Christmas.

Christmas was simple and great. We stuck to our 3 gifts and then they got spoiled by grandmas and nanas and grammies. Koston asked Santa for a 'real trick scooter' which is a custom scooter and he carefully picked out handle bars, grip tape, wheels, every last detail. And when he would change his mind on something, Santa got a note. Brayden desperately wanted a Wii U. Since he just got a 3DS for his birthday (and I already didn't want him to have that really)...we told him to ask for something else. He asked for a sega genesis. Sigh. Since that was all he could come up with (and it was $40 instead of $300), well that and an ocarina, he got his wish. An ocarina is an instrument kind of similar to a flute that is played by Link on Zelda. And he got a fishing pole, because dang it, we want him to be more outdoorsy. Koston also got a fishing pole, the scooter, and a Lego set. He didn't ask for a Lego set. It was sad that it was the first year in as long as I can remember that he didn't ask for anything to do with legos. We spent Christmas eve at my moms, Christmas Day we went to the Figgins and got to talk to Zach on his mission. And we finished up at my Dad's. Koston was really sick that week and on Christmas Eve, he was lethargic and running a fever. We were so sad about it. Something about the littlest is what makes Christmas so fun! We said lots of prayers and he was able to feel good enough to enjoy Christmas day. Thankful for that. 

(need to add a few pics off my phone!)

I really can't stand these random mish mash posts, but its happening. We picked our last and final watermelon and it was massive. I couldn't even cut it. We were trying to figure out if it looked bigger next to our smallest family member or our largest. Oddly I think Jer won. 

We needed new nightstands and I found this ikea hack online. Usually I finish a project and I don't like it as much as I thought I would, but I really do like these things. They turned out exactly how I wanted. 

Koston hates parting with his school projects. So he actually said YES when I asked if I could snap a pic with them before I threw them away. Terrible pic, but there they are; his spider and shark projects.  

because I'm the worst scout mother of all time.

Every pack meeting there are moms that bring their SLR cameras and shoot at least 100 pictures of their scout doing nothing and anything at all. I've never even brought my camera to a single meeting. But I decided to finally bring it to Brayden's last official pack meeting/Koston's first. I thought it would be a cute photo and memory for them to both be in their uniforms together. But the reality was that after Koston bobbed for donuts, and Brayden had to blow a bubble with a mouth full of crackers, I ended up locking them up in a church classroom and refused to let them out until I got one measly picture. Koston wasn't having any of it so as you can see he ruined them all & once again, he won, I lost. 

halloween. (seriously?)

As always, the boys chose 'non traditional' slash can't find a costume hanging on a target halloween rack...and I had big plans for them ALL YEAR LONG to be Wreck it Ralph and Fix it Felix. I had all the stuff we needed for those two. Kosty was going to be Ralph (SO HIM!) and had the huge soft fists & overalls already, it was perfect. Brayden's personality matches Felix so I pumped him up talking about spray painting a gold hammer and such. They were totally on board... until October rolled around. Brayden all of a sudden had to be Link. Oh, did you think he was Zelda? me too. Apparantly anyone who knows anything about video games knows Zelda is actually the princess, and Link is the main character. Brayden was keeping close track of anyone who knew this. They instantly became his favorite. Kosty went off the path with his random selection of a banana costume. He saw it at Target, and it was $50 and only in adult sizes. He tried it on and it fit him perfect (oddly enough), but I told him to think about it because I wasn't spending $50 on a banana suit I just knew he would change his mind about. A week before Halloween and the kid isn't budging on the banana idea. Three days before, then two, then, FINE. Off we went to grab the banana. And it was no where to be found. Who is buying banana costumes? I was sure there would be a whole rack for half off by then. So it all came back to bite me because we had to go to several different stores and finally ended up coughing up $30 for a much flimsier version from Satan's superstore: Spirit Halloween. We were desperate. 

But, as always, I end up loving their selections. I even did something I never do, SEW, the Link costume and hat. He wore my pants, my boots, my gloves, and two of my belts. Ha. Who knew I had been channeling Link. My good friend Karen helped me sew I should clarify. I was doing a horrible job until she stepped in & saved me. The ears were the final touch. The night before the trunk or treat, he mentioned that the shield would be the cherry on top. But the only shields were found on amazon for $40 and no way to get it in time. So while he was at school I googled Link's shield, found an old toy shield in our backyard and got to work with good old construction paper. And it made his day. I LOVE HALLOWEEN. 

Brayden's 11th.

when you ask someone to take your picture, you never know what you're gonna get...clearly going for the prize with this blurry shot! 

Brayden had his birthday fall on a Sunday this year, and it was a tricky one. The only thing he wanted for his birthday was a nintendo 3DS, which we said we weren't getting. He has too many video game systems as it is. But, my little brother Chase just so happened to be selling his 3DS & my mom  insisted it would be his gift from them. A $300 gift is a bit much and I didn't want my kids to start a new expectation, so I had to make it fair & basically throw money in my moms car as she drove away. She still gave it to us for a steal. But knowing that she wasn't coming until his birthday eve, we had just a couple dinky gifts for him until the big one. Never one to hide his gratitude, he almost shot through the ceiling when he opened his Costco pack of Martenellis, his all time favorite drink. Luckily my mom came over that night and saved the lame present day. His reaction was totally priceless. I must say I actually did some good things in the birthday cake department this time around. I want the boys to have memorable cakes but I'm not one to fondant or pipe fancy designs. Instead I asked them both what their dream cake would be like. Kosty's oreo cake and Brayden's ice cream cake are still talked about around here. B's ice cream cake had layers of mint hot fudge, ice cream sandwiches, and crushed oreos inside and out. I made it extra HUGE because I thought we would have a few more guests than we did, but Brayden and I got to eat a slice together every night for the next week.