Merry Christmas!

Just in case you forgot!

Merry Christmas!

Logan turns six

How is it even possible that my little one is six?  I find it so hard to believe.  He is such a good little boy, although they fight he is always the first one to stick up for McKay and is very good about sharing his toys.  He is a very smart little cookie, doing first grade math and english.

I wasn't aware that we were having a party until three days before it was held, so I threw together a very quick and lame party.  But the kids seemed to have fun!  We had a soccer party at the park, so we played soccer tag, soccer duck-duck-goose, poisoned exercise ball (don't ask), and Loren ran some skills drills with them before putting together a game. 

For my part, I got him a microscope.  Cuz I like to start the nerds early.  I came downstairs today and he had a plastic knife in his mouth.  After questioning him he replied, "I'm getting cheek cells so I can look at them under the microscope."  Of course you are. 

He had a great time surrounded by his silly friends and his loving family.  We love you big guy!

Halloween!

I am a bad mom.  How is it possible that I don't have any pictures of Logan doing karate?  I have a bunch on my phone, but I can't put them on the computer.  Sigh.  Okay.  Logan has been going to karate since summer, and has progressed to a yellow belt.  He takes his green belt test in a few weeks.  He likes it and is being very, very serious about it.  So he dressed up as a ninja for Halloween.  Ferocious, right?

And McKay was a pirate!  Arg!  He wouldn't wear the hat or the patch outside of the house, so I had to sneak a pic.  He also had a light up sword that he loved, it was how I bribed him into using a costume we already had rather than figuring out how to turn him into a bat.  I love Anthem for Halloween.  They got to go trick-or-treating to the local businesses, then to the ward Halloween festival, and then trick-or-treating in our very generous neighborhood.  

It was enough to wear a little one out.

Luckily, we have a stiff daddy tax around here.  

Welcome to the family, little ones

We lost our beloved Cosmo this summer, it was rough on the whole family.  The boys had been acting like cats, meowing all the time.  Logan said all he wanted was cats for his birthday, and that he would share kitty lion with them and take care of them all on his own.  

Sigh.  We obviously had to do something.

So we went to the pound and adopted two rascals.  The striped one is Hondo, the black one was Party Cat... but he is not really much of a party.  So now his name is Schrodinger.  Get it?  Schrodinger's cat?  Ah.  Physics jokes.

These little ones are quite the handful.  Schrodinger wants me to pet him all night, Hondo likes to perch like a parrot on your shoulder, and both have hopped the baby gate to get to the Christmas tree.  But they are also cute and sweet and let the boys haul them around.  So welcome to the family!

Star wars!

I love the library!  We go to storytime almost every week, and go to all their summer programming as well.  Plus, you know, the summer reading program.

Last month they had a star wars day, so of course we had to go.  The boys each brought their light sabers, and got to make storm trooper masks (that they wore for Thanksgiving), pose with the characters, make origami Yodas, and put duct tape over pool noodles to make their own light sabers. 

The boys are watching some xbox kinect star wars, while eating light saber pretzels.  There may or may not have been many light saber fights later that day.

I did a free college night at the library last month to show my appreciation   The awesome librarians work so hard and we love them!

Family Pictures!

The last family photo I have of our family Logan is two and McKay is four months. And it is not attractive.  So I decided to ask my friend April to take some shots (talkstoryphotography.blogspot.com--check it out!).

I thought she got some cute ones of our little family.  We had the most blue in our house, so that is what we went went with. 

At least he is not watching with a look of disgust!

Look how cute they are!

This is a good photo of their perpetual state of motion.

Ah. My boys.  Love them!

Take me out to the ballgame

We're not really a baseball family.  Frankly, we're not even sure baseball is a sport.  But I have done the Phoenix library summer reading program with the kids for three years, and each year they have received a free ticket to a Diamondbacks game.  I have ignored it every year.  Mostly because I didn't know that the stadium had a roof and you wouldn't slowly cook in 110 temperatures.

But you can tell by their smiling faces that there is a roof!  Actually, we waited long enough that it was a nice night.  Loren and I got $5 tickets for college night, we picked up some Panda Express and off we went. 

The boys loved it.  McKay only until the end of the 5th when my bag full of snacks ran out.  Logan went nuts  over the game and insisted that we stay through the whole thing.  So we snuck down to the front row for the last 20 minutes or so.

I just love this picture.  Boys just hanging out.  It was after ten by the time we finally succumbed to the Giants, there was not a lot of gas left in the little tank. 

It was actually a pretty fun time.  I will definitely take the boys when it is free next year!

Look, I can be creative!

I know, it is shocking.  I made something!  So awhile ago I decided to make something for my home, a value project for earning my Young Women's medallion.  I decided to organize my jewelry.  I don't have a lot, and it isn't exciting, but it is all over the place and so tangled. 

So I made an earring hanger out of window screening I had laying around and a cool frame I got at the ReStore.  You can't really see it too well, but it is the antique eggshell and has detailed corners.  I love it. Loren had to help me with the staple gun.

Then I made something similar to a tie rack for my necklaces, rings, and bracelets.  I don't like it as much, but at least they won't be so tangled.  And I actually have more stuff than I thought.  Who knew?  I again needed some assistance from my manly better half. It even has routered edges!

Pretty cool, eh?

McKay turns FOUR!

How is my baby four?  That cannot be right.  He is still so little, carrying Baby Bear and White TeeTee everywhere.  We had a very small little birthday for him this year.  He chose sushi for dinner so everyone went to a Chinese buffet.  It was awesome, everyone was happy.

I made some blueberry muffins for breakfast, and we spent some time "fixing" around the house.  Boys apparently like that. My mom made him some silky boxer shorts, which he loves--but doesn't want anyone to know about.

He got a bunch of guns, a race track, a few games, a transformer, and some glow sticks.  Everything a four-year-old could possibly want.  He has been most impressed with the nerf guns.  I get shot in the bum at least twenty times a day. 

After much discussion he finally decided on a Bumblebee (Transformer) cake.  So I used our Lightning McQueen cake pan and attempted it.  I am not an artist.  But that didn't need to be said, did it?

McKay is such a cute little boy, and brings such joy to our lives. His little expressions crack me up on a daily basis. He looks so much like Loren.  I am so glad he came into our family.  I sure love my little guy!

First day of school

My little ones are getting so big!  Monday was the first day of school for both of them.  McKay is going to the local elementary school for preschool three afternoons a week.  He is very social, so he likes to play with all the kids. He has a friend from church in the class, which makes it extra fun.

 (Photo caption: McKay, teacher: Ms. Shelley, preschool, likes: checking out the weather and reading books).

Logan started kindergarten!  I didn't cry, but it was hard. He is one of the older kids so I actually took a long time looking at all of our choices.  At one point I think I had him registered at three different schools.  I finally decided on Ridgeline Academy.  It is on the same street as Loren's work so it is fairly easy to commute.  It is also free full day kindergarten, and I really thought he needed full day.  I met with the teachers and principal before school started, and I really felt comfortable with our decision.

(Photo caption: Logan, kindergarten, teacher: Mrs. Cuccia, likes: when we get to play and running and playing with balls. Just realized I spelled running wrong.  D'oh!)

Logan has uniforms, which makes dressing very easy.  He also had two little friends from church that we can carpool with, he really likes playing with them at recess.  Logan loves school and says his least favorite is when they have to leave.

The boys have had some trouble adjusting, just that they are very tired when they get home, and tend to fight with each other.  Other moms have told me this will only last a week or two. 

McKay has been a little unimpressed with just me during the day, but I have tried to keep him busy.  He usually has storytime, park day, gymnastics lessons, gym time, and swimming to try to wear him out.

I sure do love these big boys!

Hawaii

Loren was lucky enough to have a conference in Kona, Hawaii, this year.  Because it was also our 10th anniversary this summer, I decided to tag along.

Loren always wanted to see this waterfall, it is Akaka Falls by Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii.  We also went to a few farmers markets and tried unsuccessfully to find a black sand beach.  We had fun running around the island trying to find it, though.  The Big Island is where the Iron Man is run and we saw huge fields of lava, desert, and rain forest. It was crazy and beautiful.

 A lava tube!  Right next to the highway! We had dolphins and sea turtles at our resort, and I tried to make friends with the resort cat.

While I was stuck being seen by the airline medic Loren took some friends deep sea fishing.  They caught a few marlins, but let them live to swim another day. 

During the conference I went to the Kona Temple, which was small but beautiful. 

After the conference we ran over to the island of Oahu.  We went kayaking and snorkeling, and spent some time at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We didn't see much fish, but we still had fun.  My favorite part was when we went swimming with the sharks on the North Shore.  It was amazing, we had 30-40 sharks around us, and Loren was able to touch one.  

We did some shopping and enjoyed dinners without children.  We are so grateful for Loren's parents who watched over our cute little ones.  We had a wonderful time, what a great way to celebrate!

For your enjoyment

I made a few videos starring the kids.  If you missed McKay's talent at the reunion... here it is in all its glory.

Swimming

 My Mom spent a week in our heat to help my little sister with her new baby.  While she was here she managed to snap a few pics of my little cuties.

 Mugging for Mom after a swimming lesson.  Look at those cute little bellies!

Logan takes his swimming very seriously.  Apparently he is superman?  I'm not really sure; but it looks awesome!

It's Hot.

Have I mentioned that it is over 110 here in Arizona?  When the sun goes down it is still over 100.  It. Is. Hot. 

 The solution; of course; is to get wet.  When you are in the pool and the splash pad you don't realize that you are just being ridiculous trying to live here.

 Logan lounging around with his friends at the splash pad.  Because we choose to live in the gateway to Hades; where there are an amazing amount of pools; this year the boys had to take swimming lessons.  Logan now is doing a pretty good job; he can swim across the pool by himself and be pretty self-reliant.  McKay can jump off the side and swim pretty far to get me; but he has not yet mastered taking a breath.

Just chillin.'

Six more weeks until school starts and the school district pays for the air conditioning.  Not that I'm counting or anything.  We also partake of the Harkins summer movie program so we can chill in the cool while watching movies for 70 cents.  The library story time and summer programming also are utilized to a crazy degree.  Soon to come?  Karate pictures.  Logan started his classes this summer; and it is all sorts of adorable.

Special thanks to my photographer; Marielle Carlisle.

My little cuties at five and three

I thought it was time to update the pictures on the wall; so I got these shots from our friend April at talkstoryphotography.blogspot.com. I thought she did a great job.

Boys are funny. I have been putting all of Logan's preschool "masterpieces" on the fridge; he has been so proud. So when Logan underwent a recent colonoscopy--which is a whole different story--and got photographs of his colon the second thing he said after waking up was "Mom; can we put my pictures on the refrigerator?" Um. Ew.

Today we cut the boys' hair. Here are a few choice snippets: McKay "Mom. I am a transformer. And transformers don't get hair cuts."
Logan; half way through McKay's hair cut: "McKay! You look so handsome on one side!"
McKay; after Logan was done. "Logan! Now you look handsome just like me!"

And then this little story; which Loren said I had to put up here; even though it is going to traumatize McKay's girlfriends in twenty years. So Logan comes up and asks why humans don't have tails like animals do. So I start in on a discussion of balance; and spines; and whatnot. McKay comes up; listens to the conversation; and then promptly and quietly drops his pants. Cause. You know. He wanted to show Logan that he has a tail.

I am the Mom of boys.

San Diego Final Edition

I loved SeaWorld! I'm sure I went when I was little; but I don't remember. We had to drive home that day so we only stayed until three; but we could have kept going for several hours.

The boys loved bringing their whales; that they named Shamu; to the Shamu shows. It was so funny watching them make their little animals flip when the big animals did. Luckily we did not get wet; I did not want fishy smell in the car for a seven hour drive.
I know this is not technically the best picture; but I just love it. Look at how cute they are holding hands and carrying their new Shamu. Makes me melt.
After much research; I found the best way to get a souvenir was to win one. After a few "whale races" both boys came away victorious.
They had a little Sesame Street area for the kids. They had rides; shows; games; and huge inflatables to bounce on. I think Logan is getting a little too cool for Elmo; but McKay was excited.
There was also a 4D Sesame Street show. It was hilarious watching Logan try to get the cookie that was popping out of the screen. The food was horrible; but we still had a great time. The sea lion show was hilarious; and the opportunity to spend six days on vacation with my family was priceless.

San Diego Zoo Edition

We had to do the zoo. Even though we were exhausted. And it is a really hilly zoo. I had no idea how hard it would be to push the stroller up hill. Finally I gave up and made them walk.

This little guy joined us for our picnic outside of the zoo. He especially liked oranges and bread; and would eat right out of your hand. The kids were even brave and tried it.
Of course; McKay liked feeding everything. He kept finding leaves on the ground and giving it to the goat. After a little bit of time; Logan got in on it. They also liked running around the playground.
The zoo had a little helicopter the kids could play in; plus a few little pieces of equipment here and there. After all the excitement of Legoland the animals were not quite as appealing. It was kind of nice to quietly stroll; though. I especially loved the red panda. Google it. So cute.

After the zoo we took our passes and ran to the Natural History Museum; which is so lame I can't even explain; and the Science Center; which was quite cool. We got a quick nap while Loren and Logan watched an IMAX movie on sharks. After a full day out we stayed in our hotel to have dinner and watch the football bowl game. Of course; that night I spent the evening puking fish tacos; but that is another story.