Tanner...

Pinewood Derby! 

Oh my goodness, Tanner was so excited to be a part of Pinewood Derby this year. Tanner LOVES being a cub scout and doing all the activities and events and this was even more exciting for him.  He is really into fast cars.  He worked on his car with his dad and made it into a Honda S2000.  I was actually really impressed!  He did great too.  Not only did his car do well, but he was very encouraging to all the boys and was a good sport about it.  I was a proud mama.  He got 1st in the wolf den and 2nd overall.  It was a great experience for us all.

 

Tanner was able to be in WHAM basketball this year.  We were glad to be able to get some pictures at his last game.  Tanner had sooooo much fun at practice and at the games.  He is very competitive and did very well.  He was lucky to be part of a great team with a very nice and supportive coach.  I hope that he is able to play next season.  Basketball was a great motivator for Tanner, and a wonderful outlet for his massive amounts of energy!

My parents were able to make it to his last game.  Tanner was thrilled to show them his skills. 

This boy..........

.............is busy!!!  He is taking 16 credit hours at ASU and coaching basketball and soccer at his old high school in the afternoons.  He leaves between 6 and 7 every morning, and at night he coaches games, goes to mutual, and does a whole lot of homework.  Oh and right now(9-10 pm) he is playing basketball at the church.  He needs some fun too I guess.  X-)   I miss him.  BUT......he is no longer working nights! 

 Which means I don't have to sleep alone anymore! 
 WOOT WOOT!!!!!!

Quick December Flashback.

We didn't do a ton of Christmas decorating this year but we did get a small tree and Tanner and Parker  enjoyed decorating it together while Carson climbed all over everything.  Last year I made this cute stocking holder at a RS craft day.  Love it!  I had just ordered Carson stocking and it hadn't came yet so that's why there is that little blue one.  But his matches the other boys and I love the quality of them.  They will last for years to come. (Pottery Barn Kids if your wondering.)

I spent Christmas Eve at my parents house with the 3 boys.  That's right, just me and the boys.  Jared had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day night.  Bah!  I was so frustrated nobody was willing to switch one of those shifts to give him some family time.  But whatever, life goes on!
We did get to spend Christmas morning all together when he got home from work and  before he headed to bed. It was simple and wonderful. We don't go crazy with gifts.  I kind of followed that ryhme, "Something to wear, something to read, something you want, and something you need."  Perfect and not over the top.  The boys felt special and loved and happy.  What more could I ask for?!

Christmas Eve was busy, crazy, fun, and filled with family time.  The boys were spoiled rotten by my parents and soaked up every minute of it.  Look at how happy they are!  Carson just loved crawling through the piles and piles of wrapping paper.  Parker loved playing with all his new balls and with cousins.  Tanner was so excited for his new basketball shoes!  He is playing in Wham right now and is having sooooo much fun.  

 I love the holidays.  I love being with family.  I love being overscheduled.  I love the crazy shoppers and the cheery smiles.  I love that everyone is just a little bit more happy and kind to strangers they meet. I love remembering the reason for the season.  I love seeing my boys light up too.  
We had so much fun stuff to do in December and kept very busy.  Thus no posting on the blog. Just lots of time spent with these cutie boys!

We also did our own mini photo shoot to try to get some decent pics of all of us.  I was happy with how they turned out. The best part---they were free!!  My sister in law came and met up with us to snap some pics for us with our own camera.  We must of taken 250 in 20 minutes and miraculously we had some where all the boys are actually looking.
 I just love to see how much our family changes each year.
 My boys are so much fun and I can't imagine my life without each one of them.  Yes, they are crazy and drive me bonkers some days but they make me melt so often as well.  I am blessed.

Here's to remembering to count the many blessings in each of our lives each and everyday!

Turkey Trot 2010

On Thanksgiving morning Jared and I ran the Turkey Trot in Mesa by Red Mountain High.  It was freezing when we got there!  The wind was so chilly but we were excited to run anyways.  After the first mile I shed both jackets and was warmed up.  What a super fun event!  It was so fun to run with my cute hubby and be able to push Parker and Carson along with us in the stroller.  They both like the stroller so they did great the whole time!  We ran the 10k which is 6.2 miles.  Our goal was to finish in under an hour and we did!  Our chip time was 57:02.  We had a great time together and loved running together.  We took turns every mile pushing the stroller.  Luckily we have an awesome super light jogging stroller that makes it easier.  The last mile we both pushed though.  The inclines with the stroller are hard!


Jared left with his Dad and brothers that afternoon to go elk hunting.  So I was glad we got to have some fun before he left.  It was a great Thanksgiving.  Jared and I took the boys to a feast with his moms HUGE family, and I took the boys over to spend the afternoon and evening relaxing and eating tons of  food with my awesome family!  It was a long day but such fun also.  I feel so blessed to be part of Jared's family and that we can spend time with both of our families so often.  

My little baby Carson is getting so big!  He is almost 8 months old, I can't believe it.  He is a wiggle worm and loves to play.  He crawls everywhere and climbs over anything on the floor in his way.  His older brothers make him laugh and smile all day long and he makes them smile as well.  He is so content all of the time.  He is good in the car, he lets most anyone hold him, he like to eat, he is super ticklish, he loves these blocks in the pic,  and he loves his binky.  He is so good for the girls at the gym too.  Parker and him both are so happy when I walk in to get them.  I love it.  The girls in there just love Carson.  Very rarely will he be playing on the floor.  They usually are holding him and walking around.  When we are at home he follows me around the house. Carson loves to be held....  Until he sees something he wants, then the wiggling starts. He is just starting to pull himself up on stuff and stand and attempt to walk along it.  Like the couch, the stool in the kitchen, and the bathtub.  Still wobbly but super cute!  I'm sure as soon as he figures out how to walk he will be running.  I just love my cutie boys!!!

Our Basketball Star

 Haha..this was so funny!  

Tanner came in second during a speed drill so he had to do situps.  This was what he looked like after doing 3!

Tanner just finished up his first season of playing basketball.  He LOVED every minute of it and we loved that we were able to have him play and be able to watch him.  The school district had the 3rd and 4th graders together and my little Tanner looked so little next to all of them!  Tanner has had lots of practice with the hoop at our old house and playing with Jared.  He did so great!  I was thinking he might be kind of a ball hog(he knows he's good) but he is a great team player.  This session was considered non competitive.  They had 2 practices and a short game each week but didn't keep score.  Tanner did though and was sure to tell me the stats in case I wasn't sure. X-)

At the start of each practice the teams would stretch together and Parker would be right next to me copying all their moves.  It was so cute.  Parker loved watching and cheering Tanner on each week.  It was an awesome experience and we plan on signing Tanner up for WHAM basketball in January.  Tanner is super excited and so are we.  I have realized how much effort and money goes into having kids in sports but oh it is soooo worth it.  Tanner gets to have fun, learn to be part of a team, he gets to win games, he gets to lose games, he learns that everything takes practice, and he learns to be active and to take care of his body.  I am already getting excited for Parker to be old enough to play soccer!  Tanner played when he was 3 and it was the cutest thing ever!  Jared and I know it's important to make time for fun activites for the kids.  It has been a great outlet for Tanner.  He is so full of energy and this sure helped him show us all he can do.  He smiled sooo much every day he went.  In fact all the boys loved going.  I hope they can all learn to appreciate exercise, having fun and being healthy.

Carson.....

.............has two teeth!!!!  He is always so happy and only complains when he's hungry. Last week he was pretty fussy so I knew something was up.  Poor guy, both of his bottom teeth popped through the same day.  Well he's all better, but I'm still adjusting to his razor sharp choppers!  I tried to get a pic of his teeth with no success.  He is almost 6 months old already but that is still WAY sooner than Tanner or Parker got teeth.  I started feeding him rice cereal twice a day and he LOVES it!  If I take to long between bites he cry/yells at me.  Such a cute kiddo I have.  I have the best job in the whole world.  I am loving this time that the boys are little and I am home with them.   It is going by so fast already.  Of course it will be nice when Carson is bigger and can play with Parker but for now I am loving on my little baby boy everyday. X-)

the boys....