Drake Wrestling

Drake really wanted to wrestle this year. I wasn't quite sure how it would work out. But he has done great. We have taken him to two meets, one in Preston and one at West Side. They wrestle twice at each match. And Drake has won all four. In fact, his second one at West Side, he actually pinned the boy, which was awesome, and rarely happens I'm told! Although, I am not sure what happened after the second time at West Side, because he did great, but he came to me crying. I'm not sure if he was just exhausted or what. He didn't even get a break between these two. I kept trying to find out what it was that upset him, but he gets upset and shuts down and doesn't want to talk about it. But we are sure proud of his hard work. He is so fun to watch. He's pretty intense and serious about the whole thing. We signed both Crew and Drake up for wrestling a couple years ago, and Crew practiced but didn't really care about going to the matches, so we never went to one. And at that point in time, Drake was struggling with his social anxiety, so he wouldn't even practice. I just chalked it up as a $15 shirt. So, I was surprised this year when he kept asking if he could go to the meets. I asked him what he was going to do because I had no idea what to tell him to do, and he said "I'm going to use my moves!". And he did! It was great! After the first meet, when Drake couldn't get the kids off of their stomach, Dad helped by watching you tube videos of the "half nelson" move, and they practiced it a bunch. And you can see, he is using the move at this meet. Way to go Dad and Drake on figuring it out! We may try to make one last meet this week and see how it goes. Last week, right after this meet, he kept saying he didn't want to do it again. But now, he's saying he might like to try one more. It really is a different sport. I am not sure it's my favorite. It seems a little harsh and aggressive. But if it is something Drake likes and excels at, I will support him in it. I'm just not quite ready to see him in a wrestling singlet yet!!!

 

Crew's Winter Basketball

Crew played another season of little league basketball with the same team he played in the fall. It was lot's of fun. They improved lots in just a few months time. They had a great time, learned lots, and were tons of fun to watch and cheer for!

Watch very closely. His layup is right at the beginning of the video. He's on the left side of the court and wearing a red headband.

Random Pictures from my Phone

So, since these are random pictures I've taken with my cell phone, some aren't the greatest quality. But some were just so cute I thought I'd regret not putting them on the blog. 

This is Drake, pretending to be a big and tuff football player. Notice the big hair under the helmet. Yep. We watch enough football at our house to know that some players have big, long hair! It was pretty funny to see him come upstairs in this!

Apparently this was around Christmas, he's just so cute!

And he can be a cool dude too!

As well as a puppy! Whit loves getting in this dog crate and sticking his tongue out and breathing hard. It's really funny to see!

This was on a drive one day. All the boys in the back seat with suckers! I know, more sugar, but you see, it was keeping their mouths busy so they were quiet!!

And this one was a sad day for Whit, he just didn't feel well and just wanted to snuggle.

This is one of Whit's favorite places to be. In the kitchen sink. He really has hit the terrible two's very early. And it's mostly because he's so tall he can climb up on anything! I can't convince him to stay off of stuff, but he's cute, so I'll keep loving him!

Crew got Reading Glasses

Well, Crew got some reading glasses. I was a very hopeful mom in thinking that maybe he'd all of the sudden love to read. But not really so. He looks cute in them though. And we're still working hard on trying to gain that love for reading. If it's about Lebron James, the kid does usually love to read.

My cute Grandparents gave a challenge to all the grandkids. If they wrote them a letter, read the Book of Mormon, and then wrote them another letter, they'd give them $100. Crew thought that was amazing! Although, he doesn't really get how much $100 is. Because his big plans for it aren't quite going to be covered. But, that's ok. So here's his first letter. And he's been trying to read it. I'm sure he doesn't understand it. But I know reading it will improve his reading. And I also hope that it can help Crew gain his own testimony of the Book of Mormon and Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Whit's Mud Fit & Kisses for Daddy

So, this was really hilarious. And I'm sure won't be as funny to anyone reading this. But Whit LOVES, and I mean LOVES being outside. No matter the temperature. So, I often bundle him up, put on his mud boots, and take him with me while I take care of the dogs or get the mail. Which normally doesn't cause this much drama. But in this case, he found some thawed out mud and got a little stuck! After losing one shoe already, he just gave up and rolled around in the mud. Then he smeared it all over his face. And was MAD! Once we got him undressed and into the tub he was a much happier boy. But it gave me a good laugh that day! 

Whit has learned how to give kisses. He puckers up, and sets his lips on my cheek randomly throughout the day. But he's kind of stingy with his kisses. This day I was trying to convince him to give kisses to my phone so we could send it to Rett. But he ended up doing this weird thing with his tongue. He's still a cutie!

February and Valentines

Since we have REALLY struggled to ever do Christmas cards, I usually try to do some kind of Valentines Card for family. This is what I came up with for this year. And I thought they turned out pretty cute. Getting to this point was a little more work than I'd hoped. It required so many pictures and thank goodness for digital photography, because I had so many awful pictures! Ok, maybe they weren't awful because they were of the cute boys. But sometimes the boys can't quite come up with a decent smile, or are just plain silly, or have completely run out of attention spans. SO, these were the best we came up with. And of course, afterwards I let them get some pictures of what they REALLY wanted to do, which apparently was to make strange fighting poses. But hey, they put up with me, so I did the same for them. And some of their fighting pictures are pretty funny. One day, I know I'll be glad I took them! But for any of you who didn't get a family card, please know that we love you too!

And a quick story about Valentines...Rett grew up getting candy cards from his parents for Valentines, so we have kept that tradition going. The boys, of course, LOVE getting all the candy and reading the cards. I have recently been trying to cut out sugar from my diet and working really hard on watching what I put into my body to ensure I am healthy and fit. Well, one day Drake came up with the cutest little thought! The boys were eating some of their candy, which, surprise, has lasted quite a while, they still have most of it. Anyway, they were sweet and asked me if I wanted a bite of a candy bar. I was very tempted, but told them no because I was trying to make sure I was giving my body what it needed most, which isn't sugar. So, Drake replied a little later, "MOM, next year for Valentines, I am going to make you a VEGETABLE card!" Well, it was a very sweet thought! And even if I can't convince my kids to give up the sugar, I am making an impression by trying to eat healthy myself, no matter how small that impression is! Cute Drakey, I would love a vegetable love note!

Christmas 2014

We had a great Christmas. The kids were spoiled rotten. Favorite gifts included heater blankets, lunch boxes, water bottles, and robes. We decided it was time to have a little more modesty in the home. It really was only a problem running from the bathrooms to the bedrooms naked. And someone, I won't mention who, but the cute little "Duck" liked to run around the house parading his whole self to the rest of us. So, the robes were in hopes of gaining a little modesty! 

Whit wasn't really sure what was going on. Just that there was excitement in the air!! And everything new had to be thoroughly tested and examined by going directly into the mouth of course!!

December Randoms

My father in law so kindly reminded me today that I have fallen way behind on my blog and posting any pictures for him to see. I gave him a lame excuse and then realized he was totally right. So, here is the beginning of me trying to catch up. These are random pictures from December, 2014.

Crew and Drake love our little home gym. They think it's so great to be able to work out and pump some iron! It's quite funny actually. But I hope we can instill in them a desire to love exercise and keep their bodies healthy. So cute!

And of course, my dear little Whit, LOVES his food. Especially these chocolate chip cookies! And he even wanted to share with me!