Ben's Instagram Oct. - Dec. 2012

These are the faces of two boys who just scored front row seats at Stake Conference and were the first kids to shake hands with Elder Neil L. Anderson. YEAH!

Saturday, 3pm. A spontaneous game of Ring Around the Rosie, organized by Henry. One or two boys may or may not still be wearing pajamas.

3 men and a baby, on our own in the wilderness. We made it to the peak! (one of the men may or may not have had to carry the baby AND another man a good chunk of the way. The view was worth it.

What do you do when you've got 4 boys in the house and no mom? You find a pond and throw rocks in it for as long as you want. Some things you just don't grow out of.

Bath time at the Iverson household: E: "Henry, pretend this of a painting by Paul Klee, okay?" H: "okay!"

New Hawaiian flashlights were the perfect batons for leading the FHE song tonight. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

I'm not a gum chewer, but I needed something sweet this afternoon. Bought 1 pack of Extra, and this is what the machine spit out! 

Good thing Verizon paid 37 cents to mail this to me.

Halloween success.

Henry finished up another great season of soccer today. He had a pretty amazing assistant coach as well, if I do say so myself.

When Henry accidentally mixed together two decks of cards, he decided that a chart was the perfect tool to sort them out. It worked perfectly. Like father like son.

Feeling very thankful. Emphasis on the "full."

Sam is picking the M&Ms out of his cookie. And we thought it was bad when our kids picked the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms.#wastedcookie

Henry was super excited about all of his presents, but he dove into the Star Wars Encyclopedia first. #cantstopreading #typicalhenry

Little Shooters basketball. I think Henry might have gotten a double whammy on the basketball genes from Jenn and me. Sorry Henry!

If I ever become a diabetic, homemade caramels will be the reason.

Henry legitimately asked me to write him some math problems for Christmas this year. Your wish is my command, Henry! #homemadegift #chipofftheoldblock

Sam found a whole wall of a gingerbread house while Jenn and I weren't watching. He succinctly described the experience in two words: "big!" And, "yummy!"

Who knew ant farms were so cool? I think I'm enjoying Henry's presents as much as he is. :-)

Henry's Special Gift

This is the story of Henry's owl charm.  About nine months ago, on our trip to Pennsylvania, Henry found a beautiful owl charm. It was one of his treasures, and he added it to his special collection.  Actually, he meant to add it to his collection, but instead, it stayed in the van, in the cup holder by Henry's seat.  He showed it to any of our van's visitors, and we all knew about this important possession.

One day, Henry's friend Jules rode with us to school.  Henry showed Jules the owl charm.  Jules brought it with him into school and showed it to many of Henry's classmates.  Within a few minutes, the owl charm was nowhere to be found!  Henry came home from school that day feeling pretty devastated.  Actually, it was the first day of his entire first grade year that he came home to report having a mediocre day.  He was nearly in tears telling me about the loss of the owl charm.  We talked about it carefully, and I assured him that he could ask his teacher about it the next day, and hopefully they could track it down.

Sure enough, the next day was one of the best days of Henry's life.  He came home and reported that the owl charm was, indeed, found!  He told me, "I was so happy that I decided I'm finally going to use the owl charm to make a necklace or bracelet for Jamie."

For Jamie?  Jamie Cook (my friend, and his friend Bryson's mom)?  

"Yes."  

How did you decide on Jamie and not some other beautiful lady, like your own mom?

"Well, when I thought of the idea, her name just popped into my head."

So Henry (and Ellis) worked hard stringing beads and making a beautiful bracelet for Jamie.

The owl charm (wish I had a better picture of the charm) has a new life.

Jamie was very flattered to receive Henry's special gift, and he was pretty proud of himself.  I'm proud of my boy for thinking of someone else and giving away something that is so important to him.

The Latest on Sam

These are my two loves.  Aren't they the cutest?

Okay, if I had to pick one, I would have to say that Sam is the cutest.  He is getting bigger and is constantly making a mess of something, but every day he melts my heart, makes me laugh, and makes me happy.  He loves reading books, and he loves being with Dad.

He loves brothers and tickles.

He loves trying everything that his older brothers try.

And he loves sweets of all kinds!  While Ben and I were not looking, he found a gingerbread house and pulled off an entire side.  When we came back into the room, he looked so happy.  

He always likes his food to be "big" rather than cut into small pieces.  So his comment about the gingerbread house was, "BIG!"  He was so proud of himself for finding it.  Let's just say that this boy is hard to say no to.

Happy Christmas!

We had a great Christmas!  I was excited that the Scotland vests from Ben's parents fit all three boys again this year.  

We enjoyed a nice, quiet Christmas Eve at home, and then a fun-filled day the next morning.  Unfortunately, my Christmas morning pictures never turn out . . . so this is what you get!  

November via Instagram

Today Sam emptied a whole box of tissues AND a full roll of toilet paper.  Usually it's just one or the other! #productiveday

Touch the trucks!  Sam's favorite was the "fie-fie!" (fire truck)

Playing Wizard until midnight with these two.  Any guesses who won? #benthinksiamjustlucky 

Proud of my politically-active 4 year old!

The boys have been saving this aquarium trip for Grandma and Grandpa's visit.

Spoiled by grandpa.

Looks like Faneuil Hall is the place to be tonight. #happyelectionday 

Cookies for my Primary kids for the program.  I'm so glad my mom and dad get a kick out of doing projects like this with me.

Three pirates sink the (air mattress) ship and find (dollar bills) treasure. #grandpaisthebest

Candlelight dinner to celebrate Iverson Day!  Our family started nine years ago.  #happyanniversary

Watching the good old wedding video.  Kind of embarrassing.  But Sam is loving it!

Look what finally came in the mail for Ellis, two weeks after the election!

Comparing the old with the new.  Did you know Elder Oaks, Maynes, Cardon, and Kearon got new pictures taken?  And SO many of them SWITCHED PLACES!

Ellis is the only boy at Joy School today, and the girls are terrorizing him.  He's hiding under the table saying, "Amelia is going to shoot me!" and "Evelyn is going to saw me up!" #typicaliversonboy

The crossing guard asked, "What's wrong with the little guy?"  I told her the whole story about Sam's foot.  She looked really confused.  After walking a few more blocks, I took a look at Ellis, and realized she was talking about him.  #justapirate

Brownies from the crossing guard this morning.  Is this her apology for thinking my perfectly normal kid had something wrong with him yesterday?  Everyone wears pirate patches on the way to school, right?

Thankful tree.

It's the Turkey Bowl!

Letting the Joy School kids play Play Doh Ice Cream Shoppe.  Something about kids and Play Doh stresses me out.  Heaven forbid, they're mixing colors! #typeApersonality

Happy Garbage Day!