Two Dudes Make Three

The Dudes--Griffin and Crew--turned three last week.  

Aunt Tysen threw quite the party.

There was a bounce house, popcorn, face painting, pizza, candy candy candy, and a fire truck cake.

We had lots of fun.

The children would not stay out of the candy.

I wouldn't stay out of the gum balls.

Look at the cute fire engine cake. 

The bounce house.

Brandt spent most of the party (when he wasn't in the candy dish) jumping.

Blythe having her face painted by "Aunt" Lacey. 

Admiring herself in the mirror. 

Our cute little butterfly. 

Sort of posing for a picture.

And then a moment later, fighting over a ladle.  

Everybody needs a ladle, especially an orange bandana-ed pirate and a blue butterfly.  

We gave the Dudes books.  I let the children decorate the gifts for a personalized touch.

Can you tell who colored which present?

Brandt wrote "Crew" and "Griffin" on the green present, but the wrapping paper was slick, the ink smeared, 

and he ended up with black smudged hands.

The wrapping didn't seem to inhibit either Crew or Griffin.

Brandt's favorite part of the party?

Driving the pink car.

He loves, loves, loves the pink car.

A First!

It was gloriously beautiful today and so we went swimming.  The pool is still open because, though it is the end of September, it has been hot and sunny.  Heidi Tanner took Simon and Jack out of school early and we swam.  


Brandt of late has been most comfortable in the kiddie pool.  Jack and Simon were jumping off the diving board, however, and Brandt wanted to push them off, so though he didn't have floaties on while in the shallow end, being down by the deep end was making me too nervous.  I also jumped in by the diving board so that I would be on hand should Brandt accidentally fall in.  Turns out, Brandt sort of got pushed in, off the board, and came up panicking.  He surfaced and yelled, "Katherine!"  I was right there, he was floating, and everything was fine.  


In fact, everything was great.  Having made the initial plunge, Brandt was willing to jump off the diving board lots of times.  Finally.  I have been trying to convince him to go off all summer without any luck.  Had I known all it would take was a push from Jack, I would have had him shove Brandt off in June.  I think it is funny that the breakthrough happened on September 27th, when the pool will likely be closed by the end of the week.  


I also didn't have my camera.  I have been snapping shots for months and didn't really think I needed another swimming picture from this year.  But drat! I did!  And no camera so no photo.  We'll just have to swim again this week.  Like tomorrow, and maybe Wednesday, and if we can squeeze it in, Thursday too.  


Guess what?  We swam on Wednesday, and I took the camera. I took the video too, so here are wonderful shots of Brandt mid-jump.  Swimming on Friday, Saturday, and probably Monday too.  The pool will be closed on Tuesday (so sad). 

And as a side note, in his panic, Brandt did not cry out "Mom!" he cried out "Katherine!"  He apparently isn't trying to be funny by calling me Katherine, he just thinks of me as Katherine.  Is he precocious?  Is he cheeky?  Should I be worried?  Try to get him to call me Mom?  Interesting boy.

A Testimony

We had our ward Primary program on Sunday.  It was my first as the Primary president, and Brandt's first as a Sunbeamer.  Brandt had a short part.  He was to respond to the question, "How do you know Heavenly Father and Jesus love you?"  When I asked him this question some weeks ago, he replied, "They give me blessings."
"What sort of blessings?" I asked.
"Food.  Bubbles.  My trucks," he said.
So his part was, "They give me blessings like food, bubbles, and my trucks."


We practiced every day this past week, and Brandt said his part more and more confidently each time.  Thing is, Brandt gets very shy in front of large groups of people, and I was not at all sure he would actually say his part.  I really thought I would have to say it for him.  


On Saturday, after we had practiced, Brandt said, "I'm going to say my part in the microphone."
"Super!" I replied.
Yesterday, Brandt was really excited and happily joined me on the stand at the beginning of the program.  I saw him singing our first song, I Know That My Savior Loves Me and began to cry.  He sang out so well and knew all the words.  I was very moved to see my son sing, "I know He lives! I will follow faithfully.  My heart I give to Him.  I know that my Savior loves me."


Not only did he sing, but he stood at the podium and said his part.  He really did it.  He said, "They give me blessings," then turned to me and said, "What else?"  
I replied, "What blessings do they give?"
Then he said, "Food, bubbles," another look to me and I whispered, "My trucks," and he said, "And my trucks."  


I was so pleased.  Our boy, our sweet little boy is growing up.  He is coming into his own and developing a testimony.  He told us the other day that he wants Jesus to come again so he can thank him for making our bodies so that they heal themselves when we get cut or bruised.  He likes to pray and he loves to sing Primary songs, especially Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam.  


And speaking of Primary programs and singing, Blythe did not get to participate directly.  She loved the program though.  She stood on Kent's lap so she had a better view, she called out to Jack Tanner ("Hi Jack!"), and came to sit with Heidi Tanner on the stand because she had to be closer to the action.  She, too, likes to sing Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam.  This morning, when she woke, she was singing before I went in to get her out of bed.  I am glad Brandt and Blythe are both learning about the gospel at home and at church.

Dad and Lad Outing

On Friday, Kent and Brandt went to the fathers and sons activity in our ward.

Brandt played on a putting green and collected basketballs at the shoot-out.

It was fun to see them setting off together.

Dinosaurs and Deciduous Trees

Just down the street from our house is the BYU Dinosaur Museum.  

It's really called the Museum of Paleontology, but that doesn't start with D.  

It is a small but fantastic museum, with interesting exhibits at small child level.  

Here is Blythe heading into the museum sporting her purse.

She always has her purse with her these days.

Funny way to keep it on her arm, though.

Check out the size of this T-Rex skull.

And those teeth! 

I wanted the children to just give me a nice, regular smile.

This is what I got. 

Scary!

 

A huge crocodile skull that was attached to a 37 foot body. 

I think this armored dinosaur is the coolest. 

This museum was a treat.

From the museum, we took a drive up the canyon to see the deciduous trees.

  

We were a bit late in the season.

The leaves were fairly dull.

Again, trying to get a picture of the children was a challenge.  

I must have said, "Just look at me for two seconds!" 27 times.

But hey! We did see a moose.

Pears, Glorious Pears

This week I canned 32 quarts of these gorgeous and super delicious pears.

I would have done a few more, but we just kept eating them.

Brandt would eat three or four at a go, snarfing as pear juice ran down his chin.

Blythe would eat about half a pear, take a short break, and then come back for more.

Aren't they lovely?

Less lovely are the four quarts of meatloaf I canned--just to try.

It looks weird but smelled delicious while it was being pressure cooked.

I'm going to try it when I feel a bit hungrier.

A Self Portrait

These shots Brandt takes of himself when he pilfers the camera always make me laugh.

C & D Week Dinners

Last Sunday we had our C week dinner.

On Thursday we had our D week dinner.

C week went better than D week.

Brandt and Blythe both helped with dinner preparations.

Here we are cutting up carrots.  

Blythe is using a butter knife and not having very much success.

Safe though. 

Dinner was:

Chicken salad on croissants.

Cheese and crackers.

Cabbage salad with "crunchies" which is what I have called raw veg since Brandt was little.

Cheating, you say?  Not quite.

In addition to the cabbage, there was carrot, cucumber, and cauliflower.

Cranberry juice to drink. 

For dessert:

Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting,

sprinkled with coconut or crystallized sugar.

For D week, we combined our "crafty" sort of activity with dinner.

Together we made dough.

Then we made dough boys (really scones, but cut out in boy shapes), 

had them for dinner with a bit of salad and fruit, and called it our D week meal.

Is that cheating?

Probably.

I was going to make Dijon chicken and dal, but Kent said I needn't go overboard, 

especially as the children weren't likely to eat either.

Any idea where I could find dragon fruit?

We'll roll it . . . 

And cut it . . .  

And fry it in oil.

Served with a "dip" of honey butter.

". . and dancin' in the rain."

Rained today.

Terrific downpour, thunder, a bit of hail.

Brandt said, "Let's go dance in the rain!"

So we did. 

Umbrellas, no shoes, and in Blythe's case, a purse.

Don't leave home without it, even if you are only going out in the front yard.

Check out the water in the gutter.

Twenty minutes after we were out, the sun was out and it hardly seemed like it had rained at all.

Who's the Boss?

A conversation with Brandt today.

Brandt: "Mom, you are not the boss of my Mighty Machines.  I am the boss of my Mighty Machines."
Me: "I agree.  You are the boss of your Mighty Machines.
Brief pause.
Brandt: "And I am the boss of myself."

Une Artiste

Blythe likes to "gaw."

That's draw.  

This morning she asked for paper and spread out on the kitchen floor.

Here is the result.

Notice the blue above her lip?

That's from yesterday's gawing.

Something Stinks

Blythe smelt something stinky this morning.

She might have been smelling herself.

She looked so funny with her bed-head (she needs a haircut!) and her nose plugged.

In unrelated news, check out that pear!

I bought two boxes of those beauties I'm going to can.

Yum!

8-3000

This morning I heard Brandt awake.  I actually heard him closing his door, then I heard him in his room talking to himself.  I was glad he didn't come into our room--it meant Kent could sleep in a bit longer.  Brandt is good at entertaining himself, and this morning he was hard at work building this:

It's an 8-3000.  I know because he told me.  He showed me a couple of features of the 8-3000, but I wanted to know more, so I said, "Tell me all about this."  This was his reply, not word for word, but his own description which I wrote down as he told me.

"This is the driver spot and this is where the co-pilot sits."  The drive is the guy in the blue hat; the co-pilot in the orange hat.  "When someone gets injured, they sit here."  The "here" is behind the co-pilot.  "There is a propeller, a smoke stack, and wheels too.  These are wings," then there was a demonstration of how it flies, "and this is where people see out the window.  I'll show you how the guy gets down.  He jumps down right here, then like that."  He removed the driver from the 8-3000.  "He goes in his house and sleeps," putting the guy in his bowl of Cheerios--without milk, "then he comes back and gets in.  You've got more room up here."  This was a comment about the space where I was writing this detailed description.  I had come to the bottom of the envelope I was writing on, but there was a bit more space at the top and Brandt wanted to tell me more.  "It goes really, really fast.  It's got a hose to it that sprays out fires.  It's in there--you can't see it."  Where I can't see is under the propeller.  

"Wow!" I said.  "Does it have any other features?"

"Let me see," he said.  "It has eyes and nose and mouth."  It does have eyes, a nose, and mouth--design on the Lego's the 8-3000 was built with.

I do love our lad's imagination.

C is for Chicken, Carnival, and Carousel all at the State Fair

We spent a marvelous day at the state fair on Friday.  Kent took a day off work, Christopher and Tysen joined us with Ava, Crew, and Griffin, and we did just about everything there was to do.  We saw all the animals, we watched pig races and sea lions, we went down the Big Yellow Slide, we rode several rides at the carnival (really called the Midway, but hey! For C week it was the carnival), and we ate bad for us fair food.  We wandered through the photography exhibit, and rode on ponies and in a little touring train that took us all around the fairgrounds.  It really was a super fun day!  Here are some shots.

All together for a day of fun.

Checking out the Navy's promotional booth.

Brandt and Blythe both loved the ATV.

Watching pig racing.

Small running swine are fairly amusing.

Brandt and Blythe looking at this beauty.  

Check out the size of this turkey!  

It is hard to tell, but this bird is almost as big as Blythe as probably weighs more.

And speaking of fowl, Brandt found the chickens remarkably amusing.

He laughed all through the bird building, especially at these types of chickens.

Here he is eyeing a goat.

Or the goat is eyeing him.

The brother of our next door neighbor (Don) has been running the pony ride at the fair for 30 years.

Blythe wanted to ride a pony (the only child brave enough), so I introduced myself.

I walked around once with Blythe, then Don said,
"The neighbor of my sister gets a free ride,"

and boosted me up on a horse.  

I felt kind of silly and Blythe felt nervous, so Uncle Christopher walked around with her.

Brandt watching the sea lion show on Kent's shoulders and "driving" a really big piece of equipment.

Brandt actually drove five different machines.

The Big Yellow Slide.

Near the top, near the bottom,

and at the end.  

We stood up and Brandt and Blythe both said, "Let's do it again!"

The Carnival!

The train ride that went round and round.

And the train ride that went around the grounds.

Riding the carousel.  One again, Blythe was the only one brave enough to get on a horse.

Actually, Crew got on a horse too.

See?

                     Blythe and Griffin are covering their ears to protect them. 

A very loud sheep walked right next to them both startling and annoying them.