Merry Christmas

Christmas was just our own little family this year. The kids all slept in the upstairs bedroom together. They didn't wake up too early on Christmas morning - maybe 6:30, and patiently waited for the music to play so they could come downstairs. The boys got matching Davy Crockett hats. Nathan got an airsoft machine gun, which he was thrilled about. Santa brought some awesome huge balloons this year which totally filled up the entire room. We had our traditional breakfast casserole and spent the rest of the day playing with our spoils and eating our treats.

Christmas Train Ride

We've always thought it would be fun to do the Polar Express Christmas train experience with the kids....but man, those tickets are NOT cheap. But we did find a train ride in a little town in Colorado. They read the story of a girl that takes a ride on train to visit family and along the way she meets all these characters that come to life and talk to her. So we went to the train station and waited to board the train. When we got on they gave each of the kids a whistle and a cookie and hot chocolate. They read the book and as they did new characters would walk through the train and sing and dance. Half way through the ride we looked out the window at Santa's village all lit up and decked out. We had great timing because as soon as we got off the train we noticed all sorts of people walking in one direction in town. It was the town Christmas parade, so we got to watch that, and the kids collected candy. Then we found a pizza place to eat at and headed to our hotel where we spent the night. The kids had a blast.

"Maybe Christmas means a little bit more."

The Ward Christmas party this year was a Grinch theme, so we were all supposed to dress up as Whos from Whoville. There was a program with the story of the Grinch and then switching to the real meaning of Christmas: "Maybe Christmas perhaps doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...means a little bit more." I was in charge of the whole program so I got our family to sing the Who song that they sing as they gather around the Christmas tree at the end of the story. We had a big ham dinner and desserts. It was a fun night.

2014 Halloween

Our 2014 Halloween festivities included a trip to a trailer park in Moriarty (trick or treating from trailer to trailer) where the older kids also went through the haunted house by themselves. Nathan said he wanted to try and go next year. Then we stopped at a couple of houses on our street and then headed to some friend's house (the Free's)for hot chocolate and homemade donuts and hanging out by the fire. The kids had fun playing together. It was nice to only have one day of dressing up and parties this year.

Studying Hard

Nathan came home with his first report card of the year. They actually give real As and Bs and/or the actual percentage number grade they have earned. Nathan came home with all As or grades above 90. I could always tell he was smart even though he was my least prepared for Kindergarten as far as letters and sounds go, but he has just caught on to everything and absolutely loves learning. I love when he comes home from school with a new fact about a country (for Social Studies they will study each of the continents and learn about a major city, a major landmark, the food they eat and the language they speak) or a tidbit of science information or the definition of a new word he has learned. I went in for a Parent Teacher conference and she said he was right on track with all the class. She also said what a wonderful, helpful, kind boy he was in class. I always love to hear that part.

Up, Up and Away

Our Balloon Fiesta experience was a little low key this year, but we still made it. It's the 5th year in a row that we have gone to at least watch the mass ascension. We weren't motivated enough to get up super early to get right down on the field, but we found a nice dirt lot with a good view and we watched them take off from there. The kids found their usual spot on top of the car to see the balloons. We stopped at Blake's Lotabuger afterwards for breakfast burritos.

Hiking at the Peak

We had a Sunday with nothing planned once we got home from church, so we decided to take a little drive up Sandia Peak. We wanted to see if there were any fall colors left up there. There were some. We drove all the way to the peak and took a little hike down along the peak trail (not too long, just a little walk). It was beautiful and fun to be together as a family. Nathan is our warm blooded dude. Even with the brisk Fall weather he was insistent that he didn't need a jacket, and so he didn't wear one (and he didn't complain at all).

Happy 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday to Nathan Michael! He had a relatively mellow birthday. He requested a football cake and we went with a BYU football cake, which he was tickled about. Nathan is a great kid. He is super smart. He remembers things and repeat things you've told him (even when you are sure he isn't listening). He loves sports and is our competitive little guy. He a boy through and through: loves to wrestle and rough house and be wild with the other boys. He likes to get dirty outside. He is becoming quite the reader. He is curious about things, and if you get him alone with you in the car he can chat your ear off. He likes to understand the why and how things and the way they work. He isn't a picky eater, but he will swear that sweet potatoes will kill him (one time I made him try at least a bite and he literally gagged and threw up at the table). He is busy and active. He is thoughtful and sweet. He loves his littlest brother. He likes to sing out, especially in primary with Sis. Schmutz. We love him to bits.

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails....oh wait

Nathan went over to his friend, Samuel Pearce's house to play. While he was there the boys walked out onto the front porch to find a pretty long bull snake. They both screamed and ran to get Amber (Samuel's mom). She went out to check on it and while she was out there the boys stayed inside peering out the window (and locked the doors). She had to convince them to open them back up because they were so freaked out. I thought boys loved snakes??? Well, not yet I guess.

Photographer in the Making

Sometimes Nathan just likes to try out the cameras on our phones. This day he didn't necessarily want to take the picture, but he wanted to have a picture taken of him holding a flashlight.

My Dad's the Greatest Guy

Nathan loves to do almost anything that involves his dad. He loves to go with him to the store. He begs to go with him to mutual (and every so often the activity is such that Sean will bring him along). He'll go work with him in the garage. He likes to help him cook. So when it comes time for Eagle projects, Nathan is not only willing to go help - he loves it! And when he decides to actually get to work he is really a pretty good little helper.

Working Out

Nathan loves to try out whatever his older siblings are trying. I pulled out the pull up bar the other day and both boys wanted to try their hand at it. Nathan tried and tried (using any means of help necessary including the door jam), but he did end up pulling himself up once by himself correctly.

First Day of School

Nathan's first day of school. He started Estancia Valley Classical Academy in Mrs. Walters' Kindergarten class. She seems like a really sweet lady (like a nice grandma). He went right in - no trouble at all. He's been so excited to take a backpack and pack a lunch and go with his friends. This is going to be a good year.

Summer Trip Extravaganza

We just completed another great summer trip extravaganza! We managed to fit in three separate family reunions, a trip to Yellowstone and a stop to visit family. The trip started out a little rocky. We got off just fine, the car was working like a champ, we left early enough (I was running a half marathon the next morning in Utah, so we were hoping to get there by early evening, and we were well on our way). Along the way the kids made a couple comments about Austin looking funny. I looked in my rear view mirror and he seemed fine. When I stopped in Moab for gas and saw him close up I immediately noticed that something was not right. His face was swelling up between his two eyes (making his eyes squinty). He had fallen a week earlier when we were camping in Santa Fe and got a good little owie on his forehead. We cleaned it out and it seemed to be fine. That morning Austin fell and started crying. I noticed he had opened his sore up again, but I didn't think anything of it. Well, now it definitely seemed to be getting infected. I called to see if we could get into a doctor's office or urgent care, but there was seriously NOTHING in Moab. I called the next city and they had one possibility. She would call me if they had a cancellation, so I just kept driving. I didn't hear from her as I passed through the city so at that point I was hoping I could get to Spanish Fork, where I knew there would be Urgent Cares. We pulled into Brittney and Porter's at around 5, and then I immediately left with Austin to the Urgent Care. The doctor looked it over and thought it best to try and open it up with a scalpel and then see if he could squeeze any infection out. Austin was amazing. I couldn't believe it: a shot right in the sore, then cutting it open, then squeezing it, and he really only flinched once or twice. He sent me to get a prescription for antibiotics to hopefully clear it up. He said if it didn't clear up in the next day or so I would have to take him to an emergency room. We went to get the medicine and there were complications with the prescription he had written. We didn't get back to Brittney's until close to 10. I tried to go right to bed since I had to get up at the crack of dawn the next morning. We got his medicine the next day and he cleared up nicely. Anyway, after that silliness, the rest of the trip went great. The first Reunion was at Priest Lake in Northern Idaho. We spent a night at Chad and Charity's and then headed up for the next leg. We slept in the ca one night and then had only a short drive the next morning. We were actually the first ones to show up at that reunion. Some of the fun things included: huckleberry picking, natural rock water slide (which actually ended in quite the emergency. Britnie slid straight into a log and really messed up her leg. All the men, along with EMT's and others on the trail had to help get her out - over a mile. Charity and Chad and I hiked out with 8 little kiddos. It was an adventure), playing at our own personal lake shore, taking rides in the boat, getting ice cream, playing around the fire at night, etc. We camped in a tent. There was also a room with beds, so one night the kids slept in there with Grandpa and Grandma. After that reunion we drove over to Yellowstone with Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen. We met Scott and Shelley Morris and their kids there. We went to church at the little service there in the park. We saw buffalo and two bears and elk and deer. We hiked and got rained on and played at the hot springs. We even fit in a quick bout of the stomach flu (at least there was no throwing up in the tents). We packed up and left before everyone else, who were going to stay an extra night. That night it poured and poured and poured, so they packed it up and left too. We headed over to Garrett and Melanie's house. We went and saw Garrett and Caleb and Genevieve perform in "Shrek, the Musical." Garrett was Shrek, Caleb was Lord Farquad and Genevieve was the big head in the city. It was so fun, and they were quite the performers. We packed up once again and headed down to Provo. The next reunion was the Sorensen reunion. We stayed at Timp Lodge in Provo canyon. We actually set up a tent on the grass field. The lodge was huge and awesome to accommodate all of us. We hiked to Stewart Falls (where Nathan got a tick in his head...I had to scrape that sucker out). The kids floated down the Provo river with Dad and most of the family. We played games, we ate yummy food, we had fun nightly activities. We left a day early to get down to Duck Creek for our last reunion. I picked up Sean late on Wednesday night (the first night of the reunion). It was nice to be all together again. On our way down to Southern Utah, we got a flat tire on the trailer (the only vehicle hiccup of the whole journey), but we made it down there. We played on quads, the kids made forts, we went to church and spent time as a family. It was great to just be together. Then we made our way home. It was an eventful and full vacation.

4th of July Camping

We wanted to do something fun for the 4th of July, but not travel too far, so we got together with our friends, The Fabers, and camped at Hyde State Park right outside of Santa Fe. We got up there on the 3rd and set up camp and wandered around, made dinner and wanted to do a fire, but it started to sprinkle. Luckily there are pavilions at each of the campgrounds, so we stayed nice and dry (and it didn't last too long). The next day we went hiking and exploring, the kids played at the playground near by, we checked out the small visitor center and then we headed into Santa Fe to watch fireworks. The kids all piled onto the top of the Excursion. We parked on the street next to the field where they were setting them off and saw a nice little show. We headed back and camped again and then headed home the next day.

Summer Nights at the Baseball Field

We took this cute picture for Father's Day. It went with a sweet poem about walking in Daddy's shoes. We also got tickets to a Lobos baseball game. We left the littlest boys and took the older 4 kids and a couple of their friends. Nathan wanted to wear his own baseball uniform to the game and bring his mitt. It was a pretty good game. Actually ended in a tie at the end of the ninth inning so we played another 4 innings before we finally won the game. It was late by the time we got out of there, but we told the kids we'd get something to eat once we left the game (to appease them when we wouldn't buy tons of baseball game food), so we found a place near the college that was opened until 1 AM and ate burgers and burritos at 11:30 PM. The kids all fell asleep on the way home.

Sibling Love

We have three bedrooms plus a loft that we use as a bedroom. We have a set of bunk beds, a queen bed, a full sized bed and a toddler bed (not to mention the king size bed that Dad and I sleep on), and yet come summer time this is pretty much how the kids sleep every night. They love to sleep together in the same room. Sometimes there are disagreements about who gets the bed, but they are usually pretty good about working it all out. And most of the time they really don't mind sleeping on the floor as long as they can sleep together.

Running the Bases

Nathan is having a great time playing tee ball. Tee ball is pretty uneventful, but we're pretty lucky that we have some good coaches who are trying to teach the kids some plays even though they're just beginning. Nathan has been playing catcher quite a bit. It's not his favorite, but he's willing to do it, which some of the other kids aren't. He gets down in his little squat, which is so cute, and can just stay there for as long as it takes for the hitter to make contact with the ball. He's our competition boy - loves to race the boys out on the field and race them during warmups - everything is a race for him.

Father and Son Campout

The boys absolutely love when it is time for the Father and Son Campout. I usually don't talk about it too much until it's really close because they can't stop talking and asking about it. Sean said Nathan just pretty much did his own thing at camp: helped set up then ran around like a wild man with his friends all over the campsite. He eventually came back around after dark and went to bed in the tent. He's our sleeper (he can sleep in the best of anyone in the family), so he wasn't up too early, but once he got up he was out and about with his friends again. No fear in this little kid (well, except for the thought of wild animals, but this time it didn't seem to affect him too much).

Yankess Baseball

It's baseball time. Nathan is on the Yankees tee ball team. He is loving it. He is definitely one of the biggest kids on the team. He can really whack that ball. He's a lefty, but he still seems to do better at batting right handed. We'll see if that continues on through the years. Sometimes he gets so excited that he can't quite make contact with the ball. Eventually he gets it. He loves to run the bases. Oftentimes they will put him at the end of the lineup so that he gets to run all the bases at once (in tee ball you only get to run one base, but the last person in the lineup brings everyone in). He loves that.

Tent Rocks

During Spring Break we took a few hikes. One of them was to Tent Rocks with our friends, the Bucks. It was a perfect hike for these kiddos. I think it's around a mile up to the top and then you turn around and head back (with a small little loop in there). It had some good uphill climbing but Nathan did great. He was way up in the front for much of the hike with his buddy, Jonah. There are all sorts of cool rock formations that look like little tents and when you get to the top there is an awesome view. When we got back to the bottom we had lunch and headed home.

Western Style Blue and Gold

We had a great Blue and Gold Dinner for Cub Scouts. It was all decked out Western Style. The kids got to keep their own little mustaches, which all the boys thought were pretty great.

Geocaching

The weather has been beautiful lately. Actually this winter has been so mild (too mild, in fact...we need some snow!). Well, we had nothing going on one Saturday, so we decided to go hiking up off South 14. There are all sorts of great trails for both hiking and bike riding. We did a little 2+ mile hike. We did some geocaching on the trail as well. The kids hiked like champions. They loved the breaks when we were looking for a treasure and they could hike up on the rocks on the side of the trail. The boys found their special walking sticks and wanted to bring them home with us. Afterwards we went down into town for some dinner (despite our sweaty, dirty appearance).