Go USA!

Here's Katie all dressed up in honor of the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. She was a loyal fan and spent most evenings watching with James and I. Her top three events were:

Bronze: Gymnastics....Go Shawn Johnson!

Silver: Synchronized Swimming...who knew they could propel people out of the water??

Gold: Women's Sand Volleyball- we LOVED watching these ladies- they were truly amazing!

We also enjoyed watching Phelps win again and again- talk about a superstar among superstars!!

Go USA!! Now we can finally start going to bed before midnight...

Tyler's Tackle

Logan was attempting to show me how he could tie his shoes when Tyler stepped in. Play the video to see what I mean!

Squash Anyone?

Here are the boys with our first squash we pulled out of the garden. I'd say they're growing pretty well! Unfortunately our zucchini ended up alot like yellow squash- or maybe it was the yellow squash that looked a lot like zucchini- those things cross-pollinate with EVERYTHING, I tell ya! :-) It sure is yummy though- even if we don't know exactly what we're eating... here's a video of the boys holding our produce.

"Knot" Easy!

We hit a milestone last week! Logan and Tyler were in need of new shoes, and Logan saw these hiking boots and HAD to have them. They're JUST like Daddy's!! :-) The ones we looked at had the laces on the front, and a zipper down the side of the laces so he wouldn't have to tie them- he could just zip them on and off. Well, after trying them on, we realized his foot had grown MUCH faster than we anticipated and he skipped an entire size and a half! The bigger shoes were tie only- no zippers. I debated this choice, but he wanted them SO badly that we made a deal.

Deal: "I will buy the shoes, but you may not have them until you show me you can tie each shoe 20 times tightly while it's on your foot. We will not take the tags off until you've earned them."

We came home, and you guessed it! He sat down and after a a lesson and an hour and a half of practice (I kid you not- I sat by him the entire time so I could 'check' each of his 40 ties- all the while holding my sweet baby Katie and checking blogs), quite a few knots to pull out (I told him he needed to learn to get out the knots, as that was part of tying shoes), a bit of frustration, and a LOT of determination, he earned them.

Here's a picture of his newly earned boots. (The tags had not yet been taken off).
Here's a very proud Shoe-Tie-ing Logan. Way to go, Dude!

Best Neighbors EVER!

We had the most wonderful treat last week! Our dear neighbors Rich, Lacee, Austin, & Carter came to visit from AZ! How cute are these boys? Austin, Tyler, Carter, & Logan had such a great time!
Looks like they're enjoying each other!!
Logan and his best bud Austin. They saw each other and Logan said, "Austin! You're big as me now!"
Carter was in love with Baby Katie. He just adored holding her. He is so much fun- this little guy runs EVERYWHERE! :-) He signs so much- I just can't believe how big he's gotten!
Miss Katie loved to entertain her guests. Here she is in one of her favorite dresses. :-)
Here's Tyler Bug- he couldn't have asked for a better time than to spend the days and nights playing with his buddies. Each time he woke up he'd run to find 'Cah-tow' (Carter) to play with.
It was a fabulous weekend- though shorter than we originally anticipated (thanks alot, Phoenix Children's!). The boys had a BALL, and I was SO happy to have Lacee to shop with again. There aren't many people you can swimsuit shop with and laugh about how un-high-school-like your body is.... The big boys headed out for a round of golf one of the afternoons, and had a great time, as usual. Good food, great friends, and lots of laughing. I'm so glad we get to see them again in a few weeks!! We were so lucky to live right next door, and we're luckier still that things are exactly the same between us even if we don't see each other every day!

First Fam Hike

"Rocks in the water throw!" (Yoda, you ask? Nope- that's how Mr. Tyler Bug talks!) He loves to "bye bye go" as well- so he was thrilled with the chance to go for our first "Family Hike" at a local park. He loved to walk by the water, and spent the majority of the time near the water throwing in rocks. It was such a fun time. He loved wearing his back pack- it had snacks for him to eat half way around the lake. It was such a great morning!
"Yippie Skippy Arbichokie" This is Logan's phrase- it comes from "okeydokey artichokie". (If you find this phrase unfamiliar, you should give it a try- it's guaranteed to draw a smile. Logan enjoyed the hike as well- he spent the time picking up anything interesting he could find and slipping it in his bag. Then we taught him about poison ivy, so he spent the rest of the hike warning us when we were getting too close to it. :-) Good ol' Logey.
Snack break for Tyler!
James saw this flower, and picked it for me. He's such a sweetheart!! :-)
Here's Tyler trying to copy James as we sat and enjoyed the view of the lake while eating our snacks. :-) His shirt says, "I get my good looks from my Dad." Laid-back Tyler gets more than looks from his Daddy!

Photo Shoots

I tried and tried to get the three of them to smile- I'd usually get one good smile from one child, and then stone-face or sad faces from everyone else. Luckily, James was there. He is great at getting his kiddies to laugh. Even Katie had a smirk!
This is the outfit Logan chose for his first day of school. You'll notice the all blue attire, including his bluetooth sunglasses (pretend, of course- he's supposedly pushing the 'talk' button in this picture) so he can receive messages from his fellow Power Rangers, his Power Ranger watch (came out of a cereal box), and of course his Power Ranger vest (thanks Matt & Heather- you have no idea how often he wears it!!) He was completely prepared to take on whatever bad guys may have shown up at school (even if it was going to be in our kitchen...)
This is Katie during her 'photo shoot.' I used to spend most of my days taking pictures of Luke & Logan & Tyler, and I decided that if I did it with my boys than of COURSE I needed to do the same with my girl!! :-) Isn't she sweet?
Here's Katie with Mommy- she loved being outside- and I just absolutely ADORE holding her! I am SO happy she's here!!