house of horror

*(my last minute attempt at catching up on all our Halloween posts before Halloween! and there's still more to come)...

Last FHE, we made one of those Halloween gingerbread houses....oh man. I won't let these pictures fool you, sure it looks like we had a great time...but lets be honest, the first half an hour was nothing but frustration! The dang house had four sides that were all entirely different shapes....not an architecturally sound design that's for sure. Then once we finally got it together, you were supposed to let it dry for AN HOUR before adding the roof and decorating. Well it was almost bed time, and the kids were too anxious to wait for a whole hour to decorate, so I tried to just build it all and the dang thing crumbled. I wanted to scream and throw it in the garbage, and then call up Wilton and give them a piece of my mind. After some deep breaths, and sticking the kids in the bath, I gave it another try. Finally it came together, but the kit came with about 1/4 of the icing that was needed, about 5 candy corns, 5 gumdrops, and some itty candy balls that were flying all over the place. We improvised with our own candy, extra frosting that I already had, and random sprinkles and other crap I had lying around...including some Christmas candy...oh man by the time we were done, we had ONE UGLY house, but we were all laughing hysterically. Phew. Just take a look at the hideousness....(oh dang, you can't see it in the picture, but there are about 3 Santa Claus faces on the roof)!

YOWZA!

pumpkin carving

Our "Family" attempt at carving our pumpkin

the kids refused to scoop out the guts of the pumpkin, little pansies...

and of course they can't carve with a knife either, which turned into Jer doing all the work while I got the kids ready for bed...

here's proof they were really there even though they didn't do anything!

Good Work JER!

brayden's pick

Brayden came home from school yesterday and said they held their school voting poll.

Me: "So, who did you vote for?"
Bray: "Barack Obama. (sad face) But I think everyone else voted for John Mcain."
Me: "Oh, well that's okay Brayden, why did you pick Barack Obama?"
Bray: "Because I really like his name because it sounds like BROCCOLI!"

(Later that evening....he said, "Barack Obama doesn't raise the TAX.")

pokemon party

Brayden requested his first ever "theme" party this year, and he chose Pokemon. Well apparently, it isn't the most requested because there were no decorations, goody bags, or cakes to be found. But we made do just fine. We started with a Pokeball hunt in the back yard...(nevermind the cow poop on the grass).

Then it was Pin the Tail on the Pikachu..

Then we played "Pass the Pikachu" (like Hot Potato)

...ate pizzaopened presents...

And finally some birthday cake!

six

Brand new

One year

Two Years (Bekah, taken by you :)

Three years

Four Years

Five Years
Six

I love doing birthday posts because I am forced to find a picture from every year and see how much he has changed. I can't say enough about Brayden but I really want to record a few things at every birthday for our books. Brayden has had a major growth spurt this year, he was wearing a size 5 (boys section) just a couple months ago, and now I just bought an 8! how is this possible in a matter of a few months? I suddenly noticed how much taller he was than the light switch the other day, and yes he towers over his class mates. He was born 3 days late, on a Sunday afternoon, and at a hefty 8 pounds 6 oz. He was the best baby. My memories of my first days home with him are still fresh in my mind. Those were some of the best days of my life.

Brayden,
You are such a loving boy. You are so dang handsome, you have the most beautiful eyes, and you got your first loose tooth this week. You were so excited to come show me. Starting school has been hard on you this year, but I admire you for trying to make the most of it anyway and not give me a hard time anymore in the mornings. You are famous for saying, "Mama, I love you," very often throughout the day. One day when I noticed you saying it a whole lot, I asked you why, and you said that you say it whenever you feel bad for me. Oh, Bubba. You must feel bad for me a lot. With no need. Now when you say, "I love you," I have to ask why you are feeling bad for me NOW.
Sometimes it will be simple like Kosty was being a stinker to me, or that Kosty didn't like something I made, or that I put a smiley face Tupperware in your lunch that you didn't want to smile at, or that I am putting a toy together, or that I am carrying too many things, or that I worked too hard on your birthday party. (Which, by the way I thoroughly enjoyed). And sometimes it will be a distant memory, like the other night when you were feeling bad about me drawing a rainbow for you to color, and you said it wasn't big enough, so I drew it again. (I vaguely remember this and it had to have been over a year ago). I really don't want you to feel bad for me as often as you do. But I know it will be a good memory someday about how much you cared about your Mama. I love when you open doors for me, and I love when you come home from school and I scoop you up and you wrap your whole body around me. I love when you are sooo dang sweet to Kosty when he wakes up from his nap. I love when you try to explain things to Kosty (or you want something he has) and you talk in a cute almost baby voice. Only to him. I love that you are a hair rubber. This is something I have noticed lately more than ever. You started out always rubbing Kosty's hair, then I noticed you always rubbing your cousins Zoe and Libby's hair, then I noticed at the school luau, you went up and rubbed an older boy's hair that you didn't even know (about 3rd grade with long blond hair like Kosty), then I noticed you rubbing a toddler's hair at the park, and a new baby's head at church. I love how tender you are with your stuffed animals, and I love your laugh. You have one of the best laughs I have ever heard. Yesterday, me and Dada had to speak in sacrament, and when I told you I was nervous, you said, "Don't be nervous, JUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!" Oh, it was so cute I had to write it down. You are reading like the wind, you love math, and you are acing every spelling test in school. You are so smart, and funny, and just plain cool. There is so much to love about you Brayden! I am so proud of you.

Love,

Mama

growing boy

Brayden's after school snack the other day consisted of:

• a bowl of cottage cheese
• apple
• string cheese
• 2 thick slices of chocolate chip pumpkin bread
• a mug of hot chocolate

While he was sipping, he said, "Nothin' like some hot cocoa in the Fall!"

superstition farm

Still catching up here...another outing during Fall Break was to Superstition Farm...it was free the day we went, and oh my the line was about 2 miles long just to get in. We met bunch of our neighbors there. The kids had fun looking at the goats, horses, cows, turkeys, and the bunnies. We waited about 30 minutes in another line for a hay ride, played ring toss with the beer bottles, throw the ball in the tire, a ridiculously easy hay maze...there was nothing "mazey" about it, you just walked through the thing. I had to laugh as I looked around, not very impressed at all, wondering why we just waited in line for so long, and then I looked down at my kiddos just having the time of their lives, they didn't think it was lame at all. I wish I had their fresh perspective sometimes!

oh bubba

This morning Brayden said, "Mama, can I tell you 15 reasons why I don't like school?"
me: "Sure."

B: "Number One- I miss you.
Number Two- I miss you.
Number Three- I miss you.
Number Four- I double miss you.
Number Five- I miss you.
Number Six- I double double miss you...."

Sweet boy, I know there will come a day when you won't miss me everyday. So for now, I just think it's sweet.

Makeover

I highly recommend visiting your nearest Ulta location, oh and don't forget one child (preferably a boy and preferably tiny)
try on the $90 hairpiece...not on you, on the boy.

as a blonde

a brunette
Is this not the funniest thing ever? I got some strange looks but I didn't care, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! The backview actually made me laugh the hardest!!!

Pretty Kosty! Thanks for giving mama a good laugh at your expense!

zoo trip

My sister and I went to the Zoo during fall break. I haven't been for almost 3 years. Last time I tagged along with Brayden's preschool class, Kosty was only about 6 weeks old. Did anyone else know you could ride bikes there?? I don't own a double stroller, but had anticipated Brayden complaining about being tired of walking, so I contemplated bringing his razor scooter. Upon entrance we spotted the "no razor scooters allowed" sign, but then a bunch of kids on bikes rode through. Next time I want to bring bikes!

Our favorite exhibit of all was the orangutans, I could seriously watch them all day. SO fascinating and hilarious they are! There was this HUGE Daddy orangutan on the bottom level, and these two Mama's on the top and a baby. The baby was adorable and it was so funny to watch these lazy adults, I mean the laziest things I have ever seen, just dragging and laying about, they would pick tiny crumbs up with their fingers, without moving any other body part... but as soon as the baby came their way and started heading up the ladder, both of the Mamas stretched out their hands and helped him up. They were so lazy, but so nurturing to the little guy. Highlight of the trip. Although the boys both said their favorite part was the snow cones! go figure.

Kosty

This morning after twisting and pulling at his neck in the mirror for quite some time, Kosty announced his latest discovery..."My head doesn't come off!"

At dinner, I said, "you guys are my little buddies."

Kosty said matter-of-factly, "No! We're Soogar-pies!!"

sorry

I am sorry arizona, for all the times I cursed your name this summer. That my kids couldn't play at the park or ride their bikes. That I swore I would move by next summer so I never again had to experience another arizona summer as long as I live. This morning, on my way home from yoga, my car windows were all rolled down, the air was crisp and cool, it was a perfect 73 degrees, and I thought......I take it all back. I love you Arizona.

Kosty's Birthday

Kosty's real birthday was on Conference Sunday. We made him his favorite breakfast of all time: 3 whole-wheat pancakes and OJ with 3 candles. After the first session, I had to get my this little birthday boy outside to do his favorite things, ride his bike, his skateboard, and play with his (pencil) wand. Then after his nap and the second session, we had our family over for a little party. Well, maybe not so little! Our family is huge.

He has matured SO much since his party last year. Last year he was so painfully shy that he wouldn't even smile, he wouldn't say thank you, and he growled when we all serenaded him with the Happy Birthday tribute. This year, he was so happy, friendly, he thanked everyone, and he even sang along with us before he blew out his candles. What a difference a year makes! I was so proud of him!

Opening his NEW wand, and trying it out! he was extatic!

he finished off the night with one more piece of birthday cake before he went to bed, and a picture with all his new toys!