Royalty

I have a really painful, fat cheek, but let's look on the bright side:  I got an early (expensive) birthday present... a root canal this morning.  It was so much fun and full of excitement as I gagged on the mouth piece to do an x-ray and threw up in their garbage can.  I was just letting them know how much I appreciate them for their generous gift.  (Luckily, throughout the root canal, I was calm and not nauseous at all.)  Sometime in the near future, I will be "crowned", again, a second time...maybe I should get this one in gold.  Oh, the privileges of being royal! 

An unexpected gift

I have a good friend who, when driving, takes many different routes to get from the same point A to the same point B.  It was quite confusing at first, driving on those Kentucky roads with her at the wheel and me in the passengers seat.  Eventually, I got used to it and slowly gained my bearings.  When we first moved to Kentucky, and lived in a hotel for three weeks, Dallin and I would often go for drives around town.  I would mostly get lost, but somehow, always found my way back to our temporary living quarters.  After gaining a lay of the land, I would take the same routes here and there so I wouldn't get lost any longer.  Fast forward a couple years later, and I found myself driving all over the place again, exploring this neighborhood or that, enjoying a change in the scenery.  All this, because my friend unknowingly taught me that driving a different way can be fun.  I thought of this today, as the kids and I went to have our weekly "picnic in the parking lot" for dinner with Paul at his work.  We wandered through neighborhoods one way and wandered a different way back.  The kids seem to really enjoy it as well.  Thanks "good buddy" for the unexpected gift of taking a different route and enjoying the scenery.

Dragons

 I guess we need to see the movie now.  I have heard it's pretty good.

The Great Pumpkin Carving Party

 Every year, Grandmas Duncan has her pumpkin carving party with all the cousins.  This was the first time in five years that we were able to be here for it.  All the kids but two (Brit and Josh) were there.  Even Emmi and Easton made it by driving 20+ hours to get there (Okay, their parents drove).  The kids had a great time.  Aunt Jenni was so sweet and got all the kids matching Halloween shirts.

 My kids now refuse to smile.  Instead, they see it fit to make funny faces. 

 Even my husband makes faces at the camera now.

 The finished product.

Halloween Fun...(?)

The kids have been having fun with some Halloween activities going on at our house.  I, myself, cannot wait until these extra hormones are gone and let me feel normal and somewhat patient again with my kids (and husband).  They are resilient, thank goodness, and deal with my moodiness in stride.  I am afraid that they just think it is the normal me (don't tell them, but it really is).  Despite all the dramatics, I really enjoy watching my kids have fun with all the activities that we do.

We decorated cookies one morning.

 I had bought the sugar cookie dough pre-made, which isn't my favorite, but I had a coupon and that seemed to seal the deal.  They tasted good, but were pretty misshapen even after trying to make them look like pumpkins.  In honor of our silly looking cookies, we read The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin, a favorite book of ours.

 A different night, the kids and I made real cookies.

 And cut a whole lot of paper.  The original plan was to have the kids help with these, but instead, they found great joy in cutting the leftover paper into millions and billions of tiny pieces and scatter them all over the table and floor.  Huge mess, but they had a grand ole' time doing it!

 The benefit of procrastinating for 6 months by not hanging anything up on the walls....we can cover them up with fun art projects.  (links:  bats and skeletons)

I taped everything up after they went to bed.  The next morning, they were wide eyed as they come into our kitchen/family room (I guess it's a "great room"?) and saw everything up.  Ellie loved it.  Dallin said it was scary.

Let's Play Music

At the beginning of the school year, Dallin started his music lessons.  To be honest, I thought I was signing him up for just piano lessons.  But in reality, I was signing him up for lessons at "little Julliard".  I am pleased as punch with his teacher and the program.  He loves to go, loves to do his music homework, and loves to sing all the songs.  It is a program called Let's Play Music, which is giving him all sorts of foundation training with out him even knowing that he is learning!  They sing fun songs, play bells, dance around.  Dallin loves it so much, he told me that he wants to go every single day!  If you have little ones (starting age 4-5) check out the program.  There are teachers all over the place.  I will definitely be signing Ellie up in a couple years as well.

sleepy

I fell asleep with the lights on tonight.  That much, I was aware of.  I woke soon after to Dallin shaking my back and telling me to wake up so I could read to him.  "Go read in your bed for 5 minutes, and then I will come and read to you."  I was tired, and hoped that 5 minutes would turn into longer.  Dallin's reply, "But you're in my bed."  I opened my eyes and I was, indeed, in his bed.  While I had been sleeping, he had cleaned up most of his toys and all of his books in his room and in the hallway.  I am hoping that his willingness to clean up his messes sticks!  I am also hoping that I will fight staying up late and go to sleep.  I am tired.

Prayer a la Ellie

Dear Heavny Fava,

Bless me and my pink runny rabbit.  Bless my runny rabbit.  Bless my runny rabbit to hop.  Bless my runny rabbit to hop like a frog.  Bless my mommy and my daddy at work.  Bless my bruver.  Bless my monkey.

Name of Jesus Christ, Aaaamen

bubbles {say it like you're crazy}

a boy and his baby picture

Dallin had to take a baby picture to school.

When he got home, he sat and stared at it for an hour.

If I was this cute when I was a baby (and I was) I would stare all day at my picture, too (and I do).

sometimes

Sometimes my kids are like geese.
They are fun to look at from afar,
but get too close and they honk at you,
and chase you,
and threaten to attack you.
But they still entice you,
and you find yourself staring at them,
and you want to get closer,
and catch them.

Sometimes my kids are like puppies.
They love and they cuddle.
They let you kiss them and they kiss you.
They won't stop jumping all over you.
They make you feel beautiful
and awesome and the best buddy ever, ever.
To them, you can't do anything wrong.

{insert awesome here}

I have decided that I really need to get caught up.  Not a whole lot of pictures were taken this summer, but going through my camera, I realize there are some.  The kids and I also spent a lot of time inside (me, throwing up, this kids, doing heaven's know what ;).  I was reminded of this as I looked at my bare feet and, for the first time ever, saw no post-summer flip-flop tan line.  So this is my lazy catch up post, where there are some pictures that the OCD in me wants to go back and put them with their appropriate posts, but the lazy part of me refuses.  Although I am starting to get anxiety at the thought of them being out of order....oh, my...I really do need a therapist.

Dallin, Kali, and Carter had a ball playing with the poly-fill.

 Paper flowers made for cousin Rachel who can't have real flowers.

These are super easy to make and I think that they would make a great service project or activity for the youth to make a donate to cancer centers.  I can't remember how I found them, but coincidentally Paul's cousin just put up a tutorial for them:  here.   My family made a bunch up at our reunion this summer and we discovered that you can also rip the paper and use two patterned pieces back to back if you don't have double sided.

Dallin got creative and played "outside" sometimes.  We have no grass in our backyard yet, nor a fence.  Our little fenced in deck worked out great.

Dallin took this picture (and 15 others) of the fireworks for Fiesta Days, that we were able to watch from our back deck.  I was sick (what's new) and it was late, so we watched movies until about 10:30 until they started.  We had a great view, but next year, we will walk over to the park so we can see them a little better.

 

 

Super hero masks.  Poor kids were so bored this summer.  Dallin kept begging me to sew him something fun.  I couldn't look at my sewing machine, let alone fabric, for three months, without puking my guts out.  I got really creative with my scissors and old clothes.

Whipped cream nose.  Whoever invented the spray can was a genius.

 The hair that Dallin cut off his sister's head.  I still haven't gotten it fixed.  I can easily pull her hair up in the front to hide it.

                                                 

Ceiling fan.

Dallin took this picture.  I really like it.

Banana oat pancakes made for Dallin's first day of school.  I make the most beautiful pancakes, don't you think.  I thought these were so good looking that I took a picture for posterity sake.  For the record, my pancakes always look this good.

"hey Ladies!!"

Second day of school pictures.  Posing with McQueen.

Walking to school with Dad.

It's too bad this little girl doesn't start preschool until next year.  She is ready to go.  She even has a backpack, paints, and her "beautiful dog" as she calls it (see little chihuahua in hand).  

The end.

word of the day by ELLIE

Chocolocli {cho.co.loc.li}

definition:  ?

in a sentence:  I want some chocolocli.

definition, please:  ?

in a sentence:  I WANT SOME CHOCOLOCLI!!!!!!!!!!

guesses:  Um....chocolate broccoli?  Or maybe Nutella?  It remains a mystery.

Paul's occasionally updated quote

“For fast-acting relief try slowing down."

--Lily Tomlin,
American comedian and actress

(I think Paul is cute.  For obvious reasons, and because he has 'Paul's occasionally updated quote" on the sidebar that he is so proud of.  I think it's cute.  I am going to post them for my one reader to enjoy- one, being myself, because one day, when pigs turn purple and cows oink, I will print my blog book.)

Halloween Tradition

Paul:  We need to start our Halloween tradition that we do every year.

Me:  huh?

Paul:  You know, the one where we buy Halloween candy 7 times.

Because I buy it early,
and we eat it,
I buy some more,
and put it up above the cabinets so that we can't reach it,
then we take a chair and climb up to get it,
and we eat it,
and I buy it again,
but I buy more this time,
so that we will have some to eat,
and still have some left for trick-or-treaters,
then Halloween night is finally here,
we have eaten so much that we fear we will run out,
so Paul runs to the store to get more,
then we have a ton of candy left over,
and we eat it.