Finishing the Year 2 of 2

...continued from previous post:

- Halloween produced a little more involvement from Adam and I this year, as we actually dressed the boys up; Tyson in a Bob the Builder costume and Lincoln in the cutest skunk costume, all compliments of Heidi. She made the skunk costume years ago for her kids and it has been well used. Lincoln didn’t know about the big bulky tail, but it was sure fun to watch him go up to the doors and turn around with a big grin on his face and say, “I got candy.” And then from every door after that he would continue to say with amazement, “ I got some more candy!” Just pure excitement. One of my favorite Halloween ideas was of this headless horseman. This family that we know humored their son who wanted to be a headless horseman. They let him walk up and down the street on the horse and then put it away, so that there wouldn’t be any accidents.
- For Christmas this year we were suppose to travel to Oregon, however my mom had flown to Texas to help Clara with their new little girl, Vaughn was in Iraq, and Lillie and George were on missions, so we decided to stay in Hurricane, which although we missed seeing my family I wasn’t too opposed to staying since taking a long drive to Oregon didn’t sound too appealing at this stage in my pregnancy. Since there was a bed open at the Flat then we stayed the night there so that our boys could wake up to Christmas out there with cousins and Gma & Gpa. It was very enjoyable and I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of the aftermath, this wrapping paper mess is something the Stout’s take great pride in. It’s been a good year and we have been extremely blessed by the Lord. How grateful we are for Jesus Christ and his great example of how we need to be. We are already experiencing changes as Adam was recently called to be the Young Men’s President. For some time now Adam has been talking about needing a place that he can study, ponder, and pray and not have work all around him to tempt him, so for Christmas Susie helped me transform our back bedroom into that type of room. This is the first room in our house that has curtains and pictures and a bookcase and it is amazing the difference that makes. I don’t think I could have done it without Susie’s help. It turned out better than I could have imagined and even though on Christmas day Adam had a few presents here and there to open and a new suit that he had already picked out and had adjustments on, he didn’t get this last surprise until after 10 p.m., when we went home after he played basketball. I had banished him from that back room and he told me that he thought I was building him a gun case and he felt that he was very intuitive about it, but didn’t want to ruin it. Boy was he wrong. It’s nice to have a room in our house that never gets a mess and is always inviting when you want to read, think and just not be disturbed.
-My boys are quick to help with basic chores around the house. I couldn’t resist snapping this picture when one day I heard Lincoln yelping in the kitchen. I came out to find that he was upset about not having any more room on the counter to stack the dishes that he was emptying from the dishwasher. I must say I was quite impressed at his stacking abilities from only standing on the ground.

Finishing the Year 1 of 2

It’s been a long time since I have posted to my blog. It’s not that life has been uneventful all this time as that would be an understatement. Here’s a list of a few of the major events that have happened since my last post to work towards finishing off the year:
- August rolled around and the year mark for us not being able to get pregnant was coming with that. However we have been extremely blessed to have found out that I wouldn’t have to be considered abnormal, but that a home pregnancy test revealed positive.
- After waiting a long time until going to the doctor, I finally scheduled an appointment and went in to my first doctor’s appointment and being as far along as I was I was able to find out that we are going to be parents to another boy. As my cousin pointed out how nice that must be to not have the anticipation of what you are having, but to find out on your first doctor’s visit. We are very excited to add another boy to our family.
- Tyson managed to start an old 175 tractor that had a flat tire and looked like it would take some effort and work to get going. He managed to turn the plow on, which propelled the tractor into the side of my garage. Luckily it didn’t have a lot of power behind it. I ran outside when I heard the noise and didn’t know where it was coming from and coming toward my house was this very scared 4 year old just holding on to the big wheel and screaming. I jumped on and yelled for him to tell me where the key was and he yelled back, “There isn’t one.” Apparently it had been re-wired with a push button start because the key kept getting lost, how convenient for a child. We braced ourselves as we hit the house. Oil started to spew out the side and smoke out the exhaust and it was revving up high. I called my brother-in-law, Stuart, since it was his tractor and had to yell over the top of the noise to get complicated instructions on how to get it turned off. It was a very unpleasant experience and I feel like my boys were being watched over since Lincoln luckily wasn’t there after having stayed the night at Susie’s house and I’m just sure if he had been there he would have been trying to get on the tractor with Tyson and would have been plowed over. I don’t know if I am ready for the scary moments that come with raising boys. I learned from this whole experience that there are many pieces of equipment that my boys are constantly around that I need to learn about, so I am better prepared for the unknown.
- My vacuum broke, so we put money towards completing our central vac that we had already plumbed the house for when we built it, but ran out of money to get the actual vacuum. It’s not as heavy so I can now enlist my boys to help with the vacuuming.
- We made quite a bit of progress on our yard. We began by pouring the cement around the house and a patio area out the back of the sliding door. We are excited about the fire pit we included in that pouring and Adam used it already with his scouts once. We also had a trampoline pit poured and purchased a trampoline to install there. We hauled quite a few loads of mulch from the dump as well as sand from out at the sand dunes on the side of the road. Right now that is where it has ended, is with the piles of mulch and sand, as Adam has become very busy and I need to save more money to keep on going with the sod etc. Hopefully it doesn’t take us another 4 years to make more progress on it.
- My in-laws went on a trip with Monica and her family across the states and while they were gone a bunch of us spearheaded the great task of bucketing up the pile of wheat that was dumped on the meat shop floor (since it was the cleanest slab of concrete around having been poured not too long ago). It was quite the chore especially in the heat of the summer, but one of those tasks that gives a great sense of accomplishment when completed.
- Tyson was willing to take swim lessons this summer and he did very well. Lincoln was too young, however I was quite impressed how well he entertained himself on the grassy area while we waited for Tyson to be done. I think the lessons have helped Tyson out quite a bit.
- Lincoln shut his finger into the door of the backhoe, well actually Adam shut Lincoln’s finger into the door as he was climbing in behind Lincoln and closed the door behind him not looking to see that Lincoln’s hand was still there in his efforts to get all the way in. It was a very disgusting cut. We resisted to take him to get stitches and it has healed up quite nicely, I think even better than stitches would have done.

Swimming and Digging

On Monday Adam had his dad come over to supervisor putting up the fence to replace the one he tore up over the previous weekend. For Family Home Evening that night we met Daniel, Susie, Addie, and Liam over at Susie's friend, Comet's place to swim. It was fun because our husbands were able to be there with us and the kids enjoyed being to play with their dads in the water. Lincoln loved jumping off the edge into Adam's arms. Adam was a little more daring in letting the kids jump in and then pull them out of the water after they went under. I'm sure on this swimming trip that they took in quite a bit more water from it all. He said doing that would teach them to close their mouth, which it seemed like they did start doing that after a while. Comet was in the process of moving, so we will all be sad that she doesn't live where this pool is anymore. On Tuesday Adam started digging the trench for the sprinkler system and did the office work when he got too hot. Tyson hopped into the backhoe with him and shortly after that I found Tyson digging the moving the levers, digging the trench, and dumping the dirt and then repositioning the arm of the backhoe to get another scoop. Adam said that Tyson caught on really quick as to what lever moved what. That means I have to be a little more attentive when he is around equipment like that because he'll think that he knows what to do and go to it. I started Webelos again, which was challenging after having about a 2 month break. The two boys that I had previously had their b-days and moved up to 11 yr old scouts and I miss not having them at den meeting. Adam started the school in Alamo Nevada on Wednesday and so he was gone for a few days there and then went on a 6 hour drive to Natarita Colorado to bid on a church there and then...you got it the 6 hour drive back home. Luckily him and Stuart went together so they could trade off driving. On their way back they picked up a new dump trailer for the Alamo job. It was nice to have him home for the weekend. The boys and I have a very difficult time when Adam is out of town and traveling constantly and it always comes in spurts. I took the boys to a wedding reception Friday night, which Susie and I met up there since both of our husbands were gone.

The Day Long Horse Ride

I can’t say that anything too exciting happened during this past week. We did continue to work on landscaping our yard with Saturday proving the most productive as you can already see a change from work put towards leveling out one section where we will re-install a new metal fence to separate our property and the pasture where some cows graze occasionally. It’s amazing how something completely opens up when you cut down a couple of trees and a mangled fence as well as destroying the tall weeds that could be mistaken for trees. I forgot or didn’t quite realize how big our backyard really was. Apparently with our irrigation we only pay $10/month for unlimited use and it is shut off the beginning of November and then turned back on the end of March. We’ll have our culinary water as backup for those times when the irrigation comes through really muddy from rainstorms in other areas or when they have to turn it off for those same types of reasons. I am just excited to finally have a lawn and a few other things that come with getting rid of the dirt lot to the back of us. I have found that it is nice to have Adam home when anyone comes by (which isn’t that often), but when people do stop by he seems to gain the same embarrassment that I have had for some time and is finally making it a priority to get a plan in place and work to accomplish that goal. I should just invite people over during the times he is home so that that motivation continues. I guess I would kind of be using people, but it is for a very good cause : ) On Friday morning Adam left at 5:30 for a day long horseback ride on a trail up to Kolob. I caught a ride with the wife of someone else on the trip and we drove up to where our ward was having an over night campout by the lake up there. Adam had arrived there at 6 p.m. He hasn’t been on a horse since he was young, so he knew he would be feeling pain for the next couple of days, but did not know that he would feel that pain of soreness right after he was done. We rode back with Adam in the truck and pulled the trailer with the horses back as well. I was kind of glad to have the excuse of getting the horses back, since the boys still have nights where they wake up and aren’t exactly pleasant or reasonable and I am always worried about that when opportunities for camping come up. I didn’t want the ward mad at us because they couldn’t sleep from two crying boys. I asked Adam how the trip was and if he could have just taken the same route on a 4-wheeler and he said, "No Way!" There was things they went up and down that he would never take a 4-wheeler on and he was surprised that horses would go up and down them. He even had a 'Man from Snowy River' experience as you can see from the first pic. The 2nd to the last picture is of a guy in our ward that is a hard core roughing it kind of guy. Adam said that the horses were so tired from the day long ride that only one horse with this 10 yr old girl on it was able to go up that part and the others got off and walked and so that guy grabbed on to his horse's tail to have the horse pull him up (his horse is actually the one that he let Adam use for the ride and Adam was really glad he got that one). Tyson and Lincoln thoroughly enjoyed sitting on Brooke's horse before they were loaded up. If those boys could have a horse they would be in heaven. Saturday evening we went over to the demolition derby at the fair. We left Lincoln with g-ma & g-pa and somehow Tyson talked Adam into letting him come along, which I was looking forward to a date with just Adam, however Tyson was actually a very good boy and easy to please. We watched the fireworks at the end and then sat and waited for a while as the crowd dispersed and clogged the exits. On our way out we found someone from our ward that was distraught as her and her daughter did not have a ride home and her cell phone died and they didn’t know what else to do. We offered them a ride home and ended up taking the daughter as the mom had another option that came up. She hasn’t made the best choices in life and actually does not have custody of her daughter, but her mother takes care of her daughter. I just feel so bad for her and the struggles and pain that she inflicts on herself. Throughout the week Tyson was given the responsibility to feed the neighbor’s cat. He did very well and was so responsible walking over by himself with the food and giving the one scoop and checking the water and then coming back. On Wednesday Adam and I went to the temple. We finally were able to have an individual sealed to his parents, which he has been waiting for since 2008. I found his card caught in the back of a shelf next to the computer not too long ago while cleaning it out and it has been on my mind to get the work done for him. I feel much better now after having done that. Today I taught Tyson’s class and ended up with Lincoln in there as well since he somehow managed to wet his pants through his diaper while sleeping on Adam’s lap during Sunday School.

Still Making a Little Progress

On Monday Adam had his younger brother Jared over to help finish cutting up the trees that he had cut down last weekend. Stuart came and dug out the trunks with the backhoe and as usual Tyson and Lincoln enjoyed the commotion. On Friday afternoon Adam hauled a couple loads of gravel to our house so we continue to make progress on our lot. We missed Adam most of the week as he was gone for 3 days to Flagstaff Arizona for a church he was working on there and then on Saturday morning when we are all looking forward to having him around or being able to go with him wherever he goes, he had to go to Brianhead to check on a job there since it had been raining and he wanted to make sure the job was done right. Lincoln was very unhappy when Adam had to leave Saturday morning, that he produced tears and and let us all know by the way he was crying that he was very unhappy. My boys always seem to know when it is about that time of the week (end) and they should be spending time with their dad and they always seem to be pretty disappointed and crabby when it is taken away from them. On Friday I took the boys over to St George to meet up with Susie and Stephanie and their kids at Susie's friend Comet's pool. It was very nice since the pool only goes to 3 ft 6 inches deep and Tyson can walk around in a good area by himself with the water up to his shoulders/neck. We went to 'The Children's Place' and grabbed a few shirts that were on sale afterwards. Lincoln took a very late nap and then we joined Wynn and Phyllis over at Shelley and Cody's for dinner. They were out of town at Lake Powell and Phyllis had been watching the twins (Jace and Jenna) all afternoon over there during their late nap. On Friday I ended up cleaning the house and balancing the company check book and posting a few other invoices and such, since Adam had to go check on that job. It was nice to rotate between my house and the company stuff and have a change of pace as I got each little segment/chore done. I got it all done by the time Adam returned and we bought pizza for dinner and took it to the Flat to share with Wynn and Phyllis and spend the rest of the evening. This morning I started those yummy homemade crescent rolls for dinner later today and finished the last step before letting them rise the 3 hours while we were at church. In between the 2 simple steps of preparing the dough I prepared the lesson for the 12 & 13 yr old class that I was asked to substitute in. With the exception of last week I had substituted 3 weeks in a roll before that and then between this week and then substituting in Tyson's 4 yr old class next week, I am becoming quite the regular substitute of all ages between 4 and 17 years old. It hasn't been too overwhelming since we were able to cancel Webelos for July and are not starting again until a little further into August, so I have enjoyed a little "summer" break with that calling. Some entertaining things from the boys' end is when Lincoln likes to try and penalize you for not doing what he wants by saying "fine I not pwaying wif you" (aka I am not playing with you). He picked that up from playing with Tyson and the twins (Erika and Emily), it's just funnier when he says it, because he will use that phrase for everything. He also likes to shout out of the blue "shut up piggy", which he isn't trying to say anything mean by it, but just likes to say it and I have no idea where he got it...I take that back I think Tyson and Marshall have said some silly phrases like that when they are just spouting out what comes to their head. It is most unpleasant and down right embarrassing to have him say it after the sacrament prayer. Luckily I managed to be quick to cover his mouth because he was talking loud and then I realized what he was saying so I was double glad for my quick reflexes. These pictures I snapped of the boys as we went out to the Flat one afternoon. Lincoln had his hat and Tyson wanted one as well (which is a little too small but still cute).

They Like to Travel

This past week we celebrated with Daniel his birthday with a barbecue at Aunt Roma Ann's house as well as a sprinkler under the trampoline and a slip and slide for the kids. It's always nice to have good reasons to get together and eat food. Earlier we were out at the flat trying to get the chain saw fixed so that we could try to get started on cutting down a couple of trees that are partially dead at our place, but we were unsuccessful. Adam said he use to always be the one to fix the chain saws, but has been out of touch for some time. On Wednesday Adam and Stuart traveled to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then to Page Arizona, then to Kayenta Arizona, then through Monument Valley and then went by Mexican Hat and up into Height Utah and then down into BullFrog/Lake Powell to measure two roofs and came home through multiple other places for a total of 900 miles and getting home at midnight. We figured he pretty much drove to Oregon and half way back in one day (with a lot of ups and downs and arounds to get where they were going). Talk about crazy travelers. Thursday evening we were just plain tired as the boys had been dealing with a little asthma for Tyson and stomach pains still for Lincoln the day before and hadn't left the house much of the day due to late naps for the boys, so we drove into Hurricane and picked up a pizza and went to the park for dinner. Tyson and Lincoln just ran and played on the playground equipment. They used a lot of energy up, which only put us to bed after midnight with Lincoln holding on as long as he could. When we left the park around 9 p.m. Tyson said, "That's a fun summer park. When can we go back?" On Saturday Heidi and I spent some time trying to make her numbers match from the selling of the wheat in trying to get Wynn his money for the wheat and Angelyn her money for the buckets. After a few hours we were successful and then Heidi did some custom tayloring for me with a few pieces of clothing. Adam spent the morning getting his guys going on the old Hurricane Elementary roof and then had Stuart help him get the chain saw fixed and went to work cutting down one of the trees in our back property. We went with Stuart and Heidi to the temple and then to Texas Roadhouse (not surprising if Adam can put his 2 bits in on where to eat). A good way to finish off the week. I snapped this picture just now since I didn't really have any this past week, which reminded me that Lincoln was bailing off the couch and collided with Tyson's head and ended up with a puffy bruised up eyelid. These two boys as well as their dad sure do love to wrestle. I can tell that Adam is getting them ready for football season by their wrestling moves turning into running tackles and the "Tackle, Touchdown, Sack" words coming back into play. Boys will be boys.

Stomach Pains and Gunny Sack Racing

It sure is nice to have Wynn and Phyllis home from their 3 ½ week trip. We were all excited to see them last Sunday evening. My trips to the flat increased this past week tremendously. On Monday evening we went to Adam’s Grandpa & Grandma’s place referred to as “Grandma’s” for a potluck with the Manwaring family, Adam’s aunt’s family who was having a family reunion there for the week. It was fun to get to meet and get to know more of his cousins, especially ones I’ve never met before. On Tuesday afternoon Tyson started getting pains in his stomach, which after having Phyllis check him out she suggested that we take him to the InstaCare to see if they could figure out what these pains were, since we thought maybe it could be his appendix, which that proved unsuccessful. Wednesday he was fine as I ran errands all day in St. George while trying to gather together a scout uniform for Adam for a scout meeting that night. By Thursday afternoon he started having the pains again, which I just took him home and then Friday I focused on him only spending a short time outside and then coming in to cool off and drink water more, in case the pains were related to the heat. That proved well, but then mid morning Saturday Lincoln started having the same pains, so we have concluded that it must be some type of stomach virus. Also on Saturday Adam helped put the flags up in the morning and since Tyson went with him then Lincoln and I got ready and walked down Center Street to go watch the LaVerkin parade. Lincoln enjoyed picking up candy and it was nice to be at a parade that he could have a chance to pick it up since when we are in Hurricane at their parades there are so many kids to quickly gather it up that by the time my kids catch on to the concept it has vanished. Afterward we met up with Adam and went to the city park for the boys to enjoy the playground and Adam and Tyson to participate in the 3-legged and gunny sack races. Tyson tried the gunny sack race that didn’t really have an age group section and so as I came up in front of him to record it he had tears rolling down his cheeks and had this look like he just wanted to quit since he wasn’t doing very well. Little did he realize that he was ahead of all the little kids that were his age and was only left in the dust by much older kids. It was a pretty funny site to see. Since Lincoln started having those stomach pains we decided to put everyone down for a nap when we got home and took advantage of the time to get some rest ourselves. It was a pretty relaxing day as we spent the evening out at the flat. While Lincoln slept on the couch, Tyson enjoyed riding his bike around that Will had given Lincoln. I had purchased a new tube for it and Adam put it back together for them earlier in the day. Something interesting to see was when Tyson went cruising down the little slope in the driveway and hopped off to follow g-pa over to check the water on a fruit tree and then as g-pa went back over to the pump at the pond Tyson got back on the bike and rode it the rest of the way and parked it right in front of g-pas truck. I watched as he headed over to g-pa and as he approached the door of the truck he quickly turned around and moved the bike into the weeds away from possible destruction. I was impressed at his quick analysis of what could happen if he left it. I substitute taught another primary class on Sunday. This is the third week of substituting a range of ages from Primary to Sunday School.