Happy Halloween!!!!

Well it's finally over. Josh RAN from house to house and kept saying this is the best Halloween ever. Our 1st Halloween where we didn't freeze to death or have to wear a rain coat over our costume. We didn't even need a light jacket it was PERFECT!! The boys were sweating when we were done. People here sit out on their drive way passing out candy. So you get way more candy not having to ring door bells. Both of the boys pumpkins were overloaded after just a 1/2 hr. So we started walking back to the car skipping people. They kept asking the boys if they want some candy and Josh would say "no thanks I'm done." He couldn't carry his pumpkin anymore it was too heavy. Trevor was excited when he found the houses of some of his classmates. He's such a social kid and kept wondering off with other kids.

Trevor was the Grim reaper, Josh a Blue power ranger, and Gavin a porcupine. I hope you all had a Happy and Safe Halloween.
By the way I'm very grateful for safety pins they did wonders for Trevors costume. I unfortunately got skipped when the sewing talents were passed out. Thank goodness for Velcro and safety pins they are my Duct tape for clothes:)

The worst day ever

We feel like the worst parents in the world. We got the boys a puppy look at those huge smiles. We all feel in love with one at our ward Trunk or Treat. So Tuesday we brought him home. Unfortunately we were allergic to the puppy and had to take it back. It was a Pekingese the most shedding dog there is. The lady that we got it from said it didn't shed and that it was really good with children. We soon found out this wasn't the case. I cried all day when I saw the disappointment on my kids faces. It was horrible. I was on the computer all morning looking for one that doesn't shed. Shame on us for not doing the research 1st. It was a pretty tramatic day for all.

Ward Trunk or Treat

I'm already all Halloweened out and it's not even Halloween yet. Friday we were suppost to go to a neighborhood Halloween party but Ryan and I were just way to tired to go. (what party poopers huh) And Saturday we spent all day preparing for the Ward Trunk or treat. It did turn out quite nice even if we were running around the whole time. We had a big Chile cooking contest, served hot dog, chips and cheese and then tons of yummy desserts (so much for my diet that day). They had hay, and pony rides for the kids. The kids had a blast. Gavin was a angel he just sat in his stroller the whole night until the trunk or treating started and I let him play in the trunk of the van for a while. I think he frightened a few kids when they came up because he would pop up to say hi. It was cute. They had puppies there for sale and the kids almost talked us into getting one. Luckily Ryan had to talk in Church the next day and we just couldn't imagine being up all night with a puppy. They were adorable and Josh's puppy dog eyes always get to me. He held those puppy's all night it was sweet. Trevor liked the older dog because it would do tricks. I even got Ryan to dress up like a pirate and me a Medieval matron. Trevor ruined his costume on the way there. It was itching him and he pulled on it a little to hard and it ripped. I guess he'll have to be Darth Vader again this year unless I can some how sew the costume back together. Oh well it was all in all a good night. I didn't get a picture of Ryan maybe I can get him to dress up again for Halloween when we go Trick or Treating with the kids?

At the Motocross races

Ryan took Trevor to Dallas on Saturday to go to a Motocross bike race. They had a blast. Trevor even got to ride one his friends dirt bikes and four wheeler. It was a dream come true for him. He was soooooooo excited and drove me crazy all morning waiting for 11:00 to come. Ryan didn't get to take a picture of Trevor on the dirt bike he was to busy chasing him as he was speeding around. (that kid had no fear.) He even flipped over the handle bars and came home with a huge scar. It was a good thing I didn't see I would never let that kid on one again. He was so proud of the wound and showed everyone at Church the next day. Boys are so weird. You can only imagine the begging that is coming from him about how he wants a dirt bike for Christmas. I'll see how long Ryan will let me hold off on getting the boys one I don't think it will be much longer unfortunately for me. I hate those things they are so dangerous. But it's something that Ryan and the boys all really love. Even Gavin gets excited when he sees a motorcycle and makes the motorcycle noise it's pretty funny.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY GAVIN

I can't believe my baby is one. He's growing up way to fast. He's such a fun cuddly baby. He LOVES exploring eveything. He'll eat the door stoppers, get his fingers stuck in the VCR, open all the cabinets and pull everything out. (making some more work for Mom) The boys find it so funny when he gets into things so I have to have a constant eye on him. We celebrated his Birthday early with our neighbors. On his actual Birthday the 25th we just had so much going on and I don't think that he really cared. We had a fun little party with a yummy dinner and cake. He was cute when he ate the cake he 1st just crunched it up in his hands and then threw it. Once I got some in his mouth he said "yum yum" and then was mad that the rest was on the floor. I love being a Mom my boys can be so sweet. I'm sad they grow up so fast I've really enjoyed this age of Gavins. I hope he keeps his happy easy going disposition.

Yes he doesn't have a shirt on because it was filled with Iceing from the cake. He's also a very MESSY baby and always gets food in every little fold of his body it's amazing. The other amazing thing it it's October and we are still wearing shorts. I LOVE IT :)

Gavins waves BYE BYE

I love the way Gavin waves "Bye Bye". When we ask him where Daddy is he will do his little wave. One day Gavin was choking and something that my Mom always did to us when we were choking was tell us to lift our arms in the air and say I crumba. I'm not to sure why but it seemed to always work. So that is something that I've done with my kids. So when we say I crumba, Gavin will raise his hands in the air. It's so cute. He wont do it on Camera. But isn't that the way it always works. I hate hearing my voice on video I sound like a little girl. No wonder when someone calls they always ask me for my Mom. UGH

He is finally Crawling it's nice to give my arms a little break. It's so hard to carry around a 27lb. baby everywhere. He's getting faster every day. And now always wants to get down and explore his new world.

Joshua's hospital visit.

It seems with my kids anyways we always have some aliment. A few weeks ago Josh had bronchitis. He had RSV when he was a baby so every time he gets sick it goes right to the lungs and we have to do breathing treatments. He quite the trooper with them. And then lately he hasn't been feeling to well he's always complaining of a tummy ache so I took him to a allergist to see if he had any new food allergies. The good news was that they found out he's not allergic to the foods he used to be. So he should be able to eat just about anything. I'm still very paranoid and wont give him Penut Butter. With no food allergies we couldn't figure out what was wrong. He just wasn't eating but he still had TONS of energy. Then Tue. night he started screaming and couldn't be calmed down. He said he had to go potty and there was just blood all over so I took him into the ER. Poor kid he was so constipated that he tore when he was trying to go potty. It was a long night me with Zero sleep. In the ER for hours. I didn't even hit the pillow that night. They put him on some medicine that unfortunately worked on the way home as we stoped in the pharmacy at 5:30 in the morning. I'll spare you the details I'll just say in Joshua's words "I exploded". He's doing so much better now. When I took him to school he announced to everyone that he was in the Hospital that night. His teacher said "oh I'm so sorry what happened?" I don't think she was prepared for his answer which was. "I had a serious poop problem." Imagine eleven 4 year olds reactions when they hear the word poop. I think we all were laughing for different reasons. But it was such a classic Josh moment. He is such a character.

My Brilliant children

Another brilliant idea from my cleaver children. We got a new couch and moved the old one upstairs. The boys were supposed to be taking the cushions up stairs to put on the couch. But instead they thought they would create a slide. Here Ryan and I thought they were actually doing what they were supposed to be doing they were so quite and sneaky. Then we heard a huge thudding noise. Unfortunately for the boys the slide didn't work to well. Good news for us is we didn't have to rush anyone to the hospital. I'm so lucky to have Brilliant children with such creativity. Too bad I can't channel that into some actual good ideas.

Trevors new hair cut.

Trevor is always full of surprises. I really don't know what goes through that kids brain when he decides something is a good idea. For example he decided Sat. night to cut his hair right in front with nail clippers. So he had to go to Church and to school on Monday with this darling hair cut.

The poor kid has had so many BAD haircuts. Some thanks to his Mom, (they say if you don't use it you lose it and boy have I lost it). Or when he pulled gum apart and spread it all over in his hair, or when he tried to jump off the chair as he was getting a hair cut and the guy clipped a huge hole in the back of his hair. Good thing it always grows back. Maybe someday he wont have to sport a buzz cut.

Service project

Ryan and I were in charge of putting together a service project for our church. Our task was to come up with something that the entire family could come together and help out our community.We don't know this area at all only being here 3 months so this was a big challenge but we were lucky to find a great park that needed help for it's grand opening next Saturday.

It turned out great there were tons of people that showed up to help. Most of them went home before we took this picture. Seeing how we were there all morning people showed up and left as the day went on. The kids dug up the dinosaur bones in this huge sand pit while the adults laid sod, pruned trees and cleaned up the grounds. It was such a great feeling to accomplish something so great. Even Gavin did great he got covered in sand and ate the dirt. For 4 hrs. HE LOVED IT!!! And brought home 1/2 of the sand in his shoes and diaper to prove it. He didn't quite make it in the picture but at the left of this picture you can see his feet in the stroller.

Then we came home cleaned our own yard, and the horribly dirty van. It was wonderful to have such a productive day. And the best part was the boys were so good they loved helping at the park and scrubbing out the van. It's so good for them to understand the hard work that goes into having nice things. Not to mention is was such a beautiful day, and being with the family all doing something together is the best.

Six Flags adventures and parenting advice.

This week has been a blur. Ryan took Trevor to Six Flags again last Saturday to have a special Daddy Trevor day. They had a blast. We are trying to have a special day with just one kid once a month so that they can have that alone time with just Mom and Dad. We had free tickets to Six flags so our little dates wont always be that extravagant. Just a walk or going out for ice cream will do for now ! While they were gone I took Josh and Gavin to the mall and got them new clothes. The definitely got the short end of the stick but Josh loves to ride on those dumb rides at the mall that just shake you to death. And Josh and Gavin are such good shoppers. I think they had a good time as well.


Here is a video of Ryan and Trevor.







The lesson Ryan learned here is when you tell your child to stand and watch something knowing he's going to get wet. Karma is always on the kids side :)


My boys are so active there are some days where I just want to pull the covers over my head and not get out of bed I know many Mom's feel this way at times. So when my sister in law sent me this cute e-mail . I had to post it. I think anyone with active boys can relate to this.



Most of America's populace think it improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control my kids when they have one of 'those moments.' One that I found effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and talk. They usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our car ride together. I've included a photo below of one of my sessions with my son, in case you would like to use the technique.

Thanks Keri this really made me laugh.

My surprise guest.

Of all the things you teach you kids one of the main ones is DON'T OPEN THE DOOR FOR STRANGERS. Unfortunately for me my kids can't seem to grasp this rule. We have been having some fix up work in our house so I've been stuck at home, and usually getting ready for the day at 6:30 so that I wont be in a awkward situation. Until today. I was busy cleaning the house and totally forgot that there were people coming to take care of a few things. Trevor has school off so I was in a holiday mode. I just gotten Gavin to sleep and decided to jump into the shower. Shortly there after I was surprised by a visitor. The boys had let someone into the house who was fixing our tile. He asked where's your Mom and my boys took the poor man who spoke little English to where Mom was. I don't know who was more shocked me or him. I guess I need to re-teach the boys again to not let strangers into the house. Or maybe shower in a bathing suit.

What's wrong with costumes today?

I don't know about you but I think you have a serious problem if you dress your baby up like a woopie cushion!!! I can't believe this is a actual costume I found on line. The saddest part is it was $22.00 and it's made from a rubber material. (what ever that means) I guess there is something out there for everyone.

Trevors Guitar.

Trevor has wanted to take Guitar lessons since he was 3. He always has said when he grows up he wants to be a rock star. So last year we got him a electric guitar, but I couldn't find a teacher that would teach kids until they were 12. I got a few books and tried to teach him with my limited music background but I was teaching songs like row row row your boat, but he wants to play Rock and Roll he said. So the other day we were in the music store to get his Guitar strings fixed and saw that they teach lessons when kids are 8. But if the child is really interested they will take them earlier. It was our lucky day. Trevor is actually really good he is catching on very well. He loves to play LOUD!!! So luckily he has headphones! I'll try and download him playing sometime. But for now here is a picture of him.

Luke Skywalkers house.

Lately as I continue to ask Josh where he thinks he put mom's keys he tells me it's in Luke Sky walkers house. "Where is that" I ask? "it's a magical place" he replies. "Can you show me where he lives "I ask again? "nope it's in Heaven" Oh great i think to myself he's never going to tell me where they are!!! And then today Trevor discovered just where Luke Sky walkers house is. He comes running out of the school screaming at the top of his lungs. "Mom I found your keys" Can you guess where they were? Trevor's backpack right next to Joshua's Luke sky walker guy. Funny thing is that everyday I unpack and clean out Trevor's backpack, and had not come across these keys. There was a hidden pocket that only apparently Josh knew about. I'm so lucky Trevor discovered it today, I was ready to re-key everything. Josh grabbed Luke and said. "Thanks Luke for keeping the keys safe". I wanted to add May the force be with me to keep up with this kid!!!! :)

Josh's new game

I have been on the hunt for keys that have disappeared for several days now. It seems like I spend most of my time looking for things that randomly disappear. Unfortunately for me Josh loves to play a game called lets drive my Mom crazy. The object of the game is he puts everything he can in a bag and then hides it somewhere. The problem with this game is he always forgets where he hid it. And when we do find it I'm always amazed at how well he can hide things. Now my key chain with the car, house, and mail keys are gone. I'm losing my mind trying to find them. Hopefully we find them soon, I would hate to have to re-key everything and get a new faub for the car. UGH!!

OK so as frustrated as I am at his new game I can't be to upset he's such a sweetheart. Tonight after dinner he said so politely with out any promptings from Ryan or I "thanks for the dinner Mom it was sure lovely" And then asked if he could be excused. It's the little moments like this that makes me so happy to be a Mom!!! Even without car keys. :)

The saying here is Everything is bigger in Teaxs. No one told me that also ment BUGS!!

Everyday as I go out into my garage I open the door with extreme caution. Knowing that usually I am greeted by some freak of nature. Spiders the size of my hand,(yes instead of killing this thing Ryan took a picture of it sorry to display it but it's truly unbelievable how big this is.) Scorpions,( these buggers get into the house), and three dead frog's one half eaten. I think I screamed the loudest with this one. But the other day was the worst. Ryan for some warped reason wanted to see what kind of creatures we have lurking around in the garage and put out these gel traps. Everyday there is some disgusting thing in it. The other day a SNAKE yes a SNAKE decided to come in and eat the bugs on it, and got stuck. Of course the boys thought this was the coolest thing and they all had to drag me out to come and look. I am not a big fan of creepy crawling things but I felt bad for the poor thing every time it moved it was ripping off it's skin. Trevor has such a tender spot in his heart for animals (any kind) and just broke down in tears when we told him that we couldn't take the snake off and it was going to die. He tried his hardest to make that snakes death a little less painful by petting him and feeding it bugs while tears are just streaming down his cheeks. Finally Ryan told him he was dead and put him in the garbage. Needless to say I'm not trowing anything away until the next garbage day. I have nightmares that the dumb snake is going to get off the gel trap and I'm going to open the garbage can lid and it's going to jump out at me. Did I mention I hate Snakes?

Who knows what creature we will meet next. I hear that in Spring the cockroaches come out. I surely can't wait for that. YUCK!!!!!!

Gavins 1st tooth and the Halloween costume.

Finally I got a half decent picture of Gavin 1st tooth. He's so cute.

This is the Halloween costume that I fell in love with when Josh was a baby. I got it after Halloween for him to wear the next year. Then when Halloween came around it didn't fit him. I was excited to try it on Gavin and it actually fit, but in a month there is no way he can wear it. He was bulging out at the seams. So I guess it's time to pass it along.

I'm pretty bummed because I love this costume and I only get a few years where I can dress them up in something sweet and cute.

The end of a crazy week.

Well you would have never guess that Trevor had Surgery. Keeping that kid down and calm was mission impossible. I went and got a ton of movies, books on tape, and art activities for him to do while he was healing. They all lasted only a few hrs. and then it was the constant sit down relax fight. I'm very glad that he healed so quickly and is doing great. I'm also grateful that he gets to go to school on Monday and run out some of his energy.

Thursday I got a new bike Trailer to put Gavin in when we go on family bike rides. The nights here are perfect and we all really enjoy getting out and exploring the neighborhood. (this is not the best picture but it's the only one where I don't look like a complete DORK!!!)

Gavin hated his helmet and Josh wouldn't wear his but once we got going they both really loved it. And they forgot all about the helmets.

Saturday we decided to go downtown Austin and check it out. We really haven't had a chance to explore the city and that is something Ryan and I love to do. We were very excited when we came across a Gelato place. We really miss the one in Seattle. So we had to stop and get some.

Then Sunday was the famous primary program. This was Josh's first year so he was really excited to be a part of it. Trevor did really well with his talk we were very proud. Then it was our little Josh's turn. He was asked what he can do to keep the Sabbath day holy and his answer was supposed to be. Read the scriptures. Instead his answer was "I don't know how to read the scriptures how am I supposed to do that?" And then replied that not trowing golf balls in church would be a better way for him to keep the Sabbath day holy. Everyone got a good chuckle. There always has to be one kid to say some random thing. Unfortunately it's usually mine.

Trevors Surgery

Our poor little guy had to get his tonsils out. They were HUGE and causing him alot of problems. The scariest was he would stop breathing in his sleep just for a second but long enough to wake him up constantly so he would never get fully rested. Needless to say it has been so hard on him and me not getting any sleep at night and then dealing with the crankiness the next day.

Not really knowing anyone here in Texas yet we had to drag all three kids to the surgical center at 7:45 in the morning. The kids did surprisingly well. I think they were still in the shock of being ripped from their beds at 6:00 in the morning.

Josh was very upset that Trevor was going to be in pain. He's so cute and told the Dr. to be careful with his best buddy. He's the sweetest kid. Gavin found the barf bags they use to be the most fascinating toy ever, he played with that thing all the way home.(luckily Trevor didn't need it)

Ryan took Gavin and Josh to McDonald's while I sat with Trevor. There is no way I could have done it alone with all three kids. It was so good to be able to be with just Trevor, I just crawled in his bed and held him until he was fully awake and we could go home.

Ryan is such a amazing Dad and Husband I'm so very blessed to have him in my life!!!

Trevor was out fast and the procedure went smoothly. Thank you everyone for your concern, and prayers. He's doing great. We will be sure to keep you updated on his healing process.