Brog Portrait

Our friend and neighbor L'Deane is doing a watercolor painting for my parents. I am always amazed at her talent and ability to capture not only the likeness of someone but also their individual demenour. The paiting is set in my parents backyard. My dad is working in the yard as usual and my mom and sister are there as well. Monique is holding one of their dogs. She also added many of the animals that have frequented my parents yard...including a child named Cardon (or it could be Truman) who is climbing the rocks. Cardon has gone over to her house a few times while she works because she has given him a huge pile of clay that he is making into a volcano.

In the picture you can see that she is working on Cardon in the background.  I will try to post another picture when she finishes the whole thing.  She is also planning on adding Chambers to our family watercolor so I am looking forward to that as well.

Snow Canyon bike ride

We decided to play hookie for stake conference and do something as a family.  We justified ourselves by saying that we work hard in our church callings every other week and that the kids wouldn't sit for 2 hours anyway.  And who could pass up this beautiful November weather?

Jer checked all the bikes and got them in good working order and loaded them all up in the truck.  We headed out in the late morning to Snow Canyon State Park and biked about six miles, with a hike and sand dunes in between.

Cardon and Chambers got to be pulled by dad in in the bike stroller.

We stopped at Pinyon Trails and had did that hike and then stopped for lunch.  Once we got all the kids to stay on the actual trail and not go exploring all in different directions in went pretty smoothly.  Jer and I had gotten over our disagreement over whether or not he should have headphones in on our family bide ride, so we just enjoyed this awesome place.

And I couldn't resist a shot of Cardon't behind while he tinkled after lunch.  Truman was a little more discreet behind a bush so I couldn't catch him.  I think that's part of the fun of hiking is we let hte boys pee outside.  I think Jer gets excited about it as well!

I guess the bike ride tired Tacy right out because we found her asleep while she was doing her daily reading.  I don't blame her.  The kids biked hard.  If you've been to Snow Canyon you know there are a lot of hills.  Lots of hard work for little legs the way up and lots of fast riding on the way down.

End of Fall Soccer

Well we are done will our fall soccer season with KICKS.  It is nice having our Saturdays back!

Prentice was on the Pink Penguins and they won most their games.  They were an aggressive bunch of 6 and 7 year olds.  She really improved this year and scored quite a few goals throughout the season.

Truman was on the Tornadoes this year for the U9 KICKS soccer league.  He has turned into quite the defender.  He loves to protect that goal and has made quite the position for himself.  Even though I hate watching it...he also did quite well playing goalie.  Those are his two favorite positions.  Jer was able to coach his team this year and did a great job.  I had to do quite a bit of coaxing to make it happen, but I think it will be a fun memory for both of them.  Jer took the job pretty seriously and was a little too hard on himself, but taught them a lot of good things.  We had a swim party for his team at the end of the season at our clubhouse to celebrate their team.  It got a little crazy for me, but I guess that what a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds are all about.  But seriously I am reconsidering having a party for his birthday this year.  All they wanted to do was wrestle and throw things.

The kids have both moved on to tennis now and and will do that until basketball starts in January.  They are keeping busy but I would rather they are playing a sport and being active, rather than just playing video games or watching T.V.  Hopefully they can find what they like best and focus in on that.  Right now I think its all about trying a lot of things and seeing what works best for them.

They will probably do spring soccer with KICKS as well since I'm on the board and it won't cost us any money.  Maybe we can both take a break from coaching and enjoy the game from the sidelines.  Probably not...it's like church callings I think, it seems like the same 10 people are the ones doing the volunteering and working.

October Happenings

I know the holidays will only get busier, but I wanted to jot down a few random things that have happened the last month and what the kids are up to.


Cardon:
is so much fun right now
Jer and I both just love him
he fixes everything as usual
whatever we are doing he says..."I help"
he especially enjoys helping in the kitchen, with cooking and cutting
he is talking so well and comes up with the funniest stuff
his new favorite phrase is "shut up"
not sure how to get him to stop saying that
another favorite is "you mean" when he doesn't get his way
he can be dramatic
he understands us and can be reasoned with
we have both enjoyed the time we have while the kids are at school
almost never has potty accidents and is dry through the night
loves Chambers still and shares his toys with him
can put his underwear and pants on by himself
likes to color
does whatever the big kids are doing
enjoys playing outside...especially the sandbox
likes riding his scooter and Prentice's old princess bike
sneaks candy, treats and gum when he can
likes reading all kinds of books
the dinosaur, farm, or spider book is his favorite
favorite song is "There was a Tiny Turtle"
likes the ipad
still takes a 2 hour hap almost every day
sleeps and shares a room with Truman
knows all his colors and about 20 letters
likes to jump off things
just hurt his ankle jumping off the steps to the trampoline
loves his grandparents
can be so stubborn
won't do something if he thinks we want him to
doesn't like strangers
likes his hair spiky like a dinosaur

Tacy:
is my little clone
says things just like I would...tone and everything
keeps the boys in check
is liking school a lot more
sometimes she even likes the Chinese part of her day better than English
has taken off in her reading
is responsible
and determined
loves her little brothers
likes to wear special clothes
put on makeup and lipstick
lets me do her hair almost all the time
does well in school
gets her homework done for the week the first night she gets it
has a best friend named Kelly Howard
is getting good at soccer and tennis
feels more secure around Truman
still likes to rub ears (especially Chambers)
gets her "jobs" done almost every day
is improving and enjoying the piano so much

Truman:
has joined a competitive soccer team called Fire FC
is so good at playing defense
has a talent for playing the piano
and staying on pitch while singing
doesn't have a best friend, but gets along with everyone
is enjoying the science part of 3rd grade
likes learning cursive
knows his multiplication facts
is still our family teaser behind Jer
started playing tennis again this week
is a bit hesitant and gets nervous in new situations
has a kind heart
loves anything electronic
is loved and respected by all his teachers
doesn't second guess himself when it comes to school and homework
likes being outside
is good at drawing pictures and creating things
can cook mac and cheese on his own
is willing to try most any food I serve him
doesn't care what he wears as long as it's fast to put on
thinks laces take way to long to tie
is polite and respectful of others

Halloween Activities

I think Halloween gets better as the kids get older. We have started some traditions that we really enjoy and seeing the kids get so excited about dressing up and looking forward to the things we do around Halloween makes it better for me as well. We weren't sure how Cardon would react to all the excitement of the day. Honestly we weren't even sure if he would be willing to put on his costume. Except for not wanting to say "trick or treat" to people and not wanting to look at any of the high school kids when Grandma took him there to trick or treat, he had a ton of fun.  For the actual day of Halloween I helped with the Halloween party in Tacy's classroom while Grandma Debbie took the little boys to Snow Canyon High school for trick or treating.  Chambers had a blast and Cardon was mostly mute I guess.  After school we baked pumpkin pizzas, got ready, went trick or treating, and got to see Thriller.  It was a busy week with all the Halloween activities going on so we were all exhausted once Halloween was over.

Truman:  Hulk
Tacy:  Little red Riding Hood
Cardon:  Donald Duck
Chambers:  Skeleton

Halloween wouldn't be complete without watching "Thriller" at Tuacahn.  Truman and Tacy went multiple times and then I joined them on Halloween night.  I like it better every year.  And that blond zombie is the best!

Our first stop on Halloween night was to Grandpa and Grandma Ballam.  They were ready with oranges, candy, and money.  Cardon wouldn't be in the picture but he was there as well.  There was almost no one who  went trick or treating in our neighborhood so people were excited to see the kids and gave them extra candy.  Our ward decided not to have the trunk or treat on Halloween, which I enjoyed because it took some stress away from the actual night and we got to just walk around our neighborhood for the first time.  We did catch a couple older people by surprise and ended up with some interesting "treats."  Our favorite was a full size bag of trail mix that was halfway gone for Cardon.

This year we had a Halloween party for the family on Sunday with chili and cornbread.  The kids decorated a Halloween mural for our wall, bobbed for apples, and played pin the scar on Frankenstein.  We had a lot of fun.  We also went to the rec center for games and activities.  Cardon and Truman even won the costume contest.  We also decorated Halloween cookies and of course carved pumpkins.  We didn't use stencils this year, so the kids drew what they wanted and Jer helped them carve it.  I forgot to get pictures of the finished products but just imagine them being great!