The Skiby Family

Baseball

2011-06-07T21:55:00.001-07:00

This baseball season is giving my a taste of my life to come and that is pure chaos during baseball season. The boys had games almost every day of the week and somedays at the same time.
Irregardless, Another successful regular season under our belts. The Angels took first.....again. And Cy had an outstanding year. Nolan had asked him to set some goals at the beginning of the season and he had set the goal to strike out no more than 2 times. He had zero strike outs for the season!!! Pretty awesome. He had 6 home runs and played a mean first base.

Fearsome Foursome - These four have been inseperable

Cy after the Awards Ceremony with his #1 Fan

First Place - Pinto Angels

Home Run Derby - tied for 2nd. So close.

Accelerated League

Cy also played on the Accelerated Team which was a good experience for him because it is kid pitch. He even got in to pitch twice, and you know what? He did pretty good for a kid who who just thrown into the fire.

Cole was on the "yellow" team this year. He did great. He is a hoot to watch. The first few games were kind of painful because the league decided to use a manual pitching machine instead of letting a coach pitch and there was a learning curve for both coaches and players with that. But they figured it out and according to Cole only lost once to the white team. Also, according to Cole, if they are #1 in the league and he is the best player on his team that makes him the very best player. Love that kid and his confidence. He practiced most of the time with Cy's team which has been great for him. He has learned so much.

The Yellow Team

Cole - Home Run Derby

Nolan made us all proud again this year. Showing a great deal of patience and doing a fabulous job teaching the kids.

Last Day of Kindergarten

2011-06-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

Next year I will have 2 1/2 days to myself a week. Sounds nice, doesn't it? It sounds nice for about a week and then I will want my baby back. I will miss getting back into bed for snuggles after we take Cy to school and hanging out with my little buddy in the mornings. I cannot believe he will be in first grade. He is getting so big.

Cole had a wonderful year in kindergarten. He loved his classmates, a little girl named Hannah and his teacher. I volunteered every other Monday in his classroom but my mom and dad volunteered every Wednesday. They made such a wonderful difference in the classroom. Cole's teacher told us that the morning class had initially tested higher than the afternoon class but by the end of the year the afternoon class was testing higher. She truly believed that the extra help with both grandparents being there consistently every week was what made the difference. My parents were hesitant to volunteer at first but I dare say it became one of the most rewarding parts of their weeks. I am so grateful to them for doing it. My mom has adopted the "it takes a village" motto to raising kids and boy we have a great village.

Cole was sad about his last day of class. When he got home I asked him if anyone else was sad. He said, "Kevin was really sad. He told me that if boys could marry other boys, he would marry me." I LOVE the innocence of kindergarten. Wish I could bottle it up. This class was so funny. They always paired up with members of the opposite sex. They all had someone in the class they were going to "marry." One day I was working with them on E-D words. One of those words was WED, so they all had to tell me who in the class they would marry when they grew up. A cute little girl also told me "Did you know that all the girls in this class think your son is really cute?" I couldn't blame them. I think he is pretty cute too.

Disneyland 2011

2011-06-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

This we we ventured to Disneyland with the Skiby's. Unfortunately, despite my hours and hours of research, I ended up booking us at a horribly busy time which added a little stress for me. The older I get the more I hate crowds and I really wanted everyone to have a good time. I think the crowds bothered me more than anyone else. That being said, we came up with a pretty good system and were successful at getting in plenty of rides during our trip.

I realized it was just as cheap to take a limo as it was to get two cabs. The boys thought this was the coolest thing ever. I think they were as excited about this part of the vacation as they were for Disneyland.

Cheers!!!

Cole's very favorite part.....candy. When I booked the trip, I told the driver that we had little kids and he said that he always carried candy with him. This is the moment Cole talked about for weeks prior.

Yeah! We are here.

So happy. Cole was so disappointed when his brother was picked to do the Jedi Training Academy in a previous trip, so we went all out, broke out the Padawon costume (why should the girls have all the fun?) and it worked. He was chosen to train.

Cole battling Darth Maul, or as Cole calls him Darth Smalls.

Cole and Papa

Mmmm....Turkey Legs. Seriously, this thing did not stand a chance against this hungry kid.

Sharing the stroller. I think this is the last year we can justify getting a stroller :(

Cole and Nolan getting ready for the Tower of Terror. He did it. He cried after it was over, but he did it. He would not do it a second time though. He and Papa Norm caused some trouble trying to break of the line through the emergency exit but escaped to the outdoors for ice cream instead. I think that they were both happier with that.

Staring Contest. It was a favorite activity for killing time in the lines.

The Skiby Family at Newport Beach

We went Whale Watching again, and again we did not see any whales but we did see several hundred dolphin. It was pretty awesome.

Night at the Museum

2011-06-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

The boys' school held a fun family night to showcase the students creative sides. called Night at the Museum. There were arts, crafts, performances and readings. Cy did a reading with some of his classmates. It was fun to get to see them show off for us.

Cousin Visit

2011-06-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Emma and Grace came to visit with their Mom, my cousin, Heather. The boys are always so excited to have guests. We threw everyone in the same bedroom to avoid conflict and encourage giggles. Wish I would have taken more pictures.

Lost Tooth

2011-06-07T19:56:00.001-07:00

I ignored it for weeks, but it came out anyway. March 28, 2011 - Another big boy milestone under his belt. He was so excited to have the tooth fairy come visit. She left him 5 gold dollars.

heavy sigh

2011-05-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

GUILTY

I have been lucky. I have worked part-time since Cy was born. I work three days a week. I like my job, I like contributing to my family financially and working was just something I always knew would be part of my life. I have never felt guilty about working. Unfortunately, that all came to an end today. Both the boys had games tonight. Tonight was my "late" night at work so I knew I would miss their games but I MISSED MY SONS FIRST HOME RUN!! I was on the phone with my Mom when it happened, so I got a taste of the excitement, but I was too late. I felt terrible!!! I cried the rest of the way to the ballpark. I got there in time to see his last hit, a double. He was so excited to tell me about the home run and didn't seem disappointed that I wasn't there. My husband didn't see it either (the game was at 5:00, who has games at 5:00?) but Nolan didn't feel guilty about it. He wishes he had seen it but I wouldn't say he felt guilty. I am sure he didn't cry about it and he won't loose sleep about it tonight. I am actually confident he won't give it much more thought. And that is NOT because he doesn't care, he cares a great deal. That's because he isn't a Mom. He doesn't suffer from Mom guilt.

Mom guilt starts as soon as you get pregnant. Did I take my vitamins everyday, Did I hurt the baby with my non-stop Diet Pepsi addiction, is my baby going to be deaf because I went to Motley Crue while pregnant (ha, ha. That's for you Tara)? And it doesn't stop. People do not warn you about this. You will never take a guilt-free shower again. You will question most decisions you make. The things I tend to feel guilt about vary tremendously. I feel guilty that I am so far behind on my scrap booking, that Cole is a typical second child with too few videotapes of him, that we are not saving enough for college, that I am being too hard on them, that I am not being hard enough on them, that I said the wrong thing, that I haven't worked hard enough on times tables with them, that they don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, that I forgot to pack him a lunch and on and on and on.............

For me it was easier when my kids were littler to balance my time. When they were younger, we were on my schedule for the most part. Now I am on their schedule. School, ball, friends, etc all are scheduled at times that may or may not work for me. Being the control freak who really likes to get her way, this is a hard pill for me to swallow. I feel like I run around with like a chicken with my head cut off half of the time. I realize I only have 2 kids too. I cannot imagine having more. I have a friend with 4 boys and I cringe thinking of her schedule with sports and such. A little more than a year ago, I had to get a Blackberry because I was feeling bad about forgetting the littlest things all the time. A reminder goes off for me every 5 minutes about the most ridiculous of things. But it has helped to keep me on task which helps alleviate some of my guilt. I love my Blackberry. I NEED my Blackberry.

So today I breathed a heavy sigh of frustration because my guilt will do me no good, but it won't go away either. That heavy sigh reminded me of a story of some of my first Mom guilt. It is a story that makes me laugh now because it is so ridiculous, but there was a time I didn't think it was funny, not funny at all. I will try to give you the short version. Cy was a moniker that I was not 100% sold on but I let Nolan win that fight. The first night that we had Cy home from the hospital was a rough one. We were up all night. At 6 am, I called my Mom and Dad and had them relieve us so we could get some sleep. After me and Nolan got a nap in we were visiting with my parents and watching TV. A commercial came on that showed kids who were displeased with what was for dinner or something like that. They would cut to a kid rolling his eyes and the announcer would say "the eye roll, hands on the hips" whatever it might be but the last one I remember for sure. They showed a little boy and the announcer said "the heavy sigh." The heavy sigh?!? It stopped me dead in my tracks. I started to cry. When my husband and parents questioned why I had started to cry, I angrily told them "Heavy sigh!!" They looked at me like I was crazy. "If he is chubby" I told them, "the other kids will call him Heavy Cy." They all laughed hysterically and I cried even harder.

Looking back, it is probably something I didn't need to feel so guilty about. Hopefully I feel the same way about this night too......someday.

I also feel guilty about blogging too infrequently. More posts to follow tomorrow so I can check that off my guilt list.

Winter Blues

2011-03-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have noticed a trend in my blogging habits. I rarely post anything early in the year. I catch up on December's events in January and then I do not even take a photo much less feel the need to blog until the weather gets nicer. This year is no different. I am so tired of winter I could scream. This has seemed like a much harsher winter than in the past. I'm a native Utahn and a pea coat, maybe some gloves, have always treated me right. This year was bitter and I found myself avoiding any task that took me outdoors. Not even the need for groceries could talk me into venturing out. Cy played Jr. Jazz and was awesome. I took my camera only one game. One game, that's fine, right? Well not when it is the last game and you forget the memory card. Way to go. MOTY award already lost and it was only January. His team did great. Only lost one game. Nolan coached them with help from our BF's, Jeremy Jewkes. Thanks to Tara, my BF and his wife, for lending him out on Saturday mornings. Cy plays basketball just like his dad. He is an abnormally aggressive player for such a nice guy. I love what a nice boy Cy is, but I do not want him being pushed around. So, I think it is okay for him to learn to stand up for himself and through basketball makes it a little easier (I guess). Cole loved Cy's basketball as much if not more than Cy because he got to play with his BF, Ryker, it is a budding bromance for sure. Cole is doing awesome in kindergarten and learning to read. My parents help out in the boys' classroom once a week and Cole and his girlfriend, that's right, girlfriend Hannah were sitting by each other. Cole completed the task correctly and Hannah proceeded to kiss him on the forehead for his good work. All witnessed by a reliable source, Papa. What the? What am I going to do with these boys? I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though. We went to the park on deceiving cool, but sunshiney day, we are gearing up for a trip to Disneyland the first of April and baseball starts this week despite the weather. Spring will get here, it always does. Just wish it would hurry up.

December

2011-01-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

The Jewkes' Annual Christmas Party

Oh Boy, you'll shoot you're eye out! I hope Santa made a good choice here.

An Electric Scooter from Santa

It was a Christmas full of weapons; Airsoft gun, BB Gun and Nerf Gun. Such Boys. Bop It Challenge Successful gift giving

Cole still likes to help everyone open their gifts.

Leaving Reindeer food on the lawn.

The boys and their elf "Buddy"

Getting cookies and milk ready for Santa.

Jackpot!!

The Skiby's

I am finally getting around to photos from Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day with family. We spent our traditional Christmas Eve at my parent's home. We ate a delicious dinner, opened Christmas Eve gifts and played Creationary. It is like Pictionary but with Lego's. So fun. I would recommend it to a friend. We got an early start on the evening festivities. That was awesome. Nolan had not had Christmas Eve off of work for a few years. Both of us took some time off before Christmas, again a welcomed first.

Everyone headed to our home on Christmas morning. After years of running out the door on Christmas morning, the last two years we have hosted at our house. It is nice that the boys get to play with their toys ALL day instead of spending time running around. While everyone is falling for it, it is my new favorite tradition. I made a egg "stuffing" in the crock pot and chili verde ahead of time for Breakfast burritos, mmm! We ate, hung out with the family, ate, played Bop It (another recommendation), ate, watched Christmas Story, ate, took a nap and then headed to Nolan's parents for more eating and more game playing. We stayed in our jammies all day and that was fabulous.

Early December was different from past Decembers. We didn't see the lights, or the gingerbread houses or go sledding. Nolan did not go to one Christmas Party!! We had all gotten the flu in mid-December and that messed up some of our plans. We (me and the boys) went to the Jewkes' Christmas party, which was a success as always. I had a work Christmas party, no spouses allowed and my Sub-for Santa party with my girlfirends. But I did not do my usual "over-holidaying" as Nolan calls it. Shh! Don't tell him but it was kind of nice.

Our heart broke with Nolan's sister, Melanie, who lost the love of her life on December 21. Ben had fought a hard fight against cancer,and won, then succumbed to Graft vs. Host disease after a bone marrow transplant. He was a trooper and Melanie was by his side through his entire journey. I am so proud of Melanie. She is a wonderful example of what a good partner, lover and friend is. She treated Ben so kind and lovingly. He had to know how much he was loved. We enjoyed hearing Melanie's stories about Ben and appreciated her sharing a little bit of him with us. Melanie worked hard to work out many details and provided strength and support to others. Isn't it odd how it works out that way? I am always surprised by how family and friends rally to lift you up during these hard times. The offers of help, love and support were abundant. Ben and Melanie have so many people who wanted to express their love for them. We love them too.

New(ish) Pictures

2011-01-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

We had these pictures taken in August, but because I was holding off their debut for the Christmas cards, I had not posted them. Initially, I was disappointed with them. Then I realized I was just taken back by how grown up they both look. Such handsome, amazing little guys. I love them so much.

He makes us laugh

2011-01-02T20:24:00.001-08:00

I am unsucessfully trying to post some pictures, but wanted to tell this story so I won't forget it.
On Christmas Eve, the boys slept together. They were visiting instead of sleeping and we heard Cy tell Cole that when he was 6 years old, Santa opened his door and said "What a cute litte one." I thought that was such a sweet little tale that Cy had told. Cole couldn't be outdone so he told Cy that last year Santa came in and whispered to him, "You're the cutest."

Look If You Dare

2010-12-20T20:20:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween. It is one of my favorite holidays. I love all the activities that surround it too. This year we hosted the kids Halloween party, took the boys on a date night to the Haunted Railroad and Trick or Treated, of course. Here are some of pictures from our fun month.

Trick or Treated with our little vampire and outlaw on a cold and rainy Halloween night.

Met the "little ladies" for brunch with the Witches at Gardner Village.

Little stinkers making their "dead" faces after a fun night on the Haunted Railroad and a dinner date with Mom. Initially, I thought that this train ride was a little lame, but it turned out pretty good. Scared the heck out of Cole but he is already asking to go again next year.

Okay, here are the scary pictures. This year I hired a company to bring some creepy crawlers to our Halloween party. After threatening the owner of the company with bodily harm if he put the tarantula anywhere near me, we got this party started. The kids were not at all afraid of any of it. They got to see a rose haired tarantula, a scorpion, a ferret, a turtle, a bird eating tarantula, two snakes and a boa constrictor. I was horrified, the kids loved it.

EEK! This one still makes me cringe!

The Bird Eating Tarantula. This luckily, stayed in it cage.

Adorable little blood sucker.

New York

2010-11-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

My generous and lovely mother took me to NYC this September and as I sit down to blog I am kicking myself for a few things. First for not taking more pictures, second for not bringing my nice camera and lastly for not writing all this down sooner so I would be more accurate.

We started out by taking the red eye which accounts for the fact that I almost have no pictures from our first day, I was exhausted. I didn't fall asleep until we started the decent into NY. A fellow traveler told me I would immediately be met by the excitement and energy of the city. This was true but I was also met by the comfort of the back seat of the taxi cab and slept all the way to the hotel. It was extra busy in the city, the President was speaking at the UN and many of the city streets were shut down making for a longer than usual commute....thank goodness.

We were not able to check in because we arrived early in the morning. Not near early enough though. Our plane delay had fouled up our plans to try to get tickets to Letterman and The View as well as get to the Today Show. Oh well, we were super touristy and jumped on the double decker bus. We had an adorable tour guide. Our first NY experience? I had an encounter with the rudest man ever and Mom saw a guy peeing in the street. He didn't even stop walking. Hilarious. We followed an old, very fast, Asian women through Canal Street for about 8 blocks where we may or may not have bought some knock off Tiffany jewelry.

We enjoyed our trip through the downtown area of NYC, but I could NOT keep my eyes open for one more minute. We went back to our hotel for a nap and ventured out again later in the evening. We took the advice of a friend of mine who lived in NYC for a few years and went to Grand Central Station for dinner. Making our way down there we ran into a pedicab driver who offered us a ride for what my mom heard as a dollar. Now we all know you cannot get anything for a dollar in NY. He had a thick polish accent and the fee certainly was lost in translation with us. I felt sorry for him hauling our butts up and down the streets of NY, his gears where popping and he was pouring sweat. I felt sorry for him until he told us the price.....$50. It was $1 a block per person. And then I am pretty sure he made some stuff up. It was not funny when it happened but hilarious as we were winding down to go to bed. Stupid tourists.

Grand Central station. We had a delicious meal in an old restaurant here. This building is beautiful. We left and I thought that with my "excellent sense of direction" I could easily get us back to the hotel and save us money after being ripped off by the pedicab. I instead got us VERY lost and on the wrong side of the city. We walked and walked. We crashed when we got back. As a matter of fact, we slept until 10 am!

Day 2 - Much more refreshed after a great nights sleep. Taking the double decker tour bus again through Uptown NY. I think. If any of you are NY aficionados, I am sure I am going to be making up half what follows here.

Soup Nazi

Columbus Square

Although we are not members of the LDS church, I was excited to see this. Felt like home :)

This is the apartment building that John Lennon lived in at the time of his death. He was shot out in front of it.

Gorgeous apartment building across from Central Park. I think Sting lives here. Or maybe it was Bono. I don't know, it's lovely though.

This fountain had a story - some good vs. evil representation. Again, wish I would have written this stuff down.

This is a church that has been being constructed for over 150 years and will not be done for another 100 years.

Columbia University

My very favorite part of NY was Central Park. Just gorgeous and something that New Yorkers really need in such a crowded and busy city. It was what I needed too after being a little overwhelmed by the craziness of the city.

There are all these little tunnels all over. I thought this was so cute, this mom was taking her baby down to the tunnel to listen to a women playing her violin.

Besthesda Fountain. Met the cutest father and son from Australia out in front of it.

We walked into one of the tunnels and this group was singing Hallelujah, my mom's favorite song, it was one of those perfect little moments.

Had lunch at the Boat House.

The Mall in Central Park. Gorgeous.

Jersey Boys was what prompted this vacation. I has seen it in Las Vegas and knew that my mom would love it. I suggested that we take a long weekend trip to LV, she thought NYC sounded like a better idea. Who was I to argue? It was as good the second time and was fun getting to see how much my mom loved it. There was also this guy in the front row who really, really LOVED it. He was distracting but a riot to watch. I loved how much he loved it.

After Jersey Boys we went to the Stardust Diner because of a recommendation by a patient of mine. Initially, I thought it was super cheesy. The waiters and waitresses sing whatever song they choose. But when they started singing.....Oh, my! They were unbelievable!!! I cannot believe the talent in this town if these are the people who end up waiting tables in a diner in Time Square.

The view from the area where we got on the Harbor tour. This is the financial district. Really beautiful area.

Lady Liberty

Ok, really? I asked a women to talk our picture in front of the Statue of Liberty. There is her torch poking out the back of my head. I didn't feel good about it but didn't want to be rude by checking her work right in front of her. By he time I did, a lost photo op.

One of the many beautiful bridges. Beats me which one it is.

After our harbor tour we went to Ground Zero. The site itself is just a construction area and the noise and hustle made it hard to feel the power of what happened there. That is until we walked across the street to St. Paul's. It is the church that acted as a headquarter for the rescue efforts. Many of the flyers that were posted with missing people on them are still there, as well as other memorabilia. It was so emotional. The sadness of those days, as well as the beauty of the city and country pulling together can be felt very strongly here. It is a lovely memorial to those who died and to the rescuers who risked their lives.

St. Paul's

This is the graveyard out in front of the church and across the street through the trees is Ground Zero. It is amazing that this church, as well as the headstones are still intact, this is an 18th century church.

We went to The Top of the Rock. The top of Rockefeller Plaza. The views are stunning.

The Empire State Building

View of Central Park

Mom at the Top

We also took an NBC Studio Tour. I love that junk so I really liked that part. We waited in line for stand by tickets to the dress rehearsal for SNL. We knew that we were not going to get in as we were 147 and 148 for stand by but we met many nice people in line.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

One of the loveliest buildings I have every been in. Obviously, my photos are not doing it justice.

Time Square. This is the craziest place I have ever been. It is so loud and so busy and crowded. It was my least favorite part of NY, but something everyone should see.

I thought that my Mom had seen Wicked when it was in SLC and was happy to be reminded that she had not. We got tickets for the Sunday matinee, a nice little surprise. I had heard that it was great and amazing and guess what? It was. It was funny, sad, thought provoking, clever and a wonderful way to spend almost 3 hours. I cried at the end of it, why? Because I was so proud of the performers in it. They were amazing.

Garbage. I was obsessed with the garbage. These black bags are full of garbage.

Our last day we headed down to The Today Show. This picture wraps up that experience. No Matt, no Meredith, Ann was there but couldn't be found. It was freezing after being unseasonably hot the rest of the trip. We did see Al and we were spotted on TV during the Hoda and Kathy Lee hour by Aunt Gale and we phoned my Dad in time to get it recorded.

Almost famous.

Another funny story that I do not have any photographic evidence of was when someone stole my mom's drink. We had not made having a fabulous dining experience part of our trip. We were way too busy sight seeing so we would be starving and eat whatever we ran into. Which means we ate at The Olive Garden one night. Haha! I don't care what anyone thinks, it was clean and air conditioned. And frankly, delicious. Anyway, on our last night there we went into Greenwich Village. We just stumbled upon this place called Garage. We had the most delicious meal there. We also had a gracious and attentive waitress, something new for this trip. We sat out near the sidewalk and we were visiting with her when a man walked past our table and took my Mom's drink right off of the table. Because we were looking at the waitress we didn't see what had happened but she had. She yelled at him, then his girlfriend yelled at our waitress. We sat it the middle, stunned by what was going on. It was kinda scary....then hysterical.

Thank you, thank you to my Mom for taking me on this trip. It was so wonderful and more wonderful because I was with her. I am so glad we had this time together. Love ya, Mom.

A New Skiby

2010-10-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

I was not ready to have a new puppy. Don't get me wrong, they are adorable. That's the problem. That adorableness makes you forget that they are not potty trained, they don't sleep through the night and they chew stuff up. Nolan had seen an ad for some Springer Spaniels and was trying to dog block me by buying a dog he liked before I bought the dog I wanted. I wanted a Shorkie. According to Nolan that is not a "real" dog. Anyway, he called me one day on the way home from work and asked if I had looked at the ad. I said I had and that they were cute but at that moment what I needed was for him to pick up the boys asap because I had taken them with me to my hair appointment. When he showed up to get them, he was covered in dog hair but was without a puppy. However when I returned from my hair appointment, I found this in our front yard.

Prior to pulling up to our house I was planning on telling Nolan how getting a puppy now was a bad idea because we are busy and away from home often. I couldn't believe he had went and got one. I vowed not to help with any part of it, puppyhood that is. Not getting up in the night, cleaning up after him. Any of it. So you know what that dog did? He went on and acted like a perfect angel. Slept through the night, had only had one accident in the house and has yet to ruin anything by chewing it in the 3 weeks that we have had him. He's adorable. He's so lovey and despite my protests, he knows who butters his bread. I am his favorite by far. After much debate over the name; Gus, Oliver, Andy, Buzz...we settled on Sam. Welcome to the family, Sam.

Noooo, not kindergarten!

2010-10-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

I fought this day, I did. Despite my efforts to slow the days and years down and occasionally go backwards, I am loosing the battle. Anyone who knows me, knows I really like to get my way. So when the first day of kindergarten rolled around I wanted to throw myself on the ground, kick my feet and throw a full on tantrum. But, I didn't. Instead, I panicked when I realized that I had bought no less than 6 "first day of kindergarten", "getting ready for kindergarten" books and here it was the night before and we had not read one of them. So I pulled them all out and read them. Trying to calm the nerves of Cole. Cole had no "nerves" about kindergarten. He was so excited to go the same school as his older brother and to meet new friends. I read 4 books before I burst into tears. Which was ridiculous, because then I made my worry-free 5 year old cry. Dang it.
On the first day, Nolan came home so we could get Cole off together. We walked up, looked around and with no fan fair his teacher told them to line up and walked them in. There was no time for goodbye's or even a hug. I'm sure she plans it that way. It was probably best for me too as I was able to avoid a scene. Love that kid. He walked away, head held high, ready to tackle kindergarten. I went to the car and cried. After all the emotion, he was back 2 hours later (school started on a Friday, which is a short day. So silly.). I thought because that was so hard they really owed me 3 hours but I was happy to see him, happy to see how excited both he and Cy were to meet up after school to walk home, happy we all made it through the first day.

Back to School for Cy

2010-10-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

I sent Cy off to third grade at the end of August and I really wasn't ready to do it. I love summers. I like lazy mornings on my days off, not worrying about homework, lunches or the PTA and I relish feeling inclined to find away to enjoy a beautiful day.

I walked Cy to the area where he lines up and started chatting with some parents and teachers while Cy and Cole went to play. I struck up a conversation with a new teacher at the school. She was commenting on how she likes teaching third grade because on the first day of school you do not get the crying parents that come with teaching kindergarten. At which point I was grateful that I had thrown on my sunglasses to mask the tears rolling down my face. I don't want to, but apparently I will cry on the first day of school every single year regardless of the grade or milestone.

Snowbird

2010-10-03T13:43:00.001-07:00

Nolan and the boys took me to Snowbird for my birthday this year. I love going up there. It is one of the those little treasures right in our backyard and if you forget your swimsuits, you can easily go get them. We went swimming, went to dinner, did the alpine slide, Nolan and Cy did the zipline and the boys took a turn on the bungee trampoline. We rode the tram up to the top and hiked down to the chairlifts and took a lovely ride back down. It was just beautiful!

Seriously, cute kids.

Brady Family Reunion

2010-10-03T12:54:00.001-07:00

Some people begrudgingly attend their family reunion but I love our reunion. We play games, eat the most delicious food, visit and sing and get caught up with love ones that I do not get to see near enough.

This year many members of our family (ok, only the Martinez branch) did a memorial run for the miners who lost their lives in a mining accident up Huntington Canyon, the canyon we camp in. I signed my family up with every intention of doing the same....until I saw you had to be there at 6 a.m. We don't get up at 6 on vacation. It's a Skiby family rule. Apparently, it is a rule for others to.

We set up some activities to keep the kids busy, which isn't hard. They love playing together. But they like doing a scavenger hunt and hanging out with the crazy camp hostess who takes them on a Snipe hunt every year. I'm not sure why they can't find one:) My personal favorite is rock painting. This year, translated into face painting. I love all these kids because they always humor me in some way. I can't believe how big they are all getting and what good kids they all are.

Here are all of Grandpa Bob's great kids minus Jenny's two littlest ladies.

Cy was Wario from the Nintendo game.

Cole was Spiderman.

Grace has sensitive skin so no face painting. Instead she wowed us with her dance moves. They are amazing. She cracked me up.

Five

2010-10-02T17:49:00.001-07:00

Cole turned 5. Despite my bribes for him to stay 4 or even go back to 3, he felt like turning 5 was something he had to do.

Cole is funny (hilarious actually) although he saves that trait mostly for us, as he is a little shy. He is adorable and handsome. He has great hair. He is smart and observant. He is a good brother. He is a lot like his Mom, he has a big bark and a very tender heart. I am always shocked by the empathy he has for others. He will cry when he thinks someone else is hurting more readily than he will if he is hurting. His "feelings hurt" cry is much louder and deeper than when he gets a boo boo. He has an awesome laugh and makes the cutest little face when he tries to open his eyes wide. He is anxious to grow up to be like his brother and I am desperate to keep him little.

He is one of my greatest gifts. I am so proud to be his Mom. I am so happy he is mine.

Skibypalooza 2010

2010-09-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

Skibypalooza had a new face this year. We rented the swimming pool out at our local Rec center. We had it all to ourselves and it was a great time. We came back to our house afterward, the first time since Cy's second birthday. Normally, we take my Mom up on her offer to host the party since it means less cleaning and stress for me, this year the offer stood but I decided to clean my house and get the backyard ready and power through at our home. I'm such a big girl now. It was fun to have everyone over. The party was a success and the boys' were thoroughly spoiled as usual. We have such wonderful family and friends who make me look forward to this party all year long.

Both Boys were very brave. Both of them went off of the high drive, of course, I did not get a picture of that!!

I was pretty sure that if the life guards were going to have to save anyone, it was going to be one of the Dads.

I floated it out there on Facebook that I needed a Toy Story cake and a girl I went to High School with and whom I had not seen for 15+ years volunteered to make this amazing number here. I would love to be this creative and talented. Since I am not, it's nice to know people who are. Anyway she offered to make it at no charge, I didn't allow that. But I ended up just loving it. The boys thought it was so cool and it was delicious too.

Madi Girl

2010-09-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

We had to say goodbye to our dog of almost 15 years in July. She was a good dog who had been sick for a long time. Certainly, the worst part was telling the boys.

Thanks for being a good dog, Madi Girl.

Cy turns 8. Eight, when did that happen?

2010-09-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

He actually turned eight in July. My tardiness in getting this posted does not lessen the sentiment.

Cy, Cyborg, Borgalicious, Bubba. He has many so many nicknames. You can also call him; handsome, honest, caring, friendly, sweet or smart.

He is such a great kid. We call him Honest Abe, I know I can trust him to tell me the truth at all times. For example, on Halloween he wouldn't wear his whip that was zip tied to his belt on his Indiana Jones costume to school, even though, I said he could, becuase it was "against the rules." He comes home when his friends play rated "T" for "Teen" games on their gaming system, because those are not allowed at our house. He is allowed to be the "judge" whenever a decision needs to be made because he will be honest and try to be fair. He shows sympathy when someone is hurting. He is a friend to all of his classmates. He is sweet and respectful to his family. He is a good big brother and a wonderful example. He generally does things the first time they are asked of him. He knows how to say what his Mom wants to hear. He is incredibly smart and thoughtful.

He is one of my greatest gift. I'm so proud to be his Mom. I am so happy he is mine.

Happy Birthday Cy!

Always Catching Up

2010-09-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

I always vow to be better about blogging and then life gets in the way. This seemed like an extra busy summer. Cy made All-Stars, which was awesome.....and exhausting. Lazy days of summer?!? Not so much. Anyway, it was so great to watch him. Nolan helped coach and got caught up in all the excitement, loosing sleep, buying an expensive bat, over thinking the line up, endless conversations on the phone about who should play where and so on. I think he loved every minute of it. Sometime during all of this, I came to the realization that this is probably the last summer we will get away with only this much chaos. We will forever chase around the valley with ball games, but eventually we will have to do it for two. And flip a coin for who goes to which game. I am already stressed out about it. I realize that is silly, but it is what I do best.

We played our first tournament in West Bountiful and Cy came out playing like a true All-Star. He played left field and had a catch that was fitting for ESPN's highlight reel. He happened to catch it practically at our feet since we were sitting on the line in left field. He tried to lay it cool, but he was excited. We (His fan club - The granny's, papa's and Cole) did not try to play it cool, we were over the moon about it. He was a consistent and awesome hitter too.

Anyway, we didn't fair great in the "practice tournament," but we took second place in our district tournament on our home field (extra exciting) and lost in 2 games atthe state tournament in Kaysville. We lost just in time for it to get really hot. It had been such a mild summer. So if we were going to loose anyway, we did it at just the right time.

I am proud of Cy for a great season and for always showing great sportsmanship, which unfortunately can be lost on some of the parents and even the players, even at this age. I was proud of the dedication that Nolan showed to the team and to Cy. I thank him for his sleepless nights, for rushing home from work, for keeping his cool and for teaching, not only the game of baseball, but some life lessons to our son. I love seeing them out there together.

Hard work pays off.

Cole was Cy's #1 fan. He was such a great kid, being dragged all around town and sitting through many practices. It was nice getting to spend some time with this little man.

Feeding the All-Stars

Finally getting his turn on the field. Thank goodness for his little friend Ryker too. He kept Cole entertained through the games.

Looking forward to doing it all over again next season.

What's more American than a Rodeo, Parades, BBQ's and Fireworks?

2010-07-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July. It is a great holiday filled with family activities, patriotism and BBQ's with none of the stress of all the other holidays. We added a few new things to our already busy weekend this year. First, we signed Cole up for Mutton Bustin' at the West Jordan Rodeo. We signed him up with his little friend, Ryker. I am sure this is the only reason that he actually went through with it....peer pressure. Anyway, we Carnival-ed, then headed to the Rodeo.

Pre-Rodeo Smiles

Hands over your hearts for the National Anthem.

Love, love, love this picture. Look how cute this it is. They are so happy to be with the Rodeo Queens. Ryker said if he had won the Mutton Bustin', he would have given them a kiss. Cole had no comment. Although his smile speaks volumes.

Sizing up the competition and the sheep.

Ready to ride. I CANNOT believe he didn't chicken out.

These are the only two picture we have. Three seconds doesn't buy you much time for pictures.

Look at these two. Seriously, hugging all night. Sometimes you need a buddy to get you through the evening, glad they had each other.

Mutton Bustin' was so great. I was really proud of Cole, getting so big and brave. He seemed to love it. He got kicked in the cheek by the sheep and has two little scratches to show for it. Just a few tears were shed but he shook it off almost immediately. The trophy at the end made it all worth while. As you can see, he thought that was pretty awesome.

These two, Cy and his friend Jace, were totally robbed of the best dancer contest for concert tickets. Obviously, this is the best "Sprinkler" anyone has ever thrown down.

Saturday was a big, BUSY day. First we dropped Nolan and Cy off to get ready for the West Jordan Parade. Cy's All-Star team was in the parade. We had to fashion our best "float" in about 3 days. Nothing like hearing about something at the very last minute. So we decorated a flat bed trailer for the boys to ride on. Nolan was worried about them falling off so he built rails for it. Cole and I got to join Granny and Papa Skiby along with Aunt Mel for some parade watching and candy catching. We anxiously awaited Cy and Nolan's big debut.

Granny spoiled Cole with lots of fun Fourth accessories; snaps, confetti guns and loud things.

Yeah!! There he is. Cole spotted Cy, who had kindly saved me my favorite kind of taffy (blue raspberry). He also brought Cole some balloons off of the float. Such a nice brother.

Cole was excited to see Nolan too. Apparently, Nolan kicked the boys off of the trailer because he was afraid they would get hurt. They were jumping off and on while the truck was moving. All of our hard work was all for not...oh, well, the boys had a great time regardless.

After the parade, we headed to a BBQ and swimming hosted by some friends for Cy's All-Star team. Crazy boys! The pool was in a community with mostly retired people. They never saw what was coming.

After swimming, we headed out to Uncle Dave and Aunt Bev's house. This is a tradition that has gone on for many, many years. I personally made my first appearance 21 years ago!!!! It is a wonderful day and we have met many new friends because of it. This year it was at the park behind Dave and Bev's house because of some deck repairs. The kids loved all the open space.

Here is a picture of Nolan and Cy hitting some balls, but they weren't the only ones. The big boys had to get in on it too, trying to out shine each other.

Oh my gosh, isn't he SO cute. This is Nolan's cousin, Megan's son Bryce. He is truly the happiest baby I have ever been around. He has the easiest disposition and is squeezably delicious. I would take him home in a heart beat. I tried to get someone to distract Meg while I ran away with him, but she was on to me. Too bad, because I need someone, other than me, to have knees that look like those in our house. Adorable.

All the little cousins. Cole, Landon, Cohen, Cy, Jace, Sylee and Baby Bryce.

We headed back to WJ for fireworks that night. I am not sure why we even bothered. We were so tired it was ridiculous. Too much activity that day. Nolan feel asleep twice at the park. Once before the fireworks started and once while they were going off, I was at the verge of tears, I don't do tired gracefully. I had the WORST allergies that day and the sitting on the grass brought them back on. I was disappointed in our fatigue because I love fireworks, but we stuck it out and they were, of course, beautiful. We all ended up sleeping until 10:30 the next day. I couldn't believe it. Thank goodness, we all really needed it.

Sunday morning we headed up the canyon for a picnic. The canyon became the canyons and finally we found what Nolan deemed an appropriate site to stop up by Strawberry Reservoir. We were not prepared for the weather. It was an unusually cool Independence Day. We shoved food in our mouth, let the boys shoot the BB gun and then took a quick hike. It was too cold up there for shorts and t-shirts.

We headed home for fireworks in the driveway. The boys loved it. I invited the neighbors over, they declined. Huh, Darn it! Oh well, we had fun anyway. I captured some cool pictures with my camera while the boys played with Sparklers.

Happy Independence Day Everyone. Hope yours was wonderful.

A Whole New World

2010-06-28T07:09:00.001-07:00

We bought this Trailer Bike to help Cole keep up on family bike rides. He said it has opened up a "whole new world" and it is "like a dream." Apparently, it was a good investment. Look at him striking a pose even while riding his bike.

Also, notice what Cy is wearing in this photo. Black shirt and black shorts. I had noticed that everytime we went for a bike ride, he'd go change and always into this hot number. I mentioned to Nolan that I suspected that he deemed this his biking outfit. So I asked him and he proudly admitted that this is his biking gear. Just makes me laugh.

Field of Dreams

2010-06-22T18:15:00.001-07:00

The Skiby's were treated to an awesome night with the Salt Lake Bees a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to Cy's coach arranging a "Field of Dreams" night. The team all wore their Angels uniforms which was extra special because the Angels are the affiliate team for the SL Bees.

Checking out the Field

My handsome guys. Cy the pitcher, Dad the Coach and Cole the Angels #1 fan.

Looking down into the dugout

Cy announcing his name and position in front of the home crowd. He was very nervous, stumbled a little but made it through. Big moment.

Seriously, how cute is this picture? After the kids announced their names, they were able to go stand at their position with the Bees players. They stood next to them during the National Anthem. Look how big that guy is. Cy said it wasn't his best night ever, because that was probably the day he was born, but it was pretty good.

In other baseball news, Cy made the All-Star team!!! Very exciting for him and for Nolan too who is helping to coach the team. We start games this Thursday.

A Good Citizen

2010-06-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Cy received the Good Citizenship Award at the end of this school year. His teacher announced that he was chosen for the award because he is "responsible, reliable and a friend to all." As a parent you want your kids to be smart and to succeed academically I want all of those things too, and luckily Cy is a great student, but it is most important to me that Cy is thoughtful, kind, respectful and empathetic to his peers. This award helped confirmed what I already suspected; he really is a good little boy and I love him so much.

Memorial Day

2010-06-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

We went up to Deek Creek on Memorial for the first fishing of the season. It was so nice to get outdoors finally. It has been a chilly, rainy spring and the summer is anxiously awaited by us all.

Angels Baseball

2010-06-13T10:10:00.001-07:00

The Angels finished 9-1 this year. It was a great season. Cy did a terrific job and improves every year. He played catcher, short stop, third base and mostly pitcher...in a machine pitch league. I know that sounds funny but he actually gets a lot of action at that position and it requires someone who can field the ball and make the play at first base. It is fun watching the kids learn about the game. We had a good group of kids and supportive parents. Nolan helped a friend of ours coach and did such a terrific job with the kids. I am proud of his patience with the boys as well as in stressful situations (particularly because I am not so calm). We only had one less than desirable situation with another teams coach. I am thankful that I choose to sit in the outfield at those times. Stinkin' work gets in the way of those 5 o'clock games some times, so we are grateful to Mike Bertelsen for being such an awesome coach and to my parents for always making sure that Cy gets to his games on time. We played in the rain yesterday in a Round Robin tournament and won again. Cross your fingers for all-stars.

Pre-School Graduation

2010-06-06T15:37:00.001-07:00

As much as I try to slow time, these darn milestones keep coming. This dreaded day, Pre-School Graduation, flew up on me like a locomotive. I reluctantly went, bribing Cole to stay back in preschool and forget about kindergarten. It didn't work. So instead, I cried all the way there, pulled myself together and giggled over how incredibly cute a bunch of dressed up 4 year olds on good graduation day behavior can be.

Seriously, handsome.

Brothers

They wore these glasses while singing "Here Comes the Sun"

Cole receiving his diploma and announcing he wants to be a veterinarian (sometimes it is a vegetarian) when he grows up.

He also wants to be a basketball player and on American Idol.

Cole and his best buddies.

My Boys

Cole had had enough photo ops by this time.

So proud of him!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-06-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Thankyou to my husband and kids for being them. Being a Mom is amazing, exhausting, stressful, fun and rewarding. More emotions than you ever thought you had arise when you have your first little angel. I worry more, love longer, laugh harder and put on a brave face (when I can) more often than I ever did before. I am blessed with such good boys who are thoughtful, sweet , smart and funny. Oh and handsome too. Being a mom makes me appreciate my mother so much more. She is a great Grandma but still an awesome mom. I never play second fiddle to my boys who are way cuter and more fun to be around, so for that I thank her. I love her so much.

Field Trips

2010-06-06T14:33:00.002-07:00

I chaperoned a field trip to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point with Cy's class. This is a fun adventure for the second graders because they work on a large dinosaur project every year and learn more information about dinosaurs than you can shake a stick at. Cy had a great class this year. Good kids, who are for the most part adorable and good. He had his first male teacher, Mr. Smith, who Cy loved and so did I. He was awesome. I happily agreed to do this, but of course put rules and regulations about my volunteering with Mr. Smith. I asked that one particular student not be in my group. He is a hand full. Mr. Smith, being the funny guy he is, made sure to put him in my group. I won't tell you which one he is in the photo. However, he is the one I lost about 4 times. It was a good day despite that. When the kids got tired of going through the museum, I fired up a rock/paper/scissors tournament that was a huge success. I volunteered often in Cy's class this year and got to know the kids pretty well. Great kids, I'll miss them.

Look out!!!!

Trying not to lose anyone, stay together.

The same week, Cole had a Field Trip to the Bingham Cooper Mine. This adventure started out less than desirable. First, I was running late, shocking, I know. Second, I threw away the directions to the place, found it easily though, no big deal. I had some cash with me to get in, a hundred dollar bill and 3 ones. When I got to the gate the women told me it was $5. I offered her the hundred dollar bill, she couldn't make change. So she watched me shuffle through my wallet and console for 10 minutes and I came up with $4.97. She asked me to drive back into to Herriman, about 10 minutes away to go to an ATM. Really, really? I don't think that anyone every owes me anything, but you can't possibly let the 3 cents slide when you know I am on my way to a field trip that starts right now? Or offer to lend me 3 cents or let me ask on of the many parents from our group that were waiting behind me if they would be so kind. Normally, I would probably have a smarty pants remark for this woman or at least I would have at least tried to be very charming and try and to convince her to let me through or propose to her an of the fore mentioned offers. However, this particular morning I just didn't have it in me. Instead I turned my car around, headed to Herriman and started to cry. I pulled over just a few yards away to go through the car one more time. I called Nolan to complain about the situation and instead of saying that is pure ridiculousness and consoling me the way I wanted him to, he said "you really can't find 3 more cents?" I realize this was not rude or ill-willed but it made my cry harder. And I did find three more cents. I found a quarter, a melted milk dud and a action figure in a pocket I had almost forgotten about in my purse. Then because I was crying, Cole started to cry. Oops, not the way I planned field trip day going.

We did make our way up the canyon to the pit. I had never been before, it's pretty amazing. Cole has a class full of all boys. His best buddies are Jameson and Cooper. Such cute little guys. We ended up having a fine time and even had a fun date to Winger's after for lunch and a yummy dessert. It was fun having some one on one time with my little guy.

Bingham Cooper Mine

Pre School Friends

Disneyland - April 2010

2010-05-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

As I have posted before...I love Disneyland. Love that it is clean, fun and has always been for us, happy indeed. While it is still full of magic, I will soak up every minute of it. This year, however, we started off differently from our other trips. We kept it a secret from the boys. I didn't think I could do it. Who am I kidding. I didn't really do it all that successfully. I had slipped twice. Luckily, they are easily swayed. I can still blame Nolan for something I did when he hasn't been home all day.
Me and Nolan had packed and gotten everything ready for a evening flight on Tuesday. We both went to work, Cy had school and Cole played at Granny and Papa's, so they were oblivious to all of the behind the scenes planning. I picked them up and told them we had to take Nolan to the airport for business. When I said he was going to go to California, they whined and begged to go. After we drove into the airport, I broke the new. Cole was so funny, he just kept saying "We are going to Disneyland this day. This day. No sleeps. This day." After I convinced them that we were not teasing them, they hooted and hollered. It was so fun for us to surprise them.

None the wiser about what is going to happen.

The first day started out a little rocky. I couldn't get our e-tickets to the park to print. Customer Service said that I could take my confirmation # to the ticket booth and it would be okay. The gas station across from our hotel did not have Diet Pepsi in fountain drink form....tragedy. Then when I arrived at the park to retrieve our tickets I realized I forgot my ID....NO. Luckily, I had two credit cards with my name on them and one is a card with the boys' picture on it. I shuffled the boys up for proof that it was us. Kindly, she accepted that as proof of identification. Then the nice women informed me that the tickets I had bought were for 2 days from the current date. I had to take a time out. I was about to cry. She was kind and got it all straightened out for me. This is really typical Cori antics. I'm not sure why I was surprised. Finally, we walked through the gates. Yay, we were there and everything was going to be just fine.

Waiting for Captain EO. During the movie Cole asked me VERY loudly, "Is Michael Jackson a girl or a boy?" Bless his little heart.

Once inside, everything was perfect. The park was very quiet. We started at Star Tours and made our way around the park. We rode all but about 5 rides that first day. We even took a long break to have dinner with a girl we graduated from high school with and her family. That was fun. We went back after dinner to do a few more rides. We stayed until the park closed at 9 and Nolan and I talked about how surprised we were that we were not exhausted after a full day. The park being slow really helps. Just marching from ride to ride is much easier on the feet than racing back and forth. Great day!!!

Cy, Cole and Josie waiting for Pirates

Day two, we met up with the Jewkes'. It was great to spend some time with them too. It is fun to see their girls so excited on the rides and enjoying all the wonder that Disney brings too. Olivia, was a hoot. She talked herself out of being scared on the rides. It was so cute. We did some Disneyland and then went back to the Jewkes' hotel for some swimming. It was SO cold. Of course, the kiddos braved it like it was 95 instead of 60 degrees. The rest of us stayed bundled up pool side.

Eating at the Rain Forest Cafe. You know you've been eating crappy (expensive) park food when this joint tasted like fine cuisine.

Day three was spent at California Adventure. We ended up doing the Aladdin show there. I loved that and so did the boys. We had never seen it before. I couldn't believe it. California Adventure also has one of my favorite rides, Soarin' California. It is amazing. We hooked up with the Jewkes' again just for one last ride and to bid them farewell. This was the day that all of our running around caught up to me. I was so tired. Still stayed late into the evening though. Even with all of our running around and the short lines, we missed a few things. Didn't see any parades and I had been so excited to do the Hall of Presidents....I have fond memories of me and my Grandpa Jo taking a little siesta during that show, and we didn't even get to it.

Woody. Cole was really excited about meeting him.

Nolan took this picture. It's my favorite. Good positioning, Nolan.

Day four was awesome. We slept in, took our time getting ready. Drove down by the Angels Stadium and had lunch. Then we hung out at the pool for a good 6 or 7 hours. It was gorgeous weather. I sipped Mojitos and insisted that everyone enjoy every second of the sunshine (it was snowing back home.) We even called to have pizza delivered because we didn't want to leave. The boys brought their new Lego's down when they grew tired of swimming. We finished it off with watching a movie in bed and going out for ice cream. If only every day were like this day. Life would be grand.

We spent our last day at the beach. The boys love the ocean. I love the beautiful view. We took the ferry over to Newport Beach. The boys thought that was cool. We played at the beach and then we went on a whale watching tour. It was "pretty much just water." That was Cole's take on it anyway. He was pretty much right too.

We saw a hand full of dolphins, but no whales. Even the dolphins, which apparently are usually social and come close up to the boat, were staying far away. Darn it! Even seeing just a couple though is more than we usually see cruising around the waters of Utah. So it was a win.

Cy had to have these aviator sunglasses. So cool!

It turned out to be a great vacation. Could have used a few more days of it. Real life is just not as much fun as someone else cooking, cleaning your room and making your bed, a pool within a few steps and the magic of Disneyland. Can't wait until next year.

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Cy received the Principle's Pride Award at school. It is a small ceremony where the principle presents them with an award in honor of an outstanding project or score. Cy was acknowledge for an art project that incorporated letters into it. Good Job, Cy!

_________________________________

The second grade puts on a program each year about Dinosaurs. The children work very hard on learning facts, writing reports and learning songs about the dinosaurs. The parents get to go to an assembly with song and dance and then back to the classroom to view some of the other projects that they had worked on. Cy even had a speaking part. "Some carnivores such as allosaurus hunted alone like today's tiger. Others, like the velociraptor, hunted in packs like the modern wolf." He did great. I do not have any pictures from it because I was too nervous for him and had asked to him to keep eye contact with me so he wouldn't be anxious.

Sing it Cy, Sing it!

Telling Dad about the dinosaurs he had written about.

This was the Dino Dance. There was way too much booty shakin' when it came to the freestyle. Someone thought he was pretty funny.

Dinosaur Clay Model. This is obviously an anklyosaurus.
_____________________________

Right after the time change there was a day that was nice enough to take a walk after Nolan got home from work. We took a trip to a nearby park. It was so nice to be outside and for it to stay light longer. I love the time change.

I took my camera to play with it and got a few cute shots.

I asked the boys to get in the tree and actually got one cute shot before Cole had a melt down. He was scared. Had he told me before he got in the tree, I wouldn't have asked. Poor guy.
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The last weekend in March, we went up to a friend's house who has an annual Easter Egg hunt. It was a huge success. There were so many kids. She had done 600 eggs and then everyone brought some of their own. Good loot was had by all. Here the kids are devising a strategy to grab the most eggs. They must have thought of a good plan because they scored.

_____________________________________

We had plans of going to Price for the Friday and Saturday of Easter weekend. My parents, the boys and I set out on Friday morning, but ran into a accident that had the road closed. We waited eventually turned around to head home. The boys, Cy imparticular, was VERY disappointed. So was I. He loves to go visit all the family in Price and stay at Pam's house. A few highlights; Pam's kisses, turkey and hot tub. As well as some quality time with Darek.

When I told Nolan how sad the boys were we decided to go spent the night at Little America. When I was young, my Aunt Pam and her family would come stay at Little America for Easter weekend. I have such found memories of it, a little vacation 10 minutes from home. I thought the boys might like it to. They did. Swimming is always a favorite past time.

Lovin' Life!!

How cute is that? Cuddled up for bedtime.

Everyone slept well. Cy and I were up and down to the lobby to share a bagel while Nolan and Cole slept until after 9:30! We let the boys swim again and then headed up to the This Is the Place State Park for an Easter Egg Hunt. When we arrived we were told it was held the weekend prior :( So much for that, so we headed across the street to the zoo. The snow storm the day before had left cold temperatures and few animals were out. It's always nice to run around though.

It was a full moon.

We headed home to dye Easter eggs. I love doing this activity. I take it a little too seriously.

Easter morning was nice for the boys. They checked out their baskets and the eggs that were hidden inside. We watched the movie Cole received from the Easter Bunny, Toy Story 2, and I got ready for our annual Easter Brunch with our families.

We found that there were eggs hidden outside after the snow melted.

Cole finished off what was left of the snowman that was built over our so-called Spring Break. Later we played outside, coats on and all with the Super Soaker guns the boys had gotten from my parents. Shouldn't the Easter Bunny always bring nice weather?

Tomorrow is the last day of the boys' Spring Break. What to do, what to do?

2010-03-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

January started with sledding and more sledding. First we went with the Jewkes' Family and Kanani and Maile to a small park close to home. It was the little ones, Maile and Olivia's, first time out. They are so darn cute. This trip was extra enjoyable. Why? Both boys can carry their own sleds back up the hill. One of the first transitions from babies to boys that I did NOT cry about. It was awesome. I certainly burned fewer calories, but enjoyed myself much more.

We headed up to Gorgoza Park for Josie's 4th Birthday. A tradition that we have come to eagerly anticipate. If you have not been there, do yourself the favor. It's great. There is a tow rope that pulls you up the hill and then various sizes of hills to go down. Seems a little safer, have never seen anyone crash and again, it is the lazy man or women's sledding. The Jewkes' rent a warming yurt for the birthday festivities which is pretty cool too. Sledding is the only real reason to have snow as far as I am concerned. Once again, the only boys there.....one day they will appreciate this. Look at those cute girls.

Ringing in 2010

2010-03-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

We did have a really fun New Year's Eve.....2 and a half months ago. We did not have a babysitter, so instead of hanging out with friends like we usually do we packed up the kids and went to, ready for this, West Valley City. A long 7 to 10 miles away from our home. The boys had their eyes on this new hotel that has a big enclosed slide that can be seen from the outside of the building. I decided to make reservations there for a quiet night of swimming. Thought that we would have the pool to ourselves, it is New Year's for Pete's sake. Wrong!!! Me and everyone else had the same idea. Even saw 2 people I went to high school with. That's always awesome to see someone you haven't seen in 15 years while you are in a swimsuit. We swam, ate, swam, watched a movie and swam again. We were in bed by 10 o'clock. Woke up feeling like a million bucks too. It was so much fun. The boys loved it and so did Nolan and I. We are going to make it a yearly get away. Maybe not always on New Year's, but at some point in the long winter.

Look Mom, 2010!

Tucked in and ready for shut eye by 10:00, it was New Year's somewhere.

Soft Hearted Hippies..........

2010-03-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

The boy's are saying and doing the funniest things lately. Most notably is their obsession with whether you are "a hippie, a hobo or a hillbilly." I'm not sure what this means. I mean, at least Cy doesn't cry about it anymore. When he was in kindergarten he came home upset one day because another little boy had called him a "hippie." He didn't know what it meant but he knew that he did not like it. If you have seen the movie Up, maybe you have giggled at the part where the old man yells to one of the people who are trying to kick him out of his home, "Take a bath, Hippie," this has become a family favorite, but I'm not sure where the hobo or hillbilly comes from.

Cole is at the age where I could just freeze him in time forever, although I felt the same way about 2 and 3 years old. As I have mentioned before he is my more aggressive, feisty kid. He is also my tender hearted little man. The other day as we sat in the dark watching TV he wanted me to come into his fort he had built. As he went to lead the way with his flashlight, he flashed it in my face and then said these kind words, "Eww. Mom you like kinda old like that." Thanks Bud, that's not very nice. In his sweetest little voice, "No Mom, I meant kinda pig-ish and crazy." So, I crawled into the fort and pretended to cry. He crawled in next to me and said," I think I am going to have to cry too." The waterworks started flowing. Of course, Nolan and Cy thought his comments were hilarious so they were laughing. After Cole stopped crying, he proceeded to yell at both of them for laughing. He has also cried another time he thought he hurt my feelings, during Avatar and Where the Wild Things Are. The first time I recall him crying out of sympathy was on a road trip with E.T. on the playing on the DVD player. I had looked back to see him looking not quite right but didn't think to much of it. Finally I asked him what was the matter and he just broke down. I had to insist that he finish watching the movie to see that E.T. survives. Anyway, he is really a sympathetic little guy, I just love him.

Then last week Cy had had a nightmare. Apparently, he was still having it when he woke up. He told me, "I'm not even going to tell you what I was dreaming about. It's too sad." Of course, he did and he said that he dreamed that my Dad got a new dog then killed it because it would stop jumping on people (pretty harsh for a softy like my Dad). Anyway, he tried to tell me about it without crying, but was unsuccessful. Cole was listening to this all and then he started to cry. When my Dad got there, Cy was still mad at him. He needed a "few more minutes." Needless to say, I was late for work, the morning started out rough, but within several minutes everyone was okay. Cy loves dogs. I love him.

2010-01-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

I want to order a blog book so bear with me while I get caught up. There's much to catch up about, really all of Summer 2009 for this post.

First up, the Brady Family reunion. This year, the first in many years, we did away with the fancy cabins we have rented and took it back to our roots at Old Folks Flat in Huntington Canyon. This was my Grandma Marge's favorite camping spot and had been the site of many reunions. I loved it. We had so much fun. We painted rocks (many, many rocks), the kids did a scavenger hunt and played lots of games, fished and hiked. We did plenty of visiting and eating and just took the time to enjoy each others company. This year Candy and Jenny, my uncle Rick's daughter's, got to come. That was exciting, I had not seen them for a few years. This is a weekend I look forward to each year.

Me, Heather and Richelle

Grandpa Bob and his kids

All the Little Cousins

Cy turned 7. For his birthday, my Mom treated him to a day at Seven Peaks Water Park. Uncle Mike, Cole and I tagged along. Cy is really brave and was hard to keep up with all day. We had a great time. I love my Cyborg so much. He is so thoughtful, kind and smart. I can't believe how quickly he is growing. He makes me very proud.

We held our annual Skibypalooza Festivities with the giant water slide and lots of our friends and family....and lots of girls. Usually the boys are outnumbered 4 to 1. It my favorite day of the summer.

Cole turned 4. I thought we had an agreement about this. Four is the hardest birthday. They just aren't babies anymore. Of course, he'll always be mine. He is a hilarious kid who is at that age where you just want to freeze him in time. He is our much more feisty child but still has a such a tender heart. He's my precious Angel, just ask him.

We did lots of swimming this year. The boys took lessons all summer long. It was Cy's first year of traditional school so we had a long summer. We all had a wonderful time enjoying the lazy days of summer. Look at those tans too. They certainly do not have my pail skin. I love summer!!!

Rockin' On!!

My Mom scored some last minute tickets to the American Idol concert. Cy and Ashlee came too. We went to dinner first and then off to the concert. It was time for Cy to learn how fun concert night is. The concert was surprisingly good. Don't get me wrong, I love me some American Idol but I thought it might be heavy on the cheesy scale. Instead it was highly enjoyable. I am enjoying the days that Cy is still not embarrassed by his mother shakin' her booty. I was the ONLY one in my section to dance it out to P.Y.T. Cy was precious. Dancing and clapping. Although not so much when I needed him during P.Y.T. He was absolutely exhausted by the end of it but he wants to do it again this year (Did ya hear that Granny?)

Cy, Cohen, Cole and Skylee....cuties!

September brought the Skiby Family Reunion, a first. I used my love for event planning to throw this shin dig together. We rented a cabin just East of Park City. It was really nice to have everyone together. We played games, Wii, watched movies and Nolan and I got to sneak out to the Parade of Homes since this landed on our 12th anniversary. We also spent some time in the hot tub which then had us spending time at Insta Care/ER with a case of folliculitis. Darn it. Good times anyway.

The Skiby's

Low light of the end of summer, Cole's crash. Cole was being watched by an uncle, who shall remain nameless, when he crashed on his bike. Yielding these nasty boo-boos. Apparently he was a brave little man. I wasn't as brave when I got the pictures sent to me at work on my cell phone followed by hearing his sad little voice.

Cole played his first year of t-ball. He was more excited than I thought he would be. Also, he was just such a good boy. I know that sounds like a weird thing to say but we had some super naughty kids on our team. So more than I was proud of his good hits, I was proud of him being respectful to his coaches and team mates.

Finally, the Payoff....an awesome trophy.

It was a great summer...cannot wait until June to do it all over again.

I believe....

2009-12-23T20:08:00.001-08:00

Last night when I thought all was quiet for the evening, Cy asked me to come to his room. He asked me if I still believe in Santa Claus. I explained to him not only do I believe, I know Santa is real. He asked how I knew and I fell back on a precious story a good friend had told me this year. I am telling this second hand so I may have some of the details wrong, but this is how I remembered the story.
I told Cy that when our friends mother was 14 years old her mother was sick in the hospital on Christmas Eve (the real story is that she passed away just days before Christmas, but that was too much for me to explain). Being the oldest of 5, and without her father around, she was very worried about the younger children. She worried that many of the rumors that she had heard from those who do not believe may be proved true. As she settled in for the night there was a knock at the door and when she answered it, who should be standing there but Santa. He delivered Christmas dinner and gifts for all the children, more than they had ever remembered receiving before. From that day forward Santa's existence and magic was never doubted again.
As I was telling him, I had gotten to the part where Santa arrives and I had asked him who he thought was at the door and he said "WHO?" I'm not sure who else he thought it might be but I told him Santa of course. He yelled, "I knew it, I knew it!" He was so excited about the story he covered his eyes and the anticipation of our visit from Santa in only a few days was just oozing from every inch of him.
I asked him why it was that he was asking me all of these questions. I asked if someone at school had chose not to believe. He said no, but that he thought it was strange that some grown ups do not believe in Santa. I told him that I thought that that was sad for them and asked him if he thought they got anything for Christmas from Santa. He answered no and I explained to him that Santa does not bring presents to those who do not believe. So you have to beleive to receive.
Then I was worried that he might over think the fact that Nolan and I do not receive gifts from Santa. I recalled that Nolan and I had asked Santa to only deliver gifts to the kids after he was born because it was more fun for us to watch the kids open presents than it was for us to get them ourselves. He thought that for a minute and then said, "You're a good Mom". Probably the best Christmas gift I'll ever receive.
Thank you Emmalee for sharing what is now one of my favorite stories about the beauty and magic of Christmas.
May your homes be filled with the magic too.

Ummm.....ask Santa about that!

2009-12-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Cole came out of the bathroom yesterday and told my Dad that he really wished his peiner (that's a scientific term) was a "glowstick." Oh, little boys.

Funny Boy

2009-11-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

Today Cole was looking at Nolan's hair and pointed to his receding hair line and said, "Dad did it hurt when you lost your hair?" Nolan answered "It just hurt my pride a little." Cole touched the top of Nolan's head and asked, "Is you pride right here?"

Friday, while showering, Cole was in the shower chanting "BYU stinks!" So I asked, "You don't like BYU, huh?" He answered "No, the BYU beat the Yankees. Papa was mad."

Finally, he keeps talking about a new version of a game or whatever, he just likes to use the word version. However, he pronounces it "virgin" instead.

He's a funny one!

Deer Jerky

2009-10-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

Nolan drew out for the deer hunt in Wyoming this year. He shot this "nice buck" on the opening day after missing a larger deer in the morning...likely story. Nolan had anticipated this for many months so we were happy for him. I do not necessarily understand it, but am trying to like the idea of it because he loves it so. It is easier now that the boys' are older to let him leave us for a few weekends in October. My reward will be when they get old enough to go with their Dad and I get the weekend to myself. Of course, Cy has vowed to never shoot an animal and Cole is already volunteering. Although, I bet Cy doesn't bat an eye about eating the deer jerky. I told Cy he does not have to hunt, but he's going along for the weekend regardless:)

First Days of School

2009-08-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of 2nd grade for Cy. He is very excited about this year and reported a great day. He has a male teacher for the first time, who seems very nice. I joined the PTA board as the Membership and Volunteer member. He's getting so big. I was proud of both of us today, I didn't even cry.

Waiting for the bell to ring. No one told me schools starts 15 minutes later this year. We were way early, a first.

That Coley....so cute. Loves his brother.

Handsome, big boy.

Cole started 4 year old preschool last week. He is going three days a week for 2 1/2 hours. He is in a class of all boys this year. Bless that teachers heart. He seems to really like it this year.

Missed each other for those two hours.........quickly got over that longing in two minutes.

Such as cute little man.

Bee's Baseball Camp

2009-08-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Cy attended a camp with some of the Salt Lake Bee's players. He was a nervous wreck at first but finally calmed down and enjoyed himself and hopefully learned some things too. Thanks to Steph for taking these pictures. She is my personal photographer lately. Her son Christopher attended too. The two of them were attached at the hip and Chris did a great job of taking care of Cy.

Practicing stealing bases.

Nice hustle.

Running backwards.

Line up.

Baseball Buddies hanging out in the clubhouse. How cute is that?

Skibypalooza

2009-08-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Cy and Cole. Having their birthdays so close has actually turned out to be a lot of fun. Every year I am blown away that the time has come and gone so quickly. I cannot believe that they have turned 7 and 4. I can't believe I am a mother to a 7 and 4 year old, aren't I still 24? I cannot say it enough, they are everything I ever dreamed them to be and more. The past year has brought a jack-o-lantern smile and complete loss of his baby face for Cy. He is so handsome, smart and just a great kid. Nolan always ends everything he says about him with, "he is so awesome." Indeed he is.

Cole made the jump from toddler to four year old. One of the hardest on his poor Mom. It seems when they hit 4 they just aren't babies anymore. Cole has learned so much. He is so funny, cute and has a great imagination. Always providing us lots of laughs. He is head strong and outspoken. These really are great qualities, although they can be trying. I love to go in after he is asleep and study his little profile. At this age, it is the only time is is still long enough for me to make a mental image of it. We love him so much and are trying to cherish every moment of these years when he is little.

We had our annual party for their party at my parents. Fortunately for me, they have the only yard large enough to house the big inflatable water slide and always offer to host it at their home. They are such a great help, I couldn't do it without them. They never complain that we burn a giant square of their grass every year.

This has become one of my favorite days of the year. I hope it is something that our friends and family look forward to. I have lessened my responsibilities by ordering pizza instead of cooking. I hardly even decorated this year. Trying to enjoy more of the day instead of spending all the time working.

I am grateful to Aunt Mel and Steph for taking pictures. My memory stick was full so I used my Mom's camera to take pictures.....I think her camera got thrown away. It is no where to be found. I was just sick over it. So the pictures I got from these two was my greatest gift.

Here are just a couple. It was a great day. Hotter than snot, but fun none the less. Here I am getting Kev with a cupcake. This revenge has been a year in the making after he threw me in the water last year. I sought vengeance, but he got me back in the end. Trying his best to carry me up the slide to throw me down. Poor man almost killed himself. I gave up and just slid down so we both could avoid permanent paralysis. It felt so good, I couldn't have been more hot. I'm already plotting for next year. Seems like a good tradition.

Setting a bad example for the kids.

Entertaining Baby Olivia. He loves showing off for her.

We spent Cy's actual birthday at Seven Peaks with Granny Karen and Uncle Mike. It was fun having Cy be able to ride the big rides with us.

Handsome little man.
He was so funny on his birthday. We had decorated the house so when he woke up, he was so excited. He kept telling everyone to look at him, and then he would just stand still in front of them. He was wanting them to comment on how big he had gotten. He asked me if I ould still pick him up, when I did he told me how strong I was to be able to pick up a 4 year old.

Happy Birthday Boys. I love you!

Remember the Time

2009-07-20T21:04:00.001-07:00

So I thought I should blog about this before I forget about it. Of course, never on the cutting edge of pop culture, I'm a few weeks late.
The Boys' were a little obsessed with the death of Michael Jackson. We watched many a MJ video and they loved them. Their favorites were Bad and Scream, never saw the full length Thriller video though :(. I had forgotten how elaborate his videos were, mini movies. So as they asked about why he had died I had told them that his heart stopped working. All this gave rise to a week full of funny comments.
First, Cole is obsessed with our dog, Madi, dying. Often when we leave our house she asks if Madi is going to die today. So that week became "Is Madi going to die like Michael Jackson?" week.
Then one day out of nowhere he told my Mom "Michael Jackson died. His heart stopped working......too many surgeries." He might be on to something, the coroner should look into that.
Then Cy came to me and said this, "Me and Michael Jackson are both kinda weird." Huh!!! "Michael Jackson was a boy when he was born but then he started to look like a girl." Now, I'm a little concerned...where is this headed. "And sometimes I like cheese and sometimes I don't, and that's kinda weird." Whew! That was the best possible outcome. Unless of course Michael's "strangeness" started with intermittent aversion to cheese!!
Anyway, I posted this picture because it was the one that hung on my closet door circa 1984. My Mom let me get it after my cousin Heather had told me about going to the Victory Tour and I cried that it was her and not me, very selfish. R.I.P MJ.

Getting out

2009-06-29T20:05:00.001-07:00

So I mentioned in my last post about what a bad Utahn/Salt Laker I have been by not taking advantage of the mountains that are SO close to our home. So, I decided that it was an emergency situation, we should get up there immediately. We spent Saturday night at Snowbird. In my defense, I have been up Little Cottonwood Canyon before...just not the Big, until last weekend that is.

We had so much fun. We stayed at the Inn at Snowbird and enjoyed many activities. We did the alpine slide, the mechanical bull, the bungee trampoline, rock climbing wall and rode the tram up the the top of the mountain.

The boy's loved the slide. We rode that enough times alone to justify the cost of the all day pass. Of course, we had to race every time. I had won each run so Nolan's competitiveness got the best of him and he crashed. Being the good Dad that he is, he sacrificed himself for Cole. He has a disgusting burn on his elbow. Luckily he was wearing jeans because they are actually black from being burned by the friction. What a show off!! Not too be out done, I took a spill the next trip down. I fared better physically, but of course made sure I had an audience for my tumble. I probably could have gotten up faster had I not been trying to give the thumbs up to the poor gentlemen whom I scared the tar out of. This is par for the course for me though. I think I've fallen off more than successfully completing the slide. Luckily, the kids were intacted.

After a few rounds on the slide we took the tram up to the top of the mountain. The top is 11,000 feet. It was freezing up there. There was still quite a bit of snow and fresh tracks on some of the areas from the skiers. Skiing in June. We took a little hike, threw some rocks and chased some squirrels. It was so beautiful up there.

We headed back to the hotel to swim and realized we forgot all the swim gear. The beauty of this resort is that I asked my mom and she kindly obliged meeting Nolan half way to pick up our stuff and it only took about half hour round trip for Nolan to get back. Crisis adverted, Thanks Mom!!

The boys loved swimming. It was so nice. The water was a little chilly but the view was gorgeous. Then we did some more sliding and then it was off to bed for the boys while Nolan and I star gazed on the balcony. It was lovely stay-cation indeed.

How cute is this picture?

Beautiful views

Look at all that snow. We had a snowball fight.

Top of the World

Cole looked so cute and little in his harness.

This is the only photo were he does not look absolutely terrified.

The river was moving so fast. It was just beautiful but horrifying to have the boys even close to. This picture of the boys is totally staged by Cy who stuck this pose and kept it until I took a photo. Love that kid.

Father's Day

2009-06-29T19:29:00.001-07:00

We tried our best to make Father's Day nice. We let Nolan sleep in and Cy and I made a fried egg and bacon breakfast for Nolan (the first time I've ever made fried eggs by the way). Cy was excited to help. Cole was eager to play Wii and then eat bacon. The boys had made Nolan some beautiful art at Granny's house and were eager to give him his Spider man card.

We had a fine day, just relaxing and then took a drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I am the worst Utahn/Salt Laker ever. I had never been up there before. It is truly ridiculous. Beautiful, just beautiful! I cannot believe I have had this gorgeousness right here my whole life and never take advantage of it. Now I am a little obsessed. It was fun looking around.

There was an incident though. One of the two kids had some tummy trouble that was leaving little warning between upset stomach and getting to the bathroom. We pulled off to do a little hike and he had to go to the bathroom. There was an outhouse, good fortune right? We were third in line and he couldn't wait. We made a mad dash to the woods. I told him to just go ahead, apparently he had never pooped in the woods before and it did not go well. Standing perfectly erect, he let it go. It was everywhere!!! I had to leave him standing out there alone while I ran back to the car for a towel and a blanket. To add insult to injury, it started to pour rain. Poor little buddy. It was all left for me though. Nolan was non the wiser as he had jumped in the car to seek shelter thinking that we were in the outhouse. Probably the best Father's Day gift Nolan ever received.

Go Angels!!!

2009-06-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

This was Cy's first "real" season of baseball. He played in the 7-8 year old league, which is machine pitch. Nolan helped coach and Cy had a great season. It was so much fun to see how far he came in a short time. He was the youngest on the team, but fared well. He played third base most often, caught a little bit, until took a ball too hard and was quickly over that. I think he really enjoyed it. I know I did. I like to sit out on a chair away from all the other parents. I have too big a mouth to get too close. I was proud of my good behavior throughout the season. Here are some adorable pictures of the lcute ittle leaguer.

How cute is that?

The crack of the bat

Congrats on a in the park home run

So excited

Cy and Cole made some great friends too.

Take a Hike

2009-06-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

I just thought these were some cute pictures from a hike we took up Lamb's Canyon on Memorial weekend. We had never been up there before. We saw 2 deer on our hike and decided we really need to buy a cabin in that Canyon. It would be so nice to "escape" 25 minutes away. I'll start saving my pennies.

End of School Programs

2009-06-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

Cy and Cole both had end of the year programs and both were very cute. Cy was singing his little heart out as you can see from the pictures below. Cole...not so much.
Cy is finishing out the first grade. I just cannot believe it. He has loved school this year. His program had many fun songs that highlighted things they had learned such as the water cycle, the continents, months of the year, etc. Cy loves this stuff, although he is always a nervous wreck prior to it. Cute kids!

Cole just finished his first year of pre-school. He has learned so much. I think that occasionally I do not give him enough credit, being my baby, I hold him back. This age is just so cute. Cole was singing, although not giving it 100%. He has enjoyed school this year...mostly. He is looking forward to the summer break. His teacher is so sweet and helped him adjust and learn many new and exciting things. He was the youngest in his class by several months, we are proud of him.

Singing a silly song that required some floor time.

Five Little Speckled Frogs

I'm not sure what was going on here.

With so much Drama in the LBC, it's kinda hard being S-K-I- just one B

2009-06-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten to blog about our last night in California. It was the most memorable for sure.
We left Disneyland later than we had hoped. We left at eight o'clock and still needed to eat and get to Long Beach. This, as I have mentioned before, was with Cole in pee soaked pants after waiting too long in line for Splash Mountain. I may, or may not have given him the go ahead to pee in his pants after they had become wet on the ride. I can't recall.
Anyway, we got there in a timely enough manner, then got lost for 15 minutes or so. I was getting the panics. The LBC has been hard for Snoop Dogg at times, I thought it might eat the Skiby's for lunch. Anyway, crisis adverted, we found our way to our hotel which was as close to the airport as I had hoped so I was happy. We checked in, getting situated for our 7:00 am departure the next morning, set the alarm for 5:15 (yikes)...getting ready is taking forever, back and forth to the car a million times. Nolan needs to get gas in the rental car so that they do not charge us $7.99 a gallon. I kiss him goodbye and he mentions his fear of his unknown surroundings, something I had given no thought but now I'm really worried about. Making the fear even greater is his terrible sense of direction., he wanders off singing some Gin and Juice. This task takes forever, I get worried, I call to check on him and he is not answering his cell phone! Now I'm about to cry.... finally he's back, too much luggage to answer the phone.
In the room, Cole's picking on Cy who's already fallen asleep, they both start to cry. I throw Cy in bed with Nolan (a wise choice as you will learn in a moment - and super random, I hate to sleep with my kids) and climb in bed to settle Cole down. It's after ten now, at least an hour and a half later then I wanted us to get to bed.
Everyone is quiet and settled until about 10:30 when I hear Cy puking all over the bed....thank goodness I had put him in bed with Nolan. He puked ALL over the bed, the bedding, the sheets, Nolan, his pj's, himself. I clean him up while Nolan goes down and gets new bedding. I make the bed, Nolan takes a shower. Let's try this again.
Ok, all's well until 11:15 when Cole sits up in bed and I grab the garbage can thinking he is going to puke and smack him in the face with it, bringing him to a full melt down. Apparently, he was just rolling over. Whoops! Now he is crying and crying and crying some more. I takes me a good 20 minutes to get him calmed down. Worrying about waking the people next to us the entire time. Finally he falls back to sleep.
All is quiet (expect for the horribly squeaky double beds we are sleeping in that are rock hard and very noisy) until about 11:45ish when the stinking fire detector starts beeping and flashing because the battery is low. This cannot be happening!! We tried to ignore this for about a half an hour. Nolan gives in and goes to the front desk, gets a 9 volt and is trying to install it in the dark on a rolling chair. I come over to hold the chair for him and he sets off the smoke detector. It is blaring!!! Now I have the giggles so much so that I can't hold the chair still, the alarm stops, now I need a pee break. Come back out and Nolan has given up on the alarm, it is hanging from the ceiling, wires and all, but at least it is quiet.
Back to bed.
I had finally fallen asleep close to 1:00 a.m. when I heard Cole hitting the floor, he had rolled out of bed. In a moment that will cost me my Mother of the Year award, I could not even help him up because I was laughing so hard. Poor little buddy.
Anyway, after that it was useless. I couldn't stop getting the giggles and had given up on the idea of getting any sleep. Cole was sleeping crazy, thrashing all around and talking in his sleep.
I think our exhaustion actually worked in our favor this night. I was too tired to get mad about it .
It was all so funny until the alarm went off at 5:15. NOTHING is funny in the 5 o'clock hour.
We had a successful trip home. Poor Nolan, we dropped him off at work on the way home from the airport. The boys and I went immediately to La Puente, we needed comfort food, and then home for "movie night" at noon featuring more Disney, Toy Story 2. After that, all of us settled down for an afternoon nap. That was amazing!
It is a night we will not soon forget and hope never to repeat.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

Being a Mom is the greatest gift ever. I am very lucky to have these little men in my life. I hope they feel the same way about me. I love you Cy and Cole. I am so proud of you.
I am so lucky to have a fabulous, supportive and thoughtful Mom.
I am also blessed with a great mother in law that treats her grandkids like Gold.
Love you all!!

Patiently waiting to give me my crafted with love gifts. An adorable magnet from Cy and a card from Cole. Thanks guys!

Relaxing after eating a delicious breakfast. My favorite, wheat pancakes with homemade buttermilk syrup and super crispy bacon.

I went for a pedicure and took Cy with me. He loved it. He was so cute, quiet as a mouse. Now I think he may be addicted. I thought they might cut me a break on the cost for a little guy, but no. So it will probably only happen on special occasions...like next Mother's Day. He picked my color and he just wanted clear. The technician talked him into a Mickey Mouse on his big toe. It was the only thing that was boy appropiate.

Had dinner made for me at Granny and Papa Skiby's.

Nolan, Par and Mel.

My mom was in Price for Mother's Day. We had gone down for my Grandpa Bob's 85th birthday on Saturday. We caught up with dinner on Monday though. It would've have been better if I were a better manager of time with cooking.

Principle Pride

2009-05-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

Cy had one of his papers chosen for what is called the "Principle Pride" award. Each week one student from every grade is chosen by their teacher to have a school project acknowledged by the Principle in a little ceremony. We watched him receive his award and got to stay after for some cookies.

We have been very happy with all of Cy's hard work this year. He actually tested into what is called the ALPS program. It is the Accelerated Learning Program in our district. After much thought and consideration, we chose not to put him in the program. It was not a black and white decision, and we felt like we have made the right choice for him. We are proud of him none the less. Cy was also the top reader in the first grade. This earned him the "reward" of throwing a pie in teacher's face?? I wish I would have known about this, I'd have pictures to show. He's such a polite young man and a real rule follower. He thought he would get in trouble, so he was hesitant to get the teacher dirty.
I am excited for the summer. Cy's school is moving to a traditional schedule from year round. It will be nice to have a little break from the busy school days and nights. We are looking forward to some "home school" projects that I am planning, swim lessons and some lazy days.

Short and Sweet...the Cliff Notes of our Vacation

2009-05-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

To save you from reading my incredibly long previous post, I thought I'd give you the Cliff Notes version. Our prior visits to Disneyland had always gone as smooth as butta. This one had a ew bumps in the road. Which certainly have become funnier when we reflect back on them.

There were mostly wonderful but a few noteworthy not so wonderful parts.

Wonderful:

Disneyland, itself. Clean, organized, awesome.

The boys were really good, mostly.

Nolan was a good sport and a patient father through all of my planning and anal retentiveness.

Jedi Training Academy, Cy was picked to fight Darth Vadar.

Good sleep.

The Jungle Cruise.

Newport Beach.

The Ocean.

Celebrity home cruise.

Sea Lions.

The Disney Characters.

Churros.

Ice Cream Sandwiches...everyday!

Tower of Terror.

Cheap Hotel and Rental Car.

Running into two people we knew at Disneyland. Little things bring me such joy.

Cole being as angry with the sea, as the sea was angry.

Not so wonderful things (but some are kinda awesome):

A guy having a panic attack on the Pirates of the Carribean Ride and trying to jump out of the boat while screaming, "let me out!"

Goth day. An unofficial event that brings out the freaks.

Hearing the "F" word while in line with your children, having to confront the yahoo who uses the "F" word.

Long lines.

Too many people.

Cole peeing himself on Splash Mountain. We were sharing the same seat.

$42 lunches that are subpar.

Sunburns.

Preteen girls who talk non stop to you in line and ask their grandparents if they can go with you for the rest of the time.

Birthdays. I'll give it to the people at Disney, they are ingenius. That being said -2009 is the year of celebrations. Meaning that on your birthday, you can get into the park for free. Well, this is crappin' it up for the rest of us. It was EVERYBODY's birthday. Every third person had a button announcing thier b-day and they brought twelve of their friends along. I think this is bringing out many of the locals and I want them to stay home.

Nemo. I'm not waiting in line for two hours to do 20,000 leagues under the sea starring Nemo and Dorie.

Space Invaders. Back up from me just a little bit. We are not going anywhere.
Worrying about the Swine Flu
Cole's legs "do not work in California," so he had to be held.

Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, had to get away!

2009-05-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

I hope you will indulge me as I go through all the details of this trip. I use this as my little memory book. I am going to include the Cliff notes version of Disneyland in a later post because this is going to be really long. Feel free to skip the long drawn out version.

We took a trip to Disneyland again this year. I would like to make it a once a year event while the kids are little. These are years that are really magical with them at Disney. I had a patient at work make me cry speaking to this fact prior to leaving for this vacation. She had taken her 15 and 10 year old to Disneyland and had commented on how the "magic" just wasn't there the way it had been when they were younger. She had spent much of the trip missing the days when her kids were little. I thought about this a great deal while we were there and tried to soak up all the moments. They grow up so fast. I watched ungrateful, bratty teenagers who were listening to their iPods instead of talking with their parents and longed to keep them little.

The wonderful things were plentiful. The kids (and me mostly) were so caught up in it all. We took the evening flight to Long Beach and even got the double upgrade on the rental car that I had previously mentioned. Very exciting! We found our way with no problems and then I had a panic when I realized that I had forgotten my noise machine that I run while I sleep. Nolan pulled into a Target without prompting. He knows I'm a nightmare to sleep with otherwise. Thanks, Noli!

Thursday we started out with the courtesy continental breakfast where we were sold a 3 day park hopper pass for $100 dollars by the lady sitting next to us (reg $180) and it included free parking. I was convinced that I was destined to save money on this trip. We headed to the park to let the games begin. We had been there for 4 hours when we stumbled to Buzz Lightyear's ride. Cole said while we were in line, "We are finally here, we are finally at Disneyland." We stuck around for the evening parade, which was fun. Cole and I even did the Conga line. We rode It's A Small World. I think that ride has been open only once in all the times I have been and never when we have taken the kids. While the song does get annoying, it is cool inside, a nice little break. We crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel. So tired.

Day 2 was a Friday. When we pulled into the parking lot 10 minutes after it had opened the lot was FULL. Instantly Nolan started to sweat and rolled down his window. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as we anticipated inside.
The boys were eager to go down to the Jedi Training Academy to see if their would be picked to learn the ways of the Jedi. Cy's enthusiasm caught the eye of the Master Jedi and he went up for training and then fought Darth Vader. It was awesome. Poor Coley tried to be strong but was sad he did not get to partake.
This was the first time that we could almost ride every ride as a family. The only ride that Cole was too small to ride was Indiana Jones. He bravely conquered Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, and the Runaway Train. I think we traumatized him though.

Cole was really afraid of many of the rides there. They were too loud, too dark or too scary. We took him on Pirates. He was hesitant to open his eyes or ears. To add insult to injury the guy behind us had a full on panic attack and was screaming and trying to get out of the boat!! Even I was scared.
After that we ran into a guy, Taylor Kolb, that we had gone to high school with. He lives in Canada with his wife and daughter and we had not seen him for 15 years. Crazy! These things make me very happy.
Next we headed to California Adventure. We wandered to the back of the park and waited for some of the characters to come out. We were very successful. We ran into Handy Manny, Sully, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Mr. Incredible. It was nice to relax and the kids had fun getting the characters' autographs.
Cy rode Tower or Terror twice, once with me and once with Nolan. Cole was tall enough to ride it and we almost let him, I'm glad we did not.
After another full day, the kids were exhausted and so were we. I had to talk them into staying for the Pixar Parade. Mean mom. It was awesome! We saw. Monsters, Inc, Cars, Nemo, The Incredibles, all of our favorites. The kids just wanted to get back to the hotel to go swimming. We went to The Cheesecake Factory, also another highlight for the boys, oddly enough. "Best meal ever" they said. Noodles and butter...delicious! Then finally we went swimming. Next vacation is going to be to Farmington, Utah. It is about 25 minutes away. We'll go to Lagoon (a local theme park) and stay at a hotel with a pool. It'll save us thousands of dollars and the boys will be equally happy.

Day 3 was a day at Newport Beach. I love it there! I see the lure of living next to the ocean. It was overcast and cloudy, about 63 degrees but the boys went right into the ocean. It was frigid...and they could not have cared less. We had anticipated renting a little pedal boat but the ocean was choppy. Nolan told Cole that the sea was angry, Cole then became angry at the sea. He threw sand into it and told Nolan "not to worry. he would take care of it."
The downside to the ocean, sand. Sand is great while your there, but then it lingers and lingers.
We washed up and looked around a bit. We had anticipated doing a whale watching excursion. I was so exited to do this. The previous days reports had listed a few whales, hundreds of dolphins and sea lions. We were pumped, ready to go, went to find the boat and the tour had been cancelled for a burial at sea. Something that would have been nice to know hours ago when we had other businesses to choose from. We settled on a tour of the harbor. It had a "celebrity" home section. I love this stuff, so I enjoyed it a great deal. We saw some sea lions, which kept the boys happy. It was nice to just relax and be on the water for a bit. I would love to take a trip to Newport when it is warmer and spend a few days on the beach. What a great place.
We headed back to the hotel for more swimming, again the highlight of the day, some subway sandwiches, Disney channel and shut eye.

Day 4 was back to Disneyland. It was unofficial "goth" day at Disney. So the freaks were out in full effect. It provided much visual entertainment but also made it more crowded with crazies. Many of whom were not very happy at the happiest place on earth. One precious late teen like to use very colorful language in line for Buzz Lightyear. Are you serious? It's a kid ride and I would not appreciate coming home from Disney with new words in the boys' vocabulary. I had to bring it to his attention. Apparently, according to him, I ruined his fun. This day was the most crowded day by far. We still didn't wait too terribly long for any ride just a lot of back and forth and weaving in and out. We did wait 40 minutes for Splash Mountain, which made me wonder why in the world anyone would go to Disneyland in the summer when the lines are 2 hours long. Cole peed his pants on Splash Mountain too. Good thing it was one where you could pull that off.
We did get to ride the new Toy Story Mania ride, it is so cute. It was worth the wait.
We spent the day, staying much longer than I had anticipated, leaving around 7 for Long Beach. We had an early flight home. Our adventures in Long Beach will require their own post.
It was a great vacation. It was nice to spend so much time together and escape the hustle and bustle of homework, work, school, baseball for the hustle and bustle of Mickey and Minnie.

Back blogged

2009-05-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

So I am terribly behind on my blogging and feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm going to take baby steps.

Spring came with or without nice weather. I was so tired of being cold I could hardly stand it.

Our spring break consisted of Easter,baseball and cousins. A great combination, indeed.

Easter Sunday was nice. We had the whole family over for lunch and searched for eggs, visited and ate. Nolan and I had help from my mom and Dad setting up our trampoline that Santa brought us for Christmas. It is fun. I am struggling to establish rules for it with the neighbor kids though.

Cy is in little league this year. It is pretty serious. It is machine pitch and the first few games were rough, but they are coming along wonderfully. Cy looks so darn cute. Let's face it , that's half the battle at this age. He's been playing third and has enjoyed catching a few games. I think he has lead in his shoes, he's slow as mud (it is said with love). He hits almost every time but gets out at first with great frequency. I'm proud of the way he shakes it off.

Nolan is coaching. I really appreciate the time commitment from him. Life is very busy between games and practices. Nolan is great with the kids. He has so much more patience than I do with other peoples children.

My cousin Heather and her girls came from Denver for a long overdue and much anticipated visit. We have had few visitors so I was so excited to have them stay with us. We had a lazy Friday, sending the kids to jump on the tramp while we relaxed and read gossip magazines. Heaven!

We had two baseball games to go to for Cy, went to Classic skate, hit La Puente and then settled down for a few (ok, maybe several) hours of American Idol for Wii. We very reluctantly let the kids play. Then got busted by them the next morning when they saw we had played until 12:38. I won, of course. Actually, once I sang Heather's part in the finale because I assumed I had won. I'm kind of a karaoke jerk.

The kids played great together. Cole had a little crush on Emma. He told her she looked pretty. Emma and Grace loved playing guns! This made the boys very happy.

Emma indulged me and let me curl her hair and bravely said she liked it when I knew she did not. I wish they lived closer!!

My Peeps

2009-04-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

We had some family photos taken because it had been too long and included my Grandma to celebrate her 92nd birthday. Here are some of my favorites.

This is my Grandma Mary and her two great grandsons. She is a pretty amazing 92 yr old. I think she is just barely slowing down. 5 years ago she could keep up with the best of them. She can still get on the floor and play with the boys. She can't hear them, but she can play with them. Michael and I are her only grandchildren....pretty spoiled.

My cute parents. Those are good genes I have. They have been married for 40 years this past September. They are so good to us, I can't imagine life without them right by our sides.

My handsome brother Mike and his adorable girlfriend Ashlee. Mike is a good, quiet Uncle. The boys adore him. Ashlee is the best one for Michael. We love her, she loves him, he loves her. She is very thoughtful of our family. Boys need girls like that, it makes their families very happy.

My peeps. I love them.

Me and my Boys. The lights of my life.

They are just precious.
This was a lot for poor Cole to take. Too many pictures. He did a good job.

Super Saver

2009-03-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

I am doing this post for two reasons. First, because I just booked a vacation to Disneyland for our family in April and secondly, because there are some of my blogging friends who love a great bargain. I love a great bargain too but I am unwilling to shop around for one. I wanted them to be proud of me.

I have booked round trip airfare, a rental car and hotel room for 5 nights for under $1000!

I know, I should do this for a living. I am so excited. I think Nolan has heard enough about it to last a lifetime. I struggle to spend money on these kinds of things. We had gotten a good tax return but the Scott O'Brien (that's my dad, he's great with money) in me thought we should just save it. Then I thought, this country needs me to put this money back into the economy. I didn't want to be un-American, so I went for it.

I found us a room (it has a separate living room, which makes me very happy) for $79 a night. I googled promotion codes and found just what I needed. I took my room down to $63 a night. We've stayed there before, no frills, but clean and comfortable. I was so excited. It became a mission to find good deals. I went to priceline.com and named my price.... $18 a day for a compact rental car!! I also found a coupon for a double upgrade on the rental. Flights are very affordable on Jet Blue at $49. We also booked the day after some of the Disney price increases stop due to the end of the spring break season.

Take that my coupon clipping friends! I now see why you have so much fun doing this. Granted, I have spent countless hours on this project. Just took time away from my facebook addiction. Cannot wait to go.

Now if I can just find a coupon for this shirt, I'll be set!!!

It Ain't Always Pretty

2009-03-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, generally all my posts are about the proud moments in parenting. Anyone who has children knows that's not real life. So.........
Yesterday, Cole was playing outside with my parents and went inside with my Mom to put on his shoes. He asked my Dad to babysit his stuffed dog, Barkley, while he went in for a minute. My Mom reports that Cole looked up from watching his shoes being tied and declared with disguist "Oh, Sh*#! Papa's not watching Barkley."
Nolan should really start watching his language!

ToP O' ThE MoRnInG To YoU

2009-03-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

I tried to rise a little early this morning to make a fun St. Patty's breakfast. We had green pancakes and milk.

The boys were very excited to see the pancakes, but not so excited to eat them. They kept waiting for the other to take a bite. Cy, always the optimist, was telling Cole that they taste exactly the same...all the while not taking a bite. They were just fine. Cole's pre-school has a leprechaun that visits, makes a mess and leaves some treats and Cy was looking for a leprechaun of their own in his class. Cy kept talking in "Irish" as he called it. Saying "good morning Laddy!"

I had almost forgotten about this, a couple of weeks ago while Nolan was having his nightly gab fest with Cy before bed, he mentioned that Cy was part Irish and Cy almost started to cry!?! When Nolan asked what's the problem was Cy saidthat he did not want to talk "funny," and again gave us his best Irish accent. Funny kid. Today he was much happier about it - excited to tell all of his friends just how Irish he was.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to All!!

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

Surprisingly Enough....All things Girly

2009-03-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

So as the title suggests, I spent much of the weekend doing some girly stuff. It was a fun change from the norm. Nolan's mom, her sisters and their daughters/daughters-in-laws have decided to meet once a quarter for a lunch and craft day. This was my first one and it was a big success. It was held at Aunt Kathy's house in American Fork. I'm hoping to host the next one, if anyone has any craft ideas - let me know. Oh, and make them easy please.

Jody, Cambra and Gayle

Getting serious about crafting.

Gayle & Pat

Gayle giving Pat some friendly crafting advise. After the trouble Pat had with her ribbon, it was much needed.

Briley

This is Nolan's cousin Cambra's baby girl. She's so darn cute. I was lucky enough to play with her much of the afternoon. I had her lying on the couch and was talking too much. I looked down and this is what she had done with her bib. She didn't make a peep though. She is so pleasant. She did not make a peep only coos, throughout the afternoon.

Shauna and Kathy

A hard working Melanie

Melanee did a great job manning the cricket machine....which is amazing by the way. She was nice enough to make everyone's vinyl lettering.

Ta Da!! The finished product

I made mine as a Valentine's Day decoration. They were really fun. Parlene and Melanee did all the labor so that we could assemble them. They turned out terrific.

Kathy

Everybody was able to chose whatever 4-letter word (only the nice ones) they wanted as well as the font. I wish I had taken more photos of the finished products. Everyone's looked great. Kathy made an address plaque...so cute!!

____________________________________

Later that night......

We gathered for Stef's B-day/Bunco. We call it "Bunco" even though we have not played in years, too much visiting to be done. I have realized the older I get how very important it is to have good friends and I have some of the best. This gathering once a month is always greatly anticipated and needed.

Thanks girls.

Emmalee, Steph and Kanani

Me and Tara

Alex, Shanon, Jen and Me

Kanani, Christy, Al and Linsey

Christy made this cake for Steph. We were all very impressed. It tasted as good as it looked too.

My Privilege

2009-03-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

Today, I had the great privilege of becoming the Godmother to Olivia Nicole. She is the daughter of my dearest friends, Tara and Jeremy Jewkes. I was so honored that they chose me to fulfill this big responsibility. It means so much to me to know that I will always be a member of Olivia's life. It is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you so much Tara and Jer.

Getting ready..the photo shoot begins. Tara, Olivia and Me.

Doesn't she look precious. She was so funny during mass, she certainly showed off for the crowd, spotting her Nana and Tof behind us. She giggled and cooed throughout. We giggled when the speaker that announced the baptism and called her Olivia "Jenkins."

Cole, Cy and Josie.
A small part of the big crowd of supporters.

Olivia had fallen asleep during the ceremony but was awaken by the cold water (someone forgot to turn on the water heater the night before). She cried for a second then fell right back to sleep with the cutest pouty lip. I wish we would have gotten a picture of it.
Some were surprised that I did not boo hoo through the entire thing, I was too, that tends to be the norm. Unfortunately, I was far too nervous. As the only non-catholic, I appreciated how much Tara had worked to assure that I would still fulfill my Godmothering duties, but was afraid I would mess up so much that I would make a fool of myself and embaress Tara. Or the powers that be would change thier mind and tell me no. Gratefully, it all went off without a hitch. I didn't mess up, Olivia did awesome the church was beautiful and filled with love.

Sleeping angel.

It's official now.

The proud parents & Godparents.
Jer's brother Rod, Tara, Jer and Me.

Cy and Olivia at the delicious brunch held at the Jewkes' home afterwards. She is the happiest baby ever. After having two colicky babies I am just blown away with how agreeable she is about almost everything. Poor little bug, just struggled with a bout of RSV and double ear infections, but grinned through most of it. I am so glad she's feeling better. The boys think she is a lot of fun. Cy particularly likes to help take care of her. We are so blessed to have her in our lives.
I love you, Olivia.

Just stuff......

2009-02-09T11:21:00.001-08:00

Cy played his last basketball game and had quite the cheering section. Uncle Rick and Aunt Marta stopped on their way to Price from Winnemucca, Nevada and Aunt Pam was in SLC so they all came. Cy gets very upset when he doesn't have enough people watching. I think he loved it. It was nice to catch up for a minute. Cy was so sad that this was his last game. A far cry from how we started the season. He was so nervous that he cried all the way to the game. He is too polite so we had to work on being more aggressive. He did a great job. It was alot of fun to watch the somewhat organized chaos.

Isn't he cute?

Best part - getting the trophy!

Jer helped Nolan coach and was great with the kids. Nolan was very appreciative of his help and input. Thank you, Jer!! and Tara, who gave up her husband a couple of hours each Saturday.

The next pictures are from Morgan Philips' b-day party. They had a girl come who was dressed like a character from HS Musical. She did face painting for the kids, it was a big hit.

Cole chose venom, he thought he looked so cool.

Cy was a puppy, dogs are his new obsession.

Look at these cute babies. Maile and Oivia, they were so funny together and just the prettiest little babies.

A great day

2009-01-20T09:32:00.001-08:00

Cy has been counting down to the 20th of January since November 5th. So today Cy and I sat on the couch and watched the inauguration of Barack Obama. I wanted him to watch as as history was made. He took it all in, asking some questions that I was not prepared to answer. I hope I did some of them justice. I know that he probably won't remember this, and does not realize the weight of it, not even I can, but when he looks back on this time I hope he will be proud to have had it happen in his lifetime. It is wonderful to see the world through the innocent and accepting eyes of children. I loved the commentary about all children actually seeing what they have always been told, that they can do or be anything they want if they work hard. It was a great day for all Americans.

Pre-school Drama

2009-01-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Cole was upset the other day when my parents picked him up from pre-school. Upset that Kaitlyn will not "crush him," she will only "crush Brayden." This means that she does not have a crush on him. Cy asked him later if he was using his "good manners" with her. Cole reenacted how kindly he always asks her. Then reenacted her abrupt "no!" Poor Coley boy!!

Merry Christmas

2009-01-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We started with Christmas Eve at my parents house. Nolan's parents joined us along with my Grandma. My mom prepared our traditional meal of ham, yummy potatoes and such. Delicious! We ate, visited, played games and opened Christmas Eve gifts. All of us were pretty tired, pretty early. Too much anticipation.

The O'Brien Crew

Mike, Ashlee & Boys

Grandma & Grandpa Skiby with Boys

The Boys and their Great Grandma Mary, we were very blessed to have her with us this Christmas after a heart attack in October, she's 91 years young.

We made sure that Santa had a snack to tempt him to come.

Don't forget the reindeer. Cy had made some reindeer food in school. It was made up of oats (for them to smell) and glitter (they are drawn to sparkle). Worked like a charm!

Christmas morning started pretty early. Cole is suddenly an early riser (boo!) and was up at 6:30, it was still dark so the coast was not clear. We waited until Cy got up around 7:15 to get started. Santa left a letter saying that the reindeer were so enticed by the food we left out for them that he had stopped at our house first out of all the homed in the neighborhood. Santa gobbled up his Cookies and took our elf, Ralphie, back to the North Pole. Ralphie had kept watch over the boys each day and reported back to the North Pole each night. We look forward to seeing him again next year.

Showing off some of their gifts.
Night vision goggles from Granny & Papa Skiby.

Cuddly Storm Troopers

Santa brought Cole his own Indiana Jones hat and whip.

We had a great day. This is the first year that we stayed home all day. The boys are at the age that they want to stay and play with their toys and avoid running around. We asked our families to come over to our house. It was such a relaxing day. Norm brought over and made all of us breakfast. We chose a great year to do this as the weather was terrible!! We appreciate everyone braving the storm to come spend some of the the day with us.

The theme of our Christmas was Recession Shmession...what recession. It was crazy. As the owners of the only grandchildren on both sides, we were swimming - no drowning in gifts. I still do not have them all put away and it will take 6 more garbage days for us to get rid of all the packaging. Everyone was more than generous, we are very spoiled.

This is the end of the day, still in jammies. We were happily worn out.

Here is Cole re-enacting how he had slept waiting for Santa.

Thanks for a wonderful Christmas. Each one seems just better than the last. Already counting the days until the next one.

R.I.P. Billy Ocean

2009-01-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

Cy's fish, Billy Ocean, saw his last day on December 21st. Billy had had a previous health scare a few months ago. I had called Nolan to tell him that Billy had died and to stop and grab another one on the way home. When Nolan got home, he came out of Cy's room shaking his head at me. Billy wasn't dead-apparently just playing possum. So Cole got a new fish that he named, Naughty.
Again, it was me who found Billy. This time I knew he was dead because he was white (normally blue & red). Nolan and the boys were out doing some Christmas shopping, I called to ask what I should do. Nolan chose to tell Cy. When they got home Cy was crying and very upset. He's so sensitive. He made me say a few words and then he flushed him. This is the letter he wrote about Billie.

Being the sensitive little brother he is, Cole, told everyone that Cy's fish died but his didn't, he told everyone Naughty is "awesome."

A December to Remember

2008-12-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy December. I am sad to report that I did not "over holiday" Christmas. We were just so busy doing tons of stuff, but nothing imparticular.

Hear is some of what kept us busy.

Cy started Jr. Jazz. He was so nervous the first game. He did not want to play, as a matter of fact, he cried. Turns out, he loves it, just like we knew he would. Jeremy Jewkes is helping Nolan coach, which is much appreciated. Nolan was equally as nervous as Cy, although he did not cry. Cy scored a basket his first game, now he is in LOVE with the sport.

My brother's girlfriend, Ashlee, threw him an awesome birthday party in mid-December. I had a chance to meet all of his many friends. They were all so much fun and very nice. She rented out a little place and there was plenty of food and drink and so much fun to be had. I'm inviting myself to all future gathering. Laughed all night long. I think this might be Mike's first big birthday party. Having a Christmas day birthday is no fun. Thanks Ashlee!

We attended an awesome kid's Christmas party at the Jewkes' home. Santa came too. He was amazing. He made candy canes out of red sugar and hot kid breath, he could juggle and was essentially magic!! I wish I could figure our to get my photos on the blog. Trust me they were cute. Of course, we had the only boys there. I think there were 12 girls and Cy and Cole. Lucky boys. This has become a favorite Christmas Tradition.

We waited in line to see Santa twice. We gave up the first time, too long a line. He listened closely to the boys' requests, so it was worth the extra trip. Besides, we are fairly certain this is not one of Santa's helper but indeed the real Santa. We have held the "Santa is watching" stuff over the boys heads forever - as we were walking away from Santa, Cole pushed Cy. I turned to him and said "are you serious, you were naughty right in front of Santa?" The look of pure terror came over him. He forgot again about 5 minutes later.

Cy had a singing in the round program at school. All the grades sat in a circle and had a special song they sang and then lead the group in a Christmas classic. Cy was chosen to be Donner, so he stood up in front of the group with the other reindeer and shook his little white tail. So cute!Cole seemed to enjoy it too.

After that we headed over to the classroom for the Christmas party. The kids made reindeer food and other fun Christmas crafts. They had a small gift exchange, were Cy became panic stricken because he opened a High School Musical something or other. Luckily, one of the girls, bailed him out and traded him for a cup (lousy kid gift). This next picture is of Cy and his "girlfriend," Grace. It's pretty serious, she has been his #1 of 2 girlfriends since last year.

We celebrated Granny O's birthday on the 20th with dinner and ice cream afterward. Mike scared us by giving her the ugliest, extra large, shiny gold, fake snake-skinned purse. It was a joke, thank goodness. Normally, I would have just brought it and told him "that's horrifying," but sometimes you assume that the girlfriend helped shop. It didn't look like anything Ashlee would pick, but I don't want to scare her away. It was so funny watching my mom try to pretend like she thought it was cute. Good one, Mike.

FaMiLy PiCtUrEs

2008-12-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

I finally gave in and did family pictures, here are some of my favorites:

Car Talk

2008-12-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

We have a DVD for to entertain the kids in Nolan's vehicle, but no such thing in my beat up car. Most days I prefer driving in my car because car time always gives rise to funny conversations. Yesterday, Cole was discussing the whoas of pre-school. His "girlfriend" at school has, as of late preferred, to sit by another little boy. So Cy was telling him that if he wanted her to sit by him, he had to do "nice things" for her like "buy her flowers" and "stuff that makes her smell good." Cole in his very antimated way said "I just don't have any money." Cy replied "well that's why she doesn't want to sit by you."
Then Cy wanted to talk about his old preschool girlfriend. Her name was Kayleigh and she still called him up until late last school year. We were recalling stories about her and I mentioned that she really liked to boss him around; telling him where to sit, what to do, etc. He said "I actually enjoyed that." I told him he's gonna go far in life, already so wise.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with Nolan's immediate and extended family. His cousin Chris and wife Sherrie hosted it in their beautiful new home. It was delicious!! Thanks for the hard work guys.

After dinner we made these cute crafts. The older boys acted as if they did not want to craft but could not resist forever. They took longer than anyone else. The craft was fun and easy enough for the little ones to do.

Mitch won the best tree contest.

It was fun to hang out and visit with the family. The kids had a great time playing together. They think the older boys are sooo cool!!

The day after Thanksgiving we went downtown to see the lights and have dinner. I think I enjoy this more than anyone else in the family. It's a good way to start off the Christmas Season.

Some catching up to do....

2008-12-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have a few things that I have meant to blog about but haven't gotten to yet. I do this mostly to help me remember the precious moments that fly by too quickly and you easily forget.
Little Patriots. This year Cy was really into the presidential election. We had briefly discussed the historical importance of the two democrats that were running. This can be difficult for a 6 year old to wrap his mind around but thought it was at least worth mentioning. He was really interested in all of it. Closer to the election he would report daily who was voting for whom in his class of 6 year olds. This would really upset him. Cy had decided that Barack was his man and if you weren't with him, you were against him. On election day, his class held a mock election. John McCain won (big surprise in Utah). After school when he told my mom about the outcome, he told her " Steven voted for John McCain and I told him; John McCain is not going to end this war." Made me laugh. Cole wanted to be a great American too, so he learned the Pledge of Allegiance. I thought this was cute.

Gratitude

2008-11-24T16:35:00.001-08:00

'Tis the season for reflecting upon all the things we have to be grateful for. I found that I was grateful for so many things that it was difficult to keep the list short, I am grateful for that.

I am thankful for my Husband. He has been such an important part of my life. He has been the love of my life for 21 of my 33 years. I have very few memories that do not include him or his influence. I am thankful for all the memories we share. I am thankful that he is nice. Even in situations that would send the rest of us over the edge, he is patient and polite. I'm thankful he is compassionate. He hates to hurt anyones feelings. I'm thankful he is such a good dad. He has a way of balancing out the situation. If I am angry, he is calm-if I'm too tired, he disciplines. He is a wonderful example to his boys. He shows them the importance of being a good man, husband and father by treating me with respect, loving me, never speaking negatively about me in front of them, respecting his parents and in-laws, by working hard and by being an equal partner in parenting them. I'm thankful for his big smile. I'm thankful for the pride he takes in his family, work and home. I'm thankful he still loves me after all these years.

I am thankful for my kids. Every once in a while when I have a chance to step back and reflect-I realize they are everything I ever dreamed them to be. I'm so grateful to have such good boys. Of course, I think they are incredibly handsome, but beyond that I am proud that they are smart, thoughtful, polite, funny and healthy. I am thankful for the love, energy, laughter and noise they fill our home and hearts with. They are my greatest joy.

I am thankful for our family. We have wonderful people who surround us with endless and unconditional love and support. We have the only grandchildren on each side of our families. This leaves us incredibly spoiled with love, toys and our families precious time. I am grateful that my boys have all 4 grandparents who adore them and whom they adore. They have an uncle and aunt who will wrestle and play for hours. All of them add to our lives and our children's lives in such positive ways.

I am so grateful for my parents and their retirement. This truly is a luxury for me. I am so spoiled. My mom often times takes my laundry home, cleans my house, or has a warm meal waiting when I get home. I joke it is the best thing that ever happened to ME, although it is no joke. They care for my boys while I work part-time. Knowing that your kids are not only taken care of but loved is a tremendous gift. Just the other day, Cole made mention of the fact that I "do not work." He said that I just stay home so I can pick up him and Cy from school. At first I was a little offended to think he might think that I don't do anything, but the more I thought about it the more I was touched by the conversation. He doesn't see Granny and Papa as babysitters but as an important part of his week. That felt like a million bucks, you working moms know what I mean.

I am thankful for my brother and his happiness. I love him dearly.

I am thankful to Norm and Parlene who treat me as one of their own. Who volunteer to take the boys whenever we need them to and are always there for us. For Melanie who is always offering kind words and a big hug.

I am lucky enough to have known and loved all of my grandparents. I have aunts, uncles and cousins who I count among my best friends. I married into an awesome extended family who are so much fun to be around and who are so good to us.

I am thankful for good friends. I have wonderful, thoughtful friends who are a ton of fun. They have a great way of rallying around whenever someone needs it. I am grateful to have a best friend who always has time to listen, never judges, whom my humor is never lost on, who lets me cry when having a bad day and who always crack me up. Women need best friends, their presence is vital to our sanity. I am thankful for Tara.

Health. I cry when my kids get the flu. I thank my lucky stars for their 10 fingers and 10 toes. A sick family member or friend will quickly remind us what is important in life.

Happiness. So many things to be happy about.

A roof over my head. I complain far too often about wanting a new house. I want more space and new this and new that. But I am grateful to have a home filled with love, happy memories and for having a well manicured lawn (thanks Noli).

A job. Particularly this year when so many do not have one, I am grateful that Nolan and I both have gainful employment.

Lastly I am thankful for DVR, smothered burritos, spanx, flats, Johnson & Johnson gentle gum care dental floss, hcg, smooth elbows, US weekly, occasional nights of uninterrupted sleep, day after Thanksgiving sales and the turkey dinner that I will eat tomorrow.

I hope you have many things to be thankful this year. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Oh, Bring us some carrot pudding!?!

2008-11-24T15:48:00.000-08:00

I'm finding the older I get, the more I long for the past and for tradition. Growing up, my Grandma Mary was an excellent cook and one of her specialties was Carrot Pudding. It was a Thanksgiving staple. I talked my mom into helping me make it for the first time. She did most of the work, I'm fighting off a cold and my head is in the clouds today. Cole was being a big helper pushing the buttons on the processor and covering his ears, no loud noises for that one. Anyway, I have always loved carrot pudding but making it may have turned me off. The ingredients are just not right. See photo for grossness.

Here we are with our finished product. I have money on my kids unwillingness to try any. We are spending Thanksgiving with Nolan's family this year. We each have our own things we "require" for holiday meals, so I thought I would contribute part of our tradition.
Needless to say we did cook a batch and despite the random ingredients and less than desirable appearance it was DELICIOUS. Thanks for the help mom and Grandma- who translated her recipe from her memory to paper.

If anyone is interested in trying it here's the recipe, it's actually very easy:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. soda, 1 c. sugar, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 C. brown sugar,(dry ingredients - mix in large bowl, set to side).
Use processor to chop 1 C. of each: carrots, potatoes, apples. add 1 small jar of crushed pineapple, 1 C. chopped pecans and 1 stick of butter.
Stir all ingredients together.
The you can either, bottle and steam for 3 to 4 hours or cover in the microwave and cook for about 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve with rum sauce poured over the top. Hmmm! Good.

2008-11-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

Cole is at that age where I find Nolan or myself saying 5 times a day, "That Coley." Depending on his behavior that day, it may be a good or bad statement. Regardless, he's just funny. After nap on Friday, he was running around in his undies and of course tried to go outside like that. I reminded him he would need to get dressed first. This is what he came out with. The striped shirt was already on. The coat, shark swim shorts and the shoes that are on the wrong feet were all provided by Cole. I have to admit, I never would've let Cy go out like this. I guess you relax more with your second, so out he went. Besides-he was very proud of himself.

Adventures in Babysitting

2008-11-18T08:26:00.001-08:00

I talked Tara into letting me watch Olivia while the rest of the family went to Disney on Ice. The boys were so excited to have her. Cole was irritated by the fact that she cannot walk, but loved it when she showed her "happy face." Cy was a great helper.

Look how cute she is. I really have never seen a baby who is as well behaved as she is. She cries ONLY when she is hungry. This was all forgein to me. My babies loved to cry.

Look at these squeezable legs.

Sunday we went to Maile's baptism. She is a gorgeous baby and looked so pretty in her dress. She was an absolute angel during her big day. Kanani was nice enough to have us over after for delicious breakfast and visiting.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

The day finally arrived. I love Halloween and was so excited to get going. We started at Cy's Parade at School. Cole decided to wear an old Halloween costume of Cy's that I had brought up to play dress up, promising he would wear his cowboy costume for treat or treating.

School Parade

Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue

Yeah, first school parade. Indy looked awesome.

Class Party

Nolan, Papa Norm, Cole and I went to help out at Cy's Class party. There was Bingo, cookie decorating and an arts and crafts project.

He's got a BINGO!!

Cole helped call Cy's lucky Number.

Let's Go Get Some Candy

Remember that promise I mentioned that Cole made earlier about wearing his cowboy costume trick or treating, not so. I had to call Nolan to see if it was a battle worth having. Cole is as hard headed as his mom. I decided, with some encouragement from Nolan, that he should get to be whatever he wants for Halloween.

Making a haul.

Waiting for Trick or Treaters at our door.

Ode to Grandma Marge

My Grandma Marge always had a stuffed monster in her front yard for Halloween. His name was Herman and he was a halloween staple in their little town. He sat in a lawn chair in the front yard of their home to scare the kids. It is such a fond memory, that I decided to make my own "Herman" this year. We bought overalls at Savers for him to wear that say "Gerald", but he's always Herman to me. Happy Birthday Grandma!