GOAL!!!!!

I had every intention of getting a post in for the month of September and then.....

Moving on.  So this last month has been a busy one with the start of both t-ball and soccer for Canyon.  First of all, t-ball for preschool age is basically pointless.  I'm not quite certain he has learned anything more than what I have taught him at home.  Kinda disappointing, but he loved it and I know that's all that matters.  Soccer, on the other hand, is more than we could have asked for.  He has an awesome coach (Travis) who actually runs drills with him and is trying to teach him more of the basics.  Can I just say that outdoor soccer is soooo much more enjoyable than indoor.  We considered bribing Can with money for every goal he scored.  Boy was I glad we kept our mouths shut!  I've started telling people that his broken foot has special powers- because that kid went from 0-1 goals a game last spring to 10 goals in one game this summer!  It's amazing and so much fun to watch.  After the 10 goal game I had to have a talk with him and tell him he needed to learn to pass the ball.  Rob was not very pleased with that and told him to score as much as he wanted.  His coach agreed and told him to just SCORE!  This last Saturday he blocked a shot in the goal and returned the ball the length of field to score.  That was his 8th of the game:)  He's hysterical- he keeps track and holds up his chubby little fingers after each goal and tries to count how many he's up to.  Sometimes I hear myself screaming when I play back the videos and feel sorry for the parents around me... but don't think for one second that it stops me.  I just keep on screaming!

The boys both started preschool this month and phew... Crue is loving it!  He has the sweetest teacher (Ms. Juliette) and she hugs him and tells him she loves him every time I pick him up.  He's beginning to learn the sounds of his letters, but refuses to tell me which letter is which.  He's OBSESSED with Batman and begs me for Robin and Mr. Freeze everyday without fail.  I got the boys a new Wii Batman Lego game which Canyon proceeded to beat in about 2 weeks time.  Does that mean he's allowed to play too much?

Canyon has learned that bribing mommy gets him pretty much anything he wants.  When he wants something he'll say "Mommy if you get me ------, I'll get you a new iPhone for Mother's Day."  Random little kid.  The other day, while he was sitting with me on the couch he looked up at me, with quite possibly the saddest face I've ever seen, and said "Mommy, I'd be really sad if you died" and then he burst into sobs.  It was heartbreaking.  I grabbed him and held him and promised him I'd never die because quite frankly, I had NO IDEA what else to say.  I got teary myself just imagining ever not being with those little boys.  Ridiculous, I know. 

oH No!!! wHeRE HaS ThE tiMe GoNe??

Uh-oh!  So much for the resolution!  I wish I had a good excuse for missing the last few months, but I honestly cannot think of one!  Perhaps this blog will shed some light on my short comings... err my failure to blog in a timely manner.  How do those girls blog week after week and I can't even get one a month.  I'm not near as "Super" as I have given myself credit for! Summer... oh Summer... what have you done with June and July?!  Well, we started the summer off with a bang!

And by "we" I mean Canyon and by "bang" I mean a literal BANG, as in "bang" -the sound your body makes as it hits the ground after a 13' foot jump off a retaining wall.  Ouch!!  Double ouch!!!  Yep, that stinkin' kid of mine jumped off a 13' retaining wall behind the house on Memorial Day.  There I was, minding my own business at work when I get a frantic (frantic is a gross understatement) call from Rob telling me that Canyon has jumped off the wall behind the house and isn't talking.  What?!  What do you mean isn't talking? Is he breathing?! And then nothing but a "click" on the other end of the line followed by a painful silence.  I ran out of the hospital like I was on fire and raced home without so much as pause at the 

redlights. When I got home Rob had moved Can inside where he was whimpering about his leg... but whimpering meant breathing and he was moving all of his extremities so I was instantly relieved.  Knowing that he had already been transferred once, I decided the Instacare should be our next destination.  When we arrived you would have thought he was a leper.  They told me I was not to move him nor was anyone in the Instacare to treat him.  They deemed him a Trauma II and called an ambulance to transfer us to PCMC.  Oh heavens!  I appreciate the ride, but he seemed to be doing pretty well to me.  He hadn't even shed a tear in the last 20 minutes.  Anyhow, the ambulance arrived and put him in a C-collar and on a backboard.  I got to ride with him and Rob followed close behind.  He was such a trooper!  Never cried or complained.  Answered all of the doctors questions and kept that collar on for over 2 hours while they cleared his head, neck and spine.  While he was in for X-rays the tech asked him what happened and he replied "I jumped off a wall.  I thought I could do it, but I just couldn't."  As it turned out he had multiple fractures on his right calcaneous (heel) and the other foot was unscathed.  The ER doctor suggested surgery right away and then the ortho doc sauntered in, wrapped him up and told us we were free to go.  After further questioning he explained that this kind of fracture in an adult would require immediate surgery, but that children typically did very well with just a cast for 6+ weeks... there goes our summer!  Canyon got his cast on the following Wednesday and healed so quickly that it was removed 3 weeks later!  He had it on the last week of preschool and it was the cutest thing watching all the girls dote on him and make sure he was doing well.  Especially this darling little girl Lilly who told her mommy that she and Canyon were going to get married.  Anyhow, he was awesome and never so much as cried/complained about that thing!  We've had that cast off for almost a month and he has just this week begun walking normally.  He's still not allowed to jump, but he has been the most cooperative little guy!  Doesn't sound a thing like him, does it?!

 

Crue got his very first taste of preschool when he attended summer camp at New Castle School with his big brother.  He had been counting down the days until he could go to preschool too, but he was not very pleased when we showed up that first morning.  He asked if he could go home and have Uncle Wesley watch him, which I knew meant he REALLY didn't want to go, but I scooped him up, marched him in and left him there.  His little face was pitiful as I walked away and I literally had to hold back the tears myself.  He's my sweet little baby- how is he big enough to be starting preschool in the fall.  He didn't love going that first, but informed me that he didn't cry like the other little boy in his class.  By the end of week two he was loving it and was disappointed to finish camp.  I sure home he remembers that come the end of the month!!

He also got his first taste of real live home grown veggies!  This year the boys and I planted a garden and have had the best time watching it grow!  While Canyon isn't a huge fan of the fresh produce we're getting- Crue routinely asks if he can go get tomatoes off the bush and has been eagerly awaiting

our little broccoli plants.  He's eaten spinach, kale, tomatoes, peas, green beans, strawberries and

the carrot tops.  I love that he's so into it.

Hmmmm... what else have we done?  We hiked the Timpanogos Cave with Canyon and Crue, flew to California to visit the Janneys, frequented the Real soccer games, have been swimming like crazy, got to see the coolest polar bear ever at the zoo, checked out our first Bees vs Rivercats game and currently have Grandma, Kelly, Brycen and Kelsen in town.  That explains the lack of blogging, right?

As for the funnier things they've said lately...  When Canyon wants something from me, Rob or Crue he'll say "If you give me this I'll give you a million dollars."  I'm sure there are more, but that's all I've got for now.

Oh boy, oh Birthday boy!

So, we now have a three and four year old in our home.  Really?!  How did that happen?!  Crue-zer celebrated his 3rd birthday a couple weeks ago and we had the most fun!  Our little man requested a firefighter birthday this go 'round, complete with a visit to the fire station, siren on the golf cart and house full of mini firemen and women.

Daddy took the boys to the fire station in the morning to ask the firemen if the boys could look at the firetruck.  Well, a look at the fire truck turned into... a tour of the station, playing with an actual fire hose, sitting in the truck, trying to move the fire-dummy and suiting up in all the guy's gear.  They had so much fun.  Later in the afternoon our home was overrun with 15 little firefighters and their parents.  With a bounce house in the back and a game on in the living room the party was a piece of cake!  Rob and Wes took the little guys on golf cart rides, while I manned the island of food in the kitchen.  Crue loved his firetruck tent from Auntie Karen and after

opening it- pretty much ignored the rest of us 

except for his friend Rachel for the remainder of 

the party. All in all, another successful birthday party 

completed.  As I was tucking the little guy in bed that night I asked him about his birthday- his soft response was all I could have asked for.  "My birthday was awesome mommy."

Canyon gave me yet another reason to adore him this last week.  

Friday- late morning, I was upstairs folding laundry while listening to the boys play downstairs.  I guess it had been a little too quiet, but for some reason I had failed to notice.  Suddenly Canyon charged into my bedroom with a look of pride splashed across his little face.  "Mommy" he stated.  "Close your eyes.  I have a surprise to show 

you downstairs."  Uh-oh... what am in for?!  I cheated and kept my eyes open on the way down the stairs, but closed them as he led me into the kitchen.  "Okay, open your eyes!"  And what do you think lay in front of me?  Oh, just a paper towel spread flat with breadcrumbs littered all over it.  And next to it was the jar of peanut butter, bottle of jelly, an open bag of bread and a "safety" butter knife.  I asked him if he wanted me to make a PB&J and he replied.  "I already made one and ate it all gone.  I got some on the floor right here.  Are you disappointed mom?"  I didn't even know what to say!  I scooped that little man up in my arms and hugged him like I've never hugged him.  Of course I wasn't disappointed!!  My four year old just made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!!  How long was I upstairs?!  Part of me was beaming with pride and part of me was mortified that Can-can hadn't just come to find me and ask me to make it for him.  Not one minute later he disappeared upstairs, stripped down to his undies and put himself in bed for a nap.  When I found him, I let him know that it was a little too early for nap time, after which I scooped him up again and hugged him for being such a big boy!!

Kids Say the Silliest Things

First of all Canyon asked that we start calling him Jack this week. Fortunately it was a short lived request.
Now anyone who knows Canyon knows that he is never at a loss for words and is always ready to put on a show. He's just like Rob in that respect- entertaining to a fault sometimes. For some reason these last couple of weeks have really brought out the spunk in that little man. He regularly spouts off comments that catch me completely off guard and leave me longing to live in the Big Brother House where all his comedic remarks could be caught on tape for me to relive over and over again at my leisure.
I learned a lesson this week. Canyon is now too old to hop in the shower with mom when she is feeling too lazy to give he and Crue a bath. I'm not sure when it happened, but Canyon started noticing "certain things" about mommy. He's always pointed out the fact that I have a little something extra up top and has often questioned me about when he's going to receive his own. This last week while in the shower, with a sound of concern in his little voice he said "Mommy, your peter fell off." Think fast Shannon! What's an appropriate response? Hmmm... how 'bout some plain old fashioned honesty.- it's become somewhat of a novelty these days so why not try and bring it back?! "Canyon, Mommies don't have peters, just Daddies and little boys." He didn't seem the least bit caught off guard by my response. Whoa, honesty huh? That was easy. He followed my response by pointing to my C-section scar and asking "Is that where I came from when I was a baby?" Smart little kid. "Yep. You and Cruezer came from Mommy's tummy." Canyon: "When is another baby going to come from there?"  Uh...' Mommy doesn't have room for any more babies in there."
Canyon :"Okay." And it was that simple. And P.S. I kinda love the fact that I've had the two C-sections for the simple fact that I never have to give them a real explanation of where babies are delivered from... I'm completely content with their only knowledge on the subject being that babies come from a little "line" on mommies' tummies. He he he. I hope I'm not ruining them.
Just yesterday as I was inhaling my third (yes third-sorry Richard Simmons) cupcake Canyon exclaimed "Mommy, that's too much sugar!" "You're right, Canyon." I replied with what I can only assume were crumbs flying out of my mouth. Canyon: "If you eat too many they will make you slow." Rob and I just looked at each other and grinned. "That is your last one!" Canyon finished. Something tells me he was less concerned about Mommy being slow or consuming too many calories and more concerned about the number of cupcakes that would be left for him the next day.
Recently he has become quite interested in occupations and has begun telling us regularly what he is going to be when he grows up. I figured it was important to get it all down in print so when that blessed day of employment finally arrives we can share with him what his 4 year old ambitions were. As of this week he was going to be a skateboard man, car dealership man, a motorcycle guy, a real estate agent and he was going to deliver babies. Cute little guy! What an undertaking!

Now, as for my little pop star... I always feel a little guilty because Crue is yet to entertain me like Canyon and I always seem to have less to say, but don't worry little guy- I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before you're running circles around your big brother in the entertainment category. He is constantly dancing and bopping his head along to his favorite songs. He has managed to learn practically every word to We Are Young by the group F.U.N. and never misses an opportunity to jump up on the ottoman and perform for the masses. Our adorable neighbor is one of the awesome soccer players on RSL, Javier Morales.  He was laughing as Crue was putting on one of his little performances and commented "He's not going to be a soccer player, is he?"  Ha ha!  Thanks for rubbing it in Javi!!!
He's been driving me a little nuts lately with his insistence that everyone else do things for him. How did this child become so entitled?! There's a possibility it was my fault. If he leaves something in his bed after nap he will literally sit on the stairs and cry for an hour until someone goes and gets it for him. It's ridiculous! I'm trying to nip it in the bud, but often times it's just easier to appease the kid rather than listen to the whining. I'm trying though! He's obsessed with his (actually it's Canyon's) pirate costume from Auntie Karen and would literally have it super-glued to his body if it meant he could wear it forever. We're starting to plan his 3rd birthday party- I can't wait!

Love... sweet love.

Two days ago Canyon asked me "Mom, when I grow up can I marry you?" And then today he said "Mom, when I grow up I'm going to marry Mazie." I know that it's wrong, but I was jealous! How did I go from the most important woman in his life to 2nd best in a matter of hours? Geez, 4 year olds are fickle!! Love is definitely in the air though when it comes to that little man! February has got him twitterpated over his little friend Mazie at school. Mazie is actually a twin. Her sister's name is McKenzie who Canyon also references regularly, but nothing like the way he speaks about Mazie. He has even gone as far as having me create a Wii character for her, which he designed complete with Mazie's cute glasses! This little love affair started a few months ago when his preschool teacher (Miss Lisa) told me how the three of them had been spending a significant amount of time together. He he he! She told me that Canyon would walk around holding the two girls' hands- one on either side. She said he even went as far as to pull out their chairs for them so they would sit next to him. A couple weeks later Miss Lisa told me that Mazie was insisting on a play date with Canyon and asked if it was okay to give the girls' mom our phone number. (A play date is in the works) Last week while she was bringing Canyon out to the car he was covering his face with his school bag. Miss Lisa said "I'd have to cover my face too if I got all the attention this one gets from the others." I literally laughed out loud! She said that he has the best personality and the more she gets to know him the more incredible she thinks he is. What a sweet thing to hear from his teacher. Just when I was concerned that he was too wild and naughty I get to hear something sweet like that! Thanks Miss Lisa!!! You're the best!!

A couple weeks ago as I was walking Crue upstairs for a nap I said "Get to bed Fred."
To which Crue responded "My name's not Fred."
"Well pardon me, sir. What is your name?" I replied.
"Cruzer Boozer." He stated very matter-of-factly.
I guess we've been calling him that for so long that he believes it. Silly little guy. So Crue has come to that age where everything is a question. He easily asks over 100
questions a day. Often times I find myself relieved when Rob gets home because then I can push some of the questions his way. As of late he insists on dressing up as a pirate every chance he gets. While I'm not a huge fan of the pirate costume 24/7 I do allow him to wear it while we're at home. The little pants have a tear that has gone from a small rip at the cuff to a substantial tear that goes all the way to the elastic waistband! But does that deter that little man from wearing them? Not a chance! Crue's favorite new show is called Octonauts (they both love it) and whenever the closing song comes on Crue leaps up onto the ottoman and does a little dance. The song is called Creature Report and he has a very specific part where he claps and heaven forbid he misses the clapping part because if he does he makes me rewind it back- ha ha!! He is still as sweet as ever. I was not feeling too hot the other night and he told me "Mommy, hugs will make you all better." And he hugged me every chance he got. I love that little guy more than anything. I think he got his sweetness from Canyon... whose sweetness towards me has unfortunately begun to fade. Don't get me wrong, I know he still loves me, but we've definitely gotten to that sassy, push mom away stage and I'm not handling it too well. Fortunately, I've got my little Crue-cumber to balance things out! I've easily got the two greatest boys on the planet, though!

Not much else to report this month. I guess sometimes no news is good news, right?!

It's the most WONDERFUL time of the year!!! Please sing that as you read it. We love winter!!

We love everything about it... especially when it snows!! The boys both know that every time it snows we get HOT CHOCOLATE! Mmmmmm! Canyon will wake me up at 6am at the first sign of a single snowflake if he has to! Unfortunately this winter has been lacking in the hot chocolate department because we've been massively lacking in the snow department. Boo!!! We got the coolest new sled a couple months ago and haven't been able to use it a single time. Very sad! Not sure why Canyon was frowning in his photo... perhaps he could foresee the lack of hot chocolate days in his future.

Don't worry though. We didn't let the lack of snow put a damper on our otherwise fantastic holiday season!! Canyon and Crue made out like bandits on Christmas day!! When they sat on Santa's lap earlier in the month they each asked for a very interesting item. Crue asked for a pink bell... hmmm. (Daddy's only a little concerned.) And Canyon asked for a tuba. Yep, a tuba. How did we go from a tea set last year to a tuba this year?! Where does he get these ideas? Well, Santa delivered. A massive pink bell and a yellow tuba awaited my little guys on Christmas morning and as the laws of nature would have it- neither of them are ever played with. Grrrrrr! Oh well. They also got a boy's Firehouse/Police Station playhouse (big hit), a pair of plasma cars (huge hit), remote control cars, the Smurfs and Cars 2 movies, books, golf clubs and games. They each got quite the haul and were both thrilled about the whole day. After presents we did a movie with the Janneys, The Adventures of Tin Tin- all the boys (big and small) loved it. It was such a fun day!
We were also lucky enough to get to see Canyon perform in his preschool Christmas programduring December. He was so darn cute! As soon as he walked into the auditorium 2 little girls practically knocked him over trying to hug him! We love that he's such a lady's man. I was shocked he didn't try and shout over his classmates during the actual program, considering he had been belting out his newly learned tunes in the car. Instead, he actually seemed a little shy and reserved which was quite surprising. Now whenever Crue tries to sing a song Canyon scolds him and reminds him that he's not in preschool and those songs are only for "preschool boys."


We also took up skiing the week of Christmas. Seeing as how Canyon and Crue have the greatest Grandma ever- that means they also get the greatest Christmas presents too! For Christmas this year Canyon, Brycen and Kelsen were lucky enough to take 2 ski lessons at the Canyons together! They had the greatest time! And Crue and I had the best time watching them! He rolled in the out-of-bounds snow pack, took a quick ski ride with Aunt Kell, got to meet a skiing Santa Clause and road the Gondola with me a handful of times. We even took a ride and had a picnic lunch together in it! Crue was quite the adorable little snow baby! The boys were awesome in the snow. The first day they had a lesson it snowed ALL day long and those little ski bunnies didn't complain a single time. They all loved their teacher Abbie! They couldn't have been cuter! Can is learning so quickly and I cannot wait for the next chance to take him up! He loved it!!!








On Christmas Rob surprised us with a trip down to warm and sunny Scottsdale. We took off early the next morning and headed for sunny Arizona. We rented a jeep, did some sightseeing, ate great food, swam, the boys golfed and had an all around great time. The most exciting thing we got to do was visit the Safari Park. We got to go on, what felt like, a real safari. We saw lions, tigers, zebras, bears, giraffes, antelope, an ostrich, rhino and camel. Not to mention the alligator, monkeys and birds. Crue got to feed the giraffes by hand. One took the food right out of my mouth- it was quite romantic! Canyon wasn't too impressed by the giraffes, but he fed the camel and thought that was pretty awesome! It was amazing! Now I can't wait to take the boys on a real African Safari one day!!