My Boys

I am trying to take time to enjoy the little things lately, realizing that my kids are growing up! I miss the days when my girls and I were home without places to be, but now I have my boys to enjoy after the girls go to school. They are little buddies, despite the teasing and harassing that I hope is natural for brothers!

They like to pull stools or chairs over to get into the kitchen utensils, or whatever else they're not supposed to reach.

Sometimes they play dress up, although Jake won't keep anything on for more than a minute.

Yep, I took a bum picture! Oh little boy bums are so cute!

Over Martin Luther King Jr. Day we had a day of P's... pajamas, playdates, princess parties, playdough, and pearler beads. I wasn't about to fight crowds on my day off and we had plenty of fun at home!

Jake snuck out the back door for some sunshine. He wishes he could play outside so bad.

This little guy has really grown up lately! He likes to walk down the stairs like a big boy now and he's so proud! He's also had a growth spurt, which means now he can open the pantry and reach inside drawers. He's getting very resourceful.

I have to say, I used to wonder if I would like having boys because I was so used to pink and girly things. Well, now I know I love boy trucks, trains, and stuffed animals almost as much as they do! Jake usually looks like this in some variation, holding as many treasures as possible.

Silly Spidey. As always Ty steals my heart with his playfulness, thoughtfulness (he says the best prayers), and funny imagination. I love three year olds.

Boy toy heaven. They were very concentrated over putting all these trains in a tray.

The boys love their sisters too. The other day Jake got hurt and he turned me away from comforting him and reached out for Maddie to pick him up.

Ella left for a playdate and Jake gave her a kiss goodbye.  He likes to say her name the most, over and over and over, with his little tongue sticking out.

Then we had to watch for Maddie to come home from school. All he needed was a chip and a car and this kid was happy.

Another thing I get to enjoy with my boys is teaching Ty's preschool group on my rotation. I really enjoy it, especially because it's only one week a month for me and I can put good effort into it. This week we learned all about O is for Ocean... and oysters, and octopus, and all kinds of creatures! It was fun to show the kids Maddie's goldfish and Ella's hermit crab. We read lots of good books, played a fish matching game, and sang fishy songs.

We finished with these playdough props. Jake thinks he is a big boy and follows all the preschool kids around like a proud peacock.

I sure love my little boys!

Prison Break

We got out in the sunshine a few days ago and it felt oh so good!

Ella rode her new bike outside for the first time! She looks so big now... at least when she was on her tiny bike I could still pretend she was little.

The wiggle car is a big hit too!

Maddie doesn't have a new bike yet and has a flat tire on her old bike, so there was nothing for her to ride. You can see how she felt about that. She is saving up her money by doing extra chores so she can buy her own bike! She has her eye on a butterfly one for $50 at Walmart.

Jake was flying on his little race car. This kid is going to be hard to keep track of outside when spring comes!

Ty gave Maddie a ride and made her smile.

Check this out Mom!!

Oh sunshine, I miss you. My Vitamin D levels show it too... for reals.

St. George New Year

The Jensen Family converged in St. George at my parent's house the week between Christmas and New Year's.

As soon as Maddie gets a chance she climbs to the top of that rock in the backyard!

It was actually a little bit cold for St. George! We kept our coats on and woke up to snow one morning.

The cousins were so happy to see each other. We have 11 kids under the age of 7, which is kind of crazy. They did pretty well, although I'm pretty sure my two boys caused the most trouble.

The older kids often camped out on a big bed to have time alone and keep their toys with small parts away from the little kids.

Even Uncle Cole and Miyoko joined us from Colorado. It had been over a year since we saw them so 

it was good to catch up.

My mom and sister look silly but we were laughing about differences in mouth size. Theirs are tiny and some of the others of us (who me?) are huge.

The kids were pretty excited about finally having our cousin exchange.

Jake could not have loved something more. He is obsessed with trains.

Emrie gave Ella a new craft called Beados. They were a big hit!

The Sherwoods (supreme hunters galore) treated Ty to a gun.

Maddie was thrilled to get a scarf knitting kit and a new swimsuit, especially because we forgot hers!

The New Year's Eve kid party was on the early side. We like to find a YouTube video of last year's ball drop for the banging of pots and pans. This was the first year I had to explain to a confuddled Maddie that we get creative. Right as the ball dropped Uncle Zak popped up and sprayed the kids with silly string. Some kids were so startled they cried, but it was funny!

After the kids were finally in bed my sisters, Miyoko and I played Headbandz. Mike had a headache, but he came to the party in time to watch the ball drop. He said he didn't want me to not have anybody to kiss,

The next day these little girls finally got their wish of swimming in the hot tub/pool.

All the kids ready to go! (minus Jake, he didn't know what he was missing)

Cannonball!!! As you can see the big girls splashed the younger guys a lot, so it was a little rough going. Next time we may swim in rotations to keep everybody happy!

Naptime was always refreshing. The house was quiet when the little kids were down, and the big kids liked to go outside and get some fresh air.

I didn't take pictures but we went bowling one night, and the last night we were the kids were seriously stir crazy so we took them out for ice cream. It didn't help... they were still crazy!

The next morning Emily and I got up and went to and early morning session at the St. George Temple. It is so beautiful and was so refreshing to take time out for spiritual nourishment.

On our way out of town we ate downtown at a bakery and played on the Zion's Bank horse.

We said goodbye to Jaymison and this shows the relationship between these two... either Jake was pushing her or hugging her. He has space issues, but he also loves people!

We couldn't leave the red desert without enjoying Snow Canyon. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and it was so amazing to be surrounded by all that beauty!

This was a little slot canyon called Jenny's Canyon.

Then we hit up the sand dunes because we really wanted to take shoes full of sand home as a souvenir.