Catching up

I am trying to get caught up on all the pictures/events that have happened over the last few months.  I've really fallen behind on blogging, but hopefully I will have a little more time now that I'm almost done coaching volleyball.

 Tyler turned 1 on August 30th!  Man that went fast.  It seems like we've been celebrating a lot of birthdays at the Ranch this year.  Maybe next year we'll try and celebrate them all out there! :)  This one cake was mostly because Luke wanted it so bad.  I let he and Bryson look through all make cake decorating books to pick something out for Tyler's birthday and all they wanted was the one cake with all those smarties.  No complaints here, it didn't take very long.

 Tyler loved the smarties too!  I think he ate every single one before he even realized there was cake under there that he could eat too.
As a side note, Tyler is OFFICIALLY walking this week.  He's been able to do it for a while now, but just didn't trust himself.  Well a few days ago it suddenly clicked and now he's walking everywhere.  It is so cute and I just love watching his stubby little legs wobble around the house while he tries to keep his balance.

Luke started school!  He is loving kindergarten and especially loves riding the bus!  He doesn't like to be late and always makes sure he has a really good breakfast on school days so he will have enough energy to make it through the day.  He is doing really well and may or may not have one or two crushes in his class.

Funny story.  We took the kids down to Utah in September to see Brandon's sister and go to a football game.  One of the days we took the kids to BYU campus to show them around.  As we were driving there I was telling the kids, "This is the school where Mommy and Daddy met.  We were in our twenties when we fell in love and we were going to BYU."  From the back seat Luke says (with a big sigh), "I just fell in love when I was in Kindergarten".  The other day Luke brought home a flyer for a photography contest called "Snap your Snack" put on by Alberta Education.  The rules were that Luke had to take the picture and it had to promote healthy eating.  So, we went out into the backyard and used Bryson as a model and Luke took this picture.  I submitted it for him and he WON!  I got an email the other day saying Luke's picture won for the horizon school division and that a prize package would be delivered to his school soon!  He was pretty excited and can't wait to find out what his prize will be.  

How have I not posted about this yet?

We went to the cabin in August.  It's the end of October.  I guess it's time to get some pictures of the cabin on here!As usual, we had a great time at the cabin this year.  I really wanted to stay two weeks with the kids, but we just couldn't make it work with rides.  It was a beautiful week with gorgeous weather, warm water and great company!

 There were plenty of sea-doo rides and boat rides.  In fact, I'm pretty sure Bryson didn't get in the water once, other than the time he was playing on the sea-doo and fell in while trying to get back on the dock (thank heavens Brandon was with him).  He just doesn't like the water too much, which tells me I need to take my kids to the pool more!  If only I had two extra arms it would be so much easier.

 I have a picture of each on of my boys in this exersaucer at the cabin.  We love the new dock with the big umbrella so they can be right in on the action without me worrying they are going to fall in.  

 I LOVE LOVE LOVE my bald babies.  Seriously, could he be any cuter?

 Luke tried skiing again this year and although he didn't make it up, I was proud of him for trying.  He really didn't want to and kept saying, "I'm scared, Mommy, I'm scared".  But we told him if he tried we would let him play one of his cousin's Nintendo DS's for a bit, and he miraculously found the courage he needed.

 He definitely loved swimming though.  I think he was in the water more than he was out of the water.  He really turned into a little fish this year and loved swimming under the dock.

It's always so fun at the cabin, and my kids cry and cry when it's time to go home.  It really is so sad.  Actually looking at all these pictures right now makes me sad.  I want to go back right now.  I honestly wish summer lasted forever.

Is summer over already?

Luke starts school in one week.  He's really excited.  I'm feeling... well... mixed emotions.  But that's a whole other story.  We have a had a really great summer and the boys have enjoyed the sunshine.  I can't stand that it's over.  I wish it was about 2 months longer.  

 We didn't make as many trips to the pond this summer as we normally do.  Partly because it's hard to do with how much Tyler naps  and how busy he is when we get there.  This picture was taken the day before my Mom broke her foot.  The pond sure is easier when you have one more adult around to help with all the craziness.  

 Every since the start of summer Luke has been dying to have a lemonade stand.  He was pretty excited to finally do it and they made some good money!  I'm pretty sure Bryson drank about 15 cups of lemonade and spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of the bathroom.

 One thing I LOVE about Bryson is he LOVES to dress-up.  He will wear anything and wear it around all day.  He and Luke were in the Barnwell parade this year dressed up as Mario and Luigi.  I will post the pictures as soon as I get them off Brandon's phone.

 The funnest addition at Grandma's house this summer was this go-kart.  The kids LOVE riding this around.  They do need a little adult supervision so they can't always drive it, but they always want to.  THe other day at breakfast Bryson said, "Mommy, what day is it?"  After I told him it was Wednesday he said, "Is Wednesday the day little boys get to drive the go-kart?"  Um... yes, I think we can do that today.

 Tyler was pretty excited to drive our little fire engine.  He felt pretty grown up and didn't want to get out.

 We spent a few nights out at the ranch with Aunt Vicki and he kids.  We spent  the day in elkwater and the kids had a blast.  It's a nice little beach for kids and they loved playing with their cousins.

Why does summer have to end?

Heritage Park

About a month ago we made a quick trip up to Calgary to take this kids to Heritage Park.  I have to say I LOVE Heritage Park.  It's seriously so fun and the kids love it.  We wanted to get there in June while everyone was still in school so that it wouldn't be as busy.  My days of being able to take my kids to do things like this during the school year are running out very quickly.  So sad.  

 It was fun for the kids to be able to be there with their cousins all day.  It was a little chilly that day, but it better than being too hot I guess.

 My kids love the ferry ride.  I would say they love the train ride more, but I somehow missed getting pictures of them on the steam engine this time around.

 The BEST part about Heritage Park is at the end of the day when Grandma gives each kid $2 to spend at the candy store.  Is there anything better than a lollipop that is almost the size of your head?  Bryson dropped his before he even got it unwrapped and this was all that was left.  He didn't mind and neither did I.

 You know you've had a fun day when this happens on the way home.  We had a great time and can't wait to go back to the "train park"

Birthday Boat

We were lucky enough to celebrate Bryson's birthday at the ranch with his cousins this year.  He had been asking for a boat cake for about a month, which I was happy with because it was easy enough to make.  He did say a couple of days before that he wanted something else, but I talked him back into the boat since I had already bought what I needed for it.

 There was never a 3 year old who was more excited for his birthday.  Luke's birthday is February 29th and Bryson is March 29th.  Every since  Luke's birthday he has been WAITING for his turn.  It was a long month, but worth the wait.

Bryson is so much fun and has recently gone through a little growth spurt.  I put his sunday clothes on last week, and all of a sudden his pants were too short.  It's a good this summer is coming so he can we shorts before opening up the next box of hand-me-downs.  He is a fun loving kid (with the occasional tantrum).  He is learning to share and is trying really hard not to nap anymore - which usually means he zonks at about 4:00.  He just wants to be a BIG boy so darn bad!

Easter at the Ranch

We were able to head out to the ranch for Easter with some of Brandon's family this year.  It was nice to have somewhere to go and forget about how depressing all of the snow was.  Having a huge sleepover with all your cousins is always a blast.  The kids had a great time, and the easter bunny even found us all the way out there.  Here's a few shots of the kids coloring easter eggs.

All the kids had so much fun playing together.  The weather was nice enough for the Dads to even spend some time shooting clay pigeons and I think they even found a spot with enough snow to do some tobogganing.

 Of course, there was a fair bit of napping going on as well.  This is what vacations are all about.  Is there ANYTHING better than taking a nap with your baby snoozing on your chest?  Sometimes I wish these days would last forever.

Here's a few pics of the kids waiting patiently on the stairs to go find easter eggs hidden all over the house.  It was a really fun weekend and we even managed to keep everyone healthy the whole weekend.

He's ALREADY three

I have to share this cute little story about Bryson before I forget.

So, Luke had his birthday a little over a week ago and the whole time I was getting things ready for him Bryson kept asking, “Where’s my presents?  Where’s my cake?  What about my birthday?”  It was really hard for him that ALL the presents at the party were for Luke and none for him.  And he doesn’t grasp the concept yet that his birthday is only a few weeks away.

Well, on Sunday I make a chocolate cake and decorated it all fancy for Sunday dinner.  He was convinced that it was his birthday cake.  He went around telling everyone that I made him a birthday cake.  When it was time to eat it he insisted that we put candles on it.  So we did and we sang happy birthday, and he blew them out.  No presents, just a cake with candles.  Well, now he thinks that he is 3.  Tonight at dinner I said to him, “Bryson how about you take 3 more bites since you are almost three.”  He looked up at me and said, “MOM, I am three”.  

So, if he thinks his birthday has come and gone, and he was totally happy with the celebrations (or lack thereof), should we still do a party on his actual birthday?

(I will, of course, still do a birthday party for him, but it is tempting...)