What Have Those Boys Been Up To?

We have had a lot going on around here. The twins started school. They are doing really well. They don't seem bothered by the all day schedule. Big H is just responding really well to the programs they have set up. Little H is having a harder time, but he does really well with homework. The last time we sat down to do homework he was so patient and focused. Big H kind of struggled. They could easily swap on this, they do that a lot, but I think they both are doing well in certain areas.

Little M started preschool. He got into the free preschool that is at the twins school. That kid is just so ready for this. He is so excited about school, and I think he'll be good and ready for Kindergarten next year.

We celebrated M's birthday on September 1st, and then we had a big party for M and S on the September 10th. The 10th is S's birthday. Even though I had a party planned, and even though I remembered it was his birthday the night before, it totally did not cross my mind when I woke him up that morning. I didn't even say "Happy Birthday". I'm totally setting that boy up to become a character in a John Hughes Movie. Of course, the fact that John Hughes has passed away makes that a little less likely I'm sure. Either way, I felt bad.

But we did have fun celebrating that night. We had a superhero party. A lot of people showed up, even though it was at an awkward time-- 5:00. I was so grateful, and I hope they didn't mind being cramped in the house. I had so many people help me out that I just am so thankful. My neighbor baked the cookies and the pizza because one of the storms knocked out my oven. My mom bought supplies and put together party favors among all the craziness. Craig hooked up a TV so we could watch the new Spiderman movie-- this was M's request for the party. And so many friends showed up to support us even though it was crowded and crazy.

I let them wear their Halloween costumes to the party. They were so excited!

Cousin Little P decorating cookies. He is such a sweet kid and such a good helper.

M loves the music from Rio 2. I was so excited to get him CD. I can't wait to have a dance party with him 

We have a pass to the Alpine Loop, and we have a pass to Thanksgiving Point. Twice a week I have a job where I make deliveries to American Fork's Good Earth, so when I do deliveries I try to plan to use one of these passes. 

Last Saturday I took the boys up AF canyon to go hiking. We just drove till we saw a trail to hike on. The first one we came to was Pineview. 

This picture just cracks me up! They are doing their superhero poses. Oh man! I love those boys!

Before we arrived the boys were getting super crazy in the car. I talked to them very nicely about not acting like that in the car, and that I know it takes patience while I do the deliveries but I needed them to behave and save their energy for the hike. Well we got on the hike and: 

• "I'm tired!" 
• "Can we go back to the van?"
• "I don't want to walk anymore."
• "Hiking is too hard!

Any guesses on how they acted once we did get back to the van? Oh yeah, they acted like they were going to tear the back seat apart. But the hike was pretty and I'm glad we stuck it out. 

The boys love rocks! And each picked some up as souvenirs. My nephew grabbed I don't know how many.

This rock kind of looked like a bat-a-rang. Kind of. . .you can't see it because of where his fingers are, but it really did look like it, kind of. . . :)

My nephew was so proud of this big rock. He tried to roll it all the way back to the car, but he eventually lost it. 

We also found this plant that had fuzzy leaves. My nephew loved it. He even discovered a different plant with fuzzy leaves. He picked one of the leaves and gave it to me and said, "Here I got you this as a souvenir."

Then I decided to try and get to Cascade Springs before dark-- I love Cascade Springs, especially in the fall. Now, I was a little, kind of a lot, frustrated when we pulled into the parking lot. I had just gone on a hike where everyone complained about being tired. And then spent a car ride where everyone acted incredibly hyper. So I was not too happy when I got them out of the car. We had a good long talk about how it was not OK, and we would not go places if this is how it was going to be. Well, the kids were really good to run around and use up their energy at Cascade Springs, and they were very respectful on the ride home. 

"Mom, look at the cute leaves!"

These are some pics of one of our trips to the Dino Museum. The boys are having fun going to Thanksgiving Point all the time. 

The boys had a Reading Frenzy party at school They got to see a puppeteer, Elsa from Frozen and they picked out a free book. 

They have had fun with their ponies too. They like to brush and style their hair, and they also like to have me brush and style their hair. They take them everywhere too. They have even taken them to school. I really hope they don't ever get bullied over it. I would hate for them to have to deal with that. I think its just fine that they like Ponies. Especially considering that there are 30 year old men who are into this cartoon. And especially since their mom is a fan too-- I seriously look forward to new episodes of Ponies more than anything else. 

I sold M's big queen bed, and the kids love having the extra room to play in. M requested I take this photo. Too many crime scene show I guess. 

I mentioned the oven died. Well some neighbors had an extra one for me to use. They also fixed up the chicken coop so that the birds have a a decent way to eat and drink. And they helped to get the scouts over here to do some yard work. I am so grateful to them. They are simply amazing! I mentioned their daughter before. She was the boys primary teacher and left on a mission. She is amazing too! They are just an amazing family!

This little boy had a weekend with Mom all to himself-- except that mom still had to do homework and such. We had fun together though. His brothers went with their Dad on a trip to see family.

A neighbor watched him for me today so I could go to the Ogden Temple Rededication. He was so cute! I put together a diaper bag, and he went around packing stuff in it. He knew it was his. He carried it to the car, up to the neighbors apartment and then all the way home. Such a cutie! And such an observer! He catches on to so much. I love it!

Stay tuned for more adventures. I'm sure we'll be having some. We're always doing something. 

Labor Day Weekend!

I didn't realize we ended up having such an eventful Labor Day weekend. I really wanted to get out hiking, so we put things off and went out on some hikes. It ended up being perfect because we got to feel like normal people celebrating a 3 day weekend.

Our first trip for Labor Day Weekend was up Payson Canyon to The Grotto Trail. A very easy hike to a very fun place. Plus you get to see some of Nebo Loop, and who doesn't love that?

Little H kept saying, "We used to live here. This was our house."

"Look it's my Batcave!"

Afterwards we got dinner at a local burger joint-- local burger joints are always a favorite. The food was delicious, but it certainly took time to cook. the boys had fun making superhero photo montages while we waited.

"Does my face look funny?"

On Saturday we attempted the Silver Lake Hike again.

We tried to do this one last year, but turned around before we finished because we were worried about daylight disappearing. This time we met the same fate. But we still had fun. Though that bumpy road has gotten quite a bit more bumpy. Baby S thought it was a blast! Oh well, the scenery makes it worth it.

And of course, one of our favorite events that always happens around labor day, Little M's Birthday! His birthday was on actual Labor Day this year.

We never know what to do for a party because everyone is usually out of town on his birthday. So we decided to give him a special day. He spent the morning with Dad, no brother's just him. And in the afternoon he went to The Zoo with Mom, all by himself with no brothers.

The decision was between the aquarium that has penguins-- he really wants to see penguins-- or The Zoo that had a new Safari exhibit-- I'll admit I wanted to see this so I was trying to persuade him in this direction. I was really disappointed when The Zoo didn't have penguins so we could kill two birds with one stone. But The Zoo does have a train, and in the end that is was sold Little M on the idea. We forgot that it wasn't just his birthday, it was also a holiday, so The Zoo was very crowded. He would not be convinced to wait to ride the train, and the line was terribly long. So we waited. This was not to Little M's liking either. Every time the train pulled up he pulled on my arms, cried and insisted we get on. I kept telling him we had to wait our turn, but he though I was just being mean. At least once we got on he was happy.

Of course, asking him for a picture when we got off was terribly offensive and he cried and yelled at me.

I convinced him we should eat some lunch. I was thinking maybe he was struggling because of low blood sugar. The day ended up being much better than first perceived.

There was one issue though. I forgot the camera, and I did not use the good long drive to the zoo to charge my phone. We got barely any pictures before the battery got to low for the camera to work. I thought, "Oh well, we can do without pictures." But than I realized I wanted to capture some more moments for his birthday. I looked at the shops for chargers and disposable camera's-- do those still exist? I asked and they told me they were sold out.

So we just continued fighting the crowds to try and see animals. If an animal was in good view at all there were flocks of people around it, and they were not interested in moving out quickly to let other's have a turn. And I was just so bummed about not having a camera to capture the fun.

I finally decided to head back to the car and charge the phone for 15 minutes. Hopefully that would give us enough juice to capture some photos, and still leave enough time to enjoy our zoo trip. I asked if we could get back in, and the said that was no problem. So we made the long walk back to the upper parking lot, started the van (it only charges when the car is on) and charged the camera. Success! It worked out perfectly! By the time we got back the crowds had faded. We headed back to all the exhibits and we could actually see the animals this time. Yay! Here are the memories we ended up capturing because we charged the phone.

The Rhino was right up next to the window this time. So cool!

He kept asking to go see the gorillas. They were pretty cool, and the view was optimal.

But he said his favorite was the lions, and next was the bears.

 Our trip back even allowed as to catch glimpses of the big cats. They are some of the hardest to see.

Afterwards we met up at Grandma's for a birthday party. Little M said he wanted hot dogs for dinner, so that's what we had. Then my Aunt and Uncle stopped by. They kept appologizing for crashing the party, but I thought it was great. Little M hardly ever gets to have company at his birthdays and so it was so fun to get to celebrate with some more people. I loved it!

Little M wanted a Robin cake. This was the solution I came up with .

Presents from Grandma and Grandpa

Fun birthday for Little M!

Other activities we have been up to:

We have been trying to use our Thanksgiving Point pass as often as we can. Little M loves the farm place. I finally got S to stay on the horses. He wasn't happy about it, but he was calmer than the last time. We're one step closer :).

Baby S won't walk, he likes to be carried. And if you just keep walking he does not follow, but instead runs towards the road, or other places he shouldn't go. One way to get him to walk is to let him walk the dog. This, of course, has it's own set of irritating situations. You can't win them all.

Look at this stud!