Camping with the Hoovers

Last week, we went to Lava Hot Springs with the Hoovers. Mike wasn't really wanting to go because all of the work that was involved, but we ended up having a blast. The kids loved playing around the camp ground, roasting marshmallows and swimming at Lava. I hope we are able to go camping more often next year. It was nice getting away from tvs and reality for a while.




I was so proud of Tanner. I have never had him wear shoes so I was nervous about him walking and possibly crawling all over. He did awesome in his shoes and walking on the bumpy ground. Sometimes, we had to put him in his new playpen because he just kept bonking his head on everything and eating all the sticks and rocks he could find.



Laura had a great idea and had the kids go on a scavenger hunt. The kids found a certain number of rocks, sticks, and leaves. Then, they found their treasure which was a bag filled with fun toys.



Here are the babies at Lava. Tanner finally loved playing in the water. He kept walking up and down the stairs in the pool and would go head first when he missed a step.



The men showing off their physiques.



Landen loved shooting hoops with his Daddy!



Bombs away!



The family.

Happy Birthday Tanner!

Tanner turned 1 yesterday. This year has flown by. We were out of town camping so that's why I'm a little late with the post. Tanner has been such a fun addition to our family. Gage and Landen absolutely adore Tanner. Tanner loves playing with balls, cars, and anything he's not supposed to be into. He has started opening up the cupboards and loves to play with the real vacuum. He is walking all over and did great with shoes on the unsteady ground when we were up camping. Tanner's personality is really starting to come through. He is quite determined when it comes to something he wants and becomes upset if I don't let him have it. He loves to swim and splash in the water and play in our new backyard.


Tanner has more nicknames than anyone I know including Tanner bananers, Nanners, Cubby, Budzos, Chunker Munkers, and Gage recently started calling him Chunks.

I am so glad Tanner can be a part of our family. I love having 3 boys and I know they will continue to be the best of friends. I love ya Nanners!

Happy Birthday Gager!!!

Happy birthday Gager! I can't believe he turns 6 today. Gage has been talking non stop about this day for a long time. All day he has been going around asking "Whose birthday's today?" We made him a nice birthday breakfast that he requested and then gave him a brand new bike. He has been riding around on the tiny one he got when he was 3 so this bike is long overdue. Maybe we can work on getting rid of the training wheels soon.

We are waiting to throw a joint party with Tanner when my sister comes into town so there will be more pictures to come.


Gage will be starting kindergarten in a few weeks. My baby isn't a baby anymore. I even held him back a year because of his August birthday. I am so glad I was able to spend that extra year with him. He is so loving and has really grown into an awesome little boy. Some things Gage enjoys are the tv series Ben 10. We have moved away from Scooby Doo, but Ben 10 still has monsters and aliens. I think it is just a little more mature I guess. He also is quite the couch potato. Sponge Bob is on all day long and Gage could literally sit and watch it all day long if I let him. Gage is still really into doing crafts and coloring. He loves drawing pictures of his family and his favorite aliens and monsters. Gage is very analytical. He talks his way through problem solving and uses his hands a lot to help explain things. He also loves playing on the computer and jumping on the trampoline. Gage is also a fish. He loves to swim and is getting really good at it since I made him endure those private lessons. He will thank me someday, I think.

I am so grateful that I am able to be Gage's mom. He has been such a blessing to our family and I am so thankful our Heavenly Father sent him to us. I love ya buddy!

Tanner is Walking!

Tanner took his first steps when he was 11 months old. Now he is really walking. Gage and Landen get so excited when he starts walking. They think he walks crazy because he is so unsteady on his feet. Tanner can now even push himself up from a sitting position to stand and start walking. Take a look at my boy in action!

Happy 24th of July!

For the 24th, our friends Chris and Heidi invited us over to Chris' parents house for a BBQ, swimming, and fireworks. We had so much fun. Check out our party below!

Come on in Tanner, the water's warm!

Bombs away!

My baby is almost 1. I can't believe it!

I have to go potty real bad!

My kids adore Chris and Heidi. We always have so much fun hanging out together. Thanks for letting us join the party!

Summer of Lagoon Fun

One of our favorite things to do as a family is go to Lagoon. For the second summer in a row, we have season passports and have a blast going. It is so nice living just 20 minutes away and going for a couple hours whenever we want. Here are some pictures of the fun times we have had.

Gage and Landen are inseparable. They are each other's sidekicks. They were so cute on this ride. They went on it three times in a row and Landen was always the driver. They kept bobbing up and down and laughing so hard. I thought Gage was going to fall out.


Tanner's Lagoon experiences consist of being strapped into a stroller with every snack imaginable given to him to keep him happy. This is a rare moment where Tanner was free from his stroller. We usually go home when Tanner is done. Hopefully next year will be better for him.

The whales are a family favorite.


Gage thinks he is so daring!


When Gage was 3 years old, we went to Disney World and I took Gage on the Tower of Terror. If anyone has been on this ride they know how scary it is. Ok, probably not the best judgement on my part but I was excited that I had a tall 3 year old that met the height requirement. Doing this has scarred Gage for life. He remembers and consistently reminds me to this day how scared he was. Because of this, Gage wouldn't go on any fast rides or rides that go high up in the air. Well, this year he will be six and we thought it was time to leave kiddieland. In order to make it happen, we bribed the kids with snakes. They had to go on a big ride. I was hoping for The Spider or the Wild Mouse but we made it to the Tidal Wave. Baby steps I guess.

The kids had a great experience on the Tidal Wave so we moved onto the Tilt a Whirl and The Scambler.

Gage and Landen loved being able to squish their Daddy on the scrambler.

Landen really does love Tanner!


Gage endures the train ride on every trip to Lagoon for Landen's sake.

The Tooth Fairy Came!

I can't believe I have a child old enough to be losing teeth, but I do. I took Gage and Landen to the dentist a few weeks ago and was told Gage would be losing his two front bottom teeth soon. I didn't think much of it at the time. Then last Friday night on July 25, Gage came running into my bedroom saying he had lost a tooth. I didn't believe him at first because he never even mentioned his tooth being loose. He held up his tooth proudly to prove it. I had originally dreaded this day because you always hear stories about kids with teeth hanging on by a root and having to trick them into letting you "see it" when in reality you are going to yank the sucker out. Gage said he just kept wiggling it and he simply pulled it out. He said it didn't even hurt.

As many people know, Gage is a junk collector and he wanted to save his tooth "forever and ever." Mike and I had to really talk the tooth fairy up and tell him how much money he would get if he left it under his pillow. Finally, Gage agreed and went to bed that night dreaming of tooth fairies and dollars. I had to work the next day, but when I called him to see if the tooth fairy had come Gage was so excited. Mike said he woke right up and checked underneath his pillow and showed Mike the surprise waiting for him. I hate to say how much money we gave Gage but we had to get him to agree to not keep it. We told him you get more money for the first tooth you lose. The tooth next to it is really loose so we could be getting another tooth fairy visit relatively soon. This could get expensive!

Move over Michael Phelps!

Gage and Landen finished out their intense swimming lessons last Tuesday. I wanted to recap lessons 3 through 5 since the first two were full of crying and screaming. Lesson 3 was on a Thursday and pretty much went the same as the previous two lessons. Gage cried and whined for the entire 2o minutes and Landen screamed. The instructor initially said by Lesson 3 the kids know who's boss and listen to him. I'm glad my kids could be the ones to prove him wrong. Mike attended this lesson and couldn't believe it. He took away their prized possessions. Gage's Ben 10 watch and Landen's cars were hidden.

Monday was Lesson 4 and I had to endure it alone. I know bribing isn't the best policy but sometimes there is a time and a place for it and I was desperate. I told Gage and Landen they could pick out a toy at the toy store if they were good for their last two lessons. Both agreed and I was prepared for the worst. Lesson 4 started with Gage and he was an entirely different child. He did awesome! He was swimming and actually enjoying himself. When Gage finished he said, "Wow mommy, that was a short lesson." It's amazing how short a lesson seems when they aren't crying. Landen was up next and I actually thought he would just follow in Gage's footsteps. I was wrong. The screaming continued for the entire 20 minutes. Landen always has to go to the bathroom right after because he swallows so much water.

Tuesday was Lesson 5. On the way there I was telling Gage he still needed to be good for this last lesson if he wanted his toy. He said, "No problem." Landen and I had the following conversation:

Me: "Landen you need to be good for this lesson or I won't
buy you a new toy."
Landen: "Mommy, I don't want to be good."
Me: "You don't want to be good? Don't you want me to buy you
that shiny new fast car you saw?"
Landen: "No, I'll just get it for my birthday because I don't want to be good."
Me: "Landen, if you're not good I'm not going to buy it for your birthday."
Landen: "Ok, I'll just buy it myself."
Me: "Landen, you don't have any money. How are you going to buy it?"
Landen: "I'll use Gager's money."

Needless to say, Landen was not good. Gage was wonderful again and while sitting there listening to Landen scream during his lesson Gage and I had this conversation:

Gage: "Mommy, I get a toy right?
Me: "Yes, Gage. You did great."
Gage: "Landen's crying so he doesn't get a toy? Won't he be sad?"
Me: "He's not being good for his lesson. Landen does not get a toy."
Gage: "Mommy, I don't think Landen is crying. I think they are tears of joy."

Nice try Gage. Glad he tried to stick up for his brother.

Overall, I am very impressed with how Gage is swimming. He never has been able to swim as much as he is now. Landen on the other hand took a step back I think. I just wish the instructor wouldn't have been so confident when I first signed my kids up. He said he could get any kid swimming from one end of the pool to the other by the last lesson. He really should have excluded three year olds.

I actually have signed them up for another week of 5 2o minute lessons starting on the 21st. Hopefully Landen will do better.

Happy 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July. It is so fun hanging out and relaxing with the family. We had a great time this year. I actually worked the night before so my mom came over and watched the kids so I could sleep until 1pm while my Dad and Mike went golfing. Thanks mom! Then we all went and saw the new movie Wall E which is really a cute movie. Landen sat through it which means it must have been good. After the movie, my parents, my sister Cami, Corey and Bobbie, and Casey and Annie all went to have a BBQ at Mike's parents' house. His parents are in San Diego so we thought using their yard would be a lot funner than hanging out in our dirt. Below are some pictures of our fun!

The master chef!

The food was so good. My mom marinaded chicken and pork for over a day.

My dad took no time returning to his old eating habits after his weight loss competition. Oh, that's right, he never really participated in the competition. Now he is introducing Tanner to bad food already. We don't have a chance when it comes to sweets.

Tanner is obsessed with anything round. He kept picking up this huge basketball and throwing it.

I spent $35 on fireworks this year and only 1 out of my 3 children appreciated it. Take a look at the pictures below and you can decide which of my three children was having fun with the fireworks.

Swimming Boot Camp

Gage and Landen have taken swimming lessons at the Clearfield Acquatic Center a few times and my kids still don't know how to swim. I blamed it on their lack of muscles, but have seen many other kids their size actually swimming. Back in May, I signed my kids up once again at the Clearfield pool and they barely started this last Monday. They go twice a week for four weeks. There are usually 6 or 7 kids in each class so one can only guess that maybe the problem lies in the fact that the kids don't get too much one on one time with the teacher. Therefore, I signed my kids up for swimming with a one on one instructor that also started Monday. They go everyday this week for 20 minutes of one on one time. If my kids don't know how to swim after this, I don't know what else to do. The one on one lesson is pretty intense. There are no breaks. It is straight swimming, dunking, floating, and turning for 20 plus minutes.

Monday's lesson went ok. Gage looked like he wanted to cry towards the end because he was so cold and tired but held strong. Landen whined the whole time continually asking the teacher if he could be done. Tuesday was entirely a different story. Gage was doing awesome for about five minutes until the guy told him to get out and jump in the deep end. Gage got out and flipped out. Later I found out Gage just didn't want to jump in the deep end, but instead of simply stating this fact he started crying. I made him get back in and he cried the remainder of the lesson. I wish I had the patience this instructor had. Gage cried and the instructor just kept teaching. He made Gage swim, float, and flip over whether he wanted to or not. It was really difficult to watch. Not because I felt bad for Gage, but because I felt bad for the instructor. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it was Landen's turn. Landen didn't cry the entire time, he screamed the entire time. Needless to say Landen swallowed a whole lot of water. The instructor didn't seem bothered by it. When the lesson was over, I looked at the instructor and said in more of a question, "See ya tomorrow?" He said of course and that by the 3rd lesson the kids usually understand that he is going to make them swim whether they cry or not so they might as well do what he says.

I wish I could tell you what happened on this day 3, but the instructor canceled on me today. We will resume tomorrow but I hope it doesn't mess up all the progress my kids have made. Ha, ha. I kept my kids in the Clearfield lessons because they are layed back and they have fun. Not to mention the fact that I had already paid for them. Below are some pics of today's lessons.

Landen is on the verge of whining about how cold it is.

What a backfloat!

Gage is patiently waiting his turn.

Gage doing his backfloat.