Thys's Fourth

Thys turned four yesterday. This kid is one-in-a-million. We love him to death. He is a mini-Mel. He looks like him and acts like him. Thys loves everything about life. He works hard, he plays hard, he sleeps well. Just looking at his big blue eyes and cute little body melts my heart. He is naughty, just like any kid, now and then, but he is so sweet you soon forget that he was naughty. Thys notices the little things. He always compliments me on my newly painted toe nails or on my new earrings. He thinks the gold on my watch is beautiful (so much so that he carried it off and lost it--but it's now found--lucky for him). He also enjoys the little things. He is a grateful child. Today I made some invitation for a birthday party for him. I showed him, and a few hours later he said, "Mama, thank you for making my birthday cards." The other day he said, "Mom, thanks for washing my Halloween shirt." He likes to have our attention, and gets it easily by his funny sense of humor. He also asks for it when he needs it. When I pick him up from pre-school at Becky's, if I don't ask him what he did or how the morning went, he will say from the back seat, "Mom, say, 'What did you do today, Thysie?'" And then we talk about it. He asks to play I Spy A LOT, and lately he wants to sing primary songs on our morning drive to school. He loves to talk and talk and talk. He is good company on a long car drive! We are so grateful to have this happy, sweet, funny little boy in our family. We couldn't live without him!We gave Thys a bike for his birthday. He has been eying it at WalMart for months. He's even test driven it around the store on almost a weekly basis. You may think it is an ordinary bike, but it is not. The best part of the bike is that when you twist the handgrip, it revs like a motorcycle. So cool!
Since we gave him his bike Monday night before his birthday (we wanted him to be able to enjoy it all day on his birthday), we gave him a Wii wheel to open on his birthday. He has become quite a master at the Wii. He legitimately beats me at most Wii games.
Thys and Sophie helped me decorate the cake, but T was anxious to get out on his bike, as you can tell.
Getting ready to sing happy birthday after basketball class.
Race track cake--thank to the internet for the idea. And T loved picking out and placing the cars!
Digging in.
Better yet, the cars needed a "mud" bath in ice cream. How fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR T.!

Since Summer. . . .

Well, the rest, relaxation, and some of the fun came to a halt when school started again. Anna is now in school all day, and I'm still "in" half a day. The month of September was crazy: the beginning of school, Homecoming, midterm grading, parent-teacher conferences, temple class (we teach it every Sunday night in our home), and somewhere near the end of it all we had the stomach flu--that's in addition to the every day stuff, of course. Just when it was all wrapping up, and I was feeling like we might have a "normal" schedule, and I got a new calling at church to be the activities person for the Mia Maids in the Young Women. So much for "normal." It lasted a day or two, I think. But we have managed a little fun and family time in the last month, so here's what we've been up to.

THE ZOO
On Labor Day, we went to the zoo. Anna was going to go to a movie with her friend's family, so we took Thys and Sophie. It was soooo busy, but we had fun, nevertheless.
Don't you just love this kid? Pants that are too short carrying his bear in Anna's doll backpack. He is so cute!

Pop and the kids at the zoo
Soph, T, and the bear in the wagon
Sophie and Mel have a new-found (well, about July) affection for each other. She gets just about whatever she wants from Mel. For example, we were at a carnival the other day, and he made me put her back in the stroller so he wouldn't have to make her unhappy. It's always nice to be the mean one, isn't it, moms? In this picture, Soph wanted her shoes on, but she had on PJ's with feet, but Mel obliged her, and here is what we got. Nice outfit, Pops!
Being silly in the toy box
For some reason, when Sophie wakes up from her nap, she won't let me put her down. It makes dinner prep a little difficult with a baby in your arms, so I sit her on the counter. The other day she scooted herself over behind the sink so she could play with the water and the drugs in the window, and I let her. At least she wasn't on the edge about to fall off like most days. She is very happy, as you can tell.
A nice Saturday morning shot with the squash Pops grew in the garden.
THE CANYON LEAVES
No fall is complete without a trip to the canyon. We had to drive all the way to the very end of the canyon to find any red at all, but we did find some. It was beautiful!
Soph and her best "MaPa"
Thys and Ann

My poser--but she is so cute--uncombed hair, missing teeth and all!
Soph LOVES to play in the car. It isn't our favorite thing, but it is pure enjoyment for her. Anna was the same way. . . I don't know what it is about the car.
Sophie is a real nut around the house. She wanted to wear Anna's skort the other day, and here is how it worked. She put the undershorts around her neck and arms, and let the skirt part hang down--whatever works, baby.

PEACHES
My mom was going to help us learn to can peaches, but the timing was off, and she and my dad had to go to Idaho to clean out my grandparents condo. My mom dropped off some of the peaches she canned on the way to Idaho, and we ate four jars the first few days. We decided we better get some of our own peaches and give canning a try. So by phone, my mom instructed us how to can peaches, and we did it! We canned about 14 jars, and we've already eaten some of those. The kids love them, and they make a quick breakfast on the mornings when I am running behind.
The finished product.

CORNBELLY'S
Anna had been asking for daySSSS to go to Cornbelly's, so we went as soon as it opened. We decided we may as well avoid the crowds later in the month. It was a beautiful night and the kids had so much fun. Pops, Ann, and T riding the tractor train. Soph and I rode too--we took the pic.
Playing in the corn-filled house.

Shooting paint balls.
Climbing the rock wall.
Anything to entertain Sophie and have her close by!

WITCHES AT GARDNER VILLAGE


We just went to Gardner Village this afternoon. We have UEA break for the next few days, and I know everything in the state will be packed for the next few days, so we tried to beat the crowds. Didn't work, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.