I LOVE BYU Football

Okay, I admit it, but I hope Ryan doesn't read this. But I really love BYU football. I can't deny it anymore. We watch every game that we can and if at all possible attend the games. My boys dress in their BYU gear on game days and really believe that what they wear affects the outcome of the game. They have even learned that the Utes stink. What more could we ask for? We had a great time at the game with Blake and Maren, wished they lived closer to do more things with! By the way, I figured of all the teams out there shouldn't there be a maternity line for BYU gear? Couldn't find any, so opted for a bigger shirt to cover my 7 month belly. This could be a great business idea for someone in the market, I mean who has more pregnant students and alumni than BYU?

T-Ball Pro's (and con's)

The boys are in their first (maybe only?) season of t-ball. They are loving it and I am going crazy. It is amazing to see their personalities come out in a team environment and we have been surprised!

Tate is VERY aggressive and pushes his way to the ball each time, he pays attention to the game and knows where he is supposed to be, all though that doesn't necessarily mean he will be where he is supposed to be and he really enjoys playing the game. In fact, as soon as he is through batting he either joins the other team on the field or gets back in line to bat again. He doesn't want any of this sitting around stuff! No picking dandelions in the outfield for him!

Connor thinks it is fun on a social level but is not as concerned with winning and losing as is his younger brother. Connor is happy to just run around the bases and get home, missing a few on the way because he is just "too fast"! He loves the game but is more concerned with giving everybody a fair shot rather than being the best himself. Not sure where we went wrong.

Gage is just miffed that he is not on a team, so he spends the time playing catch with mom. He is a lefty and only has a right hand me down mitt from his brothers but he doesn't let that bother him, he puts it on the opposite hand and plays very awkwardly, but pretty decent for a two year old.

These boys are so much fun, even if watching 2 hours of t-ball can be excruciating, not sure if there are supposed to be rules or not, it appears NOT!.

"Hunting" with Grandpa

Connor and Tate were so excited to wear their camo and go hunting with Grandpa Gulbranson. Grandpa was nice enough to take the boys for a few hours, we sent them with cookies to ease the pain of the dynamic duo! Well, it was after a long day and Tate fell asleep quickly and thus missed most of the hunting experience. Connor spent the entire time asking Grandpa questions. At one point he asked, "when are we going to get there and stop driving?" Grandpa apparently does all his hunting from the comforts of the Jeep now, to which Connor did not agree. On another occasion he told Grandpa, "You are not allowed to hunt here, there are signs everywhere that say NO HUNTING!" But Grandpa informed him that he had put up those signs to keep other hunters off his property. Not sure Connor believed him, but needless to say he drove Grandpa crazy with all his questions and answers. They did get see a few bucks and does, but did not shoot anything, much to the boys dismay. Maybe next time.

September with the McCoy's

Well, let's just sum up September with one word, WHIRLWIND! We have been so super busy this month that I haven't even had time, or a constant Internet connection, to blog! So those of you interested, and I know you all are, here is a recap of our month.
September 1-5 was spent canning peaches, pears and salsa at home, getting ready for our trip to Canada and picking up all the orders for our store in Canada. We, the kids and I, packed up our car. Which, by the way, was no small feat. I managed to fit in two long benches, iron decor, bags, tissue paper, various business inventory, three small children, myself, and my sister-in-laws mother into our van for our trek north. We had a GREAT drive, the boys were so good, Gage managed to keep up with his potty training and we had no incidents, whew!
We arrived on the 7th and have been busy ever since. My sister-in-law, Becky, is in Vancouver receiving radiation treatments for lip cancer so I am staying at her house taking care of her 4 little boys and my brother. The kids have been great, a lot easier than I thought 7 little boys 10 and under would be. Although I am exhausted each day, we have been able to get so much done that I can't complain. My brother, Jared, ended up getting sick with strep throat, sinus infection and chest infection. Seriously, give them a break! But he is doing much better now.
My boys have LOVED being around cousins all the time with sleepovers every night and playing all day every day. They have even been able to go hunting with Grandpa Gulbranson, I will post pictures later. Two of my brothers each got an elk and the boys were quite excited about that and have fallen in love with elk steak, which we have had a few times since being here. Gage, who was having some problems with all the aspects of potty training was instantly cured when I told him he couldn't go hunting with Grandpa until he went poo in the potty chair. He hasn't had an accident since then! Yeah! And, he has yet to go hunting!
My sisters and sister-in-laws and I have been crazy busy canning and caring for our little store. We did pears, peaches, apple pie filling, salsa and tomatoes. We were also introduced to canned banana bread, which was absolutely delicious so that may be our next adventure in canning, and pumpkin bread. Who wouldn't love to get that as a neighbor gift? Yummy!
Our little store is all nestled in for fall, with all the beautiful colors and displays. I sure miss doing this on a regular basis. We have all the Christmas items priced and ready to go. Just pure fun around here! Our next adventure takes us to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on the 8th of October for a buying show! YIPPEE! We have never taken a girls trip with just my mom and sisters so we are so excited to go. Anyway, that has been my September, each day fuller than the last and it is all about to end to trek back south to our home there. I have missed it and my daily routines, but it is always great to come back!
Now for October, I am sure it will slow down right? Isn't that the way it always goes? One month busy, the next just relaxed and pleasant! I know that has been my experience! Ha ha.

11 Years

Well, today is our eleven year anniversary. We have already been married eleven years! I am sure you are all amazed we made this long, as am I! Where has the time gone? I have to say it has been a very fun eleven years filled with adventures and joys. Ryan is the best husband I have ever had! Ha ha, hope that's always true!

All kidding aside, I love this man who takes care of me and our growing family in every way. He is a hard worker and is always coming up with new ideas, which I have grown to love. I love that he dreams big and approaches everything in life with optimism and enthusiasm. Ryan is the best dad, he never misses anything that is important to the boys and he will stay up all night to get work done so he doesn't miss out on family time. He inspires me to be better and dream bigger. He is my everything, thank you for the best years.

Back to School

Grade One is upon us. Truthfully, Connor has already completed 4 weeks of school and I am behind, again. He has truly enjoyed his first grade year, so far. He has a great teacher that lets him have two recess breaks and lunch! Wow, miracles happen when you go from half day to full day!
However, there is one problem with grade one, according to Connor, and that is GIRLS! He has spend the majority of his recess breaks and lunch times running away from stinky girls that are trying to kiss him. Let me ask all you mothers out there who have 6 year old girls, are they all so promiscuous? Okay, so I know there are plenty of nice girls out there, but what do I do about the little flirts chasing and kissing my son? Maybe I should stop making him match, wear deodorant (yes he needs it!), and brushing his teeth. I am at my wits end with this "problem". Not to say that Connor doesn't do his fair share of tauting and teasing the girls into their hormonal craze, but is this normal to start so young? I agree, he is a handsome little fellow, but he is also so annoying and has cooties, can't they see this?
On another note, we were told that our son is a stinking genius! Well, maybe not genius, but he is smart. He has tested at a grade 4 level for reading, writing, spelling and math. Pretty darn good, I had no idea and still wonder as to the origin of his cleverness. But we are going to keep that quiet from him. He doesn't need a bigger head than he already has. But we are very proud of him and his efforts to learn, he LOVES school and everything about it, except maybe that his mom is mean and packs him a lunch, even on macaroni and cheese day. Can you believe the injustice?

Life Happens

I wish I could say that I have been negligent on posting lately because I have been so extremely busy crossing things off my to do list, but alas, that is not true (at all). We have just been "busy" living life. August has flown past me without notice and September is upon us, does that mean cooler weather for Utah? If not, I may need to be leaving for good! Maybe that has been my problem, the heat has made me lazy and stupid!

But we have still been busy doing fun things and sending Connor back to school. We were able to go up the canyon a few times in August, roast some marshmallows, have some great dutch oven cooking and enjoy the scenery.

As you can see, we spend equal amounts of time taking baths after each day spent outside, what is about boys and finding any dirt, mud and mess that you can? They have thoroughly enjoyed themselves this summer.

We were able to visit the county fair one evening and the boys really had fun. Of course they wanted to spend all their time on rides, but when the Ferris wheel makes you scared out of your pants, your rides are limited! The boys screamed like little girls! So I wanted to take the kids into the animal barns and show them all the animals and give them all the exciting facts that I know from growing up a farmer. But apparently the barns "stink" and it is "so gross", etc. Can you say citified? These boys need to go back to their roots. They wouldn't even pause for 30 seconds to watch the cattle being shown and judged, after all I spent many a summer training cattle and showing them, I knew which ones would win, but they were not interested and neither was their dad. Cotton candy and thrill seeking rides were calling their names! Time to get back to the country.