Something's gotta give....

...And that SOMETHING has been our poor little neglected blog. Wow! I am amazed that it has been almost an entire month since we last posted. What in the world have we been doing? Well, that is such a good question because... well... I am not sure. I know we have been so CRAZY busy... but looking back... hmmm... what have we been soooooo busy with? Well....

Tracen obviously started Kindergarten and is absolutely loving it. Good thing HE loves homework because I am definately not so great at remembering to remind him to finish it. Should I be worried that I am already "struggling with homework" and it is ONLY kindergarten? Needless to say, I figured myself out a good "SCHEDULE" so I can keep up. Scheesh.

Dan's parents have returned home from their mission in Spain. So we have had LOTS and LOTS of family in town. Bruce and Christy took on most of the hosting responsibilities in that they live a bit closer to Leo and Tricia and we live "all the way out in
Clinton". But we have stayed plenty busy hanging with the fam playing at parks, swimming, eating, playing cards, etc. It is ALWAYS so wonderful to have family around especially when you don't get to see them very often. It is already WONDERFUL having them back home. We have loved experiencing a bit of the mission with them but are THRILLED to have them back. The boys are expecially happy to see GRANDMA AND GRANDPA JACOBS. (It is their turn to babysit-right?)

We finally finished painting Tracen and Tyler's room! Each time we have painted a room or a wall in our home, the boys have asked if they could help and when they got to pick the colors and paint THEIR OWN room. Well, this was their moment to shine. I let them PICK THE PAINT COLORS, which walls they wanted painted chosen colors, and they got to HELP PAINT chosen walls. I am happy to say that it turned out much better than I had expected. They actually picked colors that matched their bedspreads and did an OK job at keeping the paint in the right spots. So they now have an olive green wall, 2 "tan" walls, a navy blue wall, and a small red section around the door. (these walls were chosen by Tracen specifically) I figured it is THEIR ROOM. They should have it be the way THEY want it. And... they LOVE IT!

Dan has been helping to build an amazing and HUGE deck. As much fun as HE may be having pounding in nails up at my family's cabin in the mountains, it has not been as fun for me getting to hang tight at home with CRAZY boys and no car to go anywhere. Which leads to...

We are officially a 1 CAR FAMILY! Yep, we decided to make a change, eliminate some extra costs and try to live a little "simpler". So we sold our car and the boys and I now ride our bikes everywhere! HOORAY! Actually it is not so bad. Dan rides with a carpool to work and only has to drive on certain days during the month. It just takes a little more planning ahead to make things work out.

We finished up the summer with a bang! We did our once a year LAGOON trip with the Bruce and Christy clan. We arrived when it opened at 11am and surprisingly enough our boys were having so much fun, we stayed till almost closing at 9:30pm! The boys LOVED the rides. Many of which they did OVER and OVER and OVER! I think that Lagoon is definately TYLER'S THING! He got such a thrill out of even some of the "wilder kid rides". He is totally Dan's son in that regard. I am usually the one puking off to the side of the Wild Mouse ride (which Dan and Bruce made sure they got a chance to ride). I did venture out and rode the old white roller coaster with Dan and... that was good enough for me. We spent a good portion of the afternoon at LAGOONA BEACH. It is always nice to soak in some cool water after walking around in the hot sun BUT when we dipped our toes in it was more like stepping into a glacier pond without the awesome scenery that would usually accompany that. The kids didn't seem to mind it (including Tate-- he loved it!) but it took us whimpy adults a few times down the waterslides to really feel OK about it. When we first arrived, we went headed to Pioneer Village to get our yearly photo shoot. This years picture is especially awesome. We got a fun group shot with Bruce and Christy and boys. The looks on each face is truly perfect! Of course we forgot our camera so we have no other pictures, but I will get this one scanned in and posted ASAP. Oh and how could I forget, we did get to go on MY favorite ride ever... RATTLESNAKE RAPIDS! Yeah, yeah, I know. Totally whimpy. BUT how can you NOT love just getting drenched like that?!

Last but not least... Dan is leaving me for 5 days! He is headed out on a backpacking trip through Wind Rivers with my Dad, brothers and brother-in-law. Now let me just say that NOT ONLY do I GET to HOLD DOWN THE FORT BY MYSELF for 5 days, but he GETS to go on the exact backpacking trip I have been BEGGING to go on for a while now but could never go on because I have been true to my "responsibilities" and have been either pregnant or nursing for the last 5 years! I am incredibly JEALOUS! I can only hope (Dad I hope you are reading this) that I will get that chance in a couple years when I am FINALLY FREE (sort of ) of said "responsibilities". So while the boys are gallavanting in the wilderness... us GIRLS will be spending the time up at my family's cabin riding 4-wheelers, playing a little Dance Dance, a few card games and of course chasing the kids. But, all in all I really am happy that Dan will get this chance and I hope to post some amazing pictures when he returns.

So that about sums up life as we have known it. I always looks forward to Fall for the cooler, crisp weather, the great clothes (jeans and hoodies), awesome Fall hikes to see the georgeous leaves and life always seems to slow down a little before jumping into the holiday seasons.
Love to all our family and dear friends. We'll do our darndest to stay on top not neglect our little blog.

1st BIG day!

So he is gone as of 15 minutes ago. I had to BEG him for a goodby hug. He was SOOOOOOO excited! Today is Tracen's first day of KINDERGARTEN! So here I sit. The house, believe it or not, is very quiet because my other two boys are still asleep. How lucky is that? Unfortunately that just gives me time to think. How DO I feel about my oldest baby heading off to the BIG SCHOOL? Well, actually, like most moms probably, I have a few mixed emotions about it. Thanks to Tracen, I have never really fretted about him doing new things. Nursery was a breeze. Tracen never cried. He just went happily in every week. Singing lessons, soccer, pre-school... he never looked back and he did so well. Tracen LOVES to learn, is very sociable and will talk to me about everything he is doing. So as he heads off on this new little adventure, I know he will be fine. TERRIFIC actually. BUT, it is such a BIG school, with BIG kids, where they go outside on the BIG playground AND... there is NO FENCE! For some reason that just weirds me out! That is my BIGGEST concern. I don't want to think TOO much about what I think could happen. Maybe the REAL issue is the "loss of control" I feel. I am turning "my control" (what little I have) over to someone else and... well... maybe the whole NO FENCE thing is just too wide open for me. I just have to remind myself that the school is "planning" to put up a fence soon. Like everyone else, I guess I will just have to TRUST Tracen's cute LITTLE (I mean that very literally) kindergarten teacher Mrs. Ewing. She will be GREAT! Tracen will be GREAT! And yes, I will be GREAT! Well, the others are stirring. Time to get backt o reality. Time to "keep control" of the other two inside our FENCED backyard. (OK, I think I am being a bit dramatic- time to losen the "apron string" -eh?)

Mommies = Superheroes?

So I am cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast this morning and the boys, including Tate, (I wish my camera batteries would not have been dead) were playing with trucks and cars on the kitchen floor. I had noticed that they had designated a certain car as the "mommy" and a truck as the "daddy". There were also multiple toys such as spiderman, a ninja turtle, and batman and robin that were playing the part of "the children". As I was wiping down the counter, I over heard Tracen say, "Yes, we will go together to church tomorrow, but today I must go to work and you need to stay home with the children to protect them from the bad guys. See you later. I love you." WOW! They are so observant! Then I suddenly became quite contemplative about my role as a mom. My job really is to stay at home and protect my babies from all the bad guys in this world. What a huge responsibility we have as mothers. Seriously, how can we possibly do this? My friend Paula had posted a little blurp on her blog where she wondered when she would be getting her super powers to help her in this awesome role as mom. I think I left her some comment saying we all will get our superpowers someday. Just like all the great superheroes out there (think Spiderman and Superman)it sometimes takes us a while to figure out what those powers are and how to use them. So I guess, until then, we will have a few moments of glory and a lot of spectacular crashes. Thanks to my crazy boys and my sidekick, no... superhero partner hubby for always believing in me in this super battle of good vs. evil.

No Longer a Lump!

It is finally official. TATE IS MOVING! He is no longer a lump in the middle of the floor! For many, you may not think this is that amazing, but for our family it is HUGE! Tate is the first of our boys to crawl! Tracen and Tyler NEVER did. Instead they both went straight to walking at 8 and 10 months. So we are pretty excited. Here is a little video clip of Tate's first time crawling. Nothing like a little bribery. He has been crawling for about a week now, and so he is now MUCH faster and is pulling himself up to furniture and walking around it. I wouldn't be surprised if by the time I write the next post he is walking across the room. (That could be a while so he has plenty of time.) ENJOY!

Swim, Swim, Swim...

So today was the last day of swimming lessons! Hooray! The boys really enjoyed them but to be honest I am thrilled to have them over. We had them at the Surf-n-Swim in Layton so they could be with their cousins (which none of them ended up in the same class). I am happy with everything they learned, but am even more happy to not have to drive to Layton every day. To practice their new swimming techniques, we have been spending much time at the Roy Aquatic Center. I think it is such a great place. My boys love it and I love that I can see them from almost anywhere there. Here are some cute pictures and a little "Dance Video" from some of our latest outings. Enjoy!
The Jacobs boys and Hatch girls.
Tate and Lexi- CHEESE! Cookie anyone?
Not sure what they are doing...
Just groovin...

Happy 4th of July!

Yes, I am officially 13 days LATE! But, it is because we have had so much fun lately that it has taken me so long to post about it. And... it has taken me almost an entire week to even write this. So here we go.

On the 3rd of July, my family has an awesome tradition! We all go to my parent's house for a BBQ (this year we had Hobo Dinners/tin foil dinners/ whatever you call them--YUM) Then we do fireworks and play games. My parents had created an AWESOME relay race for couples this year. Too bad I did not video tape it. Too funny and very fun. The grand kids also have tons of fun riding around the yard on the mini 4-wheeler. (This I actually have video of.) Then we all set up our air mattresses, sleeping bags and pillows out on the back lawn and settle down for a great movie on the projector screen and sleep over out under the stars! Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the set up this year. Then we wake to a scrumptious breakfast and we all head off for our 4th of July celebrations. I think this is such a fun tradition. Thanks Mom and Dad for always hosting.

This year on the 4th Dan and I were feeling a bit LAZY (hence going to sleep around 3am) so we just hung out and visited with my parents and siblings for the first portion of the day. It is always so nice to just sit and visit. We then headed to the OTHER Jacob's family and let the boys play in the pool for the afternoon. That evening we spent with the Kemp family. They are always so kind to let us join them for their festivities and the fireworks were GREAT!

On the 5th, the Kemps had us come up to Pineview for a little water skiing/ wake boarding/ knee boarding etc... I must admit that my body was a bit achy from the slalom skiing I OBVIOUSLY only get to do once a year. Dan, Tracen and Tyler had fun on the knee board. (the boys thought that was pretty fun). Thanks again Kemp family!

So HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! Hope y'all had great ones too.

"The time has come," the walrus said, "to talk of many things..."

So I have yet again gone too long without posting and therefore we will "talk of many things". But please do not quit too soon. There is a "special treat" for all you loyal readers. I may need a place to stay for a few days once this "someone" sees what I have done.

We have again started up our sleep over trades with the "other Jacobs boys". I must say that I think this is a brilliant idea. We had originally started this last summer but had to break from it since Christy and I both had new babes and weren't quite ready to add more to the mayhem yet. The plan is that once a month we trade off having our boys (just the older ones for now)come over to spend the night with their cousins. It is usually a Friday evening to Saturday afternoon or so. This gives us parents a night and a day "off" to do whatever we want. (House projects, yard projects, A DATE, or just a lazy day. Because Dan and I have decided that our kids will only be able to have sleep overs with their cousins (sorry-no friends... this world's a little to weird for that anymore), it gives them that opportunity. It has really been a GREAT thing. We love having the boys come with us and we, of course, love having some time off too. So we got to have the sleepover at our place last week and here are some cute pictures. The boys share beds for now, but as they get older I am sure we will pitching a tent in the back yard or making sure the sprinklers are off so they can sleep on the trampoline. Ahhh, GOOD TIMES! So Flying J has a yearly work party that is quite famous among the staff and we decided it was time to make an appearance. So last Friday Dan got off a bit early and we headed to a nice park somewhere in Ogden ( I honestly have no idea where we were ). They had 3 of those huge blow up slides and jumping things, delicious food, and of course lots of the famous prizes (including 3-4 different Wii's, digital cameras, digital picture frames, stadium seats, BBQ grills and so much more). Unfortunately Dan's name was NOT drawn this year, but... maybe next year? Anyway, the boys had so much fun. Here is a picture of them showing off their face/arm paintings.

Next topic is regarding Dan's work. I am(well he is too of course) happy to announce that he has recently been promoted! He is now "THE TOP DOG" over his entire department! What "THE TOP DOG" means, you will have to ask him for the details, but I do know that he is very excited for the opportunity. Of course this means a great deal more responsibility but also the chance to make some much needed changes for the company. His shift will stay the same, which we are so happy for and of course the pay increase and bonuses will be such a blessing!

Ok so get ready. This is has got to be THE REASON you all keep reading our blog. Here is a little video clip of "someone" dressed up in his "Little Red Riding Hood" costume (this was part of the costume he wore for a great skit he was part of for my families yearly family reunion- no this is not his normal attire) having a bit too much fun. Maybe if Flying J could see him in these finest moments, they may have wondered about their decision to put him in charge. I so debate weather or not I should claim him and I have decided... YES he is mine every bit! THIS is just one of the many reasons why our house is NEVER boring! Be sure to push pause on our playlist and turn up the volume on your computer.