Tyson - March/April 2016

Well I'm a month late on my every-2-months letters, that's ok though because I'm still writing and it's not December, so I'm ahead of last year's game.

I do admit, however, that I don't have a clue what the story is behind this picture.  I can tell we are on our way home in the car, and I guess you are just being a dork and sticking your head out the window like a dork.  Not much explanation needed there, but you are pretty cute.

In February and into March dad went to Oklahoma on a fire, and we got tired of staying home, so we decided to go to Page and go hike to the hoodoos that are in between here and Page.  You kind of have a bipolar attitude about hiking.  Sometimes you love it, and sometimes you hate it.  I asked you to give me your best "I love hiking" face, and you gave me this...

Then I asked for your best "I hate hiking" face and got this.  I'm pretty sure you lean more toward this one most of the time.

We made it to some of the hoodoos and started taking our tourist-y pictures.

And then a somewhat creepy guy showed up and took our picture and I got nervous so we kind of high tailed it back out to the car without going to the end of the trail.  It was a fun day and a good distraction.

You had a doctor's appointment one day for your dang ears, and Kyler came with us.  I told you guys if you were good while we were there I'd take you to Junction.  I love how funny you two are.  You have the best conversations together, and here you two are discussing who your favorite superheroes are.  You're definitely my favorite 4-year-olds.

I had you try on the smallest pair of baseball pants in preparation for your t-ball season, and you insisted I take a picture.  And then you closed your eyes for it.

We decided it was time to find a new car since the good ol' Escape is getting to the end of its life and not so reliable.  I took a picture of it to send to a friend who was curious what we had ended up with, and you happened to be in it, so you get the picture of the new car in your letter.

In March we went to Grandma and Grandpa Hillier's house the week before Easter to celebrate it with them.  Grandma had filled eggs for you guys to fine, and we had  a good time searching for them with cousin Brody.

And then somehow you all ended up in a dogpile on the lawn making grandma laugh.

The next weekend we headed to Kodachrome to have our Pollock Easter picnic.  You guys had gone up a few days earlier because of spring break, and dad and I met you all there on Saturday.  There weren't as many kids as most years, but you guys still managed to get a ton of candy.

One of my favorite things about you is how sweet you can be, and after you finished getting your candy you walked around to all the adults who were sitting down visiting and offered a piece of your candy to all of them.  Quite a few took you up on your offer, and it made a decent dent in your candy bucket, but you didn't seem to mind at all.  I hope you're always so sweet!

It seems like one of the traditions out at the picnic is for someone, usually Brent or David, to dig a hole.  I don't know why, but it seems to entertain a good chunk of the kids and even the adults.  You weren't loving the fact that it was almost too deep for you!

One of the perks of having a lawn is getting to spray off the cars when they get dirty.  I had just finished cleaning and vacuuming the old car for dad to start driving to Jacob Lake and decided the outside needed a bath.  I trusted you with the hose and you didn't even think about spraying me!  I know I probably won't be so lucky next time just by the look on your face.

After we were done washing the car you took my phone and took lots of pictures of the trees and the swing set and the grass before you made me pose for one.

And wanted to pose for one yourself...

And then wanted one with both of us.  What a good buddy you are!

You got sick AGAIN, and I took this picture to send to your dad.  Your nose looked puffy and your voice was even kind of funny, so I was worried about your sinuses or adenoids.  You've had a rough winter/spring with ear infections and ruptured eardrums, and by this time you and I were both sick of it.

You got to play T-ball this year, and I decided that since I had to volunteer to help in some way I might as well coach your team while I still had the skills and knowledge.  T-ball is about my limit for that.  It was fun...crazy and exhausting and ridiculous...but fun.  You did really well at both your practices and your games, and you seem like you're kind of a natural at T-ball.

Dad helped out at games at the tee.

Nice hit!

Unfortunately every single week you guys were scheduled to have a game it was either crazy, knock-you-off-your-feet windy or rainy and cold.  It was RIDICULOUS.  Five straight Saturdays of crummy weather!  We only ended up playing 3 of our 5 games since the last 2 were cancelled for bad weather.  Well actually we had you guys play against the parents and siblings at the last game because no one told our team the game was cancelled.  I think it was our favorite game!

On opening day after your games we headed for Phoenix to go to a Cubs vs. Diamondbacks game.  Everyone was so excited to go.  We stopped at Navajo Bridge for a quick minute to see how cool it was and to stretch our legs.

We got to Phoenix that night and went to see a movie and hung out at the hotel.  The next morning we got up and drove to my old neighborhood and saw the house I grew up in and the elementary school I went to.  We hit Cabelas before heading to the a different hotel just down the street from Chase Field.

We parked the car and headed to the field.  All you kids got a pizza there for lunch, and we waited for the game to start.

And not far into the game this is what happened to you.  A lot of people don't find baseball that exciting, but I didn't think anyone would be able to fall asleep AT an actual MLB game.  It worked out okay though because you woke up not long before the end of the game and were definitely less cranky!

It wasn't exactly the most comfortable way to watch a game, but it worked!

The Cubs won, and everyone but Logan was happy about it.  We headed back to the hotel, ate some dinner, and then headed back home the next day.

You and Kyler being dorks.  I have no idea what you're doing here.

Cute little catcher just like dad!

Seriously kid, I don't even know.

And just hanging out with your big brother on the swingset.

We've loved our spring so far with plenty of baseball, playing outside in the backyard, and just hanging out.  I'm so grateful I get to be able to spend my days at home with you guys right now.  Summer is finally in full swing, and I'm excited to see what more fun things we can find to do.

Love you bud!

Mom

Logan - March/April 2016

Woohoo!  It's a little longer than 2 months since I wrote the last letter, but not too shabby!

The first weekend in March I took you and Tess and Tyson to page one Saturday for a break.  Dad had been gone to Oklahoma for a couple weeks by that time, and he wouldn't be home for another week still, and we needed to head out of town.  We hit up Walmart in Page to get some groceries and some Lunchables and stopped and walked on the bridge at Glen Canyon Dam before heading to our destination, the trail that leads to the hoodoos.

We made it to these ones pretty quick and took a few pictures before I turned around and saw a somewhat hippie-looking guy there too.  I have no idea where he came from, but he offered to take our picture with my phone, so I let him.  I was only a little nervous he'd steal my phone and abduct us, but he didn't.

The trail keeps going from here, but after exploring for a bit longer I realized I didn't know which way the guy had gone, and I decided I didn't want to end up at the end of the trail with him, so we just kept playing for a while before heading back the way we'd come.

Maybe we'll try to head back later this year and get to the end of the trail, but we had a good time chasing lizards and looking at the cool rocks anyway.

Later that month we went to Grandpa and Grandma Hillier's house to celebrate Easter with them a week early.  You guys had a blast hunting for eggs in the backyard and pasture with cousin Brody.

And tackling grandma and making her laugh.

We had yummy ham and funeral potatoes and all the fixings.

The next weekend was Easter weekend.  You kids headed up to Panguitch a bit early to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Veater, and dad and I came up that Saturday for the Pollock Easter picnic.  There weren't too many kids there this year, but you all somehow ended up with plenty of candy.

You couldn't believe that as one of the "big kids" you had to wait until the younger kids made it to the candy before you could start running.

Earlier that weekend dad got a call from Grandma Lori saying that you had found a pocketknife in dad's old room and cut your hand.  Grandpa took you to the emergency room in Panguitch, and you got about 6 stitches.  Baseball season was just starting and you had to miss a couple practices, but it has healed up nicely, and I think you have a better respect for pocketknives!

March was also the month of your first Pinewood Derby.  Your car may not have done so hot, but you were able to make it and design it with dad, and that was pretty cool.  You've already got some ideas for how to make next year's car.  You have really enjoyed scouts this year, and I think we are both sad to see you leave your Wolf leaders and move on to Bears in June.

We went on a hike with our friends the Shakespeare's to the K-Hill, and I'm pretty sure you guys would have slid down the K all afternoon long if we had let you.

In early April we all went down to Phoenix to see the Cubs play the Diamondbacks.  We were all so excited for the trip, and we left the day before right after Ty and Tessa's games to head on down.  We stopped at Navajo Bridge to stretch and see the Colorado River way far below us, and we made pretty good time.  We made it in time to go to a movie and then head back to the hotel for the night.

The next day we had some time before the game, so we drove around Phoenix a little bit and saw the house I grew up in, the elementary school I went to, and of course went to Cabela's before heading to the hotel to park the car and walk to the game.  There were as many Cubs fans as Diamondbacks fans there, and it was so fun to tease you about rooting for the losing team.  This picture must have been taken before the Cubs won because you are still smiling.

Even though your team did lose, I think everyone had a great time.  We stayed in Phoenix one more night, and you guys got to miss school that Monday as we drove home.  We made it just in time for your first baseball game.

I had to post this to show how crazy baseball makes us.  I think after I took this I added more practices too!  You were in machine pitch this year, and it was really fun to see how much you had improved since last year.  The machine pitch league is for 7-8-year-olds, and since you are young in your grade most of you friends had moved up to Minors, but you never really seemed to mind too much, and being a bigger fish in a smaller pond was fun to watch for us.  You were one of the top players on your team, and your team did pretty well too.

Your baseball pictures turned out great too.  What a handsome kid you are!

You had some great hits this year, and you were so excited to get to play first base almost every time.  Grandmas and Grandpas loved coming to watch you play, and dad and I did too.

This picture makes me laugh.  I walked up to the field after taking Tess to her practice and saw that your team was practically sponsored by the fire guys since all three of them had a kid on the team, and they all showed up to games right after work still wearing their fire clothes.

The rest of April pretty much went on the same way with baseball practices and games and not too many dinners eaten at home.  School was winding down, and the weather was occasionally warm enough to get to start really enjoying the backyard.  I love looking out the kitchen window and seeing you guys out there playing together and having fun.

You've learned a lot in 3rd grade, and I think you have really loved Mrs. Glover and had a good year with friends, but as school winds down I think we are all looking forward to summer with lots of camping trips, baseball tournaments, and days at the pool and hanging out in the backyard planned.

Love you bud!

Mom