Be Nice!

Whoever coined the phrase "terrible twos" was obviously thinking of our precious yet destructive Bronwyn Susan.  Bronwyn Sue has hit the "terrible twos" spot on.  She is very adept at leaving a path of destruction throughout the house.  Few hurricanes can claim such prowess.  She especially loves to destroy any homework she can get her hands on.  She loves to grab the boys' school papers and rip them up before they know what has hit them. If they yell, all the better.  I'm certain Ethan's and Jonah's teachers must think that we are harbouring Godzilla in our house.  (As I write this she is throwing quite a loud tantrum because we are going to go feed the ducks instead of going swimming.  I should have cleared my plans with her - my bad.) 

In addition, Brownyn won't allow any board games to be played in the house.  Daddy has narrowly escaped many a sound thrashing by the boys in various games of Rummikub, Disney Bingo, Qwirkle and Memory because Brownyn snuck in and destroyed the game before we could catch her.  To put it mildly, she is a handful.  We really haven't known what to do other than hope she grows out of it. But seeing as she is part Viking, we may be in some serious trouble.

Now it is a scientific fact that children do not hear 99.99% of what parents tell them.  However, we do have evidence that Bronwyn Susan actually heard us one time.  For Christmas the boys recieved a Screature Interactive Dinosaur from Uncle Ryan.  The dinosaur is pretty cool.  He can snap his teeth, growl and spray water.  He works by motion sensor so anything that moves in front of his face gets a snarl or spray of water.  The boys love it; Bronwyn does not.  When she first saw the dinosaur and what he does she screamed "nice", as in "be nice".  She then ran away.  We had been telling the boys and Bronwyn Sue to be nice.  Not that it works, but it is clear she heard us.  Bronwyn Sue screams "nice" whenever she sees him.  So we named him Nice.  Bronwyn tells him to be nice but refuses to get close to him.  Ingenious yet desperate parents we are, now when the boys do their homework or we are playing a board game and their little sister is lurking around, we pull out Nice to keep an eye on things.  Nice works rather, well, nice.  There have been no Bronwyn related homework and game night destructions since he took charge.  Sure Bronwyn will probably have to explain it all to a therapist someday, but we now know she can at least hear.  Listening may take a while. 

100 Years of Scouting

As many of you know the Boy Scouts are celebrating 100 Years of Scouting. Last weekend our ward hosted a dinner and that honored those who have participated in Scouting over the years. I took the blanket that Mom made for Shawn and also the Eagle that Grandpa Brady made for him. We received several complements on them both. I love the blanket, but it spends most of its life in the closet.

It was a wonderful event. It is good to see what so many have done for the Boy Scouts of America! I know that Shawn greatly enjoys being Scout Master. They went to Klondike Derby last weekend and was a little wet, but not too cold. Shawn said his boys did really good.

I have enjoyed watching Shawn and all that he does for the Boy Scouts in our ward. I hope they appreciate him.

Brady seems to enjoy Scouts too. He did a skit that night. It was called "telephone", where you repeat what the other person said. He was talking on a play phone and telling his friend what he was packing for Scout Camp and he would put the item in his bag. His friend would repeat what he said, but it would be a different item. Such as Brady said "I am taking a pair of shorts" His friend said "You are taking quarts?" They did a great job!

I love having these wonderful Scouts in my life. I think it truly helps them be better people. Thanks Mom and Dad for working with your boys so they could achieve so much! Love to everyone, we miss you all! Shawn, DaVette, Brady, Kory and Erik

Growing Like a Weed

Joshua and Ryan woke up from their Sunday morning nap today to find Tracy sitting in the baby’s room almost in tears. She had decided to go through all of Joshua’s clothes and pack away everything he’d grown out of. We were surprised at how big he’s grown, and it was heartbreaking to put away the tiny little outfits he’d looked so adorable in.
Not to worry. He’s still as cuddly as ever, and he’s even picked up a few habits that make him even more adorable. For instance, when he’s tired of sitting in his swing or bouncer, he’ll lift his arms out to you and yell at you in a high pitched squeal until you pick him up. He’s getting good at reaching and grabbing, so anything dangly has his instant attention, like daddy’s hoodie strings or mommy’s hair. He’s decided he likes to stand much more than sit or lie down. Since he can’t stand on his own, we’re getting an arm workout regularly. And, if you sing to him long enough, he’ll start to sing with you.
He’s growing so fast, and we’re both happy and sad about it at the same time. So, we smile and wipe away tears while we’re storing all his old things. We’ll keep them in a safe place for when Joshua’s ready to be a big brother.

Joshua wanted to help mommy organize.

The Machinations of Mr. J

Recently, Jonah has developed quite the imagination.  Actually, I should probably say both the boys have rather strong imaginations.  Ethan claims his turtle taught him to speak "Turtle".  He now understands what they are saying and why they do what they do.  I had no idea turtles were so opinionated and disapproving of most things I do. 
Lately Jonah's imagination has been in overdrive.  He has kept us laughing.  One evening, we kept on hearing a repetitive banging in the front room.  It sounded like something heavy was being dropped.  On inspection we discovered Jonah holding onto a few balloons jumping down the stairs onto the floor.  He was trying to fly away like the house in Up!  He only had a few balloons so didn't get very high.  However, he gets high marks for his never-say-die spirit.

A few nights ago Jonah exclaimed he figured out what to do if our house is ever attacked by "evil snowmen".  He has a plan.  If those not so jolly and not so happy souls attack us, we can beat them with subterfuge.  We can act very friendly towards them and invite them into our kitchen.  Mommy will make some hot chocolate.  We will then serve the evil snowmen the hot chocolate.  When they drink it they will melt from the inside.  And unlike Frosty they won't be back again someday.  You can see the beginning and end result from Jonah's illustration.  Oh! His plan contains gratuitous violence and is scientifically sound. Needless to say, Jonah is now our official evil snowmen repulser. Jonah is either very impressionable or very creative.  Whichever it is, evil snowmen don't have a chance. 

This Past Year

Eldon, Kye and I have been reminiscing about all of our blessings and new experiences we have had this last year. We moved into our new home, we have been given new opportunities to serve in our ward, we bought a bigger car, Eldon has had new opportunities to grow at work, Kye got a new bed, Kye has had the opportunity to hang out with Joshua, and we have been able to watch Emaa and Ovoo serve a mission and a be great example to all of us. We are so excited that we will be having a new temple built in our neighborhood and we will truly be blessed. This year we will also have a new addition to our family and we are very excited about this great news.





P.S. Yes, to those of you who guessed, this is the official statement. WE ARE EXPECTING!!!!!!!!

Artist's rendition of what our new Payson Temple will look like?

The Ger - Another Family, Part 2

Next door to the Ger we visited, is a little house, which is one room, with a fireplace/stove, two small beds, chest of drawers, with the TV on top and a small kitchen cupboard for preparing food. The table was a fold up table that sat in between the beds. I don't think these people are members, but they were so fun to visit! They invited his wife's brother over, when they knew the missionaries were coming. He plays several instruments and sings. This is like a fiddle, he held it just as you see in the picture, and moved the bow back and forth.

I thought of Jackson when he pulled out this flute. He made it sing so pretty! (I hope you're still practicing, Jackson). The man in the back is the brother, his wife in next to him. They sang with the music. The people in Mongolia have no hesitation about asking you how old you are, I'm starting to get use to it. (Dad tells them he is 29, and they all laugh)! My grey hair throws them, they all color their hair. But, guess how old the man playing the instrument is......? He is 67, two years older than Dad! The missionaries teased Dad, that is what he will look like in 2 years!

He played the accordian, also. His sight isn't very good so all of it is by memory.

We are sitting on the bed. I don't know how these people live. Life is very simple, but they are kind and giving. I feel so rich and so spoiled! I know in America we don't have alot, but by these standards, we are wealthy! I think they think all Americans have alot of money. We've had Church members ask us for money quite a bit. (They gave us strict instructions not to do that, but send them to the Branch President).

Elder Willoughby, Elder Odbayar and their grandson, in front of the outside door.

The grandson lives with them, I'm sure he helps them alot, with the fire and other things. He walked us to the gate when we left.

Elder Odbayar decided we as missionaries are going to learn a Traditional Mongolian song for Tsaagan Sar, because they will ask us to sing. He has taken it upon himself to teach us a song, in Mongolian! He doesn't know what a task he has undertaken! (They all know it but Dad and I). The Mongolian's love music and they are good singers. They know their country's songs and traditional songs by heart. I have ask several of the people and kids we teach English to, to sing it for me, they can and do.

We love you all!!

Take care! Thank you for the love and support you send to us!

Remember the Church is true and that God lives and loves

all of us!