End of the Football Season

I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog, but with all of our current activities, this is really the first day in several that I've had time to upload and organize some pictures.

Troy played football again this year. I love what the discipline of sports does for kids. I hate what the schedule of sports does to my calendar. :)

He got to play several posititions and if he where here, he could name them for you. I can tell you that he was on the defensive line..not sure of the position...and he was on the special teams to recieve the kickoff...don't know the name of that position either. But in my opinion, he did a GREAT job in both. :)

This is the one picture I got before my camera supposedly "died" and Tyson took his pictures. Isn't this boy of mine handsome?
The team made it all the way to the district championship playoffs. So, we headed to the game with snacks, pop, and signs and met Grandma and Grandpa to watch the game. Annie and Taylor worked all morning to get the signs colored and ready. They were so proud of them and loved waving them for Troy to see.

Another picture with the signs. You can see Annie's a little better and also Grandma working on the pajama pants she sewed together for Troy's project. :)

A view from the top. We were on the visitor side and Taylor and Annie wanted to sit on the top bench. We had a great view, but some friendly bees kept us from enjoying the game fully. That, and Kevin almost had a tumble down the stairs with Tyson during a bathroom run. Scary, but everyone was ok, thanks to some folks who acted quickly to stop them.Troy was a group leader and took that seriously. The kids in his group really looked to him for encouragement and support.

The Coyotes lost the game 20-0 which was sad and kind of hard on them, but they played hard and tried their best and being second in the distrct isn't really so bad.

Troy hopes to be playing football again next year for high school and we are looking forward to more games. Go Troy!!!! :)

Quilting Bee

I am exhausted. It's been a busy day but we've had a great time and got so much done!

Part of Troy's Eagle project was to make baby blankets for Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. Several people donated fabric and we spent the last couple of weeks getting everything ready for today.

We had six quilt frames set up and 15 blankets to tie. Troy put out a call to the ward and to family for help and there was a great response. Dad showed up and spent the day helping me put on and then take off quilts, and snipping thread, and doing whatever else he could. Karalee and Jason also came out and did a ton of knots.
Troy asked the local restaurants if they would donate some pizza to feed his volunteers. Pizza Hut donated 5...

Rosati's donated 2 jumbo...

and Dominos donated 5.

Our ward Elder's quorum, Young Women and Primary also donated fruit and veggie, several young women made cookies, a cheese ball was brought in and paper goods donated. It was so neat to experience this outpouring of support for Troy, not to mention, he was able to feed everyone that came to help without much left over, so he did good. :)

My pictures are out of order, but I'm too tired to care. Here are several young women learning to tie. They did this quilt themselves and it turned out so cute.

Grandma and Aunt Carol drove all the way out and spent their time binding the quilts. They were able to finish half of them which will go a long way in making Troy's (and mine) life easier.

Troy put Annie in charge of the "hat corner" in case anyone was tired of quilting and wanted to weave instead. With KoraLee's help she organized, controlled and taught in her area for several hours...it was a lot of hard work for both of them and they did a wonderful job.

The scouts came to help out as well and did 2 quilts by themselves. I was even able to show them how to put a quilt on and get it ready to work on

Here is another picture of the hat corner. The kids had a lot of fun learning.

Janice, Tana, Abbey and Taylor enjoying lunch....

An Eagle project is more work than I ever imagined and Troy has done or delegated all of it. He's worked so hard and he's almost finished. We are so excited for him and are looking forward to when he's done. :)

Tyson Originals

The other day I took the camera with me to Troy's football game hoping to get some pictures to blog with. Each time I tried to take a picture, my camera would shut itself off with a "depleted" battery. I was kind of bummed, but didn't worry too much about it since there is another game coming up.

Anyway, when we tried to leave Tyson freaked out and was resisting his car seat. To keep him happy, I handed him the camera (otherwise known as the Chee) thinking that since the batteries were dead he couldn't do anything to it. I was wrong.

We are driving down the highway to Walmart when suddenly the flashing starts. He's taking pictures right and left and having a grand old time. Why it was working for him, but not for me I don't even know. I left all of the kids in the care while I ran in real quick and he was still taking pictures when I got back.

Here are some of my favorites:

Troy up close and personal.
The back of Troy's head and my hand (and I'm extremely thankful that I wasn't making any "gestures" when this was taken). :)

My arm, Troy's arm and Tyson's shoes.

The top of Annie's head.

A cute picture of Taylor laughing.

There are several (and I mean several) Tyson Originals. I'm publishing these and saving the rest for when he is famous. Then I'm auctioning them off and taking a well deserved trip to Tahiti. :)

Happy Birthday Tyson!

Today my baby turns two. It's bittersweet. I'm excited that he's growing up and learning...and it's nice that he's becoming a little more independent, but I admit I miss the cuddly baby days. Also, I feel old. :)

Tyson loves Bob the Builder so that was the theme for his cake. I made one for Taylor years ago with the hard hat and everything and didn't want to copy it. I wasn't sure what to do when my friend Tana suggested tools. It was a great idea and I had fun decorating the cake with them.
Here is the side view. I put bolts, screws, nails and washers all over the sides.

Tyson was thrilled with one gift of his own box of Whoppers. These are his favorite candy.

Waiting anxiously with Troy and Taylor for cake time.

Beth and little Nia came for the party. They are in our ward and I babysit Nia. Isn't she cute?

Nothing brings out the joy in a kid like hearing the happy birthday song just for them. :)

Nothing takes that joy away faster than when someone...a stinker of a brother maybe, blows out the birthday candle for you.

Let's try that again...the smile is back for the song and this time, he blew out his own candle. Yay!!! :)

Time for presents. I picked out Tyson's gift this year and I'm in a little bit of trouble for it. I thought he'd enjoy a keyboard with LOTS of buttons. The down side...no volume knob. It's a little LOUD!

We've had fun celebrating with him and we are looking forward to all the neat things he'll do and learn this year. Happy Birthday Tyson, Mom and Dad love you!

The Male Clicker Connection

What is it with the male species and the TV clicker? I've watched the men in my life hoard this little device as though it contained great power or the answers to the universe or something. They are very defensive of it...even taking it with them on their little side trips to the bathroom or kitchen. (we've misplaced our remote more than once because of this little habit)

Case in point: Tonight we are enjoying the "24" series premier and afterwards changed over to "The Unit". Kevin was stretched out on one corner of the couch and I was on the other corner. By some stroke of fortune I was actually holding the remote in my hot little hands and admittedly enjoying the feel of it...ahhhh power. :)

Tyson sees me holding said clicker and decides that something is just not right. He comes over, climbs on me and wrestles me for it. Finally he gets it from me and takes off at a run to deliver it to his dad (tripping in the process but he was careful...the entire time he's falling the clicker is high in the air where it wouldn't be harmed).

After giving it to Kevin, Tyson turns to me and says, "Da Da's". What the heck?!?!?!?!? Kevin finds this incredibly funny and starts cracking up. To make matters worse, Kevin decides to test this newfound power out. He'd sneak the clicker to me and sure enough as soon as Tyson saw me with it, it was the same story all over again. Each time he'd just look at me and insist that the clicker belonged with daddy.

Trying to make peace I left my comfy spot on the couch and cuddled up next to Kevin. I was kind of holding hands with him but it was the hand that was holding the remote. Tyson comes over, lifts my hand by one of my fingers and removes it from the vicinity of the source of power....not once but three different times. I guess that I'm not even allowed to touch the clicker when one of the male species is in control of it. Kevin of course is thrilled with this new system of clicker containment.

So, this leaves me to ponder....is this a condition that is present from birth that I just haven't noticed or is it a learned attitude? Hmmmm. If I ever find the answer (and the solution...come on girls we want some clicker power too right?) I'll clue you in. Until then, any ideas on clicker retention would be helpful. :)

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year! I know it's a little late, but we've had Strep in our family so I'm a little behind.

We spent New Year's Eve at Karalee and Jason's house again. Lots of good food, lots of fun and laughter...it was a great party. Tyson was in his jammies and ready for lots of fun. We were hoping he'd go to sleep, but no such luck. :)
Karalee is kind of a game aficionado. We played "Fart" again this year, and "Burn down the House". We also played "Hungry, Hungry Hippos" and "Jenga Girl Talk" (that one is especially entertaining if you add guys into the mix). Below Dad, Dustin, Darbi and Amanda are feeding their hippos.

Steve and Stephi got a little tired as the evening wore on. The baby that Steph has is our niece Morgan. She would cry each time I held her, or even looked at her, so Stephi got to play with her more that I did that night. :(

Mom is lounging as she watching the games being played.

Liz and Kevin were taking a break from the games and having a snack.

Troy and Taylor loved the "Man Cave" where the Wii was set up and ready to go. We didn't see them at all until midnight.

J.T. was in the "Man Cave" as well and wasn't too thrilled that I was taking his picture...what a look of controlled exasperation. (I was interrupting his game AND I let Tyson in so they were a little annoyed, but that's life right!) :)

KoraLee and Annie spent most of the night in KoraLee's room doing their nails and playing. They are such good friends and they really love each other.

Finally, midnight hit and it was time for some noise, some kissing, and some sparklers. Annie and KoraLee loved the little streamer gun things we bought and the horns (thanks Beth).

Tyson didn't quite know what to think about everything, but he love blowing his horn and watching the sparklers. We didn't think that we would be going to sleep that night, but it wasn't two minutes after I started driving home that I heard him snoring in his car seat...poor kid, he was all partied out.

I love spending time with my family and this party was one of our funnest. Hope everyone has a wonderful and prosperous new year and that it's better than the last (I sure hope ours is). :)