Family Reunions!

We've been crazy busy this past month. First, we had Brian's parents, his sister Karie, and his sister Delona's family come for a weekend. We had a great time camping (but remind me not to take an 18 month old to a lake with only one pair of shoes ever again). We also spent a day at Bear Lake. Cameron was amazed at how big the fish were, and he couldn't get enough of the waverunner. We forgot Brian's sunscreen, we ate really greasy hamburgers, and we were grateful for showers and comfy beds when we got home.
















This past weekend, all of Lisa's family (except Chrissy's husband Jon) came to our house. There were 21 of us all in the same house. Getting ready for church was a challenge (Carl washed his hair in the kitchen sink), but everything else ran really smoothly. Everyone's kids are getting so big. It's fun to see them play together. We are looking forward to future reunions with less 2-year old tantrums, but lots of fun memories were made despite the occasional choas. Lisa's dad made a trip to the emergency room on Saturday, but is doing fine now (those darn 4-wheelers are fun, but sometimes you have to wonder if they are worth it!)














School starts next week. Brian will be in 1st grade and Tyler will be in afternoon kindergarten. I'm glad I still have 2 little ones at home, and I'm looking forward to an occasional nap with them!

Summertime!

We love this time of year! Utah and Idaho got robbed of spring, but summer is finally here and we are having a great time. It's been fun having Brian home from school every day. He and Tyler spend their days riding bikes, playing with friends, and practicing basketball, tennis, or soccer. Cameron tags along, and Adam cries at the window wishing he were big enough to play. I didn't want our summer nights to be filled with baseball practices and games, so we play at the church with a bunch of primary kids every tuesday and friday morning. We have a great time. Brian is quite a slugger, and Tyler cracks me up because he always forgets to run to the next base (or forgets which direction the next base is in).



We made pizza the other day - the boys love helping. We like making cookies even more, but I have to limit myself to once a week so the neighbors stop asking me if I'm pregnant (no, I'm not).



We have lots of birthdays this time of year. Big Brian and I turned old(er) last month, and Cameron had his 3rd birthday in Boise last week. We had a wonderful time visiting my parents and Aubrey's family. BethAnne and Grace are adorable! It's fun to watch the kids play together - especially in Aubrey's pool. We went to the park by Grandma and Grandpa's twice a day while we were there. I'm contantly amazed at how fast these kids are growing.

We are getting really excited for our family reunions this year. Brian's family is coming from Michigan and Provo at the end of July, and Lisa's entire family is coming a week later. We're going to play at Bear Lake and hang around here as well. I've had fun decorating and buying a few new pieces of furniture for the occasion. We hope all of our friends and family are having a nice summer!

April Update

Aside from all the snow, we had a nice April. Our weeping cherry tree bloomed over the weekend, and it is beautiful. We visited good old BYU a few weekends ago. It was fun to be on campus again, especially since we weren't the ones studying for finals this time! We took the kids bowling with Delona's cute kids and everyone had a wonderful time.

Cousin Caitlyn and Aunt Chrissy were both a big help with Adam. He was determined to get his fingers pinched in the ball return, and wanted every turn to be his. Cute boy. The rest of the boys are getting so big - it's hilarious to watch them throw the 6 pound ball with all their might, and then wait a full 2 minutes before it actually reaches the pins. You've gotta love those bumpers, too.

I took this last picture to mark the first day I dared to give Adam his own bowl of cereal. He didn't throw it on the floor, and he seemed to enjoy being just like his big brothers.

Lastly, I had a fun day yesterday. Adam and I travelled to Centerville for my cousin Kim's bridal shower where I got to see most of my mom's family, and then I went on to Orem where we celebrated my Grandma Baker's 80th birthday with all of my dad's side. It was so nice to see everyone, and a relief to see my Grandma recovering well from a recent surgery. We hope all of our friends and family are doing well. Keep in touch!

Easter and Motorcross!!

So it's been too long since I've posted anything - I dont' know where to start! Here's a picture of the kids on Easter morning. Cameron's black eye is from a flying toy he ran into. We went to a crazy community easter egg hunt that didn't actually involve eggs or hunting. Basically, a thousand ziploc bags (full of jelly beans and cinnamon bunnies) had been thrown on the church lawn and the kids walked two steps and picked up two bags each. We left within 2 minutes of it starting, each kid with more cheap, nasty candy than they could eat in a week. I sound ungrateful, considering it was the Lion's Club who sponsored it - old men don't really know what makes a good easter egg hunt. Luckily, Grandma does, and she gave the boys a fun one the next weekend in Boise. In fact, Tyler was saying morning prayer today and he said, "and thank you for Grandma and her easter egg hunt" completely out of the blue. We've been encouraging them to really think before they pray, so I had to smile when he came up with that one. Cameron was amazed at the motorcross guys. Everytime one launched into the air, his little eyes would sparkle and he'd make a "wow" face. Cute boy. Hopefully we can steer him in a different direction before he's old enough to ride a motorcycle. I included the last picture because I crack up everytime I see the boys watching TV together. They have two whole couches to sit on, but instead they choose to mash together on a single cushion. They happened to fall asleep this day, and I couldn't resist the photo opp. That's about all that's going on for us right now.

Too Big!

So the boys are officially too big to fit in the bathtub together. It cracks me up because they fight over who gets to be in the front, but then they're all smashed like sardines so the person in the front is crammed under the faucet with someone's little foot jabbing at his backside. Brian has decided that he's big enough for the shower, so that should take care of the over-crowding issue.

We had a nice month. We went skiing (ok, big Brian had a great time hitting the slopes, the boys went tubing, and mom hung out in the lodge and ate brownies that made her car-sickened tummy even sicker!) A good time was had by all.

Then Chrissy (Lisa's sister) came for the weekend and we had a wonderful time. We celebrated her birthday and watched a few movies to relax. We also loved seeing Lisa's mom for a few hours. The boys absolutely loved the "fun dip" treats she brought (do you all remember those from back in the day?) - they ate a different color every day. Actually, Brian ate all three colors on the first day, and Tyler and Cameron spaced them out. Does that tell you something about their personalities?

And finally, Adam is into EVERYTHING these days! I was trying to cook dinner and he got into the powdered sugar. I took the sugar and everything else away from the cupboard that I thought he could get into. Then I turned around two minutes later and he had cocoa everywhere. You'd think he'd take one lick and spit it out, but he didn't seem to mind (maybe his taste buds are a little more Baker than Llewellyn, considering Brian thinks dark chocolate is of the devil). Well, 7am comes early these days (though I've almost got Adam sleeping through the night finally). I'm calling it a night! Love you all...

February fun so far...

We've had fun the last few weeks. Brian earned "Dad of the Year" award (again) by making a giant mound of snow, and then helping the kids dig a cool fort into the side of it. Then he bought me an early Valentine's Day present - a beautiful dining room table that I've had my eye on for awhile (thanks Congress and Mr. Bush! We're already spending that money you've promised to send). Brian worked so hard putting it together that he threw his back out. Say a prayer for him - it's a doozy this time. Last but definitely not least, Adam turned one yesterday! I think his Elmo cake was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. Delona and her youngest three kids came up for a few days and we had a wonderful time.

Men of the House

So Big Brian went to Florida for business this weekend. I tried to tell Cameron he was at work, but Cameron just said, "no, OCEAN!" Though he did get to go to the ocean one evening to gather seashells for the boys, I thing it's more work than play. Little Bri stepped up to be the man of the house. I asked him to shovel the walk and he did a fantastic job. He even sprinkled salt on the steps without me having to ask - "cuz that's what dad always does." After he was done shoveling, he told me that he'd have to sleep in my bed now. That didn't happen, but I found myself wide awake at 1 in the morning, clutching my cell phone and scared to death that my alarm would go off any minute, so I put Cameron on the floor and took his bed so I could be protected by all 4 of my little men.

In the third picture, Cam's giving the thumbs up because he's awesome at bowling (gotta love those ramps and bumpers!). He's also doing a fantastic job potty training. He's been dry for two days now, though I had to find 4 different restrooms in the course of 2 hours running errands yesterday. The last picture of Adam was my feable attempt to avoid going to Kiddie Kandids. Adam is sitting on my shoulders right now because he won't leave the mouse and keyboard alone. Ouch, that's my hair. Anyway, love you all.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

We've had a really nice Holiday so far. The best part is that Brian's been off of work for a whole week. We visited my parents (and Aubrey's family) in Boise last weekend and had a great time. We had fun playing at the Discovery Center, eating good food, and enjoying eachother's company. Then we came back to Logan and got snowed in for Christmas Eve. The kids put on a cute Nativity scene while Brian read from the scriptures. Christmas morning was magical, of course. Our sweet boys were so excited -- I think this picture of Cameron captures it best. We started a new tradition of making crepes on Christmas morning, and then I spent the entire day putting together a lego castle for Brian (it said for ages 6 and up, but it nearly drove me insane -- especially when Cameron and Adam ripped the whole thing apart twice before I finally got it put together (where's Uncle Carl when you need him?). It was worth the effort, though, and little Brian thought I was awesome and thanked me over and over again for my help. We've had fun playing with toys and hanging out all week. We hope all of our family and friends have had a nice Christmas, too!

Christmas time at the Llewellyn's

We are getting SOOO excited for Christmas around here. We made cupcakes with green and red sprinkles after church today (I had to bribe Tyler to go to church without complaining -- it worked surprisingly well). Adam ate 3 (yes 3!) cupcakes (though most ended up on the floor), and is now happily sleeping.

I have to brag about my husband for a minute...he took his Logistics final on Saturday and got an A! He will most likely get an A in the class. We had a nice break from school and work Saturday to celebrate (went to the Temple and out to dinner -- much needed quiet time!).
Cameron has toned down his terrible two agression this week, and Adam is overflowing with the cutest little personality. He's started getting into everything (the tupperware drawer is always empty these days...) The only hard thing is that if I put him down and he wants to be held (which is most of the time), he squeals like his finger is being slammed in a car door. I hope it is a passing phase. The rest of the boys have been really good (by Llewellyn standards).





This Book of Mormon/Tyler sleeping picture is legit. Brian has started personal scripture study at night, and Tyler thinks he's big enough to do it too. One night I heard him flipping pages for at least 10 minutes. When I went to check on him later, he was zonked out and I couldn't pass up the photo op. Well, we hope you all have a wonderful week getting ready for Christmas! We leave for Boise on Friday or Saturday for a quick visit. It should be fun to see some of my family.

Good times...

These pictures are from a few weekends ago. Brian ran in his first race (he was convinced he was going to win until he saw all the "big boys" there.) The rest of the pics are from the Elk Festival (only in Logan, right?). The balloons are supposed to look like elk racks. We shot BB-guns, bows, and rode a horse-drawn wagon through elk country. Very fun. Speaking of fun, we had a great time this weekend with Carl, Steph and Ben. Cute family. Ben (and all the boys for that matter ) had a fun time sliding down a big inflatatle slide, riding a carousel, and climbing through a McDonald's-type play area. That's about all for now...