The Happenings of Dallin and Aimee Lykins

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2012-01-15T21:38:00.001-05:00

You may be able to deduce that these pictures are from October. We're a little behind. But don't be offended, we're behind on just about everything, not just blog posts (for example, we moved in to a new house in October and we haven't finished unpacking yet).

Luke's preschool went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch, and Aimee went with him.

In a spinning pumpkin. Chase and David are 2 of his preschool buddies.

The pumpkin he picked from the patch.

On the wagon ride.

Luke loved sitting on these old tractors. We had just a few minutes left and this was what he chose to do for the rest of the time we had.

Eiteljorg

2012-01-10T00:07:00.001-05:00

We went to the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art last weekend. We spent some time wandering in the regular exhibits.

Then we went to the special holiday exhibit, Jingle Rails. It's a room full of electric trains and scenes, made of natural things such as twigs, bark, leaves, etc. There were scenes from all over the country, including a few hot air balloons from the Albuquerque Balloon fiesta, Mt. Rushmore, the Grand Canyon and a waterfall; and there were also some downtown Indy attractions, such as Monument Circle, the IPL building, and Chase Tower.

Adobe pueblo

Standing in front of the One America Tower (behind Aimee's head in the above picture), which is the building that Dallin now works in (the second tallest building in Indianapolis, according to the sign).

The Golden Gate Bridge (no, we don't know that man with the camera, it was just a little crowded and kind of hard to get pictures)

Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts play football.

Inside Lucas Oil Stadium

Luke and Old Faithful Geyser. It's a light that turned on every 3 or 4 minutes.

Old Faithful Inn

Then we went to the Education Center, where there were a lot of kid-geared activities.

This series of pictures illustrates the current problem we're having with Owen and picture-taking. We usually end up with the following types of pictures (and we know that our camera is partly to blame, we're working on getting a new one):

A clear picture of him looking away from the camera.

A fuzzy picture of him smiling and looking in more or less the right direction.

A clear picture of him looking at the camera not smiling.

Luke, on the other hand, is not camera shy.

Owen especially loved playing the dulcimer. He went back to it a few times.

The stagecoach actually rocked. It was pretty cool.

A large statue outside.

Apple Works

2011-10-19T21:50:00.003-05:00

We went to a pumpkin patch last week. Mostly Luke and Owen loved running through the woods and leaves, crossing bridges, jumping off bales of hay, etc.

They did enjoy this huge slide, as well. It was reportedly a little bumpy but still pretty fun.

Branner got worn out, too.

Since it was a weekday we got to go in the corn maze for free. We spent about 30 minutes wandering around in there.

Columbus Touch A Truck

2011-10-19T21:31:00.001-05:00

We met Grandma Jarette, Aunt Laura and Marlee at the Columbus Touch A Truck. We loved the trucks, but not the noise. There were a lot of sirens and horns going off, which Luke and Owen (and Marlee) did not like at all.

Once we went away from the loud trucks, they perked up and had a blast. This mower has 4 blades: front, back and both sides.

That's Aunt Laura, Marlee and Luke in the basket.

We also spent a lot of time on the school bus, the bookmobile, and of course got a sample from the Hostess donut truck!

Happy Baby

2011-10-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

Porch-sitting

2011-10-16T21:33:00.003-05:00

Last week Dallin had to go in to work on Saturday morning. The boys got antsy waiting for him to get home, so they decided to go watch for him on the porch. While they waited for Dallin, they watched cars for a little while.

Leaves

2011-10-16T21:19:00.009-05:00

It looks like Dallin may have gotten a mouthful on that one!

The crew:

Want to guess where those leaves are headed? Right into Mom's face!

A leaf angel?

Owen's goin' in!

This may have been a somersault.

Coming after the photographer, aka Mom!

A little air!

A running start.

Indianapolis Air Show

2011-07-21T20:15:00.004-05:00

This was the World War II bomber that we saw in the hangar of the Greenwood airport. At the air show, we got to go inside.

We just wanted to prove Aimee was there, even though it's not a great picture. Branner was 5 weeks old. They were sitting in a military helicopter.

They had some old cars to look at and sit in.

We always like to fit a little basketball in whenever we can.

Owen is hiding in the mesh below Dallin.

Fire Station

2011-07-21T20:01:00.004-05:00

We went to the fire station with Luke's preschool in May. The best part, obviously, was getting to sit in the trucks!

Nauvoo!

2011-07-17T14:56:00.014-05:00

We took a very bumpy oxcart ride then took a picture with the oxen, named Don and Duke.

I can't remember what they called this thing, but it's a contraption to put oxen in while they get new shoes. Did you know that, unlike horses, if you lift up one of their legs, they will fall over? Whatever it's real purpose, it made a great jungle gym.

We all got "prairie diamonds" from the blacksmith shop.

Here are the boys sleeping in until 9 am! We wore them out!

Here are the boys waiting for the pageant to start (don't they look excited?).

Before the pageant they have a fair with a lot of stations set up for games, crafts, dancing, etc. It was a lot of fun. Luke and Owen got a handcart ride.

We tossed beanbags.

We raced bears up strings (Owen LOVED this one; we had to pry him away from it, multiple times).

Luke won a sack race (Dallin had to go backwards).

Dallin and Luke did some Irish dancing (bagpipes included but not shown).

Luke likes to pose for the camera, usually being silly but sometimes a cute face makes it through. Owen, on the other hand, does not. He rarely likes being forced to take pictures and we often have to bribe him (and even then he usually only looks at the camera but doesn't smile!). These are on the stairs of the temple.

We tried some family pictures by the statue of Joseph and Hyrum at the temple. First was Luke taking the pictures, which is why it's a little askew.

It was late afternoon and to take a picture of the front of the statue we had to have the camera facing the sun, which made them pretty dark. We only had this first one turn out decently, face-wise.

Luke and Owen waded in and threw rocks into the Mississippi River.

Here's the Joseph and Hyrum statue in Carthage. Once again, we had difficulties getting everyone to cooperate. First, Owen was mopey and Luke was hiding.

Then Owen was slightly less mopey but Luke was being silly.

Then they both got mopey (probably because it was taking so long). We tried to have a talk about how if they hurry and smile for the pictures, it would get done a lot faster then they could move on to better things, but I'm not sure it helped much.

Another sad attempt at a picture, this time in Carthage Jail. This time, not only are Luke and Owen being stinkers, but Branner's head got cut out, too!

This one is slightly better.

Luke and Owen (OK, Dallin and I, did, too) had a great time at the "Pioneer Pastimes." Here's Owen walking on stilts:

For once, a great smile from Owen.

And Luke on the stilts. Dallin and I both tried them out, too, and we thankfully did not get either on film! It was a sad sight!

Here we are at the cultural hall, waiting for the show "Just Plain Anna Amanda" to start. The first picture has a good smile from Owen, albeit partially hidden; the second has the better smile from Luke and I.

Some other things we did that we didn't get pictures of: boot and gun shops, ring toss, walk down Parley Street, Family Living Center where they make rope, candles, bread, etc., variety store, bakery, Seventies Hall, and the Visitor's Center. That was all we could pack into a day and a half. We're going to try to go back in the fall when it's not too crowded or hot, but we also wanted to see the pageant so we made this quick trip.

Missed Pictures and Videos

2011-07-09T09:10:00.006-05:00

Aimee and the boys spent a day at the Indianapolis Zoo.

Owen wasn't in the mood to take pictures - this was at the end of the day, not the beginning.

We were just in time to see the penguins being fed.

We saw a lot of other things - the dolphin show, elephants, the walrus, lions, snakes, etc. Unfortunately we didn't get the camera out for any of those thing. Oh, well. We have a pass, so maybe we'll get some pictures next time.

Here's Dallin with all the boys. Branner was almost 1 month old in these pictures.

Here's Luke jumping in the pool. This was at the beginning of the summer; he is a lot less hesitant now but still doesn't hold his nose! Unfortunately all the swimming is taking it's toll. Two nights ago Luke woke up with an earache. We're still not sure if it's just water in his ear or if it's infected. We're putting a mixture of rubbing alcohol and vinegar in a few times a day to try to dry it out, but it hasn't worked yet. We might have to find some good ear plugs for Luke to use at the pool.

Branner B

2011-07-08T17:56:00.008-05:00

3 months

2.5 months

Almost 2 months

6 weeks (an unusually cold day in May)

We like to call him Branner B. At first, Owen would get mad and say, "no, his name is Branner." So we taught him about nicknames, and then every time we used it he would say "that's a nickname." He still reminds us every once in awhile.

Earlier this week Branner had a follow-up visit at Riley Children's hospital with a developmental pediatrician. He is developmentally on track and they are not concerned with anything. We hadn't noticed anything that we thought were problems, either, but it's nice to hear it from the professionals. He'll have one more appointment there in December to be absolutely sure, but if he's OK then, they won't follow him anymore.

Preschool Activities

2011-06-20T20:15:00.006-05:00

Tie dying a shirt.

Playing on the playground.

Field trip to Cold Stone Creamery. The kids got to pick a flavor, mix in sprinkles, eat it, and tour the kitchen.

For S. Patrick's Day they had a leprechaun hunt. They were looking for leprechaun dust, aka glitter.

They also made a leprechaun hat.

They had a dance activity, and this rolling thing was the only thing Luke would participate in (it wasn't just the dancing - he loves to do that; he was hesitant to do group activities most of the time).

Random Stuff From A Long Time Ago, Mostly Branner

2011-06-19T21:25:00.012-05:00

Here's a funny pacifier/going home from the hospital story. Sunday morning, 4/17, a nurse had told Aimee that they usually give people at least 1 day's notice before discharging, so there wasn't a chance that he would go home the next day. So Monday Aimee's sister, Jill, spent the day with Branner since she was leaving that evening. Well, Jill called mid-morning-ish to say that the doctor had told her he might be able to go home that day. Wahoo! Aimee went over to the hospital in the afternoon, when the nurses said that she needed to nurse Branner a few times before he could go home, to make sure he didn't have any breathing episodes or other problems. She fed him once, waited a few hours, and got ready to feed him again. They said that if all went well with this feeding they could go home. By this time it was 7:00 or so. But he needed a few immunizations before he could go home, and they wanted to give him those before he ate. We had to wait for them to come from the pharmacy or wherever the immunizations come from, and that ended up taking a lot longer than anyone expected. So Branner was getting fidgety and we were using a pacifier to try to comfort him. One of the nurses (by this time the shift had changed and it was a night nurse) came to talk with Aimee a little, and wanted to make sure she had everything needed for discharge. When she found out that Aimee was only taking one pacifier home, she said she would go find a few more. Well, she came back with this:

If you can't tell, that is a plastic bag full of these:

About 20 Soothie pacifiers! She figured that would be about all we would need until he grows out of them! Yeah, I would hope so! We definitely lost a few more with the second baby, but I'm not sure that we'll ever be able to go through all of those! Especially since he doesn't really like them any more!

By the time Branner and Aimee got home it was about 10:3o pm. It was a long night, but we were so glad to be home! It was really funny being discharged by the night nurses! You can tell they don't get to do that very often, and they were excited about it.

How would you like to be driving down the highway and see this right in front of you? Freaky!

Luckily, we passed the truck and discovered this:

Luke and Owen loved it! This was awhile ago, but recently we saw one tractor towing 2 behind it! Crazy!

Branner, awake in the swing, 4 weeks old:

Asleep in the swing, 3.5 weeks:

A sponge bath, 3 weeks:

Branner asleep, also 3 weeks old:

The boys slashing in some puddles after a late-April rainstorm:

Luke Discovered Water

2011-06-15T22:33:00.006-05:00

Here's how Branner prefers to spend his pool time. These pictures were taken last weekend on our whirlwind trip to Memphis. (I'd say there was a post on that coming, but we didn't take any other pictures, so that' unlikely!) That's a great "half-smile" from Branner.

The first pool time of this year found Owen camera-shy...

...contemplative...

...cheesy...

...and mopey (because we were trying to convince him to get in the water).

The next few tries at the pool elicited similar responses from Owen.

Thankfully Dallin has the magic touch and was able to convince Owen to get in.

Dallin catching a ball while jumping in. Luke loves to do this, too, but we were never able to catch it.

Luke also loves to get thrown up into the air and splash down. He doesn't even hold his nose! It's a complete transformation from last year, when he loved the kiddie pool but would have nothing to do with deep water. And the year before that he wasn't even interested in the kiddie pool.

Sunday aka Mother's Day

2011-05-10T21:57:00.004-05:00

We pulled the camera out on Sunday.

Guess who wasn't happy to be put down?

So here is another one of Branner from few days ago, so you can see what he looks like content.

Now, back to Sunday.

Imagine...

2011-04-29T15:07:00.015-05:00

OK, everyone, dust off your imaginations; you're really going to need them with this post!

First, imagine that Aimee did not actually forget both the camera and her phone (which also has a camera) on one of the coolest "outings" we've been on in a long time. (But, if

you can't imagine that, then at least cut her a little slack, as she is still getting used to having 3 kids, and the fact that she is even venturing out of the house in the first

week by herself should be applauded).

Second, imagine that this is a picture of the real

sign at the destination of the outing:

If you have a really good imagination you might be able to throw a few kids in that picture, but seeing as we rarely pose at things like that even when we do have the camera, it will take a little more effort.

Third, imagine a few pictures of these numskulls...

In a lobby similar to this...

Watching a few of these...

Land on this...

But try to give them clean clothes and a little less rascally behavior, because they were really very good.

And don't forget this one, sleeping in Aimee's arms instead of on the bed:

Fourth, imagine a really cleverly told story for this next part (but Aimee is using all of her cleverness for the rest of this post, so the story might not be that great).

After watching a few planes land, we headed out to have a picnic lunch. We ended up eating in the car because it was too windy out for us, but before we could get that far we were stopped by a man who introduced himself as the airport manager. He asked us if we would like to go into the hanger to see some planes! O

f course we said yes!

Fifth, imagine some pictures of a few of this kind of small plane in the hangar.

Sixth, try to replace this young man with the aforementioned numskulls:

Seventh, imagine a really cool picture of the boys in front of something very similar to this:

OK, it wasn't nearly this large, but the shape was similar. It was a World War II Bomber, which is owned by a local foundation and is brought to the Greenwood airport once a year for an overhaul, and we just happened to see it. Pretty cool, huh?

As if all of that excitement wasn't enough, as we were leaving the very kind airport manager told us that if we ever wanted to come back he would take the boys up for a ride in a plane! How cool is that? We will definitely be taking him up on that (and we will DEFINITELY take the camera with us!!).

Goofy Owen

2011-04-17T21:59:00.002-05:00

This goofball made us all smile tonight. He's got a thing for hats.

The next few posts are about our new guy, Branner. They are in opposite order and include a lot of details. Luke and Owen have been troopers for the last week and half and are super excited to meet baby Branner. Hopefully it will happen soon.

The Waiting Game

2011-04-17T21:34:00.003-05:00

While we've all had a blast holding, rocking, and feeding Branner, we would much prefer that it be at home rather than at the hospital. Unfortunately it's not meant to be quite yet.

On Thursday night at Friday morning Branner had a few minor episodes that prompted the doctors to want to observe him for a few more days. He had 2 instances of some tremblings in his arms and legs that were somewhere in between normal baby jerking (called clonus) and seizures. The jerking was not accompanied by any loss of vital signs, which is usually what happens during a seizure. But at the same time, it didn't stop when the nurses held on to his limbs, which usually happens during clonus. He also had one brief period of desat; his oxygen saturation went all the way down to 50 (normal is 100) and after not recovering on his own he had to have a little bit of oxygen, but just for a few minutes and that has not happened since.

So the moral of this long story is that we've spent the weekend hanging out, swapping places and taking turns with the baby. Luke and Owen aren't allowed in the NICU because it's still RSV season. Aimee's mom and two sisters, Kristen and Jill, have been a big help with juggling all of this stuff, especially since Dallin had a pretty busy week at work that included two hearings in Chicago.

Don't get us wrong. We're awfully grateful that things are going well and that Branner hasn't had any more episodes . He's started gaining weight, he finishes his bottles in about 5 minutes, and he loves being held. We're done with all of the discharge instructions, and the carseat is under his hospital crib ready to be filled (although when it is filled, Aimee won't be able to carry it since it Branner weighs 9 pounds, and she's not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds). We're looking forward to talking with the doctors on Monday to find out what the plan is.

Warming Up Branner

2011-04-17T21:02:00.003-05:00

Starting on Tuesday night, they started slowly warming Branner up. He did very well during the 5 days of cooling, other than complaining about being cold and hungry (they gave him nutrients through his central line but his stomach was still empty, poor guy). They took about 12 hours to warm his body 1/2 a degree at a time, then he had to maintain his temperature on his own, without the blanket, for 4 hours before he was officially done with the protocol. That happened at about noon on Wednesday, then we gave him his first bottle at 5 pm.

He ate slowly at first but it took him less than 24 hours to get the hang of eating and to start eating much faster. He has tolerated food really well which is another indication that his body has healed well.

Yes, we know it's not the best picture, but it's all we have.

Branner has had some other tests done since being warmed up. He had an MRI, a head ultrasound, and a neurological exam. All of those tests came back clear, which has been very relieving for us.

Branner Berrett

2011-04-17T20:15:00.005-05:00

Branner Berrett was born last Thursday, a week and a half ago now. The name Branner comes from Dallin's family: Dallin's great-grandfather, Noah, rented farm land from Branner Newsome. Berrett is from Aimee's family.

Branner's cord was prolapsed (it was coming before him), which caused it to be pinched closed for a little while. Aimee had an emergency C-section; Branner wasn't breathing when

he was born, so he was quickly resuscitated and then taken to the NICU.

They observed him for a few hours and saw signs of possible seizures, so he was transferred to Riley, the Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. They quickly began what's called a cooling protocol, where he was placed on a special blanket and his temperature was lowered to 92.3 degrees. Having his body temperature lowered caused his organs to slow down, which gives them a chance to heal and recuperate from any trauma they suffered at birth.

After one dose of fenobarbital (anti-seizure medicine), he didn't have any more of the seizure episodes (they never knew for sure if it was actually a seizure). On Friday afternoon they did an EEG, which we found out (not until Monday, of course) was clear of any problems.

Normally the cooling protocol lasts 72 hours, but Branner was eligible for a study they are doing and as part of the study he ended up getting to be on the pad for 120 hours instead.

The cooling blanket has channels inside where water runs through. The big machine to the left of Branner's bed is what kept the blanket at the right temperature.

In the picture above, Branner has an IV in his arm (it was taken out on Monday), the cord in his nose was a thermometer hooked to the cooling machine, and his oxygen saturation probe is on this other hand. On Monday night they also added a central line, which was through his belly button and gave the nurses and doctors access into and out of his blood stream.

Owen Is Three!!

2011-03-21T21:19:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday, Owen!

Owen was so nice to let Luke open presents with him, and not just help him to pull some paper off of the one he was unwrapping, but Luke got to open up a separate one every time Owen opened one. Owen has done an amazing job sharing his new toys, too. He's quick to remember that they are his new birthday toys but he doesn't fuss at all when Luke plays with them (or, in the case of a few of the small cars, practically claims them as his own).

Owen frosting.

Owen eating.

Owen with the finished product.

The model:

Luke frosting.

Luke eating.

Children's Musuem

2011-03-16T15:33:00.006-05:00

A fun trip to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis.

There's a special exhibit on Diego and Dora right now. This first picture is the closest thing we have to a posed picture; it was right at the beginning of the afternoon. Once they got started they were way too busy playing to stop for the camera.

They have stickers all over their shirts from a trip to the doctor's office that morning.

We spent a good chunk of time at this water table. They really enjoyed the fishing (it was magnetic). Here's Owen casting off.

Owen showing off his catch:

Concentration:

Luke's success:

Trains are always a big hit for us. This one was pretty big and had a few holes in the middle that you climbed into to reach the center parts of the table, which was fun.

Owen climbing off the sphinx at the Egypt exhibit:

Driving on the road:

This is a raft that you can sit on then pull the ropes to move it over the river. It took Luke a little while to get the hang of it, but once he did he was pretty excited.

Sitting in the racecar (you can see the wet sleeves from the water table - they both had smocks on and sleeves rolled up, but that didn't seem to make much of a difference).

Luke sliding down a big log-thingy (?).

Owen climbing up the rock wall. This is not typically the type of thing that Owen likes to do, so I was proud of him for doing it.

This was part of the Dora and Diego exhibit. They spent way more time there chasing the spotlights that were moving around the floor. Luke especially loved doing that. That's Luke and Owen, kind of in the middle, crouched on the floor next to the big blue pillar.

Bulldozer to climb into. Thankfully nothing inside (or out) actually moved!

Plastic Insects. They liked putting the bugs into the bird's mouths, but they like playing with the insects more. You know, making the bees sting all the other ones, or having the the flies buzz around our ears, being annoying (as flies are apt to be). Luckily there were no spiders; who knows what they would have come up with if there had been.

Mud and Sillies

2011-03-07T22:50:00.004-05:00

On one of the first warm days last month we went outside to play a little. Well, Luke and Owen were playing while Aimee cleaned out the car (and obviously didn't pay enough attention to what the boys were doing). They found some cool mud puddles. They went back and forth from the mud puddles (it was squishy and dirty and that's what little boys love) to the water puddles (they are just as much fun to splash in). Then when Aimee went to take some pictures, they were hams for the camera.

Gymnastics Field Trip

2011-02-27T22:23:00.004-05:00

A preschool fieldtrip to do gymnastics:

He really was having a good time, I promise!

I know this picture is fuzzy, but can't you just imagine the look on his face as he's trying to catch himself from falling and reaching out for help?

Luke loves anything that involves jumping.

At the end they gave kids paddles to hit the balloons with, but there weren't enough for everyone so Luke and Owen didn't get one. They were super disappointed, so when we got home we made our own paddles out of paper plates and they had a blast with them for a few days.

The balance beam was a favorite with both Luke and Owen, but Owen especially loved it and kept going back for more.

Preschool Pictures

2011-02-27T22:08:00.004-05:00

Luke has started attending a preschool. They take a lot of pictures, and it's a lot of fun for us to see what activities he enjoys while there.

It would not surprise any of us if we were to learn that it was Luke's idea to put the trampoline in front of the basketball hoop! Don't know if that's the case, but it is certainly in the realm of possibility.

These days, if he's in the right mood. Luke is all about taking cheesy pictures. Sticking his tongue out is a major part of that.

In this one they are throwing indoor snowballs - cotton balls soaked in water - at targets. Luke loved this activity.

Hockey

2011-02-08T21:56:00.004-05:00

We had a crazy storm last week: ice, then snow, then ice, and eventually more snow. So, naturally, we played a little ice hockey. These pictures are in a weird order, sorry. We took pictures and video on two different days, and they are all mixed together.

This was after the last of the snow, so Dallin and Luke cleared a little ice rink off. It made the ice less slippery, so Luke did a lot better. Plus the border of snow made a boundary so the puck didn't slide out of bounds so far. And they had some snow to pack around the goals so they didn't slide around.

This was the first day, when they played on straight ice. It was much more slippery and there's no defined rink. There was a bit of wind and the goals kept sliding around. They are made to be water polo goals for a pool, so they're pretty light.

It was pretty funny watching Luke get used to being on the ice. He fell quite a bit but it never really bothered him.

Owen didn't end up playing hockey at all. The first time, when it was so icy, he went out, fell once and wanted to go back inside. Then the second time he said he was going and he got all bundled up, but then he wouldn't go outside at all. That suited Aimee just fine, because it gave her an excuse to stay inside.

The first two videos are from the first day (you can hear Owen crying). The second two are from the second day--although they weren't right after each other. I think it was Wednesday and then Saturday. And I stepped out there today (Tuesday) and it was still quite slippery. We had a few days of warmer weather when it started to melt, but now it's gotten colder again.

Lights on Temple Square

2011-02-08T21:22:00.005-05:00

While in Utah we went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights.

Emma, Kyle, Molly, Thomas, Lettie, Kristen, Janell, Owen (down low). No idea who the kid in the very front left corner is. Dallin, Luke, and Anthony were lagging and didn't make it into the picture (Aimee was the photographer). Jill ditched us that evening but we forgave her because she had dinner waiting for us when we got home.

We bundled Luke the best we could but he started crying about being cold after about 5 minutes. He must be Aimee's son.

Owen refused to wear a warm hat that covered his ears; he preferred his new (from Christmas the day before) BYU baseball hat.

Why did we wait until the end to take a picture? We always do that, and end up with at least one sourpuss. This night's winner was Luke.

The Christus in one of the visitor's centers.

Some of the cool nativities.

Vacation Inside a Vacation

2011-02-04T20:24:00.003-05:00

While we were in Utah over Christmas we took a few days of vacation. We stayed a night at the Lava School House Inn in Bancroft, Idaho. As the name may indicate, it used to be a school. The pictures of the inn are from their website. We didn't take any pictures other than the ones in the gym. Also, it didn't look like that when we were there; it was covered in snow.

This is the room we slept in. There were beds for about 20 people. We went with Aimee's family, her Aunt ReGina, and the Jackson family (Aimee's cousins).

The kitchen.

The entryway.

Our games in the gym. We played dodgeball, chaos (a dodgeball-like game that Kristen, the PE teacher, taught), volleyball, four square, and a little bit of basketball.

Watching the action in the gym.

Owen got tired of the action after a little while and needed a quieter activity (although he was still in the loud gym, so his surroundings weren't quiet).

Is this a cool action shot or just a blurry picture?

After spending the night at the inn we went to Soda Springs, Idaho, to see a geyser. This picture was taken from inside the car, as Owen was asleep and Luke was afraid of what was going to happen. He thought it was a volcano and would hurt us, and it took about 30 seconds of the geyser erupting for him to be convinced that we were safe in the car.

The last stop was Lava Hot Springs. First we swam in the indoor heated community pool (Aimee, among others, was sorely disappointed in their claim of "heated"). Then some members of the group (the Lykins family excluded) braved the outdoor hot springs. The Berretts (and company) are on the right side of this picture, snapped from inside the lobby. Oh, by the way, when we got in the car after stopping by the hot springs to say goodbye to this group, our thermometer read 17 degrees. Farenheit. No joke.

This is a volleyball game, complete with cheerleading from Jill, in the middle. Dallin and Luke are playing basketball in the very back.

This is a dodgeball game.

Chaos (the game and the atmosphere):

Hogle Zoo

2011-02-04T20:09:00.002-05:00

Christmas Lights at the Hogle Zoo. The tigers were very cool; our camera did not catch the "coolness" very well.

There were 2 reindeer on loan from somewhere else.

Here's Luke and Owen feeling the reindeer antlers (not the ones attached to the animals).

Nana touching the reindeer antlers.

Apparently we didn't take any pictures of the lights. Oh, well. Aimee did lose a glove that night, so maybe that was the excuse for the lack of pictures.

Video Overload

2011-02-04T16:43:00.003-05:00

A few videos, some kind of recent, some pretty old.

Luke playing with his birthday truck:

Owen on Luke's birthday:

Jumping on the trampoline while on vacation (in the summer):

Bees baseball game in Salt Lake:

Playing in the pool at Aunt Jill's house (Dallin's sister):

Owen rolling down a hill:

Second try for Owen:

At the family reunion with Aimee's sister, Kristen:

Dancing

2011-01-25T23:02:00.003-05:00

Luke is a dancer. He often dances to music in movies and other places that he hears it. Sometimes it's not whole body dancing but just strumming a guitar. We have a game that you hook up to the TV and step on the arrows to the beat of the music (like Dance, Dance Revolution but a different brand). Luke loves it.

Aimee was running the video camera and was very comfortably settled in her gliding rocker. Once or twice she thought about moving so as to get the dancing from the front, always decided against it. Luckily both kids turn a lot while they dance so we still get to see their faces a little.

Snow Play

2011-01-25T22:38:00.004-05:00

The next two pictures were the first time it snowed in December, and the boys were so excited to go out even though it was barely a dusting. Owen's trying to make a snow angel. You can imagine it didn't turn out too well.

This picture is evidence that, occasionally, the boys both smile at the same time for the camera. Drat that there was something wrong with the settings so it is fuzzy.

This is a different snowstorm a few weeks later. Here's Owen throwing a snowball:

Owen trying to get up from a snow angel (again, they don't turn out quite so good when it takes so much effort to get up off the ground!):

Luke throwing a snowball (that's Grandpa Anthony in the background joining in the snowball fight; he visited us for a weekend in December and enjoyed this lovely snowstorm with us):

Luke making a snow angel:

2 minutes of a snowball fight:

Silly Safari

2011-01-25T14:11:00.005-05:00

We went to an event called Silly Safari. They brought a variety of animals in for the kids to see, and the trainer was funny and silly the whole time. So as to give credit where credit is due, someone else took these pictures with a much better camera than ours.

Scorpion:

Petting some of the animals at the end (the scorpion was not an option to pet, but he was on display in his cage to look at more closely. And the trainer was holding the legless lizard so the kids could pet it, too.

Eagle Owl:

The owl was trained to flap his huge wings every time the trainer said the word "wings." He even did it when the trainer spelled it. The kids all loved it.

Luke helping with the African Bullfrog; he was super excited to get picked as a helper:

Snake:

Legless Lizard:

In case you were wondering, the differences between snakes and legless lizards are that the legless lizards have ears, eyelids, and much longer tails.

Kinkajou (also known as a honey bear):

The enraptured group (Luke, Owen and Aimee are on the back row):

Great Dane

Luke's 4th Birthday

2010-11-07T21:37:00.010-05:00

Luke turned 4 last week. We had a fun day: story hour at the library, picnic at the park (the car thermometer said 48 when we got out - not Aimee's idea of picnic weather but it's what Luke wanted to do), visit to Dad's new office by the airport, decorating cupcakes, lasagna for dinner, presents, cupcakes, Skyping with aunts and talking to Nana, and a late bedtime.

One of Luke's favorite gifts:

Before: Luke decorating some cookies, Owen napping, supplies cluttering the table but not too messy.

After: boys playing under the table in their "tunnel," table's a mess, dinner is late, we've eaten way too much candy, but we all had a great time and the robot looks great!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T20:34:00.005-05:00

We were so glad that both boys picked costumes a few weeks ago and stuck to their guns - not once did either of them waver or entertain thoughts of a different costume (and it was even greater that Owen picked a costume that we already had put together from last year, with absolutely no prompting from outside sources).

Luke the pirate:

Owen the cowboy:

The cousins at Talara's annual Halloween party:

The cousins before trick or treating:

Eating donuts off a string at Talara's party. They both liked this a lot, but especially Luke.

Rachel taking a whack at the pinata:

Owen playing with his rope (the flash was off on the first one):

Luke trick or treating:

It didn't take too long for Owen to start riding instead of walking.

And the hats came off pretty quickly, too. In their defense, it was a little windy so they kept on blowing off.

Random

2010-10-31T20:24:00.003-05:00

Luke and Owen wearing cowboy hats riding the stick horse (the flash was off on the camera so the quality isn't good).

Luckily this large praying mantis was not inside the house. Dallin's holding the TV remote next to it for size comparison (which, you obviously don't know how big or small our TV remote is, but at least you can get a general idea, right?).

Race

2010-10-31T20:10:00.005-05:00

We went to see Dallin's nephew, Brett, run in the cross country semi-state race a week ago.

After the race we played on the baseball field for a few minutes.

Dallin and Luke were inspired by the race (plus we had to burn a little energy for the hour drive home).

Here are the runners starting. Brett's team is on the left, in the blue uniforms.

Waiting for the runners (Owen refused to look at the camera):

Owen still refusing, and Luke trying to convince him to look.

Owen wasn't quite as interested for the whole race as Luke and Dallin were, but he never got too bored, there were a lot of other people and things to look at.

Brett, number 1072:

Swearing-In

2010-10-23T22:19:00.007-05:00

These first two pictures are unrelated to the main subject of this post. We took some pictures before we went to church this week and ended up with some good smiles from everybody.

Dallin was sworn in as an Indiana attorney a week ago. He found out he passed the bar exam at the beginning of October (wahoo!!) and the ceremony was about two weeks later.

Dallin's parents came to the ceremony, as well. No pictures with Luke and Owen, because they were spared the torture of attending (actually, it wasn't all that bad, but they definitely wouldn't have enjoyed it).

Dallin with his friend, Quincy.

Dallin waiting in line.

Each of the candidates waited in line then walked up to the podium to "introduce" themselves to the court. The men and women in the back in robes are the court; Dallin is in the middle with his back to the camera, at the podium stating his name. That was the longest part of the ceremony. They said there were 471 who met all the requirements to be admitted, and while not all of them were there, there were still a lot.

Luke and Owen had a spectacular day with Talara. They fed animals, played baseball, rode tractors and combines, ate at Wendy's, got donuts, and were very reluctant to leave at the end of the day. In the car as we were driving away Owen said "That was a very good day."

Anecdotes

2010-10-22T08:01:00.005-05:00

-We've started having the boys ask if they can be excused when they get down from the table. Owen already has a habit of asking if he can get down, because he can climb into his booster seat but hasn't mastered climbing out. So now he asks if he can be excused, then after we say yes he asks if he can get down.

-This week Owen has been coming into our room in the wee hours of the morning. We know it's bad, but most nights we've pulled him into bed with us (actually Aimee thought that would end the night that Dallin literally had less than a foot of space because Owen was sprawled over half of the bed, but it sure is hard to pull ourselves out of bed). Anyway, last night we went up to bed about 2 hours after putting Luke and Owen to bed, and Dallin was very startled to turn on the light to find this:

We hadn't heard a peep from either once they went to bed, so it was quite a surprise. Not so with the cowboy hat, which has been Owen's constant companion this week. He's planning on being a cowboy for Halloween, and apparently feels like he needs to practice. (But isn't it true that real cowboys sleep with their hats? And isn't it great that he's holding on to the hat in the second picture?)

- Luke has also been attached to a hat this week; his is a pirate hat, which is his chosen Halloween costume (and how great that both have been consistent; we're crossing our fingers there are no last minute mind changers). Luke, however, drops his hat on the floor before he goes to bed. We'll have to remember to take a picture of them wearing their hats with their pajamas; it's pretty hilarious.

-Aimee and the boys met some friends at the zoo this week. Unfortunately she forgot the camera. But perhaps you can get the idea of the kind of outing it was with this after-picture, taken when they got home:

They both fell asleep in the car, and stayed asleep when Aimee brought them in. It was definitely a fun day and will most likely be repeated often.

-When everyone was home the day we went to the zoo (and awake), Dallin asked Owen what his favorite part of the zoo was. Owen's response was an animated series of "whoo, splash, crash" noises. Luckily after a few minutes of consideration, Aimee was able to interpret that to mean he most liked the dolphin show, when the dolphins jump, flip, and especially splash. They boys especially liked the part when the dolphins splashed the audience members sitting in the "splash zone" in front. Luke even asked when the dolphins were going to splash us (we were NOT sitting in the splash zone; maybe that would be tolerable in the summer, but certainly not in 60 degree weather, which is very pleasant for going to the zoo but not when you're soaking wet).

-After seeing Luke playing with a piece of paper rolled up into binoculars, Owen asked if he, too, could have "some binoculators." Not sure where he came up with that word. Even after we repeated the correct pronunciation a few times, he persisted in using his variation.

-One night about 15 minutes after we put the boys to bed, we heard the stairs creaking, but no other noise. Dallin went over to check, and found both boys sitting at the bottom of the stairs with their blankets over their heads, not making another sound. Sometimes you just have to wonder what they are thinking!

Riding A Scooter

2010-10-08T21:35:00.004-05:00

Our neighborhood has a courtyard in the middle, and a lot of kids come out to play after school. Luke borrowed a scooter one day and had a blast. Owen tried it, too, but Aimee had to help him and couldn't take pictures at the same time!

Our

Putt Putt

2010-10-08T21:13:00.004-05:00

A fun Friday night activity, putt-putt.

Owen requested help with his tee-offs. We (ok, maybe not we, maybe it's just Aimee who's so amazed!) think it's pretty amazing that he naturally goes to the left side of things like golfing and batting, especially when the only examples he sees are right-handers.

He still has a pretty unique way of putting.

Luke did pretty well. He had a tendency to stand back from the ball and club and swing it more like a bat. We had to keep reminding him to choke up and keep the club flat on the ground.

We caught him "helping" his ball a few times. He stayed right with us for a few holes, then started moving ahead while we finished. We wouldn't let him get more than 1 or 2 holes ahead of us, so he would just keep repeating those holes over and over. The course was not too crowded, and it was a "play 'till you're bored" policy, and so we did. Aimee and Owen had to sit down and let Luke and Dallin do the last few holes, and we still had to drag Luke away. He asks almost every day when we can go golfing again.

All the action shot of Dallin are blurry; sorry about that!

Vacation Pictures, Part 2

2010-10-03T21:54:00.006-05:00

We went to a Bees baseball game, where there was a free train ride. Lettie took Luke and Owen. I don't remember what we did before the baseball game where Lettie got her face painted.

Luke pretending to be sound asleep (and doing a good job) and Jill laughing hysterically.

Kristen ran a half-marathon, and Aimee and Luke went with her dad to watch. This is Kristen and her friend Heidi at the finish line. Aimee's dad was so excited for them to finish under in less than 2 hours. Then after the race we found out that they have little chips in their shoes that record when they cross the starting line and keep track of their exact time. Since they didn't start right at the beginning of the race this overhead clock wasn't exactly right for them, they actually finished a minute or two faster than that. But it was fun for us as uninformed spectators.

Kristen is on the left, Heidi is on the right.

Vacation Pictures, Part 1

2010-10-03T20:44:00.005-05:00

We walked around BYU for an afternoon with Dallin's brother Kondie and his family (no pictures of the whole group, whoops-a-daisy!) And this is the best we got for our family picture.

We walked around the Bean Science Museum, which Luke and Owen enjoyed a lot. OK, so it doesn't look like Luke liked it. But he did, I promise.

Lettie at the bottom of a pile-up.

Luke still likes to knock over towers.

Aimee's sister, Kristen, with Luke and Owen.

Venable family reunion. Here's the explanation of the shirts: When Aimee, Kristen and Jill were young, Janell took them on an airplane ride and was concerned about keeping track of the three of them. She made pink shirt, and, as the security-minded mother that she was, opted not to put their names on the shirts. Instead they got numbers, 1, 2, and 3. The shirts were pink. Jill and Emma made these shirts for us to wear at the reunion. The six girls have their respective numbers. The 3 husbands have As (so Dallin was 1A, Molly's husband Thomas was 4A and Emma's Kyle was 5A). The kids (only Luke and Owen) got 1.1 and 1.2. And Anthony and Janell got 0 and 0A. Jill was a hair's breath away from making all of the shirts pink, but luckily the boys had some advocates against that proposition and were not subjected to that torture.

This is the closest thing we've done to camping with both of the boys: there were cabins with empty bunk beds; we brought our own cushions and sleeping bags.

Trampoline

2010-09-21T21:08:00.003-05:00

Vacation Water Stuff

2010-09-21T20:51:00.005-05:00

The hot tub at Nana and Grandpa's house:

Seven Peaks in Provo, Utah. We were there in the afternoon and it wore Owen out. A few times around the lazy river was just the trick to give him a rest.

At the community pool with Dallin's sister, Korinda, and her family.

Sydney:

Jumping:

It was a windy afternoon, so they were a little cold when they were out of the water.

Will and Owen are riding Dallin:

Will and Luke:

At the pool at Dallin's sister, Jill's, house:

Golfing!

2010-09-21T20:41:00.002-05:00

Aimee's parents live on a golf course, so a few times while we were visiting in August we went out to putt. Luke and Owen loved it. Their form is not stupendous in these pictures; we took them the first time we went out. By the time we left they were doing a lot better. OK, Luke was doing better. Owen kept up his odd putting style, but it worked for him.

Aimee's mom:

Hundred Acres

2010-09-20T21:41:00.004-05:00

Some new/old friends (their parents lived in our Bloomington ward, so we saw them when they came to visit occasionally, but they live kind of close to us in Indianapolis) invited us to a place in Indianapolis called Hundred Acres. They also introduced us to another new friend, who was there as well. Hundred Acres is a big wooded area that has 8 or 9 huge statues, many of which you can climb and play on.

There were a bunch of these yellow benches all over the park. The kids liked climbing up the right side and sliding down the left side of the bigger one.

Great Owen smile on top of the skeleton head (this one was my favorite, but I didn't get a picture of the whole thing).

Luke could jump between some of them, but others were spaced too far apart for him. But he loved it; jumping is definitely a favorite of his right now.

The kids were all climbing up on the fence to look at the ship that was in the water (see the next picture).

Little minnows in the water.

The group hanging over a balcony.

More Water Fun

2010-09-20T21:15:00.004-05:00

I can't even count the number of times a day that this scene (not necessarily with the sprinkler and swim suits) happens.

A rare occasion when they both stand still long enough to take a picture together. Well, a picture looking at the camera and smiling.

Two in a row!! It was amazing.

Joseph, Luke and Owen.

I love the anticipation on both Joseph and Luke's faces.

Not sure if Owen is ready to lap up the water like a dog, or just concentrating on something.

This is about as far off the ground as Owen gets.

Get ready for a splash!!

Recent (Sort Of) Videos

2010-07-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

Running through the sprinkler at Grandma and Grandpa's house, 4th of July weekend:

Telling jokes:

More jokes:

Pure silliness (with our friend Mary):

Inflatable Pool

2010-07-17T21:30:00.001-05:00

While Luke spent 2 days in the pool, Owen spent the time doing this sort of thing:

The pool was another fun garage sale find.

Luke loved jumping into the pool. At one point he asked Aimee to slide the pool over closer to the tree (closer to a shrub, really) so he could climb the tree and jump into the pool. When Aimee told him the water had to be deeper to be able to jump like that, he asked to add more water to the pool. We're still not sure where he got the idea. Ironically, when we went to the city pool last week, he had no interest in going into the main pool, he stayed in the kiddie pool the whole time.

Luke had Aimee throw the ball up high, then he would jump up to hit it before splashing down:

Owen's taking Woody for a ride on his shoulders in this one:

Bocce Ball

2010-07-17T21:00:00.001-05:00

Playing bocce ball (back on a chilly day in May)

It's very possible that Owen is crouching to throw the ball in this one, but we can't remember. There were never any stray balls that necessitated the batting helmet, but perhaps Owen knows his brother well enough to be overly cautious.

Drive-in Movie

2010-07-14T21:45:00.006-05:00

Here's what we did while waiting for an hour and a half for Toy Story 3 to start at the drive in movie theater:

Let Luke take a few pictures:

Rode on the truck and said "cheese" for the camera:

Climbed:

Made funky faces for the camera:

Played soccer:

Committed handball violations in the soccer game:

Complained about the handball violations:

Played some board games:

Rode down the hill and read books (this is very typical - Luke likes to ride things and Owen likes to read things):