Ride em' Tyson!!!

So, we are doing a major chore each weekend in preparation for Annie's baptism and family dinner here. Last weekend, we cleaned the downstairs carpets. Tyson, who usually hates anything noisy, decide that this was "fun" and wanted to help. Unfortunately, his idea of helping was to push the carpet cleaner as I pulled it toward me, which caused some major traffic issues when I needed to go forward again.

I finally got desperate enough to finish that I plopped him onto the cleaner and off we went. It was a little harder to push, but he had a ball. Now, any time I open the closet he's in there trying to get the cleaner out to go for a spin. What a strange kid!!!

January Blahs

I have a SERIOUS case of the January blahs. I keep thinking of all the things I could or should be doing...like our taxes, or working on Annie's baptism dress, or trying to finish one of the many projects I have going for Relief Society, or doing laundry, or cleaning my house, or doing dishes, or one of a hundred other things. Instead, I'm surfing the web and doing basically nothing! I need to get myself motivated and quickly, otherwise, it's all going to hit me at one time and then I'll probably cry. ;)

On a brighter note..I have a new niece!!! Macey Lynn was born to Loran and Erin on Monday. That makes 9 grandkids for my folks and gives me a total of 4 nieces and 1 nephew on my side of the family. So exciting!!!!!

Happy Birthday Tyson!

He's 1!!! I can't believe how fast the year has flown and now my baby is one. We had a lot of fun Saturday at his party. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a Mac n' Cheese dinner (Tyson's favorite) and the Uncle Steve and Aunt Stephi and Uncle Dustin and Aunt Liz came out for cake and ice cream.

Here is his cake...

And Daddy getting ready to help him blow out his candle...

And the effects of letting your child eat his own cake...what a mess! (and as you can see, I STILL haven't figured out how to turn the picture, ha ha)

Thanks to everyone who came. We enjoyed having you there and thanks also for the gifts. He looked so cute yesterday in his new church clothes!

Timeline of a Prank

Well folks, I've been wanting to prank Kevin for some time now. You see, before Christmas, we were out shopping and I was driving. I was making a left hand turn (with plenty of space I might add) when out of the blue, Kevin screams. Of course, I thought we were going to get hit, so I screamed. He starts laughing! I'm shaking and crying and he's laughing!!!!!

I decided right then and there that it was time to bring the man down. So, after much thought we (the kids were helping me think naughty) came up with a plan, which we executed last night. So, here is the timeline of the prank....

7:30pm: Kevin leaves for the church to do some clerk work. He says it will be quick since all he has to do is meet Bro. Fuller there and transmit the quarterly attendance numbers...we decide
this is the night.

7:35pm: The kids and I pile into the van and head to the church to pull our prank.

7:37pm: We get to the church and park. We can see Kevin in the lobby waiting for Bro. Fuller. We wait patiently with him.

7:40pm: Kevin comes out of the church with his cell phone in hand. Troy and I duck down in the front seats but he's looking straight at us!!! We think we are done for. Instead, Kevin dials and I turn to Troy and say..."I hope he isn't calling home". Right then, my cell phone rings (thank heavens for call forwarding!) Sure enough it's Kevin. Bro. Fuller is not there and he needs his phone number. I tell him I am "indisposed" which to him means in the bathroom and he says he'll try information. We watch as he dials some more...he is still looking at the van. How he didn't see us, I don't know.

7:45pm: Kevin calls home again. Again my cell phone rings...all the kids shush and I continue to tell him I'm busy. He asks that when I'm done, can I please call him back with Bro. Fuller's number? Ok I say...no problem.

7:46pm: the kids and I pull out of the church parking lot with our lights off...heading for home. When we get home, Troy runs in, grabs the ward list and the home phone and comes back out. I call Kevin and give him the info...then we hightail it back to the church.

7:52pm: We are pulling into the turn lane to turn to the church, when Troy shouts, "Dad's coming!!!" We look over and Kevin is leaving the church. There is no way that he is going to miss us this time so we resign ourselves to getting caught. Just then, he seesBro. Fuller, who turned in just before we did and turns around in the parking lot and parks again. Quickly I shut off the van lights and we park again.

7:58pm: We sneak over to the truck. Our plan is to move it to a new spot, hide me in the extended cab portion and then let him search for the truck. When he gets in, I scare him. I move the truck to a different part of the parking lot. Troy runs back to be with the kids and I hide (not a small feat for a woman of my stature...there isn't much room back there!)

8:05pm: I have plenty of time to think...plus my legs have gone to sleep and I need to move them. I decide to move the truck back. What if he goes looking for it and sees the van? He'll go over to it and then my hiding will have been for nothing. So we move the truck back to the original parking spot.

8:10pm: I have moved the truck and am now hiding in the back.

8:15pm: no sign of Kevin, but suddenly Troy is knocking on the window...the kids have to go to the bathroom! We can't risk them going into the church, so they find a nice large bush and do their thing.

8:22pm: The kids are back in the van and watching the front door of the church closely. By this time, my butt is asleep, my legs are asleep and something is poking me in the back. What does he have back there?

8:28pm: I call Troy...maybe we should just go home...Tyson is crying, Annie and Taylor are bored and I can't feel my toes. Suddenly Troy shouts..."Here he comes!" Sure enough, I peek out from my hiding spot and there he is. He's standing outside the church talking to someone. Finally he heads my way.

8:32pm: I hear the locks click...I hear the door open...Kevin is talking to himself (when did he start doing that?)...I feel the seat go down on my leg when he gets in. He shuts the door and I pull the blanket off my head and say..."Hello". Can you gues what happened? NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No scream, no yelp, nothing. All he does is lift his hands into the air and say Oh!. What a crock! All our planning and scheming. All the time I've sat in the back waiting for him...waiting to get revenge and all I get is "Oh!"

8:35pm: We head for home after he helps me get out of the back...not easy by the way. I am sorely disappointed in his reaction, especially after all I've gone through, but I do get a little satisfaction out of startling him. However, he has informed me that it's "game on". Oh well.

The newest members of the fam...

Introducing Gilligan and Mary Ann, our new love birds. Gilligan is the gray one and Mary Ann the green. Gilligan is very sweet and will let us hold him and play, but Mary Ann is a biter. She has already bit Tyson twice (you think he would learn to quit putting his fingers in the cage!). Aren't they photogenic?

We got them from a friend who didn't want them anymore. We were kind of thinking they would be good for the kids who eventually want a dog.

Tana had them named Romeo and Juliet, but I have always wanted a pet named Gilligan, so we changed their names. Can you tell which of us grew up with the classics and which spent their days watching "Gilligan's Island"? (ha ha ha ha) This is Gilligan perched on my finger. He's so cute!

The kids are really enjoying them, but still nervous about the beaks. We all wear gloves for now until Mary Ann can be tamed, but here are Taylor and Annie holding Gilligan. Taylor loves it, but they still make Annie nervous. Yesterday, she was holding Tyson up to see Gilligan on my finger and they spooked him and he flew. Annie screamed, dropped Tyson and ran across the room. If I hadn't been so concerned about Tyson after being dropped, I would have found it extremely funny!

So, if you are in the mood to hear them chirp (which is loud and often...Kevin keeps threatening to roast them) or hold them, come on by. We love to show them off!

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year friends and family! We had an awsome time at my sister's house. We ate way too much, played some pretty interesting games and counted down to midnight.

One of the games we played was called "Fart". It is similar to Uno. You can lay down cards that match either the color or the name of a fart. As you are playing, the music that goes with it is in the background and everytime it stops, there is a specific fart sound. You look up that sound in the instructions and it tells you what to do, like draw two, trade your card with someone, or reverse directions. When you get to the last card in your hand, instead of yelling "Uno", you yell, "last fart!" It was totally ridiculous and crazy and hilarious at the same time.

The kids had a lot of fun as well. Troy and his friend Brenton got to "hang" together and Annie and Taylor played with their cousins J.T. and Koralee. Tyson didn't go to bed as planned (it was too loud with us yelling during the Fart game) so he just made himself at home and emptied Karalee's cupboards.

All in all, we had a wonderful and fun time and can't wait to do it again. Enjoy the pics of the kids partying and we hope that 2008 is good to each of you!

Troy and Annie blowing their horns
I'm cute and I know it!
What a great picture!
Tyson having fun with the blowie thing...
Tyson after we took the blowie thing away 'cause he was eating it.