January Happenings

Here's just a few random moments from January.  Apparently this little one was SO tired she just feel asleep on the floor.

She likes to tuck her hands in to keep them warm when she sleeps.  So cute!

Here's my snuggle bug.

And daddy's too.

And Grams'.

The Valentines box has retuned complete with postcards, stickers, stamps and of course pens so we can all write each other love notes.  This is one of my favorite times of year because I find little love notes on my pillow and the boys spend hours writing and coloring and reading them to each other.

Isla made this "crown" at a neighbors house and insisted I take a picture cause "I a plincess".

We've switched to early morning lessons so that we have more afternoon time for homework, sports, and friends.  This means getting up a little early and rushing to get there at 7:20 in the morning.  Very doable, but harder when it's pitch black outside.

The boys are easily entertained for the hour with ipads.  Isla is the tricky one.  Somedays she's happy to watch or play games and other times she just wants to roll around on the floor.

Apparently getting himself to the restroom was just that tiring.  Maybe the kids will be mad in years to come that I took pictures of them every time they fell asleep somewhere weird, but I kind of can't help it because I think it's so funny!

Another snuggle bug.

Not sure why on this random Saturday al the boys decided they needed to play the wii shirtless.  Extra powers maybe?

This is one of Isla's favorite teasing games.  She sits down right on top of your foot and then hangs on for dear life to your calf.  She thinks it's fully hilarious and sometimes so do we.

Cousin Darcy and her parents came all the way from Texas to visit and these two girls were in heaven playing with babies and pretending to be babies themselves.

Gas got... very cheap!  Seriously I don't think I ever even paid this as a teenager filling up.  But keep it coming!

Seriously filling up my big minivan for $22 was pretty awesome.

I went to get new running shoes and brought Isla along with me.  She is OBSESSED with shoes and insisted on trying on every pink and purple pair she could find.

Of course the jewelry store was an even more dangerous place and I had to remove more than 15 pieces from her fingers and wrists before going to the checkout line.  Little clempto!

Yep, just that tired.

Ok, so now they BOTH think this game is hilarious.

And some nights when Taylor is working late or away on business, I enjoy looking at my zombie children all sitting quiet and peaceful while I breathe for a minute.

Arrow of Light

Taylor was asked to be the Cub Master for our neighborhood 4 years ago.  The boys spend a year doing wolves, then another doing bears, and finally a year and a half completing their Webelos.  So the first group of boys Taylor started with and has helped the whole time is graduating to Boy Scouts and moving on.  

So even though every Advancement pack meeting is special, this one was a little extra special for Taylor.  He decided to use a Lord of the Rings theme.

They split up in groups and had to overcome 2 tests in order to advance.  Oh yeah, that's Taylor over their in the Gandalf costume.  He went a little overboard because his aunt had a full costume and it was just that fun.  First trial:  make it through the giant spider's web without touching the webs and waking up the spider.  The second one was a game where the kid's all stood around a round table with their backs to each other and the parents got to throw balls at them.  They had to defend each other's backs.  And all the parents agreed that being able to pelt all the boys with balls was very therapeutic.

Then it was on to the arrow of light and Webelos ceremony.  There's Mount Doom in the background which the boys had to climb up on and throw their cub scout shirts in and magically their boy scout shirts came out.  Very cheesy but the boys loved it.

Taylor's so proud of these 2 cuties.  And his gandalf accent was the highlight of the night.

Isaac's Junior Jazz Basketball

Isaac is getting to be a good little basketball player

His favorite part is passing in the ball.  Which is kind of funny but he loves it.  And we love watching him have so much fun.

Hardware Ranch

On a random winter Saturday when Taylor needed to go to a funeral all the way up in Logan, we decided to tag along and make it an adventure.  Afterwards we drove up the canyon to visit Hardware Ranch.

Though it was a cold, overcast day we still had to wait in line because this place is so popular.

Of course we don't have a problem entertaining ourselves in line.

Especially with silly Daddy.

Then it was finally our turn to ride in the trailer out into the pasture with the elk.  This place is run by the Forest Service and they put out feed to tempt the elk down out of the surrounding hills and then they test and control the spread of disease.

It was a good little adventure and everyone was interested and learned a lot.

And then the best thing ever happened on the drive home... they ALL passed out.  Quiet ride :)

Miles' Junior Jazz Basketball

Miles is so happy to be big enough to be in the same sports his big brothers are.  He loves go to each and every game and practice.  Part of that is of course the treats afterwards, but mostly he just loves to be with friends playing sports.

New Year's Week

Originally we were leaving on Sunday morning with Taylor's parents to go to a beach house in the DR.  But when Taylor's dad had to have a toe amputated, that all changed and we ended up staying home.  Grandma Tina had planned to be in Utah that week anyway to help take care of her parents so she just stayed on with us.  Unfortunately all the girls in the house contracted some kind of plague (seriously) and we were completely out of commission the entire week.  I honestly slept 36 hours straight and could barely move most of the week.  Taylor went to work and was glad to be away from the sickness and the boys fed and entertained themselves.  

Poor Isla just moved from bed to couch to floor and passed out.

Yep, we feel pretty yucky.

For New Year's Eve Taylor brought us home fun cupcakes and we ate a few bites and went to bed early.

The boys were happy playing with their new toys and having unlimited Wii time.  Sadly a waste of a week but also nice that we really didn't have to go anywhere else.