First Snow!

If you know my boys, then I am sure you can imagine their excitement when they looked out the window this morning! SNOW! They have checked each morning for the last few weeks in hopes that snow would be covering the ground. My nightmare is their dream come true! They were thrilled to rummage through the winter box and put on their boots, gloves and favorite winter hats (thanks great grandma!). I hope you enjoy this day as much as I know Jacob and Ryan will. As for Laynie and I? I think we will wrap up in a blanket and stay close to the fire!

Disneyland Countdown

We are getting so excited for our trip to Disneyland! It was originally scheduled for March, but because my doctor did not want me to travel, we moved it to September. So, the boys have been anxiously awaiting this trip for quite some time! Each night at dinner, Jacob asks us to tell him a little bit more about Disneyland and since both Kelly and I have not gone since we were young the details are pretty sparse! We made a chain to help us countdown the days until we go. Today was Ryan's day to pull off a link and all day long he kept asking, "Now, you said nine more days, right?" We did not say nine days, we said twenty nine days, and no matter how many times he asks it just isn't going to change! (But, good try Ryan!)

And, for our grandmas (and Aunt Cammi), here is a picture of the kids taken before church this morning. The boys have asked to take a picture with Laynie each week before church, but since my goal is to have her asleep when we go to church it just hasn't happened. Today, she chose to be uncooperative and was awake all through church. Hopefully that means a good night sleep is ahead!

(Notice how much better Ryan's cheek looks! Thank goodness!)

The Worst Day . . .

Tragedy has struck the Stohl house! The boys were up at 6AM just to confirm that the "worst day of my entire life" was really here. Can you imagine anything worse than the "cable fairy" coming and shutting off your cable? Well apparently there is nothing worse! Bring on a tornado, tsunami or earthquake. We have now made it through the worst and are prepared for anything!

After the following conversation with Ryan I decided enough was enough and it was time to be rid of cable television once and for all:

Mom: Ryan, you are not allowed to watch real people shows. Only cartoons.
Ryan: This is a cartoon.
Mom: Ryan, that is not a cartoon. There are real people on that show.
Ryan: It is a cartoon!
Mom: Ryan, cartoons are drawn with crayons. Those are real people!
Ryan: But Mom, it is a cartoon. Those people are just drawn with real crayons!

How do you argue with logic like that!

So, much to everyone's despair (you should have seen Kelly's tears!), we are now without cable and free to enjoy one another's company, uninteruppted, 24 hours a day. Lucky us!

Lowe's Build and Grow

I love to find things to keep my boys occupied. I especially love when I find something that Kelly can do with the boys while I stay home by myself, well almost by myself. Lowe's has a cute clinic every other Saturday where kids can go and build something all by themselves. This week's project was a tabletop Tetherball. While it hasn't exactly provided hours of entertainment since they brought it home, they did have a great time constructing it and they haven't wanted to take off their "construction aprons" since they came home. I call that a success!

First Day of School

We left Utah at 3AM on Monday morning so that we could be home in time for the boys to attend the Meet and Greet at their school. Then we got them to bed early so they could be well rested (ha ha) for their first day of school. Jacob is now in 3rd grade and Ryan is in 1st grade. So far Jacob is loving 3rd grade and I am sure that Ryan will love 1st grade soon enough. I guess considering kindergarten was two and a half hours and 1st grade is six and a half hours things could be worse. He has had a stomach ache two mornings, and even tried to fake a broken foot this morning in the hopes of staying home. He won't go to the restroom at school, so he may actually have a real injury to his bladder to use as an excuse next week! All kidding aside, he has a very kind teacher and as soon as he gets used to a new routine I am certain that he will be as enthusiastic about school this year as he was last year (fingers crossed!).

We Miss You!

Kelly and I miss the boys so much! Our house is way too quiet! Kelly, especially, is lost without his buddies! He loves to go on bike rides, play catch, go geocaching and to the park with the boys and now he is stuck with me and Laynie. He has tried to get Laynie to laugh and play with him like the boys would, but she just isn't cooperating!


We love both of you and can't wait to come to Utah! We will see you soon!

P.S. Do I have the most handsome boys, or what !?!

Good Bye Butterflies!

For Ryan's birthday he received a coupon for caterpillars. It was very interesting watching them change from caterpillars, to pupals, to chrysalids, and finally, to butterflies! You wouldn't have thought the whole process could be that interesting, but seriously, every time we passed the container, we had to stop and look. We were hoping that at least one butterfly would hatch before the boys left to go to Utah with my mom, and luckily, one did. When Kelly and I let all five butterflies go today, we were sad because the boys were not here to witness it. However, they are having so much fun in Utah and have not even had a chance to miss us yet! We are glad they are having a great time and are so thankful to my parents for being willing to take the boys so they could have a fun summer (school starts again on July 8th). Laynie's Doctor feels it is very important that she not go out in public until her adjusted due date which is June 17, so not much fun is happening at our house (well, unless you count watching Laynie eat, sleep and poop as fun!).

So, we are letting our two butterflies (that's you, Jacob and Ryan) fly away to Utah for the month of June, but don't forget where your home is! We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

Sunbathing

I love this picture of Laynie because I think it is exactly how she looked inside of me (minus the sunglasses, oxygen tube, daiper, etc.). She was squashed between my two fibroids, one at the top and one at the bottom of my uterus. We still have not seen her straighten her legs!

The boys were so excited to hold Laynie for the first time. Ryan even had to dress to impress!

Hammond's Candy Factory

We went on a tour of the Hammond's Candy Factory. The tour was a perfect length for the kids and they had so much fun watching the different candies being made. Of course, the favorite part for my "brain diet" boys was all of the free samples!

Of course, the favorite part for my "brain diet" boys was all of the free samples!

Sooo Good Looking!

I was taking a few pictures of the boys to hang in our hallway and I just couldn't get over how good looking they are. I know I am their mom and all, but still, how could you not think they are sooo cute! Kelly and I often wonder how we could ever have produced such handsome boys. We only hope our new baby girl is as lucky (and I am sure she will be, at least in our eyes!).

Snow Day

Growing up in sunny California I always thought the kids in the snowy states were sooo lucky because if it snowed they got to stay home from school. Well, what does it take to have a snow day declared? Apparently more snow than this. This didn't even warrant a delayed start. So much for snow days!