Rainy Sunday Activities

Often times on Sundays we have to get creative with activities to entertain the kids with until we go to my Aunt Claron's at night.  On one particular Sunday we put Kent and Ammon's Nerf guns to great use with a sort of target practice.  I still have quite a collection of dry erase markers from when I taught, and with the knowledge that you can erase dry erase markers off windows and mirrors, this seemed perfect.  Ammon would have liked if the size of circles compared to their given score were more proportional (it's the perfectionist in him), but you get what you get.  We had a lot of fun, but it was obvious that Ammon was clearly more skilled than Kent and I. 

A Somewhat Uneventful Birthday

We celebrated AddiLynn's 1st birthday on September 20th.  Since she didn't care if we celebrated her birthday or not, we didn't do much.  What we did do, I simply did so I didn't feel bad not treating her the same as her brother.  In the morning we went and ate donuts at Lee's (donuts on birthdays is something we started for Kent, that kid loves donuts), then we went outside Lee's and enjoyed feeding the ducks.  Addy loves to feed the ducks.  We don't do this as much as we should, seeing how it is at most 3 minutes from our house. 

Addy overlooking the ducks.  You can get much closer than this, but this is the safest spot for the little ones.  

Riding bikes, one of her favorite things.  Actually she prefers to be pushed around, we hope that ends this coming summer!

We had our friends the Crosbys over for "cake" and presents.  Nothing like having help from 3 other kids when opening your presents.  She loved all the gifts, and it was nice to finally get some girly toys.

She was tired by this point, but here she is with her cake.  Since none of us really like cake, we decided to go with a brownie/pudding/whipped cream concoction.  I think we will do this in the future too, birthdays are more enjoyable when you enjoy the dessert.

We love this little girl so much!

Everyday Silliness

 No words needed...

Utah State Fair

In September the kids and I took a trip down to Salt Lake to meet up with my friends, Jessica and Jamie, and their kids to go to the Utah State Fair.  My favorite part of the fair was the Little Hands exhibit put on by the Utah FFA students, all of which were great with the kids.  The kids each got an apron and a bucket and then proceeded to walk through the exhibit doing farm chores and gathering stuff for their bucket, such as...
  

 Milking the cow,

planting seeds,

 

harvesting their crop,

driving tractors,

taking care of the animals,

and gathering eggs.

In the end they then had to take everything they put in their basket; milk, eggs, produce, etc. and deposit them in order to get paid.  They each got a dollar that they could use at the local market.  

Here is Kent shopping for fruit snacks.

Paying the lady with his dollar from all his hard work.

 

Addy doing what I would most likely do on a farm, sit and watch.

Cohen and Kent were amused with the hot tub exhibit.  I am pretty sure each of them contemplated jumping in.

Addy liked the goats until...

they bleeted at her.  

 

This is seriously how Kent made his way through the animal barns.  No exaggeration, he held his nose the WHOLE time.

I convinced my friend Jessica to take Kent on this big slide, she was a trooper. 

A Preschooler

As of the beginning of September we have a preschooler in the house.  He goes MWF in the morning.  It was a rough go at first.  Everyday I would drop Kent off crying.  It took about 9 days before I could drop him off without tears.  Every now and then we have tears again, but his teacher assures me they don't last long.  He has been making strides at preschool, both academically and socially.  Everyday I am amazed at what he has learned.  Although preschool is not cheap, it is worth every penny. 

A preschooler...

and a goof ball.

Go Cougs! (The real ones)

At the end of August, we met up with my uncle Kent, his family and my Larsen grandparents to watch the WSU Cougars take on the Cougars down south.  I don't think I have ever been so proud to wear crimson and grey in a long time, even though we were creamed.  It was nice to be surrounded by other Coug fans, there is quite a comradery amongst them.  We really enjoyed the game, although we got poured on before it even started. 

The best family picture we could get.

Thanks Grandma and Pa Udy for the Coug gear.

Part of the crew.

AddiLynn was really good even though the game started so late.  She had no problem taking a little snooze mid-game.

B is for Bath and Best Friends

The kids and I went to stay with my friend Jessica for a night while Ammon was on a work trip.  We had a good time at the playground, watching Dance Moms, walking to get frozen yogurt, and allowing the little ones to mingle a bit.  Thanks Jessica for hosting us!

Throw a few foam letters and a best friend in the tub and fun is had by all. 

Kickin' Around

In the fall we put Kent in a little soccer camp for kids his age.  It was once a week for 6 weeks.  He has always loved to kick a ball around the house and outside so I thought it would be perfect.  Well turns out he doesn't like to kick a ball around in an organized manner.  They had a bunch of games for the kids to play to learn how to dribble the soccer ball and other skills.  The rest of the kids really seemed to enjoy it, except Kent.  Most of the time he would sit up on the track that went around the field.  He always wanted to sit and play with Addy, but I wouldn't let him.  I gave him the choice of sitting on the track by himself or playing soccer with his friends.  I know, I am a mean mom.  We also had to stay the whole time, which means I had to sit and watch other people's kids play soccer for 30 minutes a week, he would play for the first 15 or so,  just to teach Kent a lesson.   I don't think we will be trying soccer for a while, although I am not deterred from having him try another sport, perhaps we will try t-ball in the spring, that's more up my alley anyway. 

If you look closely you will see a rare smile.

This is how I knew his time was almost up.

 

All the kids and the coaches (all the way from England).

From Balance Bike to a Two-Wheeler

In September I purchased a two-wheeler bike at DI for $4. You just can't pass up a good deal like that. I had no intention of Kent using it until this next summer, but one Sunday we were home with nothing to do, so we thought we would give it a try. The past Christmas we bought Kent a balance bike which he finally mastered, so we thought we had nothing to lose.  Balance bikes are supposed to make riding a two-wheeler much easier than if you use training wheels and we must say that we completely agree.  It took about 15 minutes and our son was riding unassisted.  Being able to stop, start, and steer efficiently came in the week that followed. Now he is cruising around like it's nothing.  He loves to ride his bike and we are all kind of bummed its too cold to be outside riding anymore.  Here is a little video of his skills on that first night.  Don't mind me in the video, Ammon said that if I stayed really close behind and encouraged him to keep peddling he would think I was still holding on, I had no idea I would look as silly as I did.   

Mills Family Reunion (a long post)

After my trip to Washington (end of July, beginning of August), the kids and I flew and met up with Ammon in Boise for his family's reunion.  Flying with two kids by yourself is never ideal, but having done it so many times, I have it down to an exact science now.  However, Addy always seems to poop right as we are beginning to board, which adds to the stress just a little bit.  We were some of the first to make it to Boise so we decided to leave the kids for the night with Ammon's mom and sister and spend out first night alone since Kent was born.  That's right, we have never had a night without our kids since June 2009.  It took some convincing on Ammon's part, but I finally relented and let them have our kids while I tried to relax and enjoy a night with my husband (whom I hadn't seen for 12 days).  We booked a hotel right down the street from his sister's.  We stayed in the same room we stayed in the day after we were married, if you can believe that.  It was kind of nice to reminisce about the good ol' days.  You know those first few weeks after you are married that seem like pure bliss. The next morning we woke up, had breakfast, and went back to his sister's.  Of course the kids survived the night, and so did I.

The rest of Ammon's family arrived that day. With 24 people in one house (9 of which were kids), it is always a party. We ate, visited, played games, ate, and went to the lake.  This was the first time Ammon's whole family had been together in 7+ years.

 Addy, at this point, was never too fond of stranger.  Angie, however, was very good to take her and provide enough distraction to give her mom a break.

A glimpse into what half of the room looked like.  

At one time or another there was always someone on the trampoline.

 Kent eating.

Our family's picture.

 

All the cousins with Grandma and Grandpa.

 

The sibling picture, these guys get kind of goofy when they are together.

 

The whole gang.  Annie was behind the camera, because at this point they were not engaged.

Uncle D stealing some Addy time.

Lunch at the lake.

These two are going to be trouble when they are older.  Here they are, orange faces and all, finishing off everyone's serving of Doritos.

This kid loves his new found swimming skills and life jacket.

Sand angels.

Our turn on the jet ski, Kent loved it!

Addy loves the beach.

I just loved this picture of Ammon and Addy together.

Nap time with Grandma.

Happily hanging out with Uncle Jason.

At this point in the trip, we all caravanned (sort of) to Idaho Falls, where Ammon's grandma was celebrating her 85th birthday party.  We missed the party the night before, but had no problem invading her house the day after.

Addy got her hands on some Pepsi.

We turned the water on in the backyard and let the kids go at it.  Addy loved to cool off.

Pure joy.

Remember...trouble...

Attacking the cousins.

 And then running away. 

Revenge

And lastly, some chocolate milk from Reed's Dairy.