BRACES

It's a landmark for us! Ammon got braces on June 9. It's been in the works for a while, like 2 years!!! After his front two teeth fell out in Kindergarten, and the adult teeth came in, there wasn't enough room in his mouth for the other adult teeth to grow in after the other baby teeth fell out. The two teeth next to the front were out for over a year and a half before they finally came in, and now the ones next to those are having difficulties. So.....Ammon got phase 1 braces just on the top row of teeth. I can already see a huge difference in his teeth, and so can he! Because the teeth next to the front teeth were out for so long, his front teeth were spreading apart and there was a very noticeable gap. The gap is now almost gone, as proof in the pictures!

He likes his braces, and the Orthodontist says he will have them on for 6 months - 1 year depending on how well it goes, and after that he will have a retainer to help his overbite. Josh and I have never had braces ourselves growing up, so this is something new to us. Needless to say, we haven't had popcorn friday movie night since then! The whole list of un-eatable food surprised me and we've had to adjust a little bit, but it will all be worth it! The morning after he got braces, Ammon woke up and said "Mom, I feel like a whole new me!" Sometimes change can be hard, but Ammon gets two thumbs up for his positive attitude!

Cool Car Show

Micah, Ammon, & Jonah checking out a bright blue 38 Chevy Coupe.


Every Father's Day Weekend in Salmon, a local organization hosts an awesome car show. We have gone every year for the past several years and the boys are finally old enough now that it was actually very enjoyable! They loved to see all the cars, and this year there was nobody crying, no strollers to push or kids to fall asleep in, and only twice did we have to say "DONT TOUCH"! Hooray for growing kids! The weather was warm and it was a super nice day! Everyone got thirsty, so we treated the kids (and Josh too) to ice cream afterwards.

Josh and the boys by an old delivery truck/wagon.


My favorite car was the red Cadillac, and Josh's favorite was the black Chevy Camaro with the painted flames and skull.














Ammon got to sit behind the wheel!

















Jonah being a cool car driver!

They were sitting in a:

Micah also got to be a "truck" driver (he said he didn't want to drive a car!)


















This is what he was in:

When I was uploading all the car show pics I took today, I showed Josh and Ammon my favorite photo I took. It was of a unique dashboard of a Corvette. I loved the odometer because you could see the numbers in reverse from the front of the car. So I got a close up look, and shot the photo. Josh said it was a terrible picture. There was a lot of sunglare, so it didn't turn out as good as it would've on an overcast day, but it's still my favorite. So tell me what you honestly think, do you think it's as awesome as I do or terrible like Josh does?

Timpanogos Cave

We hiked to Timpanogos Cave and took a tour of it this past Sunday. It was a mile and a half hike up to it. In spots it's really steep, but the nice part about it is that it is all paved!

There are some really cool sights along the hike, including these hand-made tunnels and this peculiar-shaped tree.
























It took us an hour to get to the cave entrance, another hour to tour the cave, and forty-five minutes to walk back to the visitor center. It was grueling on all the muscles in the legs!!

It was so neat to see all the different rock formations in the three adjoining caves. The boys thought it was so coooool!

This is a photo of a stalactite and a stalagmite that haven't quite yet formed together.

This is a photo of cave popcorn and helectites (formations that look like worms).

The weather was absolutely perfect, and we had a great time together. This is yet another cool rock on the hike, and the only photo of all of us together.

Tolman Reunion 2008

This past weekend we went to Crystal Hot Springs in Honeyville, Utah for the annual Tolman Reunion.

Josh's Grandpa Rex had 10 brothers and sisters, and each year they alternate turns hosting the reunion and choosing a location for it. This year it was Uncle Gerald's family's turn to host. I always laugh at Josh because every year he sits by and visits with his own immediate family!

His parents came, and his sister Tiffany and three of her children, and his brother Gideon with good friend Alyssa, and his brother Malachi. There's always ample food at the Tolman Reunion! Some of the people set out their salads and desserts early and all the little children noticed and took several rounds of desserts before dinner even started!

One of the families who camped there brought bikes and a little four-wheeler, which was a magnet for Kanyon. He loves 4-wheelers and spent half the time on that battery-operated ATV. The other half the time, the little girl who owned it realized he was on it and she would come and push him off to declare her rightful spot!

The weather was a little blustery, but the warm pools at the vacation spot felt great!

Jonah and Micah spent most of the time on the pool's sidelines even though the pool was pretty shallow!

The water tasted salty and Kanyon had a sour face whenever he accidentally swallowed some. Kanyon loved to be in the inflatable mini-boat and enjoyed being pushed around by Ammon and Dad.

Ammon could touch the bottom just fine and played with his Dad and some of his cousins..

Four Generations

We are so lucky that our children have the opportunity to know their great-grandparents. Between Josh and I, we have six grandparents still on this earth. How great is that?! It is amazing to think of the link between each generation, and the different lives that each generation have lived--our grandparents, our parents, ourselves, and our children. We have been given a legacy: the heritage of our last names, the value of family history and the knowledge of our ancestors to appreciate and honor, the opportunity to continue many loved traditions, and the teachings of life and love and truth that we have received that we will teach to our children. I am so grateful for the lives that my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents (and so on) lived! We feel proud to be a part of our Perkins and Tolman families, which includes the great last names of Perkins, Rose, Tolman, Parsons, Sorensen, Rigby, Corbett, Stockham, and many others.

Kanyon, Mom Kala, Great Grandma Rose, and Grandma Perkins. June 2008


Grandpa Perkins, Mom Kala, Kanyon, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Perkins. July 2007


Great Grandma Tolman, Jonah, Dad Josh, Kanyon, Uncle Gideon, Ammon, Micah, Grandpa Tolman, and Uncle Malachi. April 2007


This photo was taken after Kanyon's baby blessing of Dad Josh and Great Grandma Parsons. May 2007

Happy Sons Day!

Happy Sons Day to my fantastic four: Ammon, Kanyon, Jonah, and Micah!

Last year on Mother's Day, Ammon asked when "Sons Day" was. I told him that Sons Day is Every Day, 365 days a year! Well, this year on Mother's Day, he asked again.

"When is Sons Day?" he asked me.
"There is no such day" I told him.
"Well, if Mothers have a day and Fathers have a day, then I think Sons should have a day."
Hmmmmm, I thought about it for a minute and replied "Okay, we'll have a Sons Day."

At the beginning of summer, I usually buy the boys their summer sandals. So I decided that this year, instead of "Let's go buy our summer sandals today Day", I would make it be the occasion of "Sons Day". So the day after school got out, and it was officially summer, I told them it was "Sons Day". Ammon thought that was perfect, since it was in between Mothers and Fathers Day. He got to go golfing with dad, Jonah and Micah got to play at a friend's house, and Kanyon got to spend some time alone with me. I purchased the 3 older boys a new set of Crocs in the color they wanted. They also got a candy bar of their choice. So there we have it: Sons Day 2008. Although, to me, it still sounds like every other day of the 365 days a year!!!

Another year bites the dust!

The end of the school year was this past week. Here's photos of Ammon, Micah, and Jonah by their school cubbies:


We went to Jonah and Micah's Preschool Graduation on Wednesday. They presented a very cute musical program. I knew Jonah wouldn't participate because he doesn't like to sing. But the night before the performance, Micah sang every song to me. He was so excited about graduation. He wanted me, dad, Ammon, Grandma and Grandpa T, Grandma and Grandpa P., and our friends Roberta & Tina to all come watch him. Me, dad, and Roberta went to the graduation, and Josh said it's probably a good thing nobody else did and I'll tell you why. There were 17 kids graduating. Jonah and Micah were in the center. They did not sing or do any actions the ENTIRE time. They are SOOO shy, especially Micah. When he saw all those parents and people he didn't know, he didn't want to sing anymore. And, like I said, Jonah doesn't like singing. So much for bragging about my kids at graduation! I was so embarrassed, but several parents came up after and told me how adorable my twins were. They were all probably thinking "at least it wasn't my kid"! In this photo, Micah and Jonah are the ones toward the middle in the green and blue shirts sitting quietly while everyone else is following their teacher doing the "Mean as a Shark" movement with their hands.

Ammon's second grade class ended their year on Thursday with a Readers' Theater. They performed four short plays in their classroom for their parents. He was the narrator in two of the plays. He doesn't like to be in front of people either, and chose the part of narrator so that he could just read without trying to act as well. He is an excellent reader and it was so fun to see their little productions! This is a photo of him when he was narrating "The Reluctant Dragon".

This past school year went by in a flash! It still doesn't even feel like school is out, although we are all very excited for the summer! (refer to the top ten list of summer activites on our blogsite) Congrats to Jonah and Micah for completing their second year of PreSchool! And Three Cheers to Ammon for completing the second grade, finishing at the top of his class, and also receiving 100% attendance for the entire year as well!!