Soccer Season

After Nolan's first day of kindergarten, he had his first soccer practice that night. It was a big day! We were a little worried since he doesn't come from sporty parents, but he did a good job. He's good at dribbling the ball and he runs fast. Coach W. is going to do a great job! And it's nice that Nolan's friend, Carter, is on his team. We've talked a little about how the actual game is played, but it seems that he might have forgotten the purpose of the goalie. The coach's daughter was helping out with practice and she was being goalie while kids came up and tried kicking it through the cones. Well, she blocked Nolan's ball and he was NOT happy about it. Now mind you, it was hot and this was almost toward the end, so he was a bit burned out. But he proceeded to scream at her, saying, "You're just not allowed to stop my ball!" And then he said, "I'm just done with this." He stomped on over to me and Justin and plopped himself down. Coach W. decided that would be a good time for a water break. We explained to Nolan that she was just practicing being a goalie and I think he realized that it was okay after all. He got back up and finished practice just fine.
At the end they were deciding on a team name. One kid threw out The Grizzlies, another one suggested The Blue Sharks. The coach asked Nolan if he had any ideas and he told her, "Victor. Pink Victor." Surprisingly, it got 5 votes but it turns out they'll be the Blue Sharks, thank goodness! We're looking forward to a fun soccer season.

Off to Kindergarten

Nolan had a great first day of school. When he hopped in the car I said, "How was it, buddy?" He said, "Mrs. G is funny!" I asked what she did that was funny and he said, "I don't know. She's just funny all the time." I think he'll love having a teacher with a great sense of humor. She definitely seems very cheerful. I think it's going to be a great year!

Farewell Elder Lawrence

August 26th was Bryson's farewell. I still can't believe it's time for him to go on his mission. The people of Tampico, Mexico will be lucky to have him. Justin and I were so impressed with his talk. Afterward we had a wonderful luncheon at Keeley and Bryan's house. My mom and I had made lots of cookies, they ordered big sandwiches, and several people had brought yummy salads and fruit. It was such a wonderful day. We missed having Grady and Darian there but it was great to have such a big crowd to support Bryson in this upcoming adventure. He leaves next week and I get to see him off to the MTC!
This boat was Mark's (Bryan's brother) family's and the kids loved going on a "boat ride" and Travis and Ezra had a good time in the chip bowl after everyone else was done. 

Some other highlights of our last summer vacation:

1) While in St. George we enjoyed a gorgeous day of rain. All day long. I was so lucky to be there to smell that one-of-a-kind St. George rain.

2) My mom watched the boys so that I could do a little shopping for our upcoming cruise to Alaska.

3) I met up with my good friend, Ashley Echols. Her son Max is Nolan's age. Ashley is one of those people that I always feel close to even if we haven't talked in a while.

4) We celebrated Grandpa John's birthday. The boys and I took some cookies to his office but he had already had some of the cookies for lunch while I was at Ashley's house! O-well. But the boys were pleased to walk around his office since they can't ever go to visit their Dad at work (government stuff can't be leaked to toddler boys!).  We had a delicious dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then went to Costco where we let the boys play the drums, oogle at the toys, and get squished by the biggest teddy bear they'd ever seen.

5) We played at the Main Street water park. Always a hit! Ez could barely keep his swim trunks on and at one point the big geyser surprised him. He was startled but remained a good sport in the end. It's great having kiddos that love the water.

6) I have an old home movie of myself playing with this hand mixer. All the kids always love it. Too bad there aren't two since the boys fought over it. We had to hide it after a day or two. The nice thing about Grandma's is playing with all the things they don't see very often.

Cake and pantiliners

The boys and I have been having fun in St. George this week. Dad is back home working hard. Today has been so funny here. We were ready to start in making cookies for Bryson's farewell luncheon, but we couldn't find the second cake mix that we knew we'd had. But it never turned up so my Mom told my Dad to get another cake mix while at Wal-Mart. He headed out and then we realized he'd be a while so my mom ran to the nearby store instead. She took the "German Chocolate" cake mix to exchange since she'd bought the wrong one yesterday. Well, she got home and I started mixing up the cookies. Then I said, "So where is the other cake mix?" And then I saw her horrified expression and started laughing so hard! She had only exchanged the cake mix and forgot to buy a second one! I laughed so hard and my mom did, too, even though she admitted that, "It's not that funny to be so dumb."
So we called my Dad back to tell him to get a mix after all. Luckily it wasn't too late. My mom had mentioned earlier that she could use a box of pantiliners. My Dad had been a good sport to write down the info and be willing to buy that item for her. He's so manly!
So while my mom was on the phone asking for the cake mix, my Dad said, "Well, I'm just looking for your pantiliners. I'm assuming they're here with the bras." I hear my mom say, "What? Bras?! No, they're in the drug department." I laughed so hard I cried. To all of us women out there, it seems hilarious to look for pantiliners in the bra department! So then they're discussing specifics, using words like, "On the go" and "thin" or "long," "unscented" and "22 or 50 count." My mom got off the phone and told me, "Dad said that there were several women laughing at him."
I love how my parents can make me laugh!

Day Out

We recently headed up to Park City for a little family hike. We did a couple of miles and Ezra did so well! Maybe he'll like hiking as much as Nolan. There was an exciting moment when Nolan was in the lead and he started squealing, screaming, and dancing around. I saw a bee fly away from him but it turns out that he was scared of a snake that crossed his path. I never knew he hated snakes so much! It was just a little one and seemed very scared of us as well. Nolan kept saying, "That was the worst part of the hike!"

After our hike we went to eat some delicious Mexican food. Then the kids recognized the Rocky Mtn. chocolate store from when we were here a few weeks ago with my family, and so we let them  pick a treat. 

 Then it was off to make a couple of returns at the factory outlets. Justin was not thrilled about being within visual range of clothing stores, but he watched the boys play while I quickly went in. As we were driving up, there was a huge line of cars waiting to get in and park. We thought it was just school shopping on a Saturday. Well, it turns out that Derek Hough was there! What a pleasant surprise. After making returns I came back to tell Justin that I was headed to the restroom and then we could leave. Well, the "restroom" also meant going to find Derek. I was bummed that he wasn't up and dancing, but it was still fun to see him at the front of a long line of women that were waiting for photo ops and hugs with a complete stranger. I guess Derek doesn't feel like a stranger. No, I did not wait in line. If my mom and sisters had been there, we probably would have. My sister Keeley just loves seeing celebrities. I remember when we saw Patrick Swayze in Vegas once... it made her day. Anyway, back to Mr. Hough. Here he is below. I snapped some pictures while he was with other people that waited their turn. Then I ran back to Justin and showed him the pictures. He said, "I thought you were going to the bathroom."

Last week I made a Costco trip with Lacey. The boys think that it is so exciting to go into the cold fridge room. They were clinging to each other for warmth and I just happened to have my camera in my purse.

 

Ez's Bug Allergy

If there was any doubt in my mind to whether or not Ezra is allergic to mosquito bites, here is my proof: 

I can definitely say that this poor little guy is allergic. And this one couldn't have been avoided even with bug repellent... there's no way to spray your eyelids! He's taking it like a champ, even though his eye is almost completely swollen shut. 

In other news, I think our camera might give out at any moment. In the center of the lens is a blob of condensation from when Nolan squirted me with the hose today. Stinker. But more worrisome is the fact that a little wisp of smoke flies up every time the flash goes off. Now I'm no camera expert, but I think it was back in the early 1900's when bulbs would break and smoke after taking a picture. It's like we've got ourselves an old-fashioned camera, complete with a burning smell. Do any of you have a camera you love? I want to get one that responds quicker when the button is pushed, but not necessarily a super expensive (and tricky to use) SLR camera. Of course, if you know of an SLR camera that isn't too difficult to use then I'd be open to the information.

New Mirror

I have finally finished making a mirror for my basement. I first started thinking about making it before the basement was finished. It was one of my inspirations for my basement colors. I saw this picture on a blog and knew I wanted to make one.

I had to order the metal squares from her etsy shop, do lots of painting (since I messed up the crackle finish the first time around), and figure out how to glue it together with the mirror. Then I had to buy a saw and miter box so that I could make the frame. It was funny when Justin and I were trying to cut a large piece of wood to fit as the back. The saw we have didn't work right (no point in explaining why) so we ended up using our electric knife. It worked, but it's lots easier to carve a turkey with it than wood! So it's finally finished. Yay!!! I'm wishing that I had actually wipe the mirror clean before taking the picture, but you get the idea. 

London Olympics

I've been loving watching the Olympics on TV and for our summer book/craft/play group we celebrated the Olympics. My friend, Brianne, hosted and showed the kids a great time. They made flags, got to eat their sno-cone "torch," and had a timed competition that included the balance beam, "diving" into the pool, kicking a soccer ball, jumping hurdles, a somersault, and then a run to the finish line. Nolan really got into it. I was glad to see him hustle and give it his all, what with his first season of soccer coming up. Ezra mainly wanted to sit in the pool. Each participant even earned a gold medal to take home! It was a fun afternoon and I loved my sno-cone, too. I have to admit, I am contemplating the purchase of a shaved ice machine next summer. 

Camping 3 years later

Last time we went camping, it did not got well. We laugh about it now, but it really was a bad night. You can read about it here. It only took us 3 years to try again. Now I know that I won't camp when I'm 8 months pregnant or if we have a toddler under 3 years old. I just won't. But we went to Crystal Hot Springs in Honeyville for one night and it was a success!
When we got there we set up our tent and changed into our swimsuits. The hot springs were really fun. Nolan loved the water slides. We forced Ezra to go down once and he wouldn't go again. But the pools were great because even on the hottest days my boys and I tend to get cold when we swim. But this water was nice and warm, and they still had a cooler pool when we wanted to cool off. Apparently all the minerals in the water are supposed to be good for the body. I just noticed that they turned the white parts of our swimsuits an orange color... it mostly washed out. Overall, a fun place to swim!

After swimming, we decided to have our dinner delivered. This alone makes camping a success. No food prep, no hot fire when it's still 85 degrees outside, no clean up, etc. Pizza Plus... yum! After dinner the boys played with two dogs that were camping in the site next to ours. Our boys are pet-deprived so they had lots of fun. The people were kind enough to give the boys a brief tour of their trailer, too. Probably because they practically let themselves in. Later we made s'mores over our little campfire.

Luckily the boys slept well during the night. We did hear two trains roaring by and honking their horns in the night, but it wasn't too disturbing... for me. Justin thought they were going to come crashing into our tent. We were amazed at how it cooled off. Nolan shimmied his way into our bed in the early morning so I decided to get out and sleep in Nolan's bed. I don't love boney legs against my body as I try to sleep. Well, I was cold. I see why he came to cuddle in the first place. But we survived and had an easy breakfast of muffins, juice,  and yogurt before packing up. It was brief. It was easy. No screaming children. No car alarms. My kind of camping!

And two weeks ago we did our annual Park City school shopping trip with my family. I went up with the boys for just two nights. Justin was working late (he was just made a manager) so it was good he hadn't planned to go. We had some fun times, but the boys were difficult. It was nice to get home.

Hale Center Theatre

We attended a fun backstage tour of Hale Center Theatre in West Valley last week with a big group of kids and their moms that do a summer reading group. I'm not in the group but one of the groupies asked if I wanted to come. It was only for ages 5 and up, so I left Ezra with Aunt Lacey and brought her girls with us. It turned out to be such a great experience. I was really impressed with our host. He got the kids laughing and managed to teach some great concepts through acting games. They had to practice following directions. This was a big hit because they would "swim, stop, slop, roll" etc. If they didn't freeze when he said stop then they'd be out. He also used Nolan to demonstrate a little bit about physical contact. He was explaining that if you never touch the people you are on stage with then it doesn't look very natural. At one point he gave Nolan a line to say: "Dad, I lost the soccer game." Nolan got a confused look on his face and he said, "I haven't started playing soccer yet." He didn't quite get the whole concept. We've been talking about starting soccer this Fall and he just got his new cleats, so he was confused. He decided he didn't want to say the line and another volunteer was picked. It was pretty cute, though. Overall I was so impressed with how well he did participating and following directions.

 Later, the tour guide explained stage directions on a normal stage and an "in-the-round" theatre like that one. Kendyll was part of this demonstration and then he used Ryan to test if she knew all the right stage directions. It was like a clock with middle, in, and out spots and she knew all the answers! Then all the kids got to play a game standing in different areas. It was fun that all the kids could participate, learn, and have such a good time. The rest of the tour consisted of the green room, seeing the sewing room where they make costumes, the shop where they design sets, and the theatre itself. Nolan was very interested in all of the lighting. At the end they gave us a buy one get one free ticket to see a show. We're hoping we can see Tarzan next summer. I'm glad we could go on such a great tour!

A Few Pictures

On this day, we blew up some balloons and I drew some Ninja faces on them. The kids shot at the balloons with their Nerf guns. It was fun until I realized that the marker was coming off. Here's what the children looked like:

 While eating lunch, Ezra kept being silly and sticking out his little bum. I said, "Where did you learn to do that?" And he said, "From Bryson." Thanks, Bryson! I laughed out loud when he said that.

 We finally got around to doing a few sparklers. The boys had fun until they both happened to burn themselves at the same time. Yeah, I don't really love sparklers. It seems like they always end up touching the wrong end after it burns out, even though I warn them about it at the beginning.

Our neighbors pulled out their kid 4-wheeler and let the boys ride. Nolan should not be allowed to drive a motorized vehicle yet. I thought he was going to take out the other neighbors' landscape lights, but he narrowly missed. Ezra was a little nervous, even when Clairece was driving. The same neighbors also let the boys play with their turtle. Ezra loved holding it! I wish I'd had my camera at that moment.

 We made snake bubbles because these summer days are very long and boring.

That same day, we also gave our Legos a bath. Ezra peed all over them (oops, he still has accidents), so they needed a good cleaning. But I think I'd do this again even without the pee... the boys thought it was fun.

 The boys liked the excitement of a digger in our front yard. They are installing fiber optic in our neighborhood and Justin is excited to have faster internet. We were amazed that they dug down at least six feet in such a small space. Hopefully our tree survives since some of the roots were exposed for a while. Since the digger was parked at our house for a couple of days, the boys couldn't help but get a closer look. Even Daddy imagined himself working the digger!