T-Ball Fever

Sam has loved baseball since Jeremy first introduced it to him a few years ago. This year we got him in on a T-ball team with some ward friends. He LOVES it...well, I should say he is obsessed with it. The season officially starts tomorrow, but here are some pre-season highlights.

Here are the boys getting their uniforms. Can you tell he's a little excited?

His team is the Cardinals. "That's a red bird".

Here is Sam playing outfield during their scrimmage game. At first I thought he was really into it but then I realized there was something wrong. Not too long after this we had to run to take a potty break. In any case, this is great video of his first experience in a game.

Happy Patty's Day

It's a tradition and the little leprechaun didn't let us down. He showed up and turned our toilet water green (Leah was scared to go in the bathroom when she heard about it) and left shamrocks and candies all over the place. Here is Leah with some of the booty. (I love the chocolate lipstick.) The kids tried to catch him but were unsuccessful, which is probably a good thing since he brought each one a present at the end of the day. Sam got some baseball gear, Shaunie got a dress, Leah got an "L" necklace, Troy got a shirt and they all got some Lucky Charms cereal. We like this tradition and the suspense it brings.

Resting in Comfort

Comfort? No, it's not the nice soft down comforter, nor the memory foam mattress. No, it's still not the bottle of milk, nor the comfy pajamas. It is the 2 balls under each elbow. If you didn't notice the first time, look again. A T-ball under the right elbow and a red foam ball under the left elbow. Troy wouldn't stay still unless he had one on each side. Once he did, it was all peace and rest after that. He is a boy through and through, and we LOVE every minute of it.

Scream Competition

Laughing All The Way

The kids were so funny the other day. We could hear some loud screaming coming from the backyard, but it wasn't the "Hurt" or "in trouble" screams you may recognize as a parent. After checking it out, we found out that they were engaged in what seemed to be a screaming competition and laughing about it the whole time. Here is a picture of them enjoying their time on the blow-up trampoline in the backyard. I will see if I can upload the video stream in the next post.

Jungle Gym Time

Our kids are small and still like each other enough that they love to be together climbing, or just hangin' around. That's what Shaunie, Sam, and Leah were doing when I caught up with them in the backyard.

Sam came into me the other night after he had been put to bed. I asked him what he needed and he told me... "I just can't think of anything to think about."

Sam's Story

Here is a story Sam wrote the other day. It has a definite reference to our San Diego trip last summer. This is exactly as he dictated it to Jeremy. He typed up the first few lines and then got frustrated so I finished it for him. I kept his typing because it was just too cute. Enjoy...

My Day For Moving

Once Upon a Tme There Was a Family in Anothatr Mmth Thaty Are Going To moue / Ohen They Were So So Happy They were So Happy Eeny Day, because they were moving in another month. They were going in a different stat and then their mom and dad knew that state, and that state was California. They say they love California, and then they loved it because they were going to live in a hotel room.
Then they wanted their hotel room to be by the beach. So, they can go there to the beach. They will want to play there when their mom says, and they just ran out with their shoes on and go to the beach.
When their mom says no, they will just stay inside. They thought about it every day. Everyone in their family thought about it and then in the dark they thought about it. That's why tomorrow they were so so so excited to go. Then they went to California to have some fun.

The End.

Our Young Artists

Recently Leah and Samuel decided that they wanted to further develop their chalk-art abilities. Samuel convinced Leah to outline his body as he lay on the ground. That was fun, but not enough for Sam.



After seeing the body outline on the ground, he decided he needed to make it more life-like. He went and drew, what he says are, "every bone in my body." I thought it was good enough to show the world, so here is Sam's skeleton

Another Bake Sale

Our young entrepreneurs were at it again recently. They decided to have another bake sale since they were out of school that day. We had the usual lemonade and juice, somehome baaked cookies with mini cornbread muffins, and a little something else, magazines and books, as proposed by the neighbor who wanted to help. Shaunie thought it a great idea, and off to work they went.

Chugga-Chugga-Choo-Choo

Troy seems to have gotten the same gene that Sam has when it comes to putting things in a row and lining them up. Here he has decided that the table chairs need to be put in order. Playing train with the chairs is fun when Mom is finishing some yummy cookies. Notice the bib, he'll be ready to eat after a hard days work.

Valley of Fire (in the winter)

Our ward had a ward campout recently at the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. The name really defines this area during the summer. It gets temperatures in the 130's, but during the winter, it gets really cold. Cold enough to light a fire and roast some marshmallows while being bundled up. It has some REALLY cool hiking spots. Sam was in awe at how much fun hikin he could do, he was even doing a little rock jumping with some friends. We have a great ward, and even though we couldn't stay overnight due to some prior commitments, we had a fun time while we were there.

Here are Rachel and Troy watching the fire

Jeremy and Troy had fun watching this bonfire rage.

Nothing like singing around the campfire: Shaunie and Rachel with a few good Brasilians.

Samuel and Leah enjoying their view from the rock ledge. Fun times!!

Gitty-up !!!

Troy loves horsing around. He does whatever he can do to make people laugh. Most of the time it is his laugh alone that makes you laugh the most. The other day, Jeremy came home from work and lied down on the bean bag chair to watch the kids play. While he was lying there, Troy quietly climbed up the chair and straddled the new found horse. He couldn't help but laugh as he pretended to ride like a cowboy. That's definitely one of the things dads do best, play horse. Gitty-up Troy!

Grandma Came To Visit

As our family grows, it becomes more and more of a challenge to travel to Utah to see Grandma and Grandpa Haws. Knowing this, it is ALWAYS great when they come to visit us, even if it is just for a couple days. When the kids find out that Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Jay (He's "annoying") are coming to visit, we always by a small pack of Mint Milanos for Grandpa and a special treat for Grandma. Most of all though, the kids just love hanging out with their grandparents. They don't have to go do anything too special, even though we did hit the local Chuck-E-Cheese's for lunch. We love having them come and visit!! As you can see from the picture below, even grandma doesn't mind the slumber party either.