Youth Conference

The first weekend of March Caleb and Connor were able to go to youth conference.  It was held in Alamo which is about an hour and half from here.  This is the first youth conference for both of these boys.  They left here about 4 and then met up with the kids from the Alamo area, had a dinner of Hawaiian haystacks, and then held a big combined "sock hop".  The kids all took their shoes off and got to dance in their socks.  I heard it was an incredibly stinky gym that night!  The girls from the stake slept at the church and the boys slept out at the church farm where they were going to have a big service project the next day.  After a breakfast of cereal, breakfast and fruit the real work began. They were all given bright blue t-shirts with the theme of Stand Ye in Holy Places and Be Not Moved on it.  There was brush to cut and haul, barbed wire fencing to move, trees to trim and piles of weeds to burn.  They had a lunch of sandwiches and chips and the kept right on working until about 1:30 in the afternoon.  There was some horsing around going on with all those kids and all that open space!  There were also a few injuries but luckily not our boys!  Connor supervised most of the burning and that was right up his alley!.  Connor actually didn't go up until Saturday morning and he got the great privilege to ride up with our stake president and one of his counselors.  We had two extremely tired and very very dirty boys that came home that afternoon.  I don't have any pictures of them though because I didn't go!  Bummer!

Welcome Home

Cody came home on medical release from his mission on February 25.  It was quite a surprise since we really didn't know anything was wrong until February 5 and even after that we thought things were ok until we got the call from the Stake President the week before he came home saying it was imminent.  We picked him up from the airport on Monday afternoon.  We took him to lunch a Brio and then came home.  The boys met him in the garage and were clapping for him when he got out of the car.  Grandma Dottie picked up some balloons and Connor made him a Welcome Home sign.  It wasn't the longest mission in the world but he serve faithfully and obediently.  He wants to go back out but he has atleast 6 months before that can even be discussed and it may not happen at all.  We are all at peace with the situation and we are putting our faith in the Lord that He is in charge.  Cody got a calling the first weekend he was back as a ward missionary and has been able to teach the Gospel Essentials Sunday School class and go out with the missionaries several times.  He also has taught Elder's Quorum as a sub and was asked to be their on call sub.  He likes to teach and he does a good job.  This was all unexpected but we just keep on moving forward.  We are glad that he is home and working on getting better.  

A Sad Day for Momma

Today was the day hoped for during long hours of walking the halls at church with a fidgety baby but also the day not hoped for since that would signal another end to babyhood. Kyle went to nursery today the whole time by himself. It was a crazy busy day at church with everything backwards because of youth conference testimony meeting. Don had to teach priesthood and primary was chaos so Kyle just had to go. Cody took him for about 5 minutes but then he needed to go class so he left. I spent that hour and forty five minutes with my eye glued to the peephole as much as I could. He cried at first especially while another little girl cried but then he was just a lap baby on sister Ramos the rest of time. He did sit down and eat snacks but then immediately held his arms up to be held. We have some sweet sweet ladies in nursery so he was well taken care of. I just had a hard hard time with it. When I was able to get him when it was over and he saw me his face just scrunched up in tears and he was clamoring to get to the floor trying to get to me. I scooped him up and we both cried for a minute. Man! Separation anxiety is brutal! The rest of the day he has been right behind me and not letting me out of his sight. He wouldn't let anyone hold him but me during sacrament meeting and he wanted to be right in my arms all the while I was trying to cook dinner. All the boys tried their best to distract him and let me cook or clean up but he wouldn't have that very long! Tonight he is in the bed with me even though the last few nights he has done really well in his own bed. Tonight he just stands there and cries and whimpers mama and I just can't stand it. He was laying down for a minute but then he would stand back up and cry again. I've had an emotional week so listening to my baby cry makes me cry. So we will toss and turn together in the big bed in his room and hope that tomorrow he will know his momma will always come back even if she is just going to the potty!

Valentine's Day

My Valentine's breakfast started out with Ethel M's chocolates and a Diet Coke with lime from my husband.  The older boys got there special egg and toast breakfast made by dad and Cadyen and Kyle got heart shaped pink pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped cream.  While the boys were at school we heart attacked their rooms.  We took about 20 sticky notes each and wrote thing about each of the boys and then stuck them in a heart shape on their doors.  We put Cayden's on his wall above his bed.  We told them special things we like about them and some of their talents.  They haven't yet taken those notes off the wall.  They each got a little valentine M&M candy and a note from mom and dad brought them their own special Ethel M chocolate bar,  Cayden got to have his valentine's party at school and then we decorated heart cookies after school WITH SPRINKLES!!  Connor got a special Valentine from Sister Elaine Whipple, a older lady who lives around the corner from Grandma and Grandpa.  Connor always checks on her and goes over to see if she needs any help.  She gave him a heart balloon and a bottle of nuts.  Connor was thrilled.  And lest you think that we forgot our dad, we did not!  He got his own big heart shaped Reese's Pieces peanut butter cup.  Oh and we had sent a Valentine box off to Cody and his companion with candy and Pez dispenser and even Valentine's cards so he didn't get left out either.  I'm glad that I don't go too overboard each year because then I don't have any huge expectations to live up to!  It's nice to have traditions!

Cayden Kelly Adams is 11

Cayden had a birthday on February 6. He is now 11 years old!  I can hardly believe it!  He took treats into tutoring that morning for his class and then I made cupcakes for his school class.  He wanted dad's special grilled chicken and rice for his birthday dinner and then mom attempted to make a Lego cake.  It didn't work very well.  She got a silicone mold of a Legos and poured the cake mix into it but after it was cooked it wouldn't come out.  So mom totally improvised and we used a Lego creation that Cayden got from his friend just that morning as a present that he had already put together.  We just covered the small square cake, that sort of worked that was going to be the base of the cake anyway, with frosting and then put colored saran wrap over it so we could place the new Lego creation on top of it.  TahDah!  Cayden loves loves loves balloons so he got 11 balloons that were home for him when he got back from school.  He got a visit from Grandma and Grandpa so they could bring him his new bubble machine, Legos and some summer clothes.  He got Kyle's help opening the presents from mom and dad. Then we quickly had cake and ice cream because Cayden got to go to his first merit badge pow wow that night for Boy Scouts.  Thank you to everyone who sent him cards and money/giftcards.  He bought more Legos-surprise surprise.  He actually had to work for some extra money because he bought a set of Legos and then wanted another one and did not have quite enough money left over to buy the other one.  We got some weed pulling and gutter sweeping out of him-but not on his birthday of course.  Our family rule is no chores on your birthday!  On the weekend, mom and dad took him to St. George for his birthday date.  He wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then we went to Sweet Tooth Fairy for a treat afterwards.

Here are 11 things we love love love about Cayden Kelly.
1.  He wakes up happy and smiling most days.  He actually is happier and more smiley on the days he has tutoring and has to get up at 5:45am.
2.  The kid is a Lego fanatic!  He seriously asked for a display case for his room so that he could put all his Legos in there for safe keeping.
3.  He is always singing and loves to have music playing.
4.  He wants to be a teacher and if we can't find him he is usually upstairs playing school.
5.  He wants a pet bunny really badly but his mom really badly does not want one.  He may have to settle for a fish.
6.  He likes to make Lego movies and videos of himself doing "shows".
7.  The kid loves chocolate milk.  He would get two at lunch time from the cafeteria until I found out about it.  Now he only allowed one chocolate milk a day.
8.  He likes it when dad picks him and his friend Dallin up from tutoring because dad takes them to Maverick sometimes and they get donuts and TruMoo.
9.  He is completely content to hang out at home and actually prefers to do that.  If we are going somewhere he will say, "Can I go?" and then when we say yes he says, "Nah, I think I will stay home."
10.  He is a very tenderhearted and sensitive boy.  He does not like yelling or screaming and he gets really upset when Connor is in a tizzy.
11.  He is a super great big brother to Kyle and wants to babysit him while mom is gone.  Mom has not quite gotten to that point where she will let him watch Kyle by himself but he is good to help out when mom asks him to play with Kyle so she can get something done.
We love you Cayden Kelly Adams!

Connor McGoo

Connor turned 16 on Friday, January 11.  Wow!  That is crazy!  When he woke up Friday morning there were 16 balloons floating around his room.  We were going to take him to St. George for dinner and to let him do some shopping but the kid is totally content to stay in the valley and when he has plans, they better not change or he gets really frustrated.  So instead we stayed home, he made a fire and a dutch oven cake at Grandpa's and just did exactly what he wanted.  We gave him a camp table to cook on since he had confiscated his dad's.  Grandma and grandpa gave him a cooking tote with all sorts of paper goods and some cooking tools.  Aunt Dawna gave him a metal target for shooting, Aunt Dena gave him a cool camouflage jacket and he got lots of money from other family members.  On Sunday January 13, he was ordained to the office of a priest by his dad.  The ordination was done in Logandale 1st ward where he has been attending for the last 2 years.  It makes me sad that he doesn't want to come to his own ward with us because of some things that happened but he is comfortable and happy where he is and the ward there really cares about him and loves him for who he is.  He has a really good relationship with the whole bishopric and the young men's president.  This kid is really one of a kind and even with as many struggles that he has, I don't think I would change him because that would take away the goodness and innocence and service oriented life he leads.
Here are 16 things about Connor.
1. Everyone knows he is a super hard worker and would rather be working than doing anything else.
2. He doesn't have too many friends his own age but he has lots of friends who are adults.  He gets along so well with them and they love having him come over and help them with yardwork and just to talk.
3.  There is an elderly man in his ward who is mostly blind and deaf.  That didn't stop Connor from going over there all the time to visit him and he even sang him Christmas songs.
4.  There is another elderly sister in his ward who calls him when she needs help with stuff around her house. He helped her put up and take down her Christmas decorations and she has his phone number and she calls him whenever she needs help.
5.  He likes to work over at Aunt Dena's and he does yard work and helps with the horses.
6.  He goes shooting alot on Saturday morning with his friend named Gene.  Gene is an older man with no kids to speak of and he an Connor get along great.  The only problem is sometimes Connor takes things to literally and believes that everything Gene says is the truth.
7.  He loves love love Kyle and will play with him for hours.
8.  He wants to get his chores done as early as he can on Friday or even Thursday if I let him.  He is a hoarder but his room is the cleanest out of all the boys.
9.  If you look in his drawers you will probably see numerous items of clothing with the tags still on them.  he likes to wear his old stuff and would rather pull stuff out of his clean basket than wear stuff from the drawers.
10.  He likes to save things.  If we get donuts or have cake or brownies he always want to save a piece for later and wants me to put it up the cabinet.  Usually it gets forgotten about and goes bad before he eats it.
11.  He is on a first name basis with the workers at Wally's.
12.  He usually knows more that us about what is going on in the valley because he has no problem asking a policeman, or fireman or EMT if something happened.
13.  He is a student tutor for the self contained Special Ed class.  The teacher asked for him to be in that class because he is so good with the other kids.  They go on field trips and learn cooking and self help skills so that makes it good for him too.
14.  He likes to play World of Warcraft on the computer and he has a friend who he plays with online when they can.  The friend is John Rockenbach who live across the street from Grandma and Grandpa but he left for college in the fall.
15.  He gives the best back rubs and foot rubs ever!
16.  He loving and giving and helpful and forgiving and will out work almost any grown man.
Happy Birthday Connor!  We love you!

Kyle Brandt is 16 Months Old

What?  How did that happen so fast?  This little boy is just getting bigger and bigger by the day and learning and growing so much that it is maddening some times.Seriously this week alone his vocabulary has skyrocketed!
-The boys taught him to say "beam" when they sing Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam.
-He says choo choo for the train sound, beep beep for the car sound and brooom for the truck sound.
-We love it when he says "ah oh" when he drops something or something falls.  We drop stuff on purpose just so he will say "ah oh".
-He says Connor's name by saying Con ah, and Caleb is "bub" or "bub bub".  We show him Cody's picture on the wall and he says Coey.
-He love grandpa and calls him papa.  Anytime the front door opens he runs to it saying "papa" whether it is grandpa or not.  He walks by the pictures in the hall on the wall and points out papa.
-He is trying to say Ella-his cousin's name- and it more like lala with his tongue coming out of his mouth.
-He likes "co coke".  He sees us drinking our sodas and comes and says "co coke" to us.  I really don't know how he knows it is coke but we must drink it way too much.
-He makes the sign for drink when he is thirsty.
-He know and makes the signs for all done, eat, dog, duck, thank you, please, more, and fish and he uses these regularly.
-He can say cookie and makes the sign too when he wants one.
-He is sort of saying sorry.
-We are trying to get him to say love you but he does the sign for thank you instead.
-He almost says Nemo-it's more like me me.
-We still have to barricade everything.  He opens drawers and cabinets and pulls stuff out repeatedly.
-He fold his arms and bows his head for prayers and he even makes a few mumble sounds like he is saying the prayer.
-He went to nursery for about 10 minutes by himself on Sunday because I had stuff to do for Primary and if he is with dad they are all in the hall and dad can't go to class because he is such a distraction.
-He gets right in the middle of his brothers when they are playing or wrestling.
-He is taking the fork or spoon from me when I am feeding him and putting the food in his mouth.
-He pulls himself up on the kitchen chairs and the couch.
-He gets off the beds and couch by himself.
-He is reaching up and almost tall enough to start working the doorknobs on doors.  Those will have to be baby proofed here soon.
-He goes up and down the stairs with complete ease.
-He runs runs runs whenever he can and he loves to play chase.
-When he has something that I want him to give back to me he will run away with it so I have to chase him to get it back.
-He knows where his nose, eyes, ears, mouth, hair, feet, belly button and fingers are.

Close up by Caydne.

Getting into the ice maker.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  He takes the 2 pieces apart and eats from the middle.

Sleepy boy.

Keeping him out of the drawers.

Keeping him away from my nightstand because he loves that drawer and I don't know of any other way to keep him out.

Keeping him out of the fireplace.

-He knows how to put on mom's shoes or slippers and just today was able to walk around in them without falling down immediately.
-Christmas was quite a challenge to keep him out of all the decorations.  He really liked the trees and they had to be barricaded so he wasn't always pulling ornaments off them.
-He is getting way too attatched to his binkie.  I try to not let him have it during the day except when he is going to sleep but man he is loud sometimes and he has to have it at church so he isn't so noisy.  He know where the binkies are in the drawer in my nightstand though so that is why he is always getting into it.
-He loves pears, bananas and clementines but he does not like apples.  He likes to eat things in whole or bigger pieces and that is usually ok like with toast or sandwiches.  He will shake his head and push away things that he doesn't want.  He likes Diet Sprite-the first soda we have let him have in a cup.
-He still loves Baby Einsteins and now he like Nemo and any movie with dogs in it.  The old versions or Blue's Clues are much more to his liking than the new ones.  We can get those on Netflix.
-I have to try and not get frustrated with him and all his messes and exploring because he is just doing what he is supposed to do.  Don and I keep saying that we don't remember the other boys being such terrors but that was so long ago and maybe we blocked that out.  I am excited that he can go to nursery full time in 2 months but I don't want to be too excited about that because that means that he is getting too big.  It is just very hard on Sunday with him and with Don and I being busy with our callings.
This little boy is a very special part of our family and we love him so much!