Through the Years

The first day of school is always full of tears, anticipation, and pictures! As I watched Tallon walk into the school this morning I was amazed at how he has grown through the years.
Here he is his first year of preschool. In case you can't tell, he is the tiny one in the blue coat. Absolutely adorable.

His second year of preschool.

His third year of preschool. Yes I was one of those moms who sent their kid for 3 years.

His first day of Kindergarten

First day of 1st grade

And this morning on his first day of 2nd grade.

I still picture him as my little one. It is crazy to compare these picture and see just how fast he has grown. I will miss him today. It is only until 3:00 that he will be gone, but I will miss him. He has been my helper these past months and a good one at that. The twins woke up after he had left for school and they have asked where he is 50 times already. They miss him.
Tallon told me on the way to school that there were 2 things that make school not much fun. 1- missing RBK all day 2- missing his family. How cute is that.

I know he will do well and come home full of stories from his first day.
We are all excited for what the year holds in store for our little 2nd grader!

It's Coming!!!

I can't believe my "baby" is going to be baptized!

Smith's Fork

Today we ventured out with most of the Hansen clan and went for a little Ranger/Razer ride. I really thought that we were going to get rained out so I packed 14 blankets for the baby and 2 changes of clothes for each of the boys, but to my great surprise NO RAIN! It is always better to be prepared I say, though Tyler would disagree. He says I pack to much.
Anywho, we had a great day. We had perfect weather and perfect kids. Everyone was all smiles.
Tallon tends to show his excitement more than others

Vivin being adorable

Van loving being in the fresh air

Orrin protecting his potato chips

Lunch break

Miss Camryn

Tallon and Vivin

Orrin, Granddad, and Camryn

Thanks for the great day Hansen Fam!

Riding

Tyler took the 3 older boys, granddad, and Brixton riding. The piece and quiet was awesome! They went up Grover Park and really had a good ride.
Orrin chillin on the rancher.

Here is my first set of twins. These two have been best friends and next door neighbors since they were 15 months old. How cool to live next door to your best friend, to bad they moved across town this spring. Anywho, Tallon and Brixton rode their 50's and did about 8 miles. It was their first time trail riding and Tyler said they did really well.

Chillin before they come home. Vivin, Granddad, Brixton, and Tallon.

I love that my boys are all able to go and do something like this together. It is fun seeing my family getting older and all smiles.

Last of the Lazy Summer Days

School starts in 4 days. I can't believe that summer is gone. Today we made the most of our soon to be gone summer day. Tallon got up bright and early to go boating with Granddad and Brynja. It is sad when you have to wear your hoodie to go boating but it is better than staying home!

I stayed busy making delicious Zucchini Bread. YUM. ...

and Van kept me company with his adorable smiles.

Okay so maybe he isn't always the perfect content baby that I say he is.

But seriously he is still cute even when he is bellering.
In a way I am glad to see school start. This summer has been full of fun but at the same time I am glad to see it go. It has been a hard summer with Tyler gone, and now fall can begin.

3's

Today is a day of 3's at our house.
Sweet little Van Nolan turns 3 months old, yeah.

And big brother Tallon gets 3 teeth pulled, ouch.

Aren't they just adorable. Seriously, we make cute babies.

A first this summer

It is really sad to admit that tonight was the first time this summer we have went and had a camp fire. How sad is that, seriously. I guess that is what happens when the dad is out of town all summer.

We headed up Grover Park and met up with the Dana clan. We had a great time. We cooked hot dogs, shot the .22's and just had a great night.


Here are all the cute little ones that came, minus Van, he was snuggling with Great Grandma Thelma one of his favorite things to do!

After everyone was done eating it was time to shoot. You can just imagine the fun with all these little ones heading over to join the big boys.

The grand kids always look for their Grandpa, he has more patience than the daddy's when it comes to shooting with little kids.

It was a great way to spend a Monday night. Hopefully we will fit a few more nights like tonight in our schedule before winter comes.

Granddads Flag

We were sitting on Jerry and Jennie Hansen's couch.
We kept looking at the beautiful flag that was flying over the cemetery.
It was captivating.

During our conversation Jerry turns to Tyler and tells him, "That's your Granddads flag. It's the first time it has flown."

Jerry had put it up that morning.

Tyler never met his Granddad.

He died while Tyler's father was serving his mission.

36 years ago.

He was a soldier.

His casket was draped in this flag.

And now it flies over his grave.

Truly it is captivating.

Random Cutness

Forgive me because most of these are of Van, but seriously he is so cute right now with all of his smiles! Enjoy.

Vivin has put dibs on Tallon's football helmet. He eats, sleeps, poops, and poses with this helmet!

Van being adorable in the tub. Everyone of my boys has loved their baths. Van is no exception.

This picture is best viewed blurry. Oh the joys of having little boys.
Vivin loving on Van. This is a morning ritual. Vivin sits and rocks Van and tells him how much he loves him. A perfect way to start the morning.

Van @ 2 1/2 months

These next two are for Tyler. How proud he is of his manly little men.

Vivin trying to feed Van.

Orrin in mommy's pantyhose.

And lets finish up with some of the most precious smiles. How he melts me.

Skunked

I forgot to post these!

It was one of the funnest things my boys got to do after Van was born.

The story is that Shandi had a birthday back in June. She has a funny husband. He gave her a skunk for her birthday. Yes that's right, a skunk. Well, it was just a baby skunk, but a skunk nonetheless.

My boys couldn't wait to go over and hold the stinky thing.

Everyone says that baby skunks don't smell, well, I beg to differ.

Any skunk smells.

Even a picture of a skunk smells.

But to little boys nothing smells as long as it is cool.

Thanks Shand for sharing your birthday surprise with us!

YIPEE!!

Tyler left again last night to go back to Kemmerer. The best part of waving goodbye this time was that it is our last time waving goodbye!!!!!! The job in Big Piney isn't going to happen anytime soon and they finish crushing today which means they get to start taring down tomorrow! They should be home by Friday and home for a while. We made it! I can't believe we are only 4 days away from having our daddy home again! YiPeE!!!

Phone Calls

I love to look at the caller ID and see Ty's cell phone number.

This morning it appeared before 8:30.

Awesome.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" he asks.

(never a good sign)
"Give me the bad news".
"After we finish in Kemmerer it sounds like we are headed to Big Piney."
long silence
"So whats the good news?"
"Well, we are still working."

...Yep we are still working.

Tallon turns 8

Today is Tallon's 8th birthday!!
I can't believe my baby is eight.

Tallon is such a delight.
He is an awesome big brother to 3 lucky boys,
he is full of laughter and smiles,
he is a hard worker and dedicated to what he is doing,
he loves to read,
he loves guns as much as his daddy,
his imagination is amazing and very entertaining,
he is a friend to all he meets,
and he can't wait to be baptized!

We all woke up early excited for him to open his presents. Look at how loved this kid is!

Of course he got some .22 bullets for his new gun.

Thanks baby Van

His very own Rock N Roll CD made by his daddy
Books from Orrin and Vivin

And a SkAtEbOaRd!!!

He also got a bunch of Tech Deck (mini skateboard stuff) things, and some ramps and things to play with. He has been begging everyone for a skateboard and skateboard things.

Where did my little cowboy go!?

He couldn't wait to get outside and try out his new board. He did really well for his first time and I was very thankful that we didn't have to go to the hospital for any broken bones before his party!

He invited all his friends and cousins up for a party.

While all the kids and moms were outside supervising kids, Tyler and my dad pulled the rough duty of sitting with the babies.

Here is Van @ 2 months, my dad, and Kristi @3 weeks.

His friends waiting for brownies and ice cream

Blowing out his candles

He picked my favorite brownies for his birthday. Oh the pounds that are not going to come off this week because of them. Yum!

He received the most amazing gift from the Haderlie-Major clan.

A couple of weeks ago Tallon came to me pretty down.

He told me that he couldn't remember what Derek looked like anymore.

He tried to picture him in his mind, but he just couldn't get a clear image anymore.

It broke my heart.

I told Shandi and of course she came up with an amazing thing for Tallon.

A framed picture of Derek for his room and his very own "Derek Book".

I can't count the tears that have been shed in our home today.

What a treasured gift.

How we love you Tallon

Happy Birthday!!