Halloween Preview

We had a little Playgroup Halloween Party today at the church for the younger kids. I stayed up late last night and woke up early this morning to make some capes for the boys (Batman for Cole, Superman for Cade). Cade refused to wear his so whatever but Cole has been wearing his nonstop since I finished it around 9 this morning.

While I was doing this project, I decided a few things...#1, I am not a seamstress. #2, it is pretty awesome that I tried it anyways even though I knew very well that I wouldn't be extremely successful. #3, it's OK if it's not done perfectly because Cole loves it anyway and he feels loved because I made it for him. #4, it's also OK to simplify and not feel like I need to do everything perfectly all the time. I have other talents that don't include sewing & crafting and it's OK to focus on them a little more instead of wishing I had someone else's talents.

Wish me luck - I still have to make Madlyn's cape for her witch costume (see how I made it easy - capes for everyone). I don't have to make anything for Lane because he will be sporting the same giraffe costume the other 3 have worn. He sure looks darling in it and I will make sure to post pictures of him & Maddie after this weekend's festivities.

Hope everyone has a happy & safe Halloween weekend!

Kaska Family Farm & Other Bits

We checked out a semi-local pumpkin patch/fun farm yesterday. No pictures though so don't get your hopes up:) Instead, you got to hear my chatter for a few minutes. At least I'd like to think you can hear me talking when you read.

We shot ears of corn out of a cannon. We didn't hit any targets. We played 'garden golf' and did awesome. We played in the sandbox...a few times. We ran around on a big hay playground and slid down it and got hay stuck in our clothes. We rode a little cow train that was 50-lb. barrels decorated like cows. Well, the oldest 3 children did that. I went up to check on them before they left for the ride and Cade was pretty stoked about it. "Mom, we are going on a cow train!" (imagine Cade's excited voice getting higher with each word). "The cow says, Moooooo!" We raced rubber ducks. We liked that part. We tried the corn maze. We never found the exit. In fact, we let the kids choose the route and after about 15-20 minutes, they led us right back out the entrance. We didn't complain. We went on a hay ride. I was a little worried we might get stuck in the mud there for a minute. But we didn't (Phew)! And that was Kaska Family Farm.

We Czeched out the small town of West, Texas and bought some kolaches. It was a first for the kids & me (Jeff's coworkers are loving introducing him to all kinds of new tastes - like chicken fried steak and kolaches). We tried a few meat ones for dinner and then some dessert ones. I don't think we tried the very best ones we could have (bakery inside a gas station - not such a grand idea) but the potential was there. I think I'll have to google kolaches and see what kind of recipes I can find. For those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about: West, Texas is a town with lots of Czech history and apparently kolaches are Czech cuisine. ("Czech out our kolaches" - nice catch phrase, huh?)

I've decided having little boys is a whole different experience than having little girls. My friend Cindy in AZ has 3 girls, and my friend Lindsey in TX just found out she's having her 3rd girl. I tell you what, I'm pretty sure raising my 3 boys is quite a bit different than their girls. Granted, I do have one girl (for which I'm very grateful) but I don't feel like I can focus on all the girly stuff because I'm so busy doing things like this:

unwrapping Cole's hands from Cade's throat
unwrapping Cade's hands from Lane's throat
listening to dinosaur facts
listening to lion roars
being told "I want to hit you, Mom"
cleaning up messes

You get the picture. Today I was getting set apart for some callings (yes, I said some) and Cade spent the entire blessing playing with the basketball he found in the Bishop's office and Cole spent the blessing praying out loud that Cade would stop playing with the basketball. Sigh. I feel tired.

While I'm sure the girls have their drama and difficulties (just as my boys have their sweetness and funniness and all the other positive things I love about them) sometimes I wish for 4 children that would go play quietly in their bedroom, make discipline charts, and plan activities for the entire family to play. Now wouldn't that be nice?

Haha. I love my boys and I love my little girl. I wouldn't trade any of them for anything. I am the luckiest mom alive because all of my children love me and their dad. They like to play with each other and for the most part are very good to each other. They are stinkin' hilarious in the things they do and say. They are smart and creative and coordinated and have good memories. They are generally well-behaved in public places. They are beautiful and handsome and charming. I love them.

I'll just leave you with a mental picture: Lane has learned to nod his head in the affirmative. Imagine that sweet face with his eyebrows lifted, his mouth open, his head tipping back ever so slowly, and then dropping down very deliberately and just a little bit awkwardly. I think I could watch him do this all day.

Life is a Never-ending Lesson

Things I have learned (or been reminded of) in recent days:

it is always a good idea to have hot cocoa on hand, just in case the missionaries knock on your door dripping wet and ask if you have anything warm they can drink. it's ok if they have to sit on the front porch to drink it, they probably still appreciate it. it also helps to have plenty of leftovers so they can come back for lunch (when your hubby is home) and refuel themselves.

(according to Mads) "girls rool and boys grool"

me without sleep + those nasty hormones = not a pleasant combination

every moment with my children is a treasure

4-yr. olds are a lot of fun, especially in large groups. they do like to run a lot and scream and if they're boys, growl as loud as humanly possible

smoothies need lots of liquid so that your blender doesn't burn out

if i lose my patience with my children during bedtime, i feel guilty and can't sleep

my husband is as close to perfect as they come

it doesn't really matter what color your cell phone is or how nifty it is

chocolate chip cookies are awesome

children are the best teachers

if you are prepared, you really don't need to fear

laundry should always be folded & put away when it is fresh from the dryer

A Little Bathtub Surprise

This morning I was busy getting Maddie ready for school and to have Cole's preschool class at 9. Cole was in the bath and I hear, "Mom, we have a problem." Uh-oh. I had an inkling of what I might find when I ventured into the bathroom:

The bad thing about all of this is that I had not yet changed his diaper and yep, you guessed it! It was a lovely mess I got to clean up. And then he ran away from me before I could get his diaper on so I just let him go while I finished the mess. Not a big deal but then...we couldn't find him! The little stinker had run all the way into my room - bare bum & everything!!

Never a dull moment at our house!

Happy Birthday Lane!!

Lane celebrated his 1st birthday on Saturday - it is hard to believe he has only been in our family for a year, yet it seems like yesterday that he looked like this:

The Birthday Boy now:

just waiting for his cake

shoveling it in

Man, this is yummy!

don't want to miss a crumb:)

We were all laughing so hard because it literally took the boy about 30 seconds to down his entire cupcake! And then he begged another few bites off of me! I guess he knows what he likes!

We had a fun birthday for Lane. On Friday night, Jeff's sister and her family came down from Dallas and we got to hang out with them for a few hours. They brought him a fun basketball hoop for the bathtub and a puzzle. Of course, Lane is not the only one who liked that gift - the hoop has been suctioned to the bathtub, the sliding door, and the television while the brothers have been practicing their jump shots. It was so fun to have Lyssa, Sean, & kiddos here and we only wish it could have been longer!

Saturday was busy for Jeff, lazy for me. Jeff did a service project and then took Mads & Cole to a gun show, McDonald's and then to run some errands. I hung out with Cade & Lane (who was not feeling well). We lounged around for hours and then finally decided to make a party! We made cupcakes, ate pizza, did a birthday roast and then headed off for our traditional "let the 1-yr. old pick out their own gift" trip to the store (there are some members of the family who think 1-yr. olds don't even need gifts so this is our compromise). Lane picked out a big squishy baseball. Nice. We needed another ball. Cade has been very protective of Lane and makes sure that no one else steals his ball from him.

Things we love about Lane:

Maddie: I love Lane because he is funny and makes me laugh.
Cole: I love Lane because I like his silly faces.
Cade: no comment.
Mom: I love Lane because he is such an easy-going little guy and is happy to just go with the flow.
Dad: I love Lane because he always gives me a smile and his smile is so contagious.

Things Lane loves:

playing with his brothers and sister
hair
his mommy (and her hair)
balls
cars
pulling things behind him
grapes
having "real" conversations
telephones
TV remote
playing outside
cuddles
wrestling with Daddy

Things Lane doesn't love:

when Cade sits on him
getting in his high chair
being left behind

We sure love Lane and are so extremely grateful to have him in our family and that he is healthy and happy. We love you, Laners!!!

Cameron Park Zoo

A few weeks ago we visited the local Cameron Park Zoo as a family and got an annual membership so that we can go whenever we want. It's awesome because it only takes about 15 minutes to get there so it is an easy fun activity to do with the family about anytime. Just a few days later, I went back to the zoo with the 3 boys and Cole's preschool. These pictures are from both times and are in no particular order.

Cole with his preschool friends riding on the komodo dragon - it is quite a large group - 9 4 yr. olds!! I get to teach next week - I'm excited but a little anxious to see how we all survive!

my sweet Lane baby - he has the most contagious smile:)

sorry about the blurriness of this next photo but I thought it was cute. The kids loved swinging on the ropes near the orangatan exhibit. Maddie & Cole were both very good at it

Cade checking out the giraffe with his daddy.

the giraffe

the meerkat...do you know why he stands like that? I found out that there is always a sentry meerkat standing guard to protect the rest of the group.

the lazy lion - you should be grateful I gave you this shot and not the one the preschool kids saw - he was lying on his back with his legs stretched out - fantastic view

this picture doesn't do it justice but this was the biggest, ugliest orangatan I have ever seen

the three cuties checking out the tiger

the tiger

I love this zoo! Everything is close together so you don't have to walk a mile between exhibits and almost every single animal was out both times we were there. They have lots of other cool stuff that I didn't get pics of (like a clear slide that goes down into the river otter's exhibit so it feels like you're swimming with them) so I guess I'll just have to keep taking pictures every time we go. I'm guessing that will be quite often.

Mowing Lawns, Cute Kids, a Hoedown, and other Randomness

Jeff has been dreaming of getting a riding lawn mower ever since we moved here because he literally has to mow at least 10-12 times as much lawn as he used to. What used to take him about 15 minutes from start to finish now takes a good hour, if not more. But isn't this backyard beautiful? If we could figure out how to resist the massive amounts of mosquitoes and fire ants, we'd be out there a lot more often.

I even took a turn mowing (a first for me, I believe).

Jeff and our little rice-burner of a mower.

Typical Cade...love it!

Cole got a hold of the camera - he LOVES to take pictures!

Our ward had a hoedown a few weeks back and our entire family actually dressed up a bit for the occasion. I do believe it is the first time Jeff has ever costumed-up for anything. Wait, the 2nd time...he did put on a flowered shirt and a lei for a luau we went to when we were dating. But isn't he the most handsome cowboy you've ever seen? I really think he is diggin' the whole Texas thing...it's especially cute when he asks the kids, "Do y'all want to...?"

And aren't these the cutest little hillbillies you're ever seen? Cole was sporting his camouflage pants (which he wears often) and Cade was wearing cut-off denim jeans...classic. The sad thing is that we didn't look much different than usual:) I guess we're hillbillies/rednecks (whatever you want to call it) at heart.

Things are good here. Madlyn is thriving at school and is doing very well with her reading, writing, math, etc. She was so excited because a couple of weeks ago they did a unit on apples, her favorite fruit. She even got to taste all different kinds of apples and apparently she was the only one who liked the dehydrated ones. So we bought a bunch of apples and dehydrated them, she liked that. She got invited to her first birthday party here and so we all went down to Peter Piper Pizza (ya know, one of my favorite places) and had a good time there. I did notice she played mostly with a little boy named Jeffrey and not too much with the girls. She must feel most comfortable with boys, I guess. Sounds familiar. We took her to the optometrist the other day because her pediatrician in AZ said that she needed to see one (after doing a quick check there). I was worried she'd need glasses but she still has 20/20 vision. I felt kind of dumb taking her in since she's totally fine but am grateful that we have insurance so all I had to pay was the $10 copay.

Cole is loving preschool. He has been learning his alphabet sounds, practicing writing, cutting, and learning about dinosaurs, animals, the environment, etc. He LOVES it! They are also being exposed to art & music, which I love. The other day he came home and said that they (the teachers) had shown him "Starry Night" and that it was by Van Gogh. I asked him what it looked like and he did an excellent job of recounting details of the picture. I was impressed. He is absolutely obsessed with animals of any kind and soaks up everything he learns on PBS (Dinosaur Train) and NickJr. (Diego) like a sponge. Much of my day is spent listening to him recount animal facts to me - I love it! He still says "I love you" abou 25 times a day and it is hilarious. He'll come bouncing/dancing in to me and urgently say, "Mom!" Yes, Cole? "I love you. and I need to go potty." All righty then. He can't hardly say anything to me or Jeff without prefacing it with "I love you." I am so glad because it keeps me saying it to all of them often.

Cade is a fireball as usual. He has become so curious about the world and has such a scientific/mathematical mind. He counts EVERYTHING (he can almost count to 20 accurately - and connect it to objects) and tries really hard to tell me the colors of things. He still hasn't figured colors out though so everything is green these days (A couple of weeks ago it was all blue & black). He likes to color and practice cutting. He is definitely the opposite of Cole in that way (OK, in almost every way). Cade is getting better at not pushing/jumping on/hitting his little brother Lane and will often say, "Lane's just a little baby." Oh, this is a snippet of a conversation that I heard this morning: Cole, "Cade..I don't want to play right now." Cade, "But Cole, you're my brother." He really is such a cutie and is so much fun to have around!

Lane is just a little doll-baby. He has been sleeping quite well lately and I am loving that! He does like to pull everything out of cupboards and drag them all over the house so that's not quite so fun but at least he's happy. He likes to play with his siblings and his dad when they all get rowdy and wrestle in the evenings. He is walking all over the place (since about the 24th of August) and tries to talk a lot. He thinks he's having real conversations but no one can understand any of it. In fact, I still have not recognized "Mom" or "Dad" out of any of his babblings. That's OK. He's my baby and I don't mind if he stays that way for a while. Lane turns 1 on the 17th - I really can't hardly believe he has been in our family for almost a year.

So anyways, we are well and happy. We did get a little homesick over Conference weekend missing our regular traditions but we did all right. It was weird having Conference start at 11 in the morning instead of 9 and it was very strange for Jeff to go to Priesthood at 7pm instead of 5. I missed my normal Girls' Night with my MIL during the Priesthood Session and Jeff missed being with his dad and the Snows but like I said, we survived. Jeff stopped off at a little Mexican restaurant on his way home and got some chips & salsa so at least he got that:) I, on the other hand, put the kids to bed early and watched a girly movie.

Thanks for checking in - have a great day!