Finishing Touches

Before

Kris and I have been working very hard to finish the backyard. Last year it was a goal of mine to finish, and we would have, but when the Herriman fire came, it prevented me from doing the final touches. Also, there were no good trees left to plant in the fall so we decided to finish things up in the spring. Kris and I spent one day planting trees, finishing up the wall, and Kris put in the drip system for the plants.

After

While Kris and I spent the time working, the kids spent the time playing and I'm so happy about the warm spring weather, because Kyson and Kodi really seem to like being outside. We didn't finish the bark and paper, because we decided to set the money aside in hopes of buying a new awning for the patio, but I do believe we'll finish all that up next year.

I Think Kyson Likes Bugs

The Easter Bunny brought Kyson many fabulous toys this year,

but the thing that he seems to like the most is his bug house and magnified glass. He loves to go into the yard and look for bugs, but then he'd keep them in an open tupperware container. I fear to think about how many bugs are loose in my house. Well the bug house has been such a blessing. We filled it up with dirt, a rock, some weeds, and a stick. I think it looks like a nice place to

live. If this was real estate, I think it would be a pretty nice condo. Since Easter, he's been out looking for many bugs and found 5 or so potato bugs that he put into the bug condo - then Grandpa Tinsch helped. Over the course of two bug safari adventures lasting probably 5 minutes each, Kyson found another 5+ potato bugs, a worm, a centipede he's named Bugsy, and a spider he's named Spot.

He's been taking the bug condo to bed and keeping it on his head- board; he's constantly looking for Bugsy and Spot and even wanted to them to breakfast this morning. Kris convinced him to bring pictures of the bugs rather than the real thing. I'm so glad he likes his bugs. I only hope they stay alive for a while. He'll be heart-broken when they go to that big condo in the sky.

Happy Birthday Kyson

Four years ago, I went through an incredibly painful recovery after childbirth to bring my beautiful baby boy into the world. While he's no perfect child, I love him dearly and can't imagine my life without this precious boy. Sure, he is difficult to understand, doesn't always make sense, and can be socially awkward, he has stolen the hearts of many and hopefully he'll outgrow my previous list. Planning his birthday party this year has proven to be challenging because it seems like everyone is always busy. We managed to find a date that worked for a few, so we're hoping all can come - but it's over two weeks after his birthday. Because of this delay, we decided to take him to McDonald's for dinner and have a "tiny party" with his BFFs, the girls next door. He always wants to play with them and even though they may get annoyed by him, they're such good sports to hang out with him and make him feel special. We had ice cream and sang "Happy Birthday," but that really was about it. The girls were so nice to come over for him. After then left, we opened cards from his great grandma's (big grandmas as Kyson would call them), and then raced off to bed. It was a small way to celebrate a 4-year-old's birthday, but the big party will come soon enough. Hopefully it will be worth the wait for him.

Easter Sunday

Just like when Christmas comes, we milk the opportunity to bribe our children with good behavior by telling them the Easter Bunny doesn't come to boys who aren't nice. For a couple of weeks Kyson has been asking about "the bunny." He even woke us up last Thursday morning asking if the Bunny had come. The Easter Bunny did come to our house this morning, and he

didn't disappoint. It was simple, but it doesn't take much to make little kids happy.

Bright and early, 6:30am to be precise, Kyson woke up asking about the Bunny and because Kodi's basket was hidden under the coffee table, in plain sight, I had to get up with him. So Kris and I rolled out of bed and dragged our tired selves downstairs. Immediately Kyson started

scouring the downstairs for his basket and found it behind his chair in the family room. Of course he was most excited about his cars, but he played with a lot of things. Kodi woke up around 8 and had no trouble finding her basket either. She liked her Ritz crackers and books the most. I bought Kris a grill for the special occasion, but because it's too big to hide, I hid the propane tank with his basket. He didn't even notice the tank. When I told him to go back and look again, he got excited.

After the fun of looking through Easter baskets and enjoying a propane tank, we relaxed to an episode of Glee from Season 1 on Netflix. Nothing says Easter Sunday like Glee.

Then came Church.

The evening was the highlight. Kris's parents came over for dinner and an Easter Egg hunt and it was so much fun. Kyson was so excited about looking for Easter eggs that he hogged most of them.

Even when we'd try to p0int them out to Kodi, she'd get distracted by something and move on. Kyson probably got 3 times the amount she did, but it doesn't really matter - she doesn't really eat candy yet anyway. It was wonderful to have the company of Grandma and Grandpa Bodily. The whole day was wonderful and it's so nice to be able to share it with family.

Day Trip

Even though Kris and I have many things to take care of around the house, we decided that part of our Spring Break time would be spent going to Vernal. Yesterday we left first thing in the morning and drove the three hour journey to Vernal. On the way there

Kyson and Kodi were great kids with a lot of enthu- siasm. We put on a couple of movies for them hoping Kyson would be entertained and Kodi would sleep. Kyson was entertained, but there was no hope for Kodi, and Kodi without her naps is Trouble. We kept telling Kyson that we were going to visit great-grandma, but he kept calling her "big" grandma. I guess he got the concept of "great" but with the wrong context. It was cute.

When we arrived, the kids were so excited. I don't know if they were excited to get out

wonderful and we were served Grandma'sof the car or to see "big grandma." We arrived just in time for lunch. We had a delicious meal with Grandma, Sharon, and Perry. The children wouldn't eat anything. It was probably because Kris, Kyson and Kodi ate an entire

canister of Pizza Pringles on the way there. The food was fantastic and we even got Grandma's famous mashed potatoes - boy they're good.

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting. Kris was visiting with his grandma when he noticed a cricket on his leg. He called Kyson over, who is obsessed with bugs, and asked him to pick him up by the legs and take him outside. Kyson and I went outside with the little prisoner in hand, and then his bug hunting began. He was so excited about the cricket that he wanted to look for more bugs, potato bugs in particular. For

probably an hour Kyson and Kodi ran all over the yard, frolicking in the beautiful weather. Kyson was intently looking for bugs, but was only able to find an ant or two. Kodi was running around and laughing at everything. Eventually I was able toconvince them to come back inside so I could visit too.

I got them inside, but Kris's aunt Sharon is a regular play- ground. Kyson had so much fun with her that he had a hard time using an "indoor voice." They went into the back yard and walked around looking at different things in the yard. She's so good with kids. Kodi even went to her, but she wouldn't go to Grandma. Fortunately, Grandma was very patient and not offended by Kodi's antisocial behavior.

After a three hour visit, Kyson was ready to leave and Kodi desperately needed a nap, but we made sure to give a proper

goodbye to everyone, including Miss Kitty. We piled back in the car for our three hour drive to return home. Surpris- ingly, on the way home both kids slept, but not for long. Kyson slept for about an hour and Kodi only a half hour. Kodi typically sleeps about 5 hours a day in naps, and she slept half an hour. I was shocked that she had mutated by the end of the day. She wasn't terrible, just whiny. All in all, it was a great visit and I'm grateful we were able to dedicate the day to a day trip.

Bug Safari

For a long time now, Kyson has had an obsession with bugs. Lately, though, he likes to go in the back yard and hunt for bugs. He used to carry the bugs in his pockets or carry a handful of bugs around the house, but I didn't like either of those two options so I give him a small tupperware container. I don't like the idea of using tupperware for bugs, but it's better than the alternative. I can't wait until he starts playing on his jungle gym again and doing some other things besides collecting bugs.

To Tumble or Not to Tumble? That is the Question.

Kris and I decided to sign Kyson and Kodi up for a gymnastics class that was being held at the new Rec Center. It is taught by Bailey's Gymnastics and I know they're a good reputable company who knows what they're doing. The class was for ages 1-4 and we thought it would be great to put Kyson and Kodi in the same class. This would be fun for the two of them, and be easier on Kris rather than dealing with Kodi who wants to go play with her brother.

Monday was the long-awaited day and we excitedly took both kids to the class. Kodi immediately started running around on the mats and was loving it. Kyson reluctantly took off his shoes, but

joined the group sitting on the mat in the center; Kodi continued to run around. The teachers led the kids in some stretching exercises that Kyson had trouble following while Kodi ran around. Then the real fun began - They divided the kids into two groups and did handstands, back rolls, forward rolls, and all sorts of fun things. I bet you can't guess what Kodi did - she ran around. At about the last 15 minutes of the class Kyson started following his little sister's bad example. Kris and I probably looked like the biggest idiots chasing our two children around the mats.

Long story short, we've decided to withdraw Kodi from the class and use Hot Wheel cars as bribery for Kyson. We'll see how things go next week.