THANXGIVING

Hub started the day off with his annual mental breakdown where he goes and plays flag football in the frigid temps. There were only 6 crazies out there playing this year. When you have to wear 7 layers of clothes and your cleats don't fit with the thick socks you're wearing then maybe it's a sign it's too cold??

Another highlight before the Feast was when Ethan broke his bedroom window by tapping the ice on it with a metal horseshoe thing he had. We love him dearly but would be glad to send him away for a few years until the cause and effect part of his brain clicks in. We nicknamed him The Mischievator when he was 2-years-old and 4 years later it is still an apt name.

On to the big dinner.....One of the great things about coming from a large family is that there are enough of us to constitute a crowd even when most siblings are elsewhere. We had a crowd of 28 for our small dinner this year and though we greatly missed those who were absent it was also nice that for once everyone had their own chair at the table! My sis planned the deets and there were added elements of competition. Who can resist tackling others while hopping on one foot? Not me. Name that tune, hoola hooping, talent shows and games made it a fun family day.

We came home to read from our own thankful jar. I love hearing what the kids came up with  and how poorly they spelled it. Then we had our first video chat with my missionary parents and  my faraway sister....So despite the broken window and the other ornery moments (I really needed to tie some of my boys up due to their incessant need to wrestle each other) I have much to be thankful for. We're healthy, we're warm, we have wonderful family and friends and we're blessed with the knowledge of the true gospel in our lives. The slices of pie I had for dinner, breakfast and lunch are just bonuses.

Got All the Time in the World

Ugh.  A few weeks ago I berated my SIL for not having a blog. ‘It’s a great way to keep family and friends updated on important family events!’ I said.  She whined about the time it would take.  I countered with saying how you could whip out a post in ten minutes and you don’t even need to upload pictures or use cute/colorful fonts (though who doesn’t appreciate that?!)  Then I realized that I have been the most slackerish of slackers lately and those ‘ten minute’ posts  I swore upon haven’t been happening on my end because I have felt so busy. 

We had a sacrament meeting talk today about prioritizing our time and one of the points was that some people base their self-worth on how long their to-do list is.  So I am resolving to not brag about how busy I am. Or to whine about it.  Because either way,  we all have the same 24 hours in a day and are the stewards of how that time is spent.
So yeah.  I’m bringing back the blog.  Look at me now!  Updating you all on the fact that my fam is watching The Wizard of Oz (we have amended our Sunday viewing options to include musicals—genius on my part since we’ve exhausted our library of VeggieTales. Also musicals take twice as long to watch and make me feel like my kids are getting cultured!) We just said farewell to our wonderful weekend guests (former neighbors) and there are some wet snow clothes drying in our laundry room.  First big snow fall and Ethan couldn’t resist running out there in his Sunday shoes…..
I do have one more meeting to go to tonight, but I also skipped one this afternoon. See how I’m the master of my schedule already?
Hope this update was worth the wait. Sorry no pix or fun fonts. Next time, I promise.

Macabre

I'm so excited it's HALLOWEEN TIME so I can say 'macabre' a lot! It's definitely a fun word to say and unfortunately my life is not gruesome enough to warrant using it frequently.....
You may find this image macabre:

Yes, we have lots of strange naked body parts floating around our house. This is what happens when Hub buys the dollar store version of Barbie and not the real deal.

Here is another image that is not really macabre, but a little gross in its own right:

We were trying to teach Syd how to trick-or-treat and for some reason she only wanted to put the stinkiest, smelliest shoe she could find (courtesy of  Isaac) in her bucket. Hopefully she'll get over her foot fetish in time to accept more edible ware.
Here's another winner picture:

We attended a Halloween party where I wanted us all to go with a theme. This was hard since we are not one of those families who actually plans their costumes more than, say, two minutes in advance. So during dinner before the party we came up with everyone wearing old family reunion t-shirts and adding binocs and sunglasses and being a.....wait for it..... Mormon Tourist Family. You may say 'lame' but I say 'awesome!' The macabre part of this picture is that Hub still actually owned two fanny packs that he and I could add to our costume. Don't really wanna know why he was still hanging on to those.....
No more macabre pictures. But my challenge to you is to incorporate the word macabre into something you say today. It'll make you feel like a really creepy French person. And who doesn't want that? ciao.

BLAHgging

Yeah, it's true. I've got the blogging blahs. I have so much wisdom to impart, so many beautiful pictures to post, and lots of inspirational anecdotes to share. There's just this little thing called 'LAZY' that is getting in my way. So instead I'm throwing you a few bare bones for you to gnaw on until I get off my duff and feed you more (at least I can provide you with some great imagery!)

So Noelle had her 4th Birthday. We threw her a Dora party. Love this age because the games are simple, no decorations required and due to some food allergies of a guest the refreshments got to be simple as well!

 We went to ColdStone on Noelle's Birthday because we were just looking for a special occasion to use a gift card we had. Syd obviously enjoyed her cone.

 Noelle got some LEGOs for her big day. Her brothers were so jealous.

In other news, a few bros, nephews, a SIL and I hiked Mt. Timp. As you can see in the picture the moon was still up when we started. It was a beautiful fall day and an awesome hike. And the mountain goats at the top were the cutest things EVER. If you know me in real life you know that I use the word cute sparingly. So that should tell you how dang cute those goats were.  And the hike was really good for your buns. Just ask mine.

There was a school carnival in the midst of all this stuff. Ethan is the only kid who will allow his face to be painted. You might think it's a rose, but it's really a fire breathing dragon. Stood in line for over an a hour for that baby.......

We went on a family hike to Stewart Falls. Sadly the funnest part of the hike for the kids was the beginning where they could play on this amphitheater. Noelle's legs stopped working at some point on the hike and Syd thought the hiking backpack was not nearly as fun as being embraced by her mama the whole time. So Hub and I got an excellent workout.

 We capped last weekend off with a dinner and farewell to my parents who are going on a mission to Boston. It is very important that we visit them often to get our fix of entertainment, food and babysitting so we will be accepting donations to help send us there. Thank you in advance.

And that's all she wrote.

Back to normal

I've given myself some time from that last blog post to acclimate to being boy-less during the school hours. And I have to admit that it ain't so bad. Just me and the girls are here chillin' for 6 hours everyday. Let's include naptime and maybe this isn't such a bad thing......On the other hand, once 3:30 hits all those peaceful bits of the day become distant memories as the kitchen is torn apart in hopes of finding better snacks. Then there are the backpacks and lunch bags that seem to have bred overnight and seem to never quite make it to their designated homes. And there is no great place for the homework folders and info sheets and just random papers that seem to be sent home. Good thing we have a recycling box. Then we must also throw in an after-school meltdown. Or two. Or three.
And then there are the soccer games. All the boys are playing this year which can be quite the challenge logistically. But we made a spreadsheet to show which game Hub and I would attend  so each child feels equally loved. Just kidding. Mitch doesn't really care if anybody watches him since he's more into playing keep away with the ball and Hub is Ethan's coach so that leaves Isaac. And the girls get to play in the dirt. Fun evenings all around.
So yeah. Those peaceful hours of just me and my girlies doing girly things---Bring 'em on. I need me some peace.

ME SO BLUE

Remember all those days this summer when they were driving me nuts? And they made the house a lot messier? And we actually had to start turning the dishwasher on EVERYDAY? And they fought over LEGOs, movies, who gassed (my kids new word for flatulence---and I admit I love it!), what to have for snack and anything else they could think of? And I would make all my empty threats and finish off with, "I can't wait for school to start!!"

Well, I didn't really mean it. Insert frowny face here.

See, even Syd is sad they're going to be gone all day being socialized by people not nearly as qualified for the job as their mother. In my next life I'm going to home school....

A boy's best friend

Our neighbors went on vacation. And while away they asked us to take care of their dog, *Skip. (Being as I don't have their permission to post about their dog I feel I must change his/her name to protect his/her identity. I'm a responsible blogger that way). Anyhoo, it's been great for all involved. Skip stays in his yard (OK, yes, Skip is a male--this his/her stuff was going to drive me nuts) and keeps his bodily waste on his side of the fence while my boys get to play with him and take care of him and feel the love all boys should have for doggies.
As you can see in the above picture Ethan has a healthy respect for him. He prefers to admire Skip through a fence or at least 15 feet away. And Noelle knows that you need to always be out of jumping reach of animals. Here she is perched on our garbage while the boys and Skip were in the garage waiting out a thunderstorm.

But alas, this fun 'chore' has come with some follow up begging of "When are we going to get a dog of our own?"   And I have to realize that taking care of the neighbors' dog once a year isn't going to cut it.
Hub and I grew up with dogs and have very fond memories of them. But we both didn't grow up in suburbia like we do now. Our dogs had room to run and relieve themselves and bark away without many people even noticing.  So it's hard to transfer that childhood memory of doggy ownership into the reality of our current living situation. However, considering the amount of dogs in my neighborhood, it really must not be that hard.

Anyway, the idea is definitely on the table. And one day it may happen. But for now I am quite content with letting the neighbors go on vacation as much as they want so my boys can steal a little bit of Skip's love.

Killing Time

Syd is just showing off her future dreams of modeling......
Hub is gone again to commune with men in the woods. And some bad stuff happened like my cell phone coming into contact with water. And wonder of wonders, not working! And I tried to not have a tantrum about it, but I failed.  And then Ike threw a tantrum this morning because some of his new Space Mission LEGO pieces were missing. And every other child has also surpassed their quota on tantrums. But that just means we're tantrummed out, right? Or maybe we're just stocking up for a rainy day.
But for the Good News Minute---Ike had his 10th Birthday!

Isaac is so great with Sydney. If I had to hire a nanny I think I'd really just hire him. And since he's my kid and I think it's part of his responsibility to help out around home I wouldn't even  have to pay him! See how I just got a free nanny?
Having a ten-year-old is nuts because I look like I'm only 18, but what can I do? He celebrated by seeing  The Sorcerer's Apprentice, had a sleepover, ate apple crisp, Alfredo and pizza (not in that order). And he got some new books, clothes and LEGOs. He's easy to please.
Now we're off to kill some time at a rockin' new splash pad. Good thing I don't own a cell phone anymore because it'd probably get wet.....

....and the kitchen sink. Again.

The above is just a sampling of some of our summer fun. You name it, we've done it. (OK, not really. But somedays I feel that way) I would blog more about it so you can be super jealous of our fun-ness, but then that would mean I'm home. And when I'm home there is just way too much noise and mess and sunblock to apply and forty loads of laundry to do. And let's just be real--I'd rather use my computer time to read your blogs than to upload 300 pictures to mine. L-A-Z-Y is my middle name, I know.
We survived Lake Powell, a night of camping at my fam reunion (the first time all of us have been in the same tent and a lesson learned to never do that again), a baptism, lots of swimming time, park time, family time, friend time, hiking, rock climbing, viewing Toy Story 3 for me and the boys, viewing Eclipse with my sisters, and other stuff that I can't remember or didn't take pictures of. I hope you feel updated. Because that's all you're going to get!