Dad the Turtle

Nate was entertaining the boys while we were watching t.v. the other night. Tate balanced the bean bag on Nate's back and then climbed on and of course Eli followed. When Nate started to crawl around the floor Tate said,"Look Mom! Dad is a turtle." It was all fun and games until Eli went tumbling off the side. Good thing he has a hard head!

Boise Zoo

More Zoo

I had to go to the Boise mall this weekend to finish our Christmas shopping. I had heard that the zoo had a new baby giraffe. So, we decided we would take the boys to the zoo and make the girls suffer through it so it would be fair for the boys to suffer through the mall. It is always a challenge to make everyone in our family happy at once because of the age difference. However, it all worked out in the end. Bailee's highschool choir was performing at the zoo and Nathan let the boys ride on the quater toys at the mall while they waited for us. And it was the icing on the cake that I got nearly all of our Christmas shopping finished!

It was brought to my attention that there are few pictures of me on this blog (that was intentional). I am not as photogenic as the rest of my family and I am usually the one taking the pictures. However, for those of you who don't get to see me very often here I am with my darling husband. CHEESE!

Daddy's boys

The boys are always so excited when Nate gets home from work they rarely let him out of their sight. He had to make room on his lap for both of them while keeping them far enough apart that they don't pummel each other. Snuggling Dad while watching Spongebob is their idea of the perfect evening.

Go Skyview!

Bailee just finished soccer and now Basketball season has started and taken over our lives. I love watching her though and things have gotten a lot easier since Morgan can babysit. I leave one of the boys with her and take the other with me to help cheer Bailee and her team on. Bailee is point guard this year (whatever that is). She made the sophmore team which is impressive considering she is a freshman.

The soccer pic is from this season. The basketball pic is from last year. They haven't had basketball pictures yet this year. The picture of the court is her crouched down getting instructions from her coach. When she is playing she is moving too much to catch on film.

Morgan's band concert

Morgan had her first ever band concert. I was so proud. She inherited Bailee's flute and plays in her school band. After attending Bailee's first concert several years ago, I went prepared for it to not be very good. I was pleasantly surprised. They did very well. It was even enjoyable. She is the one on the far right side at the end. One of these day I will actually bring my camera to an event and not have to display pictures taken with my phone.

Morgan Plays Volleyball

Morgan hasn't found her sport (other than karate) just yet, but she recently participated in a volleyball jamboree her school had. They practiced two days a week at 6 am for two weeks. They then had a "jamboree" that took place on one afternoon where they played several teams until they were eliminated. I am very proud of her for sticking with it and waking up so early to practice. They did great! She is the one in the back row with her hands on her hips. So cute!

Zombies

Bailee and her friend Jesika dressed up as Zombies on Halloween night and tried to scare the neighborhood teenagers. I'm sure they were not successful. Bailee couldn't even keep a straight face for the picture, but they sure are precious!

Halloween

So, it's half-way through November and I am just getting around to posting Halloween pics. I am terrible. They were so cute! Eli was a lion, Tate was Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc., Morgan was a Sandra Dee type, and Bailee was headed to a stake dance and couldn't be bothered to dress up for trunk-or-treating. She was a very cute tiger for her friends Halloween party! But I didn't get a picture because (like I already established) I am a bad mother.

Morgan's new haircut!

Morgan just went to a casting call (just for fun) for a talent scout for the Disney Channel. Katie cut her hair the day before and then she needed a head shot so we took this picture that morning. It's just too cute to not share....

BSU vs UO final score: 37-32!!!!

We just got back from the University of Oregon vs. BSU football game in Eugene, Oregon. We went not expecting them to win (but hoping). Nate and I left the kids in the care of my mom and Fred and jumped a on a plane to Portland the day before the game. We stayed in a hotel on an island in the middle of the Colombia River. The hotel had a dock out to the water and we had an outdoor garden path from our balcony to the pool area. K.C. , Stephy, and baby Carson, as well as Terri and Kevin and of course Katie and baby Tiger were all there. We all sat together to cheer on Dallas and the rest of the team. It was a very fun mini-vacation and the fact that we won the game made it even better! GO BRONCOS!

(The picture of Dallas holding his helmet was published in the paper and the picture with the tiny black circle is of Nate. It was also in the paper. You can't see the rest of us because of the Oregon player blocking the shot, but at least Nate and Dallas are famous.)

Twin Falls Temple Open House

We recently took the kids down to see the TF Temple first hand. It was a very sunny day and we forgot the camera, so I took the pictures with my phone. ( Not the best quality.) It was a neat experience. Eli and Tate were their usual selves. Eli wriggled and screamed wanting to be let loose and Tate kept trying to run into all the places they had roped off. However, just before we entered the celestial room they instructed us to not speak and remain reverent while we were in there. I thought, "Yeah, right", but amazing as it sounds, Eli was still in Nate's arms and Tate just looked up at the chandelier in amazement. That was the only moment they behaved the entire time, but I am thankful for that experience. Bailee was a basket case because she doesn't handle it well when the boys are naughty, but we all survived and hopefully it will be a lasting memory for them.

Feeding the ducks...

While the girls were in Denver this summer we struggled to keep the boys entertained. (I guess we aren't as much fun.) When we have time, we like to walk down to the pond in our neighborhood and feed the ducks. The boys love feeding them old bread crumbs. However, we found out early on that the bread needed to be mold free because Eli ends up eating as much as he shares with the ducks.

Our Life

You can hear people say all the time that their children are their life. That is really the case with us. I have few memories that don't center around them. The exact point in time when each child physically joined our family is blurring in my mind. It feels like we have all always been together. Our children are our purpose and we wouldn't have it any other way.