White Christmas (well, almost)

Porter and Rhett have been praying

for snow so they could go sledding and snowball fighting;

and the weather has finally delivered.

The clouds dropped about 4 inches yesterday

and after snowing all night

we woke up to 8 inches on the ground this morning.

The boys were so anxious to be out in it -

we just put our snow gear on over our pajamas

and headed out!

Rhett and the boys have all sorts of activities planned

for the next few days from sledding to forts to snowman building.

It's going to be great!

Merry Christmas!

One Year Older

Today Porter turned nine years old.
This past year has flown by -
it seems like just yesterday he was turning eight
and being baptized.
And not too long ago he was that tiny baby
we were bringing home from the hospital.

He is such a great boy
and I feel privledged everyday
to be his mom.

Happy Birthday, Porter!

P.S. Blogger is being stupid right now
and not letting me upload pictures
or any formatting...
I'll try again later -

Pinewood Derby

Porter raced in his first Pinewood Derby.

He built an awesome car

and it was FAST.

He placed a close second at our Scout Derby,

then a close second at the Ward Derby last night.

But the thing he's most proud of?

He beat both of his parents...

Snow Canyon Half Marathon

Time: 2:12:22

(almost 8 minutes off my previous time!)

Halloween

Our Halloween was very fun this year.

The boys were able to dress up in their costumes

on multiple occasions - making all the work

very worth it.

Here's our Puppy:

 our Scarecrow:

 Tim Lincecum (a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants)

 and our fierce Tiger (see those teeth??)

A lot of the fun we have on Halloween

is making all the yummy Halloween food.

Here's our Jack-o-lantern and Bat Pizza:

 the delicious Twinkie Mummies:

 Mummy dogs

 Eyeball Meatballs, Goblin fingers, green worms, and bones

 

Dirt pie, complete with bugs and worms for dessert

 And last, but not least, the pumpkins

Hope you had a fun Halloween -

We sure did!

P.S. Go Giants!

This Week in Pictures

Another week has passed.

Here's what happened in our house:

Monday:

This is Rhett's favorite time of the year - College football has begun. I remember when we first moved to Vernal and we choose not to get television service. When college football season came around, I thought Rhett was going to have a panic attack as he tried to figure out how he was going to watch the games. Rather than call the cable guy and pay him extra to have him hook up our TV in a day, Rhett found a way he could watch any game he wanted over the internet (much better than TV anyways). So on the weekends, this is what is on Rhett's computer... all day...

Tuesday:

If I could have one wish, it would be to keep this little boy this way forever. He is the sweetest, most helpful person; and always ready with a smile. He loves to give out kisses and you can't leave or go to bed without him insisting he give you a hug and a kiss. He loves to help and will jump in with his assistance without being asked, without whine or complaint. He is so fun to be around and I love listening to him talk and laugh. I think he's been a little lonely since his brothers started school, but it's provided some wonderful opportunities for us to spend time together and play. He has grown up quite a bit since I moved him into his own room and put his clothes and things where he can reach them. He gets dressed on his own and insists on making a "lunch box" like his brothers. He loves to walk with them to the bus stop and waves goodbye and insures they get on the bus o.k.

The other morning, as I was done getting ready for the day I asked him, "How do I look?"

His response?

"Beautiful."

Wednesday:

I did take a picture for today, but it was on the cell phone and I don't know how to get it off. Today was library day where Andrew, Oliver and I go to the library for story time. Afterwards, we picked up Rhett and had a picnic lunch at the park. Since Oliver can 'cruise' now, I let him walk along the playground. He loved it. The boys' school had a carnival later that afternoon, so we ventured over to see what all the fun was about. The boys raced in and out of bounce houses - so much that I finally just sat down on the grass and tried to keep track of them. Porter spent most of his time on the climbing wall and was quite impressive to watch. I don't mind spending the money when they kids have such a fun time... plus, it wears them out!

Thursday:

Andrew started preschool today. He has been very excited about this day and so have I. He's in a fantastic preschool close to home and will go for three hours, twice a week. Today they had a small open house where the kids went for one hour; they toured the school, met the teacher and other children and did a short coloring paper. He was a bit nervous at first, but once the class got going he felt more comfortable and had a great time. And while he is gone, I will only have one child at home!

Friday:

When Rhett comes home for lunch, he will play video games with the boys. Today he played Rock Band with Zach. We have a guitar, drums and microphone, but since only the two of them were playing, Rhett decided he wanted to both play the drums and sing. And since he had to hold the drumsticks in both his hands, he rigged the microphone up in his shirt so he could sing into it. It was quite humorous, if you ask me.

Saturday:

The flags fly today in remembrance of that fateful September 11th, 9 years ago. As I think of the devastating events that happened that day, one particular memory stands out. I remember driving home from work, listening to parts of President Bush's earlier address and the many patriotic songs that were being played on the radio. As I drove down one particular street, it was lined with American flags and my heart swelled and tears came to my eyes as I became so proud to be a part of this country. From just that sight, I felt a bond - a unity with everyone who lived in this country with me. We were Americans and nothing was going to take that pride and honor away from me.

So many things happened that day. So many lives were lost and so many more lives were shattered. Nothing would ever be the same. The world became a scarier place. But the strength and compassion that formed in each person's heart from this tragedy has been remarkable. Race, religion, age, occupation, social status has all been forgotten and we are all unified in the knowledge that we are Americans.

And our resolve to never forget.

Sunday:

Last Christmas, Zach received a mini Millennium Falcon Lego kit. He put it together instantly, but like all other Lego kits in this house, it was demolished a few days later so the pieces could be used for other cool Lego creations. I always cringe when they do that, knowing that those sets will probably never be put back together. However, after finding the Falcon instructions, Zach decided he was going to put it together again. He worked for days - digging and searching through our box of hundreds of Lego to find every piece he needed. He is sure proud of his creation. And we are so amazed that he built it again.

Yep - They did too

This morning at breakfast, the boys were talking about the storyline of Transformers 2. Zach made the comment that Optimus Prime had sacrificed himself for Sam. Seeing a great teaching moment, I commented that it takes quite the friend to sacrifice himself for another. I said, "Someone sacrificed themself for you. Do you know who that is?"

"Oh yeah!" Zach replied quickly.

"The U.S. Army!"

Last Week in Pictures

Here's what has been going on in our house the past week.

Remember all the zucchini we picked?

Well, I've already frozen enough of if

so I figured the only way to get rid of it now was to start baking.

I made 10 loaves of zucchini bread

and a batch of zucchini brownies.

All the neighbors received a loaf, Rhett's work got two.

And it only used about 3 1/2 zucchini -

3 1/2 out of 30.... oh boy.

This cute little boy has reached a great milestone in the past few days -

He's completely weaned.

He has been so attached to nursing for so long -

for food more than comfort -

and it has been an issued I have stressed

and worried and prayed over for a long time;

especially since we are leaving him for 5 days next week.

But I have been pleasantly suprised at how well he has adjusted

and how well he has been eating.

It has been a wonderfully smooth transition

and I am very, very grateful for it.

Oliver has also developed a love for cars.

This Mac from the movie Cars is one of his favorites

and he can be found rolling it around the couch forever...
Looks like he's taking after his biggest brother.

I let the boys have a sleepover with their friends on Friday.

Porter and Zach each got to invite one friend over

and they had a blast.
This is the playroom after they got done with it.

I don't undertand why they have to get everything out

They can't even play in the room when it looks like this.

But they had a great time -

and they picked up the room later, so it's o.k.

But boy - there was a lot of testosterone going on in this house...

My boys have a love for Legos

and they love to build all sorts of creations.

I am always amazed at what they come up with

and the intricate details of each one.

Pre-made Lego sets have nothing on them.

This is Porter's creation -

a truck with his Lego rock band on it.

Notice the singer, the guitarist, and in the back is a drummer

and even a groupie hanging off the back.

Truly amazing.

Another one of Oliver and his cars.

We have a table in the playroom upstairs

and next to it is the box of hundreds of Matchbox cars.

He pulls them out one by one

and drives them around the table.

But don't try to move him from this table

or you have a fight on your hands.

And that's our week!

Zucchini Anyone?

We are part of a community garden up at the high school.

We have had a great time planting our crops

and watching them grow.

We try to get up there as often as possible

to weed and water and

especially now since it's time to harvest.

But this is what happens

when you don't get there for a week and a half:

Just tonight (and we were only there for an hour)

we picked

a bag of peas

a small bag of green beans

a bowl of jalapenos

20 ears of corn

and 30 zucchini

some of which were longer than Andrew's arm.

We'll probably go back tomorrow

to finish picking peas, green beans, corn

and see if the watermelon is ready to bring home.

And then there's the potatoes and tomatoes...

Happy Harvest!

P.S. Anyone have any good recipes that use zucchini??

Top of Utah Half Marathon

Official Time: 2:20:01

(Whew!!)

First day of school:

YIPEE!!
(Aren't they handsome??)

Finally, a Celebration!

We finally celebrated Oliver's birthday on Sunday.

He, unfortunately, got very sick on his actual birthday

and it was a few days before he felt well enough to enjoy a party

(and for us to have an evening with nothing going on).

Here he is with his "1" cake

And this is how he felt about his dad

trying to feed him frosting...

(in his defense, he did get sick about 10 minutes

after this picture was taken...)

Happy Birthday Oliver!

Today my little baby turned 1!

He has grow to be a sweet person

and we are so glad he's in our family.

He is a total momma's boy

and loves yogurt and nilla wafers.

He loves to cruise across the furniture

and has taken a couple steps on his own

but is not ready for walking just yet (whew...)

I remember thinking this time last year

that he was never going to come.

And now a year has gone by...

He has been my hardest baby by far.

We've been working on him eating solids

(I've had to be very creative since he won't eat baby food)

and he still gets up in the early morning to nurse.

But regardless, I love this little boy to pieces

and look forward to the many more years we have with him!

Happy Birthday, Oliver!