Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Did I say something funny

Our latest adventure is potty training. We are in the midst of potty training boot camp. In some ways it is going better than expected, but you can never be ready for dealing with poop in underwear. I have been very tempted to just throw the dirty undies away. But then I remember that we bought the expensive superhero underwear, and am forced to deal with the mess. Really, the boys have been good. There are been surprisingly few accidents. The boys are really getting the hang of going on the potty, and are starting to tell us when they have to go. Bye, bye diapers!
Kessler and Caulder are a source of humor in our household daily. Lately, Caulder has been fixated on skunks, bears, and monsters. Most conversations end with "but their might be skunks, bears, or monsters". When I go into their room at night and ask them what they are talking about it's always "skunks, bears, and monsters". Along these lines, I have to share two really funny conversations I have had with Caulder lately:
Looking at a picture:

Caulder: Where are you and daddy
Me: In Australia
Caulder: Did we go with you
Me: No
Caulder: Why not
Me: You were not born yet
Caulder: What does born mean
Me: It means that you and Kessler were very little and grew inside my tummy. When you were big enough the doctor took you out so you could live with mommy and daddy.
Caulder: Mommy you ate us?
Me: laugh
Caulder (close to tears): But, you're not going to eat us again. I don't want to you eat us! (Don't worry, I spent the next 15 minutes convincing both Caulder and Kessler that I did not eat them, and we do not eat people).

Going to the doctor for 3 year wellness check-up:
Caulder: Where are we going
Me: To visit doctor Johnson
Caulder: Why. I don't want to visit Dr. Johnson. He's scary like a monster
Me: Doctor Johnson is very nice. He is just going to take a look at you.
Caulder: Well, he might not be nice.
Me: Doctor Johnson is very nice....like Santa Clause. Maybe you can think of something that you can tell Doctor Johnson you want for Christmas.
Caulder: I'm gong to tell him that I want a bear with no teeth or arms so that he won't be scary.

P.S. Check out the older posts back to Halloween. I have finally caught up!

Happy 3rd Birthday Caulder and Kessler



Caulder and Kessler celebrated their 3rd birthday a week early so that grandpa Dick and grandma Dee Dee could be here for their birthday. We had a small family party for the boys with just grandpa Dick, grandma Dee Dee, grandma Katie, Cousin Audrey (and her grandpa - Dave), and Mat and I, of course. They boys had a fun time opening the many, many gifts they received, and eating cake. The highlight of the day was actually Caulder finally giving up his pacifiers (pallies as he calls them). We braced ourselves for a few sleepless nights, but Caulder gave them up like a champ. We had been reminding him over the past few months that when he turned three he would have to give away his Pallies. We had him wrap them up in a box and give them to his cousin Audrey. He would mention them every once in a while afterwards, but shed no tears.
 
I just can't believe my little babies are three. They are just growing like weeds. They had their 3 year appointment a few days after their Birthday, and are both shooting right up the charts. At three months the boys were both in the 3% for height, and are now above the 95% for height. They bring us much excitement and laughter daily.

Christmas Tree 2010

Trudging through the deep snow

Kessler, Caulder, and Owen taking a break

The family

Ryan and Owen cutting down their tree

Mat and Caulder sledding

Caulder and Kessler looking out the window at the 9" of snow in our backyard
We decided to head up to the mountains this year and cut down a Christmas tree. This is the fourth year we have cut down a tree since we moved to Boise. The Morris's joined us this year. We had a great time, and there was a lot of snow! We pulled off the road past Moore's Mountain pass, and trudged through the snow out into the wilderness. After hiking a 1/2 mile or so, we found the tree. After lugging it back to the car, we ate lunch and went sledding. It was a great winter outing!
We have also received quite a bit of snow so far in Boise. Unfortionately, most of it has melted at this point, but Bogus Basin was able to open for Thanksgiving, which is a first since we have lived in Boise.

Hiking in November



Kessler


Caulder studying a cow bone
Although it's been cold, we have had some great days for hiking in November. We have made several trips out to the Owyhee's, up to Lucky Peak, and out around the Treasure Valley. The boys are lowly becoming better hikers. They can usually walk 1/2 - 3/4 miles before demanding a ride on our shoulders. We have been using our GPS unit to find geocaches, which are hidden boxes of basically junk hiding in obscure places. Their location can be found via coordinates taken from the Internet which we input in our GPS unit. The boys love searching for them, and can trade one junky toy for another.
We have also had several visitors in November. The Gendlers visited us in early November for a few days while they looked at houses. We are really excited to have them move back to Boise! Then the next week uncle Chad and cousin Audrey visited for a week before Chad headed out to Rhode Island for his Naval duty. My parents came out for two separate one week visits soon after. It was a busy month, but great to see everyone!

Happy Halloween






Halloween was a fun event this year now that the boys are getting the hang of trick or treating. We started the weekend with a Halloween obstacle course at their gymnastics gym. It was quite amusing watching the kids navigate the gymnastics equipment in their bulky costumes. Sunday we headed over to the Dahlbergs to watch the NE Patriots whoop the Vikings. After Mike was able to collect himself after such a devastating loss, we went over to Harrison Boulevard for trick-or-treating. For those of you who have not experienced Harrison, it is quite the affair. The street is lined with the most decked out houses for Halloween in Boise. One of the houses even had a concert on a stage in the front yard. It is really a madhouse, and I'm not sure if we'll do it again. But, it was still a great time, especially once we found the house serving glasses of wine to the parents.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

2010 Christmas Card

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Monday, October 25, 2010

October










Fall Came fast, and it has been cold. But, that has not stopped us from partaking in all of the fun local fall activities. We started the month with the annual Early-Schultz-Weaver camping trip in Sun Valley. We typically coordinate this trip with the Trailing of the Sheep festival in Ketchum. The sheep are moved from their summer mountain pastures, through Ketchum, and down to winter pastures near Hailey. It was also the peak foliage weekend in Sun Valley. So, the entire valley was beautiful.
The next weekend we took the boys to see their first movie in the theater.  We saw Toy Story 3, of course. We had been waiting until the movie moved to the cheap theaters in case we didn't stay the entire time. The boys were really good, and stayed in their seats most of the time. Caulder is usually more interested in watching movies than Kessler, but neither of them can typically sit through an entire movie. There were some periods of boredom, but we did watch the entire movie, which was really good.
We spent another weekend carving the plethora of pumpkins we have been collecting at various activities on our porch. Then we went to a corn maze this past weekend. In addition to navigating the maze, Caulder and Kessler also got to ride their first horse (a pony actually) all by themselves. 
As the boys near 3 we are amazed daily at their quickly developing imagination and vocabulary. They love to pretend they are navigating the world on their fort, and make up all kinds of silly songs. There is never a dull moment around the house. Now if we could just tackle potty training:)

A much needed break!






The boys got to visit their Grandparents in Portland over Labor Day weekend and through Thursday the following week while Mat and I had some time off. While the boys played at the Portland Zoo, the Oregon State Fair, and The Enchanted Forest, Mat and I did a little camping and hiking in Bend, then caught up on some movies and relaxing in Boise. Although we had to work during the week, we took advantage of our free time. Caulder and Kessler had a great time, and were surprisingly fine with their time away from us. 

Monday, October 4, 2010

Across the country by train!

Even the train ride will wear you out

All aboard

The view from the train - the Colorado River

Camp Ogontz

Denice and Caulder rowing the canoe

Caulder as ring bearer examining my flowers

The Godfrey family

The bride and the nine bridesmaids at camp Ogontz

Mat, Kessler and Grandma Katie

Grandma Katie and Great Grandma Small

Kessler having fun at Uncle Lucas' wedding

Lucas and Delana with the wedding party
Caulder firing a cannon from a fort on the Maine coastline

Walking the Freedom trail in Boston
Kessler on a Water taxi in Boston

Mat and the boys checking out a fountain in Boston

Boston's North end

Buckingham fountain in Chicago - designed by Picasso

At the Cubs game - unfortunately they lost

On the shoreline in Chicago

Caulder exploring artwork in Chicago
The huge Ferris wheel on Navy Pier


We decided to take two weeks off from work in August and travel across the country by train! My sister was getting married in Boston (the wedding was actually in NH), and Mat's brother just happened to be getting married the same day in Philadelphia. While it was convenient that we only had to make one trip out east to conquer two weddings, we unfortunately missed each other's sibling's weddings.
Our trip began with a five hour drive to Salt Lake city to catch Amtrak. We spent a short night at camp Schultz-Early and then caught the train (barely made it) at 4:00am headed east. Luckily we had a sleeper car, so we were able to go back to sleep for a few hours. We woke up in south eastern Utah amongst some of the most breathtaking scenery we have ever seen. We skirted Arches and Estes National Parks and traveled through the Rockies on a roadless route. The Colorado river was amazing - waterfalls, rapids, wildlife, and craggy rock spires. We were also mooned countless times by the many, many boaters on the river.
After Colorado, we headed across the Midwest (mostly at night), then through Chicago, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Riding the train was both beautiful and relaxing. Luckily, we were able to get off at times to stretch our legs, because the entire trip (one way) was 63 hours.
We spent three days in Boston with my sister and her husband. Unfortunately, we spent a good chunk of that time trying to track down Mat's lost bag (yes you can even loose bags on the train), but we did make it to the beach, and the Maine coast. On Friday Caulder and I headed up to Denice and Joe's wedding in New Hampshire along with some of our family and friends, and Mat and Kessler took the train down to Philadelphia for Lucas and Delana's wedding.
The weddings were fun, but very different. Denice and Joe were married at a 100 year old Girl Scout camp-converted retreat (Ogontz Camp), and Lucas and Delana were married in Historic Philadelphia at the Union League - built in 1862 to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. Caulder and I spent the weekend at Ogontz camp canoeing, playing soccer, eating wonderful food, swimming and exploring the 300 acre quaint camp. Denice and Joe's wedding was an all weekend event. Mat and Kessler spent the weekend with Mat's mom exploring Historic Philadelphia, catching up with family, and eating Phili cheesesteak sandwiches, of course.
After the weddings, we spent a couple of days in Boston taking in the sights, and then hopped back on the train headed West. We stopped on the way back in Chicago for a few days. Neither of us had spent more than a few hours there, and were very impressed. We tried to pack in as much as we could, and hope to return sometime soon to see the rest. We saw the Cubs play the Padres, the Aquarium, the planetarium, the Natural History Museum (the Fields Museum), the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower), and Navy Pier. We took a tour bus around Chicago, and a water taxi up the rivers. We had a great time, and were really impressed with the city, and beautiful shoreline.
The remainder of our trip was pretty uneventful back to Salt lake City, then Boise.