Laundry Issues

THIS is why my boys do their own laundry.


What is that lying on my laundry room floor? Oh, you know...just a swim suit! Yes, it is November. And yes, we have not been swimming since school started.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Where did the swim suit come from? I have no idea. But I am pretty sure that it is already clean. Clean clothes thrown in with the dirty clothes does not make mom so happy. Thus, my boys do their own laundry. If they feel compelled to rewash their clean clothes, then so be it!

When we're helping, we're happy

What did we do for an activity after Family Home Evening this week?

Well....Brek was complaining of a back that was in much need of a good hard massage, so the kids decided to help him out!




Wasn't that nice of them?!

Soooo Sleepy

My little Ben has had a hard time with the time change. Well...now that I think about it, the time change may have nothing to do with it. Luke may be the source of the problem. Luke, who wakes up at the crack of dawn, flips the light on in their bedroom, waking Ben from his deep slumber.

What's the problem? Well, the poor little guy can't seem to make it through the morning without falling asleep somewhere! I will suddenly notice a drop in the noise level, then go in search of Ben. I will usually find him on the floor, out cold.

He will crawl around until he finds a blanket lying on the floor. If he can't find that, he will settle for a shirt or some other soft article of clothing lying on the floor. And on the rare occasion that there is actually nothing lying on the floor, he does not give up, but will search a bit harder.

This is how I found Ben a few days ago.

I found him lying on the floor, half inside his closet. He had found blankets on a shelf in the closet, pulled one out, and fell fast asleep.

I'll say this much about my younger kids. They certainly learn how to fend for themselves. When busy mom isn't around, they just make do on their own!

Nature's Beauties

We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise a few days ago. It filled the entire sky. Gorgeous!!

To Bose or not to Bose

Like his dad, Ben loves music. His dad has shared music with him from the time he was a tiny baby. Ben loves it when his dad sings to him. He has always loved it. Have you ever heard the phrase 'Music tames the savage beast'? Well, often times that is a reality in my home.

When Brek is in charge of keeping Ben out of trouble, out comes the guitar. When Ben cries because it is time to go to bed, out comes the guitar. Brek is teaching Ben at an early age that Bose headphones are the only way to go. Much better quality of sound.

A couple of nights ago, I put Luke and Ben to bed. While I was still in the room, tidying a few things up, Brek walked in with his guitar. He sat down and began playing. Simon and Garfunkel resonated throughout the room. Ben squealed with glee, jumped up, and began dancing and singing along. A picture just doesn't do justice. The girls gathered around and we all laughed and danced with Ben.

Families are great, you know. In them are found many small moments of delight. How lucky I am!

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween has come and gone once again. The weather was very cooperative, and the kids had a great time trick-or-treating. I'm pretty sure some of my kids made the neighborhood loop more than once. I went trick-or-treating with Maddy and Luke while Brek manned the candy post. He sat on the front step, handing out candy to the many, MANY trick-or-treaters that hit our neighborhood.

Trick-or-treating with Luke is quite the experience. There is no need for speed in that kid. He slowly plodded along, checking out his pumpkin and all the goods inside. Occasionally he would feel the need for a little sugar-boost and reach in for a treat. He completely ignored my complaints about his lack of speed, and continued on in his own little world.

That is, until the rain hit. At that point in time, I quit urging him to move quicker. He no longer had a choice in the matter. I took his hand and we ran for cover. Luckily the rain didn't last long.

The kids all looked cute in their costumes....especially little Ben. He was one cute little monster. And as long as he had a sucker, he was happy as can be. I'm pretty sure my kids went without dinner and just loaded up on candy. I suppose I won't be winning any mother of the year awards. Oh well. A girl can only do so much, you know!

It would appear the color of the day was blue. Go Cougs!

Scott and Josh (and Josh's buddy Davis) decided to be BYU fans. Lack of dinner can be traced back to my involvement in painting shirts, spray-painting hair and bodies, painting faces, etc. Those boys were quite needy!





At last, the photo shoot is over, and we are off. Let the good times roll!

Pumpkin Carving Time

Pumpkin carving is one of those things my kids love, and so we do it....like it or not.

It is a tradition. It must be done. In fact, this year we were carving pumpkins the night before Halloween, well after bedtime.

I will say, however, that this year was much better than last year as far as pumpkin carving goes. Last year, Ben was a week and a half old, and Brek was in China. I was on my own. (You see what I mean abut pumpkin carving being a must?)

This year I had Brek. Thank heavens.

We both cleaned out pumpkins (Brek saved the seeds), and we both helped carve. And this year, for the first time ever, three of our children carved their own pumpkins all by themselves! Poor Luke could barely keep his eyes open by the time we were done. But he perked up when we lit the pumpkins and turned off the lights!

If I was fun like my sister, we would have watched a fun Halloween movie by the light of the jack-0-lantern's glow. But sadly, I am not that fun. Plus, I don't really love Halloween or Halloween movies. Now Christmas....that's a different story.

Any-who....we carved, we conquered, and the pumpkins glowed their little hearts out on Halloween night!



Madelyn wanted to be a dinosaur for Halloween. A dinosaur?? We have a pretty Cinderella costume, or a fun cheerleader costume, but she would have none of that. So a dinosaur she was. And she wore the costume for a good 3 days....at least!

Pumpkin patch time once again

Last Monday we finally made it to the pumpkin patch, after a couple of failed attempts. The pumpkin patch has become a tradition in our family. Halloween just wouldn't be Halloween without a trip to the pumpkin patch.

In case you're wondering if the pumpkins get picked over, the answer is yes. We weren't able to find the usual huge pumpkins we find, but the kids each found a favorite.

As we arrived, we discovered Luke had no shoes (or socks) on. So Luke and Ben rode in the wheelbarrow with the pumpkins. I was the wheelbarrow pusher/photographer, and Brek helped locate pumpkins. Along with the usual pumpkins, we also came home with a few mini pumpkins....Madelyn's favorite. Maddy loves all things small. They are treasures to her.

We topped off the night with pizza, eaten at Brek's work while he finished up a few things. What fun!

A Few Words from Luke

Hi. My name is Luke. And I love, love, love to take baths!

As a matter of fact, this could possibly be my third bath of the day. I usually get in at least two. Whenever I hear the bath water running, I run to the bathroom, take off all my clothes and hop in before anybody can stop me. Sometimes it's my sister's bath, sometimes it's Ben's, and sometimes it's my mom's. But, no matter. We're all one big happy family, right?!

This is my little brother Ben. He loves taking baths, too. He would play in there for hours. But sometimes he cries and wants mom to get him out. Do you think it's because I keep dumping water all over his head? Naaahhhh. That couldn't be it.


Oh, and Ben also loves the dishwasher. He drives my mom crazy, because he tries to pull all the dishes out while she's loading. She tells him no, but he doesn't really listen. He thinks he's pretty funny.

Actually, I think he's pretty funny, too!

A Typical Saturday? I don't think so.

What did I do today???
(I'll give you 3 guesses)

Go to a football game? No.

Clean my house? No.

Run a half marathon? Yes!!!

It's true. I ran a half marathon today, and I am so very proud of myself! I am also very tired and have very tired legs. But, I finished. And I did it in 2 hours. So, three cheers for me!

What am I going to do tomorrow?

Go to church, of course, then hopefully catch up on all those posts I meant to write last week. The pictures are building up. They are calling out to me. I must record all the good times! It was a full week.

What am I going to do right now?

Absolutely nothing!