Goodbye to Regg

My little brother Regg leaves on his mission in one week. I am so excited and nervous for him. I am really glad he is going stateside though because the only thing he eats is cold cereal. Cole is Regg's belated identical twin. They look so much alike and worse, they act alike. Regg has recently taught Cole that eating cold cereal out of a cup is much better than a bowl for two reasons. One it doesn't require as much milk and two it is much easier to drink the milk when you are done. Thank you Regg. We will miss you lots and lots.

We decided that we should go on a little family outing before he left us, so we rented a cabin in Island Park for the weekend. We had a really good time while we were there; the kids went sledding, we ate lots and lots, we played games and just hung out and were very lazy. My family has never really done anything like this and it was a lot of fun.It snowed a ton while we were there and it was so pretty. There was barely a skiff of snow when we got there and about two feet when we left.
Cole was quite the wild man sledding with the big kids. He won't be left out at all and is really quite brave.
The girls had so much fun. They played in the snow, colored, played Wii, watched movies and sang some very horrendous karaoke.
Weston and Cole playing a little Scrabble.

We also built gingerbread houses. The kids did such a good job and had a ton of fun. They also made a huge mess for us to clean up.
This is my older brother Hank. He is special. He is famous for doing really really dumb things, but he is also famous for making things fun. He spent hours carving the perfect sledding hill for the kids, and is always fun to play games with. For some reason he felt the need to dive into the lake, and yes that is about an inch of icy slush on top. He is brilliant, but we had a lot of laughs watching him.

Help!

Help me people, my husband wants to name our baby "Spur", and yes like the jingly thing cowboys wear on their boots. The biggest problem is that technically I suggested the name, jokingly of course, but he LOVES it.

Here is how the story goes; Weston's dad knew this guy once that was named Matelund. He thinks this guy is way cool and loved that everyone would call him "Mate". He has been telling us since we found our we were pregnant with Kallie that if we would name our son Matelund he would give us his Corvette. So the other night we were over at his house and he brought up the Matelund subject, and tried to convince us of the awesomeness of this name, I jokingly said that we had decided to name our baby Spur. The name just popped into my head because it is the old guy's name on The Man from Snowy River, too bad I didn't think this through, that is Weston's all time favorite show! His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he got super excited and he loves it.

Now I have been mocking the name terrible and even told my parents that he wanted to name our kid Spur thinking they would be on my side; wrongo they both LOVE it. My mom thinks it is a tough guy name and my dad walked around the house all night say "Spur" real loud in an Australian accent just like they do on the movie. I even tried telling Weston that the baby's nickname will be Spur-m, he doesn't care. Weston is sure that our baby's first, middle, or at least nickname must be Spur. I am just not okay with this. We need suggestions and fast people. We are talking a minor case of child abuse if my child receives this name.
I love my husband but you must know, he doesn't change his mind about things like this. Please suggest boy names for us, and I will pray that one of them will be cool enough to change his mind. He rejects every suggestion I make, except the horrible one of course.

Introducing,,, Buzz and Cindy!!

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Kallie wanted to be Cindy Lou Hoo from "The Grinch" and Cole wanted to be a cowboy (imagine that). We talked him into being Buzz Lightyear because my sister had a super cute Buzz costume. Cole didn't feel that well and so he had a hard time getting into character, but had a good time anyway. Kallie has really come out of her shell and had a real fun time trick-or-treating this year.
There were a million people at the trunk or treat and towards the end Kallie said, "My bucket is way too heavy, are we about done yet?" Kids don't even have to work for their candy anymore, I remember being dog tired and driving around the countryside to find just one more house with their light on so we could get one last piece of candy for the night. I just may boycott trunk-or-treat next year and teach my kids come good old fashioned trick-or-treating!!
I had to post a side profile of "Cindy's" hair, it was hilarious. You can do anything with a toilet paper roll and google!
Great Grandma and Grandpa Dayton NEVER disappoint. They are hilarious and are always dressed up for the kids. Their costumes are always grotesque and disgusting. Grandma was a pregnant witch and she kept having pretend labor pains. We were dying laughing at them.
Weston and I survived the night!! Halloween is a lot of work! Good thing Grammy never disappoints either and we were able to have a little dinner at her house to end the night!

Not everyone can always win!

Yesterday we found out we are having a new baby BOY! We are now thrilled, but there was some mixed reactions when the news was first broke to us. Weston was POSITIVE it was a girl and was completely thrown off balance when he was told he was wrong. (For the first time ever he says) Cole said, "I win, I knew it was a boy." He earlier told us if it was a girl he was going to rope it and drag it around the house, disturbing? Yes! Kallie, Kallie, Kallie, a few tears were shed at first but after a very kind ultrasound tech reminded her that she now doesn't have to share her room, or her clothes or her girl toys she relaxed a little. Right after the doctor's appointment Kallie had gymnastics and when I picked her up she said, " I have decided I will love the baby even if it is a boy!" I knew she would decide this.

As for me I couldn't be happier, boys are so cute and funny and really easy to get ready to go places. Our baby is due March 6, so we still have a ways to go but the pregnancy is going great and we are excited to be getting a new member in our family!

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin Carving Night at Grammy's house!! Haylie, Justin, Hanna, Kallie, Cole, Tagg. (We forgot to cover our pumpkins when we had an early frost this year, whoopsi they were pretty small. I didn't mind though, it was that much less for me to carve!)

What a strange but fun tradition carving pumpkins is! We were discussing the oddness of carving a pumpkin and my brother Hank came to the conclusion that when people realized how bad pumpkins taste they decided to carve them instead. Unlike most people we are not huge fans of pumpkin bread, pie, cookies etc. We sure had fun digging the guts out of the pumpkins and carving them though. Both of my kids were really funny because they can't say "pumpkins" they say "punk-mins" it was really cute.

Uncle Hank LOVES Cole. I think he thinks Cole should have been his kid. Cole is sure a lot like my brothers, not only does he look exactly like they did as little boys but he acts just like them too. He is fearless and has a lack of common sense that scares me. These two had a good time pulling faces for the camera all night. What a couple of nerds!
Kallie Jo and her daddy-o showing off their miniature pumpkin masterpiece!

Rainy Day entertainment Idea #1

Why is this such a fun activity? My kids love to pull funny faces and take pictures of themselves. They laugh for hours over such nonsense. I assume they will never grow out of it either, have you ever seen a teenagers facebook? All it is is them taking funny pictures of themselves. I love such cheap humor!! Kallie has been practicing to cross her eyes for weeks and she finally mastered it!

We Have Puppies!

This poor dog gets attacked any time she comes near the puppies, she has been a great mother and very protective, but she is so sick of the little buggers.

Our dog had puppies!! Exciting? Maybe a little or at least it was exciting. They are almost six weeks old and it is time for them to be gone from here. I know what you are wondering and yes I have been very nice to them and I even might think they are cute. Do I hold them? Absolutely not! I still don't really like to touch small animals, I always think they feel so mousy and then I have bad dreams that they are crawling in my bed and stuff. Weird I know.

Anyways our dog "Spice" had a litter of 7 yes you heard me right 7 puppies. Fortunately for me and the puppies 5 of them have been spoken for. So if any of you out there would like a puppy of the mutt breed give me a holler, they are all yours for the high price of your sanity and however many pairs of shoes they destroy at your house! My kids and the neighbors have loved having the puppies around, and I must say it has provided hours of entertainment for them. Mostly because once they touch them they can't come back in the house until dinner time when i can bathe the kids, they just don't smell that awesome. But the kids really have loved having them around, we might miss the puppies.

I thought terrible two's were over??

Cole was being a big helper and poured the whole box of diswasher detergent into the already clean dishwasher. And yes mother, I spooned it all out and saved it in a cottage cheese carton to use later!

Is my son ever going to grow out of this disasterous mess making stage? Probably not since he has been like this from day one, but seriously I am getting tired of the messes. The other day I was out in the garage cleaning the car Kallie came out and said, "mom you better get in here, Cole has found the vaseline." He sure had! He had is smeared all over the windows, couch, himself and some blankets. How he missed the carpet I will never know but am grateful for. I found no cuteness or humor in that situation therefore there is no photo proof but it is a true story.

Why people should have Kids (and fhe)

("look at me mom I am a pilgrim")

Aside from the fact that babies/kids are super cute and funny and it is just the natural thing to want children, not to mention that it is a commandment; I have recently had an experience that is just another reason why people should have kids. Recently things around here have been a little high stress; our crops have been hailed on, wind blown and frozen which makes for a decrease instead of an increase in our bank account. Weston has been busy at the office and things are just piling up all at once. (precursor to the story)

A couple weeks ago I told Kallie she was in charge of FHE that night. She was really excited and picked out a story to read from the Friend and had Candy Land all set up to play. We had dinner ready when Weston got home and I could tell he was stressed and well I will just say it, a little cranky. He was in a hurry to get to the farm and other places he needed to be, but I told him we were having FHE first. He was in a hurry and not thrilled but went along with it anyway. We read a story and talked about it and then started playing the game. I had to make everyone in the family play, but we ended up having a really good time. Both kids understand the game and Cole really wanted to land on the licorice where you have to skip your next turn. (OK maybe he doesn't fully understand the game but enough to play it) Anyway he finally landed on it and we all laughed and made a big deal about him being "Stuck" he looked at us kind of funny and lifted up his game piece and said, "See I am not stuck I can still move it around". We all laughed, and everyone's mood was changed for the better for the rest of the evening. Moral of the story, kids give us perspective in life. At the moment we were playing our game nothing else mattered except that we were having fun and Cole was really funny. For ten minutes nothing else mattered and it was wonderful!!

Big Bad Kindergartner!

My little Kallie Jo started Kindergarten this year!! I can't believe she is old enough to go to school and I am not sure I am ready for this new phase in our lives. I love just being at home and not ever really having to go anywhere, however we are adjusting to the change and it has been good for all of us. For the first time EVER we have somewhat of a schedule. The kids are going to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 and get up around 6:30 or 7:00. I love this, I have never had quiet time in the evenings because my kids just always went to bed when I did but I am really enjoying my evenings now. I also love the kids getting up early, I feel like we are all happier and get more accomplished in a day when we get up and get going early. Kallie goes to afternoon kindergarten which has been a big adjustment for her. She likes school, but is not real excited to have to drop what she is doing and go to school just when her and Cole get playing good. Cole is bored out of his mind in the afternoons and told me I am not very fun. He has become a little more mischievous but blames all of his naughtiness on Jeter who "lives in Africa". I have really enjoyed having some one on one time with Cole that I have never had before.
Kallie on the first day of school waiting patiently for all the fun to begin.

Me and Cole waiting not so patiently for the bus to drop Kallie off on the first day. Cole was so excited for Kallie to get home and kept doing this funny little dance down the sidewalk. Funny thing though, the bus never brought her home it just drove right on past. She had gotten off the bus with the neighbor kids and then was walking home. Silly girl! Crazy bus driver??

Against Grandparents Wishes

I have always thought of myself as a parent pleaser, I hate when my parents are "disappointed" with me and I think the worst punishment in the world is the silent treatment which my mother should win a prize for. However I went against the wishes of all the grandparents and let Kallie get her ears pierced. In my defense it was Kallie's idea not mine and it is one of those things that I think are made a much bigger deal of than should be. I just think that when they are old enough to want them and can take care of them themselves then it is just fine. This is what I told myself after the wrath I took from both sets of grandparents over the issue, minus my dad who I sometimes think is oblivious to the world and probably thinks girls are born with holes in their ears. Anyway Kallie was super excited about this and was so tough and brave. It was a fun way to start out Kindergarten. (The next post)

The "Grandma Hike" tradition

Every year before school starts, well for the last three years, Weston's mom takes us on the "Grandma Hike". The first year Kallie was three Cole was one, we were told we could push strollers the whole 3 miles in 3 miles out hike. Not the case, about a mile in we had to ditch the strollers and I ended up carrying two crying kids for four miles. One on my shoulders and one in my arms. Let's just say the experience was worse then miserable. Last year I opted out of the Grandma hike, but this year I decided the kids were big enough to hack it.

I am so glad I did we had a blast. We went on a fun little hike which was on a mostly paved path with beautiful scenery and then we went swimming after. The kids had so much fun. My kids are so lucky to have such awesome grandparents that live so close. One set lives a mile and a half away and the other lives a whopping 6 miles away. What lucky spoiled children I have!
Kallie, Cole, Libbie, and Kace, feeling the super warm water in the creek on the trail, it come from a natural hot spring. At the top of the mountain! It was a pretty warm day but the kids did so good, Cole ran the whole way up the mountain and was mad when I wouldn't let him run down too. It was pretty steep, he is stronger than I thought he would be.

The swimming afterward was so fun, there were hardly any people at the pool and no line at the slide. The kids loved it. Kallie is starting to be not so scared of the water, after 3 sets of swimming lessons last winter I think she is feeling a little more brave. As long as she has her life jacket on she will try to keep up with the big kids. As for Cole I wish he would be a little bit scared. He was so funny, he would jump off the diving board and paddle himself to the side. Cole would get so irritated when any of the bigger kids would try to help him. He is sure he is as big as them. He has had a blast swimming this summer, we have spent plenty of time in the canal and the lake and went to pools a few times. As long as he has a life jacket on he can do it all! I have said before, it is too bad we can't put him and Kallie in a bottle and shake them up and we would have the perfect amount of fear in each of them!!

Cole turned 3!! Like a month ago!

Yes I realize i am a total slacker, I have so many fun things I wan to post but this is our family scrapbook and my journal so I have to keep things in order and I have to post all our fun events. Cole turned three on August 13, where does time go??? He was pretty funny about his birthday this year when I asked him what he wanted to do he said, "I guess I will just have some of Kallie's friends over to play." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Cole has lots of friends they are just mostly over the age of 8. There are not many boys around his age, but I am glad he thinks Kallie's friends are his too. He told me his best friend is Jeter but he lives far far away in Africa. (Ohio really but may as well be Africa)

I have really not wanted to post this picture of Cole's lovely cake and my sister told me she was very disappointed in my laziness but that is not the reason. Cole was very specific about his cake. He wanted it round, he even showed me what pan to bake it in and he said he wanted it to have white frosting with Buzz and Woody and Jessi on top. So I am seriously not just being a lamo mom I gave him EXACTLY what he asked for.

We love Cole man so much, he is such a funny kid and he keeps me hopping. He is all boy and is very grown up. Happy Birthday Cole a month ago we love you!

Beautiful little boy!

The things this kid is willing to do just to be allowed to play with the girls!!! Poor kid he just wants to be included!

Bear Lake 2010

Weston had to work in Bear Lake for a couple days again this year so we went with him. We stayed in a fun condo with a nice pool and it was real close to the lake. The kids had a good time and loved playing in a tree that was just their size. We ate lots of milkshakes and we were just lazy for a few days.
Cole climbed up the tree and was hanging on a branch, got a little nervous at first until he realized he could just drop off and land on his feet. He is getting so big.
It was a little chilly and super windy all week which made for a bummer day at the lake, but the kids loved the sand. Every once in a while there would be a huge gust of wind that would blow sand in our eyes but other than that we had a good time.

Stinker Bug!!

Don't worry we weren't just on our way out the door to a ward party or anything.

Redneck Fest 2010

The 24th of July is a big deal in good old St.Anthony. We started off the day with the Pioneer Days Parade it was a hit as always and the kids loaded up on the candy. Next was a BBQ and Redneck Fest 2010 at Grammy and Gra Gra's.
The kids are getting big enough to love the giant slip and slide as much as the adults do. Kallie and Cole jumped right in there and had a great time. There were a ton of people there, all of my siblings and our parents just invite whoever to come and be total rednecks with us for a day. We had the usual mud pit with plenty of mud fights, and the slip and slide that is so long I have yet to see an adult make it clear to the end. I

Cole had a blast, last year he was just too small to enjoy it but he had a blast this year.
Isn't this the most typical pose from a five-year-old. What a stinker, but seriously check out the length of this slip and slide!!!

Ya wanna be a Soccer Player?

Kallie really wanted to play soccer this year. I was nervous about this and tried to discourage her because she doesn't like to run, and she doesn't like to be too hot. I thought she would hate it. I was wrong and I am so glad. She loved it and did great. She even scored a few goals and looked super cute in her shin guards and cleats.
On the way to the car after her last game she said, "Mom will you please sign me up again next year?" I am so glad she had fun.

Weekend Getaway

Weston and Brand had a test to take in Salt Lake, so Bridget and I tagged along with the kids. We were excited to be away for a couple days and to spend some time as a family. We left Wednesday evening and drove to S.L.C the next morning we had a fantastic breakfast at the Original Pancake House then dropped the boys off at their test.

Bridget and I decided to take the kids to the aquarium. We were in our car and so i was forced to expand my driving capabilities. Now for all you city folk be prepared to laugh, but I have never drove on any road busier than a two lane freeway. Seriously, I was totally white-knuckled the whole time and in a complete panic at the five lanes of traffic. We somehow made it alive, but I refused to drive back and made Bridget take a turn at the wheel. I really think it would be best
for me to stay in my one-stop-light-town forever.

The kids had a blast at the aquarium, Cole loved the penguins and Kallie was excited to pet the sting-ray. This is Cole petting the hissing cockroach. (I love the two-finger pet, he followed the ladies instructions well)
The sharks of course were a big hit and we watched them for a little bit.
After the aquarium we still had some time before the boys would be done with their test so we hit the South Town Mall. The kids had fun going for a little train ride I had fun doing a little school shopping for Kallie.
The next morning we went to Hogle Zoo, it was 97 degrees and hardly any of the animals were out and about, but the new baby elephant put on a good show for us rolling all over in the mud. The kids had a good time and it was so nice to relax and spend time together and with good company.
This may have been the best part of the trip!! Just kidding the kids were really good, but by the time we were done at the zoo they were worn out!