Disneyland - The Jedi Training Chapter

This will be a first in the series of Disneyland posts.

Many of you may know that we went to Disneyland a few weeks ago. One of the best parts was when Matthew was able to attend the "Jedi Training Class." In the class Matthew was trained in the ways of a Jedi and for a final test he had to defeat Darth Vader. Now we have a certified Padawan in our house (meaning everything is a lightsaber) and we will be forever blessed. You can also download the original video or a high resoultion video of the Jedi training.

He's One!!!

My oh my. An entire year has passed since our sweet little Zachary was born. Where has the time gone?

We celebrated Zach's birthday this week and I think he had a fun day. Grandma and Grandpa Tuft stopped by right after lunch to give him a present and wish him Happy Birthday.
I tried to get a picture of him with his grandparents, but for some reason he decided to be a stinker and wouldn't sit still or even let them hold him. He got a really cute teddy bear, some clothes, and a fun dump truck. Of course Matthew and Ryan couldn't help but get involved - who else was going to help Zach open his presents?

After a delicious dinner of turkey steak from Maddox (Yum!), Zachary opened his presents from Grandma and Grandpa Tams and mom and dad. He got a piano from his grandparents with sounds a lights that he loves. He liked the Leapfrog farm animal magnets from mom and dad, but he LOVED the mailbox his daddy picked out. (Dad always knows what's best for his boys!) It was the hit of the party - even the older kids (brothers and cousins) couldn't get enough of it.

And onto the cake. My other boys were a little unsure of what to do with their first birthday cake, but Zach had no problems. After Matthew and Ryan helped him blow out the candles, Zachary dove right in. He had to touch each color of his choo choo train cake and especially enjoyed the oreo wheels.

He wasn't too happy when it was finally taken away so he could have a bath.

We love our Zachary and have enjoyed every moment with him during this last year. Happy Birthday little man!

Moving - Part 2, Nascar, and Rockets

So after a very busy Friday and Saturday and some amazing help we were able to move out on Saturday. A great big hug to everyone who helped - THANK YOU!!! Here you can see the boys' bedroom in Perry. They are very happy to be at Grandma Tams' house and Ryan keeps asking when we will move in with Grandma Tuft.

Before we moved, we were in Santaquin visiting aunt Laurel and we saw the Kyle Bush NASCAR M&M's Toyota Camry race car and we had to stop. The boys loved the real race car and the M&M's trailer. It was hard for them to control their emotion. Matthew wanted to drive it and Ryan wanted to know where the M&M's were.
On Thursday we went out to Promentory point to see the static test of the ARIS rocket that will power the new NASA space shuttle. Grandpa Tams builds rockets! The boys really enjoyed the free rocket poster and the miniature rocket. The Onstotts are visiting from France so they went too. Unfortunately, the test was stopped 20 seconds prior to ignition. A faulty power supply to the hydraulics caused them to cancel the test. Hopefully the boys will see the real rockets soon. Below is a video of a prior test.

We are still trying to get settled, but things have finally calmed down a little. Hopefully we can find a house soon!

Moving - part 1

As most of you know, over the past few months we have been trying to sell our home. We love our little home and the wonderful neighborhood, but Kevin's two-hour daily commute is a little too long. Moving has triggered some interesting questions from Matthew - mostly about what goes and stays during a move such as doors, walls, lights, carpet, grass, beds and toys. We have also had many showings and now anytime we clean the house, Matthew asks, "Do we have a showing today?" The funny thing is, we don't know where we are moving yet. We are looking in northern Utah county but we haven't found the right house. Until then we will be staying with Kevin's parents in Perry (2 hours and 20 minute commute). Our phone number will be the same and you can always get a hold of us via email. We will have a house party for everyone when Amy finds what she wants. :)

We do want to thank everyone for being such wonderful neighbors and friends. It has been a wonderful time in our lives. We will be moving out on Saturday the 22nd so if you have a little free time on Friday or Saturday we welcome your help. We will be doing the big move Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. cleaning at 10:30. Doughnuts, Juice, Chocolate Milk, and blessings will be given to all who can help. Amy plans on bringing the kids back for the primary program so you haven't gotten rid of us yet.
Moving and finding a new house has consumed much of our time, but life still goes on so here are some other fun things going on in our family. Zach is getting more confident with crawling and has now started cruising. We were very happy to see him, like his brothers, pulling himself up to look out the front window. I think it is genetic. Zach also likes to play with the computer, at least the computer cords. He is drawn to anything electronic and is able to find any cord in any room. He also likes other things he is not supposed to have - legos, little cars, pens, crayons, etc. Matthew and Ryan have also been doing the standard Home Depot projects. Here you can see their August project of a message and note board. We (mostly Kevin) are sad that Home Depot is no longer 3 minutes away.

And a special thanks to Eddie and Amber for the extra boxes. Muchas Gracias!

A Small Misunderstanding

Matthew and Ryan have started the potty mouth phase where they think anything having to deal with bodily functions is funny. Several of our meals are interrupted with spasms of laughter after one or the other mentions something like poop pancakes or toots in our drinks. Although it has improved over the last few weeks, we still have our occasional little boy moments. I thought we were having another one this morning as Matthew and Ryan were eating their oatmeal.

Matthew: Mom, what if we had pee oatmeal?
Mom (wincing at the thought and trying not to make a big deal out of it): That would be pretty gross I think.
Matthew (with a confused look on his face): But mom, it's a vegetable.
Mom: Pee is a vegetable?
Matthew (in exasperation): Yes!
Mom (light turns on): You mean pea oatmeal? The little round balls?
Matthew: Uh-huh.
Mom: Oh, sorry.

I guess pea oatmeal is better than the alternative, but still not something I would want to eat for breakfast.