Train Love

Ty LOVES Jack's electric train.  He gets SO excited when we set it up.  He gets to control it himself (when Jack will let him.)

 Jack said, "Mom, take a picture of me looking at my train."

 And, if you take a picture of one kid you can't leave any out (or leave any dolls out).

 Then Jack took this lovely picture of us. 

Ice Skating

Kate and Jack got ice skating passes from participating in our library's winter reading program.  We went ice skating Friday night.

Well, actually Dave, Kate and Jack ice skated and Ty and I watched.

After a while Jack ditched the walker and skated on his own.  He made friends with another boy that was there skating, so he didn't want to stop skating.  He has some nice bruises and scrapes from falling all the time.

Ty and I watched the kids skate outside for a while.  It was really hard for Ty not to go out onto the ice, 

 so we went inside

 and goobered up the windows.

Tent Rocks

Monday the kids and Dave had work/school off since it was Martin Luther King Day.  We went drove an hour or so away (almost to Albuquerque) and hiked to the tent rocks.  It was a beautiful day and pretty warm.

It was a neat hike:  slot canyons, cool shaped rocks (like the tent rocks), slippery snow-covered steps to the top of the mountain, little sand storms, mud to jump and slide in, rocks to climb over and under, etc.

We let Ty get out of the backpack and walk for a little while at the first of the hike.

Ty didn't want to leave his shoes on (he does that with his snow boots when we're playing in the snow too). 

tent rocks

A lovely picture of us on the top of the mountain.  It was windy and we'd just climbed up lots of icy rocks to get to the top.  The kids were very interested in eating their kit-kats.

Ty didn't love it on the top.  It was a little windy and cold.

Jack on the top.

The kids were great troopers and hiked about 3 miles.  They were pretty muddy when we got back to the van.  And they all took nice naps on the drive home.

Look Mom...

I'm Yoda!

Ty at 18 months

Ty is 18 months now!  I took him to the doctor last week for his 18 month checkup and here's how he measures up:


Weight:  22.34 lbs (8.79%) --up from 20.62 lbs (5.59%) at 15 months
Height:  31.25" (21.21%)  -- up from 30.75" at 15 months

I noticed that he's a lot stronger and cries louder than he did last time we went to the doctor.

Here are a few of his latest accomplishments:

• talks a lot (choo choo, go, shoe, shoot, cracker, snack, Kate, Jack, Mom, Dad, play, and many more)
• jabbers a lot in his own little language
• runs, jumps, and tackles (just like Jack)
• is binkie-free (We took it away after we got home from Utah two weeks ago -- going to bed isn't as pleasant as it used to be.  At least he still has his blankets.)
• loves playing on the playground and being outside
• started going to nursery (has gone only once since he was all boogery last week)
• hates going on road trips
• gives hugs and tongue-kisses to anyone that is sad

cookie face

On the way home...

we stopped at Glen Canyon Dam on our drive home through Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. 

And the next stop is...St. George (Wedding Time!)

We went to St. George for Steven and Amanda's wedding.  All my siblings and my parents and all the kids got to stay in a beautiful, huge condo.  It was great -- we had lots of bedrooms and bathrooms and we were all together.

Ty was having a hard time fall asleep, so Jack was a nice brother and decided to do this...

The next morning (January 4th) we all got spiffed up and ready for the wedding...

 

The kids waited in the visitor center while we were in the temple for the sealing.  Amanda's little sister, Lindsey, my cousin Melanie, and Amanda's friend Malea watched all of the kiddos. I was a little worried about Ty but he did okay (only cried a bit).  He even took a nap on Emmy's lap during a video.


Steven and Amanda had just come out of the temple.

The whole Cox gang.

Our little family w/the bride and groom.

 (By this point in the picture taking experience, Jack had had it and would NOT turn around.)

My side of the family again.

The black and blue girls.

 The highlight for the kids of the picture taking was the graham cracker sticks.  Yum!

"Jack, did you know they're better dipped in snow?"

 

We had a delicious luncheon at Olive Garden.  Yum!  Kate loved being a grown up girl eating at a nice restaurant with her older girl cousins.  Then we went back to the condo and watched Despicable Me before heading to the reception.

Some of "the line".



The boys loved Alex's bakugan.

 

The girls took it upon themselves to greet people at the door and take their gifts.  They even decided to take the cards off some of the gifts and stick them in the cute mailbox on the table by the door.  Oop!

Dave and Peter took the boys back to the condo after a little while.  (After we spilled hot chocolate all over the white tablecloth.)  Lis and I and the girls stayed and helped clean up and watch Steve and Amanda open their gifts. 

I'm glad we could be there at the wedding.  It was fun to be with all my family at once.  It had been a few years.  I'm excited that Amanda is in our family now.  Good times!

Stop #4...Fairview

On Sunday, January 2nd, we headed from Coalville to Fairview.  We went to church with my parents and spent the night there.

Jack was convinced that he would get his own cowboy hat when we got to Grandpa Cox's house.  He's been talking about this since Halloween.  I told him that I didn't think they had a cowboy hat for him, but Jack said, "No, Grandma can make me one."  Kate didn't think she could make one, but it ends up that Grandma had a cowboy hat she doesn't wear. 

Jack was in heaven with his cowboy grandpa.

 His hat fit better with his snow hat underneath. 

 The kids bundled up and went to see the horses with Grandpa, Emmy and Skippy (the dog).

 Then they worked on their Wii bowling skills.  Ty was copying the kids and loved it!

 Jack was very serious about his bowing game.  He's pretty good.

 Ty worked on his play culinary skills.

When it was time to leave Fairview, Jack asked if we could stay another week.  He was in Cowboy Heaven (thanks to Toy Story for encouring his love of cowboys).