Murder Mystery Party

Rob and I finally went to our first Murder Mystery Party this weekend (Rob's mom & brother drove down to babysit--so sweet!)! Rob was Dr. Conroy Splint (no surprise there. I'm sure he'll play "the doctor" for the rest of his life) and I was Katherine Woods, the wife of the murdered man. A few hours before the dinner, I scrambled to come up with my costume. Where am I going to get a bonnet? Watch out Martha Stewart! I concocted this little thing using a few stitches, glue, and staples--oh and the All Bran cracker box you can see from the picture (not quite as obvious in real life) and voila! We were ready for a great night!

Winter Wonderland

Though it came late, it came hard. We woke up Sunday morning with what looked like at least 3 feet of snow on the ground. A blast for the kids, and especially Rob who loved snow blowing and using the four wheeler's plow to clear our driveway and anyone else who would let him. But the real highlights were in these pictures.

Snowshoeing after church

Robbie used mine, but they worked just as great for his little body.


Learning to ski down our street. We rented them for the season so he could practice at home all year long. There's something to be said about learning young. He's only done it once, but he was an absolute natural. Rob learned while still sucking his thumb, and he's a great skier. I learned when I was 20. Enough said. Teach 'em young!


He was afraid to try at first until we promised to not let go of his hands. Within three minutes, he told us to get away from him--he was stealing the slope (or road, whatever).

So what does Ty do during all this? Eats the snow. He grabs hand fulls and shoves them into his mouth saying, "Mmmm!" while shaking his head like it is just too good to believe.

Our Hot, Steamy Date Nights

It was time to add a little more excitement to our lives, so Rob and I decided it was time to . . .

get SCUBA certified!!

What a blast! For the last three weeks Rob and I have been taking classes and going diving, and this Thursday we finished our last class (it is great to have family around to babysit, too). It was a splurge for sure, but so worth it (and we got a screaming deal, too. $150! (of course, the equipment was just as much, but still...)).

Our last two nights were at the warm, and yes, steamy, crater in Midway. Rob and I were both a little leery of getting so deep since we had a hard time equalizing in the pool, but we ended up having no problem at all. Our last day was the best! We went to the bottom of the crater (62 ft.), only realizing later we weren't supposed to go that deep--oops! the water just wasn't the same after that. Rob repelled down the dive line, be both did somersaults, and hand stands... Rob even tried to see if we could just blow water into each others mouths and still breathe (I was a no go on that one). We had a great group, too, so we all came here afterwards for a little Scuba class party. Great memory! Now I just can't wait until Kauai in May!

Football Season

One of the many perks of living at my parents' house is being able to watch BYU games on the big screen upstairs; granted, I hate it too--Rob always seems to "disappear" for a half hour every here and there on Saturdays and Monday nights. Curious, no? Still, it was a great season for us and I'm already waiting for next year! Season Highlights:

Rob took Robbie to his first BYU football game! Our friends, the Maxfields, had extra tickets to the Air Force game (good tickets--row 14, 45yrd line, parking in Lot 1, and seat backs!! Does it really get better?). So Scott and Rob bundled up their little guys (Caden, 4, and Robbie, 3) and headed to Provo. Robbie loved the jets that flew overhead, but especially his hot dog and hot chocolate. He was scared at first because he thought he had to go out on the field and play with the big guys. He fell asleep at one point, actually. A week later we watched Rob play in the Turkey Bowl. Rob scored a touchdown, and I started cheering, "Yeah! Daddy scored a touchdown!" Robbie looks confused and says, "No he didn't. There weren't any fireworks!"

On every other game day, though, we had our own party here. My boys were very accustomed to barbecued brats with rotkohl and chips. Ty, I think, liked them the best!

Hunter Man

He's got it bad. When I first met Rob, he liked football, fly fishing, and he wore nice clothes. It's been 8 years since we met. Now he likes politics, hunting, and he wears camo! After missing out this deer season, he wasn't going to let bird season come and go without a little meat to show for it. He went to Mount Sterling with his brother a few weeks ago and came back with this:

His first rooster pheasant

Apparently that experience only tickled his palate, because this weekend he and my brothers, Daniel and John, headed out to a hunting reserve about an hour away to have at it again. It was my brothers' first time hunting and they did great. Both got a pheasant their first shot (we are related to Wyatt Earp--it's gotta mean something, right?)

Johnny

Daniel

Rob

They knew I wouldn't be too happy to cook birds up (I mean a frozen tender is one thing, but eyes and a beak...), so they brought it home like this:

We cooked it last night, and it was great! Way to bring home the dinner, boys!

Halloween

I think the major highlight this Hallween was decorating our entryway! I was going for a Fall Harvest theme, but Rob wanted the spooky spider webs, so we just did them both and had a blast. These pictures don't do it justice. There were orange lights and spiders dangling down. One of the little girls in Robbie's preschool refused to come into our house because she thought the webs were real!

Robbie was a little dragon/dinosaur this year. He couldn't make up his mind about our ward's trunk-or-treat. He would go to a few trunks, get his goods and then say, "Okay, I have enough candy," and head back to our car. We went through three times before he had actually hit all the cars. When we got home we decided to do some real trick-or-treating, but since most of the homes in our tract are vacation homes, we had to drive from house to house on the 4-wheeler. It was a great new way to trick-or-treat.

Froggy Ty getting pumped for his first trick-or-treating experience.

He LOVED it! Getting and then keeping the candy in the bag was impossible for him. It went from hand to mouth so he had a very loney bag. Once he got the hang of the whole thing, he was just hilarious! One woman opened the door and Ty started screaming with excitment and then lunged for the candy in her arms! Enthusiastic, this one.

And off they go....

Garage Sale Heaven

Saturday we were driving home when Rob saw a sign for a neighborhood garage sale in Dutch Fields. It was already 1 p.m. and the only money we had was change in the car, but it's always fun to look, right? GOLDMINE!!!! I stopped at one house, rolled down the window and asked how much he wanted for this skateboard--Robbie's been wanting one. The man smiled, came up to the window and handed it to me. "Take it. Take everything. It's all free. My boys are out of this stage now." Wow! Lucky us! We drove by a few more places and decided we should probably bring the kids home for naps, and I could go back with some cash. I came home about 20 minutes later with a carload of stuff. And guess how much I spent? $2!!!! Check it out:

They need some paint, but still...free!

This desk is full of letters and numbers--it was my only real purchase ($2) the rest was free.


All free!

And yes...FREE!!! The steering wheel needed to be fixed (it took Rob 10 minutes) and it only works on the faster speed, but the kids love it!

(Not pictured: two bags full of boy clothes!)

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My Budding Artist

Can you see the pig? Robbie drew everything except the tail, ears, and hooves (and that was because he was over the whole pig thing). Still, I was so proud. Save those cards he makes for you guys--they just might be worth something someday!

Logan

This weekend we headed up to Logan for Rob's dad's 60th birthday, but that was only a brief part of the weekend--it was jam packed with fun!

Rob's baby brother, Matt, had his Eagle Scout Court of Honor. I was in the hall the whole time with my loud, active little boys (mostly Ty). All of a sudden, an older man comes out of his office and says, in a totally serious voice, "Looks like your children have a streak of independence."

"That's an understatement," I said with a smile.

"It is your fault, you know." Again--totally serious. By this point I was getting uncomfortable, but who gets mad at an old man? I just bit my lip. He started telling me about his 17 grandchildren.... He stopped only when Robbie ran down the hall to get a drink.

"That one is going to have to go to obedience school."

The NERVE! I was so mad. I went to the Stake President, a family friend, and told him what had happened. Turns out, the man is the Stake Patriarch! (And he has a very dry sense of humor.) Well, let's hope it was that sense of humor and not some kind of revelation that brought on our little "conversation."

Every two minutes, Robbie would say, "I have an idea! Let's go jump on the trampoline!" After so many exhausting hours, no one was too excited to go with him (as you can see from the picture with Aunt Kristen, it wasn't exactly a relaxing experience) so we got out an archery target to serve as his stepping block to get on the tramp himself--whenever he wanted.

Ty loves animals--all animals. Bandit is the Haas family mutt; he's hugely overweight, arthritic, and 100 years old (in dog years). He has been known to snap at the kids if they pet him on his side, but Ty just smacks him on the head all day, and both seem to be content.

Rob isn't the only gun fanatic in the family; he gets it from his father, Robert. Robert's gun case just couldn't fit the ever-growing family collection of firearms, so for his birthday, we got him a Liberty gun safe. We were so proud. We got it on sale and successfully brought it home; we only overlooked one thing: STAIRS! the safe had to go up two flights of stairs in order to fit him Robert's bedroom. After over an hour of thoughtfully maneuvering the 600 lb. beast, it was successfully installed! This picture is of Matt and Kane lifting it into the bedroom.

Ty loved feeding the ducks at the Willow Park Zoo. Robbie was done with it after getting bit by a greedy duck, but Ty couldn't get enough of it.

Wheelbarrow rides after church.

Robbie's tramp hair

We went to the most amazing pumpkin patch where you can go and pick your own pumpkin off the vine; all pumpkins are $2--big, small, green, orange. We, of course, picked the biggest ones we could find. There was also an apple orchard there, too, so Robbie helped himself while we lugged around the massive pumpkins. Aren't these great?

Grandpa and Robbie at the Pumpkin Wash.

Robbie's pick.

Up in the Mountains

Robbie has begun to dress himself, and I must say, I am proud of his creative combinations--not just anyone could throw that together!

I can't believe Ty smiled for this picture--I think it's a first!

This doesn't begin to capture how radiant the trees are right now. The whole mountainside is bright red and orange--its brilliant!

We live next to so many beautiful waterfalls, springs, mountains, and parks, but have only visited a handful of them. Last week, we decided to take the kids to Cascade Springs--it's only 7 miles from our house and supposedly just gorgeous. We all piled into my brother's old truck, Buddy, and braved our way up the rocky road, only to find out that it was closed for road work that day (of course!!). Still, it was so lovely outside and we couldn't help but get out and explore the mountain anyway. The boys had a blast hopping the little spring; Robbie loved all the fallen leaves and a make-shift bridge he found (Daddy fell trying to go across it), and Ty was in heaven finding all the little sticks, leaves, and bugs on the ground. Hopefully we'll get to the springs at some point, but as it is supposed to snow tomorrow (yes, already!) it looks like it may be a few months.

THREE!!!

Robbie is three! We love him so much. He is such an amazing big brother and a perfect helper to Mommy. I interviewed him on his birthday, and though half of these favorites are probably just the first thing that came to his mind, it was cute to get a glimpse.

List of Favorites

Movie: "Lighning Queen" (Cars)
Color: "You mean of markers? Um...green."
Best Friend: "Caden." (They met two weeks ago--he's a new neighbor)
Food: "Noodles."
Treat: "Black ones [Riesens] and Nemenems [M&Ms]."
Thing to do: "My bike."
Toy: "My bat."
Drink: "Water and milk."
Animal: "Um...elephants...and tigers."
Song: "Teach me all that I must do" [I Am a Child of God].
Thing to do with Grandma & Grandpa: "Um...that they give me presents and cake."
Thing to do with Daddy: "Um, just play with him football."
Thing to do with Ty: "Just football."
Thing to do with Mommy: "My bat [baseball]"

End of interview

We love you, Robbie!

No, this is not one of his birthday presents; we were at some friends' house and they had a child ATV and Robbie just loved it, but it reminds me of the type of boy Robbie is--so full of fun and adventure.

Grandma Haas filled a pinata with candy, balloons, bubbles, and toys! What a treat!

Robbie trying to somehow crack the thing open. We ended up just pulling the strings and letting the goods spill to the ground.

Robbie and Grandpa Wilde (their birthdays are only one day apart) and their birthday cake.

Robbie wanted eggs and bacon for breakfast, peanut butter and honey for lunch, and noodles for dinner (it doesn't so much matter what kind of noodles, as long as there is some kind of pasta involved). In the evening he went up to Wasatch State Park and got to fish on his new fishing pole--so exciting!

Swiss Days

Our sweet little town of Midway is home to Swiss Days--a cute little fair of great crafts and food. Half of the proceeds go to the General Missionary Fund, the other half go toward the city boosters, so it is a great cause and so much fun! I decided that I really wanted to embrace the whole experience this year, so I volunteered to make the famous Swiss Bread for a few hours one day, and I also volunteered at the Knochwurst & Sourkraut booth. My parents were in town, so I volunteered them too, and we had a total blast! I can't wait to do it next year.

Mom and me manning the front of the booth--one of us put a cookie on the plate and the other put the utensils on.

My Dad was the Kraut Man--having served a mission in Germany he couldn't have been more thrilled. The kraut fermented at room temperature for 59 days!!!