Northern LeSueurs

"We're gonna win Twins!"

2010-08-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

May 2010

The Twins got a new stadium this year and we were all very excited to go to our first game there. It was a great game ... the Twins beat the Orioles! ... and the boys were in heaven!!

Target Field is really beautiful.

Enjoying the game ... smiles all around!

Connor really enjoyed the gummi worms. As long as you kept the sugar coming, he was happy!

While we were walking around the stadium we ran into TC the bear and got to take a quick picture. Sorry it's blurry, it's the best I have. It was really a "quick" picture.

This is "Minnie" and "Paul" (Minneapolis/St. Paul) -- every time there is a Twins home run or when the Twins win, they shake hands.

The boys were a little bummed when we got to the game and found out that Joe Mauer still wouldn't be playing (he had been out for an injury for the last 10 days). Then in the 8th inning with the bases loaded, Mauer came out to pinch hit. The boys were ecstatic! The whole stadium went crazy! So much fun!

Here's the gang on our way back to our car. Yes it was a little chilly, even though it was early May, but we threw on a few layers, added some blankets and it was great! That's outdoor baseball in Minnesota! And just look at those faces ... they say it all!

Great Night! Great Memories!

Let's Play Ball!

2010-08-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

When you have a family with 4 boys ("5 including Dad" -- that's what Grayson is always telling people) you can imagine that sports is kindof a big thing in our house. And baseball is a HUGE favorite come spring. This year we were lucky to only have 1 Little League team (the Diamond Backs) for the 2 older boys and 1 Tball team which started as Little League was finishing. (Next year will be a lot crazier so I was sure to enjoy this schedule.)

This was Bryant's 2nd year playing Little League and Benjamin's 1st. They both had a great year and were voted onto the All-Star Team by their teammates. Unfortunately, the game was while we were on vacation so they couldn't attend, but they still got to know they were voted in and then 2 of their friends were able to play in their place. And they handled it very well -- disappointed but no pouting or complaining -- I was very proud of them.

Here are a few of the highlights from the season.

Bryant loves to play catcher. This was their first game and he's already behind the plate. This year Bry was #7 which happens to be the same as Joe Mauer, the Twins catcher, who is Bry's favorite player. And while he was playing catcher, one of the dad's realized this and yelled out "Hey! We've got Mauer behind the plate!" So for the rest of the season every time Bry got up to bat, the rest of the team broke out into a "Mauer! Mauer!" chant. Bry loved every minute of it!!

Bry at bat, about to send the ball flying for a base hit.

Benjamin running the bases. I had to add the second picture because his face was so funny! (If you click on the picture you should be able to see it better.) He became quite the power hitter this season. Once he had a few hits, he gained his confidence and there was no stopping him. It was great to watch him and see how happy he was with his progress.

Sunny days and Sandcastles

2010-05-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

We have been fortunate to have some great weather this week. Honestly several days were really humid and those weren't much fun, but by Tuesday the humidity had left and we were able to enjoy the sunshine and warmth. We met at a nearby lake for playgroup this week and after everyone else left, we decided to stay and play for several more hours. I had to go to the boys' school that afternoon and it seemed silly to drive home just to come back the same way when we could stay and build sand castles instead. So that's what we did! (Grayson, Connor and I -- Bryant and Benjamin were in school. And they were quite bummed to hear they had missed out on an afternoon at the beach.) Connor didn't want to go into the water at first, but he quickly got over that. They had a great time digging and splashing. Here are some pictures of them hard at work.

It was hard to get a shot of Connor's face because he was so focused on what he was doing.

After the castle was built they worked on making a river from the castle doors to the the lake.

Grayson digging the trench.

Connor stopping for a moment to say "cheese!" for the camera.

The finished product

It was a lot of fun building this together. Definitely a great way to spend the afternoon with my boys. I can't wait to enjoy the whole summer with all of my boys.

One last parting smile!

And We're Back!

2010-05-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

I think after taking a year off, it's about time I get back to this blog, don't you think?! Naturally a lot has happened in the last year, but for now I'm going to stick with the current happenings and hopefully throw in some catch up posts from time to time. I really have missed keeping everyone up to date via our blog and I hope to keep it up.

Right now, baseball is our life! At least that's the way it seems. Both Bryant and Benjamin are playing Little League this year and they are on the same team, the Diamond Backs. I'll have to post some shots of them playing later. They are both REALLY into the game this year. Not just playing, but also watching the MLB. And of course they love the Twins! We've even made it to a game at the new Target Field (once again, another post). Well, this week the Twins centerfielder, Denard Span, made a special visit to talk with our Little League. During the question and answer, Bryant was the one chosen from their team to ask a question. He asked "Who was your favorite player growing up?" The answer was Ken Griffey, Jr.

They originally told us we wouldn't be able to do photos or autographs, but he stayed and did that anyway.

Here is Bryant with the signed baseball. Luckily Grayson had brought one to play with while we were waiting. After getting the baseball signed, they decided to get their hats signed. By now the crowd was small so it didn't take long. And we also mangaed to get a photo. Here are the 3 boys along with one of their teammates. After the photo, they got their mitts signed too, even Grayson. They were all pretty thrilled to come home and tell their dad all about it. And I think this will be good motivation to take good care of their mitts! It's already made for great show and tell at school this week.

I Know ...

2009-05-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

I know, I know ... I need to update my blog. So much has happened in the last few months, and I do hope to catch up ... one day ... at least some of the big events. We'll see how that goes. Tonight is not the night. At least not right now, because I'm really suppose to be doing something else, but I had to add this quick story from Grayson tonight.

Setting: We are all in the car driving to the store.
People involved: Grayson and Me (aka Mom)

G: Mom, How do you get to outerspace?
M: You take a space shuttle.
G: No.
M: Then how?
G: You take a jet pack or a trampoline.

After a few more questions from Rehn and I, we learned that the jet pack with the trampoline is really best. I'm glad we have Grayson around to keep up straight.

Then as we were driving out of the lumber yard and Benjamin asked if the guy checking us out was the same guy that let us in. Of course, Rehn said no it was his twin brother, which then led to the discussion of how can the same guy letting people in also be letting them out. Cause what if someone was waiting to go in at the same time someone was going out? Grayson's answer was, "The Jedi would come help." Oh, the things you can learn from a 3 1/2 year old! :-)

Congratulations Steelers!

2009-02-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

You can imagine with 4 boys - 5 including Rehn - that we like sports around our house. The teams they cheer for vary depending on the sport ... college basketball = Duke; college football = BYU (they get this from the LeSueur side); MLB = Twins (the boys are HUGE Twins fans). But Rehn has not passed along a favorite NFL team, so via my parents, the boys have become Steelers fans (at least when they are playing in a big game!)

So we sat down tonight to watch the Super Bowl and the boys had their terrible towels in hand. And when the Steelers almost scored a touchdown in the first few minutes, those towels were swinging! Needless to say they were pretty excited with the outcome. They were very impressed that the Steelers could come back so quickly and score a touchdown in the last 2 minutes to win the game. Bryant was hilarious to listen to during the last part of the game; he sat there yelling at "Big Ben" to just throw it! It was a great game to watch.

This one is for you Nanny and Pappy ... and Uncle Steve!

Congrats, Steelers!

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!!

2009-01-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

Benjamin officially turned 6 on Sunday. We started the morning with his breakfast request of banana boats. It's a banana sliced lengthwise with yogurt, various fruits and granola on top. It seems to be becoming a birthday tradition ... the kids love getting to make their own.

The middle of the day was church (which is why we did most of our celebrating on Saturday), but I did make his request of Enchiladas for dinner. Then we had cake and ice cream. And I don't mean to brag (too much) but the cake turned out pretty good. He requested an Indiana Jones cake and he was not disappointed with the result. And not only did it look good, it tasted great. I think it is the best overall so far. I seem to be improving with each birthday. (The pressure is on for Bry's upcoming bday!)

I thought it looked cool with the candles lit.

Make a wish!

Fun day ... Fun boy. Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Birthday Weekend

2009-01-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

This year Benjamin's birthday fell on a Sunday which means instead of a birth"day" he gets a birthday weekend. The festivities started on Friday since that was the day they sang to him at school. Here's a picture of him with the pencils and little erasers he took in for his classmates (his class has a no food rule for birthdays). He was very excited to go to school!

Friday night a woman from the Primary presidency (Children's organization at our church) delivered a cake for him. He couldn't wait to dig in. And lucky for the rest of us he was happy to share ... it was delicious!

Saturday was the day we planned to do the main celebrations. The morning started with him opening his presents. Here is the before ...

Here he is with some of his presents. He LOVED the Nerf gun and I got such a good price on the robes that we decided to get all 3 of the older boys one. We didn't want to wait to give them on their birthdays (what good is a robe in warmer weather) so I wrapped them all together and Bry and Grayson got an early present. Benjamin's main present was a race track, but we kept that for him to open on his actual birthday ... and I just realized I never got a picture with that! Oops!

While Connor took a nap, the boys got to play Lego Star Wars and then we headed out for the afternoon/evening. First stop was Toys R Us for the boys to use the gift cards their grandparents had given them for Christmas. They all had a blast picking out stuff and Benjamin didn't mind at all that his brothers were also getting stuff on his birthday. (It meant they left his stuff alone!) Then it was onto Build-A-Bear at the Mall of America. He got a coupon in the mail during the week for $5 off so for $5 he got a new animal ... meet Scooter the holiday Moose. He loves him and says he choose him because he is so soft.

Then we headed across the street to Chevy's for dinner. This was Benjamin's request because he wanted to get the song, sombrero and free treat. We didn't complain becuase we like the food. Here is a shot while they were singing to him ... he looks a little nervous!

Here he is with his dad ... see, he really was excited to get all the attention.

Afterwards, we headed home and since it was getting late we had to put off the Indiana Jones movie until the next night. He was a happy birthday boy and we all had fun celebrating with him.

Lesson in Listening (and Acting)

2008-12-14T13:24:00.000-08:00

You would think by the title of this blog, and knowing that we have 4 young boys, that this post would be about a lesson for the boys. But no ... this one was for the parents.

As most LDS people know, this time of year means Tithing Settlement with the Bishop and today was our appointed time to go in with Rehn right after church. Rehn went through the usual questions and message, slightly abbreviated since our kids weren't paying a ton of attention, and as we were finishing up Grayson tells us he needs to use the bathroom. But since we are done, Rehn asks if we can have a prayer first before we leave. As he finishes the prayer, we look up and there is a puddle forming under Grayson's chair! And did I mention that Grayson was sitting behind the desk in the Bishop's chair?! Not much to do but laugh ... and hurry to find something to clean it up. I think the next time Grayson says he needs to go we will be a little faster at getting him to the bathroom. Lesson definitely learned!! And I can honestly say that today I'm glad Rehn is the Bishop!

Just like our home

2008-12-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I had to do it. Since Thanksgiving weekend, we have had chirstmas music playing ... sometimes the entire day. So I thought it would be fun to add it on here. Now you can feel like you are in our home!! You just don't get the joy of hearing my kids sing along or seeing Connor bee-boop to the music. I had the boys help me pick out which songs to add (some are my favorites) ... you are lucky they aren't all Chipmunks songs! Rehn and I are about sick of hearing "Christmas, Christmas time is here ..." we at least made them learn the words. And it is better than "Jingle bells, Batman smells" which I haven't heard so far ... yay! Hope you enjoy the music and are enjoying this holiday season!!

The life of a 6 month old

2008-12-01T23:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the things Connor did when he was 6 months old ...
Went from the baby bath tub to the bath ring. We were all excited about this since it is much easier to store and he loves sitting up to splash and play.

This one is for my parents. My dad got him this outfit. He does look pretty cute in it ... but I think he looks cute in anything!

This is Benjamin singing him the Tigger song on Halloween night. Sorry it is so dark ... I think you can still see Connor's face. He loved it!

Buddies!

Rehn called this his circle of trust. He was pretty good at sitting up, but I needed to cook dinner so the pillows were just in case ... and you never know which way they will fall! He loves being able to sit and play ... and I love that he can entertain himself while I get things done. This is a GREAT age!!

And finally here is a video of Bryant and Connor. He will laugh at about anything his brothers do and the boys love to make him laugh. I love watching them together.

I am so grateful that all of the boys adjusted easily when Connor joined our family. They instantly loved him and that has only grown over the last 6 months. Connor is such a sweet baby. He is a quiet baby (unless he needs something!) and very fun to have around. It is hard to remember what life was like before him. We love having him around and watching him grow and learn new things every day.

Just about 6 months

2008-12-01T23:10:00.000-08:00

As he was about to turn 6 months, I finally got out the high chair. Actually, I just put Grayson into a regular chair without the booster and added the tray for Connor. Both were happy with the new arrangement and I like that it doesn't take up as much space as a regular high chair.

Sticking out the tongue ... again. I told you he was happy to have his own chair!

Grayson decided to entertain him while I was trying to get some dishes done. Of course I had to stop doing the dishes to get this video but the dishes will wait and this won't! If you listen you can hear Connor grunting ... that is the main way he talks/babbles.

I left him laying on this blanket while I went to do something and when I came back into the room, this is what I found. He doesn't do a lot of babbling, but he doesn't lack for personality!

Getting ready for church in his cute outfit from Uncle Ethan and Aunt Lindsay. You can't see it, but the tie and socks match. I love it!!

Once again I took advantage of his cute church outfit and took his 6 month pictures. This is actually the day he turned 6 months. This was my favorite "photo shoot" with him so far ... lots of fun shots to choose from. These are a few of the highlights ...

Catching up on Connor ... 5 months

2008-12-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

I've realized that I have not been very good at keeping this blog up to date, especially with pictures of Connor. After all he is the one that changes the most. So I'm going to try and do a quick update on him ... and hopefully I'll get to the other boys soon. (It's good to have high hopes!)
These pictures were all taken when he was 5 months. Here he is in the exersaucer.

And here we are enjoying an early fall day at the park. We had some great weather all the way into November and we tried to take advantage of it. He loved swinging during this last month and it was great to have something to do with him besides sitting in the stroller or carrying him around.

Here he is with one of the many faces he likes to make. He did this tuck in the lower lip for several weeks. I always miss them when he stops.

Practicing sitting up. He was still pretty wobbly at this point so it took a good bit of propping, but he liked it. Much easier to enjoy a good book when you can sit up.

Swinging again and another silly face. This was one of my favorites. He loved to play with his tongue and whenever he was happy he would stick it out. Sadly, he hasn't done it much in the last month.

Since digital cameras, I haven't taken my kids in to get professional pictures taken very often, but I try to do some on my own to mark their stages. Here are a couple of the 5 month shots ...

Halloween ... before Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, I realize that I'm really cutting it close, but I told myself I had to have the Halloween pics up before Thanksgiving. So here I am at 11pm Wed night, but hey ... I made my goal! The kids didn't have school on Halloween, so we had fun at home all day. We even went over to Cold Stone Creamery where they had $.31 cones for the day.
This first picture is on our way to get dinner on Halloween night. On the 31st, after 6pm, Chipotle restaurant, gives away free burritos to anyone who comes in dressed as a burrito (in other words ... is wearing foil). So here are the guys with foil on their heads and around their arms. I had a foil headband and bracelets. If you haven't seen their burritos before, they are huge and cost $6 each so it was a really good deal. The line wasn't too long and moved quickly and we got $30 of burritos for free!

After dinner we got dressed to go trick-or-treating. The older boys all wanted to be Ninjas this year. I wasn't sure what I was going to have them wear, but then I found 2 karate uniforms at a thrift store that were the perfect size for Benjamin and Bryant. I was so excited! Grayson used our Batman jumpsuit and we covered the Batman symbol. I quickly made some hats and baklavas out of fleece, added some sashes and swords and voila ... NINJAS! (If they were reading this, I would be corrected ... they were Shadow Ninjas.)

Connor was Tigger. He was so good while we were out. He just sat in the stroller watching everyone and didn't fuss once!

Benjamin and Tigger.

Checking out all the loot.

Benjamin was very happy about all the candy!
After trick-or-treating, and candy inspection, we jumped into our pjs and watched Ichabod Crane. All in all it was a fun Halloween.

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

Scooping out the guts ... this was the first year all of them wanted to get in there and get messy.

Watching intently while Rehn carved out the pumpkin.

Connor came and joined in the fun before he headed off to bed ... he liked playing with the top of the pumpkin.

This year we had each boy draw a face for the pumpkin. Then we took one thing from each of their pictures. We used Benjamin's eyes, Bryant's mouth and told Grayson we used his nose. He drew a picture, but it wasn't easy to distinguish facial features and he didn't want to pose for this picture. I just realized that I don't have a shot of the finished product. But it looked cool with it's vampire teeth ... at least until the squirrel got to it!

What do you say to that?

2008-11-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

Last night, Rehn and I were upstairs and the 3 boys were playing downstairs. Soon we hear Grayson coming upstairs crying (he had been VERY whiny all day so we were not surprised). This is the conversation had between Rehn and Grayson.

R: What's wrong?

G: Bryant pushed me.

R: Did you do anything to him?

G: no

R: I'm not sure about that. Tell me everything that happened.

G: Bryant pushed me.

R: And what did you do before that?

G: I just put my booty in his face.

The conversation ended there because Rehn was laughing too much to say anything else. Grayson will always tell you exactly what happened. He may not see the error of his ways, but he will tell you about it! Now if I can just get him to stop saying booty ... and in case you need clarification, he did not mean something you put on your foot or a pirate's treasure.

The picture has nothing to do with this ... just a silly pic of G in one of his well picked outfits. I wouldn't let it fly if it was for daytime, but when it comes to PJs just about anything goes. I'm just happy he can get himself dressed and willing does it when asked.

Giggles

2008-10-24T01:21:00.001-07:00

I took this video in the beginning on September, so it's a little old, but I've been meaning to post it and decided "better late than never" was true in this case. Connor definitely doesn't lay still that long anymore, especially not on his back, but his brothers are always making him laugh. I've really loved watching the interactions between the boys and Connor. Hope it makes you smile! Enjoy your day!

Fall Photo Shoot

2008-10-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Our tree out front is so pretty this year, we thought it would be fun to take pictures of the boys in the tree. Here are some of the shots I got.

For obvious reasons :-) I didn't put Connor up in the tree, but I didn't want to leave him out of this post. Our tree has lost all of its leaves now, but I'm hoping to get some cute pictures of him in a pile of leaves when we rake the yard this weekend (if the leaves are dry by then!). He's pretty cute all on his own, though!

I took a lot more, but I only have a few minutes and wanted to put up a quick post. I've actually taken nearly 300 pictures in October, and I will be putting more up here, but most of them will probably go to my Picasa web album. I'll let you know when I get that done.

Need Opinions

2008-10-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I am taking a poll and would love to get your input. Our camera started acting weird this week, so it looks like we will be purchasing a new one in the near future. If any of you have one that you just love or have any suggestions, please add a comment to this post. We obviously know a bit about digital cameras and I know of several things that I already want, but I would still love to hear from any of you. Thanks!

I will be posting more pictures and videos later this week. Our camera may be acting weird but luckily it is still working, and I've taken a lot of fun pics over the last few days.

Stay tuned ...

Cute Conversations

2008-10-11T23:25:00.001-07:00

I never know what is going to come out of the kids' mouths.

Today I was cleaning up in Grayson's room and he came in and asked:
"Mom, do you know how to say 'Fiddlie-I-Oh' in Spanish?"
ME: "No, how do you say it?"
Grayson: "Fiddlie-I-Oh in Spanish."
Then he walks out of the room without even a smirk! And no one put him up to it!

Yesterday, as we are getting ready to take the kids to a friends' house who so kindly offered to watch them while we were at a church dinner:
ME: "Benjamin, are you going to be a happier kid at their house? All I've heard this afternoon is pouting and whining and a very grumpy Benjamin."
Benjamin: "Yeah, that's all I've heard too. From me." (He was quick to point out that he wasn't talking about someone else.)

A few weeks ago we had a funeral to attend, and decided it would be good for the older boys to go. On the way there, we reminded them of the behavior we expected from them and they were great the whole time. After we got home, Bry was repeating some of the stories he had heard.
Me: "Bry, I'm so glad that you were listening to the talks."
Bry: "There wasn't anything else to do!"
At least he's honest!! (And thanks for letting me know how to get you to listen at church.)

This doesn't have to do with my kids, but it does involve Rehn and I loved it. This weekend marks one year of Rehn being Bishop in our ward, and apparently people are getting used to that. My good friend's little girl, Lucy (see previous post), really likes Rehn. A couple of years ago, I babysat her during the week for about 4 months and she always called him "Len." Well in the last few months, she has started calling him "the bishop." I guess that's good, but I miss hearing "Len." Anyway, we were at a party today and "Len" was talking to her mom and Lucy was standing there too. Her mom started teasing Rehn about something, and Lucy looks up, taps her mom in chastisement and gives her a look to say "I can't believe you would talk to the bishop like that!" Times have changed!

Random shots

2008-10-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

This was the first sign of fall we saw from our tree. It was so pretty to look up and see this one patch of color with a clear blue sky in the background. The rest of the tree is changing now and it is gorgeous! I'll try to put some pictures up soon.

This is Grayson with one of his good friends, Lucy. Looks are deceiving, but she is only about a year older than him. And I'm sure you won't believe it, but I didn't pose them for this picture. I just told them to go stand by each other. We love it when Lucy comes over to play. They are so cute playing together.

And here are all of the boys together. I probably shouldn't have stopped to take this picture, since we were running late for church. But I knew they wouldn't look as good if I waited until after church. I just couldn't resist. They were sad I didn't take the time to take a picture with each of them holding Connor.

Entertaining Connor

2008-10-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

I was hearing this while I was in the kitchen washing dishes after dinner and I had to come in and take a video of it. I love the look on Connor's face. He's trying to figure out what in the world these crazy brothers are doing.

And here's a different view ... the singing and dancing are awesome!! I think we heard this song at least 15 times that night.

Summer Time Fun ... part 3

2008-09-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

It feels like summer has been over for a long time, but the calendar says that today is actually the last day of summer. Either way, I thought it was about time that I posted the third and final installment of "Summer Time Fun." There were lots of memories made this summer, but I think for this post I will stick to those included in the collage. You can probably tell that this is all about SWIMMING! My boys LOVE to swim! Lucky for me, Minneaplis has a lot of wading pools and community pools (most of which are free).
There are a wide variety of experiences to be had depending on where we go. One pool we go to has no water features and is only about 1 1/2 feet deep, but the boys often request this one. I think they like that it is the same depth everywhere. Then there is the one with a 10 ft. rock in the center with water spraying in all directions from it (sorry no pics of that one this year). They also love the Splash Pad, which has no standing water but arches, fountains and sprays all over. We also have one a few blocks from our house (the one with the mushroom waterfall in the middle). The kids really liked this one because the workers (not lifeguards) there are often their Tball coaches and they usually had water fights with them. And it was great to be able to run up there on the spur of the moment.
This year we also made our first trip to the Crystal Cove pool; it is the community pool for our neighboring city. The kids have been dying to go there because we often drive by and they've been taunted by the water slides they could see but had never been on. So I finally broke down and paid to go. The first time was so fun, we ended up going a second day. And I've told the kids we will probably get a season pass next year, so we can go all the time. They are very excited! Both Bryant and Benjamin can go down the big waterslides by themselves and there is a little slide for Grayson. It's also great, because so many friends from church or school have passes so you usually have someone you know there to play with. Even Connor got to play in the water at the Crystal Cove and he thought it was great.
The other nice thing about most of these pools is that they usually have a fun park right beside them. So after swimming for a while the kids could go over and swing, slide, run and climb.
I guess that about sums up August ... lots of swimming and playing at parks. We even made it back to the Chutes and Ladders park during the last week before school started. I didn't take pictures this time, but this is a cool aerial shot (just scroll down a little to see). Hope you enjoyed reading about our summer fun ... and hope it tempts you to come visit us in MN! We love to have visitors!

A Trip to the Dentist

2008-09-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

Our last week of summer included a trip to the dentist for the boys. It was Grayson's first time and he did great! He loved getting to ride in the chair and was happy to show the hygenist how big he can open his mouth. He loves his new toothbrush and flossers, but our dentist also lets the kids pick out a toy if they are good. This is always a highlight of our trips to the dentist.

Bry is an old pro at the dentist now. He loves to get his hands on any of the equipment she will let him try (usually just turning on and off). You can't see it well in this picture, but this instrument had a neon blue light that looked really cool. He really wanted to try this one, but it was not to be. Even with a little extra time in the chair this visit, he still had a good time. (He had sealants put on 4 of his permanent molars; that's what the blue light was for.)

Benjamin has a before and after shot for his dentist visit. Before we went he had a couple extra teeth. The two in the front were getting wiggly, but taking their time coming out. I was glad we had this appointment so the dentist could take care of it for us. (The same thing happened with Bryant.)

And here is the after. Benjamin was so excited to have the dentist pull his two teeth. I walked back to check on him after filling out papers and they were already out. They put them in a fun little treasure chest for him to take home and that went under his pillow. Of course, first he misplaced one of the teeth, so we had to leave the tooth fairy a note to let her know it was suppose to be 2. She just had to look inside his mouth to see he was telling the truth. This first time customer was very pleased with the tooth fairy. Five year old boys don't get a dollar bill every day! (I was afraid he would lose that too! So far, so good.)
The best part of the trip (for me) is the report of "No Cavities!" Hopefully we will have a lot more visits with the same report, but we will see. Grayson has really deep groves in his molars ... if we could only put sealants on those teeth. But they don't do that for baby teeth. At least he loves to brush his teeth.

Four months old!

2008-09-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling behind in my updates, so much has been happening that I would love to share with all of you ... but I'm going to try and catch up. Connor is really 4 1/2 months old now. At his check-up he weighed 16 lbs. 13 oz. From these pictures you can see that he is a very happy baby most of the time. He loves to play with toys now and can stay pretty content lying on the floor with toys for quite a while ... if I could just keep his brothers away a little longer! He loves playing with his feet ... it's great to always have a "toy" with you.
His brothers LOVE him and would be by him 24/7 if possible. They especially love it when they get him laughing so they will do just about anything to make him laugh and once they get one laugh they do it over and over and over and over and over (get the idea?) again. I've put on some of the pictures that he seems to be having the most fun in ...

I added this one for the silly look on his face, but it's also a good shot of his arm. Yes, he's a pretty chunky baby - lots of rolls. Here you can see that he doesn't have a wrist, just a line ... same for his ankles or cankles as Rehn calls them. My friend commented one day that it looks painful to bend his arm. He has such a kissable face, though ... I can't resist it!

Did I mention that he is teething? No sign of teeth, but LOTS of chewing. We were worried he was going to start sucking his thumb, but he just chews on it and he does the same thing if I try a pacifier. It has increased a lot the last week or so though. I'm actually trying to feed him some cereal here, but he kept putting both thumbs in his mouth. I guess one wasn't good enough.

A couple of other milestones ... he is now eating baby cereal. I think we will be adding some fruits or veggies in the next week. So far he just gets a little cereal before bedtime, but he seems to like it a lot. He has also started rolling over ... both ways. He startled himself the first time he did it, but when I started clapping and smiling he decided it was fun.

We are slowly getting into a schedule and his naps are getting longer and more regular during the day ... which is really nice! I don't think I will ever get tired or watching a baby learn and grow. I love the look on his face as he realizes that there is a lot he can do and control. Lots of milestones to come ... can't wait to share them all with you.

Summer Time Fun ... part 2

2008-09-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

July didn't want to be overshadowed by June, so our fun adventures continued. We enjoyed spending the 4th with some friends. The afternoon was spent at a park for a picnic lunch with one family. Then another family joined us for fireworks at a different park in the evening. The kids loved the fireworks. This time we sat on the other side of the street and were a little closer to the show ... but we also ended up with tiny balls of ash falling on us. Didn't know that happened! At times it seemed like (and sounded like) we were being rained on. I think we'll stick to the other side of the street next year. We still enjoyed the holiday. The boys also liked the sparklers and fireworks we set off at home. That seems to be a tradition now.

The next week we celebrated Grayson's birthday and the day after we went on our only vacation of the summer. We rented a cabin a few hours north in the Brainerd Lakes Area. It was a great 4 days. Lots of fishing, playing games, swimming and relaxing. The cabin we stayed in was perfect for what we were looking for and very reasonably priced. It had a playset for the boys, a deck with a grill and a huge yard to play bocce ball. We decided to go out to eat one of the nights and we ate at a place called Grizzly's. (That's why the boys are by that large Grizzly!) The boys ... especially Bryant ... love to go fishing, so we went several times. Each of them caught at least one fish. We really couldn't have asked for a better break.

We also spent many a day at one of the local parks/wading pools. The kids were always laying out to dry up this year. Most of the pictures with water are in the next collage, but we did spend a lot of time at the pools in July.

July was also the month for Tball. Bryant started practices in June and had games in July. Benjamin had his class "Little Sluggers" in July. I'll have another post with Tball pics later. Connor contined to get bigger and seems to enjoy going along for the ride, wherever that may be. He really is a good baby ... pretty easy going. He turned 3 months in July.

The month ended with Rehn's surgery on his knee. Not really a fun last week of July, but he was ready to get it fixed. He completely tore his ACL back in late February but with a baby on the way, we had decided to wait to have the surgery in the summer. He's still recovering, but in six months he should be back to normal. It's hard to run, climb, swim, etc. with a bad knee so we are grateful he was able to get it fixed.

I think that about covers July and this collage ... check back in for the report on August! (I'm tempted to do it now, but it's late and I'm exhausted, so it will have to be another day.)

Summer Time Fun ... part 1

2008-08-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Summer is quickly coming to a close, and I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the fun things we have done. We weren't able to take our usual summer trips to visit family this year (either in Idaho or Maryland), but we managed to have fun close to home.

(I'm doing this in several installments ... at least three ... if you want to see any of the pictures better just click on the collage and it zooms in.)

School ended June 4th and we immediately started enjoying the extra time. We went to a park not too far away, called the Chutes and Ladder park (my kids also call it the Fort park ... they have names for several of their favorite parks). It really is quite amazing and the kids LOVE it. This year Grayson was able to enjoy it just as much as the older kids. He went down the huge slide with Bryant first, but after that he was able to go on his own. I was a little nervous when he started climbing the nets, but I'm not sure why since his nickname is monkey and he got that since he climbs like a monkey. He did great and loved every minute of it.

We also went to a couple of beaches in June. There really are lakes every where you turn here. The first day we went to a beach was a little cold for swimming in my opinion. Of course the kids still got wet and had fun playing in the sand (I think I had half of the beach in my washing machine that night). Grayson had a hard time keeping his swim suit on so we saw a little more of him than we were expecting that day. It is still laughed about amongst my friends.

The boys (meaning the 3 oldest) enjoyed a father-son campout as well. I thought they would burst waiting for their dad to get home to go that day. They were pretty excited. It was the first father-son campout Grayson has gone on. They had a great time with friends, eating smores and sleeping in the tent. And they can't wait for next year.

I don't have action shots with Connor, but I didn't want to leave him out. He's about 6 weeks to 2 months in these pictures. He loves singing songs with his dad and brothers. His swing is also a favorite hang out.

That pretty much covers June ... parks, beaches and camping. I hope you will stay tuned to hear how we filled our days in July and August. (I get exhausted just thinking about all the things we did!)

Random conversation

2008-08-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

This conversation on our way to soccer practice tonight had me cracking up ...

Rehn: "Bryant and Benjamin, when we pull up you need to run over to your team."

Benjamin: "I don't know where to go."

Rehn: "Just follow Bryant."

Bryant: "Yeah. I'll be the one in the red shirt."

Rehn: "Or maybe he'll be able to recognize your face."

A few minutes later, after the boys have gotten out of the car and we are about to get out, Grayson randomly says, "Mom, Dad, I don't need any skates."

Rehn: "Skates?"

Grayson: "Yeah. I don't need any skates."

Rehn: "You're right."
(Then to me) "Our kids are really on top of things tonight."

That pretty much sums it up.

The Many Faces of Connor

2008-08-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

I started playing around with my camera last week and these are some of the shots that I got. I'm completely biased ... but isn't he SO cute! Who could resist those cheeks?

Confessions of a parent

2008-08-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

I must confess ... I've been tricking my child and I'm sure one day it is going to backfire on me. Actually ... I think this can be classified as reverse psychology. But before I get to that, I need to give you a little background. Grayson is a very active child and he loves to be around other people. He plays hard all day but he is generally pretty easy to get to bed ... unless he is sleeping with other people in the room. Then he thinks it is still play time.

Well, earlier this week after I put him down in his bed, I hear whispering coming from Bryant and Benjamin's room and I realize that Grayson has sneaked in there. But they are being quiet, so I let them go and don't say anything, and before long they are all fast asleep. Here is a picture of Grayson in Bry's bed (it was hard to get a good shot, but they were so cute I had to try).

So the next night, Grayson asks if he can sleep in the boys room again. After last night went so well, I think, why not? But that night does not go so well. They are all playing around and talking loudly and we have to go in several times to ask them to settle down. They do eventually fall asleep, but it takes a while. The next night, we decide to give Grayson another chance but once again it takes a long time and they are loud. SO... before we even get to bedtime the next night, I tell Grayson he's going to have to sleep in his own bed. I get him settled and within 2 minutes he is running down the hall to his brothers' room ... but he doesn't know that I saw him. And since he thinks he's being sneaky he's quiet! They whisper and giggle for a little bit, but they go to sleep and we never have to talk to them.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Now when he asks if he can sleep with his brothers (and he has every night) I tell him "no." Then when he thinks I'm not listening he whispers to his brothers that he's going to sneak over. They start laughing and I pretend I didn't hear. I know he's going to sneak over there, but if he's sneaking, he's quiet, so I don't care! Rehn and I sit in our room and laugh when we see him dash in and hear his little giggle because he thinks he is getting away with something. I'm sure I'm going to regret encouraging him to be sneaky later, but all of the boys are having such a good time being together. He was taking turns between Bryant's and Benjamin's bed, but he seems to prefer Bry's since he is on the bottom bunk. Last night he started with Benjamin, but after Benjamin fell asleep he went down to Bry's and ended up sleeping there. It's nice to have kids that get along so well. The older boys are great at including Grayson and they actually like having him around ... most of the time!

Stories with ... Benjamin

2008-08-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

Okay ... you are probably wondering why you are looking at a blurry picture of a bowl with a couple pieces of tomato in it. Let me explain ...
The two older boys take turns clearing and setting the table. Last week it was Benjamin's turn to clear, which includes putting the food away. Benjamin is always very thorough, so I wasn't surprised to come out and find it all done. But then I opened the fridge and saw this container (it did have a lid on). He is so thorough that he saved these five little pieces of tomato! Rehn and I thought it was pretty funny, but that is our Benjamin. He is such a helpful kid ... he is always the first to volunteer ... and he does a great job.

Another story about Benjamin being helpful ... and reaping the rewards. Tonight while making dinner, I needed something from downstairs, so I called down and asked for one of the boys to bring it up to me. I happen to be putting away the basket with chocolate chips at the time, so I thought it would be nice to give whoever brought it up a few. It was Benjamin who brought it up, so he got the reward, and thought it was great. I told him it was for being willing to help, but I was also sure to add that I don't always give a reward ... just sometimes. A little while later, I needed the boys again and you should've seen how fast Benjamin came up! I've never seen him move so fast. And best of all, he wasn't even disappointed that there was no reward this time.

And did I mention that Benjamin is a very smiley kid ... ever since he was a baby. He is generally happy and gets lots of comments on his smile. What a handsome boy (I know .. I'm biased!). He's looking so old in this picture ... I'm not sure I like that!

Glorious Words

2008-07-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Some words are more glorious depending on the stage of your life. When you have a toddler toilet-training, "Mom! I have to poop!" are the greatest words you have ever heard. We have tried off and on over the last 6 months, but we never had consistent success and between being pregnant and having a newborn, I didn't have it in me to keep pushing. But now that he's 3, I decided it was time ... and I remembered something that had worked with Benjamin. We decided on a day (Grayson and I) and starting on that day there would be no more diapers. We picked a Monday (only a week away) and all that week when you asked him what happens on Monday, he would respond, "NO MORE DIAPERS!"
Monday came and away went the diapers and on went the underwear. That was 10 days ago and I think we can classify him as toilet-trained. We had 2 major accidents in the first 6 days, but there were several days he had no accidents, and he's been accident free for 4 days now. Even when we go out he wears underwear and he is great about telling me when he needs to go. He's made it through church, being at a friend's house (without me) and running errands all over town. He even stays dry for his naps, but we are keeping the diapers for overnight right now.
Needless to say, we are very excited to have reached this stage with Grayson. The process of toilet-training is a part of motherhood that I REALLY dislike ... but the success is awesome! Three boys down ... one to go. Thank goodness I have a couple of years before I have to tackle that one. Here is a picture of Grayson at Cold Stone. We decided to go out and celebrate Grayson's success last Friday night by getting some ice cream. He thought it was a great idea!

Thanks, Nanny & Pappy!

2008-07-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here is Grayson opening his packages from my parents (aka Nanny & Pappy). They were lego sets and he was so excited to get some guys of his own. With my boys, it's all about the cool guys they get with the sets. Grayson got Anankin, R2-D2, lots of storm troopers, and Indiana Jones. His brothers were excited for him (a little jealous that he got them and not them - but still excited because this way they can play with them too). And Bry was more than happy to build the sets for him. Grayson is still too young for that. There are 2 videos because the first package was missing the Indiana Jones set so that came the next week. Grayson thought it was great to get packages a week after his birthday!

One of these things is not like the other ...

2008-07-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

While we were on our little vacation, all of the boys were sleeping in one room. When I walked in, they all looked so cute I couldn't resist taking a picture of each one.

They really were asleep and not posing.

And then I got to Connor! I had just fed him, but he's usually back to sleep when I lay him back down and I thought it was so funny after seeing the other boys.

Thank You Grandma & Grandpa!

2008-07-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

These may not be exciting for all of you, but we wanted his grandparents to be able to see him open the presents from them.

Thank you, Brig and Karen. He loved all of the baseball stuff (I'd never seen that book before - it's great) and the shirts. He was disappointed he couldn't wear the train shirt 2 days in a row. I think I will be washing it frequently.

Happy Birthday, Grayson!

2008-07-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Grayson turned 3 last week and we had a little family party to celebrate. Cake, ice cream, presents and decorations equals a very happy little boy.

He requested a motorcycle cake this year and this is how it turned out. It was my first attempt at this style of decorating and it wasn't perfect, but I was pretty happy with the results. And more importantly, Grayson loved it! (He just walked in and saw these pictures and said, "My motorcycle cake! Happy Birthday to me!")

While he was eating lunch, I decorated his room a little bit. It did take him a little longer to fall asleep for his nap, but it was worth it for the look on his face when he walked in and saw it.

Happy Birthday, Grayson! We love you SOOO much. Our family wouldn't be the same without you.

Brothers

2008-07-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this picture of all the boys together. I don't seem to get many of these. I guess when I have all 4 together I'm too distracted to think of taking a picture. And believe it or not, I only took 3 pictures and in 2 of them they were all looking at the camera. That never happens! I usually have to take 20 pictures to get that! I put both of these shots up to show that we had to move Connor around. Everyone wants to be the one to hold Connor, so they take turns and we take multiple pictures.

This is going to be a full week for us. Today (Monday) was Benjamin's first day of Tball. He has been counting down to this day for weeks. I meant to take my camera to take pictures, but forgot it so I have no pictures to post. But as Bryant told me, I can take it next week. Tomorrow is Grayson's birthday and Bryant's first Tball game - he has been having practices for a couple of weeks now. It should be a fun day. Then Wednesday evening, we are going out of town for a few nights. We are SOOOO excited! We had too many things come up this summer to squeeze in a trip to visit family, so instead we are going a couple hours north for a mini vacation. We found an inexpensive cabin (not on but near lots of lakes) tucked into the woods with lots of space for the kids to play and even a fire pit to have campfires at night. It should be a lot of fun. I even convinced Rehn to stay over on Saturday night, which makes it even more of a vacation, because he won't have all of his Sunday meetings.

So I have a lot of cleaning and packing to do between Tball and birthday celebrations. Guess I'd better get to bed so I won't be exhausted tomorrow. Doubt there will be time for a nap!

Stories with ... Bryant

2008-07-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

My mom just sent us an email begging for votes for an Orioles player to make it to the All-Star Game, and it reminded me of this story from a couple weeks ago.

Rehn's work had given all their employees tickets to a St. Paul Saints game (Minor League baseball), but of course it was the same night the Bishops were suppose to go up to Girls Camp so Rehn couldn't go. I decided I would still try to take the boys myself. Yes, that sounds crazy (me and 4 boys at the baseball game), but I'm starter than the average bear, so I asked a couple of Laurels to come along. (I've been going through withdrawal since I was released from YWs, so it was a fun to hang out with them before they leave for college. And they were lifesavers ... I couldn't have made it through the game without them!)

Anyway ... we are at the game and one of the ushertainers stop to talk to the boys. (Ushertainers are people that work for the team and dress-up and go through the stands adding a little more entertainment to the game.) So he walks up and sees Bry's Orioles hat on. He says, "Orioles fan?" And Bry immediately says "No, just the Twins. My grandparents just sent this to me." The guy then tried to convince him it was okay to be an Os fan, but it was all lost on Bry. He is just for the Twins.

Another story ... the little boy sitting next to Bryant asked him where he was from. Without hesitation Bry said, "I'm from Logan." He was born in Logan, UT but we moved here when he was 3 months old! He's never back to Logan! I tried to tell him that he is from Minnesota, but I think he likes saying he's from somewhere else. But this is an improvement ... he used to say he was born in the mountains, because we had told him Logan was in the mountains.

First Time Rider

2008-07-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

I had a moment this winter when I realized ... I have a 7 year old and we haven't tried to teach him how to ride a bike without training wheels. (In my defense, last year all he wanted to do was ride his scooter.) It was then I decided that learning to ride a bike must be a priority this summer. Today was the day, and Bryant did great! This is after about 15-20 minutes of working with him. We started with a smaller bike, so he wouldn't have far to fall, but the tires wouldn't keep air in them and that made it harder. So we got out the bigger bike and off he went. Rehn helps for a couple of seconds to get him up to speed, but then he can keep it going. I think we will be having many nights practicing ... he loved it and can't wait to go again. It even made Benjamin want to try (I'm actually hoping to teach him this summer, too).

2008-07-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

Stories with ... Grayson

2008-07-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

Last week Grayson was momentarily left alone with Connor. As I went to get Connor, Grayson was walking toward me with his doctor's kit asking me to open it. When I questioned him about his intentions, his reply was, "I'm going to fix Connor!"

(Side note: Grayson absolutely adores his little brother, so I'm sure he had no intention of harming Connor. But who knows what a physical from Dr. Grayson would include!)

As the days have been getting warmer, we started heading to beaches. Well, our first day at a beach was a little windy and cooler than we expected, so I opted not to have the boys in swim suits, but still allow them to play in the sand and maybe get their feet wet. It wasn't long before they all had soaking wet clothes, but Grayson took it one step further. We were there with friends and all of the boys had worked together to make a "lake" about half way up the beach. They dug quite a wide hole and then carried up bucketfuls of water to fill it. After they had it done, Grayson thought it was a great place to play. So as I'm helping one of the boys, I hear the life guard behind me say, "I see you're sitting in it." I turn around to see Grayson's shorts on the sand and he is sitting in the "lake." My first thought is, "At least he left his diaper on." So I gather his shorts and shoes and as I'm walking toward our blanket, my friends start laughing, and I turn around to see his diaper on the sand and a bare bottom Grayson sitting in the "lake!" I immediately returned to put his swimming suit on him, but apparently a 12-18 month swim suit is too big for my nearly 3 year old. It would not stay on his skinny little waist and every time he stood up or kneeled we had a full moon on the beach! It was quite the scene ... I did get pictures, but I'm not sure all of them would be appropriate for this site; I'll include one of Grayson sitting in his "lake." Life is definitely not boring with Grayson around.

And Connor makes 4 ... 4 boys!

2008-07-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

The family picture isn't quite complete. I was about 5 months pregnant there, but now we have Connor with us, so it's only fair that he have a picture, too. Here he is last week on his 2 month "birthday."

Here we go!

2008-07-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

I've done it! I finally entered the world of blogging. I don't know if I'll be any good at it, but decided it was worth a try. It seems like a great way to keep people updated on what's going on in your lives. I do love the family websites we have (and will continue to use them, I promise!), but this way I can keep friends and both families up to date on what's happening with us ... all in one place! So here we go ... off on my first blogging adventure ... should be fun!