Baseball Buddies

 The league Dylan played in this year allowed for Jayden to play up a year and be on his team, so we decided it would be fun for these boys to play baseball together, since it might be their only chance to be on the same team.  They were on the Diamondbacks and had a great time playing together.  Their coach did a good job rotating the boys around to just about every position.  Dylan even played catcher a time or two, and was such a hustler!  I wish I had a picture of him in the catcher's gear!  That was my favorite position to play back in my Bonnetball (softball) days.

 

Happy Birthday President Monson

The LDS Church held a big celebration for the 85th birthday of our prophet, President Monson.  It was a concert with songs to tribute his life, many of them Broadway songs, and all of them were favorites of his.  Scouting has always been a huge part of President Monson's life, so in the portion for his childhood, they had over 200 scouts sing The Trailbuilder Hymn and carry in flags.  Dylan was lucky to be one of those scouts, and so did 5 of his cousins.  Devon and I went up to watch the celebration with Devon's parents.  It was so fun to be there!  It was a beautiful night.  I am so grateful to know that there are living prophets on the earth today, and that President Monson is a prophet of God, and heads his church at this day.  What a great blessing this man is to my life and to many others across the world!

Here is a link to it if you missed it:

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/celebration-of-life/2012/08?lang=eng&vid=1792707422001

The scouts start at 15:40.  Dylan is one of the boys at the top of the aisle between the women in the choir, but I'm not sure which one.

By the way, Devon and I got on TV, too, at 53:28. We are at the bottom-right.  I'm wearing teal, and my mother-in-law is wearing red.  

Back to School

The summer has gone by so incredibly fast for me!  I don't remember it ever going so fast.  I am totally behind on blogging.  Totally behind on keeping up my house. Totally behind on keeping up my yard.  So here's to hoping I get caught up in a lot of aspects of my life now that I'm not trying to live up the summer with the kids anymore.

Dylan and Jayden started school last week. Dylan is in fourth, and Jayden is in second. They were excited, but kind of bummed about not getting to play the day away anymore.


Ethan started kindergarten, and he was so excited!  He kept asking me how many more days until he got to go school over and over again.  He has a fabulous teacher, so this first year should be awesome!  And, he has two of his neighborhood buddies in his class, which is also perfect.

Okay, now here is a demonstration of why I should take some photography classes.  I took my pictures with a SLR camera - the Canon Rebel.  I get pretty good pictures, but I really don't know how to use it.  The next few pictures were taken by my neighbor with a nice camera.  Yes, it was nicer than mine.  And yes, he actually is a professional - he takes all sorts of pictures that get published in magazines and elsewhere, but still... look at the difference!  Thanks Kevin!

Bits and Pieces

Austin loves to play, and plays with all sorts of everyday things in the way I remember playing with them as a kid.  I don't remember doing this with laundry baskets, but I do remember doing them with chairs.  We would even get out the hand mixer to use for our gear shift.  I haven't passed that idea down, but it is fun to watch my kids play like I did.  Austin reminds me a lot of how Dylan used to play (and still does) but on a much smaller scale.  

Here is a display of more of Austin's independence.  He came to me with his hair all combed by himself.

Dylan played baseball during the spring.  He was on the Giants.  He loved it!  The only downer was that his team was made up of a lot of younger kids, and none of them were "super leaguers" so they got squashed in every single game.  Well, I guess there were a few they only lost by a few points.  They keep the teams the same for two years, so hopefully next year the kids will have improved some.  Either way, he had a lot of fun.

Jayden played soccer, no surprise there.  His best friend Zane, (in the picture with him) is getting pretty good at playing, and they have started to help each other out and play more "real" soccer, and a little less "herd" ball (although I wouldn't say Jayden has ever played "herd" ball as much as the rest of his team).  There are a few other kids starting to get it too.  They have a good team of all boys, most of which are his best buddies.  It has been so fun for him!

Devon got older this year.  Big suprise.  I won't reveal his true age - but you can get the idea by the mass of flames on his cake.  =)   And yes, that is a Darth Vader holding a candle lightsaber...

Ethan graduated from preschool in May.  This year was so good for him!  His class was of all kids from our neighborhood with the exception of two.  So these kids are some his best friends, the kids he plays with all the time, although there are a few more friends he loves to play with that weren't in preschool with him.  He is so lucky to have so many fun kids that live within a few houses that he can play with.   He learned so much at school this year.  He does great at letter recognition and sounds, knows all his colors and shapes, and so much more.  Thank you Miss Michelle for all your hard work!  One of my favorite parts of his graduation program was seeing him sing with confidence.  Last year he didn't want to sing - I'm not sure why.  He didn't sing anywhere, not even at home.  Then last summer he suddenly started to, and then now he loves it.   Last graduation I almost wanted to cry when he was sitting in front of everyone and realized he was supposed to sing the songs he had been practicing.  This year he smiled so big, and sang all of the songs so well!

This is Ethan and Ethan with Miss Michelle.  Ethan is one of Ethan's very best buddies.  We have all gotten in the habit of calling them both by their first and last names to distinguish them.  Its pretty funny to hear them talking to each other that way.  Sadly, we don't have to do that anymore since Ethan moved to New Zealand during the summer for a few years.  How we will miss him!



The yearly dance festival at the elementary went great!  Jayden's class did "Dance Like an Egyptian" and Dylan's class did a medley from Grease.  In the pictures, Jayden is 6th from the right, and Dylan is in orange in the middle.

And here are a few fun random pictures:

Happy Birthday Dylan

News Flash: We have a 9 year old in our house!

Dylan had a great birthday.  He got to invite a ton of friends and cousins since we did it at his karate.  It was such a fun party!  Master Pierce taught some basics of karate (he even had the adults participate).  Look at our moves!

Next was an obstacle course for the kids.  They would see how quick they could get around it, and then break a board at the end. 

Then they had some free time.  It was a bit crazy, but they all had fun!

I made this awesome ice cream cake.  The day was kind of busy getting ready.  I finished this "cake" right before the kids got to our house to carpool over. I hurried and cut out a stencil from paper of a karate guy, trying to make sure it came out okay, then hurried and put some words on the cake, then into the freezer it went.  It wasn't until we were getting the cake out to serve that I realized I had not payed attention to the orientation of the karate guy and my words.  Oh, well.  I think it still turned out pretty good.  It still tasted fabulous!  My favorite was when we were serving it up and I would ask the kids which ice cream they wanted.  They would insist they wanted cake, not ice cream.   I would just smile and laugh inside, and dish them up ICE CREAM cake.  There was no cake in it, though... just ice cream than had been softened, smashed into the pan, then whipped cream for the frosting.  They said it was delicious.  When Master Pierce had some he was asking me how I made it. He said it was soooo good. 

Master Pierce brought out a special knife to cut the cake... or should I say sword. 

I wish I had gotten a good group picture, but I honestly didn't think about it or get a good chance.  Dylan had a great birthday, and I guess that's all that matters. 

We actually had the party on the Saturday before his birthday, since his birthday was on a Monday, and Devon was flying out of town that very evening.  So on his birthday he recieved a pet fish, and we took him to dinner to Chuck A Rama (his choice) on our way to the airport.  He had been telling me that for his birthday he wanted a pet wolf...  if not a pet wolf, then a baby wolf... if not a baby wolf... then a scorpion... and if not a scorption then AT LEAST a goldfish!  Devon and I talked about it, we debated back and forth of what to do.  There was a tiny bit of tempation to get him a dog - he would LOVE it and be so suprised and excited, but the reality is he isn't ready to take care of a dog.  We talked about lizards and turtles, but in the end a fish won out.  They are cheap to buy, so is the setup, so is the care. They are easy to care for.  And... the big clincher... can't escape if the lid is left open.  We got him a betta fish.  He was so thrilled!  He kept saying over and over: I'm so glad I got a pet. I really wanted one!

At nine years old:

Dylan tries to be a helper in our home.  He loves to try to make things easier for me by helping his brothers or sister - if they will let them. He really wants to be able to change wet diapers for me, but Lauren and Austin are a bit too wiggly for him. 

Dylan has a strong testimony of the gospel.  He knows so much, and it is so fun to hear him think things through as he tries to do what is right. 

Dylan's favorite sports to play are baseball and flag football. 

Dylan LOVES BYU football and hopes to be able to play on the team someday. 

Dylan loves legos, nerf guns, Lego Hero Factory, and army men.  He can play for hours creating things out of his legos.

Dylan loves to read.  This is an understatement.  I can't get the kid to stop reading!  For school we are supposed to keep track of what he reads.  I honestly just guess, but I know it is way under. This last month we turned in him having read over 1600 minutes, but I'm guessing it was probably double that - its just so hard to measure it.  He reads every chance he gets, including (or should I say especially) when he is supposed to be doing something else like getting dressed, cleaning his room, or brushing his teeth.  His favorite books are Star Wars, Magic Tree House, and Harry Potter. 

Dylan loves to play with his brothers.  If he's not reading, he's usually playing with them.  They come up with all sorts of fun things to do, and often I think Dylan is the one who comes up with the ideas. 

Dylan has a great sense of humor.  He laughs at jokes that I wouldn't think he would understand.  He loves to read the comics and laughs and laughs as he reads them.

Dylan looks the bright side of things.  When something goes wrong, he is usually saying "Well, at least..." and can see the good in just about any situation.

All in all, Dylan is such a great boy, and we love having him in our family! 

Happy Valentines Day

Jayden and Dylan were supposed to make Valentine boxes for school this year.  I remember making these as a kid.  I loved it!  My kids haven't had the chance to do this yet;  their teachers have had them make something at school.  So I was excited for them to get to make one at home this year. They both had some great ideas.  Dylan knew from the beginning he wanted to do an AT-AT walker (Star Wars, incase you didn't know).  I wasn't so sure it was going to work.  But he was persistent, and once I told him it was his job to figure out how to do it, He went to work.  It actually turned out pretty good.  Jayden had wanted to do one too (I'm sure he had heard Dylan talk about his idea), but he was the first to get to work on his, and I conviced him to find a different idea.  We got online and found a monster he wanted to copy in his own way, so that is what he did.  Ethan then wanted to make one too, so I helped him make his, and he let it be more like the one we found online for Jaydens.

I bought Fun-Dips for them to give their friends this year.  I thought they would be excited, but they were actually kind of disappointed.  Their reason:  They wanted to keep them and not give them away.  Silly gooses.  I explained that it is good to give something you like to other people, because they probably like it too. Hopefully something was learned here, but maybe not.  Either way, I'm sure they had fun giving them to their friends, and seeing what they recieved in turn. 

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Dear Santa...

Dylan mailed a letter to Santa this year.  The boys made lists for Santa and the family a few weeks before Christmas.  About a week before Christmas I saw Dylan sealing a letter up for Santa, that included his list.  A few days later, this came back in the mail.  Pretty cool, I'd say.

Fall Sports

Its that time of the year... fall sets in, the air gets cooler, the leaves start to turn, General Conference... and fall sports.  Of course, Jayden is playing soccer.  The sport he lives and breathes everyday.  Those months in between the fall and spring seasons can't go fast enough for him.  Then finally - its time!  He has a fun team this year with a bunch of kids from our neighborhood. Most of them are the buddies he plays with regularly, so that has been a lot of fun.  Here are a few pictures of his moves:

 Here are the fans: 

I try to have everyone come to all the games for everybody, although there are those exceptions of scheduling conflicts or tired toddlers needing nap desperately.  I have a picture of Dylan and Austin similar to the picture below, so when Dylan was holding Austin in the picture above, I had to snap a quick picture of them.  Dylan loves his siblings!

Dylan has been playing flag football and has loved it.  He is so fun to talk to as he tells you about playing football.  He tells us all about catches, and touchdowns,  and interceptions that happen at recess (still trying to decide how much is tall tales, but its still fun to listen).  He is such a good team player in the sense that if the team wins, he wins and loves the feeling of being a part of that.  He cheers everyone on, and is happy to see the good things the team is doing together.  He ended up on a team where the coach only played a few players in the main positions (namely his sons and close neighbors - don't get me started...), but Dylan had a lot of fun blocking and playing a little defense.  The few times he was given an opportunity to run the ball, he did great.  One of the runs it was a first down, and he was able to get to the next first down (since they don't really go by yards, I'm not sure how far he actually went).  I got this series of pictures of one of his runs: