Everyday Adventures

We took bikes over to Paul's school on President's Day and then I took Rockwell and Tessa to see The Greatest Showman. It was a fun day!

We've got a lot of snow this week. It was fun to play in it with Tess and Damon on Tuesday.

Why do all kids love to eat snow?

  

Damon wanted to cuddle to get warm when we went inside. I liked that part best!

Damon loves Rockwell's double shot. He shoots hoops any chance he gets, and is getting pretty good at making shots now. Every time he misses he says, "Oh, dang." :)

  

Brig and McKay invited Tessa to a Preschool Playdate. Brig organized the whole thing for McKay and his friends. It was adorable! Here is their class picture.

They did a getting to know you activity, learning time, recess, snack time, and watched a short educational movie. They earned minion bucks that they could spend at the end for prizes. Tessa loved it.

Damon jumped from our ottoman onto the couch, and there was a metal flashlight on the couch. Ouch! Now all three of our kids will have scars on their eyes. Wonderful!

Rockwell had his friend birthday party on Friday. He invited Wyatt, Boston, and Brig and we went to Hang Time Get Air. 

They had a blast. They were pretty much just blurs the whole time, but I did make them stop once for a picture.

It turned out to be a super duper crazy day at work for Paul, so he wasn't able to make it home for the party. Katie joined me at Hang Time, so it was fun to have time to visit with her. The kids loved their rubber chickens from the party bag that I did instead of cake and ice cream.

Al was sweet and offered to keep Tessa and Damon during the party. They had a blast playing with their cousins and aunt!

Caitlyn and Jonah played chickens with Damon. So cute!

"Look Mom, I'm an angel." Haha!

Don't run into this kid in a dark alley! ;)

Rockwell Turns 8!!

Rockwell turned 8 years old yesterday!
Rockwell is really enjoying reading these days. He asked for books for his birthday presents this year. He got 4 new books at the party at Grandma Ham's on Sunday and has already read all of them, along with the books he gets from school.  He hasn't always loved reading, but he sure is now.

Rockwell is a very responsible boy. He knows what needs to be done and he does it. I don't have to ask or tell him to do much. Often, when I say it's time to do his homework or clean up or something, he'll say, "I already did Mom." I sure appreciate that about him. Damon made a huge mess in the basement this morning, and Rockwell saw it and cleaned the whole thing up without being asked. He's amazing.

Rockwell loves to be active. He's had about a month without any sports, and I can tell it's hard on him. I have signed him up for Provo basketball, Provo soccer, Lindon soccer, and Orem track. They will all start one right after the other and he is so excited to be playing something again. It's good for him to have that physical outlet with his friends and to have something to look forward to.

Tessa and Damon adore Rockwell. He is such a good oldest child. When Chad and Ashley were babysitting the kids, that was the first thing they said when I got home. They said they were so impressed by watching Rockwell take care of the little two and make sure the games they were playing were safe for Damon. He still has never complained about Tessa playing with him and his friends. He's an awesome older brother!

When Rockwell got home from school he opened his presents. He was super excited about his double shot that converts into a soccer net, a football throw, and a hockey game. He loves the Hot Wheels race track too. The kids have had fun playing with his new stuff this weekend.

Paul took the day off work so he could do something special with Rockwell. He took him bowling after he opened presents. Rockwell loves one on one time with Paul!

Tessa, Damon and I met them at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Rockwell was so excited for the peanuts. :)

After dinner we let Rockwell stay up late and watch Harry Potter with us. 

It was a great day celebrating Rockwell. We sure love love love him!

Life Lately

There's a cute couple across the street from us that offered to watch our kids so Paul and I could go on a date. They were Rockwell's primary teachers in our last ward and Paul coached Chad on the basketball team when he was at Timpanogos. We took them up on the offer and I went to the baseball banquet/auction with Paul. The kids were so excited to play with Chad and Ashley. That was really sweet of them!

We went to Katie's house for a Super Bowl party. Damon woke up at 5:30 that morning with a kink in his neck. He was miserable all day. We put a neck pillow around him when we drove to Katie's and he finally fell asleep. It looked super uncomfortable, but it must have stretched out the kink because after about 30 minutes at Katie's he said he felt way better. Paul and I had literally held him for 12 hours straight because he would scream in pain anytime he tried to support his own head. He started out eating dinner sitting by himself with his neck turned toward his shoulder, and eventually was running around playing. It was such a relief when he felt better!

  

Big news for Tessa last week. She started reading the Sam books and is doing great so far! She was excited to show Paul her new skills when he came home.

We did a girls night for my mom's birthday at my house. We got dinner and played games. It was such a fun night. Rockwell and Tessa loved showing off for everyone and playing Telestrations with us.

We celebrated the February birthdays with the Ham Fam. Rockwell was thrilled with all his new books and presents.

  

At the last family dinner Al saw a picture of my dad and me on the bookshelf in Dad's den, which turned into a debate on whether I'm Dad's favorite child. :) I looked through my scrapbooks and found 7 more pictures of my dad and me and placed them all around my Dad's bookshelves. I asked him to take Al in his den and talk to her, hoping she would notice all the pictures. My mom and I had our ears to the den door waiting for her reaction. It was great! She cut him off mid-sentence saying, "Wait! You have tons of pictures of Tiff. Oh my gosh, you have 5...6...7?!?! She's totally your favorite!" We were laughing so hard. The prank turned out just like I was hoping. Haha!

We went to Jon and Buffie's house last weekend. We haven't seen them in a while, and the kids were so excited to play with Olivia again!

Paul is reading Wonder to Rockwell and he is loving the book! It was so fun to listen to them laughing their heads off together.

Al and Katie were over playing last week. Damon snuggled up to Al and cuddled for a good 30 minutes. It was adorable!

I sure love the times when all three kids play well together. 

Paul made Valentine's Day great again this year. He made us crepes for breakfast, coconut shrimp and  Red Lobster biscuits for dinner, and peanut butter pie for dessert. Making it so I only have to make one meal for the day is a fabulous way to show me love. Thanks sweetie!

Tessa sure loves playing with EJ. She's turned into his little buddy and I think it's adorable.

I just want to squish Damon's face in this picture. So stinkin' cute!

Tessa has been our cuddly sweetheart lately. She gives us a hundred hugs a day and is always telling us that she loves us and we're the best parents in the world. Love it.