Ward Camp Out, Bean Museum, Liam's Hair Cut

Friday night was the Ward Camp Out. Devin and Sarah were in charge of it and they did awesome. We left the boys at Ben's moms, because Troy DOES NOT camp well.... or sleep well next to his parents. They had a blast at Grandmas, and we had a blast with all of our fun neighbors! We stayed up till midnight (SO late for me) and played games. The other couples either didn't have kids or they left them with grandparents. It was really fun not having to worry about the boys. We had a chili cook off (Sarah's was amazing,) smore's and even popcorn popping over the fire. It's a skill, Cameron was the designated popper (the one in the hat.)

Us ladies, Sarah, Abby, and myself helped with all of the Smores.

Alan came and made it all the more fun. He's enjoying the smores.

On a separate note.. I took Troy and Liam to the Bean Museum on Thursday because we hadn't gone anywhere in a while. We walked around the museum, but they just wanted to try and open locked doors, and race up and down the stairs. I loved seeing all of the varieties of animals, but the boys were entertained for about 5.2 seconds. Luckily, we found a playroom! This was the coolest place to Troy and Liam. There were tons of cars, trains, blocks, and animals to play with. We even read stories together when we were the only people in the room.

Troy is pointing to the bird and I couldn't get him to hold still.. haha.

Typical Troy and Liam. Troy is by me with his toys that he claims all to himself, and Liam is off trying to see what everyone else is doing. He's in the light blue.

Troy wanted me to take a picture of this cool train.

On a third note... I finally cut Liam's hair. I was letting it grow a little too long. It's just so tricky cutting little boys hair!

 "Mom, why'd you cut it?! You should have let me do it, I love scissors, give them to me...." 

Gratitude to the Lord

I feel so grateful to the Lord today. I feel closer to him and farther from satan. I feel safe, humbled, and grateful. I am so grateful for the scriptures, for apostles and prophets, for good music, and for patterns that the Lord sets for us. There is so much that is distracting, and I am really good at getting distracted. I am grateful for repeated lessons of basic gospel principles that keep me focused on my purposes. I truly believe that the Lord can make my weaknesses strengths if I am humble and have faith in him (Ether 12:26.) I need the Lord every day and I am so grateful that he is willing to be by my side each day. I am grateful for the Atonement. Jesus suffered that my sins may be forgiven, that my weaknesses and my ignorance may be accounted for. The Atonement covers so much more than I ever realized. The Infinite Atonement is an eye opening book. I am indebted to our Savior. I cannot repay, but I can make sure that the suffering was not in vain. I can constantly strive for perfection, to be as the Savior is. I know it will take a life-time and beyond, but it's the commitment and pattern each day that gets me closer. I am grateful to the Lord today.

Brittany and Alit are Engaged!

I'm so excited for Ben's sister Brittany and her fiance Alit. They are getting married in the Timpanogos temple on August 18th, which is actually our anniversary! I'm way excited to be able to attend their wedding on our 6th anniversary. What a neat experience it's going to be!!! Alit is quite the guy, we like him a lot. He is from Belgium, met Brittany at work, and he has a solid testimony... my favorite part. He is so sweet and humble. I can see that Brittany and Alit are SO good for each other. They are so happy. They are getting their engagement pictures done today, which is what made me think of writing this post... They've been engaged for a little while. We could not be more excited about this match. Welcome to the family Alit!!

Introducing Halli Ann..

Welcome Halli Ann Andersen! Tyler and Annie had a perfect little baby girl last Saturday at around 12:30 a.m.

Troy and Liam's first cousin!!! Can't you see their excitement?!

Well, Ben and I are thrilled at least..

Ben is smitten with her. This daddy wants a baby girl SO bad.

She is so sweet! Annie thinks that she looks like Tyler. I honestly don't know, but she's going to be a looker no matter what because of her parents!

Look at this cute little family!

Congratulations Tyler and Annie!!!!! You are doing so great already. I can't wait to babysit!! (I know, not yet, but soon?! ;)

What we are up to when Daddy's gone

What do we do while Daddy is at his monthly camp out?

We have pancakes in the morning of course. Ben doesn't really like pancakes, but we sure do!

We explore outside and take pictures.

We have giant "noodle" fights. 

We also usually have popcorn, take a really long bath in the evening, because I'm too tired to play and they can have fun while I just sit there. We have a low-key dinner and a big breakfast.

Why do I ever leave?

Father's Day is around the corner and I went to get some cards and gifts. I thought I could grab stuff in 45 minutes or so, which I did, but apparently it doesn't matter how short the trip. It's awful trying to contain Liam and Troy. Liam is so happy all of the time, as long as you let him roam and wander. Troy is usually good at not wandering, but he tends to play with breakable things (and then break them, like last week in the dollar store.) Anyway, I was doing my best to let Liam have freedom while I got the stuff and keep Troy from breaking ceramic frogs. I put Liam back in the stroller for 5 seconds to go over to the register. I made a crucial mistake that most moms can probably predict. I didn't buckle him in, thinking it would be really quick. Well, it only took 7 seconds for Troy to run and me to chase him, Liam to stand up and turn around - which caused the stroller to fall backwards. Liam hit face first on the floor. It was industrial carpet and it was hard. I ran to him and picked him up. His mouth started to fill with blood. I left my stroller, grabbed Troy's hand and ran to the bathroom which was about 100 feet away. Troy didn't like me holding his hand, but at least he always stays close by me, so he followed me into the bathroom.

Liam cried and cried while I tried to find the source of the bleeding. I finally figured out that it was just his lip and it wasn't a super deep cut. Blessings! I have no doubt that this was a miracle. Liam's teeth are daggers, and he can bite through anything. And yet his lip is ok. I got it to stop bleeding after a few minutes, but Liam was still crying and Troy biffed it hard in the bathroom somehow. Luckily, he is pretty tough because that poor boy injures himself at least 4 times a day. He didn't even cry and picked up his toys that went flying. We went back and got the stroller, bought the items really quick, and headed home. Ben had put a MOTAB cd in the day before, and it calmed me down from feeling like such a horrible mother. At least I won't make the mistake again and I'll learn from the experience.

Mark that experience as #2 for Liam bleeding in a public place. Why do I ever leave my house?

p.s. I still love my boys more and more each day, I just love it more when we stay home... always. Haha.

The Park

We went to feed the ducks and Troy LOVED throwing bread as hard as he could.

This is the wind up before the throw. I wish you could see his intense face.

We went through the first piece of bread pretty fast, after I got another piece out, Liam was off to the playground. He honestly does not care about having his parents close by.

Troy is really into climbing.

Liam is really into throwing.

This was not at the park, but Liam LOVES shakes. We make these fruit drinks and he usually drinks about half of ours. I have the funniest video of him wanting the drink and then making very loud "mmm" sounds as he drinks. More evidence that Ben is his dad.

Troy at 3 and 2 months

Troy is not a big fan of being in front of the camera, so this is what I got... ;)

Troy is so incredibly cute with his big blue eyes, major eyebrow action, and tender smiles. Troy is very good at playing by himself and being very creative. His latest obsession is with planes. He builds a "plane" out of legos and even put a comb through the windows of his car and said, "Mom look! A plane! It has wings." We laughed hysterically and then promised we would buy him a plane in the morning. We eventually bought a plane the next evening and Troy LOVES it. It's actually a space shuttle, but it's a plane to Troy.

Troy is the BEST big brother. He plays with Liam all of the time. A favorite room is the laundry room. I spent 45 minutes refolding a bunch of clothes the other day. Oh well. 

Tonight he even fed Liam pizza. We were not having pizza and there was one left over piece. Troy was so sweet to share with Liam. He also made sure Liam got lots of ranch, because it's better that way, right?

They both kept laughing at the thought of Troy feeding Liam.

My Troy boy is getting way better at communicating. He is starting to figure out that he has to clarify what he wants if I don't understand him, rather than just whining while I ask him again and again. Wow, it is so much better. He's in pull-ups going #1 on the potty regularly, and I am satisfied with that for now. Troy goes through obsessions with things. His first love was his stuffed dog that Annie gave him. Then balls, then frogs, then trains, then the movie cars, then Puss n Boots (a stuffed animal), and has arrived at airplanes. I get him to practice little 2 letter words on the same page that we color an airplane.

Ben came home yesterday morning from basketball and found Troy watching veggietales because he woke up early. Ben said, "Hey Troy! I just got home from basketball." "Basketball?" "Yeah, basketball." "Good job daddy!" Haha. Troy is copying all of the things that I say and do more and more. He always tells me, "It's ok mommy, it's ok." If he did something wrong. He tells me good job and to try again if I don't catch a ball. He asks if I'm ok if I stub my toe or something else that hurts me. He is just a little sweetheart and gets very concerned about others. He is also currently obsessed with Uncle Devin and Jimmer (their dog.)

Troy is probably about 30 - 32 lbs. About 6-8 lbs heavier than Liam. Picking them up is not a huge difference, haha. We cut Troy's hair a few days ago because it was getting super duper long. Plus, it's getting really hot in Provo lately. We will let it grow out a little for Brittany's wedding though. (She got engaged on Friday!! Yay!)

p.s. Here are a few quick pictures of Liam.
 

He helps me babysit. These two girls are ANGELS. Every girl I watch is an angel. I hope we have an angel girl as well! :) (Not an announcement)

Liam is now doing the playground by himself. Awesome freedom for mommy!