Funny Sayings

Here are a couple of funny things the boys have said in the last few weeks.

Spencer (upon hearing that we were going to the movies):
"Dad, can I get one of those 'flushy' things?" - (flushies = slushies)

Let's just hope that "flushies" are nothing like swirlies!

Dallan (upon walking outside from church to the car in 100+ degree heat):
"Mommy, somebody doing fire."

Carson (when being asked to say doggy):
"[[grunt]]" - yeah, Carson doesn't say much!

Our Trip to HOLLAND (sort of)

(****Sorry there are lots of pictures but we might not ever make it back to HOLLAND!)

This was the funnest part of our Iowa State trip. Ryan has always complained (maybe whined) that I have never let him go to Holland with me, so now he can never say it again! While we were in Iowa we went to a town called Pella. It is an old Dutch settlement in the middle of Iowa (of all places)! It was so fun. All the store fronts in Pella have to be decorated with a Dutch theme. Even the Walmart had a Dutch looking storefront (my Aunt Ellie would be so exited, when they come over that is one of their favorited places). So here is how the trip went.....

It was so pretty. They had the largest working windmill in North America (go figure), so of course we took the tour.

Ryan was very impressed! After our windmill tour we went to the museum where we saw the wooden shoe making process (kind of boring:))

LOOK!! We even took pictures together trying on wooden shoes (don't mind the fact that I am 14 years old and in the REAL Holland).

It was so pretty. We missed the Tulip festival by 2 weeks. We also went to a Dutch bakery to get lunch and of course got some Stroop Waffles to take home to my parents.

What a handsome dutchman!

Graduation Day!!!!!

For those of you that may not know, Ryan has been taking Distance Education classes (online classes) through Iowa State University since Fall 2004. He always took the summer off so as not to get too burned out. And now, finally, he is done. He received his master's degree in information assurance.
His classes were taught by a wide range of teachers including the stuttering Chinese man,

the near-monotone,

and the nice lady with a lisp.

To complete his degree, we flew to Iowa for his in-person oral examination.

In typical Ryan style, he was working on the presentation right up until the time he gave it. The presentation went well and the graduate committee decided that Ryan passed! It was definitely time to hit up the Iowa State bookstore and show our Cyclone pride.

We enjoyed the ISU campus and the scenery.

Due to some remodeling, the Computer Engineering faculty offices were located in the Nuclear Engineering Lab building, where a nuclear reactor had been decommissioned within that last few years.

Here is a picture from the back entrance. They certainly spare no expenses for computer geeks.

So, finally...the five year journey is over. Gone are the late-nighters and all-nighters. Gone are the days of taking the kids out and about so that daddy can study. As we look back at the long and arduous (Ryan hepled me come up with that word!) journey, we sure are glad that we are looking at it from this end!

GO CYCLONES!!

Of course, before we left Iowa State we had to get all the gear to remind us of our Cyclone Pride! The boys were so excited for their football jerseys. We went the Sunday we got home to my family's to Sunday dinner. It was pretty funny, because we were acting like this is how we normally dress. When we went to my sister's to see Mady's new cast, Jesse said the funniest thing. He just looked at us and said, "It looks like Iowa State just threw up on you!"- Yes, Yes it did!!

Summer is here...

Unfortunately this picture doesn't do it justice, but we learned the hard way a couple of weeks ago that the temperatures are soaring! Poor Dallan went outside to play and it had been so nice outside the week before that I forgot to tell him to put his shoes on before going outside. It was a really hot day, and before I knew it Spencer came running in saying Dallan burnt his feet. Apparently he went into the sand (without shoes) and it was so hot it burnt his little feet. (another reason besides the nasty cats to get rid of the sand-free sand anyone?). They blistered immediately and his right foot was just one huge blister! He couldn't walk for about a day but they healed nicely- always remember lavender oil on burns ladies :). And last but not least don't forget to PUT YOUR SHOES ON!!

Carson's Surgery

Last month was kind of crazy! The day after we got home from Iowa (post coming soon), Carson went in for his surgery. He had a hernia repaired in his abdomen that was causing his testicle not to descend (I am sure he is going to love that I typed this for everyone to always remember!). It was probably the longest 45 minutes of my life but I am happy to say that everything went well and he is recovering fabulously. They had to take him away crying because we were not allowed in the operating room. We went into the recovery area when they brought him out of anesthesia. He looked very peaceful and was excited to see us, and very thirsty- he wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after 6 pm the day before- his surgery wasn't until 12pm :(. He was definitely a trooper. When we got home, it was so funny because his legs were still numb, like an epidural, and he was trying to roll around on the couch and looked like a little fish- sad but funny. Anyway, all is well and we have our post OP appointment this week to give him the go ahead for normal activity. Carson, you are an amazing little guy!

Monster in the Living Room

For the longest time, Spencer has been scared of the "Monster in the Living Room." He always says that it is by the window. Finally, after I asked him to explain it a little more, I got it...

There IS a monster in the living room!

What's a Visor For?

Last night, while visiting Grandpa and Grandma Bodine, Grandpa Bodine took Spencer and Dallan for a ride in his car. He was fiddling with the visor, and Spencer asked him what it was. Grandpa explained that it was a visor. Spencer's face lit up and he exclaimed, "Oh, I know what that's for, you pull it down to pick your zits and moles." Needless to say, when Grandpa told Dani this story she was mortified. Now that I think about it, I'm sure this post isn't going to help much.

Nursery BITES!

Poor Dallan. This is the second time someone has bit him in nursery. The first one was a little girl and was a more "petite" bite. It must be those yummy looking cheeks. I would bite them too!

Happy Birthday Carson!

Carson is finally ONE! I cant believe it has been a whole year already. He is growing up so fast and starting to develop a really fun little personality. I took him for his check up and of course he is off their charts for his height. His head was pretty high on the charts as well but hey, how else are you going to store such an intelligent brain!!

12 month stats:
Weight: 25 lbs.
Length: 32"
Head: 19"

We had a little party with family. He was not at all interested in opening up gifts (Dallan was in heaven though). He did find a balloon that he played with most of the night and loved it! I am so thankful that I have Carson! I know he is going to be such a good kid. Most of all I am thankful for his patience. I know they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease and I find most of the time we have two very squeaky older wheels that get taken care of first, with Carson patiently waiting. I love you Carson and cant wait to see all your new developments this year!!

This is us singing Happy Birthday to Carson. It is quite long, sorry- if I only new how to cut parts out!

What is wrong with me!!

If anyone has the magic fingers I think they need to share with me. I can do a lot things but one thing I cant do is make bread! Every time I try I get more and more upset about it. After talking with a number of people about it including Jenyce (who makes the most wonderful homemade bread you have ever eaten) I decided the temp. of my water wasn't right, so Ryan bought me a thermometer. So now that I had all the "tools" I decided to try again. What is the deal! This is what my bread looks like every time. I hope that I do not have to provide bread for people in the days to come because it tasted even worse than it looked! (if only it had fabric in it, then I could figure it out!) The funniest part is I was on the phone with my mom and she said "what is that noise, are you sawing something?" No mom, I was cutting my bread. YUM YUM......

The New Housekeeper

A couple of weeks ago I had asked the boys to go clean their bedrooms. About a half an hour later Spencer came running out of the hall and told me that he not only cleaned his room he also cleaned Carson's room. I was so impressed and decided to treat them to ice cream because they were so obedient. Later that night we were looking for the baby's diapers and this is what we found! Spencer had taken everything in the baby's room and hid it behind the chair. I guess I can't complain, he tried, right!! (even if it was only to get his ice cream!)

Babysitting Co-op

Every other week we swap babysitting with another couple in our ward. I am not sure how long it will last because I think my three boys are enough to make them never join another co-op! So every other week we watch their little girl who is the cutest thing ever. She is so good and Dallan and her get along so well! It is fun to have another girl in the house even if it is for a short time! This last week Spencer had a "drive in" at school and he had to make a transportation vehicle to watch a movie in. He loved it so much we thought we would have a drive in at co-0p. The kids loved it. I did an excellent job on Chloe's car if I do say so myself!

Pudding Glasses

When I got home from work the other night, Ryan and the boys had made glasses completely out of the pudding container boxes. Good imagination Ryan, that is why they love their "Daddy days"!!

Two months later!

I found some of the pictures of when we went up to Utah in January. Nikki watched Carson and I took Spencer and Dallan with my mom to visit my brother and sister-in-law that live in Provo while my mom went to some meetings. I think we were only there for a total of 36 hours, but we played a lot. (and drove a lot!) The boys finally saw the snow!!

Outside Josh and Sabrina's house (boy were they cold!)

At one point in the sledding trip we sent them down in the wrong direction straight toward a "jump" and they flew 5 feet in the air. I was certain someone was going to break their neck. Thank goodness everyone was ok, a little bruised, but ok!

Dallan wore this thing around a day. It was so funny. He thought he was the scariest monster ever!

Current Economy's Impact On Our Kids

We hear all the time about how bad the economy is and the measures that people are taking to tighten up and try to save money wherever possible. In our family, we have tried to cut back and eliminate some unnecessary expenditures and to just be more thrifty in general. Just imagine the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I felt when I noticed that our kids were willing to do their part. Yesterday, as we were getting dinner ready, I noticed that I had not heard from Dallan in a while. As most know, with Dallan, that can be some cause for alarm. I seemed to have remembered him mentioning that he needed to go potty. Fearing the worst, I found him sitting happily on the toilet. I inquired what was taking him so long and if he had done "Number 2". Dallan isn't at the age where he is able to properly cleanup after he finishes, so usually he will call for us when he is done. I was a little relieved that he was still on the toilet and I went over and sat next to him on the side of the tub to wait for him to finish. As I sat there, I noticed that his bottom had poo squished on it, as if he had gone in his pull-up. I also noticed that the roll of toilet paper had been rolled back up and had a little brown smudge on the top piece. I asked him if he had gone in his pull-up. He said that he hadn't. I then asked him what had happened. He said that some poop had gotten on the toilet seat, but he assured me that he had wiped it off. Now, being suspicious, I began unwinding the rewound toilet paper. After three or four feet, I found the evidence that Dallan had indeed cleaned off the toilet seat. Apparently he must have unwound some of the toilet paper and, without tearing if off, used it to wipe off the toilet seat. At that point, just like anybody else looking to do their part in this tough economy, he simply rolled the toilet paper back up onto the roll. If it wasn't for the smudge on the last piece, I never would have checked it. Children sure know how to make their parents proud.

(Not actual roll!)

Happy Birthday!

Spencer had his birthday party on January 17. We were just going to have a family party with some close friends, but I was then informed by Spencer that he wanted to have an all boy party!(Does that already happen at 4?) Then I started thinking about it and all the kids and cousins I was going to invite were girls, so we compromised with letting him invite the boys from his class. Yes, that is 10 kids in all! It was fun and Spencer had the time of his life. He wanted to have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles party which is funny because he has never seen it but we made Ninja Turtles masks and had a good time.
*Mental Note: 2 hours was way too long to occupy 10-4 year olds!!


Blowing out candles

Spencer and all of his friends. Dallan is the man, he likes to sit by the women!:)

This little guy was hilarious! He wouldn't take off his mask the whole time!


Poor Ethan...Pooped from all the fun!

Walking!

I am finally getting around to posting this but Carson has been walking now for about 3 weeks! He officially took his first "real" steps when he was exactly 10 months old. He still isn't a very good public performer (when Grandma Smith was here a couple of weeks ago, I couldnt get him to walk for the life of me)! He walks everywhere now but is still a little wobbly. On another note, it is kind of funny how much of a fit thrower he is. If you do something he doesn't like he will throw this massive tantrum. I know I am going to be pulling my hair out in a year but for now we just laugh because it is hilarious!

My latest project

So when I get an idea in my head I cant stop thinking about it. It sounds crazy, but sometimes I even dream about it (I know, I have issues). Well this was the latest, a little girl's dress. I finally had to sit down and do it to get it out of my head. Too bad I don't have a little girl to try it on, for now Dallan will have to do (don't worry Ryan saved him) . Or maybe I will just live through Cheramie (one of her triplets are going to be a girl-yea!) I am sure there will be more ideas in the future, but for now my mind is at ease!

Christmas Day

I have to say that Santa was very good to us this year. Spencer was so excited that he woke up at 4:30 am. We tried to get him to go back to sleep but he wouldn't until he saw if Santa brought him his Scooter. Then he went back to sleep until about 7:30 (We had to wake Dallan up!) The first thing they did was run to the fireplace to see if Santa left them any cookies! Too bad Santa didn't know he was supposed to leave some cookies- bad Santa! It was a rainy and cold, cold day. The boys got a new trampoline, among other things, but they couldn't jump on it because it was raining. But they have had every other day to make up for it and are loving it. Ryan did so good on his gift giving, I have to give him props! Santa gave Ryan a new bike. I got a new printer, and the family got a new TV for mom and dad's room, yea! This is the boys playing with their Lightening McQueen race track after breakfast.

Opening Presents...

Carson got a new play table and a bath seat...

Dallan got a new tool set. Unfortunately it was broke within the first five minutes of playing with it so we told him Santa said we could return it to Toys R US and he got a new scooter instead (which is what he really wanted. He kept looking around and thought Santa forgot it!)...
Spencer on his new Scooter...

We got them a game called Horton Hears a Who and the boys love it. It is pretty funny to play too!

The boys playing in the rain with the scooter and Dallan's new umbrella..