Looks like....

Uncle Tyson! These pictures remind me of my brother when he was a little guy. Not because I remember exactly (he is 16 months older than me) but from the pictures I have seen of him. I always thought he looked like a porcelain doll- and so does PJ. If only I had his perfect eyelashes and naturally rosy cheeks!

Picture Perfect

Most times Brody's hair only looks its best in-person and ends up looking a bit messy and "homely" in pictures. Not this day, he was having a great hair day!!

Such a looker!! I couldn't quit snapping pictures ;) Love you, Brody!!

Saturday at OMSI

We packed up the crew Saturday afternoon and headed over to OMSI, Brody has been there before but it was the first time for the babes. They all had a great time upstairs in the children's science center.

 Evan and Riley started by weighing some bones

 Brody gathered his flock in the Eagle's nest, they were fine until he scared them with the stuffed bird- they scattered quickly out of the nest!

 Can you tell they all like to hoard objects to ensure they get as many as possible to themselves?

 Payton concentrated hard on standing all of the people up. There was a cute little girl at the table at first but PJ's excessive drooling scared them away real quick! Oh well, he doesn't need to be a ladies man just yet ;)

 Brody liked this magnetic geometric shapes and has added them to his Christmas wishlist!

 Evan didn't realize he was in a giant sandbox for a few minutes

 Ev and Ri are 2 peas in a pod- they have a love hate relationship about that....mostly love though!

 Here comes P!

 Just kidding- back in the sandbox

 They eventually got the hang of it all

 Brody shared so nicely with all the kids he encountered at every stop- he is such a sweetie

Riley, hoarding again!

There was more fun stops followed by a walk through the "grossology" exhibit where the boys walked through a giant nose, climbed up a ladder into a mouth and shot down a slide to walk through the rest of the intestine. The favorite of the exhibit was the farting machine- they laughed and laughed, especially Brody. No pictures when we were in the exhibit because it was busy and not as kid-friendly as upstairs- we were all hands on deck and not able to stop for pictures :) We hope to make it back at some point during the week when the most popular spots (the water area and goop play/sculpture stations) are not jam packed. It's easy to get one spot to open up amongst the crowds but waiting for 3 or 4 was difficult! I would have also been ok dealing with one we kid post-water station but I wasn't prepared for all the boys to get drenched in the process. Yes, we have to make sacrifices at times due to us being outnumbered at this age, but I don't think they mind and we try to be as "normal" as possible with their activities but can't always win. It was a good time- we will be back.

Smiley Payton

I usually get a pile of picture out-takes due to various different reasons, none of the reasons on Thanksgiving were due to Payton not looking happy! He is the only constant in all of the pictures I took- smiling bug in all of them!! Unfortunately the other brothers were in no mood to get their pictures taken. They are smart boys- they know when we "suit up" and open the front door that they either get to go for a walk or load up in the van, no one wanted to take a pit-stop on the bench. Oh well, PJ's cuteness makes up for all of the grumpiness ;)

 Evan

 PJ, not smiling yet but still adorable

 Look at Payton's excitement!

 These boys crack me up

 Brody's "cheese" smile, just wanting to get this over with so he can go to Jax's house....Riley wants no part of any of this

 Evan about to crack a smile!

Alright, alright- time to go!!!

We had a great long weekend together, I can't believe it's already over!

Thanksgiving 2012

We have so much to be thankful this year- look at these healthy growing boys!! We had a really nice day today. The first half was filled with football, cars, lattes, and some cooking of sweet potatoes (I will never stray from my mom's recipe except I use sweet potatoes and not yams). And yes, sister Sam- sweet potatoes are white and yams are orange ;) We had lots of family phone calls and texts and a perfect late afternoon/evening with friends at their home. The boys were so good half the time I didn't even know where they were! Every time I checked they were having fun and playing nice :) There were so many sweet people gathered together that I never had to worry. It was perfect. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Sunshine Break

There was a glimpse of rain free weather late this afternoon and Ben and I were able to take the boys out for some fresh air before dinner. They were layered up and getting in some exercise in preparation for all the yummy food we will be thankful to eat tomorrow :) Evan is getting really good at kicking the ball lately (don't be confused by the hats, Ben put Evan's tiger hat on Riley and Evan wore Riley's monkey hat). Brody is getting super fast at running and all three of the boys were hot on his tail! We miscounted the balls we packed so we had another lesson in sharing since there were only 3, Brody was very patient with his brothers :)

All for the them :)

We do what we can, everyday, for these precious smiles, looks and silliness.....yes, dirty faces and all- they are perfect in our eyes!!

 Brody is not only happy that he got a treat but was being amused by his silly little brothers

 Pretty sure Payton was trying to escape the grasp of his big bro

 Evan and Riley playing tug of war and enjoying it (it does happen!)

 Payton always cracks me up

 Evan and his tongue

 Evan showing off his muscles!

 Riley's nose

 Brody dancing for me

 Riley's nose, again

Evan looking just like Brody when he was a babe!

The boys are so busy these days that I have a hard time capturing anything on camera these days, I usually get frustrated because they all turn out blurry, eyes closed or someone starts screaming that I have stop all together. This weekend we stayed home for the most part so I got the camera out more than usual. They are memories of "normal" times in our house that we will all love to look back on someday!

Harper's Park

These pictures are from last weekend, but I am finally uploading from the camera! Looking at them again makes me want to go back soon :)

 Riley and Evan ready to go down the BIG SUPER FAST slide!

 It's so cool- you get to the top by climbing a hill instead of stairs

 Smiley Riley and Evan's new scowl

 Payton loved to watch but took awhile to warm up to the park- he likes to take things in and process his surroundings

 Brody and his brothers making some music

 PJ was happy to share his swing with Riley

 Evan being silly

 P-R-E, Riley was not ready for group photo time, nor was Brody- he wouldn't sit still for a minute!

 Such cuties

 I think they chased each other for quite some time

 Brotherly love....

 enough!

 Nothing phases this sweetie :)

Brody finally sitting...not happy as it was time to go.

The park is new and called Harper's Park but Brody has renamed it Brody's Park and can't wait to go back. We are watching the forecast closely for a rain-free break that we can take advantage of.