sending you a little fall

I snapped this picture of the boys and Bodie on our way down to their new "hideout" they have built in the draw. They love playing in those rocks! I just love how Bodie takes care of his boys. I can ask him where the boys are and he'll go trotting off looking for them. He waits by the door for them to come out in the mornings. If it is cool and they are playing in their room, he sits on the porch and watches them through the window. When I walk out the door he looks up at me as if to say "hey". When the boys come out he prances around, spins in circles, and gets way excited. Not too long ago when we went down to the draw, Bodie spooked a rattler for us. He always gives a quick run around the area and checks it out for us before we play. The boys will sit and brush him and rub his belly, and they love giving him treats. He follows their commands most of the time and does tricks for them. Bodie is getting pretty old these days, in the mornings he seems sore from all the running around and keeping track of his kiddos. He seems to know they are his responsibility and he does his job dutifully, but with great pleasure. To see the mutual love between them in precious. Boys and dogs...a blessed combination.

JUMPING is JOY....

Shortly after we moved here, Zane and Lori offered us their old trampoline. Well, because of Addison's accident last year, I was a little unsure. This trampoline had already been through 3 rowdy kids and was showing its age and use. I figured we had met our quota for trampoline accidents and we could feel confident that our next broken bone would happen somewhere else (the tree house, bunk beds, bike riding, rock climbing....).


He was so brave!
So....we set the thing up (just tried to space out the missing springs), and the boys have been jumping practically every day since. Asher started right in on learning tricks, flips, and ways to bounce higher.

Addison loves doing karate and wrestling.
Oh, my Addi, always a character.

The boys love it when I jump with them and beg me to on a regular basis. We use it for school any way we can think of. It is a wonderful tool for a kinesthetic learner doing any sort of memorization.

I love that I can see the boys from the kitchen window. I spend a good bit of time just watching them. They giggle and laugh. I love seeing them play together and have such a good time.

So far no major accidents either. Addison often comes in with new bruises and a busted lip...but he considers it to be a reasonable price to pay for all the fun he has.

THANK YOU for the trampoline!

My baby took his training wheels off...

Seriously, Addison got his own tools out of his tool box and started taking off his training wheels. I helped him unscrew "the little hats" and put some air in his tires for him.

Daddy is giving him some instructions and a few tips. I love how he is biting his lip and concentrating so hard. It only took a few minutes and he was off pedaling on his own.

Asher was such a great brother. He was excited to watch Addison and cheered him along. He wanted to help get him started, and he even offered his bike to Addison incase it would be easier. It was precious to watch Asher taking care of his little brother and showing pride in his fast success. What a wonderful big brother. He could have easily been jealous about his little brother stealing the show and getting all the attention. He could have made negative comments when Addison crashed, but no, he was there to help him up and get him going again. I'm excited to have captured this moment...I know that their lives will be filled with moments of helping each other out...just like brothers should.
Everytime Addison would crash, he would turn and flash a big smile and laugh. He's a little toughy full of determination.

He had one pretty good crash and scratched his hand, but a little comfort from Dad and he was ready to go again.

To me, this is a milestone...and he conquered it with such ease and excitement. How fun is it to have little boys!

Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins yesterday. The boys had a great time. Asher was so excited to use the special knife that Robert is letting him borrow until he proves he is responsible enough to have one of his own. The knife was Robert's when he was a boy.

They both are so creative. I loved the faces they drew (which were impossible to cut out, but very scary/cute). Addison added eyelashes and hair, he even cut out some ears for his little jack.



The boys were not really being very cooperative for pictures. They were being quite silly. As annoyed as I was, I had to laugh....they decided to stack the pumpkins and build a pumpkin snowman.....Snow Punk.


I love their creativity and sense of humor. Goofy kids!

Asher asked me the other day what Halloween was all about..."is it just about us getting candy?" Honestly I don' t have a clue...(I really am not qualified to home school!) I do know how to look up the answers to all his crazy questions though (and he asks some off the wall things, love that deep curiosity)...and now when he asks something, he says..."do you know....or do you have to look it up on the Internet."

AAARRRGGG!

We went to a pirate themed party this weekend. The boys thoroughly enjoyed making their costumes and completely getting into character. I dressed them up early and they played pirates for several hours. They have to be the cutest little pirates ever!

Soccer

The boys love playing soccer. Each game they get a little more aggressive and play better. Last game Asher scored a goal. I love their facial expressions and the sound effects they make while they play. And both of them run around with a big ole smile on their face.

Chicks!

Ok...as much as I would like to make this blog really stinkin cute and be creative, time just doesn't allow. So I guess I will just have to put the pictures up and say a little blurb so the family can see the kiddos. I would love to release some creative energy, right now the only things going for me in that department are the concoctions I put together in the kitchen and when I get a little crazy during homeschool (to which Addison protest and wants to just get on with the worksheets, and Asher loves it...anything is a welcomed distraction. Wow, completely different approaches needed to teach these boys, but that is a whole other post.) So here is my sad attempt at blogging...in a hurry.

The latest adventure in our lives: Chicks!

The boys absolutely love the chickens. They spend a good part of their free time with them. They love holding, chasing, watching, and feeding the little tweeters. They dig in the compost for grubs and throw in a few. They love watching the "chicken football". So it will be a while until we have eggs, but they have proven to be a good investment (thanks Honey!!!) purely for entertainment purposes. So far no critters have even bothered them, so I actually think they might make it too.

Don't you see the love!

Here's what the set up looks like. I think they are happy in their new home. They run to greet us at the door (hoping for grubs/crickets/worms).

Pulling Teeth

Pulling teeth was not something that I thought about as I was contemplating having children. Really is not a favorite part of motherhood, that is for sure. Their baby teeth are so white and straight and perfect, just plain cute smiles. Now these huge, rough, crooked things start coming in and messing everything up. Then there is the terrible sick feeling I get in my stomach as I am twisting and yanking on the stubborn thing to let loose. Oh and the blood! And what mother likes to hurt her baby, plus they are so scared. OK...well, maybe every one's experiences are not like this, but ours was a long drawn out, horrible affair. This is actually Asher's third tooth to loose, but the first at home. The dentist pulled the first two, because his permanent teeth had already come in and the babies weren't even loose. We wiggled and worked on this top one, and I couldn't wait for it to come out. It was poking out from under his lip...just awful. When it came right down to it, I couldn't pull it....I was too nauseous. Asher decided to tie a string to it and slam the door. What a champ! So the tooth is out, now the one next to it needs to come out too.