Fun and Friends in Utah

We made the long journey to Utah for Savanna's (Kenney's sister) wedding. Since the wedding was on Dec. 23 we also stayed for Christmas. We decided since we were making the trip, we wanted to see as many people as possible. We were able to stay with some of my old roommates and best friends, Kristen and Korinne. We saw Kenney's cousin Nephi and his wife Lindsey and their 3 boys who are almost the exact ages of our boys. We saw Kenney's grandparents and our friends the Ropers the next day. I forgot to take a picture, but Ezra Roper owns a bounce house business and blew up one the of bounce houses in their backyard for the kids to play with. They had a blast and it wasn't too cold either. Some friends (the Torgrimson's) drove in from Central Utah to meet us at a museum so we could visit with them. That evening we went out to eat with the Davis family. It is always fun to catch up with them! We went to church on Christmas Sunday to a singles ward meaning everyone in the congregation were between the ages of 18 and 30. Needless to say, our boys were the only kids. They did surprisingly well. We had such a fun time seeing all of our friends and family while we were there. A huge thanks to Kristen and Korinne for letting the Keys party of 5 stay at their house!

It only took a matter of one hour for our freshly cleaned and vacuumed car to be destroyed.  And yes, Kyler refused to wear a shirt.  I still don't understand why.

There was stuff everywhere, blankets, emptied backpacks, etc.  It was a huge mess.

These boys warmed up so quickly to Korinne (and Kristen).  They loved being at their house!

There was such a love/hate relationship with Millie (the dog).  One second they are happy and petting the dog...

And then they are screaming.  Actually it was just Radley and Damon that had problems with Millie.  It was so funny to watch Radley grunt and point at her.

Kristen and Korinne were such good sports for letting us stay at their place.  Damon would ask everyday when we left if and when we would go back to Fistens aka Kristen's house.  It was really nice to have a place to go and get some downtime and rest!

Not only was there a dog, but they had Legos and a Roku.  The boys were in Heaven!

We spent a morning with Kenney's Grandma & Grandpa.  They showed us around their new home and took us out for lunch.  Kyler was practicing his picture taking skills with this picture.

And this one

Damon was also taking pictures.

Kyler loved Chuck-A-Rama, can you tell?

Going to and from different places was usually the only time Radley got naps.  He did this a couple times in the car to put himself to sleep.  Poor guy was pretty happy for being off schedule so much.

Our museum pass from Lubbock also worked in Utah, so we were able to go to a couple kid museums while we were there.  The Museum of Natural Curiosity was a lot of fun.  They boys never get this excited to help me do laundry!

Radley especially loved being able to touch buttons and have things his size.

There were all kinds of things to climb on and cool rope bridges in the air.  I went through with Radley and Damon at first and they both screamed.  So it was not a pleasant or easy experience for me trying to walk holding both of them across a rope bridge.  However, when Damon went with Kenney he actually walked and enjoyed himself.  I'm just glad he had a good time, even though it was miserable with me.

Trapped in the bank vault!

Finding out what's inside.

Running through the secret tunnel.

Mom take our picture!

Making sand art.

Radley's got the cheese face down!

Getting 85mph wind blown on them!

Our attempt at taking a picture.

The Museum of Ancient Life had some pretty cool tunnels.

Radlley liked them!

They thought the dinosaurs were pretty cool.

I love how he just smiles when he wants his picture taken.

Building their own dinosaur.

They were also impressed with this giant shark.  However, Damon was a little scared.

I was happy to be able to go to In-and-Out while we were in Utah.  I love that place.

They gave us some stickers at In-and-Out.  Can you guess which one is Damon's and which one's Kyler's?  I know there is a difference in age, but there is also a big personality difference.  Kyler's is on the right, if you didn't guess.

Radley also learned how to go down the stairs.  He quiet enjoyed the stairs in every house we went to.

Christmas Activities

Here are some things keeping us busy through the month of December. The boys have had a lot of fun, and I'm glad there's so much to keep us out of the house!

Kyler telling Santa he wants a Wild Kratts movie for Christmas.

Not surprisingly, Damon wouldn't get near Santa.

However, decorating cookies is serious business!

Kyler's snowman cookie

Radley had frosting everywhere, but he was one happy little boy!

Playing with warm snow (shaving creme & corn starch).

Decorating some Ninjabread cookies that Oma got the boys.

The kids all liked the cookies; the adults were not so impressed!

Damon loved decorating and eating his too.

I think next time we will just use a sugar cookie dough rather than a gingerbread dough, but I love the cookie cutters!

Radley is so funny on the swings these days.  He will just hang there for a pretty long time.

He walked around for a good 5 minutes with these on.  He was making the funniest faces too, but this is the best shot we got!

We found out that there were carriage rides through a shopping complex, and I thought the boys would love it; so I used the carriage rides as bribery to get through family pictures.  Kyler was so pathetically sad that he had to wait for 10 mins for the next carriage ride.

Radley was a little nervous at first, but he seemed to like it after a while.  I was shocked everyone looked at the camera for this.  (It probably turned out better than our real family pictures)!

All Smiles!

Damon taking pictures.

Posing with the horse.

It was a really fun ride.  I love getting to do this kind of thing with the boys!

We got a gingerbread train kit for Christmas from the Kevin Keys family, and we all had a really good time building it.

I couldn't pass up this cheesy face from Kyler!

Radley sneaking in from behind trying to get the candy.  All he wanted to do was eat the candy!

By this point the train had collapsed, but there was still some decorating to do! 

Radley kept looking at me saying 'cheese.'

It didn't take long for the eating portion of the gingerbread house activity to commence.  Damon didn't even waste energy using his hands.

I think he enjoyed it!

The Farm and The Farmer

A few months ago, I met a really nice older man at the gym that would bring me vegetables and talked to me almost every time I saw him. He said that we should go out to his house as a family, and he would show the boys the farm he lives on. I told one of my friends that, and she said it sounded creepy, but he was such a nice guy, and he wanted Kenney to come with us so I promise it wasn't creepy!

I am so glad we went!  The boys had an absolute blast and Mr. Langston did too!  He was so cute and had the entire afternoon planned.  He started by showing us his porch, where he left his pumpkins and scarecrows out just to show the boys.  He showed them the windmill, and then took us on a ride in his mule (a little farm truck / 4wheeler thing) to the barn where the tractors were.  He let the boys climb in the tractors and even go for a ride.  We then went inside where he had hats set out for the boys to pick out and take home and a goody bag with a ball and key chains inside.  He had cookies and juice ready for them, and then showed them all of the Santa decorations his wife had set out.  I was so impressed he had so much planned for us!  It was so sweet and kind of him.  The boys keep asking to go to the farmer's house again!

This is my favorite picture of the day.  Mr. Langston was so excited to show the boys everything.  He wanted to hold their hands and take them everywhere.

He had to the coolest little tractor the boys could ride like a bike.  It was a hit!

They had to ride the tractor several times before we left too.

Damon tried to keep up, but he mostly just followed Kyler.

The steering was a little off so Damon had a little trouble.

Radley was not about to be left out.  He wanted to ride too!

The windmill was pretty cool.

The boys climbed up on one of the cotton strippers.  The boys loved it!

They all climbed inside the cab with Mr. Langston, and he let them push all kinds of buttons.

I was amazed at how nice those tractors were on the inside.  He said that was an 2006 model and it cost $120,00!  Wow!  He didn't use them much when he farmed.  His son-in-law now farms, but he still helps out.

He started this stripper up for them, but we didn't take it for a ride.

Those tires are even bigger close up!

They were finding all kinds of things to drive.

Mr. Langston explaining all kinds of things about cotton farming.  He was even a gentleman before we came to the barn and got me one of his jackets to wear!

They found another tractor!

Takin' a ride!

Inside Mr. Langston giving the boys hats and goody bags.  Everyone was so happy!  We didn't get pictures of the cookies or Santa Clauses, but we all had a really good time.  I'm not sure if the boys or Mr. Langston had more fun!