TaKe Me OuT tO tHe BaLlgAmE!!!

This weekend Dustin's family were down for DenniAnn's softball tournament. We have enjoyed this tradition for the past few years, watching her become a pro as she's gone through high school. It's always fun to go relax and get the first tan for some, sunburn for others (Dustin---LOL!) of the season. We had a picnic dinner (veggies always taste better at the ball park) and the kids all fell asleep in the truck on the way home. Play Hard. Eat Hard. Sleep Hard.


Dedicated Nephews---who else do you know that will sit on a pile of rocks and watch their aunt in the outfield? That really is DeniAnn way out there in the background. Fun Memories.


The boys got a little antsy after the second game so off to the playground we went. Dallin and Alex and finally decided they are "Best Buddies"...for today anyway.

Derrick...always hilarious.
Zeke...loves to slide and slide and slide some more. Gets very mad when you tell him it's time to go.

Fun Day!

Who says you can't have doughnuts for dinner?

It doesn't happen a lot, but when it does it's a party at our house! We promised the boys an ice cream cone if they were good at the grocery store...well...that turned into a root-beer float and a box of doughnut holes by the time we got home. (I know what you're thinking...sugar high...right?) Well we had a very late (semi-nutritious) lunch and we just needed a snack and some fun before bed. The boys were in heaven. Especially Alex and Dustin...LOL! Fun Memories :D

P.S.
This is a conversation I won't soon forget that took place earlier that day...in the car---everything funny happens in the car! Derrick is usually talking 90 words a minuet whenever we are in the car. It usually goes something like this:

"Mom where are we going?" "Mom where are we going next?" Mom did you see that guy" "Mom who was that?" "MoM!" "MOM!!" "mOM!!!" "Mom---Zeke is looking at me!" "Mom, when are we going home?"...you get the picture.

So on this day after Derrick being unusually quite for three whole minuets this is what we discussed:

Derrick: "Mom?"
Mom: Listening to music, ignoring the kids in the back.
Derrick: "MOM!" "MoM!!" "mOM!!!"
Mom: "What Derrick?"
Derrick: "Should you eat your boogers?"
Mom: "What!!!" "Huh?" "Yuck!" "No---Do NOT eat your boogers!"
Derrick: "So I should just pull it out of my nose?"
Mom: "Yes, pull it out of your nose, but do NOT eat it!" "That is gross!"
Derrick: "So then what? Just SET it on the floor? (I love that he said, 'Set' and not 'flick' LOL!)
Mom: "No. You should use a tissue!"
Derrick: "What the heck is a shoetiss?"
Mom: "A Kleenex."
Derrick: "A what?"
Mom: "A Kleenex."
Derrick: "A Nex-Clean? Mom I need some toilet paper I have a booger!"
Mom: Loosing it about now
Derrick: "Mom!"
Mom: Still driving on the way to pick Dallin up from school. Handing Derrick back some 'toilet paper'.

Dallin get's in.

Derrick: "Dallin you should not eat your burgers!"
Dallin: "We are going to get burgers, AWESOME!"
Derrick: "No! B-U-R-G-E-R-S!!!"
Dallin: "Mom are we getting a burger or not?!?"
Mom: Listening to music ignoring the kids. :D

Soccer is in Season...

Spring is here, the blossoms are busting off the trees down here in "Sunny St. George," and that means soccer for the little boys and softball for the "Big Boys" :D
Alex kicked off his first game and had a blast! He is a total athlete. Loves anything sports related and can't wait to do it all over again!

Derrick was having a little lesson on the side lines...he's in next year.

Made two goals, very proud...

Zeke likes throwing better than kicking...I think he was just trying to keep the ball away from Derrick who kept stealing it from him...LOL!

Another goal for Alex...Yahoo! (He made sure to tell Dallin how good he was when we got home. Dallin was at his own practice while Alex had a game. No idea how we are going to keep all the game/practice schedules straight!)

The best part is always the treats at the end. Derrick and Zeke make sure to wiggle into the team line and get a piece of the yummy action.

"Paint Satricks Day"

Dallin came up to me last night and said he needed to wear all the green he could for "Paint Satricks Day" (his words not mine---LOL!) I tried to help him say it right, it didn't work. Oh well, "Paint Satricks Day" is way more fun than St. Patricks Day!

This is his most recent school picture---nice smile huh? LOL!

The "Club House"

I've been begging Dustin for a long time now to build a fun slide in the basement for the boys. I know summer is coming and with it the heat and they are sure to be playing more in the house. Well, after watching The Sandlot a million times, Alex finally got him to see the light and kept begging with the great big brown eyes to build him a "Club House" just like the one on the movie. This is what he came up with and they LOVE it! So much fun! I haven't seen them for days---it's been awesome! Even better than what I had pictured in my head. The slide is the best part---very slippery and fun. The word got out on the street and a few days later I had 13 little boys at my house at one time. Whew! So Fun!

Freedom

I came home from work the other night, and Dustin said to go in and look at Zeke. I peeked in and found him in a new bed looking like he had just found Heaven. All stretched out and snoring. Soooo Cute! He was ready and it was time, but freedom comes with a price. It's nice that he can get IN his bed, but not so nice that can also get OUT whenever he wants. It's fun though, not having to make the crib anymore. When I asked Dustin what he did with the crib, he said he threw it in the dumpster. (He didn't really, but I think he's happy they're all getting a little bigger now. It's on to soccer and T-Ball and Family Vacations. Yipeee!

Movie of the Week...

Melissa said that Jack has been watching the SandLot lately so I thought I would put it in for the boys and see if they liked it. Alex is hooked! I forgot how funny this show was. If your a little boy this explains it all! I turned in on and went in my room to make the bed and by the time I cam out Alex had is ball and mitt in his hands ready to play. He loves to dress the part.

A funny side note:

I forgot some of the "not so good" language in the movie. The other day in the car Derrick called Alex a "Butt-Head". I didn't even know people used that word any more...when I asked him where he had heard it he said "The baseball show".

They were watching it the other day just about the time Dustin came home from work. He sat down to relax for a second and it was right at the part when Bennie jumps in to get the ball and jumps out and says, "Oh Sh*!" So Derrick (it's always Derrick giving us trouble) jumps off the couch runs around it and yells, "Oh Sh*!". When I looked at Dustin like "Well...??? Aren't you going to say something to him?" He said, "What? He didn't hear it from me? It was on the movie." Needless to say, we have had to have a few talks about language.

Still a cute show though. All boy.

LoVe is in the air!

This year we went to Grandma "Her-bin-son's" as the boys affectionately call her, for Valentines Day. We had a great weekend with nothing in particular to do. The food was fantastic...I love my moms home cookin'! I just love going home in general. I love seeing the mountains that I grew up under, smelling the "bad air" (LOL!), feeling the cold. It's always nice to come home after a trip and get everyone tucked into their own beds, but I do miss home and it's nice to go there sometimes. We took tons of cute pictures and I've been practicing my editing...thanks to Steph' and all her support and help. These are a few of my favorites in no particular order...
Aunt Holly helping the boys with their Valentines. They love her!
Grandma had tons and tons of projects and fun things for the kids to do. Seriously...I'll never be the mom she was or the grandma she is. She loves this. She's totally in her element helping the kids make messes and talking to them. So fun. They are still talking about it.
Derrick. Need I say more. This is totally him! (A funny side note: He says the most hilarious things. The other day Julie was here tending and she told him it was time for bed. He stands up, stretches his arms in the air, yawns and says, "What a day. Good night Julie." I also heard he and Alex the other day playing on the stairs. Derrick sees something that sparked his interest and shouts, "Oh my gosh!!!" (They are NOT allowed to say this at or house and they know it, so Alex calmly tells him, "Don't say Oh THE gosh" Derrick says, "Oh, ok. Oh my heck!!!" I had to chuckle.)
What would I do without Tara and her ability to make me feel pretty. I owe her one. A full set and a pedicure too. I was totally pampered. Thanks "T"!
This is a darling picture of Zeke, but trust me he wasn't sitting there all calm and quiet like this picture indicates. About two seconds later we were all covered in bubbles and yelling for the both of them to get out.
Grandma planned a fun family night with stories and games and lots of laughter. Thanks mom for putting so much time and effort into all you do. It doesn't go unnoticed or appreciated.


Holly and Grandma took the boys to the park to run around. It was nice to have a second to regroup and I'm sure they were freezing, but they loved it. (Side-note: Just because you take kids to the park to blow the stink off doesn't necessarily ensure they will come home and want to take a nap. Sorry Mom, they never do. :P)
Classic Alex. Always watching from a distance. Very observant. Happy.
Zeke is one of the boys and he loves it! Look out world!
Dustin rocking the dog...I mean Derrick. Funny.

He LoVeS Me!

We are still at it...painting...RE-painting...and making our house a home. When we first moved in I found some "mis-tint" paint on clearance that I made do in our room until I had time to really focus and do it right. We I finally got a bee in my bonnet to "re-do" the room and started painting over the brown with blue. I started early thinking I could have the whole thing done by the time Dustin got home and he would be so proud and happy they he didn't have to help. Well I got it done and he came home, but neither of us were happy---the blue was HORRIBLE!!! So back the paint store and a hundred color swatches later we settled on a soft green. By this time I had to go to work for the weekend and new it was going to have to stay a mess and UGLY until I could get to it the next week. Well...Dustin to the rescue. I came home from work to find the whole room (not just the one wall I had messed up) completely re-painted and put back together and he was almost done with the bathroom as well. Hurray! Such a load of my mind. Anyone who knows me knows I can't sleep in a mess and where there is a lot to get done. Drive me crazy! The little room with the toilet and shower were still white so I go in there and he had painted "I Love Amy" on the wall! Cute!

zEkE...

Zeke is growing up! I must say I'm not unhappy to see the baby grow out of this kid. He's a lot happier being able to do a few more things for himself and he's got personality galore! These are some of the things he's been up to...

*He has decided he hates the high chair, he likes to sit at the table with the boys and feed himself. He get VERY mad if I try to help him. Fun for him...messy for me. My day includes a LOT more sweeping than it used to, but he seems to be eating better now that he's taken feeding himself into his own hands.

* Naps are few and very far between. I don't know what it is about my kids, but it seems like when they hit 18 months they think they don't need a nap anymore. I assure you they do and bedtime comes earlier on the days they don't.

*The other day I was calling him from his room to come and get a diaper change. He runs in the room, sticks his fingers in his ears and his tongue out at me, makes a funny sound, and runs away. (Pictured above) Where did this come from?!? I later found out Derrick was coaching him on the "Funny Face". Naughty!

*I can't seem to keep this kid cleaned up. Along with feeding himself comes the obvious messy face, but this boy takes the cake (and smears it all over everything!) It doesn't matter how many baths he takes a day he still seems to be messy. He jumps in puddles and walks through mud at the playground. Gets in the butter in the fridge, anything messy and you know Zeke is behind it. I've given up hope of having a clean kitchen and now I'm just striving for somewhat sanitary.

He's a little ball of fire and we love him to pieces!