Cleaning The Boy's Room

I've been cleaning out the boy's room.  They don't want to share a room anymore.  It's so sad.
Jason has always called the Lego/piano room "his" room, but now he wants to make it official.  They want us to break apart the bunk beds and let them have their own rooms. 
They argue at night, and have a hard time claiming responsibility for the community mess, so it might be time.
So, I've been going through the toys.  I'm trying to get things cleared out so they have room to wiggle in their new separate rooms.

Bringing out the toys made them more fun.  I was laughing at how much fun Allie and her friends had playing a fishing game, Hungry Hippos, and some alien game we've had for years.

Pongo Needs a Tracking Device

I've told you that Jason has been totally obsessed with Pongo ever since he got him for Christmas.  (Pongo is a small stuffed penguin).  He takes Pongo everywhere he goes in the house, and consequently, Pongo gets left and "lost" several times a day.  I always suggest that Jason return to the last place he was whenever he is in search of the missing penguin and he's always surprised to find Pongo patiently waiting. I've heard "Mom! You always know where to find him!  I thought he was lost forever!" more times than you'd think I'd hear that phrase.

I don't know how long this current phase will last, but it is cute.
Tonight, he made a little spot for all his favorites.  Allie recently gave him her big eye collection.  The owls are his new favorites. (3rd, 4th, and 5th, to Baby Penguin and Pongo's 1st and 2nd places in his heart.)

Love this boy of mine.

Back Up Camera

I was waiting for Jake to get in the car to take him to his friend's house.  I was sitting in the garage with the car in reverse, wondering what was taking him so long.  When I looked into the back up camera and saw this...

I don't know why I find it so funny, but it totally cracks me up.
Oh Charlie, you poor pup.  These kids torment you so.

Missing the Bus

My boys miss the bus about 6 times in 10 these days.  I don't know why we can't make it.  It's ridiculous.  The bus stop is right in front of our house.  What is our problem?  

Luckily, the bus driver goes up the canyon for a kid, so we can have an extra ten to fifteen minutes and then head over to the last stop and they can get a ride from there.  It's still a pain to get loaded in the car though, so it would be nice if we could stop this craziness.

So, although this is a pointless post, I remember watching Nathan put his shoes on (after the bus had left, so we had all the time in the world) and I looked over at his cute face and I just had to get a picture.  Isn't this the cutest little 8 year old face?!  I love this kid.  He can shoot a dozen questions at you in 2 minutes and yet still have time to spout out football facts as you try to think of an answer for the first two questions he asked.
He's always up for an adventure and he's just so fun to be around.  He recently perfected shoe tying and he loves to do his own hair.  We'll have to get pictures of that next.  :)

Playing Catch Up

I was really behind on blogging and didn't get to most of September, any of October and then really most of November and December.  So, I have finally started to play catch up and there are lots of posts to read.  I didn't want to lose the dates though or I'd be really confused about what happened when.  So, if you want to read the posts, you're going to have to either scroll down really far, or go to the side bar that says 2019 and open up August, September and so on to read what I've updated.  There are a few new posts in August, but it mostly starts in September.  I still have November and December to do, but wanted to get these published now.  Have fun!

Tug of War Ultimate Champ

Charlie loves to play tug of war.  I don't always love to sit with him and fight over who wins the rope.  He got a new rope for Christmas because he ate his old one.

 This rope has a loop at the end of it and I discovered the perfect move.  I put that loop on my leg and suddenly, Charlie has an unbeatable opponent.  He can tug all he wants, and I can still do dishes.

He doesn't always think it's fair, but hey, sometimes you get to win and sometimes you go up against the ultimate champ and you have to walk away with your head held high.

Uncooperative

The boys are both growing in an impressive set of front teeth.  It's a funny stage of life and I wanted to get a picture of them both giving me a cheesy grin, but Jason couldn't be bothered with looking up from his paper.  

 Nathan waited patiently and so did I...until I wasn't patient anymore.  Jason still wouldn't look up, so we didn't get a picture.  This is what you get...

Maybe we can try in a day or two.  Stinker.

Weekend Fun

Mike woke up on Saturday feeling generous.  He's down to one snowmobile right now, so he can't really take the kids out for a roar, so he offered to take anyone who wanted to go, skiing.

Nathan was more than happy to go, and so was Jake.

Allie wasn't feeling the best, so she opted to stay home and Jason wanted to play in his basketball game.

So, I took him to that.

He came really close to making a basket (in practice).
And, he had a great time playing.

Nathan and Jacob had a great time at Cherry Peak.  We had some free passes, so that makes the day even better.

They stuck together a bit, but for the most part, they rode on their own.  Cherry Peak is a great resort for that.  Small enough not to worry about Nater Tot on his own, but big enough that they still have fun all day.

I got a lot done at home.  I had put away all the Christmas decor, but I hadn't put away the boxes.  I finally did that.
I also started to decorate above the cabinets.  I'm still on the fence about leaving it plain up there.  I'll see how I like it this week.

It's been a great week!  The kids are looking forward to the super bowl.  I can't believe it's already February.  Time flies when you're having fun!

Sunday Happenings

Jason and Nathan had a good church day today.  It was testimony meeting and a few kids got up.  I guess Jason was inspired to get up because he started to walk past me.  I stopped him and asked what he was doing...
Jason: I'm goin' up.  I'm just going to do it.
Me:  Oh.  Okay.  Let's just wait until this sister is done talking and then you can go.  What are you going to say?
Jason: I'm just going to say that I love this church, and I love my family, and I am excited to get baptized this year.  I'm going to be so nervous!  I am so nervous.
Me:  You'll be great.
Jason:  I don't know what's going on.  I'm out of my head!  I'm going to be so nervous!

The woman bearing her testimony went long and then the time was up by the time she was done.  The Bishop was closing the meeting by the time Jason got past me and into the isle.  I tried to pull him back, but the Bishop said "was Jason coming up?  Come on up Jason!" So he scurried up there.  He said "I just want to say that the church is true.  I love my family, and (pause, pause, heavy breathing into the mic) I can't wait to be baptized. I love the church".
Then he came rushing down to me, clenching his fists, shaking his head, blushing furiously.  It was the cutest thing you've ever seen.
As soon as he sat down, he said "I was so nervous, I forgot how I was going to say it all."  Someone leaned back and told him he did a good job, and he proceeded to tell her how nervous he was and what he had intended to say, but forgot as soon as he got up there.
It was just the cutest thing ever.  I love that Jason boy.

Nathan had a talk today in primary.  This was his talk:
"This is a poem from The Friend magazine.
Following the Liahona
One morning, Lehi's family found a special compass small and round.  When they chose to disobey, the compass wouldn't show the way.  But when they followed God's command, he sent them toward the promised land.
1st Nephi 16:10 'And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass.  And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.'
The Lord is our guide as we live on this earth.  When we are feeling lost, we can ask him to guide us.  We have to be obedient, and do the things we need to be doing to hear His guidance, but I know He is always there for us."  Then he bore a simple and short testimony.
He did a great job.  I've got cute boys. 

On another note, it was the superbowl too.  We were rooting for the Chiefs because we didn't want the 49er's to win.  :)

It was a fun night for the kids.

Ready For Anything...

It may seem like the only pictures I've taken lately are of sleeping kids or Charlie, and that's because it is true.  It's depressing how few pictures I have to work with when I go to blog.

So, you have to take what you can get.  And, here's what  you get...Nathan battle ready.  Don't let those closed eyes fool you.  He's here to protect me because Mike is out of town.

Intruders, beware...