Making Monkeys

I was gathering hangers to hang my clothes from the washer and Shane follows me with a few hangers and asks “Mom, can I make monkeys?”

“Sure” was my reply. I finished gathering all the hangers I would need and headed down to the Laundry room. “Come on Shane, lets go make monkeys.” 

As we were leaving the bedroom I noticed Cameron had a confused look on his face (I am guessing you do as well).  I reminded Cameron of a few months past he had Shane in the back of Christian’s van fixing the lift and he had found a barrel of monkeys.  Well the hangers are Shane’s barrel of monkeys! 

                                 

Little helpers

Time for some car maintenance and the kids love to help.  Sean and Stockton helped put in some washer fluid, check the oil and replace the burned out headlight while Liz and Shane wiped out the inside.

                           

TOO young for a DS?

Is 2 TOO young to give a child a DS?  In my opinion Yes!  But when you have 3 older kids who have them the 2 year old is bound to find one. 

He hasn’t figured out any games but loves to draw on the Pictochat.

Don’t worry we won’t be buying him one anytime soon.

Christmas 2010

On Christmas Eve I sent Stockton and Liz to the neighbors with a plate of fudge and they stumbled across a special visitor.  A few minutes later the doorbell rang and that special visitor was at our door and took the time to talk to each of the kids.  Shane was a little nervous so I joined him on the lap of the Jolly Ole Man.

Before going to bed that night the kids opened the usual Christmas Eve gift of Pajamas and we all gathered around the living room brilliantly lit with an Aladdin lamp and Sean read the Christmas story from the bible.

            

Christmas Morning was full of wonderful gifts and smiles!

                        

Christmas has come and gone as it does every year but this year I reflected a little more on the true meaning of Christmas and I am truly blessed with so many blessings.

One on One time with Grandpa!

One night last week Grandpa Clark happened to be home alone and was going to take Cameron to dinner but I had plans and he had to stay home with kids so Grandpa took Liz to the Steakhouse. 

Liz came home and really enjoyed herself and the time she got to spend one on one with Grandpa.  Thanks to my friends at the Steakhouse I have an AWESOME picture to share.

Thank you Grandpa!

First Day of School 2010!

I know I am about a month late but better late than never right?

Sean started 7th grade this year and technically this was his 2nd day of school. 

Elizabeth is a 4th grader and Stockton is in the 1st grade.

 

4th of July 2010

The 4th is always filled with lots of food, family and fun.  This year was no different.  There were several BBQ’s, lots of cousins and the kids favorite Pop it’s!

The kids went through probably about 20 boxes. Shane couldn’t quite throw them hard enough so he learned to stomp on them. 

                                

And Stockton learned how to pop them in between his fingers! (Thanks Aunt Bekah!)

                       

Flag Pole Finally!

Cameron has wanted a flag pole in the front of the house for a really long time and now we finally have one thanks to the help of our friends!

After the help of the kids digging the hole, Dion came over and helped cement the support for the pole in the ground.

After the cement had cured for a couple of days, Jon Pratt and his family came over and Jon did all the welding and used his crane to lift the pole into the hole.  Shortly after the pole was in place, we flew the flag for the first time.  (sorry the pics are a little dark) 

                                

Thank you to everyone for your help.  We LOVE being able to fly the American Flag in honor of our freedom.

                          

Also I have to thank Grandpa Potts for gluing & steri-stripping Stockton’s head after he ran into the pole for the first time.

Baseball

After many years of no baseball season I have one that wanted to play this year.(Well 2 but we didn’t get Liz signed up for softball.)

This is Stockton’s first year playing baseball and we skipped the Tball stage.  He is playing coach pitch and he LOVES it.  Once he connects with the ball he can get a pretty good hit out of it.

I love watching him play!

 

Cozy Coupe

As the days got warmer we decided it was time to invest in an outdoor ride-on toy for Shane.  After a trip to Wal-Mart and a tough decision I decided on the Cozy Coupe.  As soon as we arrived home with our new purchase we spread all the little pieces out on the lawn and began to put it together.  We had a lot of help and after only putting the front wheels on wrong once we finally got it all together for Shane to play in.

                            

A Deacon!?

It has been a looooooong time since my last blog.

A couple of months ago Sean turned 12 and was ordained a Deacon!  I cannot believe how time flies.  I think it was yesterday that he took his first steps. 

I have had the honor to take him to gather Fast offerings these last 2 months and to watch him pass the sacrament.  I can’t believe what a wonderful young man he is growing up to be.

Decorating The Tree.....Twice

The day after Thanksgiving Cameron took the kids and went tree hunting. 

After spending a week in the garage we decided it was time to bring it in and decided where it would spend the Holiday season. Then a couple days went by before my Mom put lights on it for me.(Thanks Mom)

Then finally Sunday we decided to let the kids decorate it.  The kids did a wonderful job and Shane even helped.

                     

                        

After the tree was all decorated and the kids were in bed I ran to the store(Liz informed me before bed the cat was out of food).  When I returned I found an empty living room and the decorations and lights were sitting on the nearby couch. Cam delivered the bad news that the tree had fallen over twice while I was gone.  UGH!!!

So out came the pre-lit 6' artificial tree.  The kids loved getting to decorate a second tree.

                     

Hoping to avoid anymore tree mishaps we are wishing you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

You've had a Birthday!!

Six years ago on December 7th a precious 7lb. baby boy was placed in my arms.  I cannot believe how fast time flys.

                         

Stockton is such a joy to have in our home and we love all of his little habits and mannerisms.  He is so much like his Dad.  He enjoys anytime he can go out to the farm, go to the shooting range or just spend time with his Dad.

He is one of the easiest kids to buy presents for.  He circles about everything in the Cabela's catalog. Although I would love to buy him everything I just picked a few things. This year he got a toy shotgun, Cabela's big game hunter with a gun for the wii, and a pop gun.

                   

The kids have stayed up the last two nights playing the Wii game way past bedtime.  That has made for some hard mornings. Oh well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STOCKTON!!   We hope you had a great one!