Bath time

This baby loves his bath!
How do you like his spiked hair in the last picture?
Too cute if you ask me! :)

A fall day

Joelle had fun raking leaves with her dad.

Joelle loves her dog Tori...

...and Tori loves her right back. Why else would she just lay there when Joelle sits on her. What a good dog!!!

Tai Kwon Do

Dane has recently started taking Tai Kwon Do classes at our gym. Cody was taking them too but decided it wasn't his thing. But Dane just loves it and has been doing really well at it. He is not only learning a new skill but is also learning respect and self-discipline as well. When he is done with class he is sweaty, happy, and confident and looking forward to his next class. I love seeing my children happy.

Kicks

Board breaking

Blocks

Learning to sit quietly, patiently, and respectfully while waiting his turn.

The red sweater

When I was going through my pictures I discovered that I had taken pictures of Dane and Cody in the same outfit and sitting on the same place on the couch! So of course I had to take one of Boone too! So here are my boys in the same outfit, sitting in the same place, at about the same ages...too funny...and just a little weird! Ha ha!

Dane ~ 2 months

Cody~3 1/2 months

Boone~5 1/2 months

Creativity

Dane has always loved to dress up. But he has been extra creative about his costumes lately. He has been creating accessories for his costumes out of paper and tape.

Here he is as a Ninja

A soldier with a laser eye piece.

Tyler was telling Dane how he helped make his younger brother Jason a knight costume when they were little boys, so next thing Tyler knew, he was making Dane a knight costume out of cardboard and silver spray paint. I think Tyler did a great job...don't you?

This picture is not a costume but creative non the less. It is the "Death Star" from the Star Wars movies, surrounded by smaller ships. I love when my kids play with blocks rather than play video games. I used to play with blocks a lot as a kid. Cody has been building a lot lately too, I think it's really good for a kids brain to build with blocks. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Stevens for making these for us!

This is the helmet that started this latest dress up phase. There is a character in the Star Wars movies called Boba Fett. Dane didn't have a Boba Fett helmet that he has seen in his Lego Star Wars game, and he wanted one, so he made it. If you could see the real helmet you would be impressed! :) The cut out part is just perfect...I was very proud of him for using his own ingenuity to accomplish his goal of being Boba Fett. Way to go Dane!

Neighborhood Halloween block party

Here are some pictures from our neighborhood block party the day before Halloween. We had a nice time until later that night. While we watching the movie, "How to train your dragon", Joelle went over the back of the camping chair she was sitting on, and put her front teeth almost through her top lip. Tyler had gone home to use the bathroom, so a neighbor I had never met, pushed the stroller home, while I carried Joelle. The boys and I went back to finish watching the movie, and Joelle survived with a fat lip for a few days.

Trunk or treat 2010

Since Halloween was on a Sunday, and because we couldn't have a Halloween party at the church, a few sister from our ward, organized a trunk or treat. It was really fun. Families parked their decorated vehicles around a big circle and down a road that didn't have any houses built on it yet. It was the perfect location. People brought soup or rolls and we all had a nice dinner. Well the adults did...the kids were to excited to eat. Then the kids had a costume parade and then went from vehicle to vehicle trick-or-treating. Lots of people gave each kid a whole handful of candy, and some of the kids would go to a lot of the vehicles more than once, so all of the kids made quite the haul! We all had a really great time.

Trip to St. George

Right before school started last August, Tyler took Dane to visit Grandma and Grandpa Thomas in St. George, Utah. I Thought I had blogged about this trip but I guess the beginning of school was a crazy time and I forgot. So here are the highlights from that fun time.

I was very sad that I didn't get to go with them but I was happy that Dane got to go on a special trip with just his dad. And I was happy that Tyler got to take a break from Texas and go back to his beloved west and get to spend some quality time with his family.

Here are some pictures from the first day. Dane at the Las Vegas airport standing next to a huge statue of a lizard. Visiting the Wildlife Museum in St. George, Utah with Uncle Jason. And "surfing" the lions in front of Grandma and Grandpa Thomas' house.

The next evening Dane, Tyler, Clark, Sylva, Jason and Klide went for an overnight camp-out at Pine Valley mountain. Some of the highlight from that trip were when Dane fell in the creek, caught a fish which he decided was too small to eat, and eating Smores which were cooked over a nasty fire pit that someone had left coal in. The nasty black smoke was very unpleasant and took away a little of the magic from the long awaited camping trip. However, Tyler had a good laugh that night when his parents went for a middle of the night potty break, in the dark of night, and ended up falling all over each other when they got a little off the beaten path! Dane slept well that night because his dad gave him the good sleeping mat....but between sleeping on the hard ground and listening to Klide dig holes in the ground all night...Tyler was glad to get back to a regular bed.

The next big adventure was an incredibly fun trip to the pool at Veyo Hot Springs Resort. Grandma Thomas, Tyler, Dane, Jason and his girlfriend Monica, and her girls, Cynthia, Alyssa, and Laila had a great time swimming all day, eating corn-dogs, hamburgers, and ice cream. Tyler used to swim there when he was a boy, visiting his grandparents, so it was really nice for him to be able to share that fun experience with his son.

When Dane wasn't playing video games down in the basement he could be found waiting by the back gate for "The girls" to arrive. He had a great time playing with Monica's girls, especially since his older cousins were busy and the kids in St. George had already started school. They had fun playing at the park one day and another day they visited Jason's classroom in Mesquite Nevada and playing wii at Monica's house. Dane also had a great time playing xbox live with his cousin Eric and his friends one afternoon.

On the morning of their last day there, just before they left to take the shuttle to the airport, they went to a neighborhood water park. Doesn't it look fun and refreshing? I don't know why they don't have more parks like this around here? They had so much fun on their visit and they even got to fly in first class for free both ways...so all in all a great trip!

Gym Halloween party

The gym that I belong to had a Halloween party for the kids. It was great except I didn't have the kids dress up...which made Dane really mad...and they had a professional photographer there and we got a free 5x7 picture. I had the kids hold pumpkins so I would remember this was from Halloween! :)

This guys was giving "train" rides. I went on the first one for Joelle and he drove SO fast! The kids went several times. It was really fun. The only bad part was that it was raining that day. In fact, everyone at the gym spent about 20 minutes in the locker rooms, all packed in together, when the tornado sirens went off. I really despise living in Texas whenever I have to wait it out in a closet, wondering if I'm going to be the one who loses her home or God forbid, my family to the latest tornado. Anyway, the ride was super fun!

The kiddos had a lot of fun at the petting zoo. Cody just loved holding the little animals. The bigger ones seemed to freak all the kids out just a little bit though. I looked over at one point and Joelle was squeezing the life out of this poor little chick (third picture down)...I love that all of my kids so far have a real appreciation and love for animals like Tyler and I do. The rest of the party was spent inside the gym eating a bunch of unhealthy food and playing in the bounce houses. Unfortunately my camera battery ran out. Except for the tornado and forgetting the costumes it was a good time.