Band of Brothers

Behold this modern-day royal army! These are some amazing little boys. I love every one of them. Just looking at this picture gives me the chills and makes me tear up. Over the next 16 months 18 boys in our neighborhood (12 of whom are pictures here) will be baptized. Fastforward a decade or so, and hopefully this will be a group of elders serving all over the world.

Sadly, my own little soldier was having a bad day. Hence the very out-of-character melancholy face. But I hope someday this picture will bring a smile to his face...like it does mine! A thousand thank yous to Heather Gibb, the fantastic photographer who braved the cold and the wiggles of 12 little boys to capture this magical moment!

And The Trophy Goes To...

Early in the school year, James came home and announced with great excitement that he wanted to enter the Reflections Contest. I was secretly very excited too because I have fond memories of entering this very contest many times during my school years. I think it is a great way to encourage creativity and imagination in kids and to help them recognize their talents.

James told us he was going to enter the 3-D Art category. He already had a vision of what he wanted to create. His plan was to build a city out of paper. Knowing what an expert Lego builder he is, I had no doubt he would figure out a way make it happen. Three weeks, 4 rolls of scotch tape, 2 glue sticks, and countless scraps of paper later....this is what he came up with!

 I don't know if these pictures do it justice. The scope of the project is pretty impressive! The detail he included is amazing. But what I love most is that you can clearly tell it is the labor of love of a six year old!

 This week the school held the Reflections awards assembly. We tried to prep James for the fact that not everyone would win a trophy. The important thing is that he participated, did his best and had fun working on his talents. I will be honest..when I saw the number of entries in James's category I began fervantly hoping that he wouldn't be too disappointed with a participants' medal. I guess I should have more faith in my son! I wish I could have captured the look on his face when they announced that he won the Award of Excellence! Here is my happy boy clutching his trophy with the principal and assistant principal. What a proud moment!

Boo!

Halloween is not my favorite holiday. It doesn't even rank up there in the top three. Growing up I always hated having a birthday near the big spook fest. Just the thought of going to haunted houses gives me the creeps! But I have to admit...since having kids, my view of Halloween has improved considerably. There is something undeniably cute watching my little ones transform into G.I. James, Sir Daniel, and Benson the Little Tank Engine (okay...so that last transformation was sort of incomplete. Does that hat count?)

 

 And who can resist smiling when Grandma goes platinum blonde??  Halloween is worth celebrating once a year just to witness that!

 Sir Daniel rescues the damsel in distress

 The soldier and his pinup girl

The cousins celebrated in style. Here a big shout-out to our Kansis and New York cousins. We missed you! Happy Halloween to you all.

The Boys of Fall

To say football is an obssession for many of the little boys in this neighborhood would be a major understatement. And if the truth be told, there are a few big boys and girls (i.e. moms and dads) who are more than a little excited about it too! With such a huge group of boys James's age, it was easy to put together a team...and the Wild Horses were born. Put twelve eager boys together, add three or four dads to coach, and throw in some hyper, screaming moms on the sidelines and you've got the recipe for some pretty heart-pounding flag football!

 James aka The Snapper. He was the only kid on the team who could hike the ball straight, so he became the unofficial center. He really did a great job! 

 He picked up some pretty good moves on defense too.

 The boys played so well, especially considering they played against several teams made up of mostly second graders. They won 7 of their 9 games and made it to the play-offs, only to lose in the quarter finals. A bit heartbreaking maybe, but nothing could put a damper on the enthusiasm of these athletes! When all was said an done, these little boys had a blast this fall!

 

Down on the Farm

Okay, so technically we didn't go to the farm. Art's former employer, Jeff Flamm, owns a gorgeous estate in Holladay with acres of land, a fishing pond, a beautiful barn, and lots of fun animals to see. Jeff's son, Andy, invited us down for a wonderful autumn evening.

 The fish were biting as fast as the boy could cast. All three of them caught at least one fish (apparently the fish were very eager participants in our fishing adventure becauce they hadn't been fed in a week!) and we brought Ben's home to sample later.

 Daddy and his trusty shovel rowed the boys around the pond

 The boys finally see a pupose to raking leaves....to make huge piles to play in!

 The boys - even Daniel our non-animal lover - loved the menagerie of animals. Birds of every kind, chickens, miniature horses, rabbits, peacocks, llamas, and ducks and geese galore. Ben loved them all until anything got a little too close for comfort.

Thanks to the Flamm family for sharing their beautiful home with us. Just in case you are wondering, the picture above is of their BARN...not their house!! What a gorgeous place to spend a family night.

You Say It's Your Birthday?

Turning five is a BIG deal! Daniel decided to stretch out his birthday as long as possible and sqeeze in as much fun as one little boy can handle. I think he did a pretty good job!

 First came the all-important date with Grandma. It is a special rite of passage in our family. Turning five inaugurates the annual birthday date tradition. Daniel had in mind exactly what he wanted to do...eat lunch and pick out Hero Factory and Lego toys. Grandma did not disappoint. In fact, she threw in extra surprises like a trip to the Classic Fun Center and ice cream from Dairy Queen.

 For our family celebration, Daniel chose to go to the ever-popular Chuck E. Cheese. Yay for us! He got to invite his buddy Taylor, and Grandma and Grandpa Mullins and Granny Tanner even joined us. Being the high class establishment that it is, Chuck E. Cheese provided us with our own table-side magician. The kids were mesmerized. I have to admit, even the adults were impressed.

 On his actual birthday, Danial FINALLY got to open present. I think the wait nearly killed him. He was so excited to get his own razor scooter. Man, that boy can tear around on it! He also spent hours putting together his bionicle machine (which was far too complicated for me to be of any assistance). The day was capped off with this stunning (move over Ace of Cakes!) hotwheels racetrack cake lovingly created by his artistically-challenged mother. Good thing beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He thought it was awesome!

Happy Birthday Daniel! You are still our best blue-eyed boy!

Second First Day

It was the first day of school all over again. This time for Daniel! He started at Miss Bonnie's Smaller Scholar Preschool. James attended this fabulous school, and we were so thrilled for Daniel to have a chance to experience it too. Last year we got off to a rocky start with school, with Daniel declaring that "I already know it all" (which was pretty close to true!) I wasn't sure how he would feel this year, but thankfully he was eager to go.

 Many of the kids in his class are from our neighborhood. Kyson, Kendal, and Easton are some of his best friends. How fun to see them all grow up together. I'm keeping my eye on that cute Kendal...some day Daniel might have his eye on her too! 

 Miss Bonnie is the very definition of the perfect preschool teacher! She is the sweetest lady in the world. She is so encouraging and positive and nurturing with the kids. I know Daniel is in for a real treat this year!