STRIKE!

Cole's big day was today! It was his birthday. It was so hard to believe he is 5! Our baby isn't a baby anymore.  He's such a big guy.  Tonight he opened his gifts from our family and Grandma & Grandpa Bosshardt.  They gave him an airplane that he LOVES.  He doesn't even want to go to school, eat dinner, or go to bed; he just wants to play with the airplane.  We gave him books of mazes (he's always loved mazes), and a travel size hungry hippos game (he wore out our other Hungry Hippo game).  For his birthday party he wanted to play bowling on the Xbox with everyone and have a Minion themed party so for his cake he wanted a bowling cake.  I came up with the bowling pins (circus peanuts dipped in white chocolate) and bowling ball (whopper dipped in blue colored white chocolate) on a bowling lane.  Cole was excited when he saw it but asked where he was.  I pulled out one of the Minion graham crackers that we were going to include in the party favor bags.  I put it on the cake and Cole said, "That isn't me."  I had forgotten that earlier the boys were looking at the side of the box where there were pictures of each of the different Minions in the box.  They had assigned each of our family member a Minion identity.  Cole dug in the box and found him.  I put it on the cake and brushed my hands off thinking it looked great.  Cole looked up at me and said, "Where's my trophy?"  I quickly colored some white chocolate orange, the closest thing I could get to gold, melted it and shaped it on wax paper to look like a trophy.  Voila!   "Where's my trophy on my neck?"  OH!  I used some icing and made a medal hanging on the Minions neck.  Cole again looked up at me, "Where's the number one?"  Of course!  I used some red icing and made the trophy a 1st place trophy!  Voila! "Where's everyone else?  We need Kade, Clint, Dad, and Mom."  Right!  I pulled out four Minions and then remembered I should verify which Minion was which person-- yea! I avoided a delay there!  Cole found the correct Minion for each person and instructed me on which medal they needed on their neck.  Now you'd think Cole would look up and me and say, "Where's  . . ." but I finally got smart!  After he gave me the proper instructions for all of the family member Minions I went and turned on the Xbox for him to play, he's really into playing Kinect Sports right now--he loves it all, soccer, boxing, bowling, and track and field. :)  I was SO ready to be done with that cake! When he saw the finished cake he seemed very satisfied.  Happy Birthday to my favorite Minion!  I love you!

Cole's big developments this year is that he has started Preschool with the Dual Immersion program.  He just started the Spanish portion of it but he's learned so much with the English portion it seems like he gets older every day.  He also started wearing glasses this year.  He looks so cute and gets compliments wherever he goes.  He has mastered getting himself dressed and is pretty good at brushing his teeth even though he doesn't enjoy doing it himself.  His job is to empty the dishwasher silverware basket.  He seems to like the organization of the process.  Like I mentioned earlier he has found a love of playing the Xbox.  The games he loves to play are Kinect Sports and Wipeout.  Both of these games require to you run and jump constantly.  Cole will be drenched with sweat when he is done.  I guess that is good for something. ;)  He is really good at each of the games as well.  He'll often try to get Kade or Clint to play him and they won't because they're not feeling like loosing. :)

He is 41.5"tall and weighs 36 lbs.

We couldn't love you more buddy!  Thanks for always being able to make our family happy by just being your cute self. (I know, I know, because you always correct me.  You're not cute; you're awesome!)

Sledding with Friends

A bunch of the neighbor boys were going to the "sledding hill"(just north of Heber Valley Elementary and East of the train tracks) today.  Kade, and Clint went with them for hours of fun.  I took Cole for a little while so he could get in on the fun.  It's so fun to see the kids just hanging out and enjoying life.

New Years Eve

This year for New Years Eve we made brownies, licked the beaters, had a pillow fight, played Tenzie, ate pizza downstairs, watched a movie, and blew our party poppers.  It's the simple moments that are so great!  Love this family of mine.

Team Activity: See Lights {check}

We didn't really spend time walking through the breathtaking lights while we were on Temple Square like we had envisioned.  It was so incredibly cold that all we could stand was to pose for some pictures and then head out of there.  We enjoyed the sights from through the restaurants windows.  My heart was so full of love tonight.  It was interesting that I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I got to spend the evening with them.  I love each one of them so much-- such amazing people!  Chris and Becky Goode crashed the party a little.  One Redmond couple canceled last minute and since the dinner was already paid for Darryl invited them to come with about an hours notice.  They were so appreciative but didn't want to crash the photos too.  It was fun, as always to hang out with them.

Drained By The Sledding Hill

These two little guys couldn't make the 8 blocks to our house before they zonked out.  They played hard at the sledding hill and it wore them out.

Soggy snow fun!

The boys have been enjoying playing in the snow.  Today was pretty warm so the snow was quite wet.  They had a great time but as you can see by Clint's expression he's pretty soaked.  Love the adventures these cute boys have in the snow!

Brown Christmas party

It was the night of prime rib, and shrimp at the Brown's house.  Our group was finally a little larger since Buzz and Jodi's family, Ron and Lisa's family, and Jordan and Michael's family were all there.  It was nice to all be together and spend some time with each other-- doesn't happen very often anymore.

Christmas Morning

A few shots from the most awaited morning.  My favorite of these is the one where Cole said he was an old guy-- can you figure out which one it is?  I also love the last one where they're all playing the game together.  I love that these three are so happy together.  LOVE THEM!

2014 Chritsmas Treasure Hunt

We did another treasure hunt for their big present.  They look forward to this every year so I don't know that we'll ever retire the tradition.  Darryl wrote a clever poem that gave them clues along the way.  He wrote it with the same style as the clues that are in one of our favorite movies, "Private Eyes."  Everything could rhyme but they use a different word or phrase right at the very end.  Funny.  With each piece of the poem they found an item that went with each phrase.  We wrapped the first clue and put it under the tree to start their journey.

Ok dear boys, the challenge has begun.
It's a quest, a journey, that's sure to be fun.
You will need to use your smarts to put it together,
but you are all bright so it won't take you. . . that much time.

(The guiding clue on the back: "Something red that dad sometimes "hits" in the mornings." Punching bag) There they found the next piece along with some play-dough sand.

On each step in the journey you will find a clue,
of what is going to be in store for you.
So pay careful attention to each clue along the way,
And you might figure it out before the end of the . . . afternoon.

(The guiding clue on the back: "Kade always takes this to school for important stuff." Kade's backpack)  There they found a captains hat.

A captain's hat, that is something to note
and where we are going you won't need a coat.
With a gift at each stop you will soon need a cart.
Do you smell that?  Whoa, did someone just. . .  toot?

(The guiding clue on the back:  "Where Cole puts his used clothes."  Laundry basket)  There they found a puzzle of Mickey Mouse and friends.

This gift is a clue, but that is not all
So be sure to keep your eye on the ball.
Once we have sailed there is no turning back,
So if you are thinking about boats yo're on the right . . . trail.

(The guiding clue on the back: "Where Clint sleeps." Clint's bed)   There they found and inflatable cruise ship.

During a journey at sea you will be well fed,
But be careful at the buffet tables if you want to fit in your bed.
While you are eating a buffet it is easy to eat too much,
Bye for now but rest assured, we will keep in . . . constant contact with each other.

(The guiding clue on the back: "It keeps your food very cold."  The freezer)  There they found an ornament of Mickey Mouse wearing a captain's hat.

So a ship and a mouse, have you figured it out?
There is just one more clue so don't start to doubt.
If Mickey falls overboard there is something to note,
He won't sink to the bottom because his ears will keep him. . . from sinking.

(The guiding clue on the back: "It plays music, but it is not the piano.  The organ.)  There they found an envelope with the cruise tickets.

We love you boys and are excited to tell you the news,
That we are all going on a 7 day Disney Caribbean Cruise!
We are just so excited and although we aren't leaving till May,
Remember we love you and we hope you have a Merry Christmas . . .time of year.


Kade and Clint were pretty excited but I think they were in shock.  I don't think it is real to them yet.  I don't think Cole has any idea of what a cruise really is so he just enjoyed himself playing with the inflatable ship.  At 9:00 am we received a phone call from Mickey Mouse saying how excited he was for us to join him on his ship.  (It is something you can arrange when you book a cruise with Disney)  The boys didn't quite know what to think about that.  "Did that just happen?  Did Mickey Mouse just call us?"  Such a fun morning.  Now we just have to wait for May! :) We would have done it earlier but there are definitely affordable times to go on a Disney Cruise and December is NOT one of them.

A Day To Myself

Since Darryl has his season pass this year any open window is an opportunity to ski.  Today his buddy couldn't go and so he decided to take a little trip by himself.  Judging by the smile on his face I'd say it was an enjoyable day.