Apples, Apples, Apples!!

On Saturday we took the boys to the orchard and let them pick apples. They both had a blast.

And how many applies did we get? Well 34 pounds worth to be exact.

Holy Apples Batman! I tried convincing Trevor I needed an apple peeler but he didn't agree (mostly because it was $25). But he doesn't have to cut all these up! Should be fun!

Leaves, Leaves and more Leaves

13 Steps to Enjoying a Leaf Pile

1. First leaves must be raked into a pile. Using a rake that is 4 times your body length may make this task difficult.

2. Stand around and watch your little brother and daddy do all the work. Repeating several times, "Now mommy? Now can I jump in them?"

3. Give up on raking leaves since daddy HAD to do it his way.

4. Try and take cute pictures with your brother while we wait for daddy to make the World's Largest Leaf Pile.

5. Get rewarded with candy corn for at least sitting and trying to take pictures, smiling at the same time was apparently optional.

6. Stare in disbelief that daddy really did make the World's Largest Leaf Pile.

7. Jump in the Leaf Pile.

8. Take turns sitting in leaf pile.

9. Try not to eat the leaves.

10. Bury daddy in the leaf pile.

11. Throw leaves in the air.

12. Enjoy the leaf pile with your brother.

13. And last but not least....relax in leaf pile while mommy takes a cute picture of you.

And a video....it's a little long and the quality isn't very good. Guess that's what you get when you try and make a 6 minute video fit into 4MB, Oops.

Happy Anniversary!

On Saturday Trevor and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. In 5 years we've lived in 5 different places, owned 2 houses, started a new job, moved to a new state and had 2 fantastic little boys. It's been an incredible ride.
Happy Anniversary Honey!
I love you.

Stuffed into my parents car eating a banana. (My mom was worried I would pass out at the church!)

It was freezing the morning of our wedding, I think around 40 degrees. Pictures outside were very short!

My cute little flower girl, Erynn, who is now 8!

This has to be the classiest wedding picture!

My favorite wedding party picture.

Sometimes they make you laugh so hard you cry or cry so hard you laugh

The chocolate chip cookies were a hit. At least according to Carson they were. And he got to be Leader for the day. Except for a moment when his friend tried to take his spot. I image there was some sort of preschool take down match between the two of them. OK, maybe not, but Carson was pretty clear that he got the Leader spot back.

It's barely after noon and the boys are already in bed. This may be due to the fact that BOTH of them woke up WAY to early (read 6AM) this morning. Seriously, nothing good can come of a day when they are up at that ungodly hour. No wonder I drink Coke. Its the only thing that gets me through days like this. Hopefully a long nap will clear up any crabbiness left in their wee little bodies.

I had my first night of Religious Education last night. Let's just summarize and say the kids were awful. 12 first graders, 9 boys and 3 girls. I'm not really sure what I am going to do, if I'll even continue teaching. I thought younger aged kids would be "easier" but if last night is a sign of anything, I was WAY wrong. It's frustrating because I was looking forward to doing this. But we'll see, I haven't given up hope just yet.

We've been weaning Declan off his plug for awhile now. He's done pretty well with it. He gets it only at nap time and bedtime and he knows that he can only have it when he is in his crib. I used to keep them on my tall dresser so he couldn't see them but I could easily get to them. Well the other day I started making him set them on his dresser after nap and after a few days I had 3 or 4 gathered there. I was cooking dinner on Monday night while Trevor was at work. When dinner was ready Carson came running in and sat at the table but there was no Declan and that's when I noticed it was pretty quite around here. S0 I went looking for him and found him in his room. He had pushed our big stool over to his dresser, climbed on top of the stool and was sucking on the plugs one at a time....completely enjoying himself. Stinker! Needless to say, they are back in my room now.

We have an area behind our chair that is open and when you are walking down our stairs you can reach that area through the banister. Makes a great place to store junk, just ask my husband! It is also a place where our kitties often curl up and sleep. When the boys are on the stairs they like to reach over and give them a pet. Yesterday I ran out to the car to get some cars for Carson that he left in there. As I was walking back through the garage I heard a loud thump and then screaming. When I opened the door I found Carson laying on the floor screaming and holding his head. I picked him and gave him some loves. When he calmed down I asked him what had happened. He said he fell down the stairs. I said well how did you fall. His reposnse between sobs was....
"I was coming down the stairs and I stopped to talk to Jenna (our kitty) and I tripped."
I wonder if Jenna talked back?

Usually when I tuck Carson into bed we review how our day has been. Today as I ducked into his bed to say goodnight (or is it goodnap?) he said to me (before I even started talking)...
"I wuv you all da time mommy and I wuv daddy all da time too."

Oh, it's moments like that that make this the BEST job in the world.

And lastly, a little video of the crazy boys in the tub the other night.

Ramblings

Carson was requested a "samwich" everday for lunch for at least the past 2 weeks. And he's gotten it every time he asks. For a moment I feel guilty but then I realize just how easy it is to make PB&J and I succumb to the pressure of coming up with something else. Today I wanted to stop and grab something for lunch but he insisted on having a "samwich."

At school the kids take turns bringing snacks. Thursday is Carson's turn. And for some reason I have snack anxiety. You see snack time seems to be the thrill of the day for all 3 year olds. Every parent has the same conversation with their child as they walk out the school door, "What did you do in school today?" and you can hear every child answer the same thing, "We had ____ for snack today." It's quite comical actually and makes me want to provide the best snack ever so I can hear the comments from all the little people when school is over! Oh the pressure!

So I've kept track of what's been served. I mean we don't want to have any repeats. No ma'am, not in this house where we eat PB&J for lunch everyday. I've also asked Carson a few times what he would like to bring. His answers have varied, Samwiches, apples, crackers, cake, little cookies. It seems his answers go along with whatever it was they had for snack that day. Today it was a little cookies so he insisted I make little cookies for him. I said how about big cookies? And he gleefully agreed. So I guess I'll be making a batch of chocolate chip cookies for him.

Now, what to bring for show-n-tell??

We started swim lessons last night. Declan is in his last session of parent-tot. And he's the biggest and oldest kid in his class. He's probably a little past being in that class but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be able to stand up because he is so short. So last night he sang along with all the songs, screamed hello to his daddy in the balcony and insisted on squirting me with his frog toy the whole time. The other babies (and they were babies, most under a year) sucked their thumbs and giggled. It was pretty comical to see the difference in them. Carson loved his lessons too. No fear in going to his teacher and he hopped right in!

This weekend it was time to bust out our door to the garage. It was only a 30 inch wide door so if you were carrying anything it required entering sideways. Plus it was very poorly insualted. So my father-in-law and Trevor decided to install a 36 inch door. By LATE Sunday afternoon my entry way looked like this.

Luckily (for my husband's sake!) the door was installed on Sunday. However, there is still black tape over the deadbolt and a 12 inch whole at the top that needs sheetrock or insulation or both. I have no idea, that is NOT my department. At any rate, the door is awesome and I can't wait to get it all done, get the rest of those weird mirrors off my entryway wall and paint!

Squeezing the last few days of summer out.

Things around our house have been busy. We've been blessed with gorgeous weather this week so we are trying to soak it up as much as possible. Lots of windows to clean, weeds to pick, flowers to transplant and leaves to rake! So we've been outside more then in and I'm dreading the cold temperatures that are sure to arrive before I know it.

I've also taken on a new challenge. I will be teaching Religious Education to 1st graders starting next week!! I'm splitting the class with another teacher so it will only be a few times a month but I'm really excited, and really nervous, to accept this new challenge. I hesitated for a long time on whether it was something I wanted to do and have decided to answer God's call. I know it will be a learning experience for them and me and I look forward to our year ahead.

What else have we been up to? Well let's see.

When I was little we used to order pizza on Friday nights and watch Dallas and Knots Landing. It was a highlight of my childhood because we got to have a picnic on the living room floor. The other night we ordered pizza, set up our picnic and watched the Vikings on Monday night football. The boys thought it was pretty neat and have insisted we eat in there more often.

I was trying to sweep up the leaves on the sidewalk after I mowed the other day. Declan thought it was a good place to relax.

And Carson soon followed. So much for those helpers. They were actually bummed that the leaves were not on the lawn so they could run through them. We've been reading books about fall so the boys' are dying to have a leaf pile. Rest assured with all these trees will have more then one pile for them to run through!

Enjoying and afternoon snack with daddy.

We went to the zoo the other day with our friends. Carson insisted that it was actually freezing out and he needed the hooded sweatshirt with the hood up!

And yes, we broke down and bought a Buzz Light Year costume. He's ecstatic about it and has asked at least 15 times if today is Halloween.

A Time to Remember

Today is a a sad day. Its a day of remembrance and in our house we are remembering one special person today.

Today would have been my sister's 38th Birthday.
Happy Birthday Cari!
We miss you and love you.

I don't think anyone will ever forget where they were 7 years ago today. I can remember the whole day as if it was yesterday. I remember calling my parents who were on vacation in Montana but decided to cut the trip short and just go home. I remember going to class but all of us trying to figure out what it was we saw on TV this morning. I remember going to work and writing God Bless America on the white board and talking to customers who just didn't know what to say or think. I remember watching hours and hours of tv not only that day but for the many days that followed.

Carson had school today. His biggest excitement from the day was bringing an apple to class so they could make applesauce. I'll note that he didn't actually eat any of it but he was pretty excited about the apple itself. Oh and I hear there was cupcakes too and some playing on the playground. All innocent activities that made his day.

Someday he'll go to school, both boys will, and they will begin to learn the history of this great country. And they will eventually learn the history of this world changing day. They will learn just how cruel some people can be. But that won't happen today or tomorrow and hopefully not for a few more years. I'd liked to think I can protect them from such cruel truths forever but I can't. So today I will hug them a little tighter, kiss them a little extra and tell them that I will always keep them safe.

May God Bless this great country, my sister, all those who lost family and friends 7 years ago and all the men and women who are so proudly serving this country. Because it IS a great country!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great Labor Day weekend. We made the rounds and were able to see all the grandparents.

Before we left this scary little bug thing landed on my screen door. I have no idea what it is but it hung out for most of the afternoon. Yuck!

Stick 'em up!

Collecting pine cones.

Enjoying a drink on the deck.

Relaxing in grandpa's recliner.

We rode the ferris wheel at our local Scheels store. Declan wasn't tall enough but Carson had a blast.

And we played in their fun indoor playground.

Papa and his boys.

Declan was thrilled to help grandma pick up acorns.

Grandma pulled out some toys that belonged to daddy. Declan loved all the tractors that daddy used to have.

And playing with the Big Mack (every semi is a Mack)

Blowing out the flower.