A Cub Scout is loyal, thrifty, kind, cute, adorable . . .

It's official! We have our first Cub Scout. I can't believe he is old enough to be a cub. He loves it, and we are loving passing off things with him. He takes great pride in wearing his uniform and going to his meeting. I sewed on his first two patches and then quickly turned to my glue gun for help. Yes, I am that kind of Mom.

Wyatt Turned 6!

I can hardly believe that he is six, and that he isn't wearing a shirt on his big day! At least he has pants on. Believe it or not that is a family rule for Birthdays: No pants. No cake.

He actually doesn't even like cake (or chocolate!). He wanted candy, so I did my best to hot glue his favorite candies in the shape of a cake.

Wyatt is a riot. He is happy and funny. He still loves puppies. He also is crazy for anything Lego or Ninjago.

We love this guy.

Elitch Gardens, Summer 2012

We took a little, mini-vacation a few weekends before school started.  We made our way up to Denver to see Elitch Gardens (similar to a Six Flags).  Here these boys are with their blue tongues traveling every so well.  It's just seven hours up there, so it was totally doable.

 Hot Stuff and I mugging for the camera.  I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the doughnuts on the dashboard because that was a very nice highlight. We ate them for three meals.  Yum-O. We also stopped about 4 times just for junk.  Just for junk.  I can't pass up Milk Duds at a gas station for anything.  I like them best when they are fresh (Noah thinks that it is hilarious that I actually think Milk Duds (and candy corn for that matter) can actually be fresh).  

We made poor Cyrus sleep in the drawer.  He is small enough to fit.  Kidding.  He didn't sleep there, but he sure spent enough time climbing in and out of it.  

 Big Man on the bumper cars.  He was quite brave on all the rides.  We even went on one of the adult rides 3 TIMES together!!! I learned that my body is not the same as it used to me.  I thought for sure I was going to barf, and I found myself ducking into Cal's shoulder while screaming.  It was a trip.  

 The big boys rode the ferris wheel.  Wyatt has a love/hate relationship with it.  He loved to ride it, but he was sure he was going to be hurled from it at any moment.  Noah told him that the center, on the ground was the safest spot, so he clung to the pole pretty much the whole time.  No worries, though, he had a great view of everyone's shoes!

 What handsome sweeties.  It was a lovely weekend with just us Shafers.  Let's do this thing (again) Shafers!

First Day of School

So I know this a million days late, but better late than never. Right? If I can remember right both boys were anxious and excited. Wyatt got the same teacher for kindergarten that Calvin had - Mrs. Browning. She is a great teacher. Calvin got Mrs. Padilla, another wonderful teacher. So far, so good.

I can't think of anything too sassy to say in this blog post, so I only that I love those boys. So much. They make Noah and I so proud.

Soccer Season

This year was our first foray into soccer.  Noah and I coached Wyatt's team, and (hilariously) I sometimes refereed for Calvin's team.  We had such a great time.  Both of the boys did so well and loved playing on their team.  Calvin scored 2 goals this season and had 1 assist.  Wyatt scored 3 goals, and we can't remember how many assists.  Anyhoo, it was great fun.  Although, we are ready to have some Saturdays off after being busy.  

He are the dudes in their jerseys before their games.

 Calvin and Cyrus on the sidelines of Wyatt's game.

 Calvin out on the field before the game starts.  

At first, Calvin was timid and didn't like to get to close to the ball, but by the end of the season, he was improving so much and getting in and kicking the ball a lot.  Wyatt was aggressive, but he also got tired pretty quickly. His age plays 4 quarters of 5 minutes each. Wyatt was good for a quarter, but then he would want a break.  In fact, nearly his whole team felt the same way.  Noah and I found ourselves spending a lot of the time coaxing the players into the game. But it was fun, and we loved it.  We look forward to the Spring season in March.

Oh, and Cyrus.  Since he didn't play, he spend most of his time trying to run away.  Yeah, that was a lot of fun.

Cyrus is 3!

Yes, he's three.  We decided to have a small, family party for Cyrus considering that he doesn't have too many friends, doesn't really "get" parties, and is happy to eat cake and play with toys with us.  I am sure that he will want a party next year, but we were (in all honesty) too lazy to plan a big she-bang.

Cyrus is an interesting little dude.  Since Calvin and Wyatt are back to school, it is just Cy and I.  We spent the first 6 weeks of school potty training.  He was easier and harder in some ways than the other two.  All in all he mastered it.

He has picked up the phrases, "I hope so," and "I think so."  However, he always used them at the wrong times.  For example:

Me: "Cyrus, did you go the potty?"

Cy: "I hope so, Mommy."

-------------

Me: "Cyrus, do want to sit around and eat chocolate and buy lots of expensive toys today?"

Cy: "Um, yes, I think so."


So, you get the point that he is still adorable.  He has entered the Terrible 3s.  He sailed right through the 2s no big whoop, but he was saving his sauciness for the next year.  Nevertheless, he charms me daily with his sweet hugs, kisses, and phrases.  Just today at church as I handed him an orange crayon he said to me, "Thanks, Mommy.  You're a sweet boy."  Ahhhhhhhhhhh

Also interesting about our current 3 year old.  He loves to collect the tiny, two dot-wide lego pieces and connect them all in a long line.  It has become a nice diversion for me if I need to steal a few moments away without him in my hair.

Cyrus, you're the Guy-rus.  We love you.

Calvin turned 8

As mentioned, Calvin turned 8 years old about a month ago.  I am so behind on blogging that it isn't even funny.  He decided on a friend party.  They made glow in the dark Yoshi eggs, jumped on the trampoline, ate pizza, and played with their 3DSs.  It was a very hands off party for me as they mostly just wanted to be left alone to play.

 Our big boy also lost his first tooth.  It was a traumatic event for him filled with a few tears.  Noah, in the end, was the hero and pulled it out.  He was cautiously happy that it was out, but I can tell he sort of dreads having to lose the rest of them.