February Fun

Brandon is such a cute basketball player. He smiles the whole time he plays. See bottom of this post for a video of him making a basket.Ryan and I went on a date to a basketball game this weekend and got awesome seats right on the court. It was so much fun (minus hearing the foul mouths up close) being so close to the action. They even gave us stats updates fresh off the press each quarter.
I know I forgot to update pics from Valentine's day. So this one will have to do. Grammy and Pompa sent the kids a soda bottle in the mail that was full of candy. The LOVED it!
We built a monstrous fort. The kids love it. We read books in it the other night.
Cody decided one day this week that he wanted to play the DS, but he also wanted snacks. After about 3 trips to the pantry, he disappeared. Then I found him. I guess he decided it was easier this way.
Brandon and his basketball buddy Noah:
Kathleen did this video contest thing with her class at school. They didn't win, but they gave all the kids t-shirts. Kathleen's was an Adult Large. Who would send that to a 3rd grade class? But that didn't discourage Kathleen. She thought it was cool and decided to go all 80's with it, complete with belt, tie in the big hair, and head phones. And she did this without help from mom. That's what 80's day at school will teach a kid.
And here is cute Brandon making a basket:

Sweet Cody

For anyone who had lived near us, you have probably noticed the rashes that are constantly a part of Cody's life since last summer. At first doctors said it was allergies. But I finally took him in this week because the stuff they have been giving us no longer works. So now we are doing a round of "what is wrong with your kid" and that means blood work. I knew it was bad when the doctor pulled out a huge book and just sat there reading for a while in front of us. I can honestly say I have never seen that before. So off we went to the hospital for blood work. Cody was amazing. I don't know how I got so blessed with such a good boy for my last kid, but I did. He didn't even cry. Just said "ouch" when they poked him. Then whined a little (and very quiet) "ouch" a few seconds in that sounded like a little bird. It was pretty cute. No crying at all. But when we were done, he turned to me and said, "Mom, I don't ever want to do that again." Well, we could have had a talk about life, but I just said, "Okay. Not today." But as a reward, we went to Krispy Kreme, AKA The Doughnut Factory.
So proud of his battle wound:
And the hat:
And the box (Cody wanted pictures of everything):
No more pictures and I mean it!

Anybody want a peanut?

Goldilocks & the Three Bears

For fun (and yes I mean FUN) we decided to act out the story of Goldilocks & the Three Bears. So sit back and enjoy the story...

Once upon a time there were 3 bears. A Daddy bear (Brandon), a Mommy bear (Ang) and a Baby bear (Cody). They sat down to eat some porridge.
But it was too hot. So they went for a walk...to the bathroom. Yes, all three of them (plus Kathleen) squished into our tiny downstairs bathroom. The door added effect. Or something like that.
Then along came Goldilocks (out of the same bathroom...AKA outside). You know the story from here.

Too hard!
Too squishy!
Aaaaahh. Just right!
HEY!
Someone ate my porridge!
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
My chair is broken! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
GET HER!!!!!
AND CHASE HER DOWN THE STAIRS!!!!! (Nothing dangerous there)
Grab her and throw her in the closet. AKA "Catch her and sell her to the zoo". That is how all Ryan's stories end. And after all...
Ryan was the narrator. And yes, Kathleen is shut in that closet...I mean zoo.

Bowling

After our 3rd attempt to get the kids bowling, we finally had success. They earned it for reading the entire Book of Mormon in the year 2010. But every time we went as a family, the lanes were full with tournaments, etc. So we finally got in and Cody got to bowl for the very first time. It wasn't his forte, but he sure had fun. And only one time did the ball not make it to the pins, although one time it was so slow that the pins actually stopped his ball. But it did make it to the pins.

Here is the final product you have all been waiting to see...Ryan finished his pioneer shirt. And it actually looks like a shirt! And yes, we match. We look so hot!
For Ryan's birthday his parents (and I am sure his sister Emily helped too) made him these "chatter blocks." When ever we go to visit his parents he plays with theirs. And now he has some of his own. Today Kathleen asked him if he could write "Kathleen is my girl". He said he would try. It took every letter, but he did it. I am really surprised he was able to.

Brandon is a Basketball Star!

Brandon LOVED his mow-hawk.I had to get a picture of this because it is such a rare thing to find. Ryan and I are going on a pioneer trek with our church and he decided to make his own shirts for it. I thought that would me I had to make them, but I was mistaken. He really took this task on and is about half way through his first shirt. He has had to pick it quite a bit, but he is doing it. Which leaves me, and every other wife on Earth, asking the same question. Is there anything this perfect man cannot do?

My boys go through phases where they fight and phases where they are inseparable and love each other like crazy. Well, right now they are in one of those close and happy phases, which means they don't go to bed well at night because they are having too much fun playing together. But every night this week when we go to tuck them in, we find them snuggling in the same bed together. It is so cute. It would be cuter, however, if they actually went to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Look at this cute little face. Every day that Cody has school, he dresses up like this with his little hat. And I get to kiss that face. He is so cute.
And this little face too. He loves his Siena sweatshirt. And since black is still his favorite color, he loves his sweats too.
We took the kids to a hockey game Friday night. Or, as Cody calls it, "Ice-Hockey". We must be specific here. And the real shocker...they were really good. And we only spilled one drink on the people in front of us. Not a bad night.
Brandon has started basketball for the first time. He had his first game yesterday. In order to prep him for the game, I told him that his goal should be to get one basket this year by the end of the season. I thought that was a reasonable goal. Turns out he is the star kid on his team (despite being the youngest player). He made 3 in his first game. New goal: learn to pass the ball.
I sort of missed him shooting, but here is a video of the shot and the after effect:

Welcome to the 80s!

It was 80s day at the kids school today. The best part was when I was fixing their hair this morning. Ryan shaved Brandon's hair last night so I could give him a mini-mow-hawk this morning. While doing Kathleen's hair, I was telling her that it was easier when I did it because I could use an aerosol can instead of a pump sprayer...unlimited hair spray style. She then asked all excitedly when I got to dress up for 80s day. Well...yes...we had THAT conversation. I am old. Every day was 80s day.Brandon started playing basketball. His coach sits with them and talks. It is pretty cute.
The boys and I accidentally dressed to match on Sunday. So we had to get a picture.
Okay, so I am a little behind. The pictures are from New Year's. My parents and Tanner came to visit. It was sooooo much fun.

Brandon likes to sit on the horse while he plays the wii.


We decided to let the kids stay up late and celebrate the new year, well at least the 10:00 version that we could watch the east coast celebrate.

Brandon finished his lego set. He LOVED every minute of it.

Happy Christmas!

WARNING!!!

If you cannot stand spoiled rotten children, STOP reading NOW!

Grandma decided to do a 12-days of Christmas thing in the mail for the kids this year. So every day for 12 days they got a fun toy in the mail. Even on Sunday! Don't know how Grandma managed that...
We made some chimes this year out of pipes. The kids has so much fun with them that we finally had to put them in the garage. They were more than welcome to go out there to play with them...which they did...a lot.
Our Nativity involved Ryan being the donkey.
Cody insisted on being baby Jesus this year, while Brandon insisted on being Joseph and Kathleen, of course, was Mary. It is funny to see them all with their little opinions on how the nativity should run. But I sure loved watching them be so excited to do it. Then even asked if we could act our nativity out after lunch, because they were too excited to do it and didn't want to wait until after dinner.


Our Christmas PJ's:

Ryan played Santa this year.





Notice Ryan's new shirt and sweater. I think he looks super HOT!


We got Mario Kart for the Wii for Christmas. But the best part was watching the kids play it for the first time. The couch was empty, but they were all squished into a corner.
Yesterday evening, they remembered to check the mailbox and this time found little wrapped presents from Grandma. What a perfect end to a fun day.
Ryan and I have a tradition that I had growing up where we do a puzzle on Christmas. Ryan, being the smart man that he is, got one of the Eiffel Tower that glows in the dark.
Ryan got me a map of the United States. I have all kind of maps of the world all over, but I have always wanted a big one of the U.S. The best part is that we hung it up and are using it to display the baseball games that we have been to. We have a goal to attend a baseball game at every major league park by our 34th anniversary. So far we have made it to 4.
Ryan insisted that I take a close-up of one of the tags I made.
Brandon's Lego "Clone Turbo Tank" is coming along. I love watching him work on it every chance he gets. It is taking a lot of work and time.