The Boys Rule

A Few of Jack's Favorite Things

2009-07-21T00:09:00.005-06:00

Jack loves the tub. Every time I take him in to the bathroom and turn on the faucet in the tub, he gets so excited. However, he also gets in a lot of trouble while in the tub. Here is the first thing he gets in trouble for......

Now that he is pulling himself up to any that stands still, this is what bath time looks like. The second thing he gets in trouble in the tub for; I can't take a picture of. Let me just say that I have cleaned more poops out of the tub in the last 2 months than I have in the last 9 years of having children. I have tried waiting until after breakfast, I have tried bathing him before breakfast, I have tried bathing him at night, I have even taken off a poopy diaper to put him in the tub. I guess I just never realized that a bath could be oh so relaxing.

Baseball, T-ball & Soccer

2009-07-20T22:55:00.007-06:00

We had a crazy Spring this year. I had a moment of insanity and decided to sign Caleb up for 2 different soccer teams. One team played on Saturdays, the other played on Wednesdays. In my little mind I thought that would work out just fine. What I didn't think about in my senior moment was that we also had t-ball and baseball thrown in to the mix. Some nights we had 3 different games going and it was crazy. The boys had fun though and I really enjoyed watching Conner play baseball this year.

CONNER

This was Conner's first year of kid-pitch and some of the games were pretty intense. Conner did well, spending most of his time in the outfield. His batting improved tremendously from the beginning of the season. Conner was also playing soccer again with his same team from last Fall. I don't know what happened to him over the Winter, but something jarred his memory and he actually started playing soccer like he knew how! Last Fall he was really timid, wouldn't go after the ball or even act like he knew what he was doing. This Spring he was a totally different kid on the field. He was a soccer maniac! He did so well and really stood out at goalie. He has just started with a competition soccer club and is learning a lot of new techniques. I am anxious for his season to start and see some of the things he has been working on.

CALEB

Caleb played t-ball again this year, and it was just as painful to watch this year as it was last year. The games move along so slowly, and Caleb showed absolutely no interest in what was going on on the field. He was playing with his hat, sitting on the grass, having a chat with a fellow teammate, watching the game that was going on next door; anything but paying attention to his own game. Oh well, he really liked wearing the uniform and was always asking to put it on as soon as he got out of bed on game day. As for soccer; Caleb played on an AYSO team last Fall and this Spring. He played really well for the green team and had lots of fun learning the basics. The Farmington City team he played on this spring was a different story. Farmington City either needs a larger field, or fewer players on the field at one time. When you throw the ball in at one end, and it rolls all the way across the field and out the other end; you need a larger field. It was a joke. Ten little boys; all trying to kick the ball at the same time. Ouch, my shins!

SAM

Sam, oh how that kid can make me laugh and make me so crazy too. Sam was a good sport when we were dragging him all over town to soccer and baseball games. I love the picture of him sleeping in the car with his pj's and boots on. That thing in his lap: a baked potato from Grandma's house of course! I don't know why, but he was so very excited that Aunt Renee gave him a potato to take home from Grandmas after Sunday dinner. I also got a big kick out of the picture of him with his fruit by the foot. He looks so evil and so cute at the same time. And the boots and shorts combo is also cute, unless I'm taking him out in public, then not so much.

JACK

Baby Jack is still a sweet little guy. He was really late getting started with crawling, and for a few weeks did some kind of drag/pull with his arms, with a little help from one leg. It made me tired just watching him. He has finally figured it out and there's no stopping him now. He is a fast little guy for being on all fours. He has so much personality coming out and loves his big brothers so much. I think we'll keep him.

Spring Break

2009-07-15T23:38:00.010-06:00

For spring break this year, we decided to head to Idaho to visit my sister and her family. We had a great time and appreciate Jill being such a gracious host and allowing us to trash her house for a few days. The first night we were there we headed over to the YMCA, the YMCAA. We let the kids swim for a few hours and burn off some excess energy. Sam had a great time climbing out and jumping in, nowhere near where I was waiting so I could catch him. He must have climbed out and jumped back in at least 50 times.

The next day we headed out to the fish farm, the alligator farm, and a big indoor hot spring pool. I had no idea that Idaho had it's very own alligator farm. The alligator farm is actually a fish farm that was looking for a way to dispose of fish and fish waste. The whole place was full of little ponds that were full of fish of all sizes. The kids had a great time feeding the fish bread and any thing else they could find to throw in to see if the fish would eat it.

The indoor pool was a lot of fun. Jack loved being in that warm water. He splashed and played and had such a good time. Sam swam around in his life jacket and figured out how to keep himself balanced and how to swim around in circles. Caleb had a great time trying to sit on a beach ball, until he nearly drowned. Conner spent most of his time trying to sit on a football.

The last night we dyed Easter eggs and made more messes. Sam decided that using the metal wire thing that comes with the egg dying kit was overrated and instead used his hands. Nothing like green hands at church on Easter Sunday. Niiice.

Worst Blogger Ever

2009-07-15T23:11:00.008-06:00

I'm pretty sure I have said this before, I suck at blogging. I'll try and do a few posts to catch up.

Clear back in April, I went with my mom and my sister to general conference. My mom has some connection who was nice enough to get us some great seats for conference. We made a weekend of it and stayed downtown on Friday night at the Marriott. We wandered around the Gateway for a while, then had dinner at Thaifoon.

Saturday morning, it was, of course, raining. It really just wouldn't be conference weekend unless it's raining. I didn't think to take my camera to the conference center, so I took some really poor quality pictures with my phone. (Sure wish I had a Google phone). Have I mentioned lately about how great my husband is. The Guy is the best dad and husband around. I'm so lucky to have him.
Lets see, where was I; ah yes......We had great seats for conference. We were right in the middle, about 50 feet from the podium.
All of the talks were excellent, and it was really nice to be able to just sit and listen. Thanks to The Guy for taking charge of the boys and not being able to listen to any of the talks. You rock.

Proof that I should never have a girl

2009-03-26T15:32:00.005-06:00

Sunday mornings would never work at our house if I had to deal with this before church. I borrowed this wig from my mom a couple of Halloweens ago. And, yes, my mom actually wore this many, many, many years ago. The wig was sitting on a shelf in Baby J's closet when S saw it today. He wanted to see it so I handed it to him and then went on with whatever I was doing. S found me and said "Hi, Mom, do you like my new hair?" He looked so dang cute that I had to take a picture, then of course I had to try it on Baby J just for a photo. Baby J really liked it, as you can tell from the pic.

15th Wedding Anniversary

2009-03-18T16:12:00.004-06:00

Fifteen years sounds like a long time compared to how fast the time has gone by. All the memories from our wedding are still so fresh in my mind. At that time, I could not have imagined where we would be today. There have been so many experiences that I know we are not the same people that we were.

Fifteen years with Lori is easy time. I am so grateful to have Lori in my life. Lori is smart, funny, kind, loving, and thoughtful. She is patient with me and loving of our family. She is an example to me in all that she does.

It's hard to believe that we are a family with four beautiful, healthy boys. It makes me happy every day to be a husband and a father. We are truly blessed.

I didn't know my singing was THAT bad.

2009-03-18T11:11:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I was sitting with S, waiting for my computer to turn on. I was singing this song that I recently downloaded. S looks at me and says, "Stop, that annoying." I wasn't sure at first if he actually said annoying, so I asked him, "That's annoying?" His response, "Yes mom, that annoying."
Well, exxxcuuuuuse me. I guess I'll keep my singing to myself from now on.
I love this picture of S. He just makes me laugh.

Girl Scout Cookies anyone?

2009-01-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

This is my niece Aidan. She and C-1 are good pals. Isn't she just the cutest little brownie you have ever seen? Aidan is selling girl scout cookies and I am taking orders for her. If you order some, they will not be delivered by the cute girl scout pictured above, but instead by ME! (Sorry) Why would I be delivering your cookies instead of this cute girl you may ask? Because Aidan lives in Georgia and has a deal with her parents that if she sells cookies to all her family that live here, her mom and dad will pay the shipping costs to send the cookies our direction. Again, you may be asking why you would want to buy cookies that have to be shipped all the way from Georgia? Because Georgia girl scouts sell their cookies much earlier in the year than Utah girl scouts, which means that you get your cookies around February, instead of having to wait clear until March or April. If you want to place an order and support my favorite girl scout, please let me know. Boxes are $3.50 each and Aidan thanks you in advance for your support.

Bad Guys and Garbage Disposals

2009-01-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

So C-2 and I were doing the dishes yesterday. I was running some potato peelings down the disposal when C-2 made me laugh. Here is our conversation.

C-2 - Mom; do bad guys know we have that thing?
Me - What thing?
C-2 - That thing that chops stuff up.
Me - Probably, why?
C-2 - Because if some bad guys came in our house, they could put stuff down there.
Me - Like what?
C-2 - Like spoons and silverware and stuff.
Me - Why would bad guys do that?
C-2 - Just to be mean. They could also put other stuff down there; like toys, Cd's, oh; and dollars.

Merry Christmas

2009-01-01T23:49:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas to one and all.

I was going to put this up before Christmas but things got a bit hectic and I forgot about it. I liked it too much to leave it out. Enjoy.

Snow, Baby J., & Santa

2008-12-22T00:53:00.000-07:00

Yahoo, it finally snowed! My boys were so glad to see some snow that was deep enough to stick around for more than 1 afternoon. Too bad that the entire neighborhood thinks that my yard and the hill behind my yard is a common area. C-1 was complaining that he had to keep waiting for everyone to move out of the way before he could sled down. The boys had a great time playing, making a snow fort, and sledding down the hill in to the back yard. I think C-2 spent most of his time outside just eating the snow. Every time I looked outside, C-2 had a big hand full of snow (hopefully clean), shoving it in to his mouth.

Baby J. is getting too big too fast. He is almost 6 months old and I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. J is such a sweet little guy. He has been sleeping through the night for months, is really happy most of the time and he doesn't even mind having 3 big boys in his face all day long. I shouldn't complain, the boys love J so much, they just try so hard to make him smile or laugh.

We also attended our ward Christmas party. Santa stopped by and for the first time ever, none of my kids were crying while sitting on his lap. I have known this Santa for quite a while, he is a great guy and most certainly had C-2 convinced of his authenticity.

What I have been doing, instead of blogging

2008-12-22T00:27:00.000-07:00

I know, I suck at this. Life just gets too busy to sit down and write. I usually update after my kids have gone to bed, but blogging gets put on the back burner if I have other things to do at night. Here are a few of the things that have been taking up all of my no-kid time.

C-2's preschool wanted to do some hand prints for Christmas gifts for parents. Since there are only 25 kids between the two classes, and I was able to trade a months worth of tuition for my work and supplies, I didn't mind. It's always fun to get a little glimpse of what goes on at preschool and to see how C-2 behaves when he's not with me. Most of the hands turned out great, I had some bubbles and other little flaws to fill in, but it wasn't too bad. I also ended up doing these same things for our old ward's cub scouts. I had to buy bigger trays because 8 & 9 years old hands were way too big to fit in the trays I had. I also did my scouts, thank goodness there are only 5 of them. After C-2's Christmas program, Ms. Margo handed out the hand prints and told the parents to open them because she wanted to see their reactions. I must admit, I was very anxious to see reactions as well. I watched one mom hold the hand print right up to her face, looking very intently at it for quite a while. I would have to stay that I think she liked it, ALOT.

I also drove to Centerville in a blizzard, so I could take some impressions for my friend Kathie from Dr. Bailey's office. Kathie has a brand new grand daughter and couldn't wait to have some impressions done. Baby Hannah was a perfect patient and didn't fuss or wiggle much during the "procedure". I did have a few fingertips and fingernails to fix, but they turned out very well.

I also spent a few late nights making suckers to give to a few neighbors and friends of my boys. The Guy's family is having a progressive dinner on Monday night so I thought everyone could take a few suckers home with them after dessert at our house. I also made some very delicious pumpkin chocolate chip bread, of which, I did not take a picture. You'll just have to take my word for it, it looked and tasted fantastic!

Please, just GO TO BED ALREADY!

2008-11-05T23:19:00.000-07:00

The guy and I started putting the kiddies to bed tonight around 8:30. I say "we", really it was just the Guy because I had to run over to my mom's for a minute. We always put the 2 C's to bed first, because they usually fall asleep pretty fast. When I got home from my mom's house, the two little boys were sitting on the Guy's lap watching Donald Duck, or as S says, Dongle Duck. By now, it's about 9:00 and time for S to go to bed. I take him in the bathroom to brush his teeth, he throws a fit because I won't let him use the mouth wash the older boys use. He then smacks his mouth on the counter which causes his lip to bleed. He then has a case of the jelly legs and won't stand up to brush his teeth. I then, take him to bed, while he is screaming and kicking his little legs. He then screams and cries because he wants to brush his teeth. This goes on for about 5 minutes, then mom gets mad and takes him to the front room to have a seat on the naughty mat for a while. When he is finally finished with his fit, we brush his teeth, and I take him to bed for the first of many, many, many times tonight. I say goodnight, kiss his noggin, tell him to stay on his bed, then I leave. About 2 seconds after I shut the door, I can hear S getting out of bed. I take him back to bed and repeat the above steps. S then gets out of bed again. The Guy takes a few turns at putting him back in his bed. I take a few more turns. I think we took the little man back to bed at least 15 times tonight.
I unload and load the dishwasher while the Guy is doing some other things, both of us thinking that S is finally asleep. At about 10:45, I walk down the hall to check on him, his door is open, he is not in his room, where could the little darlin' be? He is in our bathroom, sitting on the floor, leafing through a toy catalog from the Super Target. I was really ticked and just grabbed him and took him back to his bed, but now I sure wish I had taken a picture of him sitting there.

9:00-11:15, maybe tomorrow night it will only take 2 hours to get him to sleep. How could anyone be mad at that face? Come over tomorrow night and you can see for yourself.

So, I have become a little paranoid

2008-11-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Last week on the news was a report about blogging and all the ways people are using pictures or information about your family in ways they shouldn't. So, now of course, I'm worried about any information I have on my blog being used in a way I wouldn't really want it to be used. So, I went through and made some changes to information about me, The Guy and our boys. If that is really disappointing to anyone, I'm so very sorry. Feel free to post a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you. (not)

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-01T09:55:00.000-06:00

So, last year after Halloween, I was at The Walmarts looking through the Halloween clearance section. For 50 cents, I bought one of those books with all the special pumpkin carving tools and the very detailed patterns that turn a fun night of pumpkin carving in to a highly complicated, 5 to 10 hour project. C-1 picked out a pattern of a skeleton that had about 153 very small teeth. The Guy spent quite some time cutting the teeth out of the pattern with an exacto knife so C-1 could transfer it to his pumpkin. Despite The Guys best efforts at negative reinforcement, C-1 did a great job with his carving and his pumpkin looked fabulous. C-2 found a pattern for a pirate ship complete with a teeny tiny skull and cross-bones. I spent 20 minutes cutting all the small details out of the pattern with the knife, then C-2 patiently watched as I, not C-2, carved his pumpkin for him. I must say, C-2's pumpkin looked great when I finished and C-2 was very excited with it, and invited everyone in the house to look at it, over and over again. The Guy helped S carve a cute and simple pumpkin with a regular ol' face on it. Then after the kids went to bed, The Guy carved a "Jack" o lantern for baby J. (He carved J's name in to a pumpkin).
In years past, we usually finish carving about 5 minutes before trick or treaters arrive on Halloween night, but we were really on the ball this year and did our carving the night before. I guess that is why The Guy didn't take his usual 200 photos of the pumpkins sitting on the front porch. I must admit, however, that I am disappointed that we didn't get any pictures of them this year.
The boys all had fun carving and they all even stuck their hands in their pumpkins to scrape out all the guts. That was a first so we are just so proud. Oh, how I miss the days of triangle eyes, round nose, and a big, smiley mouth with hillbilly teeth.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T00:04:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween... Here are some VERY cute boys, ready for trick-or-treat(ing). C-1 came up with his costume all by himself. He was a guy who had been struck by lightning. I was proud of him for coming up with it on his own. We sent away for a novelty lightbulb that would light up in his hand. It was a pretty good effect. C-2 was Batman. S was a pirate. J was a bee.

I feel we were more prepared than ever this year. We actually carved the pumpkins the night before so all we had to do tonight was eat dinner and go outside.

C-2....A true boy scout

2008-10-25T14:31:00.000-06:00

When it's C-2's turn for prayers at night, this is some of what he has to say. He prays that Grandma Larkins, who passed away in January of 2007, will be able to come back to life someday and that she is a really nice old gal. Last night, he prayed for President Hinckley, praying for him to have lots of fun in heaven and that he will also be able to come back to life someday. He also prayed that, "We will always remember to help really old people cross the street." When he was finished, Brent asked him if they had talked about helping people cross the street in preschool this past week. C-2 said no. We are not sure where he got that from, but thanks for being so conscientious of the older population C. We love you buddy!

The Greatest Invention......Ever

2008-10-08T23:24:00.000-06:00

Over a year ago, I walked in to the boys bathroom, and stepped right in a big blob of toothpaste on the rug. Of course, I wasn't the first person to step in it, or to track it all over the bathroom. That was the last straw, every time I step foot in the boys bathroom, I find toothpaste all over the sink, not a little bit, but huge gobs. It's on the light switch, the toilet seat lid, the wall by the towel ring, on the edge of the tub, and all over the cabinet doors. I told Brent I was going to invent a toothpaste dispenser that would take care of this messy problem. I did an Internet search and found exactly what I was looking for. I was so excited, I placed an order. This was last October, a whole year ago. Around December, I still hadn't received my order, so I sent off an email to find out when I might expect it. I was told, it was on back order and that I should expect it to arrive within the next few weeks. I waited, and waited, and waited some more. Around March, I sent off another email to find out what was up. This time I didn't get a response right away. I waited some more, pretty much forgot about the whole thing until June. In the mail came a postcard stating that the amazing Touch N Brush was still on back order and that I could expect my order in a few weeks. By this time, I just figured I was out of luck and forgot about it again. Well, surprise, surprise. September rolled around and I went to the mail box and, I can't believe it, it finally came. Almost a full year after I had placed my order, my Touch N Brush was finally here! I was afraid that after all the waiting and anticipation I would be disappointed in the Touch N Brush's performance; but I was pleasantly surprised that it actually works pretty well. The video on the website says that the vacuum force will get out every last drop of toothpaste, which isn't really true, but it still does a good job, and I don't get angry every time I step in the boys bathroom any more.
I was pleasantly surprised by how well this thing worked, so I decided I wanted one more. I had told my sister about it too and she said she would like one as well. I figured that if I ordered them now, I might expect to see them sometime next summer. On the web site, the order page was a little confusing. They were offering a buy one get one free deal. I clicked on the total number that I wanted, which was four, and expected to pay for 2 and get the other 2 for free. Well, I ended up buying 4 and getting 4 for free. When I saw my order summary, I immediately emailed the company to clear up the order snafu, but I never got a response from them. So less than a week later, here comes my order. I guess they got that back order problem cleared up. What in the heck am I going to do with 8 of these things? My mom decided to buy one, and my sister decided to take 2. I decided to use one in the master bathroom and keep one for the bathroom downstairs for when it is finished. However, I still have 3 left. Anyone want to buy one, please let me know. It will most certainly cut down on the amount of hair you pull out every time you walk in to your kids bathroom!

Hours of Entertainment

2008-10-08T23:12:00.000-06:00

My sister came down last weekend to make some Christmas stockings for her family, and to hang out with me for my birthday. Jill, The Guy and myself stayed up way too late every night talking, ate way too much, but still had a fun weekend. Jill brought along her two youngest boys and they had a great time playing with C-2 and S. My mom and Jill were busy sewing all day Saturday and since it was pouring rain outside most of the day, our boys were very bored. Jill had a brainstorm, take some left over felt, cut out some eye holes and ta-da, a house full of Ninja Turtles. Those turtle masks kept the boys busy for hours. Way to go Jill!

Back off, I'm starving!

2008-10-06T01:12:00.000-06:00

I don't think my baby is getting enough to eat. He's looking a little thin.

The Manzier is already on order.

C-2's Birthday.....& soccer too.

2008-10-05T23:56:00.000-06:00

C-2 had a birthday a few weeks ago. He had a great day, I think. It was on a Friday so since The Guy has been on a contract with the state, he was home all day which was so nice. The Guy took S and C-2 to lunch then to Castle Park to play for a while. My parents went to dinner with us at Winger's. Dinner with 4 boys is always such an adventure. C-2 didn't really care where we went to dinner, so we went to Winger's only because we had received a coupon for a free birthday meal for C-2. After all, who would pass up a free meal?

C-2 got way too much stuff for his birthday. We always seem to go overboard. About 3 months ago, C-2 made my mom write down all the things he wanted for his birthday. The list contained any kind of Batman stuff you could think of, so, that is what he got, a ton of Batman junk. Batman underwear, action figures, jet, helicopter and Legos. He has had so much fun playing with all of his presents. Thanks to all our families for celebrating with us.

C-2 has never had a friend birthday party so we decided it was about time. I noticed that a new Chuck E. Cheese place was opening in Layton and of course, C-2 really wanted to have his party there. What a zoo! That place was so crowded it was insane. I guess because it is new, everyone wants to try it out. We took 9 kids with us and that was way too many. Each child got 28 tokens and we didn't even come close to using all of those. I think they may have used about 8 each, so we sent the rest home with them. It took so long to cash in the tickets and pick out the crappy prizes that we finally got the kids home an hour after we said we would. C-2 did have a great time though. Chuck E. Cheese came out and danced around with the kids, C-2 got this huge gold medal from him and he got a lunch box full of tickets. I understand that all of the kids we took had a lot of fun and were asking their parents to take them back. Sorry parents. *Note to self; never, ever take 9 kids to Chuck E. Cheese's again.*

C-2 is really enjoying soccer. He scores at least a couple of goals every game. It's so fun to watch him play. I guess since he has watched C-1 play for so long, that he just naturally knows what to do. He isn't timid at all and really goes after the ball. He cracks me up when he scores a goal, he shows me a #1 with his fingers and holds his hands up in the air. What a show-off.

Here is some of that showing off. I love the disappointment from the other team, their heads hung low in despair. Sorry guys.

Whoa! Where did the last 2 months of my life go?

2008-09-18T23:50:00.000-06:00

Okay, I know, everyone get off my back already!! This 4th kid just sent me right over the edge. Every time I sit down at the computer, S needs me, or a fight breaks out upstairs, or J wakes up and wants my attention. Anywhooo, here we go. So, since I last updated, summer ended, C-1 started the third grade, C-2 started preschool, had a birthday and turned 5, C-1 and C-2 both started soccer and S has decided that he no longer requires sleep. Oh yeah, and my baby J gained 5 pounds.

C-1 started the 3rd grade this year. He was very nervous for the first day of school and ended up sleeping upstairs the night before. He came upstairs around midnight saying he was hearing things. C-2 was sleeping over at his cousin's house, so C-1 slept in his bed. His teacher this year is Mrs. Sutton. C-1 had actually told me he wanted to be in her class so I requested her. He came home yesterday and was saying how much he likes her and that she is really nice. I hope she isn't too much of a push over, or C-1 will get behind on work. C-1 is a smart kid and does well in school IF he can stay focused.

C-1 has also started soccer again. He has had two games so far and has played very well. His team got spanked at their first game, but won their second game. I hope his game this week goes well. I look forward to his games and enjoy watching C-1 outrun everyone else!

C-2 started soccer as well. His team is the Green Dragons. His uniform is bright green, so at least I can find him when he's at the park. His first game he scored 4 goals and he had a ton of fun. He told me after the game that he wanted to make even more goals and didn't want to have to share the ball with anyone else. I tried to explain that when you play on a team, you have to share the ball, he didn't really care, or even listen. His second game he scored 2 or 3 goals and had a good time. It's fun to watch 4 and 5 year olds play soccer, or should I say "Magnet Ball". At least there are only 3 kids from each team on the field at a time so that cuts down on congestion around the ball. C-2's birthday was on the 12th. I'll post some more about that with some pictures another day.

Last Saturday, we put the bunk beds back together in C-2's room. We moved S in there with C-2 and ever since then, S refuses to go to sleep. In his old room, he couldn't reach the light switch so he would play in the dark for a few minutes and then just go to sleep. But now, he can reach the light switch from his bed, so he just turns it on and plays, and plays, and plays. So an hour and a half after he goes to bed, I see the light on and go in there to find him playing on the floor with a bunch of toys he has pulled out. He doesn't even go to sleep when you are sitting with him on his bed. He fidgets and sits up and rolls around and sticks his rear end up in the air. He makes you crazy. I guess I wouldn't really care if he stayed up late if he would just sleep in in the morning. But, oh no. 6:00, 5:30, 6:30, name any unreasonable hour for a 2 year old to be up, and S has done it. He must have a little of his dad in him if he can get by on very few hours of sleep!

J is doing well. He has porked up a bit. By bit, of course I mean by about 7 pounds. I took him in for his 2 month check and the girl that weighed him made a comment about how she had never weighed a 2 month old that was as big as J. Oh please, she should have seen C-1 at that age. He was so fat I was embarrassed to show him to people. Oh well. J is a cute little bugger. I just love him to bits. He is a very good baby, very mellow. However, he is a night owl and that is just not working for me. He likes to stay up until after midnight so that is a lot of the reason why I'm not getting my blog updated very frequently. I used to get a lot of stuff done from 10 until midnight. Not any more. Between S goofing off all night and J, my free time has gone down the toilet! Oh well, they are all worth it.

S's 2nd Birthday

2008-07-14T17:00:00.000-06:00

It was S's 2nd birthday last Monday. We had the whole fam over for cake and ice cream and to watch Sam open some gifts. It's hard for me to believe that S is 2 already. The time really has gone by so fast. My pregnancy, not so much. But my boys are growing up so fast. J is already 2 weeks old. I just can't believe it.
S got some new pj's, just like his big brothers so of course, we had to take a picture of them all together in their pajamas. S also got a little race track with 3 cars. He also got a Cars chair that he likes to sit in and watch TV. S enjoyed opening gifts, but then spent the rest of the night trying to keep his new toys away from his big brothers and his cousin Carson. S might have a problem with sharing. I had to include a picture from his birthday last year. Nothing compares to seeing his chocolate covered face, complete with eyebrows.
S is a sweetheart. He does stuff everyday that makes me smile. Happy Birthday buddy!

4th of July

2008-07-14T13:56:00.000-06:00

The 4th was a little different this year. At least, it was for me. I didn't go to the Kaysville parade because I was home with J. That is the first time I can remember that I have ever missed the parade. The Guy did not want to go to the parade. But, being a good sport, he took C-1, C-2 and S anyway. My sister was here with 3 of her kids so my boys had a good time with them. We went to The Guy's mom's after the parade so the kids could play in the water for awhile. At night, we all went to the fireworks. We had a good time. I love the 4th of July, I really enjoy spending the whole day doing stuff with our families.

Introducing......

2008-07-14T11:02:00.000-06:00

I know this is a really horrible picture of me, but look at all of those very handsome boys! (With the exception of C-2 and his crazy eyes).

Yes, it's true, we have finally picked a name. Or should I say "settled" on a name. We really had a hard time with this one. I don't know why. The Guy, being the overly nice guy that he is, and

never wanting to force his will on anyone, would never really give me a suggestion. Or maybe it's just that I wouldn't listen. This name is one that has been rattling around in my head for a while now. Before you make fun of the name William, just know that it is my dad's middle name. I like it, I hope J likes it.
J is a very mellow kid. He is usually happy when he's awake, just looking around. However, last night he was not interested in sleeping. We have created a monster. He wants to be held all the time. He is sleeping peacefully, right up until we put him in his bed, then he is wide awake, wanting to be entertained. It's frustrating. Last night he woke up at 2:30 and wouldn't go back to sleep. Around 4, The Guy took him in the living room and ended up sleeping out there with him wedged in between 2 pillows until after 8. Thanks!

The boys all love J to pieces. They can't get enough of him. C-1 is a very big helper. He loves to sit on the couch and hold him. He even comes in from playing outside with his friends, hoping that I need J to be held while I take a shower or get something else done. On a side note about C-1; in baseball

this year, he made the All Star team. However, after hearing that games and tournaments would all be going on right in the middle of us having a baby, we decided that this year would not be a good year for all stars. C was a very big boy about it though and said he would rather help us with the baby. C really enjoyed baseball this year and he improved so much over last year. I am really proud of him and how well he has done. Way to go C! And, thanks for being such a big helper.

S is so funny with J. He just wants to kiss and hug him all day long. It is actually making me a little crazy. Every time we change J's diaper, S says in this very high, very cute, squeaky voice, "teensy bum". I just love that kid. He makes me laugh. He also feels the need to kiss J's head whenever he sees him. S seems to be adjusting well to having someone else hogging all of my attention. I hope it lasts.

He is here!

2008-06-28T14:10:00.000-06:00

Sorry, this is The Guy updating The Chick's blog. But the good news is that baby R is here. Friday morning, Chick went for her weekly doctors visit. The good Dr. Hall examined Chick and said the we had better have the baby today rather than in the car during the weekend. Little baby R was anxious to get here.

We arrived at the Hospital at 1:30 and were in our room by 2:00. By 3:30 we got things rolling with an IV etc. Everything was going great. Around 4:30 the Dr. broke her water and by 5:30 the baby was here.

He is healthy 8 lbs. 3 oz. and cried and cried for the first five minutes he was with us. We took him to the nursery and I was able to give him a bath and get him cleaned up. Lori also went to her room and she got ready for baby.

Not long and we were all together again in our room. We were fortunate to have some family to come and visit. That went well and all Grandmas were able to see the new grandchild.

Here are some cute pictures of the new baby boy. http://picasaweb.google.com/brent.romney/NewBaby2008

We still don't have a name for him yet. He makes a lot of noise while sleeping so maybe we will call him Squeaky. Just a thought.

Anyway, I am sure Chick will post more later. It just worked out to be easiest for me to do it for her today.

Thanks for all the well wishes.

The Guy

Georgia

2008-06-21T23:58:00.000-06:00

These are a little out of order, but it's my blog so nobody really has any say about that. C-1 and The Guy went to Georgia a few weeks ago to see Mark, Daina and their girls. They had a really good time. I'm glad they were able to go, but I missed them a lot. I'm not used to being home without all my guys. It wouldn't have been so bad, except they ended up spending their last night away in the Chicago airport, on a bench. Their flight from Georgia to Chicago was delayed for over 2 1/2 hours, so they missed their connecting flight home. I was a little upset, make that ALOT upset. The airline wouldn't even give them a free hotel room because they claimed it was Air Traffic Control's problem, and not theirs. Luckily, The Guy is an easy going kind of guy and told me to relax, that they were fine and not to worry about them. Of course, I still worried and thought I was going in to labor the next day. False alarm.

Anyway, they had a great time. C-1 had so much fun with Aidan. They have always been really good friends and I'm glad they were able to spend some time together before all the rest of the Romney and Hansen families arrived. They were able to go swimming a few times at their neighborhood pool. They also went to an Atlanta Braves game. They went to the Georgia Aquarium and to this place called Stone Mountain where C-1, all the other kids, (including The Guy), got to drive the duck boat. Which is this car/boat thing that drives straight off the road in to the water, and everyone on board gets their very own duck whistle. I can only imagine how insane the duck boat driver must be after every ride!

They had a good time and I'm jealous that we all weren't able to go. Maybe just C-2 and I will get to go next. I can say one thing for certian though, we will not be flying United Airlines!

The Basement

2008-06-21T23:37:00.000-06:00

I know, it's been a while. But hey, I was a little busy finishing the basement. It's finally done. YAHOOOO! We had our carpet installed on the 13th. Friday the 13th. How scary. No need to worry, it still turned out okay. It has be so very nice to be able to spread out a little and have some room to move. We were up until 2 a.m. every night before the carpet came trying to finish up all the painting. It has been very nice this past week to be able to sit down and relax a little.

C-1 was able to move in to his new room last night. He has been so excited to get in to his very own space. He spent a lot of time down there today, organizing and putting everything exactly where he wanted it. He and C-2 both started out sleeping in C-1's new room last night, but some time in the middle of the night -2 had a dream about a big white spider and ended up back in his bed upstairs. I think C-1 will do a pretty good job at keeping his own room clean and straightened up. I realize that C-2 is a really big slob and C-1 had a hard time keeping their room looking very nice.

I had closet organziers installed yesterday, so we have tons 'o' shelves to hold whatever you can think of. We also moved both of our computers down to the new office and it's been nice to try and get all of our 'office' stuff in one place.

We have had a busy day. We also took apart the bunk beds to try and get S used to a big boy bed before the baby gets here. Hmm, he had better hurry and get used to it. We are pretty much out of time for that. Here is a picture of S in his new bed. He looks so little, yet so grown up at the same time. I layed down in there with him tonight, and as soon as The Guy shut the door and left, S got right out of bed and went over to the door to try and get out. Luckily for us, he isn't able to actually open the door just yet. I sat in there with him for a while, but he was just rolling around in the bed. The Guy came back in and he finally went to sleep. I think it's going to be a while before we get this routine down.

Who said C-1 was half-fast?

2008-06-03T11:36:00.000-06:00

Apparently there is only one other 2nd grader at the elementary who is faster than C-1. The last week of school each grade had a race to see who was the fastest. C-1 came in 2nd, but I'm pretty sure the kid that won cheated. What C-1 lacks in height, he makes up for in speed! C-1 was awarded this cool medal, and he was very proud of himself. Way to go C!

You want me to do what?

2008-06-03T11:03:00.000-06:00

Here is a small sampling of what I did for all three of the preschool classes at the elementary. I offered to do some just for C-2's class, then the teacher asked me if I would mind doing them for all 3 classes, 54 kids in all. YIKES! My dad was nice enough to come over and sit with S and C-2 while I went to each class and did impressions on each kid. It was fun, but a ton of work. After spending 2 hours in the classroom, I had to come home and spend another 2 hours pouring up the molds and cleaning them up. I did that 3 times and I was very ready to be done by the time I finished the last class. After all of that, I still wasn't able to get C-2 in the class next year. Does that suck or what?!

What's up with the Boys

2008-05-28T00:15:00.000-06:00

On May 3rd, C-1 and The Guy ran the first ever 5k put on by the elementary school. They both did great and finished strong. I have to be honest, I was a little worried that The Guy might have a heart attack around mile 2, but he survived. C-1 had a good time and plans on running a shorter 2 mile loop when he and The Guy are in Georgia to see his cousin next week.
C-1 is so very excited to be going to Georgia. He can't stop asking about the plane ride and everything they will be doing while they are there. I really wish we were all going, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let a hugely pregnant woman on the plane. I was too cheap to buy a ticket for C-2, so I told him that he and I would try and take our own trip to Georgia some time in the fall.

C-1 and C-2 are both busy with baseball right now. C-1 has done very well this year and I am so proud of how much he has been improving. He even hit a home run a few weeks ago. He is playing on the White Sox team this year and he usually plays at 1st or 3rd base. I love to watch his face when he makes a good play or has a nice hit. He always looks over to make sure we were watching.
C-2 is playing his first year of T-Ball. I have to be honest, watching his games from start to finish is sometimes almost painful. I don't remember C-1's T-ball games being so completely disorganized and silly, but I'm sure that they were. There are usually about 4 or 5 kids sitting in the middle of the infield by the pitcher, picking the grass, watching another game going on behind them, or just chatting it up with one of the other players. When they hit the ball, they forget to run, or run to third base, or to the pitcher, or even over to grandma and grandpa sitting on the sidelines. Caleb is enjoying himself and that is what is important. I had no idea that buying a 4 year old a pair of baseball pants could make his life complete. On the days he has a game, he wants to put his uniform on as soon as he wakes up in the morning. It's very cute. He did great in his game today, he even hit the ball from a pitch, and not off of the tee. He is fun to watch, even if the games seem to last F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

S is Mr. Personality. He is just constantly making me smile. He is a ton of fun, especially when he's in a good mood. This picture is not chocolate all over his face, it's dirt. He was really enjoying playing in the dirt in my flower bed. I guess he was eating more of the dirt than he was digging in. He is also a bit like a parrot. He repeats most everything that you say to him. He is growing up fast and it makes me a little sad. I'm sure that once jr. gets here, S is going to have a hard time. He is definitely a momma's boy. I need to get him in to a big boy bed very soon. That should be a lot of fun. I know there is no way he is going to actually stay in bed.

That is about it for my boys. Our basement is very close to being finished. We ordered the carpet on Monday so now we have a deadline to meet. We plan on painting the walls this week and then we are finally done!! Hey, it's only been a 4 year project. I hope to move Conner down to his new room but I don't know if he will enjoy sleeping down there all alone. I guess we will just wait and see.

What Am I Doing?!

2008-05-12T18:41:00.000-06:00

So, I have finally given in and decided to join the blogging world. My good lookin' boys are all doing so many things these days, I wanted to be able to share our daily happenings with everyone, or at least anyone who cares. Of course, I am going to have to enlist some help from The Guy, because when it comes to not only getting the pictures off of the camera, but actually posting them, I'm sure I will never figure that out by my computer illiterate self.