Stuck in the mud

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like a complete failure in about every aspect of your life? Tuesdays has for a long time been my day to be Dad and get a taste of what mother's go through every day. Tracey works on Tuesday so that is my time to get a feel for that. I've been grateful for the opportunity because it has given me a greater appreciation for just how hard that can be to keep everything together. Between meals and cleaning up and running errands, etc. you mothers have a hard job. We've only got two kids, I can't imagine having four or more to keep track of. Most Tuesdays seem to go well enough but this one just seemed to get worse as the day went on. I felt like that time I was stuck in the mud (remember Mom) and the harder you try to get out the more stuck you get. After getting the kids ready we had some errands to run and I walk out of the house into the garage to get into the truck. Well it was about then that I realized I didn't have my keys. Sure enough I had locked the door on the way out, so now we were stuck in the garage with no way in. After cursing my bad luck for a while, we took the 4-wheeler over to Terry and Ronda's and borrowed their car. We rode up to the pharmacy and got Tracey's key and drove back home (an hour round trip). The day got progressively worse (or maybe it was just my mood) as we finished the errands and returned home. It seemed like I had been getting after the kids all day for fighting or not listening, etc. Next thing I know Tristyn comes running in the room balling because Ty has hit her with something. My patience was more than worn at this point, and I couldn't help but feel a little discouraged about the events of the day. It was a short time later that I caght Ty and Tristyn cuddling on the couch and acting like they love each other. This was like seeing my Mom coming to pull me out of the mud, like maybe my parenting isn't a complete failure. It made me once again appreciate all the hard work you mothers go to. Thank you Tracey, I know my one day a week doesn't hold a lot of weight compared to all the time you spend, but I do appreciate all you do. Thank you Mom for all the work you went to in raising all five of us, I don't know how you did it, but I know you did a great job. I'm so thankful to be a Dad, and thankful to all the mothers out there that are an inspiration to me. (;

Follow the rules...or else!

Saturday night we took the frontrunner down to Salt Lake to watch a play with a bunch of people from Tracey's family. We got down there fine with no problems. The play was actually pretty good. It was this little off broadway theatre that does parodies and improv comedy. They did a parody on It's a wonderful life that ended up being quite funny. Anyway after the play we went back to get on the frontrunner to go home. As I was walking through the door of the train, not paying attention, the door closed right on my forehead and nose causing this unforntunate mark. Tracey's family already calls me "Focker" from that Meet the Parents movie. Well this is "Focker meets Tommy Boy" apparently. We all got a good laugh about it, and other than an enlarged forehead no harm was done. While we were away Tracey's cousin Keishas husband was home with the kids. Well he apparently had the nerve to grab a piece of pizza and attempted to eat it while standing up holding his little boy. That was too much for Ty to handle so he quickly reprimanded Jordan and told him he wasn't allowed to eat his pizza anywhere but at the table because it might get crumbs on the floor and his Mom would get mad. Jordan apologized and sat down at the bar. At the bar are the bar stools that conveniently swivel to make rocking his baby boy a little easier. Upon commencement of swiveling there was Ty again telling Jordan he can't swivel in the chairs as they might crash into one another. Jordan apologized and after a few moments unconsciously started to swivel again, Ty chimed in "You're swiveling!" This is all interesting because at least we know that he knows the rules and is willing to make sure other people follow them, although he doesn't want to follow them himself. We all got a good laugh about that when Jordan relayed the story back to us. So if you're ever at our house make sure you follow the rules or....you may have to live with the consequences of Ty's watchful eye!

'Tis the season...to party

Santa is the only one to have the guts to enter the house with his shoes on! (:

We had the annual Hancock Christmas party the other night. This is the party with Terry's brother Val, his wife Joann and their family. Terry's folks passed away when he was young so he was partly raised by Val. They are like grandparents to Tracey, and we all have a great time when we get together! They are such fun people and the party had everything from disco to bunko. Tristyn and Kailee danced their clogging routines for us. Tyler and Kaden did their clear water duet. There was a pinata for the kids to take their aggressions out on. I'm not sure why, but the pinata was a Santa pinata. I can't imagine the fat guy being too excited to leave toys when their hitting him with a bat a few days before Christmas. Hopefully he forgives easily. We even had a surprise visit from Santa at our house before the party. All in all it was a fun night. Since we don't send out Christmas cards, we'll take the opportunity here to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Waiting for the pinata to break so they can make a rush for the candy.

Where did Santa go?

It's a Christmas miracle!

After months of bribery, encouragement, threatening, pleading, etc. Ty has finally decided to be a big boy and poop on the potty consistently. Yes it is a Christmas miracle! We bought him a scooter months ago and promised him we'd put it together as soon as he decided to be a big boy. Tracey wrapped a whole bunch of little dollar toys for him to unwrap every time he would go on the potty. None of that would motivate him to go. Now after a couple of accidents he's going as often as he can to get the next present. The phobia is finally over (crossing my fingers). We ceremoniously threw the pull ups in the garbage, and everybody is happy!

Another Christmas miracle. The poor little guy ran out of gas on his way back from the potty. He was testing the waters between naughty and nice the other day and had to spend a little time-out time in his room. Then I heard the door open as he made his way to the potty. When he was finished he went back to his room and shut the door. After a few minutes of no noise (he's usually flinging the door-stop, or asking if he can come out now, or kicking the ground, etc.) I decided to check on him and found him, sword in hand, laying on the floor asleep- too tired to even pull up his pants after the potty. 'Tis the season for miracles!

Beauty and the Beast!

Tracey and Tristyn had a girls night out they'd been planning for about a week, so I had a fun night planned for Ty and I. A night full of wrestling and watching the Jazz and any other sports program we could find. As I got home I found out that Tyler and Carrie needed a little help with the kids until they got home, so plans had to change a little. Ty was more than excited that his cousins got to come over, and I was excited that he was excited. I wasn't quite sure what to do for entertainment so we pulled out the ol' karaoke machine which turned out to be a great decision. Ty and Kailee kept themselves busy with that for a while, so that meant two kids down only one to keep an eye on. That is when I captured this little gem of a duet. It ended up being a lot of fun, and later we even added more kids to the party as Tera and the twins stopped by. Ty had a blast playing with his cousins and the Jazz lost anyway so it all turned out good!

What the heck, Santa?

We recently had our ward Christmas party. It was a lot of fun as there was music, dancing, good food, and of course Santa. Ty didn't enjoy the Santa part so much. He sat on his lap just fine, but as you can see from the picture he wasn't too excited about the results. All the kids got a little package from Santa, with some candy and a couple other little items in it. We asked Ty why the sour face and he said he asked Santa for a sword and when he opened his package, fully expecting a sword to be in it, he was a little upset to find it missing a sword. We tried to explain that Santa doesn't give it to you right then, but he's still a little ticked off at him. So other than Ty not getting his sword, we all had a good time.

Ty loved dancing with the ladies!

Tristyn and her friend Paige

Say cheese....

We finally took time to go and get some family pictures after two years without doing it. Amber Togisala was our photographer and we felt she did a great job. The kids were great and the whole experience turned out a lot better than some of our past photograph sessions. Here are some of our favorites.

Momma's girl!

Daddy's little buddy!

The hardest part about the session was keeping Ty from smiling too big. He's a natural cheese.

Tristyn's growing up a little too fast for our liking!

We wish they got along like this every day!

It's the most wonderful time....

Thanksgiving night we watched "Christmas Vacation" at my folks house which in turn inspired all of us to go decorate the house for the season. My one or two hour project (sure Tracey) of hanging lights ended up being closer to 6 hours. That head lamp Tracey bought me for jogging came in handy. It all worked out good though because Tina, who was staying with us a few days, put up our tree and even decorated it. That is usually my job so I didn't mind hanging the lights to get out of that (thanks Tina). Now we're all set for cousin Eddy to show up in his RV.
Merry Christmas!

"All the stockings are hung by the chimney with care". Who's bringing the marshmallows for roasting?