happy birthday bandit!

Bandit turned one!  He certainly keeps things lively around here!  Here are some of his favorite places or funny things he's done recently.

For awhile he would get behind and under the entertainment center, but after he chewed through a few wires and kept walking across the power strip and turning it off, we decided a barricade was necessary.  It has worked pretty well, except one day I came home to this...

Now he can only climb in the shelves...

He's a super big help with laundry.  He's fine with dirty clothes, but much prefers the warm ones straight out of the dryer of course!

Natalie insists on picking him up every single second she can.  Doesn't he look thrilled?

Boxes are another favorite.  Any shape or size works.  If he can't climb in it, he will push it around the floor.

Doesn't matter whether the blinds are closed or open, he wants to look out!

One of his favorite places to play is on the barstools.  Over, under, on, or through them, he likes to make it as tricky and complicated as he can.  It's like a crazy high-wire stunt act.  He's got amazing balance and coordination.

 

He likes to sit on the barstool and watch me when I work in the kitchen.

 And I still laugh every time I see him "high-centered" and dangling.

Oddly enough, he does not sleep on the couches very often.  His favorite place to sleep is on a hard wood table chair!

 Or sometimes he makes himself cozy on the kitchen counter! 

I can't believe he's already a year old.  It's amazing to look back and see how much he's grown!  He is definitely part of our family and we love him!

brandon's first "real" scout campout and hike

Brandon had his first "real" campout and hike with the deacons/scouts.  He has done a few other campouts this past year with the 11 year old scouts, but they were just using small backpacks and were parked right next to the campsites, which were in town.  This campout they went to Fossil Springs, which was about a 2 hour drive, they hiked a total of 11 1/2 miles over the 2 days, and backpacked everything in.  Brandon's pack weighed 30 pounds (he only weighs 80 pounds), but he managed to carry it the whole way himself!  They went swimming in the springs on Saturday.  I was told they climbed almost 1,400 feet in elevation and the temperature ranged between 59 degrees and 102 degrees.  I don't know much else that happened, but one of the men who went sent these pictures. 

The drive up!

Brandon's tent buddy, Thomas.

Brandon is in the blue swim shirt in the rest of these photos.

I am so thankful for a good scout program and leaders who take their time to chaperone these important and fun activities for the boys.

day at the lake!

My friend Stacey could not believe I had never been water skiing before and wanted to help me with that on my bucket list, so they invited us to join them for an afternoon at the lake on their boat.  My kids had never actually been on a small boat (except Grandpa's fishing rowboat) so they were very excited!

All 11 of us couldn't officially be on the boat together, so we found a small beach area and left our stuff and a few people and traded off on the boat.  The boys had fun swimming out and climbing on the stumps, and the weather was perfect!

Then we took the kids out and everyone got a turn on the toys!  Brandon and Tyler had the time of their lives and want to keep going even after being thrown off a few times.  The look of pure joy on their faces was almost enough to make me want to buy a boat!

 

I got a ride all by myself (none of the kids wanted to go extra fast like I did) and had a great time!

And then Natalie got a slower ride with Kaitlyn.

Next up was the Shark!  This thing is awesome (and much easier on the elbows) and could hold 6 people at a time!  First the younger kids got a slower ride.

Then the older kids and adults, including me and the boys, went for a faster ride, which was super fun right up until the epic wipeout!

Then we let the people who hadn't ridden yet and others take a second turn on a slower ride to end the day.

Mexican food on the way home was the perfect ending to a great day!  I never did get to water-ski (and Kevin really wanted to try the wakeboard), so Stacey said we'd just have to go again another time! We can't wait! Thanks again Stacey and Russ!

brandon's priesthood ordination

Brandon was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday, August 3, 2014.  Worthy, ready, and excited!

 

We were blessed to have several of our family members join us for this special event.  These were all the men who stood in the circle.

 L to R: Bishop Tomlinson, Kevin, Grandpa Turner, Brandon, Tom, Jeff, and Grandpa Carlson

brandon's 12th birthday party!

With such a busy summer, I honestly didn't have time or energy to plan anything very creative for Brandon's birthday party.  So when I saw that a nearby indoor entertainment place was running a summer special, I decided that sounded easy and a group of 11 and 12 year old boys would enjoy it.

We had pizza for lunch at our house, so that no one complained of hunger and I didn't have to buy overpriced food or drinks there.  We opened presents and headed over for a few hours of unlimited laser tag, laser maze, bumper cars, miniature bowling, a climbing structure with shooting cannons, plus $5 credit for video games!

Ethan, Andrew, Brandon, Evan, Tyler, Jameson

It was hard to get good pictures with the dark lighting and them running from activity to activity!

We came back to the house for ice cream sundaes.  It was a very fun and easy party!

brandon's 12th birthday!

I'm still having a hard time believing we have a 12 year old!   We still have our "moments," but they are definitely getting fewer and farther between.  Brandon is such a good kid and we are so proud of the young man he is becoming.  You can tell he's getting older by some of the answers to his birthday interview questions!  We love you Brandon!  Happy Birthday!

Favorite Color: Yellow

Favorite Number: 7

Favorite Drink: Sprite

Favorite Food: Shells and cheese

Favorite Game: Football

Favorite Animal: Turtle

I feel sad when: I'm sick

I feel mad when: Mom tells me what to do

I like it when my friends: sit with me at lunch

I like it when I get to: go camping

I wish I could: predict the future

Who is your best friend? Jacob

Why? because he likes to draw

What makes you laugh? funny jokes

What is your favorite movie? Indiana Jones

What are you most afraid of? hornets

What is your favorite song? Vesuvius (David Lanz piano song)

What is your favorite activity? camping

What do you want to be when you grow up? marine archaeologist

Do you think it would be hard to be a mom or a dad? yes

Why? because you have to pay the bills 

If you could have a magical power, what would you choose? telekinesis (move objects with your mind)

What three things are you are good at? piano, origami, hiking

What is the best thing about being 12? passing the sacrament

What is your favorite memory? going to Joaquin's house

What is your favorite thing about mom? she cooks me dinner 

What is your favorite thing about dad? he understands what I say

What makes you special? I can play the piano really well