the stories of us...

planes and more planes

2012-01-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the airplane museum. We love it (and its free!), so I don't know why we don't go more often. The guys who are in charge of the kids area were both home sick, which was a major bummer. Otherwise, we had a great time.

Bos thought it was pretty funny that the tire was way bigger than he was!

They loved this huge bomb.

Future pilots?

Pretty dang cool.

winter has arrived

2012-01-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

I think its finally winter. The last few days have either been completely soggy (like good old Oregon winter days) or frozen and white. Kaden informed me that he did not like all of the rain, however, it wasn't all bad because he got to break in the new umbrella he got for Christmas.

Aren't they the cutest little monkeys?

this and that...10 random happenings

2012-01-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing really exciting has been going on around here. You probably don't need to know this or even care if you're not Grandma, but here goes nothing:

1. We've all been sick.

Everyone has gotten it. Fevers, cough, and colds. No fun at all.

2. Bosten is sleeping in his big boy bed!

I don't know what I said, but he has been really good about not getting out of bed.

He knows I meant business when I said he was busted if he got out.

3. The last 2 Thursdays we've gone swimming after school at the rec. center with some kids from Kaden's class. Its been really fun, and really good for Kaden.

4. We got snow this week. The boys were thrilled. Kaden has been dying to make a fort, and we just haven't had enough snow yet. We got one started the other day, but ran out of snow. Now its melted, so we're waiting (with fingers crossed) for the next storm.

5. I like eating ice cream when watching The Biggest Loser. I know, its totally ridiculous.

But actually, a little funny too.

6. I've been working on Valentine's projects for some of my favorite Valentines.

7. Kyle had 6 overtime calls the last 2 weeks. It stinks that he has to go out, but its sure nice when his check comes.

8. Bosten likes to lock his bedroom door ALL. THE. TIME. The funny part, though, is the lock is on the outside of his door. He locks it, goes in his room, plays or reads books, and pounds on the door when he wants someone to come get him. (You also have to watch him that he doesn't run, lock the door and close it when you're in there.)

9. We haven't had a good nights sleep for weeks. One, or both, of the boys have been waking up from being sick or bad dreams or whatever else. Poor kids. Poor Mom and Dad.

10. We have gotten some answers that we've been desperately searching for. Its already made a huge difference in our family (just the knowing) and we are grateful.

hot off the press...sort of

2012-01-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I've talked about anything adoption related. Let's change that, shall we?!

There are things you can do to help spread the word that we're hoping to adopt:

-Blog about adoption (in general) or about how you know some families who are hoping to adopt. Add their links to your blog post.

-Send an email to your friends/family telling them that you know someone that's hoping to adopt. Then, have them forward the email to all of their contacts.

-Mention you have friends hoping to adopt on Facebook or Twitter.

-Pray for them. Pray for their birth mothers.

-Add our adoption blog button to your blog...Its super easy. See the white box on my side bar that has our family picture with "We're Hoping To Adopt Again!" right above it? On your design page, add a gadget. Choose "HTML/Java Script". Paste the contents of the little white box. Save. See, super easy!

-Hear of someone facing an unplanned pregnancy? You can tell them you know someone that's hoping to adopt if that's one of the options they're considering.

-Pass out some of our Pass Along Cards.

A few months ago, I won an online contest and won 500 new ones! Help us pass them out!

You never know when you'll have the opportunity to hand one out, so please consider keeping a couple in your purse or wallet.

Medical offices, doctors/nurses, salons, hairstylists, church leaders, restaurants, waitresses, and community bulletin boards are all great places to leave them. In fact, our new caseworker recently told us that she saw one of our cards on a bulletin board at Taco Time. Awesome.

We also have started slipping them in when we send our bills, and we always leave one with the check at a restaurant.

Questions? Comments? Want some cards? Leave me a comment with your email address (if I don't already have it) and I will hook you up. You can also email me:

hope2adoptbaby@yahoo.com

We are so appreciative of your efforts to help build our family. And, how amazing would it be if you are the connection between us and a birth mother?!

new beds

2012-01-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

I have been really reluctant to switch Bosten from the crib to a "big boy" bed. Yes, I know he's 3, but its been really nice to have a place that I know he can't get out of (nope, he's never climbed out). We've had a rough stretch of sleeping through the night lately, and its good to know that he's not downstairs playing or going in to bother Kaden when we think he's in his bed asleep. Its also been quite handy to have a "jail" spot when he get's busted...which is, unfortunately, quite often.

Anyway, the time has come to make the transition. We've been watching KSL for a few weeks to find something, and Saturday night we hit the jackpot. Kyle and Kaden went to pick them up and it turns out the people who were selling them were friends of ours from Molalla....as in Molalla, Oregon (where I grew up and Kyle and I lived the first 8 years we were married). Small world! They realized the connection when Kyle and Kaden saw my parents Christmas card on the wall. Of course, I knew they lived here, but what are the chances that they'd be selling the exact beds we were looking for?!

Here is Kaden's:

I'm sure you noticed, but just in case you didn't:

Army....without having to be completely Army. He's thrilled.

Bosten was so excited about his big boy bed, he didn't wait for sheets before climbing on it:

We set it all up, and its now in his room along with the crib. The deal is he can take a nap in his bed if he stays in it and goes to sleep (otherwise the deal is off). We're still in the crib at night, but I know those days are numbered.

He did great, and this is how I found him yesterday when I went to get him up:

finally

2012-01-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Its been a pretty quiet winter. Temperatures have been in the low 50s with sunshine. I've been really good with it, however, the boys have been dying for some snow. We knew there was a chance yesterday for some flurries, but were surprised to wake up to this:

They had a great time shoveling, throwing snowballs, making snow angels, filling up their dump trucks, and sledding. I think winter arrived...well, at least for one day.

so funny

2012-01-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

The boys have been especially funny lately with some of the cute things they say.

We were looking at some pictures of Kaden as a baby, and he leaned over to Kyle and said: "I can't believe Mom dressed me like that!"

We laughed and laughed.

Bosten has been really liking Hershey's Kisses, and he calls them "chocolate mountain candies".

If he really likes something, he calls it his "lucky favorite".

Never a dull moment around here!

sunbeam

2012-01-02T06:03:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was Bosten's first day as a Sunbeam.

We've been talking about it, and he was pretty excited to go to Primary with Kaden....

...that is, until he got there. He kept saying, "I want to go to class." When we told him this was his class, he wasn't very thrilled. Sharing time/singing time can be long for a 3 year old, so he was much happier when they got to his little class and had snacks and got to color.

What a cute little sunbeam.

we made it

2011-12-31T07:40:00.001-07:00

Phew, we made it through 2011.

I say that for several, big reasons.

I'm grateful for the tender mercies we've had this year.

There have been many.

I'm also happy to say, that I made it taking a picture every. single. day.

Sometimes it was really easy, sometimes it was a lot harder. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do it again for 2012, but it will be something similar (and I know I really need to decide ASAP!). I'm making a book with our daily adventures, and I'll show it to you as soon as its printed.

Until then, here's a few more of our recent POTD's:

The Sunday paper with all of the Christmas ads:

Sliding down the stairs:

Crashed on the floor:

Kaden helped in Primary:

Buddy was around again this year...so fun!

A new holiday popcorn recipe I tried:

Kyle went to Ifly:

We did those chocolate advent calendars:

I helped with gingerbread houses in Kaden's class:

I don't know what he'd been eating, but it was obviously so good that he had to lick the plate clean:

Happy New Year!

Things are looking up around here, and we're looking forward to seeing what the new year has in store for our little family!

christmas

2011-12-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

Our little alarm clocks came running in our room at 5:30am on Christmas morning. We had them sit at the top of the stairs when Daddy went downstairs to turn on the lights and make sure that Santa had come.

They were so excited to see that Santa had brought new bikes, especially since they hadn't even asked for them (according to Kaden):

So fun!

Kaden was dying for an Axis and Allies board game, and literally jumped for joy when he opened it.

Bosten has been talking about a Cosmo (BYU's mascot) pillow pet.

Daddy got a playstation3, which everyone was excited about.

We opened gifts, made breakfast, and got ready for church (complete with matching ties for all of the boys...and I didn't get a picture!).

We went down to my parent's ward with my entire family, and then back to their house for lunch/dinner and gifts.

In addition to my horrible headache, we noticed that Bosten was starting to fade. He went from this...

to this...

and so we decided to call it a day...and ended up like this...

...right before he got sick in the car. I will spare you the details, but it wasn't pretty. We got him home, gave him a bath, and then he got sick again. Poor baby. Poor Mama, because I got it too. It was a miserable 24-36 hours.

Thankfully, no one else got it and we had a great Christmas!

christmas eve

2011-12-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Kyle happened to have Christmas Eve off, which was really nice. We went to lunch at Red Robin and then to see the new Chipmonks movie. I can't say it was my favorite, but the boys loved it (and that's what matters).

Then, it was off to Uncle Ryan's house to hang out with Ryan, Kerry, Tanner, Colby, Sadie, and Grandma. We had a great time hanging out, having dinner, a Christmas FHE, playing games, etc.

We came home to open one gift and get ready for bed. Kaden had made a picture to put with our cookies and milk. He decided that his room would be a good place to put them (so he'd be the first to know if Santa came or not). Cute boy.

The gift we opened? New jammies!

Silly boys!

Then it was off to bed!

merry christmas!

2011-12-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

here to there

2011-12-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Kaden's school had a food drive a couple of weeks ago. He was excited about it, and took a couple of cans every day in his backpack. He thought it was pretty cool that the winning grade got a donut party, but he also thought it was great that someone wouldn't be hungry for Christmas. At the last minute, the 3rd grade beat out the Kindergarten for the donut party. He was a little bummed, but quickly got over it when Kyle told him he'd take him to the food bank and show him where all of the stuff collected from the school ended up.

They got to look around, help one of the workers do a job, and even found one of the cans that we'd taken to school! He was completely thrilled about the whole thing, and what a great experience for him. Kyle is a good daddy.

a family tradition

2011-12-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

When Kyle and I got married, we decided that we wanted one of our family traditions to be a Christmas ornament every year. Hopefully, it would represent something that happened during the year or somewhere we'd been, etc.

Here's ours for this year:

Kaden mastered riding his bike this summer without training wheels:

Kyle decided I needed a tow truck, since I backed into someone in the Costco parking lot:

Bosten got a chocolate milk cow. Its funny he doesn't turn into chocolate milk!

Kyle's ornament was sentimental. You can't really see what it says, but it means something to us.

After the tree gets set up, the new ornaments are the first ones on the tree for the year. Its been a fun tradition, especially when we get all the previous ones out and talk about the meaning behind them.

the lights at temple square

2011-12-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

We finally made it down to see the lights at Temple Square. It was even more fun that Aunt Debbie was here to go with us, along with my parents and sister (and her kids). We thought it would be freezing and packed, but actually, it wasn't too bad.

It was a lot of fun, and the boys (especially Kaden) really loved it.

On the way back to the car, we checked out the giant gingerbread cookie machine inside Deseret Book. Pretty cool and the cookies were good too!

1st dental visit

2011-12-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Bosten had his first dental check up a couple of weeks ago. It was a little weird not doing it myself, but I helped (so that counts, right?!). He did great and both boys were cavity free! YAY. They take after their Mama!

Kaden did great too! We're super proud of the boys!

santas helpers

2011-12-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

For FHE this week we did one of our most favorite holiday activities. I had made cookies earlier in the day, so when it was time for FHE we could get to work decorating:

Once again, Bosten was more interested in eating than working...but hey, who can blame him?!

We assembled plates, wrapped them up, and got them ready to go:

By this point, our runners were excited and ready to go (although you can't really tell they're happy by this picture!):

We let the boys decide which houses to hit. Some (or all) of our runners would sneak up to the house, drop the cookies, bang on the door, and run for their lives. Seriously so, so fun.

family date

2011-12-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Layton to check out the lights in the park. We usually drive through the display the first time (especially for the tunnel, its super great) and then get out and walk around after that.

When we were done, we went over to Krispy Kremes to watch the machine make donuts:

Of course, we had to have one!

We had a great time!

gingerbread houses

2011-12-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

Doing gingerbread houses has become an annual tradition at our house. This year, my sister made some for her preschool class, and made a couple of extra for us.

Bosten did more eating than decorating (as you can see by his cute little face):

Kaden thought it was serious business:

Kaden wanted pictures of all 4 sides (with different expressions). Bosten watched Kaden pose, and then did one of his own...Funny kids!

blown away

2011-12-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

It seems like I haven't posted for awhile (sorry!).

This week we had a wind storm that was completely crazy. The weather reports said it was coming, but seriously, how often are they completely right?! We thought we'd have some wind, but nothing like it really was.

At 2 am I woke up to the winds howling, the house completely shaking, and stuff thumping/banging against the house. I couldn't believe that everyone else was still sleeping. It was loud (and honestly, the shaking house was freaky). Eventually, it did wake everyone up and we ended up with kids in our bed.

We got up at 7am and started looking around. Our basketball hoop was laying on its side with the backboard gone and the rim bent. Our garbage cans (and garbage) was down the driveway. We had roof shingles, parts of fences, and leaves in the yard.

The power went out. We knew there was enough hot water for at least one shower, so Kyle and Kaden jumped in. It came on long enough for me to get a shower, but then was out the rest of the day. We hadn't heard school was cancelled, so we jumped in the van to take Kaden to school. We got there and there was no power or heat, and his teacher told us to go home. The winds were still really strong and were rocking the van enough that both boys were crying and we just wanted to get home.

After being out for a few minutes, we saw huge trees uprooted, fences partially or completely destroyed, street and business signs bent and/or missing, roofs missing shingles or completely exposed, windows blown out, etc. It looked like a war zone.

The power was out all day, and it was cold in the house. We ended up going down to Riverton to spend the night with my parents (turns out the power came back on sometime that night). The boys thought it was a huge party, and a pretty great ending to a pretty lousy day.

School was cancelled for Friday.

Estimates are still coming in, but the latest says that the storm caused approximately $20 million dollars in damages. 102 mile/hour wind gusts were recorded. 6 semi trucks flipped on the freeway (right by our house) because of the winds, and the freeway was closed for hours. The city of Centerville was declared to be in a state of emergency. Kyle had no power at work for a couple of days, and a church where he was on Saturday for a funeral was still without heat.

Crazy.

Thankful that we were all safe, and that our damage was pretty minimal compared to others in the neighborhood.

Bosten's broken window:

The basketball hoop is toast:

The roof:

The view from our front porch...the fence across the street gone:

One of the neighbor's trees:

New hole on the roof:

The other neighbor's fence:

Shingles and fence boards in the yard (it actually was worse later):

More roof shingles gone:

Looking through a couple of yards...all the fences gone.

This is the only fence we lost...part of the garden:

Back neighbor's vinyl fence got hammered:

Just saw another report that they're expecting more crazy wind tonight.

visiting santa

2011-11-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

If you know me very well, you know that I hate hot, crowded malls.

So, when Kaden was out of school one day we went to see Santa.

The boys were both pretty excited, and they both were happy to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

It was a fun day.

Bring on the Christmas season, we're ready!

recent potd's

2011-11-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any of our pictures of the day (potd's) lately, but here's another round:

We had a nice visit with some of Bosten's birth family. We love open adoption!

Kaden and I had to make a disguise for this turkey for school. Shocking that he wanted it to be Army, isn't it?! (Not at all))

Kaden's chart:

We made these pilgrim hats again...

We've had snow a few times, and its so exciting for the boys to wake up and see it. They usually can't get their clothes on fast enough to get outside and play!

Watching and waiting for Daddy to come home from work:

Kaden has had croup and an ear infection lately. Poor kid. He was pretty miserable.

My two little helpers in the kitchen (making muffins):

Kaden's love note to me...He wrote it and brought it in to me:

sledding

2011-11-22T05:33:00.001-07:00

Mimi and Papa have a great sledding hill by their house. Its even more fun to go sledding there because usually there's at least a couple of cousins to go with us!

So, super fun.

leaves

2011-11-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

We have had a million leaves in our back yard. Yep, a million. We decided we should try and clean them up a little before the snow came. The only good thing about raking leaves, is getting to jump in them once they're in a big pile!

snow

2011-11-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

The boys have been so ready to see some snow (me, not so much). You can imagine how exciting it was to finally wake up to some! They got dressed in record time, and were out the door.

national adoption month

2011-11-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

November is National Adoption Month.

I'm not going to blog every day about it, but will try and do it at least a few times.

You already know that adoption is near and dear to my heart.

Its also the hardest thing I've ever done.

Its also the best thing I've ever done.

Statistics from the National Council For Adoption say that last year in the United States, there were 1.2 million abortions, and only 18,000 infants born in the U.S. placed for adoption. Obviously, there's a whole lot of work to be done in making information about adoption available to expectant mothers faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

Want to help?

Its pretty easy, here's a few ideas:

-blog about adoption (in general, or those who you know who have adopted/or are hoping to adopt)

-post something about adoption on facebook or twitter

-if you hear of someone facing an unplanned pregnancy, talk about adoption as a choice or tell them about someone you know that's hoping to adopt

pumpkin carving

2011-11-03T10:57:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago for FHE, we carved pumpkins. Kaden knew exactly how he wanted to do his and got right to work:

Bosten, on the other hand, wanted to do it but wanted nothing to do with it:

We ended up with one happy face and one scary face, and had a fun time together doing it!

trick or treat

2011-10-31T16:49:00.001-06:00

This year we are Curious George, The Man with the Yellow Hat, and a Banana.

Kyle is the best. dad. ever.

Happy Halloween!

two birthday boys

2011-10-29T14:08:00.000-06:00

Kyle and Bosten both celebrated birthdays this past week. We decided to celebrate them together this year. Bosten was pretty vocal about wanting a Buzz Lightyear party, and Kyle didn't care...so Buzz Lightyear it was!

Bosten was pretty happy to be 3!

Bosten got some new clothes, play dough, puzzles, and a Leapster. Kyle got iTunes cards, candy, gift cards to eat out, and a certificate to Ifly.

Since we were having one big bash, we ordered an ice cream cake. It was fantastic.

We sure love our birthday boys, and hope that they had a great day!

the beach

2011-10-27T20:38:00.000-06:00

We wanted to get to the beach this year on our trip to California. It wasn't right next door to Disneyland, but it was pretty dang close (and so much closer than being in Utah!). We hauled buckets, shovels, cars, and Army guys to play in the sand. We ended up in Huntington Beach.

Can you see the sand in his scalp, down his shirt, and in his hair?

The seagulls were freaking crazy. Seriously. We got there and they started swarming our stuff. Kyle and I took turns...one of us watching the boys, and the other one chasing seagulls. Finally, we decided to just eat lunch, so that they'd leave us alone...but not before they dug under our towels, got into the bag, and made off with one of the boys' lunchables.

After lunch, we headed down to the water to play until it was time to go.

The water was cold, but they didn't care. I wish I would have taken a video of the squeals of laughter and giggles we heard as they played and splashed. Such a fun day, and I'm so glad we went.

Wish it wasn't so far to go back...

what characters

2011-10-25T10:09:00.000-06:00

Bosten was excited to see the characters again, and Kaden was ready to give it a try (you might remember that Kaden wanted nothing to do with them last year). Anyway, we didn't just run into a ton of them. Its a good thing we'd scheduled a character breakfast. It was so much better than the one we did last year, and we had a great time!

We didn't get pictures with Phineas and Ferb or Buzz, but we did see them (and for the record, Bosten cried and screamed that he couldn't take his picture with Buzz!)

Kaden had been dying to see Army men the whole time, and on our very last day we ran into the Toy Story ones, who were doing a show. It was super amazing, according to the boys.

disneyland

2011-10-22T16:38:00.000-06:00

We just got back from our trip to Disneyland. We've been talking and dreaming about it for months, so it was fun that it was actually time to go. It was more crowded than we were hoping for (although the Disneyland workers told us it wasn't very busy), but we still had a great time!

It was Halloween time, so our little pirates fit right in. And, speaking of pirates, Pirates of the Caribbean, was the only thing closed. Major bummer.

Toy Story Mania was one of our favorites:

Grizzly River Rapids was Kaden's favorite:

Bosten loved The Buzz Lightyear ride:

Splash Mountain was a little scary (even though we did it last year):

Its A Small World:

We went on Winnie the Pooh a million times:

Who wouldn't want this toy?

As you can see, we had tons of fun! I'll save the pictures with the characters and our day at the beach for another day.

family pictures

2011-10-14T21:06:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, Emily, took our family pictures. This year we went to the International Peace Gardens. It was a beautiful morning, the boys cooperated (for the most part), and we got to check out tons of cool stuff when we were done.

Thanks again, Em. They turned out great!

a big day

2011-10-10T11:00:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Grandma Patty, got baptized. We were really bummed to have to miss it, but so thrilled for her in her decision.

Thanks for being a good example to the boys, Grandma Patty. We love you!

a visit to see the witches

2011-10-01T13:29:00.000-06:00

After family pictures today, we went to check out the witches at Gardner Village.

The boys were about pictured out, but they did cooperate for a few:

there's no words for this one:

This was Kaden's favorite one, but by the time we saw it he was not interested in a picture...

go cougars!

2011-09-28T20:18:00.000-06:00

Friday night we took Kaden to the BYU game.

We were a little worried about how they'd do (especially after their previous 2 games), but figured it was more about the experience for Kaden than anything else.

Our seats were between the big screen/speakers and the marching band...good thing we had earplugs!

We had a good time, and it was fun to hang out with Kaden. He was bummed that Bosten didn't go with us, but we promised that next year he could.

Go Cougars!

an army play

2011-09-23T12:11:00.000-06:00

Yes, we're still alive.

Recently, there were some new Curious George episodes on.

This was one of our favorites:

After watching, we (ok, that's Kaden) decided that he wanted to make a play.
I told him I would help, but this was going to be his project.
He watched Curious George again to make sure he had a plan:

He drew pictures for the backdrops:

He found a box and I cut it up (to his specifications), and then he colored it:

We got some wrapping paper out and layed it out so that he could tape his artwork to it:

We rigged up a system to change scenes, got our Army guys out, found some Army music, and we were set.

Way to go, Kaden.

recent potd's

2011-09-13T05:48:00.001-06:00

Here's some of our random pictures of lately...

Bosten was so tired one day, that he fell asleep midway through his burrito:

We've been to D.I. to get stuff to make our Halloween costumes and check out the toy aisle:

Kyle started softball again. If he plays early, then we all go to watch:

Kaden got his eyes checked.

Bosten told me he needed a pillow to lay on the couch. The next time I looked, he had grabbed 6:

We've been to the park several times...its so much nicer now that its cooler!

Bosten crashed and burned while waiting for Kaden at school. It actually was way worse than this looks...scraped knees, hands, nose, and forehead. Poor kid.

Bosten helped me make brownies when Kaden was at school:

The boys' cousin, Riley, got baptized.

and that's what's been happening around here.

one lucky kid

2011-09-10T15:38:00.000-06:00

You know those machines that are at restaurants that have "the claw"? Come on, you know which ones I mean. You feed your money into the slots and then have 30 seconds or so to maneuver the claw and drop it down in the right spot so that it will drag up a prize?!

Kaden has been dying to try one.

I had really tried not to discourage him, but at the same time wanted him to know that no one ever gets those prizes. He didn't care. He knew he could win.

The last time we were at Red Robin, he finally got his chance.

Success!

He was thrilled, and then decided that maybe he should try again to win something for Bosten. I thought it was so nice of him to think of his brother, but at the same time on the inside I was thinking there was no way he was going to win twice. I bit my tongue, though.

Sure enough, he did it again.

He was thrilled.

Bosten was thrilled.

I was thrilled to be wrong.

Way to go, Kaden.

fishing

2011-09-04T07:10:00.000-06:00

We took the boys fishing last week. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a really fun time.

The fish were jumping on (which tends to happen at a trout farm), but the boys couldn't have been more thrilled.

It didn't take Kaden very long to get one!

Bosten was excited to get his, but didn't want to get too close!

He came a little closer, but that was it.

Coming home and putting them on the BBQ was pretty fun too.

They are already asking when we can go again.

first day of school

2011-08-29T14:17:00.000-06:00

Today was the big day. The day I've been looking forward to and dreading for the past few weeks: Kaden's first day of Kindergarten. I've been pretty emotional about the whole thing. I guess every mom is at the beginning of the new school year, but we've had some extra concerns and worries. His teacher is amazing, and we know she'll take good care of him.

Enough about me.

Kaden has been super excited.

Last week for assessments, we took his teacher this treat I made:

We got him a new T-shirt and a new back pack for the big day.

Showing off his new back pack, which was an Army one (of course)

Waiting in line to head into the building. Kyle took him for his first day (there's no way I would have been able to!). Kyle said he didn't look back or wave or anything....he just ready.

Bosten was seriously sad and mad that he wasn't going to school today too. He put on his shoes and was trying to figure out how to get out the door. When he realized it was a lost cause, he crossed his arms and stomped over to the couch. He went on and on about it all morning, but finally stopped being a grump about it just in time to go pick Kaden up from school. However, he started in again ("I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!" or "BOSTEN GO TO SCHOOL TOO!") as soon as we got to the parking lot.

Kaden did great, and we went to McDonalds for lunch to celebrate:

*Sigh. My baby is growing up.

note to self:

2011-08-28T14:57:00.001-06:00

...I should not leave the bathroom door open so that a certain little monkey can get in.

Just sayin'.

(Its a good thing he's cute.)

park city

2011-08-23T07:33:00.002-06:00

We went to Park City this weekend for one more escape before school starts.

We stayed in a hotel, swam in the pool, went out to dinner, jumped on the beds, and had a great time.

Saturday morning, we went to cheer on Uncle Devon as he finished his first half marathon.

We made signs:

We cheered for other runners as we waited for Devon:

We didn't wait very long:

Way to go, Devo!

Then we went to the outlet malls and to Olympic Park.

I was ready to do the Alpine Slide with the boys until I saw that I had to ride the chair lift up the mountain...um, no thanks.

I hate heights.

They had such a great time that they decided to go again...except Kaden fainted at the top. Bosten rode the slide down with Uncle Ryan, and Kyle and Kaden came back down in the chair lift. As soon as we got him cooled down, he was good to go.
Crazy....but a fun weekend.

the miracles of adoption

2011-08-22T12:33:00.004-06:00

You will need to hit the pause button on the bottom of the blog to pause the college football music.

Not only are we in this video, but some of my dear friends are too.
It was a good reminder today. Grab a tissue.

the most wonderful time of the year

2011-08-15T07:07:00.000-06:00

Yep, we've made it.

Its time for college football, and we couldn't be more happier about it!

We've been down to Provo and decked ourselves out with the new Rise Up t-shirts.

My parents just got back from Oregon and brought us back Oregon State gear.

We've got tickets to two games to see BYU and Oregon State play.

We are ready.

Go Cougars!

Go Beavers!

People sometimes ask how we cheer for two teams.

This is how its done:

road trip to grandma's house

2011-08-12T21:42:00.000-06:00

We spent the last several days in Colorado. The boys had a great time and we did some fun stuff. For some reason, I didn't take tons of pictures other than our daily POTD.

It is a long way to Colorado and Grandma's house.

We rode in Grandpa's golf cart:

We checked out some Indian stuff:

We sat in some Indian houses:

We went to a museum and ground some corn:

We hung out with Grandpa and Lynn:

We helped Grandma in the kitchen:

We threw rocks in the river:

We fed our favorite ducks:

We went swimming (twice).

We helped Grandma with some projects at home.

We played with all of Grandma's toys (and they're WAY better than our toys according to Kaden).

We rode bikes and took walks.

We chased prairie dogs and plugged their holes with rocks and dirt.

Kyle went to lunch with one of his mission companions.

We even saw the Mystery Machine on the way home, and I'm telling you it was

exciting.

bosten's solo

2011-08-05T14:56:00.000-06:00

Kaden has been learning "Praise To The Man" in Primary this year. We sing it all the time.

Seriously, all the time: in the car, at the table, for FHE, before bed...you get the idea.

The last few days Bosten has been singing it too.

Don't mind his itching...we got new bubbles and they obviously bother him.

Yes, I bribed him with a Junior Mint to sing it.

Not bad for a two year old.

Watch out Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

more potd's

2011-07-31T13:11:00.000-06:00

Here's a few of our recent potd's (pictures of the day):

We had a water party for the kids in Kaden's primary class. The boys had a great time, and his teacher even came and participated. Kaden was thrilled (thanks Julie).

Bosten thinks its hysterical lately to get his hands on anything he can and throw it in the tub with him. Today it was a basket that sits on the back of the toilet, the bath mat, and his full size towel. Little stinker.

Kaden loves helping Dad bbq...and thinks he's pretty big stuff when he gets to flip the burgers or check the hot dogs.

Our tomatoes are starting to be ready!

Kaden is really into forts and has been hanging out in this one (that we made in his room).

T-ball is officially over. It was so fun to watch him play, and it was so good for him.

a dozen

2011-07-27T02:56:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday (the 23rd), Kyle and I celebrated our 12th anniversary.

Here's 12 things about us you may or may not know:

1. We met through mutual friends when Kyle came to Oregon to go to school. (I told my friends that he must be weird...who would want to go to school to be a funeral director?! Obviously, I got over it. I'm glad I did!)

2. We have moved a lot. We started in an apartment, had 3 houses in Oregon, a house in Syracuse, Utah, and now are in Bountiful.

3. We've been fortunate to take lots of trips:

Denmark (Kyle), Arizona, Canada, New York, Florida, Maui (several times), Disneyland (several times), Utah (several times, when we lived in Oregon), Oregon (several times, when we lived in Utah), and Colorado (several times).

4. We've survived a failed adoption, a contested adoption, several "maybe" adoptions, and have had 2 successful adoptions.

5. We've had six jobs between us:
me: grocery store employee, dental hygienist at Dr. B.'s

Kyle: grocery store employee, Lincoln Memorial, Molalla Funeral Chapel, Russon Brothers Mortuary

6. We've had seven cars:

Kia, Honda Civic, 2 Honda Accords, Chevy Blazer, Pontiac Grand Am, Van

7. I'm a morning person, he's a night owl

8. We both love sports.

We've been to several college football games, NBA games, NHL hockey games, MLB games, Kaden's soccer and t-ball games, and Kyle's softball and basketball games.

9. We got each other the same anniversary gift this year.

10. We both have 3 siblings:

I am the oldest and have 2 sisters and a brother.

Kyle is the 2nd of 4 boys.

11. I get stressed out easily and want things done yesterday. Kyle is calm and much more go with the flow.

12. We said we'd never live in Utah or drive a van.

Here we are doing both.

(my favorite flowers...fire and ice roses that Kyle brought home)

We've had some really hard stuff in 12 years, but we've also had lots of good (and fun!) stuff. I'm so glad to be on this adventure together and hope the next 12 years are just as great.

celebrating the pioneers

2011-07-25T05:28:00.011-06:00

We went to the Bountiful parade on Friday night.

It was hot.

The boys were thrilled that they were handing out these small flags. I think they waved them most of the parade.

The Army band might have been the best part of the whole parade!

We watched it until we were tired, and then walked over to the park for more fun:

we rode a couple of rides...

...and had some snacks.

What a fun day.

I've been thinking about the pioneers this week. They had such incredible faith, even during incredible trials. And yet, they kept going...one step at a time.

What a good example.

I hope that I can (and am) doing that.

float preview

2011-07-24T07:27:00.000-06:00

We went to the Days of '47 float preview party. I've never been, but thought it was worth checking out at least once.

It was really fun! We each had our favorite floats, and even voted on them before we left.

They had marching bands marching around and playing music (which, yes, was a little loud for us)

We got to ride a turtle from one of the floats:

We actually sat on one of the floats (and got a seashell!...pretty exciting)

...and went fishing for a piece of candy

Obviously, we had a fun day!

the zoo...with all of the monkeys

2011-07-20T09:10:00.000-06:00

We (that's me, my parents, and sisters...along with all of the kids) went to the zoo this week. It actually was a great day to go. Not too hot and not too crowded.

Yee haw!

The elephants were all out and pretty close...even the baby.

What's a trip to the zoo without a carousel ride?

The monkeys:

go kaden, go

2011-07-16T05:55:00.000-06:00

About a week ago, we decided it was time to take the training wheels off of Kaden's bike. We've been talking about it for weeks, but it was time to actually do it.

How cute is he?!

In addition to his helmet, he thought that his soccer shin guards and his hockey hand pads would help soften any spills that he had! We practiced a few evenings and then:

We went to the church parking lot after this and he just took off. Ever since then he's been a bike riding machine. Go Kaden, Go!

i believe i can fly

2011-07-14T20:55:00.000-06:00

I think I mentioned in a previous post that we had some time to kill between dinner and fireworks on the 4th of July. I don't know how this all got started, but Dave started throwing Kaden in the pool. He was getting pretty high, and loved every minute.

So, so fun.

feeding the ducks

2011-07-11T07:25:00.001-06:00

The other day we decided to go feed the ducks. Its been a really long time since we've gone (other than at Grandma's house in Colorado). Kaden was pretty excited. Bosten was excited, but honestly, had no idea what we were talking about.

We got there.

Saw the ducks.

Started feeding the ducks.

They weren't interested. Not even a little bit. The boys kept throwing bread and hoping the ducks would change their minds. It didn't happen.

Then it started raining.

That's when we decided to call it a day. Better luck next time!

aunt debbie

2011-07-09T05:44:00.000-06:00

My aunt, Debbie, has been visiting the past week from Arizona.

me, Debbie, & my sister Lindsey (with baby Zane)

The boys, especially Kaden, love it when she comes.

We've gone to Sizzler.

We watched fireworks.

We went swimming.

...and a whole bunch of other stuff. Its been fun having her here, and we can't wait until she comes back!

4th of july

2011-07-08T05:51:00.000-06:00

We had a busy, fun filled day on the 4th. We went to Cherry Hill in the morning, came home for a little rest, and then headed down to my parents house for the rest of the day.

Papa BBQ'ed and we had quite a feast (ribs, chicken, potato salad, strawberries, jello, red velvet cake)

After dinner we had to wait...and wait...and wait....until it got dark for fireworks. Luckily, there was several things to do:

We attempted another family picture:

We played soccer.

We ate suckers and played with bubbles.

We swam, and got thrown in the pool, by our crazy uncles.

We sat around and chatted...a lot.

We ate ice cream.

We watched a movie.

And, finally, it was time to go watch fireworks:

It was windy and even rained on us, but we didn't care. It was super great! The boys loved it.

fireworks at home

2011-07-07T05:49:00.002-06:00

We, again...for the second year in a row, didn't wait for dark to do fireworks at home. With all of the late nights we've been pulling lately and the boys not caring at all we decided to just do them.

It was so great....and a little loud.

Funny boys.

carnival rides

2011-07-05T05:34:00.002-06:00

After the parade (see previous post), we went to the carnival. The boys could have stayed all night, but we told them once we were out of tickets we were done.

Bosten was ready to go on this roller coaster until it started...he didn't cry, but he had a death grip on the handle and was screaming his guts out. It was so funny (poor kid). We asked him if he wanted to go again, and he said, "NO WAY."

We ate a corn dog and a sno-cone on the way out, and already can't wait for next year!

we love parades

2011-07-03T20:29:00.000-06:00

Friday night we went to the Riverton parade. It was hot, but didn't seem to be as bad as last year.

We tried to do a new family picture, but as you can see it didn't work very well. Our camp chairs were set so it didn't look like we even wanted to sit by each other, and Kaden was really hot (and not in the mood to take a picture):

We put ear plugs in Kaden's ears, and it made a world of difference for him.

I guess we should have done it for Bosten too, although I think he just wants to be like Kaden.

We played with fun snaps until the parade started, and then waited for the candy (and we got a lot).

We were bummed that the Army tanks weren't in the parade this year, but we did get to shake an Army guy's hand and see Cosmo, so I guess it was still a success.

tagged

2011-06-30T21:18:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged: 10 Surroundings

Outside my window...tomato and strawberry plants

Around the house...piles to take to our various destinations this weekend

I'm looking forward to...parades, fireworks, hanging out with family this 4th of July weekend

I'm currently reading...Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I am wearing...BYU football t-shirt, shorts

I am creating...a family yearbook with our pictures of the day

From the kitchen...leftover sno-cone mess from earlier tonight

I am thinking about...Bosten's potty training success today and Kaden having such a fun day with his cousins

I am worried about...there are too many to choose just one

My wish for the week...world peace. Haha, just kidding. Happy kiddos

OK....I'm not tagging anyone specific. If you're reading this, you should consider yourself tagged.

Come on, you know you want to!

can't beat homemade

2011-06-28T20:21:00.000-06:00

The boys have been in heaven this week with our snoopy sno-cone machine.

Is that a blast from the past or what?!. We were beyond excited to bring it home and check it out.

Getting a close look at how it all works:

Getting an even closer look:

Bosten was pretty interested in the process too:

Adding some flavor:

Sucess!

Pretty darn tasty!

Its been fun to try new flavors and we've had sno-cones just about every night.

random

2011-06-24T21:40:00.001-06:00

Here's the highlights from this week:

We're officially Kings fans now. We were hoping to become Jazz fans, but it wasn't meant to be.

Kyle's softball team won their opening game in the league tournament.

Bosten has decided he's ready to start potty training. He made that decision on his own. Frankly, I was happy to wait a little longer.

Kaden and I saw Kung Fu Panda 2. Loved the adoption theme, and yes, I cried at the end.

Some of our recent daily pictures:

Sunday movie night with popcorn

First day of swimming in Papa and Mimi's pool

Homemade Chicago dogs...they were fantastic

Went to dinner at Red Lobster and they brought a lobster to the table for the boys to touch. Kaden was brave, but Bosten wanted nothing to do with it....weird especially since its usually the other way around.

freezer jam

2011-06-22T17:58:00.000-06:00

I, along with my best little helper in the world, decided to make freezer jam this week.

Its not like Oregon, where we would have gone out and picked the strawberries in the field. Oh well, Costco strawberries worked just fine.

We may have eaten as many as we put in the blender.

Not too shabby for our first try!

t-ball

2011-06-20T05:06:00.001-06:00

We have been waiting weeks for t-ball season to start! Kaden decided to skip spring soccer, and give t-ball a try. Kyle and Kaden have been practicing hitting and catching, and Wednesday night was finally the first game.

We're the golden dragons.

He LOVES it.

He says its way better than soccer (whatever that means...I thought he liked soccer!)

too smart for his own good

2011-06-18T05:04:00.001-06:00

Seriously.

teach me how to jimmer

2011-06-16T11:38:00.001-06:00

We've been out shooting hoops in the driveway a couple of times lately. One time, after he'd hit several in a row, Kaden informed me that I could just start calling him Jimmer!

Funny kid.

Sweet.

just like the pioneers

2011-06-10T06:04:00.001-06:00

This week we took the boys to the This Is The Place park. We've never been, and it was definitely fun to go and be like the pioneers. Thankfully though, when we were done playing, we got to go back to our modern conveniences!

Both of the boys thought it was fun to wash clothes:

We wrote on chalkboards in school:

Kaden plowed the fields and got a shave:

We panned for gold:

The boys learned some wood working skills in the cabinet shop:

We took a pony ride:

We even took a train ride:

As you can see, we had a great time!

a day at the zoo

2011-06-08T06:43:00.000-06:00

Last week we decided to visit the zoo. Its always fun to have a day out, and see all of the animals.

They had their dinosaur exhibit up and running...pretty cool, and a little scary.

And, our day would not be complete without a ride on the carousel and the train!

We also ran into some life long friends from Oregon. That was a nice surprise! All in all, a really good day.

six months in and still going strong

2011-06-06T06:45:00.000-06:00

I am loving our picture of the day album. Its been so fun to go back and look at the last 6 months.

Here's more of our recent pictures:

Bosten slurping some honey mustard sauce.

The boys snuggling on the couch.

Talking and eating popsicles on the back step.

Another trip to the aquarium.

Car wash. Seriously, they love it.

Waking up Bosten from his nap...notice the pillow and blankets all behind his head and his feet sticking out of his bed? That is so Bosten right now.

My helpers and I making pretzel hugs for my VT route.

Watching the last Oprah show. I didn't watch every day, but enough that I would consider myself a regular.

Jumping on the bed at the hotel. Best. Time. Ever.

a little early...

2011-06-04T07:15:00.000-06:00

The boys have been so ready to drag out the slip n' slide. We promised that we'd get it out this week, but when we were ready it wasn't that warm. That didn't stop us.

Here's some of our warm up runs:

The main event:

The water was freezing and it wasn't that warm outside either. We did a couple of runs, snuggled in our towels, and called it a day. Now only if it will get hot...we'll be ready!

riding the rails with thomas the train

2011-06-02T06:39:00.000-06:00

Kyle had Memorial Day weekend off, and we knew that we wanted (and needed) to do something a little different and more fun than usual.

We got tickets to the Thomas the Train event up in Heber. We've never been before, and figured that it would be fun. We were thinking we were safe with the weather until we saw the weather forecast, and then we prayed hard that we wouldn't have rain.

It was overcast, but no rain. The boys LOVED it, and had a great time doing all of the activities:

We miniature golfed.

We rode the train (duh):

We got temporary tattoos:

We got to check out the inside of an ambulance:

We rode up and down the tracks in this little car:

And of course, had to take our picture with Thomas:

Super great fun. The rest of the weekend we shopped at the outlet mall, went out to dinner, and played in the hotel (as in jumped on the beds, ate junk and watched a movie, swam in the pool, etc.)

pass a long cards

2011-06-01T06:17:00.000-06:00

If you need (or know someone who needs) pass a long cards, I know where to get hooked up!

Adoption Pass A Long Cards

They will do a fabulous job for you! I'm hoping to update ours ASAP as Bosten has changed a lot (and we're about out!)

say its not so

2011-05-31T06:07:00.000-06:00

Bosten has had the worst time sleeping lately.

He goes to bed just fine...but every.single. night. he wakes up sometime between 1-4am crying his eyes out. Sometimes he says he's scared, other times he just cries...for about an hour an a half.

We've tried everything...

snuggling him in our bed

rocking him

changing his diaper

giving him a drink

The list goes on and on...we don't know what to do for him, and we don't know how to make him go back to sleep. One day I didn't let him take a nap to see if that would make a difference.

It worked!

Hallelujah!

Wait, I'm not ready for him to not take a nap every day. I love those couple of hours where Kaden and I snuggle or play games or work on learning to read or whatever else we decide we want to do.

The one problem with no nap is that he's either a total bear around 6pm or this happens:

He crashes. Hard.

Poor kid.

grandpa fred and grandma patty

2011-05-29T20:38:00.000-06:00

My grandparents have been here visiting from Oregon for the past several days. We've been able to hang out with them every day, and its been so fun. We don't get to see them that often, so we take advantage of any time that we can get.

Did I mention the boys love them?!

We miss you guys already! Thanks for coming to visit!

Love you.

i scream...

2011-05-27T06:28:00.000-06:00

...for ice cream!

We're loving the nice weather.

melts me

2011-05-25T06:21:00.000-06:00

I love these boys.

I love that they love each other.

I love that they miss each other when they're not together.

I love that they're best friends.

topsy turvey

2011-05-23T06:08:00.000-06:00

The boys thought it would be fun to try planting tomatoes and strawberries in those topsy turvey hangers. Kyle and Kaden went and got the supplies we needed, and then we got to work.

As you can see, everyone helped get them ready. We are so excited about it! Too bad it will be awhile before we get to eat any tomatoes and strawberries.

we want summer

2011-05-21T06:22:00.000-06:00

This week its been raining. Actually, that's not right. This week its been pouring. It has reminded me of being in Oregon. I miss Oregon, but I don't miss all the rain.

Anyway, last week when we actually had a day or two of nice weather, Kyle and the boys got the sprinklers turned on and working.

We want to do this on a regular basis!...now only if the weather would cooperate!

work party

2011-05-19T14:22:00.000-06:00

Monday night we had a bark dust spreading party at my parents house.

Our two best helpers:

The kids all had rakes and shovels too, and they had a great time helping!

With everyone's help, it only took an hour or so. The kids got a ride in the wheelbarrow when we were done, and that might have been the best part of the whole night!

more of our daily pictures

2011-05-17T06:24:00.000-06:00

Here's some of our random pictures of the day from lately:

Kaden paying his tithing (and wrote his name on the slip)

Date with some of the cousins.

Bosten got a hold of my diet coke and for some reason decided to dump it in with the silverware...that's after he drank as much as he could before he got caught.

When Bosten wants something, he'll pat his chest and say "Pllleeeease....pretty please with sugar!"

We took advantage of "Kids Eat Free" night at Chili's.

The boys are having tons of fun lately just playing....Army, play dough, outside, whatever. So fun to watch.

Kaden wanted Viking hats one day so that they could drive their ship (which was the stairs). This is what I came up with...They were thrilled and played for hours.

We've finally had some good weather! We checked out the Bluth's new trampoline.

First sno-cones of the summer! They taste better when we eat them outside and with some of our cousins!

Kaden chose 1/2 bug juice (whatever that is) and 1/2 root beer. Bosten had lime.

We've had some fun lately, as you can see!

that's ms. shelby to you...

2011-05-15T06:07:00.000-06:00

Since my sister had her baby, I've been teaching her preschool class on Tuesdays.

Its been totally fine, but I would not want this for my full time job!

I gave Kaden the camera, so that we had some pictures of me in my new (and very temporary) gig.

show and tell

I'm sure I was asking them some very important questions...

Look at the little angels doing their work!

the slap chop

2011-05-13T06:53:00.000-06:00

Kaden is a thinker. He's also very tender hearted and loves his Mama.

When a holiday comes up and Kyle asks him "what should we get Mom?", Kaden usually has already thought it out. Mother's Day was no exception.

He informed Kyle that I needed some flowers because:

1. Mama's need flowers

2. I had thrown some of my dried roses out last week because they were making a huge mess and were trashed. He thought I might want/need some more

I am also the new owner of a slap chop. He thought it might make my life easier when I had to cut up tomatoes and onions for dinner (So cute and sweet, and yet so funny. I'm pretty positive that I've never said that its hard or that I hate cutting tomatoes and onions).

Sunday night we had to try it out...even though we didn't need a tomato at the moment.