Potty Training Bliss

HIP HIP HOORAY!!! I just want to say, that after a really really rough 5 days--Lucas ROCKS at being potty trained!!! I've tried to potty train Lucas like 10 times I swear, but each time, after like a day, I'd give up (I'm not the most patient person with things that are gross). So, this time Jess and I decided that we'd try for 5 days, and if he still didn't want to, then we'd try again in a few months. Well, he took full advantage of his 5 days and didn't try to make it to the toilet once!!! That means like a MILLION clean ups. At any rate, we were happy when day 6 came.

Then---wait for it......he cried when we tried to put him in a diaper!!! And ever since then, he's done awesome! He's had like 3 accidents in 4 days! WOO WOO. I've ran tons of errands with him, and each time, he's given me plenty of notice...even going to Kade's soccer game, and drinking tons of his water...and nothing. He's so so cool and I love that he's potty trained!!! YEE HAW! Anyway, I just wanted to share the bliss! Just YAY! (plus, he's excited that he can turn 3 now. You see, Jess told him that he couldn't turn 3 until he pooped in the toilet (ha ha, we're awesome parents)...So, during his trial 5 day period, he kept telling us 'I'll go poop in Putt Putt's bathroom (where he wants to go for his birthday) He's a smart one that Luke. He's excited for his birthday now!

In other news, we used our "Special Plate" for the first time to celebrate that fact that Kade can tie his own shoes!!! YAY for him. We were most excited because it was kind of like his first real goal. I didn't really think he was ready so I didn't do much to help, (I know, I'm a lame mom) but he kept insisting on wearing his shoes with ties because he wanted to practice. And then one morning before school, as I watched, he did it! I was so happy and made a huge deal out of it--to which he said, "mom, it's not a big thing, I've done it like 3 times..." He tied and untied his shoes a million times that day on the way to school. (he says it wasn't a big deal...but he was pretty darn proud of himself) At any rate, we wrote it on the bottom of the special plate for it's inauguration---and it was awesome. Now it's hard to get him to wear anything besides shoes that tie.

Oh, and Kade's liking school now. In the past he's been kinda bored with it, and always wanted to stay home with Luke and me. So I've been worried about when school really starts next year. But yesterday (his day off) he actually said, "I wish I could be at school right now, I'm a little bored." Some people might be sad about that, but not me---IT WAS SO GREAT! He's never felt that way and just yay--just yay. I mean so he only has one month left--he likes it. It helps me to breath easier for him to start Kindergarten in August.

He's also in soccer--it's so cute to see him in his jersey that drowns him...he and another little girl on the team are at least a head shorter then everyone else. He really enjoys it and we love going to his games. Go Grovetown Hurricanes!

And we put together our trampoline a few weeks ago and IT ROCKS!!! And seriously, they've come so far. I mean the springs aren't even possible to touch from the inside. The kids hit the enclosure maybe a million times while they're jumping--and do they fall off and shatter bones--NO--they're saved from the net. They read books out there, work on their ninja moves, play random pretend troll games...and just go crazy. Plus, we love jumping with them. I was always the one that couldn't control her bounce and was off the tramp and into the raspberry bushes way too much (I know---who puts they're trampoline by a thorny raspberry bush? Well, if we wanted to jump off the giant swing set that dad built, it had to be by the raspberry bushes...so...anyway, just a terrible combination.) Anyway, the point is this, I love jumping with them and I don't have to worry hardly at all. It's tons of fun. so all-in-all, everyone should get a trampoline! (and if you don't, just come over and use ours--FUN) (oh, and thanks Jessica so so much for taking us to get it, you saved us like $100 in shipping--you're the coolest)

Why Mormons Build Temples

I thought this video and the Churchs statement below was so perfect and beautiful and exactly how the Savior would want us to respond. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know it's teachings are true. I'm so blessed to be a part of it!



If you'd like to read the churchs statement on "Big Love" click here

That sweet boy of ours!

Sweetest little boy ever! Yesterday morning I slightly remember hearing little feet pittering-pattering down the hall. Then the loud bangs of Kade unloading his dishwasher. Now, this alone made me so happy because he didn't need reminding. Then he came into our room-all smiles--and announced that breakfast was all ready. It was just so cute to see how happy he was that he did it--even getting the cereal off of the top shelf of the pantry, pretty impressive. He did it again this morning and well, we're just soooooooooo blessed to have him in our family. We love you Kade!!!!

A day with Kimi

This is Kimi--we love her! We got to spend some time with her the other day at our house and LOVED IT. Whenever any of us get to talk with her, we just feel so incredibly happy. We sang full throttle in the kitchen to Aladdin and Grease and this girls got skills! Kimi brought over High School Musical 3--which is awesome and Kade keeps singing "The Boys are Back". he he, I just love musicals--I wish life was a musical sometimes he he. Anyway Kimi's moving soon and we'll miss her and her family soooo much! Thanks for coming over Kimi!

The following comes to you courtesy of Jess, the new KING OF BLOGGING!!!

Kind of like a contest...

I have Shang-Hai'd the following from Melodie's blog in an effort to secure for myself some random artifact of drabble of her own manufacture. She stated that the first five individuals to respond to her posting and create one of their own will be the recipients of a fabulous prize! So I now look forward to some wonderful creation, and in keeping with the rules, I offer the same posibility to the first five here. The same restrictions all apply; and you can be sure that the same promises are also yours to enjoy! I look forward both to recieving a home-made treasure from my beloved sister, and to tapping the deep creative well of my soul in an effort to share the joy of recieving. All can be assured that my creations will be of the first degree, and that true thought will go in to each and every gift.

Fabulous Five Fun
OK! So here's how this works...the first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me. My choice. Made especially for you. Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:

1) I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2) What I create will be just for you.

3) It will be done sometime this year (hopefully sooner than later).

4) You have no clue what it will be. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure. ;-)

5) I reserve the right to do something extremely strange (but I'm not that creative).

The catch? The catch is that you must repost this on your own blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog.The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift from me!! Hurry fast, this is a limited time offer.

Oh! And be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!

Can He Do It?

It's on to week two now in the Great Boredom Experiment. My position in the home has shifted from 'main bread-winner' to 'blob.' I pretty much just ooze from room to room and suck the life out of whatever activity was occurring before I arrived. I'm not sure if that means I've achieved some supernatural level of boredom or not. It's an interesting thought, however, to believe that I've transcended the every day type of 'normal' boredom, and that I now exist on a plane of boredom unreachable by the common homo sapiens.
I call my new plane of existence "The Field of Dreams." This has no reference to a baseball field, but rather a place where all the random thoughts of the universe converge. I sit at the nexus of that convergence and channel all the randomness in a state of boredom induced nirvana. In the Field of Dreams, I have access to all the random thoughts of the human mind, both conscious thought and unconscious meandering. Things flow through my infinite field of random vision, and I note briefly their significance. "Can monkeys spit?" "What would happen if I put a banana in Mike's gas tank?" "Who is that girl, and why is she threatening me with a head of lettuce?"
Each one has it's own value, and each one contributes to the mindless boredom, drawing me deeper and deeper into a trance-like state of drool-inducing brain wave inactivity. "What's at the center of gravity?" "Why is it called a 'hung jury'? Did we hang them in the past as a failure to come up with a verdict?" "Do dung beetles hate their job?"
Each thought is so intertwined with the others that it's hard to tell which are my own and which are from the universe. I'm pretty sure most of them are mine. I'm guessing that probably the universe doesn't care much what color lifesaver is Lou Dobbs' favorite, or how long a giraffe can hold its breath.
Maybe when I go back to work I'll lose my connection to the boredom universe. Maybe I'll always carry this new transcendental lifestyle with me. Maybe I can harness the power of boredom and focus it into hyper-concentrated 'boredom bullets' that I can fire with my brain at enemies, causing them to lapse into a state of unconsciousness while I charge ten thousand dollars worth of jelly beans to their credit cards. (Fear me!)
No matter what happens, leaving my Field of Dreams, my boredom nirvana, my nexus of semi-conscious nothingness will be bittersweet. "I wonder if I could catch a cold from a fish?" "How does Carmichael get his hair to do that?" "What percentage of weasel attacks are caused by accidental exposure to high intensity gamma rays?" "Where do leftover......(fade to black)

Why I love my life:

A few of today's highlights:

Luke running into the living room and announcing: "we're playing 'wash kaden's face'...we're using wipes (holding up a giant wad)...it's a fun game" and runs away.

Kade finding the best hiding spot ever from Luke (apparently he didn't like the game as much) in their closet...where I prompted Luke a million times to get me stuff out of it...and on the million and first try--he finally saw Kaden--I was laughing a lot)

Lucas going to time out for a whopping 10 minutes (for turning the water on outside to play with not 3 minutes after I threatened both of the boys not to turn on the water or else....(long list of horrible things)) and doing a relatively good job sitting there. he usually screams and freaks out and just goes crazy--but he was such a big boy today!

Having "special daddy oatmeal" for dinner (yes dinner--I was tired and...we like oatmeal). The "special" part is loads of sugar, butter and awesome toppings....Luke added like 1/4 cup of sprinkles before we noticed. ha ha--he LOVED it!

Playing 2 person tag with Kaden in the kitchen. I don't know if mom remembers it, but B.J. Scott and I used to play it all the time ROCKED at hardly having to move! It's always been so so funny to me!

Kade calling out, "I accidentally put my foot in the toilet mom" Turns out it was before doing his business--so it was just funny---not gross.

Cuddling with Lucas while the family played Mario Kart after FHE.

Today has just made me smile....that's all

TYBEE ISLAND IN FEBRUARY

So, spur of the moment we decided to go with our friends the Johnsons to the beach (which was a huge deal for us, we hardly ever do spontaneous anything). YAY--so it was super fun--and still February so.....pretty cold--but so fun. They are amazing photographers and took some pictures of us while we were there. Thanks again guys, anyway, here is the link to their blog where they have some of the results!

Cabbage and Sick People Farts

(This was written by Jess, and here's a quick precurser from Cari. Jess is gross--and I'll have no part in his gross-ness. And---our house doesn't stink! (at least I think)

Apparently that's what our house smells like at three o'clock on a Saturday. The sad part of that is that I'm here by myself. I'm positive that I didn't make the whole smell by myself, but it would be silly to think that I didn't contribute in some small way.

With this whole 'job' thing, I don't spend nearly as much time at the house as I used to. Back in the heady days of childhood time at home was nearly limitless (much to my mother's chagrin). But now I'm usually out the door before the sun's up, and not back in until dinnertime. A guy just gets used to a routine. I don't necessarily like it, but I'm used to it.

Or I was. Now I'm stuck at home...it's day 2.5 out of 30. I got foot surgery to correct some minor, though incredibly annoying problems. The doc surprised me with a whopper 30 day penalty for...bad foot-ed-ness or something. He told me I have to stay home. And I'm sick of it here.

No jumping to conclusions! I love my kids, and my wife is the best thing since sliced bread. This house is a beautiful place and a wonderful blessing. But I'm going to scratch my own eyes out if I have to watch another rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond. (Proof that anybody can get on TV.)(C-and Everybody Loves Raymond is awesome)

So to keep myself from major ocular damage, and to save the TV Cari so thoughtfully bought, I'm preparing a short list of completely sedentary activities for the chronically bored. Maybe if it gets *really* boring I'll even let you know how some of my ideas turn out.


1- Butt Cheek Checkers. I divided the chair I'm relegated to into an 8x8 grid, and I'm seeing how long it takes each portion of the cushion to deteriorate under my fat lard butt. I haven't banged out all the rules yes, but it looks like there needs to be a contingency for different kinds of pants. I have this one pair that has a rougher fabric, and it might cause unnatural wear. That wouldn't be fair, so I'll have to monitor things closely.

2- Name That Smell. Cabbage and Sick People Farts are just two of the incredible odors I've discovered so far. Sick People Farts is from Lukie, who is sick. The Cabbage is a mystery. I'm certainly hoping its not something I did. There's an odor that reminds me of raw potatoes and something that mights have been Mexican food once. I can detect a cat, which may be wafting through from somewhere in the neighborhood. Later, I might smell corn dog, as it is currently doing its part in the Butt Cheek Checkers competition.

3- Making Up Bad Words. Earlier I called Cari a 'braf-dingling spornk.' She laughed...in that way that says, "Ha ha ha, (I hope that this person does not really want to kill me)." (C-or rather like--wow--already on day 2.5 Jess?) Then she walked away. But the joke is really on her because she doesn't know what it means. It's not all that bad, just for all you haters out there. But there are a couple of real dooseys. Nort, frambler, and greaough are all bad enough that I wouldn't say them to the Bishop. You might find them in the Bible if I were to translate it, but only way in the parts that no one reads. Leviticus and what-not. I'm working on a definition for cromp-face. I don't have any leads yet, but its gonna be good!

4- Mormon Drinking Game. This is a game that I hate. But I've been bored to the point where I've played it four times already. It goes like this. Find one of the channels that plays the daytime real-life court cases, and watch any show. They're all the same. (Plaintiff is claiming $547.27 for damages to his toupee, caused by the Defendant's pet weasel when they were sharing a dumpy apartment...or whatever.) Every time the judge has to lay the smack down on either party, in the form of life lessons preached across the pulpit of justice, take a big drink of water. This occurs about every two minutes when you include the teasers just before commercial breaks. Great for hydration, but hard for a be-crutched man hobbling to the bathroom every 10 minutes.

5- Where'd That Sticker Come From? I guess technically this game can be played at any time at the Winn home. But it's especially interesting to play in a confined space. I've located seven stickers so far, all from different sticker sets, several of which I'm positive we've never owned. There's a Barbie sticker from under grid square B7 that looks like it might be from the late 80's. I'm working to identify a small-ish sticker I located on the carpet which was either a type of fruit or a wildly inappropriate racial slur. It's probably too far decomposed to know for sure, but I suppose that's where lots of the fun comes from.

6- What Can I Trick the Kids Into Eating?! Points are awarded as follows. Five points for anything organic in nature. Seven points for anything obviously inorganic, ie. rocks, bits of plastic, toys, etc. 10 points for something that cannot be truly classifies as either organic or inorganic. 20 points if I can get Cari to taste it. My score so far is 1247 points.

7- Google People You Know. Alternatively known as 'I'm *Almost* a Stalker.' I whole-heartedly believe that most stalkers were originally pretty good people, they just got really, really bored. My only crazy results so far are that Cari was apparently part of the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens Basketball Team. I'll have to inform her of this later.

8- Name the Numb Body Part. When a body part goes numb, it's sometimes hard to tell. So the game goes like this; pick a random body part and touch it. If it's numb you get a point. If it's not, no points. Surprisingly, after sitting in the stupid Checker Chair for so long, the score so far is 15.

That's the last two days' worth. I really can't imagine what craziness will crop up in the next 27 days, but if it's good I'll let you know.

Seriously, I'm bored like it's nobody's business.

Hair Change

So...in case anyone was wondering, I changed my hair today! YAY! I love it! I love change. This blond is now a brunette! I'll add a picture sometime later....but I will let everyone know one thing. I've gone brown before and this is usually the reaction..."wow....you dyed your hair....", or "I just like it blond...." ha ha! It makes me laugh! Anyway--I love it and thanks Emilie!

Military Appreciation Month

Just letting everyone know, this month where we take Karate, it's Military Appreciation Month. So anyone in the military or married to the someone in the military can get 2 free classes! YAY! Seriously, Jess and I love it!--and hey--awesome date nights!


Also--Kade's second time at Karate is tomorrow! He loves loves it! I'll be teaching his class now and I'm soooooooo excited! I went with him last week and the class was so cute! (Do I overuse exclamation marks? ha ha--I totally do!) Anyway, he's so great at it already and I'm happy he gets to go--Hip Hip--Hooray!

Kaden's class had a "Pirate/Princess Pizza Party" today (on account of the letter this week was "P") and Luke wanted to dress up too. We didn't actually have any pirate stuff besides a sword so....extra fabric and my capri's sintched super tight= PIRATE!









For quiet time the other day Kade asked if they could build a fort...by themselves. I said that was fine. Kade ran back and forth from his room to ours collecting books and pillows and blankets....Then he told me his room was too big of a mess to do the fort--and WOW--he was so right.....


so (after the 30 minutes it took to clean it up) we tried it a different way...


As some of you know we got to watch our friends little girl for a few days. It was so fun (and so funny to see what two 2 year olds will do) Here are a few things that made me laugh.


One of the days I was busy with Kade for like 3 minutes, and came out to find Lilly and Luke had gotten into the fridge, found the yogurt, and amazingly enough, were eating them without making a mess--how pro-active are they?



Found Luke and Lilly sharing so well by passing my camera back and forth and posing. (Luke gets my camera oh...maybe 3 times a day...so he's had some great practice.)



Seriously...this is what I found in the fridge...little bite marks and everything...and cheese on both little one's faces--what a feast. (It's like I didn't feed them--but I swear I did!!!)




making cookies!



Frosting--wow---turns out he just kept going, and I wasn't paying attention--but he licked that cookie clean--gross!


---OOOOOH, and one more thing, so I'm a little bored with my hair...so tell me what you think. I really like the idea of blond on top and red underneath, or dark hair on top and blond underneath or brown with blond highlights.... Let's hear some opinions!

Shut-up

So, after reading Jess' last post, I've decided to write a short rebuttal.
In reply to Jess allegations about my ostentatious behavior while having the flu (and yes, I was the worst of all who partook of it in our household---I'm almost positive.)

A#1: This post was the first I heard of Jess NOT having the flu---The first I heard of him HAVING the flu, was on the first night of the boys throwing up; in this context. "Care, I'm starting to feel a bit sick, but 'someone' really should stay in the boys room to get the bowls to the boys so they don't get it all over." So, you guessed it, that 'someone was me.
Jess was kind enough to go out to the garage to get me a sleeping bag, that much is true, but it was I who got to catch puke all night, changing bed sheets and sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground between the two boys beds, hoping soo much that they didn't throw up on my head. (strangely enough, this was the night I got sick.)

B#2: I was actually sick

C#3: I looked really good in those pajama pants...all 3 days.

D#4: If I did yell about being so achy at three o'clock in the morning, the only people who heard me were the boys-on the second night--because I was in their room again, making them toast while Jess slept.

E#5: If I didn't "stomp" from room to room, how would anyone know to love me extra because of my ailments?

So, in conclusion--Being sick is stupid, and watching your kids be sick is the worst thing ever! (and we're all MUCH better now and have been for a week) AND...Jess is an excellent FICTIONAL writer. (love you baby!)

The Weekend just Flu by!

Evolution failed significant portions of our small family. Our massively over sized heads and advanced cognitive skills were no match for the virus known only as FLU. The thief stole in at night and secreted its self in the only place nobody would thought to have looked; our stomachs. Safe in the acidic confines of our food smashers, it wrung its little virus hands and twirled its little virus handlebar mustache and cackled its devious virus laugh. After tying our anti-nausea hormones onto the railroad tracks of the dinner train, it smiled happily and waited until the engine blew its whistle.

Luke was the first to fall victim to its evil machinations. As the last of his self control faded, he looked into the sunset with huge doe eyes and sang out, "Don't cry for me, my lasagna! The truth is I never ate you! I ate the corn dogs, I ate the salad, but not the carrots! Then he vomited dramatically onto his pillow.

Kaden was the next casualty, though he fought until the bitter end. He dug out a foxhole in the living room and fired barrage after barrage of covering fire to mask his movements. His fatal mistake was in committing to an undercover intelligence-gathering mission. He slipped out of his covered fighting position and assumed the identity of a slightly weakened child in order to learn the enemy's plans. He tucked himself into bed and took careful notes, which he then ruined with copious amounts of vomit.

Cari tried a Psychological approach. She pretended to feel like crap so that maybe the virus would not notice that it hadn't ruined her pristine health yet. But that virus, he's a manic note-taker, never leaving a single patient without a fully documented and cross-referenced chart. Cari even went to the extremes of making herself throw up and then making a huge deal out of it. "I threw up in the toilet!" She would yell all over the house. "I left it in there because I'm sooooo sick! If someone were to go look at the toilet they would certainly notice the puke that I have just recently thrown up into it!" She stomped from room to room in the same clothes she put on the morning before making sure everyone saw her unshowered, un-deodorized self. She flopped all over in the bed, and complained about sore joints and achy muscles. "Oh, I can't believe how bad I feel! Certainly I already have the flu, for me to feel this poorly at three in the morning" she would announce loudly to anyone within earshot. But she fell prey to the little intruders machinations with a fury and frequency that was unmatched by any of the previous sufferers.

I was the only one who truly outsmarted the microscopic invader. The flu set up a full-blown corporate take over in my abdomen. Accountant viruses swarmed in from dull little virus accountant offices all over the nation. Virus lawyers drove their overpriced virus cars into my orifices and parked them directly over my colon, causing no small amount of discomfort. Little middle-manager viruses took economy class virus flights to my stomach and held a trillion-member virusCorp annual corporate retreat in my gut. But I would not be beaten. I immediately developed an antibody stimulus package which I rushed through both sides of the brain, garnering unprecedented bipartisan support. I pushed the plan down to the appendage level quickly, and it quickly took hold. I hibernated. I took the virus completely by surprise and refused to let it rule the digestive organs it desired to put in reverse mode. By shutting down the entire body, I literally bored the virus away. There is so little to be gained by throwing a dormant body into complete biological disarray that the virus gave up quickly and moved onto...probably the neighbors, who knows.

So total score:
Virus - 3
Jess - 1

The rest of the family will be writing to Darwin and asking for their money back. Myself, I'll be chalking it up as a draw, and looking forward to my next run-around with the little bug...bring it Flu!

Extreme Fitness Boot Camp

So, as many of you know, Jess and I have been taking Karate for 6 months or so. And as some of you know, I have loved teaching aerobic classes in the past! The karate school that we attend is having an "Extreme Fitness Boot Camp" starting next week, and I'm teaching the kick boxing (YAY!) part of it!

I'm way excited. (and realizing how out of shape I am as I'm practicing the routines at home--for real, way out of shape. And--not to mention--how cool am I to practice in my living room--by myself)(in case you were thinking--"ha ha, you're retarded" the correct answer is "way cool").

ANYWAY, I told David Jones, our MMA instructor (mixed martial arts) that I would put out a good word for it. After the cardio section he'll be teaching a mini-seminar on self defense and how to protect ourselves. It's for men and women and it's $50 for the public and $40 for those that go to the school. The four classes are on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and if you register before the 17th you get a free pair of cardio handwraps to boot!

So, if anyone is interested just let me know, and I'll tell you where to register for it. It should be awesome--YAY--I'm excited.

Just a regular Monday Afternoon

So...today the boys had a few friends over and....turns out the weeks of rain have resulted in a section of mud in the back yard....that I didn't exactly know about when I had them go outside so we could cook dinner. THAT RESULTED in this:







It made me laugh lots....then lots of baths...but fun!

Christmas!

Ha ha--I had to laugh because the fake spoon in this picture looks so much like a pipe in the context. Ha ha! Lucas got a kitchen this year for Christmas (one that he's wanted FOREVER and Jess decided that it wasn't too "girly" as long as it was guy colors this year.) He's playing with it ALL THE TIME! I love it, he makes us cakes, dinners, drinks...it's in the kitchen with me and he cooks when I do. I love it! (good idea Rachel) Kaden got the Harry Potter books (we're on the third and he loves them!) and--drum role--some Pokemon cards from Santa--oh how did he know they would just rock his little world! The kid LOVES them. Not to mention the family Wii, Madagascar 2 game, and the Disney Scene it! Thank you everyone for the great gifts for the kids! We got so many games this year and we've LOVED playing them! YAY! Okay--for real, I wasn't so sure about the Wii initially...now we love it! All of us play it and it's so so so much fun! Go Mario Kart! The boys letter from Santa...we spread out "reindeer food" Christmas Eve night that Kade got from school (oatmeal and glitter--awesome recipe). Kade was excited too because Santa--from Lights of the South---told him that'd be great! Luke got a new bike for Christmas. He was semi excited to ride it (a little scared) Once out, he did pretty good...good pedal movement, good size bike....then he fell and scraped his knee---he was pretty bummed. He just wanted to walk home. These are from Lights of the South. It was pretty cute! It was a hay ride around Christmas lights of anything from the Christmas scene to batman to a giant castle that you take the ride through. It was fun, then at the end we met Santa (an excellent one by the way) and roasted marshmallows (and yes, they were a dollar for 4--ha ha) We went with our good friends the Thompsons and it was awesome! Christmas Eve this year was awesome. The boys loved it. We made up clues for the boys that led them from the house to the garage to their favorite climbing rock down by the creek. At each step they picked up a piece for their final puzzle. In the middle the clue led us home for dinner, where we had Chinese food waiting! (the boys have been wanting to use chop sticks for FOREVER, so we siezed the opportunity). In the end they each put together their puzzles and found their gifts--surprise--PAJAMAS!!! It was a lot shorter then we thought though. They had had dinner, were dressed in their new Iron Man robes...and it was 5:00 p.m. he he. So we all watched a movie, read the Christmas story and hit the sack! It was great and they LOVE scavenger hunts to pieces so it was just perfect!

Should we get a trampoline?

So Jess and I have been thinking about getting the boys a backyard trampoline.....Just a month ago I was certain I would never have one. (on account of little boys don't need motivation to break their body parts). But I was talking to some friends who said that their kids hardly ever play on their swing sets, but play on their tramps everyday.
We have nothing in the backyard right now and the boys get bored out there....anyway--I was wondering what everyone thought--ya or nay? (and if yes, what kinds are good?)

Kade's Christmas Play

walking reverently out...



Handsome fellow in his new suit







Kade was asked to pass out programs by the door...he got so bored waiting for people...but he just looked so cute!!!




I've been so so so excited for Kade's first Christmas play--which, although I hadn't thought of it, Jess' mom made me realize last night that this is probably the last time, through school, that he'll do a "nativity" Christmas play, and I'm so glad they did. It was so so cute! Kade was one of the hosts which meant that he got a speaking part, and got to hand out the programs to the parents at the door. When he got his part, it made me laugh....because it wasn't exactly what I was expecting for the play, "Next we will be taking a group picture. You are invited to take pictures at that time." ha ha, so funny, and he did sooooooooo great! Jess and I loved it. Thanks to the Johnsons who watched Luke, we were able to watch the entire thing uninterupted. YAY!!! Merry Christmas everyone!

Shots

The boys and I got our flu shots the other day. Kade knew about his shots (he needed two others as well) a few days in advance...he heard me make the appointment on the phone. ANYWAY, I got mine, then we had Kade go next so he could be a tough example for Luke. Kade was sooooooooooo scared. Once on the table he cried and was so nervous....through the tears after the first shot he mumbled out..."oh, well, that didn't hurt so bad...then the next shot and...--ya, that didn't hurt much either. Apparently the flu shot was the worst and he didn't mention it being easy. AT ANY RATE....
After all that craziness, Luke from on the chair to the side shouted out, "MY TURN NEXT!" with so much excitement. He hoped right up, winced and was done. It made me laugh at my little masochistic son! :)

TWILIGHT!
YAY! The group of us!---ha ha, it's funny cause A#1: we're trying to wear these fangs that just kept falling out but were AWESOME-thanks Linds, and B#2: it's funny to look at the group of 12 or so and try to see who stayed up for the show and who "woke up" for the show....poor Shari was so sick and so so pregnant (sorry Shar).


This was soooooooooo fun! We all went to the midnight showing of Twilight on Thursday night and amidst the cracking up due to Lindsey, Shantelle and Jessica, we really liked it. It was exactly what I expected. (we really did laugh a lot because of the awesome music and well, it was a little lower budget..) We loved it and despite the lameness at which I was a mom the next day, it was worth it (and the boys LOVED watching Kung Fu Panda while I rested!) Good idea Jessica! I loved it!

rock climbing

One of the last things we did before we left Utah was go rock climbing with Scott. Kade loved it and was really good at it (and he didn't get a chance to get bored because about an hour in another little girl came and they had more fun running around, it worked out great) It was sooooooooo fun. Now, Scott is into Bouldering, which is rock climbing without the rope, and not too high, just hard. It was sooo great! The climbs are measured in V's--starting at V-0, V-1 and up to V-10 or something at the quarry that he goes-ANYWAY, I totally rocked the V-0's and then tried the V-1's....then went back to V-0's. I so so so so so wish there was some sort of rock climbing place within 100 miles of us. So here is some of Kade and at the end of the video is an awesome new jump thing Scott learned while we were there.

Last week we went to Las Vegas with Jess family and he met us there. It WAS AWESOME. Jess' parents are so incredibly generous and paid for our stay (in a hotel that was huge and so pretty) gas, food and fun. It was Jess' grandpa's 90th birthday and we all gathered for that. It was fun to play the "who is that again" game.


The boys saw the M&M factory (which, by the time we walked to it, we only had 15 minutes...but they had time to fill up their bags with whichever m&m color they wanted. I didn't think Luke would care too much when we saw the giant m&m guys, but he loved them! I didn't get a very good shot because of how many people were around him but he was just a-waving and shouting hi.
That night we went to the birthday party, which was fun. I think Jess' grandpa is just so nice and there were lots and lots of people there to celebrate! Afterwards Jess and me, Aubrey, Melodie,Justin, Emily and Riley went out on the town to see the sights (which, in Vegas, is the grossest time for sure!!! Yuck) but we went through some of the prettiest hotels and by 12:05 got to the Bilagio to see the water show. We waited and laughed and waited and laughed (Melodie's got the moves!)...until a nice homeless man told us the water shows end at midnight. So, we walked back. (I was glad I was wearing flip-flops). Anyway--it was tons of fun to just hang out with everyone!
Sunday we went to church and after said goodbye to Melodie, Justin and Riley who had to get back for work. That night Jess and I went to visit our way super awesome friends, Tom and Tiffeny Kutz! YAY! I just love them! I so wish we had more time to play, but as it was we had just dropped off Jess' family at grandpa's at it was getting late. I can't wait till next time! (we're crossing our fingers that we'll win some money so we can come on your cruise with ya'll---SO FUN)



Monday, we went to Circus Circus--and it was so fun! Especially the Acrobat act with the guys from Kenya--AMAZING! we were cheering so so loud! Then we went to see the AWESOMENESS of the Mirage. Who knew (well, tons of people--just not me) that they had dolphins and tigers and lions....there? We lucked out with a few free tickets and it truly was amazing. The animals were all up and walking around and playing and so so so close. Not to mention the dolphins were so cute! Anyway, the boys loved it! Lastly we wanted the boys to see the Treasure Island show...but turns out after a day of walking and so much fun...the three boys (Brody) were all asleep in our arms. So we went home instead. Jess and I and Aubrey took the boys to Madagascar that night and THEY LOVED IT!!! We were all laughing so much. What a good show! We loved it and Kade and Luke were laughing lots. We totally recommend it! They were out like a light that night!
Jess flew home Tuesday morning and we drove back to Utah. The trip home was awesome too, Jess' mom had gone to the dollar store and LOADED up on toys and cramed them into a black bag for the three boys and they really did love that (thanks) and the Suburban they rented had a DVD player and everything..and really, except Kaden needing to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes everything was pretty easy breezy!. It was a great trip and we loved it!

I don't have many pics from Vegas cause my camera's battery ran out, so sorry it's kinda boring...Aubrey's going to send me her pics!

Also, Scott found all his old pokemon collection and has been giving some to Kaden. HE's IN HEAVEN! He had one card that he got from Mathew Johnson, asked Scott if he knew about it, Scott found his stuff, and now he won't let it out of his sight. Kade carries all his cards around in his Superman wallet. It makes me laugh.