Bryce Talking on the Phone

New Hobby

Paul was invited Sunday to go golfing with our Sunday School teacher. It ended up being to windy to go, but before he was told that, he was out in the front yard practicing his swing. I asked him to show me how to play. When he found out they were not going to go we went to the park so we had more space for me to learn. Caleb took his bike and spent 2 hours riding up and down the walking path, by himself. He has pretty much got it mastered, just needs to work on his stopping. Isaac and Bryce ran around and tried to "play" golf.

It was very interesting though, to learn how to play golf with a child standing between my legs. I probably won't know how to play without Bryce standing underneath me!! I have never been a big golf fan, but now that I know how to swing, I really like it. I will never go pro or anything, and I will probably be laughed at when I play but, I did not want to quit playing yesterday, and I was just practicing swinging and hitting the ball.

Unfortunately, I am learning how to play on mens irons. Paul found some really old clubs that his grandfather gave him. They are not in the best shape, but they worked to show me how to play. Now we are going to have to go get me and him some new clubs so that we can start golfing together. I am very excited about this new hobby!!! Now I just have to find somewhere for the kids to go so that we can actually play!!

First Basketball Game

Caleb played his first basketball game Saturday morning. They don't take score (but our team won!!) so that the kids learn how to play the game, sportsmanship, etc. It was a pretty good game. Caleb startd crying in the middle of the game, we are still not sure why. The only thing I can figure is that he was not getting the ball and got upset. It did not last long though. His coach went out and talked to him, and he realized the game had been stopped for him. Caleb has never played basketball before and most of the other kids have, so he is not as quick at getting the ball. The ref's started letting him and the other smaller kid throw the ball in after baskets were made. When he did have the ball, he would pass it to someone as fast as he could, like it was a hot potato or something. I am sure the more he plays the more he will start to get the game!!

Two Wheels

Last week, Caleb became insistent on taking the training wheels off his bike. Well, he normally rides his Kettle Car (which has four wheels), so when he outgrew his helmet, we had not replaced it - I know BAD PARENTS!! Well, Daddy said he would take off the training wheels when he got a new helmet. Well, by Friday evening, he decided to take them off and he would hold the bike and Caleb could start learning to ride without the extra wheels. It took him all of about 5 minutes (if that) to get riding by himself down - but he could only go downhill (because he did not have to do much pedaling). The only problem he had was that he was having a hard time getting going. He could not get his feet up on the pedals and going before he would start falling over. We were very impressed with how quickly he was able to get his balance down. Yet, another sign that the kids are growing up too quickly.

Laundry

Okay, I absolutely hate laundry, despise it. It is one of those things that never ends. I can spend all day doing laundry, get the hamper empty, but come bed time, it is full again. I feel like I spend my life filling the washer, emptying the washer and filling the dryer, filling the washer, emptying the dryer and folding, putting clothes away (just to find them thrown on the floor the next morning). Having said this, my dear sweet son that I love so much (Bryce) has developed this horrible habit. For the last month and a half or so, he has started stripping the second we get home. This does not bother me too bad, a lot of kids do this. He, however, will not put on the same clothes when he decides to get dressed again. He goes in and gets all new clothes.

Now, he always wears them long enough to get them just dirty enough that we cannot just put them up. He will put them on and get something on them before I even realized he has gotten clean clothes out. To make matters worse, the last couple of weeks, every time he goes to the bathroom, he changes underwear now. Not because he had an accident, he just feels that he needs a fresh pair of underwear after he pottys.

He has A LOT of underwear because you have to have a lot when you are potty training. He goes through them all in less than 2 days if I don't watch him. It is to the point now where I am going to have to start writing down what he is wearing so I can keep track of when he is changing them!!

And I wonder why my hamper is never empty!!!

Goodbye Arkie

Well, tragedy struck our house today. We got up and Caleb went to say good morning to his hamster, who was not moving. Usually by the time we get up he has gone to bed so he is in his house. This morning he was not in his house though. Caleb was very upset. We had a funeral for him and buried him beside the house. Caleb is wanting to put flowers out for him, but I told him this spring he would be surrounded by pretty plants. This all happened at about 7 this morning and since about 7:30 he has been asking for another hamster. I keep telling him I think he needs to spend more time with the zoo we have already (3 dogs, 2 cats and a bird). He is spending a lot of time with them all today, but he is not giving up on the hamster. We will not be getting another one though!!! Goodbye Arkie, May you rest in peace in a better place (Hamster Heaven!!).

Girl Magnets

Caleb had basketball practice last night and we all went to watch. Well, Isaac and Bryce are sitting with Paul and I and these two little girls (sisters of someone on the team) kept smiling at the boys. They both kept smiling back and ACTING shy. The girls finally got up and came over and tickled the boys and then ran back to their parents. The girls were about the same ages as the boys. Alyssa was Isaac's age and Victoria was Bryce's. The four of them spent about the last half hour of practice playing tag and Ring Around the Rosie. They were all very upset when it was time to go. This all goes back to my previous post about girls having cooties! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT??

Don't Kiss and Tell

Apparently this is the philosophy that Caleb takes. We went over to a friends house today to play and then went to lunch. We have not seen Holly since Caleb's birthday party in November. As we were getting ready to leave Burger King, Jennifer told me that when they were leaving Caleb's birthday party, Holly was blushing and giggling in the car. Jennifer kept asking her what her deal was. About half way home, Holly said that Caleb kissed her before she left. I knew nothing of this until today!! While this is not his first kiss (he has gotten in trouble a couple of times since he started school for kissing at school), it is still disturbing. I THOUGHT GIRLS HAD COOTIES AT THIS AGE!? What happened to that? I think I would rather the boys believe that for at least a little while. How did I end up with 3 boys that are immune to cooties? IT IS JUST NOT FAIR!!

Batman and His Cave

We went for a road trip yesterday and ended up at a cave. We took the boys on a guided tour and it was beautiful. They have put indirect lighting throughout the cave and it is really awesome. Unfortunately we forgot the camera on this trip. The boys were really excited about going and Caleb kept asking if he could pet a bat. We kept telling him they were all hibernating, but he could not grasp it. While we were on the tour he kept asking about where the bats were. He finally stopped asking and start asking questions about what he was seeing. The tour guide nicknamed him Rocky. The last half of the tour Caleb walked with the tour guide and chatted with him when the guide was not explaining what we were seeing.

Isaac said he really liked it, but he was quiet the entire tour.

Bryce, on the other hand, could not be quiet to save his life!!! He was trying to scare the group I guess. About the time the tour guide would quit talking and everyone was quiet, just taking in the beauty of it all, Bryce would gasp. He kept saying he saw a mouse, or there were monsters hiding in the holes in the caves. Thankfully no one was overly jumpy so he did not scare anyone. Everyone got a kick out of listening to everything he was "seeing."

Towards the end of the tour, the guide asked everyone if they liked chocolate. Of course, everyone likes chocolate, right? He took us to this area where the ceiling of the cave was chocolate brown. With the stalactites, it looked like chocolate was dripping off the ceiling. Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory gone wrong!! Bryce got excited and said he wanted some chocolate. I told him if he wanted it he would have to climb and get it. He looks me dead and the eyes and says "you climb for chocolate for me!" Everyone started laughing as I tried to explain that it was not really chocolate. Then he saw another monster go into a cave within the cave.

It was really a neat tour though. Caleb has decided he likes caving and wants to learn as much about bats as he can. We are going to take him back in May on a different tour so that he can hopefully see some bats. He has become Batman overnight!! At the end we went to where the springs comes out of the cave. The guide said that 10 million gallons of water came out of the cave A DAY!! It was another beautiful site, but I would not get in it. It is full of dissolved bat poop. There is actually a sign saying that while it is a natural spring it is not safe for drinking. DON"T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE!! I'M NOT TOUCHING IT! Although Caleb wanted to swim in it!!

Bryce the Builder

Can he fix it? We went and got a new desk on Monday morning. Paul came home and started putting it together. Bryce decided Daddy needed help with this project - so he gave it to him (if you can call it that!!) It was so cute that I had to get the camera out!






Daddy trying to crawl behind desk to put some screws in it

Bryce following Daddy behind the desk (which was too tight for JUST Daddy!)



Bryce helping Daddy screw in the screws

Checking Daddy's work

Christmas Photos

Bryce tearing into presents
Caleb hugging his globe
Caleb with Nerf Dart Tag
Isaac with his Doodle Pro
Bryce on his firetruck simulator
Aunt Lindsay ready to play Nerf Dart Tag - Paul wanted it on here Aunt Lindsay!!
Isaac on his Jeep from Santa and Bryce on his 4 wheeler from Santa
Bryce on his 4 wheeler
Isaac on his new shiney Jeep - Daddy's jealous!!
Isaac's Build Your Own City - put together (it won't stay that way for long!)
Bryce on his tricycle that we exchanged Santa's 4 wheeler for (the 4 wheeler was to slow and he would not ride it because the Jeep is faster and cooler!!!)

Christmas

I know, I know, I said I was going to do this blog on the 26th, but I was sick!! I got an awful stomach bug Sunday night and was up all night!! Not pretty! But here I am now and I will post some pictures of Christmas!

Paul's mom and sister came out on Saturday morning, so it was just the 7 of us. We had Christmas dinner on Saturday because they were going back on Sunday afternoon. Paul cooked almost all of dinner (I didn't even have to do the cleaning!! What a vacation!) It was an awesome dinner! Paul did a great job on the turkey this year. He found a really good recipe online, did some tweaking, and it was the best turkey I have ever had!

We opened Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, too. We decided the boys needed to get some use out of the toys we got them before Santa came. The living room was destroyed, but that is half the fun...right? They were all really excited, and so were we. This is the first year that all of the kids really knew what was going on. Bryce opened all of his gifts by himself, actually he started ripping into them before we were done separating them all out. He just could not wait.

Caleb cleaned up on John Deere "stuff". That is what he really wanted and what he is in to right now. some of the presents he got included a nerf dart tag set, an art set, and a RC remote control Flying Saucer. We will be here all night if I try to remember everything the boys got, so I will just list a few of their gifts!!

Isaac got an Aquadoodle, a Doodle Pro, a Leapster, a race track, etc. He has really enjoyed all of them, but that Leapster stays with him!! I guess it makes him feel like he is big like Caleb (Caleb likes to play his Gameboy a lot!!).

Bryce got... you guessed it - a lot of Firetruck toys. He got puzzles, fireman gear, a firetruck simulator - that he loves!!!(Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!) He also got a lot of Talking Tonkas (firetrucks, tow trucks, trains, etc.) He is in heaven, and maybe when everyone goes back to school he will be very entertained!!

So, Saturday evening was pretty crazy! The boys stayed up LATE so that they could watch some of the movies they got for Christmas (Polar Express, Spirit, Robots and Valiant). We finally convinced them Santa was waiting on them to go to bed so that he could bring their presents. We had been tracking Santa online with NORAD all day, so it did not take a lot of convincing!!

They got up Sunday ready to see what Santa had brought. He did good this year, for the most part!! Caleb got a Robosapien (Robot), Isaac got a Jeep Powerwheels (I wonder who picked that out!?), and Bryce got a 4-wheeler Powerwheels. Santa got Bryce the 4-wheeler so he could learn how to drive (it tops out at 2 mph), but Bryce learned in less than 2 minutes and did not like how slow it went, so he started hitching a ride with Isaac all the time. We took the 4-wheeler back and exchanged it for a tricycle, which he loves to sit on all the time (in fact he sat on the tricycle in the buggy when we went to get it). Santa also got them all Mr. Potato Heads. Caleb got Darth Tater Potatohead, Isaac got Mr Potato Head from Toy Story and Bryce got a bucket of Potatohead Family. Then they all got a game.

Needless to say, it was a very exciting and exhausting weekend! I am going to post this and then post the pictures on a fresh blog!

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to tell all of those that keep up with this blog - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I will post about our Christmas and some pictures hopefully tomorrow sometime. It has been a long weekend and we are all exhausted (and have two sick kids now) so we will see if I get to it.

Paul Harvey and Prayer

I got this in an email and it says what I feel:

Paul Harvey says:
I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught this theory of evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game.

So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

"But it's a Christian prayer," some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phonebook, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect - somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended.
It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome...

"But what about the atheists?" is another argument.

What about them?
Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating; to pray before we go to sleep.

Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us.
And if that last sentence offend you, well...just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we let that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard...that the vast majority don't care what they want. It is time the majority rules!! It's time we tell them, you don't have to pray; you don't have to say the pledge of allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right. But by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all, especially those who denounce Him. God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all.

God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

May 2006 be the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions.

Isaac's First School Christmas Party

Today Isaac had his very first Christmas party at school. It was so cute. They did a little presentation - they sang and did motions to several Christmas songs. At the end of the presentation Santa came through the doors and surprised all of the kids! He had a present for everyone and everyone got their pictures taken with him. Then they exchanged gifts (books) and had cupcakes, cookies and juice. They all seemed to have fun. Even Bryce got in on the action!

Name Game

Bryce's Name Today: Nathan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC!!

Where does the time go. I can't believe how old my boys are getting. Today is Isaac's 4th birthday. He has told anyone that has asked his age in the last month that he is 4. When he got up this morning and Paul and I were telling him Happy Birthday he said he was 5. He went to school telling everyone he was 5. I guess he was only 4 for a month!!

He got up this morning and asked if he could have cupcakes for breakfast. I am taking 48 cupcakes to his school today and he saw them in the refrigerator. He already opened his presents this past weekend. He got a basketball net, a sit-and-spin, a book that has alphabet keys (you put the key in a slot and it tells you what letter it is), the game Buckaroo.

Can You Tell Spongebob...

I was talking to Isaac's therapist today when I picked him up. A few weeks ago, his therapist was talking to her boyfriend Patrick. Isaac asked if he could talk to him, and he did for a minute. When he was done, he handed the phone back to his therapist. All of a sudden Isaac screams "Oh no!" She asked what was wrong. "I needed to tell Patrick to ask Spongebob something." apparently every Patrick is a pink starfish that knows Spongebob!! (What is sad, he rarely sees Spongebob!)

Today he talked to her mother on the phone. She asked Isaac if it had snowed at our house. Isaac said no and asked if it snowed at her house. She said it had. He said "I want to come to your house." Her mom told him that Ms. Robyn would have to bring him. He dropped the phone and turned to Robyn and told her that she had to take him to her mommys house now.

Young Love

I took Isaac to the doctor today because he has had a horrible cough the last couple of days. We were sitting in the waiting room - waiting - and I looked up to see Ashley coming out to the waiting room. Isaac got really excited and announced to the entire waiting room that Ashley was his girlfriend. Her Mom just died laughing. Ashley had just gotten a shot and was not quite as excited though. She had strep. I asked Isaac if he had been kissing her. He said no. I told him that I would know the truth soon, because if he got strep... Young love - so cute (and scary).

Bryce was taking a bath and I blew him a kiss. He went to blow me a kiss back and he ended up splashing water in his face.