Sam

Today is a sad day for our family. Today Sam goes back to school:( If you don't know Sam, she is our next door neighbor and baby sitter. She is an only child and loves my kids. She loves to do boy stuff. She loves Legos and she loves crafts. My boys love Sam and play with her all the time. She goes everywhere with us. We take her to Classic Fun Center. We take her shopping. We take her to parks. We take her swimming. We pretty much take her everywhere we go all summer. The boys love playing guitar hero in her basement and building Legos. They love making crafts out of popsicle sticks and making snow cones. Seriously, we just LOVE SAM!!!

So, she starts school and the boys don't get to play with her until she gets home from school. And Mommy doesn't get a break from the boys until she gets home from school. And I have to take Brenner to school. I can't have Sam take him. Thank goodness Grandma is living with us and can entertain the kids!

Terek's Birthday

Terek had a great birthday. On his actual birthday, we went to classic fun center and to Red Robin for dinner.

On Saturday, we had him open presents. (He loves, loves, loves his little car that is in the box. I still need to take a picture of him riding in it.) Then we went to the Mayan for dinner. We came back to our house for the cake... that's the best part, right?
(by the way, Jacinda, I really don't like decorating cakes... even if this did turn out super cute.)
Terek decided to put the candle out with his finger instead of blowing it out. (It's not a birthday, if someone doesn't get burnt)
He made a great mess with the cake, but I don't think he ate any of it. And he certainly didn't like his hands being all dirty!

One year ago...

...We brought this little boy into our family.

He has always been my little cuddler and still prefers to sleep in my arms.
He loves to be outside... He loves to swing, play in the sand box and crawl around...
He loves his daddy soooo much. The second daddy walks in the door, he has to pick Terek up or he screams.
He loves to play with his big brothers... whether they want him playing with him or not. He loves to say "wow" and he loves to hit, pinch and scratch. He is just learning how to crawl up stairs and stand up on furniture really good now.
Terek, we love you! Happy Birthday!!!!!

Worth getting up for

I've been getting up at 6:00 to walk or run. I always make sure my path goes by the temple. I love having a temple so close by.
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Terek's 1st Haircut

We're getting Terek's 1 year pics taken tomorrow (post to come) so I thought I'd get what little hair he has trimmed up so it doesn't look too scroungy for his pics. He loved sitting in the little car and watching Elmo. Until....

...She started cutting his hair. He didn't like having a cover on him. He did NOT like her holding his head still so she could cut his hair.
But he looks so cute with his hair all trimmed up nice and even. And I got enough in a little baggy to put in his scrapbook.
He looks like such a big boy!!!

Big Rock Candy Mountain

This past weekend we went to Big Rock Candy Mountain with Ryan's family. This was the first time in a long time that we actually had the entire family there.

We couldn't keep Joren out of the water. He latched onto "Mafew" quickly and those two were constantly playing in the water, mud, throwing things in the water, etc.
Joren also loved going on the ducky with Daddy. (We kept trying to get Brenner to go on the ducky, but he refused. He said he was too scared. So finally I took him on the 4-wheeler to watch Ryan and Joren go down the river. Once he saw them he decided it wouldn't be too bad and went. Of course I don't have pics because I was busy cooking dinner).
Terek was constantly dirty because he kept crawling around in the dirt and eating whatever he could find on the ground.
Just Brenner being cute. Thanks for a fun trip Grandma and Grandpa Scholes.

Bakugans

Our neighbor across the street, George, introduced the kids to Bakugans. They are little toys that are a ball. They have a magnet inside, so when they are placed on metal, they open up to some sort of character. Joren has been obsessed with them and carries them around in his pocket constantly. The only problem, is that the little things get lost.

growing up

I have been trying to get Brenner to learn how to pump all summer... who wants to push a 5 year old in the swing! Then just last week, he hopped on the swing and started doing it.

Now if I could just get him to learn how to ride his bike:)

Swimming Lessons

Over the last couple of weeks we've had swimming lessons. Brenner has been taking them from his preschool teacher's daughters. He has done pretty well and can swim for a few feet. If he can keep practicing, he'll be a great swimmer next summer.Joren, on the other hand, is a super goof! His teachers really can't get him to do anything in the water, but play. However, he loves to play in the water and can hold his breath and dive for toys like a pro. (At least I finally got him to stop splashing all the kids in his class).

Love this little boy!!!

My baby is no longer a baby! He has grown up so much in the last little while. He is crawling all over the place now. He loves to play by himself (I think he likes getting away from his mean older brothers). He crawls into the playroom and keeps himself busy. He loves playing in the playhouse.

He loves, loves, loves playing in the sand. He throws it all over himself and eats a lot of it as well. I think he especially loves the sand toys.
He's quite independent. He thinks he needs to feed himself. He throws a fit if he doesn't have a fork or spoon in each hand. If you try to give him the food, he just spits it out. But if you give him his own utensils, he'll usually get a little bit in his mouth.
My big boy is turning ONE next week.... crazy!

Brenner's 1st day of Kindergarten

Wow, I can't believe I have a kid in kindergarten.

I love that the school is only 3 blocks from my house.
He has been so excited to go to school ever since we moved into our new house and he watched it being built.
The kindergarteners get to play on the playground while they wait for their teacher to bring them into class.
He was so excited and not nervous at all. He had a great day!!!

My little artist

When children get bored this is what they do. It's a monster from Monsters vs. Aliens. (I'll post about Brenner's 1st day of school when my internet at home starts working)
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