Presents

We had BYU-TV on the other Sunday morning and President Monson was speaking. Tyler was the only one sitting on the couch watching. I walked into the kitchen and this is what he asked me:

Tyler: Mom, do they call him "Present" Monson because he brings presents?

Both boys have been obsessed with making Christmas lists. Justin's list is complete with item numbers and prices. I remember has a kid how much fun it was to look forward to Christmas. And it's true...it takes FOREVER to arrive...unless you're the Mom or Dad. Then it's only 6 WEEKS away! Wasn't it just 6 months away?!? Where did the time go? I need to pace myself.

Halloween Visitor

We had a surprise visitor for Halloween this year. A fun little frog! We hear frogs outside nearly every day, but very rarely find them. Travis was mowing the lawn and mowed right over the little guy before he noticed it in the grass. I am amazed he survived unscathed! The boys picked him up to get a closer look.





Tyler and his pumpkin



Justin and his pumpkin



Between my pirate and my S.W.A.T. policeman, I felt very safe handing out treats to 135 kids last night!



Happy Halloween!

Check.

Portland puzzle. Check. And I didn't have to lift a finger. :)
Super Saturday. Check. It was fun to have a project day!
Halloween decorations on the porch. Only cute Halloween here. Nothing creepy. Check.
Books and DVDs back to the library. Itty-bitty late fee. Totally worth it. Check.
Tyler's preschool Halloween party. I have one cute construction worker. Check.
Justin's class Halloween party. Spider web art project. I'll check that one off tomorrow...
Clean laundry put away. More to wash...another day.
Clean house. Now would be a good time to drop in for a visit. Big smile. Check.
Dinner with the missionaries. Check. I was feeling like a real gourmet today...Papa Murphy's pizza! :)
The New York Yankees won the first game of the World Series. Happy Hubby. Check.
Boys in bed. Happy Momma. Check.

Yabba-Dabba-Do!

This past week was pretty exciting for our family. Travis and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on the same day our new little niece was born. We'll always remember her birthday! On Wednesday, October 21st, Alexia Rose was born in Vancouver, Wa. Travis' sister, Nicki, and her husband, Lance, have two little girls now!

We had fun tending Brynlee for a few days while her parents were still at the hospital. Justin and Tyler had so much fun playing with their little cousin. We took her to the hospital to go meet her new little sister on Thursday. Because of the new hospital rules, our boys weren't invited to visit. So, I stayed out in the car with the boys while Travis took Brynlee in to the hospital. As they were walking away, Tyler sighed and told me, "I miss Brynlee, Mom!" Luckily we live close enough to see them again soon...



On Friday night, the boys went to the school's Fall Festival and then Travis and I went to a great Halloween party. Travis and I were dressed up as Fred and Wilma Flintstone. This picture cracks me up because I think we look more like Barney and Betty dressed up as Fred and Wilma. Oh well! We had a fabulous time partying the night away!



I just had to take a picture of our appetizer because it looked so fun: Meet Mr. Bones and his brains!



Our friends threw an amazing party! Their whole main floor was re-decorated for Halloween. Amazing! They planned/built some impressive activities including: a life-sized operation game, a custom-made Halloween Wii game, and a candy x-ray challenge. It was fun to laugh with friends and enjoy a night out!



Now I'm getting excited to help with Justin's class party at school this week and get the boys ready for Halloween night!

Howl-oween at the Wolf

We have been looking forward to this Great Wolf Lodge trip all year! We went with a group of 10 families last year in October and had so much fun we did it again this year. This time with 30 families (mostly from our stake). Yea, the word spread...next year we'll fill the place! :)

Here are the boys in front of the wave pool:



The water slides were great fun! Even for the adults! The biggest slide, the "Howling Tornado", is crazy! It cracked me up that Tyler kept calling it the "Halloween Tomato"! Justin was so brave this year. He kept those slides in business!



I know this video is sideways...ignore that and watch it anyway. Ha ha! This place is checker-blocked full of water-works fun! Check out that bucket dump!



Story time...Tyler was afraid of the "Dancing Tree". So I put puzzles together on the other side of the main entrance while Travis and Justin had fun with the animatronics story time show.



I love that we could borrow board games from the front desk and take them back to our room. So fun!



We stayed for one night, but swam for two days. It was the perfect amount of time to do everything we wanted to do. We had a great time with our friends and are looking forward to another trip to the Wolf next year. This is one fun tradition!

Excuse me, waiter?

My days are full of the cutest boys in the world who sometimes say the funniest things. These are the ones I just HAVE to remember forever:

1. While fixing "ants on a log" with our lunch one day...

Tyler: No thanks, my celery pipe is full.

2. While eating his favorite dinner...

Justin: Nothing makes me more happy than food!

3. After handing him something he asked for...

Tyler: Thank you, Mommy!
Me: You're welcome, Sweetie.
Tyler: Say "You're Belcome"! "You're belcome" is a word in Spanish. :)

4. Justin, Tyler and I were eating dinner before soccer and talking about anticipating a ride on the "Howling Tornado" water slide at Great Wolf Lodge...

Tyler: I don't want to go on the "Halloween Tomato"!
Me: I don't want to go on the "Halloween Tomato" either. Sounds scary.

5. I was cleaning up lunch in the kitchen while Tyler was finishing up at the table. He taps me on the back...

Tyler: Excuse me, Mom. There's a fly in my water.
Me: Just swish it away, Ty.
Tyler: No. There's a fly in my water.
Me: Really?

There it was. A house fly in his cup. Dead. Eww. And I always thought the old "fly in my soup" complaint was just a joke!

Me: Way to go, Ty! You caught the fly!

(We had been trying to get rid of this particular fly for days. Tyler wouldn't drink from a cup without a lid for the rest of the day!!)

25

One energetic 2nd grader
+ One motivated Daddy keeping them going at a steady lop
= 25 laps at the school's FUN RUN fundraiser!
(That's about 3.5 miles!!!)





Now I have to pay up...way to go JUSTIN!

First Day

There's nothing like starting fresh. We are back in the swing of things with Justin in 2nd grade and Tyler in his 2nd year of preschool.



It was my turn to teach during the first week of preschool. We learned about Community Helpers. After writing a letter, we walked down the street to the mailbox and sent our letters on their way.



Lots to look forward to this year! Both boys look forward to each new day! And I look forward to hearing about their days...always.

So Crafty

Today at the bus stop waiting for Justin to arrive, I was chatting with two other moms on our street. You know, the usual...How was your weekend? etc., etc. I explained that I was helping to coordinate a Super Saturday craft day for the ladies at our church. So, I had spent most of the day on Saturday running errands to buy craft supplies and then finishing my project samples to show at church on Sunday.

One of the mom's asks, "So, are you crafty?" I hesitated. I mean, do YOU think I'm crafty? My sister, Heidi, is crafty. I'm trying to allow my craftiness to flow freely. Haha! "Well..." That was all I could say. But then I admitted that I don't have to actually be that "crafty person" when I can just look online and copy other crafter's awesome ideas. Actually it was just a great excuse to figure out how to do the projects I have had my eye on for a while now. Plus, vinyl letting is just fun stuff. My kind of crafting.

Our enrichment committee came up with 14 projects all together. I think it will be tough to decide between them. Here are some pictures of the projects I will be teaching:



Kari, you get credit for these ornaments...your monogrammed ones inspired me. :)



Here's a fun one for a teacher or visiting teaching gift:



This one I love. My cousin, Dixon Leavitt, is the artist and we will be applying vinyl lettering with the title.



You know, this is liberating for me. I think I actually CAN be crafty. So crafty. I never thought I could before. Funny. I'm already coming up with ideas for things I might tackle just for the fun of it. But not until Super Saturday has come and gone. I think I have my work cut out for me...

New Puppy

My boys BEG for a dog weekly. Sometimes daily. Sometimes hourly. I say I already have two kids to take care of...I don't need to add a puppy to house train to my life.

They are smart boys and immediately turned to begging for ANY pet. I tell them to go play with a friend and enjoy his/her pet dog, fish, cat or whatever they have. Still more begging for a dog. Justin is sure he can earn $100 for a dog. I told him we can't get a dog and if we ever do get a pet we have to start with something small...like a goldfish. He told this to my friend when he was playing with her son. I just laughed when she told me. Stickin' to my guns...that's what I do.

So, because I have to do SOMETHING pet-like to put a stop to all that begging, I'd like to introduce our "new puppy". Meet Scruffy. Yes, right here on the screen. This one seems more manageable to me. You can even help us take care of him by clicking on that red ball. Dogs love to chase balls. Maybe if I'm lucky he'll chase that ball right over to YOUR blog one day.

Post Update: The cyber pup was cute while he lasted...almost two weeks. Ha ha!I'm ready to let someone else enjoy him...ciao.