Far Too Long

This post is far too long because it has been far too long since the last one. I guess I've been having trouble uploading pictures easily and then I don't like to post when there aren't any pictures.  So, whatever.

We've had a stretch of not fun days at our house.  Ben has been a little sick and Isaac has been on a tear.  Remember how I said we were in a good place where things were going so well.  I guess all good things must come to an end eventually.  :)  I'm sure I've not helped the situation as I have also been more cranky, probably due to the lack of sleep caused by Ben waking at night.  It's a bad cycle.  It's almost not fair that I can't get good sleep when the kids need a patient and kind mom the most.  I suppose that is part of the challenge of mothering, being patient and kind at the times that are the hardest.  I've failed that challenge the past few weeks.  But, in good news, I think we are on the upswing again.  And, even in the bad weeks my kids are still adorable.

Ben often gets frustrated by Isaac not making room or kicking him out of the place he wants to be.  Having a brother is hard for both of them I'm sure.  Hard but also really good.  They are so funny together.  I love how Ben imitates Isaac and how Isaac tries to include Ben in his play (at least sometimes).  They are cute.

Ben loves books.  He doesn't always have the patience to sit on a lap and be read to, though he does have moments where that is his preferred activity, but he loves looking at books by himself.  He spends a good chunk of his day looking at books by himself.  I especially think it's adorable when he lays down with a book. 

And Isaac still chooses to spend a good chunk of his time playing with train tracks.  Though lately it's become a little more annoying because he tries to get me to build the tracks and then doesn't even play with the track after I spent all the time to build it.  So the tracks have been put up for a bit.  He still asks every day "do you want to build trains?"

I thought this morning was especially cute.  Ben grabbed one of his favorite books, the Charlie Brown Halloween book that makes noise, and climbed on the couch to get comfortable with it.  I used my zoom on the camera to take these pictures from across the room so as not to disturb his solitude.

He spotted me just the same and gave me a little smile.

The other day I was baking some muffins to take to a sister I visit teach.  The boys were eager to help so we all put on our aprons and got to work.  But not without snapping a few photos first.

We're a little blurry int his one but I love it just the same.  I haven't been in photos with my boys in a while so I wanted to sneak in.

And now I'm in focus but the poor boys aren't.  What can you do?

And then there were beaters to lick.  And Ben was certainly excited by that.

When Isaac was about Ben's age he was a model for one of Grandma Brunson's patterns.  Turns out it is one of her better selling patterns.  My friend Lori brought by a catalog from the quilt shop she frequents to show us Isaac's pattern was in the catalog.  I told Lori I'd take a picture of Isaac with the magazine so she could show one of her quilting friends who didn't believe she knew the kid from the pattern.  I think it's all pretty funny and weird.  I guess I didn't quite realize when Isaac was going to be on a pattern cover that it would end up in catalogs.  Not sure what I was thinking...but it wasn't really this.  So it was weird and fun all at the same time.

And Ben is not on a pattern cover but he wanted pictures while holding the magazine just like Isaac.  Seriously, everything Isaac does Ben wants to do.  

And then Isaac and I dyed Easter eggs while Ben napped.  Jacob said he didn't care if he was around for it and we had a pretty busy weekend planned so I took care of it on Thursday.

Jacob had Friday off work since they decided to float a holiday to Good Friday.  So we took advantage of that and headed to Denver.  Jacob did a session at the temple while I spent time with the boys.  We explored the temple grounds first and then went for a little treat at Krispy Kreme.

The boys loved the flowers and the water fountain.  The flowers were pretty and it was a really gorgeous day.  The weather was perfect, almost 80 degrees.  It actually felt really hot when we finished up at a park near by the temple.

I think it's awesome that the best picture I could get of the two of them together was this.  Isaac's face is funny and Ben isn't looking anywhere near the camera.  

And two seconds later they found ants.

What cute boys!