Pinkie's up!

We have an announcement to make. Pinkie's up ladies and gentlemen, we are officially fancy. We were given a beautiful(though not my taste, I'll paint it Black someday and all will be right with the world) dinning set complete with 6 chairs, table, buffet, and hutch(not pictured). Don't be intimidated by our fanciness, it's all an act. Thank you Keith & Michelle!

Table and Chairs.

Buffet.
(it even has a special place for silverware, I know, wow.)

Teacher Gifts

Funds are a little tight this year. So, I got creative with the teacher's gifts. We made a cookie mix in a jar! I think they turned out pretty cute!

Christmas-Time Craziness!

Merry Christmas! I am so excited this year!! Not that I am not overly excited every year... I am, but this year the anticipation is just practically killing me! I don't know why, so don't ask. I suppose it could be that we are spending our very first Christmas in our own home. After almost 9 years of marriage this will be the first time. Wow. It could be that Trevor lost his job and we are more aware of the blessings we have been given this year. Maybe it's the fact that our boys are getting older and Christmas is more exciting for them, therefore more fun for me. Or, it just might be that I have finally lost my mind. Yeah, we'll go with that.

Our Family Christmas Tree

As you can tell, the boys played a major role in ornament dispersal.

My very own "Monkey Man".

Trevor loves to put up Christmas lights. This year we had all of his parent's lights, so he was able to deck out our house for the first time. He was up in trees for a few hours, he thinks he's 12.

The fruits of Trevor's labor.

My pretty tree.

We were storing my in-law's tree for them while they are in Argentina, so we decided we might as well put it up! Problem is, we had no ornaments for it. So, I made some! With the help of Aiden and Max we decorated it with popcorn, pine cones, string balls, salt dough ornaments, and birds ornaments that we already had.

String Ball.

Silver pine cone.

If you ever need pine cones, my children are available for rent by the hour... they are the best little pin cone hunters ever! Best part is, they love it!!

Salt dough ornament.

Trick-or-Treat, smell my feet...

Aiden decided that he and Max were going to be Mario and Luigi this year. But, Max had to be Mario because "he is shorter and a little fatter".

Wee-Hee!

Luigi!

Mario!

Of to trick-or-treat! Maxwell ran like a madman, he kept up with all of the big kids! They were both so tired by the time we finished, hallelujah! Now, if only they can gorge themselves quickly and get this candy out of my house before I eat it all!!

This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving!

Aiden wanted to carve his own pumpkin this year, so he did! After drawing his design on the pumpkin he carved it, with minimal help from Daddy. Strangely, this year I did not have to be the designated "guts remover". I think I have complained/blogged about how I am always the one who has to clean the pumpkins out because all 3 men in my house won't touch the stuff... Big tough guys, I know. So, as I begun to playfully complain about it, Trevor announced that he was going to do it himself this year! Bo-ya! Who says complaining and nagging doesn't pay off?!

Aiden and Trevor.

Max thinks he's big too.

My turn. Aiden told Trevor not to let me carve our pumpkin because I would "carve a princess or something gross like that". So, I thought of the most mushy and girly thing I could and carved that on the pumpkin!

Happy Halloween!

4th of July in October!

There is no wrong time to feel patriotic, right?! At Aiden's school, the 2nd grade had a patriotic program for the parent to watch. Max enjoyed running a-muck while I watched the cute kids sing their songs, so great fun was had by all!

Aiden is in the front row, in the middle.

My All-American Boy.
Complete with missing front tooth.

Aiden, Emily, and Calie.

Cousins.

All I want for Christmas is my front tooth!

Just in time for Christmas, Aiden's front teeth are both loose! When Trevor pulled one Aiden was freaking out, as usual, and then after he finished "that didn't hurt" was all he said. I can hardly look at him without smiling of laughing just a little bit, I just can't take him seriously when he talks. Could you take him seriously?:

My point exactly.

Woo Hoo! The Tooth Fairy hooked Aiden up, apparently front teeth merit $2 rather than the normal $1.

Blah!

I have been trying really hard lately to be happy. I know, how sad that I have to "try"! Grrrrr!!! But, as a wise Master Yoda once said, "do or do not. There is no try." Unfortunately for our bank account, I have at times resorted to a small amount of "retail therapy". I decided that was not going to help me be happy because then we would have no money, then we couldn't put any money into our savings account, which in turn would mean that we would never buy a van, which would lead to countless other reasons for unhappiness. So, really, you see now why I had to find a more healthy outlet. I decided to bring out my old friend, Mr. Jogging Stroller. He and I haven't talked in quite some time and it took some serious work(like blowing all the tires back up) to get him warmed back up to the idea of me pushing him around. Then I had to tell him, "hey, Mr. Jogging Stroller, remember that kid Max you used to hold? Well, he's much heavier now and much more ornery." Finally all was worked out and I believe I was forgiven for my long hiatus. So, back to the sadness... Every time I have felt "blah" as I like to call it, I have stuck poor Max into Mr. Jogging Stroller(who will now be called "Mr. J" for short), grabbed water and my i-pod, and taken off. Thus far I have walked 5 miles in the past 2 days. I am hoping that my "blah" will continue to occur(only once) daily so that I might lose some weight, which would eventually fix one of my many reasons for being "blah" in the first place! I shall keep you posted on how many "blah" induced miles I walk and maybe, just maybe on how "HOT" it is making me!

Mr. J

Pumpkin Patch!

Trevor and I took the boys to a pumpkin patch out in wine country this weekend. Aiden loved the corn maze. He led us through and found his way out all on his own(even when Trevor and I secretly thought he was going the wrong way and didn't say anything, but let him "figure it out on his own", glad Aiden was leading or we would have been lost)!

Corn Maze. Lots of corn. Lots of dirt. Some people.

Two silly boys!

Three silly boys!

Aiden insisted that I take his picture by the "ruler" to see how tall he was.

Of course, if Aiden did it, Max had to as well.

Tractor! Why do children love to climb on farm equipment so much?! I will never understand.

"Tent City"

This one is a shout out to my little brothers and sisters! All the times we spent creating roller coasters out of Christie's baby cradle and pillows, pretending to be "ice skaters in mom's lingerie, and turning the upstairs bedroom into "tent city" prepared me for mother-hood.

Boo-ya!

Best Tent Ever!

Or at least Max thinks so.

Complete with movie theatre!

Everything should sparkle!

After visiting my friend, Nataly's house and seeing her sparkly pumpkins, I decided that I must have twinkly pumpkins as well! Furthermore, I determined that my children would help with said "glitter-facation". Who said only girls love sparkles?!

Max and Aiden making pretty pumpkins! Note the very serious look on each of their faces. Sparkles are serious business not to be taken lightly.

Aiden.

Max.

Please ignore the "five o'clock shadow" my 3 year old is rocking. It was a dirty day.

The sparkles have landed!

My sparkly gourds.
Black. Surprise, surprise. I know. Black is just so slimming, and every pumpkin deserves to look slender, right?!

Orange.

Bi-racial pumpkin.

Best one ever.

"Go gool!"

We have been trying for the past year to get Maxwell help with his speech. We had to go through the school district to get help and as some of you may know, that can take forever. Finally, Max started his speech classes! He goes 2 times a week for 90 minutes. So, it's more like a short speech centered preschool.

He was so excited when we told him he got to go to school like Aiden. We took him to the store to pick out a backpack. He loves that backpack.

All ready to go with his new "pack-pack"!

Off he goes.
Max loved school! When we asked him if he liked school he said, "Go gool, pack pack!". Aiden asked him what he did at school and Max informed us that he "pay toys" while at school.
After dropping him off, I will admit, I had a moment. Max has just seemed like a baby to me for so long. His speech delay has only made him seem like more of a really big"baby" to me than a "big boy". When I took him it hit me: He's not a baby, Melanie. He is in fact a big boy, he just talks like a little boy. You don't have a baby anymore, enjoy pretending with Max while you still can. Hopefully he won't be talking like that much longer!

Sur-prise!

Trevor had to stay home from work today for a meeting we had with the school district to discuss Speech Therapy for Max. It just so happened that it was also "Bring a VIP to lunch day" at Aiden's school. So, we decided to surprise Aiden. He's been having a hard time lately with Trevor being gone so often. So, Trevor got up and pretended to be getting ready to leave for work and even acted like he was running late to explain why he was still here when Aiden left for school. Then we went to the school for lunch(pizza in tow, which was what Aiden had asked for when I asked what he wanted me to bring for lunch). Aiden came running up expecting Mommy and Max, he got us + Daddy! He was soo excited!

This was taken after he had time to calm down, as you can tell...

Hooray! All of us together, quick! Take a picture! It will last longer!

Swinging with Daddy and Max.

Trevor was so excited to surprise Aiden. I was secretly worried that Aiden's reaction wouldn't live up to Trevor's enthusiasm, but it did! Aiden was surprised all over again when Trevor was in the car when I picked him up from school. Apparently, he thought Trevor had left for work after lunch. We love you Aiden, and we're glad we got to spend that time with you!

Just another relaxing Sunday afternoon.

This weekend, Bryan and Alison came down with their kiddos and stayed Saturday night with us. We woke up Sunday morning and had a yummy breakfast and listened to the morning session of the LDS General Conference on our bed(slumber party in my bed, without the slumber). Afterwards the kids are playing in the back yard while we were watching a little bit of Sunday football because after all, I am kicking every one's butt in my Fantasy Football League right now, I need to stay informed of my awesomeness. Then Zeb(Bryan and Alison's oldest) came inside with a bleeding foot, which I noticed was suspiciously pale... So, I went out into the back yard expecting something awful. Nothing. Just Aiden and Max with suspiciously "chalky" hands and feet. Then a thought occurs to me(we have a chalk bag in the garage for when Trevor and I lift weights) and I run to the garage! This is what I found:

The picture really does not do their artwork justice. It was a spectacular mess of epic proportions.

They even threw chalk in the car. Aiden said Zeb did it, but when I got into the car to move it outside so we could clean, I saw "Aiden-sized" chalk footprints all over the seats... Hmmm... Explain that one away to a jury of your peers my son!

Aiden and Maxwell cleaning up their mess.

In the end, I really did have to laugh about it. Because, come on! It was spectacular! They left no surface untouched. Nothing in my garage was exempt from their artistic genius. So, if you see me in the next few days, with a chalky white bum from my driver's seat, just smile and remember that my kids are so much more awesome than yours!

That'll teach him!

What happens when a 28 year-old mother is out front talking with her friend as she watches her 7 year-old son ride his new bike up his new bike ramp, fall off and then refuse to try again? Crazy things my friends, crazy things. Teaching my children valuable lessons has driven me to do many unintelligent things before, but this may just make all the other "crazy" things look like child's play.

+
+


=

&

&

You can't really tell in the picture, but the entire top left portion of my kneecap is a giant swollen mass of bruised nastiness. The circular red mark below my knee is from a bolt on Aiden's bike. If I had been wearing shorts, this would look much worse.

So, was it worth it? Did it teach Aiden that "it's not scary, even mommy can do it!(I seriously said this to him)"? I think not. But, tomorrow when I get on that darn bike and try again, it just might teach him that when we fall down we get up and do it again!