Gloomy Weekend Turned Bright

I hate those cloudy, cold days that seem to pile up on each other. I just want to bake and sit under a blanket, but I'm married to Rob; he doesn't quite know what sitting still means, and for that, I'm secretly grateful. Such was this weekend--ugly and rainy. Rob saw no excuse for staying in, though.

We started at the bowling alley . . .


Ty scored a 68. Robbie a 58 (though to Robbie's credit, Ty used the ramp most of the time).
Then we went horseback riding! Some horses are stabled just behind our complex, and on a whim, Rob left a note asking if we could ride sometime. To our total shock, we got a call back from the owner saying YES! Rob has his own saddle here, so we just headed over and had a blast. Robbie was very daring--even trotted and rode bareback (on a lunge line). Ty kept explaining that he really wanted a PONY not a HORSE!! Still, he loved his ride with Daddy!!



The next day we headed to a rainy Provo for the football game, where Rob scalped four tickets for $10. We were shocked when the usher led us to the second row on the 40. Each ticket was priced at $83.33. What a deal! The rain stopped at kickoff and the Cougars won!

Master of Two Wheels

Yep! Robbie is a bike-riding machine now. He asked us to take his training wheels off on Friday night--he's asked us to do it a few times before but it always ended in quick tears. Still, he just needed to know he could do it. This time when I let go, I ran next to him clapping so he KNEW no one was holding on. By the next day, he was unstoppable. Starting, stopping, turning, going up and down hills, standing . . . he even tried a split-second wave. It's so amazing how fast they learn. We're so proud of you, Robbbie!!


Oh, and Ty has finally decided to stop flying down the hill without Mommy and Daddy. We're extatic!

So Outnumbered!

I know I rant about this frequently, but as much as I love fall and football season, I hate it. Rob seems to live in a distant world of kickoff times and upsets. I think my nagging took the fun out of the season (I'm such a great wife, I know)but regardless, he made a new goal only to watch the BYU games and check out byucougars.com. No more ESPN. No more cougar board. My life has been paradise this season! Still, he laughs when I get smug about it. "Just wait, Kyrsten, until we all want to watch . . . you're totally outnumbered three to one." True.

Well, it just so happenes, that the ratio is getting much wider. We just found out yesterday that we are having ANOTHER BOY in March. My powers are slowling diminishing. I'll never forget a devotional Sister Bednar gave at Rick's. She's alone in a house of 4 men, too. She said, "I never won! If it was a chick flick or Sports Center . . . it was always Sports Center!" So my future.

We are excited! Rob always wanted three boys in a row . . . it's a dream come true. I'm excited, too. I love boys! Years ago when I was in high school, my mom said, "Kyrsten, you're gonna have boys; you're just meant for it." She knows me well.

Rise and Shout!

We took the kids to the BYU vs. San Diego State game on Saturday, and what a game to see! The weather was great; we won; the kids made it through the WHOLE thing! Aunt Kristen was with us visiting from CO, and Aunt Haley and Uncle Kane made it through about five minutes before Madelyn started crying. Still, it was wonderful.


This is of the boys playing under our bleachers. The secret . . . warm clothes, lots of junk food, and seat cushions. Magic!

Climbers, Jumpers, Sliders . . . BOYS!

Yes, this is my child leaping for his life.





It's their daily bed adventures. They climb my bed (it's got perfect little steps, though, right?) and then . . . you saw.





I thought it was darling when they started racing on their tummies like this. Then they took the skateboards outside and flew down the huge hill of a street. Not so cute anymore--more like stitches waiting to happen.





The tree outside has become a new jungle gym now that Robbie has developed his climbing skills. Ty brings out a stool and smacks at the branches (if we put him in the tree he freaks). This is him and his friend Cole.

It's just a day in the life. I love these little boys.

Swimmers

Robbie now swims the entire length of the pool (around 30 feet)--through the deep end and all! We're so proud of him. He actually is starting to swim laps with Daddy. So exciting.

Ty swims half the length with little motor kicks--no help from Mom and Dad.

We love our little fish!

Oh, but Robbie has to have a mask and snorkel, and Ty wears floaties.:)

Prove Nothing

We're bikers. Well, in a hand-me-down mountain bike with a trailer attached kind of way. Still, we go on family bike rides several times a week and look forward to each one. Well, the other day Rob told me to follow him up this little mountain, and once at the top, laughed and said we were going down (this wasn't a laugh of jest, but pure adrenalin). I looked at the steep dips marked by ATV tracks and hesitated, while Rob charged down the slope with my kids in the trailer!!! Well now what! "I can't" has been deemed a "bad word" in our house since we've started trying Robbie out in the deep end and without training wheels, so I had no choice. I'd barely gone two feet, when my bike slips from under me, sending me skidding down the mountain--rocks tearing holes in my clothes and skin. I curled in a ball, unable to stop the tears.

"Are you serious?" I hear Rob say as if he is completely dumbfounded that someone could fall off the ridiculously dangerous hill. I look up and start laughing and crying at the same time; the boys are totally confused.

I ride home in stinging pain (I have so much more sympathy for my kids with scrapes now--I've forgotten!)--everyone staring at the girl who looks half-dipped in chalky paint.

The picture does no justice. My body is scabbed from ankle to bicep and there is a gash/bruise four inches around on my hip. Needless to say, I'm trusting my instincts next time and proving nothing to anyone.