Christmas 2010

Since it has been ONE MONTH since I last posted there is a major picture overload. We had such a fun holiday season. Ty and Kace were so fun. Especially Ty, he is so much fun to give things too. Even clothes. Everything is 'his favorite' or 'just what he wanted' and he gets so excited. I love it.
We went to the Spencer family Christmas party in early December and both boys were super excited to see Santa. As soon as he came in the door Ty ran up to him and gave him a hug and tell him just what he wanted (this is before Santa even had a chance to come into the family room and sit down). Then he had to sit front and center, trying to wait very patiently until his name was called (notice Ty....and Joey WAAAAAY in the front and everybody else sitting back :) ). It was so much fun!

While we were at the Christmas party Dad was telling Nate how much he wished he would have taken his boys pheasant hunting more when they were younger. So Nate got the great idea that they should just go now. Novel idea! So Dad, Cort, Nate and Kace (Brandon had to work so he couldn't come) came over and went pheasant hunting (on the hunting club's land so it was legal....and shooting Ryan's pheasant's because they didn't get to go on Thanksgiving because it was so blasted cold). They had fun and shot lots of birds.

We also got to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with David Archuletta. It was GREAT! I was sooooo excited when I got tickets (even though I really didn't even know about it until Jessica called and told me to try and get them). So of course when they came in the mail I jumped on the phone to tell Nate. The response I got......"Oh. Really." So I figured that I would just be giving them away or take some of the YW with me. But five minutes later he called me back and said, "So, you seemed like you really wanted to go to that concert (really?).....If you want I will go with you." So we went with Dave and Kierstin and had a GREAT time. I think Nate even said it was good (music and concerts really isn't something he enjoys a whole lot). I am really appreciative that he went with me. He must really love me :). Thanks to Kami and Erik for watching the boys. Sorry that they wore you out and made you so tired!

On Christmas Eve afternoon we headed up to Nate's parents for a party. We did a service project and ate good food and had a pinata and watched a dvd about Christ and exchanged gifts with all who were there. It was so much fun! Both boys were so excited because these were their first gifts.

The real entertainment came when Mac decided to serenade us with his ballerina skills and did leaps and twirls around the room. Only Mac would do this :) This is the best picture I got. It doesn't capture the best, but it will have to do.

We got home in time to do some of the traditions that we like to do with our own little family. I worried that the boys wouldn't get to sleep, but they did.......finally.
One of the traditions my family always did even though it wasn't a named one was that we always had a family prayer before we went into the front room to see what we got. My dad always said that prayer (or so it seemed) and it was the LOOOOONGEST prayer EVER! So we always gather in mine and Nate's room and have a prayer and then go down together. Needless to say, Kace woke up at three thirty and just read by the light of his night light. He came into our room at six and then I let him wake Ty up at six thirty. My mom always used to tell us stories while we were waiting for our dad to come in (from chores......this was when we were pretty young and didn't go out to milk and help with chores on Christmas morning), so i told Kace the story about the boy with no ears during this time. Remember that mom?!

The boys got tired of our excuses why we shouldn't go down yet. They were getting anxious!

For Christmas this year our family got a trip California and to Disneyland and a chance to go whale watching. We leave in February. This was the Santa present. The boys went on a scavenger hunt and found little clues along the way. They got an airplane, sea animals, sunglasses and the last clue was Mickey Mouse ears. The boys refused to wear the hats for the picture. Rude.

We are now switching off between Spiderman and Iron Man. Ty got all sorts of Iron Man stuff.

Kace got some new sweats (anyone who knows Kace knows that he LOVES sweats and wears them whenever he can). He also got some walkie-talkie's, Bionicles and K-nex sets.

I think Nate's favorite present was his milk from Gossner's. I got him 6 boxes of flavored milk. Mango, Cookies and Cream, Orange cream, Strawberry, Chocolate and another kind that I can't remember right now.

Brandon gave me some shoes...........cute, aren't they? I gave him a very detailed list :)

I have to include this because I thought it was so funny. Cort wanted some art work for his apartment and Heidi and Clayton had his name. So this is what he got. HAHAHAHA It makes me laugh just thinking about it.......and looking at it. His face says it all. hehehe

I was very excited to have Brandon and spent the last six months searching for random BYU stuff on ebay, amazon, basically anywhere I could find it. So he got some BYU bowls and plates for his trousseau (boys need those too), an awesome BYU hat (with fur on the top and ear flaps),

a BYU toilet seat cover
and my favorite was probably the least expensive. Nate even laughed when it came in the mail even though...."Utah players are sons of our Father in Heaven too" and blah blah blah. You might have to blow up the picture to see what it is.

ONE MORE..........Kami and Erik got Ty and Kace this little kid drum set. Erik's sister Kathrin found it for them and they have been storing it in their basement for awhile. The boys love playing Erik's drums. Now they get to play their own. Believe me, when the shed gets done they will be going out there :)

And that was Christmas 2010.

Funny Ty

The other day I went to tuck Ty into bed and noticed that he had made a special bed on the floor by his bed for his action figures (spidermans and trucks). He had given them his special spiderman pillow and a blanket and even his Elmo to sleep with. I couldn't help but laugh, which he didn't like very much so I stopped laughing. He kissed them all good night (his friends) and then went to bed. I love this age, it is so much fun!

Notice he even tucked his trucks in a little bit. :)

It is funny because last week he was really into his cars (named red speed and blue speed) that his friend Summit let him borrow. He had the rest of his cars split into 'families'. We had the 'blue family' the 'red family' the 'yellow family' and the 'green family' AND the 'BIG family'. But I made him give the cars back and so he is now into his 'friends' and plays with them every day.

Perspective on Halloween......a month later

they are sure posers :)

Halloween. I am going to be honest. Not my favorite holiday. Now I do like it, because I love all holidays and days that are made to be different from the everyday, but overall........not my favorite.
Ty, naturally had his costume picked out months ahead and was indeed SPIDERMAN. No one had to really question. By Halloween his costume had approximately 5+ holes, snags, etc in it. It is definitely loved and the best $10 I EVER spent!
I gave Nate the assignment of taking Kace to get his costume one night. They came home with this scary looking thing with bones 'sticking' out of it. It was weird, but Kace was sure excited it. He likes the scary part of Halloween.

On Friday was Kace's school's costume parade so Ty and I went to see all the kids and their costumes (Ty was in his spiderman costume like he is most days.......so he didn't even need to dress up). I thought this picture was funny. He found ANOTHER SPIDERMAN (gasp!)

We went to our ward Halloween party on Friday night and had a nice dinner and had a trunk or treat. Ty was like a kid in heaven. I don't really know what Kace thought because he ran off with his friends and wasn't seen until it was over. Naturally. But when I did see him, he ran up to me and exclaimed, "I went through NINE times!" He had a big grin on his face and was so proud of himself. I was mortified..........NINE times? Then he told me that he was awarded the most 'scary costume' award, which he was very proud of.

This picture was at the costume parade. I love it because you can see Ty in the background and he is so excited to see his brother. He kept talking (well more like yelling. Anyone who knows Ty knows that he isn't very quiet!) and saying, "THERE'S MY BROTHER!" It was very cute. Ty's good friend Summitt is with him.

Once Ty got the hang of it, he was literally running through the parking lot and was SO EXCITED about the candy. I wish I had taken a picture of him with his candy. He was so excited.

The next night we took the kids trick or treating to the older people in the ward and those that we didn't see at the party. I just couldn't let the actual trick or treating part of Halloween die. I think they liked that more than the trunk or treating. Now we STILL have a big bag of candy sitting on top of the fridge waiting for whoever wants it.

family pics 2010

The day before Spiderman (I mean, "the boy with costume".......that is what Ty says when you call him spiderman) broke his arm we had family pictures taken. My mom FINALLY decided that it was time. It has been 10 years. I agree it was time :) So Kathrin (Kami's sister in law) was nice enough to brave us. She came up earlier so that we could get some family pictures of our family and some of Kace and Ty.



The first thing Nate saw when we got to the train station was this pumpkin man. Kathrin started to laugh because Erik had just had his picture taken with the pumpkin man. I had to laugh because the shirt (flannel plaid) the pumpkin man is wearing, I swear, was taken from Nate's closet. Before I met him he used to wear it to CHURCH. Are you KIDDING me :)



In most of the pictures you can definitely see Ty saying CHEEEEEEESE. They were not the best picture takers. Kathrin took about 500+ pictures that night and well over 300 were just of my family.

We just couldn't have pictures without a super hero pose. Anyone guess what Ty is doing with his hands?




Nate really does love his kids, even though he looks like he is in PAIN!


Kace 8 years old


Tydon 3 years old



Boys are weird. I have no idea where Erik was when they all started doing this, but I am certain that he would have hopped right on.


I swear we are the most closing eyes family EVER. In nearly EVERY PICTURE there is SOMEONE with their eyes closed.





Cute parents :)


I love my sisters :) Doesn't mom look like a sister too!


Dad and his soccer team :) love it!

Since we are a BYU family we had to have a BYU picture. Tydon made the same blasted face in every one of these. And naturally Cort has his eyes closed.

uh, oh. Spiderman is at it again!

Last Monday started out just like any other Monday, Ty was outside playing spiderman on the rope. He LOOOOVES spiderman.

Anyway, Ty was outside playing and I was in the house vacuuming when he came in screaming that he broke his arm. I, of course, said to myself, "Ya, right." I picked him up and carried him to his bed (when he gets hurt or gets in trouble he wants to go to bed) and got him his bear blanky and his sippy cup with milk (his comforts). The only problem was that he wouldn't move his left arm at all. If I bumped it he screamed. If I tried to move it he screamed. I knew something was probably wrong when I pulled his blankets up and laid them on his arm and the pressure of the blankets hurt. So I called Nate's mom (nurse Donene) and asked if there was any way to tell if his arm was broken without going in, she said no, that I had to go in and get x-rays. So we headed to Logan. We got there and got some x-rays but the doc couldn't see any fractures on them so we headed for home with the promise that he would call us later that afternoon after the radiologist had looked at them.

Poor Ty the guy.

When I got home I got a call from Nate (he had been hunting) and he asked if I specifically asked the doctor to check if it was dislocated. I had completely forgotten about that. Donene had mentioned this too and I was going to ask him about it, but just forgot. So I called him back and actually got to talk to the doctor (that never happens) and he said that he was so sorry, that he didn't check it, and that it was a real possibility. He said to bring him back in. So back to Logan we went.
Thinking about this part makes me want to cry. It was awful. We went into the exam room and he grabbed Ty's elbow with one hand and started twisting, pulling and pushing his arm trying to get it to pop. He tried it THREE TIMES. Ty was SCREAMING. It never popped. He then called the radiologist and came back in and said, "I'm so sorry. There was a fracture." He then wrapped it and gave us a sling and told us to put this on when he will let us bend his arm (after a few days) and then to wear it for 2 weeks. No need to make an appointment. I thought this was a little bit odd.

When we got home that night Kace was the only one that could get him to smile. He is such a great big brother. He was doing crazy tricks and trying to get Ty to laugh. It worked, thank goodness.

I had Kace swing on the rope to mimic what Ty was doing. They stand up by the tree and then swing down the hill. It was when he was swinging back up that he fell.

The next day his arm still really hurt and he didn't really want to do anything. I had talked to a couple of friends and Nate's mom and they all said it was really weird that he would do this and not cast it or anything. So I called Dr. Hicken, he got us in in 30 minutes, spotted the fracture right away and got a cast on (he picked black.........I was really worried he would pick pink, but black it is). And away we went.

As a side note. Ty told me that if he would have been wearing his spiderman costume then he would NOT have fallen off the rope (since he was swinging through the air like spiderman). We had to have the talk (again) that SPIDERMAN IS NOT REAL!

He is much happier now and his arm doesn't hurt. He hasn't complained at all about the cast like I thought he would. We have survived the first broken bone at our house. On the way home from the doctor Ty said that he would not drink so much juice and drink more milk so his bones wouldn't break :) I thought Grandpa would like that!

Our friend Krissy came over to see Ty after YW a couple of days after it happened. As you can see Ty loves Krissy!

I am old!

I knew this day was coming and I had tried preparing for it. We had dedicated at least 2 FHE's to baptism and discussing what was going to happen. I took Kace to his friend Christian's baptism the month before and couldn't think about anything else and couldn't stop crying. It really hit me then how important this step is for our eternal progression. However, when the morning of his baptism came I wasn't my best self (gasp). I started getting stressed out with thinking that I had sooooo much to do and not enough time to get it done. I got mad that they left their clothes on the floor after showering (at least they showered), got mad at Nate for disappearing into the shed to clean it (I thought the things I had to do were more important and he should be helping me.........selfish, I know), got mad that Kace didn't want to wear the new clothes I got him and chose to wear the too tight, floody pants. Mother of the year award I know. I am still feeling bad.

When we got to the baptism I started to simmer down and not freak out so much. Kace was so excited to be baptized and I just wanted to enjoy the spirit of that, but it is hard to feel the spirit when you have been like I was all morning. Not good. I want to cry just thinking about it. It wasn't until he came out of the water that the thought came to my mind "This is what is important......all that other stuff, doesn't matter." I know this is true. It really puts things into perspective.
Anyway, when he came out of the water he had a look about him that I don't ever want to forget, he had a look of pure joy. He was literally glowing. He looked up with a big grin first to his Grandpa Jones and then to his Grandpa Andrew. It was a great experience. I hope he remembers that and the way he felt rather then the mess of that morning.

Anyway, then we went to another room for the confirmation. (sorry if you read this part on Donene's blog, but I can't leave it out!) I was asked to bear my testimony and then he was confirmed and then anyone else who wanted to say something was invited to stand and bear their testimony or say whatever they wanted. So, my parents, Nate's parents and Nate all bore their testimonies. After the 3 person, Ty said that he wanted to go up and say thank you for his monster trucks (they had been playing monster trucks that morning) and I told him that he could say that in his prayer (he had been asked to say the closing prayer). But before I knew it Ty was walking to the front of the room, very slowly, deliberately and VERY sincerely. He turned around and said, "I just want to say, thank you for my monster trucks." Everyone started giggling and laughing and he was devastated. I didn't really want him to say that because I didn't want the spirit to be gone from the room with the laughing, but he was so sincere and innocent. He was just saying what he was thankful for. He then came back crying and hid under my chair until it was time for the prayer.
When it was time for the prayer I went up to give support (He could say the prayer all by himself, but he said he wanted me to come up with him) and knelt down by him so I could whisper in his ear if he needed help. He promptly knelt down next to me and said a very nice prayer (he didn't forget his monster trucks, don't worry).

We then came over to our house for some food..........it all turned out. I don't know what I was worrying about. This whole experience was a great learning experience for me. I will definitely try harder not to worry about things that aren't important and just enjoy the moment with my family. It turned out to be a great day with a lot of experiences that I don't want to ever forget :)
Sorry this is so long, but I didn't want to leave anything out of my 'journal'. Stay tuned for activities that happened a couple of days later :)

Somebody's special day :)

Kace just had his birthday. Not just any birthday, but his EIGHTH birthday. So special :) He was so excited. We celebrated at the Jones' on Sunday with the meal of his choice and of course presents :). He got a journal, book, money and a tie tack. Then on Monday some of the Andrew family came over to celebrate. Nate and I got him a bike. We were going to just get him new puncture proof tires (because they are ALWAYS flat), but a new bike was only $20 more.
When I was a kid we loved playing and competing against each other in tetherball. I suggested to my mom that Kace would like a tetherball thing. So she painted and fixed up our old one, got a new ball and it was a hit. Kami even tried to beat me. Didn't happen.

My family has an interesting tradition. I don't know when it started or why, but for the birthday song we always sing as crazy and loud and off key as possible. The first time Kace heard it (and Ty too) I think they were frightened, but now they just laugh and "sing" along. I have included a video, but keep in mind that Cort, Erik, Heidi and Clayton (always key participants) were missing, so it wasn't as good as it normally is, but you will get the idea. I am not for certain if Nate and Grandma (my grandma) like the tradition, because they always sing normal or not at all. Party poopers :)






Nate really wanted to try out the new bike. You should zoom up and see the look on his face, it is pretty funny.

Had to include a picture of Ty, who could resist this kid :)