Update

It's crazy that we have been in Alabama for close to 4 months. Time flies! I thought I would catch up on what's going on with us.
Spencer is busy with work, school, and church callings. He was recently called to be the Young Men's president in our ward. He was so surprised! I am excited for him. He's such a goofy guy and is easy to relate to. I think he will be really great with the young men in our ward. He is also very spiritually minded and can lead them in their priesthood capacities. So good luck Spence!
I am staying busy at home with the kids. During the day, it's just the younger 2 and I, but we still manage to be busy. We go to story time at the library and do crafts at home and try do couponing. Then when Ayden gets home in the afternoon we have piano lessons, homework and chores.

Ayden is enjoying his 2nd grade year and is assimilating quickly. A few weeks ago as we set up a family board game, he asked "how are y'all fixin' to set this up?" He also "yes, ma'am"s me all the time! It's funny. He has a few "best" friends that he talks about a lot and loves to eat school lunch on Fridays (pizza day). Ayden is also doing really well with his piano. He picks it up very quickly and likes the pieces that have him playing in the lower register! He usually pounds those out loudly. He just finished memorizing all 13 Articles of Faith at church. He has worked so hard to accomplish that.

Ellie will soon be 5 and asks every few days how long until her birthday. She is such a helper for me and plays really well with Tate. I asked her yesterday "Ellie, can you just stay my little girl forever?" To which she replied in a very patient voice, "I could mommy, but I want to have my own kids someday. And I can't do that while I'm little." She keeps herself entertained all day by playing with her princess figurines or make-believe. And any chance she gets to play with makeup, she will take it. I can't believe she will be 5.

Tate is our little man. He's 16 months old and our crazy guy! He's walking everywhere now and loves to get into anything he shouldn't. He has a new fascination with belts, particularly Ellie's. He will wear them all day. Much to Spencer's delight, Tate also LOVES football. Last Friday night, both boys were cuddled on the couch with daddy watching the game. Tate will react to plays and point and talk like he knows what's going on. His new favorite game is "tackle".  But watch out, this little boy glares. And man, you do not want to be on the receiving end of that!
We look forward to fall here with cooler temperatures. The kids are excited for Halloween and we are trying to come up with some great costumes. And we are looking forward to the holidays. Ayden asked me if it would still be Christmas without snow and I assured him, yes! Keep checking the blog for more updates and pics of the kids.

Ape face

Spencer was goofing around with Tate the other night, making silly faces. And he made one face that has traditionally scared the babies in our family. But not Tate! He thought it was funny.

I call it the "planet of the apes" face! And now Tate does it all the time. He'll be playing with toys or walking around making this face.

Sisterly love

After naps, Tate is usually kinda grumpy and only wants me. He takes a minute and then wants to go play. Yesterday after his nap, he only wanted Ellie. He immediately reached for her. 

They cuddled on the couch watching a show. Well, Ellie watched and Tate played with the remote. I think he changed the channel a few times, too. But she patiently cuddled with him.  Good big Sister!

and the Thunder Rolls

A few nights ago we had a thunder and rain storm. Tate loves being outside and wanted to see the rain. So we sat out on the front porch and watched the rain and listened to the thunder.
This is Tate listening to the rumble of the thunder.

He loved it! And each time he would stop and clap after it was done.

Tate also found the rain gutter that was spewing water. Of course, he couldn't let that go untouched.

And here's Ayden doing.....well I'm not sure

A rain dance? Showing off his missing front tooth? His wingspan?  All I know is that he enjoyed the rain too!

Happy Birthday Aunt Dani....a little late

Danielle's birthday was on the 8th and I'm just now posting it. But I didn't forget on the actual day and that's most important!  This year Aunt Dani turned  25 and my kids wanted to make sure she knew it. So they made posters to put up all over the house. They colored pictures and made posters with the # 25 written all over them. My favorite was a poster Ellie drew that had Danielle sitting in a tornado and she drew extra wind around that to show how strong it was. Not really a traditional "birthday" theme, but it came from the heart. And Ayden wrote her a letter to tell her how much he and Tate loved her (apparently, Ellie didn't make the cut).
  We made her favorite dinner and her favorite birthday cake (homemade Devil's food cake with rainbow chip frosting) and we celebrated. Of course, a dinner at our house wouldn't be complete without whining and complaining about the food (they won't eat anything). So in the middle of arguing with Ayden and Ellie, I said "Gee, what a happy birthday dinner for Aunt Dani." To which Ellie said "oh, yeah. Happy Birthday Aunt Dani!" That made us all laugh and put us back on track for a better night.
So Danielle, hopefully you had a great 25th birthday. Know we love you and appreciate all you do for our family.

Still Game Day

As we walked through campus making our way to the stadium, we passed countless tailgate parties and tents and people. It was crazy how big game day was! The women, not all but a lot, were dressed in dresses and heels. Apparently, it's quite a to-do here. And so many people were friendly as we passed them. They welcomed us to the game and thanked us for coming and hoped we had a good time. Southern Hospitality!

at the stadium

We got there early so the guys could watch the team warm up and they loved every minute of it

daddy explaining things to Ellie

We didn't have seats by Stephen and Nathan. They sat directly under the goal posts. We were in the next section over a few rows up. So we didn't see them during the game. We all had a good time cheering for the Cougars. At first, Ellie hated the noise and kept doing this

But then she finally got used to it and at the end of the game even started yelling and cheering for BYU too.

the final score

After the game as we were walking out of the stadium, people would stop us and thank us for coming! Even after we beat their team, they were so polite and friendly. Now that's classy. By the time we got to the car, everyone was ready for air conditioning! It was a great time and I'm glad we could all do it together.