"We're gonna win Twins!"

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!

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

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!

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 ...

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!

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!!

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

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)

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

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

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

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 ...