Day Out With Thomas '09

This is our 3rd year in a row with Thomas. I don't know if we'll go again next year. Not because it isn't fun, it always is, but because this year we had to pay for Brigham and it's expensive. Also, for some reason Brigham did not like being on the train. He kept walking over to the ramp that connects the cars and, while it most likely can be safely crossed by an adult, I didn't want Brigham near it. So he whined the whole time and it's a 25 minute ride! So other than that - you know, the actual train ride - it was a great family trip. The drive is also a bit longer from West Valley than it is from Pleasant Grove. So we may not go next year.

Anywho, here are some pictures of the fun!


Here's Jonathan and Nathaniel in the maze. It's always the first thing we do when we get there.


Brigham likes it because there's no pressure and he's free to walk around.


They have a bunch of train tables set up for all the little boys to play with.(it's possible there were some girls...somewhere...maybe)


I tried to tell Brigham that it was socially unacceptable for him to lie down on the asphalt but he wouldn't listen.


Finally, the train ride!


As you can see, Brigham didn't like being on the train and kept wanting to get off or at least be free to walk around.


This is a somewhat goofy picture of Jonathan but he enjoyed the train ride the most and once we got going he decided he wanted to ride in one of the enclosed cars. So Jaaromy went with him and I got to hang out with whiny Brigham. You can even see Jaaromy tring to bring him back in this picture.


Jonathan surprised me this year by saying he wanted to see Sir Topham Hat. None of my boys have been particularly fond of life-sized characters but Jonathan was totally into it this year. He was still a little shy but I did manage to get some good pictures.


This year I remembered to get a picture of Thomas right as we were leaving. I totally pushed another family out of the way but it was worth it!

It was a fun trip and we got Happy Meals for the kids and Taco Bell for us to eat on the ride home. Good Times!

Nathaniel's Turn

Last Thursday Nathaniel had his Kyuki Do test to get his yellow belt. I had a Stake Auxiliary meeting so couldn't go but Jaaromy was able to record it for me. He does such a good job. I'm going to try and get him to write about it on his own blog so you can hear it in his own words but here is the video.


All the students do the moves together and then they do them at the same time but at their own pace. This is him at his own pace and you can see that he goes through the moves faster than the other kids. Go Nathaniel!

Why I love Jonathan

I love all my children, of course, but I have a couple of videos of Jonathan that I've been sitting on for a long time because the files were too big to upload to Youtube. Well, we finally got around to modifying them so I could post them. So, here are two videos that illustrate exactly why I love Jonathan.

The first one is Jonathan singing along to Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The lyrics he has chosen convey the constant battle between work -"let's go to bed" - and play - "playing with toys".


The second video is an epic battle between Father and Son. Jonathan got a light saber for his birthday and has allowed Jaaromy to wield it. Jaaromy has a light saber app on his iPhone complete with sound effects. He likewise allowed Jonathan to use it.