Goodbye Fall

I'm pretty bummed to see Fall winding down. We didn't do all that we wanted to do (pumpkin patches, corn mazes, some hiking) but we had a good time. Justin is swamped with work and school, so we've had to have family bonding in shorter intervals of time. We've had two or three snowy days, though, and the boys are pretty excited about it (much more excited than their mom). It's a lot of work getting kids into all the snow gear, I'm just sayin'. And then they come in all soggy.

I had a fun birthday this past week. Justin surprised me with a cake and an electronic reader! I was so excited! The morning of my birthday, Nolan wanted to wrap presents. I told him, "I don't think we have anything to wrap." He said, "Well, you can borrow my Legos to wrap up. You can." I said, "It wouldn't be a surprise, though." He said, "We can wrap them now and when you open them tonight you won't remember!" It's true, I do have a terrible memory... but maybe not that bad.

My parents both came to stay the weekend and they took us out to eat. It was nice that they have finished guest rooms to stay in. My Dad finished everything except several built-in food storage shelves. He's amazing! We're just so lucky to have had his skills and cheap labor (I mean free labor). He also gave us many good ideas throughout the whole process. And when I had an idea, like this corner ceiling cabinet in the family room, he was able to make it work. He was always happy to put in the extra effort to do the special things.

My mom had a neighbor getting rid of her curtains so she snatched them up on my behalf. She sewed my "inspiration" material on and then we got them hung while she was here. They turned out so cute! I couldn't be happier with how the colors turned out. It feels so relaxing.

My sister, mom and I went out shopping one day. We kept commenting on how nice it was to have a delicious lunch without worrying about keeping kids happy and busy. This Thanksgiving season, I'm especially aware of all that my parents have done for us. My Dad has worked so hard and spent so much time, and my Mom has never complained about having him gone so much. I'm sure there are things she'd like done around her own house, but I'm so glad she shares her handy man! Here's the vanity in the guest room and the completed bathroom. I kind of wish my bedroom was downstairs!

It wouldn't be like me if I didn't share a silly sleep picture. Nolan is crazy about art, cutting, and doing his workbooks. Sometimes it just wears him right out.

Sleepy Boy

Ez sacked out on the couch/table a few days ago. Nolan can't help but give his little brother loves when he's asleep. I wish he'd do that while Ez is awake rather than all the chasing, poking, teasing, and bugging that goes on.

Birthday time!

We celebrated Justin's birthday with lunch at P.F. Chang with the kids, Grandma K., her boyfriend Jon, and his daughters, Sarah and Amanda. The kids always behave because the food is so good. Grandma K. drove the boys home while we went to the Gateway to see Footloose (we liked it!) and to get dessert at Biaggi's. It had been a really long time since we had gone out. Justin's been working long hours and studying for his online Stanford class. The night before had been especially difficult for me with the kids and it was so nice to have a break. This is the last of 4 classes; soon he'll have his certificate. The end is near!

Later that night we made Justin stop studying to blow out his candles and open presents. He received some nice hiking poles and some Legos. Last week, Justin celebrated the successful launch of a satellite that he was a part of at work. He had worked on the radio on board and he was so relieved when they were able to achieve communication. I was so proud of him that I got him the "Satellite Launch Pad" set. He thought it was pretty funny. Happy Birthday, honey!

Nolanisms

Just now I was reading on the couch and Nolan said, "Mom, do you speak your mind?" I told him that yes, I usually do. He said, "Congratulations, Mom! You speak your mind!"

Last week, Nolan was hanging out in the front yard with his friend, Clarice. Her Dad is a mechanic and was out working on a car, revving the engine. Nolan walked over and said, "What are you doing?"
He said, "I'm trying to fix this car."
Nolan said, "I think you might have to take it to the dump!"



The other day Nolan came to me wearing cardboard triangles on his arms that he had cut out and taped himself from a box waiting to be recycled (he's really into cutting, coloring, taping, and anything that he calls "art"). He wanted Dad's HAM radio because Daddy had once told him that at work he was helping to make a radio that will help soldiers at war. Here he is:

He said, "Mom, this is my armor. Will you drive me to a war?"
I said, "You'll have to have a pretend war, because there aren't any real wars that we can drive to, thank goodness."
He said, "Is there no war in Utah?"

Ezra has been talking like a regular kid now. He has quite the vocabulary. Ez was trying to watch a show and Nolan was being noisy. He said, "That's enough, Nolan! I'm watching my show!"

And whenever we give Ezra a squeeze he says, "You love me!" Yep, we do.

Halloween Fun

We made caramel apples. Yummy!

We had a great time at our ward party last weekend. We trick-or-treated to different themed rooms and even crawled through a huge tunnel. Here is Nolan and his friend, Jaxon. Nolan didn't want any part of the costume parade on stage, but Ezra was game.

Nolan had a great time at his preschool party. I helped out and was able to see first hand how he behaves at school. I'm hoping it wasn't an accurate picture of the situation since it was Halloween (very exciting) and I was there. My kids are always better when I'm not around. At least that's what I'm told.

We carved one pumpkin this year. I'm really the only one that cares about it, so I didn't want to stretch myself too thin. The best part really is unveiling the goo inside. Other than that it's just a lot of work. But our ghost pumpkin turned out cute. No finished product picture, unfortunately.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Nolan agreed to be a skeleton again. I'm not a big fan of dealing with costumes. But they sure look cute.

Dad took Nolan and Ez around our street and after about 12 houses Ezra said, "I want to go home now." Not sure why he was done... it was so warm outside. But I went out with Nolan, and he filled his pumpkin to the brim. Maybe staying out for an hour and a half was too long for him. Oops. I guess I miss trick-or-treating myself. Plus I like to pick out all the best candy (chocolate), therefore I benefit from a full load. He came home and ate a pack of M&M's and then fell asleep on the couch. Ez ate candy all night and left half of it on his face. Fun night!

Church Boys

These boys clean up pretty well. Ezra loves to go to nursery. We've never had any trouble with him being happy to be dropped off... we're so lucky! Nolan says he doesn't like to go to church, but once we get there he is fine with going into class. Sacrament meeting is another story. We count our blessings if Ezra dozes off with his blanket, but we can't count on that happening too often. There are so few things that entertain him at this age. We mostly have to whisper-read some books in his ear. Nolan does great, though. He still hasn't mastered the art of whispering (for some reason he really struggles with keeping his voice soft) but he loves to draw, especially mazes that he makes for us to solve.

St. George Visit

It had been six months since we'd been to St. George (last Easter), so we were all excited for our visit. Aunt Lacey and her 3 kids drove with us so it was a full van of kiddos, but they all did really well. Here are the highlights:

We loved playing outside at the park. It was a gorgeous 75 degrees!

We had a campfire and a little hike at Red Cliffs. The kids loved exploring, it's just too bad the sun had to set so soon. I had to crack up when I saw this picture of my Dad. He's crouching down to tend the fire, but it looks like something else! And while my sister wasn't looking (she is usually very tidy when she feeds her tots) I gave Travis a whole s'more. Wow, what a sticky kid. I got your back Trav... he loved it!

The cousins played and played. Ez and Travis took a tub and we had to take a picture to compare their size. It's so funny that Ezra is older by 13 months but I'm pretty sure Travis weighs 13 pounds more (not really, but you get the idea).

We went to the Dixie State College homecoming parade where we got way too much candy. We even saw my Aunt Barbara in the parade!

Grandpa babysat while my mom, sisters, and several nieces and one nephew went to see "Thriller" at Tuacahn. I hadn't been in six years so I really enjoyed myself. Those zombies come out of nowhere and loved to startle, or just stare at us. But eventually we got some pictures with them. Kendyll doesn't look entirely comfortable with the idea.

My boys also had a great time swimming with Grandpa, visiting the cousins at Aunt Keeley and Bryan's house, and going to Krave for a yogurt treat. Luckily we had Halloween to look forward to, otherwise it would have been sad to go back home.