Happy Birthday Adam!!!

Adam turned 4 on Sept.12th and has been begging to ride the motorcycle ever since he learned to ride a two wheeler so Michael let him on his birthday. I was for sure nervous that he was going to run into our fence or the huge tree in the yard but he didn't and he seemed to have a great time.

Dad also got a new motorcycle so he took Adam for a ride. They all really like riding together. Cannon got a new bike too so now they can all go riding together and we don't have to have as much bickering about who gets to ride what and for how long. I knew motorcycles would be a part of our lives and I don't mind them. Ever since I got in my accident on Michael's bike I have a bit of fear of riding them myself but it is fun watching the boys ride and have fun. I am just happy following behind on the four wheeler or sitting in the truck reading is just fine with me:) It is great being a mom of four wonderful boys and I feel blessed everyday that it is my job to raise them in the ways of the Lord.

Summer Part 1

Wow! What a fast moving summer we had and now we are already into fall. The summer started with our trip to Texas. We had so much fun and the drive wasn't horrible(I don't think it is something we want to do every year but not to bad.) The boys had already started baseball and when we got back the season was really busy. We ended up taking 2nd place for the season. Cannon had a great season he was very successful both in the field and at bat. Cannon also got to play on the all-star team. Cole had a good year it was his first in little league and by the end of the season he was much more confident. I think next year he will have a great time.

I thought once baseball was over we would have a lot more time to go camping or spend time as a family but I was wrong. Right after baseball was finished Michael, Cannon, and Cole left for basketball camp at BYU. They had a great time. Cannon's team did really well and Cannon won a couple of the competitions. Cannon had a boy on his team whose dad played for the Utah Jazz. Cole on the other hand did not have as fruitful a team but had a good time being there just the same. Every night when the boys would call to check-in Cannon would go on and on about how well his team was doing and Cole would just say we lost every game. He was one of the better players on his team and he did like that. Cole has a great attitude about getting the most out of what he is doing instead of only focusing on whether or not he is winning.

The boys got home in the wee hours or the morning on Friday and on Monday Michael and Cannon left again this time to go to scout camp for the week. Michael is the scout master and it was nice that I knew Cannon couldn't get into too much trouble at camp because his dad would be there. Cannon had a great week he got a lot accomplished and he is now at the rank of first class. Another benefit of Michael being in the scouting program is that he can keep Cannon right on track to earn his eagle and I won't have to do too much prodding. Michael had a good week also but could have slept for a week to make up for the hours missed during camp. Earlier in the summer Michael went to what is called wood badge. It is a week long training for scout leaders. They do some of the activities the scouts do and they do a bunch of team building. Michael was dreading going but when he got home he had many great stories to tell and his dad and brothers were there and I think they had a great week together.

To all you moms out there with more than one child that can walk and talk you will understand what I am about to say. The two weeks that the two older boys were gone first both to basketball camp and then they were separated one home and one to scout camp were two of the best weeks of my summer. There was not any fighting, the two younger boys don't really fight they get along so well(Travis has a lot to do with that he is so kind to Adam.) And there was no one walking by the other one touching him or pinching him just to see what kind of reaction he could get out of the other. It was so peaceful and the only thing that would have made it better was if Michael could have been here to enjoy the tranquility along with me. Well, my post is getting quite long so I will blog more later.

What my kids were doing while I was coupon shopping

More Summer Fun!

I had a wonderful week. I got to do a little service on Monday and so to help motivate the boys to babysit/get along I promised them once I got back we would go ride horses and so we did. We then went to Five Springs for FHE and had a great time there with family. Thanks Emily A. for planning it. Summer is almost over and it seems we are just starting to do all the things I wanted to do together. We also got together with a few families this week and played kick ball and on Wednesday we went to the lake and Cole found a snake to play with while we were there. That always makes him happy(who needs a boat). Then on Thursday we went up the mountain to camp. Thursday night and Friday were beautiful but we woke up Saturday to rain mixed with hail and decided to come home early. Even though we didn't get to be there as long as I had hoped I still just love to be camping and getting away from everything. My boys all had a great time and we saw a ton of wild life unfortunately my camera did not work but trust me we had fun!

Summer

In case you were wondering we are still alive and we have been having a fun and busy summer and maybe someday I will actually blog about it.

Trip To Texas

I don't know what is wrong with me but I have really procrastinated blogging our trip to Texas. I hope I have not forgotten anything I intended to write. Well we left for Texas on Friday,May 22nd the last day of school for our kids. They had a half day and we left as soon as they got home. When I really started to pack and prepare for our trip I must admit that as we got closer and closer to the day that we would actually spend two days in the car together I started to rethink the importance of traveling to see my parents. But in the end with the minivan loaded we headed out. We drove the first night to Colorado Springs about 9 hours from Cowley. We seemed to find every rain storm between here and there. We got to Colorado Springs about 10 and went straight to bed knowing we were going to have an early morning. I woke around 4:45 the next morning showered and cleaned the car up a little woke the rest of the family and off we went. We knew the second day was going to be the harder day we googled it and it estimated my parents house to be about 15 hours from Colorado Springs. Well we got there and really it wasn't that bad. I can't even think of any huge meltdowns but really with video games DVDs and MP3 players there really is a lot to distract kids in the car. Oh and I did have a huge bag full of snacks that we don't usually have mostly CANDY! The kids did great and we got to Nana and Papa's in record time total I think it took us 21.5 hours(Google said it would take 24 hours.) It was nice that the first day at my parents was Sunday so we just relaxed went to church and came home and relaxed some more. Monday we went to the San Antonio zoo. It was Memorial day and there was a lot of people there Culture Shock I forgot that there was that many people in the world(or at least in San Antonio.) The kids had a great time sweating their brains out and looking at all the animals. Nana and Papa sprang for ice cream. There were so many people at the zoo we had to park really far away from the exit and it was a hot humid day and Adam was done walking so about 10 feet away from the car Adam gave up and decided he was going to stay on this nice patch of grass and go no farther. We eventually all got back to the car and found our way back to Nana and Papa's. That night we went to an all you can eat pizza place and my boys definitely got there moneys worth. I think Cannon and Cole both ate 12 or 13 pieces of pizza! Monday night my sister and here 4 kids showed up and we got to meet Claudia and Angelica Kristy's foster daughters. They were great and all the kids had a great time together. Tuesday we went swimming and relaxed and rested up knowing that the next day we were heading to Sea World. Wednesday at Sea World we had a blast. I think Cannon thought it was just going to be a glorified zoo and it was so much more than that and Cannon was pleasantly surprised. Sea world has changed a lot from the last time we were there. They have roller coasters and water slides and many other attractions besides the animal shows. I loved the Shammu show Adam was just amazed that the people can swim with the whales. The kids sat in the soak zone and weren't to soaked but they got to see everything up close. At the very end of the day Cannon and Michael convinced me to go on this roller coaster that you strapped in to so your feet were hanging down and then it seemed as if we just spun in circles for about 10 minutes and all I wanted to do was get off and throw up! The ride made me sick for the rest of the night. When we stopped for dinner that night I couldn't even get out of the car. By the time we finally got home I was feeling better but I will never trust Cannon or Michael again when they say that the ride is not so bad(come to find out Michael bet Cannon a buck that he couldn't get me on the ride.Thursday we decided to rent a canoe and a kayak and spend some time at a private lake that belongs to a friend or my parents. We got there and the lake wasn't as full as it had been,the water was pretty scary looking. So we had lunch there and decided to go and find a good swimming spot along the Guadeloupe River. It was so much fun. The cousins loved spending time together and they really enjoyed racing each other in the boats and flipping the canoe and chasing turtles. We were all sad when Kristy left on Friday. She had to get back so the girls could get ready for girls camp. We went to the movies on Friday Cannon played a little tennis with grandpa and we spent another relaxing day with Nana and papa. Saturday my twin sisters came to my mom's with their kids and we had a barbecue and played crochet and the kids played in the kiddie pool. The cousins did great together. It definitely got louder when we were around the younger girl cousins than when it was mostly boys. It was great fun but it made me feel sad that we don't all live a little closer so the cousins could see each other more. I hate that it takes a while for every one to warm up to each other because they just don't know each other very well. But I guess it is better than not seeing each other at all.We lefton Sunday and we got home Monday early evening just in time for the boys to make it to baseball practice. The trip was great and the drive was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Adam the night we got home said the blessing on dinner and in his prayer he said"Heavenly Father thank you so much for letting us go to Texas it was so much fun because we got to eat so much candy in the car the whole time" so if you too want to have a successful trip any where according to Adam all you need is plenty of candy and you know what I think I agree.

Thanks Grandpa!

I was so busy trying to get things together before we left for Texas that I didn't get some of my end of the school year blogging done. So here is a late entry. Cannon had to package an egg in something to make it survive a two story fall for his science class. Cannon forgot about this assignment until the day before it was due, and Michael happened to be out of town that night. So, in my wisdom I suggested to Cannon that he should call his grandpa. I figured Roland has all sorts of experience with packaging and I was sure he would have plenty of supplies at his shop. I was right but I never thought that he would help Cannon come up with such cool ideas and designs. By the way I do appreciate Roland's willingness to help out he didn't even pause when Cannon asked and he for sure came up with a much better design than I would have ever thought of. Mine would have included a box and some paper towels I am sure(BORING!) They came up with two ideas and even though Cannon only needed one they couldn't decide which to use so Cannon decided to bring both and in the end two of his friends were very grateful. The first was in the shape of a rocket/bullet. The second was in a Wal-Mart bag(I think that the Wal-Mart bag one was going for the lightest award.) Unfortunately the Wal-Mart bag never got to have a chance. Bill, one of Cannon's friends forgot to do the entire project no egg or anything so Cannon took apart the Wal-Mart bag and gave Bill the egg that was wrapped in packaging bubbles or something to that effect. Then Sarah, another friend, brought an egg but nothing to package it in so Cannon gave her the Wal-Mart bag that had some packaging stuff still in it and now they all had completed projects thanks to Grandpa.

Cannon used his bullet and it worked exactly as he had hoped it would. And as far as I know all the other pieced together projects worked also. Cannon got credit for doing the project and his egg not breaking and if you ask me he should have gotten the most creative design award but there wasn't one of those. It was a fun thing to do and I think Cannon had even more fun because it was something he did with his Grandpa. Thanks again Roland you were a great sport about the whole thing and we appreciate all you do in supporting our kids.