Andrew's Awesome

If you know Andrew, you know that he gets VERY VERY nervous about change. So we were understandbly terrified about how he would deal with preschool. He started a couple of weeks ago. He was so nervous, but when I went to pick him up that first day he said, "Mom, you came too soon." It really was an answer to prayer.

Also if you know Andrew, you know that when he finds something that he likes he becomes obsessed with it. Well lately he has been absolutely obsessed with big cats, and it has now expanded to all wild animals. Every week he checks out several books about wild animals. Some of them have talked about animals that are endangered. This really concerned Andrew, and he kept asking us what we could do to help the animals. We told him that one thing we could do was make a donation to a foundation that protects animals. So he ran to his room and started dumping out his banks. When I asked him how much he wanted to donate he said, "I can give all of it if the animals need that much." It was so sweet. He ended up donating $10 and Reed and I each matched it. He chose to sponser a tiger. But he wanted to help more animals, so we told him that instead of a birthday present from us we could donate more money. He decided that would be good, so he chose to donate to help the wolves for his birthday. Then he asked if he could do the same thing for one of his Christmas presents. He is such a good boy, and he is a great example to us. Throughout the day, he would just squeal and look at us and say "I helped the animals!"

Fall Fun

Andrew decided that he wanted us to have a really scary decoration for Halloween, so we decided to continue the awesome tradition that I had growing up of making a headless man for the front of the house. Anyone who lived in my neighborhood growing up probably remembers this totally cool tradition. Especially the year that we put the guy on the roof. I can't tell you how many times that thing gave all of us a near heart attack. Anyway, Andrew and Eric had tons of fun making this little fella. Although Andrew says it isn't scary it's just fun.

We went to a farm last week that had lots of fun fall activities. We got "lost" in a corn maze, rode in a corn cob train, rode peddle carts, ran in a hamster wheel, saw pig races, rode horses, and more. We were all very worn out and very sunburned at the end (because mom of the year forgot the sunscreen).


Andrew and Eric at the pig races.


My boys in the hamster wheel.


Me and my boys in the train. It was a tight squeeze. I was very glad when this ride was over and I could unbend my body.

Reed and Eric riding a pedal cart.

Andrew on the pedal carts. He totally knocked a lady over and didn't say sorry because he said he was too shy.

It's Easy to be Parent When...

It's easy to be a parent when your babies are sleeping. Reed and I love to check on our boys when they are asleep. They take on a very angelic, fragile look. If we have lost patience with them at all throughout the day, this is when we feel the guilt. As we stare down at them it is hard to remember all the times they made our eyes twitch that day.

What a cutie pie.



So I just decided to ask Eric to say "Look kids", and he did, so I thought I would show how cute it really is.

Sorry about the crazy video shooting, but in my defense I was the chaser. I just wanted you to see how Andrew protects Eric like I wrote about yesterday. Then the other video was just so stinkin' cute that I had to share.

Vacations are Awesome cont.

Andrew and his cousin, Justin, absolutely love each other. They had a sleep over and we found them holding hands when we went to check on them.

Great Grandpa and Great Grandma play the accordian, so they let Andrew and Eric have a turn.
Hopefully this will be the only time we will see our boys behind bars. Me too...I don't think I'm going to suddenly start a life of crime.

There is a totally fun park in Provo with swings that go really high. Well Eric just couldn't get pushed high enough. It's funny because 6 months ago 1 foot was high enough for Andrew. Not Eric though. He kept saying "Higher, higher". He got going crazy high. He was going way above our heads. And he didn't want to stop. He was so upset when we made him get off. He'd been swinging for at least 30 minutes. I felt queasy just watching him.

Vacations are Awesome

Eric, Jonas (cousin), and Andrew at Thanksgiving Point


Eric and Reed throwing rocks in Provo River

Andrew and Grandpa taking a short break from throwing rocks in the river.

Eric and Jonas hiding under the stage at the Timp Storytelling Festival. You can tell by their faces that they knew they are doing something that they weren't supposed to do.

Andrew, Eric, and Jonas on a stage at the Timp Storytelling Festival. They put on quite a show for us.

So we went to Utah last month. We had such a great time. Andrew and Eric loved hanging out with their cousins. One of their very favorite things to do was go up Provo Canyon and throw rocks in the river. I'm surprised we didn't make a dam, we threw so many rocks in. Tonight we were eating dinner and Eric randomly started talking about throwing big rocks in the river.

Andrew's other favorite thing was going to BYU campus. He was in heaven. He got a BYU t-shirt that is now his favorite shirt. We went a few days before BYU's first football game. So the day of the game everyone had their BYU flags out. Every time Andrew saw anything that had to do with BYU he would get so excited. So we would hear squeals of joy every few minutes every time we went somewhere.

Random Stuff

So it has been awhile. Here are some random cute photos of our family. Just some quick updates. Eric is still completely obsessed with trains. Especially Thomas the Train. I have to sing him the Thomas the Train song every night before he goes to bed...and that is a long song. In fact we have a whole regimen of songs that I have to sing every night. First I have to sing 2 Dora the Explorer songs, then the Bob the Builder Song, and then the Thomas song. If I try to cut corners and skip a song he always calls me on it. We went to a train museum the other day, and Eric was in heaven. They had a whole bunch of trains lined up that we could walk through, unfortunately there was no A/C and it was sooo hot. Reed and I were miserable, but the boys didn't seem to care.

Lately Eric has been saying "Hey look kids." I don't know where he got it but it is just about the cutest thing that we have ever heard. I wish I could get it on video so that you could hear it. Reed and I enjoy being called kids...especially by our 2 year old!


Andrew and Daddy hiking through the "forest".

Andrew is such a great big brother. He loves Eric and is so protective of him. When we are playing chase he makes sure that Eric is in front of him so that I have to get through him to get to Eric. There are times when he tries to block me and yells, "Run Eric, run." It is pretty heart warming. Today Eric fell down and started to cry. Andrew went running over and gave him a big hug and kiss. They really look out for each other, except for when they want the same toy:).