Another “Bird” Leaves Our Nest

You know life just isn’t always fair. During our more than 10 years in this the Oakhurst Ward we have made many friends; and some of them have become really close friends. But alas, it seems that they all move away and leave us behind. The Chuggs, the Switzers, the Holmes, the Marshalls, and now the Birds (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out). These families have all become very dear to us, and we miss them. We miss their friendship and their kids and the good times we had with them. Of course, goodbyes are a part of life, but we are always sad to see the people we love go, and time and time again it is really tough on our kids; especially Tyler. He always has had a difficult time with goodbyes, and it never seems to get easier for him, even with age.

We have enjoyed our friendship with the Birds, just like with all the rest, and we will miss them, but the lesson to be learned is crucial. Take advantage of the relationships that matter while you have them. I always tell Tyler: “Yes, it hurts when we have to say goodbye to the people we love, and that’s why it’s so important to enjoy the moments with them when we have them.” But unfortunately that doesn’t provide him much comfort in those moments of painful goodbyes. We will see the Birds again, and even in just a couple of months, but still they are gone like all the others I have named, and that hurts. However, the good memories and experiences outweigh the hurt. And that is why we just have to keep putting our hearts out on the line, even though the inevitable pains will occur; because the rewards are worth it when we form these kinds of relationships.

So, so long Bird family. We will meet again, and we will not forgot the good times and the laughs, the blessings exchanged and the spiritual experiences we have shared. They are to be added to that proverbial book of life we are writing every day. You will be missed, but you will remain in our thoughts and prayers and our memories.

What Do Your Kids Draw?

Hey everyone it’s that time of year. The kids gutted their pumpkins on Saturday night, but we are still in the process of carving the designs. I’ll have to put those pics up when we finish them. They all enjoyed the slime, except Caden, but he still participated, at least.
Speaking of Caden, we have seen a great improvement in his skin and a slight one in his demeanor, but it appears that things are working with his diet changes. Ammon is growing like crazy and was 16 pounds 10 ounces at his 4-month appointment. He has also discovered his thumb; Uggg$#*!)&%$#&*^%!!! Trevin is doing well at playing with Caden while his older siblings go to school all day, but he does get a little board without his sports buddy, Tyler, around. Bailey loves school and she loves to play school whenever she is home. She involves her little brothers as students, when ever they’ll put up with it. Tyler is part of a book club at school. They are discussing the novel “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” He read it in one day, no joke. He is a great reader, which is so good to see. So that’s a real quick update on us. There are a bunch of new photos at the end, but first, here come the laughs…

So, I was getting ready to make lunch on Conference Saturday and the kids were telling me what they wanted. Meantime, the LDS World Report was on in the background between sessions. Elder Richard G. Scott was on and he was speaking Spanish because they were discussing the new Spanish version of the Bible. The kids immediately noticed something different and started asking questions. I said: “That’s Richard G. Scott speaking Spanish.” Caden heard me (sort of), and still referring to the topic of lunch, said: “I don’t want spinach.”

I was wrestling with Trevin and I guess out of hopes I wouldn’t tickle him, he said: “Dad, kiss me!” So I gave him a big smooch on the cheek and he said: “Good job, Dad. Good listening.”

We were ripping out our garden and I came across a big worm. I pointed it out to the kids and Trevin asked: “Can I step on him?” I said: “No. Worms are good, we need worms.” He asked: “Do we eat them?” I said: “Well, you could if you needed to, but…” Before I could finish my explanation, Trevin interrupted very adamantly: “I need to.”

We’ve been letting Caden run round naked while we potty train him, because he always tells us he has to go when he’s in the buff, but not when we put underwear on him. We put him in one of Trevin’s long shirts to cover him up, and when he sits on any furniture we always wrap him in a towel, for the same reason. So the other day Caden had wrapped himself up in Trevin’s blanket, and Trevin called out to us: “Caden’s on my blanket and he hasn’t covered up his nakedness.”

Caden has been having some of his night fits again, recently, so when he was on my bed the other night I told him: “Caden, you’re sleeping in your bed tonight, and not ours.” Trevin was out in the hall and heard me. He came into the room and said: “Dad, Caden screams and wakes me up every night. Isn’t he a mean person?” Then he turned to Caden directly and said: “Caden, you’re a mean person.”

Caden recently saw me give Tyler a blessing when he was sick. So one recent Sunday morning, after I got home from meetings, Trevin reported that earlier that morning Caden put his hands on his (Trevin’s) head and gave him a blessing. Trevin, understanding the situation and wanting to teach his little brother, said that he asked: “Caden, do you have the priesthood?” But the explanation went no further because Caden replied: “yes.”

We were eating lunch on Sunday just before going to church and while I was preparing mine, I was recounting to Carol the new seating arrangement in the Bishop’s office for our weekly Bishopric meeting. Now that I’m first counselor Bishop wants me on his right side (but I wanted to stay where I was). Anyways, I told Carol how the whole thing went down earlier in the morning, and when I finally got all done, Caden, who was sitting at the table with the rest of the kids, says to all of them: “What is dad talking about?”

We have a belt that Trevin uses for church, but technically it’s still Tyler’s. Lately, Trevin has been using it with his jeans, too. So the other night he takes it off as he’s getting ready for bed, and then with a big grin on his face he puts it in his drawer. I said: “You’re gonna put it in there, huh?” He said yes, and then I let out a big gasp and said jokingly: “That’s stealing!” He smiled, and then said: “That’s not stealing. I just borrowing it.”

This last one includes a picture. Bailey loves to draw and the other day she showed me this one and explained that the picture depicted that there were only two bathrooms at school and they both had people in them, so she had to wait, but she couldn’t, so she wet her pants. This was not based on actual events, but I guess she thought it would be funny to draw it. The mind of a 6-year-old?????
Two Livingstons and two Birds in the cage
We miss you "outside"
Trevin kickin' it old school
Caden doing the same

Rock a bye baby
Oh, I can't believe that
That was so funny
Caden doing his hair
Now, where did I put my glasses?
We played the dress-up game for our Family Home Evening activity and everyone had a great time. I'm sure my siblings still remember, as I do, when we played this game as kids.



A break in the dress-up action...







See, I told you I had a tongue in there
This is not a good thing. I was a thumb-sucker, so I guess at least one of our kids had to be.


Every once in a while, I get real board and I need a little exercise, so I just start throwing the kids around. Here we see that Bailey is not wearing a wig.
Caden nearly hits the ceiling when I throw him

Tyler is a little too heavy to throw up, so I toss him on the couch

Stylin' Ammon

Blessings Abound

The biggest news for our family involves my work schedule. A month ago I trained to be the back-up for FedEx’s off-site loader position at the Subaru parts warehouse. I did it with the hopes of being able to take over regularly sometime down the road. About 10 days ago, I was informed I would be doing it every Monday, and another guy would be doing it Tue-Fri. So I asked if there was any chance we could get that switched. The boss wasn’t opposed to it, so long-story-short, the other guy wanted to work nights on the dock, instead. That means, starting this Tuesday I will be working over at the Subaru warehouse loading their freight onto our trailers. I will still only be allowed 25 hours a week, but I will get that much in four days and work from about 11:00 to 5:00, depending on the day. Our family is very excited about this. The kids and Carol have really wanted me at home at night, and now we will have that blessing.

We enjoyed Conference weekend and used some of the same “distractions” as we did six months ago to keep the kids somewhat interested in conference. We also decided to start a new tradition. Carol took Bailey to the General Women’s broadcast the Saturday before, then they went out to get ice cream. So I took Tyler and Trevin to the Priesthood session with me, followed by a trip to Dairy Queen. It was a good time and the session was awesome.

Speaking of the Priesthood session, I discovered something wonderful on the church web site this week. For years, the only way to review the Priesthood session is to read the talks online or in the Ensign. For some reason, we could not listen to, or watch them online. That has bugged me for quite sometime, because I like listening to them on the old iPod. I was even going to sit down this week and write the prophet to ask him if they could post them, too, because some of the best talks I’ve heard have come from that session. Well, wouldn’t you know it, my prayers have been answered (literally), because we checked this week and sure enough, the last four (2008 & 2009) are on the Church’s site now. Hopefully that means they will include them from here on out. And maybe, just maybe they will go back and add all the older ones, too. Either way, I can’t wait to download them and start listening while I’m at work.

In other news, we have been potty training Caden, and he is doing pretty well. We finally just decided on the “let him run around naked” method and it is working. While we were at the Priesthood session, Ammon rolled over from back to stomach several times up at Carol’s parents. However, he has not done it again, except for one other time last Friday night, again at Carol’s parents’ house. The kids’ primary program was today and they did so well. Tyler got really nervous singing his solo (4th verse of “I Believe in Christ”) with a crowd there, and he kind of broke down a little. He even forgot some of the words, but he recovered in the end. The spirit was still strong and that’s what counts. Also, today, I was sustained as first counselor in the Bishopric. I hope the spirit was strong for that, too. So that’s a quick update of the latest from us.

Giddy Up Horsy!

The latest and greatest news of our “Life and Times”: The kids had the opportunity to ride a horse (named Fergie) a couple weekends ago. Brenda, a friend from work, has a horse and said they could come out and ride it. So we hauled them out to the country and each of them took a turn. The three younger ones all rode with big brother Tyler holding them tight. It took some real convincing for Trevin and Bailey, but they had a good time, after they finally decided to get on.








In other news; Caden has had a cold now for about two months straight, so we finally determined that it must be due to his food intolerances. We visited the naturopath again and he concurred. So we have removed wheat, dairy, soy and peanuts from his diet again. Sugar is not good for him either, but if you take all those other things out, you can’t really make much of his replacement foods without sugar. So sugar will have to remain in small portions. His diet now consists mostly of rice: rice milk, rice bread, rice cream, rice crackers, rice cakes and rice cheese. Good thing he can still eat things with corn ingredients and fruits & vegetables. He is doing better, too, so that is what counts. It can take a while for his body to get rid of it all (up to six weeks according to the naturopath); but we hope that by the end of October he will be back to the way he was the last time we altered up his diet.

The Kids primary program is coming up the Sunday after General Conference and Bailey will be giving a small talk. Tyler will be part of a special music number (I Believe in Christ), including a solo by him for one of the verses. Trevin was assigned a talk, but after two practices and two break-downs we decided he’s not ready for that yet, so someone else will fill in for him. Now, enjoy the latest funnies and a few more pics:

Carol was on her way home from the doctor to pick me, Trevin and Caden up, so I told them to get ready to go. That included telling Trevin to go to the bathroom. So he went in our bathroom. As I headed in to make sure he was done, Caden came into our bedroom from the kids bathroom, with his shorts off, and diaper still on. He said to me: “Uh, I didn’t have to go.”

The other day Caden came out to the living room and he had removed his shirt. I said: “Hey, why aren’t you wearing your shirt?” His reply was simple and direct: “Because I took it off.” So I asked him why, and he said, “Because I put it in the laundry.”

So some of you may have seen the ad for the double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2, with a sneak peak of Toy Story 3? The kids saw it and seemed pretty excited about it. We would love to go see them, however, I don’t think our kids could possibly sit still for that long. And that is what I mentioned to them. I said: “That means you guys would have to sit there for more than three hours.” Trevin replies, totally serious: “Dad, I would have to go to the bathroom.”

So Carol and Trevin play a little game where she tries to kiss him on the lips, which he likes but plays hard to get and doesn’t let her do it easily. So the boys were watching the Ducks game on TV and a shot of the cheerleaders came up. Trevin, without prompting, and with a big grin on his face, said: “I could kiss them on the lips. That would be beautiful.” Later she was telling me about it and then she said to him: “Oh sure, you’ll kiss them on the lips, but you won’t kiss me on the lips?” He replied: “Yep, that’s how it goes.”

It was bed time and I told Tyler and Trevin that one of them needed to go brush their teeth (we have two electric brushes and Bailey was already using one). They argued over who should go, then I threatened them with losing privileges. Trevin followed me into my room while I was putting laundry away and said: “Well, I want someone to help me.” I said: “I want you to get in there and brush your teeth.” He asked, with the best pronunciation he could muster: “Immediately?”

Later, when he finally got in there to brush, I put his toothpaste on and noticed that it was different from the last time, and the time before that. I called to Carol: “How come you keep changing the toothpaste all the time?” Trevin then called out in her direction, in a very “can you answer that one?” kind of tone: “Carol?”

Bailey absolutely loves to play school right now and I think she repeats word for word what her teachers say everyday, each day when she plays at home. So she was at it the other day talking to her imaginary students and said something, then said "OK?" So I decided to respond and I said OK. She looked at me and said: “You’re not one of my students. You’re way too big. You should already be in high school by now, or something.”

Trevin and I were playing with these little carved wooden frogs that my brother Cory gave the boys. He said: “Who did we get these from, again?” I asked: “You don’t remember?” He said no, so I told him it was from one of his uncles. He said: “Eric?” I said no. then he said: “That guy who went to the airport?” I repeated in a very surprised tone: “That guy who went to the airport?” He then came to his senses and said: “Yeah, Cory. We took him to the airport” I guess even four-year-olds can have “senior moments,” too.

Bailey told us that a girl at school named Alexis told her: “I’ll give you a pack of string if you’ll be my friend” And according to Bailey, she responded: “Well, I don’t need any string, but I’ll be your friend.” She then added, as she repeated the incident to us: “You know, cuz, I have lots of string already.”

Trevin wearing Ammon's pajama pants
Ammon fell asleep sucking my arm
And he wasn't the only sleepy one
Caden wearing Ammon's sleeper. Believe it or not, this all Carol's doing. Trevin had it on, too, but he just looked too girly for me to post it. I have to protect my little men.
Caden loves his little brother's swing. This particular time he was wearing nothing but a soggy diaper.

Who Knew Snot Could Be So Much Fun?

Man, I’m horrible about updating more often. It sure would make them easier to post and read if I was more diligent. Oh well. So let’s see what has happened since we last blogged? We went to my Grandma’s funeral which was a very nice service. She looked really good and was buried with her purse. And, of course, that purse contained lipstick and tissue, two essentials of my Grandma McClellan. It was very fitting. We had a good time together with family and wished we could stay longer. Caden did get croup and we spent the morning of the funeral in ER, but all-in-all he did OK. If you’re a Livingston, this should really interest you. My uncle Dick’s cabin was just about 5 minutes away from the old LDS Catherine Creek Lodge (the site of our annual Livingston family reunion), so we decided to pay a visit; and boy things are different there. We got some good video of it as well as some still shots of the kids, but Carol didn’t think about taking any stills of the changes. They have added electricity to the place, and they are building another structure there, which will be one big bathroom and shower facility. That will be nice. They had a huge 160,000 gallon tank for water, I guess, which will be buried somewhere nearby. The basketball court was ripped out, because that is where the new bathroom building is going to be. The field was all torn up, too so they can lay all the cables and pipes. Quite different than what we have been used, to. Hopefully, we will have another reunion there so we can see all the finished changes.

The next weekend we headed to Eugene for Claire’s baby blessing (she belongs to my sister Leslie and her husband Eric). We had a good time there, too. Also, on the way down we met up with my dad at Wilsonville Honda, where we finally got a van. It is a 2005 Honda Odyssey. It is silver, not one of my top color choices, because Honda's Odyssey silver has a brown tint to it, but it will do (sorry Bird’s, no offense since you have the same color, I just really wanted charcoal gray). We got it back to our house and gave it a thorough cleaning and washing. It looks pretty new, now, so that is nice and it has everything we wanted (leather, DVD and only 48,000 miles). My dad helped us get a good deal on it, too.

We did take Caden to the naturopath again, and his ears were good, but his system was a little backed-up. He got a treatment and is doing better, but we will probably take him one more time. Plus, we are altering his diet once again to help with the skin irritation he has. Ammon is growing like crazy and was 13 lbs 12 oz at two months. He is a good baby and sleeps pretty well at night. In fact, last night he slept through the entire night. Too bad Caden was on our floor having his nightly fights. Oh well, such is life. I’m sure I could add many other happenings, but who wants to bother with those when the funnies are waiting. So here you go, plus we’ve got new pics, too...

As I’ve mentioned before, I do “Day out with Dad” with the kids whenever the occasion permits itself. So on a couple of recent Friday’s I went to the park with Bailey and Caden, then later, to a diamond to play baseball with Tyler and Trevin. So on the night of the second Friday I was writing in my journal in the kids’ room and I asked Bailey: “What do you want to do next time for Day out with Dad?” She quickly replied: “Go to the Dollar Store.” I said something like: “Oh Bailey, you love going to the dollar store.” She concurred, and then I added: “But going to the Dollar Store isn’t really doing anything with me.” She said: “Yeah it is, because we would go together.” I said, yeah, but you’re just going to spend money, not to spend time with me.” She said: “Yeah, but I like to buy stuff, and you could buy something, too.” I told her: “I don’t want to waste my money on junk from the Dollar store.” She then replied: “Yeah, but you could just get a sweet dude necklace.”

We were gone all day on Saturday, August 23; at baseball games, a team picnic, and then Carol’s Family Reunion. It was getting later in the afternoon and I asked the boys if they were ready to go. We were playing baseball, though, so of course the reply was no. however, Bailey must have been feeling tired, too, because she responded: “I am. I can’t even remember what our house looks like.”

The other day Caden stripped down to his diaper while we were reading scriptures, which he never does (in fact this could have been the first time). He came back out to the living room and started pulling his diaper down. We told him he better not. He smiled a wry smile and continued tugging on it. I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty, and he said no. I said: “Then you have to wear a diaper.” He again said no. So I said: “Which do you want sit on the potty OR wear a diaper?” He replied: “Orrrr, no!”

Don’t ever let Tyler watch the Shopping Network and give him access to a credit card. We were watching TV and an ad for the latest and greatest Oreck vacuum cleaner was on. The ads are a little longer than normal ads, and after a couple minutes Tyler says: “That is so awesome.” Then a few seconds later he says: “We should have one of those. That is the best vacuum thing I’ve ever seen.”

Tyler and Trevin were in the bathtub and Carol and I were both dealing with Caden and Ammon and several other things, so we weren’t there to help Trevin. I called from the hallway and said to Trevin: “Trevin, wash your hair!” He yelled back: “I can’t get the shampoo.” I then said: “What about Shamoo?” (a famous performing killer whale for those who might not know), and he replied: “Well, I can’t get that either.”

I was eating my lunch and Caden came over and asked: “Can I watch you?” And for him that means he climbs up on the table and sits himself down right next to your food, which he proceeded to do. After a couple minutes he says to me: “Can I have chip, real quick?”

Carol was just getting started to cut a honeydew melon and Caden was in the kitchen. He asked, “Can I have a little bite of honeydew?” Carol told him: “It’s not ready yet. I still have to cut it.” He replied kind of “ah shucks” kind of way: “Dang it.” Carol said: “Dang it? Who says that?” He said: “I do.”

We took a trip to Eugene recently and stayed a little longer than we planned or packed for, so Tyler ran out of clean underwear. We always pack extra for Trevin, though, cuz you never know with a 4-year-old when an accident might happen. So anyways, Tyler had to wear a pair of Trevin’s (which actually fit him cuz he’s so skinny). The next evening, as we were back home and I was folding laundry, I grabbed the pair Tyler had worn and Trevin saw me and said to Tyler: “Ha ha, you wore my undies.”

I was saying goodnight to Bailey one night and told her that she had drawn some nice pictures earlier in the day. I said: “You’re a good drawer.” She replied: “Yeah, I think Mrs. Majewski (her teacher) is better than me, because she can draw people that really look like people.” I said: “yeah, but she has a lot more practice than you.” Bailey smiled and said: “Yeah, I’m only six and she’s like 17 or something.” Now enjoy the pics...

You might think that's funny, but it's snot

That's what I call a bubble-boy
Three new cousins Webbles wobble, but they don't fall down
These ladies are really cramping my style

Proud papas
First day of school
Trevin takin' his kids to the bus stop
Where are they taking me?
Happy Caden
Mom and mini-mom



I'm a very happy boy

Goodbye Grandma McClellan...And Farewell To Union

Well, I suppose it's worth a little time to update those who read my recent blog about my Grandma, and might be wondering how she's doing. She passed away on Saturday, August 22nd at the age of 95. She went peacefully and relatively quick. Of course, we all expected it at any moment and the Hospice nurse pretty much had narrowed it down to the last few minutes. So it was no surprise and in my opinion, I think that makes it a little easier. Although, I would say death is never easy for those who are left behind. I have a lot of memories of all my grandparents, even though both of my grandpas went when I was relatively young. It's interesting, too, because I don't have any bad memories of them.

Oh, I'm sure I pushed their buttons the wrong way on many occasions, yet I don't remember any bad moments with any of them. That must be the sign of a good grandparent. The thing I think remember most about my Grandma McClellan was that I could joke around with her about anything; and I mean anything. As she got older, she became a grouchy old lady more and more, but I could always make her laugh. And she did a good job of making us laugh, too. I'll miss that.

Anyways, her funeral will be this coming Saturday, and we will be in attendance, of course. She will be buried next to my grandpa in Union Oregon, where all four of my grandparents' mortal bodies will rest till the Resurrection. For me this will be a farewell in more ways than one. That's because it will more than likely be the last trip I will make to the tiny town of Union, Oregon. Now that I no longer have family there, I don't foresee another trip there in the future. Of course, I could be wrong, but realistically, this is probably it.

Union has a lot of special memories for me, because it always meant visits to both of my grandparents' houses, plus that is where we got to know and love our cousins. And of course it was the home of the annual Livingston Family Reunion for more than 30 years. It will be sad to say goodbye. I think I could write volumes on my memories of trips to Union. There have been so many to that little town of around 2000-2500 people that there are too many to even start writing them down. But looking back, those trips and things that happened in that town really helped shape my childhood.

So when we pull out of there next weekend, I will kind of be saying goodbye to an old friend and to a piece of my childhood. I will still have the memories, though, and that is really what life's experiences - and life itself - are all about. We live them, we enjoy them (or not), and then we move on to what life brings next. However, we learn from them by remembering them. And in the end, life is really just a big book of memories. Whether or not that book is good reading or not, is really up to us. So this weekend it will be time to write another chapter in that book of memories as our family reunites in Union, Oregon. There will be tears and there will be laughs. And of course, as my Grandma's mortal book ends, we will all be adding another cherished chapter to our ongoing stories. As for my book, I know this weekend will make for some good reading down the road. Goodbye Grandma, and thank you for leaving me some good chapters.

It's Time To Laugh Again

We have been busy, as usual. The baseball season is now almost over (just one game to go for each of them this Saturday) and both Tyler and Bailey have done very well.

Tyler Behind The Plate

Bailey Goes Deep

Bailey Behind The Mask

It is fun to watch them each week. It is also very fun to watch Trevin and Caden waiting in the wings. Trevin is so ready to play, and he will next year.

The kids are having a good summer but it is passing very quickly, and now almost over. Tyler will be a third grader and Bailey a first grader. How is that possible? So the big news in our family is that Carol is………now the Gospel Doctrine teacher in our ward (some of you thought I was going to say pregnant again, didn’t you?). She is humbled by the call, but I know she will do great. Plus, it will be a good break for her from the kids at church, as I will have to handle both Caden and Ammon during that hour. I’m excited for her, which is good, because at least one of us needs to be.

We took a little three-day vacation a couple weeks ago, to Eugene and mainly to Florence to play at the coast with my parents and my oldest brother Scott and his family. We did a little sandboarding, swimming, canoeing, marshmallow roasting, and of course baseball (when we got back to Eugene). We also had two unexpected “near-drowning” incidents. First, Caleb, who is almost 8, fell off the dock into the lake we were staying near. He probably would have been Ok, cuz he knows how to swim, but I yanked him out of the water as he struggled to get himself oriented. The next day, Trevin ran down the dune and straight into another lake we visited, and I guess Tyler pulled him up. We were not even there to see it. My Dad was close by, but thank goodness Tyler was, too. That’s the third time now that Trevin has had that kind of experience. You think he would learn by now. Anyways, the kids had a great time with their cousins and were sad to say goodbye.

The garden is producing cukes like crazy, and soon all of our green tomatoes will be turning red.

We have several ears of corn, but so far none of them have been bursting with yummy corn goodness. The kids love the garden, though, so overall it has been a success and totally worth doing.

We did Ammon’s baby blessing a week ago and it went well, I guess. It’s not something I really enjoy doing in front of the entire congregation, and would prefer it to be a much more intimate thing.

Almost all other blessings are, so I don’t know why baby blessings aren’t, but oh well. Ammon is growing like crazy. He has his two-month check-up this Thursday and I’m guessing he will already weigh about 15 pounds.

Caden seems to have reverted to is old ways of being grouchy, fussy, and generally unhappy, most of the time. It also appears that many of the same symptoms are showing up that were around before he started seeing the naturopath last year. So, we have decided to take him back and see if the Doctor can help again. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for Caden.

Well, it’s been a long time coming for these, and I know many of you have been waiting for more. So without further delay, here is the latest batch of funnies (sorry in advance to those of you who don’t like potty humor):

We were at the table for dinner and Ammon was close by in his bassinette. He kind of stirred, and then let out a huge blast. We all started laughing, then I said: “Whoa, was that you Bailey?” because, of course, we are used to Bailey providing the “musical” entertainment for our dining experience. She quickly denied responsibility. Then, Trevin said to Bailey, with a wry smile and tone to his voice: “That was you.”

The other day Trevin asked Carol: “Do you still have a baby in your tummy?” She, of course, replied: “No.” Trevin then asked: “Where did it go?” Carol pointed at Ammon and said: “It’s Ammon, right over there.” Trevin responded: “Oh, I’m gonna go see him.”

Tyler recently went to Cub Scout Camp, and each day they would meet up and then carpool over to the site. It was in Portland, across the river, so Carol was asking Tyler if he knew where it was and if he knew how to get there. He said: “Yeah,” then he started trying to tell her how to get there. His directions were, well, lacking quite a bit of info. He did mention that you go till you get to this really tall house. He said “if you see that house it’s so tall that if you go to the top balcony, you would be like two feet away from the sky.” So Carol questioned him: “Two feet away from the sky?” He responded, “yes.” Again, Carol asked him: “Two feet?” He said: “OK, not really two feet.” As I was writing this down, I was questioning him and Carol on the details. He said in all seriousness: “Actually, if you go to the roof, then you would be two feet away from the sky.” He still needs some work on his measuring skills.

Carol was in the bathroom cleaning Trevin up and said, “I’m tired of wiping your bum. When are you going to start wiping your own bum?” Trevin replied: “Umm, I wipe by bum when I 19. First day of my mission, I wipe my bum.” A couple days later, the same scenario occurred and Carol asked him the same question. Trevin replied, emphatically: “I told you; when I 19.”

President Nashif was over to home teach us and he asked Bailey if she had been baptized yet (of course he already knew the answer.) She responded, then he kept asking her questions as to why not? She finally got to the crux of it and said: “Because you have to be eight.” Then Tyler chimed in (and he wasn’t kidding), and said to President Nashif: “You’re a lot older than me. You should know that by now.”

I was changing Caden’s diaper and it was extremely wet. I said “that is one soaked diaper, buddy. Holy Cow! Holy Cow!” As I was saying it I would move my face in closer to him. He said: “Don’t say cow!” I asked: “Don’t say cow?” He then replied: “Don’t say holy!”

We were getting ready to read scriptures and Carol and I were on the love seat. Both Trevin and Tyler wanted to push their way onto it as well. I said: “No, this couch is made for two. It’s a two-seater.” I then told them that it’s called a love seat. After I said it, I thought, so how am I going to explain this one? Of course they asked: “What’s that mean?” Then Bailey cleared it all up, and said: “That means the couch loves you.”

So around here Carol changes almost all the diapers. Caden (and Trevin before him) does not want me to do it. When I lay him down and get ready to, he complains and says: “I want mommy do it.” So the other day I pick him up and he is messy, so I ask him: “Who’s gonna change your diaper?” fully expecting him to say, “mommy.” But he says, “Ummm, Tyler.” I started laughing, but Tyler, who was in the room, quickly said: “No I’m not.” The next day, Caden was ripe again and after a discussion between me and Carol, she asked him: “Caden, do you want daddy to change your diaper?” He replied: “No.” So she said: “Who’s gonna change your diaper?” He replied: “Uhhh, Ammon.”

Bailey asked one Monday night: “So are we ready for Family Home Evening?” Carol said as soon as Dad’s done, but Tyler butted in and said: “No. I’m still looking for a scripture.” Carol, who had asked him earlier and received a positive response, then said: “I thought you already had one?” Tyler replied: “Apparently, I didn’t. I was mistaked.”

So Trevin had an accident as he was getting ready to sit up on the toilet. Thus it was aimed all over the floor and the bathroom mats. I went in to assess the damage and he says: “I had a little accident.” I replied: “Yes, you did.” Then I as I stood there, looking at the puddles and soaked floor mat; while silently contemplating the fun time in which I was about to partake, Trevin, trying to look on the bright side, said: “I only got a little bit on my underwear.”

Tyler and Trevin have to do certain things each day before they play the Wii. For Tyler, one of them is to practice the piano for 15 minutes. Trevin has to be read to for at least 20 minutes. So the other day Trevin had his reading done, but Tyler still hadn’t done his piano practice. We also have to do family scripture reading before they play. We were about to do that, but Tyler wanted to do piano first, because he said: “If we read scriptures first, then Trevin will be able to play the Wii and I won’t.” Then Carol said, “Then you’ll just have to concentrate on the piano and get it done.” Tyler responded very sternly: “Yeah, but how am I supposed to do that?”

Grandma Shirts came down one night to visit. She arrived at about 7:30 and Grandpa was not with her. Usually he comes, so the kids asked: “Where’s Grandpa?” Grandma said: “Grandpa’s in bed.” One of them then asked: “Why is grandpa in bed already?” Bailey replied: “Because he’s an old man.”

Now enjoy some of the latest and greatest photos of this summer...

Fun With The Birds On A Hot Summer Day
What Shade Is That?

Jay-Bird Giving Tyler a Bird Bath
Let Me Get That For You
Dinner With Hayden and Claire
Take us To Your Leader
Cool In The Shade

Mini-Mom in Action

Not a Halloween Mask

Best Mates


Ammon Giving It His Best Shot


I Must Be In The Front Row
Enter Your Own Funny Caption Here
Here, We Wear 'em High

Rope Swing