Monday, December 20, 2010

Zoo Lights!!

For FHE tonight we headed out to the Zoo to have a little Christmas spirit and freeze our behind off. Even thought there were not a lot of animals out the lights were really pretty and the kids didn't seem to care about the cold. The reindeer and the cats were the only animals other than the reptile that we saw, but my whole family came so we had a good time regardless of the weather...at least it wasn't raining right?? All the kids at the end!! Jensen didn't want in cause he had made himself a little hut in the stroller and was not going to give up the warm!
My younger sisters, Mom and Lainey!
Me and my chub!!!


The girls....+Tate!



Tom and Jen and their crew!




Family shot






Its hard to even see who anyone is through all of the layers!





Lainey having glove issues!








The boys holding one of the reindeer antlers....Carters not so sure!








The Tim Tam SLAM!!!!

Jeremy served his mission in Australia and they have a cookie called the "Tim Tam". He has always joked about bringing them to the United Sates to sale and make a killing but Pepperidge Farms beat him to it. I had found them in the store and was so excited for Jer to do what the Aussies call a "Tim Tam Slam". You bite opposite corners of the cookie and then suck chocolate milk through it like a straw. Its really good, but talk about a sugar high!!! So Friday night after we did some partying for Kristen's birthday my sisters came over and took part in their first Slam!!! Brecken in her Chocolate glory!!

The awkward pose!

The Slam essentials!


Christmas Program

On Thursday Tate had his Christmas program and shocked us all. He did all of the actions and sang all of the songs..and surprisingly knew most of the words! He is our little sweetheart and loves preschool. He is not excited that he has to go two weeks without school (and I can't say that I am either). I just hope that he can keep that attitude when he gets further into school!

Santa's belly! They love the instruments!




Family photo and I didn't realize that Jers eyes were closed till just now, but I am to lazy to change it...Sorry love!!!

Tate with his teacher Mrs. Wing and one of his little buddies Boston.





How many spoons does it take???


The other morning I was on the treadmill, but had set the boys out some yogurt and cottage cheese for breakfast. They were eating so well...or so I thought. When I finished I came over to discover they had used a new spoon for every bite! I couldn't really get mad cause they let me get my workout in and they did eat their breakfast all gone (even if it did take every spoon we own)! Love those boys!!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Ready, Set, Wrestle.....

We signed Cole up for the little Braves Wrestling through Bountiful High School. It has been an interesting experience to say the least. My Dad and brothers wrestled in high school so I thought it would be a good idea! Cole picked up on it really fast and actually turned out to be a pretty decent little wrestler. I just don't think that he is emotionally stable to continue wrestling, I don't think I can be a wrestling Mom either I have my own little match on the outside of the mat hoping it will help! Cole won every one of his matches, but every time he pinned a guy he would be the one crying. Jer asked him why he would cry and he finally told us that he didn't like hurting people. Tate absolutely loved it going and loves wrestling so I might make Cole do it one more year since Tate will be in Kindergarten and can sign up next year. We'll see we might just have to stick to the sports that are more team oriented!:) We finished out the season tonight by going to the BHS Wrestling meet and watching all of the boys who helped out wrestle. Bountiful lost, but it was still fun to go watch the big boys and see Cole root on his coaches!


The future wrestlers of BHS.......... Well Maybe:)
The kids could wrestle and play all night, they loved going to the practices and the meets!

Cole with one of his little buddies Spencer.


Cole throwing the kid to the ground.



Trying to get the half Nielsen!





Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Happy Halloween!!

The boys made Halloween costumes pretty easy on me this year. We just had to choose a weapon and the rest just followed. The weapons of choice this year were guns (ever since Jer shot his dear the boys have been obsessed with them! So naturally they were Cowboys! Every time they changed their minds I would just have to tell them that they would not be able to carry their guns (not that they could at school anyway)...So cowboys they were! We went to dinner at some friends house and then headed out into the pouring....miserable rain. I made the boys take off their costumes..except for the guns of course to do any trick or treating! So the neighborhood just thought the boys were gun crazy kids! The rain may have slowed them but it definitely didn't stop them, we made it around the block and that was good enough for me and gratefully for them too! Here are some pictures of them when they actually looked like Cowboys! Jer and I got dressed up Friday night for our friend party...I'll post more on that when I get all the pictures from it....Robin! Tate smiling but not looking at the camera...even with a gun at his head!:)
Here is the Chub next to what was left of his green pumpkin! He loved that thing and it showed, he had it inside more than it sat on our porch!


Cole trying to be a tough guy! He was mad because he didn't get the hat of his choice!

Tate had a little Halloween program, his Teacher was nice enough to do it on Tuesday so we could go the the elementary parade on Thursday. I don't think he is going to be the performer of the family. He sang and knew all the words, but did none of the actions! I sure love him and his "I don't care attitude." Here he is with Brecken, Grandma and Carter.

A rare shot of Tate looking at the camera!





Sunday, October 24, 2010

Lake Powell TRI....

Finally after months of talking about and training for the Lake Powell Tri, Jer got his Day! After a crazy week with Red Ribbon stuff, Young Women's, and kids we headed down Thursday for the race and my much needed vacation! We stopped off in St George for the night and with some luck all of our friends were able to get work off and come down with us. We went to the St George temple Friday morning then headed for Lake Powell. Jer will probably do another Tri but it definitely will not be the Lake Powell one! While the scenery can not be beat, no one was impressed with the organization or the grab bags. The weather didn't cooperate with us either, it was rainy and cold the entire race... Definitely not my idea of a Lake Powell vacation. Jer finished in 2:42.52 which is not too bad for an "average guy"! The great friends and the feeling of accomplishment made up for the bad weather and poor organization. The Crew after the race
Jer and I

Jer & Jer kept passing each other at different points throughout the race, but ended up finishing together.



Look at their competition with a photo finish, I think she won!!


The "freezing" wives club


Jer at the beginning of the run, looks like a drenched rat....poor guy not only had to ride in the pouring rain, but had soaked tennis shoes to put on when he started the run!



What can I say, what a fashion statement! This was Robin's attempt to keep her hair dry. None of us knew why since the rest of our bodies were soaked.



Jer finishing the swim, he said this was definitely the hardest part for him.


Everyone else had a wet suit on, Jer and the big man were the few proud enough to attempt it without one. The water was warmer than the air, but Jer will probably use one in the future due to the fact that they are like wearing floaties.


The boys heading out to set up for the race.










PUMPKIN PATCH!!

Halloween season would not be official if we didn't make the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We actually grew pumpkins in our garden this year, but most...alright all of them are about the size of an enlarged softball! So it was nice to go and get some pumpkins that we would actually be able to carve! We went to a patch in west Layton, the kids really enjoy the tractor ride out to the patch to pick the pumpkins. After they have the "perfect" pumpkin we head to the Pizza Factory for dinner. It ended up being a crazy and late night because everyone else in Utah had the same idea we had, but I don't know what we were expecting going on a Monday night. But the kids had a blast and are excited with the pumpkins they got! Carter and I on the tractor ride!

A family pic.
Carter was pretty proud of the green pumpkin he choose.

Tate helped Grandpa pick the perfect pumpkin and after looking around decided that it really was the perfect pumpkin and asked Grandpa if he could find another one!!

Jason and Tom enjoying the tractor ride....maybe a little too much!

Cole's perfect pick!



Part of the crew on the Tractor ride!


More of the Crew!


The whole crew getting ready to go pick pumpkins!









UEA

For UEA we headed up to the cabin (I drove and Jeremy rode his bike....he said it was training for his upcoming TRI, I say it was to get out of a car ride with 3 busy boys!). We always have such a blast and the kids never want to leave. Everyone (who lives in the State of Utah that is) ended up coming which makes the trip that much more fun. We never really have an agenda when we go, but that's the beauty of Huntsville. The TV stays off and the kids are outside running free, riding 4-wheelers, chasing chickens, catching grasshoppers, playing football or baseball and anything else that involves getting dirty or playing with bugs! We love the cabin and can't wait to head back up! At night the kids would entertain everyone by having a wrestling match with Grandpa Stuart. He had just as much fun as the kids and it really helped the kids settle down for bed!?!
Carters form of lacrosse!


More wrestling... note Lainey trying to help free carter from Grandpa!


The kids could really 4-wheel all day and with the sleds hooked on the back it allows everyone to participate the whole time!!


We even made it over to lake and Jer would have done one last ski trip but the boats battery was dead! The water was freezing so nobody SHOULD have swam, but that didn't stop my genius husband from pressuring Cole and Olivia to jump in with him. Needless to say we left promptly after they jumped in to go home and warm up!

All the buoys had been pulled onto shore which made a good play toy for the kids!

Jensen, Tate and Carter making a sandcastle on the anchor of one of the buoys!