Thanksgiving Week

This week has been full of recouperating from the Vegas trip (it's always nice to come home but the laundry seems to take FOREVER!) and getting ready for Thanksgiving while enjoying time with family. On Wednesday the boys helped me make apple, lemon, banana cream, chocolate, blackberry, and 2 pumpkin pies. This is the first time I ever made pie crust that didn't involve a box and unrolling the premade dough and it turned out really well. I even peeled and sliced the apples, making the filling from scratch! I was very proud of myself.
That night we went to my parents' house and set tables, made rolls, and did all of the prep work we could before Thursday. Jeff got to go play football with a group of guys at the elementary school and conveniently got home as we were finishing preparing the meal :) So I didn't feel too bad for him when he complained of his old, sore body for the next day and a half.
My nieces stayed the night with us Thursday night and the next morning we went with my sister Kristen and two of my nephews to Target. This is the first time I've gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving and we didn't get there until 11 and it was still pretty crazy.
Then we went and saw Twilight and I'm keeping my opinions to myself because I'm going to go see it with Callie and maybe it'll be like the first time I saw Napolean Dynamite.
That night we ate nachos and watched movies at my parents' house and on Saturday I went to lunch with Kristen before she left town. Then we spent some time catching up around the house and Jeff got the garden tilled and my flower baskets taken down for the winter. It seems wierd that tomorrow is December 1st and we've actually had some pretty nice weather latley and it hasn't snowed here yet. Hopefully we'll at least get some snow for Christmas! Ethan keeps getting his sled out of the storeroom but there's only so much you can do with it on grass and gravel.
The boys have runny noses and coughs, only the begining of the winter-sick-season but hopefully we'll have an easier/healthier go of it this year. Last year it felt like I couldn't keep them healthy for anything and I'm pretty sure I was solely responsible for keeping the cold medicine and tissue companies in business.
Tonight we're celebrating our good friend Joe's birthday and after the candles were blown out Kamden grabbed one of the burned matches and, of course, ate it. He also pooped in the bathtub last night, so life's back to normal after a busy and hectic week.

Here are some pictures of the boys playing football with Jeff, Ryan, and Joe. I have no idea what's going on with Kamden's hat.

Our 5th Anniversary was last Friday and we celebrated in Las Vegas. We were able to stop and visit Jeff's grandparents and someone he used to work with several years ago. While we were at Grandma and Grandpa Hurst's house they told us about a bridge being built at Hoover Dam so on Saturday we drove out to see it. It was pretty interesting but I could NEVER work on something like that, can you imagine being that high, relying on cables to hold you up? It makes me nauseous just looking at the pictures!
How would you like to ride in that?
The two arches on either side had men working on them also, if that was my husband's job I wouldn't want to know where he went every day until the bridge was finished!




Some of the other sights:












It was a fun trip but not somewhere I want to go again. Thanks to Tyler and Jolynne for watching the boys, Ethan can't stop talking about all of the fun he had!

Nothing Like A Good Morning Read

Duck Hunt

Last week we had some friends over and they brought their 'Ghetto Nintendo' as we affectionatley call it. This was one of mine and Jeff's favorite pastimes while we were dating and it was fun to play some good ol' fashioned Mario Brothers. Ethan really liked the Duck Hunt game and this is how close he'd get to shoot them.

Jordan & Ariel Engagement Pictures

You can see more of my work here.

The New 'Do

I chopped my hair off! Well, I didn't do it, Callie did, but still. I've been growing it out for quite awhile now, ever since the tramatizing haircut I received at a local salon about 2 1/2 years ago. It was one of those haircuts where you go in with a picture but the lady just keeps hacking and chopping and you really know you're in trouble when you hear the hum of the clippers and the cold steel against your neck. On top of that, I was 5 months pregnant and overly emotional so you can imagine what it was like for me to see my hair that had just moments ago been past my shoulders now cropped close to my scalp. I looked like a dude.
I cried and told my husband I couldn't go out in public for several months and vowed that I would never again step foot into that salon. And I haven't.
That's been quite awhile and since then I found someone to cut my hair that did a great job but I let myself get busy raising kids, remodeling the house, and just life in general. Then I met Callie.
And today she chopped my hair off.

Cute, huh?

How do you know when it's time for potty training?

A. Your child poops in the bathtub twice in 3 days
B. He develops a habit of taking his diaper off every chance he gets
C. He takes his diaper off without you knowing AND he has a messy diaper. Before you realize what he's doing, he has sat on your mom's living room carpet and has poo smeared all over his legs
D. All of the above

If you chose 'D' then you are unfortunalty correct.
Welcome to my life.

I should have known what kind of day it was going to be when Kamden woke me up at 5:30 this morning. The boys and I went visiting teaching this morning, ran a few errands, and I was really looking forward to naptime.
Ethan didn't take a nap but he had quiet time in his room while I started on dinner. He came downstairs and was helping me in the kitchen when we heard Kamden knocking on his bedroom door upstairs, wanting out from his nap. Ethan ran upstairs and I soon heard him telling Kamden to hold onto the handrail while walking down the stairs.
Then I heard "EW! GROSS! Mom, come here, hurry!"

I'll leave everything to the imagination but there was Kamden with only his shirt and socks on, but covered, COVERED in poo.
I lifted Kamden up and held him out as far as I could while hurrying to the bathroom and put him in the shower. Then I went into his room.
All I will say about that is there was his diaper on the floor, clean as if it had just come out of the box. His pillow had to be thrown away, the bed stripped down, and I won't go into detail about what was smeared all over the back of his bedroom door but it wasn't pretty. Thank goodness for disinfecting cleaning sprays.

Deffinatley time for potty training.

HaPpY BiRtHdaY KAmDeN!

Kamden turns 2 tomorrow, it seems like I just posted about his first birthday, how can he be 2?!
We had a birthday party for him on Saturday at our house with family but Kamden decided to take a nap half an hour before it was supposed to start. I woke him up after everyone was already here and eating dinner and it took awhile for him to liven up and realize the night was all about him. The balloons were the best additon to the party-a cheap way to entertain kids for hours! As we were blowing up the balloons and Ethan was running through them and tossing them through the air he told me "This is the best birthday EVER mom!" And, a day later, those balloons are still holding their attention.
After we sang Happy Birthday to him, Kamden pointed to the lit candles and said 'Hot, hot' and I didn't think he'd try to blow them out but Ethan hopped right up there and together they got the job done.
Then it was time to open gifts and Kamden went crazy. I don't think he could focus long enough to find out what was in the bag, he just wanted to play with everything all at once and discovered he didn't have enough hands to hold all of the toys at the same time. It was pretty funny and I ended up opening most of the gifts for him. Thanks to everyone for coming to celebrate with us!
Today we met Jeff's parents over at Wade and Lauren's and had dinner with leftover cake and ice cream from the party. They brought Kamden a great little airport with a helicopter, airplane, and motorcycle. He's really been into airplanes ever since we went to that airshow a few weeks back, so he's really excited.
Well, we're halfway done with our family's birthday parties for 2008. Jeff and Kamden down and Ethan and I in December. I'm thinking we might just have to do a combined party in 2009!

I...

I am: hungry! And excited for the yummy dinner at Elisa's birthday party tonight!
I know: That I am loved.
I want: some slippers. The floors downstairs are FREEZING now that the weather is colder.
I have: everything I need and more.
I hate: when people are ungrateful or selfish.
I miss: my brother and sister-in-law and their 3 boys that live out East.
I feel: blessed.
I hear: my blog playlist and Kamden upstairs. He's up from his nap!
I smell: Kamden's messy diaper.
I search: for bargains.
I love: to see my children play together, smile at me, hear them laugh, and when they give me hugs and kisses and tell me they love me. And I love date nights with my hubby.
I crave: Chocolate.
I care: that I saw a man sleeping under a picnic table last weekend.
I always: stress. And make lists. I make lists because I stress and I'm afraid I'll forget something.
I believe: in forgiveness.
I sing: in the car. I apologize profoundly to Tyler and Jolynne for the 20+ hours they spent in the car with me last weekend :)
I write: to deal with my emotions. It's always been easier for me to express how I'm feeling with a pen rather than to speak about it. I'm getting better at this though!
I loose: my cell phone too often.
I win: Tetris. Because I love it.
I never: got passed Algebra I in High School. Math was not my thing, I'm a little worried about who's going to help my kids with their homework!
I listen: to all kinds of music. Just ask Tyler and Jolynne about my Ozzy impression :)
I am scared: of something happening to my children. It's true that having a child is like having your heart walking around outside your body.
I need: to get over the mom guilt-trip and remember that I'm doing the best I can and that's all that matters.
I tag: everyone and anyone who reads this blog. And thanks Kalia for tagging me!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy EliSa!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy {yesterday} JeFf!

I LoVe YoU!

Denver Road Trip...

Jeff's brother, Tyler, is a Miami Dolphins fan and Jeff has been a Denver Broncos fan since the begining of time. So, when Tyler called to let us know the two teams were playing each other in Denver the day before Jeff's birthday, it was a great opportunity for a road trip AND a birthday gift!






We left Friday night after trick-or-treating and stayed with Jeff's parents before heading out the next morning. {Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for watching the boys!}
We stayed with Jeff's Aunt Darla and Uncle Glen that evening and that alone made the trip worthwhile, they are so fun! Darla makes delicious stew and the best fried eggs I've ever had and Glen makes BEAUTIFUL furniture-I need to send Jeff to stay with them for a few weeks so he can learn! They have a lovely home and we appreciate them letting us stay with them.
Denver was an interesting experience and I learned two things:
1. I never want to drive in Denver again
and
2. I have GOT to learn how to change a tire
We stayed with Darla and Glen again that night and we stopped to see Shannon-we were roommates and hadn't seen each other in a year and a half.
Then we picked the boys up and headed home, spending about 10 hours driving that day. It was a really fun road trip and the time passed quickly, but it's always nice to come home! (Except that I have a TON of laundry to do today AND Kamden pooed in the bathtub this morning)