LOOOONG TIME!

I just LOVE basketball season.....as I do football season :). Basketball has always been my favorite sport to play. I had the BEST memories of playing basketball. Especially in high school, maybe not that actual playing part, but the friends I made and the experiences I had were priceless to me. Someday I should do a post just on that :)
It has been really fun watching Kace develop. It seems that by the end of the season they are just starting to really "get it".
His poor little team didn't win one game this year, but they had so much fun. Each day he would ask if they were having practice because he loved it so much. He was the fastest kid on the team and he probably had the best defense. He is finally getting that you have to work at something to become really good at it.

Nate coached Kace's team again along with Clint Payne. They did a really good job with the boys. I would have to go to practice to make sure that they didn't get after them too bad :).

When I was playing I did not do very well with a coach that yelled at me for all the mistakes I made, it made me afraid to make more mistakes and then I wouldn't play as hard as I should, because I knew I would be taken out if I messed up. Nate is very passionate and really gets into it, I just had to help him get into it with the positives as much as the negatives :). Kace doesn't respond the same way I do when it comes to types of coaches, but Ty is WAAAAAY more tender hearted and it will be harder with him.

I think Kace playing basketball was a very good thing for Ty. He is a very good dribbler now and loved to go to practice at the church with us. He really liked it when the Bishop showed up because then he got a treat. Anyone that knows Ty knows that the way to his heart is with a treat!
He loved going to the games and playing with the kids and running out to shoot baskets whenever the buzzer rang.

CALIFORN-I-A

Heidi gave me one week to get the post up from California and I know she will be surprised that it is up after only ONE DAY! Be impressed.

For Christmas our family was given a trip to California to do all sorts of fun things. We left this last Monday afternoon for the airport. Luckily for us my dad has airline tickets so we got to fly. My parents also have a timeshare so we had a place to stay as well :). We thought it only fair to invite them along for the ride and we were sure glad they did! After we got to LA we split up and they headed to Bakersfield to a farm show and we headed to Anaheim.
On Tuesday we went to Disneyland :). I don't think the boys knew quite what to expect other than what Grandma Jones told them. Kace was SUPER excited to ride the tower of terror........but we didn't go to California Adventure until Thursday.

Anyway, it was such nice weather and it wasn't crowded at all. We could just walk onto most any ride we wanted. Ty LOOOOVED the Matterhorn (understatement). He loved the abominable snowman that growls at you in it. He loved all the more 'adult' rides that went really fast. We kept teasing Kace about going on his "favorite ride" which was 'It's a small world' because that was his favorite the last time we went to Disneyland which was when he was almost one. He didn't like the teasing very much!

Kace's REAL favorite ride at Disneyland was space mountain. They were both exhausted by the time the day was over. Who am I kidding, we were ALL exhausted. But they were still excited to see Goofy (I kept getting mixed up on Pluto and Goofy and they were both quick to correct me!)

While we were waiting for one of the shows to watch Ty made a friend by the 'waterfall'. He seems to make friends wherever we go. He is such a friendly kid. They had a great time together laughing and splashing.

Mom and Dad came back to Anaheim on Tuesday night so they were with us the rest of the time.

On Wednesday before the whale watching cruise we hung out by the rocks and tried to see what we could see. Ty got splashed by a big wave that came up and got him wet. It reminded me of when we went to California when Carson was about his age and Carson got all wet. Ty's reaction was much the same as Carson's, but as soon as his shirt got taken off he was fine and starting being a "big stud boy" as he likes to call himself.

We all went over to this big rock to see what we could find......but mom.......she didn't want to get her pants or her shoes wet. She looks so alone way over there.

Then we did what Kace really wanted to do and went on a whale watching cruise. This was probably my favorite thing too. I will be honest, I wasn't too excited, but I would highly recommend.

Again, one of the nicest things was that there wasn't too many people and we were pretty much the youngest one on the boat. We figured that Ty would entertain all the older people. We weren't out very long before we saw our first dolphins. We were so excited, but little did we know what was to come. After about 1/2 hour there were thousands of them jumping and swimming all around us. It was SO AWESOME! I tried to take some pictures, but I don't think they do it justice as to how many there were.

If you blow the picture up you can see all the splashes of all the dolphins. Every white splash is one dolphin and for every dolphin you see there are 3-4 under the water. SO FUN!

After we went around with the dolphins for awhile we tried to find some whales, but didn't find any. We did find some seals and sea lions, but no whales. Kace wasn't too disappointed because we saw so many other things.

By the end of the trip we were all pretty worn out. I don't know why it is tiring to just stand there, but it is.

When we got back to the beach we went to the tide pools (it was now low tide) and searched for all the little critters that hang out there. This was Nate's favorite thing to do when he was younger.......and I think now too. Kace loved it too.

Kace is showing off his find. He worked for a long time trying to get this starfish off, which I am pretty sure you aren't supposed to remove (don't tell). Nate and Dad found some crabs and lots of other ocean stuff. :)

I don't know why Kace has to make a pose in EVERY picture, but he does, and we still love him!

We ate dinner that night at the Boiling Crab. It was interesting because you just picked the seafood that you wanted by the pound, they cook it, season it, and put it in a plastic bag for you to enjoy. Nate really really liked it. The rest of us thought that you had to work a lot for a little bit of meat. I had shrimp. Dad had crawfish. Nate had lobster and mom lived on the edge with fried catfish and fries. It was an experience!

The next day we went back to Disneyland and went to California Adventure. This was my favorite place! Maybe it was because I hadn't been there before, but there were so many fun things to do. Kace loved the tower of terror (that was my favorite ride too :) ) Ty loved it too. I was surprised, but every time I looked at him he was laughing his head off. Nate's favorite was the 'talking with Crush' and 'Soarin' over California'. Ty's was still the Matterhorn and we had to go back to Disneyland at the end of the day so he could ride on it one more time. Kace also liked the California Screamin' roller coaster.

Don't worry I took a picture of our picture :)

We also liked the Bug's life show. It was fun for everyone.

By the end of the day we were all totally worn out again. Who knew vacations were so tiring. Mom don't kill me with this picture. It is funny.

The next day we went swimming at the hotel and then went back to the beach. It was such a beautiful day. Nate and Kace went looking for creatures again. Ty wasn't so much into that and just wanted to play in the sand. They all liked 'running from the waves'. The water was SO COLD, but it was so nice outside that no one minded getting a little bit wet.

That night we went to a medieval times dinner show. This was also fun. It was a lot different than I thought it would be. When we got there we were all given crowns and told what knight we were supposed to 'cheer' on. Nate was worried that he wouldn't have enough food and would have to go to Taco Bell afterward to fill him up, but we were all stuffed by the time the evening was over. Ty and Kace loved the sword fights (although they were cheesy and fake) and loved cheering and yelling for 'our knight'. It was a fun fun time.

And now our trip is over and I have a TON of laundry to do.

Kace at school

Sorry for the post with no pictures.

So I always had crushes during elementary school (in fact I think I started before) so I don't know why I was surprised when I was helping in Kace's class yesterday and a little girl came up and told me that she liked Kace. I asked her if any of the other girls liked him and she said, yes.....Emma, Andrea, and Ruthie. So in this day in age I guess you just go up to the parent and tell them that you have a crush on your kid.......what happened to the big secrecy of someone passing a note and asking to check the box? She also told me that Ethan and Emily were boy friend and girl friend. That triggered me that I needed to have a talk with my dear son Kace.

So on the way home from school I asked Kace if he knew of any girls in his class that liked him. He said, "Yes.......Marijka, Emma, Andrea and Ruthie." So he knew of all of them (Nate calls them Kace's harem.) I then asked him how he knew they had crushes on him. He said that they just come up and tell him......again what happened to the notes with the checking of the boxes (most of the other stuff that he comes home and tells me is the EXACT SAME as when I was in Elem.........the same jokes, the same songs, the same fascination with BOONDOGGLES. He came home with boondoggles yesterday and was so excited that I KNEW how to do them. That was something he didn't know about me :) ) Anyway, I asked him if he liked any of them and he said a NO with a disgusted look on his face. I asked him what he says when they ask him and he said that he says in his mind, "Oh...COME ON!" (Anyone who knows Kace can imagine him saying this.) Then he just says, "oh" and walks away.

Very glad that he isn't interested in girls in SECOND GRADE.

Where did FOUR years GO?!

I seriously can't believe he is four years old. It seems just like yesterday, or at least last year that I was looking like this and heading to the hospital.
Nate and I were talking just the other day how boring life would be without Tydon. We are very blessed to have him in our family.

Here are some fun facts about Ty the Guy at four years old:

*He LOOOOOOVES spiderman. In case you aren't a frequent reader of this blog, he actually believes at times that he is spiderman. Iron man comes in a close second. He has costumes for both superheroes, but has gloves, multiple masks, and boot covers for spiderman. He is a bit of a fanatic!

*He loves pizza and cereal. He would eat cereal for every meal if I would let him.

*He loves to sit really close to the TV with his legs like this. I always have to remind him to scoot back. Not only does he watch TV sitting like this (with the weird leg position), but he sits in general like this.

*He still does not like to get into trouble. I think this is one of the things I love best about him. He has such a tender, sensitive heart. Every time he gets into trouble he thinks that I am yelling at him. I could be whispering, but he still thinks I am yelling. He tries very hard to make good choices. He does not like being in time out. I only have to say once, "Ty go to the bathroom." (that is where our time out is) and he runs there crying. He also doesn't really make the same mistake twice.

* He says very sweet prayers always remembering his mom and dad and his big brother Kace. He says prayers by himself when he loses his toys for help in finding them.

*He loves playing with Kace and tries to copy him. I am so glad Kace is so patient.

* He LOOOOVES to go to Grandpa Andrew's to ride on the tractors with Cort. He doesn't care how cold it is, he wants to go out. He loves loves loves tractors. He also loves playing with cars and race tracks.

You can tell how happy they were to stop so I could take a picture :)

* He loves to play with his friends. He really loves playing with Tanner and Summit and Thomas. He really likes going to Kace's games to play with River (I am glad there is a playmate there or it would get really LOOONG for him!)

*He is a pretty big kid and a pretty rough kid. He thinks he is being soft and tries to be soft, but isn't so much. He gives GREAT hugs!

*He loves to jump and be a daredevil. Like most kids he has no fear. He had his first broken bone this past year.

*He loves all colors and changes his favorite color every time I ask him.

*He loves to go shopping and try on clothes. When I go with him we have to go to the dressing room so he can try it on. He then jumps up and down saying that he loves it. (very different from Kace who could care less and definitely wouldn't waste time trying it on).

*He has a very loud voice. Even when he is trying to be quiet he is not.

*He loves balls of all kind. He can't wait until it is warm so we can go outside to play 'bat and ball'. He loves football and basketball too.

*He has been so much fun this past Christmas and birthday because he gets so excited (understatement) for his presents. He jumps up and down and everything is "just what he wanted". It is so much fun to buy things for. I have to restrain myself.

*His favorite thing for his birthday was his cake. I think he looked at it most of the day. I would come downstairs and just find him staring. He could hardly wait to come home and get his cake. It made it worth it! We also went to Kace's first basketball game (that is a post in and of itself) and then to Chuck E Cheese and THEN (finally) home for his cake and ice cream.

We love our TY!

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.