Addresses...

So, Dean and I have decided that we are finally 'grown-up enough' to send out Christmas cards this year. I know- very exciting! But, I need a few more addresses. So! If you have moved in the last year, or if I just plain don't have your address- mind leaving me a comment? That would be awesome!! Thanks! And Merry Christmas!!!

Family Photos

Dean's sister took pictures for us recently and she just sent me the cd. ADORABLE! She did such a great job! Here's a little peek...

A little behind the scenes shot... What taking pictures was really like... I love this picture!

Aren't they cute! I'm one lucky mama!!

Bridge Jumping

So. Here is the other Kayden/jumping story... Several times over the last few years we have driven into Twin Falls and seen the jumpers on the bridge. Several times Dean and I have talked about stopping to watch, but then decided against it for fear of the ideas we might put into Kayden's head. Well, last week - we stopped. Kayden has some what mellowed recently and we figured he could handle it. Here's how it went... in Kayden's words:

Wow! That is scary!
I am never doing this! (We assured him that it was something he NEVER needed to do)
What happens if their parachute doesn't work? (We pointed out the memorial at the bottom and again assured him that he NEVER needs to try this)
Then he watched 4 more go without saying anything.
Well, maybe when I'm bigger I could try.
Like after my mission.
Yup, I think after my mission I will try it. (At this point we decided it was time to go - Kayden kept watching though)
O.k. I am definitely going to do this after my mission.
(dragging him to the car)
I wish I had a parachute right now!

bad idea... bad bad idea... and now we have Darth Vader jumping off the fireplace mantle...
Dean and I were talking later that night about why he decided to try "after his mission". We think it's because we are always telling the boys that they can do things like drive, date, get a cell phone, leave our sight, "after their mission. So, naturally, bridge jumping will have to wait until then also... I think we need a new plan!

Halloween Pictures

Since my completely outdated and ancient cell phone will no longer take pictures, here are some for all the aunts & uncles and grandmas and grandpas who are feeling jipped that they didn't get a picture text this year! (Even though none of them will probably check this blog since I've been such a post slacker!)

Our Halloween was full of fun and candy as usual!

Harry Potter, Darth Vader, Lady Bug, & Friendly Witch

Here is Kayden trying to use the "force" to control a helium balloon. After this picture, he jumped off the mantel as high as he could and said, "That's the highest jump I've ever done! Good thing I had this costume on so I wouldn't get hurt!"

I have another Kayden jumping story I need to post, maybe tomorrow...

Lucky Hair Spot...

This is just one of those things that I need to hurry and write down before I forget it, so it might as well be on my neglected blog! Just now- Dean was giving the boys a nice, very much needed Sunday hair cut. We use the Flo-B at our house- works wonders! But to trim around the edges, we use the razor. It always gets a few giggles because it tickles around the ears.

Kayden started giggling and moving around.
Dean, " Hold still!"
Kayden, " I can't! It tickles!"
Dean, "Hold still or you are going to be bald!"
Kayden, " I can't! giggle, giggle, giggle"
Dean, "Kayden!"
Kayden, "Don't cut my lucky hair spot!"
Dean, "Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! You have a lucky hair spot?"
Kayden, "Yes! That's why it tickles!"
Dean, "O.k. - I'll do the other side...."
Kayden, "giggle giggle, stop! Don't cut my other lucky hair spot!"

Not sure how good those Sunday hair cuts are going to look....

The Good Kind of Busy...

Talking to a good friend the other day- I told her things were busy. She asked if it was the good or bad kind of busy. We are definitely enjoying the the good kind of busy right now! Maybe I will catch up on blogging when things slow down... But for now we are enjoying these last few weeks of summer busyness!

A few accomplishments... in May

Another better late than never post, but one that definitely needs to be posted!!! Kayden graduated from preschool (not that we were concerned he wouldn't... he is very smart, I guess we should be celebrating more that his preschool room and teacher survived a year of Kayden!)

Here he is with his amazing teacher, Mrs. Mortensen. We love her!

Mr. Cheese. I love his blue eyes and his dead tooth...

Another great accomplishment... Ryman's first piano recital! He has been taking lessons since February and is doing so great!! He loves it and we are again very lucky to have a wonderful teacher! I am so glad there are all these wonderful people out there willing to share their talents to benefit and teach others. They are amazing people!

Looking Pretty!!

Warning: the following pictures may not be considered all that "pretty"!

Here's a few pictures of what we've been up to lately...

The kids sneaking away my camera and taking pictures of themselves outside so they don't get caught. ( I think it's so funny that they don't think about me seeing the pictures on the camera later...)
One of the many faces we enjoy daily from Taybri!

Brylie lost her two front teeth after letting each one hang from a tiny string for days!! Funny how proud they are of something so silly looking!
Ryman took on a treadmill... He wasn't victorious!

And last but not least... Dean put on a 50 mile hike in 20 hours for the men and boys in our stake. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Actually it turned out to be an amazing experience! And yes, that is a needle poking out of his foot, but it's o.k.! He's a doctor! :)

O.k... It was decided after everyone seeing my post that it wasn't fair not to have a "pretty" picture of me, so with lots and lots of searching, we found one. One of the many hairstyles Brylie likes to create for me!

Just Because...

Just Because she is so stinkin' cute!

My Little Munchkin!

I can hardly believe that my little toad turned 1!! Taybri's birthday was last Thursday, and although we told her Happy Birthday and granted her every wish and command ( oh wait- we do that EVERYDAY! ), Dean had a busy few days ahead of him. So, we waited until Sunday to do some cake eating! Dean ended up getting called out just as we were getting ready, but we held strong and waited for him to get back. Here a few pictures of Taybri in all her glory. I love this girl!
How she feels about getting her picture taken...

When we told her there was cake coming after pictures...

The first bite...
Hooray for cake!!

A few little things about Taybs...
She loves to 'kick back'. When she sits down, she doesn't just sit- she completely relaxes- puts her feet up and head back. Its awesome.
She is very tender hearted. If you speak too loud, bump into her, or do anything that might hurt her feelings- she turns on the waterworks and stares straight at you until you feel so bad you're crying too.
She is a smarty pants! Some of the things she does and picks up on amaze me!
She crawled at 5 months, walked at 10.
My labor with her was 1 hour and 40 minutes long. All I have to say is OUCH!

We can't imagine life without her! HAPPY BIRTHDAY little one!

Say Cheese!!!

My sister watched Taybri for me this weekend, so I put her in her 'special Aunt Erin' shirt. It says, "My Auntie is # 1". So, for fun she took pictures of the two of them... Here are the results! (She posted these on her blog, I stole the pictures and her interpretations.... )

Why is she doing this to me? Seriously! Why do you do this to me? Okay! Now I'm getting mad, just tell me where my mom is!

Only if you smile for the camera first!

She really does love her...

New tricks....

Taybri has kind of taken up the posts on this blog, but don't let that lead you into thinking that the entertainment of Kayden has died... So, just in case you've missed hearing about an adventure in the life of Kayden... This is for you!

What is he going to be/do when he grows up? And is this a talent I'm supposed to help him develop?....

Pictures

So, family photos (well actually any type of actually set up semi-professional photos) are something I am TERRIBLE about! I always want them done, they just never seem to get done. I hate asking people to do it for me (i don't know why) and then when I do, they just never seem to get done for one reason or another - mostly because my hubby is usually never around or way to busy during day light hours. So, even though it was freezing cold and there were a million other things better to do, my good sport of a sister-in-law bundled up with us and took some family photos. It started out as a 'let's just get this over with and if you hold still and smile I'll buy you an ice-cream cone' photo shoot, but ended up with Dean picking more spots to try "just one more." Miriam is WONDERFUL!!! I love her! I picked two of my favorites real quick because dinner is getting blacker and blacker by the minute, so check out her photography blog for all her amazing work. And if you are ever in the Rexburg area needing a picture...... just sayin! Thank you Miriam!!!

The only thing I am worse at then getting pictures taken, is getting them printed.... Seriously, if you've been in my house, it looks like we only have two children.... Sad!

Toad!

By request - here are some videos of our little toad, Taybri! She is trying awfully hard to grow up way too fast! Brylie was walking by the end of 8 months. Taybri only has 3 days left to match her, I don't think she'll make it, but she is awfully close! (Sorry for the tv in the background, my annoying voice, and the Christmas totes stacked up - our garage is under construction, so they haven't made it out yet - pictures of that soon to come!)

This next video is of her today when I was unloading the dishwasher. The blender had some water left in the bottom of it and when she figured it out.... well, you'll see. It had to have tasted soapy, but she just kept going for more and like a good mom, I video taped it instead of stopping her. Sometimes she puts her toys in her mouth so she can crawl away with them. You'd think she was mimicking the dog, but we don't have a dog.... She also LOVES paper! We joke that after she finishes eating dinner, we give her a piece of paper for dessert! She has sabotaged a piece of homework or two.... Should I be worried?

Suckers....

You know those sweet bonding moments you experience with your kids? Well, Dean has one that he has shared with all of our kiddos. Taybri's served two purposes though... Her first sucker with dad, and a comparison to big sister! We are still wondering who Taybri looks like in our family, she seems to have a little of all of us in her tiny features!

You want me to what?
This is the best day EVER!
Here it comes..... the sour face! Now the next picture is of Brylie's first sucker and the last one is of Taybri. (Yes, we put her in the same outfit on purpose...)

Well, the sour faces have similarities...

Go-Cart Fun/Happy Birthday Brant!

Today is my little brother's birthday! We don't see him much, but whenever we make it home, we sure enjoy playing on the go-cart he left at my parent's house! (Even though it's more fun when he is there, we appreciate him letting us use it when he's not!) Here are a few photos from this fall of the kid's enjoying Brant's go-cart. Thanks for letting us play with it Brant! And Happy Birthday!!!!

Quiet, reserved, Brylie is a maniac on this thing! It's so funny!

Cuteness

Just looking through pictures and waiting for new ones to load.... Answer me this: How can something so naughty be so cute?!

Do You See What I See?

It's part monkey, part human, possesses no fear, and loves to climb! Yup! That's Kayden! Let me show you how he accomplishes such a feat...

(These pictures were all taken from a distance, he didn't know I was taking them until the very end when he yelled, "Mom! Look at me!!" )

"I wonder if I could...."

Toad! Someone tell me how on earth we haven't had stitches or broken bones with this kid, yet!

Flys...

I LOVE the Fall. It is my favorite season, way too short though. The only thing I don't like about Fall, is FLYS! I HATE them (and my kids will tell you- that is not a nice word!). Dean says we get so many of them because of all the corn fields being cut, I say we get them because of his pickup! The flys are always buzzing around that truck... I've learned that those stinkin' flys are a little slow movin' in the morning (I guess the pesky fly and I have something in common...) maybe because it's a little cold, so after breakfast I walk around with my trusty swatter and get out any frustrations I may have that day. I show NO mercy.
Today, I caught one on the table. Which still needed to be wiped down from breakfast (hence the waiting until after breakfast part). After I finished my massacre throughout the house, I went to the sink to get a rag to wipe off the table. Kayden is sitting at the table with his airplane toy near the dead fly. And this is what I hear...
"Thanks for the airplane ride, but I need to go to preschool today. I have a field trip!"
"Your welcome. Where should I land?"
"Oh, I don't care, I'll just walk to my preschool, it's not very far away."
"O.k., make sure you have your seat belt on, we are having a rough landing!"
"Oh No!" There's a fly!"
"Smash it!" sound of his toy hitting the table over and over again...
"I sure got that fly good with my airplane, I'm a good flyer, huh!"
"Yup, you killed it!"

Well, as long as he's not playing with the live ones.... I'll guess I'll let him have his fun!
As a side note, Brylie can catch those buggers with her bare hands! It's amazing!

Chop! Chop!

A few weeks ago Brylie got asked if she wanted to donate her hair to locks of love. A girl in our ward was putting it together for her senior project. So, Brylie thought about it for a long time and finally decided to do it. Niki ( the one doing the project ) called one night saying she was ready to do her's, but wanted Brylie to come do it with her! So off we went. I think it gave Brylie the courage she needed to see Niki go first. She donated 15 inches and Brylie donated 11! They both laughed nervously through the whole thing. I think it's adorable ( on both of them! ).

Brylie's turn!
One pony tail down, one more to go!

Showing off their new do's. Pretty cute. Good job Brylie!!