November 2017

November is here. Tyson was so excited for his birthday this year. We planned a party, but he night before, Tyson threw up so we had to cancel it. We just pushed it back a week or so. We ended up having the Deans over on his birthday and Brynley made a cake for Ty. That was awesome because I don't really make cakes. Then took the boys out to their favorite place, McDonalds. Tyson loves the breakfast sandwiches there. I think he could eat one very day.

This year instead of spending a ton of money going to California, we were able to go down and use Grandma and Grandpa's condo in St. George without anyone else going too. It was so nice to have a few days just as our family and doing the things that we love to do. I think this was the first time that we stopped in Beaver to get a picture on the big rocking chair. I think this may be one of those pictures that we need to recreate in ten years with the boys. That would be so funny.

The first day we were there we decided to do some exploring and go on a hike. I found this fun trail over near the entrance of Snow Canyon. It was perfect for the boys. Nice and flat, and at the end was an arch and a cool box canyon for the boys to play in for a bit.

We spent quite a bit of time in the box canyon eating lunch and playing around. The boys loved climbing up the rocks and they especially loved yelling to hear their echo. The wall around the canyon were a few hundred fee high. It was pretty spectacular. We had the whole thing to ourselves.

Of course we had to go swimming every day. We were always the only ones in the pool, which was nice, since the boys are not that quiet. The hot tubs were more like bath water, so the boys liked playing in them too.

Our kids are almost old enough that we can go out to eat and actually enjoy ourselves. We tried Pizza Hut one night, and we didn't have to leave early and bring our food with us, and we didn't have kids running around the restaurant, or being too loud. It was actually really nice. Yes, we did sit right below a big TV screen that had the simpsons on it, but hey, you have to start somewhere, right?

We went to Thunder Junction again, and this time it wasn't scorching hot so the boys got to play on the playground. I was surprised that they were climbing all over the climbing wall. Tyson was really good and just scaling that thing.

I found out that Tuacahan has a farmer's market type thing every Saturday morning, so we decided to head up and check it out. It was actually pretty cute. There were a bunch of little booths selling all sorts of things from bread, to metal art work. April and her kids came with us. The picture below is the only picture I got of us there. I think we'll have to go back again.

After the street fair, we went bowling. The kids are getting better at waiting their turn and also bowling itself.

More swimming, this time with the cousins. It is so fun to have our cousins down there whenever we are there. They love swimming with each other. Tyson is getting so much better. He didn't use his floaties the whole time we were there, and he's still alive!

I have always cut Oakley's hair myself. I didn't think it would look good long so I would always just shave it off. He has been asking me for a long time to grow out his hair, so I thought we'd give it a try. I had no clue how to cut it, so we went to Cookie Cutters. They did a great job, and it looks great. He has to gel up the front every day now. This hair cut makes him look so much older. How did I get a 13 year old so fast?

Like I mentioned earlier, Tyson was sick on the day of his birthday party so we had to cancel it. We ended up finding another day when all of his friends could come so  had a few of them over. The kids drew minecraft faces on balloons and then we shot them with nerf guns. Then they had a treasure hunt with pictures to end up at the punching box (no pics). Then all Tyson asked for was a donut cake. This is the easiest thing to make. Just stack donuts on top of each other to make a cake. So that's what we did. Tyson is 6 years old now and he is so much fun to have in our family. He makes me laugh and roll my eyes, and scream inside every single day, but we love him.

Thanksgiving weekend we pulled out all our Christmas decorations. I love this time of year, and I love how excited the boys get. I've been collecting Christmas decorations for years now and it's always fun to see what new things I bought from the year before. The boys were very helpful this year, especially Oakley. Dax just liked the Little People manger guys and he loves to play with them on the piano.

I love when Dax falls asleep on the chair, this picture especially because he still has his hand in his fishy bowl.

At Tyson's well child check up the doctor saw some small red spots on his belly, and he had a ton of bruises all over, most of which are just Tyson being Tyson. He was a little concerned so he had us go get his blood tested. Tyson was very brave and let the nurse take his blood. He wanted to do a walk through of it, but I ended up having to hold his arm down a little. The tests came back and he had low platelets, which means his blood isn't making them. This is why he was bruising so easily. The doctor thinks it's just a virus that he has, so we have to get tested every week until they start going up. Hopefully it isn't anything more than that.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I loved it, so we are trying it this year. I got a bunch of Christmas books from the library and wrapped them all. Every night before bed the boys pick one and we read it together. Some of them are fun, some are more spiritual, but they were all Christmas books. I think this may be a tradition every year from now on. I love. it!