Adventures

JB and Max have been on some scouting adventures lately.  JB goes in his capacity as Bishop, but he also enjoys camping as a dad with his son.


On a recent Saturday, they went fishing with such a great guy in our ward, Bobby Harrington, who is an avid fisherman. Max needed to catch, prepare and cook a fish but alas it didn't happen. They still had fun though.

Late last month they were at Arches National Park with most of the crew.

 

Terror Twins

These two love it when they can match.

JB took the above picture, and I took the below picture another day when they were matching again. Millie slipped in to smile for the camera, too. With her silky she drags everywhere.

It's easy for them to match when they are very close to the same size.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I really pray these two brothers can be lifelong friends. JB took them to their dentist appointment recently, and they both wanted to watch the movie at the same time, so this is what James settled for.

I can just hear Andrew trying to protest, but then resigning himself to his fate. James is louder and angrier.

Just the other night I heard them both SCREAMING from their room after I had tucked them in so sweetly. "MOOOMMMM!! HEEEELLLPPP!" I ran back down the stairs, thinking the bunkbed had collapsed or something tragic. No, it was just an argument of some sort.

 

Frightmares

We picked a beautiful Saturday during school fall break to go to Frightmares at Lagoon.

 

 

We all hammed it up in the different cutouts, and Millie was such a ham on all the rides.

 

Everybody got to ride lots, even though it started to get really crowded by the middle of the afternoon.

I even did a few rides with the big boys, and paid for it with a shaky stomach afterward. Five kids did that to my body. But it is worth it to see them all having such fun.

BYU football

Last month on a nice, sunny Saturday afternoon, Ben and I went down to Provo to watch my Cougars take on McNeese State. 

Ben used to sing the University of Utah song -- every word -- at age 2, and go to those games with JB and Papa, but somewhere in the last few years he switched to favor BYU.

I will admit I spoiled him a little with my favorite treats at the stadium.

So many memories in this stadium!

But then the crawling drive home took hours and I remembered why I don't do this more often. It's easier to watch from the couch.

JB and his dad have season tickets again to the U, but that stadium is so much closer to our house that it doesn't feel like he's gone all day. So many of their games start at 8pm this season, so that's hard , but we all try to support all our teams.

Karate

Andrew has been asking about karate class for a while, so I found one to try near us through the Parks and Rec department. It is for ages 5 and up, so I took James, too.

Andrew was in heaven from the start.

I took pictures through the glass door to show JB and my sister Emily back in Missouri (whose husband teaches martial arts).

I think they are the cutest little karate learners. HOWEVER, as with swimming lessons and soccer, I wasn't so sure if James would last.

And he hasn't.

The second week, he got reprimanded gently by Master Ethan for fighting. As in, really trying to take his brother Andrew down. We said we'd talk about it and try again. But on the third and fourth week, James said he didn't feel like trying it again. So just Andrew goes and he continues to absolutely love it.

Maybe 5 is too young. Or maybe I will ask him what he thinks again next week.

Three musketeers

These three are getting along pretty well these days.

Millie just follows these two brothers around, ready to be involved in their play. We also tend to lump them together, as the two oldest boys get busier with school and sports and activities.

I took them to the Natural History Museum on a free Saturday in August.

James was ecstatic, pointing at all the dinosaurs "Wook! WOOK!" He named most of them as we slowly walked by, though he really thinks more should be named T Rex.

Millie went from pointing at the dinosaurs, to climbing onto the display.

I had not noticed at this point that she was where she shouldn't be.

Then she walked up to that dinosaur and rattled the bones. Whoops! Thankfully these are all just sculptures and any real bones are kept carefully locked away.

The three also like to all help bake and taste what is being offered.

 The only problem with their play, is that Andrew and James get quite rough. Boys like to tumble and wrestle and head butt and chase each other, and I keep warning them to be a little more careful with their two-year-old little sister.