The Root Family

Some January Pics and Last Night Bubbles

2012-02-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

1. playing at the park on martin luther king, jr. day

2. snowman on first snow day!

3. & 4. brandon making a "snow dinner"

5. sick boys creating a new use for their medicine droppers

*******

And then, on to last night... I put the boys in the bath after dinner and went to clean up the kitchen. They wanted some bubbles, so I added a little bit of bubble bath to their bath water. I could hear them talking and playing in the bath and was able to sweep the whole kitchen and dining area without hearing any arguing, yelling, pounding, or loud splashing. I though that was a good sign. I went in to check on them and found this...

The before-full bubble bath container above was empty.

pink bubble bath

Thanks Grandma Root for the bubbles!

They managed to keep it all in the bath, so that was nice. I drained what I could out of the bath and had them shower the rest of the bubbles off their bodies.

Then, we went downstairs, got jammies on, and went to use the bathroom downstairs. Bryce opened the toilet and it was filled with bubbles! ha! He started crying and I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I'm scared. I don't want it to flood." I tried to tell him it was fine and that we'd just flush the bubbles away, but he continued to get more worried and said, "let's wait until daddy comes home, so he can fix it" and "oh, we shouldn't have done that. Mom, you should not have left the soap where I could get it." :) it was high on a rack by the shower head. Bryce was so concerned and I was trying to comfort him, but at the same time couldn't help but drag out the situation and say things like, "Good thing I know how to swim, in case the house floods." He didn't like that.

Brandon decided to step up and flush the toilet and down went the bubbles and that was that. Too funny! I love my boys and can't wait to add baby girl to the fam next month. She has a party waiting for her.

Our Little Sunbeam

2012-01-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

Bryce has been anticipating going into Sunbeams for a few months now and today was his big day! He was so excited and did really well in his "big kid" class. I peeked in the primary room and saw him sitting still in his chair with his eyes glued on whatever activity was being done in the front of the room. He got to go to the front and help with something and enjoyed that. He has about 13 kids from nursery all going into Sunbeams this year with him, so that is nice to have some familiar faces.

Bryce with his scriptures ready to go to church

After his first day in Sunbeams. he was so proud of himself and we are, too!

Fun times at the Babysitter's...

2012-01-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from July through now of some happenings with the boys' amazing babysitter.

The three stooges climbed up to the pantry shelf where the donuts were and sneakily ate almost the entire box!

Brandon, Gage, and Bryce

The firemen came to Bryce and Brandon's preschool on the day that they're not in school, so Stephanie took them and Gage.

They love DQ!

We are so grateful that they have such an awesome family to play with each day!!! Picture time after raking leaves...

Pictures from Summer...

2012-01-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures from the summer that I got from our friends. I think this was in August...

Bryce and his boots...

Searching for frogs

And, this nap time picture cracks me up. Good timing, boys!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Love,

The Root Family

Random Happenings...

2011-12-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

Some pictures we snapped at our most recent kids party...

Skye has been writing articles for a water magazine in connection with his job and he was recently the guest editor for an issue on global water markets. His boss gave him this for Christmas...pretty cool!

One of Skye's best friends from his mission, Blake, came to visit us with his family this week. Here's a picture of the old mission and MTC companions and their kiddos!

And, last but not least, Brandon applying chapstick while grocery shopping with mom!

27 Weeks

2011-12-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

I am 27 weeks this week and I had Skye take a picture last week to document.

At my last doctor's appointment when I was 24 weeks, my doctor used his 3D ultrasound machine again and we were hoping baby girl would cooperate better than last time, so we could get a picture of her. She did a lot better and we were able to get a profile view, even though she had her head snuggled into her arm and wouldn't budge from that position!

Looking at baby with the regular ultrasound machine

Baby Girl in 3D!

Downtown Santa

2011-12-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

Also on Saturday, Bryce, Brandon and I went downtown to meet Skye at his office, after he had been studying all morning. When we were walking to his building, guess who we saw? Santa! He was sitting in a nearby bank. We peeked through the window and the boys got excited. We went to Skye's office and had a few snacks (the boys favorite thing about dad's work), then went back to visit Santa. Both Bryce and Brandon wouldn't go up to him by themselves, but Brandon was fine, as long as we walked him up to Santa's lap. Bryce was a little more shy, but he still wanted to go up to him. After all, he now had the chance to tell Santa that he really wanted a scooter!

Santa and my three boys :)

Merry Christmas!!! We have been loving all of the holiday festivities.

Christmas Book and Nativity

2011-12-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

Papa and Nona sent us a few Christmas packages that arrived on Saturday and they were labeled with "OPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS" and "OPEN ON CHRISTMAS". So, we opened the before Christmas boxes right away. Bryce and Brandon got a Christmas book and Nativity set. Skye and I got some cute ornaments for our tree and a yummy wassail drink mix.

The Christmas book is a seek and find book and is perfect for Bryce's age. He loves looking for the hidden pictures all by himself.

The kid's nativity set is a HUGE hit! What a great idea to have a nativity that the kids can actually play with. We set up our nice nativity set (with fragile pieces) a week ago and Bryce and Brandon loved helping set it up, but we had to monitor them closely to make sure they were gentle and not clanging any pieces together. They have enjoyed playing with their very own nativity, and it's been funny to see their very different ideas of how it should be set-up.

Bryce carefully and thoughtfully set up the scene with the Angel on top of the stable and Mary and Joseph by baby Jesus's side, etc. Then, Brandon came along and decided the Angel did not belong on top of the stable and that only Mary or one of the wise men could be up there, and that Joseph wanted to ride the camel and the rest of the animals wanted to prance around our living room in Brandon's arms.

Poor Bryce had quite the time coping with this and would just flip out when the Angel was not on the top. We had a talk about how these are toys and it's okay to play with the pieces, and that it's okay if Brandon wants to play one way and you another. Bryce eventually loosened up and did a little more playing instead of getting frustrated that everything wasn't perfect, haha. And, he even decided that it was pretty cool to have Joseph balanced on top of the camel.

Thanks Nona and Papa! We love our new gifts.

Picture to Santa

2011-12-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

A couple days after we got back from John and Bethany's house, I was asking the boys what they asked Santa for and Brandon said a pink scooter and a pink ball. (Not sure where the pink came from?) Then, Bryce got frustrated and said he wanted to ask for a scooter, but forgot. So, I told Bryce that he could write a letter to Santa and we could mail it. So, he drew a picture. I was so impressed by his scooter that he drew all by himself that I took out my phone and took this picture.

While Bryce and I were at the table, I asked Brandon to go brush his teeth. I was being lazy and didn't want to get up, so I just sat next to Bryce while he colored. The bathroom is right by us, so we heard the water running and a few thuds and no noise from Brandon, so that made us suspicious, but I was determined to sit for a while and refused to see what Brandon was up to. Bryce even offered a few times, "Mom, I'll go see what Brandon is doing." I just kept telling him "No. Just keep drawing", as if not knowing what was going on would make it any better. Bryce finally went and checked on Brandon and yelled, "MOM! Brandon is washing his hair with soap!" We love our little two-year-old :)

Visiting the Adairs

2011-12-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

We visited John and Bethany the weekend before last and had a great time catching up with them. I told Skye I felt like we were back in college in Provo because we have so many awesome memories hanging out as couples in Provo (especially seeing their love sac, which basically took up their entire living room in their Provo apartment)! It is fun getting together now and having two boys a piece to play together; they all had a lot of fun.

We went to a lights festival and even saw Santa! The boys were hesitant to walk up to him by themselves. Bryce told me over and over that he wanted to ask Santa for a scooter, but when he went up to him, he told him he wanted a skateboard. ha. Brandon asked for a scooter and a ball.

Both Brandon and Bryce's faces crack me up. Brandon looks like a little marshmallow, ha!

Me and my handsome hubby!

Bryce found this dragon rocking chair at the Christmas festival and really liked it. It was all padded and could rock back and forth really well and supposedly is built to stall out before tipping over. Pretty cool!

Bethany arranged a babysitter for the kids, so that we could go to the Columbia River temple together. We also went to Red Robin for lunch afterwards. Yum! Skye had a lot of fun playing with little Zach. He is such a happy baby and really liked Skye!

Reading a Christmas bedtime story with their dads

Sunday morning walk around the neighborhood

Thanksgiving Part 3: Flying

2011-12-09T10:50:00.001-08:00

And, to finish off my Thanksgiving re-cap, one of our biggest highlights was having Skye take us on airplane rides. Skye was in heaven, of course, as it has been a while since he's been able to go flying. Bryce and Shaylee were hesitant to even get in the plane, so Skye just drove them around in it. Brandon and Sayge, on the other hand, LOVED going up in the air.

Ty and Skye flew around for a few hours before the rest of us came to the airport to join them.

Future pilots

Spencer and Sheyanne went on a long flight with Skye after I took the kids home.

Thanksgiving Part 2: Hanging Out

2011-12-09T10:33:00.001-08:00

It was nice not having a packed agenda and being able to just hang around the ranch.

These kiddos got new matching Christmas jammies from Grandma.

Jana and I decided to do our version of Black Friday shopping...Burns Style. We started with lunch at the Chinese restaurant around noon and then, shopped at three of our favorite stores, which are within a few doors of each other on Burn's main street. :) I really liked this way of Black Friday shopping...sleep in...eat food...and a few hours of shopping. ha.

We had lunch with some of the Johnson girlies. Me, Kira, Selene, Nichole, Sayge, and Shaylee.

While the girls were shopping, the boys were hanging with dad and Grandpa, of course. They went out to lunch and Bryce even got to drive the squeeze with Grandpa.

This is what happens when you spend an afternoon working on the ranch...

My pictures are out of order, but Andy, Skye, Spencer, Sayge, Shaylee, Bryce, and Brandon all went shooting.

I'm pretty sure this was a first for my boys...actually holding the gun!

We got to see Ty and Heather and their new baby BOY, Treyson! He is precious and we're so glad it worked out for us to see each other in Burns over the holiday.

Everyone got their turn with baby...

We made our annual Thanksgiving turkeys. We had to be creative because I couldn't find any candy corn in the stores when I went to buy some last minute. So, we made oreo cookie turkeys with fruit loop feathers.

Sheryden and Jeff went to Jeff's family's house for Thanksgiving, but luckily we got to see them on both ends of our trip on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Our real reason of not wanting to completely miss them while we were in Burns was to love on this guy. :) Balen is such a happy, sweet baby and we loved spending some time with him.

Andy and Jana put the boys to bed for us and let us go out to the Burns movie theater one night.

Me, Skye, Spencer, Shey and our movie snack :)

Every night was a sleepover and Brandon even joined in a few nights this time. Shaylee was the night owl and had to pretend to be asleep when Skye and I snuck in her room to take these pictures.

Also, Spencer and Sheyanne joined the Paramore family tradition of going up in the mountains and cutting down their Christmas tree. I'm glad Spencer got a taste of the forest and got to play in the snow up there. They had a bonfire, ate yummy food, rode four-wheelers, and rode sleds. He had a TON of fun, except for wearing his normal, non-waterproof shoes and coming home with wet, frozen shoes and feet. :)

Rivka and Sheyanne

Thanksgiving Part 1: Root Family Dinner

2011-12-09T10:24:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. A special treat was having Spencer join us. He drove to Boise late Tuesday night from BYU-Idaho with Rivka and McKenzie from Burns! They dropped Spencer off at our house and decided to continue to Burns in the middle of the night. Spencer stayed the night with us and we drove to Burns Wednesday afternoon and came home Sunday. Yea for a long vacation! We drove straight to Sheryden's hair salon when we drove in to Burns and all of the boys got haircuts, including Skye and Spencer. Bryce and Brandon were very happy to finally get to Grandma and Grandpa's house after having driven PAST their house to go to get haircuts.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Al and Aunt Steph's house and enjoyed being with Skye's dad's side of the family. I didn't get any pictures of the yummy food, but there was a lot of it and it was good.

Here is the whole gang:

The five brothers and their wives...

Sheyanne, Sayge and Shaylee by the tree

Me and Shey

Bryce playing dominoes with Spencer

We had a lot of fun playing darts and Sayge surprised us all with her skills.

Learning...

2011-12-01T20:51:00.000-08:00

I was getting Brandon dressed a few weeks ago and he started reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I was shocked that he knew the whole thing! I guess the boys are learning a few things in preschool.

I had Brandon recite it for the camera. Ignore his little two-year-old attitude towards

Bryce joining in.....oh, man.

Uncle Justin and Aunt Rachel Visit

2011-11-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

Justin and Rachel just left this morning and we had a great time with them! I love my brother and he married an amazing girl! They are spending Thanksgiving with Rachel's family in Washington and they worked out their tickets to come see us first. We're so glad they did.

They flew into Boise Saturday night. After we picked them up from the airport, we rushed home to eat some tacos and head to the Steelheads hockey game. It was the first hockey game we have been to for all of us, except Skye and Justin. We had a good time, but got a little antsy when the boys kept wanting to walk around and we were sitting right next to some very steep, concrete stairs. We decided to leave early and get some frozen yogurt downtown. We were all exhausted when we got home, but still managed to stay up way too late laughing and talking.

On Sunday, the boys woke up at their normal, early time. Rachel and Justin attempted to sleep in, but it didn't last too long after Skye sent Brandon to their room to wake them up. He stood at their door yelling "Justin and Raaaaaaaachel" over and over.

We decided to take advantage of having family at our house and set up the Christmas tree together. We listened to great music, decorated, and ate Grandma's yummy buttermilk pancake breakfast. Then, we went to church, played lots of hide 'n seek and toys, read books, and finished the night at Skye's Hymns of Thanksgiving choir performance.

Grandma had the wonderful idea of having an early Thanksgiving dinner, since we will all be apart for Thanksgiving day. So, on Monday night, we had turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, broccolli, cranberry jello salad, and pumpkin pie with cream!

This turned out being a going-away dinner for grandma, too, because she also left this morning to go to Texas for a couple of months. :( :( We're glad she'll get a break from two toddlers and a pregnant lady, but we will miss her! The boys said they will miss her taking them to DQ for ice cream, watching Dora and Diego with them, snuggling with them in her bed, letting them cook with her, making chocolate chip pancakes, kissing them on their ears, drying between their toes, and playing games with them.

We did cheers with our sparkling cider and each went around and said something we are thankful for. Rachel had just learned that she was accepted into an internship program in Washington DC for next summer and announced it to us as what she was thankful for! We are so excited for her!!!

Cyclocross

2011-11-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we went to watch Skye's co-workers, Cory and Jason, compete in the Idaho Cyclocross State Championships. Our last attempt to watch Cory race didn't work out, so we were glad to make it to this one! It was freezing cold, but the event was really cool to watch. The course was set up all around us, so we got to see the bikers pass us every few minutes. They had to bike through hills and bumps and sand pits. We even saw a few wrecks in the sand pit, as one bike would get stuck and another bike behind would come up and collide with the first. I know this should not be something that we find funny or entertaining, but it was both. Bryce and I especially kept our eyes on the sand pits!

Mommy and Brandon trying to warm up

Cory raced in the professionals category!

They had a heated tent with a live band, too.

When we got home from the race, our neighbor, Lyn, had just finished raking his leaves. He left out enough for the boys to jump in and they didn't waste any time! They even buried dad.

Kids Party

2011-11-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

We had the kid's party at our house a week and a half ago and decided to make hand print turkeys and caramel apples. Skye helped the kids think of what they were grateful for and it was pretty funny.

Brandon's at the stage where he copies what others say and also just says whatever he can see. Dad helped him with his. After I read his back to him, he told me that he said seagulls, not scissors.

Bryce came up with his own right away and insisted on being thankful for "ostriches"...twice??

After our thankful turkeys, we made caramel apples. It was our first time ever doing them and it was a success. We first let the kids pick out their apple and choose white or dark chocolate and any toppings that they wanted. We had oreo cookies, butterfinger, reeses peanut butter cups, peanuts, graham crackers, and cinnamon sugar. Bryce ate a bite out of one of the apples before we even began :)

They turned out really yummy and we even made an apple pie caramel apple mimicking one we've had in McCall! We dipped the apple in caramel, then white chocolate, graham cracker, and cinnamon sugar.

Downtown Walks and Veterans Day

2011-11-22T08:58:00.001-08:00

Skye and I work one block apart in downtown Boise and love working so close to each other. We carpool together and usually meet up at least once a week to go for a walk. Since we work really close to the capitol building, we often walk around it at some point in our route. On Veteran's Day, everyone at work was talking about the date being 11/11/11 and how cool that is. I sent Skye a quick message that morning that said, "so, we should meet and have a kiss at 11:11 on 11/11". He was up for it, so it was a date. haha!

We met at 11am for our walk and just started walking and talking and I forgot about the whole 11:11 thing, so I was confused why Skye kept looking down at his phone every minute. Good thing he didn't forget. I got my kiss at 11:11:11 on 11/11/11!

I loved all of the flags at the Capitol building on Veterans Day. I am so grateful for our veterans and for our amazing country!

Pregnancy #3

2011-11-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

Since I'm always behind in blogging, I never wrote anything about being pregnant in the first place, so I thought I would tell a little bit about this pregnancy.

I have felt slightly different with this pregnancy than with my boys' pregnancies, so I thought maybe this meant we were having a girl. We convinced ourselves that we were having another boy, and so we were very happy to be surprised when we found out we're having a girl.

I am very blessed during pregnancy. I enjoy being pregnant. This pregnancy has been the same, but the nausea was a little stronger this time around. And, I have had more food aversions and cravings than with either of my boys. I thought maybe this was because I'm on round three, but now I'm thinking that gender had something to do with it.

Fortunately, my strong cravings and nausea went away with the first trimester. I know with Bryce and Brandon, I needed to eat frequently to avoid extreme nausea, but with this pregnancy, I was having to put a cracker in my mouth constantly and figure out which foods to avoid that made me sick.

When I was about 11 weeks, I went to the grocery store and told Skye I was going to buy everything that I had a craving for. I'm trying to remember everything I bought, but it included ruffles cheddar and sour cream chips, mother's animal cookies, pickles, kettle corn popcorn, buttered popcorn, nilla wafers, saltine crackers, and English muffins. I have a sweet tooth all the time, but my cravings mostly were for salty snacks. Skye was getting a little worried for a while there when I would eat chips and cookies on a regular basis because that's what sounded good. I also had a strong craving for Thai food and made Skye take me that day to have some Pad Thai. Luckily, he enjoys Thai food as much as I do.

I am due March 20th, but because I will have a C-section, somewhere around March 14th our little girl will arrive. We had a scheduled C-section at 39 weeks with Bryce because he was breach; he made it until then and I never went into labor. Then, Brandon was a scheduled C-section (no VBACs in Salem) for one week before his due date, but I went into labor three days before that, so he didn't make it to his date. We will see when this little girl decides to come. Bring on the bows and frills!

20 weeks

Boy, Boy, GIRL!

2011-11-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

I am 22 weeks pregnant and we found out two weeks ago we are having a GIRL! We are very excited. We had all (us, grandma, both our families) guessed boy. Grandma REALLY wanted a girl, but she just knew we were having a boy. Brandon was the only one who consistently said 'girl' when we asked him. Then, the morning of the ultrasound, I asked Bryce and Brandon if they thought we were having a girl or a boy, and they both guessed 'girl'. So, apparently, they knew what we are having.

Bryce, Brandon, and Grandma drove downtown to meet me and Skye for the ultrasound. Brandon held my hand a few times and Bryce was very interested in all the machines and gadgets (which got us into a little trouble, but that is later). The plan was for Skye and the boys to leave the ultrasound, as soon as we found out the gender, but the ultrasound tech wouldn't even try to find out the gender until 40 minutes into the ultrasound, so the boys were pretty restless. Everything looked good and baby measured right on track. Then, finally, the tech said "you're having a girl." Skye, Grandma, and I were all in shock and were so happily surprised. I just couldn't stop smiling. Bryce yelled out "I got it", as if he had won a game. I don't think Bryce or Brandon really cared whether they were getting a baby sister or baby brother, they just were happy to guess right.

I had forgotten that I had my regular doctor's appointment after the ultrasound. My doctor saw us and invited the whole family back to his office because he has a very cool, new 3-D ultrasound machine that he uses on his own. It was much fancier and larger than the machine the tech was using. Baby girl wouldn't cooperate and had her head buried the whole time, but we got to see a little bit of her profile view.

The boys were really ready to be free at this point, and Skye was balancing keeping them corralled versus actually seeing our baby on the screen. When we were almost done and my doctor was printing some of the pictures, an error message appeared on the computer screen and we look down to see Bryce having just pushed the POWER button. Whoops! Nothing like forcing shut-down on a $100,000+ machine. I looked at the doctor not knowing what to say and just said sorry and Skye went into the hall with the boys. We thought maybe the nice doctor would say it was alright, but instead with a half-smile he looked at Bryce, as he was leaving and said, "You're toast."

Since we had gone into the doctor's office right away, I had not yet gone to the bathroom and peed in a cup (like every appointment). Brandon was not wanting to leave my side, so he came into the bathroom with me. Luckily, he didn't pay attention to me at all, so no little questions from him about what I was doing. I did my sample and set the cup on the sink and before I could even pull my pants up, Brandon walks straight to the sink and says, "I'll dump it", as he pours my little pee sample down the drain! I couldn't help, but laugh at this point! I finished up and told the nurse what happened (the same nurse that was in the room when Bryce shut down the ultrasound machine) and just apologetically said, "I'm sorry. I work down the street. I can come back, if you need me to." Fortunately, she was not worried at all.

Maybe we will re-think taking little kiddos to future ultrasounds, but Bryce's excitement at finding out he was "right" was priceless. We bought pink balloons and took the boys to each of our offices to have them share the news with our co-workers. When we gave the boys their balloons, I asked them, "Now, what does the pink balloon mean?" And Bryce quickly responded, "That we're having a pink baby!" haha.

Brandon and Basketball

2011-11-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

He loves it!

Trick-or-Treat from a Family of Firemen

2011-11-16T20:23:00.001-08:00

10-29 We went to our church Halloween Carnival and Trunk-or-Treat and had a lot of fun. We all went as firemen this year!

Here are my firemen boys ready for their candy!

YMCA Halloween Carnival

2011-11-16T19:57:00.001-08:00

10-28 When dad and Bryce went to Burns, Brandon and I went to the YMCA Halloween Carnival with a few friends. We have been doing a babysitting co-op and tonight was our night to host the "kid's party". I made chocolate chip pancakes and one heart-shaped pancake (Lila loved it) for the kids to eat on the way to the carnival. It was a really healthy night :) I had three car seats lined up in the back of the pick-up, since Skye had taken the larger vehicle to Burns.

Lila, Carlee, and Brandon

Ready to go with my fireman, princess, and pirate (Lila insisted that she was a pirate).

There were quite a few people there and a lot of activities. However, the lines were long. I thought this might be a problem with three little ones, but they didn't even seem to notice we were waiting. They were too busy checking out the costumes and watching all of the commotion. There was fishing, pumpkin bowling, face painting, and food and candy.

I asked if anyone wanted to get their face painted and Lila said "no" right away. Little Carlee, however, wanted a butterfly on her hand. She was so cute to specify it just like that. Then, Brandon decided the paint on the hand was a good idea, so he naturally asked for a "basketball" and a "hoop". Such decisive little ones.

They even handed out meals for everyone. The girls did a pretty good job eating some of their sandwiches....

Brandon, however, went straight for the cookie and chips!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

2011-11-15T20:19:00.001-08:00

10/28 Skye is not usually a spontaneous person. He is a planner. So, when he sent me an e-mail on the Friday afternoon of his dad's birthday and said he really wished he could be there for his dad's 50th birthday dinner, I was all about the surprise. We figured that we had to leave work right away, if he was going to drive to Burns in time for the dinner, so we got our work wrapped up and left early.

We decided on our way to pick up the boys that it would be fun for just Skye and Bryce to go. Skye told his sister, Sheyanne, that they were coming, but had her keep it a secret. We picked up Bryce and Brandon from the babysitter, threw some clothes in a bag for Bryce, and they were on their way.

When they got to the restaurant where everyone was, Skye said it was a surprise for sure. He said when Grandma saw Bryce, she may have even shed a tear. Yea for birthdays and surprises!!!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

They spent the night and Bryce enjoyed riding the Razor, playing with toys, riding bikes, and just being with Sayge and Shaylee. Thanks for the fun weekend, Grandma!

Linder Farms

2011-11-15T20:17:00.001-08:00

10-27 Our friends Zach and Kara called us and said they were going to Linder Farms and had two extra kid's tickets. I had just walked in the door after picking up the boys from the babysitter. We decided to go, so I quickly made peanut butter and honey sandwiches and grabbed sippy cups of water, and that was dinner. We ate on our way to the farm. When we got there, it turned out the boys were free and it was half-off admission night, so I got in for $1.50...definitely worth it!

Bryce and Brandon share a love for climbing on anything :)

(these are all camera phone pics and I don't have the most amazing camera on my phone!)

Zach, Kara, and "baby" Reese (as we still call her) on the hayride

Bryce was determined to not sit on the hay bales, but instead to scoot as close to the edge of the trailer as I would let him.

We fed animals in the petting zoo. I was really impressed by the animals; they even had a zebra and kangaroo!!!

Warming up by the fire...and this is the famous pirate eye (one eye closed) smile you get from Brandon these days whenever you ask him to smile.

Brandon, Bryce, and Reese by the fire

Lucky Peak

2011-11-14T19:37:00.001-08:00

10-22 Skye has been studying on Saturday mornings, so the boys and I hang out in the morning and then, we usually do something as a family in the afternoon and/or at night (even if it's just mowing the lawn or playing toys at home).

Skye has a co-worker who competes in bike races, so Skye thought it would be fun to go as a family and watch him in the afternoon. Right before we left the house to meet up with Skye at his office, Brandon was really tired and ready for a nap, so I asked him if he wanted to go or stay home with Grandma (thinking he would definitely want to come). He said he wanted to stay home with Grandma! So, Bryce got a little one-on-one with mom and dad.

We went to where we thought the bike race was, and there was no one there. We went to the wrong location. So, we decided to just have some fun. We drove a little farther to Lucky Peak and hiked down to the water. It was a nice day and Bryce loved digging in the dirt.

And, just for fun, this was taken shortly after we got home. Brandon's new thing is to rush out the door whenever the pick-up pulls in (usually that means daddy's home) and climb to the top of it. haha! He's so funny. He does it so quickly and then, we coax him down.

Shoshone Falls and Burns Friends

2011-11-14T19:30:00.001-08:00

10-15 We went to Twin Falls with our friends Tyler and Laura and were able to see the Shoshone Falls for the first time and they are beautiful and massive. There was even a rainbow there for us to enjoy :)

Then, that night, we had over some good friends from Burns, Lynsey and Joan, who now are both married and live in Boise. We ate dessert, played Apples to Apples, and watched some football. Fun night!
Lynsey, Jayce, Hernan, and Joan

What Started as Normal Painting...

2011-11-14T19:09:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun with paint the other day that we decided to get it out when our good friends Avery and Ashley came over. These girls are the sweetest and know the boys really well because their mom is the one who watches Bryce and Brandon throughout the week. The paint started on paper, but quickly turned into body painting when Bryce did this...

and Brandon followed (of course). And, I took pictures, and decided, "Oh, well. It's almost bath time!"

Ashley was quite the artist...

Yeah, it got a little crazy, but they all LOVED it!!!

We had a nice colorful bath after this and had to run the water without the drain up for a while before we had clear water!

My Sweet Grandma

2011-11-14T18:56:00.001-08:00

10-14 Grandma watches the boys two afternoons each week after preschool until Skye and I get home from work. This is no easy task, especially after they have been at school and are tired and cranky. This is what we came home to the other day:

Grandma sitting on a chair in the garage with the garage door open.....

Our great neighbor friend, Faith, riding her bike around our house and playing with the boys,

Brandon playing ball barefoot and having a great time,

and Bryce cruising on his bike just like he LOVES to do.

How lucky are we all? Thank you Granny!!!

Fall Fun Weekend

2011-11-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

10-8 We haven't tried painting very much, but we finally did, and Bryce and Brandon really enjoyed it!

I think their favorite part was coloring their water with the paint on their paintbrush. More paint probably went in the water than on the paper. :)

The boys have been learning about fall in preschool and they love to talk about the leaves changing colors. We have also been reading fall books and some of the boys' favorites are "The Little Scarecrow Boy" by Margaret Wise Brown, "The Scarecrow's Hat" by Ken Brown (they REALLY like this one), and "Leaf Man" by Lois Ehlert. We decided to go on a nature walk and collect leaves around our neighborhood. Bryce rode his bike and I pushed Brandon in the stroller. We collected lots of beautiful leaves of all different colors, shapes, and sizes.

Then, the boys made their own "leaf man".

Then, for family night after the same weekend, we carved pumpkins! We went to a neighbor's house Sunday night and they had their own pumpkin patch, so we went hunting in their backyard and came away with some great pumpkins.

Adam and Brittany Back in Idaho

2011-11-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

Skye's cousin, Adam, and his wife, Brittany, lived in

Idaho and then, moved to California, and now are back in Idaho! We were able to rent their house in Caldwell when we first moved to Idaho over a year ago until we bought our house that we are in now. We are happy that they are close to us now and enjoyed having them over for dinner. And, they just had a baby boy not that long ago, so we got to meet him for the first time.

Cyrus and Brandon

Skye and Cyrus

Bryce was the baby soother that night. Cyrus was crying and Bryce wanted to hold him. I figured it would only last a minute, but Cyrus stopped crying and "sat" with Bryce for a while.

I'm blaming the quality of the pictures on my camera; it seems to be dying on me. Bryce, Adam, and Skye...

Happy new daddy!

So good to see you Adam and Brittany!

Conference Weekend

2011-11-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

10-1 We got to spend Conference Weekend with Nona, Papa, and Spencer! They came to our house Friday and spent the weekend. These pictures are a little out of order, but they show a lot of the fun things we crammed into two days.

Brandon LOVES Uncle Spencer. It's so nice having him home and close now that he is going to school in Rexburg!

We had a yummy Conference breakfast, including Granny's famous buttermilk pancakes...

Bryce really enjoyed conference, ha!

Climbing trees with Papa and Spencer

Brandon was in HEAVEN playing football, baseball (Papa taught him how to tip the the plate and square up to bat and he looks so cute doing it!), basketball...

The gang before Spencer left with his ride back to college.

Brandon and Papa

On Saturday between Conference sessions, my dad asked Skye for a project to work on, so Skye said that he's been wanting to put up his pull-up bar in the garage. They got to work and finished in no time!

The boys went on LOTS of bike rides with Papa. Bryce usually rode his own bike and led the way, while Brandon rode in the trailer, but this time, they both went for a ride.

Smiles and laughs with Nona!!

Skye made water guns with the young men at church and they were a hit at home!

Fun, fun weekend! Glad it worked out last minute for everyone to come :)

Vegetable Harvest

2011-11-13T19:56:00.001-08:00

9-29 We have a super gardener at church who lives a few blocks away from us. He invited us to come to his house and pick vegetables and so we did! Bryce and Brandon enjoyed picking whatever they wanted and most of all, they loved feeding the bunny rabbits after harvesting.

We made lots of fresh salsa!! Yum!

Twin Falls Trip

2011-10-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

9-25

The Boise temple closed in July for a year long remodel so we now have the opportunity of attending the Twin Falls temple instead. Skye's cousin Heather lives nearby and we were able to stay with their family and make the temple trip into a weekend family trip. The boys loved playing with cousins Hoyt and Jett. They went on 4-wheeler rides, horse rides, played in the yard, fought over bikes, and even played a little Nephite/Lamanite dress-up battle. It was a refreshing weekend and a great trip to the temple. Thanks for entertaining us for the weekend Ryon and Heather!

Fair Weekend

2011-10-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

9-9

Last year we missed the Harney County Fair, and we were glad to be back this year. Most of the weekend was spent at the fairgrounds watching Sheyanne show her FFA steer, visiting with friends, and riding the carnival rides. Amanda, Sayge and Shaylee (and all their friends) were quite the experienced group to run the boys ragged. They all had a great time.

Jana and I watching Sheyanne

The kiddos eating ice cream at 10 AM

Riding the canival rides with the Amanda and Shaylee

The other highlight of the weekend was spending some time at the airport with Grandpa Andy and dad. The boys spent some quality time in the cockpit of grandpa's cessna and really wanted to spend some time in the air. It was a fun morning at the airport.

Plum Harvest

2011-10-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

9-5

In addition to the apricot tree, we have a plum tree in our back yard that produces an excellent harvest. The tree is much smaller than the apricot tree, which makes it the perfect height for the boys to climb and pick fruit on their own; they are regularly found in the back yard boosting each other into the tree. The greatest thing is that they love the fruit!

First Day of Preschool

2011-10-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

8-31

Bryce and Brandon started Preschool and were definitely excited! I was so glad that we found a school that accepted two-year-olds because Brandon would not have wanted to miss out on all the school fun. The night before school started, we set out outfits, and packed lunches and backpacks. Then, we had a talk about school and daddy gave Bryce and Brandon each a father's blessing; they were very reverent and happy.

On our way to Preschool...can you tell they were excited?

I just love their backpacks and this picture cracks me up! I told them to touch the garage door and show me their backpacks and they were proud. :)

Bryce found the toys right away...

Brandon was a bit more reserved, but these blocks caught his eye and when his teacher got them down from the shelf and said he could play with them, he was happy.

I thought the hugs and good-byes would be a little more drawn out on the first day, but as soon as the teacher said, "Do you want to come see the bus out the window?", they were off.

Bryce quickly hugging grandma

Watching the school bus...

Bryce and Brandon love going to school. They go twice a week for 4.5 hours. By the time I get home from work and ask them about what they did, mostly all I get are responses like, "We ate fooooood", "We rode biiiiiikes", "We plaaaaayed" (Bryce tends to put emphasis on certain words when he speaks, ha!). They have lunch and recess at the end, so that must be what they remember...or maybe it's what they like most.

I was wondering at first if they were learning anything, but I have been seeing glimpses of what they're retaining, and it's fun to uncover. Bryce will say things that I know he learned from preschool. For example, he's been talking about the leaves changing color in the fall and asking me why our trees have green leaves still. Then, last night he was talking about his bones and how they are strong and that he has lots of them. Brandon is more likely to bring up bits and pieces of stories and songs that they learn. He is very good at memorizing rhymes and songs. We checked out The Gingerbread Man from the library and read it most nights for a few weeks and he now has all of the rhymes memorized.

Fun Around the House

2011-10-06T21:05:00.001-07:00

We are lucky to live on a beautiful cul-de-sac with great neighbors. Our neighborhood doesn't have many little ones. In fact, the majority of our neighbors are retired. We are probably the "loud" house on the block. :) We have a group of girls that live on our street that are very sweet and come over to "play" quite a bit. Our boys love to hang out with the "big girls" in the middle of the street (since that is the only time they are allowed in the street).

Papa brought Uncle Spencer to BYU-I and stopped by Boise to read a bedtime story to the boys on his way back to Texas!

Grandma tackling another crossword!

The boys love to help dad fix things around the house. They were fixing the bathroom drawer this time. They are a big help to dad. :)

Cleaning the church on a Saturday morning in our pajama's, and making a little stop at the quasi-pulpit to get some practice...

When papa came through town he bought some silly string. Playing with silly string was a perfect Sunday morning activity, considering our church isn't until 1 pm.

Our boys don't take much time to sit and be still, but we are noticing that they are finding more moments to "play" the piano. The rule is NO pounding on the piano and quietly touching the keys. This is probably what discourages them from playing more often, ha! For the most part they do a pretty good job...

A few videos of our budding musicians - gotta love Brandon's shoulder movements.

Bryce having fun playing for the camera

Pad Thai Night

2011-10-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

8-27

We went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Pad Thai House. We ordered a few dishes to share and one of them was a spicy curry. I didn't think the boys would try it, but Brandon really wanted some, so we let him go for it. I kept waiting for him to give me a face that it was too spicy and stop eating, but he didn't; he just kept eating. It was pretty funny.

Then, Bryce, who refused to try it before, thought he would give it a try (I love the competitiveness). He gave me the response I expected and couldn't even get the first bite down. Silly boys...

Texas Trip - 2011 (Part 4)

2011-10-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

We decided to put on our Rogers Family Reunion t-shirts (made by mama and Sarah, mostly) and take some family pics. After a trek back to McKinney on Saturday we took more “official” family pictures on Sunday.

Texas Trip - 2011 (Part 3)

2011-10-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Justin organized a "Rogers Half Marathon" this year. He mapped out a course along the beach and helped everyone stay pumped with training the months before the "race". Dad wanted to participate, but couldn't do the running, so that is why he decided to do his long bike ride. Sam, Rachel, Sarah, Megan, Justin, Spencer and Skye all ran on the race day. They were up at 5:30 AM and all were finished by 8 AM. Mom, dad, Bryce, Brandon, and I were the photographers and cheerleaders. The running crew was exhausted by the end of the run, but all involved were proud to accomplish their goal to finish a half-marathon.

Hanging out on the beach was great. It included reading books, playing in the water, building sand castles, skim boarding, body surfing, sun tanning, sleeping, eating, bocce ball, and even catching a seagull! It is so relaxing….

The heat of the day usually brought us back to our little bungalows (Laughing Horse Lodge). We would get the boys settled for naps, make food, and play games. We all had a lot of fun hanging out and spending time together.

And, of course, we walked along the jetty. We hiked to the end and watched the boats, ships, and birds. The boys loved jumping from rock to rock and checking out the big fish people were catching on the side of the jetty

Texas Trip - 2011 (Part 2)

2011-10-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

The trip to Port Aransas is about 10 hours from McKinney. We rented two vans, piled in at 3 AM, and headed down to the beach. A tradition is to stop at a diner about halfway there for an all-you-can eat buffet breakfast. As part of the breakfast entertainment, we got out a whoopee cushion and had some incredible laughs at the expense of mom and grandma. It was a had-to-be-there moment, but we thought it was hilarious (especially after waking up at 3am and road tripping)

Texas Trip - 2011 (Part 1)

2011-10-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

After missing our annual trip to Texas last summer due to our move to Idaho, we were able to renew the tradition in August just after Uncle Spencer returned home from his mission. The highlight of the trip was going to Port Aransas, and this was Bryce and Brandon's first time to go there. We were in McKinney for the weekend before we went down to the beach. The first slideshow is various pictures taken around my parent’s house. The boys loved playing fetch with Texan, hanging out with their Uncles and Aunts, watching Spencer’s homecoming talk, and eating lots of yummy food. And, we had a special experience going to the Dallas Temple with Grandma, Mom, Dad, Justin, Rachel, Skye, Spencer, and me. It won't be too long before Sarah and Sam will join us :)

My dad set a HUGE goal to ride his road bike 100 miles consecutively, and two days after we arrived in Texas happened to be his date to accomplish this. He woke up at VERY early to avoid the intense heat and began his journey. About 10 miles into his ride he got a flat tire and had to come home, fix the flat and restart the process. Skye and my brother Sam met him about 85 miles into the trek and provided him some final support. The rest of the family met him about mile 95 to cheer him home. He did a great job!

Sam is a drummer in a two-man band (WILMS). The band entered a “battle of the bands” competition in downtown Dallas and the older siblings had a blast cheering on little brother. Bryce, Brandon, and I hadn't flew in yet, but Skye arrived earlier than us (he'd been working in west Texas all week) and was able to watch. Everyone said they did great!

Swim Lessons

2011-10-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of August, the boys took swim lessons. They were really hesitant the first day because the swim lessons were in a "big pool". They wouldn't leave my side and were crying, as other kids were jumping in the water and starting their lesson. I tried to coax them into the water, but they would not let go of me and would not stop crying.

So, finally, I bribed them. I told them that if they got in the water and had a good swim lesson, then we could go to Dairy Queen and get ice cream afterwards! My boys love ice cream and they did fine after that. Brandon would get a little worried between each swim drill, but I just had to remind him that I was there and that he could get his ice cream, if he stayed in the water.

Luckily, this only happened the first swim lesson. They did hesitate each time when they thought about or looked at the "big pool", but they would get in, and Bryce wouldn't look back once he started his lesson. Brandon liked me to hold his hand a bit more and not go very far.They really learned SO much in only 7 lessons.

Bryce sporting his swim lesson goggles...

Brandon in his goggles

waiting for their turn

Brandon's loved doing dolphin kicks...his favorite...

Bryce's butterfly

...and Brandon on his back

Bryce swimming under the water. This was a BIG step for him. He couldn't even begin to swim before our lessons and he was scared to put his face in the water. Going under the water turned out to be his favorite thing to do..

Brandon's underwater swim

It was fun to do these lessons right before we went to the beach in Texas with my family because the boys were more confident in the water and had fun going under, even in the salty water. (But, luckily for us, they weren't too confident to venture past the shallow water.)

A Week in Burns

2011-09-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

7-23 to 7-30

While we were on Trek, the boys had a great time in Burns. Grandma flew to Salt Lake on Monday morning and the boys went to Burns on Tuesday night. Skye and I then left for the Trek on Wednesday morning. The boys were able to spend the week having summer fun. The week included lots of swimming and playing outside, several trips to Dairy Queen, a few rides on the Razor with Uncle Jeff, and many car rides with Auntie Shery. Of course Brandon took advantage of his opportunity to feed Balen some more....

Thank you SO MUCH Jana and Sheryden for watching the boys and thank you Sayge and Shaylee for showing the boys a good time with all of your friends in Burns.

Camping in Lowman

2011-09-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

8-6

Our second family camping trip of the summer was with some of my co-workers and their families and our friends the Miller's. We camped about 1.5 hours north of Boise near Lowman, Idaho. Unlike our previous excursion to Three Forks, this trip had camping sites and bathrooms. There were 12 children on the trip and they had a lot of fun getting dirty while playing in the forest. Many thanks to David for getting the campsite reserved and providing a yummy desert on Friday night!

We'd been in the woods about 2 hours and the boys looked like they had been there for a week! Enjoying their s'mores

Running around the campsite (with our tent in the background)

The Miller's - Nate, Colette, Lila (4), Carlee (2), Tessa (baby) - are our friends from the ward. We were excited to spend some time with them camping and enjoying the beautiful outdoors.

The boys and I getting ready for bed. Right before dad took this picture we were all enjoying the starry night looking for the big dipper and North Star. The boys thought the whole star gazing experience was fun.

On Saturday morning, we decided to venture out of the campground and head into the forest on a quasi-trail. The first picture (left) is of all of us heading up the trailhead. The middle picture is the group climbing up this hill after we decided we wanted to "see what's on the other side" So, we went up the straight incline with all the kids... The last picture (right) is of the group on top of the hill after roughly a 500 ft climb. Good job to everyone, especially to Collete who did it with baby Tessa in tote!

This was the view from the top...it made the climb worth while to talk to the kids about all of God's creations and how we need to enjoy this beautiful world.

The "older" kids raced down the hill with David and Bryce (my co-workers), while the rest of us slowly made our way down the hill . When we arrived at the bottom, David had the older kids singing a camp song in unison that he had just taught them; it was awesome. Another fun camping trip.

More pictures...

2011-09-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

I found more pictures that I forgot to add to this post, so I am putting them up now. I also forgot to mention in the other post that Sabrina took all of these amazing pictures!

Brandon

Brandon feeding Balen

Brothers

Bryce

Brandon, Shaylee, Mason, Sayge, and Bryce

And, this picture was taken on Jana's cell phone of the oldest and youngest grandsons!

Baseball Game

2011-09-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

8-3

Skye's boss, Clay, took the company to a minor league baseball game after work one night. The Boise Hawk introduced himself to the boys. Brandon wasn't too sure, but Bryce wouldn't leave him alone.

In the 3rd inning there were back to back home runs and the boys really got a kick out of that, then about 5 minutes later a nice old man (who I think owned the stadium) presented the two balls to our boys and asked if they wanted them. They were thrilled! We just had to keep them from throwing the balls back on the field since we were sitting right near the third base dugout.

Snapshots of some of the people that Skye works with at WestWater Research.

Picking Apricots

2011-09-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

8-1

One of our favorite things about our backyard in the massive apricot tree that bears the most amazing apricots. One Sunday morning before church, Skye was busy collecting fast offerings with the youth and going to meetings and the boys and I began the harvest.

Bryce enjoying himself

Brandon posing for a cheezer!

The apricots will now be enjoyed throughout the year thanks to grandma and her amazing jam she made.

Pioneer Trek - Boise West Stake

2011-09-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

7/27 - 7/30

This summer Skye and I were able to be a ma and pa for the stake trek that occurs every 3 years here in Boise. The youth leaders in the Boise West Stake don't mess around when it comes to planning a rigorous pioneer experience to test the faith and strength of all involved. It was an amazing experience to say the least. Our eight "children" from various wards in the stake couldn't have been better examples of hard-work and dedication to the gospel. In a very short time we came to love them as the stellar youth that they are.

The trek took place in the Owyhee Mountain Range south of Boise. We started at 3,000 ft elevation and reached as high as 8,500 ft. The total distance was 30 miles over 3.5 days, which doesn't sound too bad until you consider the intense elevation fluctuations, while pulling a loaded handcart.

The highlights of the trek included Skye and one of the young men from our ward (Braden Rice) race our handcart up the last hill (pretty much a straight incline) on the first day as it was attached to a 4-wheeler going full speed (they collapsed at the top), pioneer games, water-crossing, Skye getting a cold on day 2 (maybe not a fun highlight, but he pushed on), beautiful scenery everywhere, horse ride with Skye after a long day of pulling, and the amazing testimony meeting near the end of the trek. It was an unforgettable experience that strengthened our testimonies and brought us closer to the youth. A special thanks to Skye's mom for watching the boys all week in Burns. They had a blast, too, and didn't want to leave Grandma Jana!

Our family flag and motto (T.T.T.F) - we adopted other kids into our family, if they could guess what T.T.T.F stood for (True to the Faith). Our conversations as we walked and hung out at night centered on how we, like most of the Mormon Handcart Pioneers, can stay true to the faith.

Here is our family after a really long day of pulling. Each family had their own color bandana and our color was neon green.

The boys pulling in the front with our extra wooden bar. Thanks Bro. Dunkley, from our ward, who gave us the idea. Pulling would have been much harder without the extra bar.

A view of our cart before we started out for the day and of the entire trek (all 18 carts)

Having a devotional in the middle of a meadow (covered with rocks) on our 5-gallon buckets.

Skye and I riding horses, while the kids were hanging out with friends. It was beautiful! Thanks Bro. Devoe

You cannot go on a pioneer trek and not play stick pull, apparently. This game was a favorite of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I decided to play and got second place in our company (because most girls didn't even want to give it a try) and had to compete in front of everyone in the finals. Jenna Price (our bishop's daughter) beat me very easily in the semi-final match shown above. Haha!

A view of our third campsite

Near the top of the climb

The evenings were beautiful high on the mountain top.

The whole clan!

Thanks to our trek kids; they were more than we could have hoped for. And most of all thanks to the many leaders and cooks that put on the trek with the important purpose of remembering our pioneer ancestry and strengthening our commitment to the gospel. It was a memorable 4-day trip. And we all slept A LOT when we got home....how the handcart pioneers did it for 6 months straight in harsh weather is beyond me.

Great Granddad Phil

2011-09-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

7-24

On either side of Sarah's graduation weekend we were able to have Granddad Phil stay with us at our house. The boys loved tapping into his engineering mind and recruiting him to help them build a log cabin. And, what better thing to wear than a baseball cap, underwear, t-shirt and boots while building. Oh, Bryce!

Granddad Phil reading one of the boys' favorite books on Bryce's bed. I was probably the first to fall asleep, but the boys will both remember reading with their great-grandpa.

Sarah's Graduation

2011-09-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

7-22

Sarah graduated from BYU-Idaho and we were so happy to be able to go and make a fun weekend out of it. Granddad Phil flew into Boise from Seattle a few days before the graduation and made the trek across Idaho with us. It was a fun weekend filled with graduation, a quick trip to Jackson Hole and Jenny Lake, and lots of driving!

The boys stood still long enough for Skye to get one picture of them with their Auntie

Sarah and Granddad Phil

Sarah and Grandma

We were able to convince the boys to stop running around the gym long enough to put on the graduate's cap

Sarah getting her diploma for her Communications degree

Skye and Granddad Phil stayed with one of Skye's close friends from Burns - Jeremy and his wife, Amy. Amy also graduated in Communications. Congrats Amy!

The whole group together

Sarah and Orchid...one of Sarah's best friends and old roommates

The happy graduate!

We woke up the next morning and Skye, Sarah, the boys (in the jogger), and I went for a 5.5 mile run around Rexburg. After our run, we enjoyed a nice smoothie before heading to Jackson Hole for the rest of the day.

We left our camera in the car when we arrived at Jenny Lake outside of Jackson Hole, WY, so here is a picture of the Tetons as we drove back into Jackson. We had quite an adventure. We took the boys, Sarah and Phil on a hike around Jenny Lake (Grandma was supposed to take a boat to the water fall on the other side and we were going to meet her there). Apparently, Grandma took the boat ride and waited for over an hour for us to arrive, then walked on her own to the waterfall, enjoyed it for a few minutes, and returned to the vehicles, all without seeing us.

Our journey took us on a trek rather challenging for two toddlers and Granddad Phil. We walked nearly 2.5 miles on rugged terrain to eventually arrive at the waterfall. Our original plan was to then walk back, but we decided at that point to jump on the ferry boat and take the easy (and quicker) way back to the vehicles. We were proud of ourselves; it was a long hike with little ones and everyone finished.

We ended our fun-filled adventure at a very yummy Mexican restaurant in Jackson Hole. By the time we got back to Rexburg at 11 PM that night, Skye (the driver) was the only one awake. It was a memorable weekend for sure! Good job on graduating Auntie Sarah and thanks for coming trekking with us Granddad Phil and Grandma Maureen!

Weekend Trip to Burns

2011-09-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

7-15

The middle of the summer is always a busy time in Burns with haying in full swing. We made an effort to get all the cousins together for a photo shoot (Christmas picture 2011)... The real reason for the trip was to spend some time with the newest little man (Balen). The boys love hanging out on the ranch and this time around they even got to spend time with both Skye and Grandpa Andy working on the farm. Skye piled everyone in the swather and gave them (Bryce, Brandon and Mason) all a chance to drive around the fields without mommy supervision. Grandpa Andy took the three boys with him in a rake tractor the next morning. We're teaching them at a young age that summers are meant for working on the ranch. :) Baby Balen will be out there a part of the haying action soon enough...he has home-court advantage in that he lives on the ranch while the rest of the boys have to travel from afar. It was a fun weekend!

Bryce (3), Brandon (2), Mason (1), Balen (1 month)

Farmers in the making...

Skye taking Grandma for a spin on the newest toy on the farm

The boys with GiGi (Skye's grandma) after church on Sunday

The Latest and Greatest

2011-09-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

7-6

The boys spend hours on this little deck with their bikes and cars. Their latest pride and joy is the tricycle trailor. I love their creativity. And, they were quite proud, especially with their love of tractors and trailors.

And, this is what happens when you turn your back on Brandon in the bath. He brings a friend to join his bathtime.

Independence Day

2011-09-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

7-4

We went to our Ward pancake breakfast in the morning.

Bryce loved the "rides". They had a horse and wagon ride and a train ride right in the parking lot!

Brandon thought he wanted to ride...

...but decided maybe not. :) And, the lady helping him out happens to be the boy's new babysitter! Also, one of her daughters is in the orange shirt in a few of these pictures.

We enjoyed our Fourth of July afternoon washing the car!

We were lucky and had fireworks all around our neighborhood for us to enjoy at night.

Camping at Three Forks - Owyhee River

2011-09-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

7-1

Skye and I love camping; we went on a few camping trips while we were dating and then, when we were married without kids. We have been saying for a long time that we have wanted to take the boys. We finally did! They are at the perfect age for loving the whole experience. Everything is exciting and fun for them, and they are always up for running and getting dirty. We went to Three Forks on the Owyhee River and it was beautiful! We wanted to find a somewhat secluded spot (so we traveled 100 miles south of Boise to the southeastern corner of Oregon on the Idaho and Nevada borders; we drove nearly 40 miles down a gravel road from the small town of Jordan Valley, Oregon and were hundreds of miles away from any city), since it was the holiday weekend and we were worried other more common camping places might be packed. It was perfect and we only saw a few other people in all of our camping and hiking.

When we first got there, we picked out our camping spot and the boys helped dad set up the tent. We ate some dinner and then, hiked down to the river. We threw rocks for a while and we looked for a spot to cross the river, but the water was too deep. Instead, we played in the water.

It was interesting finding firewood. We were in the middle of sagebrush and not much else for wood; so that's what we used. Bryce learned to build the log cabin (just like his lincoln logs)!

And, we made s'mores. Bryce is in the top two pictures and Brandon is in the bottom two. They both covered their faces when the fire got too hot. :)

It didn't take long for any of us to fall asleep and we all slept soundly. The pictures of Bryce and Brandon in their sleeping bags was when we were putting them to bed and the other two pictures are from when we woke up.

Here's the view in the evening and in the morning. The bright sunlight was so deceiving. I thought we had slept in so late and by the time we checked the time, it was still early in the morning!

Throwing rocks into the river below. You can't really tell, but the bushes in front of Bryce and Brandon are the edge of this plateau that we were on and at that point it drops off into the water. I was hesitant setting up camp here because I was worried that the boys would get too close to the edge, but they were fine and the sagebrush was a good barrier.

We ate some oatmeal for breakfast and then, drove over to the hot springs. This is the best picture we got of the hot springs (you'll find out why). If you look across the river on the right side of the picture, you can see the dark rock and the white waterfall streaming down. The problem was that we weren't sure how we were going to get to the springs.

We came to this spot along the river and tried to walk out as far as we could go and we only made it about a third of the way out before the water was too high and the current was too strong. So, Skye had the brilliant idea of swimming across a strong flowing river with the boys on our back. I could barely swim with any direction because of the strength of the current, so I opted out trying to put one of our boys on my back. We played here, while Skye did some scheming.

Skye did a test swim across the water down to a spot where he could catch on to some plants and pull himself over to some rocks on the other side. Then, he ran a ways back to compensate for the current and swam back to us to tell us the plan. We left all of our extra "stuff", including our camera under a bush and Skye took both boys over, one at a time, and I was terrified the entire time. haha! But, he did it! We then hiked to the hot springs and it was breathtaking. Really. Skye and I kept telling each other to remember the beauty, since we didn't have the camera to take pictures. There were spots to slide down a bit and big pools of crystal clear warm water. The even bigger part of the adventure was figuring out how to get back to the other side of the river when we were through at the hot springs. We eventually made it and the boys fell fast asleep as soon as we were back in the car after our crazy adventure.

And, we drove through Silver City on the way home and loved it. It is an old mining town that has been preserved and never commercialized. Very neat!

Last Day at Letonia's

2011-09-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

6-30
We had an amazing babysitter this past year and were lucky to have found her. They moved this summer and the boys last day at Letonia's house was the end of June. Letonia and CJ have two boys, Colmin (5) and Kyler (1). The boys had many fun adventures with these boys, including going to the zoo, McDonald's playplace (and getting their usual, chocolate milk and an apple pie, ha), Monkey Bizness, Planet Kid, Jump 'N Land, and many different parks in the area.

Colmin, Bryce, and Brandon

with Kyler and Sophia

Letonia and the boys

Big hugs for Bryce and Colmin

and Letonia and Brandon...

Here are a few pictures that Letonia texted me over the past months...

Thanks Letonia! We miss you guys!

Sundays, Grandma, and Karate Boys

2011-09-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

Our ward has started at 1pm this year and that's been an interesting time with two boys who wake up super early. We have been able to explore many different Sunday morning activities. I feel like we've already had a full day by the time church starts. One of the boy's favorite activities is going for a walk, which back in June would turn into playing on the equipment and rocks in the construction area at the end of our road.

Here are the boys ready for church with Granny. Bryce is saying some cute and funny things these days and this week he had a couple that I wanted to document. First, Bryce said the funniest thing to Brandon. I don't even remember what Brandon did, but Bryce told him, "Brandon. Look at my eyes. I love you, but you were being naughty." I cracked up when grandma told me about that. It's very evident that we need to watch what we say in front of Bryce because he picks up on it all. Then, right before church this Sunday, he said this:

Me: "Bryce, do you want to take your scriptures to church today?"

Bryce (very matter of factly): "I need to take my scriptures because they remind me to think about Jesus."

What a good boy. I need to remember these times when I'm struggling with his active, three-year-old ways.

And, we'll end with my silly Karate boys....

I told Skye that seeing the boys in my headbands gave me a glimpse of how cute a little daughter might be. Skye wasn't too sure about me saying that our boys brought thoughts of a girl to me because of course, these boys are manly! haha!

Boise Rose Garden and Bryce's Big Bed

2011-09-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

6-25

Skye and I went out to eat and then, walked around the Boise Rose Garden for a date in June. We took these pictures on Skye's phone to take back and show Grandma how beautiful it was. Grandma and I had stumbled upon this garden when we were on a walk with the boys in downtown, but it was when there were no flowers blooming, so here it is.

Later this weekend, we switched Bryce from his toddler bed to a twin size bed and he was so ready. I just had to take a picture of both of their little toddler beds side-by-side because I have loved this stage and Skye or I have sat in between these two beds many times to sing and/or rub heads until the boys were comfortable or asleep :)

Here's the new big bed and the boys reading books in Grandma Hoyt's chair. We sit and read and rock every night for longer than an hour sometimes. I LOVE that the boys are in and have been in a reading books stage. Special moments...

McCall Fun

2011-09-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I feel like I have to catch up on documenting what I've missed before I move on to what's happening now, so here's my attempt to catch up on our busy, fun summer. Many more posts to come!

McCall, ID 6-18

We planned a weekend trip to McCall back in June with our friends Zach and Kara. Kara's sister let us stay at their condo and we had a blast. The day before we were supposed to go, Bryce got really sick. We were going to back out or have me stay home, but Grandma was an angel and said she would stay back with Bryce and "not to worry". Now that I'm writing this way after the fact, I can say that Grandma really was a trooper because she ended up getting really sick, and when the rest of us came back, we all got it! Anyway, Skye, Brandon, and I went to McCall and missed Bryce, but had a great time. It was my first time to see McCall without a thick blanket of snow everywhere.

The night we got there, we walked around the condo complex and checked out all of the facilities. Brandon and I played a little racquetball :). After our walk, we put Brandon and Reese to bed and hung out with Zach and Kara. We played card games and take two speed scrabble and ate lots of junk food.

The next morning, Skye, Kara, Brandon and I went for a jog (with Brandon in the jogger). Skye was hardcore and went for a long run, and Kara and I turned back a lot sooner and had a more casual jog. :) Then, we all went for a morning swim.

Next, we went to my favorite place, The Pancake House, and enjoyed attempting to eat our giant servings of pancakes, hashbrowns, chicken fried steak...(It's weird not having Bryce in this picture)...

We went for a drive around Payette Lake and saw this beautiful waterfall...

We went out for ice cream and I got Brandon the "kid's size"! He was in heaven.

Kara and Reese

For dinner, we made tin foil dinners. It was rainy outside, so we just made them in the oven.

Daddy teaching Brandon how to make his first tin foil dinner.

Poor Reese missed out on the good grub.

These two played really well together. Reese is 1 and Brandon is 2 and he calls her "Baby Reese".

And, good thing the kids moved away before this guy came because that would have frightened me, even though I'm sure he's harmless and just begging for food.

What a fun trip! Hopefully we can go again and take Bryce.

Trip to Oregon

2011-07-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

6-18-2011

We went to visit some of our friends and go to a wedding in Oregon back in June. We had a nice trip and got to check up on our rental house. We first went to Portland to visit Ty and Heather! It was especially fun to see Heather's cute prego belly. She's due the end of September. Heather teaches preschoolers and she takes them on fun trips and, because of this, she's a pro at navigating the zoo to see all of the animals. So, on Saturday, she was our personal tour guide at the zoo.

Bryce comparing his arm span to the wing span of a bald eagle...

We really do find tractors everywhere we go...

Thank you Ty and Heather!

After the zoo, we ate some lunch with Ty and Heather and then, headed down to Independence. Our friend, Celia, had a beautiful wedding and it was fun to see so many of our friends there.

One of the highlights for Bryce at the wedding was driving a Model T Ford! Brother and Sister Henich hosted the wedding at their pavilion and drove the bride up in this car. As soon as Bryce saw the car, he said he wanted to ride in it. Once the reception was underway, Sister Henich let Bryce "play" in the driver's seat and then, he went for a spin with Brother Henich. What a happy boy!

After the wedding, we stayed the night with our friends, Paul and Alex. It was fun to have Bryce see his friend, Gianna.

Here is a picture of Giana and Bryce at Bryce's 1st birthday party (Feb. 2009). I can't believe how bald these two were!

Then, here is a picture of Bryce and Giana (with Grandma) before or after story time at the Monmouth library (around 2 years old).

And, here they are now...our 3-year-olds! They were so happy to see each other. They are both very strong-willed and independent, and it was funny to see how similar their personalities are. They attempted to sleep together, but it didn't last long...

And, I didn't get a picture of all of us, but I took this video during family scripture study that captured a glimpse of everyone. Paul and Alex have two girls, Giana and Sonoma.

Our Budding Photographer

2011-07-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

6-2-2011

Over the past few months, I've noticed pictures like the following will appear on my camera every now and then...

And, just in case I wasn't sure who has been taking these pictures, here's a little piece of evidence...

6-3-2011

And, here's a picture of our little budding photographer...

This is Bryce on his tricycle in front of our neighbor Philip's house. We have a rule that he's allowed to ride to Philip's mailbox and back to ours whenever we're playing in the front yard. He's getting to be a pro and LOVES riding his bike.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-07-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, Grandma, the boys, and I headed to Uncle Craig and Aunt Teri's house in Vale for Friday night and then went to Burns Saturday through Monday.

It was our first time going to Uncle Craig and Aunt Teri's house and we really enjoyed staying with them; they spoiled us and it is beautiful where they live! When we first got there, the boys saw a few buckets of toys that Aunt Teri had set out for them; they ran right to them and started playing. The toys were from when Becky and Adam were little kids (who are now in their 20's). How cool is that?

Brandon flying the helicopter...

Bryce really enjoyed playing with this barn and seeing how much he could cram in it.

Bryce was attempting to open the door to the porch and then, Brandon wanted to try. Brandon is in the stage where he copies every word and every move that Big Brother makes. :)

Aunt Teri and Grandma in the kitchen chatting while Aunt Teri made an amazing taco/chili soup dinner.

Next door to Uncle Craig and Aunt Teri's home is a one-room schoolhouse that Aunt Teri has been teaching at for almost 20 years and she was sad to say that it just shut-down this past year. So, with this school being right next to their house, you just walk out the door and there's a playground. The boys loved having Uncle Craig push them on the swings.

After playing on the swings for a bit, Uncle Craig took us for a walk around some of their land. The boys loved that there were school buses at their house.

On our walk, Uncle Craig spotted some owls in a tree.

Then, we went to see Uncle Craig's bikes. The boys were loving every minute ...

Bryce

Brandon

Aunt Teri kept teasing Uncle Craig by saying that he's preparing for being a grandpa. haha. They are expecting their first grandbaby later this year.

Here is the adorable, picture-perfect school house.

Brandon and Uncle Craig walking back to the house...

Isn't this just beautiful? I loved the view.

Once we went back inside, we played with toys again for a bit.

Then, we got jammies on and had storytime.

Saturday morning before we left...Aunt Teri, Grandma, and Me...

I didn't really take many pictures in Burns, but I did get these of Sheyanne with Brandon and Pedro with baby Kasyn (Amaya's baby that we met for the first time) at Glory Day's Pizza!!

Mowing with Dad

2011-07-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

May 2011

Mowing the lawn with dad has already become one of the boys' favorite Spring/Summer pasttimes. We haven't had our own lawnmower until a few weeks ago (it's been at our rental house in Oregon), so we've been borrowing this amazing riding lawnmower from our friends. They live a few blocks away, so whenever we pick up the mower, I have been dropping off the boys (all three) at our friend's house and they have been driving their sweet ride back to our house through the neighborhood to mow our lawn. haha! Riding a lawnmower through the neighborhood with dad....yes, my boys LOVE it! Then, Bryce is the real trooper and wants to mow the entire yard. Brandon usually wants to watch and play while dad and Bryce get to work.

Later this day, after working outside for the majority of the day, Skye and I went for a run after dark with the boys in the jogging stroller and it was such a fun time that I wanted to document it. I was dying because Skye was pushing me, but it felt good. The boys were in good moods and were chatty at the beginning and then, Brandon fell asleep and Bryce was close to falling asleep. The weather was perfect and the stars were bright. Skye also had just gotten his iPhone and he put it in the stroller cup holder, so we had our own personal radio without putting headphones on. It was just a fun family moment.

Bryce (trying to fake sleep) and Brandon (out to the world)

With their bears and blanket :)

And, here's another mowing picture of Bryce and Skye in our backyard. Skye will let Bryce steer quite a bit and said that he's not that bad. Also, Bryce will do the push mower right alongside Skye. I think we'll have him ready to go on his own before too long!

Lovin' the Rain Boots

2011-07-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

The boys are getting plenty of use out of their rain boots. They are a favorite when they're choosing shoes to wear...

Brandon

Bryce

Brothers

I had to be strategic with my picture taking, if I didn't want to get mud all over me. The boys were in a zone and did not stop just because mom was right next to the puddle taking pictures.

Bryce

Brandon

There's just something about getting wet and dirty that never gets old to little boys :)

John and Bethany and the Birthday Boys

2011-07-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

4-22-2011

John and Bethany came through Boise and stayed the night with us. The next morning was Brandon's birthday and Max's birthday was 6 days earlier, so we went to Krispy Kreme for a celebration breakfast.

Brandon, Bryce, Zach, and Max

Max, Brandon, and Bryce at Krispy Kreme

The boys had fun watching the donuts being made...

It was a fun idea for little kids. I thought it was cool, too.

Happy birthday Brandon and Max! Our sweet two-year-olds :)

Enjoying our donuts

Brandon sporting the Krispy Kreme hat and drinking his milk

The gang...look at all of these boys!

Auntie Sarah

2011-07-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

4-11-2011

Sarah came to visit us between her winter and summer semesters. Her timing was perfect because she was here when Brandon and I left for Texas, so she was able to help Grandma and Skye spoil Bryce a bit while his mom and brother left him.

Texas Trip - Day 3

2011-07-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I was happy to run into so many friends. I got to see Jordan and Paige Peterson and their beautiful mama Kari!

And, Brandon and I saw Ronna and Blake!

Mom and Dad planned a BBQ after church with our neighbors Paula and the Morrissey's. We had a lot of fun.

Rachel, Brandon, and I went over to the Morrissey's house first to check out their amazing garden and for Brandon to see their longhorns.

Rachel and Brandon in Scott's garden

Scott and Brandon with the longhorns

Micki showed Brandon her pond with turtles in it.

Justin was in charge of the BBQ and did a great job. Ricki is below with her plate of BBQ food.

Paula dipping strawberries in chocolate

Brandon and Rachel

Dad and Scott

All the ladies

It was so fun seeing these two...

Just eating our chocolate-covered strawberries :)

Ricki, Me, Mom, Rachel

Brandon loved hanging out with Jeff and Sam, even when they had him huffing and puffing because they told Brandon to try pushing a concrete block...

I LOVE this swing and enjoyed sitting on it and watching the sunset.

While we were in Texas, I made sure to get my Blue Bell fix. Thanks mom and dad for everything!

Texas Trip - Day 2

2011-06-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning, we had smoothies again and got ready for our picnic at the park. Dad made his homemade bread (and let Brandon "dig" in the grain) and mom made the lunches.

Uncle Sam taught Brandon how to jam on the drums.

Justin and Rachel took us to this really cool park in Plano that is huge with lots of hiking trails. We started out playing on the playground and enjoying our picnic. After we ate, we played some football. Brandon even joined in; we got in a tight circle and threw the ball around. He loved it!

Then, we set out on the trails. It was a beautiful day. Mom bought some blue bubbles and they were a hit on our walk, except you had to be careful and dodge them because they would turn you blue! The picture of mom below was after she climbed a pretty steep hill. We were so amazed by how well she was doing, after having knee surgery not even two months prior.

How pretty is this? Posing with Justin, Brandon, and Rachel

Uncles :)

There were so many pretty wildflowers and check out the cactus...

And, my mom would never pinch Sam in the back while I'm taking a picture...

Bubbles!

Part of the fam...What a fun time!

Dad and Brandon went down by this water to throw rocks. I think Brandon could have done that all day. He loves water and rocks and loves throwing, so it only makes sense :)

Brandon and Papa

Brandon stopped to pet most of the dogs that walked past us.

I think they need one.....They would be the cutest parents. haha!

Had to get a picture in the bluebonnets and other wildflowers...

Brandon fell asleep in the car only a few minutes after leaving the park. He was warn out from all of the fun. When we got home, he continued to take a long nap. Amanda and her mama came to visit and I had to wake Brandon up because he was still sleeping when they had to leave soon.

Amanda, Me, and Brandon. I love this girl!

Brandon was a little hesitant, since he just woke up, but it didn't take too long for him to warm up to Claudia. I don't know how any child could resist with how sweet and loving she is.

A little later Ashley and Lauren came over to say hi!! They are both such great friends of mine. Ashley has been teaching Art and just got married this month! Lauren has been doing an internship at a law office and will head to LAW SCHOOL this fall. Woo hoo! That is such an accomplishment. We had fun chatting and watching an old birthday party home video that they were both in, ha!!! Love you two! Brandon was definitely hyped up by this point.

Meredith also joined us. It was always so much fun to have another friend who lived out in the "boonies" with me. I love my wonderful girlies :)

And movie time with Nona to wrap up the day.

Texas Trip - Day 1

2011-06-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Skye gave me the most amazing birthday present ever! My birthday was the beginning of April, and he bought a ticket for Brandon and me to go to Texas!!! Also, thanks Mom and Dad and anyone else who pitched in for the birthday gift. Brandon was our token "under two" child. AKA...He was free to fly. His birthday was April 23rd, so we were coming to the end of that window. We went April 14-17th and it was an incredible weekend. It was so nostalgic for me, since I hadn't been "home" to Texas for almost 2 years! So, I just soaked everything in...the house, the pictures on the walls, the trees, and all the new growth in McKinney. We got in late Thursday night, even later than expected due to a thunderstorm causing us to re-route to Oklahoma City for twenty minutes before getting the clearance to continue to DFW. Brandon did really well on the first two flights, but once we stopped in Oklahoma City and he was woken up from a deep sleep, he was out of sorts and cried quite a bit. Poor guy. But, we made it to Dallas and Dad picked us up and basically tucked us into bed.

Brandon slept on a trundle bed next to my bed. In the early hours of the morning, he crept into bed with me and we both slept in a bit. We woke up to Mom and Sam whispering and peeking in the door, trying to see when we were going to wake up, so they could see Brandon! He was sound asleep when we got in the night before. Mom had toys set up in the room, including a kid's tee pee with these balls in it. Brandon LOVES balls and basketball is his favorite, so he was a happy camper from the get-go. Uncle Sam and two new balls to play with...what more could you want?!

Dad and Sam made sure the yard looked pristine and beautiful for us and it did! Everything was so green from all of the Spring rain.

Brandon loved playing and running with Texan.

He especially liked hitting the ball to Texan using Papa's baseball bat. He would proudly and enthusiastically say, "I whack it!"

Uncle Sam, Brandon, and Papa

There was no lack for wrestling and climbing with Uncle Sam around.

Then, we went inside and had smoothies that Dad made. Brandon and Dad's Smoothie mustaches:

Later on, we went to Towne Lake. It was one of those nostalgic moments...thinking about runs, parties, BBQs, feeding the ducks, riding the paddle boats, picnics, and all of the other Towne Lake memories that I have. It was beautiful and green and sunny outside. Sam and I ran twice around and a teeny bit more to make it 2.5 miles. We wimped out after that. It was so much fun running with my littlest (okay, my TALL) bro!

While Sam and I ran, Brandon fed the ducks, until he got too scared. I can totally understand; they are aggressive ducks, haha!

The playground and swings, especially, were a hit. Papa, Nona, and Brandon even made a new friend.

After Towne Lake, Sam and I got dropped off at L.A. Fitness to workout and shower, while Nona and Papa took Brandon to the church gym to play basketball. He showed off his basketball skills and was in heaven. Seriously, he LOVES basketball.

Next stop was the new Cabela's in Allen! No, Brandon (and I) were not spoiled at all on this trip...

Dad bought some candied nuts and yummy fudge for us all to enjoy. Brandon is a chocolate lover and didn't want to share the fudge :)

Nona sharing chapstick with Brandon. Chapstick is another one of his favorites currently. He will find it in the house (usually in my bedroom) and will put it in his pocket while he's walking around, and then, you'll see him stop, pull it out, and put it on whenever he feels like it; it's so funny.

To top off the day, we saw Rachel and Justin and their cute apartment in Dallas. Then, we all went to dinner at another favorite...Spring Creek BBQ. Their warm rolls are delish and they have Blue Bell ice cream with their cobbler!!!

Brandon with two of his uncles, Sam and Justin. Can you tell he was having a great time? What a happy boy.

When we got home, Meredith was sweet enough to come out to the house to see us. We had fun catching up and chilling just like the "old days", haha! Seriously, we're 7 years out of high school now. That's just crazy!

Spring Sprint Triathlon

2011-06-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of April, Skye and I did a sprint triathlon here in Boise. It was a real beginner triathlon with the swim on Friday and the bike/run on Saturday. It was a really fun experience completing the race together. We were comparable in the swim. Skye had to seriously cheer me on and do circles around me in the bike portion. And, Skye continued to push me hard on the run (while he was barely breaking a sweat). So, I ended up getting a good time in the rankings of the women competitors, while Skye was toward the end of the men. Ha!

Our amazing fans!

The boys happily ate the after-race food :)

Grandma had perfect timing and coordination skills. We only knew the approximate time of when we would start and end and we explained to Grandma briefly the area where we would be biking/running. And, who did we see when we were biking around one of the last corners? Grandma and the boys staked out on the street, waiting to wave to us. Then, Grandma, Bryce, and Brandon were there cheering us on when we ran through the finish line.

Thanks Grandma!

YMCA fun

2011-06-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

We have had a YMCA family membership since Skye started work here because he gets a membership through his work. We have really enjoyed this perk of his job and, in April, Bryce took a tennis class for 3-5 year olds. It was pretty cute and fun. He had a good time. He was so active that I didn't really get a good picture of him.

While Bryce was in tennis class, Brandon usually did what he loves most, playing BASKETBALL!! He really does LOVE basketball and he's getting pretty good at his dribble. haha!

April Conference Weekend

2011-06-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning before conference, we went on a family bike ride all around our neighborhood and some surrounding neighborhoods. We're lucky to live in an area where we are in a neighborhood, yet have farms within a mlie all around us. So, we went on some of the back roads and saw the horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and beautiful scenery.

Bryce was well-behaved during much of conference on Saturday thanks to the Lincoln Logs that he got from Nona and Papa! He really loved building things with them.

Then, Saturday night we had Sayge, Shaylee, Jana, and Sheryden join us for the night. My boys snuck in bed with Sayge and Shaylee and would have loved to convince us that they would have slept just fine there with them ;)

On Sunday, we watched conference and went to Skye's cousin Becky's wedding in Vale! She was a beautiful bride and we're so happy for her.

Rainboots

2011-06-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

The boys got new rainboots from grandma Jana and thoroughly enjoyed playing in the rain and jumping in the puddles.

The new rainboots

running, splashing, playing, laughing...

We spent quite a while out here in the rain. They had the time of their life!

What a fun group of kiddos...

2011-06-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

I am so glad we live close to Skye's family and can get together with them often. Here is Jana with her three grandsons and youngest daughters. She's such a wonderful grandma and these boys absolutely love her.

March 26th Shaylee, Brandon, Mason, Sayge, and Bryce with Grandma Jana

Whitney and Patrick came to visit

2011-06-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

Whitney and Patrick came to visit us in mid-March and we enjoyed spending time with them and baby Alden...(he's still a baby to us). It was so nice of them to drive up to Boise from Provo. They moved to South Carolina in May after Patrick finished school at BYU and I think we owe them the next visit.

We went to Cabela's while they were here and checked out the fish and animals. Cabela's is a hit with my boys and I think Alden enjoyed it, too.

We also went to the YMCA and the boys enjoyed swimming and splashing. Bryce and Brandon had Skye and Patrick taking them down the "big" slide over and over again.

We had a pancake breakfast Sunday morning before Whitney and Patrick left. I can't believe Whitney and I are at this stage of life. Skye and I have two little ones and are working and living life here in Boise, and Whitney and Patrick are starting their life away from college in South Carolina with Alden and one on the way!! So much fun. I'm so grateful for my college roomy :)

Oregon Flashback

2011-06-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Right before we left Oregon, we had a sweet, photographer friend named Celia who came over and surprised us by bringing her camera and taking pictures of us for a going away present. We were literally in the middle of moving out of our house at this point and these pictures captured the moment with us all natural in our backyard. Darin and Shannon were also with us as we said goodbye to our house. And their sweet Marlee was captured in one of the pics below.

Skye went to Vancouver on a business trip back in March and drove down to Independence one of the nights to visit some of our friends. While he was down there, he saw Celia and she gave him these pictures.

July 2010

Brandon - 15months

Bryce - 2 1/2

Bryce with Skye and Brandon with Me

I am a Child of God

2011-05-20T05:05:00.000-07:00

Our little gospel singers....and the part with Brandon at the end was completely unplanned.

Happy Mother's Day Biscuits!

2011-05-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

So this is Skye in case anyone is wondering....here I sit late on a Saturday night at work because I went on a campout with the Scouts last night and needed to get a project done before next week. I want her to know that her little dudes and I LOVE HER so much and are so blessed to have her to take care of us.

Becca, I hope you enjoy going down memory lane as much as I did putting this together. You've been a mommy for over three years now, which seems like not that long, but we've moved four times (hopefully done with that for a long while), you've worked in both public accounting and in the private sector in two different states, earned your CPA, put me through graduate school, and if that wasn't enough you've brought two little boys into this world who adore you in every way. Your ability to have compassion and focus on the one in the midst of an absolutely crazy life is a lesson to us all. Have a happy mother's day and enjoy these memories!