Halloween 2014

Since Halloween seems to always have so many events to go to (school parties, church parties, community parties and trick or treating) I have been trying to just pick one to take pictures.  The rest I just enjoy.  So know that we have many more celebrations to come!

Levi is Slenderman, Brigham is Pikachu, and Hyrum is Yoshi.

Not much to explain for our get ups :)

Levi and Jett wanted to pose for a picture.

Levi did say that his suit was uncomfortable so I told him he didn't have to wear it again, which of course stinks.  That suit was expensive!  But I can't blame him.  That suit would drive me nuts to wear!

I do want to share a learning experience I had with Brigham, though.

I took him, Hyrum, and Jett to a Halloween store the other day.  It had some pretty creepy stuff in there, which is why I am not a fan of Halloween.  I loved it when the boys were little because I never took them in these stores and when we dressed them up, it was just all cutesy stuff.  I knew that as they got older that they would choose much different things than I wanted and I accept that.  Except for bloody stuff.

So we are in this store and Jett finds all these creepy mechanical displays fun.  I was so busy trying to find stuff that I really didn't pay that much attention.  I knew what he was doing because he kept telling me to look but I could use the excuse of being busy not to look.  Finally we are ready to check out and I have to look.  By this point Hyrum was sticking to my side.  He is so like me in a lot of ways.  Scared of things is one area that I'm afraid he has taken on.  At one point he said, "Do we ever have to go back here again?"  Poor kid.  I told him that he never ever had to go back.  That it would be completely up to him and he seemed happy about that.

So I start walking up to this display and Brigham says, "Mom, you don't want to see that."  He wasn't joking.  He was serious.  I go closer and he tells Jett, "Seriously, she won't like that."  And then, "Mom, don't look."  So I followed his advice and told Jett that I was sorry but I was going to trust Brigham because he knows how much I don't like scary, creepy stuff.

As we were driving away, I told Brigham how proud I was of him for protecting his mother.  That it may not have seemed like that to him at the time but he was definitely protecting me.  I told him, "You know, that is what a man does.  Not a boy.  A man protects his mother."  I wish I could have gotten on camera the look on his face when I said that.  He just beamed.  I was so very proud of him in that moment.

I have been blessed with an amazing young man in Brigham.

Running Out of Time

Sunday night I had a dream.  I can't remember most of it but something very clear was still in my mind when I woke up.

I'm running out of time.

I have no idea what it means.  Well, I guess I have ideas but that is all it is.  It may not mean anything at all.  But almost instantly I knew what I wanted to do with it.  I want to believe it meant that I'm running out of time with my children because they are growing up so fast.  So...

 Each day this week, I secretly checked each one out of school for lunch.

 There were 2 rules.

1.  You can't tell your brothers about it, so they can be surprised when it is their turn.  2.  You get to pick the place and get whatever you want.

Yesterday was the last day that I did it.  And wouldn't you know that today as I was volunteering at the school, I watched as a little girl was being pulled out of her class to be told that her mother had just died.  As heartbreaking as that was, I was so grateful to wittness it.  Life is short for all of us.  

Use it with love.

Infatuation

I just wanted to journal something to make sure that I never forget how much my husband loves me.

 

We have someone in our lives that is struggling right now so David wrote him a letter trying to get this person to know and understand that he is not alone.  That it happens to so many of us.  As David wrote of his own struggles a certain paragraph touched me more than the rest.

 

"I look back on Alisa's and my time in Oklahoma as a bench mark that we can use to remind us what we have come from.  It seems like a lot of time has passed since that dark time.  We still have our doubts about what to do (with decisions in this life) and how to get things done but I have never loved her or anyone more than I do her now.  I am completely infatuated with her and she knows it."

 

And I do know it.

Beus Pond Park Hike

For Family Home Evening tonight I wanted us to go on a hike.  We were pretty bad about going on hikes this summer.  With the leaves changing colors, I just couldn't pass this up.

It's hard to get these boys to take a serious picture.

I wanted to get a picture of just Levi and David because of the above picture of the rest of us.  But do you think Brigham could handle that?

That kid is in LOVE with his Dad!

Along the hike David found all these dead trees with a huge hole inside.

It was, of course, an ideal spot for them to climb.

 When I first told the boys we were hiking tonight, Hyrum was not happy about it.  He was just about in tears as he told me he was scared.  I told him that we wouldn't go anywhere on the trails that he didn't feel comfortable with.  He then told me that it was ok to go in the middle of the mountain.  Just not the top.  Oh trust me, Hyrum.  Mommy would never go to the top of any mountain.  She is way to afraid of heights for that!

So watching David guide Hyrum along the very steep parts melted my heart.  He was so patient with Hyrum...and then Levi slid down the trail!  I know David wants me to let them "be boys" but my heart stopped for a second as I watched this scene!  But as you can see, Levi thought it was fun.  Which lead to a perfect picture...

All that very dry dirt made for such a beautiful picture.  And I'm proud to say that it was the boys who noticed this and wanted me to take a picture.

It Was Probably All They Had

Mom posted this picture on Facebook and I can't stop thinking about it.  I may not have been alive to witness this time in my Grandparents, Mom, and Uncle's lives but I know it is true.  I know this not only in my grandparent's personalities of today but because of words of wisdom my Grandmother has given me over the years.

As I have been away all these years from home (besides the 3 years that we lived in Oklahoma a few years back) I have had many phone conversations with Grandma.  When things were financially hard I would hear stories of how when my mom was a baby, she slept in a dresser drawer because that was all they could provide at the time.  Or as I felted sorry for myself  because it had been so long since I had seen my family and was missing home,  Grandma would tell me how she longed to be with her Mom and Dad also while Grandpa was in the Navy.  These are just a few examples but they have lasted in my mind.

Probably because she and Grandpa didn't want the same for me, I don't know how many times they sent packages of baby clothes and stuff while David was in college.  Or how many times they flew me home while I was in college and even in the beginning of our marriage while David was still in school.  This is in no way to diss my great grandparents; they just couldn't afford to do that for my grandparents.  However, I'm sure that if they could have things would have been different.

Most people who know my family know how they are constantly doing things for each other.  I think it is a southern/Oklahoma thing but I also think that it is my family.  We were raised to give to each other and help when someone needs it.  I have seen my parents do this time and time again for their children.  

I pray I pass this wonderful example to my boys.

What does your flu shot smell like?

Last month we all got our flu shots.  The last 2 years we have gotten them at Maceys (grocery store) because they have cheap, huge ice cream cones to bribe the boys with.

Though they were not excited, they all said it didn't hurt as bad as they thought it would.  Hyrum really had nothing to complain about, though.  He got the nasal one so no shots for him.
 

A few days ago I was checking the temperature of a boy that was staying with us.  After using the thermometer, I wiped it down with an alcohol swab.  I accidentally left it next to the couch on the book shelf.  Later, Levi sits on the couch and asks me. "Why does it smell like flu shots in here?"

Um, what?  I told him that I didn't know flu shots had a smell.  Then it hit me that he was associating the alcohol smell with the shots.  It is funny what our mind holds on to.  Levi was probably the most scared to get the shot and so he remembers almost every detail of it, even when the pharmacist rubbed alcohol on his arm before the shot.

Who would have ever thought that flu shots had a smell to them? 

Hi Nanny and Poppy!

So, Brigham found a science kit that he got from Nanny and Poppy a few Christmas' back.  I can't believe we never finished using all of it.  I'll blame it on the moves.  

Enjoy Nanny and Poppy!

Some men in my life

 (Ronald a.k.a Uncle Bubba and Levi in Ronald's truck)

On Saturday morning, Ronald called me up and asked if I wanted to see him.  He was in Salt Lake!  He and his family lives in Oregon and so I haven't seen him in a while.  He drives a truck for the Swift company now and I know he stops at a lot of places and has to get moving but I hope I get more and more of these surprise calls!

I just started a job.  I work for the Adams Avenue Parkway.  It is a toll road and I sub for the regular employees when they need a day off.  I really like this job a lot.  And it is perfect for this time in my life while the kids are in school.  

On Monday I came home to David playing tag with the boys and some of their friends outside our house.  I fall in love with my husband again and again when I see things like this.  I felt so blessed and had to take a picture of us together...and then he kissed me.  I am so blessed!

Things that keep the boys busy

 Brigham riding his bike at the park next to our house.

 Hyrum and his interesting way to play the 3DS.

 Levi feeding our neighbor's Guinea Pigs a carrot from our garden.

Brigham playing in the rain.

 

 

There is always something to do to keep these boys busy :)