Just Another Day...

I know that I haven't been a great blogger as of late- but I keep waiting to have something to blog about- you know- so that I don't ramble on aimlessly about nothing. But then I got thinking- that's all we're doing right now. The snow won't stop falling and there is already a ton out in the yard... We just kind of hang out inside- which doesn't make for much of an exciting tale to tell. But- be that as it may- I also think that there might be something to documenting some day to day activities for us to look back on later.

Ryan is getting bigger and his personality is really starting to come out. He loves his older brother and wherever Ty goes- Ryan is sure to follow. It's kind of like watching "Pete" and "Re-Pete." And no-one can make Ryan laugh like Ty. I was attempting to take some new pictures of Ryan this morning and he wouldn't even look at me- but he sat there and giggled at his older brother. Stinker. He also loves playing "ball." One of his favorite ways to show off at the moment is to sit and show you all of the different things you can do with a ball. He'll show you how to throw, kick and dribble. And he's so proud of himself- he just laughs when he's done.

I have also recently discovered the beauty of this little product known as "Mod Podge." Yes, I'd heard of it- but never really done a whole lot with it... Until now!! I have been using it a lot in my Achievement Days activities- mostly because it's cheap and it goes a long way. This last week- my girls were working on a goal in "Living and Learning the Gospel." It's important to know where you come from, and so we were studying our ancestors. Each of the girls had to bring a sheet of information on someone in their family (and a picture if it was available). We all shared our stories- and I reminded them of how important it is to keep track of this kind of thing so that our great-grandkids have some fun stories to tell their friends in Achievement Days. So- in an effort to cement that idea- we decorated/made journals for them to take home. I had a lot of fun with this activity too... can you tell!? I love journals- I really do think it's important to keep a record of who you are- I carry a notebook around with me everywhere.
I also discovered that mod podge can be used on pretty much anything. I cut out some letters from a cardboard box that I had in the garage and then bought some paper at the scrapbook store (in Logan mind you- the scrapbook store here in town has the variety of a brown paper bag)- mostly ones that had different kind of sports balls. Then I covered the cardboard with the paper and... Instant (and cheap) decor for the boys' room! Not that either of them really care- but I like the look of it!

I have also been attempting to act more like a girl. I have gotten into a really bad habit lately- since I go nowhere and see no one- most days I am in sweats with my hair in a ponytail. Gorgeous, I know. So in an effort to break free of my winter rut- I pulled out my bag of nail polish from my working days. I've been pretty good these last few weeks. It helps that Ty always notices when I change the color and he always makes comments on the ones that he likes. This week- I painted my nails a color that I thought was purple- but once I got painting- it turns out it was a really deep navy blue. It was still pretty- so I left it. When Ty saw it though- you would have thought that I had painted HIM blue. He was so NOT a fan. He asked me why I would want BYU on my nails. I had to promise that next week I would only paint them red. There's a chance that we've created some kind of red monster...
We have also been visiting the library more than we usually do in the summer- mostly because it's a different four walls than the ones in our living room. It's good though- I hope that my kids learn to have a love of reading that will carry them throughout their lives. So far- Ty is my big reader. He loves the library- and literally will spend hours there if you let him. We checked out a few new books- and one of them has pretty much made it onto our "Favorites" list. It's called "What if the Shark Wears Tennis Shoes?" by Winifred Morris. It pretty much captures the very essence of Ty Kidd. It's like the author actually knew my four-year old and then wrote a book about him. Hilarious. You have to check it out if you get a chance!!
I have also been filling my afternoons with music. Not that I'm actually getting a chance to play my gorgeous piano or even listen to some pretty music... I have been teaching!! Crazy, I know. We have good days and bad ones- but for the most part- it's been pretty good. I am not sure how my piano teacher kept from beating some of us over the head with a metranome because I know I am more than tempted on some days. I have seven students, and have just had to open another afternoon because of all the incoming requests for lesson times. I'm not sure if that means I'm good or if there is just a lack of other teachers in the area. Because I'm not in the least bit humble- I'm going to say it's the first. :)
I guess that's really all there is to say for now. I just wanted you all to know that we are indeed alive and haven't been eaten by the Abominable Snow Monster (yet). I just have to close my eyes every once in a while and remind myself that winter always ends. It may snow 15 months out of the year- but there for a little bit in the summer- we do get a chance to hang out in the sun and get some "Funshine in the Sunshine" as Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh) tells us. And maybe we can get a little bit in during the winter too... Of course- it has to stop snowing first...

The Persistence of Memory

I recently visited a friends blog, and found this brilliant quote on one of her posts.

"The existence of forgetting has never been proved: We only know that some things don't come to mind when we want them." - Friedrich Nietzsche

This seems to describe my very existence these days. I can't remember anything. I would like to blame it on pregnancy brain- but there are these new studies out that claim that there is no such thing. It doesn't make me feel any better about trying to "hear" something that ought to smell. Or the fact that I keep putting cereal boxes in the fridge. Or that I can't remember any of the commitments that I have agreed to. Or (and this is probably the one that bugs me the most at the moment) is the disappearance of my toothbrush. I have put my toothbrush away in the same place for the last three years (or basically since we have moved into this house). We have a cup that is in our medicine cabinet where we keep toothbrushes. But when I went to go brush my teeth this morning... It seems to have walked away.

How do you lose a toothbrush!?! I'll keep you updated... Until then- don't ask me to do anything that you REALLY want done- chances are I'll forget that we even talked.

What's for Dinner?

The other night- we tried something new for dinner that turned out really well. And because I love it when I find tried and true recipes on other people's blogs (that I know and trust), I like to share what I find too. And the best part... it was so EASY!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 bottle salsa

1 can black beans

cheese

Cook chicken on stove, turning to brown on both sides.

Add salsa and beans and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium low and let simmer for five minutes.

Put cheese on top and let sit for another five minutes.

Serve with tortillas/ tortilla chips and whatever else you want to garnish it. Ty liked his with sour cream and extra cheese. I liked guacamole and Shaun put everything on it. It was really good!

Baby Deja's Blessing

A few weekends ago we went back up to Declo for baby Deja's blessing. It was so much fun to have EVERYBODY home- it's been a long time since we've all been under one roof- totally chaotic (think about it- we had 8 adults, one of which who is pregnant, 2 kids, 1 baby and 1 puppy)- but it was a lot of fun. I personally want to thank Jacki and Orllo for putting up with ALL of us- because I know it's a lot of extra work to have that many people running a muck. (okay- I also don't know why it's underlining everything... but just roll with it)

Anyway- here is our baby girl of the hour... She looked so sweet in her little dress of white, and matching little bow! I can't believe how big she has gotten! We went out to visit about a month ago- and it's crazy how they change. I'm sure that mine did too (obviously they did at some time since I have one that's in pre-school and another one that at the moment is in his crib yelling "MAMA"), but it's just so much more prominent when the baby you are watching is just from a distance and you only get to see her once in a while. Thank goodness for emails, blogs and texts...

Ryan's favorite part was having the refreshment table so accessible. He has finally gotten tall enough that- if he stood on his tip-toes and reached up really high- he found he could reach the strawberries (and later- the brownies). He loves to eat and he was right in his element here. I thought it was kind of cute though...

Moments of Cleverness...

Okay- I have moments of cleverness- they are few and far between- but they do show up on occasion. I am the Achievement Days leader in our ward, and as such, I have to try to come up with different activitites that will get our girls to come (we live in a very in-active area). So- I saw this absolutely adorable idea for clipboards on one of my favorite websites (mwrites), and after some trial and error- I figured out how she had done it.

We spent the evening talking about goals and how important it is to keep our goals in our sight, so we made these mod-podged clipboards for them to hang on their walls.

First you take an ordinary clipboard (they make these in little sizes too- which I think would probably be more fun to make- but WalMart only carries the big ones), and add some scrapbook paper... apply the glue and... Viola! Amazingly crafty pieces of organizational beauty. I use mine when I teach piano lessons- it has made life so much easier!

ITS A GIRL!!

Okay- I have long neglected my blog and it's time to rectify the situation. First and foremost... We had our big ultrasound at 21 weeks... and (as you may have guessed from the title of this post)... It's a GIRL! We are all so excited (Ty probably is the most excited- he told me that if I didn't have a girl this time that we would need to get a new mom that could have baby girls- can you feel the love?), and have started amassing all things pink- though for whatever reason, I can't quite get myself to rip the tags off yet... like it's going to jinx it or something. Not that another boy would be bad- but I hate to spend the money on the pink and then have to put it on a baby boy.

Anyway it's been fun (though Shaun may have a different word for spending his time and money shopping for petite pink pieces).

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

It has been snowing like crazy here the last couple of days! And it's the wet, heavy stuff too! Perfect for building snowmen and making snow angels. Which is exactly what we went outside yesterday to do. I had some shoveling to do and the boys had some playing to do.

Christmas (Part 2)

The boys were up bright and early (or maybe I should say dark and early) on Christmas morning... Ty couldn't wait to get into the living room with everyone. But it was so worth the wait! He was hilarious! Santa had laid everything out for the boys on opposite ends of the couch- their big presents were unwrapped and ready to play with... So when the boys ran in... Their eyes just lit up!

Santa had brought Ty a Leapster hand-held video game player with a few games (Star Wars Reading included!), and Ryan was super excited to see a new tractor waiting just for him. Ty had a hard time re-surfacing for a while. He LOVED his new game- Santa did really well this year!

We spent the rest of the day with Shaun's family- Jacki made a yummy lunch for us with all the trimmings... I think we all rolled out of the dining room when we were finished! It was such a wonderful week and I am so grateful that we have such a wonderful family to share the holidays with. Thanks everyone!

Christmas Eve

As promised- I DID find my camera cord and can finally upload some pictures of Christmas! We were lucky enough this year to be able to spend Christmas with Shaun's parents up in Declo.

Every Christmas Eve, Shaun's family has a Christmas Eve party- which we got to go to this year. It's so much fun to see everyone and see how much kids have changed. Shaun's Aunt Julie made a fantastic spread- and we all ate too much! After the party we went back to Grandma and Papa's house, where the boys got to spend a few minutes tracking Santa on Norad's Santa Tracker. When Ty saw how close he was- he quickly decided it was time for him to go to bed- just to be sure that Santa didn't pass us by.

So, we set out our cookies for Santa- luckily we found his FAVORITE kind at the grocery store. Santa always visited our house when we set out Oreos- so Ty made sure that we had a couple set aside for Santa this year.

The boys didn't last much longer after that- it had been a long day and they were both so excited for the next day...

Let it Snow...

Okay, I know I am the last person in the world you would expect to hear those words from- but I have to admit- the snow is okay... especially when both of your kids just LOVE to go outside and play in it. Ryan will go and get his coat and then pound on the door yelling "Go" or "Out". And Ty will just bring me his snow stuff and say it's time to go outside. And I remember reading once (in a Parent's magazine I think) that your kids should spend at least fifteen minutes outside everyday- rain or shine. Something about fresh air I suppose. And while I don't think it's smart to take little ones outside when it's ten below zero outside- playing in the snow is something I do understand and is also a fond memory of mine when I was little. My little brother and I would go outside for hours- you would have been so impressed with our snow forts! They were awesome! Ty likes to throw snowballs and build snowmen- and if you haven't done it in a while- I totally recommend it! I was huffing and puffing within minutes! Here's Ty's latest creation... which after we finished it- he promptly knocked it over. I don't understand boys.

And while I know I look stunningly gorgeous here in this picture- I like having evidence that I DO spend time with my boys.

And here's Ryan looking deceivingly sweet...

And Ty... who seems to have the same problem in front of a camera as his dad does... Do any of you remember how awful it was trying to find a decent picture for our wedding announcements!? Maybe if we're prop their eyes open with toothpicks next time...

Monday

Did you know that before ten o'clock this morning Ryan had dumped out ALL the toys across the living room, flooded the bathroom and managed to drag several egg shells and empty yogurt containers across my kitchen floor.

I'm so grateful it's naptime.

First Day of Primary

Sunday was a big day in our house. Ryan is finally old enough to go to Nursery! YAY!!! And while he slept through the first half of it- he did pretty well during the rest of the day. It was kind of a crazy thought- for just a little bit- we won't have a baby in our arms during Sunday School!

Christmas

I have misplaced my cord to my camera, so I am unable to upload most of our Christmas pictures. Irritating in the least. As it stands, I do have a few pictures from our new camera that I was able to upload, and those I can share at the moment.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year which we were able to spend in Declo with Shaun's parents. It was so nice to go and spend a few days relaxing and just enjoying the company of each other. Cheezy I know- but it was nice!! It was also nice being in Jacki and Orllo's home because they allowed Shaun and I to keep up a couple of family traditions that we have come to love over the last few years in regards to Christmas and Christmas Eve. Ty had a lot of fun setting out cookies for Santa and tracking him on the internet (Thank-you to Norad). And Christmas morning was fantastic. The boys were so excited about EVERYTHING!

Santa left Ty a new Leapster video game player and a few new games, and Ryan was excited to find a new tractor under the tree with his name on it. And I have to say- Santa did VERY good this year! The boys loved their new toys and are still totally infatuated with them.

Ty also received a bedding set from my parents. Bedding for a four year old you ask? Yes. But only because they are covered in the U of U's logo. He is actually excited about going to bed in his new sheets and making the bed is kind of fun... How long this lasts is up in the air.

Anyway- we had a wonderful holiday and hopefully I'll be able to find my camera cord soon and upload the pictures of our Christmas.

Deja Chayse

This holiday season, we were also blessed to be able to welcome a new member to the Kidd family. Shaun's younger brother, Chase and his wife Dani had their baby girl during the beginning of December. Since they live in Colorado, we were only able to see pictures of Deja. But- this obviously had to change!! We went out with Shaun's parents after Christmas to go and visit all of them in their home (which again- THANK-YOU guys for letting us stay with you!!), where we actually got to meet baby. It was nuts- Deja only weighed six pounds- I have NEVER had a six pound baby (except maybe in utero), so to actually hold a new baby that was that small was absolutely nuts! She was adorable and I'm so glad we got a chance to go and visit!

Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree

One of my most favorite things about the holidays is (of course) the food. There is something about certain smells and tastes that just are "home" to me. Every Christmas morning, we would have a sausage casserole and German pancakes- so every time I smell these things- I think of being home and I think of my family. One of my favorite holiday "tastes" is my Grandma Newren's popcorn balls. I'm not sure that they are technically caramel... maybe candied is a better word for the coating on the popcorn. Anyway- it's yummy. Since we didn't make it home for Christmas this year, when we did make it down to my mom's- she surprised me with a big bag of popcorn and all the makings for Grandma's popcorn.

I've made it before with my Grandma, and it's not that it's hard- but it definitely takes two people to make it. So- my mom and I got to work. The finished product was just the taste that I had been missing so far this season! Thanks mom! And thanks to Ty for helping us smash the pecans!

The Jedi Shepherd

We had our ward Christmas party last night and while we were there, all the Primary kids were supposed to dress up in shepherd's robes and wander around in them (to give us the feel of being in Bethlehem I suppose). Ty flat refused to put anything on. I begged. I reasoned. I threatened. Nothing was going to get him in costume. Until I pointed out that they kind of looked like the robes that the Jedi's wear in Star Wars. Enough said. The kid quietly put the robe on and allowed me to tie it. He spent the rest of the evening running around with his pretend "light saber" and told anyone who would listen that he was a REAL jedi knight. That has something to do with the Christmas spirit... right!?

I wish I had a picture of him- he made a pretty cute Jedi/Shepherd.

What have you done?

The object is to copy & paste the list of "99 things" to your blog & bold the things you've done!! I put mine in RED. I apparently need to get out more, but this was fun :) I saw it on a friends blog and thought I would give it a try.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Visited a Castle
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square

74. Spent New Years Eve in Trafalga Square
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Have been published
81. Visited the Redwoods
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Testified in court
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out

Let me set the scene:

Ty is on the bus on his way to school this morning. It has been bitter cold here, and when he left for school, it was -19. There are a lot of kids out this week because of some cold that has been going around, so Ty has his own seat on the bus this morning. It's early and Ty is kind of in a mellow mood. So he sits back and looks out the window. He notices the black metal bar that runs across the window- it's right at his eye level. Ty eyes it for a minute and has a 'great' idea.

At this point, I want to remind you all of the movie, "A Christmas Story." Ralphie has a friend (who's name I can't remember) that is "double-dog dared" to stick his tongue out on a frozen pole on the playground. When said friend does this stupid thing, he finds his tongue is stuck to the pole and he can't get it off.

Ty- having never seen this movie- thinks he is onto something "fun." He proceeds in sticking out his tongue and placing it on the frozen metal bar next to him. Apparently he screamed and started to cry when he found that his tongue was in fact, stuck to the window. Rather than waiting for a teacher or bus driver to help him out- he wigs out and pulls back. This rips off a large chunk of tongue and a good number of tastebuds with it.

Apparently he was pretty subdued the rest of the day.

It's one of those things that I want to laugh at, because I can't help thinking "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!", but at the same time- he is my son and is in pain. Anyway- bring on the Tylenol.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas preparation has begun at the Kidd household. I tried to keep it low key since I am kind of tired- but it's just so much more fun to have EVERYTHING out and a few projects. Once we started pulling things out- it was too hard to stop.

Ty and I put together an advent calendar that my mom bought for us. It took us most of the morning, but we did it! And Ryan helped us out by staying asleep the whole time. Anyway, it's a big box with a bunch of little boxes in it. We put a chocolate kiss in each one along with a little note. We had to glue and cut everything and I think it turned out great!!

The next thing was probably what Ty was the most excited about... THE TREE! We could only decorate the top half of it since Ryan keeps trying to touch it all. It was probably my fault. When we were pulling out the ornaments and things- we have a couple strands of what Ty calls "Jingly Bells," and Ryan had so much fun dragging them around the living room all the while jingling. Once they got put on the tree though- Ryan kept trying to jingle the Christmas Tree. I'm thinking that it's inevitably going to end up on top of him this year- but for now- I just put some extra bells on the front door handle so any time he gets up the urge to jingle something, I just send him to the door.

We think it turned out beautifully and the boys love it when we turn the lights on each night.

Girls Night Out

Don't you just love those words? They make my month. This time, we decided to go over to Logan for dinner, a movie and some shopping.

We left at about 5 (it takes a little over an hour to get over to Logan from here) and went to WalMart for some Christmas shopping. It was packed! I couldn't believe it. Okay- actually I can- WalMart is always busy. It drives me nuts.

Anyway- then we went to Texas Roadhouse (they just opened a few months ago) and it was soo good!

Then we went and caught a late movie- what did we see you ask? New Moon- what else!? For the record- I want you to know that I think Stephanie Meyers is a terrible writer- but I do think that she has an entertaining story. Anyway- this movie was supposed to be ten times better than the first. Which it was! It was crazy though- we got to the theater about thirty minutes before it started (probably about 9), and the line was out the door and it wrapped around the building!! We did get some pretty good seats and it was fun.

Thanks for the night out ladies! I look forward to the next one!

An Announcement

Shaun and I are officially ushering in an age of chaos. We found out a couple months ago that we are pregnant with our third baby!! Nothing could be scarier at this point, but Shaun has been very calm about the whole thing- pointing out that no matter how much we freak out about this- it's not like we can put a "return to sender" sticker on the baby once he/she gets here just because we weren't ready. It helps having someone like him around someone like me.

Anyway- once the initial shock wore off- we discovered that we really were excited about this- nervous- I mean- we're going to have three little ones running around here, and I can barely keep up with the laundry now!!

I have felt really wonderful with this pregnancy. The only way that I even know that I'm pregnant is how exhausted I am at the end of the day. And for that... I thank this baby in advance. Anyway- we'll keep you updated as we go along.

Another Dinner Post

Candied Chicken

1 pound chicken, cut in cube chunks

1 cup cornstarch

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

2 eggs; beaten

Combine cornstarch and garlic powder.

Dip chicken chunks in beaten eggs and then in cornstarch mixture. Brown chicken over medium heat until lightly brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Put in baking dish.

Slice up onions and peppers, or you can throw in the frozen veggies from the bag- it has broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. Really- whatever kind of veggie you want. Throw them in with the chicken.

Sauce

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup vinegar

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup water

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken and vegetables.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with rice.

What's for Dinner?

I don't know how many of you out there are like me- when 4:30 hits you totally panic because you haven't got a clue as to what to make for dinner. So in an effort to help my three readers, I am going to start posting some of my easiest and yummiest dinners! Now- today's dinner won't help you at 4:30 because it's a crockpot dinner- sorry. But if you have two seconds tomorrow morning- it's a really good, warm meal that we love here at our house. They are called crockpot fajitas!

You will need:

4 frozen chicken breasts

1 medium onion; sliced

1 package Fajita seasoning

3 peppers; sliced (it can be bell peppers or jalepenos... whatever you want)

Tortillas

Sour Cream

Cheese

Guacamole

Step 1. Put chicken and onion in crockpot.

Step 2. Pour seasoning mix and add water (I usually add enough water to cover my chicken completely- otherwise it dries out in the crockpot).

Step 3. Cook on high for 6 hours.

Step 4. Shred chicken and add peppers to crockpot. Cook one more hour.

Viola! Dinner is ready! It really is yummy- and I'll try and remember to take pictures of it tonight so that I can post it. Anyway- now it's your turn!! Post your favorites on your blog so that I can get some new ideas too!!

Tyler-isms

Scene 1: Ty spent the weekend with my parents. On Saturday afternoon, my mom placed a bowl of Spaghettios in front of Ty. Ty being Ty- shook his head and said "I don't want Spaghettios." My sister who was in the kitchen whips around and tells Ty that there are starving kids in Africa that would love to have that bowl of Spaghettios. Ty sat there for a minute, then turned to Melissa and said, "I don't live in Africa."

Scene 2: Preschool rug time. They are learning about pioneers tonight. They have a guest speaker telling them stories about the little boys and girls that crossed the plains. She turned to them and asked them, "Does anyone know how that pioneers got here?" Ty throws his hand up in the air and yells out "Heavenly Father and Jesus sent them here!" Which was true... to a point. Though probably not the answer they were looking for at Preschool.

Scene 3: Ty has been asked four times to put his seatbelt on. I start to count (usually the only thing that gets his butt in gear). I get to "2" and Ty puts his hands on his hips and says "You quit talking back to me Mama!" I might have popped him if I hadn't been trying to cover up the fact that I was laughing.

Scene 4: I asked Ty what he thought we should get his dad for his birthday (it's in a couple of weeks). Ty sat thoughtfully for a minute before turning to me and saying, "something boring." I asked why we should get dad something boring and Ty told me that it was because he liked boring things. I kind of sniggered, but asked him if we shouldn't get dad something fun instead- and Ty said no. It needed to be boring- "Maybe something for his work." So if you end up with a paper-clip for your birthday Shaun... I'm sorry....

Halloween

Well, Halloween has come and gone, and with it, big smiles, fun and tummy aches. We spent this Halloween down in Salt Lake this year, just for something different. Montpelier has a lot of houses that just don't open their doors to trick or treaters and for whatever reason- don't believe in trunk or treats... So- in an effort to give my kids the kind of holiday that I remember- we headed back to my old stomping grounds.

In reviewing my pictures as I get ready to post them- I found that I don't have a decent picture of both Ryan and Ty together- so you get to see them separately. Anyway- here is our Cowboy Ryan playing outside before we head for the Trunk or Treat down at my parent's ward. It was such a gorgeous day! I couldn't believe it! I can remember having to trick or treat through snow drifts!

And here we have Ty, the NOT scary Vampire Bat. I made the effort this year to make him look creepy with the make-up and he took one look at himself and said that he didn't want to be scary. So... there you have it. This is also a picture of Ty's cousin Daniel (the Fearless Firefighter) who stopped by for a few mintues.

And here- you can have a glimpse of what we grew up with as kids in the Henriksen household. My mom dressed up this year- nose and all! We had some fun with fake eyelashes this year, and when Ty saw my mom's (they were covered in fake crystals) and asked her why she had sprinkles all over her eyes. And, in case you were wondering, I am the stunning pirate on the right. I wouldn't have needed to raid ships- my victims would have just handed over their jewels and treasures based on my looks alone- thinking themselves lucky to have been robbed by such a ravishing beauty.

And last but not least- just the Kidds. Shaun hates dressing up, but I appreciate the effort he puts into things for the kids (and when I want a picture).

Hanging Out With Grandma and Grandpa

We have spent the last couple of weekends with Shaun's parents down in Declo- and unfortunately, for the majority of both weekends- my camera battery was dead. So I did NOT get any pictures of Dani's baby shower or Kent's birthday party. Which is too bad- because both were a lot of fun. Fortunately- I did get a couple of cute ones from around Jacki and Orllo's house while we were just playing around- which is good since those are my favorite anyway.

Papa Orllo and Ryan

Shaun with his boys on the tractor (and yes it was COLD!)

Ryan and Grandma Jacki (I think they were out chasing cows...)

Books

I loved story-time when I was a kid. My favorite book was "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Suess. My dad got so sick of reading it over and over, that he finally recorded him reading the book on tape for me so that I could listen to it whenever I wanted (and I think he thought he was getting out of having to read it so often... which I don't remember working that well...).

Granted we haven't gotten to that point (yet) with our boys- they too love story-time. And it's one of those things that neither Shaun nor I mind doing in the evenings with Ty and Ryan. At first- it was just Ty that wanted the stories, but recently, whenever you sit down with a book- here comes Ryan just as fast as he can toddle. I snuck a picture the other day of my boys with a Thomas the Train story and as I'm sure you can see... all three of them are totally enthralled!!