Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Summer book reviews

This summer, we're trying to make a weekly trip the library. The boys love it and it makes me feel like I'm doing my part in helping them be better readers. We decided to review their favorites for this week and we'll try to make this a weekly tradition as well. I typed the boys' answers as they said them.

Thomas



Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor, Illustrated by S.D. Schindler

What is this book about? It's about people who live in a snow globe.

What was your favorite part? There was a big baby that was outside the snow globe and she shook the snow globe around. Then the people in the snow globe were going like "whee" and they went outside and went sledding.

Who was your favorite character? The baby in the snow globe.

Is there anything you didn't like about this book? No, I liked it.

Would you read another book by this author? Yes I will!


Gordon



What's Wrong, Little Pookie?, written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton

What is this book about? There's a little pig that is sad and his mom is checking if he wants something.

What was your favorite part? When those green elephants stole those cookies from that pig.

Who was your favorite character? The little tiny pig.

Is there anything you didn't like about this book? No.

Would you read another book by this author? I would read a different kind.

(Mom's note: we LOVE Sandra Boynton around here!! A definite recommend for any age-- she's hilarious!)

Monday, June 29, 2009

66 days, 2nd grade and, uh, 30

It's a numbers post today, my friends!

I was thumbing (digitally) thought my photos and found three sets to blog about today. The first set is from April, when we went to Salt Lake City for the day. Each Spring, as I have mentioned before, Chris likes to attend the "Spring Preview" football game-- it's the last practice before Fall training, and a chance for fans to come and support the team, get autographs, and watch the Utes win no matter what. :)

When I say that Chris is a Ute fan, I sometimes think that people don't realize the extent of his love for his team. Sure, he's like your average sports fan-- he likes to watch the games, cheer for the team, and question the refs. But his fanaticism goes a bit beyond that. Let me point out a few examples:

  • About 85% of Chris' wardrobe has a Utah logo on it. And we're not just talking t-shirts, either: the man has socks, pajama pants, even pillow cases.

  • Every morning, Chris has a routine that he goes through online, consisting of browsing different local newspaper sports sections, sports websites and blogs, all discussing the Utes. There isn't a whole lot going on in the summer months, which is why I think he starts to get a little antsy this time of year.

  • He has a post-it note countdown set up at his desk at work (think Christmas advent calendar)-- as of today, there are 66 days left until college football starts.


Anyway, back to April-- here we are in everyone's favorite color: RED!!






After the game, the fans are invited onto the field to meet and greet the players and coaches. Chris really wanted one autograph-- head coach Kyle Whittingham. We waited in line for a while, then the coach graciously signed the boys' shirts, Neil's little hat, and a ball for Gary. Very exciting!



I think this is what Chris' heaven looks like...



My next set of pictures is from earlier this month when Thomas finished his last day of 2nd grade! WOW!! He had a fantastic year. I really don't know many other children who love school as much as Thomas does.

The funniest thing about this picture of Thomas and his friends is that they're all making the same dopey face. Gotta love 2nd graders!



Tom's great year is due in no small part to his amazing teacher, Mrs. Wallin. He has been very lucky in having such great teachers and Mrs. Wallin is no exception. I was impressed this year by her creativity, persistence, and patience with her budding minds. We'll definitely miss her!



We have a last day of school tradition of going out for something cold and sweet to celebrate. We gave Tom the choice of Aggie Ice Cream, Casper's Ice Cream, or snow cones. And, in typical 2nd grade style, he chose snow cones. So here we are, on the side of a busy street, enjoying syrup-filled crushed ice instead of gourmet ice cream.



Sigh. I don't feel old enough to have a child who will be in 3rd grade!

And yet, here I am. Which leads me to my next set of pictures...



That's right, I had a birthday.

I'm 30. Chris jokingly said that now that we're both in our 30's, we can relate better to each other. Ha ha!

My birthday was actually really fun. Chris took me out to lunch at the Olive Garden, then my mom and sisters took me to the Cheesecake Factory on our way to our Park City shopping weekend. I think I ate about 1000 calories for every year of my life!

I didn't take many pictures in Park City (too busy shopping, I suppose), but I did manage to capture Caitlan in this dashing little number at Coldwater Creek. I like to call it "Sheer Inspiration":

Thursday, June 18, 2009

It's Haircut Day!

Today the boys and I went to Pocatello to visit my cute sister, Kristie. While we were there, she cleaned the boys up for summer. I think they look quite fetching, don't you?

Tom Before:


After:


Gordon Before:


After:


And Neil Before (oh my!):


After (I can see! I can see!):

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Orange you glad...

Look at me-- two posts in a row! Maybe I'm back on this blogging thing? :)

For Easter this year, I chose Orange. Chris is a good sport and I realize that my days of dressing the boys alike is quite numbered, so I take advantage where I can. I actually bought these shirts for the boys last year, right after we learned that #3 would join the boy ranks. I'm love the way they look so cute!



Of course, getting a picture as cute as their outfits was another story. And clearly, Neil needed a haircut.





This picture was taken on Saturday-- it's haircut time again! Luckily, we're doing it tomorrow. Maybe I'll even blog again!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Try-it-Tuesday, More Vacation Rewind, Funny Gord

I've been wanting to participate in Elena's now famous Try-it-Tuesdays for a long time, and finally I'm posting something on a Tuesday! Tonight we had breakfast for supper ("It's your favorite, Puppy!" Ha ha ha!)-- deliciously good French Toast Waffles. They are so easy and so very tasty. A definite must try! Thank you, Emily! ♥



I'm finally finishing up posting about our CA trip in April. Heidi, I'm burning you a CD of all of our great pictures! I love looking at our pictures because it reminds me how much fun we had!

Here's my final, quick little recap (and favorite photos):

David and Gordon are just two little peas in a pod. Sure, they did have a couple of disagreements and a minor (ahem) head-butting incident, but I have a feeling that these two will just grow stronger in their bond. They've been writing (coloring) little letters to each other since we've been home and it's just too cute.



On our second full day with the Myers family, we drove into San Francisco to enjoy the city. It really is a lovely spot and we loved the slightly overcast weather. Chris, if I need to remind you, has an aversion to the sun and I'd rather not deal with sunscreen if I can help it. :) Anyway, our first stop was Ghirardelli Square and McCormick and Kuleto's for lunch. Sophie and I both ordered the salmon and it was definitely the best I've had since we lived in Washington. Mmmm.



After lunch, we took a ferry ride around the bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge. I had actually been under the bridge before with Nonny and Bob, so it was fun to reminisce and make new memories with my own little family.





We finished the day with sundaes at the Ghirardelli ice cream shoppe. The sundaes were huge and amazingly delicious-- it really isn't just your average chocolate! And what a perfect way to end our day out!



I can't forget a picture of the two littlest Hansens-- for now at least. They're going to be pushed out of their baby spots any day now! I love Garrett's curly hair and mischievous smile!



On our way home, we stayed in Elko (fun, fun, fun) and stopped at a park in lieu of another hotel swimming pool (someone read the description wrong). It wasn't really that interesting, but I do love this picture of our monkey Tom.



What a fun vacation we had! I'm hoping we can go back to California next year-- it's on Tom's list of favorite locations! Next up on the rewind posts: Easter, the Utes Spring Preview, and Gordon's birthday!

Before I go, I'll leave you with a couple of funny Gordon-isms:

We've been listening to BNL's Snacktime CD a lot lately (thanks Hij!!), particularly an alphabet song that the boys find hilarious. Gordon sang, "'R' is for 'Army Guys'."

In school, Thomas learned to say the Pledge of Allegiance in sign language and he practices it around the house sometimes. Tonight Gordon came up to me, gave a soldier's salute, and said, "Pledge to the American States, the flag, blah, blah, blah, Animusic One and Animusic Two. AMEN!"

Monday, June 08, 2009

Entertainment by Gordon

When it comes to accessorizing, Gordon is quite the pro. If it goes on your head, hands, back, or feet, he's sure to give it a try. He's also quite the little collector-- that backpack of his is filled with his favorite books, DVDs, little toys, and, oddly enough, kitchen utensils.

Thomas dresses himself, but doesn't mind if I pick his clothes out for him. Neil, of course, relies on me for the whole thing. Gordon not only picks his own clothes out and dresses himself, but he also changes his clothes at least a couple of times every day. He has a great imagination, so his costume usually has to do with whatever he is pretending to be at the moment. No matter what, he is quite the little entertainer!



(Check out the little smiling baby in the background!)





When Gord found the bowtie and suspenders last week, he was absolutely thrilled to wear them to church. He said, "I'm pretty handsome, huh?" Handsome indeed!

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

I ♥ June, Memorial Weekend, More CA Trip

Well, here we go: I'm a stay-at-home-mom. My last day at work was Friday-- the people in my office were actually moving locations on Friday as well, so the whole thing was a little surreal. We came back from my good-bye lunch (tasty Firehouse-- thanks, guys!) and found that my desk had already been dismantled and removed from my office. Apparently it didn't take long for them to get over me! Ha ha! It was a fun day, though, and I was happy to say farewell to that part of my life.

Since becoming an official SAHM, I haven't really stayed at home all that much. I spent Monday in Salt Lake City dropping Allison off at EFY, lunching and catching up with my dear friend, Karin, visiting and relaxing with my cute mother-in-law, and swearing under my breath at the bad drivers on I-15. Oh, and stopping off at Krispy Kreme on the way home! On Tuesday, I spent most of the afternoon outside, watching the boys ride their bikes and scooters with the neighbors and playing with Neilly in the shade. I'm enjoying hearing the sound of kids running around our neighborhood and smelling the sunscreen and tasting the first popsicles of the year and reminding the kids to drink a lot of water. It's going to be a fun summer.

Thomas has his last day of school tomorrow, which makes me feel all old and nostalgic. When did this little tiny boy grow up into a big kid? He informed me today that he participated in the school talent show-- an impromptu decision that kind of irked me (I would have liked to be there to tape it or something!) but also made me so proud. He's such a modest little guy, much like Chris, and the thought of him deciding on the spot to share a piano solo with his entire school just made me want to hug my talented little guy. I am trying to relish the moments that I can still hug him-- I have a feeling that one of these days he'll realize that it isn't cool to hug your mom.

I can't remember if I blogged about this last year or not, but Thomas has not been very excited about riding his two-wheeled bike by himself up to this point. Chris or I would take him out, hold on to the seat, then watch him ride about ten pedals before putting his feet down and whining that he didn't want to do it any more. He had trouble turning and stopping and the whole thing just kept turning into the frustrated-parent/crying-child situation, so we just dropped the subject. Well, just a few days ago, Tom asked me to get his bike off of its winter storage hanger and he jumped right on and took off! Just like that! And oddly enough, now his bike seems too small for him and it looks like we'll be buying a new, bigger bike sometime soon.

As for Gor-Gor, he has been such a little hoot lately! I have some great pictures of him dressing up that I still need to download from my camera. Every morning, he puts on some kind of costume-- usually it consists of gloves, his back-pack (filled to the brim with who-knows-what) and some kind of hat. This morning he also donned his snow boots. Then he'll announce what he is: a bear, a robot, a "pogo stick" (from the watched-ten-times-a-day Animusic). It's pretty funny.

Gordon also likes to go everywhere with me and gets offended if I'm not in the mood to take a friend. Today I did manage to go to the store by myself, though he was quick to shout "Get me a treat!" as I was on my way out.

Little Neileroo is still as sweet and snuggly as ever. It's so fun to have a lovey baby! I could just eat him up. It's time for another haircut with him, but I'm going to avoid it for just a few more "what a cute little girl" comments. :)

Okay, it's rewind time: back to our April vacation in California! I am determined to get completely caught up in the next couple of weeks!

After our trip to Oakland, we went back to Danville for dinner. We arrived at the restaurant (the Basil Leaf Cafe-- yummy!!) right as it opened-- a parenting trick I'm going to practice as often as possible from now on! We were the only ones in the restaurant, so there was no waiting, no people to bug or give us dirty looks, fantastic service, and happy kids. That, my friends, is a good restaurant experience! Oh, and they had paper table covers and crayons for all, and a kid-friendly menu. It was a marvelous time.

Look at these cuties...




Afterward, we walked around downtown Danville-- so cute and quaint!-- and went to Trader Joe's in search of Chris's elusive Grade A Light Amber Maple Syrup. No dice, but Chris did buy a bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans and spent the walk back to the car with a trail of kids following him like the pied piper. It was such a cute sight and as Heidi said, one of those unplanned events that becomes a favorite memory.

Chris and me enjoying a lovely evening, and perfect weather.



The sun was a little bright, but they still look sweet!



Me and my favorite accessory. :)



More CA on my next post, but for now, let's switch over to Memorial Weekend in Idaho Falls. My whole family gathered once again, plus my brother's cute... uh, friend that is also a girl, Sarah. We went to the zoo on Saturday with Dal and Hadley. I love the IF zoo because it is little and shady-- you don't spend a lot of time there, and you don't have to worry too much about sunburns.

Dallis, Thomas, Gordon & Hadley-- I think I took ten pictures, but none of them had smiles from all four kids, so I just chose the best one.



I love this picture of Neil getting a drink in the monkey house!



The kids absolutely loved this teeny baby lemur. He's so cute!



Zoo-goers.



On Sunday, we had dinner at my parents house and just hung out together. Naturally, we broke out the games at some point-- the best one for pictures is The Great Dalmuti.

Aw, my sweet little Princess. Chris is the fairest maid of all, isn't he?



Me and my little stowaway.



Our weekend was nice and relaxing, especially because we slept in my parents basement bedroom-- cool and very quiet. We're always a little sad to have to go home after such a fun time.

Well, that's it for now. I'm off to hand out water bottles!