Scripture Study

For about the past month everywhere I turn I've seen or heard things that have made me think that we really need to start doing scripture study with our boys. This thought has made me cringe somewhat. Trying to sit and read scriptures with my 3 year old who has an abundant amount of energy and my 18 month old who wants to do everything his brother does. Oh boy! But we decided that it's something we need to do so I've looked around the internet for helps and tips. I got the boys their very own Book of Mormon and today we had our first attempt. We made it through okay. I am not worried about what they do or do not pick up right now I just want to get into the habit so wish us luck! I do know it is important and I want to do everything I can to make our family strong and loving. I love my family so much and I am so grateful for them!
(P.S- HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!)

Dancing videos

Hope you enjoy the videos of the boys dancing. If you catch Tanner saying "dance" in the first video then you also know what it sounds like when he says "Vance". Tanner is always saying, "stop" especially if he hears someone else say it. Generally though it is directed at me, "Stop Mom." Meaning stop singing or stop dancing or whatever. Thanks Tanner... In this video though he's just repeating Vance.

Why Would I kidnap a llama?

If you haven't seen "The Emperor's New Groove" as much as me, my title might not make any sense to you. The boys were doing a little better today and we were tired of being coped up inside so we went for a little walk down to see the llamas near our house. This was the first time we went down to see them, that they were actually in the pasture closest to us so we got a good look at them. Next time maybe we'll take them something to eat. Tanner wouldn't get too close to the fence. The picture belows shows about as close as he would get. Vance was telling them to come over and trying to touch them. They weren't overly interested in us once they realized we didn't bring them a snack, but we still had a good time.

Colds

My little boys have colds. They have been coughing and have yucky noses. No fun for anyone! Don't be fooled by Vance's innocent, pitiful look in his picture. Although he may be a little pitiful right now he is not innocent! If you think our day was just lounging around (like I wanted it to be) you are

wrong. That kid just doesn't stay in one spot for long. However, I put his new favorite movie, "Bolt" in and he sat and watched for a few minutes. He wouldn't take a nap today though. He couldn't breathe! Tanner on the other hand took a nice long nap, unfortunately he still needed more! By the time Dad got home they were both walking zombies. When they saw Dad snoozing on the floor they decided to join him. After Vance covered him with a blanket. Oh, I was tempted myself, but I decided one person should stay awake otherwise we might all be sleeping on the floor on night long! Tanner also had to get two immunization shots yesterday to top everything off. Poor, boy. Tomorrow is a new day. I am hoping they get a good nights rest and feel somewhat better tomorrow. At least I'm hoping Tanner will not be bothered by his shots by tomorrow. They look so sweet in this picture too. They are sweet, but don't be fooled! They are still my wild children.

18 Months Old

As of last Friday, I have 1 1/2 year old. If you are LDS that is the golden age where you get to go play in the nursery instead of staying with lame old mom and dad. I actually took Tanner in last week so he could get use to the idea. I left him after he happily sat down to eat a snack. This week he was a little reluctant until "snack" was mentioned then he marched right in. What can I say? He is a snacker. Tanner is shy around other people, but at home he is quite the talker. We are having fun watching him learn new words and about the world all around him. Have I introduced you to Roary? He is the little lion that Tanner is holding in this picture. Roary is Tanner's snuggle buddy. Tanner has had him since birth and they've been good friends all along the way. Tanner sleeps with Roary and snuggles with him when he is tired, cranky, or unsure about things. We can't go too far or be gone for too long without him. Can you believe that when Vance was 18 months old I was six months pregnant with Tanner? Wow.

Blog Makeover

In case you didn't notice (because you are blind or something) I gave my blog another makeover and changed it's name. Hope you enjoy it. I had a very serious lack of feeback, see if I ever ask for you help again (just kidding). :) Anyway, I hope you can stand to look at my blog like this for awhile because unless I decide I hate it, that's what it will be for a long time. I haven't taken a picture in a few days. I know you are all gasping in shock right now. So you get a picture of the boys on St. Patrick's Day. We went through some Lucky Charms looking for Shamrocks and the boys had fun eating the cereal all at the same time, naturally.

I love Spring!

Check out a post I did a year ago (picture taken St. Patty's Day) here. Can you say "snow"? Today we played outside without our jackets on. I was in a short sleeve shirt and it felt lovely. It was a beautiful day. There were puffy white clouds in the sky. Ah, Spring. I don't know why I love you so, but I do and I sure have missed you. Vance and Tanner are enjoying Spring too. We have about a dozen mailboxes in our yard, aren't we the lucky ones... :)

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here are some pictures of the boys. You can check out some things we've done today on my other blog.

Stuff

I know you are all anxious to know my vote from my poll. It is Roger and Anita. I pulled the three pictures up for Vance and I didn't even have to ask him which one was Mom and Dad he told me, "Mom and Dad with dogs. Fall in tub." (meaning the lake) I don't think Stephen was overly excited about Roger and his big nose. :)

When I started my blog I didn't realize that people gave them creative and/or fun titles so I've been thinking of changing mine. I have a lot of different ideas floating around my head. I could just use, "Three Men and a Little Lady" although someday we'll have another child and that will have to change. Or I also thought of doing a Snow White type of title like, "Fairest of them All" or "Snow White's Happily Ever After" something along those lines. Or I thought of quoting an apostle or prophet and using something like, "Come What may and Love it" or "Finding Joy in the Journey". What do you think? Or do you have a better suggestion for me?
The picture above of the boys was taken on Saturday at my old high school gym. We were there to wish Glen a happy birthday. He was there doing a geek-I mean Robot Competition. His team took 2nd overall so I guess if you are going to be geeky you should be the best geek possible. ;) Love you Glen. The boys had a blast running around the gym after the competition was over.

Birthdays, Spring, and Names

I could probably do about three different posts today, but I'm squishing into one big one. First off, Happy 18th Birthday to my baby brother, Glen. I decided not to make a huge post for everyone in my family and Stephen's this year, but hey I at least had to wish him Happy Birthday because it is not everyday that you turn 18. (The shirt he is wearing is my grandpa's shirt- Glen was named after both his grandpa's.) This morning I was watching Donald Duck and it said his birthday was today too! Who knew? Not me. Also wish my blog a happy birthday because it is it's first birthday. Yay!

I love Spring! I don't know why, but I love it. After seven years or so of not getting a very good Spring I am looking forward to enjoying this one.
I'm working a little bit on getting Vance to recognize his name. I thought you might like to see a couple of things we've done. You can see more activities if you are interest at my other blog. We spelled out his name with tape on the floor and did some things with it. We also make pancakes in the shapes of the letters of his name.

While You Were Sleeping

This is actually just a clip of a 1 1/2 minute video from last night. Blogger doesn't like to upload any of my videos that are longer than around 30 seconds. You don't need any sound, in fact you might want to mute it since you can here Donald Duck in the background.

I think this gives you an idea of the entertainment I had last night. The first time Stephen realized what was going on while he was sleeping was when I showed him the video. I'm envious, I never get that deep of sleep even at night let alone a little 10 minute snooze on the couch. Doesn't Stephen look much nice in what he gets to wear to work now (his own clothes).

P.S. You can still vote on my poll or vote by leaving a comment.

For Fun...

This is just for some kicks and giggles. Vance has called several Disney couples Mom and Dad so I thought I would take them and let you vote on which one you think is the closest to the truth (yes, I realize we don't actually look like any of them.) Check out my right hand tool bar to vote. I will leave it open for a week so be sure to spread the word to make it a more interesting poll!
In case you have no idea what we look like...Now for your choices.

Sleeping Beauty and her Prince Philip.
101 Dalmation's Roger and Anita. (the human's not the dogs- just so we're clear)
And the first couple I heard Vance call "Mom and Dad"

Tarzan and Jane.

You can leave comments here telling me which you voted for and why, but you can remain anonymous if you would like. I will never know the difference and I won't be offended so have fun and pass the word along.

I'll close the poll next week and tell you which one I think we resemble the most.

WallE

Sometimes Tanner is so cute when he says things (okay, I think he is cute anytime) I couldn't help but catch him saying Wall-E tonight.

Vance wanted to have himself recorded as well so here he is talking about Wall-E.

Okay, Not Okay...Take Two

This is a continuation of my "Okay, Not Okay" list to Vance.

Dear Vance,

It is now time to continue my list of things to help you improve upon, just in case we are unclear on the following:

1. Helping me make dinner- Okay

Dumping garlic powder all over the kitchen- Not Okay

2. Playing with your Lincoln Logs- Okay

Throw the Lincoln Log container at my head- Not Okay

3. Calling Sleeping Beauty Mom- Okay

Telling me I need to exercise- Not Okay

4. Teaching Tanner good habits like folding his arms to pray- Okay

Teaching Tanner bad habits like covering my mouth and saying, "Stop Mom" when I am

singing- Not Okay

5. Getting yourself dressed- Okay

Tugging on a shirt until you break the hanger- Not Okay

6. Playing with Tanner- Okay

Knocking Tanner to the ground- Not Okay

7. Sitting on the couch next to me- Okay

Reclining the sofa while I am sitting on it- Not Okay

8. Taking your daily vitamin-Okay

Dumping your vitamins in a bowl and shoving as many into your mouth before I stop can

stop you- Not Okay

9. Blowing your nose- Okay

Picking your nose- Not Okay

10.Helping me clean the tub- Okay

Crawling on my back and calling me a horse while I try to clean the tub- Not Okay

Please see that we are more clear on these items from here on out. I love you!

-Mom

Starting March Off...

I wrote down some goals for the month of March. It is a small list compared to what I want to do, but little by little I'm hoping I'll get to where I want to be. March has seemed to drag in the passed for me. I am hoping that since we live in a warmer climate than we use to that it won't drag so badly. Guess we'll find out. Here are some pictures.
Tanner trying to tell Vance what to do, but of course Vance didn't listen. :)

Vance helping me make some trail mix. He loves raisins and kept sneaking some into his mouth.Here are the boys in our garage after a walk in this wagon. The wagon isn't mine, it's our neighbor's and she insisted I borrow it. Now I want one of my own. It has two seats with belts to strap your kids in and everything. They enjoyed it much more than a stroller and I using a wagon helps me not have to worry about trying to chase two kids around as we go for walks.

The boys LOVE being outside!

iheartfaces- Beginner's Week

iheartfaces is having a Beginner's Week right now which is perfect for me. I don't even know how to use most of the features on my camera. Their theme is MESSY. Man, I have a ton of messy photos. I had a hard time deciding on one, but I picked one that was more recent. Tanner, covered in frosting from a treat I gave him for Valentine's Day. I love how he is making sure he gets all the frosting off his finger in this picture.

If you haven't visited their site, yet be sure to check it out. It is a lot of fun!

Sunday, Sunday

Sundays and church can be interesting when you have children. Relief Society hadn't even started when a super tired Tanner had a complete meltdown so I took him out in the hall. My plan was to hand him over to his dad (which I did and who he was fine for...go figure). In the hallway there was a painting by Greg Olsen, "In Remembrance of Me" hanging up. It caught Tanner's interest so I got closer so he could look at it. Christ has bread and wine pictured with him (click the link above to see it). Tanner pointed at it and said, "Snack." Well, not really Tanner...
The Sunbeam class meets in the classroom across from the Relief Society and once I was Tanner-free I could hear Vance laughing, squealing and having a good time in their class. (I have no idea what they were doing in there...) Then one of the counselors in the bishopric told us that he was getting a kick out of Vance during sharing time because the boy next to him kept touching Vance's cheeks (they are hard to resist touching...) and everytime the boy did Vance thought it was hilarious and would bust up laughing. Then the little boy would get lectured to be quiet....poor kid. Stephen was called to be the Assistant Cub Scout Master. (I know some of you are laughing right now b/c of Stephen's lack of scouting). I'm calling free for now and enjoying it while it lasts.

I took this picture of Vance before church last week.

Someone needs to inform children that Sunday is the day of rest...