Dad works so the kids can play

This is what Josh did for 2 weeks (or more) every day after work and whenever he could.

Step 1: mark off the area

Step 2: get rid of grass in area

Step 3: Prep ground with landscaping fabric to prevent weeds.

Step 4: Build the swing set

Repeat step 4 for several days

Step 5: Build box around swingset

Step 6: Fill box with rubber mulch

and Ta Da!!

Thanks to everyone that helped put this togther: Jacob, the Elders, Tony, the kids & of course Dad who spent SO much time putting this together so that the kids have something fun to play on... and to get them out of the house to give me some peace too! Thank You!

Thunder 2010

Thunder this year was a little different then past years. We had invited some friends of ours to come sit with us where we sit. So as we are traveling down to park in our usual spot the road we park on was closed. Now we have people following us and we don't know where we are going. After driving around for awhile we finally found a spot to park and walked down to get our seat. It was very crowded, but we lucked out and found a spot. Once we were all settled (2 hours after leaving) I took all the kids to go potty and waited for an hour to use the porta potties. I was kind of nervous if Bryson would freak out going in a porta potty since he hates going to the bathroom away from home, but he did good, luckily. We got back just in time for the show to start. But with the technical difficulties it gave us 20 more minutes to hang out before the show started. The kids enjoyed trading off taking different pictures and seeing how they turned out since you can't see what you are taking a picture of until you take it. Here are a few of my favorites.

The fireworks were amazing again. Connor fell asleep during the show, and this year was Megan's first year not plugging her ears during the whole show. We had a great time and we loved having friends to share it with.
Here is a little preview, if you want to see more you have to come out and see it for yourself.

Soccer

Soccer season has started! The kids have had 2 games so far. It is totally different watching Bryson play and watching Megan play. I thought that I would give you a little insight!

3 year old league

First here is my cute boy in his uniform.

(he was cold and didn't want to pose)

This is what Bryson did on his first game of soccer...
stand on his head... check
play with the cones on the side line... check
jump up and down like a bunny down the field... check
suck on soccer shorts... check

I missed the picture of him hugging the goal post and not wanting to let go... wish I would have gotten that one. And playing with the out of bound flag. I do have to give him credit that he didn't need me to come out and hold his hand, and he didn't try to hold Josh's either. Maybe him being the coach helps out.

There were some good moments when he actually ran after the ball and played the game.

With the 3 year olds they don't have a goalie and they all run around in a heard with some parents holding the hands of their child. It really is quite funny to watch. Josh is the coach and I think that he does a great job talking to the parents and the kids and trying to get the kids excited to come and play (without their parents in hand). He is very positive, I even caught him giving a five to a little girl on the other team after she made a goal. He's a great coach!

6-7 year old League

Now here is Megan all dressed in her uniform.

(again it was cold, that is why her socks look more like tights to keep her legs warm)

There is a lot more running around. They actually have a goalie and do throw ins when it goes out of bounds. They lost their first game (even tho they don't keep score... but whatever to zero isn't hard to keep track of) and they got a lot better on their next game and won. Megan even seems to have gotten better between games. She does really well listening to her coaches, and loves to cheer on her teammates... "Go orange bombers, let's go!"

We have enjoyed watching our kids play and look forward to the rest of the season, if we don't get rained out!

Have to share

I love going grocery shopping and getting deals. I usually call my Mom and tell her my deals that I get, but she is out of town, so I thought that I would share it here.

What I bought:
4 -Lysol toilet bowl cleaners
1- Lysol 4 in 1 cleaner (I use for floor cleaner)
2- Lysol all purpose cleaners

Should have cost: $16.94
but with the sale and my coupons I paid...



$2.35 for ALL of that...

that's .34 for each one.

I saved 86%!

I LOVE deals like this.

Life

Sometimes I feel like life is CRAZY! I have my list of posts that I want to do...
Easter
Thunder
Soccer
swing set
and EVERYTHING breaking.
The last one is what is taking up so much time.
Plus keeping up with the everyday life routine.
So, hopefully I will be getting to my posts soon if life will just slow down enough for me to catch up.
I need to catch my breath!!
Give me a vacation!

Easter & Update

The Easter Bunny came this year and brought the kids lots of treats. The kids were so excited to see all their treats that were left. Connor was even excited to look in his basket.


Since Easter was on Conference Sunday, the kids were able to wear their Easter outfits the week before to Church. Of course we had to get some pictures.

Here is a little update on each kid as they show off their Easter outfit...

Megan

Favorite color: purple (or violet)

Favorite thing to do when not doing homework: play on our swing set or with my brothers

Favorite treat: ice cream

Favorite movie: Barbie movies

Favorite dinner: Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Favorite restaurant: Chuck-E-Cheese

Megan always seems to have so much energy. She did an excellent job at swimming lessons and is doing awesome at playing soccer. She listens so well to her coaches and is learning fast. Megan is doing great at school and comes home every day with the same report "school was fun." She loves her teachers and is currently in the fitness club at school. (Hopefully to get some more of that energy out) Megan is VERY creative. She can draw really well and is always wanting to make our garbage into some type of creation. I wish that I had her craftiness.

Bryson

Favorite color: Orange & Blue

Favorite Movie: The Bee Movie

Favorite Treat: Ice cream (also listed, bubble gum & popcorn)

Favorite dinner: Hot dogs, hamburgers & corn bread

Favorite thing to do: play on swing set

Bryson was just measured and weighed at the doctors. He weighed in at 37 pounds and is 39 inches tall. He loves to be by his little brother, he will hug him, wrestle him (which is a little too soon) & he even holds him tight so that he doesn't crawl to bonk his head. I know he means well, but I feel like I am constantly yelling at him to stop touching Connor. Bryson also loves to mirror his older sister. He wants to do everything that she does, and say what she says. (This too isn't always the best thing, for either kid) Bryson has recently started playing soccer as well. I think that he is getting the hang of the sport. Bryson has also mastered going potty in the toilet and has recently filled up his potty chart (another post) we are all so proud of him. We are now working on staying dry at night which seems to be half and half. But we can't say no if he wants to wear his big boys to bed. Bryson is also my little chef, he is always right next to me helping me cook in the kitchen. He would rather be cooking then playing. Maybe he will grow up to be a chef or baker! Bryson is my loving, and stubborn child. I would rather have him be loving but stubborn, unfortunately I think he got the stubbornness from me.

Connor

Favorite thing to do: get into things I'm not suppose to like DVDs, paper & food dropped on the floor.

Favorite Game: Peek a boo

Favorite food: loves everything that we give him, fruits, vegetables, whatever we are eating that night, even ice cream.

At Connor's 9 month check up these were his stats:

Height: 29 1/4 inches (75 %)

Weight: 18 pounds 11 ounces (25%)

Head circumference: 45 cm (50 %)

Connor is such a laid back kid. He loves to watch everything that is going on around him. He is still doing his army crawl/ worm move to get around. He is getting really quick and we definitely have to watch everything that we leave on the floor cause he will find it and eat it. He by far has been my best sleeper. He has been sleeping through the night probably from around 3 months old. He will wake up in the middle of the night every once in awhile, but I'm fine with that. He loves to laugh and we all love to make him laugh, especially his older brother and sister. He's learning how to wave bye-bye and blow kisses, and crawl. He loves to pull his socks off and suck on them with his thumb in his mouth. He is definitely loved in our family and we love watching all of his new achievements.

Easter Weekend

For Easter weekend Josh's brother, Jacob, & his family, came out to visit. The weather was perfect for being outside. We took advantage and went to the zoo and saw some animals...

We also got some cute pictures of "the people" too.

On Saturday, the day before Easter, we went to an Easter egg hunt at the fair grounds. There was a lot of eggs for the kids to get, each containing candy and/or a coupon. We ended up with 26 free dipped ice cream cones from DQ, 15 free individual one topping pizzas from a local pizza joint, 6 free cookies from McDonald's, 3 free chicken sandwiches, 1 free whopper & 1 free breakfast sandwich from Burger King, along with other various coupons. Julia & I took the 6 kids to DQ later that night to treat them to some ice cream.

We went and saw the (scary looking) Easter bunny and got some pictures of all the kids...

and then just our kids.

We also couldn't turn down a family shot.

How often does that opportunity come around?

We had a great Easter weekend with Jacob & Julia. We were able to watch some of General Conference & enjoy a delicious ham dinner before they went home. We enjoyed the short trip and wish that it could have been longer. Bryson was sad to see Isaac go home. We always love to have visitors.

Who said chores have to be boring?

April Fools Day

This is what we did for April Fools day...

I only lasted 6 months before I ran into something with the van. Josh said that I had to post this picture if I was going to post the video. Even tho I feel like a total idiot running into a pole, playing my yearly April Fools joke on Josh made my night a little bit better.

Later that night Megan presented me with this card that she made me.

(Left: Me hitting the pole. Right: the news man talking about it on the news... which didn't really happen, it wasn't that bad. Just the car and my pride were damaged.)


She is so sweet to make me a card to never forget my accident. She really is a great artist.

First trip to the zoo this year

I took the kids to the zoo for the first time last Wednesday. Megan had a doctor apt and Bryson went and hung out with Josh at work, so afterwards I took them to the zoo since it was a gorgeous day. This is what we did.

One of the gorilla's had a baby, we were lucky to see it. (laying on the mother) Bryson could sit and watch the gorillas all day.

So much fun, not enough time.