Flamm Family Fun

busy week

2012-02-17T13:03:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pictures from the past week of fun. We have been very busy this week. Monday, Eric had his Valentine's Day Party at preschool, Hyrum came with me to celebrate. Notice he is standing in the picture. He can stand up in the middle of the room and take a few steps before falling. Wendy did not come with us because she was at a party of her own. She loved bringing her own valentines and she got to take home a balloon. Tuesday, Zachary had his party. He was excited that I could attend and we had a great time. The end of the week has been filled with dentist appointments, a massage (it was lovely), RS weeknight meeting, young mens, dinner with the RS presidency, and soccer practice. Next week we all have Monday off so we'll take this long weekend to relax and hopefully get some projects at home started or done.

The Park

2012-02-08T10:22:00.002-06:00

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow last week, so 6 more weeks of winter, but hey, I'm fine with that if this is the weather of winter!

Here we are at Winner's Circle park in Flowood, about 15 minutes form our home. It is an amazing park that we went to for playgroup and Eric has been requesting to return ever since. Yesterday we made the trek and introduced Zachary to the park, which he said was great, especially the "big slide".

The nice thing about this park is that there are things for every age and it isn't too hard to keep track of multiple children.

Climbing Hyrum

2012-02-08T10:09:00.001-06:00

Hyrum has discovered he can climb and so he is always doing so. He loves going up the stairs and will head there as soon as he notices the gate is down. He does not know how to get down; however, he has never fallen down the stairs because when he wants down he simply yells until we come get him. He has also taken his first steps. He does not have the balance to walk, but if he is already standing up he will take a few steps and then fall into your arms.

Children's Museum

2012-02-05T21:01:00.000-06:00

Here we are at the Children's Museum this past Saturday. The weather the past few days has been RAINY! The kids and I needed an out so the museum got our vote. We had a great time.

Wendy driving the tractor, probably one of her favorite activities at the museum.

Zachary building a contraption that drops the bad guys into jail.

Hyrum playing with a ball. We let him out of the stroller for a few minutes, but chasing after 4 kids was a little much.

Eric milking the cow. He was quite proud of himself.

Hyrum's Haircut

2012-01-30T10:03:00.001-06:00

Hyrum has a little less hair now. I've been commenting to Kyle over the past month that his hair needed to be cut; it was in his eyes, and people were guessing he was a girl. However, I knew that it would make him grow up which I did not want. Well, the deed has been done. I was right he looks more grown up, but still as cute as ever!!

A fun Week

2012-01-27T12:47:00.001-06:00

We have had a fun week! Here is a sampling from all our lives in the past 7 days.

Hyrum is just cute and both he and we know it!! Below Hyrum, Eric, and Wendy are having a great time with a leaky sippy cup.

Here is Eric showing his alphabet skills, and he wanted me to include one of him in Spiderman.

Zachary attended his 100th day of school on Monday and he celebrated. He was assigned to bring 100 of something from home. We picked out 100 Trio blocks and built this amazing creature with them.

Here is Wendy running at the Children's Museum. She must be growing because she always wants "dinner" or chocolate milk.

Eric and Wendy made my hair "beautiful." I'm pretty sure they used almost all of Wendy's clips and barrettes.

Carousel

2012-01-23T16:26:00.001-06:00

We went shopping for new chairs in the kitchen and ended up ordering a new table and chairs :) This carousel was at the furniture store. The kids enjoyed having a bit of fun after following us around and being bored for the majority of the time.

Wendy Princess

2012-01-16T09:47:00.000-06:00

Here is Wendy with princess hair. We put her hair in curlers and it was curly. These pictures were taken right before bed, so it had relaxed a bit from that morning. All the nursery leaders said she had to tell them about her hair, she was quite pleased with it.

Zachary Making the Grade

2012-01-16T09:44:00.000-06:00

Zachary has done wonderfully with his behavior grade since we have returned from Christmas break. Here he is holding up his sheet with all those greens. WAY TO GO ZACHARY!!

A few other tidbits about Zachary and school. There is a new student in Zachary's class, his name is Zach. So now more than ever Zachary is Zachary and not Zach. He even corrects us at home. Also he is getting better and better at reading and writing. I thought I would post an example. Below is a valentine that he made for Dad, and left on his pillow, Ahhhh.

Hyrum at 9 months

2012-01-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

Hyrum is now 9 months old and a active bundle of joy. He had his well child check-up on Monday and everything checked out well. He is following the same pattern as our other children and his growth has plateaued a bit. He is 17lbs 3oz and 26.5 inches long which are about the 5th and 3rd percentile. Yep, I have another little one. Hyrum is super active and has a huge toothy smile. He loves pulling the books off the shelf, and the pots out of the cupboard. He also likes dropping food from his highchair, cruising along the furniture, and being in the middle of things socially. Unfortunately for his parents he has recently decided that he does not like his binkie. He just pulls it out and fights sleep even more if we try to use one. The good news is that even without one he sleeps pretty well.

Our Holiday Vacation: Part 4

2012-01-09T13:29:00.001-06:00

PART 4: AFTER CHRISTMAS w/ the SCHWIEDERS

Here are a couple of videos that I just wanted to include. The first is of the Haroldsen family waiting for Craig and Cathy to arrive for the family picture. Mom was trying to keep the kids entertained, but the whole family joined in. I thought it was fun. The next is of the kids dancing with the Wii. They had great fun!

We spent New Years Eve playing games and having a great time; however I failed to take pictures. I must document that I was crowned game champion of the year.

We flew back to Mississippi on Tuesday. I was very grateful to have Kyle with me, partially because I had residue on my hands that required them to do a full body pat down and search of my personal belongings in a separate room. What would I have done with four kids?? We made it back safe and are now getting back into the swing of things. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our Holiday Vacation: Part 3

2012-01-09T13:05:00.001-06:00

PART 3: AFTER CHRISTMAS w/ the FLAMMS

Eric, Zachary, and Jared being handcart pioneers.

Monday we spent a day relaxing after a very busy Christmas. We stayed with Judd and Melanie (Thank-you) and the kids loved to play with their cousins. Tuesday we visited the Church History Museum. Upstairs there was a children's section that everyone enjoyed. Unfortunately that evening Zachary, Eric, and I came down with something, so the following day was spent resting and recuperating. Still overall we had a great time during this part of our vacation.

Our Holiday Vacation: Part 2

2012-01-08T22:30:00.002-06:00

PART 2: CHRISTMAS DAY

The kids woke up and discovered what Santa had left them. We then had breakfast and got ready for church. We then opened the gifts under the tree before we headed off to church at 10:30. It was a busy, fun filled morning.

After church we left for Utah and dinner with the Flamm side of the family. It was great to see all of Kyle's siblings and some of his aunts and uncles as well. Dinner was delicious, and the company fun. It was again a busy, fun filled evening.

Our Holiday Vacation: Part 1

2012-01-08T22:22:00.000-06:00

We had a great holiday vacation. We left December 17th (the day after Zachary got our to school) and returned January 2nd (the day before he went back to school). We were able to spend time with family and saw our parents and all of our siblings and their families. I'll do a few posts about our time vacationing.

PART 1: BEFORE CHRISTMAS

We started at a hotel in New Orleans. It was beautiful weather and we spent some time playing ball. We also visited Santa's Workshop while there but I forgot the camera.

Monday, bright and early (5:00 am) we went to the airport where I and four kids boarded a plan bound for Salt Lake City. I must say that overall it was a good experience. The flight attended commented that I should receive a medal because I was brave enough to fly with four kids on my own. I replied that I was not brave just crazy. The kids did a great job traveling and we were happy to meet Grandma and Grandpa at the airport. We spent the next week at my parents in Idaho Falls. What Fun!! We went to the Zoo with the Simmons' family. We decorated cookies and delivered them. We had a great family home evening with extended family, where the kids painted stars. We visited Great Grandparents. And we had a great time playing with all of Grandma's toys!!!

While waiting for the Simmons' family we decided to take a picture to prove we had been in a snowy place.

Our beautiful, delicious cookies

At the zoo with Elden.

Wendy proud of her star.

Zachary and Eric intent on their paining.

Grandma Great reading to the kids.

Hyrum in the toy drawer

The boys loved playing with Legos which were
played with on the card table so a certain
little one would not eat the pieces.

More Christmas Fun

2011-12-15T22:48:00.000-06:00

Some more Christmas fun thanks to family! Above are all the children modeling their new penguin shirts they got from Grandma Flamm. We then had fun with the Gel Clings the family received from Aunt Jenifer. Thanks to both of you!! The kids were very creative in their arrangement of the Gel Clings, but eventually everything was arranged in a manner that you could tell what it was suppose to be.

It's cold out there!!

2011-12-15T22:28:00.000-06:00

We are going to miss this weather. I looked up the forecast for the first part of our Christmas vacation in Idaho, the high for those few days was 34 degrees. Just to illustrate how different this is from what we are experiencing right now, 10:16pm it is 66 degrees here and 27 degrees in Idaho Falls, Brrrrrr! Yesterday, we played outside, the kids love the swings and Zachary and I practiced soccer; he is going to be on a team in the spring. Here are some pictures of the fun we had. Next week we will be having fun indoors :)

Just a little update: now 12:15am it is still 66 degrees here, but now 19 degrees in Idaho! My kids and I are in for a cold awakening.

Eric's Christmas Program

2011-12-15T22:13:00.000-06:00

Here we are patiently waiting for Eric's program to begin. Wendy and Hyrum were excited to be there and very good audience members once the program began.

Eric was a great little angel. His halo had a few issues, it kept falling into his eyes and I think it looks like male pattern balding. In the middle of the program it fell off, he did not know what to do with it, but finally the music teacher got his attention and had him put it down. It was actually quite entertaining to watch him and his facial expressions. After the program they had a party in their classroom that we were invited to. Below is a video at that portion of the day.

Eric's Gingerbread House

2011-12-13T12:49:00.002-06:00

Eric made a gingerbread house at preschool. He was quite the architect and designer. One side had his initial "E", another a garage with two cars, another the front entry, and the last a diagonal line of gumdrops ( he was very adamant that it had to be diagonal) with green bushes. It was fun to go and help and see him interact with the other students. He is such a friendly boy!

Santa

2011-12-03T14:38:00.001-06:00

HO HO HO!!!

We had our first encounter with Santa for the 2011 holiday season. He came and visited the Realtor who helped us find our home. All the kids had fun seeing him and eating the cookies and milk that were provided. It was a fun outing.

One less tooth

2011-12-01T12:55:00.001-06:00

The tooth fairy made her first, or rather his first visit to our home Saturday, November 26th.

Zachary had a lose tooth for a little bit, but he pulled it out himself on Saturday. At first he was a bit distraught because he said it felt weird, but now he is a happy to have one less tooth in his mouth. He left it under his pillow that evening and the tooth fairy delivered 4 quarters. I do not know what he intends to do with all that money, but he was excited.

That afternoon I had tweaked my back and was in pain. I knew he had lost it, and that we had told him to put it under his pillow, but then I fell asleep. When I awoke the next morning I panicked that the tooth fairy had forgotten to come. Thank goodness the tooth fairy can be a man!

He wanted to have a picture with the tooth next to where it was in his mouth.

He is growing up!

Happy Thanksgiving and Hello Christmas!

2011-11-25T21:48:00.001-06:00

Our Thanksgiving festivities began last Friday with a Thanksgiving Feast in both Eric and Zachary's class. (As a side note, everyone here says "Thanksgiving Feast" rather than just "Thanksgiving") As you can see Eric was a pilgrim and Zachary an indian. Eric's preschool had a very short program. The pilgrims did their part behind a cutout boat labeled "Mayflower" Below is one of the rhymes they did. I wish I had gotten Eric's commentary before it started. He yelled, "Mom you've got to get this one. It is funny!" and then motioned for me to begin recording. Zachary was Black Fox, his class worked on all sorts of Thanksgiving things throughout the week that he could show us. It was great to see and interact with both of our boys at school.

Animals at the zoo!

The next week all the kids were home for the whole week. We had fun going to the zoo Monday, Tuesday rained and rained so we stayed inside and played the computer and read. Wednesday we went to the library, and did some shopping for our Thanksgiving Feast. Thursday the kids played in the yard with Kyle while I prepared food and then we ate. Our menu consisted of ham, carrots, stuffing, fruit salad, homemade rolls, and 2 pies (strawberry and peanut butter). It was all delicious.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving we decorated for Christmas. This included buying and decorating our tree. We have not usually gotten one this early, but since we are leaving in the middle of December to visit folks in Idaho and Utah, I figured we better put it up now. We had a good time listening to Christmas music and decorating the tree.

It seems a little odd to be preparing for Christmas, when Thanksgiving was such a low key event, the kids still play outside regularly, and we have a lot of yard work that needs to be done. However, it now feels a bit more like the holidays are coming we have a tree, and I put nativities all across the mantel.

Primary Program

2011-11-13T19:39:00.001-06:00

The boys participated in the primary program today. They both did a wonderful job. It is hard to understand what they are saying so here is a transcription. Eric's part was, "Heavenly Father has a plan for me." When he was learning it he would often say, "Heavenly Father has a great plan for me!!! Zachary's part was, "Reading , watching, and listening to wholesome things keeps my mind clean. When I fill my mind with good things I feel the spirit." Every time he said it the wording was a little different, but the meaning always came across. Both boys are wonderful singers. The bishop even mentioned Zachary and how he sings with conviction. I am very proud of my boys. They helped bring the spirit into our sacrament meeting today.

1st Week of November

2011-11-10T13:48:00.001-06:00

Here the kids are at the Children's Museum. Zachary had a field trip there so the rest of us just conveniently went the same day :) We had a great time! Zachary was able to come home with us so we stayed even longer.

The videos are pretty self explanatory, but I'll write some words anyway. First, Zachary and Kyle enjoying a Sunday afternoon in the hammock. Kyle actually fell asleep for over and hour. Next, Wendy dancing, singing, and being herself. Last, Hyrum crawling. He will often choose to scoot on the hard wood because he slides so nicely, but he crawls on the carpet.

Here are a few more pictures. First, a cute picture of Hyrum in his new Sunday shirt. Second, a lizard the kids found and just had to have a picture of. There are a lot of these around, they can change colors according to where we find them. And finally a picture of Eric and Wendy reading on the front step. It suddenly became quiet in the house so I went to find the kids and this is what they were doing, a pleasant surprise for me.

Doctor Foster

2011-11-10T13:17:00.000-06:00

For those of you who did not know it, here is the nursery rhyme that Eric dressed up as. However, please don't feel bad, I didn't remember it either. Eric told me he wanted to dress up as a doctor so I looked up Doctor Nursery Rhymes online. Oh the power of the internet.

Doctor Foster

Went to Glouscester

In a shower of rain.

He stepped in a puddle

Right up to his middle

And never went there again!

Halloween

2011-11-01T22:05:00.001-05:00

Here are all my trick-or-treater's. Zachary was a wizard, he wanted to wear a pointy hat. Eric was of course Spiderman. For preschool he dressed up like a nursery ryhme, can you guess which one? (the answer is below) Wendy used the lion costume, which was purchased when Zachary was 1. It has been used every year since. Hyrum was a cute penguin. The zipper broke on the costume so I made a pin for his costume. He won a prize at the ward Halloween carnival for his age group :) Tirck-or-treating went wonderfully, I went around with the kids in short sleeves and was quite comfortable. They all got LOTS of candy and were very pleased with themselves.

Halloween afternoon we decorated our pumkins. I am just not into the mess carving makes so we made a different kind of mess with paint :). The kids enjoyed themselves and we ended up with 3 very colorful pumpkins to welcome people to our home.

Nursery Rhyme answer: (Eric was Dr. Foster, the Dr. who stepped in a puddle up to his middle.)

Kyle's Birthday

2011-11-01T21:48:00.000-05:00

Kyle had his 31st birthday on the 28th of October. He received a hammock which you can see we have already enjoyed. He also got his wish, to be done with this years rollout at work. He finished that the week of his birthday, so now things are a lot more calm at work, and we see more of him at home :) Of course his responsibility (Conversion) went well. He is a very intelligent man, and a great provider. Now that he is into his 3rd decade of life I'm sure he will continue to gain wisdom. Zachary said that is what happens as you get old.

Happy Birthday, KYLE!

Hyrum ahead of the game spiritually

2011-10-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

At only 6 months of age Hyrum is already "feasting" on the word of God. He literally ate the first page of 1 Nephi. Thank goodness that is one page that I have read and reread many times :)

Fun times in October

2011-10-25T10:46:00.001-05:00

Hyrum is climbing and having a great time. He gets himself stuck once in a while, but that doesn't stop him from trying again seconds later. He also pulls himself to a standing position whenever he can. This little boy is growing up too fast!! Below is a picture of Hyrum after Wendy finished feeding him peas. He was quite clean when I left the table, I heard giggling from him and Wendy. When I returned I could see why, Wendy was playing the part of mom.

Here the kids were playing at the park. They all played together, which is unusual. I was glad to get a few pictures. Above is Zachary stuck in a play dome. I told him I wanted to get his picture before I helped him out, he grudgingly obliged.

Playing in the rain!! There were some mighty big puddles. Wendy, didn't like making big splashes, so she daintily walked along the edge. The boys splashed away. They were soaked and dirty when they were done, so I had Zachary and Eric get into our shower to clean off and warm up. I went to get towels and when I came back Wendy was in as well, she had her clothes off, but her diaper still on. It was a cute scene. Here they are drawing smiley faces on the door. Below is Eric sitting in the biggest puddle.

Finally, a picture of Wendy playing with the blocks. Lately building tracks, towers, and secret hideouts for toys has been a favorite playtime activity for all the kids.

Photos

2011-10-17T10:25:00.001-05:00

My Boys!

My girl!

Everyone let me take their picture on Saturday. Don't I have a wonderful family!!!!

Hyrum is 6 months old!

2011-10-12T21:42:00.000-05:00

Hyrum had his 6 month check-up today. He weighs 16lbs 3oz and is 25.5in long; the 25th and 20th percentiles respectively. He has grown, but like the rest of our children his growth has slowed down now that he is on the move. And on the move Hyrum is. He is into everything. He loves to be around other people and will follow them into other rooms. He also loves to climb over and through things, even when he could go around. This includes climbing over people when they are sitting or lying on the floor. He is getting better at sitting on his own; however, even though that talent has not been perfected, it has not stopped him from trying to balance while standing up. What a sweet boy he is!

Hike

2011-10-10T16:56:00.001-05:00

Both boys were out of school today, so I needed to find something to do. I found a hike that is just minutes from our house on the Nachez-Trace Parkway. We went on the .5 mile loop rather than the 13 mile hike, considering their ages a good choice. We only had two hiking rules: 1. Stay together and 2. Have fun! I believe we did both. The boys each had a portion of our lunch on their backs and we ate on a log (Eric was quite excited about our picnic place.) I think it was enough of a success that we will try it again someday.

The only picture of all of us.

The trail was well shaded, it went out to a swampy area by the reservoir. Eric hiked with a stick almost the entire time, Zachary liked to balance on logs, and Wendy did a little march to catch up to her big brothers.

More Creature Fun

2011-10-06T14:04:00.000-05:00

We keep finding new creatures in our backyard. The boys found a dead, hummingbird and were quite excited. It was a beautiful bird, they wanted to bury it in the backyard. Zachary found a snake on our deck. He and Eric, followed it until it left the yard. It was just a small thing, but the boys sure got excited. Finally another big spider. It was also out at night and spun a huge web across the deck. Hopefully he did his job well, and got lots of yummy mosquitoes (we have way too many).

Hyrum!!!

2011-09-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

Hyrum is such a cute little human. He moves everywhere!! He scoots himself along and rolls. He is particularly drawn to paper and can spot it from across the room and quickly make his way over to the piece and promptly put it in his mouth. Having three older siblings there always seems to be paper of some sort for him to find. He has started eating rice cereal. He seems to enjoy it most of the time. He can sit up on his own for a short period of time and he is working on longer. I cannot believe he is almost 6 months old, where did the time go?!?!?

Wendy

2011-09-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

I realized Wendy has not received much time on the blog lately, so here is a post dedicated to Wendy.

Wendy is a cute little princess. When she wakes up in the morning she will point to the Disney Princess poster on her wall and say "Princesses" and then she will refer to herself as a princess as well. She is also a little mother. She always wants to hold Hyrum, put his binkie in his mouth, or give him a toy, even if none of those things really help. She likes to fix my hair "pretty." She also enjoys reading, coloring, talking on the phone, and playing with Eric. When I ask her "Guess What" her answers are always, "Naptime?" and "I love you!" She just mastered jumping and likes to show off that new skill in conjunction with dancing and singing. She is a wonderful part of our family.

School Picture

2011-09-13T13:40:00.002-05:00

Here is Zachary's kindergarten photo. It is a picture of a picture so it is not as crisp as the original, but you get the idea of how handsome he is, and how big he is growing. He is growing up so fast, and learning so much.

My New Do

2011-09-13T13:16:00.002-05:00

I got my haircut today and thought I would share. I just went in and told them that I wanted it short, really short. I like how it turned out and I think it will be easy to take care of.

Hyrum is on the move!

2011-09-11T17:03:00.001-05:00

Yes, Hyrum can move around the room. If he sees something he would like to get his hands on he scoots himself over. Sometimes his mode of transportation makes him face plant and then he gets upset for a momement, but he still persists. The following video is of him trying to get Zachary's shiny blue gifts. Originally he was a few feet from them and made it to them, I got the camera and scooted him back, just a little, and let him go again.

Now I have to keep things off the floor :}

Happy Birthday, Zachary!

2011-09-11T09:00:00.001-05:00

Zachary had a fun filled birthday. We started with a trip to the zoo, then lunch with Dad at McDonald's (one with a play place). We then waited at home "patiently" while Mom made the cake and wrapped the gifts and Dad finished up his work day. When Dad got home the party began. We had Zach's favorite meal, Macaroni and Cheese, opened presents and ate cake and ice cream The kids then spent the rest of the evening playing with the new toys.

Anticipation

Excitement

The haul

Here we are singing Happy Birthday to the Birthday boy. He requested cupcakes, with aliens for his cake. this is the best I could do. The cupcakes are one-eyed aliens and then I found star candles. he liked it and that is what counts.

A week of fun!

2011-09-02T21:13:00.002-05:00

Here are the kids playing outside this evening. It was warm, but there was a slight breeze and cloud cover so it was nice to be outside. The kids had a fun time, and so did I. I love that they think that I'm the best under-dog pusher ever :)

Wendy and Eric also spent some time painting. They had a great time and only made a minimal mess. I think Eric's painting could sell for something :) He told me a whole dinosaur story based on what he painted. Can you see it?

Finally, here is Zachary eating a Popsicle on the deck. He often comes home from school and then finds somewhere random to sit or play. It happened to be the middle of the deck this particular afternoon. Most of his week was taken by school, something we are slowly getting used too. It allows me time to spend with the other children one-on-one, but we miss Zachary.

temple trip

2011-08-29T15:26:00.003-05:00

TEMPLE TRIP

Here we are at the Baton Rouge Temple. Last Saturday our ward had a temple trip. The ward provided a light lunch and a nursery at the stake center next to the temple while we were in the temple. It was a long, good day. We left at 7:30am and arrived there at 10:30am. Kyle and I did sealings at 11:00am. After we helped watch kids until 3:00pm. We then drove home, all the kids slept for an hour of the drive home, and the rest of the drive they were very well behaved. We got home at 6:00pm. I hope we have more of these opportunities in the future.

My growing boy.

2011-08-18T16:34:00.000-05:00

How fast time flies!!!

It seems like just yesterday my little baby boy discovered his thumb and loved it!

Literally, yesterday my little grown up boy started preschool, but he still loves his thumb.

Yes, Eric has begun his schooling. He is going to preschool in the mornings three days a week. He was super excited Monday to meet the teacher and see his classroom. When I walked him in yesterday he was reluctant to let me leave, but quickly became involved in the activities and did great. He is getting so big.

Hyrum at 4 Months

2011-08-17T10:41:00.000-05:00

Hyrum has reached the 4 month mark. He had his check-up today and was in the 65th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight ( 251/2 in and 15lbs 3oz). He is a healthy happy boy! Some of his accomplishments are the ability to roll, grabbing for toys, sleeping through the night, and of course his wonderful smile and laugh. He loves to be a part of the action and will let us know if we have left the room for too long. We love him lots!!!

The Web

2011-08-10T08:51:00.001-05:00

Last night just before I went to bed, I was turning off the lights and accidentally switched the deck light on and noticed a spider. It looked like it was just hanging in the middle of nowhere. When I went outside I saw a huge web, it was amazing. Now I'm not a big fan of spiders, but this little guy truly made a masterpiece.

The picture to the right gives you an idea of how big the web was. The little dot in the middle of the picture is the spider. His web was attached to the tree above, the deck below, and the water table to the right.

Zachary Starts School

2011-08-09T15:34:00.003-05:00

First Day Kindergarten

My little boy is growing up. He went to his first day of Kindergarten today. He was super excited and reported that things went well. The school added a new kindergarten class yesterday, to cut down the class size to about 20-22. Zachary was put in the new class. The teacher hired just yesterday, was of course not ready to teach today, nor was her classroom ready, so he spent most of the day with another teacher. Here is what Zachary has to say about Kindergarten.

"Kindergarten is a lucky place for all of us; all of us that are in Kindergarten
My friend Chase is the best friend ever. Chase is a very very nice friend.

I liked to be at Kindergarten so much. I like the songs so much too.

What was your favorite part of Kindergarten?

My favorite part was playing with my friends.

What did you play?

Duh. I won't tell you until breakfast time.
Who is your teacher?
Miss Cunningham
Is she nice?
Yes, she is nice. She is the goodest nicest teacher I have ever had! She's the best.

I love Kindergarten because it's a wondrous place.
The blog is done. I like the blog so much."

Family Vacation

2011-08-09T13:11:00.000-05:00

We spent the past two weeks in Utah and Idaho. The majority of it was spent at family reunions documented below, but we did have a few days that were not covered. We spent those days with my parents in Idaho, and then drove through Logan to reminisce.

Here is Wendy holding Clark with Grandma's help. He is almost as big as she is.

Also Hyrum posing for his 5x7 photo displayed at Grandma's house

Below are all the kids on the couch at Grandma's at some point in time. Elden and Eric are watching a show, Zachary is reading Star Wars.

Windmills are being put up on the hills surrounding my parents home. It makes for a different view than what I grew up with, but they are very interesting, and often turning.

We visited Angie's for lunch in Logan and then went up to campus for a stroll and to purchase T-shirts for the family. We must show our Utah State pride out here in Mississippi. It didn't seem as necessary in Kaysville :)

Schwieder Family Reunion

2011-08-09T12:15:00.001-05:00


The David Schwieder Family

The Schwieder reunion was filled with excitement. On Thursday we met on Antelope Island and setup camp. Thanks mom and dad for providing our camping equipment. However, we had to take down the tents sooner than anticipated due to a fire. This made for a late night. We were able to stay with Judd and Melanie, Thank-you! The next day we met at a park for lunch and then to the Aerospace Museum. We then went back to Antelope Island and re-setup camp. The following morning we took it all down again and went to the beach. The sand was lots of fun for the kids, and the water was very shallow for a long way. I was able to float in the Great Salt Lake, I can now say I did that as well as swim with brine shrimp. I had to move to Mississippi before I did something that was just minutes away:) We had a great time!

After a day at the beach.

Flamm Family Reunion

2011-08-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

We had a great Flamm Family reunion. It was wonderful to see everyone!!! We stayed on the bottom floor of a mansion in Draper. The kids loved playing on the trampoline in the back yard and with the Foosball table and air hockey table inside. Their favorite thing was to play with their cousins.

The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point entertained all our kids. They especially liked the hands on exhibits. One was all about motion, another a water/sand table with dinosaurs, and sand where they could uncover bones.

Swimming at Seven Peaks Water Park was also a hit. We all enjoyed the lazy river, and the boys went down some slides. Thanks to Melanie we had a cabana next to the tot pool which was very helpful.

Here are just some random shots. Eric loved the glow sticks even after they stopped glowing. Hyrum was a good little baby through all the change, Zachary is sitting in Great Grandpa's van which he let us borrow for our vacation, THANKS! Wendy was cute in her little tutu grandma bought her and I love how little ones sleep with their bottom in the air.

Playing in the rain

2011-07-16T08:47:00.001-05:00

We had a downpour yesterday evening and Zachary wanted to play in the rain. At first I was hesitant, in all my experience playing in the rain was cold. However, I learned differently, it was beautiful, warm, and fun. Even Hyrum and I went to watch for a while under the protection of a large umbrella.

Jumping off the "diving board"

2011-07-15T14:04:00.002-05:00

Here are pictures of the boys jumping from the "diving board." It is actually one of the life guard posts and is a few feet above the water. Both boys have done it on their own, but they have also had a bit of encouragement at other times. Zachary can now jump off and swim across the pool or do 1/2 the pool on his stomach, turn over and swim on his back the rest of the way. Eric is striving to learn how to breath and keep going. Currently he can start out great, but when it comes time to breath he sort of stands up and starts treading water rather than swimming. Wendy and I have also gotten in the water a few times and had a great time. She will put her nose in the water, float on her back and kick her legs. We have a lot of fun.

Puffed Sleeves

2011-07-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

Wendy got a package in the mail this week from her Grandma. She was very excited. Today she wore the dress that she found inside. Isn't she just cute. I have always heard of puffed sleeves, but now I understand more fully what that means. We got a few comments that she looked like a doll.

P.S. This little boy can roll over.

A few fun pictures

2011-07-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

Cute little Wendy

Eric with his glow stick finery.

Hyrum holding tight to a toy.

Zachary the robot

Close up of his creation

Swimming in the backyard

Happy Independence Day!!!

2011-07-04T23:45:00.005-05:00

I wish y'all a happy 4th of July. We had a great time at the fireworks today, the weather was perfect, 80 degrees with a light breeze. The fireworks were fun, Zachary watched a few and then wanted to share his snacks with all the others trying to watch. Eric kept saying "That one was the most amazing!" Wendy sought comfort in Daddy's arms after the first few were going to "get her", she then enjoyed the rest of the show. Hyrum woke up but didn't start screaming, instead he just watched wide eyed. Earlier in the day we took a family photos, the one on the left is the one I tweaked so that I liked it. The picture on the right bottom was the original, and the top is the one that Hyrum's alert expression came from. I think everyone looks normal despite the changes :)

Laughing

2011-06-29T17:33:00.000-05:00

Here is Hyrum laughing. When I first heard it I told Zachary to stop making him upset, but he was was far from upset. They both were having a great time.

Wendy is growing

2011-06-26T22:50:00.001-05:00

Wendy had her 2-year checkup at the end of the week. She is now over 20 lbs and is in the 10th percentile for both weight and height. She is moving up in the world. I thought it would be fun to see how Wendy has grown in the past 2 years. Enjoy seeing a beautiful baby develop into a little princess.

NEWBORN ~6lbs 5oz ~19 inches

2 MONTHS ~10lbs 9oz ~19 inches

4 MONTHS ~12lbs 14oz ~23.5 inches

6 MONTHS ~14lbs 7oz ~24.5 inches


9 MONTHS ~15lbs 15oz ~26.5 inches

1 YEAR ~ 17lbs 3oz ~26.5 inches

18 MONTHS ~19lbs 9oz ~??


2 YEARS ~23lbs 4oz ~32inches

What a little person with such a BIG personality!! We sure do love our Wendy girl.

Happy Birthday, Wendy!

2011-06-23T15:00:00.001-05:00

Wendy had a great birthday, I cannot believe my 'Wendy Girl' is two. She loved that her birthday resulted in lots of attention. She received a water/sand table which all the kids had a great time playing with all evening. Today, I put on one of her birthday outfits and we had mini photo shoot. These are a few of the results, I think I am pleased with how they turned out.

Wendy Playing at the Water Table

Unwrapping yet another gift


Wendy's Butterfly Cake

Everything is under control at our home

2011-06-20T22:20:00.002-05:00

I have been trying to get these two videos to post for the past couple of weeks, but blogger will just not upload them. So I discovered a different route, through YouTube. Hopefully they work.

Here is a video of Hyrum taken by Zachary. The video itself is not much, but what Zachary says is classic. He doesn't start speaking until about 45 seconds into the video so be patient or skip a bit at the beginning. Enjoy!

This is the walk through of our Mississippi home. Please excuse Zachary's shirtlessness. I did not notice he had taken it off until after I shot the video. Apparently he spilled his water.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:45:00.003-05:00

Here are to all the Fathers in my life and in the lives of those I love. Thank-you for being who you are, for being worthy to exercise the priesthood, and for loving those that call you dad.

Kyle with his new toy

A special love-note for my husband, Kyle Flamm, who in my opinion is an amazing dad. He wants to spend time with his kids and they love the time they have with him. He is also amazing with babies (right now that is something I'm extremely grateful for). I love you Kyle!!

Here he is playing with his Father's Day gift, a infrared thermometer that has a laser for accuracy. He wanted it for cooking, but is having fun with it all around the house.

Dad with Wendy and Hyrum

Here is another wonderful father. My dad, David Schwieder, who is not only a great dad but an incredible grandpa too. I love his support and advice. I love you Dad!

Delicious Blueberries

This picture was added for another father, my brother, Kyle Schwieder. I just wanted him to see what he is missing out on here in the South. Fresh picked blueberries!!! Our neighbor just brought us two big bags of them, aren't you jealous.

Really I am grateful for how my brothers, and brother-in-laws exemplify qualities of wonderful fathers. Keep up the good work. I love you all!!!

Random Videos

2011-06-17T14:16:00.002-05:00

Wendy loves to sing the following two videos show her talent off. She is at a very fun age.

Zachary and Eric drinking, and having fun doing it.

My little fish!

2011-06-17T13:16:00.003-05:00

The boys have been going to swimming lessons the past week. The first lesson Eric would not even put his face in the water and now just look at him go. He even went to the deep end and swam all the way across the pool, today. Zachary has also been doing a great job. He was very proud of the fact that he can swim alone, without the teacher touching him. I am very impressed with how well they are doing and how much they have progressed in just one week. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have two little fish on my hands.

Wendy, Hyrum, and I just wait in a pavilion for the hour lesson to get over. I have discovered that the humid air does carry the heat better than the dry heat in Utah. Welcome to the South!!

Children's Museum

2011-06-13T16:10:00.007-05:00

We had another great day at the Children's Museum. Now that it is getting hot the air conditioned museum is a great place to be. We have also started swimming lessons.

Zachary had to try out the Velcro wall. The first two jumps weren't super successful, but he enjoyed it. The staff member told him to spread his arms out when he jumped. He followed her instructions and stuck great. As you can see in the picture he sank down into the suit and then he could not get off the wall. He yanked and pushed and finally said, "Help I'm stuck." The worker had to go pry him off. It was quite funny.

Wendy's favorite toy was the little tractor she is pictured in. She sat there for a long time driving and smiling.

Eric loved making trails with the scrabble tiles and then jumping from one to another. He also enjoyed participating in story time.

Growing

2011-06-12T20:39:00.008-05:00

Friday,Eric had his 4 year checkup and Hyrum had his 2 month checkup. I scheduled them for the same time and was able to have Zachary and Wendy watched. This worked out well.
Here are their stats:

~~~

Eric has caught up. He is now in the 45 percentile for both weight and height. This is up form 30 percentile last year and 2 percentile at a year. He is a helathy little boy, who bravely got 4 shots. All his shots are now done for kindergarten, yay!! Above he is on his bike, and asleep in his chair. When Eric is tired he can fall asleep anywhere and very quickly, but the key is he has to be exhausted.

~~~

Hyrum is also growing well. He was 12lb 4oz, which puts him in the 75 percentile for weight. He was 22.5 in. long, which puts him in the 35 percentile for height. He also received shots, it is sad to see a little ones eyes look at you wondering why you are allowing someone to hurt them, but he only cried for a minute. Hyrum is getting stronger and interacts more with us.

Our Home

2011-06-10T21:45:00.009-05:00

The Flamm Family Homestead

Some requests have been made to see our new home. Here it is! We are enjoying ourselves and the children are enjoying making messes. I tried uploading a video tour, but it was not working at the moment, so maybe that will come later.

~~~~~~

Hyrum's room~~~~~~~ Wendy's "pink princess room" ~~~~~~~~The boys room

~~~~~~and the guest room

~~~~~~

The Music/School/Computer area ~~~~~~ The Family Room~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Bar/Breakfast nook

~~~~~~

The Kitchen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food Storage ~~~~~~~~~ My favorite part of the Master Bath

San Antonio

2011-06-10T13:22:00.006-05:00

San Antonio
Texas

We were able to visit San Antonio, Texas as a family for Kyle's AGM (Annual General Meeting).

This post is a little late as the event was held May 7th-10th. Oh Well, better late than never.

We arrived a day early. We spent the day at a little amusement park. Most of the rides only kids can go on; however the one above an adult can ride with a toddler. I was able to ride with Wendy and take pictures of the boys as we went around and up and down.

Before we checked in to the AGM we visited The Alamo. It was educational and interesting. Kyle's mom came along to help us with the kids (Thanks). The only picture we got of her is the top right picture. Yep, she is the little person in red, sitting with her back to the camera. We will have to do better next time we do something with family.

Kyle had to attend a few hours of meetings, but the rest of us just had fun. The resort had numerous pools, a kids splash pool, slides, and a lazy river. We had a great time and only Wendy and I got a little sunburned :) Hyrum enjoyed most of his time being held by grandma.

Here are my boys riding a bull. The closing social at the AGM was all about Texas. We rode, roped, played with armadillos, and ate good food. Below Zachary is sitting on Oreo.

Eric's Big Day

2011-06-08T13:31:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Eric!!!

~~~~~~

Eric's birthday was a big success. He received plenty of Spiderman paraphernalia: a costume, a transformer, a 'tag' book (it uses a special pen to read and play games), and an umbrella. He also got some other books and a giant airplane. His cake is a rocket ship and it is covered in one of his favorite things, chocolate frosting.

~~~

Eric's birthday also gave me an excuse to finish a project I have been meaning to do. When we moved in there was a place on the wall, in the master bedroom that had measurements of their children as they grew up (of course they could not take theses with them). Another home we looked at had a piece of the molding that had been cut out of their previous home. I decided I would see how my kids grew, but take it with us, without cutting up the house. SO, I bought a piece of molding and painted it. It is now hanging by our laundry room. I was happy with how it turned out. We measured all the children on Eric's birthday.

Below is Eric opening his umbrella and the family singing before Eric blew out
the candles on his cake.

A little smile to share

2011-05-31T15:08:00.003-05:00

I just had to share this video with you. I hope it makes your day like it makes mine.

Vicksburg

2011-05-29T17:38:00.009-05:00

We took a day trip to Vicksburg Mississippi on Saturday. We had a great time, here are a few highlights from the trip.

The Vicksburg National Cemetery

Nearly 17,000 Union soldiers are buried here, making it the largest internment of Civil War dead in the nation. Since it was memorial day they had put a flag by each grave, it was quite a sight.

The U.S.S. Cairo

This is a gunboat from the civil war. It had thirteen cannons and was iron clad. This ship was sunk just outside of Vicksburg. It was the first ship in history to be sunk by an electronically detonated torpedo. In the 1970's they raised it from the bottom of the Mississippi and it as well as a museum of different artifacts are at the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Here the kids are 1)inspecting the cannons 2) in front of the Illinois Monument 3) in front of a tank

The Monuments

The Wisconsin Monument~ ~The Mississippi Monument

The Illinois Monument

There was a 16 mile driving tour that had stops to help understand how the battle and siege happened. Along the path were numerous monument. Some memorialized specific men or regiments. Each state also had a monument, which remembered those from their state who were part of the Vicksburg battles. The biggest was the Illinois monument which had names around the inside of the building. The words on the Wisconsin one are nice if you zoom in.

The Mighty Mississippi

Since, we live in Mississippi we figured we should probably see Old Man river himself, so we did. We drove across into Louisiana and back. As you have probably heard in the news it is way over its banks. We saw evidence of this, after we got off the "bridge" we still had water on both sides of the road for a mile or more. If you zoom in on the last picture you can see the evidence.

A few videos

2011-05-25T13:27:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple of videos that I wanted all of you to have the joy of seeing.

The first is at Zachary's preschool program. He did a great job, the music teacher said that she was impressed with how quickly he picked up on songs they had been working on all year. He only attended 1 month. I love his sheepish look when his actions lag behind (this was the only time he was off during the song) I'm glad I caught the moment.

The second is Wendy talking, and Hyrum being cute. At the end she is talking about the "piggy" in Hyrum's barn pocket.

The third one is Eric riding his bike. He received the bike for Christmas, and did not have the opportunity to ride it until we got our stuff from storage a month ago. He has tried a few times, but always got frustrated with his feet sliding off the pedals. Finally, today he actually rode his bike. He was very proud of himself, and wanted to show Dad when he got home.

Smiles!!!

2011-05-23T21:18:00.004-05:00

HYRUM'S SMILE

~~~~~~

~~~

Hyrum is smiling, and I love it. It is fun to see him recognize that he is looking at you, and then grin. It can be hard to catch on camera because it is often a very wide smile (like the first picture above), which in pictures often does not appear to be a smile. However, you can see it in his eyes.

Hyrum's blessing

2011-05-17T12:53:00.005-05:00

Hyrum was blessed on Sunday. It was a beautiful blessing focusing on the spirit and service. Here are some pictures of handsome little Hyrum in his tux. Thanks to Grandma Janet for making it, all three of our boys have used it.

2 week check-up

2011-04-25T16:29:00.005-05:00

Hyrum had his 2 week check-up today. It was verified that Hyrum likes to eat and is doing a good job of doing so. He weighed in at 8lbs 11 oz a whole pound above his birth weight. He also grew 3/4 of an inch. He is a healthy little boy.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T18:54:00.005-05:00

Happy Easter!!

It has been a beautiful Easter here in Mississippi. Friday we dyed eggs, we got some brilliant colors, and each child had one with their name on it. Yesterday's celebrations began with a party. Zachary was invited to a birthday party for girl in his preschool. The invitation said siblings were welcome, and it ended up being an entire family affair. They had an Easter Egg hunt, a pinata, lots and lots of treats, and a guest appearance from the Easter Bunny himself. The kids had a great time, and Kyle and I got to show off handsome Hyrum. After we returned home and had a little rest the kids found their Easter baskets which were hidden in our backyard. The boys got PJ's, Eric got Spiderman, and Zachary got Lego Star Wars. Wendy got a orange flowered dress. The talks today in church were very uplifting, and made me want to be better. The kids have been enjoying Easter candy they received yesterday.

The older siblings

2011-04-19T21:32:00.003-05:00

With a new one here I often forget to post the Flamm Family Fun that the other kids bring, so here is a post dedicated to the older siblings.

Zachary often tells us he has a lot of energy. This is a true statement. He is quite the character and loves to play with others. We enrolled him in the last month and half of preschool, which both he and his mother are enjoying.

Eric is full of smiles. He loves to show us tricks (such as the one in the picture). He loves attention from mom and dad, but is more reserved around others. He is very into Spiderman, and wants his shirt and underwear to have Spiderman on them.

Wendy is an independent little girl. She often says, "Me do it" Other favorite phrases include, "Want more now" and "No like it" She actually has quite the vocabulary and knows how to use it.

Hyrum's eyes

2011-04-19T21:19:00.002-05:00

Here are some awake pictures of Hyrum. He is already trying to hold his head up and we can see that he is getting stronger and staying awake more each day. When he is awake he is very alert, and interested in whoever is close by. He is a happy baby, and when he does cry it starts as a little squeak. He is very patient with his brothers and sisters who like to hold him. He is a joy to have in our home.

More Mississippi Wildlife

2011-04-19T21:14:00.003-05:00

Our new home has been full of animal discoveries. Zachary has caught frogs multiple times, we have bluebirds nesting in a box on our fence, lizards have been spotted twice, and today I came home from the bank to see a turtle on our front step.

Squeezable & Delicious!!

2011-04-15T13:35:00.005-05:00

Our little one is growing. He is so cute that you just have to squeeze him. His siblings are still fascinated by him. Zachary says that he loves his little brother and cannot leave him, Eric says that when he stands in front of the swing Hyrum settles down (this has been true twice), Wendy is a little mother (if Hyrum cries she is ready to help by pushing his swing, or stuffing his pacifier in his mouth.) Overall Hyrum is a content baby.

This is a picture of the edible arrangement that we received from those with whom Kyle works. Thank-you!! It is beautiful and delicious.

Here are my little boys. Eric just climbed
up and watched Hyrum. It was cute.

Our New Home

2011-04-15T10:15:00.004-05:00

Well we have officially received our stuff, so I guess we have officially moved into our new home. It is very full of boxes at the moment, and it seems like we will never be able to get through them all. My mom and dad helped set up the kitchen and we are slowly working on the rest of the house.

Here is a picture of the kids eating lunch on the deck. The backyard is one of my favorite parts of our new home. It is big, according to Zachary they can play a whole football game. After living in an apartment I just love being able to send them outside to play.

Pictures for those who have been waiting

2011-04-11T15:46:00.004-05:00

Hyrum Frederick Flamm

Here are some pictures of Hyrum!! He is a very handsome baby. In his two days of life he has decided he likes to eat, suck on anything near his mouth, and be held (particularly in an inclined position). We are excited to get to know his little personality.

It's a boy!!!

2011-04-10T01:16:00.005-05:00

He's here!!! We have a new baby boy! Both mother and baby are doing just fine, and both will be coming home soon. His name will be Hyrum Frederick Flamm. He was born April 4th at 11:51 PM weighing in at 7 LB 11.4 OZ and 20 inches long. He has a lot of brown hair. He loves his mama and fed well, but I got to hold him first! Sorry no photos yet, I couldn't wrestle the camera away from MiKell.

Now here's the story of how he got here.

Take me out to the ball game!

So Saturday April 9th my company had a get together at ball game. It was MiKell's due date but we thought as long as MiKell wasn't in labor during the game it would work out. The game was laid back like most baseball games and we had fun talking to coworkers and watching the game; we even tried boiled peanuts for the first time. It was way past the boys bed time by the bottom of the 7th so we left. Later, MiKell let me know that she also wanted to go because she thought that maybe things were starting but she couldn't really tell.

So we get home and the kids are asleep in their car seats, so I carry them to bed. It's not even an hour and MiKell says to me that she feels very weird. So we're thinking what's going to and what we should do. She says that her fingers are numb and I start getting worried. So we decided to go into the Hospital, and as confirmation of our decision MiKell's water breaks. After reconstructing the night we think it was about 10:30. We jump and race to the hospital and of course we're stuck behind every slow car and possible, once we were forced down to 15 under the speed limit on the freeway across all 3 lanes. Driving down here will have to be another post.

We get to the hospital and it's 11:00 PM they take us to a room right away, and we say the usual that MiKell has rapid labor and she's never had a baby more than an hour after her water breaks and so forth. And they act like they don't believe a word of it; because it seems like an eternity to sign papers, getting information, logging her into the system, setting up the monitors, and finally they admit us and they check MiKell and immediately call the Doctor to come in.

Well at 11:45 the Doctor still isn't there but the baby is not going to wait. So our nurse, after valiantly trying to keep that baby in, had to deliver the baby. Luckily she knew how to catch. It definitely took them all by surprise how fast it happened.

Pictures to show up soon, most likely this afternoon.

A Frog and A Bug

2011-03-27T21:03:00.006-05:00

Today we made two wildlife discoveries. Zachary caught a frog, which we kept until Dad could see it, and Eric discovered a big bug. Here are pictures and videos of both of them.

Swimming

2011-03-19T20:46:00.005-05:00

Swimming in March!!!

We took advantage of the pool and the 80 degree weather today. The water was a bit chilly at first, but soon we all got used to it and had a great time. Both Zachary and Eric ventured off on their own and had a great time swimming in the deep part.

February Finished

2011-03-02T09:03:00.005-06:00

The last part of February brought more adventures. We visited the Jackson Zoo where we got a membership. It is reciprocal to the Zoos near both grandparents, yay! It is not a large zoo but perfect for an afternoon outing.

The other thing that happened at the end of February is Kyle received his new phone. You will have to ask him about all the things it can do, but we have seen him discovering the past week.

On the home front: Our Kaysville home closed at the end of February. In today's market this is a huge blessing. We are now in the process of negotiating a contract for a home here in Mississippi.

This final picture just had to be included. Wendy really enjoyed the spaghetti we had one night, her clothing will never be the same.

February Fun

2011-02-18T21:17:00.011-06:00

Here are a few photos with commentary from February, at least so far.

The beginning of the month we had a cold spell. Twice Kyle did not have to go into work until noon due to weather. One day it was freezing rain, the other because of snow. Hey, we got snow in Mississippi! The picture above shows the light dusting we received. The picture is taken from our balcony. We are very lucky that our apartment is on the corner where we have nice views.

Here is Eric in our apartment. He loves to color and run around like a madman. The last picture is with the Valentine packages we received, Thanks Grandma!

Here is Wendy! She is such a happy little girl, most of the time. She loves to sing "I'm so Glad When Daddy Comes Home" She also likes to pretend she is a dog. You can throw something and say fetch and she will crawl get it and bring it back saying woof woof the whole time. It is quite cute.

Here is Zachary and the computer. He loves to play games on the computer and willingly does his chores for the privilege. When Kyle gets home from work he always wants to play with Dad helping him.

This past week we have enjoyed weather in the high 60's and low 70's. It has been wonderful to get outside and visit parks.

The other activity that February has been full of is looking at homes. There are some beautiful homes we have seen and some that just leave us scratching our heads. Hopefully we will soon narrow down to one and will be able to have a post about our new home. The great news on the home front is that next week we should close on the sale of our Kaysville home. What a blessing!!!

Transistion

2011-01-31T20:17:00.005-06:00

Our new apartment!!

So the last couple of weeks have been an adventure. We just moved into our 3 bedroom apartment on Saturday, but the desk and bed for Kyle and I do not arrive until tomorrow. Right now we have a pretty bare apartment. Kyle and I are sleeping on the twin air mattresses we got for the boys. This means the boys are on makeshift beds, Eric on the cushions of the couch and Zach on the couch itself. I'm excited to get furniture tomorrow and have the couch in the living area. Overall things are going well. Although I miss the free breakfast and dinner Monday thru Thursday that the hotel provided, I do not miss having such a small space. I am also grateful to have our cars here. The first week we had a rental, which was nice, but we needed to drop off and pick up Kyle from work, so two cars is much nicer. Below is Kyle in front of our rental car.

Ugga-Bugga

2011-01-31T19:41:00.005-06:00

Wendy is our Ugga-Bugga. She will let us know that she is our Ugga-Bugga as well as our Wendy Girl. Here is a short clip where she says it. Her vocabulary is really growing, the boys like getting her to say big words like, Mississippi. When she tries it is very cute, truthfully she is cute no matter what she is trying to say, even her crying face is cute, just not fun.

Next stop, Mississippi!

2011-01-10T21:41:00.003-06:00

Well, this may be the last post for a bit. Tomorrow the movers come to pack us up, then on Wednesday they will load our stuff into the truck. We will spend the next couple of days camping out in our home and finishing preparations to sell it. We leave for Mississippi on Saturday. The adventure begins.

A tired boy!

2011-01-10T21:33:00.003-06:00

Eric was playing and wanted me to take a picture. He would hide under his and Zach's chairs pretend he was a talking rock, and then ask if anyone could see him. After I took the first video, I went upstairs and packed a bit. About 15 minutes later, when it was super quiet downstairs I wondered if boys were into something that they shouldn't be. When I went downstairs I was surprised to see that Eric had fallen asleep in his little fort. It was cute!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T14:50:00.003-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas season. Here are a few pictures, and videos that show the fun we had Christmas morning. I was particularly excited because the earliest picture was taken at 9:16a.m. This meant the kids gave me the gift of sleep!!

Notice Zachary is no longer in his Christmas Pajamas. This is because he threw-up during the night. This gave us a bit of a scare, but he was his energetic self the rest of the holiday vacation, despite having all the rest of us ill at some point in time. The picture with me shows the kids in the sweaters and dress that they got from Santa.

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-29T16:50:00.005-06:00

We started the afternoon, rolling out cookies, then that evening at Judd and Melanie Flamm's home with a simple meal and wonderful family. We read the Christmas story and then we left for home. At home we had time to decorate a couple cookies each, one for Santa and one for ourselves.

We then opened our Christmas Eve gift, pajama pants, and hung our stocking. It was a low-key but very enjoyable Christmas Eve.

Temple Square lights

2010-12-17T14:06:00.006-06:00

Last night we went to see the lights at temple square. It was a very fun family activity, both boys were excited, but in control. They stayed by us and even let us do a little teaching when we were by the nativity scene.