Jamison's super power

After church today Jamison's Primary teacher came up to me in the hallway, barely able to control herself between fits of laughter.
"I have a story to tell you about Jamison", she says.

Oh boy- here we go.

(teacher) "Today we were talking about the Priesthood power being restored to the earth. I asked the class if anyone knew what power had been given to Joseph Smith that helped him be able to restore the gospel to the earth. Jamison immediately raised his hand- 'I know, I know!' After I called on him, he proceeded to jump up on his chair, put his hands out in front of him like he was telling you to stop, and yelled 'The power to shoot fire from your hands!!'"

Wow.
Honestly, I have no idea where this stuff comes from. Fire from your hands?!

At least he's not shy....or reverent, or quiet...

Clayton's birthday

Can't believe it, but Clayton's 8! He has been totally and utterly excited for this birthday to come. Counting the days since Christmas...particularly because it meant a friend birthday party and he will be getting baptized.

(I suppose a slight tangent to explain another qualifier for the "meanest parents" award would be appropriate here. A few years ago we decided that rather than feel like we were constantly throwing our money at huge birthday parties we would set the years the kids got to have one. Year 5, 8, 12, and 16 are the years for friends. The rest of the years, sadly come and go with just a family to shower gifts and attention upon them. These poor kids... Actually, it's given them something great to look forward too and our budgets a little bit of a break! It's a system we love.)

Anywhoooo...friends! 8 friends to be exact. Eight 8 year old boys. And sledding was the activity of choice. So 8, 8 year old boys on the sledding hill. If that doesn't incite fear in you, then you are braver than I.

SO, SO, SO much energy. But the boys had a great time- they all lived to tell about it- no bones or any body parts were broken- and the cake and hot cocoa was the perfect ending. Even the weather cooperated- sun came out and it warmed up to 30 or so. We all had a wonderful day and Clayton loved every minute.



The new "birthday":) suit that Clayton has been asking for forever! Doesn't he look great! Perfect fit Grandma.

And he is super excited to be a Cub Scout. Totally decked out. (Go Grammy!)

And yes, that is a finger splint that you are seeing in the pictures. Clayton had a run-in with a basketball at the church the night before his birthday. Didn't end up being too bad-just a few days splinted and he is good as new.
We loved celebrating Clayton. He is one cool kid and we love the energy he brings to our family. It feels like he is growing up so quickly. But he's such a nice, kind- GREAT boy (ok, I'm a little biased). Love you buddy!

BRRRRRRR!!

Yesterday the kids were home on a snow day- ok, cold day. It was 35 degrees BELOW zero! A little bit of a hazard for kids to stand at the bus stop.
So, in light of feeling like we live in the coldest place on earth, we've decided to start keeping track of how many days in the winter we are actually colder than Antarctica.
So far... Antarctica=0, Potsdam=1.

On a lighter note, Lincoln has taken up singing lately. He can often be found walking around the house singing a "Lincoln" song. Lyrics by Lincoln. Tune by Lincoln. They are awesome.
This morning the song sounded something like this:

"I love Clayton, I love Jamison, I love Emmy, I love Abby (his horse), I love George (his other horse), I love Daddy, I love Mommy, I love Buzz, and I LOOOOVE (top of the lungs for full dramatic effect)..... Myself!!"

We love you too buddy!

January update

Despite what it looks like- we did not skip Christmas at the Pykles' house. In fact, my favorite present-our new camera!- currently holds all the evidence of the wonderful Christmas that we had. I just have to figure out how to get it all off...Hmmm.

It got WARM here for a couple days around New Years so we headed outside- at least the boys did with Ben. Emmy was the last to take her turn with the stomach flu, which made a clean sweep through the house for the holidays. Fun!

Plus some first teeth lost for Jamison. He's always looking for a way to get one step ahead and 2 teeth at once doubles your return from the tooth fairy.

And- Lincoln's first "shiner". (Oh trust me-there will be more.)

As for "Dumb Head"? I hardly know how to make excuses any more- I just blame everything I possible can on 2 older brothers!!

Lincoln's 3rd Birthday

Lincoln came to our family in the middle of a snow storm so I suppose it's only appropriate that his 3rd birthday started at 20 degrees below zero! BRRRRR!! You can see the cold...

We had a really fun day celebrating Lincoln. This little is boy is so full of LIFE! Everything is exciting, everything is an adventure, everything deserves full energy, and everything great gets a "THWEET!" (sweet) from Lincoln.

Yep- the horse cake got a great big "THWEET!"

His horse obsession continues, but he is also branching out to a new fixation with Buzz Lightyear- and actually if you just put Buzz on a horse then you have the happiest 3 year old on the planet.

Most days I'm pretty sure that Lincoln could raise himself. He is the most independent, determined little boy. He potty trained himself-let me know when he was ready. He's been dressing himself for months and can have a full conversation with anyone who will stop to listen. He keeps up with us all and always has a smile or giggle to stop us in our tracks for a hug.

The older he gets the more sure I am that he came because we need him- he is so loved by us all. Happy Birthday buddy!

2 Yellow Belts

For those unfamiliar with Tae Kwon Do, the advancement to Yellow Belt...is a good thing! (something I just learned this last month too!)
Clayton and Jamison have been taking TKD for a couple of months now and taking to it very well. They really enjoy it and have surprised me at how hard they are working at this. I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised that they love the kicking, punching, running and yelling that is TKD- but still...

So last week their "Master" tested them in front of the class to advance from white to yellow belt- and they did great. They're kind of like little robots doing their drills up and down the floor but it was really fun to watch and see them having such a great time.

I especially love to see them do it together. Congrats boys!

Halloween blur

Halloween this year seems a bit of a blur- it came so fast and was over before I felt like I even got the last costume fixed right. Plus Ben was out of town so I felt like I was just in survival mode.
And to top it off, Ben and I officially entered the history books as the "meanest parents in the world" because we didn't let the kids go trick or treating on Sunday night (in a town where they really do trick or treat on Sunday)... so we were trying extra hard to help the kids enjoy the village, school, and friend parties.

In the end-the parties ended up being just the right amount of "fun" and the kids had a great weekend. Sunday night we locked our doors, shut off all the lights, and gathered in our bedroom with candles, board games, and caramel popcorn. It was a great night- and the kids have let us know that the "meanest parents" thing may be dropped by Thanksgiving.

(Emmy aka Athena, Jamison aka Race Car Driver, Clayton aka Master Ninja, and Lincoln aka Superman!) Whew!