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!

Outsmarted

I oftentimes find myself being outsmarted by my kids. Sometimes it's because I haven't thought things through, and sometimes it's just simply because they really are smarter than me.

Case #1:

Today, Matthew was playing with his new Star Wars Lego set from Christmas. It's a big star ship with wings that can open and close when you spin a gear on the back. (For those of you interested, it is the ARC-170). For some reason, one of the wings wasn't opening like the other. Matthew brought it to me and as I started looking at it with my advanced knowledge of Lego engineering I deduced that a gear had fallen off from one of the wings. Matthew went and found the piece and I put it back together, thinking (very proudly in fact) I had solved the problem. But when Matthew started to turn the gear in the back, one of the wings opened while the other didn't. When you turned the gear the other way, the wings did just the opposite, the other opening while the other stayed closed. I started looking over the thing again, trying to figure out what I had done wrong (admittedly, my Lego engineering skills are more mediocre than advanced). That's when Matthew whips out this little gem of advice:

Matthew: Mom, I have a hypothesis. (A hypothesis?)
Mom: And what's your hypothesis? (As I'm still fiddling with the thing...)
Matthew: I think when you put the wing back on the other wing was still open, so when you turn it they don't open at the same time.
Mom: (A little surprised at the logic of his answer) You know what, you're probably right. Let's try it and see.

So we took off the wing, closed the other wing, reattached the first, and voila! Matthew the Mastermind figured it out light years ahead of his mediocre mom.

Case #2:

I was munching on some M&M's from my stocking when Zachary caught me with my contraband.

Zachary: What you habing?
Mom: Some M&M's.
Zachary: I need some (with a HUGE smile on his face and those puppy dog eyes). Pleeaase?
Mom: Okay. I'll give you a few, but only because you are so cute.
Matthew: (running in from the other room) I'm cute too. Can I have some?
Mom: Sure.
Ryan: (waiting at the side) Well mom, I'm not cute, so that means I can have A LOT. (I had forgotten that Ryan refuses to be called cute, preferring instead the term handsome. Well-played my boy).

Rolled Oats for Christmas

As all parents do, we worry about how our children will react on Christmas. We wonder if we are spoiling them or if they aren't grateful for their countless blessings. This year Matthew was un-wrapping some play-doh that was hidden in a old can of Rolled Oats. As he ripped open the paper and he read the label on the can, he proclaimed: "I love this Oatmeal!" With continued enthusiasm he really showed he was truly grateful for all that he was given...even Rolled Oats. Later that night after we put Matthew to bed he crept back into our bedroom to Thank us for the wonderful Christmas. This Christmas will always be special for me and I won't be able to look at a can of rolled oats the same way again.

Merry Christmas!

Once again the time has come for a year in review. This year has been a great year for our family, full of fun and adventure.

Matthew, age six, started kindergarten and is loving it. He has a great teacher and loves going to school. Matthew was also involved with his first soccer team. Although it was more bunch ball than soccer he now loves soccer and actively follows Real Salt Lake. Matthew loves Legos, Star Wars, and reading.

Ryan, age four, started preschool and goes for the toys! Ryan loves dirt and rocks and likes to collect said items. If you are missing some rocks, I’m sure we have them at our house. Ryan also loves Legos, superheroes, cars, and trains. Ryan is starting to sound out words and enjoys disagreeing with everything Matthew states. Ryan loves to sing and this year he started to make up his bedtime songs.

Zach, age two, is built like a linebacker, and needs to be to protect himself from his older brothers. (Sometimes we have to protect his older brothers from Zach). Zach started nursery this year and at first was apprehensive, but now he lets us know when sacrament meeting is running long (his internal clock is incredibly accurate) and it is time for class to start. Zach loves anything his brothers are playing with and has requested his own lightsaber.

Amy, age withheld, stays busy keeping up with three active boys. She sped through some independent study courses at the beginning of the year to renew her teaching certificate. She is very grateful for our wonderful neighbors and the time she gets to spend with others of the X chromosome. Amy spent half the year teaching CTR 9 and the Activity Girls, but was recently called to be a counselor in the Relief Society in our ward. Amy is also very busy making preparations for our fourth little boy due in March of 2011.

Kevin, age unknown, is still the Director of Web Architecture and loves working with the Internet. He is thrilled to have a garage, a short commute, a basement, a garden, and a backyard. He also survived the family’s first camping trip that started at 6pm and ended before 6am the next morning. After teaching CTR 9 with Amy for a few months, he was called to be the Elders Quorum secretary.

Overall, we can’t adequately express our gratitude for this past year. We have felt the Savior’s involvement in our daily life and we have been blessed. Our family echoes President Uchtdorf’s counsel stating: “I pray that during this season and always, we will see the purity of the story of the Savior’s birth and feel sincere gratitude for His life, teachings, and saving sacrifice for us. May this gratitude cause us to renew our determination to follow Him. May it also lead us to draw closer to our family, our church, and our fellowmen. And may we look steadfastly forward to that blessed day when the resurrected Christ will walk the earth again as our Lord, our King, and our blessed Savior.”

Merry Christmas!

The Tams Family

Snow!

The boys had been clamoring to get out in the snow ever since we got a pretty good snow storm. We had a snow ball fight with friends one day and the next day we spent some time making snow angels and building snow men. It was a lot of fun to play together. Zachary was asleep during this time, but he did get some moments to shovel the snow and dig around in it later.