Papa Van

Even though it is a little late, I thought that I would share this video that I filmed of the kids. In the video they are talking about their beloved Papa Van who recently had a birthday.

I am so lucky to have such a great dad. I love the fact that he takes the time to truly love my kids. He is never to busy to talk to them or myself. Some of those talks with my dad have really helped be a better person. I love my dad so much.

Soccer Time

The fall soccer season has officially begun. The boys had their first practice two days ago on Tuesday. This year Ben just barely made the cut off to play. He has been so excited to play soccer this year with Hyrum. Hyrum is also really excited for Ben to be on his team with him. They were so excited to go to practice. Ben has been practicing the team cheer, "Go Flyers" whenever he hears someone talking about soccer. Their team is called The Flyers since they run so fast. Ben has also been practicing kicking his soccer ball around the house.

At practice both boys did really well. They did a great job following directions from Coach Nick (who is a fabulous coach)Hyrum scored a two goals in the scrimmage. The picture below is of Hyrum scoring a goal.
He was so proud of himself.

Ben also did really well and almost scored a goal. I was so proud of Ben, being one of the smallest on the team, he fell down a couple times, but he picked himself right up and went to get back in the game.

What did the princess do during the practice?She got to bring her backpack with toys inside and a little chair for her to sit in ( I got the chair for $2 at a yard sale). She was quite content to watch her boys as she calls them and have some treats. I think we will let her play next season. I didn't want to sign her up because I was worried that she would get pushed around a little bit and have a hard time.

The boys had a great time at practice and were in heaven. Our first game is this Saturday. Go Flyers!

New Favorite Thing

A new favorite thing for Ben and Emmy right now are puzzles. They have liked puzzles in the past, but I think puzzles might have turned into an obsession. They will do puzzles for a good twenty minutes or so. They are getting quite good at putting the puzzles pieces together. It is so cute to see the concentration on their face as they are trying to figure out where everything goes. Sometimes they ask for help, but they do a lot of them now on their own. I think they love the feeling of accomplishment when they can finish a puzzle. They usually yell at "I did it!" with great excitement when they finished the puzzle they have been working on. They also love to do puzzles at nursery and when they go to the gym play area.

Sometimes they do work together to put a puzzle together. However, they do get bugged when one is trying to put a piece in a spot where the other one does not think it belongs.

I love the fact that they enjoy and love puzzles. I think puzzles are an excellent activity.

Book Train

These pictures for this post were taken back in August. Ben and Emily have figured out something else that is fun to do with books...make a train. They loved lining the books up right next to each other. They had to put every book just so. They loved to walk along their train track. However, I drew the line when they started to walk on the books. It was so sweet to see them work together to accomplish a goal. For the most part, they do have a great time together and love each other so much. In fact, right now they are snuggled up in the recliner watching a show together.

Camping in the Backyard

During the end of August, Brandon finally got a break from school for a week. We planned on going on a little vacation with the kids, but due to our van having some problems, all of our money that we had saved went towards fixing the van.

As a result, we decided to improvise and have a little camping trip in the backyard. The kids were so excited! We took all the kids to the store to help us buy the hot dogs, chips, pop, marshmallows, etc. and everything else that we might need to help make the camping experience a success. Hyrum was so cute, he remembered all the stuff that he used to make smores when he stayed in Lake Powell with my parents for that extra day and was telling me everything we needed. He was worried that we wouldn't have any fire to cook the smores, but I told him that we would be okay.

Hyrum was in heaven helping Brandon set up the tent. He couldn't get enough of being right beside his dad and helping where ever he could. Ben and Emily helped for a little while, but then decided that the castle toy in the yard was calling their names and headed over there to play for a little while.
Once the tent was set-up, the kids were thrilled to bring their sleeping bags in the tent and get them all ready for the night.After they got their beds ready for the night, the kids decided that they should go and check to see if there were any bears in our backyard. It was so cute! Hyrum took the flashlight and would march off with Ben and Emmy following behind. I am not exactly how sure how good of an idea that was because from then on Ben was worried that every little unfamiliar noise was a bear.
While the kids were on a bear hunt, my adorable Brandon was cooking a very delicious meal consisting of hot dogs and brats. The kids were in heaven with the meal. They loved the hot dogs, chips and having their own little can of pop.
After we were finished eating, Hyrum said that one of the things he wanted to do was play "Go Fish" in the tent. It was lots of fun. Ben was on mommy's team and Emmy was on daddy's team and Hyrum did great by himself.
Of course, we couldn't let the night end without having a yummy smore treat. We made delicious smores using the microwave, not quite the same as cooking them over the fire, but still quite tasty.After our smores, all of us headed out to the tent and soon realized that our yard has many little bumps in it. Although I didn't sleep very well that night, it was still a great time and a memory that I will remember.