Doggy Tales

This is Ginger...
Ashlyn's new favorite thing to do/play with.

It all started out as a favor to a neighbor who just had a baby. But I think it has turned into a favor for Ashlyn.
She can't get enough of this puppy and it is constantly on her mind. I know she would take great care of one- that is IF we ever own one.

Spring Sports

Dylan played baseball for the first time this spring. It was a love/hate relationship. The games were LONG and SLOW- as you can imagine at 6 years of age. But Dylan loved it anyways. He still loves to go out and play catch with just about anyone.

Let me remind you, he is our super athlete. He never had a problem hitting the ball and getting to first base. His coaches loved it when he played third base because he could actually get the ball to first base in one throw. However, that doesn't mean that the first basemen caught it! It was a very interesting season to watch. I had to continually remind Dylan not to fight over the grounders with his teammates. It didn't seam to sink in!
During his last game he played first base and got two outs during the same inning. Obtaining any outs during your teams field play is rare, but very exciting. They have a 5 run maximum for each inning in the league due to this fact. So Dylan was pretty excited as you can imagine.

There was also another funny moment when Dylan was on the bench waiting to hit and he was crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said there weren't anymore helmets (he was far enough down the lineup that there were no helmets left to wear.) I just laughed.

Here is Dylan in catchers garb, most of the kids had a hard time just walking around in it...

Dylan and one of his best buddies were on the same soccer team again. We loved it and they loved it (I think because it was only one hour a week.) He is wearing a Honduran soccer outfit my sister, Carianne, sent him for his birthday.
What will this kid do next?

Father's Day

I love Father's day - besides trying to find the right gift for the men in my life (why are they always the hardest?)

This year we gave Connor some yummy treats because he was the "Top Pop" of the year- well every year really! Every year we repurposed an old tie for Connor. I mean don't you think this looks WAY better than it possibly could have before...(Sorry for the bad photo, my bathroom does not lend itself for a good backdrop late at night.)

Every man wants a tie with D.A.D., fringe, jewels, and Googly eyes ...
I wish I could shrink down to the size of a pin and take a ride on Connor's shoulder so that I could take in all the comments he gets from wearing such a marvelous creation!

Yes, we love our daddy! From what I gathered from my kid's answers to questions for Father's day, they all love to wrestle with him and Dylan also loves to have Wii time with him. I know Kamryn is instantly soothed by just the sound of his voice, there really is nothing sweeter than a dad with his infant in his arms! Connor never fails to get down and play hard with his kids. He is an amazing teacher and friend to them. He is always willing to play even the most tiring games with them. They all fight over sitting by him at dinner (sometimes I wonder if they realize I am in the room.) I am excited to see him in action in the future and also very comforted because I know he will be amazing!

I also have a wonderful Dad of my own. Sadly, it took me about 18 years to finally realize what an amazing man he was. I feel like I wasted so many moments and opportunities with him. He is very intelligent. We often tease him because he knows words that none of us have even heard. But he was the best one to go to proof read our papers. I am grateful for the example he has set for me. I can not even count the many times he has been up for all hours of the night out helping someone in need, without a single complaint. I know he has done this for me as well. He provided a wonderful, spiritual and safe home for me to be raised in. I never doubted his love for me!

Thank you, I love you both!

Hair does

Dylan

Ashlyn

Summer Wreaths

I have suddenly become in love with wreaths, I don't know why. But these are a few of my recent favs:

My summer seaside wreath:

And my patriotic wreath:

Tip I learned: remember to actually READ the directions before attempting to try to follow them.

2 Months Already!

Kamryn turned two months on Tuesday. I can't believe how fast it has gone. But yet I can't remember what it was like without her here. She has complimented our family in so many ways. Corbin has come to love her to DEATH. He will literally smother her with his love. He likes to try to take care of her. Ashlyn thinks she is mom #2 and Dylan plays a very good big brother part. Everyone loves her, I mean EVERYONE! At Church functions she is the most popular person in the room, especially with the kids! Being in primary makes all the kids unafraid to approach me, which I love. We have noticed a trend however, it is usually the babies of the families that are the most "hungry" to hold her.

She has started to smile and coo at us- an amazing glimpse into her personality. I still am waiting to see what color her eyes are going to be (this will determine if she is a King baby or a Thompson baby. I have three Thompson babies and so i won't get my hopes up!) I think she has me wrapped cause i really think she is the cuttest baby I have EVER seen, including my own. She really is such a great baby, I have put in a lot of time to deserve one like this. She normally only wakes up twice at night and it has been less here and there. She will sit in bouncer for longer than I should let her. She is most always very content!

We love our baby Kamryn!

Wee Wee Wee All The Way Home

I never would have thought that this... would =

A week ago I was in my normal post bedtime zone- cleaning and picking up after a long day. I walked briskly past the baby bouncer- I guess a little too closely! I caught the frame between my 4th and 5th toes and of course tripped. Luckily there was no baby in it because I snagged it hard. Honestly, I take pain pretty well, but this hurt more than just a normal stub. Connor heard my howl and found me laying face down. The only reason I was still sprawled on the floor at this point was the need for a few extra minutes to shake it off. Connor started laughing, assuming I was trying to play some sort of joke (I guess I play too many on him.)
I have never broken a single bone in my body until I became a mother- how ironic! I never knew that motherhood could be so dangerous! The x-ray showed a very obvious pinky toe fracture.

The sad part is that I was just getting back into my running after my 6 week postpartum green light. This puts quite a damper on my race training and tennis team playing! So for the next four weeks I have to find time/ways to cross train (not going so hot)!

Cotton Hammer

This great guy came to visit... Connor's Cousin/best friend, Scott Hammer, came. He was in town for a wedding but we got a few days to enjoy him first. For some reason Ashlyn started calling him "Cotton Hammer" and it stuck. So to celebrate the occasion of our visitor we decided to take a trip to the beach.

This sums up how we all felt about it...
Camp site...
Kamryn did so well at the beach- maybe she didn't care for the wind... Professional sandcastle maker and cutie...
There were a few moments that we suddenly realized Dylan had vanished and as we looked around we saw this...
The kid would just have a sudden urge to run, the need for speed!

There was a lot of this...

Dylan was glued to Hammer. Actually all the kids were. They could barely let him shower alone. They were fighting over who got to sit by him and who got to play with him.

Future Mormon bay watch girl...

My favorite pic because it sums up how relaxing it was... The water was too enjoyable, we couldn't get enough...
I mean this kid is too cute... We never got tired of jumping over the waves and running from them...

I was surprised that Dylan enjoyed body surfing so much, salt and all...

Pretending to be fish...

By the end of the day we were toast (literally.)

Thanks Hammer for coming to visit and putting up with us and our crazy kids!

8 Years

8 years ago I never imagined a day like today...

*woken abruptly by child 3 screaming bloody murder
*poop leaked on your clothes at a baseball game
*child 3 drops apple into dirt after repeated warnings (might I add that you are VERY hungry)
*stubbed your broken toe
*child 2 scrapes knee and there is D.R.A.M.A.
*as you load the car you realize that child 3 has pooped in his swim diaper (and it is that flaky stuff that doesn't come off) and your friend with the pool key just left.
*child 4 is often crying but has to be put off until children 1-3 are satisfied
*child 2 won't stop asking you to walk the neighbor's dog with her
*child 3 rammed heads with his best buddy and now is crying and has a big bump
*child 1 cries because there are no more baseball helmets
*child 2 thinks she runs the house and can tell everyone what to do
*child 3 complains that his tummy hurts (your first thought is throw up)
*child 1 decides he needs a reward for picking up his own trash
*child 4 is tired but having a hard time falling and STAYING asleep.
*child 1 says he can't find his baseball shirt even though he is practically looking at it
*child 3 plays in the mud
*child 2 cries because the shoes she chose are hurting her feet, she demands that you go get her different ones (you are not at home, nor are you even close)
*child 3 throws his sandwich at you
*child 1 asks you to carry his bat and water bottle- like you aren't already hauling enough
*child 3's nose is running, all you can find is his shirt.

And this is a typical day. But yet it doesn't seem so bad because I married this man...
Who makes me feel loved, which is the most wonderful feeling in the whole world. Loved inside and out, despite many weaknesses and eccentricities. My best friend and one who makes me smile and laugh even when the world seems to be crashing around us. I am grateful that I chose to marry this man and that I get to walk side by side with him forever- a marvelous gift that started 8 years ago today!

K'nex

We were lucky enough to get a great big package of these...

As long as we give a review of the products on this here blog, they are ours to keep!

It was like Christmas at our house as you can imagine! Corbin and Ashlyn went straight for the Sesame Street sets. They loved putting them together, and they love the containers they came in too. I also enjoyed that the instructions gave a lot of ideas to use when playing with your kids. Not only can you put them together in very fun and silly ways but you can use them to teach colors and numbers. As a child development major and MOM I was grateful for yet another fun tool to help my children learn as they play.
Dylan has loved the Collect & Build Construction Crew Series and the Micro-Bots set. He has really loved that some are motorized. He can enjoy building them and then playing with them afterward. Corbin loves to watch "hopper." Obviously, we have rebuilt him many times!However, Dylan seems frustrated when they come apart and sometimes he gets stuck on the directions. But overall he has been able to build most of them on his own. I also have enjoyed the Fire Rescue 10 set because it gives directions to build not just the truck but also 3 or 4 other vehicles. As a mom of a child who mostly only builds straight from the directions and not out of creativity, I am thankful for multiple ways he can use this one set.

I would like to think I am a pretty good builder myself, but Dylan would much rather have dad or a friend build with him. No fair, I like these too!

nursing covers

I can finally show off my latest creations because it won't ruin any surprises. Our ward has had a HUGE boom of babies- 9 babies!!! Half of them are first time mommies, which is terribly exciting.

So I decided to make those new mommies one of these...A cute nursing cover (some people would like to call them hooter hiders, you can choose)...

I think they turned out quite adorable if I say so myself. And while I was at it, I made myself a new one, mine was pretty ragged looking...