The Special Olympics

Plan B was bowling but we were so glad we went to the Special Olympics first. It was completely free, and the floor hockey (which is what we wanted to see) was literally a 4 minute drive from our home. Without a doubt the coolest thing about the Olympics was seeing people from all over the world. When we first got there Luke and I were standing shoulder to shoulder with the floor hockey team from Malaysia. The teams we saw there were Afghanistan, Kuwait, Jordan, Costa Rica, Japan, The Isle of Man, Malaysia, Austria, Hungary, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, USA, South Africa, Gibraltar, Honduras, Australia, and Jamaica, and we were only there for one hour. You can definitely see why the Olympic spirit is so infectious. There was so much energy in the arena. There were some crazy Austrian fans (they came from Austria for the Special Olympics) behind us that were screaming and banging things. It was a fun wild time.

South Africa getting ready

the Kuaiti guys getting pumped up and ready to play South Africa

Costa Rica (white with blue trim) vs. Austria (red with white trim ) Austria won 3-2 on a last second goal. It was a really exciting game.

Luke and I tried to get a little closer to the action. There was definitely a lot of excitement in the building.

Jensen somberly ponders the lost opportunities of the 2008 BYU football season

Of course we had to get Luke all dolled up to go to the Special Olympics

Every morning could turn into a fashion shoot when you've got the style that these two do!

Jensen got tired just watching the Olympics

Gimme a piece of that!

I cant help myself with these cute, fat pictures of Jensen! He'll probably hate them when he's older, but when I show them to him now...he seems unaffected.

For FHE on Monday, we made Valentines. It was really fun until Austin let Luke hold the permanent marker by myself.

The 3 Amigos

Go Cougs! This is the finished product - Austin's ice cream birthday cake which is surprisingly not hard to make. Austin decorated this while it was in the freezer, he has some serious skills.

Before the frosting...we bought the vanilla ice cream and made the chocolate! Really fun! We still have one piece for whoever gets here first!

Did I mention the chocolate syrup and oreos we had in the middle?

We had a lot of fun decorating valentines. Jensen mostly watched and...drooled until Luke started dancing and running around and stuff to make him laugh.

Aunt Shawna's Visit

Shawna and her favorite nephews.

We had so much fun when we drove up to Cascade to go out on a horse-drawn sleigh to have 200 elk eat hay from around and under us. It was SO FUN! It was really cold so Jensen was covered with blankets (including his little face) most of the time. He's actually in this picture with me - under the blankets!

The elk really liked our jokes! Yak it up buddy!

Shawna and her favorite elk sharing a meal

Austin made great friends with his elk, which basically pushed him off his seat and bit at his bum while trying to eat the hay from underneath him

One of the few shots where you can see Jensen's cold face!

Shawna, did Grammy Williamson make that awesome hat for you?

Back for seconds at Austin's expense...!

Austin somehow forgot his hat - so he had to improvise. We had a Boise Hawks hat in the car and then he used my scarf to cover his ears - it was really cold so try not to judge him!

I think Shawna and Jensen look a little alike in this pic

Luke had a lot of fun with his Aunt Shawna

Jensen and his cousin, Savannah, who is one month younger. Yeah, he's a big kid.

True Athletes

This is Jensen's outfit when we play baseball and when I say "we" I mean the whole family. We usually play in our living room with Austin pitching, Luke batting and Jensen and I play outfield (though Jensen "pitched" today after lunch). It's pretty fun. Luke even insists that Jensen wears a glove. Luke actually hits the ball about 50% of the time.

The other day Austin decided to make a hockey goalie mask for Luke. I am always amazed that Austin can do/make whatever he sets his mind to. Seriously, it's incredible. He made this mask out of an old box, some string, rubber bands, some other thing that I can't remember what it's called and an old coat hanger - put it all together and you get this creation! It fits perfectly on Luke and he LOVES it! Why do we ever buy him gifts? Jensen can also fit it too since he is more than half Luke's size.

Jensen is SERIOUS about his career as an NHL goalie. I can already see myself as a hockey mom. (That's definitely something Austin has always wanted to hear me say...but I openly hope never happens.)

Luke is acuaully pretty good at stopping the puck, but prefers much more to play a different position.

Some might say I'm a little biased, but I think Luke has some real skills at most sports. He LOVES all sports and is really good at them for a two year old. These videos prove my point...

Haircuts...finally!

Austin is a master at cutting his hair and Luke's. He did these haircuts the other day. I was going to do a before and after picture, but the "before" picture was too hideous to see at the beginning of the blog.

Luke was a little apprehensive at first, but after the promise of a treat, he warmed right up to the idea.

...before the haircut - 2 disgustingly hairy guys

For Christmas, Austin got us the BEST gift (bikes for each of us and a bike trailer for the kids - I've been begging him for this gift for forever!). Anyway, last Saturday we took everyone out for a real ride. It was so fun! Jensen fell right to sleep and Luke cheered for almost all of it - literally. It was so fun because it is an outdoor activity, involving great exercise, that we can do as a family. I would recommend this to anyone with small kids.

We keep these in the closet until Luke is bored with his other toys and then we pull out the blocks. They're a huge mess, but when they come out he loves it!

Jensen just chillin in his exersaucer which is now his "favorite thing to do...every day."

Jensen loves to relax in the recliner, until Luke strikes!

The Chub

How ya like me now, Aunt Ashley?

Luke and Jensen trying to make a break for it "If you can't walk, I'll carry you outta here!"

"Hey man, keep your hands off the merchandise!"

So dang cute!

This pic is for you, Kelsey! Austin's upper thigh after the biopsy

"When you're the best of friends, having so much fun together..."

Jensen's senior picture

"A doo wah!" (get it Sarah?)
Ha, ha, ha Senior Prank, senior prank!

Austin's CK ad proof

When Luke saw this - Austin's biopsy site - we were explaining to him that it was an owee, but Luke saw it and said "TOUCHDOWN!"

Luke pushing Jensen around -he's always trying to make him laugh
The second video is Luke and Austin playing a "game." Luke puts this blanket on his head and rides his bike around trying to run into Austin, while Austin throws pillows really hard at Luke's head, trying to get him off target. Great game. They both LOVE it.