Fall Happenings

Fall is my FAVORITE time of year. Here are all the things we have been up to this fall.

PUMPKINS!
Having fun at the pumpkin patch. Davis LOVED picking up pumpkins and carrying them to the wagon. I think he carried 10 pumpkins to the cart before deciding which one he like the best.

Davis kept saying, "I got it guys. I strong." I love the look on his face.

Look at that grin! Carson and Bennett chose pumpkins as big as they are!

There was also a hay-bail maze at the pumpkin patch. Davis was not crazy about it, but his awesome brother, Bennett, was a good sport to try and help out.

We are living with my Mom while we build our house, and one of the best parts about living in Layton is being so close to the mountains. They are so gorgeous this time of year!



We didn't get around to carving and painting pumpkins until Halloween day but it was still lots of fun!


I have decided that as long as my boys have a weapon they are content on Halloween. So, we have Superman, a Goblin, and a Ninja all carrying swords this year. At least the ballerina didn't want one.

HAIR CUTS AND CRAZY HAIR

Adi was so excited to have her first hair cut at the "Beauty Salon"...AKA Dollar Cuts. She loved sitting in the chair, and wearing the cape. She talked the ladies ear off as she cut her hair. It was a lot of fun. I was a little sad to see her long curls go, and was surprised at how strait her hair was once it was cut. You can see the big bruise on her forehead where her brothers decided to see how high they could bounce her on the tramp. She landed on one of the metal poles on the edge and also hit her front tooth which was loose for awhile but turned gray instead of falling out. Thank goodness it is a baby tooth!


Crazy hair and crazy faces for red ribbon week. Even Davis wanted spray in his hair. Fun times!

BIRTHDAY BOYS

Bennett turned 10! I am getting so old! He loves his Grandpa Perri's BBQ ribs and got to have them with a few friends on his special day!

Looks like the ribs were good!

All Bennett wanted for his birthday was "under-armor". I honestly had to call a friend with older boys to find out what it was and where to get it. I guess it is what all the football boys wear under their uniforms and it is the "cool" thing to wear in 4th grade. At least we are cool.

Bennett earned his Bear award just before turning 10 and entering the Webelos Den. WAY TO GO BENNETT! He got to have his face painted at pack meeting. It didn't show up very well in the picture.


Carson also had a birthday and turned 8!!! He wanted a kick ball party for his birthday and chose to have a pinata instead of dinner. We had cake and ice cream in our DIRT backyard at the house we are building, then after a game of kickball the kids got to break a pinata in the garage. Who needs carpet and doors and all that fancy stuff to have a fun party???


Davis is making a run for third base. He loved playing with the big boys.


Carson and his true competitive spirit instructing his friends to get Davis out before he made it home!


Davis (whose shirt is on backwards because he insists on dressing himself and I am too tired to argue), Adi, and cousin Logan lined up to kick. I love that Adi's pink purse full of makeup and her toy cell phone was placed right next to her while she waited in line. At one point she quit playing because her dad would not let her run the bases with her purse in hand. Come on dad!


Bennett refused to play kickball because he did not think the teams had been divided fairly. I took the picture because my siblings and I get a kick out of looking back at old pictures where we are taking turns pouting. Someday Bennett will think this is funny...right?


Pinata time! We filled this with all our left over Halloween candy and preschool prizes. The kids LOVED IT!

Davis' birthday is next week. He asks me every morning if he is three now. It has been a busy birthday fall!

BYU FOOTBALL
We still have our season tickets. Thomas and I decided this was a great season to be busy building a house, because we haven't felt too bad missing a few games!

Both of the boys got to go to football games for their birthdays this year! Bennett went with Thomas and Grandpa Williams. Carson got to go with Thomas and Grandpa and Grandma Simms. AMAZINGLY they both got to see the Cougars win! RISE AND SHOUT!




THE HOUSE
We have been busy, busy, busy trying to finish building our house! It is so close to being finished. We are waiting on cement and carpet and hope to move in before Thanksgiving. WE WILL SEE!

Cute helpers! After putting in all of our own tile, the words grout, mortar, and spacer are now forbidden at our house! The purple stuff is a water proof coating that goes under the tile. Adi was disappointed that the shower was not staying purple.
Adi loved washing the tile as you can see from her drenched clothes and huge grin! I am going to take a second to brag because I put down every single kitchen/pantry/dining room tile. My mom did the grout and I think they look pretty darn good if I don't say so myself.

We are already dealing with drawing on the walls and we haven't even moved in! Thank goodness this mural went up before we painted. I hope he got it out of his system.

Mr. Safety not only drove the kids around in the bucket but he let Bennett and Carson take turns driving it! At least they are having fun?

Finding time for homework. Bennett has learned to read ANYWHERE and still actually comprehend what he is reading! I showed up to parent teacher conference in my paint clothes and Carson's sweet teacher almost made me cry when she said she was impressed that we were keeping up on everything. I am so proud of my kids who have been such great sports! Life will be normal again SOON...that is until we have a baby-ha!

Say What???

So for those of you who haven't heard, we are expecting baby #5! We are thrilled but are constantly surprised by the reactions we get from others.

Things you should never say to a woman who tells you she is pregnant with her fifth child (or any child for that matter!)

1. I thought you looked pregnant. (In other words, you have been looking fat.)

2. It must have been an accident right? (Believe it or not some people actually have/want kids on purpose.)

3. So I guess you guys are into numbers now. (What does this even mean?)

4. You do know how to prevent that right? (Too stupid for a witty comment.)

5. Wow, you are only 12 weeks along and you are already showing! (Gee thanks.)

6. It sure is a rough economy and kids are so expensive these days. (Really Mr. Obvious, I guess it's a good thing we are independently wealthy--ha,ha!)

7. Are you crazy? (Yes, but it's a happy kind of crazy.)

8. You have been looking like death warmed over lately. (Nice.)

9. I can't believe you are having ANOTHER ONE! (Really? Is it because my children are so mild mannered?)

10.So how many more kids are guys going to have? (Let me tell you, because that is sooooooooo your business.)

Summer Fun

We have been so busy this summer so far! Here are a few of our adventures.

Back Yard Water Fights
The kids were swimming in the back yard at Grandma's house. Carson was relentlessly teasing his younger sister. Thomas came around the side of the house just in time to see Carson dump a whole bucket of water over Adi's head and then run away. Unfortunately for Carson, his dad is pretty quick on his feet and was able to catch him without too much trouble.I love the cheering section marching behind Thomas. "Dunk him, dunk him, dunk him!" I also love that Davis is wearing a pair of Carson's swim trunks. He has his own, I promise. He will do anything to be like his older brothers.

I love the look on Adi's face, "That's what happens when you mess with me, mister!"

Heritage Days Parade

Syracuse has a parade every year to celebrate Heritage Days. Davis spent the first half of the parade covering his ears. He did this same thing during the fireworks on the 4th of July!

RAGNAR
Thomas and I ran Ragnar together this year. I had to twist Thomas' arm, and he swears he is retiring after this one, but we will see! Here we are all loaded up and ready to go. EVERYONE decorates their cars for this shin-dig, so we had to join the fun. Although we didn't go as far as lighting up the van with Christmas lights like some of the other crazy teams do, we at least have a catchy slogan! For a couple of days Ragnar decided that none of the runners were going to be allowed to wear headphones while they ran. After much protesting the ban was lifted, THANK GOODNESS! Up your endorphins, get it? Ha!


Our van consisted of me and 5 guys. I was nervous about being the only girl at first (especially when they all jumped out to check out some body-builder chicks calf's) but it ended up being a lot of fun. (right to left: Greg, Cole, Mark, Thomas, Cody)


Ragnar starts in Logan and ends in Park City. Each team has 12 people who are separated into 2 vehicles and rotate running for a total team distance of 188 miles. IT WAS A BLAST! Thomas was the first runner in our van, and I ran after him each time. This is a pic of him passing off to me.

I read a story once of a man who was tired of all the comments he would get about training for his races even while he was on vacation and stuff. So he started taking pictures of all the beautiful places he ran past. There have been many times while running that I wished I had my camera and this race was no exception. There were some breathtaking views!
I lost a toenail after running a half marathon in March and found this saying very clever.

Thomas did awesome this year for his I HATE RUNNING attitude. He really improved on his times and was even able to run a couple miles for me when my tummy acted up in the middle of the night. Luckily I recovered the next day and was able to run my last leg of the race. This is a pic of Thomas and I at the finish line in Park City. I think RAGNAR may have triggered a little running interest in Thomas after all!

Antelope Island
Shortly after returning home form Ragnar, Thomas and I were talking about running on Antelope Island out by "the lake". The boys overheard our conversation and said something like, "We live by a lake?" We decided it was time for them to experience The Great Salt Lake in all it's glory. I wish I could say it was "great", but I have to admit it was pretty stinky, buggy, and dirty. No one wanted to be in the water for more than five minutes so we mostly played in the sand. I am glad we did it for the experience, but I think we will drive to Bear Lake for our beach days from now on.







4th of July
This was our attempt to get a family picture at our family reunion on July 3rd. Thomas is yelling at Carson who was sitting on the front porch and refusing to be in the picture. Amy is bribing Davis with everything under the sun, to sit on her lap and smile. Bennett is wondering why the little kids always get the treats when they are the ones who cause all the trouble. Adi is determined to show us right now that she has mastered her cartwheel. Sigh.

This is the picture we settled for. Better than nothing I say!


I hope you are all enjoying your summer as well!

Digging to China!

I sent my boys outside to play earlier this week (when it wasn't snowing) and found them happily digging in the garden.


They were having fun and I figured they weren't really doing anything that Thomas couldn't fix with the tiller, so I let them have their fun. Bennett told me he was going to dig the deepest man made hole ever. Right after he told me his ambitions he said, "Oh wait mom, what about the Bigham Canyon Mine. I can't compete with that."

Then a couple days later the boys invited friends over and they kept digging! They were trying to make tunnels between the holes they had made like the tunnel in the Sandlot. Lots of memories and lots of fun! At least they didn't make it to China--ha,ha!!




I think it may take more than a tiller to fix this!