Week in review

We have had a fun filled week so I thought I would post some of the pics from it. Last Saturday we went down to Gooding to celebrate Doug's birthday with Doug and Kathryn. We had pizza mummies, cake and ice cream, and pudding. The boys put on a puppet show for us while the adults sat around enjoying each other's company. Grandpa and Grandma Yearsley were supposed to be there but were unable to make it due to bad roads. We missed you!

Doug getting ready to blow out the candles...Zander wanted to help

Layton had fun getting "stuck" in the pot

Tuesday the boys and I headed over to Boise for my DR appt (while Matt headed up to WA for work). I pulled the boys out of school and we stayed at Papa and Mama Barnes' for the night. That evening we went to the local YMCA and the kids went swimming. They had a blast going down the slide and playing with their cousins and uncle Jaron. Zander got to stay home with Papa, his buddy. Thanks dad and mom!

Thursday evening I met Matt on his way home from WA and passed the kids off to him so that I could have a girl's night out with Kathryn. We went to the "Death By Chocolate" charity event in Twin Falls. It was insane. We walked in the events center and the smell of chocolate wafted out. There were 5 catagories (cake, brownie, cookie, candy, unique dessert) with 5 entries for each category--all chocolate. Each attendee was given a ballot and you were to vote for one entry from each category after sampling them. It was yummy, but I do have to admit that it was a bit much chocoate for me. So I brought some home for Matt to sample. It was fun to be able to get out for a few hours. Thanks for a great time Kathryn! And thanks to my wonderful hubby for taking ALL the boys!

Picture answers

I was surprised to see how well some people did on guessing the boys . . . especially since Matt didn't get any right. :)

A--Trey
B--Zander
C--Chase
D--McKay
E--Layton

Great job Mom, Julie, Jaron, Jeff & Amy-you got them all right!!

Guessing game

Jill (my sis) gave me a cute Old Navy blue fleece outfit with dog ears on the hood when Chase was born. I have taken a picture of each of the boys in this outfit at about the same age (2-3 months old). It is fun to see how much they look alike at the same age. So I thought it would be fun to see who could guess which boy is which( no cheating by clicking on the pic ;) ). Place your guesses in the comments thread. It will be fun to see who guesses right! Good luck!

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

Jack-O-Lanterns....

Monday night we carved our pumpkins for FHE. The boys had been wanting to carve for a few days and I kept putting it off in hopes of baby being born. Pumpkin carving is not my favorite thing to do. I hate the feel and mess of the guts, but the boys love it so we did it. Zander was on the table right in the middle of everything. He was like his mom and didn't care for the feel of the guts. He dropped something inside one of the pumpkins and wouldn't get it out because of the feel. I helped Layton carve his pumpkin but Chase and Trey each did their own and they did a great job. It was a fun night!

We seperated the seeds from the rest of the guts so that I could cook them up for a snack. After 20 minutes of rinsing the seeds, 10 minutes of boiling, and 2 hours of baking we now have some yummy pumpkin seeds to munch on.

Back to School!!

I know, I know....I am a little late in getting this posted but better late than never right?!?! The boys were excited to make their "clothes person" the night before school started.
Chase is in 4th grade, Trey 2nd grade, and Layton started kindergarten (all-day kinder). Layton was so excited to ride the bus with Chase and Trey that he didn't want me to take him to school on his first day. They catch the bus at 7:14 and don't get home from school until 3:30....it is a very long day. I thought Layton might have a hard time with the long days but he is doing well. I must admit that having just Zander home is kind of nice.

Company Picnic

McCain Foods (Matt's employer) has an annual family picnic that the boys look forward to going to all year. The company pays for EVERYTHING making it all FREE to employees and their families. We had a lot of fun this year (although last year was much better). We played bingo; Chase won a soccer ball, Layton won a gumball machine, and I won a fun little sprinkler for the boys to play in.
There was a little train that was taking people for rides around the park. Layton especially liked going on that. I had to take pics of them in the animal cage....it is very fitting! :)

There was also a petting zoo for the kids. Zander thought the animals were pretty neat, although he was a little freaked out when the llama stood up as he was petting it.

And pony rides for the boys as well!

They also had lunch catered, all you can eat banana splits, and root beer floats. The kids got to make sand art neclaces, make a cool spun paint design on frisbees, face painting, etc. They also had blow up slides, etc for the kids to play on. One was a giant slip and slide. It was a great time! The company sure knows how to show the employees that they are appreciated!

Swimming lessons

Last week the boys finished a two week stint of swimming lessons. Trey and Layton were in the same class and learned how to do back and front floats along with kicking and dunking their faces. Layton is quite afraid of the water so this was a good experience for him. It has made a big difference already. Chase learned the different strokes (back, crawl, breast, and butterfly) along with rotary breathing. After some of the lessons they were allowed to float in the lazy river. They all loved floating in there and playing tag.

Fathers and Sons Campout

This past weekend Matt, Chase, Trey, and Layton all went to Engisn Ranch (a church owned campground/ranch near Cle Elum) for the annual Fathers/Sons campout! I tried to convince Matt that Zander needed to go because he is a boy too, but unfortunately Zander is still to young! :) So he got to hang out with me and a bunch of my friends and their daughters.

They had a great time fishing (they got to eat some of the trout that they caught), roating smores, building boats out of styrofoam bowls and floating them on the lake, and of course the highlight is the GIANT slip and slide on the side of the hill. I must say that the slip and slide looks like a blast! The boys loved spending the weekend with their dad!

Great Grandparents Visit!!!

Yesterday Great Grandpa and Grandma Barnes dropped in for a visit on their way up to Spokane. The boys had funshowing grandma & grandpa the books that they are reading. It was fun to spend some time with Great Grandpa & Grandma Barnes! Thanks for stopping by!

Boys+Dirt=Fun!!

While Matt and I were working on fence the boys were digging tunnels in the dirt. What is it with boys and dirt? It seems as though they come hand in hand! Oh well. . . they had fun!