Tyler was really excited about seeing Santa. We went too early and Santa wasn't there yet, so we had to go home and come back later, and you would have thought we were the meanest parents ever, to not let him see Santa when we said he could.
He said he was going to ask him for some candy for christmas. Lucky for him that black bag on the bench was full of candy--and not just candy canes, it was the good stuff like candy bars and suckers. He grabbed a humongous handful, and was quite disappointed when we made him put most of it back. I asked him what he asked santa for and he said, "This," indicating his candy.
Joey has some serious doubts about Santa, so it's not quite as exciting for him anymore. It was a little suspicious that he had an english accent. He sounded American last year. Just like last year Jason refused to get out of the cart. He was sad when his brothers got candy, so I went with him to ask Santa for some. Really, I dragged him while he protested strongly. But I knew he'd be happy after he had the candy. And he was. He'll have to write a letter so Santa knows for sure what he wants (a nerf gun thing that is supposed to be a fire hose that shoots out blue balls that are supposed to be the water when you pull back a crank). Luckily Santa has insider information and has already got it for him. Good 'ol Santa.

Halloween

We made it to the pumpkin patch this year, but of course forgot the camera. Maybe it's for the best anyway, since we would have captured 2 sad, crying kids. Jason got car sick on the way and Tyler fell asleep and woke up really grumpy. They had this cute little maze made out of hay bales there, and cheered up after playing in it for a while.

Tyler was disgusted by the inside of the pumpkin. He was really careful not to touch any of it. Joey actually helped get the stuff out. I think he kind of liked it.

Tyler didn't like Joey's (the big one) and cried and made us turn the lights on. Too scary, he said.

Trick or treating was fun, and I was really grateful that we all got to go, since all of us had been really sick for several days before Halloween and I was afraid someone was going to miss out.

Joey is Darth Vader, with this helmet that was really awesome but unfortunately made him blind as a bat out in the dark. He ditched it after awhile. Jason is Jango Fett, a bounty hunter from Star Wars. I didn't know who he was until my boys got obsessed with the movie. Now I know more than I ever wanted to know about Star Wars. Tyler is R2D2. His costume turned out really cute, I thought. I'm starting to really hate all of his dang buttons and things, though, after making a cake and now a costume.
It was a great Halloween, with plenty of fun and candy for all.

What?

Jason is 5

I'm very proud of the R2-D2 cake I made, even though it's a little stubby and gloppy. I always make the cake the night before because there's no time on their birthday, and it usually happens late at night, after they're in bed because that's the only way I can have any uninterrupted length of time. But I think they're starting to think there's a "cake Santa" or something. After he saw it Tyler ran to get me and show me. "Look! An Artoo cake!" Like I had nothing to do with it. He got two very cool star wars ships, and check out that look of delight over a pack of gum!

When Joey busted open the pinata with one wack Tyler said "Oh! A sock!" Indeed, a dirty little sock had burst out of the pinata along with all the candy. There was also a hotwheels car and some legos. He had added a few "extras," unbeknownst to us.

End of Soccer

They are so proud of the medals they got. As much fun as it was, I'm really glad it's over because we will have 3 more free nights a week now (yay for me, they can get their chores done for once, too bad for them), and because it's getting really cold; those last two games were miserable! Fortunately I thought Joey's was at 6:30 (it was really at 6:00--oops!) so we only had to sit huddled together in the cold for half an hour.

Soccer Mom

Joey plays soccer nearly everyday at recess, so we though he'd love to play on a real team. But it turns out he pretty much hates it. He's counting down the days until it's over. He gets confused about the different positions (I don't blame him, so do I) and I think he doesn't like the pressure of competition, and he says the field is too big. Too much running. Oh well. We'll try something else next year. He sure is a handsome soccer player, though.

Jason LOVES soccer and asks everyday if it's a soccer day. He also wears his shin guards nearly everyday and sometimes sleeps with them on. Preschool soccer is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. There's a lot of laughing, hugging and falling down. There's a lot of crying because they fell down or never get the ball. They chase the ball around in a little clump, and Jason runs around at the back of the group, never getting near the ball, having the time of his life. The warm ups are really entertaining.

Everyone??

I got these little bottles of Martinelli's sparkling apple cider on clearance and I thought the boys would love them. They didn't, which was fine with me, as that meant I got to drink it all. They did love the bottles, though, and used them as weapons, of course. When he first saw them, Jason said,"These kind of look like beer." Now, I'm pretty sure he's never seen any beer before, in his short lifetime. I said, "Beer? How do you know about beer? Did you see it on TV, or hear someone talk about it?" He said, "No. Everyone knows what beer is."

The Party of Parties

It had to be the best one ever because it's the only one he'll ever have. I really dislike doing friend parties, but I decided they can all have one when they turn eight. Eight. Can you believe I have an eight-year-old?!
The invitations were fun; Joey requested a pop-up card, so I got online and found a website that makes it really easy. Just copy, cut, glue and color, and they turned out really cute. He wanted a Darth Vader pinata, which if I bought it would probably have been 20 bucks, without the candy. So I decided I would make my own, which cost next to nothing. He LOVED it, but unfortunately it broke after only 4 kids. I thought the rest would be disappointed that they didn't get to hit it, but I guess they were too excited about the candy to care.

He wanted a Soundwave cake, which is a Transformer from the cartoon we watched when we were kids. He transforms into a tape player, and has some little tape transformers that go inside. I think none of the other kids knew what a tape player or tapes even are. These days the Soundwave Transformer is an MP3 player with little flash drives. Joey said it was really awesome. Good thing, since I was up till 3:00 in the morning making it.
They had a big water fight. This poor girl brought a huge water gun, and everybody ganged up on her. She was a good sport.

The treasure hunt was Joey's favorite part. At the end was a bunch of little dollar toys, one for each kid. Jason got a whoopee cushion. He said, "Know why I love this thing so much? Because it's orange and it makes a funny sound."

So the party was a success, and Joey was really happy with it. I haven't yet recovered (They're so exhausting!). Only 3 more years till Jasons . . .

Dinosaur Museum

They loved the sand thing, where they were supposed to dig for dinosaurs, but built a dam instead, and the little tunnel was fun, but the highlight of the trip was the smashed penny machine that made souvenirs.

Idaho

Last week we took a trip to my brother's house in Idaho, and spent some time with them, their 2 little boys, my mom and dad, brother Rob and his son Riley. Mike and Milissa have a great place for little boys, which is a good thing, since there were 6 of them.
We went to a great splash park in Rexburg, which Jason really enjoyed Tyler enjoyed the drier aspects of the splash park. Not a drop ever got on him. I don't know why I bothered to put a swimming suit on him. Too wimpy to ride a horse on the carousel Gage and Tyler going for a ride, complete with a gun on the hood
Riley, Gage and Tyler enjoying the little pool

There was also the ever-popular dirt pile, camp fire, trips to the park, plenty of cool bugs (They loved the huge moths, but Jason did NOT like the pine beetle crawling up his shirt toward his face. He SCREAMED), not very many baths, and plenty of Sponge Bob and junk food. What more could a little boy want?


Ever try to get 6 boys to sit still, look at you and smile all at the same time?

Cute little boys, and they had a great time together.

4th of July

We went to the hot air balloon race, which is quite the accomplishment for us since we had to be there at 7:00 AM and we are not morning people. I woke Jason up and went and got him some clothes. When I turned around he was back in bed asleep again. I woke him up and said "Don't you want to go see the balloons?" He said "Yes I do, just not right now" and put the blanket over his head.

We spent the day playing Settlers with Laura and Terrence (Jared won, for about the 50th time in a row), and enjoyed some yummy taco soup.

We went to the fireworks at our normal place, on campus, where we had reserved our spot early in the morning with a blanket. Their favorite things are the glow sticks, which of course turned into light sabers.
Joey likes the fireworks, but says their too loud, so always puts something over his ears.

Tyler was terrified. He kept crying and asking if we could go home, or inside. When I covered his ears he was OK.

Happy Birthday to the Best Sister in the World!

I always took it for granted that I had a sister until just a couple years ago. Laura came to visit and at church the lady teaching the lesson commented on how nice it was that my sister was there because she never had a sister and always wanted one. It hit me like a ton of bricks how lucky I was, and how different my life would be without my sister.
Things I remember and love about her:

• spending endless hours playing My Little Ponies and "Miniatures" in our closet
• hours and hours of Super Mario World when we were older
• eating ichiban and watching Inspector Gadget, Teddy Ruxpin and Care Bears everyday at lunchtime
• being bored together at Grandma West's house
• riding our bikes to The Store to buy candy
• taking swimming lessons together
• she was always explaining things to me, like the plot to complicated movies because I was often confused
• She made me breakfast in bed on my birthday when mom was at work
• sleepovers with friends or just eachother
• She is an amazing cook, and inspires me to make yummy things
• She is very kind-hearted and has always been a great exmple to me
• I couldn't ask for a better sister and I love her SO MUCH!! Happy Birthday, Laura!
  Dorky braces picture of me. She looks cute, though.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's

We went and picked up the kids in Colorado and stayed for a few days. The kids had a great vacation from us. Joey asked again if he could live there forever. There's so much to do there, and they had a blast.
Jason torturing Grandma's cat Joey and uncle Jason roasting marshmallows

Joey giving Grandpa a haircut

Tyler eating smores one ingredient at a time, heavy on the chocolate

Tyler taking a nap under Grandma's sewing table

Jared and his brothers went on 3 fishing trips in 2 days.
Marc's big catch: and Jason's:
And Jared's monster fish:

Strange things are happening

So it's been weird around here these past few days. I washed the kitchen floor yesterday morning, and 24 hours later it was STILL CLEAN! I didn't get up to get anyone a drink at 3:00 am. Nobody has complained about dinner, I haven't stepped on a hotwheel for 3 days.
Why are these strange things happening? My kids are with Grandma and Grandpa Moore in Colorado for the week. It has been such a great, relaxing break for me!
I do miss them, though. When they were leaving on Sunday Jason said "Happy mother's day, mom."

Finally potty trained

I know everybody has an awesome trick that worked a miracle and their child was potty trained in only 2 hours, and if only I would try it, it would work for my kid, too. I've tried it. It didn't work, and quite frankly I'm still bitter about it.

There are few things in life I hate more than potty training. It's so frustrating beacause the kid has total control, and you have to try all sorts of tricks to get them to comply. It's disgusting too. After just a couple days I've had about all I can take of pee on clothes, beds, the floor, etc. I won't even get into the poop aspect. You moms know all about it. Joey was pretty much the worst kid to potty train. He was 4 by the time it was all over, and I've been forever damaged by the experience. Jason was the easiest, but still not fun. Now Tyler. We've been working on it for quite some time (especially given the fact that I've given up probably 5 or 6 times), it's been a year probably. And finally, finally I think it's safe to say he's successfully potty trained. It seems like it should be a major victory and I should have a massive celebration, but after so much time it feel anti-climactic to me. Kind of like waiting in line at Disneyland for 3 hours for a ride that lasts 90 seconds. "That's it? I waited that whole time for this??" Yeah, it's awesome to not have stinky diapers, it will be even more awesome when I don't have to say "Do you need to go potty?" 50 times a day and when I never have to hear "Mom, I'm done. I go poop!" Which means "Come wipe my bum."

No underwear pictures in case there's a sicko who looks at my blog, since it is public.

A Trip to the Zoo

First Grandma and Grandpa Moore and Amy came, then the day they left my mom and dad came. Talk about spoiled kids! I think it was one of the best weeks of their lives. We took a trip to the zoo, which was a lot of fun. For most of us, anyway. Jason kept saying "Can we go home yet?" I don't know what his deal was. But he loved the reptile house, as did Joey and Tyler.Tyler loved the giraffes, but wanted nothing to do with the elephants or rhinos. He stayed as far away from those as he could get.

Top it all off with a ride on the train. What more could a little boy want?