LIterally

This morning Matthew found an old magazine on top of the recycling pile. It was from the Hunstman School of Business at Utah State University (Go Aggies!).

"Huntsman?" he asks, after reading the title. "Mom, does he hunt people?"

I tried hard not to laugh as I told him no.

"Does he hunt animals?"

I had to explain to him that Huntsman was his last name, just like we have a last name. He nodded his head in understanding and went to find something else to do. I couldn't help but chuckle at his literal interpretation.

It's been a while....

So we haven't been so great on keeping up with the blogging thing. No excuses - we just got behind. Here is a quick update on some of the things going on with our lives.

The warmer weather has meant...yardwork! We (meaning mostly Kevin) have been working on the yard. Kevin was very excited to get his own lawmower and has faithfully mowed the lawn every week since.

It has been fun to see how our house looks in the spring. When we moved in at the beginning of December everything was covered in snow, so this is the first time we have seen our yard with the changing of the seasons. We uncovered the flower beds with the old brush and plants and were pleasantly surprised to find tulips and daffodils hiding underneath. We have been watching to see what colors were hiding within and have loved the appearance of yellows, purples, and reds. There are a lot of robins around and Zachary loves to watch the "buhs" (birds) out of the window.

My super-duper handyman of husband also built the boys a cool new sandbox that has brought mountains of joy.

Matthew and Ryan have been perfecting their castle and moat building skills while Zach has enjoyed the crunchiness of sand between his teeth.


In March there was a ward kite flying activity. The boys loved their Buzz Lightyear kite and had a lot of fun flying it at the park. Ryan was especially impressed by the square doughnuts served afterward.



As for me, I finally got a chance to check out of mommyhood for a couple of days while I read a few books. It was true bliss! Someday I'll get caught up on all that filing....

Basically, life is racing on by and we are doing our best to keep up. I hope to be better about keeping track of our adventures. Stay tuned!

What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails of course!

I have stated this before, but my little boys are boys to the core. Case in point:

While eating lunch one day, we heard a helicopter fly overhead. Matthew's eyes got really big and I thought he was going to say something about the cool sound he had just heard. What did he say instead, you ask?

"Wow, that sounded like a giant toot!"

Ryan started laughing and almost spit out his sandwich. This caused more giggling by Matthew and Zach and even more references to giant toots. I wonder what sound an airplane makes?

Zach Attack

Zachary is such a funny little boy. He still doesn't say much but he understands everything we say and often does things on his own. One day he came to me sniffling his nose. I was in the middle of helping Ryan, so I told him to go find a tissue to wipe it. He walks straight to the bathroom, gets some toilet paper, wipes his nose, and puts it in the garbage can. I have to admit I was pretty surprised.

Zach has been a momma's boy lately. Kevin usually puts him to bed, but the past few days he has been pretty upset about it. One night after family prayer Zach disappeared and reemerged carrying my black fleece jacket. I usually wear it in the mornings when the house is a little chilly. I guess he knows that's what I wear when he's still a little sleepy. I put the jacket on and he headed toward his bedroom and gave me a look like, "Aren't you coming mom? It's time for bed." He definitely knows what he wants.

His newest trick is pulling a chair over to the counter and climbing up on it to see and get what he wants. He can climb up on the toilet, reach the faucet of the bathroom sink, and turn it on. I have found him a couple of times with a the water running trying to wash his hands (usually after dipping them in the toilet.) Zach loves to see himself in the mirror, so he will get a comb wet in the sink and try to brush his own hair. And I literally have to get him undressed in lightning speed if it's bath time or he would end up in the tub with wet clothes. Zachary is also pretty good at dumping cereal on the floor but is also very helpful in cleaning it up.

Things he is saying: mama, dada (which he yells when Kevin comes home. So cute) ba (ball) baba (baa baa) neighneigh (horse) ishish (shoe) woo woo (dog) boo (peekaboo) bre (breakfast) wah (waffle )nigh nigh (night night) dah (dog) ish (fish) buh buh (bye bye) cuh (car or cup) and a few others I can't think of right now. Like I said before, he understands a lot and can do a lot by himself. We are just waiting for all the words in his brain to transfer to his mouth.

He loves animals, balls, bikes, being outside and going for rides in the car (so much so that he will bring me his shoes and jacket at random times during the day), wrestling with his brothers, and being chased by his daddy. He is also interested in coloring and has an innate sense of when someone is sneaking a treat and not sharing. He loves books and legos, much to the dismay of his older brothers. He even has to have his cute little hands on a spare controller when the boys are playing Lego Star Wars. Zachary just loves being in the middle of it all!

I can't believe this little boy is 18 months old already!

Bedtime Rules

Tonight as we were getting ready for bed, Matthew delivered this note containing his new bedtime.Translation: "Bedtime is this time 7:60 Matthew" The shear brilliance behind this note, intended or not, left us laughing and in awe. What kid figures out that 7:60 will never happen.
(Matthew, Ryan, Zach, and Mom reading stories before bedtime)