We can do hard things!
Olivia and JT have a new hobby. As you read previously, Olivia was given Alexis’ old CD player for her birthday. She loves it very mucn and feels so important and old. Stephen helped her make some fun CDs of music – her favorite song is "Who let the dog’s out". She is having fun telling JT how to act and play when her music is on.
I rest my case!
JT is a Stephen fan, but who isn’t around here? We will all follow him at any length, whether we are 18 months old and have to climb to the top of a ladder to be with him, or 34 and have to break a finger on the top of a mountain :).
So tonight I was innocently canning tomatoes when Lily walked into the kitchen and told me about a song she had just written. A song she was quik to add was just a joke. She asked if I wanted to hear it, of course I did. She began singing the following words (which she had written down on a paper) to the tune of "Renegade" by Styxx.
"Oh mamma I’m in sain with you’e drama and I cant keep up with you. Please mama stop the dramaaaaa because I can’t keep up with you. Oh mama Im in sain with your drama and I cant keep up with you".
O.k. first of all it is seriously hilarious! I can’t deny the reality of that song sadly, which makes it all the more funny. She is feeling a little self conscience about it because I laughed so much, although I reassured her it was because it was such a funny joke. It just makes me smile – where did that come from? Who’s hat did she pull that one out of? I don’t even remember listening to that song recently and to add the words she used to that tune was genius! I think she could have a no.1 hit with that one!
Random funnies make being a mom so enjoyable.
Taylor and Lily were on the same soccer team again this year and Stephen was thier coach. The were fun to watch. Most of the time they were little speed demons and ball kickers, but a few times i would catch them chatting or holding hands – so cute! The had a good team and won most of their games. We learned this year that water bottles are very important!
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Mason had a great soccer season! Something clicked and he became a star. He was so excited to tell us when he made a goal. Stephen and to peel back on his ice cream rewards or we would have gained some serious pounds. I am proud of Mason and his determination and stamina. One night both he and Matt had climbed Mt. Borah and they showed up to play soccer and they played hard! It is nice to have a good friend to encourage and push you. Matt is a great friend to Mason. Even though Matt also deserves a lot of glory to for his mad soccer playing, he was very complimentary toward Mason and happy for him. He helped give Mason the confidence he needed to stay positive and enjoy the season. They definitey became the most improved team over the season! Unfortuantely I wasn’t able to capture any of Mason’s goals on camera over the season, but we caught Matts!
Way to go Mason and Matt! Looks like some great times. You guys are quite the tough guys-keep it up.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:31:07 AM
Matt and Mason are grandsons to be proud of. They are strong but real gentlemen.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:50:46 PM
Lex and Riley had a fun soccer season! They were great little players and had tons on fun too. They are so silly together – whenever they communicate with each other they use "Paul Blart" voices (really it is the character Pahoon they mimic). They would walk around saying, "don’t you judge me…." and then add something applicable.
On the last night of soccer games they went out with a bang! I looked behind me and saw a couple of big booties! It made me have a laugh – they were saying "Don’t you judge us!"
FYI – Alexis is almost there on her splits! We are very excited for her because it is one of her goals this year!
Nice shots! You guys are pretty fun girls. Good job on the splits-way to work on goals.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:33:21 AM
Sorry, but we are always making judgments, and we think you two are cool.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:54:29 PM
This past weekend we hit the road and traveled to visit the Baldwin’s in Boise.
I don’t think I’ve seen Mason smile as much as he did Friday night in a long time. Uncle Eric fed us some burgers and then we loaded up the bikes and visited a bike park that is every little and big boy’s dream! Eric had bragged it up to Mason this summer and it did not disappoint! Mason was a maniac trying out the jumps and definitely loved the thrill of feeling the wind go fast through his hair. Grandpa Baldwin even hit the trail! We celebrated Grant’s twelfth birthday with some amazing home made cupcakes.
The next day we all went on a wonderful bike ride along the Boise greenbelt. It was so beautiful and not too hot! Magan was awesome and pulled Olivia and JT in the bike trailer. My broken finger held up well on the gentle ride. We had a fun picnic too. Magan has a fun tradition that when you go through the tunnel you have to scream all of the way through. Olivia and JT giggled every time – I loved listening to it!
By the time we got back from our bike ride we were hot and ready for a swim. It is a rare moment, but even I got wet because I was that hot. Stephen was so in his element eating pulled pork tacos and enjoying a delicious fiesta later that night! Ashley and her friend McKay came for a visit and watched Magan finish up her apron we were working on.
Sunday we got attend church and witness Grant receive the aaronic priesthood. He is really a top notch kid. He is very intelligent & respectful. Olivia and Lily had great fun playing with miss Grace. After church Stephen announced our travel plans for coming home. (check out his blog for his details) I’ll just say that it was quite long (9 hours), windy roads (yuck), lost his wallet (we think at Red Fish Lake), beautiful (sawtooth mts), peaceful (sleeping children), scary & sad (we saw a motorcycle fatality), puky (Alexis vomited from being car sick), productive (Alexis finished her stitcheries), and fun (we played name that tune and had a quick picnic). When we finally got home we went straight to bed!
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Looks like a fun trip. The bike park looks pretty fun too. Way to make some fun memories. I’m not so sure about the 9 hour drive-that might have done my family in.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:37:30 AM
Looks Like a lot of fun!!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009 1:53:04 PM
That sagebrush reminds me of my years in Boise growing up. I haven’t visited there for a long time!
Friday, September 25, 2009 11:35:07 PM
For as long as I can remember September has been the month for canning. Growing up I was the official cranker on the victorio, I have taken that to the next level using my power drill to crank now.
We picked tomatoes in the morning and had canned over 110 bottles of juice by 3 PM. You can’t beat a good bowl of mac and maters on a cold winters day.
Red Fish Lake
Sometimes it is nice to take the long way home. Even if it takes you 3 times longer. We came home from Boise via Horseshoe Bend, Banks, Lowman, Stanley, Red Fish, Galena Summit, Sun Valley, past Borah Peak, Mackay, Arco, Howe, Mud Lake then on home. It was one long day almost 9 hours straight, but the things we saw were worth every minute. Priceless scenery. The secret places of scenic Idaho.
 it was a little cold and windy, hard to tell from the picture |
 Sawtooth City |
 Galena Summit |
 Looking back into Sun Valley, dirt road was the best part |
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 Borah Peak highest point in Idaho for you out of towners |
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Wow-quite a drive. Lots of beautiful scenery. Looks like some fun family memories.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009 7:19:41 AM
Great shots and great looking people. It reminds me of some long “shortcuts” Dad used to take us on when we were kids.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009 5:17:04 PM
The missing diaper caper
It stinks – literally… Today we had a funny thing happen. I picked up JT because I smelled something unpleasing after breakfast. I picked him up in his blanket sleeper and he felt skinner around the bum area. I was puzzled and unzipped to investigate. The picture below is what I found! I really made me giggle, which really made Olivia giggle, which also made JT start to laugh. It was great – guess his overnight urine supply was weighing him down.
It stinks that on Monday JT took a good shiner to the head. We were at the optometrist finalizing Alexis’ new glass frames when he ran up to us, tripped and head butted the desk with much force! It blew up instantly and troubled him, me, Alexis, and all of Dr. Hatch’s staff. He was crying really hard as you can imagine when he was brought a glass of water and a sucker – he quieted as quickly as he had started and was good to go. He did touch it a couple of times on the way home and said,"Owee".
It stinks that on …. Sunday night we had another crazy caper concerning this fella. All of our company had departed after Olivia’s B-Day party and the older kids were preparing for bed. I wondered where JT had traveled off to and ended up finding him in the mud room bathroom. As I assessed the situation I began to scream at the top of my lungs. I saw an opened toilet with #1 and #2 duties in it (another tidbit, there was no trace of toilet paper), a cup on the floor – no doubt retrieved from the tub, a skiff of fecal matter on my green shag rug, and moisture coming down JT’s chin! This is one of those moments when I am grateful for my husband! He rolled his sleeves up and took care of every last thing. I was in a paranoid fit, worried that JT was going to get EColi. Rest assured he has been just fine the past few days in that department.
It stinks that JT isn’t an infant anymore. JT has hit another milestone and right of passage: Nursery! He has been going the last couple of weeks because he is now 18 months old. He has done very well with the transition, only fussy for the first few moments and then is easily distracted. WHEW – that is a relief. As much as I am sad that he is growing so quickly it is fun to watch him discover the world and the things in it. He just has one of the cutest smiles that I have ever seen, you need to see it for yourself in person. He is also really great at understanding and following directions. His family are his favorite friends still – especially Dad and Lexi. He is very independent and will find a way to tangibly acquire anything he desires – doesn’t matter how hard or high. Yes is has monkey genes inherited from his father most likely. Still loves tractors and helping me mow the lawn. All in all he is a very easy going little dude and we just love him like crazy.
 No, that isn’t a moon boot under JT’s right leg – it’s his night time diaper. |
 Makes me sad to just look at it again. |
 Man that’s big! |