Valentines Day!

Valentines Day was exciting this year.  It's fun having Dash in school and getting ready for his party...and then getting Colt ready for a party that we have to throw at our house so that he will stop complaining about never getting to do anything fun.

Our Valentine Card

 

I was taking pictures of Sissy to see if the pillows would work for the sibling picture and this one turned out so cute.

 

For our preschool activity, I wrote a letter of the alphabet on 26 hearts and then hid them around the house.  Colt had to find each letter and mark them off a list.  Then he stuck them all to the door.

 

Dash wanted a football Valentine mailbox.  He refused to let us add anything remotely "girly" like hearts.  I made Dash's box and then, because Brandan is a softie, Colt talked him into making him a Batmobile Valentine box.

 

The night before Valentines Day we hung hearts from the ceiling in the hallway to the boys room.  The next morning they were appropriately impressed.

 

Misc.

Lately Colt has been such a great example to me of missionary work.  The other day we were at a basketball game and he was chatting it up with Dash's kindergarten teacher.  He was really close to her face since he really doesn't have a good sense of personal space and after a minute she said, "You know, you look just like Dash."  He immediately replied, "No, I don't because Heavenly Father makes us all different!"

Then just a couple of days later, we were watching the Super Bowl at some friends house and sat down to eat pizza during the Half Time Show.  We dished the kids' food up first and were filling our own plates when Colt asked if we could please say prayer so he could eat.  This couple is not what I would call religious, but they obliged by singing a little ditty about Jesus.  Colt listened politely and when it was over he kind of giggled and then, "Okay...so can we say prayer now?"

So maybe his technique could use a little finesse, but really how great is it that he just lives what he believes with no shame, no apology and no self-righteous pride!

Colt gets a lot of his testimony from his primary class.  Last Sunday he came home with a book about the Sacred Grove and Joseph Smith and he was able to tell us this story perfectly.

This is Colt's picture of the Sacred Grove.  You can see Joesph Smith there in the middle and the black X's are birds. I'm particularly impressed with the flowers he drew along the bottom.

Dash has been doing some writing as well.  Dash has a hard time falling asleep at night so he is allowed to draw in bed with a flashlight as long as he is quiet enough for Colt to fall asleep.  Lately he has taken to writing notes and then presenting them to us the next morning.  The following are some of my favorites along with a translation. 

To Dad
Dad, Thanks for taking me places and playing with me and that's all I know.

 

To Mom
Mom, Thanks for my tops and my food and my night light and that's all I know.
(I had just bought him a new shirt/top that day)

 

To Mom
Mom I am trying to make friends with a 5th grader who is Robin, but don't tell Dad. So can I get her a gift?

 In other news, Brandan finished another carving and I think this one is my new favorite.

Mountain man carving

And finally, Sport is keeping us all busy by hiding our personal belongings around the house and Breeze is keeping the laundry baskets full by slobbering so much we have to change clothes twice a day. 

January

Well, its a cruel reality, but after the holidays, life is expected to continue on as normal.  January can feel like a bit of a letdown, but fortunately for us, we have had plenty to keep us busy.

I'm convinced that New Year's Resolutions are born out of holiday indulgences and negligence, at least mine are.  So as a result of the horrible junk that we ingested from Halloween through Christmas, I resolved that our family would eat more vegetables.  So far we've added to our menu cauliflower dippers, cauliflower "bread sticks", twice-baked cauliflower, eggplant lasagna, eggplant pizza slices and celery smoothies.  Some recipes have met with huge success and others have literally made Colt throw up at the table.  In addition to this, I've been watching a lot of health and food documentaries and then sharing, in detail, everything I learn with Brandan.  He is a good sport, but he has yet to pick up on my passion.  Luckily for him, he has other hobbies he enjoys much more than the ones I try to force on him.

Brandan has been carving for about 10 months now and is getting really good.  He recently finished a Native Indian bust that turned out pretty fantastic. 

One of Brand's latest creations.

 Unfortunately, Brand's carving time has been seriously impeded by the other demands on his time.  We spend most of our free evenings working on his Masters class.  I say 'we' because it literally takes two of us to keep up with the classwork during basketball season.  And, oh, but is basketball season long.

At this time of year, Brand is gone 5-6 nights at either basketball practice or games.  The boys miss their Daddy, but they have come to accept this as a part of their life.  The other day Colt was racing his cars around the living room when he asked me,
"Mom, want to know why its so dark at my cars' race?"
"Why is it so dark, Colt?"
"Because they have late practice today."
Even though most of the basketball games aren't in Upton, we try to stay as involved as possible.  The boys particularly love listening to the radio broadcasts of the games.  I usually let them keep their radio on past bedtime as long as they are laying in bed.  However, Dash doesn't sleep a wink until the games are over.  When I go into their room to turn off the radio, Dash usually sits right up and tells me how many points his favorite players scored and who missed what free throws.

The boys listening to an Upton basketball game on the radio.

 

We all lucked out late in January when the weather turned so bad that school was delayed a few hours.  As soon as the call came in, the boys flopped in front of the tv and Brandan, who had been completely ready to head out the door, pulled on a pair of sweats and started catching up on a carving.

Taking the morning off.

 

Brand's creativity is an inspiration to all of us.  When it was Dash's turn to bring in class snacks this month, we decided to make appropriately decorated snowman donuts.  Dash also drew a fantastic caterpillar with 100 legs for his 100 Days of School poster.

Dash's snowman donuts.

 

Dash is doing so great in school.  I went in for Parent-Teacher Conferences at the end of the month and his teacher really had nothing but good things to say.  His recent test scores were higher than what is expected of a Kindergartner at the end of the school year and it is so fun to hear him read as much of our library books as he can get through.  His math abilities are amazing too.  He loves adding numbers in his head and he is always challenging us to try and stump him with problems that involve 3 addends.

Of course, while Dash and Dad are in school the rest of us find all sorts of things to keep us busy.  Right after New Years, we decided it was time to potty train Sport.  This was actually much easier than I had anticipated.   Sport was so ready to be a big boy that he took to using the potty right away.  And as a reward, he helps himself to his big brother Dash's underwear drawer. 

Big boy Sport dressed himself in Dash's underwear.

 

Some mornings the kids and I dance.  It’s either that, or watch the 15^th Dora episode.  Both choices are a sacrifice, but the show the boys put on when we dance is so worth it.  Colt has a variety of “moves” and he names them all.  Some of his favorites include Punching the Mirror, Cocking the Gun, Shooting the Gun, Lasso, Starting the Lawn Mower, and Falling on the Ground.  Sport, on the other hand, has only two signature moves.  The first involves him “dancing” right behind Colt and kicking at the back of his legs.  Colt very patiently tries to move about the room, but Sport keeps a tight position until Colt finally yells at him at which point Sport does his only other move which is to jump off the arm of the couch.  We continue this for as long as we all can stand it and then finish up with cups of hot chocolate.

In the afternoons, we do preschool.  Lately Sport has been refusing to nap, (it's a downfall of potty training, he knows he can just yell out that he needs to go potty and I'll have to come get him out of bed) so he has been joining in the preschool activities.  We focused on lots of snowman activities this month in celebration of all the snow.

Sport and Colt painting snowmen during preschool.

 

While Colt and Sport get along pretty well, it isn't all fun and games.  The other day I was in the bedroom feeding Sis when I heard the boys arguing and then Sport started crying and ran into me with Colt trailing sheepishly behind.  The following conversation took place.
Colt - "Mom, don't listen to what Bitty says because he won't tell you the truth about what happened."
Me - "Well, then what happened?"
Colt - "I don't know."
Me - "Sport, what happened?"
Colt - "Okay, I'll tell you, but let me check something first."
At this point, Colt tentatively lifted the back of Sport's shirt and then gave a huge sigh of relief.
Colt - "Okay, Sport stole a car from me and we were fighting over it and my mouth was accidentally open and I accidentally fell and accidentally shut my mouth on his back. But don't worry, he's not bleeding."

Before you get the wrong idea, let me reassure you that Sport is far from an innocent victim.  For sure he did steal that car from Colt and he was probably sitting on several other cars that he had sneaked away when Colt wasn't looking.  Sport hates sharing and is willing to go to great lengths to avoid it.  He knows that when he watches a movie on the Kindle he is going to have to share the screen with his brothers.  Just last week I watched him wait for a time when no one was watching, snatch the Kindle off the couch and run into the kitchen where he crawled into the cabinet under the sink to watch a movie in privacy.  Lucky.  I wish I could find a good hiding place.

Sport hiding under the kitchen sink to watch a movie in peace.

 

By the time preschool is over and chores are done, Sport and Colt are both anxious for Dash to return.  Around two in the afternoon Colt starts asking how much longer until Dash gets home and starting at three the two boys will watch for the bus until it pulls up at 3:25.

Colt and Sport watching for Dash's bus after school.

 

Dash is usually ready to play when he gets home and the boys run around playing (and sometimes fighting) until dinnertime.

The boys and the snowmen they built.

But before Dash can give his attention to his brothers, he always has to say a special hello to his baby sister.  Breeze can capture the attention of all her brothers.  The boys can be in the middle of the most important football game, car race, or pirate fight, but when they run pass Sissy they can't resist stopping to coo right in her face and rub her head and chubby cheeks.  And her cheeks are getting chubby. We took her in for her 2 month appointment in the middle of January and Breeze weighed in at 11 lbs 1 oz and stretches out to 23 inches long.  She falls right in the 50th percentile for both  height and weight. She is also growing in other ways.  She talks and sings and coos constantly, especially in the direction of the toys on the mobile above her swing.  She also giggles and smiles, another one of her methods for attracting the attention of her family.  It is safe to say that Breeze fits her 'Princess' nickname.

Colt and Dash entertaining Sissy

Smiling!

 

Giggling!

 

Breeze sleeping in my spot.

 

What a blessing!



While we were in Idaho between Christmas and New Year's, we decided to have our Sissy blessed.  The day of the blessing the Clayson family met at the church for a little get together and then that evening we were joined by the Madsen family for the blessing and a dinner.  It was a great day and we are grateful for all the family that came to support us.

Breeze in her blessing dress from Grandma Madsen.

 



Breeze on her blessing day.

 



The family after Breeze's blessing.  Yes, this is the best picture we could get. 

 



The Clayson Family (or a lot of us)

 



Some of the Clayson grandchildren.  Poor Gracie got stuck trying to contain an ornery Sport. And Colt was entertaining the crowd with his silly antics. 

 



Kazlee, Breeze, Cambree

 



These are three beautiful, sweet babies, but even so, the expression on the girls' faces reminds me of the Disney Cinderella movie when the wicked step-sisters tear up Cinderella's dress.

 



Dinner!

We are so happy to have Breeze in our family.  It has been awesome to see the boys fall in love with their baby sister.  She has us all wrapped around her sweet little finger.

Favorite Sissy moments:
When she wakes up in the morning to eat and buries her face in my neck.
When she lights up at the sight of her brothers.
How she sings and coos herself to sleep at night.

We love you little Sis!  

Christmas 2012

We had such a great Christmas vacation this year.  The boys have been counting down the days until Christmas since well before Thanksgiving and we were all excited to have Dash and Daddy stay home from school for a while.

The boys in the snow.  It takes about 20 minutes of work to get them ready for less than 30 minutes of playing outside.

 



Snow angels by three little devils!

 

You can never have too many sweets in the house at Christmas time so the Sunday before Christmas the boys made a huge mess...I mean, the boys made treats.

Dipping marshmallows in chocolate and sprinkles.

 



It started snowing on Christmas Eve which seemed to actually escalate the boys' level of excitement (I know, who knew that was possible?).  That evening we went with the Booths and the missionaries to do some caroling and drop off treats at a few houses around town and then we came home to have our own little Christmas Eve dinner and track Santa through the Internet.

Our "candlelight" dinner.

 

The boys helped make special Christmas pizzas

 



After dinner, Dash and Colt prepared Santa's treats and they didn't forget the reindeer either.  Dash felt sure that Santa was flying Rudolph that night since he saw a red-nosed reindeer on the Santa tracker screen.  So he asked me to write the following note to put with Santa's cookies and the reindeers' carrots (written verbatim)-
Dear Santa, These carrots are for all your reindeer  If you have extras, then give them to Rudolph.  Love, The Madsens
Then Colt asked me to add the following-
P.S. Take a treat home to a very good elf.
The boys were so excited for Santa that they actually gave themselves anxiety.  Colt worried that he would wake up in the night and then Santa wouldn't stop at our house and Dash worried that he would wake up in the night and hear/see Santa.  I think the idea of running into a stranger in the house, even if it is Santa, kind of creeped him out.  In the end, we got the boys into bed full of excited anticipation.

Christmas Eve after Santa's arrival.  There are all sorts of extra presents under the tree because for the last few weeks leading up to Christmas the boys had been wrapping up different objects from around the house and placing them under the tree.

The boys stayed up late waiting for Santa so they didn't wake up until a very reasonable 7 am.  They loved everything they got, thanked us repeatedly, sang Santa's praises and immediately began playing with everything and eating their treats.  Well, mostly.  Sport got distracted through the present opening process and didn't actually get his final present opened until sometime in the afternoon after his nap. 

Christmas morning.  Santa actually left "snowy footprints" on the carpet that magically don't melt.  The boys were impressed.

 

All the boys playing with the new train set while Sissy rocked in her swing.

All time favorite Christmas moments of 2012-

• Going to visit the widows in the ward
• Singing Christmas carols as a family
• Dropping off neighborhood treats
• Watching Dash wrap up some of his favorite old pjs to give to Colt
• Seeing Colt give Sport his prized stuffed animal
• Listening to the boys retell the Christmas story as found in the Book of Mormon
• Realizing how lucky I am to have the Gospel and the hope the Savior's birth and life bring

 

 

Christmas Cards

Getting out our yearly Christmas cards is always an adventure.  This year it included a printing problem that forced us to have to use the tiny little photocopier type printer at the local grocery store.  Since the result was less than hoped for, I decided to include on the blog some of our posing attempts and our final product.
 

 

 

 

Acting!

Before Christmas, Dash participated in a couple of holiday performances at school.  The first was a little play his kindergarten class did of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Dash was given one of the Grinch parts and they were looong, but he did awesome!

Dash as the Grinch.  He was the only kid who said his part with the script in hand.  He couldn't really read it, but he recognized enough to help keep himself straight.

 

The final bow.

On the night of the last day of school before Christmas, the K-2nd grade put on a Christmas musical that they had been working on since the first of October.  It was absolutely one of the coolest things I've seen the school do.  The kids were singing, dancing and acting their little hearts out!  Dash was assigned the part of Elf #11, but on the day of the performance another elf was home sick, so he actually ended up with a couple of different parts.  Fortunately, Dash had memorized most of the play by then anyway, so he did great.  Actually, Colt had memorized most of the play also since Dash usually came home from school and taught Colt the lines and songs. 

This is the entire cast and the choir director.  Dash is right in the middle in the Santa hat.

 

This is right before the students all sing "Rap" the Halls.  It was so cute because they all did gangster style dance moves during the verses and then stood like formal choir boys during the chorus.  Actually, you can see a couple of the lead rappers on the top row behind Dash.

 

More choreography.  How cute is the squirrel in the left corner?

 

Dash saying his part.

 

Dash on stage with one of the lead characters...Santa, of course!  When Santa walked on stage, Sport made quite a commotion.  He was pointing and yelling, "Santa! Santa!".  He has pretty low Santa standards. 

It was fun watching Dash during his performances, but we found out that Sport prefers active participant to audience member.  After the K-2nd grade performance, there was a short intermission before the 3rd-5th grade show.  Well, it was getting late, so we packed up and headed into the school lobby to meet Dash and head home.  The front entrance was really crowded and I thought Sport was with Brandan and Brandan thought Sport was with me and well, long story short, Sport was with the 3rd graders heading up on stage.  The principal brought him out to us.  Gosh, we make a name for ourselves.

After the show and Sport's escape.