Cove Fort with Grandma

On her way down from northern Utah, my mom heard something on the radio about Cove Fort Days and all the activites that go along with it -it sounded like fun so we went! Cove Fort is about two hours from St. G. The boys are always cute together!

Some of the missionaries there were dressed as the pioneers, the boys thought they were "real" pioneers.

Kade hugging on Ben while looking at bees making honey. Cute boys.

Cove Fort, a really cool place. We'll have to go there again.

We took a wagon ride, and Kade jumped up front to ride with the driver. He loved it.

Ben, Grandma and I sat in the covered wagon -it was really nice.

The boys played the games the pioneers played. Stilts!

At the top of the fort looking down.

I love these guys. We had a lot of fun. We heard historical facts, we watched a man make pottery -and even brought a little pot home. We rode in a covered wagon and a stage coach. We atre hotdogs and climbed trees. It was a great day.

Way to Go Ben!

Recently Ben was at his grandma's house visiting her, and she relayed this incident to me.
She took Ben to Chuck E. Cheeses, and he was enjoying a "hamster maze tunnel thing" that he loves. One section turns into a car, where, through the windshield my mom could see Ben driving the car. Apparently a much bigger boy (maybe six or seven) came up to Ben and shoved him really hard out of the way and stole the steering wheel and driving seat. Ben just walked away.

My mom said she was really mad at this kid, because he was so mean and so much bigger. When Ben came out of the tunnel thing, he came back to grandma. He told her a kid had pushed him, but he had just walked away. (He didn't know she had seen the whole thing.) She then told him, "Ben if a kid comes over to you and shoves you really hard like that you can turn around and shove him really hard back." (Nice one grandma.) Anyway, he quite simply said, "Grandma, I did the right thing." Which he did indeed.
This -for sure- humbled grandma and she quickly agreed that he was right and had done the best thing.
Way to go Ben! I am so proud of you for having a "strong heart" and such a desire to choose the right all the time. I am more grateful than I can express.

The Best boys in the World.

I know I rarely get on to blog anymore, but i need to every now and then to write things down for journaling sake.
I hope I never come off as a braggart, but I always find my boys amazing and, so , I like to blog about their sweet spirits.

Ben, thinks a lot about adult things already. He often talks about the things he'll do as an adult, and who he'll marry. Lately he's been saying, "I want to be a righteous dad", and then he'll explain how he'll be righteous. THe first time he said this, I said, "That's wonderful. That's exactly what your children will need."
He said, "Yeah, I'll tell them, 'You don't always get what you want. But, you can have lunch if you want.' "
"You don't always get what you want" is something Joe and I have said several times in the last little while. I guess Ben figures this is a righteous thing to teach. (I agree. Sometimes you just get what you need. ;) )

Then, today, Ben learned about "Being Kind" at church. And, boy did he ever learn this lesson. He came home and applied his lesson to EVERYTHING. He made clear choices to choose the right and share and let things go without getting mad, and to help everyone. He's so good. I just love him.

Kade has been very verbally sweet lately, which he usually isn't. He hugs and kisses, but, for example, everytime I say, "Kade, I love you." he'll reply, "Thanks" instead of "love you too." THis is fine to me -he's a physically lovey boy which is great. But lately he's just out of nowhere been telling me, before I say anything, that he loves me. It's awesome.
And, lately Kade has been making up songs for the baby. He'll just start singing, and he's songs will make sense! It's amazing. Usually he says things like, "I love the baby......in your belly...." It's so funny. He's just sweet and too cute! Love these boys!!

We're Having..............

A BOY!! I am so excited. I cried and laughed all the way home at the idea of THREE boys, three brothers, three little boys in white shirts and ties at church, and three boys doing karate with Joe.

I wasn't sure what I would think when I heard either gender. But,when we finally knew, I was elated! I am happy to be a mother to two great boys already and can't wait to meet my new sweet little guy. I feel so lucky all around. What a great day!

SO SWEET!

Today I over heard Ben talking to Joe. I perked up and listened when I heard Joe ask, "You're having a baby sister?" (As of now we still dont know what we're having. Hopefully we'ff find out thursday.) Ben said "Yep."
Joe asked how he knew he was having a sister. Ben said, "I asked, and I asked, and I asked Heavenly Father, and He said 'Yes'. "
Joe asked, "How did he say 'yes'?"
Ben said, "Just in my heart."
Joe asked Ben, how many times had he asked.
Ben said about ten times.
Joe said, "You must want a sister pretty bad."
Ben said, "Yeah, because he was a boy and he already had a baby brother."

I just thought his conversation was pretty cute. I love that Ben has been thinking about the baby to come, adn even praying about what he wants. It's also amazing that He believes and receives answers to his prayers, and knows that Heavenly Father answers in our hearts. I love my boys!

Picking Cherries!!!

Today we went cherry picking! This huge bowl -which isn't all- is the fruit of our labor. We picked 10 pounds!!! This farm let's U-pick whatever you want for just $1 a pound!!! Which beats ANY grocery store price I've seen. I love cherries, and haven't had any in years because they're so pricey. This situation was AMAZING.

Grandma was only in town for a half a day, so she came with me and the boys, and we all picked some delicious PERFECT cherries.

I seriously could have picked all day! (Since it wasn't a "job" or a chore it was purely fun to do and it was like a treasure hunt for me.) I'd find branched full and had a goal to fill my huge bucket! I had tons of energy, the trees blocked the sun from our faces, and helped keep us cool, and we went around 10 so it wasn't too hot yet. Perfect day!

I picked fruit off of trees when I was little, and it was a fun thing for me -to see where fruit really came from and to taste it right off the tree. When I found out yesterday that I could pick cherries somewhere, I knew I would be taking the boys today. They both got up to the top of the ladder (with help from grandma or me) and picked away! They both did a great job.

I am glad we live around places like this -it was about twenty minutes away- and I plan to find more "U-pick" places so we can do this again. Fun stuff, fun memories!

Disney Land Finally!!!

This was taken minutes before the boys woke up to head to Disneyland! We spent the night in Vegas to make the trip that much shorter. (So cute!)
There's no way to write about everything we did and everything we saw, so I will let the picture just speak for themselves. We spent 5 days there! And, spent eight hours everyday playing. It was fun, and lucky I had enough energy to make it through the day. Though, I will say this, I wish the boys could have pushed me a grandma around in the stroller every now and then.(Joe wasn't able to go, because of the season and all -fires =responsibility/money.)

Under the sea, looking from the porthole in the Nemo Submarine ride. SO FUN. It showed cool things like this scuba guy and beautiful (fake) plant life, but then went completely dark and movie clips were reflected in front of you as you were moving along. Very cool.

The "Buzz game" as Ben referred to it, was so fun and we probably went on this ride 20 times (no joke) You would move along and shoot your laser gun at different targets to defeat Zurg! Very exciting and the boys could have done this all day -and we almost did.

Sporting their new Disney shirts, they played around at Goofy's house.

The boys both love Lightning McQueen and Mator! So, when we saw them "off the side of the road" they were thrilled to get to see them. (Ben kept talking to them and wondering why they wouldn't talk back. We told them it's their job to take lots of pics, so they have to hurry so every one can get a turn, and if they talked to everyone it would take too much time. That appeased him.)

The first guy we met. Ben wasn't sure if he wanted to bother, and Kade wouldn't get out of the stroller. But, after this experience they understood, and liked posing with the characters.(Except for a little incident with Goofy.)

Kade cried when we nudged him forward to meet Goofy -so I had to hold him. But, it was a very funny thing. Goofy started acting afraid of Kade -and wouldn't' let Kade come near him, until Kade was laughing at Goofy thinking he was scary. Then we got a cute picture.

Donald is Ben's "favorite", besides Buzz Lightyear, So, it was amazing that we got to see him first thing our last morning!

Oh Mickey!

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!!!! The highlight of the entire experience! The boys were SO happy words can't even do their reaction justice. They were thrilled! We got a few pics with Buzz and seeing him made the whole trip worth it. If getting to "meet" Buzz was all we had done, the trip would still have been worth it. (And I sware my legs are not really that huge, it's not a flattering angle.)

I took 186 pictures at Disneyland and their were so many other things we saw, so maybe I'll post another post sooner or later.

Funny Little Comments....

Ben: "Mom, you're one of us." I have no idea what he meant, but I'll be "one of them" any day. ;)

Kade: "Mom, your face is pretty." and "Mom, you're the best. And, Dad's the best." Very cute comments. (I need to journal these little sayings so they'll be in my blog book.)

Sorry, but It's a Fart Story.

Lately, Ben has been a major gas machine. Who knows why, but he is passing it all the time. He thinks it's funny (yet, it doesn't help, I admit, that I laugh sometimes when he does this.) He'll always say excuse me and giggle.

Anyway, it crossed my mind that he might be farting at preschool or in church. So, I asked him. He smiled and stated, "Yeah! (like duh) When it's gotta come out, it's gotta come out."
I thought, "Wonderful. How long has he been farting in front of other people?"

So, I told him it wasn't polite to pass gas in public -he asked what "public" was and I thought I explained well enough.
What's funny is, that almost everwhere we go, he'll ask me or Joe, "Are we in public?" If we say, "Yes." and he'll say, "Okay, then I'll wait."
I'm glad he has learned now that "it doesn't have to come out when it wants to come out." I am glad he's now trying to be more polite. Still, I think I have -no doubt- created this monster habit....Be careful what ya laugh at moms. ;)

Just So I Remember...

Yesterday I took the boys to the splash park. But, we went a little later in the day then usual -instead of mid-morning, it was more around lunch time. I hadn't thought to pack lunches until I was driving. So, I swung into Arby's and bought us the little 79 cent jr. roast beef sandwiches. (Mmmmm.)

After awhile of playing, the boys sat to eat. After a few bites, Kade stopped eating, looked up at me and said, "Thanks mom, for the roast beef sandwich. It tastes really good." Ben then said thank you also.

I was impressed with the fact that he -a two year old, thought to stop and thank me. (Though he says thanks all the time, this was just different.) Also, I am ever impressed, yet still surprised sometimes, by both boys and their verbal skills. Kade's sentences were just funny to hear coming out of a two year old's mouth. Cute memory.

Kader-bum! Funny kid.

Kade made a little "crown" type thing at church yesterday. He would put it on and take it off a million times. One of those times he slid it a little too far down his forehead. As he tried to slide it back up it was stuck, so he exclaimed, "Mom, it's stuck on my eye brownies." I couldn't stop laughing, but did long enough to let him know they were "eye brows".

Aw Sweet Boy.

Last night Ben throwing up, he had eaten his weight in strawberries, and I think it finally got to him.
After a round of being sick, I was washing him off, and asked if he wanted a drink or to blow his nose.
He was very sad and tired and acky, so all he said was, "Blessing."
I said sure. Joe was just walking into the bathroom, so Ben asked Joe, "Dad, can you give me a blessing?"

I love this boy. What an awesome little guy. Grateful for his faith.

Preschool Performance!!

Last night was Ben final preschool performance. SO CUTE!!! They showed us what they typically do each day in preschool, and showed us just how much the kids know. Joe, Kade, Aunt Nattie, Grandma and I were non-stop smiles the whole time watching our funny Ben. This is Ben's best friend Parker - they have a blast with each other. Parker's mom and I have made plans to do lots of play dates over the summer to keep them together, and they will both see each other in preschool next year. (At the beginning of the program Ben was sitting next to the girl he has a crush on, but when he saw where Parker was sitting he got up and moved. He gave up the girl for a buddy -Love it. They were cute with each other the whole show.

This was during their "Walking on Sunshine" performance. Ben actually did the moves. It was cute. Their preschool is in a dance school, so that's why their costumes are so "dancey". Joe was a little unsure about letting his son wear this, but I thought it was cute, and Ben felt important in it -and once we saw them all together, it was just totally cute.

Ben and Parker took turns pointing out their parents to each other at the beginning of the show. Out in the hall, before the show, I was helping Ben tuck in his shirt and he introduced me to his friend Tyson -he said with great importance "That's my mom." I LOVED it!!!

This is Miss Kate. Ben LOVES her. And, she has always been so sweet with Ben. She's the one who drops the kids off to their cars after school and she's the one who is always telling me how much she loves Ben. I am glad he's had such great teachers. At the end of the performance each kid received a certificate that said they attended Little Gems Preschool. It was very cute.

What a cute night. We all went for ice cream afterwards. Fun Fun! Love this preschool.

A Whole New Family!!!

Coming this November a fifth member of our family will arrive!! We are all very excited.

This pregnancy so far has been TOTALLY different than my other two. With both boys I felt good most of the time -just a little tired. But, this go round, I have felt sick most of the time. We're thinkin' it's gotta be a girl this time. Ben has talked about a "baby sister" before he even knew a baby was coming. But, ya never know; we'll just have to see.

Joe really wants a girl, but I'm a little nervous. I've done okay with boys -how would I do with a girl? I go back and forth from okay with the idea to totally scared. It's a whole new world! Yet, little dolls and dresses around the house and watching Joe play Barbies are pretty cute thoughts. I'll be happy with either, but I'm a little nervous.

Joe and I also have different tastes in names, and we haven't talked too much about names yet -so, if anyone had any suggestions, we'll be happy to consider any~for boys or girls.

Amazing Parks!

St. G. has some of the best parks I have seen! I have made a goal to visit every park this spring and summer to find our favorites! So far this "green park" is at the top of the list. It's incredible, and has sooo much to do -I couldn't post all the pics of everything available, but it is just awesome.


Here's a small glimpse of one side of the park. Cute and great for my boys' ages.
There are a few bouncy toys like the dinosaurs. Awesome slides everywhere!

Lots of physically challenging things to climb! This park wears 'em out!

Ben can climb this wall like a pro....it's fun to watch and he loves the adventure.

It's huge! And this is only one side of the park.

This is another park we visited months ago -it's so crazy and interesting. It's hard for me to describe...it's science-y! Most is too big for the boys to do by themselves, but we helped them and they loved it.

A rope bridge to a cave or a slide! Fun -where was this when I was little?!

I love LOVE St. G. It has just been wonderful -the parks make life a lot of fun. Love it!