I was going to make one of these cute pockets for Ty...

...but the last thing Ty needs right now is more pockets.

Here's why:

He's a thief.

He started out just sneaking things like my phone or video games from the cupboard he's not supposed to be in. I also caught him putting a candy bar in his pocket in line at the grocery store. But yesterday his sneaking escalated to full on petty theft.

Luckily Ashlynn spotted the packet of gum bulging from his pocket when we were 10 steps outside of the gas station. I was mortified, but we were in such a hurry to get Ash to piano lessons, that I just grabbed the gum, put it back and left. (I did give Ty a pretty good lecture while I was buckling him in the car.)

Once we dropped Ash off at her lesson, I made up my mind that Ty needed to learn his lesson now, otherwise the sneaking was going to get worse. So I explained to Ty that he was going to have to go back and apoligize to the gas station man for stealing his gum. (I didn't know if he really comprehended the stealing part of it, but he new he was being disobedient by hiding the gum in his pocket.)

When I told him our plans, the corners of his mouth actually turned down and his eyes got all watery while he said, "But I'm going to be shy".

Call me heartless, but I was actually pleased to see this reaction because it meant this consequence was making an impact on him.

After a quick explanation to the gas station man, he bent down to hear Ty's confession. Of course Ty just kept his face down while his big brown eyes searched the attendants face for some sort of mercy. No matter how much I prompted, he wouldn't say anything. So I excused Ty and myself so we could, how shall we say, reassess.

"Ty you have a choice. Either you can apologize to the gas station man, or I can take you to the police station and you can apologize to the policeman."

Whoa! This got his attention. However, he wouldn't be a fighter if he didn't try one last tactic.

"But you don't even know where the police station is!" he stated defiantly.

"Oh yes I do! It's right by Daddy's bank. So what's it gonna' be?"

No thought."I'll apologize,"

He marched right back over to the man and stated clearly, "I'm sorry I stole your gum." Then he threw himself into my arms.


Hopefully he learned his lesson. Probably not, though. Remember we are talking about the kid who got stuck TWICE in the toilet and has gotten his mouth washed out with soap multiple times. He's not dumb, but he refuses to learn from his mistakes.

This makes everything so much more fun for me!

Why Ty Should Rule the World, Not Just Our Family...

1. When asked by his Sunday school teacher last week what he was thankful for, he replied, "Toilet water, Mom, Dad, and Wii"

in that order.

2. At the end of Primary, we allow the kids an opportunity to go up to the microphone and recite an article of faith. They can either do so by memory or read it off of the poster. Sometimes little ones receive help from an older brother or sister.

With a new crop of Sunbeams (3 year olds), this is an interesting experience. Until Ty decides he wants to recite one. Then it becomes legendary...

I'm busy elsewhere in the room, so Briggs takes on the role of helping Ty at the mike. I thought this was sweet. Until Ty has the Primary as a captive audience...

"So, guess what? One day I threw up in my crib..."

I wasn't paying attention, really, but my subconscious registered that my offspring was causing quite a stir in Primary. I kind of froze long enough to see that all eyes had left Ty and were planted squarely on me, with wicked grins, waiting to see what I would do.

I quickly walked over to the podium and scooped Ty up before he could do any more damage, like telling people the sounds I make in the bathroom or what I look like naked.

"But, Mom! I didn't get to finish!"

Oh, no, Ty. Your finished. Quite finished.

3. As I'm typing this, Ty is reading this over my shoulder and dictating it back to me.

4. His eyebrow looks like it's concocting it's own diabolical plan.



5. The fifth reason Ty should rule the world is because of this video.

Yes, that is really his own voice.

Ty's Bob voice from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

Two reasons to be happy...

Ashlynn is doing a routine to "Single Ladies" in her dance class...

and

She's playing "Soft Kitty" for her school variety show (apparently in the real world it's called "Lightly Row" but I can't help but sing about that little ball of fur like Sheldon)

Basketball and Rober family

A few months back I asked Briggs if he wanted to play basketball this year. He said, "Sure!"

After I had agreed to sign him up, I realized I couldn't really think of a time when I saw Briggs with a basketball. Does he even know how to play? I know he knows who the Lakers are, but that's about it.

Oh, well! I guess he'll learn!

The first day of practice comes and the testosterone level in the room is through the roof...
for everybody else but the Rober family. I was not use to a sport for SIX YEAR OLDS being so intense.

Bad things I noticed at practice:

All the boys had professional looking basket ball shoes while Briggs was wearing his Chuck Taylors.

Briggs couldn't even hit the rim... which was two feet lower than normal.

Briggs could only dribble the ball with two hands and had a hard time going anywhere with it.

He was, hands down, the least skilled player on the team. (I feel like a traitor saying that, but it's true. But keep reading!!!)

Good things I noticed at practice:

Briggs had an awesome coach. He was good with the boys and actually taught them skills without being too intense.

Despite his lack of skillz, everybody still seemed to like Briggs and he seemed happy!

We're going with this...

He and I decided together that we would practice every day, just like Ashlynn does with her piano. I figured what he needed the most was experience handling the ball.The neighbor let us use his hoop, so we went out every day and just played. We dribbled balls to the corner and back, we practiced passes and we chatted alot.

By the next practice he could dribble with one hand and even hit the rim. His arms were getting stronger and he was listening to everything his coach was saying.

Their first games were a little painful, but I did notice that Briggs was playing smart. He would listen to whatever the coach or ref. said and DO IT! He quickly picked up on where he was suppose to be and what he was suppose to be doing. I figured this was a good place to be, because, as long as you are playing smart, ball handling is just a matter of experience and time.

Every week Briggs got better and better. The coach noticed it and we noticed it. He was sinking baskets with a fair amount of accuracy, he was being more aggresive, and his team mates were passing to him.

He scored his first basket during his fourth game of the season. We were very proud of him. But we were more proud of his increased confidence that came from working hard.

There are still a few more weeks to the season, and we expect to see even more improvement by then. Way to go, Briggs. We are proud of you!



(Briggs is also very good at "chatting" it up with the coach...)

Brian and Briggs on a tube

Here's the video I promised.

Briggs just looks like a little ragdoll in this clip, like the ride he took didn't even phase him. He just kept going back for more. That's kind of how his personality is. He just goes with the flow and not much bothers him. He's such a sweetheart.

Snow weekend

We went to the snow this past weekend. The kids have never really played in the snow.
We spent two great days up in Shaver Lake. One day, it snowed the whole time we were there. Luckily we were prepared with really warm snow clothes. We have a lot of great friends that lent us everything we needed.
Briggs was the champ of the weekend. He loved sledding and tubing and kept going up and down the hill. He'd do a flip in the air, land flat on his face, and just stand right up again. (It only took me once to see this and remove his glasses... poor kid.)
We got a video of Brian and Briggs on a pretty good tube run, but I can't figure out how to embed it into the blog yet. I'll have to wait for Brian's help (as usual...)

Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam and Charity Never Faileth

I've been a little too busy to post much. I don't really have time right now, even, but

Holy Cow!

I've got to change the title of my last post! I've been getting some crazy responses to that last post that I think have to do with the title.

So this title is as benign as possible.

More to come...