parade. Great food, short and entertaining parade, with lots and lots of candy. I'm not sure how but Perry even had an F-16 flyover for breakfast. It was a lot of fun and most important it was a great way to celebrate our country's birthday.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Yesterday we were able to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house with Grandma and Grandpa Tuft and Great-Grandma Tuft. The temple was beautiful and the boys did really well for most of it. They especially enjoyed watching the video about temples at the beginning of the tour. When the video showed some of the rooms inside Matthew commented that it looked like a school. We thought that was pretty close to the truth. Matthew and Ryan also liked seeing the baptismal font, so much so that Amy had to do a quick grab before Ryan was down the stairs into the water. Both Matthew and Ryan liked pointing out pictures of Jesus on the walls and finding the colors reflected in the beautiful chandeliers. Ryan got a little antsy toward the end and wanted to get down to touch everything "by myself," but overall it was a good experience and the boys really enjoyed it. Zachary did great in the stroller and didn't complain until the very end, but we think that was because we were all having cookies that he wasn't allowed to taste. We had a lot of fun with the grandparents and it was wonderful to have great-grandma with us. We hope to visit again soon.

Holiday Roundup

In a seven day period we traveled over 800 miles (from one end of Utah to the other), the entire family slept for five days in the same room, two days in a hotel, attended three family parties, and one temple wedding. Here are a few pictures that document our journey. Ryan is exhausted after Christmas caroling with the extended Tams family in Perry.
Matthew opens his first Christmas present. What a joyous event.
Ryan discovers that the box Matthew's Geotrax came in also doubles as a slide. He really loved that box until it was squished.
Eve, Brad, Amy, and Kevin outside the Saint George Temple. We spent three days in Saint George for the endowment, wedding, and reception. We had just a little spare time and we were able to visit Beckie. She almost has us convinced we should join her in warm and sunny Saint George.
This is the last night of our seven day adventure. You can see that Matthew is distracted as ever and Ryan can't stand anymore traveling. Too bad, we have a few more family and wedding related events to attend later this week. Hopefully we will all be recovered before it starts again. Happy New Year!

We need a little Christmas!

So Thanksgiving, black Friday, and cyber Monday have come and gone and we still haven't blogged anything about our adventures. We spent Thanksgiving with Amy's parents in West Jordan. It was a lot of fun for Matthew and Ryan to play with their cousins Makenna, Dillon, and Mylie. It was great to see them all. Matthew enjoyed the olives...who doesn't? Ryan really got into the post turkey tryptophan-induced lounging. The real challenge came in preventing our two little boys from destroying their grandparents' home.

It seems that our boys have this "ability" to get into trouble.
And like all superheros when the two get together there is no human possible way to stop them. I'm not quite sure if I want to classify them as superheros or diabolical masterminds. Ryan, believe it or not, tends to be the initiator. If Matthew gets put into timeout Ryan is right behind trying to get him out and into more trouble.

As the boys were putting up the Christmas tree we were reminded why we only decorate the bottom half. But we also came upon a new discovery: a three-year-old has the same tendency to pull things off the tree as his one-year-old brother. Matthew also has the firm belief that ornaments can only hang on the lights.

Ryan is starting to say more words (of course we are the only ones who can understand what he is saying). He now says, Wow, Thank you, (Day Do) Mom, Milk (Mah), Matthew (Ma Ma), Dad (Da), Good night (Oo ni), woof (boof), hot dog (ha da), and moo (boo).

Matthew is also fun as ever. This is part of his prayer from FHE last night, "Grateful to have Family Home Evening and bless that we will have a REALLY BIG treat." I guess that demonstrates Matthew's motivation for attendance. He also told us that when he gets big he will go to school on the bus and Ryan will be sad, but he will come back from school to do his homework and Ryan will be happy again. Dreaming about homework? I'm sure that comes from Amy.

Happy Birthday - Amy, Matthew, and Ryan

October is a busy month for Birthday's in our families. Last week we celebrated Amy's Birthday, this week we will celebrate Matthew's, and we will celebrate Ryan's birthday next week. I will post some pictures soon from Amy's party and Matthew's it was a great day. Last week we also welcomed two new cousins, Logan and Ethan. They were born at 24 weeks and both are doing fine.

Disneyland pictures

Here are some quick pictures "Live" from Disneyland. We have a few really funny stories and some awsome pictures. We will tell you more about the trip when we get back home to Utah. Until then. Enjoy the pictures.

Movin' right along

It has been a busy week for all of us. Ryan and I have been recovering from our colds - we are finally better! I have been working on planning our ward's next Primary activity and Primary program that is scheduled for October. This will be my first program so I am a little nervous, but will it really matter when such cute little kids are involved? I don't think so.

Ryan has been working on his walking skills all week long. He can now easily take 7-8 steps in succession before falling down. He is also getting much more brave. He loves to play with anything his older brother has, even if he has a large variety of toys of his own around. I think he just really likes playing with his brother (or pestering him - what are brothers for?) He likes to play with balls and climb the stairs. He can also look out the bay window when he stands on his tiptoes. Someday those little legs of his will grow!

Matthew is such a fun boy. Every day is an adventure with him. Let's start with Monday. I was talking on the phone with one of my friends (What's up Ali?) when I noticed that the boys had closed themselves in the bathroom. TROUBLE ALERT! I opened the door to find Matthew painting Ryan's hair with my mascara. Exhibit A:


On Tuesday we went to Kevin's work for a University breakfast. Afterward we took the boys to the BYU library to get some books. Matthew has been reading them nonstop. He has them memorized and tells me all about Curious George and the dump trunk, how David got in trouble, Dumpy and the apples, and Watch out Mr. Rabbit! He is very good at telling stories and his imagination has really blossomed. One day the couch was a boat and we had to watch out for sharks. Another day we were on the lookout for bears. He has elaborate conversations between his cars as he drives them to and from the grocery store, the library, the church, and the temple. Here are the boys playing cars.


He can also be very literal and holds us to our word. He has been going to timeout lately for not listening, usually during moments of "wrestling" with Ryan. Stop is supposed to mean stop, but Matthew thinks it's okay if he is playing with his brother or trying to protect his territory (ie cars) while Ryan is crying because of the extra attention he is receiving. When Matthew goes to timeout, he is not allowed to talk to anyone. One time I sent him to the corner and was explaining to him that he made a bad choice with his brother when he responded, "Mom, stop talking to me. I am in timeout." True. Very true. He has also memorized a response to our timeout talks. Mom: Matthew, why did you go to timeout? What did you do? Matthew: I made a bad choice. I need to make good choices to make Heavenly Father and Jesus happy. I will listen and obey. Mom: That's right. But why were you in timeout? He tried this on me a couple of times and thought that would suffice, but he quickly learned that he needed to own up to his actions more. I may need to be a little more creative from now on.

On Saturday Kevin was getting ready to take Matthew to Home Depot for the monthly project. I told Matthew he needed to hurry and get ready so he could go. I asked him if he was excited to build something. He said, "Mom, let me tell you a story. I am not going to build something. I am going to make it." Logistics. He made a little stool to use for the potty. (Don't even ask us how that is going. Let's just say it's been put on hold until after Christmas.)

Here is one of Matthew's stories word for word that he told Kevin one day while Kevin was working on the computer. Kevin quickly typed it up. Sometimes I can't quite follow his train of thought. Any ideas? "If you don't tell me what to do than I will cry and I won't play with you anymore. Someday when you make me sad I will say to Dad, Mom, just change the picture. I will get the book and the hammer and then I will hammer hammer the picture. Someday we will have to do that."