Tim found a friend...

So this boy... I mean Super hero... is a really cute little guy!!! At the park he was lucky and found a caterpillar. And what a great care taker he was. He gave his new little friend a push on the swing. They went for a ride down the slide. Tim made sure he was well fed with lots of grass and leaves. As they ran around the park together, Tim held on real tight to make sure they didn't get separated. And when the caterpillar almost got lost, Tim took extra precautions to take care of him... The little guy was gentle put into a pocket.

Oh Brother....

Oh... to have a day without conflict... But what is a house full of boys without a little sibling scuffle. And yes, even Batman gets into trouble. But a little time to cool down...

And all is well.

{for the next 20 minutes anyway}

Camping Out

These boys are so funny!!! Here they are sleeping on the floor. Yes, they have beds... good beds {although for my growing body rather uncomfortable, but good for them} And here they are sleeping on the floor. What are they doing???

They are CAMPING. They spread their blankets on the floor and put down the pillows. They have a night light that is the fire. And when the fire is going three little boys will be sitting around the fire reading books. {they need the closet light on as well to see, but that's beside the point :) }

They will camp out at least once a week and sometimes for 3-4 days at a time.

I love their imagination and that they can find a fun time in anything.... even camping out on the floor in their bedroom.

New Toy

The husband got a new toy and needed some help putting it together. Good thing he had three really good helpers.

It's a lot easier to work together, and each of the boys were excited to help put the screws in.

The next day the husband was like a kid in the candy store as he was cooking. I guess that's any boy and his grill. The nice thing with the grill is that is also fits the dutch ovens.

Oh look how happy that man is!!!

It's... It's... It's a.....

BOY!!!!

That's right people... we are having a fourth boy!

I guess the husband only makes boys! We are happy to fill our house with more blue. The other boys are happy to welcome another brother to our family.

I guess it's a good thing that we are having a boy because Tim would have wanted the sister to sleep in the pantry{I guess he figured the baby would stand up and sleep}... James was sad thinking we were going to have to paint the room pink.... and Tommy was totally going to FREAK out.

Fortunately none of that will happen and the boys are happy to welcome a new brother to their room. {for now I'm sure :) }

I'll be having a C-section the first part of August and although I'm having a hard time with this... only because I don't think you should get to pick your birth date... I think it should just come, but... there are some good things with it.

-I will know the exact* date, so I can be ready... bag packed... boys cared for.... legs shaved {you all know this is the most important...}



{*unless this child is like Tim and has his own ideas about birth....}

Are you still here with me???? good... then you'll get to know the name we are going to pick out...
He is going to be named Benjamin. We are naming him after the husband's brother who passed away 3 years ago. Benji was a great guy and we are happy to pass this name on, with some great stories, and memories from the husband and his family.

So there you go... 4 boys... I guess I won't be changing the name of my blog. And I am still out numbered by some really great looking boys.... and one really hairy dog.

The End.

Well I have finally come to the end of our vacation. A great time was had by all. We were able to see many friends and make a lot of great memories.

The boys had a great time at Grandma's house, playing with all her toys and especially the Geo-Tracks.

Tommy was happy as a clam until he fell into the pond. You see it's not a family gathering until someone falls into the pond, and Tommy was the lucky one this time. {sorry no pictures of this} He was playing happily until he tripped and down he went. Luckily Grandma was there to pull him out. Other than wet, he was no worse for wear, and after a warm shower he was just fine.

In the end I've decided that even a king bed is getting to small for three growing boys.

Until our next trip....

240 Eggs!

We were able to celebrate Easter with all of my family. It was so fun!! with 13 kids, and 240 eggs it was chaos, but the great kind. Some of the adults took all the kids on a walk so the Easter Bunny could come and hide the eggs. The weather decided to be cloudy and cold, so inside it was. We were able to have the eggs hidden upstairs and down. Which was nice because we were able separate the kids.... the little ones need to at least have a chance at getting some eggs.


Tim was so excited to find the eggs. And surprisingly he kept looking for all the eggs instead of stopping to eat what ever goodies were in his bucket.

Tommy was happy to find a bunch of orange eggs. It was nice that the Easter Bunny was freakishly tall and gave the kids a run for their candy by hiding the eggs in really tall places. Good thing there were lots of tall dads to help get the eggs down.

I really like this picture of James. There is just something about this picture. He had such a great time having lots of friends to play with.

I thought this picture was funny. The three crazies belong to me, the cute little girl is cousin Bianca and the man under it all is her dad.... my brother. This is considered a light workout for him. It was going well until the husband decided he wanted to get on. That was a bit much the Uncle Hyrum.

And here are all 13 grand kids. And by the end of the year there will be 2 maybe 3 more. Even though we are so far away it's fun to see all the kids together. They are all pretty close in age so they all seem to mesh well.

It was a fun Easter hunt. Made even better with the mass amount to cousins to enjoy it with!

Simple Joys

I happen upon a yard sale that was selling homeschooling stuff. So I stopped and picked up some books and a fun scale and these gems...

Hula-hoops! I was really happy, the boys have been wanting to play with them, and often do at the store, so these were perfect. They were pretty heavy duty so I knew they were going to hold up well to the beating that the boys would give them.

It's amazing what some fresh air and a 3 dollar toy can do!! This is what childhood is all about, being able to play with out instructions or time constrains.

Tommy is still learning and hasn't quite learned how to swing his hips yet to keep it up. He has made up a new game with the hoop and although I'm not sure how it goes all the boys seem to get it and play it daily.

Tim runs around with his and likes to hoop what ever will be still. The boys tried to play "Ring the Gack" {dr. suess} and Tim was deemed the Gack... he was not so happy about that. We might have to make a Gack so every one is happy.

James has learned how to swing those hips and can keep the hoop going. It took some practice but he got it. They have also learned how to roll the hoop and jump through it.

It was nice to take the time outside {since it's oh-so-beautiful outside!!} to play with the hula-hoops and because there was nothing else that was happening we were able to play for hours. I'm sure the new games will be thought up and new things will be found to hoop, and isn't that what childhood is all about??!!

Cousins!!

The boys were looking forward to playing with all the cousins. On one day Grandma suggested taking all the boys to the zoo.

The weather was great, and the boys were excited. Could there be a set-up?

James and the giant elephant.

Here are all the boy cousins {minus Boone who lied to far away} All the boys were so funny and it was a lot of fun to watch them all play together.

James and Dad, they really are two of a kind. And I find them like this all the time and I love these pictures.

Tommy was so confused about his arms being really short, compared to the orangutan. It was funny watching him try to reach both ends at the same time.

Grandma took all the boys on a train ride. What is better than boys and trains?? Not a whole lot. And this was icing on the cake for the boys.

Thank you Grandma for the great day at the Zoo.

Here is a picture of two little Super Heroes. Spider man and Batman. What cuties!!!

STRIKE

Bowling is becoming a favorite past time for our family. We don't seem to gt out often enough but when we do we have a really great time. While we were in Utah we decided to go bowling with the husband's family. It was fun with some of the cousins bowling too.

Here is James right after he got a spare. {thanks to the bumpers}

I was having a hard time getting Tommy to look at the camera, so James thought he would help. What a nice brother huh :)

Tim did really well at bowling this time and was able to get the ball rolling faster than .94 MPH.

I know you can't see this well... but I had to post it anyway. This is the second time I beat the husband at bowling, and that in itself is a proud moment for me.

I love having fun things like this to do with the family, and bowling always ends in smiles.

Wii are racing

We have a Wii, but we only have Wii sport. The boys were so excited to play something else. The only problem is the learning to play the new game.

Thankfully Grandpa was there to teach them the moves of Mario Cart.

And.... thankfully Grandma walked by to let Grandpa know that he was holding the control upside down.

The Girls are out!

Coming to Utah was two-fold... one, spend time with the family and TWO.... spend time with the Ya-ya's! Oh my these girls are one {ok, 3} in a million.

A condo in Park city was booked and all 11 children were cared for {as far as I know, I mean they all survived} And so the shopping and playing and cooking and eating and talking and sharing went on for hours!

Of course Jen did the cooking, but we wouldn't have it any other way... fortunately for us, neither would she. So we ate well and drank well.... of the virgin kind of course.

And what is a girls weekend with out the sweets?? There was plenty of that too.

What a wonderful way to spend the weekend! And even better is was my 30th birthday. I wouldn't have spent it any other way. There is a saying that goes, "There is the family that you are born into and then there is the family that you choose."

Well I choose these girls. They know all my faults and love me anyway. Thanks girls for making it the best weekend ever!!!

Until next year!!!

Our snow days

The boys were so happy that it snowed the day that we got into Utah. The first thing the boys wanted to do was to taste the snow.

They just needed to be reminded that the best snow tasting comes from the sky, and not from the slush from the top of the hot tub. The first snow was ok.....

About a week later it really snowed and boy was it great!!! The boys were so excited with the {real} white stuff. The only down side is that we weren't properly suited. So with the sweater and light jacket that they had, they ran outside to play... sort of. Tommy and Tim played under the slide and like to hear the crunch of he snow.

The husband enjoyed it every bit as much as the little boys.

And James enjoyed being a moving target for his dad.

I thought this was a funny picture, both of them gathering their ammo. And Dad taught them the proper snow to eat if it's coming from the ground.... you know... don't eat the yellow stuff.

All the fun came to an end about an 45 minutes after it started. I figure that was a really long time, especially since there were no boots or hats or mittens, or scarves to be had. But a good dose of hot chocolate warmed the bodies of the boys.

I'm really happy that it snowed while we were there. I'm glad that they boys got a chance to play in it. The last time they played in the snow James was 3, and Tommy was still 1, and Tim was just brought home from the hospital.

Maybe we'll be back again for some more time in the snow.

Flying the skies.

We had the chance to go on vacation during spring break. We decided to go to Utah and visit family and friends. Fortunately we were able to fly rather than drive, and save us 4 days of being on the road.

The last time James flew he was 6 months old, so technically this is his first flight. All of the boys were so excited to "finally" fly on an airplane. We were up at 4AM to get to the airport and the boys were so excited.

I forgot how expensive everything is at the airport. I had packed breakfast for the boys but forgot to do anything for me. I went to get a bagel and some OJ and 6 dollars later, the bagel was dry and they forgot a knife to spread my cream cheese with.

James was so happy to sit by the window... unfortunately it was right next to the engine and the view was really bad. To say that he was disappointed would be an understatement. Thankfully we had a return flight with a great view.

Our first flight we had a guy removed because he was to drunk to be on a flight. Thank heavens for observant people!!! They took him off and we were on our way.

The boys got board and decided to make one really long cord with the headsets that they gave us. The flight attendant gave each of us headsets so w could listen to music or watch the movie. These guys were really nice because the headsets were $2 a piece!!! Just another was to squeeze money out of everybody. Oh, and just of you want to know.... they no longer accept cash on the plane.... only credit cards.

After being up since 4am, and catching 2 planes, running through one international airport, and pressing every button that was with in reach, they finally crashed. The only bad thing... it was only 20 minutes before we landed. I'm sure Tim was tired... he peed 8 times in the airplane lavatory!!! Yes, we went in there 8 times, in 3 hours!!! I think the altitude squishes his bladder.... either that or he really like public bathrooms. {take your pick either one is right}

As our time came to an end we got ready for another long ride home.

And this time the boys were ready and feeling like pros. As we boarded the plane in Salt Lake there was some interesting people that I was seeing board the plane. There were TONS of kids in this full plane. As the boys and I were boarding I saw this woman having a panic attack. I just took a deep breath an hoped for the best. Before we took off she was throwing up in the back of the plane... and then all over the lavatory. You want to know where we were sitting.... the very last row right by the bathrooms. The boys were fascinated with all the people walking by. I did not think we were so lucky... especially when there was a young man with a problem.... it was not throwing up. Poor kid. But poor us.... the bathroom stunk for quite awhile. Then the panic lady came back for a second round. And of course Tim needed to pee multiple time.. he's not tall enough to reach the toilet so he had to stand on my feet. Grossness!!!!! {needless to say we striped down when we made it home to disinfect ourselves.}

It was nice to make it home in one piece, and as an added perk, I have the same three boys I left with.

The airplane was more fun than one should have so I think it will be awhile before we will do it again. More to come about our vacation, stay tuned!!!

Coming soon!!!!

We are back! {yeah for home} but my hard drive decided to crap out, so.... coming soon I'll be posting with pictures.

We had some crazy times on the airplane rides....

Great time with some great friends that included way to much eating and tons of sharing {but that's what friends are for}

Family time with a whole boat load of kids.... someone should have brought a boat for Tommy.

And surprise.... I know what we are having! Hint.... it's not a giraffe.