Ty's b-day Part Two

UPDATE: I added the pictures on the 23rd of Jan.

We had the house decorated in Star Wars. After lunch we brought out the cake and sang to him. Then, I gave him a little card with some info about his presents. He had to go on a scavenger hunt to find them. Each present had a new clue on it to lead him to the next present. He opened each one as he went along. The 4th present was a scooter and the clue lead him to the park. So, we got on the scooters and went to the park where Mike and Bray were waiting with the next present. From there, the clue lead to the bowling alley where the hunt ended with a game. We came home and watched Return of the Jedi (Ty's fav). Ty spent most of the movie putting together his new lego sets. Tyson helped me take dinner to a family in our ward who's son just passed away. They invited us in and showed us pictures of the 15 yr old boy. It was touching to me and when we left, Tyson told me he thought that was good for us to do (which made me glad since right before he had been complaining about having to help me). We then went to Mickey D's by request of the b-day boy. On our way home, Mike and the kids doorbell ditched our Secret Santa family and listened as the little 9 yr old screamed when she saw the presents. The kids loved taking part in the service project and it was a perfect way to end the b-day. Right now they are heading to bed after playing a few computer games and putting away the coveted lego's (thanks everyone). He is so happy to be 7!

Happy Birthday Tyson!

Wow, 7 years old. I can't believe it. 7 years ago I was 25 hours into the 29 hours of labor it took to get this little boy here. I told him the story of his birth (minus all gory details) on our way to the store tonight. I remember how glad I was when he was here, frustrated that we had to be in the hospital until Christmas Day, but so glad when we were released to go home with our sweet little gift. He was a beautiful little baby and I can still remember that skinny little body and that round chubby face. He looked like an angel and though it was a hard few months with sleepless nights and eating problems, he was still so full of life and we were glad to be his parents. That feeling has never left. He and I have our personality conflicts and this learning how to parent thing hasn't been that easy, but there have definitely been many joys to it and I know I have learned a lot. He is my first, so he is my teacher in many ways. I have loved watching him grow, have been amazed by how smart he is, and have been touched when he is so sweet and loving to others. I am often taken back by how much he understands about life, about God, and how quickly he picks up on just about everything. I am sad it has gone by this quickly. It seems that toddler hood went by rather slowly. Now that he's in school, I don't see him as much and time is measured in school months and play time, and it just seems to go by quicker. He's growing up and in just a short year he will be baptized. I am crying a little thinking about that day not so far off. Days go by fast and I hope I can remember to slow down for the sake of these babies that will always be my babies. I love you so much Tyson Cole. You are a strength to our family and I am so glad I have been entrusted with your care. Happy birthday!

Preschool Recipe Book

Anna gave me a recipe book that her preschool class compiled for the parents for Christmas. Each child was given the assignment to secretly watch their parents cook their favorite dish and then tell the teacher EXACTLY how it was cooked, what ingredients were used, how long it was in the oven etc. This made my day. SO hilarious. I thought I'd post a few excerpts from the book (including Anna's of course)....

MILK, BROWNIES, & DIRT

You put the milk in the other cup. You get apples and eat them. And then you get dirt from the backyard and cook them to make brownies. It's so good!

PUMPKIN COOKIES

Put the ingredients in and then you need the orange stuff. Then you put it in the oven for 13 minutes. Then you eat it and then I'm getting a dinosaur for Christmas.

POTATOES

Uh! Uh! She mashes them in a bowl. She puts weeds in it and then cooks, um, in the fridge for 20 hours. Then you say your prayers and then you eat it with spaghetti.

COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE IN IT

Put chocolate in the cookies. Mix it around with a stick thing. Stick in the microwave way up high for 10 minutes. That's all you have to do I told you.

YELLOW PASTA

It's Mac & Cheese. I like the white too. She waters it. She puts yellow cheese on it. She stirs for one minute. Eat it! It's almost my birthday in two weeks.

SPAGHETTI (by Anna)

Put noodles on the hot pan and then cut tomatoes and sprinkle them on to the noodles. And then, then my mom cooks it for I think, I think it's um, um until my Dad comes home. I don't know how much. Do you know how much?

Ok, so I can't stop laughing at these. There are many more. Ask me and I'll give you a copy. Seriously the best. What a cute and innocent present.

The First Snow....

Ok, so it snowed here again. 3rd year in a row. We were cold! Bray LOVED it and carried around a snowball all morning. We, along with all of the younger boys in the area were the only ones awake. All the boys came over to our house and destroyed the backyard. I even participated in a snowball fight. We then had everyone in for some hot chocolate to get warmed up. It was fun. Only lasted a little while, but the cold stayed for a few days. I'm sure there's more to come this winter.....

Tyson's Christmas Program

Tyson's WHOLE school had an evening Christmas Program. It was CRAZY! Ton's of people, not enough seats, lots of noise, but the kids had a lot of fun. The first graders sung "Silent Night" for their part of the program. We got to see Tyson's Gingerbread house on display and then took it home with us. He managed to eat all of the candy off it by the next day. He did a good job and I'm proud of him as he is really coming out of his stage fright. We love this guy!

Julianna's Preschool Program

Julianna had her Preschool Program this week and OH was she cute! She sung all of the songs, knew her part, loved wearing her pj's, and did all of her sign language so well. This was also the first time Mike has been able to see any of the kids preschool programs. Brayden was crazy (and therefore so was my filming) but it was fun. At the end, they had a pinata. It's hook that held it up ended up breaking so they to stop in the middle and fix that. They kids ended up being too weak, and after ALL of them had a chance to hit it, it still didn't break. The dad's (including Mike) took a few turns until it finally broke open. What a good day and what a good little girl. We love you Miss Anna!

Christmas Baby

Happy, sweet, fun-loving kid. This was Tyson's sweater. Brayden does a much better job of filling it out. It still swamped Tyson was he was two. I think photo should be on every Christmas card in America!