Carson Quote of the Day

Me: Wow, that's really smart! How did you know that?

My brain just told me.

Reese Recited

Reese is at such a cute stage right now! He's out of his terrible two's and he rarely throws tantrums. He's really sweet and he loves to snuggle. Reese is famous for his hugs because he's such a little monkey and he can wrap his little arms around so tight.

Right now, Reese and me are in my bed with Ry's laptop and his head is resting on my shoulder. He's watching me type and then points out his name at the top paragraph and exclaims, "That says Reese! That says my name!" Such a smarty pants! But then he goes on to say, "I love your heart, Mom." So I reply, "I love your heart too, Reese." To which he says, "No, I have a boy heart. Not a girl heart."

A while back he was being really cute so I told him that he was cute. He replied in a matter-of-fact voice, "No, I'm not cute. I'm awesome." Then he paused for a second and corrected himself, "I'm not cute. I'm awesome. And I'm fast."

Seven months old

Gwen is a crawling machine! She's up on her hands and knees and she's pulling herself up on everything. The last few days she's even been attempting to let go after she pulls herself up! She's a champ at sitting up and goes from sitting to crawling/crawling to sitting like nobody's business. Gwen is always smiling, even when she's sick (which has been non-stop the last few months). She's really easy to figure out and really only gets fussy when she's tired, hungry, or wet. She's completely content as long as she has a few toys and something to climb on. It's the cutest thing when she pulls herself up because she gets the biggest grin and you can tell that she's just so proud of herself. We're already starting to see some tantrum-throwing though. If you take something away from her, watch out! We've been having a lot of rough nights lately, well, pretty much since we moved into our house. She's really only slept through the night a handful of times since living here (and before we moved she was sleeping 10-12 hours consistently). At first I just thought it was the transition and sleeping in a real bed but she's had plenty of time to adjust now. But the last few nights have been great so I'm starting to get optimistic! She's eating really well but she's still hasn't figured out how to swallow without sticking out her tongue. How do you teach a baby not to do that? Gwen is getting really good about feeding herself figure foods. Still no teeth in sight but I can't get enough of that cute gummy smile anyway. Her hair is getting long enough to put a little clippy in it. Oh and the cutest thing ever is when she waves goodbye! She's practicing her princess wave. So cute! She really is such a joy to have in our family!

Halloween

Halloween weekend was a blast (surprisingly since I hate Halloween)! It was non-stop fun! It all started with pumpkin carving. The boys really got into it and loved pulling out the pumpkin guts.

 

Saturday morning was the Pumpkin Fun Run that our stake puts on. Here's Adam, Cameron, Jeff, Julie, and Stacy finishing the race.

Saturday night was the ward party and after that, Ry and I (Lady Gaga and my bodyguard) went to a friend's house for another party. These guys are some of my favorite people and they are so much fun!

We even had an awesome Halloween dinner at the Crandall's on Sunday. Complete with Pumpkin Baked Ziti, Dinner in a Pumpkin, Bones and Blood (breadsticks and marinara), eyeballs (hard-boiled eggs), monster mouths, and witch's hats and ghosts for dessert. But the icing on the cake was the witch's brew. The boy's thought it was pretty awesome.

Then on Monday Carson went to school all dressed up and had a party at school. That night we hit the streets and went trick-or-treating for over two hours. Even after Reese couldn't walk anymore he still wanted to go door-to-door. The boys were diehards! Here's my little trio: Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell.

The boy's got skillz!

Carson played soccer again this year and it was a complete 180 from last year! He not only participated but he was aggressive (in a good way) and scored a bunch of goals. I think it helped to have Ryan as the coach but Carson would've had a blast either way. It was a great way to make friends in a new place too because we got to know a lot of fun people.

Look at that grin! He is his father's son!

I was in Gwen's room changing her diaper when I heard the microwave start. At that minute I didn't think too much of it. A few seconds later, Reese comes walking in the room and then I realized that I heard the microwave and it was just me and the kids home. So I asked Reese what was going on with the microwave and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just makin chicken nuggets." Like it was no big deal. I made it to the kitchen just as the time ran out. Sure enough, Reese had gotten out the chicken nuggets from the freezer, put them on a plate and cooked/burned them in the microwave. Luckily he wasn't using a fork or anything but not too bad for a 2 year old!

Reese's letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I want a car present and watch a video.

I want to get a race track and a car.

And another car from Sally.

I want a tattoo.

Love,

Reese

Carson's letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I would like a holiday gift present.

I want a really awesome toy.

Get me the bestest present of my life.

A racecar track.

I want a brand new present movie Cars 2.

I want a present without you telling me. (like a surprise)

And please get me the bally thing that goes on the race track that spins around.

I think I would like the bestest present named the Holiday Surprise.

I would like a pony horse.

I want a cat.
And I need some new pajamas because I have a hole in my other pajamas.

Love,

Carson

Gratitude

Nov 25th: 

Gratitude

Nov 24th: There's really no words to express my gratitude for the blessing of living in a free country.

Gratitude

Nov 23: Good friends have always been important in my life. Never can have too many!

Gratitude

Nov 22: Good books are something to be grateful for.

Gratitude

Nov 21st: I'm grateful that my family is coming up to spend Thanksgiving with us! Hopefully the roads will cooperate!

Gratitude

Nov 20th: I'm grateful that we have Thanksgiving every year to help us remember all of our blessings.

Gratitude

Nov 19th: I'm grateful for Girl's Night, they keep me going!

Gratitude

Nov 18th: Carson is loving his school. It's a great program where they have children with issues/disabilities and they bring in peer models that help set the example (Carson is a peer). I was a little hesitant at first but after finding out that they bring in some of the best teachers and they follow a kindergarten curriculum, I was totally on board. He loves to learn and comes home telling us what letter they were practicing and what new songs they sang. I'm grateful that he has the chance to attend that school and to have these experiences with those who may not be as fortunate as him.

Six Months Old!

Gwen is six months today. Seriously?! I love that little girl and she has been such a blessing to our family. 

She is crawling all over the place and she's getting pretty quick. I don't know why she's in such a hurry but I guess she just wants to keep up with her older brothers. She's just about got the sitting thing down too and she's teaching herself how to go from crawling to sitting. It won't be too much longer before we have to move her crib mattress down a notch because she's trying to pull herself up on things. Little stinker has already torn the tie off her crib bumper trying to pull herself up. Most recently, she's learned to say "dada" and Carson thinks it's the funniest, cutest thing, which I have to agree. I've said it a million times but this is my favorite stage! She is so curious. Looking out the window is one of her favorite things. It's really sweet. She's just so cute with her little squishy cheeks! I just kiss them all day!

Gratitude

Nov 17th:I'm grateful that I'm not pregnant and that Gwen is now part of our family. Today Gwen is 6 months old!

Gratitude

Nov 16th: It is such a blessing to have such a handy-man for a husband!

Gratitude

Nov 15th: I'm grateful for a living prophet.

Reese Recited

Me: Gwen needs a nap, she's cranky!

Reese: Yeah, she's an angry bird!

Gratitude

Nov 14th: This is a little random but we just watched 17 Miracles (so good by the way!) and I have a renewed gratitude for the pioneers and their sacrifices that has had a direct influence on where I am today. Thank you Sarah Goode Marshall! Sarah is my great, great, great grandmother.

Reese Recited

That's Jesus Monson!

Gratitude

Nov 13th: I'm grateful for my camera and the chance I have to develop a talent.

Gratitude

Nov 12th: Modern medicine is a miracle and I'm grateful to live in a time where relief can sometimes come in small doses.

Yellowstone

Remember that Labor Day weekend forever ago? Well we spent the weekend going camping and it was so much fun! It was a lot colder at night than we thought it would be but other than that, we had great weather. I considered not posting about it because it was so long ago and it would take a lot of work going through all the pictures but it was such a fun trip that I wanted to remember it. So enjoy!

It was a long drive down there and we kept telling the boys that we were going to see some awesome buffalo when we got to Yellowstone. The moment we pulled into the park they were searching for the buffalo. When they didn't see any right away Carson says, "Where's all the animals? I don't see any buffaloes in my eyes." But it didn't take long before we found some wildlife.

We pulled into Yellowstone just in time for Old Faithful to go off.

Afterwards, we walked around the park and saw some awesome geysers and mudpots. The colors were really beautiful!

The next morning we had breakfast in a bag. It was interesting... but Carson enjoyed it!

 

Then we headed out to survey the land. 

 

This little guy thought he would take a break in the road. There was like 20 cars backed up behind him!

The next morning a few elk decided to check out our campground.

We got pretty lucky and never really had to wait for a buffalo to cross the road.

But we did get to see a whole herd! It was pretty cool! There was a tour group on horses that need to get through so the guides had to chase them off a little bit.

We wanted to go swimming but the best spot was blocked off so we found another little area.

The day we saw one of my favorite places. Can you imagine discovering this place?! It's like an alien planet!

It was an awesome trip and we had lots of fun. All the kids did great! It was a lot of driving around and a lot of walking but they still had a fun time. I would highly recommend visiting if you haven't already!