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!!

Oh bumpers! (As Canyon, Crue and I say) I was doing so well with my goal of one post a month and then stinkin' November came and went. Maybe I forgot to post something because nothing noteworthy seemed to happen. Yep, that's it. I didn't forget... completely intentional.

Before I forget... here are a few of the much anticipated Halloween photos!!
Anyhow, November, November, November... what happened in November? Rob and all his brilliant holiday planning took us to a hotel for Thanksgiving this year. I'm so lucky that he's always so creative in that way. Our best friend Marty was great enough to book us a suite at the Marriott downtown. Rob came home early Wednesday evening and we packed our little suitcases and took Trax downtown. We checked in, walked to Macaroni Grill for dinner and hurried back to the hotel to order room service for dessert. The boys loved every second of it. Uncle Wes arrived later that evening and we all got up bright and early and ordered another round of room service for breakfast. Rob convinced them to make him a pepperoni pizza- yum! Then we headed over to the pool for a quick swim. Catastrophe!!! On our way to the pool Canyon decided he wanted to take his shoes off like Uncle Wes so he sat down by the entrance of the elevator- in doing so he accidentally placed his little hand on the track and the door started to close over his finger. I realized what was happening just as he was ripping his finger from the closing door. I knew it had caused some damage and was almost too scared to look. (I've realized that 6+ years of nursing experience goes right out the window when it's your own baby.) Anyhow, Rob immediately ran away, too terrified to see what may have happened and I just scooped the now screaming Canyon into my arms, made sure the finger was still attached and rushed toward the room. Once inside I assessed the injury which miraculously enough was just that the skin had been torn from both sides of his finger. It looked pretty painful and he cried for longer than he's ever cried before, but at least he still had a finger. Oddly enough the thing that kept playing over and over in my head was the Thanksgiving episode of 'Friends" where Chandler cut off his toe on Thanksgiving- sad I know. So we bandaged him up and tossed him in the pool and within 10 minutes he had forgotten all about it! After swimming we headed down for our Thanksgiving feast, which was even more delicious since I didn't have to prepare a thing!! It was such a fun day!Not 2 days later Canyon dove onto a throw pillow on the TILE kitchen floor and smacked his mouth. There was so much blood I was certain a trip to the ER was in store for us, but one wet washcloth and bag of ice later it turned out to be just a really huge bloody lip. That kid is going to give me a run for my money in the near future.

One Saturday while the boys were supposed to be napping Canyon decided to make a game of how many times he could get out of bed. He would casually walk into our room and say the strangest things. One of the times he said "Mommy Daddy, sometimes my pee pee is long and hurts when I'm trying to go to sleep." Rob and I looked at each other in slow motion and I left it to daddy to field that one. Rob replied "Take off your jeans while you sleep. Maybe they're too tight." The next time he came in he stated "My bum is stinky." Rob joked "Let me smell it!" and then he scooped Canyon up to sniff the back of his undies to which Canyon replied- "No, it's when I stick my finger right here!" And the kid put his finger in the top of his bum crack before we could stop him. Gross! Rob washed his hands and sent him straight back to bed.
Next time he came running in shouting "I have to go potty REALLY bad! I only pee peed in my underwear a tiny bit!" (Have I ever mentioned that Canyon needs to strip naked to go potty?) Anyhow, he spent entirely too long in our bathroom fiddling around and when we told him to get his little bum back to bed he proceeded to show me the dime sized wet spot on his undies. I told him to put his underwear in the laundry room and get to bed. Not 5 seconds later we heard the dryer door open and close, the buttons pushed and the dryer started. Oh what fun it is to have a 4 year old.
On a completely separate occasion... not on that special "no-nap" day; our conversation went as follows-
Me: "What are you watching Can?"
Can: "Coconut Hauntus." (aka Pocahontas) Just thought it was cute!

It's really sad that I don't have an abundance of Crue's cute sayings, but he just doesn't talk as much yet. I'm sure it's soon to come, though. Currently, his favorite thing to say is "Mommy, I think I love you." It's the sweetest thing to hear! We also have arguments over who is the best. He'll say "Mommy, you're the best." And I'll reply "No you're the best." And it'll go back and forth as long as I let it. We recently went up to PC to pick out our ornaments for the year and Crue chose a moose. He's been carrying around every chance he gets. I have had to keep reminding him to be careful because it's breakable and up until yesterday he had been extra careful. But, last night while I was getting ready for work he wandered up to my room and proudly displayed his moose saying "Look Mommy. He's a doggy." He had somehow broken off the antlers and loved that he now had a "new" ornament. I scolded him for breaking his moose to which he replied. "You don't love the moose. I love the moose." I asked him where the antlers were and he stated that they were gone and he didn't have them anymore. I asked him if he put them in the garbage and he replied. "No, I hided them." I had him lead me to the hidden antlers, glued them back on the moose and set the moose up high. I suppose he'll just have to find a less fragile ornament next time. He's quite enamored with our "Elf on the Shelf" who has been named Roodle (by Canyon) and has been asking for one of his own. I ordered him a special plush elf which he has carried around with him everywhere and will probably continue to do so well after the holiday.

I'm having so much fun with my little crumb crunchers these days. We love having our own little lunch dates and shopping together. They seem to be getting a little easier (knock on wood) when we're out and about and I love it. I am so very lucky to be their mom!

Cupcakes, candy, cookies... Oh My!!! Well, October has come and nearly gone which means- the Corcoran family has been overwhelmed with treats of all kinds. I'm pretty sure I've gained about 5 lbs over the last thirty days... just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas- hooray! The fall weather is always a welcomed treat and we've taken plenty of opportunities to head outdoors and enjoy the mountains. I know I often complain about Rob's incessant need to "go for a drive" every weekend, but sometimes it really is beautiful! While this is definitely my favorite time of year, it also lends itself to my busiest time of year. Canyon's birthday, followed by my own and then Halloween make for an exhausting few weeks. Throw in a trip to California to see some of our favorite people and a second attempt at potty-training and I'm spent well before the trick-or-treating begins. Tiring as it's been, it's also been a heap of fun!!! Remind me never to attempt making their costumes.

Canyon turned 4!!! I cannot believe 4 years have come and gone- how did it happen?! My chubby little mess maker is now a lean- loud- mess maker! Can wanted a "Pirate" themed birthday party this year and mommy delivered! (Or at least I made a valiant effort.) We celebrated at the clubhouse this year, which is where we were able to celebrate his very first birthday as well. Aunt Kelly sent me an awesome pirate ship that I set on top of a sea of blue frosted cupcakes- complete with whales, dolphins, sea turtles (per Crue's request) and octupi (is that the plural?). I made blue jello cups with Swedish fish and orange wedge pirate ships. We made a wooden plank, painted the words "Walk the Plank" on it and Uncle Wesley jimmy-rigged it to the beams above- I kept my fingers crossed that a lawsuit wasn't headed my way. Perhaps I should have asked the parents to sign a waiver as they entered the festivities. Rob had Chic-Fil-A cater the event to take some of the stress off me- and boy did it ever! Good Job Rob!! Uncle Wayner made balloon swords for the kiddies. We had a dress up bucket for the guests- complete with eye patches, bandannas and sweet mustaches! I painted a pirate cut-out for the kids to put their faces in- it made for some pretty cute pictures and I still can't bring myself to toss it out. We had a big bounce house out back- which I now realize was all I needed. My life would have been a whole lot easier had I just grabbed a box of cheeseburgers and a bounce house... but then I wouldn't have all my cute photos I suppose. We were also lucky enough to get an indestructible treasure chest pinata. We went through all the kids, some twice, before we finally had to have Wes crack the thing open and even then the broom stick ended up bent in two- how that's conducive to a child's birthday party is beyond me! Everyone came and LOVED it all! I think it turned out great- if I do say so myself! Canyon had four friends from preschool come with their families. Trillie, Peyton, Caden and Asia. We also had the Colliers, Sandgrens, Meads, Klemmes, Jolleys and Morales families. Peyton's mom said it was the "best birthday party she had ever been to"... not that I'm bragging- ha ha. All that matters was that Canyon thought it was great. He has already begun the countdown to next year's birthday! We finished the party with a photo of the boys which we took 3 years ago (minus a little Crue baby.) I think its a framer.

The night before Canyon's birthday party we celebrated my birthday. We made plans to head down to Texas Roadhouse in Provo to have Wes serve us. When we got there I was surprised to see Christy and the kids waiting outside for me and even more so to have Wayne (Rob had flown him in) waiting in the booth. It was the best surprise ever! Dinner was great and Rob got me my own fancy new Ipad- which I LOVE! We did Cheesecake Factory with Marty and Katrina (2 of my favorite people in the world) the following night (after Canyon's party)... hmmmm I wonder why I've gained some weight this last month.

I woke up Sunday morning to Rob and his "impulses" saying "Let's go to California!" To which I replied "Okay!" One short hour later the car was packed and we were on our way to surprise Joan (who was heading over seas a little sooner than we had expected) and the Janneys. Rob drove us out and flew back to Utah to work the next day. Crue was smitten with Otzi (Aunt Kelly's dog) from the second we arrived and proceeded to follow him around the house begging for the dog to "lick" him. It was pretty fun to watch. We took the boys to the park, to Disneyland and to the beach. It wasn't until the beach day that Canyon exclaimed "This is the BEST day ever!" He pleaded with me every day to stay in California and never return to Utah- and believe me I was tempted to oblige. We had so much fun in the land of the sun and sea- who would ever want to leave?! But alas, Rob flew out the following Sunday and we loaded up the car and headed back home, much to the dismay of our little rug rats. Interesting sidebar- on our way home as we were heading into St. George there was an electronic traffic sign that said "ROLL ALL WINDOWS UP. BEE SWARM 5 MILES AHEAD." Rob and I just looked at each other in confusion, but he checked all the windows anyhow and locked them so the boys couldn't accidentally roll them down. Sure enough, just 5 miles up the highway, a tractor trailer carrying several crates of bees had overturned and there was a swarm like I couldn't imagine. Rob took a picture as we drove by and a snapped a quick video. It was definitely a sight to be seen. A couple hours later I tried to look up the story on the news and there it was. Rob called and offered his photo and they were thrilled to get it- too funny. He instantly started referring to himself as a celebrity and his name and photo were featured in the article later that evening.

And here's the link if you're dying to see Rob's name in print- like I'm sure you are. http://stgeorge.fox13now.com/news/news/63596-angry-bees-complicating-clearing-semi-crash-near-st-george

Moving on... Halloween is later this evening- hooray! I have two little pirates that can't wait to hit the streets and demand candy from complete strangers. Canyon has chosen to be Jack Sparrow this year and without any ideas from mom Crue has chosen to be Captain Hook. We cannot wait to take them out tonight!

Potty training has begun again with a much better outcome. Crue took right to it once again, but this time he's remained interested -phew! He's done such an amazing job, with just the occasional accident that only seem to occur when Daddy's around... hmmmmm. He got his awesome potty-prize for doing so well his first week! It's a talking garbage truck named Stinky- it's pretty cute.

Though incredibly busy- it's been and incredibly fun month. I'm hoping for a brief lull come November 1st, but I'm certain it'll be short lived. I suppose I should begin preparing myself now!

Hmmmm.... What's new?

Well, we're on the countdown towards Canyon's 4th birthday... which means that everything we see in the store, on commercials, driving down the road becomes a "Birthday" request. Just today Canyon saw our rental car (from 3 months ago) driving down the road and said "Mom!! That's the car we drove in California! I want that car for my birthday! I don't want this car anymore." I reminded him that we had a very nice car and he needed to be grateful for it- he didn't have much of a response. And then we have Crue, who follows his brother's example explicitly. He'll get those little hands on something in the store and I'll tell him to put it back. Each time he responds with one of two questions "I kiss it?" after which he gives it a good smootch and then sets it down or "I get this for my birthday!" Too funny!! Aunt Kelly asked Can what he wanted for his birthday today and he responded "A dery dery dery dery dery dery big jet plane." Hmmm... what am I supposed to do with that? And why can't my little man pronounce his "V" sound?? I guess I should just appreciate the fact that he has recently begun to say his name correctly. It's no longer "Tanyon" hooray!!! It was always amusing to me which words he
could pronounce correctly and which words he couldn't.

Can-can, you are loving preschool! Apparently you have a little girl at school who is quite taken with you- not that I can blame her. Her name is Trillie and when I asked you about her you told me she wanted your phone number, but you told her "No, it's my phone number. You can't have it." You told me how you were playing on the pirate ship at recess and she "coupled" you. I wasn't quite sure what that meant and to be honest I was a little concerned. I had you show me what coupling was and you acted as though you were tying up your brother so I guess that's okay. Canyon!!!! You are a product of your father!!! You are awake and in my face EVERY SINGLE MORNING at around 6:30AM! Please stop!!! Maybe daddy loves to be up with the roosters, but mommy DOES NOT!!! You storm into my room, no regard for the fact that I may have just arrived home from work an hour before and beg me to get up! "It's a beautiful day!" you'll sometimes say as you fling open my curtains. You'll plead at my bedside for breakfast- typically you just ask for cereal. You cry real tears when I'm physically unable to hop out of bed. And though it sometimes breaks my heart- I don't think it will change the fact that I have NO desire to be up at 6:30. I do LOVE you though!!! Just a few nights ago I was kissing you goodnight. I gave you one big kiss followed by a slew of quick little pecks. Suddenly you stopped me, grabbed my face in your hands and said "Oh sweetheart, you're so kissy!" It was pretty much the funniest thing I had ever heard you say and it has now become our regular thing each night! I love it times a million!!

Crue, my sweet boy!!! You, on the other hand, sleep in but that in no way excuses the fact that you awaken multiple times a night! Aaarrrgg! Mommy really needs some uninterrupted sleep boys!! You wake up at least 2-3 times most nights and yell for mommy. You don't usually cry unless it's your legs that are hurting you. Speaking of your legs... we finally got you in to see an orthopedic surgeon about those cute little legs of yours. Yes, you are bow-legged- that was confirmed. No, it is not a problem and he believes they will hopefully straighten out over the next few years. You were so cooperative for your X-ray. You're coordination is definitely starting to improve, but I still think it's so cute how your little foot crosses over the opposite one. Your current "best fuzzy friend" is Papa Smurf. You call him Papa. You carry him everywhere, wrap him in your blanket and you have me tuck him in with you at night- I LOVE it!!! Speaking of your blanket... you let me take it away- Wahoo!!! Kinda. It was actually all Grandma's doing. I took you to the store and told you we were getting you a big boy blankie. You got to choose whatever fabric you wanted. You immediately found the Buzz Lightyear material, but quickly traded it in for a Cars print because it had "Fillmore" on it. Mommy put a little edge on it and gave it to you that first night and you didn't even ask for that stinky little football scrap of a blanket. The next day we were wandering a different store when you discovered a cute little froggy fleece. You said "The froggy is naked" and I decided I HAD to buy it and make you another blankie. The very next day we were at yet another store and sure enough you found a third blankie material you liked. I guess after that 2nd one you thought you'd get a new blankie everyday. Well, this one also had frogs on it and it was the exact same texture as your football blanket so of course I bought some of that too. I'm beginning to think I may have a problem! So far the naked frogs are the blankie of choice. Your nightly singing routine has expanded a little. We begin with the traditional Rock-a-bye Baby, then ABCs, followed by Beiber's Baby Baby. Now we've added Jai Ho and conclude with an exciting Thomas the Train piece. I wonder how long you'll request my nightly concerts?? You happened to find that swatch of football blankie today that mommy apparently didn't hide too well. I'll let you hold onto it for awhile as long as I don't catch you putting in your mouth- man did it get stinky!!

I guess that's about it for now. We had fun with grandma, Kelly, Bryce and Kels. Took multiple rides on the gondola. Went to the Penguin Encounter at the aquarium and had a blast sitting with the penguins at our feet. Ghost Writer was quite the trouble maker!! We got to visit the zoo during Zoorasic Park Days (you two weren't big fans of the animatronic dinos.) Daddy's currently on his annual Myrtle Beach trip and the boys and I are just hanging out.

They grow so fast... Too fast.

My big boy officially started preschool this week. Will someone please explain how Can-can became old enough to attend preschool?! We started off Tuesday morning by going to Daddy's office to say goodbye. When we got to the school he didn't even bat an eye! He stood patiently while I snapped a couple photos of him and then disappeared into the next 19+ years of his existence. 19 years... that's how long his school career is going to last, right? 1 year of preschool, 1 year of pre-K, 1 year of kindergarten, 12 years of grade school, 4 years of college. I'll bet once he sees the whole picture he'll regret not clinging to my leg and begging me not to leave him- then again, maybe he won't. His teacher's name is Miss Lisa and he's already telling me about his new friends. He mostly talks about "recess" but who could blame the kid? When he got back in the car later that day he said "Let's go to a restaurant for lunch." I let him choose and he chose the "Black Bear Diner" (not impressed) and Wes met us for his celebratory 1st day of preschool lunch. He seems so happy to have a change of scenery and it gives Crue and I time for just the two of us. I suppose it's a win-win for all involved.

Can also learned to ride his bike without training wheels this last week as well! That's right- 3 years old ... riding a two wheeler. Excuse me while I beam with pride! He's so adorable! Aside from swimming (which we're getting better at) everything you throw at the little guy he picks up with ease! It's amazing to watch. Uncle Wes, Daddy and I each took turns running behind him and in just a couple days he had it down! Amazing! Now he's even more of a maniac! He turns in circles, goes up and down curbs, flies over the speed bumps (a.k.a. "Bumpy Bumpies" as they're referred to in our house) and starts and stops with ease. He still gets a little ahead of himself and falls every now and then, but for the most part he's stellar! We had Subway the other day for lunch out on the front porch and then I let the boys ride their bikes for a bit. Well, Can got a little squirly for a second and took a fall and the first thing he said through his tears was "I'm never eating Subway again!" That's right Canyon... blame it on the Subway! I'll hear him yell "Bike rider Canyon coming through!" It's too funny!

Potty Training 101- Please don't try this at home! My actions are not to be emulated!

And so it begins again... Potty Training... sigh. Let me preface this by saying that this blog will be of little interest to those who read it besides me, so feel free to skip it.

So our little munchkin turned 2 at the end of April. I've sat him on the potty a handful of times with no real interest shown on his part, not even the slightest tinkle. I had all but thrown in the towel on the idea of getting him potty trained early when randomly he showed a little spark. It all started with Crue insisting on wearing Canyon's big boy undies- I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this already. Anyhow, we were at Target this last week and as we strolled past the underwear something caught Crue's eye. Toy Story undies- *insert gasp of excitement here* and we had to stop and choose a pack. He chose a pack of Diego underwear as well, but the level of enthusiasm wasn't quite the same- so we can exclude the gasp this time. Then we wandered over to the candy aisle where I let him choose a potty treat. Smarties were the drug
of choice; no doubt following in Auntie Kelly's footsteps with that one. Throughout the rest of our shopping experience he wouldn't let go of those darn underwear. He carried them through the store, cried when I had to briefly hand them to the lady checking us out and insisted on holding them all the way home... there was something special about these undies. When we got home he had snuck a couple pairs out of the pack- to which I responded by telling him that he could only hold them if he went potty like a big boy. Within half a minute that little boy was up the stairs pulling his potty chair out to the kitchen. He stripped himself down to just a t-shirt in another 30 seconds and was on the potty before I could bring the groceries in. That adorable little man sat there for at least 5 minutes (which is a long time in Crue's world) clinging to those tiny underwear and his bag of smarties. All of a sudden he stood up, announced that he had "pee-peed" and beckoned us all over to see. There was just a little bit in the potty, but we threw quite the potty-party regardless. I told him that if he went "poo-poo" I'd get him a new garbage truck (which is with more than diamonds in his world)!! Crue asked "From the store?!" and I kid you not within 2 minutes there was a little nugget in that potty! AFter that we threw We through a huge hoop-la of a potty-party, put his big boy underwear on him (he insisted on wearing the "Rex" ones) and went on with our evening. Of course 2 minutes later I found him in a puddle on the kitchen floor... stinkin' accidents!! I then decided to use guilt as a tactic... bad mommy! I told him that Rex was sad he got pee-pee on him and he had to tell mommy if he needed to go potty. Crue was sad too that he had to give up his prized "Rex" undies so quickly. Well, wouldn't you know, the guilt worked! While he was eating dinner he hopped down from his chair and said he had to go potty... shortly thereafter we had a large puddle in that little potty which was quickly followed by an impressive #2! Holy cow- had my baby potty trained himself?! I was ecstatic!! I put Crue's undies back on him and our conversation went as follows (and goes this way each time I put underwear on him).
Me: "Tell Mommy if you have to go potty. You don't want to pee-pee in your underwear."
Crue: "Rex will be sad?"
Me: "Yes, Rex will be sad if you get pee-pee on him."
Crue: "I kiss him?"
Me: "Sure bug."
And then he proceeds to kiss his underwear... every time... same routine. We had two great days with the potty. He even wanted to go on the big potty a couple times and was successful within seconds. Well... I guess I counted my chicks before they hatched because the second I told myself that this was going to be a piece of cake- he decided going potty wasn't all that great and his underwear were over-rated. Serves me right for being so darn optimistic. So I haven't tried much this week, but we'll be back on the saddle in a week or so- I promise.

Wee-ooo! Wee-ooo! Wee-ooo! Here comes the meat wagon (name that movie) or should I say "fire department!?"
Last week at 3AM we were rudely awakened by the blaring of our smoke detectors. "Fire! Fire! Fire!" they screamed. Seriously?! Rob, of course, wakes in a panic (I was surprised he didn't immediately reach for the kitchen knife he sometimes hides under his bedside table) and starts stumbling aimlessly around the room. I hop out of bed, 100% oriented and walk to the hall where I smell for smoke and then proceed to the boys' room. The alarm is still screeching and the little guys are both hysterical. We each grab a baby and head for the stairs, when all of a sudden it stops. What now? We decided it was probably some strange false alarm and put the boys back in bed. I stayed to console them while Rob went to call the non-emergency #. He wanted to be sure we shouldn't evacuate for fear that we might not wake in the morning if there was some sort of carbon monoxide leak. Good thinking in that stupor of his! The fire department suggested we evacuate anyhow and sent a truck to the house to investigate. We got the boys up again and loaded them into the car where we watched Backyardigans while we waited for the firemen to sweep the house with their fancy CO detectors... of course there was nothing. But Crue and Rob got to sit in the firetruck which seemed to make it all worth it, for Rob that is. Poor Cruiser didn't fare too well after our run in with the alarm. He was suddenly terrified of all the smoke detectors on the ceiling and immediately started having nightmares. At nap the next day I had to tape paper around the detector in his room so he could sleep. Poor baby would just lay wide eyed in his bed staring at the blinking green light saying "It scare me, it scare me." Dad would hold him up to the different detectors in the house and let him touch them, but it wasn't helping. I quickly invested in a fancy nightlight and that has seemed to do the trick:) Phew!! He's still asking about the detectors, but he's not near as scared as he was.

Not too much else is going on in our world. Canyon has become a maniac on his bike. He has started putting a broomstick across his path and jumps his bike over it- training wheels and all. He rides way too fast and stresses Rob and I out! He was going too fast the other night and ran head on into the side of a car- fortunately the car wasn't damaged and I wouldn't have been too disappointed if Canyon had been a little damaged, but he was fine too. Both boys are now obsessed with "bam-baids" as Crue calls them and each wears a new one daily with pride. It's so fun having these little boys around!!