Flinstones...meet the Flinstones

Happy Halloween! We are off to TRICK or TREAT and eat lots of candy! Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween.

MOM

What can I say about mom? You guessed it... Plenty! Here are the top 5 reasons I am grateful for my mom.


5. Her house cleaning abilities! I know this sounds silly but I am so grateful that I was taught how to clean. I remember not being able to go any where on Saturday until my chores were done and I hated it. But now that I have a family and home of my own (almost) I am grateful for the lessons.
4. She always makes a big deal out of Holidays and Birthdays. Not one birthday went by unnoticed (except maybe hers I'm ashamed to say). We always came home from school to see our room decorated from top to bottom and our favorite dessert or dinner or whatever waiting for us. I'm sure she didn't just do it because it was fun. I feel she is truly grateful for the day each of her children came into her life. Which leads me to...
3. Her love for her grandchildren. She rarely misses a birthday, blessing, baptism, would love to be at every sporting event (if she lived in the same town she would), lost tooth, first step, first laugh (most of these over the phone) she's even made it to a couple primary programs and she has never missed any of her grandchildren being born. She cherishes her grandchildren just like they were her own. For that I am so very grateful.
2. She will drop everything and come running if one of her children need her. A perfect example...One night when I was almost due with Brody and having contractions most of the night she hopped in the car and drove three hours only to find that it was false labor. She turned around the next day and drove the three hours again so she could make it back to work. The following weekend Brody was born and she was there! Thank heavens she only lives three hours away!
1. And the number one reason I love my mom... Her strength. I have seen my mom go through a lot, the lost of her mom, menopause, my dads cancer etc. Some things have been extremely hard and would make most want to give up. Not my mom! She always picks herself up and keeps on truckin'. She has taught me a great lesson... No matter what comes your way or how bad it is you can always pick up the pieces and continue.

Mom you know the perfect balance between mother and friend. You are one of my very best friends (can't forget about Dustin), I am so grateful that we are close. I am grateful for the example that you are of what a mother should be! When I grow up... I want to be my mom!

DAD

So it's Sunday and I was thinking of all the things I am grateful for in my life. One thing that really stands out lately has been my parents! So I thought I would post the top five reasons why I am so grateful for them (Dad first). You know how this works right 5 goes first and you count down to the number one reason which is really #1 (like on Letterman).


5. His love for hunting. I am so grateful that he has a hobby that he can pass on to my children, something that they can go and enjoy with him as they get older.
4. His love for politics, I really don't have a love for them and if I ever need to know how to vote or why I should or shouldn't for a particular proposition, I can call and he will talk me through it.
3. His parenting style. I may not have agreed with it always when I was a kid but now that I have kids of my own I am grateful for how I was raised and the example I was given to raise my kiddos.
2. His love of the gospel. I know that if I ever have a question that is church related I can ask him and he will usually have the answer, but even if he doesn't before long he will. He always encouraged us to read and study the gospel growing up and I am grateful that he instilled that in me.
1. And the number one reason I am grateful for my Dad is... He was always there. He raised me like I was his very own, even though I don't share his blood. I never felt like I wasn't his, he cared for me, fed me, clothed me, loves me, and supports me just the same as if I was born to him.

Dad I love you, I am grateful for all you sacrificed for our family, for your hard work (to buy all my shoes), for your kindness, and most of all your unconditional Love!

What's a mom to do?

OH, NO! I've got a little criminal on my hands! Today my sister-in-law and I were out with the kids doing some shopping for Halloween costumes at JoAnn's. Shopping with two three year olds and a 10 month old is always a little bit crazy, but for the most part it went pretty smooth... or so we thought.

As we were in the parking lot making sure our little three year olds were getting their belts buckled we noticed that they were holding candy... that we didn't purchase. My first thought: OH MY GOSH! MY CHILD JUST STOLE SOMETHING! My second thought: (a little calmer) what a great teaching opportunity. So my sister-in-law and I explained to them, that we do not take things from a store without paying for them. We then proceeded to march them back in the store to return the candy and apologize for stealing. They did and I hope little Brody will always remember not to steal.

Who knows if he really new that he was stealing (he never tried to hide it, which I thought was funny) but now he does know and has learned a pretty harmless lesson. This post is titled "What's a mom to do?" and I hope I did the right thing. I love you Broder.

Fall Break

Okay, I'm a little late, it's almost been a week since the kids fall break! We had a great time enjoying a week of no school, no homework, no bedtime, movie night every night, sleeping in, and playing all day! Monday night our Daddy took us bowling and we had a blast. Kenley got the first strike of the night and her first strike ever. Embry was Dustin's lucky charm and helped him bowl every round. Brock really started to learn how to bowl and even created his own stance. For little Broder it was his first time bowling, but he didn't have any trouble getting the hang of it. We had so much fun and the kids can't wait to do it again.

Later in the week we went to Discovery Park and played with cousins. A nice cool drink from Sonic, great company and good weather (notice I didn't say great weather) made for a fun afternoon.

I can't forget to mention that we went to Jeapers (also with great company) and rode the roller coaster, bumper cars, monkey barrels, airplanes and safari jeeps. Of course I forgot my camera that day.

On Friday they each got their own Webkinz and began to care for them. My hope is that this will teach them some responsibility and help them understand a little bit more about money. I'll post more about later.

I hope you had a great fall break my little munchkins, I know I did. Now it's back to the routine and I miss our lazy days, but if you weren't at school how could I get any Christmas shopping done?

FUNNY LITTLE PEOPLE

I thought I would transfer my "They crack me up" posts when I add a new one to an actual post so that my sidebar doesn't get to long. I never want to forget all the funny things my kiddos say so I can't just erase them.

Practicing letters with Brody, talking about the letter T with a picture of a train by it.
Mom: Brody what's that letter?
Brody: T
Mom: What sound does it make
Brody: Chuga, Chuga, Chuga, Choo, Choo

Everyday conversation with Brody
Brody: You're the best mom ever
Mom: You're the best Brody ever
Brody: No, I'm the best son ever

So this isn't really a funny thing but it's dang cute. At Church this morning (we went to a different building for Stake Conference) Brody says:
Brody: Mom I know that Jesus is here
Mom: How come Brody?
Brody: Cause I see his light

After school Kenley and Dustin talking:
Kenley: Dad why didn't you make me a sandwich for my lunch today?
Dad: You didn't ask. Didn't you have a hot lunch?
Kenley: Yeah, it was lasagna and it tasted like a soccer ball mixed with mud and grass.

Here's to never forgetting the funny, funny things that our children say!

PRETTY IN PINK

If you haven't guessed it already this is Kenley's very pink new room. She picked the color herself, it's called SWEET 16 and if you haven't thought it already she sometimes acts like she's sixteen. You can see that in her pictures. She has begged me for a pink room since she was two, almost three, and if anyone knows me they know that pink is not my favorite color. Well, three years later she got her wish and if I would have known that it would make her as happy as it did I would have done it a lot sooner. Still not my favorite color, but it is Kenley's and that's all that matters.

HAIR STYLE

Brody was feeling very helpful today and asked if he could help daddy give Embry her bath. Dustin said yes and then Brody said "Lets do that hair style thing." (see previous post, bath picture) It was so cute, Embry just let him shampoo and play with her hair. She got really excited when I got the camera out. Isn't that the best picture ever?
Alfalfa look out!

GROWING UP

Our little Embry is growing so fast. Here are some of her firsts in the last couple months.

She now has three teeth and one on the way

She has learned how much fun the bath really is! The funny thing is that we don't have a tub for her to bathe in at Dustin's parents house so she still bathes in the infant tub. When we try to put her in a real bathtub she kinda freaks out because it's so big, such a little girl in such a big body of water. She has become such a daddy's girl. When he walks into a room she says "daddy!", she gives him kisses more than anyone else and can't help but smile every time she sees him.

She got up close and personal with our "doggie" Tatum. She has learned what the doggie says because she can hear Tatum barking every once in a while, but she has never sat on the floor and played with her. She wasn't sure what to think, but she wasn't afraid.
A few more things Embry has learned: she claps her hands, cruises around furniture, blows kisses, gives real kisses, fake cries, fake laughs, what the elephant says (it's really cute, ask her next time you see her), eats big people food and drinks whole milk, shakes her head no no and folds her arms (but won't do it for prayer).

Oh, how fast the time goes!