Memorial Day: Kamiak Butte

We planned on going to Elk River, but it was supposed to rain. Well, it didn't. So we decided to head up to Kamiak Butte. It's a nice 1/2 mile hike up to beautiful scenery. We thought Braden was old enough to do it himself. Brody needed to be carried though.

We told Braden how excited he should be to go hiking in nature and work his body. He was pretty excited.
It was fun pointing out all sorts of things on the hike. We looked at trees that had been split in half because of the wind, fallen branches, flowers, animals, etc.

Braden did lead that group for most of the hike.

Brody enjoyed looking and grabbing the trees.

I thought I would throw in some beautiful pictures of the Palouse.

We got to our first little stop and let the boys explore.

Braden smelling the flowers. We pointed out all the different colored flowers we saw (yellow, orange, blue, red, purple, white,and green). He loved it.

When we got to the 'top' (Blake and I just said it was the top because we knew if we went further we'd have to carry Braden back down) we stopped and ate lunch.

It was nice. We talked for about 30 minutes and enjoyed the view. I have never seen the boys eat better. There's nothing like hiking and eating outdoors to make any food look good, especially pb&j.

Brody was so tired on the way back down the hill. He kept putting his hand on Blake's side and insisting that Blake hold it. It was awfully cute.

Family on top of the Butte.

We made it down to the bottom of the hill. Braden needed to use the restroom. This bathroom was like a porta potty. Just a big hole. He was really concerned about falling in. Then he reassured me that I have a big bum, so I won't fall in.Thanks Braden.

There is a cute playground at the trail head. We couldn't pass it up. Brody has recently discovered his love for slides. He used to go down feet first on his tummy, but has also recently taken to head first. We will have to watch this little boy.

Braden is learning to pump his own swing. He still has some work to do, but he's close. He also doesn't like to go high. We don't have to worry about this little boy.

Brody loves the swing and loves to go high. Such opposites.

It was a great start to our day. There will be another post about the BBQ I hosted that evening.

Drive-in Movie

We were playing games the other night at our friends house. To buy us a little extra time we put on a movie. Braden decided to make it a drive-in.

This bought us an extra two hours. It was a lot of fun and the boys just love playing with their little girl Clementine.

Mom/Son Date: Dance & Ice Cream

So, I didn't take pictures, sorry! Last Thursday there was a dance recital. The owner of the studio is in my ward, as well as tons of members. Two girls in my 12 year old Sunday School class also dance, so that was my main reason for going, to support them.

Braden and I got dressed up and headed out for a night on the town. He was fascinated by all the dancing. There was hip hop, jazz, ballet, ballroom, tap and much more. The dancers ranged from 3 years old to seniors in high school. We had a blast singing along to the songs we knew, clapping and Braden's new favorite, yelling 'wahoo.'

After the recital was over I took him to downtown to Lick's Ice Cream Parlor. He'd never been there before. It's a fun place. Plus, on Thursday's they have $1 Root Beer Float or Ice Cream night. You can't pass that up. Braden opted for the Root Beer Float. After spending 5 minutes trying to find an ice cream he could have (most ice creams have eggs in them) we settled down at a table and talked. It's so fun talking to my little boy. I love his thoughts. He sure had a lot of thoughts about the dance recital and he kept laughing because the "pop was tickling" him.

That was our date. I also took him to see "Rio" on Saturday afternoon. Once again, he loved the special treat. Since I didn't have to pay for his admission I let him get some popcorn. I had one happy boy. The movie was cute. Nothing extra special, but cute. Regardless of that, it was time I spent with my son. I love Mommy/Son dates.

Science Center Accident

I took the boys to the science center the other day. We just started playing when Brody wandered off. I told Braden I was going to follow him. It wasn't but 3 minutes later before Braden starts yelling for me and walking funny. He has a HUGE accident in him pants. I am proud of myself for not yelling, but are you kidding me? He's never had a #2 accident these past 6 months. Oh well, after completely throwing away his underwear and putting his pants in a bag I needed to improvise. The solution, wrap Brody's coat around his waist and give Braden Brody' pants.The pants fit around his waist, if anything, they kept slipping. They were short though. It's ok, it has been raining a lot.We were the only ones there so none of the employees seemed to mind a cute boy in a onesie, shirt and coat.
You would think I would of headed home right away, but no. I still had 4 hours to kill before Blake got off work. We stayed another 2 hours and the boys loved it.

Even the one with no pants.

And Then You Have Faces Like This

that make parenting all worth it.

Not Much to Say

I have a lot of people getting on my case about so few posts (Mallory). My only response is, there's not much to say. Life is busy, but as my sister Nicole says, that's my life, it's not just busy now, it's busy always.

I have 5 weeks left until my marathon and I have to tell you, I am SO ready for it to be over. My body is constantly hurting. I always had a respect for people who could run 26.2 miles, but I have an even greater respect for them now. I didn't realize just how time consuming it really is. I run, on average, about 8 hours a week. That doesn't include the time I spin, lift and stretch. I can do it though, 5 more weeks.

The boys are challenging. Brody still won't speak. I have a feeling he will only do stuff on his time frame. He's really good at screaming at us and yelling, but no official words yet. This takes a toll on Blake and I. We are so sick of the screaming. He can also be incredibly cute. I think he knows he must or we might sell him in the black market. He gets jealous when Braden is snuggling with either one of us and will run over to find room on our lap. Let's just say we've had a lot of snuggles this week. He's getting more into books, singing, wrestling and chasing.

Braden is the negotiator. He can talk you in or out of pretty much anything. We struggle with his crying. I swear I am raising a girl sometimes (no offense to those raising girls), because he will cry over any little thing. Blake and I have given him 3 places he can cry, whine or throw a fit. #1 His bedroom, #2 the bedroom (both upstairs) and #3 the bathroom. If he's whining or crying for no good reason then he is asked to go to one of those locations. He does pretty well, but then the negotiation comes into play.

He too is sweet at times. It's fun to see how his mind works and how it processes information. He's been calling me darlin lately. "Thank you my darlin." I just love it. When we read he asks a million questions. This drives me crazy at moments, but mostly I love to know what he's thinking. I pride myself with my imagination and I am glad that's running off on the boys. It's fun to sit back and see what Braden is playing. it mostly involves fighting and killing, but it's always creative.

Although this post has no pictures, it really is what's been going on lately. We love our boys more than anything. My neighbor just had a cute little baby boy. He's so little and sleepy and perfect. I miss those moments with my boys when they are quiet and loving and just perfect. I guess we are just trying to adjust to our new perfect. Our perfect with a three year old and one year old.

Bears

It has been so beautiful here this week. After a morning at the gym, we decided to stop by and look at the bears. This was Brody's first time (that he can remember).

He was fascinated. He couldn't take his eyes off them. There were some bear cubs whining in the back. You could hear them, but not see them. I kid you not when I say that I swear I thought it was Brody. Brody whines all the time and it's not to different from that of a bear cub.

There were 2 bears out and about. The rest were resting. This great big Grizzly was running around in the field.
While the other was taking a bath. Brody was babbling on about this bear. Braden was cute and reassuring him, "yes, it is a bear. Yes, he's taking a bath." Too cute!

I've really had a hard time with the boys lately. I swear all I hear is whining, crying and yelling. It makes me feel like a bear sometimes too. But these cute moments when they happily play together and are sweet make those many difficult moments worth it.

You know those shock collars that shock dogs when they bark, do they have those for kids who whine? I'm just sayin. (Note: I WOULD NEVER SHOCK ANY OF MY KIDS.)

Thank You Sun!

The sun has come out. Well, at least it was all week. Today is a different story. Anyways, the boys and I were outside almost every minute of this week. I need to remember to put sunscreen on, as we are all burnt. This week we headed down the street to the park. We fed some animals. (Braden was Diego. He had a field journal, binoculars and a 'camera.')

We also tried to catch some turtles. We got pretty close, but those suckers are fast when they want to be. And then fed some ducks. Brody was just fascinated. I gave him some bread to throw and he would take a bite and then throw some to the ducks. I don't think the ducks were all that impressed, but I was.

Finally, we spent over an hour on the play equipment with Brody spending a good 45 minutes on the swing. We were at another park earlier in the week and he actually fell asleep while I was pushing him. I think we need to invest in a swing for our house. Braden wants to be where everyone else is. He is always making friends and has become even more daring. There's a huge metal twisty slide that I am nervous to go down and he will take it full charge.

I have had a terrible sinus infection this week. As is the job of a mom, I haven't had a day to rest. Blake did get off a little early on Wednesday to help, but other than that, it's been me, the boys and this head pressure. Thankfully, they are completely happy when they are outside and my job became minimal. I think this was Heavenly Father's way to help me. I am thankful for that and the glorious sun.

Mother's Day 2011

All I wanted for Mother's Day was some good pictures with my kids. This is what I got.

I guess it will work. I have 2 great boys. Although I have really been struggling with defiance (Braden) and tempers (Brody), my life is truly blessed.

I mostly owe it to this man who keeps me sane and supports me in my weaknesses. I love you honey.

Blake got me a fun game called Dominion. We used to LOVE to play this with the Wilson's and are now excited owners.

Happy Mother's Day to our wonderful mother's. We love you and appreciate your support and concern.

Smash Brothers vs. Dinosaurs

On Friday Braden decided we needed to have a war. Who better to battle then the Smash Brothers (the cars- smash brothers comes from a book we read a month ago) and his dinosaurs. We walked all over the house and found every car and dinosaur we own.

Lined them up just right.
Talked some trash.

And then let the battle ensue. I led the dinosaurs (notice how much fewer there are) and Braden led the Smash Brothers. Yes, Braden's team did win. The battle went far past the cars. We brought out the swords and battled to the death. I think I died about 20 times. Braden kept insisting he was the 'bad' guy and won every time. I know I put this on my facebook, but it's just too cute not to mention here.

After killing me for the umpteenth time, Braden declared, "Mom, I feel in my heart that if I watch Robin Hood I won't be the bad guy anymore." How can I deny the feelings of a heart? Sure enough, he wasn't bad anymore. In fact, he became Robin Hood for the rest of the day. Stealing from the rich (mom & dad) and giving to the poor (him and Brody).

Daddy/Son Outing: Flying Kite

Blake and I decided we needed to be better at having individual time with each of our boys. We have decided Tuesday's will be our date nights. When we get more kids (which isn't anytime soon) then each child will get one Tuesday a month to go with mom and dad, but until then, they each get 2 dates with each of us a month.

Last week was our first week. Blake took Braden to the park to fly the kite he got for Easter.

Blake said at first Braden wanted to play on the play equipment and had no desire to fly the kite. That is until Blake started flying the kite. Braden quickly took over.

After kite flying they went out for ice cream. I didn't get any pictures because Blake too the camera. But Brody and I enjoyed a relaxing evening at home. We wrestled, read stories, sang songs and even watched a little Baby Einstein. Brody got quickly tired and even fell asleep giving me some time to read my book. I look forward to these little date nights and I hope our kids do too. Most (if not all of them) will be minimal cost, so it's a great way to give each boy our undivided attention.

I heard someone say once that it's not the amount of time that you spend with your child, it's the quality time. I have a dear friend who couldn't disagree with this comment more. It really is about the quantity of time you spend with them. Out of the quantity, you are sure to get some good quality. That's our new goal, QUANTITY.