Laundry

Does anyone despise laundry like I do?  Man, it's my nemesis!  I know I already talked about it on Facebook, but it's creating this dark, gloomy cloud over my day today and I just wanna crawl under a rock and ignore it!  Wait, that's what I've been doing for the last week and why it's rediculously out of control!  If you know me, you know I don't do stinky. I really try to stay on top of cleaning and keeping my house smelling nice, even if it is with a wall flower from Bath and Body Works.  One way I console myself of having 4 boys is by saying, I may have 4 boys, but I do NOT wanna live in a house that smells like 4 boys.

You think people would mind if I sent my boys to school in dirty, stinky clothes?  It may just happen....one day :)

Ahh, a nice quiet Sunday morning

Let me tell you, this is what it's all about!  Getting the boys ready on the earlier side for church, having them read books, while listening to church music--LOVE IT!

 Oliver absolutely loves Aiden, making him smile and be happy.  He'll stop what he's doing to help him, make silly faces at him, entertain him...whatever makes Aiden happy. 

The ever doting big brother!

May all Sabbath mornings be this pleasant (yeah right!)

Soccer Game, Take Two...

So we attempted soccer game #2.  We practiced, we pushed, we raced.  We did our best to prepare Ollie for his 2nd attempt, hoping it would be a positive experience.  And guess what?  It was! 

This face says it all

Not a tear in sight!

He practiced with his teammates (it helped that dad was on the field with him)

 See? Number 15 is vying for the ball! 

And after the game he was still happy, saying he LOVED soccer and I quote, "It's a blast!" 

 Thanks for trying again Oliver and for all the love and support from Dad, Grandpa and his brothers.  And Cyndi, thanks for sharing the story about Nick, it actually really helped Oliver feel like he wasn't alone in feeling the way he did!  You are a part of his success!  Soccer is officially a Scoubes Family sport!  Now let's just cross our fingers when Conner's first baseball experience rolls around it's a positive one!

Spring Break

I knew Jared would be traveling during the month of April, but of course it just had to fall on the week of Spring Break.  So I decided to still venture out and do some fun activities with my boys--some with the help of my right hand woman--Candice.  The boys had been begging to see this....



It was cute, but a little slow.  However, the boys have been quoting it and singing the songs from it all week, so it was a success in our house!

We also were able to see some friends of ours that we hadn't seen in WAY TOO LONG!  They were nice enough to come along with us to the Living Planet Aquarium, up in Sandy.  Conner LOVED petting the sting rays, but Oliver and Dylan wouldn't even consider it.  I want them to try new things, but realized I can't force them (gosh darn it!)  We got some cute pics and the boys loved seeing their best girl friends, Marley, Gwen and Daphne.  And Aiden and I loved Hailey's and Dex's company as well!! 

 Sting Ray touch pool

 Loving the penguins 

 How big are you compared to a penguin???

 Just my size

 This is a cool mural on the wall (not a live pic)

 All the kiddos!

 The whole gang, moms and all!

Then we had a couple of days of cold and rain, but on Friday it cleared up and we went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point.  The boys were in hog heaven (ha-ha)

 

 Conner was lucky enough to hold a brand new baby goat!  So cute!

 This is a RARE occurrence...that Oliver actually pet an animal, and a horse no less!  

 My 3 little bandits

 Conner had no problems feeding any of the animals--horses, cow, pigs, and the alpaca (sp?)

 Dylan would do it with the help from mommy

 Conner riding Nina, the horse

 Oliver riding the pony, Missy

 Dylan riding the pony, Sugar

 And we can't forget little Aiden!  This cute little boy was such a trooper with the cold breeze and so happy despite being wrapped up like a nun :)

On the wagon ride

 We hit the park a couple of times and enjoyed a couple of sleepovers up at Grandpa and Grandma's with Aunt Candice.  Despite daddy being gone, we still managed to have a fun and relatively happy Spring Break!

Loving Springtime

I'm so grateful that spring is FINALLY coming around. It makes for nice days, sitting out on the lawn, my boys playing soccer, drawing with sidewalk chalk, and taking cute baby pictures.  Oliver was determined to make Aiden smile while wearing his hat.

 No smile...

 Not yet....

 Almost....

SUCCESS!!

Ever heard of April Showers Bring May Flowers?  Dylan came home from preschool singing these songs, "Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day"  and "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring. He bumped his head and fell in bed and didn't get up till the morning"  Then his brother so lovingly helped him do this to aid in the singing of the songs. 

 (yes, that would be a tongue depresser umbrella TAPED to his cute face)

Speaking of playing soccer, we have finally broached the time of signing our kids up for community organized sports.  "What?" you might be asking, your kids are how old and they are just now getting involved in organized sports??  Well, I took my older sister's advice and waited till the boys are a little more coordinated, not to mention saving myself a couple extra years of being a TAXI momma.  Oliver has chosen to play soccer and Conner wants to play baseball. So after checking and re-checking on their sport of choice, I signed them up and paid the money.

Here's a great little story for ya.  Hope you enjoy, or at least can commiserate with me :)

 

The anticipation builds and Oliver's first soccer game is approaching.  He practices outside with friends and brothers, we go buy soccer cleats and shin guards, and he wears the cleats each day after he gets home from school so he can practice (pretty cute). We tell friends and family about the game and the day arrives.  Oliver is dressed and ready at 3, even though the game doesn't start till 5.  We get there, we introduce him to the other boys  **Little sidenote, his team has decided not to have any practices because it's just too hard to get 14 boys' schedules coordinated (WHATEVER!) And this is a team that already played in the fall together so we are a late sign-up, which equals not really knowing anyone**  He kicks the ball around, makes some shots in the goal, and runs up and down the field.  This is where is starts to go downhill...the coach has them line up to do some one on one soccer drills--pretty normal, right?  Well, not for Oliver.  Why would he want to take the ball away from anyone else?  Ok, so I pull him over, ask him if he remembers all the stuff I've taught him and playing in the backyard and what not, but he's already starting the tears...REALLY?  The game hasn't even started yet!  I'm thinking, "oh boy, patience, please have patience, Amanda!!"  He gets back out there and tries again, but not really.  Then the whistle blows and within minutes, the boys are on the field to play.  This is what I saw... 

Followed by this...

And after 45 minutes of talking, explaining, convincing, coaxing, and BRIBING by me, dad, and even Grandpa, we were still here....

It was maddening, frustrating, and I wanted to rip my hair out, but there was no convincing this boy to try to play.  Jared kept telling me to relax, it was his FIRST TIME EVER, and we needed to give him a chance and not scar him.  Afterall, he had never met the other boys, never had a practice, never played in a game before.  With that being said, we left and rather abruptly--it wasn't one of my finer moments (hey, at least I can admit it).  However, since then I've calmed down as has the little soccer player.  We talked it out, calmly and lovingly.  He's assured us he'll try again, or at least try...since there was no trying last time, just crying.  We have a soccer game in another couple of days and I hope to report much better results and even have some smiles in the mix.  As annoyed as I was with Oliver, this all makes sense....this is our loving, kind, tender hearted, always wanting to help others boy.  It's no surprise he doesn't wanna go out and fight over the ball with 8 other little boys!  Who knows, maybe it's back to the drawing board with sports--how 'bout an individual sport, like swimming or golf ?? Despite my sharing this story, frustrations and all, I hope you all know how much I love my sweet little Oliver! 

Thanks for hanging in there with me and reading!  Have a great day!

Imagination and Creativity

So we try our absolute hardest to not allow the kids to do any "electronics" on Sunday--which includes TV, the computer (games), the nintendo, Wii, etc.  It's usually a battle and we have to give suggestions/ideas over and over again as to what they can do, but on this particular Sunday, their own imagination and creativity took over.  I wasn't quite sure what they were up to, all I knew is it was fun to hear the boys all getting along and giggling their heads off.  When you get gems of pictures like these, it makes every ounce of being a mommy worth it... 

What's stuffed inside Dylan's pjs, you might ask?  Oh, just wait..... 

Balls.....ooodles and oodles of balls 

like this many balls 

Conner wanted to join in on the fun.

Who's that Spartan with junk in the trunk?  (oh, did that just age me??)

I wish my junk in the trunk was as cute as his!

So, there you have it, imagination and creativity at it's best.    

Spring Weather

How is it that on Saturday my boys got sunburned on their cute little cheeks, neck and arms and then Sunday we woke up to 4 inches of snow???  Gotta love Utah Spring Weather...