The Things We Do for FUN

I love how creative kids can be in their play.  Here are some of the things I've caught my kids doing that have kept me laughing:

Have I mentioned that it has been a rather dry winter for us?  Where's all the snow?  If Mr. Groundhog is correct, maybe we'll get a little more snow over the next couple weeks.  Hmmmm, we'll see.  Anyway, the kids haven't let the lack of white stuff ruin their winter.  One Saturday afternoon in January, we heard the kids out back laughing and playing.  I was curious to see what could be so much fun (hey, maybe I'd want to join in too!) so, I opened the blinds and found my little ones doing this:

Snow or no snow, there WILL be sledding!

Hide and Seek is always a favorite game to play.  I miss the good old days when the kids used to simply hide with a blanket over their heads while sitting in the middle of the living room.  Now I have to look, and look GOOD to find them.  Do you want to play?  Ok, here we go. . .

First stop, the kitchen.

Hmmmm. . . Nothing suspicious looking here.  Or is there?. . .

Here I AM!!!!

OK, the linen closet.  I don't see anything.  Do you?

Remember to look up HIGH!

Such a little monkey!

Now to the boys bedroom.  The closet is open, so that is suspicious.  But I don't see anything.

Maybe I'll just close the closet.  Oh, Hello there Grant!

 Trust me, most of the things we do are not as tidy as hide and seek.  Yet, USUALLY the damage isn't as bad as Christmas morning play either. . . YIKES!

 We did take the cushions of the couch one day and created our own tumbling gym.

Here is Grant on the balance beam.  I think sticking your tongue out helps you balance ;)

Trent practicing his forward roll.  He is really quite good.

Come and PLAY with us some time!

Dallin

I've noticed that the older the child, the fewer pictures I have.  Not that they aren't cute, and they are involved with lots of different activities.  Since they aren't home with me all day, and my hands are usually full holding other children at events we go to for them, they don't always get their fair share of camera time.  None the less, here's a little bit about Dallin.  He keep us busy running around between cub scouts, ballroom, and basketball.  He has lots of friends.  It seems that everywhere we go kids are excited to see him. . . . "Dallin!!!!"  He is adored by his younger siblings and is quite a good helper with the little ones.  I love how he and I can have REAL conversations about REAL things, and I also like that the jokes he makes up now sometimes actually DO make sense (and sometimes they're even funny!).

Dallin can be such a little ham sometimes (well. . . around his family anyway)

Dallin during the tip off of his first basketball game

Can you find Dallin?  He's the one playing some awesome D!

Hustling down court

Our Princess

I think Sierra secretly enjoys being the only girl in the family.  And boy is she girly!  She loves anything pink, ruffly, sparkly, or adorable (babies, puppies, anything in miniature).  She loves notebooks (like her mama), dancing, writing, giggling, crafting, new clothes, and is already a romantic.  Here is what "Sweet Sierra" (as her daddy calls her) has been up to:

Sierra had her fall dance recital in November.  Her class did a hip hop dance and a ballet dance.  She had a little solo at the end of the ballet dance where she was the only dancer left on stage.  Here she is in her hip hop outfit before the recital.

Going to the recital

At the Covey Arts Center after dancing

Always ready to pose for a cute pic

She LOVES little Evan!

The Middle Child

Whenever I call my mom and say that I have a story to tell her, without even mentioning what the story is about, she immediately says, "Great!  I need another Grant Story."  95% of the time, she is correct, my story is about Grant-- he's a  busy, entertaining, energetic (and LOUD!), pensive, sincere little boy.  Here's what Grant's been up to lately:

Grant is a HARD sleeper and has been known to sleep walk.  One night hours after the kids had gone to bed, Scott and I heard loud thumps and then saw someone running/falling down the stairs.  It was Grant.  He was partially awake (we think?)  and he landed with a THUD smack into the corner of the wall.  He ended up with quite the shiner, but of course they never look as good on camera. . .

I don't know why, but this boy prefers to jump, run, crawl, slide, bounce, waddle, walk on his hands, or roll rather than walk-- ANYWHERE!

Just relaxing!

We've joked for years that Grant can find a stick anywhere.  He always has a stick.  ALWAYS!

I've been trying to document this for a while, unsuccessfully-- a week or two after Grant's training wheels came off this summer he decided that merely riding a bike was not fun enough, so he began doing tricks, like this one, where he goes speeding down the road and lays down on his stomach with legs straight out behind him (I know they're not straight in the picture, but this is the best shot I have).

In December I bought myself a Christmas present.  It was tumbling classes for Grant.  The thought of being stuck in the house all winter with a little boy bouncing off the walls was NOT my idea of fun.  So, to help him get rid of some energy (and to help me stay sane) he began tumbling in January.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many boys were in the class-- obviously I wasn't the only mom with this idea.  He did really well.  We figured that since he was going to do things like this (see pic below) anyway, he might as well do it in a controlled environment and be praised for it.

Ha ha ha ha!  I have NO idea what the inspiration was behind this outfit, but it was quite amusing.  And, YES, I AM one of those moms that will take my kid out in public dressed like this.  :)

After a hard day at tumbling, Grant crashes on the couch with Scott.  Lets just say there is a reason why male gymnasts DO NOT do the balance beam. . . and Grant learned it the hard way. . . OUCH!

At gymnastics

Bars

The vault-- doesn't quite get it at first, but redeems himself at the end.

Walking around proudly after getting his medal.

Grant may be the middle child, but just wait, he's going to be something GREAT, I know it! ;)

Trent

Oh, my little two year old.  He is adorable and sweet, but can be stubborn and throw a tantrum like the best of them.  Trent and Evan have a cute relationship.  Trent loves to tickle Evan and make him laugh.  He also loves to share with Evan.  A while ago, I laid Evan down on the ground and went to get diapering supplies.  While I was gone Trent decided to share a sticker with his baby brother (for those of you who don't know, stickers are prized possessions to 2 year olds).  Upon returning, I found Evan laying on the ground with a sticker on his forehead placed there by his loving 2 year old brother.  The sticker read:  "Remove Completely".  I had to laugh.  I'm sure he's NOT the first 2 year old to have those feelings towards a new baby brother.

Trent is always up for any of this older brothers' games.  While I was making dinner one night Trent and Grant decided to pull all the blankets and pillows off their beds and jump down the stairs onto them.  How have we not had any broken bones yet?

 Poor little guy, when he's tired he can be out in seconds.  He didn't make it till dinner time here. . .

Happy Boy!

This child CAN NOT stay clean.  He is instantly attracted to all dirt, rocks, sticks. . .

He LOVES to imitate Scott.  He takes great care of his bike.  Here he is giving his tricycle a tune-up.

We recently began to potty train-- as sickness hit shortly there after, the "potty-train" is postponed until further notice.  On this particular occasion, Trent told me he needed some privacy ("I my privacy, mom!"), and pushed me out of the bathroom and closed the door.  Being a nosy mom, I peeked in and found him reading a book on his potty.  Too cute!

How did he get so big?

Trent loves making forts.  We make one nearly every day.  No, REALLY, we make one nearly e-v-e-r-y day!

Sure do love this kid!