Our weekend project

A few weeks ago I attended this Wonderful Women's conference for our church. They had this little booth all about food storage and a easy one step process of getting your supply. Ryan and I have been trying to come up with Idea's but always seemed to draw blanks on how to start this whole process. So this was easy and a great kick start on preparing our family in any time of need. This got Ryan and I really excited about this whole process. It was ALOT of work but I know it will be well worth it in the end.

We got Can rotation racks to put in the pantry to store food in there as well.

Before

I took everything out of the pantry to organize it.


After


Helping with the food storage closet.


Cleaning up all the boxes.

The finnished project. With a angry looking Trevor. He didn't want his picture taken.


We moved all of Ryan's stuff into my closet and made his our little food storage compound.

The boys were such great helpers. They really enjoyed putting the cans into the racks, and Trevor moved every single can from one room to the other. And even little monkey Gavin had fun helping out. By eating all the cookies from the pantry. He was in Heaven. I feel so good to have such a good start with a nice organized pantry and closet. I hope it will stay that way for a while.

May the force be with us

Another Halloween came and went. The kids got enough candy to feed a small army. And we had tons left that I got for the trick or treaters.

Josh ran from house to house filling his pumpkin twice. Trevor caught up with a few friends and took off on us, so I spent most of the night trying to find the little stinker. But he really had a good time and I don't blame him for wanting to be with his friends. I wouldn't of minded so much except it was dark and 700 kids had his same costume.

Gavin even really got into it and Loved getting CANDY!!! He would say. "Oh NUM NUM, Thank you!!!" He loved going from door to door and putting the candy into his pumpkin. He learned how to bite threw wrappers so unfortunately he got way more candy than I would have wanted him to have. We had the stash in the wagon where he was setting. I didn't notice he was eating it until we got home and most of the candy had soggy bites taken out of it. I rarely give him treats and now unfortunately he's a big fan.

All in all it was a fun family night. I realize that my day's are numbered where the kids want to go with Ryan and I. So these are the moments I really cherished.

Pumpkin Carving for FHE

Yesterday we let the boys carve their pumpkins. Hopefully they don't rot to much before Halloween.
This year they finally would clean out the pumpkin guts. Every other year they would cry and not touch the stuff. I never got it because they will pick up Disgusting frogs, snakes, and even nasty slimy slugs that we had all over in Washington but touching pumpkin guts was to much.







This is how our adventure started. I 1st took them to get Hair cuts. They hate Hair cuts, and I got the brilliant idea to do all 3 at once. Seeing how Gavin flipped out and the other two were left running around the salon I realized it wasn't such a great idea. Then I headed over to the store to get the pumpkins. And with 700 kids all trying to get the very best pumpkins that are lined up right along the street. I made them just pick the once closest to the stores door, they were not to pleased with this decision. Then as we were coming home they started chanting MCDONALD'S MCDONALD'S. I refused to take them there seeing how it's clear on the other side of the freeway. And I already had dinner cooking at home. So during this fighting process and MCDONALD'S being screamed into my ear I was pulling in to the garage and OOPS hit the house with the car. Oh did I mention that I've been super sick all week?? It was a wonderful experience. But with all that we did manage to have a GREAT FAMILY night and the pumpkins turned out really cute. The boys felt so bad for me that I was so upset by hitting the house they were being extra helpful. And my amazing husband instead of getting upset just gave me the biggest hug and said "Tough day?" Isn't he the best!!!

My baby is two.

Where does the time go? My sweet little baby isn't a baby anymore. I can't believe he's two. He's such a happy, sweet,loving and fun child. He has brought so much joy and happiness into our house.
He Loves to jump on the trampoline, play baseball, sing songs and watch Elmo. He adores his brothers and has to be by their side at all times. When ever I cough or sneeze he Says "bless you." and "you OK?" But when Daddy sneezes he cries and cries. I'm still trying to get a video of it,It's the weirdest thing.
He's my little helper and really enjoys stirring batters, and painting the coconut oil onto the pans. He's actually really good at it. I truly enjoy this little guy and hate that he's growing up way to fast. Happy Happy 2ND birthday Gavin. I love you so much.


I felt terrible that he touched the Candle. Luckily no burns occurred. Just another one of those BAD PARENTING MOMENTS!!!! We just had a little family party on Sunday. (Saturday was his real b-day but I was out of town.)I felt so bad that I wasn't here on his actual b-day. But luckily he's only two and didn't seem to care that we waited until today to Celebrate :)!!!


Thank you Grandma and Granpa's for the cute gifts. He was such a crank opening presents so we didn't get to many pictures. We should have waited until he had been up longer from his nap I think he was a just a little overwhelmed. Especially with his LOUD brothers blowing horns in his face and screaming happy b-day. Poor kid.

A little brotherly advice

Nothing makes me happier then when I hear my kids playing together. I love when they use kind words like please and thank you and encourage each other with Good Job, and your awesome. It's my little slice of Heaven and makes being a parent so rewarding. This kindness doesn't happen that often with a 8 and 5 year old. So I really cherish the moments when it does. Because usually I'm my kids referee. And am Constantly pulling them off each other.

But today's little tiff really made me laugh.

Trevor and Josh were talking about their music teacher.

Josh: "We went to music today and I had so much fun."
Trevor: "What you like music? The teacher is so mean!!!"
Josh: "she's not mean to me she's really nice."
Trevor: "she's mean to my whole class!! We all hate music!!"
Josh: "well maybe if you followed the rules and listened to her she would be nice to you too!!!"

I loved it. :)..

The Maker Faire

Ryan took Trevor and Josh to the Maker Faire. AKA Tech fest, geek fest, which ever one you prefer.



To check it out you can go here.
They HAD A BLAST. So much fun in fact that they forgot all concepts of time. Ryan missed two church meetings, (oops) and they didn't get home until late last night.
They haven't stopped talking about the Rockets, robots fighting, the catapult that shot pumpkins and smashed them all over, and all the things that blew up. Josh's Dream came true when someone made a real R2D2. He followed that thing around for hrs. Here's a few more clips and pics of the event Here.

In the meantime. I stayed home with Gavin waiting for the power to come back on. It went off at 11:00 and we didn't get it back until 5:30ish. I'm not too sure what happened but there were a lot of fire trucks and power trucks all over our neighborhood. I can't wait until I start feeling better and can join the boys in their fun activities.

Princess Leia

Trevor was looking up Star Wars posters and came across this one. His comments were.
"Yuck why would anyone want a picture of a girl in a bikini?" I WAS SO RELIEVED TO HEAR THESE WORDS. He's only 8. I would hate for him to already be ogling 1/2 naked women. I never realized how Skanky Princess Leia dressed until I had boys. Man for the time of the movie wasn't that pretty extreme?

Then Josh saw it and said. "Mom you should wear that for Halloween."
I'm sure that would be a hit at the Church Halloween party!!!!
It's nice to know Josh thinks I look like princess Leia.
Unfortunately he's delusional.

Sea World #3.

Our Sea World season tickets are about to expire so we thought we would go and hit the park again. Seeing how the kids had school off on Friday and Monday it was a perfect weekend to get out of the house.


While we were there Trevor Got asked to be in the Shamu show. We were so excited. He would get to be on the stage and see Shamu up close and personal.
But when he saw all the people in the stadium he started to cry and wanted nothing to do with it. Trevor is Not shy at all. so it really threw Ryan and I for a loop. We were so excited for him and knew he would love it but we couldn't force him as he was clearly upset. So we just watched the show instead. I was pretty bummed out though, that was a chance in a lifetime. I know he would have LOVED it!!!! Poor Josh would have done it in a heartbeat but he was a little too little. Maybe he'll get asked next year.

It was Halloween fest so they had tons of Skeletons all around the park. They also had some Haunted attractions but we chose not to scare the kids to death. We just got over the "little monster" incident and I wasn't willing to sacrifice months and months of no sleep again.

Gavin also went on his 1st ride. He was excited but scared at the same time and nearly pulled off my dress. Let me tell you kid rides are not meant for people with big hips. I hurt so bad and couldn't wait for the ride to be over. But it was fun to see Gavin's expressions as we went up and down. He's so cute!!!!









As a side note I'm starting to realize that Trevor has a Saturday uniform. I let the kids pick out their own clothes on Saturdays. And until I was looking at the pictures I relized that Trevor is always wearing the same thing. And he always has that messy hair look. Getting that kid to let me comb his hair is a whole other post!!! UGH

Conference weekend

Ryan took the older two boys to the Outdoor Expo on Saturday. They had miles and miles of things to do and had such a great time doing them. It was a great BOY day. This was something that they all really enjoyed. It made me think of my Brother in law Mont. He so needs to move here :)...

Then Sunday between conference sessions we took the kids out in our front yard and Flew kites. It's nice having a big empty lot in front of our house to do things like that. It lasted a good hr. And the boys loved it. Gavin just giggled at the kites in the sky and then would play in the dirt. It all ended with Trevor's kite in the tree and Josh's doing a CRASH landing. Oh well it was fun while it lasted. That is defiantly something we have to do again.

Pink Eye

None of my kids have ever gotten pink eye before until Today. Trevor has a serious case of pink eye in both eyes. His eyes look so painful that mine water every time I see him. And the best news is it's highly contagious. YEA ME!!!! I guess that's what you get when you go to school with 2,000 germy kids. Unfortunately I know this is only the beginning of whats to come in the cold an flu season..

Girls are weird.

So Josh has informed me on several occasions that GIRLS ARE WEIRD. Here is why.
I was painting my toe nails and put the spacers in between my toes. He was just watching me with such a intense look. Then I opened the polish and he turned up his nose still looking at me like I'm crazy. When it was all said and done he turned to Trevor and said. "Girls are weird."

Today he came home from school announcing that a little girl in his class is weird I ask him why. And he said. "She always wears a skirt and has to twirl and twirl to make it go in a circle." "Why does she do that it's not even cool." "Girls are weird".

We were walking down the hall at school when we ran into his little friend Sarah. She ran up and gave him a huge hug and said. "Josh I'm still going to marry you someday." again I got the response. "Girls are weird."



I'm not to sure that boys thinking girls are weird fully goes away. I know I find myself wondering why boys do the things they do. But I always find things funny when I see them through my cute 5 year old boys eyes. And seeing it like he does YES GIRLS ARE WEIRD!!! Maybe tonight I'll let him see me pluck my eyebrows that will really freak him out :)!!!

My heart is full.

This week has been a humbling one. I unfortunately had to have surgery due to some complications I experienced while having my Babies. And after nearly losing my own life from the complications I had with Gavin. I knew that we had to be done having kids.
This surgery was just one more nail in the coffin of I couldn't have anymore kids so it's been really hard to wrap my feelings around it. The process of putting this chapter behind us and moving on to the new one has been so slow and hard for me. Because anyone who knows me knows that my heart will always ache. I will never know what it's like to raise a little girl.
But I feel so blessed to have 3 handsome healthy boys. They each bring such joy into my life. And I wouldn't trade them for anything.

I'm so grateful for all the wonderful people who came to my aid in helping. With all the phone calls, flowers,prayers,blessings, driving me to the Dr. at 6:20 in the morning, taking my kids after school and bringing my family dinners. I feel so loved and so blessed to know that I have so many wonderful people surrounding me. I'm not very good at excepting help and felt that I could do it on my own. So when I got so sick from a bad reaction from the medication, I'm so grateful that people just stepped in. When I went into my surgery I thought I was just going to have a great nap, little did I know I would wake up in the ER. When the Dr. asked me if I knew where I was all I could ask was. "who are you?" I was more concerned that my female Dr. somehow turned into this man that I've never seen. I guess they even took me there on the ambulance, but I don't remember a thing. Poor Ryan had to see it all and sit in the consolation room wondering what the heck happened.
I'm excited to be free from the pain and exhaustion I've had for two years now. I pray that this surgery fixed the problem and I can again be healthy and able to live my life. Again thank you so much everyone for all your help. I'm so very grateful. My heart is very full and I know I'm very blessed.

Jace Evan Smith

My Cute nephew was born on Monday September 22nd.
It killed me not to be able to see and hold him in the hospital.
Another disadvantage of being away from family.
Congratulations Lynn and Keri. We can't wait to meet him.

Hurricane Ike Clean up.

So Saturday morning at 3:00 our alarm goes off and Ryan rushed to get ready to leave the house and head to Houston. It was a early day but very exciting as he loves this kind of stuff. Not to mention he got a chance to really use his Chain saw. :)
He as well as 26 other members from our ward and then several stakes in Austin got the opportunity to help clean up what Hurricane Ike had destroyed. It was a humbling experience and made Ryan and I feel blessed for what we have. And that we have the ability to help others that were in need.
They spend most of their time cutting down trees and helping people clean up their yards. He said it was great to knock on peoples door and ask what was needed. People couldn't believe that they would offer their service for free, and that they came all the way from Austin to help. They truly were greatful. I'm so grateful that Ryan volunteered. It makes me feel so blessed that he has such a kind heart and is always willing to lend a helping hand. Here are a few pictures of his experience.

My little Tornado

So I mentioned how I love Gavin's new little stages. But there is one that I'm not to fond of. I call him my Tornado because in a matter of minutes he can have every cupboard emptied, all the toilet paper off the roll, all the clothes pulled out of the drawers ect. Today as I was taking a shower I turned on his Elmo movie (which he usually is mesmerized by and doesn't move) in my room. I always make sure he can't get into to much and having the main door shut he can't get out. He kept coming in a out of the bathroom carrying clothes. I knew he was pulling clothes out of the drawer but I had no clue of the extent until I got out and this is what I found.






When I went to go get the camera to take his picture he smiled so big and said "CHEESE PLEASE". Now how can I get mad at that. It sure makes for a frustrating day when EVERY THING I DO gets undone in a matter of minutes. But they grow up all to fast so I know this stage is Easy enough to handle. So Ry when you ask me what I have done all day this is just a snip it of the messes I get to clean :) And for all of you that say my house is always clean here is proof that it's not!!!!

Airplanes

My sweet little boy has now become obsessed with Airplanes. He carries a small one around all day long and I recently gave him this book which he wont let go of. I love how he tells the airplanes "bye bye". He's such a easy going baby I just can't get enough of him and his cute stages.

Hurricane IKE

Hurricane IKE has been a horrible storm here in Texas. Luckily everyone we knew in Houston didn't have too much damage. Diane and Fernando have been staying with us until they have power and water back. I'm so grateful that we have a place for them and that they are safe. The weather here is so crazy. We moved from Seattle to get out of crazy rainy constantly soggy weather. And now have crazy unpredictable weather. Luckily Austin doesn't get too much of the storms just the aftermath which isn't as strong. I feel very blessed. You can check out their blog with pictures of the little damage they got from the storm.

Trevor's new toy

Ryan and I were discussing Trevor and decided that he and Ryan need a good project to do together. He absolutely loves to build thing and is always tearing things apart to see how they work. I was thinking something like a bird house.
Ryan had other plans!!!
This was his permission to get him a REAL motorcycle!!! It's a pit bike that they have to put together and get a engine for. Trevor has to earn putting it together with good behavior and helping around the house. The last few day's he's been a stinker and secretly I don't mind him losing putting the thing together. I'm not happy that he will have his own bike. But I held off Ryan as long as I could. It was only a matter of time with 3 boys and a Dad who LOVE LOVE LOVES Dirt bikes.
I'll post pictures of the progress. So far it's still in the box. YEA!!! As for Josh he's our cautious kid. We can't get him off training wheels on his bike. I don't think he'll be riding a Motorcycle for a LONG time. I'm so happy about that.

Jake's New Friend

I ask my self daily WHY DID I KEEP THIS DUMB DOG?? Did I really think it would traumatize my children so much that they wouldn't be able to recover? My parents got rid of all our dogs in some traumatic fashion. One had worms and my Mom shot the dog. SERIOUSLY!!! Maybe that's why I don't like dogs all that much because I was traumatized as a kid.
Oh who am I kidding I kept the thing because I'm a sucker!!!

Why am I complaining this time? Because Jake found a new friend. Lets just say living on a green belt has it's advantages but it also has some CREATURE disadvantages and we now have a pet SKUNK who has sprayed Jake.
Ryan was luckily home the 1st time he got sprayed and he stunk to high heaven. So we did what two nerds do and googled a solution to our problem. Then we drenched the dog in Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. Which actually worked.
Ryan conveniently left on a business trip and Jake got sprayed again. We had used all the hydrogen peroxide, and the kids were asleep so I couldn't go to the store.
I had read that Tomato paste worked for the smell and I had to do something because he wouldn't stop crying about it. So now not only do I have a stinky dog who is not allowed in the house and wines all night, but I have a red dog who keeps licking himself because the tomato paste wont come off.
WHY AM I SUCH A SUCKER???

Nice Gloves huh.

We woke up this morning and saw our new friend. We were lucky enough to get to take a picture of him. I didn't know SKUNKS were so cute. The boys wanted to keep him. There is NO WAY that's happening. No matter how much they bat their eyes. :)!!!

Labor Day

Ryan's sister Diane and her husband Fernando came up from Houston to visit us this weekend. We really enjoyed being with them and were so happy that they could come and see us. It's so nice to have family kinda close by. Especially fun ones like Diane and Fernando.


Josh playing Lazer tag. The vest was bigger then him.

Trevor kept spraying everyone on the bumper boats. Poor Diane was so kind to take Josh and got drenched in the process.

Austin park and play was a great way to spend the day.

Waiting for the bats. Which never came out. Lame bats. But we were not the only fools waiting to see a million bats, that place was CROWDED. Maybe they will come out next time. It's something Austin is Known for and everyone said it's really cool if they actually come out from under the bridges.

Walking to see the bats Fernando was GREAT with Josh!!! Or as Josh calls him FER-MAN-DO

The boys just LOVE aunt Diane!!! She's so great with them as well.

Getting Ready to float down the river

Nothings more red neck then floating down a river in a Hot Texas afternoon. But those red necks sure know how to have fun. We had a great time doing this. It was a bit crazy and we nearly lost a kid or two a few times. We were so grateful that Fernando and Diane helped out so much because we couldn't of done it with out them.


The pictures are a little out of order but it was to hard to fix them. I'm a beginner blogger and maybe someday I'll get it just right but for now this is what I got.
1st we went to New Braunfels Texas and hit the outlet mall for a while. Then floated down the river. Sunday after church we went and attempted to see the non existing bats. Monday Ryan took them to Austin Park and Play for the day. Gavin and I stayed home from that one it's just not a place for a baby. But what a great weekend I love doing things like this and so did the boys. Thanks again for coming guys you are welcome back anytime.