Happy Halloween!

The Bass family gave Brigham a pumpkin a few weeks ago and almost every day since he has asked me about carving it. With all the sicknesses and just busy daily life we never got around to doing it. Well, after his nap today, he and I finally got to it! Levi was outside helping Daddy make a table and fixing the van and Hryum was still asleep so it was just our little project. It was kind of fun getting to do something alone with him.
Me-Me, Uncle Steve, and Logan came to pick up the two older boys to go trick or treating. Brigham isn't running a fever anymore but we had him wear a surgical mask anyways, just in case, under his Iron Man mask. They took them to the nursing home that Steve works at and I guess they were spoiled rotten with attention and candy from the residents there! Thank you Me-Me and Uncle Steve for being surrogate parents tonight...I love you for that!

And here is our poor little "gimpy" tonight. Even in sickness he is so stinkin' cute!

Ice Cream Bugles, Anyone?

My poor kids have been very sick for a while now. It started about 3 weeks ago...making its rounds through each child. Most of the time it ran its course while it was still infecting another child but every once in a while we would get a few days break before starting its course again. I'm sure it mutated somewhere along the way. Last night, I took Hyrum to the Emergency Room after learning that Daddy had put him to bed at 5:30 p.m. That is very early but it seemed even more odd to me since he had pretty much slept the whole day while I was home earlier that day also. So I checked in on him and sure enough he was burning up with a 104 temperature. He tested positive for Influenza A. I knew that had to be what Brigham was at home sick with also. Sure enough, today Brigham tested positive for it also. The flu outbreak here has really scared a lot of people and so the schools really don't want anyone going to school with a fever or if a sibling has the flu. Both the kids were so excited for their Halloween parties today. It really was not fun trying to get Levi to understand why he couldn't go to his Halloween party even though he wasn't sick. So I tried to make it as fun as I possibly could tonight for them. Grandpa (Thatcher) had brought over some Bugles and Kraft Easy Cheese yesterday for the boys. So after having pizza and watching a fun kid vampire movie we brought out the "little ice creams." Grandma started this with Hyrum. She would take one of the Bugles and put the Easy Cheese in the middle of it and give it to him. One day we were all over at Grandma and Grandpa's house when Brigham asked MeMaw and Poppy for "one of those little ice creams." It took them a while but then they finally realized what he was asking for.

I guess being sick can still have a few perks to it.

The Grove Branch Halloween Party

The church had their halloween party at the "Right Choices" corn maze tonight. I had such a wonderful time tonight. There are times in your life when you feel lots of love with and for those you are around and tonight I felt that. This is our group before we ate and before going in the actual corn maze and other corn maze activities. Our children (and some adults!) were the only ones in costumes so you can imagine just how much we stood out! And it was very busy! I can't tell you how much I love this picture!

And this one!

This is April and Jolayne right after they attacked me with makeup kisses!

The night was filled with food, trick or treating at the picnic tables, and lots of outside play.

Nanny/Poppy Nights

Every Friday night one of the older boys has a Nanny/Poppy night. They share it with one of their cousins and they get spoiled rotten! Sometimes Nanny and Poppy will have a little activity for them (like this picture; I think they dug these rocks out of a block of something...not sure...but they loved it!). But they can always count on picking out the place they are going to eat that night or make something fun like homemade pizza. Later that night they can eat as much ice cream as their little hearts desires while they watch endless episodes of Spongebob or whatever cartoon they want while Poppy falls asleep on the couch. Which of course means they can stay up as long as they want because Poppy is asleep! You can imagine just how much they look forward to Friday nights.

The Levi Pretzel

Tonight was Brigham's nanny and poppy night so while Daddy was bringing Brigham to the Grandparents and letting Hyrum visit MeMaw and Poppy (my grandparents), Levi and I went on a date! He had gotten a coupon for a free pizza at Pizza Hut and a free ice cream from Diary Queen from school so David and I thought this would be the perfect time to use it. David or I try to do something alone with the other older boy when it is a nanny and poppy night so that they can feel special. It doesn't always work out but we try. Sometimes it is as fun as Daddy taking Levi out to McDonald's and then out to a movie afterwards. Usually it is something as simple as Mommy taking Brigham to Wal-Mart with her (I try my hardest not to take the kids with me when I shop....its my alone time!) and letting him pick out a cereal....any cereal that he wants. Which may seem so little but it is a treat since mommy only buys the healthy stuff; so you can imagine what the boys pick out when they get to pick! This is a picture of Levi at Pizza Hut. I got him some cottage cheese at the salad bar while we were waiting for his pizza. I had picked up some crackers for my salad when I thought it would be interesting for Levi to try the cottage cheese on a cracker. He tried it while I asked him, "What does it taste like?" He waited a little bit and then said, "It kind of tastes like a pretzel!" So for the rest of the night we were talking about the Levi Pretzel.

Later when the pizza came, he wasn't eating so I said, "Levi eat your pizza." He looked at me with the most discusted look and said, "Did you say, eat your poo!?!" And yes he was serious. He really thought I had told him to eat his poo!

A friend of mine, Tammy Gibson, and her family visited us for a few days once while we were living in Idaho. Her oldest was on a mission and her youngest, Anna, was probably 5 or so. Anna was still sucking her thumb and I remember Tammy saying something like, "I just don't worry about things like that anymore. It's not like she is going to be in High School still sucking her thumb." I doubt that she knew she was giving advice at the time but she was and I haven't forgot it. We have had our third child since then and our parenting is different for sure. When I get frustrated with things that the kids are doing, I often find myself remembering what Tammy said 4 or so years ago. Today was one of those days. I was at the computer when I turned around to find this. We would have NEVER let our other kids do this. We would have been so afraid that they would end up pulling on the pillows of the couch so much that it would end up ripping. I just think it is plain cute now. I think it is adorable that he uses the couch in a whole different way than the rest of us in this house! I believe that each child comes down with their own personalities and sometimes what we teach will come out in these personalities and so he could very well be spoiled. He does get away with so much more than Levi and Brigham ever did. But I can't help but feel that we are getting it right. Maybe I'm making excuses for myself but I can't help but feel that I don't worry as much as a parent as I did with the other two. I know for sure that David enjoys this go around much better! You should see the two together! I think that when we first were parents we wanted to be the best parents to Levi so badly that in some ways we were too strict. In some ways, he is more responsible than the others. He listens much better, he always wants to help, and so on but he also worries more than Brigham and Hyrum do. I guess what I'm saying through all of this is that there is no perfect way of parenting. Both being strict and not strict enough can have negative and positive outcomes. I hope that the Lord knew this and that is why He send us Levi first and Hyrum last. I hope that with the little personalities that they came down with that we parented in a way that works well with those personalities.
I like this picture because of his cute little lips. He is saying, "tools" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Someone is in love with Daddy!

Levi is my little lovey dove. He always has been. That boy melts my heart with how much he loves me. For the longest time Brigham seemed to like guys better than girls, with the exception of Grandma Adams. And he especially loved Daddy! He has grown out of it a little bit and now asks for a lot of attention from both me and David. In Utah, Hyrum wouldn't even let me leave the room without whining. But when David lost his job he became extremely attached to Daddy. Months have went by and it hasn't changed. Just a few minutes ago, I could hear some muffled Hyrum sounds coming out of the bedroom. I opened the door and found this! Daddy can't even read a book by himself if Hyrum is around. He always has to be where Daddy is! I got the camera, took the picture and came out here to the computer to put this on the blog when seconds later I hear little Hyrum feet running across the hardwood floor and a slam of the bedroom door...apparently no mommas are allowed in that room!