A PRIZE

Ok. Today I was the picture of bad parenting and broke down and out-right bribed my children. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and the big boys didn't want to do anything but play Gamecube. So after some prodding to go outside and practice riding bikes went over like a lead balloon, I announced that whoever could ride a two-wheeler all alone by the end of the day would get A PRIZE! Nothing motivates the boys like the promise of A PRIZE. They ran outside and what do you know, both Dax and Hayes were riding without training wheels in under one hour. Had I known two years ago when we got the bikes all it would take was A PRIZE, I would have bribed them then and saved myself all the tears and drama:) By the end of the day, they were both riding to the top of our street, which is a slight hill, and letting it rip! You would never know it was their first day! Also by the end of the day they stopped asking to go to the store to get A PRIZE and actually had fun on their bikes, although I'm positive they'll remind me tomorrow:)

Bear Lake

This weekend we went up to Bear Lake with Grandma Jo and the the Jewetts for no other reason than just to get out of town for a while. When I first asked Tyler to find us somewhere to go, I was thinking hot, or at least warm. You know, a spring break-ish type of place (but G-rated for a family). Bear Lake was the opposite of hot, but still a lot of fun. Anywhere with a pool is a hit with the kids. And anywhere with junk food is a hit with me:) There was still ice on the lake and Tyler made the smart decision to walk across the marina. He was lucky and didn't fall through the ice until he was almost on the shore and only got wet up to his knees. I still think he was pretty cold and had wet shoes the rest of the trip. The next day we explored the lake and all of us walked on the snow and ice until Dax fell through up to his waist. He was a little scared, but felt pretty cool that he was just like Daddy. Great. We called it an end to the ice-walking adventures and stuck to the famous raspberry milkshakes and the dry land.

Dino Park

A few weekends ago we spent a Saturday having fun with some friends and family-my favorite:) We visited the Ogles and saw their new house and then we all met the Bells at the Eccles dino museum and park in Odgen. Needless to say, the dinosaur park was a big hit because we LOVE dinosaurs almost as much as transformers. After that we helped Max Bell celebrate his 5th birthday. I'm sure Hiedi loved Hayes commentating loudly during the entire present opening-kids don't want new clothes. Kids just want toys for presents. For the record, Max did get both :) Then Tyler and Ren broke out the motorcycles and gave all the kids rides and Hayes discovered his need for speed. I've been trying to upload some video, but so far the only thing that that has yielded is frustration and maybe and bad word or two. But I'm going to keep trying, so wish me luck! Anyway, it was a good Saturday for the Geldmachers.

Earplugs?

Ok, I need a little sympathy. Dax got a recorder at school today and he thinks he can play the Transformers song. Lets just say his playing sounds just like you think it probably does. If you don't have the idea, just blow into a recorder loudly and that high-pitched screech you hear is the Transformers theme song. Come over, I'm sure he'd love to play for you!

Our Haysie Baby is 5!

Oops. I mean our big kid Hayes who does NOT like being called a baby. But I can't help it, he'll always be my Haysie Baby :) Hayes turned five years old last week on the 11th, and as I mentioned before, he's on his way to teenagedom. He really wanted to go to the aquarium, so we all went to the Living Planet Aquarium for his birthday. We saw real sharks and those of us who dared touched a few slimy marine animals. Asher tried to swim a few times. It was almost as good as Sea World -for someone who's never been there to make the comparison, ha ha. Anyway, he got to have chocolate cake and spaghetti and be the official "picker" ( you know, of anything that required picking, such as movies) of the day. I'm pretty sure it was a successful birthday. Love you Hayes!

You Never Know What You'll See Around Here...

Asher really thinks he is as big as the older boys and likes to prove it on a regular basis. I found him the other day trying really hard to get this pair of underwear on all by himself. He kept saying "Haysie. Haysie". I helped a little and he was very proud.

Its Almost Spring!

Now that we are getting a few days here and there where the temp gets up to a balmy 40 (ish) degrees, I am trying my darndest to get these kids out of the house a little. And with Ash being almost 1.5 and our yard being fence-less (I have no idea how to spell that) I find myself playing outside a lot too. I have just decided my main goal for now is to get the big boys riding real bikes with no training wheels. We've actually made a lot of progress from last fall, when Dax would yell and cry "WHY would you want me to do that?! " very dramatically every time I tried to get him riding his bike before daddy came home. You would think I was asking him to jump out of a plane or swim with the sharks. I was very encouraged today when I asked and he was actually excited to don all of his 'protective gear'- as he calls it-and give it a whirl. We rode around for quite a while and he seems to be getting more comfortable all the time. He even asked to try every day until he got it if we could just go in the house for now. (Don't worry, Hayes just thought the size-3 Robin costume would be perfect bike-riding attire. :)