Birthday Boy

Dash has been counting down the days to his birthday for quite some time now (I think we started at 51 days to go).  He was particularly excited to wake up to streamers on the wall and balloons in the hallway.  I think we probably could have gotten away with just that, but we continued to celebrate throughout the day.

Brandan gave Dash a gag gift of groceries.  He was a little concerned, so Colt kept digging through the bag for something better.

We gave Dash a Spiderman water bottle and....

a bike.  Dash told everyone he got a water bottle and a bike to go with it.

Dash wanted to hike for his birthday so we trekked through the hills just down from the house.



Dash and his basketball birthday cake.



The cake.

Earlier this week, we took Sport into his nine month check up.  Lets just say we hope this kid is fast 'cause he ain't gonna be big.  The doctor was a little concerned to see that he had dropped into the 1st percentile in his weight (16 lbs 4 oz) and the 3rd percentile in his height.  Brandan had come to this appointment and I think she was looking at him and wondering why Sport was so small, so we explained his gene pool and she immediately dismissed his size as a problem.  However, he is slightly anemic so we have to step up the red meat and vitamins.  We decided to take immediate action and left the doctor's office to go straight to McDonald's for burgers and fries.

Sport doesn't let his small size stop him though. Today during Sunday School he took two steps on his own.  I think we may have been a little distracting when we started cheering and clapping during the lesson, but we were just so proud of our little Tiny.

The boys at the Fish Hatchery in Spearfish.

The boys and their trucks. This is one of the few games Sport is allowed to participate in.

The boys in the matching outfits Grandma Clayson sent. They were extremely proud of themselves that day.

Dash and Colt playing robots.

More July Days

Dash finished swim lessons this last week. He had a good time, but unfortunately he was the only one in his class too short to touch the bottom of the pool, so he spent most of his time underwater while the teachers were giving instruction. He might be the shortest one in his class, but he can hold his breath the longest.

It was sooo hot at the pool that Colt started insisting that he be allowed in the water too. I finally started bringing him in his swim suit and taking him over to the corner of the pool and letting him "swim" while I sat on the side and held his hand.

Dash, Colt and Abbie (Sport to the side in the stroller) at the ward Pioneer Day Celebration.

Pioneer Day Parade. Keri Ivie made the "covered wagon".

Colt decided the pioneers didn't have it so bad. He got to sit in the handcart and eat cookies the whole time.

Sport is a favorite with the ward, but he doesn't like anyone to touch him, so finally one of the little girls found our camera and settled for taking his picture. This is her best work.

Dash likes it when all the boys wear matching clothes. Here they are at the Home Depot in their green. Actually, without intending to, Brandan and I both wore green pants that day too. We won't make that mistake again...too many comments.

In other news, we are excited to say that this last week we got a family pet. We also regret to inform you that within hours of his adoption into our family, Sport ate him.  Let me explain.  Dash found a Ladybug that he decided to turn into a pet. He christened him Spots and took very good care of him...for about 10 minutes.  Then he asked Colt to watch over him and Colt immediately lost him.  Unfortunately, Sport found him and ate him.  We found Spots remains around Sport's mouth after Dash noticed that Sport was chewing on something.  Add that to the fly that Sport caught and ate earlier this month and he is well on his way to independently providing food for himself.

Summer Days

This last week was incredibly hot.  It just felt like summer this week, weather and activities and all.  We've stayed pretty busy finishing (and starting and not finishing) different home projects, going to Dash's swim lessons, summer school for Brand, and just enjoying other fun summer stuff.

Brandan and Sport on the new back deck.

After a long day of building decks, we invited the Bensens, who helped with the deck, to eat dinner with us. Randy decided to treat Sport to a spoonful of whipped cream.



The boys ended a 97 degree day with a run through the sprinkler.

This weekend was the Upton Fun Days.  We started Saturday morning off by participating in the 5K Fun Run, which actually turned out to be 3.6 miles....I'm just saying.  It was a super casual race which most people walked at a pace Colt could have kept up.  He didn't have the chance, however, because I started the race with the older boys in the double stroller and Sport in the backpack.  Brandan took off running at the beginning of the race and then after reaching the turn around point, he came back to us and took over the boys so that I could/had to run the rest of the race.  I definetly had the better end of the deal though because I took the boys on the down hill portion and then Brand had to push them back up the hill.  We are pretty proud of ourselves though because, even with the boys, Brandan still won the race and I ended up catching most people and took 4th.  Let's just say it wasn't very competitive.  We ran it in 35:03 and 35:45, so maybe we won't brag outside of Upton.

Later in the day we went to the parade and got enough candy to give Dash two days of bellyache. The parade route went by really close to our house and Dash had to run home twice, once to get us a bag and another time to get a bag for the people next to us.

That evening there was a free BBQ in the park.  After that it was back home for Brandan and I to work on the talks we were suppose to give the next day in the Sundance Branch.

The boys at the Fun Days parade.

Gathering candy at the parade.

The loot.

We put on our racing T-shirts before going to the BBQ. This picture is taken on the front deck.

Tuesday morning Sport suddenly decided he wants to learn to walk.  He can stand on his own now for several seconds at a time and loves to do it to get a reaciton out of his brothers. 

Dash took this picture of Sport on Sunday afternoon.

The 4th of July

We were pretty worn out from all our tourist activities, so when the Ivies invited us to come over and spend the 4th of July at there house swimming in their new pool, we were glad to have a simply day to enjoy.



Sport loves water as much as his brothers. This little seat was perfect for him. He spent an hour floating around.



Dash and Abby had a blast in the water. Dash especially loved the goggles Abby gave him to wear.  They trapped water against his face perfectly.



When Colt wasn't in the big pool he would kick back in the little pool. Here he is practicing the breaststroke.




After spending the day at the Ivies, we all went down the road to watch the Newcastle fireworks. We got a pretty good pre-show show from all the people lighting off their own fireworks.




Brandan is holding Dash and Colt while watching the fireworks. Colt was a little uneasy about the especially noisy ones.



Sport liked the fireworks okay, but I happened to snap this picture during one of the loud ones.

The Amazing Dash

The librarian sent me a picutre of Dash helping at the magic show.

Tourists

This last week, Brandan's parents and Mandie, Tyler and their kids came to visit.  We did almost all the sightseeing things available in this area and wore ourselves right out.

Saturday

After hiking around the Upton hills, we came back and relaxed at the house.

Colt dressed up in his cousin's gear.

Monday

We started this day with a drive through Spearfish Canyon, then went over to tour around Deadwood and ended the day at the Animal Sanctuary.

Daddy and the boys at the pond in Spearfish Canyon.

Throwing rocks into the pond.

The family at Roughneck Falls in Spearfish Canyon.

Daddy and Sport touring Deadwood.

Colt didn't like the scary gun shots in the Wild Bill murder re-enactment so we went out to wait in the restaurant area.



Dash and Colt eating smores at the pond at the animal sanctuary.




Mike and I eating smores.



After dinner we hiked up the mountain to look out over Spearfish. This was by far Dash's favorite activity of the whole week.

Before we left the sanctuary, Brandan helped Mike feed the animals. He smelt like rotten chicken the whole way home.

Sport spent most of Monday in the backpack.

Tuesday

We spent most of the day at home recovering from Monday's activities, but we did go down to the library magic show in the afternoon.  The magician was pretty good and the kids had a great time. Of course I didn't have my camera, but Dash was his first helper.  He was so cute up there waving a magic wand. He even turned a handkerchief into a slice of bread! I think we may have a career option here.

Wednesday

This was the hottest day of the year.  I'm talking 100+ degrees.  So naturally, we spent the day outdoors...ughh.  We started at Mount Rushmore, went into Rapid City, and then came back to Custer.

The cousins sitting in the heat at Mount Rushmore.

The family at Mount Rushmore.

The family at Mount Rushmore.

The boys posed for a picture at Flintstone World in Custer.

Thursday

We went into Gillette to swim at the Rec Center.

Daddy and the boys in the pool.

Dash crossing the lily pads at the pool.

The older boys went outside to eat a brownie and Sport stood at the window and yelled at them to share.

Friday

On Friday we drove over to Devil's Tower and walked around the base. This was my favorite activity of the week.  The morning was overcast and cooler and the forest was super pretty.  Later that day we went back out into the Upton hills.

The family at Devil's Tower.

The kids with the Devil's Tower rangers.

Saturday

This was another super hot day.  We drove back over to Spearfish and had a picnic in the park and then went over to the sanctuary for a last look at the animals.  On the way home the skies clouded over and we drove through a major hail storm.  We thought we'd made it through the worst of it, but as we came into Upton I noticed white balls all over the ground. I kept hoping that the storm missed our house and garden, but we weren't quite that lucky.  We came home to golf ball size hail, a battered garden, dented vehicles, and a broken skylight.  It could have been worse though, no real siding damage on the house, our cars aren't really that nice anyway and now we have a good excuse for why our garden looks so sickly.

Golf ball size hail.

Flood irrigating the garden after the rain.



Dash put Sport in his truck and took him for rides around the house. The adults were nervous, but Sport loved it.


The company headed out Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church.  We spent Sunday recovering from all our fun so that we can be ready for another full day of celebrating on the 4th!