Oregon Coast... Sniff Sniff

We are going to miss the Oregon Coast! A friend of ours gave us a beach house for free for the weekend. It was in a little town called Waldport. We invited some friends to join us. It was a great weekend!

Calvin excited to hold sand crabs

The Friends before everyone left

Milo loved the beach!

The boys took some nets and caught crabs. They brought them home and boiled them. I am glad I wasn't there when they did it.

Building a Sand Castle... until Simon came along and destroyed it!

This is the best picture I took of the boys together on the beach

Happy Birthday to This Person!

This is my mom. She is the cutest person in the world! It is her birthday today. I am so thankful for a wonderful mom that takes care of me. Some amazing things about my mom:
- She has 60 piano students... if not more... she is always adding here or there
- She accompanies the flutes at the U of U ... yes she does that on top of 60 students
- She had 12 babies... I cant even imagine being pregnant 12 times!
- She raised me... enough said!:)
Love you mom! Happy Birthday

Farewell to Oregon

For those who dont know... we are moving once again. Bryce was accepted in the MBA program for USU. We will be leaving good old Oregon in two short weeks. Bryce is officially done with classes here so we are trying to cram all of Oregon into the next two weeks. We started it off with hiking to the top of Spencer Butte. We have hiked part of this trail but never to the top of the butte.

On the way to the top. It is a total 5 1/2 mile hike. Calvin hike 5 miles of it. He actually probably ran about 4 miles of it :) He wanted to jump down the rocks on the top. Crazy boy!

Calvin made the hike so entertaining

Our little hikers at the top.

This is what the hike looks like. You feel like your in the middle of Lord of the Rings. You expect some magical creature to jump out of the fern.

The top of the Spencer's Butte. It was really pretty. One of the tallest points in Eugene.

The Letter A

I decided I was lacking on the "teaching" part of my mom job. Calvin is soaking information in like a sponge (good and bad). So I decided I really need to start trying to have a plan for teaching him. We are starting with the ABC's. Each day we start with a letter that Calvin colors. We then figure a food and an activity that starts with that letter. I am also trying to incorporate church things in with this. So here we go:

The Letter A

A is for Arthichoke and A is for Artist
We ate an artichoke for our vegetable for dinner and we were "artists" and finger painted.
We also talked about Adam. I asked Calvin if he new who Adam was. He said "Adam was our first Prophet." I was a little shocked that he knew this, but then we started to sing "Follow the Prophet" and I understood how he knew that Adam was our first Prophet.


I think Simon painted more on his tummy than on the poster
Calvin loved this activity... getting dirty

Where did he get it from?

This is Simon sleeping. Why did I take this picture? Notice his shoes. They are together with his socks placed in them. When i put Simon down for his nap, I took his shoes off and just threw them to the side. When i came in to check on him, he had taken his shoes , placed them nicely together, taken his socks off and placed them inside the shoes. This kid is a neat freak! He doesn't like his hands dirty, he is always picking up trash around the house and throwing it away. And now his shoes and socks have to be nice and neat before he will take his nap. Where did this kid come from??? Maybe I could learn a thing or two from him:)

Super CTR

My sister-in-law made this cute cape. Calvin loves it. He always asks me to get it out. The other day he begged me to pull it out of the drawer. As I was putting it on him, I explained what CTR stands for. I told him that when he wears this cape, he has to "choose the right." So he ran around in it. Flying from room to room. About twenty minutes later he comes to me and says "Can you take this off? I don't want to wear it anymore." Two seconds after I take it off, he runs and grabs the truck that Simon was playing with. I guess he was done choosing the right.

Calvin's Baby Blanket

You would think by the name of this post that it was three and a half years old. But no, I finally finished Calvin's baby blanket. Before Calvin was born, Bryce and I went to the fabric store and picked out Calvin's material for his baby blanket. It was supposed to go with his room... that he no longer lives in.
I needed a good cheap project to do. So I pulled it out and started on it. The original fabric was too small for Calvin now so I went to the store and found another piece to add to it. For those people who are talented at sewing... please do not look too close. But for those who only know how to sew straight lines, like me, be amazed!

The little paw print is from his original baby blanket. the Skaters and Bikers fabric is what i picked out. I thought it matched Calvin to a T. They dont necessarily go together but I felt that they described Calvin. Its a little wrinkly because Calvin loves it and uses it. It makes me happy:)
And i made these rolls... actually i didnt. Bryce made these yummy rolls. His mom taught him how to make them while we were in Utah. Just thought i would add them to the domestic post.

The Boys!

Guess what... You may have already but I love my two little boys. Don't get me wrong, they are a handful! But when I look at these pictures it makes me love them. Maybe cause they are taking a nap right now and they look like angels on these pictures. Have to take pictures when they are being fun and cute.

This Calvin and his truck. He decided the couch was his truck and he "loaded" all his things on and was driving it around.

We went to the U of O baseball game. Calvin kept yelling to the duck "Hey Donald Duck!" I guess he likes the duck now... he used to be terrified.

This is the LDS Law School tailgate party at the baseball game.

The boys riding Milo... Yes Calvin has a headband on. Don't you love Milo's face in this picture:)

The boys put my headbands on and were running around. I took a picture and they made funny faces at me. I love that Simon does whatever Calvin is doing.

I Like to Ride My Bicycle!

Bryce took the training wheels off of Calvin's other bike to see if he could ride a regular bike. Calvin picked it up quick. Here is Calvin at the church.

We decided to start Simon on the balance bike. It is a little early but this is how Calvin started:)

Spring Spring Spring said the Frog!

I grew up with this book. Calvin and Simon love to read it. It is about SPRING! Yeah for SPRING!

I told Simon to say cheese and this is the face he pulled. Such a cute boy!

These arent the best pictures in the world but they are so cute! Oregon Spring: Rain + Sunny day = mud! The boys love playing out in the mud. It just means I end up doing a lot of laundry. Worth it!

Go Daniel!

We went to my little brothers soccer game the other day. This is the first game that Calvin has actually sat down and watched. He usually is running around or playing with the other kids. I think he liked the attention he was getting while he was cheering for Daniel.

"Daniel Son" himself

Go Daniel! Go Daniel! Go Daniel! ... Calvin yelled this for about 20 minutes straight. The crowd was laughing and thought it was so cute.

The Camera Lady for the team took these pictures. She said Calvin will be on the team video at the end of the year. Awesome Calvin!

Off to Nursery with you!

Simon is 18 months! Finally he is going to nursery! Unlike Calvin, I think Simon is going to go to Nursery with no problems! Love this kid!

You know how you worry when kids are quiet? I usually don't worry with Simon because often I find him sitting and looking at a book... or tearing it apart.

this morning Simon put his swim cover-ups on. He wants to be like Calvin and wear underwear. He often says "go" and walks to the bathroom and tries to pull his pants down.

Simon loves to put things on his feet... mom shoes, dad shoes, tupperware, or his play pots and pans. He squeezes his feet into them and then walks around.

C is for...

For Family home evening this week, we put the ABC's around our house. "D is for door" "B is for bathroom" "M is for Mirror"... you get the point. Well this morning I was sitting in the chair eating my breakfast. Calvin comes up to me and says "Mom, your in my chair. Move." (he wasnt too polite about it). I said to him "Calvin, this is my chair. I have been sitting here for the past 15 minutes, eating my breakfast." He gets even more demanding as he says "Mom Move! You are in my chair." I get a little frustrated and say "Calvin there are three other chairs... go sit in another one." With his flustered little three year old voice he explains "Mom there is a "C" on the back of this chair, and "C" is for Calvin. That is my chair! Move!" ... I moved...he had a point.

Spencer "Butt"

No it is Spencer Butte not Spencer Butt. It just makes me think of my Grandpa Linton. He was deaf and didn't understand how to pronounce some things. He loved gardens and would always ask my mom to take him to Red "Butt" Gardens. So here is to you Grandpa... We went for a hike today at Spencer "Butt"
It was a cold day but we all felt like we needed to get outside so we went for a hike. It was really pretty. Spencer Butte is only about 15 minutes away from our house. It was beautiful because moss was covering the trees and it had snowed the day before. Oh and we found the camera on the baby backpack from our last hike. So here are some pictures.

Bad Day?

Is it a bad day or is it just being a mom?
Today: ... never mind.... lets start with yesterday:
I CLEANED THE BATHROOM!!! You may ask whats the big deal. But anyone who knows me knows that I have accomplished the world when I clean the bathroom.
So After I clean my beautiful bathroom I jump in the shower. Calvin always asks if he can watch a show while i get in the bathroom. I finally have put my foot down that he cant because he has a huge tantrum when I turn the show off. So I am taking my shower. Both the boys are in the bathroom. Calvin tells me he needs to go to the bathroom. He sits on the toilet and goes! Good job Calvin. While Calvin is going, Simon opened the door below the sink and pulled out the sponge i use to clean the tub. He is sticking his hand in the shower and wiping it down... whatever... thats fine. I will clean his hands when i get out. Then I peak out to find him dipping the sponge in toilet (where the pee is) and wiping down the bathroom! Come on! I just cleaned the whole bathroom! So... I clean him and the bathroom up and call it good.
Well... this morning I am getting Simon ready. Calvin yells "I need to go to the bathroom!" I hear him go into the bathroom and lift the lid up. Then I hear giggling... and splashing... this cant be good. I run to the bathroom to find him peeing ALL OVER THE BATHROOM!! Mirror and all!
I am doomed to have a pee filled bathroom. I am never going to clean my bathroom again! Why should I?

Why?

I posted this picture for a few reasons...
Reason #1: We lost our camera so I dont have any new pictures of Calvin.
Reason #2: This is Calvin at about 18 months and Simon is now this age and does the exact same thing Calvin is doing in this picture. When i ask Simon where something is, he puts his hand up like this and say where?
Reason #3: And finally... Calvin is now in the stage where he asks why to everything. Our conversation usually goes something like this:
Me "Calvin eat your lunch"
Calvin " why"
Me " So you can grow strong and healthy"
Calvin "why"
Me " So you can be a big boy someday and go to school"
Calvin "why"
Me " Because you have to go to school to learn"
Calvin "why"
... at this point I am losing it... Me "because I said so"
Calvin "why"
Me "because I am the mom"
Calvin "why"
Me "because I gave birth to you"
Calvin "why"
Me ...."JUST EAT YOUR LUNCH CALVIN!!!!"

He Loves Me!

This is an old picture of Calvin in front of the Columbia River. I had to post a picture
Yesterday I was on my way home from a walk with my friend. On the walk, things were kind of crazy. Simon kept standing up (He screams if I buckle him in) and Calvin had taken off on his bike and Milo ran off with his leash. I was a little tire by the end of the walk.
I turned to Calvin and asked "Am I crazy Calvin?" His response was "Yep... But Guess What Mom?... I love you!"
Thanks Calvin... I may be crazy but at least my little boy loves me!

The Bumps

Bryce and Calvin have been enjoying the good weather lately. Bryce comes home from school at night and takes Calvin to "The Bumps." It is a bmx bike park by the football stadium. The best part is it is free and fun!

Bryce takes Simon on some of the bumps. Simon loves it!

One Track Mind

Everyone knows that Milo has a one track mind. This picture proves it! Now we have even more proof! The other day Milo came in from the backyard covered in mud! Bryce went outside to discover he had been digging by the gate on the side of our house. This is the side of the house we dont walk by too often. So Bryce made poop soup to keep Milo from digging. It worked but didnt seem to ease Milo's mind. That night he woke Bryce up twice to go to the bathroom...but instead of going to the bathroom he would run straight to the gate and look at Bryce. Bryce was not happy this is what Milo woke him up for. The next day Milo tried to dig again. This time he bent the rain gutter because he didnt want to dig in the previous spot. We were getting frustrated! So Bryce trotted Milo into the front yard to find out what was so important. It took Milo a minute to realize that he was on the other side of the gate... then he spotted it. He leaped over and grabbed his Kong (ball)! He pranced around like he won the lottery! So thats what was so important to wake bryce up in the middle of the night TWICE! Now we can rest in peace other than Milo now wants his ball thrown to him:)

"Visor Vimage"

Before Bryce left for school, Calvin came up with this invention: a "visor vimage" (from what I can understand)." You can go under water with it." At first Calvin tried to put it on himself. He had the tape stuck to his hair. He screamed when he took it off... ouch! So Bryce volunteered to wear it. Thanks Calvin for this great invention:)

Potty Training

The adventure of potty training began the week we came back from Utah. I used the three day method. Calvin did awesome! After a few accidents the first day, he didnt have an accident for over a week. We were smooth sailing. He would come to me and tell me when he had to go to the bathroom each time. It was awesome. After a while, I think we stopped praising him, and he started to have some accidents. So we started a chart up and he loved it. He hasnt had an accident since and it has been over a week. We finished this chart and are starting on the new chart.

He got a star every time he stayed dry through the night or he went #2 in the toilet:)

We went to the dollar store and he had the option of picking any toy that he wanted!

He picked this Nascar race car! Uncle Warren should be proud!

We are still alive... I think

There are many reasons why I have not updated my blog... One of the them is that we have been sick. We have been hanging out at home all week long with runny noses and yucky eyes! Today I told Calvin that if he went bathroom in the toilet (I will spare you the details) I would make homemade play dough! And he did it!!:)