Josh's big days

This was the best and easiest birthday party of all time. I was planning on doing the Saturday party from 2-4pm with games and cake. Josh was planning on inviting ALL of his school and church friends... and then I rethought the whole thing. Too much work for me. :) Josh had originally asked for a sleepover and I dismissed it, but then I thought...pizza, cake, less kids, movie, breakfast... It was in fact the way to go. Bailey came over for an hour and then only one of Josh's friends from school stayed the night . They had a blast downstairs in the basement. I told them they could do whatever, just don't wake us up. They were determined to stay up until 4am and I think they actually did it. They watched movies, played games, drew pictures, played with their Bakugans. Very fun, very easy, and very worth it.

Josh got Bakugans from Jacob, a volcano eruption kit from Nona, scriptures from Mom and Dad and the coolest blanket from his Nana. It has all the scout mottos on it. He's so excited to start scouts. Although, I think Adam's even more excited about that part. :)
The day after his birthday, we had Josh's baptism. It was a very special day. Josh has been 8 in my mind for a really long time. He's always been pretty mature for his age, so this day just seemed like the next step. Thank you to all who came! I know it was a pretty busy weekend, but it meant the world to Josh. The Font shot. I think Adam has one just like it with his dad. If I find it, I'll have to post it. I'm sure it looks identical. Was it taken in a pool, though? He didn't even plug his nose. Awesome.
Thanks Jill for taking a family pic. Just ignore the cookie-faced baby. :) and look at Josh... He's just glowing.

November in a nutshell

I haven't had much blogging time, so let me catch you up real fast. Adam's home! He came home the second Sunday in November...which felt like forever cuz he was supposed to be home the first Sunday in Nov. But all is well... he's home!


OH yeah...the kids are happy, too. Grant can't seem to let him go and is now having major separation anxiety issues. Adam can't go to work without a screaming tirade.
Grant is continuing the potty training thing. Which is great. He is also starting to do whatever wants. He figures if a chair will get him there, he will go there. So, one morning after we got back from the gym, I found him like this...

Then like this...
Then like this. Mmmm, soggy morning cereal. Good thing I forgot to do the dishes. We don't like to waste food anyway, right?
Alrighty, so more stuff. You saw the bed fiasco. They're still just on mattresses. I give them a pillow and blanket at bed time and although, not pretty, it does the job and retains my early morning sanity.

Adam is home, so of course we've got projects going on around the house. The latest home improvement is the basement. Drab white walls are gone, as well as all of Bryson's little men on the wall. We painted it blue, with black and white accents. My favorite part is the blackboard we painted on the wall. It's awesome! Now Bryson can draw as much as he wants without fear of the screaming mom. The kids love it!
Upcoming November things. Thanksgiving! Hooray!
Josh is turning 8 on the 28th, complete with slumber party.
Then his baptism is on Saturday, the 29th at 4pm. Everyone is invited.
So, that's November in a nutshell. Until December...

Twilight the Movie

I'm sure reviews have been posted blogwide, but I thought I'd post my own thoughts on the movie (of course, Crystal's gentle nudging helped, too). :) Slavka, don't read!!!

Ok, so first of all, I wasn't expecting high quality entertainment. After the previews, I knew it was going to be corny. Come on..."How long have you been 17..." And after watching the parody of the preview, I couldn't take much seriously.

So, it was a good thing I went late at night with a bunch of friends on opening night so we could all be silly and laugh together. It was pretty funny. Thanks girls...you're the best!

My review...

The cool:
Loved the supporting actors. Tyler, Eric, Angela, even Jessica were cast pretty dead on. I think I liked Tyler the most. Total teenager.
Jacob and his gang seemed authentic, too which I was worried about.
Charlie, awesome. The awkward Bella and Charlie moments were so real. Loved it!
Victoria is going to be pretty cool and totally gorgeous!
It was pretty dead on with the book. Some liberties were taken, but it helped the movie move smoother and faster.

The weird:
The music. I know Stephenie Meyer LOVED the music, but it was...well, weird.
James. Need I say more?
The Bella and Edward extended gazes.
The end battle with James. dumb
The leaping through the trees. Just stick to the running really fast. We didn't need to see them gazing at each other from the top of 300 ft high tree.
Special effects needed some help. Can we say low budget?
The writing...awful
The directing...even worse
The acting...could've been better with better writing and directing

The Downright weird:
Glitter. Wow! scary...

So, I liked it, I might even see it again...heck, I might even buy it when it comes to DVD, but truth be told, it was not my favorite.

Now it's your turn. If you haven't commented already on the movie (which I'm sure you have) feel free to comment here.

Thanks!

BOYS! sigh

So, this is what I've woken up to every morning for the past week. What would you do?



Things that have tried and failed:
Screaming
Spanking
Helping them clean it
Making them do it themselves
Doing nothing

HELP!!!!

The music game wars

I've been comparing Rockband and Guitar Hero all day. Which is better? and now I've run across Wii Music, which looks totally lame, but could be better for kids. Or should I just get instruments and let them experiment themselves. We've already got the piano. Although, getting a real drum set is rather daunting. (imagining Bryson...enough said)

One day, my dream is to have a family band. I want each of my kids to be able to play a different instrument and play together in the music studio that we will have. They will record music and be totally awesome!

So, what are your thoughts? should I start with these games, or go for the real thing? or both?

Babysitting anyone?

Ok, I feel like this is totally lame, but I really want to go shopping! Like, mall shopping. I usually get a sitter for going to a meeting or grocery shopping, but this time I want a sitter so I can go to the mall and enjoy myself without carting around sleepy toddlers.

So, it's up for grabs. Anyone want to watch my kids this afternoon? I promise to repay the favor!!!

Me on my hands and knees begging!!!

Potty Trained?

I think Grant is finally ready. Well, I think the important thing is that I am finally ready.

Grant has taken the initiative and requested pull-ups instead of diapers and has put them to good use. He's been going poop and pee without even telling me. I'll just walk by the bathroom and he'll be sitting on the potty doing his business. Heck, he could be in underwear before Adam gets home. Sweet!

Wow, I haven't had a house without diapers for nearly 8 years. I just did the math. Let's say we averaged about $45/month on diapers. Sometimes we had 2 or 3 in diapers at a time, so really it's probably more. But, For 8 years, $45/month it comes to a whopping $4,320 that we have spent to diaper our children, and that's not including the wipes.

Tagged

Alrighty Slavka. I usually don't do these, but because I love you and am extremely bored, here we go...

Here are the rules. I have to answer each question with only one word the pass it on to seven other people.

1. Where is your cell phone? ear
   
2. Where is your sig. other? overseas
3. Your hair color? Brownish
4. Your mother? gone
   
5. Your father? optimistic
   
6. Your favorite thing? Adam
   
7. Your dream last night? none
   
8. Your dream/goal? degree
   
9. The room you're in? living
   
10. Your hobby? changes
    
11. Your fear? pregnancy
    
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Tucson
    
13. Where were you last night? practice
    
14. What you're not? patient
    
15. One of your wish list items? odyssey
    
16. Where you grew up? AZ
    
17. Last thing you ate? poptart
    
18. What are you wearing? jammies
    
19. Your TV? downstairs
    
20. Your pet? outside
    
21. Your computer? awesome
    
22. Your mood? bored
    
23. Missing someone? duh
    
24. Your car? van
    
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
    
26. Favorite store? amazon
    
27. Your summer? short
    
28. Love someone? everyone
    
29. Favorite color? blue
    
30. When was the last time you laughed? now
    
31. When was the last time you cried? July

I promise I won't tag anyone else. But if you're bored and want to do it, just say, Ariella made me. :)

Halloween

My kids are too cute. I love Halloween.
Josh: Wolverine or Logan
Nona: Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia
Bryson: Iron Man
Grant: A little Army dude

We went to the ward Fall festival last weekend. It was a little crowded with all three wards but super fun. I went dressed as I had been dressed all weekend as an urban dancing chick. I had been at Groove training and was actually listening to the music I was suppose to teach to the next day all that night.

We finally carved our pumpkin Halloween Day. Josh did most of it, so it's his pumpkin this year. Of course they had to pick the most difficult design in the book. I told Josh that we grew up without the design book. He was confused. "How did you carve your pumpkins, then?" ummm...creativity? Do kids have that any more?

We hung out with the Jorgenson's and had Pumpkin soup for dinner with Homemade bread. Met up with Slavka's family and Kylene for Trick or Treating around the best and fastest block ever in Seven Oaks. Then we went back to Arlynda's for Hot chocolate and homemade doughnuts...and maybe a little bit of candy.

...and this is about how much of my kids I've seen since then....

Josh-o-Lantern

Josh finally started losing his teeth...and now he won't stop. By Christmas he'll definitely be wanting his two front teeth. I was joking with him that he should paint his face orange and be a Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween. He didn't think it was that funny.