On two wheels!

Evan had two goals this summer:

1: learn to tie shoes

2: learn to ride a 2 wheeler-ACCOMPLISHED!

 Daddy was so good to help him and taught him how to balance,

His first few times letting go. After this first day of intense riding. Evan wanted to take a little break. A couple days later we were out playing and he picked up his bike and went to the edge of the drive way. I asked him if he needed help and he said he could do it. I watched, as he was on the road, and he just took off all by himself.

He has loved riding his bike this summer. Now we just need to teach him how to fix a flat tire!

T-ball Part 1

 In our house cabin fever always ends when it is finally warm enough to get the mitt out and throw without freezing your hands off. I think our kids are just destined to end up playing ball, luckily they like it.

 Evan and Wyatt love T-ball mostly because of the treats, but it gets them out meeting new friends, and gives them a chance to run around and learn something new.

 This year they were both on the grey team. Their coach is Dakota Hatch.

 Funny story: at the coaches meeting for T ball Leland got a text asking if Evan and Wyatt were any good before Dakota spoke up and "drafted" them to his team. Apparently softball politics start early.

 The cutest, peppiest cheerleaders I've ever seen!

 Lola seemed to be more worried about the pesky rock in her shoe than the game. She never keeps her shoes on!

 Before their first game Evan told me that I shouldn't expect him to be too good because he didn't play t-ball in the winter so he wasn't that good! He said "our first games are always bad."

 I thought he did fabulous though and this year he was hitting a lot harder, and running faster; and in the right direction.

 Wyatt did a great job his first game too. He had some hard hits.

 He likes to run fast because he likes to feel the wind

After the game they clapped hands with the other team and then comes the best part: TREATS! We look forward to a good season, and are grateful for the coaches who take their time to teach our kids.

Siblings

 Having 4 children under the age of 5 is tricky, hard work, and a little crazy. I love my children so much and am so grateful for them and their willingness to help take care of each other. Evan has been a great help with Ivy. There is a lot of love in our home and I know it is because our kids are so close to each other. They each help out with the younger kids and we get things done and have a good time because we are all willing to work together. I'm am so grateful Heavenly Father has blessed my life with these 4 kids. They bring so much JOY!

Labor of Love

This summer our big project has been our backyard. It is huge to say the least and didn't have a sprinkling system, grass, or any resemblance of a "family back yard"

 It has been just a big weed patch for the last 4 years. We started by having a sprinkling system put in,

 We then had someone come up and scrape the existing weed patch clean and leveled out a few areas.

 We also had the tree trimmed up a little bit. I can finally walk down the sidewalk without being hit in the head by the branches.

 The biggest pain in my side when it comes to our yard has been a tree in our front yard that was causing some plumbing troubles. We cut down the tree last summer but we have tried everything to get the stump out. Finally when we had the back scraped we had him also remove the stump in the front.

 I was so glad to see this stump leave our yard.

 Thank heavens for Russell's family who came to help the day we seeded. It took Russ and his bro. to get the stump loaded away.

 here is what is left. I'm so glad to see it gone.

 After we got everything cleaned up we raked and leveled the dirt before laying the seed. This is a picture taken from our 2nd level, it is only half our backyard. Needless to say it has been a huge project.

 After we prepped the ground we laid the seed in 30+ mph winds. I think we picked the worst time. We got enough seed on the ground but I think a lot of it got blown away too. About 6 weeks later of careful watering, and avoiding contact with the new tender grass this is what we have... 

 A field full of partial grass and mostly weeds. No, it looks good; there are parts that need a little TLC this fall but as time goes on the backyard looks better and better. Can you find the kids?

 Peek-A-Boo!

The grass/weeds are so tall the kids get lost when they play in there. And now the fun part for Russ...

THE MOWING!

Thanks so much to all of those who have helped us put in our backyard this summer. It has been a big learning experience, and one I think we hope not to repeat too soon. Thanks to a loving husband, and hardworking children, the lawn  is coming along great.

Tumbling Days

 Evan has taken Tumbling for the last 2 years he really enjoys it and I enjoy it because it gives him an outlet for his energy during the winter months. At the end of their session they have a great big performance where the parents come and watch. I know that some of these pictures aren't great but the lighting in the gym a long with the fast motion of Evan made my camera decide to pitch a fit.

 Jumping off the trampoline

 He likes this the best. He has learned how to do hand stands, front hand springs, bridges, cartwheels, somersaults, balance beam, and lots more.

 Front rolls in a straddle position. He loves going to tumbling when they play games and his least favorite part of tumbling is working on the splits. He says he doesn't like it because he can't go down very far and it hurts!

 This was Wyatt's first year of tumbling he has enough energy for himself and all of his brothers and sisters so tumbling has been a great outlet for him too. I was a little smarter and had him do some of his tricks at home while I took pictures with a little better lighting.

 his cart-wheels...

 the first 1/2 of a front roll....

 and the last half.

 Ta-Da!

 balancing on the beam, he likes to do hops on the beam...

 ...and his class. He was not the only boy, just the only boy on time!

 Warming up

The boys have both enjoyed tumbling this year, and there getting better and better each year.

Mokee Dugway and Wooden Shoe Trail

Living in San Juan County is essentially GREAT! There are so many things to see and do fairly close to home which works great with our family; because attention spans are still very small!

 This day we decided to head towards Bluff, and ate at Twin Rocks which is always yummy. After we decided to head a little further south towards Valley of the Gods and took the scenic route home; which included a fun/scary trip up Mokee Dugway!

Mokee Dugway is just a road that goes up a cliff, but it is super steep, and super swirvy. If you were ever going to "Thelma and Louise it" this would be the place. The drop offs are insane. This is about half way up.

 We decided to take a "potty break" and to stretch our legs a little. The boys liked climbing the rocks but it made me so nervous!

 Daddy and Miss Ivy

 Lola, you can almost see her saying Cheez!

 After we hit the top we continued on the mountain road toward home. We wanted to do some hiking and stopped at Wooden Shoe Trail head to do so.

 As soon as the car stopped the kids were out exploring.

 Poor Ivy had to wait till Mom was ready to stick her in her pack before she could go anywhere. She also had allergies so bad we had to come back a little early because her eyes were so swollen and goopy she was just uncomfortable!

 The boys liked reading about all the animals that live on the mountain. They also liked the bear warnings!

 Lola showing a little too much independence.

 The boys took turns being trail leaders.

 We all had suckers on the way down the trail. Lola kept hers for a long time. Which made not only her sticky but Russ was a little sticky as well.

 Russ gave Wyatt and Evan a small pocket knife before our big adventure day and told them about being responsible, careful, etc. Evan accidentally cut Wyatt with his knife and you'd think he'd lost a limb. There was lots of crying, and shouting because he was so angry. In the end both boys got their knives taken away and haven't gotten them back since.

 The Girls with their favorite Man! (notice Lola is still working on that sucker).

After we got back to the car we continued over the mountain toward home. It took along time and we all fell asleep on the way home, except for Russ (he was driving). We had a great day and look forward to many more adventures as our kids continue to get a little older!