Poor Kid

Aiden came out of his classroom with an ice pack on his head today. I asked what happened and he explained that he had tripped while playing jump rope and lost a shoe and fell on his head. Then on the way home he said, "my best brain is sore, my best brain isn't working now."

Friends

I just love it when we have good play times with friends. One or more of my children have been cranky just about every day this week. Yesterday afternoon I watched my friends kids for a couple hours. It was the quietest most peaceful afternoon of the entire week. They played well together for a while and then they would wander off in their own little worlds doing different things. When one would come back to join someone else it they would ask nicely if they could play too and the response was, "yeah sure." It was great. I loved it.

prophecy!

Tim didn't get the bathroom door shut tight this morning and Kaylise walked by and told him she would shut the door for him so he could have his "prophecy." I wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly so I asked her what it was that Dad could have and she told me, "Dad needs his prophecy so he's modest."

She is so much fun to have around. Never a dull moment at our house!!

Aiden's brain

I just love the creativity that comes out of children! Aiden came in and was talking to me and I'm not exactly sure why he started spelling but he sounded out and wrote in the air with his finger the word "stop." When he finished he says (as he points to his head), "This is the smartest brain in my mind. That's why I can spell out stop with out even using a book." Then a minute later he goes, "ah ha I'm going to climb this (the door frame) because this brain thought it would be fast."

He also came home with some maple seeds and was very excited to plant them. He said it would grow and then drop more seeds and we could take them to the next house and plant them there and they would drop more seeds and holy smokes we'll have a lot of maples!

I just love this kid. He's so fun.

trampoline

One of the straps that holds the springs to the mat came unstitched on our trampoline last week. So we took the net and mat down and found a guy who could restitch it for us. He was closed on the weekend though so I didn't get it in until Monday. The guy was very amused with the kids and the fact that they knew their phone number. Then when he called to let us know it was done Aiden answered the phone. He asked for me and Aiden told him that his dad was home too. Then a few seconds later he hands me the phone saying very enthusiastically, "It's the trampoline man!" The guy was laughing when I got on the phone! :) I was impressed at how fast he was able to get it done.

Well it took us a few days to get to the trampoline and the kids are dying to have it usable again. So I had them help me set the mat out and put all the springs in the holes so it's ready to put up when Dad gets home. After laying on the mat on the ground and sighing a few times Aiden says, "Mom I really want to jump but gravity is just pulling this down (the mat) and me down so I can't."

Scripture time

Tonight Bransen sat very still and kept his arms folded all through the prayers for scripture time. He even stayed with us the whole time instead of wandering off to do something else. However he didn't help us pay attention very well. He just kept tackling Aiden, Kaylise, and myself. Sometimes falling over us and laughing. Occasionally he would try to blow on your bare skin or tickle your toes! He was being quite the little character tonight. We just love this little guy he is such a joy. It is so much fun to watch all three of the kids play and have fun together and to see their joy in each other.

Fun game!

While I was doing the laundry today I started working on a project on top of the washer. I dropped a few pieces and Bransen scattered them before I could pick them up. A few of which went under the washer. I bent over to look and see if I could get them. I was able to get one and could see another but not quite reach it. So I grabbed a ruler and fished it out. Then I got a flashlight to try to find the last one. Bransen didn't understand that I was bent over with my head plastered to the floor trying to look under the washer. He just thought I was playing a game with him. So he bent over and put his head on the floor right between mine and the washer and stared me in the eyes with a great big grin on his face! We would sit up hug and smile and then do it all again!! Needless to say I had to come back later when Bransen was napping to find the last one but I found it. :)

FHE

Aiden was in charge of the lesson last night. Early in the afternoon I asked him what he wanted to do for his lesson. He responded, "I have it in my mind Mom. I'm going to teach about the scriptures." So I left it at that and waited for FHE. He gave an excellent lesson talking about the Book of Mormon and the three witnesses (whom with Kaylise's help they were able to remember all three: Martin Harris (or Harris Martin if you ask Kaylise!), David Whitmer, and Oliver Cowdry.) He talked a little about Joseph Smith translating the Book of Mormon and then he talked a little about the bible as well. He did an awesome job of coming up with and giving a lesson entirely on his own. I'm so proud of him.

Church

So I didn't write everything about yesterday. Originally I was quite excited about the prospects of later church. I am not a morning person and 8:30 has been a real challenge for me. I prefer 11 but was open to the thoughts of 2:30. By that time Bransen would be done napping and I would have plenty of time to get something together and in the oven or crock pot for dinner. We could come home eat and get ready for bed. Well yesterday Bransen took an awesome nap around noon. Woke up in time to get ready and take some pictures before church. It was great...right up until we got to church and needed to sit quietly and reverently. When well rested Bransen does not like to just sit on the bench or eat snacks. He was very loud and playful the entire block! To top it off he still fell asleep on the way home. That late of a nap keeps him up until 10 or 11 which is not so okay with me! So now I'm rethinking this whole Sunday schedule and routine. We may try to keep him awake until 2:30 and see how that works instead!

Family pics

We now have church from 2:30-5:30 in the afternoon so we went for a walk this morning. We found some really pretty blossoms and decided to go back in our Sunday clothes just before church. We spent about five to ten minutes with mostly willing participants! Bransen was actually the only one really struggling. Aiden has a hard time staging a smile but I did get some good ones of him too. Overall I think it went great.









I really liked the randomness of this one!

Kaylise

This morning Kaylise was playing really well by herself. She was quiet and happily playing for a long time. When she finally came back in where Bransen and I were playing I asked what she was doing. She told me she was playing with the toy money. I asked her if she was having fun to which she replies, "Not really it wasn't working out like I wanted it to."

Garden

Monday for FHE we talked about seeds and gardening and then we started some tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, wildflowers, and cotton in our little greenhouse tray. Last night we borrowed a tiller from some friends. Tim had a hard time keeping it under control! It kept running away from him. It was great entertainment for the rest of us!!! Bransen was pretty concerned about the loud noise and Dad's safety. Here are some pictures of the kids watching and some of the strain in Tim's face!

tilling

Field trip

Aiden went on a field trip to the recycle yard yesterday. It was a lot of fun and has us all excited to make our own recycle bins and take stuff in every now and again. Aiden really wants to work there now!

oops

oops I posted one twice on the last post so I deleted one and here is the real second one!

Bransen climbing

Here are couple videos of Bransen from a month or so ago climbing the ladder on the bunk beds and bouncing at the top. Some of his favorite things to do! Today I went in to the kids room and found Bransen sitting on the top rung facing out with his feet on the next one down and holding the poles at the top just waiting for someone to come help. Talk about a heart attack. I'm glad he is smart enough to wait though.

Bike

This video is a little old but better late than never! I forget about videos most of the time so they never get posted. I just thought I would share a few tonight. Here is one of Aiden riding his bike about a month ago. He is really good at going slow or fast, stopping and going on his own, and he's even started standing up to pedal some!

Bransen

The last couple of weeks Bransen has started tapping his toe. It is so cute to watch him do it. He will be standing watching us do something or waiting and he'll start to tap his toe. He seems so little to be doing something like that but it's way cute!

Agricultural museum

This last week Kaylise's class went on a field trip to the agricultural museum.

wet

It has been raining almost non stop for the last two days and is still suppose to rain off and on today and tomorrow. We have had nearly five inches! I'm glad the tarps on the roof are still holding up. I can hardly wait for the next three weeks to go by and then pray for sunny days so we can get our roof fixed for good hopefully!

Bransen

I just finished putting Bransen to sleep. He is so fun. He likes to gently rub his thumb over my eyelashes as he falls asleep. He has recently been saying "oh" a lot and it's really cute. I'll tell him it's time to go somewhere or we're not going to open that right now or something of the sorts and he responds, "oh." I love the way he says it and it is always at appropriate times. It cracks me up.

flinstones

They have a prehistoric beast exhibit at the science spectrum right now that we went to on our family night out. I don't think they really wanted us in there very bad because there was only one light on but the door wasn't locked so we went in anyways :) It made for poor pictures though. They had a flinstones looking car with several steering wheels and fun horns. This video is for the sound not the picture!! They also had a mammoth replica so we had to take a picture by Manny. After the omni movie the kids were playing chase while Tim and I were still eating. It was fun to watch them have such a good time together.

pictures

Family Night Out

My poser!


The kids were chasing each other and playing with Bransen. Aiden was trying to hide from the camera so most of his pictures are blurry but this one I caught just right. I think it's one of the best one's I've gotten of him in a long time! He was actually trying to step backwards to hide behind the wall but I caught him!!


Saturday we had the opportunity to go to the science spectrum to the omni theater. The graduate school paid for 300 people and we were lucky enough to be some of those! They provided pizza and snacks and a movie! It was a fun evening. We went to a movie called Wild Ocean which is about the south east coast of South Africa. Afterward while eating pizza Aiden was talking about living in South Africa. He is really funny. If he talks to someone who is from somewhere else or learns about another place at school then he says he's going to live there when he grows up. For instance just a day or two prior to this he told me he was going to live in China "for real" when he got older. He's also said Costa Rica in the past. So when he told me that he was going to live in South Africa I told him I thought he was going to live in China. To which he so brilliantly responds, "I've got a mind, I can just make it up." I got quite a kick out of that one. I'm sure it stems from me asking them to make up there minds or teasing them when they keep changing their minds about what to play or something. He went on to say that he would just live at each place for one month and then go to the next place for a month! He is quite the problem solver.

After we ate we went to play for a few minutes but those pictures will have to come in a later post because I'm ready for bed!

who built our house

A few days ago during lunch somehow Aiden and Kaylise started talking about who built our house. Aiden said that Josh built our house. I told him that it wasn't Josh because it was built a long time before he came here. Then Kaylise says, "Jesus built our house." Aiden disagreed but Kaylise responded, "Jesus created everything."

bean bag toss

This is Bransen throwing the bean bag into the hole.




This is Bransen trying to retrieve the bean bag.



This is Bransen trying to stand the bean bag toss back up!

Sunday afternoon

n

Tim and I were both really tired one Sunday afternoon and really wanted a nap so we told the kids it was quiet time. They didn't have to sleep but they had to be really quiet. So they pulled out their sleeping bags, pillows and books and at least one of us got a nap!

little tease

Bransen has become quite the tease and cheeser! When he is done eating he likes to open his mouth and just as you get the bite to his mouth he sticks out his tongue and shakes his head laughing! I really like all of the faces he pulls but I can't usually catch them on camera. He is fun to watch play peek a boo! This morning Tim told us good bye as we were eating breakfast. After he walked down the hall Bransen started blowing kisses. It was so cute. He wasn't even asked to do it he just loves Dad!

cheerios

Bransen loves to get into the snack/cereal cupboard and help himself! He usually brings me a bag or container of something but this time he found an unsealed baggie of cheerios. Which instead of just eating he decided to spread all over the floor. After playing with them for a little bit he decided it was time to clean up. He went and got the broom and attempted to sweep them up! When he had had enough he took the dust pan off and put it away! :) He is so much fun to have.

Eggs

We were a little slow with getting to the egg decorating. We meant to do it on Saturday with our family but with conference and our little easter hunt and needing to make lunch and dinner we just somehow never made it to the eggs. So we did them for family home evening instead!