Like Father Like Son

Ty had me giggling the other night. Trav wasn't home so Ty got into bed with me, grabbed Trav's glasses, scriptures, and pretended to read. Like father like son. That was exactly the routine Trav has and Ty mimicked him perfectly.

Many Faces

As always the boys look adorable, Trav is handsome, and I think I'm brave for posting the ones of me. Above all and the most important part is we had fun trying to think up 12 faces. It was way harder than we thought (you should try it).

I'm glad we did this because the boys use their different faces all the time and now we can always remember their cute little expressions.

Childhood

We (Nana, Uncle Pal, Athena and I) took the boys ice-skating for their first time last weekend. They loved it. At first I was helping Ty around the rink and he wouldn't keep his feet under him. And that's when I realized that we shouldn't do new things without Trav (but it was a little late to be thinking those thoughts). Ty and I made it around the rink and we put him on a bucket...he loved being pushed around on it. He would put his arms out like he was flying (I was pushing him super fast too). He was supposed to be using it as balance so he could learn to use his skates. By the time we were leaving he was using the bucket "correctly".

Gavin was great. He didn't need much help before he was off on his own. He was so much fun to watch.

I was taken back to being a kid again...zooming around the ice, weaving in and out of people, racing. I loved ice-skating as a kid and to my surprise I STILL love it. How fun and what a good day!

Party for the New Year!

Party Like It's 2010!
Thanks Uncle Pal for throwing a killer party. We had tons of fun!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve Celebration... Gavin informed us he was going to stay in the room so he could see Santa. We told him Santa wouldn't come if he was waiting...It was cute to see his face as we were having this very serious and important conversation.


I love when I upload picture to the computer and I am surprised by deep-down-belly-laughing...I love pictures like this one. (and a little part of me thinks they are laughing at me because I'm so fun or funny or wonderful or humble...) ;-)



Family...Nana, Uncle Pal, Trav, Me, Gavin, and Ty


Trav and the boys with Nan's pretty tree!


This is a reacquiring happenstance...Gavin flinching because Uncle Pal is attacking him... Now, just insert Gavin screaming like a girl and you were practically there...


This is the face a wife makes when she's not prepared for the picture but is having tons of fun!


Gavin and Uncle Pal opening Rocky the Robot Dump Truck that sings, dances and talks and it's controlled by voice commands and well it might just do the dishes too...


Ty admiring his most precious gifts...a NEW Buzz Lightyear and Buzz phone. He's a Buzz Lightyear freak...And just to show you how crazy he his about buzz I will share a story...He will have me lay down on my back so that I can lift him up in the air with my feet and he can pretend to fly as he say, "Buzz Lightyear...to infinity and beyond." If he is at the park he will lay in the swing on his belly and say the same thing for hours. He has tried to fly off the sofa a few times...But, he has found out the hard way that he needs something under him before he decides to take off to "Infinity and beyond".

So many wonderful memories. We are very lucky parents to have such wonderful, fun loving boys and I thank my Heavenly Father for my blessings and my joys!

Arizona

Our yearly Arizona trip was a success.

~ Visited two different cities

~ Seeing grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, mom & brother (and a surprise visit from dad)

~ Taking rides in the newly built T-Bucket (400 horsepower and super loud)

~ Feeding fish from my grandparents back deck at their home

~ Enjoying beautiful weather

~ Not killing anyone on the hour and forty-five minute wait to get over Hoover Dam

~ Good memories with Gavin and Ty

Grandpa and Grandma Carney, Robyn, Me, Gavin and Ty

The T-bucket was a blast. It was fun cruising around town and having people look and wave...they loved the cool looking car and so did we. The funniest part was those silly fake hair hats they kept putting on.

Grandpa Carney and Gavin having a bowl of cereal together.

The boys would go out without jackets and grandma thought they were nuts...We thought it was good weather and Ty wanted to know why I didn't bring his life jacket so he could go swimming.

Our Nana

I've been thinking about Nana's love for my boys. She used to love me more than anything in the world but now I have these boys and I might be coming in second. It's a good thing she has so much love to give or else I would have to "remind" her and the boys who she needs to love the MOST (me)! ;-)

Today she came to the house and helped the boys build their own Christmas Trees, made them toast (because Nana's toast always tastes better) and helped them paint Christmas presents for me and Trav. She also made a whole set of things for the "Twelve Days of Christmas" (On Christmas Eve Gavin reads the "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and Nana holds up the elaborate visuals). Gavin and Nana made sure everything looked good from last year and practiced the reading today as well.




Above is Gavin's last day of Kindergarten.

This picture is so funny because Ty is wondering why Nana has him but it is very uncharacteristic of their relationship...He LOVES her. When we leave Nana's house Ty says, "Nana, Nana, Nana, Fun Nana!" The other night we dropped Gavin off to spend the night at Nana's house and as we were leaving Ty was crying and throwing a fit because he couldn't stay. He kept trying to give me a kiss and tell me bye.


Above is a picture from last year.


Top 11 things Nana has taught the boys:

1~ (and the most important) How to shoot a straw wrapper across the table (in the restaurant) at their mom.
2~When both boys were babies Nana was the first one to make them smile and laugh out loud.
3~She taught them "Punch it". When being the first one stopped at the red light it's very important to "Punch it" when it turns green. But, even more important is for the boys to yell "PUNCH IT NAN".
4~ Nana has taught Gavin the names of most cars and now she is teaching Ty.
5~ Nana has 2 cars seats in her Escalade that stay there all the time. (They are nicer than the ones we have in my car)
6~ "Fake it till you make it". (Don't say you can't...just do the best you can)
7~ I just asked Gavin, "What has Nana taught you?" he said "Blah Blah Blah"! (They do that to each other all the time).
8~ Take a deep breath.
9~ Respect and accountability (still in the process of teaching this one).
10~ I love you two four to many.
11~ To the moon (as she holds up a fist)!

Gingerbread and Nana's Birthday Celebration

Our yearly gingerbread making competition. I always try for the big win but I was a little sick this year so my creative skills were lacking...But, we had tons of fun as always.

We also celebrated Nana's 90th birthday. Well not 90th but she always likes to tack on a few years to her age (I think her "street age" is 75 right now) and I hate it. She is the funniest Nana in the world and creative as well.

We played "Who knows Nana the best" by asking questions about Nana that everyone had to answer. Uncle Bo was the winner. Uncle Pal was the funniest because he was more than positive that he knew Nana better than anyone. It was fun to learn special little things about Nana and to celebrate her. We all love her so much.

Vamps...

I love these girls. We always have such a great time when we are together. I made the "I run with VAMPS" shirts and had so much fun.

I'm pretty sure I was the loudest when Jacob came on screen. "Thanks goodness for bleeding heads" ;-)

This one picture shows so many things I'm thankful for...

Their love for each other
Cuddling
Gavin reading
Their eyes
My love for them
Family
Special time together
Our home
Being healthy
Photography
Testimony of Families being together forever

Love of the Triathlon

One post about many Triathletes...

Last month I did my first tri and loved loved loved it! Uncle Bo, Uncle Pal, Trey and Tressa also participated. It was a blast to be with family and have so much fun. We all placed in our divisions (except uncle pal who got his own ER bed for a broken collar bone...it was very scary but he is healing well).


I told Gavin I was going to do another triathlon and he said he wanted to do the kids distance. I couldn't believe it (I wanted to talk him out of it...but didn't). He had his mind made up and so we ended up on Saturday at the Turkey Tri together.


He was so excited as he swam, biked and ran his little heart out. And, he stole my heart in the process. Nana and I cried and cried...We were so proud of this "big boy" who was growing up right before our eyes.

The scary part was he crashed into a parked truck while riding his bike. It was amazing that he didn't cry but just wanted to go park his bike and start the run so he could finish the race. What a boy...My Boy!

BOO!

They are way too cute to be scary! I'm so glad they still want to wear fun costumes. Gavin picked Ironman last year at Halloween and Ty loves loves loves Buzz...That worked out well for our pocketbook since Gavin had the costume a few years ago.

They have a truck load of candy that I will put up in the cupboard. They will forget about it in a week and then Trav and I will cherish it for months to come. (Thanks boys for all your hard work. We will think of you every time we sneak to get a candy and try ever so hard not to make any noise with the wrapper so we don't have to share)

The world of potty training...

me - "Ty will you please go to the potty before we leave"
ty - "Sure mom"

next scene...Ty standing over potty...

me - "Ty please hurry we need to go"
ty - "K, hurry"
me - "Are you going to go pee"
ty - "Mom...'it' broken"

Fade out to black as mom and dad laugh until their bellies hurt...

A Family of Fish

Zion!

Zion is one of our favorite places to go. Its natural beauty is overwhelming and we can never get enough of it and all the different places to explore.

Gavin was really excited to go across the river and wanted us to follow...Which is usually fine but on this chilly day I'm pretty sure I got hypothermia of the feet! It was freezing...but fun too!

Ty ran the whole hike and he got mad when we tried to make him settle down. It wasn't long after this grumpy picture that he fell asleep on Trav's arm on the way back down the trail.

(iPhone pictures)

Home Girls!

Who knew we would have soooooo much fun?
We left 8 husband and 24 kids to spend the evening in Teresa's cabin. Fondu, games, questions, the cutest little puppy (who snuggled me and chewed on Karen), Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, Twilight, laughing, sleepwalking, more laughing, wonderful bunch of girls, and I can't wait for our next outing with my home girls.

Oh, Son!

His only words during all the tears and blood...

"Why didn't you tell me that was going to happen"?

What the...Why didn't I tell you you were going to face plant on the skateboard and get a screw in your head...I'm sorry I didn't foresee that future episode!



That happened last night at grandpa Steve's house. Grandma only had baby aspirin that had to be swallowed...Well, he has never swallowed pills before so that was another traumatic experience and took at least 10 minutes before it finally dissolved in his mouth. He kept drinking lots of water but for some reason that little bitty pill wouldn't go down. I was laughing pretty hard by that point.

He is doing much better this morning as you can see by the smile on his face. I'm sure he'll get lots of attention at school and he'll love that!

This little cowboy loves his dirt...We have a wonderful yard with lawn and toys and shade but it's not for him. He asks if he can go to the open lots next to our home so he can sit in the sun and play with his tractors in the dirt. He loves to roll in it, swim in it, lay in it... He just loves it and I love him because he loves it!

My Cowboys

We had our RODEO last week...It was great. I love dressing the boys up (and they love it too...they know they look good). We were there with Nana and we can't wait until the next rodeo.

It took me forever to get a decent picture of Ty. He wanted to do everything Gavin was doing and it made it hard to get a picture of him by himself. (and the photographer might have gotten a little angry!)

This picture is all Ty...The look on his face is one we see often and totally his personality.

I LOVE IT!