Have You Seen My Toddlers?

Have you seen my cute little toddlers? All I can find are these handsome little boys. As if I needed proof they are growing up, Logan and Penn just graduated from our church nursery to the Sunbeam class. Our nursery leaders had a graduation ceremony complete with certificates and hats. They even sang "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam". Here's a pic of the boys with their best friend James.

Penn decided he just couldn't sit there in front of all the parents with his shoes and socks on so he removed them in the middle of the ceremony. Logan thought that was a great idea and followed his lead. Only Mom's, not so quite, whispered promptings could convince him to at least leave his socks on. While singing the Sunbeam song Penn jumped out of his seat and danced what can only be described as a zombie dance. Needless to say we'll be praying for our Sunbeam teachers.

Not to be out done by her brothers Audrey can hardly be called a baby anymore. She must be going through a growing spurt because just before nap time she's exhausted. She pulls her blanket and binki out of her crib and curls up in the oddest places. It's acutally very cute and makes me laugh because I used to do the same thing. Even in high school I loved taking a nap right were my Mom needed to be. Fun times....

So Thankful

We've been kind of busy and skipped right over thanksgiving so ... a fast rewind. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and find ourselves thankful for all sorts of things. Penn is thankful for legs so we can walk and Logan is grateful for Audrey esp when she isn't cranky. Spencer and I are just grateful for these crazy kids.

We thought you might enjoy Audrey's new defense. She usually walks like this when she has something she doesn't want her brothers to take.

Buffalo

A few weeks ago, while Aunt Jenny was visiting, we decided to take her out to see what the west really is all about. We visited Antelope Island during the Bison Round Up. Every year they round up all the bison to check the health of the herd and to separate a few to be sold. It was our first time. Did you know they have over 700 bison on the island? They try to keep the numbers around 550. We just had to take our good friends James and Sabrina and their Mom along too.

They let you get very close to the buffalo. We were right next to the shoots while they were vaccinating and checking the animals over. It was loud and little intense. I love that Logan and James are holding hands.
During the round up they are not able to bring in the biggest bulls. They are too large and too dangerous. But they all seem to be hanging out right next to the road. They are huge! You can kind of see some in the back behind this statue. We also saw a coyote and a few antelope.
The kids loved this statue. Who could resist putting their fingers up it's nose?Sabrina and Audrey just loved the museum. I've never seen anyone enjoy the plaques as much as these two.

It was a great trip. They give tours of the operation as well as let you touch old buffalo skins and mountain goat horns. The only cost is the park admission fees which you pay at the cause way. We would recommend it to anyone, although the round up only happens once a year. It was a lot of fun and a great way for the kids to get out and see the world. The best part there are no bugs this time of the year!

As the winter months approach and it's getting colder outside I can't help but wonder what we are going to do indoors all winter. So what are your plans for the winter? Any thoughts on affordable and kid friendly activities?

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. The kids liked their costumes and of course they ended up with way too much candy. The boys got to be Thing One and Thing Two from Dr. Suess's "The Cat in the Hat". Grandma enjoyed reading them her copy of the book. The boys loved reading along. Can you believe my local library doesn't have this classic!?

Audrey may not have been "the cat" but certainly the cutest little pink cat you ever did see. She had not idea of what to expect but because the boys were uber excited she was too. Once she realized people put things into the bucket she developed an iron grip and wouldn't let go. Spencer didn't realize it but she even eat candy while trick o treating, wrapper and all.

So here's the question of the day. Do you "sneak" some of your childrens Halloween candy? I'll admit I have. It's not hard, it's truly like taking candy from a baby.

Happy Anniversary

The month of Oct was a whirlwind of activity. One of the highlights, we celebrated our 7 year anniversary. It was great. We found a little sushi place with a funny name

and went to "Thriller" by the Odyssey Dance Company. It was a great show with amazing dancers. They had zombies walking around before the show, because their dancers they really had the "zombie walk" down.

Spencer and I truly feel blessed. It hasn't all been easy but it's been amazing. We laugh often, work hard and still enjoy doing all sorts of things together.

Random story, when we were in Moab for our half marathon the kids were sick. Somehow Penn ended up in our bed but he was squirmy and kicking so Spencer at 2 in the morning said something to the effect of "I just can't sleep with 3 people in this bed". Thinking I was helping I got out of bed and slept with Logan on the little blow up mattress on the floor. But I didn't have a blanket or pillow and Logan wouldn't share. So I was up all night shivering thinking I was helping Spencer get some sleep before our big race. But Spencer was in the bed wondering why I had left because now he had to sleep with his arm around Penn so he wouldn't fall out of bed. He didn't get any sleep either. But he didn't say anything cause he thought I had left so I could get some sleep before the race. Imagine us both laying there wishing for the same thing but each thinking they were helping the other. The next morning when we discovered what had happened we had a good laugh in our sleep deprived state. I think that story sort of illustrates some great aspects of our relationship. Even after 7 years we still try to think of the other persons needs and wants and when your married to such an amazing person it really isn't that hard to do. Love you babe!

Utah State Homecoming

I've put this post off for as long as I can. We really had a great time at the homecoming game. Plus I got some fun pictures of the kids. It's just, in the end ... the game was so sad. I don't even like football and I almost cried.

Could Audrey wear anymore Aggie necklaces? Maybe, she loves to accessorize. Since the game every time we say Go Aggies, Audrey claps her hands. It's the cutest little cheer.

As you can see, Penn loved cheering with the ginormous finger. He was so happy to be at the game, esp because Uncle Mitch came up.

Logan wouldn't cooperate for a picture but Uncle Mitch came to the rescue. The game may have ended badly but as you can see we had a great time. Go Aggies!

Boy Heaven

Recently our super great friends, the Binghams, invited us to their family ranch in WY. We had an amazing time and it was boy heaven. We saw so many tractors and even got to ride in one of the buckets!

The Harvey's were super generous and gave us our very own cabin to sleep in. The boys loved sleeping in their sleeping bags. Mom may have gone a little over board and brought the -5 degree bags.

The next morning, after a good "ranch" breakfast, we went fly fishing. Spencer has only been once before and was a natural. He even got a few nibbles.

We also counted cows while riding in the back of a open pick up truck. James loved sharing all these great adventure with Logan and Penn. It was so cute.

Audrey and I also had a great time. Riding in the back of a pick up does great things for my hair .... right!?!

The stars of the show, black Angus cows.

A huge thank you to the Binghams. The whole ranch experience was amazing. We learned a bunch about ranch life and came to a new appreciation for all the hard work farming and ranching is. Thanks for sharing with us!