Tubing

Thanks Grandma for taking us, and for helping with Keener! We had fun!

Candlelight Christmas 2011

We went to Candlelight Christmas this year with both sets of grandparents.

Updates...

I just sent out a Christmas email and directed everyone to come here to read updates....to be honest I'm usually a year behind! I turn this blog into a book every year, but I have a year to procrastinate because I publish the previous year. Eventually I get to it, and that's the most important thing, right?

So what is our family up to these days? Here goes:

Randy: Randy is in his last year of residency (he will graduate June 2012). He has a Cytopathology fellowship lined up for the following year and we will officially be done June 2013. His hours are very nice and he has a lot of flexibility. He likes the work that he does, but residency has taken its toll and we'll be glad to be done. He will start the job search in the Fall. We actually tried very earnestly to apply for active duty military over the summer, but there weren't pathology positions available. We'll try again this summer...we'll keep you posted. If he had more funds, you'd find him training for triathlons. Someday, right? The boys adore Randy and he is my hero. I know that sounds cheesy, but those words couldn't be truer.

Nancy: I love being a mom. I don't love the laundry and the housework that goes with it, but even that's not too bad when I keep up. I'm a room mom in Andrew's classroom, I teach a co-op preschool with Joshy, and I serve in the Stake Primary as secretary. I'm not much of a multi-tasker, so I keep things pretty simple so I have time for the essentials. I love going to classes at the gym on most days and you'll catch me often listening to the Mormon Channel & Dave Ramsey on my MP3 player.

Andrew (7): Andrew is in the second grade. His teacher, Mr. C, is so much fun. He understands the mind of 7-year-old boys well and he makes learning and being at school a blast. Andrew comes home saying the craziest things sometimes. He has quite a few buddies in our neighborhood and they ride the bus together which I am grateful for. Andrew is a jokester, he loves to come up with funny things to make people laugh. He has a "roll-with-the-punches" personality and he doesn't let things bother him. He is a great helper, he loves to tote little Connor around. To get ready for his baptism in June, he's been memorizing the Articles of Faith. His Christmas wish this year is a live goldfish and a camera.

Joshy (5): Joshy is my middlest child and he plays the part well. We have a little "time-out" spot in our living area and he spends a good portion of his day sitting there. He is very loving and it is imperative that he gets in some cuddling time everyday. He is still obsessed with his Grandmas. He is passionate about life and when he has his mind set on something, he'll move heaven and earth to accomplish it. He is a little sponge and is learning like crazy. He is learning to read and he can count to 100. His Christmas wish this year is a green anaconda (8 feet, plush) and a camera.

Connor (15 months): Connor is a joy. We all just love on that baby. He's cruising the furniture, but he hasn't taken his first steps yet. He gets feisty when his toy gets taken away or he is diverted from what he's doing, but other than that, he is a mellow baby. When he hears the dishwasher open, he makes a beeline for it - he loves to pull out all the silverware. He likes to be near us and follows his brothers around wherever they go.

Happy Birthday Josh!

Scovil Christmas Party

11 Years

Happy Anniversary, Randy! Because of you, I believe in miracles.

Lights @ Temple Square

Darn it, we didn't get any pictures with Brad and his family, but we were able to meet up for dinner and lights @ Temple Square with Brad Labrum (our missionary) and his family. We're making plans to surprise my mom when she comes into town for Christmas.

Look What I Made!

This will be for the boys for Christmas. I scoured the internet trying to find a pattern that I liked with decent instructions and came across a blog of a crafty girl that ended up publishing this tutorial in a book, "Bend the Rules Sewing" by Amy Karol. It happened to be in our local library, so we checked it out. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Bodily Functions Are So Funny

Some things I know about boys (generally speaking):

They love to tease. They especially love it when they get a good "eye roll" from their mother/wife/sister. The teasing usually involves some sort of bodily function. I've told my boys that they need to respect girls and that they don't think it's funny. Joshy replied, "Only boys do?"

Yes, from my personal experience, boys think bodily functions are hilarious. Even baby Connor does. The other day Andrew (sweet and otherwise very responsible) wrote F - A - R - T in huge letters (each letter took up one square of the sidewalk) in our neighbor's patio. He thought he was being funny. We had to have a little talk about vandalism and vulgar language. He had to wash it off and apologize, but it still makes me laugh inside when I think about it.

At church on Sunday during Sacrament Meeting, when it was quiet, Joshy sniffs and says in a not-quiet voice with a smirk on his face, "It smells like fart." He looks at me when he says this because he knows he'll get the desired reaction. Seriously, I don't know how that child is still alive today. Earlier that morning, at 5 am, he comes bursting into our bedroom, and yells, "Mom! You didn't give me Number Hugs!" I'm still mad at him for being awoken so rudely. To explain, Number Hugs are hugs that Randy and I give the boys every night. They tell us how many hugs they want and then we hug them that many times. Andrew asks for 8 and Josh asks for Pi (3.14) most nights. I don't know how it started, but it's become an essential bedtime ritual. Randy put the boys to bed the night before, and apparently I forgot.

Connor Waved

Randy comes home for lunch most days, which we all love. We need a "Daddy" break in our day. When he left today, I was trying to get Connor to wave goodbye and he did! Randy had already closed the door so I called him back to show him that Connor could wave, but of course he wouldn't perform. It's too bad, because he was really cute.

Josh's Art Classes

We didn't put Josh in preschool this year. Instead, we did a co-op with another mom and signed him up for art classes at Tanner Arts for a semester. Josh came home with so many amazing projects and he loved it. It was nice to be able to walk over to the studio, it's just across the bridge.

Bowling!

We don't get to do this very often because it's too pricey, but USA Housing had a free bowling day, we were all over it!

Natural History Museum

We went to the opening of the new Natural History Museum today. It is practically in our backyard, we were able to walk there. It was crazy buys, and I hate crowds, but the boys had fun. My verdict: Some cool things, but I think we'd get more out of it when the boys are a couple years older.

Rachel, Isaiah Halverson, Andrew, Josh

Leaf rubbings

First Word

Connor said his first real word today. When I went to hand him a banana, he got very excited and said "Na-na!"

Speaking of bananas. Connor eats a lot of them. He's in that picky eating phase. It's not so much that he's picky about what he eats, but he needs to have absolute control over what he eats. He can eat a banana whole all by himself, so he'll choose that over something else that I have to feed to him with a spoon. Little stinker.