This is just a short little clip of Luke making Noah laugh. We get a kick out of how easy it is to make a baby laugh- it's fun for Noah's big brothers and sisters.
Sorry, but I'm still amazed that he does this. He sleeps better on the floor than he does in his bed. It's pathetic. But whatever I guess. Looks terribly uncomfortable to me.
I usually put the text UNDER the picture, but I noticed on others' blogs that it's easier to follow if you put the text above- I don't know, it was at the moment- maybe I'll change back later :) Let me know if you have a preference.
So these pictures are supposed to go with the following post, but I figured I rambled on so much about nothing that you'd never make it to the pictures- so here they are, and the summarized versions of what they are.
Here is what we call "Brad's B" on the mountain. (looking pretty shabby- the Braves must be losing their school pride!) But if you look at the bottom, right corner you can see two little dots- those are my children- Bradley and Kelly :)
Here's a close up and a big wave :)
Here's Charity enjoying the B from a safe distance..JPG)
Luke noticed Charity didn't have her shoes on so of course.....JPG)
Favorite pasttime
This is Brad probably running around Grandpa's house like a mad man. They're always on such a crazy little High there!
And cute little Noah enjoying some long awaited attention from Grandpa- it's tough to have 5 grandkids and try to give them ALL so much attention!! I think we almost wear grandpa out!
No, this is not another one of those "Wo is me because my husband is gone" posts (believe it or not Jared), I really think I've gone crazy. This is my concrete evidence- I completely spaced bringing my camera with me to Bountiful!!!!!!!!! (well that was dumb, get Jared's attention and then mention Bountiful- yep, I'm asking for it :)) I planned a little visit to my dad's to spend the night Monday night- and I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!! We ended up staying till today (Wednesday), and the only pictures I have are the ones my dad took and emailed me!! It's really sad. I'm really disgusted with myself. 2 1/2 days of fun stuff to take pictures of and NO PICTURES!!
Anyway- so we went up to my dad's Monday night, played around like crazy- and I mean CRAZY- my kids seriously go nuts at Grandpa's house. I'm not sure what it is, (probably the sugar :)) but they love it. This time they went for rides on the 4-wheeler with Grandpa. Taking turns over and over until about 9:00 at night (Charity informed me that they were going to sit and watch the sun set, but then they thought it would take too long and Mommy would get worried- YEAH!!). So that was a blast. Then Tuesday the kids all went over to Grandpa Mottishaw and Grandma Hatch's and picked up rotten apples, Bradley was in charge (even ask Sherry- this is something he likes to do, not slave labor), then they watched a couple of movies all while I was at Brent and Sarah's (they get to bring their baby home by the way!! WAY sooner than they had EVER expected!!!), then when I got back we had sandwiches and really just vegged in front of the tv, did I love that? YES!! So then that night we went to dinner with Grandpa Hatch and Nana and we talked Grandpa into letting us stay one more night :) (it takes some convincing when there are 5 little monkeys involved). So then we had ANOTHER movie night with Grandpa, ate more of his fruit snacks, drank more of his yogurt smoothie drinks, rode the 4-wheeler some more, watched Willy Wonka a couple more times, played some more games on the computer, and made an even huger mess of his house. Then on Wednesday to top off the "little vaca" we went on a small "hike" (not sure why I'm still calling it that) to the "B" on the mountain!!! Everytime we go to Grandpa's house Bradley sees his "big B" on the mountain and we always say that we are going to go climb on it and get his picture, well this was the day!! We finally did it. I must say it was a strange little activity, while small and somewhat insignificant, I was not prepared for how big of an ordeal it would be....and not for me...but for my dad :) Charity couldn't find her flip flops, so she was barefoot (yeah, duh.), so my dad had her on his shoulders. Then because I had kind of spaced even looking at my kids before heading up the hill with Luke's hand, I missed that Kelly had brought her huge stuffed tiger and Charity had 2 bottles (one with water, one with yogurt smoothie) in her hands. Sounds like nothing right? well.....they were trying to climb up the steep mountain with these things in their hands, on Grandpa's shoulders. So they all started up, Charity was on Grandpa's shoulders, they made it all the way, but halfway up for Bradley and Kelly they got scared and came sliding back down, and Luke only made it a few steps before whining and coming back down. Then Grandpa set Charity down on the B, and came back to get Kelly. He carried Kelly up on his shoulders (with his camera around his neck which got a huge scratch on it, probably around this point in time :( such a devastation- his camera is SO nice), set Kelly down on the B. At this time Charity informed us all that although she had been perfectly calm and relaxed about the whole thing she was now scared out of her mind and was going to cry all the way down the mountain. Grandpa brought her down on his shoulders. So now it was time for Bradley to not be scared anymore and ask to ride on Grandpa's shoulders. (2 little side notes, if you've been around my kids you know they LOVE shoulder rides and will ask practically anyone for a ride- if you give in once, you can never say no again! And in case you were wondering where I am while my dad is making trips up and down the mountain- I was standing, below the B, watching him sweat :) jk. No, I was carrying Noah on my back- we luckily had the backpack in the car- because I had to keep rescuing Luke from the scary motorcyclists who couldn't slow down to less than 40 miles an hour while they blew past my toddlers!!!! Can ya tell I was bugged!! So much for the "start seeing motorcycles" bumper stickers- they need to SLOW DOWN IF THEY WANT TO BE "SEEN"!!! They were seriously ticking me off but I digress!) Where was I- Oh, so Bradley talked Grandpa into going back up on his shoulders, and Grandpa set him on the B. At this point Kelly and Bradley were the only ones ON the B. They were fine. Grandpa ran down off the B, and then ran down even more past the car so that he could get some good pictures of them on "Brad's B". What a cool Grandpa we have!!! Seriously I think he made like 10 trips (if you actually added them all up you know that's an exaggeration, but I felt bad he was doing all the work)- he's in WAY good shape for a 53 year old (oops gave away your age, Dad, sorry)- if I may say so. And we did have a lot of fun regardless of all of the silliness. Lukey was throwing rocks "two a time" (two at a time- apparently I need to be translating my childrens' languages)- that was pretty fun. And Noah kept pulling my hair- he got a kick out of that. After our hike up to the B we dropped Grandpa off at his house and said our sad farewells. My kids BAWLED. Then we started on the long journey back to Eagle Mountain- I only say that because I ended up stopping at a few places and eventhough we left my dad's around 12:30, we didn't get home until about 6:00. We went and got the oil changed (never a fun thing, but especially with 5 tired, sugared up kids), got some "Book of Mormon"s at the Distribution Center (my kids are so happy to not have to borrow the library's anymore :) and I must say they were very reverent through the store- not embarrassing like the last time I went there- I think that's why I've put it off so long), and then got some lunch since we were STARVING (according to Charity). Then we went to the DI and (hopefully) got a good deal on some new sunday shoes for everyone, and a bike for Bradley (we'll see if the tire has a hole in it or not- that happened last time). So anyway. It was a VERY fun 3 days. (I didn't have my camera......UGH!!!) But what a fun and relaxing time I had!! For everyone that keeps telling me that I need to take a break (or was it give you a break? can't remember), this was it!! And thanks again Dad!! I hope we didn't overstay our welcome- we'll be sure to give you a nice long break before the next time we invade :)
I totally forgot about these pictures and the wonderful moment that it was. It was Sunday morning, the kids were all ready (mostly) and we were just kind of killing time before the mad dash to get out the door and to church. My kids were totally playing together (a game they invented all on their own) and were having a good time doing it!! No fighting, just sweet words, telling each other what they were going to pretend was happening next (I seriously love how kids do this- "and then you say..., and then I'll say...., and let's pretend that____ is happening") I think in this game, Kelly was the coach and Charity and Bradley were the students (I'm not sure what Luke was- he was playing though). It was just way sweet. It even lasted for quite a while. Normally I'm not for the jumping around and throwing a ball on Sunday morning, but I'm really not about to stop them when it's so pleasant either. But anyway- had to share these :)
I just had to say that yesterday went SO WELL!!! We brought the whole house with us and everyone was entertained pretty much the whole sacrament meeting!! (Nate and I have worked really hard to get our kids to the point where they don't need everything in the world to keep them quiet, so it was a HUGE step backwards, but goal was to keep them quiet and stay in Sacrament meeting, and we made it!!!!) I did not even have to go out into the foyer!!!!!!! My kids all went to their classes really well too- including LUKE!! It was fabulous- thanks to the scripture reading maps too- Bradley was an angel going to his class as well. Anyway, just thought I should share my good news. I feel like it was a total miracle- I am VERY grateful!!
Grandma Ruthie's pass expires on Sunday so we hurried and planned a trip to the Dinosaur Museum last night, and got to spend the day there and finally see it all. Charity actually had a Birthday Party that she wanted to go to more, so she stayed with a friend and went to her party, but the rest of us went with Grandma, Meg, Nancy, Paulette, and all their kids. It was such a fun day!!
This pictures funny because you can see Luke crying. I don't know if it's spontaneousness that makes my kids freak out about these group pictures or what, but Bradley and Luke were both just not happy about it. Frustrates me.
I got a lot of pictures of the back of my boys' heads :) It's like Meg said, they were so fast it was hard to get pictures!! Not to mention the place has low lighting, so the camera doesn't work as fast either.
Bradley was really loving the whole thing. He's been pretty into dinosaurs lately, so this was really neat. He even wore his dinosaur shirt to fit in.
Luke loved it too. I had such a hard time keeping track of Luke there. He was either stuck behind or running ahead with Bradley. They both just couldn't get enough of it all. Here's Lukey taking it all in.
I think Kelly's favorite part was having Sydney mostly to herself (not having to share her with Charity that is). She was pretty much glued to her the entire time. I hate to admit it but I really didn't get to see much of Kelly the whole time. She did have fun though. Here she is waiting to turn the wheel to see what color the dinosaur was going to be next....
I don't know why but I just love this pictures of Luke. There were tons of different dinosaurs on the ceilings, and pretty much everywhere- he really got into that.
This was kind of cute- shows the softer side of Bradley- he was really disturbed by the model of the dinosaur eating the other dinosaur and "all da bwud" (blood). Bradley's such a sensitive little sweetie.
Oh, and this was another one of my favorites! How sweet is Noah's big sister! (that's Kelly kissing Noah, in case you can't tell) I'm always so worried that I will make Noah want me if I look at him or talk to him too much at these things. So I almost try to avoid him so that he will stay happy- sad- but I feel like other than these times- he is being held, so it's all good. (how's that for rationalizing?)
And here's teh cute big brother pushing the stroller. Luke is a funny one when it comes to the stroller. If he can't ride in it- he wants to push it, but if you even so much as touch the handles he will freak out and go tearing off in the other direction usually crashing the thing into some stranger. It's not my favorite, but at the same time- I have to laugh. He's a cute big bro.
Now this is my cute nephew Jarom. I think he is a doll. The kid is ALWAYS smiling (as far as I'm concerned :) I've rarely seen him unhappy)- and he just has the cutest, jolliest face!! Makes ya smile when you look at him. He's a sweetie!! AND he shares his cute clothes and shoes with his little cousin Noah....what a guy! (does he look a little like Noah in this picture or is it just me, Meg?)
This was a really fun area- they get to design-a-dino with big stuffed dino parts. It was way cute to see them hauling around the big parts- especially the little kids. I love these kids of exhibits.
LOL I'm still laughing about Luke's silly little face in this picture. He's in the middle in the red shirt- What a NUT!! He totally cracks me up sometimes.
And what is a dinosaur museum without a sand box- I MEAN dinosaur bone digging pit. My kids loved this. Luke was definitely just in there for the sand, but Kelly and Brad had a lot of fun digging around in the sand and brushing the sand off the "bones". They talked about that on the way home. Very fun.
So after the Dinosaur Museum we went and had a little picnic then headed on over to the little Splash Park. I'm really annoyed that I didn't get a picture of the Noah's Ark!! DUH! So hopefully SOMEONE has one (Meg??). Anyway. The kids had a total blast there. It's basically like a wading pool but there's a huge cement Noah's Ark in the middle with animals that spray water out all over ya. Then there are the little fountain things in the sidewalks to squirt out at ya too. It was way fun! I can't believe how fearless Luke is in the water (I think I've mentioned this before, but he is definitely my little fishy!)
this was right before he slipped and fell :(
It was hard to slow this little guy down!! He was all over the place. I kept worrying about him, but it was a joke to try and keep up with him. Luckily nothing happened :)
I mentioned a post ago that the girls got to have a sleepover at Grandma Ruthie and Grandpa Russ's house with their girl cousins, but I didn't mention how completely worn out they were. Apparently they went swimming twice during the day Wednesday (after a late night Tuesday, and really I have no idea just how late they stayed up :)), so they of course fell asleep on the way home. When they got here, Nate's Dad walked Kelly up to the door, she came in, plopped herself down on the rocking chair that is about 2 feet from the front door, and then went back to sleep. Charity wasn't budging for Grandpa, so I went out the car, woke her up, dragged her inside, and she made her way all the way to the couch in the living room before she crashed. They wouldn't wake up for dinner, wouldn't wake up to get jammies on, nothing....it was kind of funny. They got home 6:00ish, and did not wake up and move from their spots until WELL into the night- probably around 3:00 (I was still up watching 24 on dvd of course, so that worked out well). I remember those days growing up, when you didn't even have the few drops of energy to just get up off the couch and take yourself to bed. And you would spend most of the night in your clothes, in a really uncomfortable position, only to wake up all weirded out not knowing what time it was, what day it was, nothing. Those were the days- I think it's been a while since I did that, obviously. Anyway, I sure loved seeing them all worn out though. It's gotta be a good thing right? Well, they really had such a good time with their cousins and their grandparents. Thanks again!!
On Wednesday, our friends from up the street showed up at our door with this little jewel of a bug....they had found him in their garden. They of course knew of the bug obsession that exists in our house, so they brought him as a gift :) Bradley was of course THRILLED- even if it did take him a bit to warm up enough to the critter to touch it. The girls were still snoozing (more on that in a bit), so they didn't get to fully enjoy the thing until the next day, but Bradley and I marveled at how HUGE this thing is- in case you can't tell it's a gigantic, green, caterpillar- we made him a little home in the empty ice cream tub I had saved for just such an occasion. The first thing Bradley asks is "What do caterpillarth eat?" and then ran outside to get some grass and leaves. We were all really enthralled in the whole thing and got really excited about this huge caterpillar. I couldn't help but get them all excited thinking about how big of a butterfly this thing would have to make, and they were getting their hopes all up for watching it make a cocoon and bla bla bla....
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