THE WILLIAMS FAM

Catching Up

2010-03-09T18:19:00.003-05:00

Since I am such a bad blogger, I decided to give month to month highlights from the past few months. All in all we've been doing great. Sam is getting so big so fast, and I hate it. I want her to stay little for ever!

We just ADORE this little person, we can't get enough of her. The boys love to sing and talk to her in the highest pitch voice possible. Sometimes I have to tell them that it's ok to talk to her in a normal voice, she will still smile at you.

February Highlights

2010-03-09T14:22:00.006-05:00

This month Dallin and I celebrated our 7th anniversary! WAHOO! love you more than ever baby! Even if I am grouchy sometimes. still love ya.

We also went to the mandiball. (which is a party/formal dance for all the dental school) I don't think I have had that much fun in a long time. I seriously felt like I was in high school again. I know everyone thought I was crazy that night, and maybe I was a little, but it was fun!

***

This is the best Valentines picture I could get of all three kids. In every shot Tate is sticking out his chest so that EVERY ONE can read his shirt which says THE LADIES LOVE ME. The funny thing about this shirt is that He would not wear it for the first few times I tried to put it on him because he was SO embarrassed that the girls at school would actually think they loved him. But once he realized that would not be the case he fell in love with the shirt and wanted to wear it every day.

Just happy to be here.

We took the fam out on a fancy valentines date to McDonald's. It was wonderful!

***

And of course it wouldn't be a regular month without another catastrophe from our dear little Bos. I promise we do not beat our children! This one came from the corner of a wall. I should probably stop posting his injuries or someone might just turn us in. haha.

***

Boston turned 3 this month. There are so many things that we just adore about Bos. He truly is the BOSS of our home. He has got the most energy of any child I have ever known, and a personality to go with it. He makes me laugh every day! He loves to do everything Tate does, and he keeps up pretty well.

Before he woke up Bday morning with his balloons and toys sleeping overhead.

He loved all his presents, especially those that came from UTAH. Thanks to everyone who thought of Boston on his Birthday. We love you!

December Highlights

2010-03-08T15:26:00.006-05:00

December was a busy month for us. We had Sams blessing, finals, trip to utah, christmas, ER visits, sickness after sickness, and lot's and lot's of driving!! But it was all very fun. we always love to go home to see family, and let the kids play with their cousins.

Sam's special Day.

Daddy and Sam. I love this picture, cause Sam is giving kissy lips too. So Sweet!

This is not the best picture, but it's the only one I have of our whole family.

Sam is starting to get bigger and so smiley!

Sam and cousin Owen, getting to know each other for the first time.

Tate got his Helmet he was dying to have.

Bos just lovin all the presents.

Nothing wrong with walking around outside in the middle of December with boots, a sward, a football helmet, and no coat... Right?

Did I mention that we drove A LOT!

Boston stayed content with his powdered sugar donuts.

Seriously Tate, that can't be comfortable... yes he really was asleep like that. For a while too.

Thats better, for him anyway. We had to separate the boys on occasion. Lucky me I got to squish into the back seat.

Boston and his black eye.

Happy New Year!!

November Highlights

2010-03-08T15:07:00.004-05:00

This month we had a few FIRSTS happen...

Tate lost his first tooth! Very Exciting.

This really isn't a first of anything, just a regular Sunday.

Boston had his first BLACK EAR!

This is seriously a first on so many levels! I have never even seen anything like this before. We were so scared he was going to get cauliflower ear, so we took him in to the ER to get checked out. That however was not B's first ER visit!

I had my first GNO since having Sam. We went to see Twilight and New Moon.

We also had our first Non-Homemade-Thanksgiving Dinner. We went to a water park hotel and had a buffet style Thanksgiving. It was very different than what we are used to, but we loved it and had so much fun. We might just go back next year. :)

...Oh my batteries went dead right when we got there, so i have ZERO pictures of our fun weekend! oh well.

October Highlights

2010-03-08T14:30:00.007-05:00

The biggest and best highlight for us was meeting Terrelle Pryor while we were walking through Dicks Sporting Goods. We were on our way home from a little Halloween activity at the church, so the boys were dressed in their jerseys. This was his little conversation with Tate.

TP: hey kid, nice jersey

Tate: thanks

TP: do you know whose jersey that is?

Tate: yeah! it's the quarter backs!

TP: do you know his name?

Tate: Terrelle Pryor!

TP: that's right, well guess what... that's me. nice to meet ya buddy.

Then he tried to shake Tate's hand, and tate just stood there like what the heck is going on!

Me: wait, are you for real? are you really terrelle pryor?

TP: yep, i really am.

So i shook his hand and we talked for a few more minutes about random crap and we took some pictures and went on our way. i know all of you buckeye fans are probably dying that i didn't know it was him to begin with, but in my defense i'm always looking at him from the stadium looking WAY DOWN, and he always has a helmet on!

Anyway, it was pretty cool. I was kind of freaking out, and called probably everyone i knew and told them all about it.

BTW, he was incredibly nice! I was very impressed.

This year for Halloween, the boys wanted to be buckeye football players, so i made Sam a little cheer-leading outfit to match the boys.

So thrilled to be a football player.

Love his little faces he pulls

Sleepy little cheerleader

Time for an update.

2009-11-07T15:33:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it has already been almost 7 weeks since Sam was born. I've been meaning to post ever since i came home from the hospital, but it obviously hasn't happened. She is such a good baby, she sleeps great, eats great, and when she is awake she just sits there and hardly makes a peep. (knock on wood) I keep waiting for her true colors to show, but maybe we just got lucky and have a super good baby.

Labor and Delivery...

So the day of the 21st my contractions started, I labored at home for a while, then we finally got to the hospital at 10:00 that night. I was at a 5, then we waited around for about an hour until the anesthesiologist got there... way too long! I was at an 8 by time they gave me the epidural. Then we had her shortly after that. 11:43 pm!

this is Liz the midwife who delivered us... actually, she let Dallin do most of the work. It was pretty cool. She said to him, "So I know you are used to working at the other end, but glove up and come help me out." So Dallin was officially the first person to ever hold Sam, and then he laid her up on my chest.

Her first night home with us.

My mom flew in the day we came home from the hospital, and she stayed and took care of all of us for about a week and a half. I loved having her here, she cooked, cleaned, organized, did laundry and entertained the boys non stop. Everyone needs a lady like her in their lives!! It was wonderful.

Then Dallin's parents came out to visit. Which meant more entertainment for the boys (and us). We went down to the aquarium in Kentucky. It was awesome. I think i might have liked it more than the boys. Dallin took Rob to the Buckeye Game while Leslie and I shopped and took the kids to get ice cream... mmmm Graeter's

Dallin and Rob on their way to the Game.

After they left town we had yet more visitor's. Four of Dallin's friends from home came out to stay with us for their yearly GUYS WEEKEND. It was fun to have them here and once again the kids loved it. I think I forgot to take any pictures of them this time, so here is one from last year. My kids absolutely love these guys, they love it when they come in to town.

Sorry Poke you are not in this picture.

All in all it has been a VERY busy but very fun month.

More to come on just Sam. :)

2009-09-22T14:44:00.009-04:00

Samantha June Williams 8lbs 4oz 9/21/09

Right before .......

.............and just after

in the nursery

"We are excited to be big brothers!"

THE REST OF THE SUMMER

2009-09-13T23:05:00.007-04:00

after we got home from utah we spent most of our time at ZOOMBEZI BAY. for those of you not in columbus, it is a water park at our zoo.

there were a few of us who had passes, and i think we tried to go swimming at least twice a week. i think this is most of us. this is not the best picture but you get the idea.

tate got in a few rounds of golf with dallin. he just loves being able to go and play at the real course.

and i keep getting bigger and bigger!

MY BIG KINDERGARTNER

2009-09-13T22:47:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I have a kindergartner. I don't feel like it should be possible. I never really thought I would be one of those emotional moms when their kids go to school. Well I guess I was wrong. I completely balled the day he started. Must be the pregnancy! :)

The morning that he started he was getting dressed and getting ready and we had a conversation that went like this...

me: tate i don't think you should go to school today, why don't you stay home with me?

tate: MOM, i have to go to school

me: no you don't you can just stay home and play with me all day.

tate: mom... i have to go so i can learn stuff

me: why don't you stay home and i will teach you everything you need to know.

tate: but mom... you can't teach me how to be a dentist! i have to go to school so i can learn dental school stuff!

me: (holding back the laughter) oh, ok, i guess you can go then.

I hope he realizes soon that he's just going to be doing numbers and letters for a while.

Waiting to be picked up after school. He is lucky enough to be in the same class as his best buddy Isaac.

Tate's Birthday

2009-09-13T22:16:00.007-04:00

Tate turned 5 during our trip home to Utah. He was so excited to have all of his cousins and grandparents at his party. He feels so old and so cool to be 5. I love it. He has turned into such a big boy. He is such a great big brother and good example for Boston.

On Tate's birthday he graduated from swimming lessons, and then chose to go to McDonald's for his birthday lunch.

After a busy morning and afternoon we headed to the park for his BATMAN BIRTHDAY PARTY! I can't tell you how excited he was for a real Batman party. I think he had been talking about it for 11 months.

He got lots of cool presents from everyone.

Boston thoroughly enjoyed the left over cake. I'm not sure how long his fingers stayed black.

Happy Birthday Tato Bug! We love you.

OUR UTAH TRIP

2009-09-13T18:01:00.010-04:00

The boys and I took off for the month of June to Utah while Dallin was home taking finals, studding for and taking the boards.

While we were there we had a lot of...

rainy weather

fun with the cousins

activities w/GMA's and GPA's

birthday parties

laughter

swimming lessons

throw-up

GNO's :) can't get enough of those!

memories made

band aids

late nights

and

frosting

in no particular order.

we spent the day camped out at the air show

we got to go play at Kangaroo Zoo for alex and emma's 4th birthday party

we went to the dinosaur museum and the kids got to hold a snake

hanging with gramps and baking with grandma

grandpa's annual fishing trip to the fish farm. boston was finally big enough to fish this year. but as soon as he caught his fish and pulled it out of the water he ran through jasons legs and hid from the fish. tate was able to do everything all by himself this year. he even tried getting the hook out.

swimming with cousins and grandma

gno with mom and amy

we went to idaho to visit my grandma just before her 92nd birthday!

AND we had a batman party!

Memorial Day

2009-05-30T09:27:00.007-04:00

For Memorial day I didn't care what we did, I just wanted the family to go and do something AWAY from our house. We decided on a REDS GAME, and it was sooo much fun to get away with just our family. The boys had a blast... all three of them, and so did I. Cincinnati is such a pretty city, the ball park looks over the Ohio River, and the boys loved watching tug-boats go by all game long.

The first few minutes of the game our seats were in the HOT SUN. So we quickly decided to move up higher to some shady seats.

We had ALL YOU CAN EAT seats, which we took FULL advantage of. I think we went through $50 in just drinks. For sure the way to go at a ball game!

Here is a view of the river and Kentucky on the other side. The boys were talking about the blue bridge all game long, so after the game we had to go for a drive over to Kentucky on the blue bridge.

We lasted all the way to the 8th inning, and then decided to head to the hotel to cool off at the pool.

Mothers Day

2009-05-29T09:57:00.002-04:00

I had a great Mothers Day weekend. All day on Saturday I was able to take a GIRLS DAY away. A few friends and I went down to the outlets and shopped all day, and then went to dinner. When I came home I had this fun surprise waiting for me. The boys made me some cards for me, and Dallin surprised me with a few fun things. (I kind of thought he forgot ;) )

Tate took this picture of me so just pretend the top of my head is in the picture!

The boys hard at work.

Oh and one last Mothers day gift... a few days earlier we found out that we are having a GIRL!! I really didn't expect a girl, but we are so excited, and it made my shopping day that much more fun. I think Tate was the most excited of all of us when we found out. He has been telling us it's a girl the entire time.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE

2009-04-18T16:34:00.006-04:00

why am i so bad at blogging? i just can't figure it out. you would think being across the country from family i would want them to see what we're up to... but that's what cell phones are for. i'm just lazy, that's all it is! i know it's REALLY BAD when other husbands from the ward tell me how long it's been since my last post. (you know who you are) :) eventually i hope to make a real post and back date everything that's been going on, but for now this is what you get...

*our friend riley came for a quick visit

*boston turned 2

*amanda had a birthday

*dallin had a birthday

*spring break trip to palmyra and niagara falls with dallins family all in a motorhome

*tate is back in soccer

*dallin got to go to the NCAA championship game (thanks to riley)

*easter fun

*oh yeah and we're having another baby due in september :)

that is our past few months in a nutshell.

THE HAIR CUT

2009-01-28T10:18:00.009-05:00

it finally happened. we did it. the curls are gone.

here are a few before pics...

and the back...

and these pics are the during the painful procedure.

he looks happy in these pictures but that's just because the buzzers were off.

admiring his new look

here is an after shot.

i don't even think he looks like the same kid. it took me a week before i stopped doing double takes every time i saw him. everyone thinks he looks more like tate now. that may be true, but i think he looks more like his cousin than he does his own brother. weird.

Our Christmas

2008-12-29T14:32:00.007-05:00

This year for Christmas, we decided to stay home. I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled about the idea at first, but it really turned out to be fun. We started out Christmas Eve going to breakfast and bowling. (forgot my camera) Then we had a fun night home with just our family playing games and reading Christmas stories... very different then what we are used to.

The best part about being away was all of the packages and presents that were sent. It made it look like we had WAY more than we really did, and we were sooo excited to open them... Thanks everyone!!

This picture was taken Christmas Eve. I just LOVE jammies! ESPECIALLY warm, snugly, soft, MATCHING, Christmas jammies! :)

Just before bed... 3:00 am to be exact.

Boston got a GLOW WORM, which he Loves! He started jumping up and down holding his wormy. Check out his hair, this was mid jump.

Tate got his LAPTOP that he's been dying to have.

Batman stuff

Just happy to be here!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Zoo Lights

2008-12-29T12:48:00.000-05:00

we went with some friends to the Zoo Wild Lights. and it was so dang cold that we could barely make it to see Santa and back before we all froze to death. then back to our house for pizza and donuts (great combination i know). i think our noses and cheeks stayed bright red the rest of the night.

Us with the Hendriks

This santa was not the most friendly i've ever seen, but oh well at least the kids got to see him.

HALLOWEEN

2008-11-13T14:35:00.005-05:00

we did so many fun things this halloween. we first went to the boo at the zoo while my parents were in town. it was so great to see BATMAN. oh my gosh, tate just about had a heart attack, he was so excited to see the real batman.

i know this is a blurry picture, but i love the excitement on his face.

as you can see he was just mesmerized by THE BATMAN

then we got to trick or treat throughout the zoo.

we went over to some friends to carve pumpkins.

we had "beggars night"on the 30th in our neighborhood. (don't ask me why we all can't trick or treat on the same night, they do things weird out here in ohio.

here's dallin getting ready to take the boys out

worn out after all the trick or treating. (and it was dang cold that night)

then on halloween night we went over to our friends neighborhood to trick or treat.

here's batman, mr incredible, and hon solo running from house to house.

boston and taylee...gracie girl i missed getting your picture

and after all that trick or treating we then on to another friends house for yummy cider and donuts. boston wanted to spoon feed himself the entire cup of hot chocolate.

oh and i forgot to mention that dallin and i dressed up as batgirl and the joker for a party we went to (thanks kiki), but i don't have a picture of that yet. too bad! ... or i just don't want to go to the effort to get the picture to show you. ;)

NASTY

2008-11-12T13:33:00.005-05:00

yesterday, i was trying to take a quick shower while the kids were watching letter factory. it is so rare that i actually get 10 minutes alone to take a shower, but that's besides the point. so while i'm in showering, for one reason or another, tate came in to talk to me, which is fine. well apparently he didn't close the door when he left because about 3 minutes later i hear boston's little voice saying "wa-wa wa-wa mmmm" i throw the shower curtain open and scream because boston had found a medicine cup on the counter and had been drinking water from the TOILET!!
i know he is not the first toddler to drink toilet water, but he is my first toddler to drink toilet water! i don't know why, but tate never had a fetish with toilets like boston does. i cannot leave the bathroom door open for 5 seconds because that little man will beat me to the potty every single time. he's like a magnet.

TOO LONG

2008-11-07T15:01:00.007-05:00

WOW, two months just flew by and then I realized... Oh yeah, I have a blog! Here are a few things we have been up to... so everyone can stop HARASSING me.

*We had Dallins cousins/friends in town.
*Hurricane Ike destroyed our big tree and the siding on our house.
*Dallin and I both had a spell of Bronchitis.
*Soccer season came and went for Tate.
*OSU Football
*Boston is into everything, and starting to talk a bit.
*My parents came to visit... oh so fun.
*Halloween with Batman and Robin.
*And 2 nights of trick or treating!

Now hopefully I can get a blog post for a few of these and still try to stay with the current happenings of our lives.

The Windy... I mean RAINY City

2008-09-07T15:45:00.007-04:00

Mindy Emily Me
This was one of the funnest road trips I think I have ever been on. This is us as we were beginning our 6 hr drive to Chicago. The drive actually went by surprisingly fast. I guess that's what happens when you don't have to entertain kids in the car. We just talked and laughed the WHOLE time.

That night we walked around the Windy City for a while until we found dinner.

We ate at a little pizza joint and had the famous Chicago style pizza. It was great... if you like cheese. I think it had like 2-3 inches of cheese and the sauce and the sauce was on top. Different but good.

That night I had such a hard time settling down. It really felt like I was 5 the night before Christmas. I think my two Pregnant roomies were about to boot me out of there :0)

SO... I have to say the build up was way bigger than the actual show. Yeah I know. I was a little disappointed with Oprah. I really expected her to be a little more social with the audience and have a little more fun. We did get two taping's rather than just one, which was cool, because they don't normally do that. The topic was forgiveness, and then we had Dr Oz. The Forgiveness story was really kind of depressing. It was about some kid who killed his brother and mom, and his dad forgave him. Maybe if the shows had been a little more up beat Oprah would have been more outgoing. I don't know.

This is everyone we met up with in Chicago. Tricia it was SO FUN to see you and meet your CUTE FAMILY!!

Mindy Emily Tricia Me
Here we are outside of the studio. No that is not FREE STUFF in our bags. We just went to her store and bought some souvenirs.

TRIVIA TIME
Of the three of us, two pregnant and one not. Which one would you guess ended up PUKING on the streets of Chicago in the pouring rain. Oh and don't let me forget the head out of the cab window dry-heaving incident!!

... Thats right, it was ME!! I won't give full details but yes, it definitely happend. And NO I'm not Pregnant! Hmm now I wish I would have let the girls take my picture after that. Believe me, it was not pretty!

After that we went back to the hotel and relaxed/slept for a while. I woke up feeling MUCH BETTER and then we headed to Wicked.

For me, this was THE BEST part of the whole trip. I have been wanting to see Wicked for SO LONG. When we found out that we were going to Chicago, I told the girls that we have to see Wicked while we were there. My only regret is that we didn't spend more on our tickets and sit up closer. But with only one week notice there wasn't much we could do about it. I already can't wait to go back with Dallin to see it again!!! HINT HINT BABE!!

Just before the show started. In the bathroom of course.

The next morning/afternoon we got up and saw a little bit of the city. We were staying right next to the John Hancock building. This shot was taken from the 96th floor, in the bathroom. Perfect place for a picture!

This trip was SOOO needed. Thanks hubbies and babysitters for letting us go.

5 DAYS AND COUNTING!!!

2008-08-31T00:15:00.005-04:00

CHICAGO HERE I COME!!

NEED I SAY MORE?

YELLOWSTONE

2008-08-23T10:42:00.009-04:00

MORE PICTURES!!!
While we were in Utah we went to Yellowstone with my family. We saw lots of animals, went on a few hikes, we drove both loops at least once, and then did some more driving. WOW it has been a while since I have been to Yellowstone, I forgot that's pretty much what you do there DRIVE! But oh my gosh it was fun. I owe my family BIG. Camping without a husband isn't the easiest thing to do. Here are some pictures of the family vacation!

Overlooking one of the waterfalls.

Tate was glad there was a fence right there. Because earlier we were just as close to some buffalo without a fence and he DID NOT have that cute little smile on his face.

Tate, Kaden, and Abbi at the hot pots... so stinky!

This is one of the 4 bears that we saw. We watched this bear cross the road and then climb up the side of the mountain and walk across this log.

Grandpa with all the, overlooking some more waterfalls (that you can't see)

Tate, Kaden, and Ellie just talking a break during one of our hikes.

This is when Tate got his Jr Ranger badge. He had to do a big booklet of worksheets to get this cool badge. It was a lot of fun.

Another bear stopping traffic.

Grandma with the kids in the old faithful lodge.

Bossie just hang'n out.

The kids climbing up a mini mountain.

At the top.

Tate looking at some wildlife.

This elk was SO BIG, I wish I had a good full body shot. I can't believe how close we got to some of the animals. Probably not the smartest thing to do. But we did anyway.

All of us at the camp site.

UTAH TRIP

2008-08-23T09:50:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I took the boys home and we surprised my parents with a 2 week visit. We had such a good time. We stayed so busy with friends and family get- together's. We went to Yellowstone, went swimming, went fishing, we had a GNO with my mom and sister to go see Mama Mia, went to a fam reunion in Idaho, and much more. Boston started warming up to everyone just in time for us to leave again. I can't believe how fast two weeks go by when you are busy every day all day. But by the end of the trip we were ready to come home and have a daddy/husband again. We missed you Dallin!! But we still had TONS OF FUN!

I'm a little behind in my blogging, but here are a few pictures from the trip. No. I mean a lot of pictures from the trip.

Tate and Ellie playing batman and princess batgirl. I guess I didn't get a shot of her in her attire.

Abbi taking Bos for a spin.

This was one of our FHE's roasting marshmallow's. I forgot how the lesson applied to the mallow's but it was GOOD! :) Thx Nate.

Scotties 2 year old Wiggly Party.

All the grandkids at Gma & Gpa Rob and Les's

My dad has started this fun little tradition taking the kids fishing each summer to this cute little fish farm in N. Ogden. So they are guaranteed to catch some fish. The kids absolutely LOVE it. It was such a hot day this year.

This is Tates first fish he caught.

Just waiting for the fish to bite.

Look at that proud face.

ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL!!
This was SO hard to get these kids to pose for just one picture with them holding their fishing poles. Mostly because half of them thought they were swards and couldn't keep them still. They just wanted to play 4 MUSKETEERS.

The boys taking a rest after fishing all morning.

This is Boston's new best friend. He just FELL in love with Grandpa this trip. Which came in rather handy, since Dallin wasn't with us. It was nice to have someone else Boston would go to.

Later that day we went to Dallins sisters to go cool off in her pool.

Jordyn Tate and Chase. (Tate loves that he can be classified as one of the BIG kids now.)

This little thing is so cool. It just drives you all over the pool, and Tate loved it.

Alex and Bos

Gma Leslie, Alex, Emma, Wendy, and Bos

All the kids

SURGERY DAY!

2008-08-17T19:50:00.004-04:00

On Friday we had Tate's tonsils and adenoids removed. Everything went really well. He was such a good sport and was very cooperative pre-surgery. They gave him a sedative while we were with him. There is something so adorable about a loopy little guy. The surgery only lasted about 15 minutes! After surgery he was pretty mad. He didn't want the IV in his hand, and he just wanted to go home. As soon as we got to the car he was just fine. All in all, it was a success! Here are a few shots from the day. I asked if we could see the tonsils, and they told me it was not allowed, so his nurse snuck my camera back for me to take some pictures of him and the bio hazardous waste... thanks nurse! :0)

yes i know this picture is blurry (the nurse took it)... but i like it anyway. i'm not sure if he is cheering because he is excited, or if he is showing his muscles. either way it shows what a good sport he was, even after they wheeled him away.

YUMMY!!!

Boys of Summer

2008-07-12T11:37:00.008-04:00

Tate and Boston just love the Summer. If they aren't swimming or chasing bunnies and fireflies in the yard, they are playing or watching ball games! Here are some pics of our Boys of Summer.....

Father's & Son's

2008-07-12T10:52:00.006-04:00

Tate and Dallin enjoyed their first father/son campout this week with all of their friends from the stake! Here are some pictures...

There were tons of kids running wild in the open field of the forest campground, they had fun catching bugs and trying to build their own fire! While the men played Bocce ball, Cornhole and Football.

Instead of planning a meal for the night the guys stopped at Mcdonald's on the way up and let the boys play for a bit. Then it was off to the campsite where the boys could run wild. They really had a good time with all of their friends!

Next year Boston will be old to enough to go to the camp out! He already looks excited.

ONE DOWN... THREE TO GO!

2008-07-01T23:24:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it's been a year already. I know this phrase is overused... but time really does fly!! It seems like we just got here, and that we should still be the "new people." we have made some of the best friends out here, and i feel like we've known them forever, when really, it has only been a year. we are lucky.

Packages from Home...Utah

2008-06-20T21:35:00.001-04:00

Thanks to all of our Grandparents and Aunts and Cousins who sent packages, cards, letters, and money for Tate's birthday. He was SOOO excited. I guess that's one great thing about living out of state... I think he got something in the mail everyday for about a week. It was GREAT!!! We love you all so much... and don't worry Tate still remembers everyone!

THE PARTY

2008-06-19T21:07:00.000-04:00

For Tate's birthday, we had a few of his friends come over for a "Beach Party" in the back yard. The boys had fun playing with water guns, water balloons, water baseball, and pretty much any other combination of boys and water. (and by boys i mean dallin too!)

I didn't get too many pictures of the kids in action, mostly because we were all soaking wet while that was going on, but here are a few... enjoy!

An early b-day present...

2008-06-12T20:55:00.001-04:00

This year for Tate's birthday, he wanted new set of golf clubs. He had been asking for them for a very long time! We decided to give him his clubs a little early so that Dallin could take him out on the golf course during his summer break. I wish you could have seen how excited he was to open them... he was just glowing all night long! Here are a few of the pics.

Visit from Uncle Riley

2008-05-23T12:07:00.008-04:00

One of our good friends from home came to visit. He was in the area for work. Dallin met up with him in Cinci for a Reds game and then came up here to spend the night. As usual he spoiled Tate with lots of fun presents... a new Louisville Slugger, batting gloves, balls, and t-shirt. So while Dallin went to school we played baseball in the back yard for a while and then had a fun day at chucky cheese. THANKS RILES for a fun day and lots of presents. Next time you need to stay longer though!

RUMOR PATROL

2008-05-20T11:04:00.003-04:00

BABY GIRL on the way? ... Someday! just not right now. On Sunday Tate announced to the entire Jr primary that his mom was having a baby girl! And to make matters worse, I was actually home sick that day. I'm not really sure where this is coming from, but I thought I better clear that up. I have learned something from this though... when we do decide to have another baby, Tate will probably be one of the last to know. :)

Boston's Walking... FINALLY

2008-05-14T15:52:00.004-04:00

Here is a tiny clip of Boston finally walking. He is so proud of himself, I love it. He has this little thing he does, where he stands up and walks as far as he can, then when he falls he goes back and does it again. he repeats it like 10 times... maybe a little OCDish, but I think it is adorable.

This was taken last week, so he has already gotten a lot better since then. The other video won't download for some reason... I'll get on that.

Disney World... Part 2

2008-03-30T23:35:00.006-04:00

Wild Kingdom

We went on a safari that has tons of wild animals out in the open.

Tate got to meet Mickey and pals, and he thought it was so cool that they were in safari clothes.

This was the wild rapids ride. Emily and I thought it would be a good idea if the dads took the boys on this one. But then they loved it so much that we were suckered into riding it too.

And this is what I looked like after one ride. I was the only one that got drenched from head to toe. Wouldn't that just be my luck.

This was a fun little play area for the kids, Tate got absolutely soaked!!

Here he is showing me his muscles in his wet t-shirt :)

Disney World ... part 1

2008-03-30T22:22:00.007-04:00

We've been home for a week now, and I am VERY behind on all of my blogging. We had so much fun over spring break. We went to Disney World with the Johnsons.

The first day we spent at Epcot. This was by far the hottest day. It was in the upper 80's and humid! and I'm not complaining one bit... it's rough coming back to 30 degree weather.

They had a fun little nemo ride, Tate loved it.

Tate and Landon

This is how Tate spent a lot of his time getting around the park. I think Dals shoulders were a little tired by the end of the trip.

This was at one of the baby stations. Boston was finally able to get out of his stroller and play for a minute.

What to do while snowed in...

2008-03-10T14:08:00.008-04:00

TA-DA

Well since church was cancelled we had a whole day of nothing to do, no place to go. (that's right Utahns church was cancelled because of the snow) Tate and I decided to make a "bird house" now I know what your thinking... 'that doesn't look like a bird house, that looks more like a small fort!' but Tate was insistent on calling it a bird house. So yesterday he was a bird and he and Boston ate fruit loops for bird food in his bird house. (and yes, I had a lot vacuuming to do...but it was worth it, they were very entertained)

This is Boston tackling Tate in their bird house

We even got Dallin to take a study break and be a bird with us for a minute.

On a side note... Tates eye is turning a few different shades of green. He likes the fact that it matches his camos.

Happy Birthday Amanda!

2008-03-10T05:41:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to let you know that I love you Babe! Thanks for being the worlds best mommy to our wonderful boys. You really make our home a special place. I love you!
Happy Birthday!

Snow Day... or Two

2008-03-09T09:21:00.000-04:00

Normally in March I would really be complaining about the snow, bit since we haven't had that much here in Ohio this was kind of exciting. 20 inches to be exact, but that didn't account for the snow drifts that were up to 3 feet in front of our garage. Lets just say I've been spoiled all my life since my awesome dad has a little snow plowing business, I've never had to shovel the driveway... the sidewalks, yes! but not the driveway.

This is Tate swimming in the snow.

And here he is with his swimming tube he found in the garage... he thought he was pretty funny.

Just for the record... they do not plow our roads here, this is the day after and it is still snow packed.

This is after I started digging out the garbage can.

Black Eye

2008-03-07T16:13:00.005-05:00

yesterday tate was climbing up on his chair for a snack and somehow he missed the chair and slammed his face on it. his eye instantly started swelling up and bruising. it was the saddest thing. these pictures don't really do it any justice, it's kind of hard to see.

this is about 10 min after it happened

and this is later that night

A Special Day

2008-03-01T23:32:00.005-05:00

This is Abbi. Today was her baptism day. I am really feeling sad that we weren’t able to be there for and with her. But, I am so happy for her. Abbi has always held a special place in my heart. She was the first little baby in our family. Not only that, but she was quite the little miracle baby. To make a long story shorter… When my sister was pregnant, her Dr’s told her that this baby would not live so she would be better off terminating her pregnancy, and if the baby did live it would have many health problems. So she decided to continue with her pregnancy anyway and pray for the best. She had a very hard pregnancy emotionally and physically... At 29 weeks little Abbigayle was born. She was only 2.4 lbs. but she was HEALTHY! She stayed in the nicu for about 3 months and came home weighing a little over 5 lbs. Abbi is such a blessing .
We LOVE you and miss you Ab! I hope you had a wonderful day!

BTW, these are some pretty old pictures.

Batman

2008-02-27T16:24:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know... this is Tate's latest craze right now. So looking at this picture you might think it was taken either in the morning or at night since he is in his jammies. Umm No... It was like 3 in the afternoon. Tate was dressed for the day, but then he decided to go pull his Batman's out of the dirty clothes in the basement. Ever since we got his new Batman jams, that is all he will wear. And of course we had to make him a mask. Now he wants Batman hands... how do you make Batman hands?

BIG DAY

2008-02-17T00:10:00.006-05:00

My baby is ONE today!

This was Boston opening his birthday presents. Wait... I mean, this is Tate opening Bostons birthday presents. Like all one year olds, they just like the wrapping paper.

The presents however he did enjoy. He's a natural, he's even got the Jordan tongue thing going on. :)

He was really mad at us when we pulled him away from his toys for cake time.

Like I said... really mad! Dallin tried to get him interested, and it just made things worse.

I should have just make cupcakes!... It would have been much easier. But not nearly as fun or cute. So hear it is, my attempt at a football cake. Don't look to closely(Amy), I'm no professional.

Valentine's Fun

2008-02-16T09:39:00.007-05:00

Here are a few highlights from our V-Day...

Valentine's Food.. Tate thought this was pretty cool. Amazing how well kids eat with a little food coloring and cookie cutters. :) Not that he's a bad eater, but wow he was really dig'n these hearts.

Valentines jamies. Ok so they are not valentines jamies, but they got them for v day, and they LOVE them. They even have a cape that velcros on the back. So cute. I am a huge sucker for new jams. Love it. Tate also got a few puzzles from Target's dollar section, I thought it was a good find. Go check it out.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!

2008-02-07T11:53:00.001-05:00

Today is our 5 year anniversary. Not to get too mushy, but I just have to say ... I am so happy with this man! He is everything to me. I couldn't imagine my life without him... Love you Dalbird!

Arrrrrr....

2008-01-23T21:40:00.000-05:00

Well we have this little obsession with pirates lately. Thanks to Booker's Pirate Party, and Miss Cara's pirate day at pre-school. Both were last week, and Tate is still having fun dressing up in his pirate cloths. And to tell you the truth, I kind of have fun playing pirates myself. (sorry no pics of me). Hmmm maybe Halloween just got really easy for me this year? We'll see how long the phase lasts.

Kiki made those cute little treasure bags, and hooks for them all to wear.

After school, Tate and I had a dentist apt. I brought clothes for him to change into, but he had other plans... so this is exactly how he went to the dentist. Hat, eye patch and all. Which I was just fine with. Anything to keep him happy at his first dentist apt. (Which went rather well I might add... I'm proud of my little Tato-bug.)

And yes, we even have a few tats.

Fun with the Cousins

2008-01-21T00:32:00.000-05:00

I just love how much Tate loves his cousins. He misses them so much and he loves when he gets to play with them.

Boston really didn't want to be in this picture at all!

Tate and Kaden at a church bball game... GO B53!!

Bos and Ellie both had blow-outs about 5 minutes apart.

So we had to hose them off a little.

This is my brother with the two boys, he gave them both cap guns for Christmas. So he brought his up to the house so they could play some good old fashioned cops and robbers, cowboys and indians... what ever you want to call it. They had fun.

I love the intensity in their faces!

Uncle Jason is such a good buddy.

Tate got to spend lots of time with

Jordyn while we were at Grandma Leslies.

Tate and Jordy doing the Hokey-Pokey

The BIG BOYS were teaching Tate how
to be cool while playing musical chairs.

This looks like Tate is giving us the BIRD, but really he

is giving us a PEACE OUT! Look Closely.

Jordy Tate and Chase playing the bells at

Gma Jackie's Christmas Eve party.

They were concentrating really hard.

home for christmas

2008-01-20T00:31:00.000-05:00

well i guess it's time to update the blog... so here's a summary of whats been going on with us in the last month or so...

we flew home for christmas. it was so exciting. our flight home was so nice. getting to the airport was not so nice. we flew out of Cincinnati at 6 am. so we had to be to the airport by 4 am. which meant we needed to leave our house by 2 am. but because of the weather and dealing with the long term parking dallin insisted that we leave our house by 1 am. which meant no sleep for us. after leaving our house, getting gas, and approaching the freeway on ramp i realized that i forgot tates jacket and extra diapers. so we had to turn around, because two diapers are not enough to make it to bountiful utah.... and of course after the shuttle dropped us off at the airport i realized that i left the stupid diapers that we went back for in the van. what the... i was not very happy. but oh well, we just had to make do with our two diapers. luckily we made it.

we had the whole back half of the plane to ourselves. literally. dallin and tate crashed on one bench and bos and i on the other. we all slept for the majority of the flight. then we woke up with about an hour left. so tate watched a movie, and he didn't even have time to finish it before we landed. we got there early around 7:30 am and went to breakfast with both of our parents. it was so much fun. i can't believe how much i missed everyone.

it was so much fun to see all of our family and friends. tate had so much fun playing with his cousins again. we were so busy the entire time we were there! i feel like there was just one party after the next, as it usually is during the holidays. but i think it was intensified just a little bit this year.
Christmas morning was a lot of fun to see the kids open their presents.

we seriously had so much crap to take home. and we still had to ship some stuff. thank goodness for the airport carts. $3.00 well spent.

i knew our flight back couldn't possibly be any better than our flight there. but i was really hoping for it to be the same. is that so much to ask? really.

well apparently it is... i won't go into all the details but here it is in a nut shell... our flight was delayed. boston didn't sleep a wink. he had diarrhea the whole time. once we flew in we had to drive in a blizzard to our house. we got home at 4 am. and then boston was awake until 6 am. so once again a night without any sleep.
but it wasn't all bad. tate was an angel again. he slept the whole way and was a huge help with the luggage. and we had the best flight attendant ever. she was so helpful with boston. she even held his hands and played with him while i changed his bum. ugh! i'm not sure i could do that.

2008-01-15T12:17:00.000-05:00

I promise I will update the blog in a minute... I'm working on it. :)

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T08:57:00.000-05:00

our thanksgiving holiday started the night before at our friends house. we had a pie pig out with a few families. between the five of us with kids, there were 13 boys!! kinda crazy, but a lot of fun.

avery, booker, tate, landon, ridge, chance, blake, gabe

here are a few of the bigger boys.

can you believe i got them all on the couch at one time!!

we had thanksgiving day at the church with a few other friends. it was definitely sad being away from home, but it was nice to be with so many friends. this year i am especially thankful for the friendships that we have. we have been blessed to have met so many great people here in ohio. here are a few of the pics from our thanksgiving day.

tate having dinner with his buds

us and the andertons

my kids and their babysitters ha ha. thanks jami and brandon, my kids love you.

(one more thing i'm always thankful for.)

i seriously love going places and having built in babysitters ... jami i will always love you for that.

tate and avery

and what would thanksgiving be without waking up at 3 in the morning to go shopping the next day. these are my early bird shopping buddies.

mindy and tricia

umm i think they look a little too good for 3:30 am

Chef BOYardee

2007-11-07T09:33:00.000-05:00

This is Tate making dinner for us the other night. It was sooo yummy. He really needed a "Bakers Hat" while he was preparing the Pizza, so I improvised with paper towells and a chip clip. Hey whatever works... he was happy, and so was I. I didn't have to cook (well kind of).

The Finished Product

TaDa!!!

SPECIAL VISITORS

2007-11-05T16:23:00.000-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit this past week and we had so much fun.

Tate taught them how to play the Wii.

Grandpa got so good he could talk on the phone while he was golfing!!

They had lots of wrestling matches...and Tate mostly won.

Grandma and Bos Poor Dallin missed out on most of the fun.
We watched the Red Sox win the World Series.
WAHOO!!

We spent one of our days at Kirtland.
Grandma and Tate
Grandpa and Boys

My Dad kept himself busy with a few home improvement projects.

He wired a few light switches and fixtures in the unfinished part of our basement.

AND OH YES THAT'S ME!!!

Look out Electricians,

Here I Come!!!

Thanks Dad, We Love You!!

Thanks for the fun time. We loved having you here!!

a monkey and his banana

2007-11-02T20:45:00.000-04:00

We just love Halloween, and we had a blast trick or treating.

Boston is a little squished in his costume

This is Tates friend Rusty (or spot as he likes to call him)

He was a Hot Dog.

Admiring the hard work.
Apparently one sucker wasn't enough!

A DAY AT THE FARM

2007-10-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

Tate had his first field trip about a week and a half ago..(I am a little behind). We went to a farm where we got to go on a hay ride pulled by a big tractor. Then we picked pumpkins, had a snack, and got to see lots of stinky animals ...peeuue. Tate was so proud of his pumpkin he picked. It was a lot of fun, even though we were freezing!

Here are a bunch of pictures from the day.

This pig was HUGE!

We Love You Too Boston!!

2007-10-01T11:34:00.001-04:00

I guess I have kind of been leaving little Bos out of the blog'n scene.

He looks a little sad.

So these are a few of the things Boston has been up to in the last 3 months....

He got his first two teeth at 5 months, and his second two just within the last week. Let me tell you, those little pearly whites ARE SHARP!! He has drawn blood more than once.... and that's all I'll say.
He started eating solids... he loves his veggies. The fruit ... not so much... it makes his mouth pucker.
He finally started rolling and sitting. He's not really interested in crawling yet. I think his boobs get in the way :)
He is a little chatter box. And his favorite time to pipe up is in the middle of Relief Society.

He can be quite the little poser sometimes

He loves bath time, and also the naked time that follows bath time.

He loves his big brother.

Here are his two bottom teeth.

And he is a die hard at the park!!

I'D RATHER WATCH TV

2007-10-01T01:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I know it is time to update my blog, but it has been a little hard with it being premier week and everything!!! Not to mention Dallins first week of real school, which went really well. He had a lot of fun. It will for sure be a lot of work, but he'll do great. Luckily he was able to test out of his bio-chem class. (way to go Babe, I am so happy for you!!!) So that will give him more study time during the days, and hopefully free up the evenings just a little. I think overall the week was harder on me than on him. We all know I have been spoiled to death with Dal home for three months. So needless to say I have some adjusting to do :)

My funny Tate

2007-09-25T14:55:00.000-04:00

So this is Tate driving his tractor in the back yard. His favorite thing to do is to drive circles around the swing set and crash through the swings. As you can see on his face, he just closes his eyes and prays they don't come back to smack him in the face. (and yes sometimes they do). He has graduated from 1st gear to 2nd gear. We took the governor off so now he flies!!!

Here are a few of the funny things Tate has said and
done in the last little while.

Hey Mom, do you want to see my 'Pepper'" -summer salt-

"I think I need to walk for a minute. Cause I still have my walking
batteries... but I runned out of my running batteries." -as we were walking back
to our car from the OSU game. -

"That was handsome close." -pretty close-

As we were checking out from Walmart, there was a couple that walked past
Tate. The guy was wearing a Yankees' hat and the girl was wearing a Yankees'
shirt. Tate, in his Red Sox hat yelled at them "Boo Yankees" and gave
them a thumbs down. The couple thought it was pretty funny that a 3 year old was
trash talking on his rival team.

This is a clip of Tate and chubby Bos. I was trying to film Boston pounding his feet, and Tate kept trying to get in the picture saying cheese... cheese ...

What we've been up to

2007-09-23T16:29:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm trying this blog thing. I really don't know what I'm doing, but I'll give it a shot.

So we've been here in Ohio for about three months now, and we are having lots of fun. We have met a lot of new friends. And we have kept really busy with home improvement projects. We painted our main level. (all but one room) eventually we will move upstairs with the paint but for now I'm sick of it. We also built a deck in our back yard. Well Dallin (and a few friends) built it and I kind of supervised. I still like to thing I was important in the building process though. (i will put up more pics later.)

Tate was a big help on both projects!!

Tate started pre-school a few weeks ago, and he loves it. He thinks he is so cool! He just goes friday mornings for a few hours. So Thursday nights he is so excited to go to bed because he knows he gets to go to school in the morning. Wow, I wish pre-school was every morning. ha ha

He doesn't look excited at all!

Dallin started his orientation week this week. We had his white coat ceremony Monday night, it was a lot of fun. Then next week he is diving into the real deal. School actually starts after being here 3 mo. I don't know what I am going to do. I've been so used to having him home. We have been an a 3 month long vacation. So now I'm afraid it might actually set in that we are away from home. (Utah that is. Dallin always tells me that this is home now. but you know what i mean) Luckily I have made some really good friends that have promised to keep me busy so I don't get too home sick.

So there is a lot more to say but I will have to post again later. Love ya everyone!!!!

2007-09-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

ok, so yesterday we went to our first buckeye football game, and OH MY HECK it was so much fun. we were there like 3 hours early so that we could tailgate and stuff, we also went to a pep rally to see the team, coach, and TBDBITL. (for those of you who don't know, that stands for The Best Damn Band In The Land.) and truly they are!

So after the pep rally, we headed over to The Shoe to find our seats. we were one of the first to get seated in the stadium. (like an hour and a half early)

Nice seats Huh!!!

i wish

these were are real seats in the nose bleed section,

but we loved every minute of it!

here are some of the pics from our LONG day

just eat'n a dog at the game

he was pretty excited to be at a real live football game (messy face and all)

but that didn't last long, he was pooped before the game even started

he decided to crash on the bleachers

sorry boston, we had to leave you home.

cute!! BFF

just waiting for the game to start...1 hr 32 min. and counting. no wonder tate was so board.

dal and tate in our wanna be seats

my little man

one last pic of all of us. TJ, Dal, Me, and Tate

i had to put one picture of the best damn band in the land dotting the "I" in Ohio

they put on quite a production