Stair Sledding...

It's a thing.

 And based on their performances, I would say that two outta three of them might have a chance at steering a bobsled down a slick track in the future.

But that third one... not so much.  :)

Seriously cracks me up every time I look at the sheer panic on his face!

Thanks for the entertainment (at your expense) Ace Face.  We adore you.

*No children were harmed in the filming of this evening pass time.

The Frenzy...

I have little time to wax eloquent today, we are in massive after-project clean up mode.  But I will mention the fact that RyGar (The Great) and I spent all day Saturday getting granite countertops installed.  We wanted to do it, but per our usual MO, we wanted to do it on the cheap.  So we did the tear out and all the plumbing work ourselves.  Yeah.  I had booked us a romantic night at Sundance's Foundry Grill and we were gonna dine all fancy-like and enjoy one another's company to celebrate FIFTEEN years together! 

Anywho... as I sat cross legged holding a flashlight into the lower cabinets while Ryan laid on his back under a mess of pipes... I could literally see the sands of time falling at a rapid rate through the hourglass... making it a reality that our night out would be a no-go.  I wasn't too upset - hello, I just got granite countertops throughout my house, but RyGar (the weary plumber) kinda lost it.

"Fetch, Amb!  I did NOT expect our weekend to look like this!  I have a head ache and I'm sick of bending under these dang sinks and I just want to be done and go out with you!"  (Insert curse words,  and some exasperated looks of, "I love you but I don't have to like things right now.")  Which was super sweet and romantic in it's own kind of way.  :)  

Meanwhile - these little loons of ours were forced to largely entertain themselves all dang day long.  And they were champs.  For the most part.  Sure, the playroom looks like it was hit by a tornado, they fed themselves cookies and water bottles for lunch and dinner and each of them spent a good span of minutes sitting in time-out for various brotherly offenses... but alas... it's done.

And it's Monday.  And the frenzy is over.

I'm gonna whip this house and these little comedians into shape, yo.  Wish me luck.

How We "Bean" Lately...

Well, Well, Well, what have we here?

On Wednesday we done went to the Bean Museum on the lovely campus of BYU.

I had zero intentions of going.  We had a hike planned that morning and soccer practice that afternoon and I kinda thought to myself - "Yippee!  An afternoon off - free and clear."

Well the misters had other things in mind.  When we climbed down off the mountain trail they dutifully clambered into their car seats and asked if we were going straight to the field trip or if we would stop at home first.  Crap.  Not only did they NOT forget about the field trip but they were being SO good.  I was gonna have to pony up and go

(After I applied some deodorant and did a lightning fast wardrobe change)

So we did.

I know it doesn't sound really exciting, but we got a surprising level of thrill from our little trip.  I know we parents are very good at pretending we are every bit as excited as our kids for things like watching garbage trucks out front or finding awesome rocks along a neighborhood walk, but the more you play along, this amazing thing happens:  You actually do find these things thrilling.

OK, Maybe not to Ace's level... but come on.  He's on a whole other scale entirely.

My boys are such examples of tenacity to me.  No joke the two mighty preschoolers held their hands up in the sky THE ENTIRE presentation in hopes that they would be called on as volunteers during the "Live Animal Show".  And gosh darn... it paid off.  Meet my two eager helpers. 

And yeah, I felt another wave of endorphins kick in as I watched them answer the speaker's questions and analyze clues to determine the "secret live animal" they would get to see.

This parenting gig doesn't come with any "Must Dos" in fine print.  But every once in a while I'm glad I get to do something a little bit more than the usual... to spark imagination and have fun with my little misters.  Smiles, togetherness and a side of satisfaction... at the Bean.

Oh What a Difference...

A Day Makes...

Sunday Best

To Monday Mess

No one can ever accuse them of not dressing the part.  :)

Magic Spring...

First... the weather.  I expect it every April and I laugh when everyone acts like this is ground breaking news.  It snows.  Every April and most Mays - long after the tulips have bloomed, long after the grass has turned green.  There will be snow in the Rockies.

What I haven't dealt with for years is the raucous that is kids in the house during hurricane force winds and horizontal snow on a day squished between days and days of sun and warmth and bikes and bubbles and trampolines.

What ever should I do with them inside the walls of my house for hours on end???

I was scared.

But then I pulled out the "Magic Sand" as my kiddos call it.  It's a fairly new item here at our household thanks to one, S. Claus.  

And may I just insert:

"Get Kinetic Sand," they said.

"It'll Be Fun," they said.

"It's really clean and neat," they said.

Sigh.

This stuff is not magic according to my definition of the word.  It's not clean and neat - at least in the methodology utilized by my tiny artists.  But it is fun.  I'll give it that.

My kids worked for a good hour building "Arendelle".  And if you've been living under a rock and you've never seen the Disney hit, Frozen, you won't know that's the kingdom that is central to the plot of that little tale.

The building up of Arendelle was the cause of much strife for me, that one day in spring, when the weather looked anything but, and my wild stallions had to stay in the confines of the corral.  

The Magic Sand might disappear inexplicably any day now...

Said the lady who is still licking her OCD wounds and finding bits of the "Frozen Kindgom" in her carpet fibers.  Deep Breaths...  :)

Surf n Turf...

We enjoyed the pool during our spring break last week in the St. Geezy... as the cool kids call it.  :)  Our little fish are getting to be awfully good swimmers.  RyGar is a good sport and jumps in so they can swim with the freedom of no arm floaties and I get the, "Did you see that?" look of accomplishment 112 times as they swim farther and faster to the safety of his arms.

Ace is not quite as comfortable swimming sans floatation devices just yet.  He is, only three.  But does he love the water!  And have we mentioned that he loves to do his own thing?  Steer his proverbial ship?  Be free of anyone's requests impeding his own judgment?  Well he loves it like a true boss man.  And the pool is a place I'm willing to go with it if the floaties stay on.  :)

Because it almost always results in this.

Sleep, Baby, Sleep!

Speaking of boss men... 

Dax, you are truly one rad kid.  And I see why Avery from preschool has a crush on you.

:)

And now, bring on the beef - cause it's what's for dinner.

The boys spent HOURS playing in the back yard.  Mostly they are on the hunt for the lizards that occasionally get brave enough to show themselves.  On this trip they were having target practice using their new Marshmallow guns.  But also, The back yard is where they live the bulk of their lives -- and it's the only place we allow them to eat Otter Pops.  No brainer.

They hold races, they hunt for bad guys, they wash the big rocks that line the beds in the yard.

They are becoming amazingly good at hangin' as a crew for long periods of time.  Which means I have become a beaming "Peeping Tom"... no joke, I just look out the window and smile and laugh at all their little antics.  So much entertainment, right there.

And if this isn't the picture of brotherhood, I don't know what is.

As they say, "Sometimes, being a brother, is better than being a Super Hero."

Thanks for always being up for a little "Surf n' Turf" boys.

We adore you.

Easter Adventure...

Does it seem like Easter was forever ago?  It kind of does to me too, but we're gonna relive it for a moment for the history books...

The Easter Bunny found us in St. George this year!  We left him a note at home in Highland to remind him where we would be staying.  And low and behold...

And then we decided to visit the real live bunnies out in the wild desserts of Snow Canyon.

Kael decided to suck on his Easter sucker so the bunnies might think he was one of their own.

Verrrryy Sneaky, Kaelster.

Not to sound totally cliche, but it was a PERFECT Easter Sunday.  The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was epic and my littles were singing and hiking along like champs.

 Half-naked champs, but champs nonetheless.

Bonus shot of two of our tough little hombres.

And the initial accent of one of the many "Dinosaurs" we climbed.  This was by far their favorite part.  My favorite part was searing these images into my memory.  I love/adore/swoon over these scenes of cerulean skies and red rock and my little men trailing behind their Dad.

Ace nearly always hikes shirtless.  I don't know about our little free spirit... but he'd really probably be most comfortable hiking around the hills in the nude with the exception of the tiger shoes.  :)

Dax would dutifully stop and offer water to Ace.  "Ya gotta keep hydrated, K Bud."  Whaddya know...  they might actually listen to us now and again!

And all was right with the world until Ace wondered into the branches of a bush and scratched himself up.  But then all was right again when we pointed out the fact that he had earned tiger stripes.

Disaster averted.

Last stop was the dunes.  I doubt this needs any explaining at all.  It was love at first sight.  And I'm still "seeing" the sand here and there.  It piles out of shoes and pockets and socks randomly more than a week later to remind us of our holiday in the red sand. 

We'll take "Easter Adventures" for $1000, please Alex.

Thanks for showing us a great time, Snow Canyon!