Flag football

It was finally Sier's turn to play Flag Football this year! It seems like he's been waiting for YEARS to play. His Dad and Uncle Dan coached him! (okay- Dan's not an uncle, but he's my cousin- and we call him uncle Dan!) He was lucky and got to play with 2 cousins, and also some friends from baseball. We lost two games and the kids had an absolute blast.  Koy LOVED going to practices and stretching with the team, he stretches all the time at home now! So funny!! Sier was an awesome flag puller, and when he scored his first touchdown he said "that was the first touchdown of my career!!"...lol...like he has a football career.  Here are some awesome pictures that one of my cute friends took of the games...seriously, she's so cute!

Sier playing Center

trying to break through the line

Konnor- Sier-Sebastian                                   Mark & Sier        



running hard!

getting the flag

coach Dan

Jera & Me

koy LOVED football this year! he was EVERYWHERE.

Birthdays!

Both of the boys had birthdays in February! Wow....Kip turned 7 and Sier turned 5. When Kip was born I would always wonder to myself "I wonder what my life is going to be like when he's five years old." Now Sier is 5...What the crap???....and I'll have another little one in just a few months! AHHH....what am I doing? We let them choose what or where they wanted to go to dinner for their birthdays. Kip chose 50 chicken nuggets from McDonalds (and he was sick on his birthday, no fun) Sier chose Tepinyaki...with NO help from me. We didn't have any friends parties for them this year, and it was SO NICE NOT TO WORRY ABOUT IT! I really am going to try for that next year to, but I don't think they'll let me get away with it again.
Kip got Marks old pellet gun for his birthday, and was so excited! He thinks it's so awesome because it was his dads. He also wanted a chess set so dang bad...(I know Nerd!) Mark doesn't know how to play chess very well, and I have no idea how to play. Apparently he knows though! One of our friends comes over to play with him, so he's learning.

Sier wanted more of his "star wars collection". He loves those things. They are little star wars guys that are short and squatty...and he has almost all of them! He carry's them everywhere, and almost always has one in his pocket. Kip got him some little batman guys also, and wrapped it in Barbie wrapping paper. Sier was so mad at him! He didn't even want to open his present.

7 reasons why I love Kip

1. his blue eyes

2. his soft heart

3. his desire to please

4. his awesome trampoline tricks!

5. his desire to learn

6. his humor

7. he loves me no matter what I do!

5 reasons why I love Sier

1. his big green eyes

2. his determination to do anything his brother does

3. his sense of humor!
4. his joy of just being alive

5. his love for his DAD (I fall into a DISTANT 2nd in that category!)

I love my kids!

"When I grow up..."

Our future "X-Gamer"

How We've Spent Our Summer Vacation

I know! It's been awhile right??? What can I say, life gets so busy for us around here...and we only have 2 kids! (which by the way IS NOT an announcement that everybody seams to be waiting for....more on that later [maybe].)
We've been very lucky to have a nice, good, SAFE summer. We've been really busy doing family things, and the "fun things to do list". We haven't had much time to do anything else! We also have been lucky for Mark to be "busy" at work....by this I mean have at least SOME work to do. With all the side-jobs he's had it seams like he's always working. But that's okay, because it seams like I never am! (yes, I only worked 3 hours last week!!! and it was great. Hopefully it will cover my Dental Insurance! I'm laughing really hard right now, because I really hope it will!)So now, a quick run through of how our summer has been SO FAR. Just because school starts, doesn't mean summers over!

I think one of the last times I blogged, Kip had just gotten done with swimming lessons, so that's where I'll pick up....at Siers swimming lessons! He had so much fun, and did sooo well. Last year they had to bring in another teacher to take care of just him since he wouldn't even get in the water. But this year he did awesome. He loves to swim!

Sier also had his last day of Preschool with Mrs. Amy at Magic Moments preschool. He really has loved every second of it, but it's time for me to move on with a new school. So next year he will be going to Mrs. Butterfield!!! He is so excited to be going 3 days a week, and so am I!

In June Jamie had her Luau. She'd been wanting to have one for YEARS. It was really fun...really windy...really cold. I felt so bad for her! But thanks Jamie & Steve for the excuse to dress up! Next time I'll get some water-melon shells to wear since Coconuts don't fit.

Jeri, Jamie, Jessi, Me, & Kim...we were all freezing!!!

Next on the picture list is.....Independence day! I love the 4th of July. Summer, Food, Fireworks, Family, Friends, Softball. Mark put another team together for the 4th of July Tournament that the town does every year. They start the night of the 3rd, and then start again on the morning of the 4th. They did pretty good, and had a good team. The kids and I watched the parade at Marks parents house, while Mark played him some ball. Of course they had fun, but this year they weren't all into the candy like they are every other year. The highlight for the 4th of July for the Kip & Sier this year was to see Transformers 2 on the IMAX screen. They talked about it for weeks ahead, and they weren't disappointed! We went with some cousins and friends and had a fun time! The fireworks down at the city were great too! We've figured out a great spot to lay down and watch them, and every year it's better and better. We also went to a BBQ at Jeri & Cory's house...all I have to say is our kids are getting BIG! Okay, and that the BBQ was fun! I LOVE THE MONTH OF JULY!!! Here are a few pics of the 4th

Kip & Sier at the Parade

The Kids at the BBQ

Watching Fireworks

Steven & Jamie ( I love this pic. of Jamie)

J.R. & Kim...thanks JR

Jeri, Me & Bree

In July we went camping with my family up to Granite Flats in American Fork Canyon. I haven't been to those campgrounds since I was YOUNG...It is so beautiful. I've been trying to get Mark to go there for years, but he never has wanted to, but I think he's changed his mind. My mom did a "bear hunt" with all the kids. She had little treasures all over the trail that they found. She had such random things from leathermans to measuring cups! At the end of the trail there was a HUGE bag of gummie bears (that's where the "bear hunt" came from). The kids loved their treasures, and they loved trying to trade Jaxon for his leatherman...somehow rulers and measuring cups aren't as cool. Mark took the tent up to sleep in, but forgot the poles!!! So we put the kids in the trailer with Grandma and Grandpa, and slept in the back of the truck. It was also suppose to be HOT that weekend, so we didn't take anything but blankets for Mark and Me, so Craig and Jera lent us an extra sleeping bag....good thing because it was cold as H*ll that night. The next day we went for a ride up the canyon, and played. Amanda, Tim & his son Taylor came up that afternoon, and played cards with us. Kip, Sier, and Taylor all had a blast feeding the chipmunks and trying to figure out which chipmunk was Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Sier really thinks the "Chipmunks" are real. I can't wait to go up to those campgrounds again!

Alex, Nicole, Kyler, Kip, Jaxon, Sier eating dinner.....mmmmm

Dancing on the rock

Going on the bear hunt

This is the only little girl to like Mark. Not only does she like him, she LOVES him. And she loves to put chapstick on him!

Brooklynn posing in her cow helmet.

Helmet Heads!

Mark & Me. Sometimes we like each other.

Alex got so mad at me when I gave her the broken cup, and then took pictures of her! She is the sassiest girl I know....I LOVE HER.

Taylor, Kip, and Sier watching and waiting for "Theodore" to come eat more bread.

Steven & Whitney (who claim they're "not together") went to six flags with us! It was so much fun...but so exhausting. We were late getting to the SLC airport, so we had to park in the garage or we would have missed our flight...which was way $$$$$. Next time we'll need to wake up a lot earlier! BUT we had a lot of fun with them. We went on a Wednesday...so good. We walked on most of the rides, and some we rode twice in a row. I was sick almost all day- and by the dinner time I was ready to go back to the hotel, but Mark made me stay! I'm starting to get sick when I fly, and then to go on all of those roller coasters- it didn't help. I need to start taking motion sickness pills before I fly...man, I'm getting old. But I didn't through up, and I went on all the rides, so It was a success. Kip can't wait to go again! Oh ya, this is really funny....Sier stayed home with Jera and Craig; right before we were leaving to take Sier there Kip realized that Sier got to stay their for 2 nights, and started getting upset. This is the conversation that took place... Kip "it's not fair that Sier gets to stay at Makade and Jaxons house for two nights mom!" Me: "Well it's not fair that you get to go to Six Flags and Sier doesn't." Sier: "But guess what Kip!? I don't even care!" Oh my gosh it was hilarious to listen to. Oh ya!....it was so hot and humid! We have these water bottles that you can refill all throughout the park, and I'm not exaggerating when I say we filled them at least 20 times! We would get water every time, but for some reason our bodies just held onto all the water, I was so bloated by the middle of the day I had kankles, and you couldn't even see the bones on top of my foot. My ring was stuck on my finger, and I couldn't pee! None of us did, it was the weirdest thing ever.

Kip got soaked on a ride!

Mark holding our water bottles!

Steven, Rachel & Whit after the "Riddlers Revenge"

Kip & me at the end of a LONG day.

This summer I also tried to do a lot with the kids during the week. I made up a "fun things" to do list that I emailed and sent to a lot of different people. It didn't go all that great, but we sure had fun! I took the kids to see "Ice Age" it was great, I would definitely recommend...laughed through the whole show. We also went to Splash Parks, swimming, and up to the Copper Mine. I only took my camera to the copper mine though! (and I'm soo sorry for ditching Jera and her kids at the park!) That's what happens when you don't charge your cell phone! We also got to see them do some exposives...amazing...you couldn't even hear or feel anything! They only explode two times a day, so we were pretty lucky to see it.

Kip looking down in the mine...did you know that it's 2 miles wide?

Sier needed help

Kayden, Max, Kip, Kyle, Ethan, Sier, Konner

You should click to enlarge this to read it...amazing!!

GIVE AWAY!!

We all LOVE give aways! I know every time I see something that says free, or Give away I can't help but to check it out. So here's what I'm giving away. Please keep in mind that there are no returns, exchanges, refunds. But you can regift if you feel like you just can't take this gift. This gift comes in a pack of two. The gift requires some maintenance, okay...a lot of maintenance. You'd have to be patient with them while they are eating breakfast, especially if you need to be out the door in 10minutes, because just a simple bowl of cereal takes at least 15 minutes to eat. Lunch is easy, they would prefer cereal again, this time eating it in less than 2 minutes...BUT DON'T GIVE IN. For dinner they would like anything as long as it has Chicken or Rice, and is easy to pick out the things they don't like. They really would be happy if you would just give them icecream instead of any food. Sometimes I give in at breakfast time and give them the icecream....what's worse lucky charmes or Murtle Turtle icecream?? They usually snack between every meal....they love chocolate over any other snack. One is 2 years older than the other, so He has very good training. That doesn't mean he doesn't have any maintenance issues....he cries over everything. He likes to shove everything under his bed, or in his closet and claim that his room is "clean". He has never gone through growth spurts, simply because I don't think he's ever stopped growing. He loves to get new pants because within a week of having a new pair, you can bet there will be a whole in the knee. The little one loves to back talk. His favorite sayings are "Well, well, well," or "Blah, blah, blah." The younger one also talks in code. "Tormado" means "tornado". "wars" is "yours". And "lellow" is "yellow". If he says or does anything that makes the older one laugh, you can bet he'll be doing it again. He likes to eat his food in phases... never completing a meal at one sitting. It takes him an hour to eat a meal. Don't let any of that stop you though! They really need a good, loving home to develop in. You will be rewarded at the end of the day when they are in bed. They do sleep through the night, and they don't have any bathroom issues. The younger one does need assistance every once in a while pulling his pants up, or wiping. The older one enjoys reading, and playing video games. They both would play video games all day if you would allow it.
If you are interested in this FREE GIVEAWAY just let me know. I will pay for any shipping or transportation costs involved. I will also be willing to include all of their belongings.

SIERS BIRTHDAY

Sier turned 4 on February 26. I can't believe the little guy is 4!! He was so stinkin' excited for his birthday...I think he was really more excited to eat at Golden Tree (he LOVES their rice, chicken, and red sauce) He had to have Grandma & Grandpa Joe, and his favorite Uncle Steve (who is really Marks cousin) and his wife Jamie come with us. He forgot all about Santa Claus this year! All he wanted for his birthday was a wallet that would fit in his pocket...but of course I couldn't find one anywhere. (it's one of those things when you need it, you can't find it.) So he got a Nintendo DS instead...I know...SPOILED. And I said "I will never get my 4 year old his own DS." Yes, my words are tasting good. Sier didn't get a friend birthday party this year...having 2 birthdays in February is a little draining...so we've decided the "every-other-year" works just great! He was spoiled rotten from everybody!!! He got "Batmam" everything...pajamas (that he didn't take of for 5 days strait), masks, costumes...and of course a red lightsaber so he could be Darth Vader. Man, I sure do love that Kid! (And so does everybody else.)

Gratitude

Everyday when I drop Kip off from school, I realize how Lucky, and Blessed I am to have my kids. Kips school has a program for kids with disabilities who require wheelchairs and walkers. When I watch those little children pushing those walkers through the doors I thank Heavenly Father for the blessings in my life, and for my kids. I am so blessed that I have Sier, who teaches me patience, persistance, passion, and pure love. I'm so fortunate that we don't have walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, or any other devises for that matter. I look at pictures when he would wear his Michael Jackson glove, or all of his casts and realize how easy we've got it with him. I doubt that he won't ever need a brace for his foot to keep it from dragging so much, I'm sure the time will come. I don't look forward to the day when he asks "What is wrong with my body?". He notices now that his body doesn't work the same as other kids his age, and he makes small coments like "my had won't let me" or "my leg just won't keep up while I'm running" BUT...It has NEVER slowed him down, and it's NEVER stopped him from trying things. I get frustrated sometimes with people who are close to us who just don't understand it completely, and expect him to be physically the same as other kids his age. We all forget too quickly that he is a special needs kid, I need to remember that more often when I get frustrated with his physical limitations. I'm lucky and blessed to have him teaching me everyday. We all need these little reminders of how truly easy we have it. So now you know if you seeing me driving out of the school yard in the mornings, and see me cry...it's out of gratitude.

"I will NEVER, NEVER"

Sier turns 4 the end of February, so I finally decided to have his 3 year old checkup! ( I know, I am President of the "Bad Moms Club") I told him yesterday about the things we needed to do today, and on the list was of course take him to the Dr. The first thing he asked me is if he needed to get shots- I couldn't lie and tell him no, so I just told him "I think so, I'm not sure how many". Ever since then he has been telling me "I will NEVER, NEVER, EVER go to the Dr. again!" or "I'm NEVER, NEVER, EVER going to take my clothes off for her either!" You see, he watched Kip get 4 shots a couple of months ago and has been terrified ever since. Finally after a lot of "deal making" (I would buy him a cookie) we were off to the Dr.'s office. While we were driving there I was telling Mark about the "NEVER, NEVER" comment and he wanted to talk to Sier. So after talking to his dad he was set because Mark made him another deal that if he didn't cry then he would take him to the store and buy him some LEGOS. (the awesomest toy ever in this house right now) So Sier had a great day at the Dr.'s. He took off his clothes and ran around in his underwear, he talked to the Dr., he told her some of his jokes, and when the shot was done he yelled "YES!" I'm assuming he said that because he was so proud of himself for not crying. Needles to say, he got a cookie and his dad will be taking him to the store. And just another thing....I always think Sier is sooo small for his age because I only have Kip to compare him with. It turns out his 87% for weight and 79% for height. His Head? I'm not sure, but it is BIG.

Funny

Stockings are ment to hang over the fireplace....not to wear!

This past week Mark has been working 8-9 hour days, instead of 10-12 hour days.....sucks for the overtime $, but it's great to have him around. He has been able to get a ton of things done around the house.....spot lights put up in back and on the side, motion sensor lights, and Christmas lights! It took him a few nights to finish because we ran out of lights and we were trying to decide what kind of lights to put on and as a matter of fact, he's still not done. We need one more strand. Any how....Sier has been helping him every second he can. He stands outside and just watches him work, if Mark comes in so does Sier. He has become his dads shadow lately...very cute. So with Mark on the roof the past couple of nights Sier has been DYING to go up there with him....finally Mark broke down and said it was okay (I DID NOT WANT HIM ON THE ROOF) But I VERY UNWILLINGLY helped him up there. Sier sat right by the swamp cooler and CRIED!!! He was terrified and got right back down!! A few minutes later he wasn't scared of it anymore, and we let him try it again....he conquered his fear. I know...I'm the worst mom in history for letting him on the roof, just put it on the list of things I do wrong...I'm a hoverer, I let them have ice cream for breakfast (sometimes...what's the difference between ice cream and lucky charms?? They both have the same nutritional value), we bought them a four wheeler when Kip was 3 (almost 4!), and we let them play on the roof!! But it made for a great picture.

"I'm boared"

What do you think my kids are trying to tell me? You know you're board when you play in the back yard with your fourwheeler helmets on! And yes, for those of you who haven't seen my back yard...there is a sidewalk going right down the middle of it, I know...it the latest thing in landscaping.

The Cast

Our life with the cast is hopefully over! Sier still wants Shaun to come over to put a cast on, but we all really know it's because Sier secretly wants to play with all of Shauns awesome toys! For those of you who don't know who Shaun is, he is Siers Occupational Therapist...who is the most amazing person I have ever met. Sier loves him... more than he loves Santa Claus. Shaun introduced us to the casting therapy when Sier was about 18 months old, this is how it works: You put a cast on his right arm, making sure he has no use of it at all- that makes him use his left hand, which needs the help. The first time Sier ever had a cast on was HARD for him and for everybody around him. He couldn't feed himself, play with his toys the way he wanted to, he was totally helpless (even more than a normal developing 18 month old). We did the casts, had some red ones, black ones, and a ton of blue ones...I think we had a white one in there somewhere...we tried to talk him into a pink or purple one, but he would never go with the idea. The castings started out with him wearing it for 2 weeks, then off for about 6 weeks. That lasted about a year, then we got more aggressive...he would have one on for 3 weeks, and off for 4, then we would do it again. Nothing stopped us from him having a cast, we learned fast that we couldn't plan it around our lives, and we couldn't plan our lives around the casts, so we dealt. If he wanted to play outside, we would put an old sock over it to keep it clean. When he ate, we put a sock over it to clean...he really had a sock over it 95% of the time because lets face it, he's a little boy who LOVES to get into things. We have a cover for it so we can bathe him, you just put it over the cast and suck the air out...it was the best thing $35.00 could ever buy for us. One time he put the cast in the toilet, so Shaun had to drive out and take it off...he made sure that Sier understood that that's NOT the way to get out of a cast, and put one right back on him! When Sier turned 3 he was out of the program that he was involved in, which meant NO MORE SHAUN! But since he is a great guy, he snuck over to our house when we called him and put more casts on the CRAZY boy. (he asks for them!) Well, we haven't done a cast since April of this year because it's getting hard. Sier realizes now that when he has one on he can't do the same things as other kids, he was starting to get frustrated with it, and would always ask Shaun to take it off as soon as it got on. This never happened before. Before when he would have them on he would just sit on the counter top, put his arm up, and Waite for Shaun to do the cast...no turning back...he wouldn't complain, it wouldn't slow him down, he had been at the point for over a year where he could feed himself, color, play, anything he wanted to do he figured out how to do it with his left hand. I think he loved having it on, because it was a built in sword...I coulnd't tell you how many times he has hit me or other people with that thing! Sorry for all of you out there that got it in face with the cast. When kids would come tell me that Sier hit them with the cast I would secretley think "well, you probably deserved it"...after all, it was his only line of defence! But there were times when he definatly was being just naughty and hit someone. But once he turned 3 it's like a switch turned on in his brain that thought "oh crap, I have this stupid cast on that doesn't let me do things as good, or as fast as I usually do...man, this really SUCKS!" He also understands a lot more, which makes a difference because when we go somewhere when he has it on, people are curiuouse and ask what happend to his arm, the conversations usually went like this "Oh! What happend to your arm, did you break it?" Sometimes I would go along with it, and sometimes I would explain it to them. It was getting to the point where if I went along with it Sier would say "No I didn't", or if I wouldn't tell them the truth fast enough Kip would- in the form of "No, he has brain damage" HELLO! We tell Kip all the time that it's not nice to say that, and Sier has NO idea that something like that is wrong with him..so, what do you do??? Kip is old enough that he knows something is wrong with his little brother, and we've explained it to him countless times EXACTLY what it is, and evertime he's like "oh, brain damage, no big deal." One day they'll both understand it better. Needless to say...the casting is over. It has taught us all a lot about how the brain works, how kids are amazing and can cope in different situations, and find different solutions to problems, it has brought us patience, and laughter, and it has taught one little boy how to do things he wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. Mark and I are really lucky to have a little boy like Sier who has taught us all of these things, and who brings such happiness to us and to other people around him. We love you Sier!