Booo-tiful!!

Why do I do this each year? It's for the CANDY!

We started off with the "must do" pumpkin carving. I wised up this year and had them do it outside. Very easy clean up!!

Here's how they turned out....Amanda did the CTR, Derrick did the Alien, Nathan did the Ghoul (actually, what is it?)

We got a fogger this year....it ended up getting way too foggy (and it smelled like burnt something)....so I ended up turning it off after the first 10 minutes....but it was a GREAT idea and Bob is just so pleased that I spent money on it....NOT :)

The trick-or-treaters. Oh what fun! Nathan is "my life" (he has various articles on that represent parts of his life) Derrick is Captain Rex from Star Wars Clone Wars, Amanda is a chicken and Toby is a fireman. What a group!! I hope they bring me home lots of milky-ways and almond joys!!! :)

A Bobcat lives with us now!

Derrick LOVES cubscouts. He asks almost every night if we can do something in his Bear book. This last pack meeting, he received his Bobcat!! The meeting was on Wednesday and all night on Tuesday he kept saying, "Tomorrow's a special day because I get my Bobcat" Then one of the first things he said Wednesday morning is, "Today is a special day". I forgot and so asked, "Why is a special day?" He replied, "You know! I get my Bobcat!!" ...how could I forget??? I love how enthusiastic Derrick is!!

Look at that face!! They have these cool face paint designs for each advancement. It is super fun!

The famous shot....can't leave the stage without it....parents, cub, and cubmaster!

The Good news and The Bad news

The good news is.....

You made the front page of the newspaper's sport section and your picture was almost 1/2 the page!!! - wow!!

The Bad News is.......

Weeeell.....your face just happens to be a tad bit distorted....hmmmm.....not quite your best look. ha-ha-ha-ha!! We all laughed so hard at Amanda's face. How in the world did her face do that? Serious laughing out loud at our house...love it!

The downside of bunkbeds

WARNING.....this is gross!!

Bunkbeds are very convenient for saving space, climbing adventures, etc....but at 1:00am, I discovered a HUGE downside to bunkbeds.....

If the person sleeping on the top leans over the side and vomits......the vomit hits the floor with such force that it splatters on all sides of the room. If there is any item on the floor, it will splatter on it, if there is any room under dressers or desks...it will splatter through the space.

Oh my goodness!! It took me an hour to clean! And....to make things worse, Bob was gone and I was cleaning, gagging and crying about being alone. What a bummer!

Just wanted to share a consumer warning for anyone so adventurous as to get bunkbeds....be careful...and....most important.....make sure that your kids put away their legos each night....to save you from the possible adventure of going through each lego in order to clean it.....almost threw the entire box away!!!!!!!! :)

No you didn't.....YES I DID!!

I saw this clip on another person's blog and it seriously had me laughing out loud because it was totally me and Bob!

One would think that I would be all grown up by now and not allow myself to join in any ticky-tacky argument....but NO!!...every once in a while I find the temptation of just wanting to be RIGHT and proving my point too alluring of a temptation....yeah, yeah...I know... it doesn't accomplish anything.

First a little background: It was 7:00pm...just barely getting home from soccer game and practice...so I start dinner. The dishes are piled in the sink...everyone has conveniently become quiet in various rooms as to avoid helping with dinner. I fix taco soup and load the dishwasher. I yell to everyone that dinner is ready...the stampede starts and so does the complaining about what's for dinner. I'm grinding my teeth and about ready to yell something profound like, "Everyone just Be QUIEEET!! ...but I am strong and don't lose it....proud of myself!

I dish Bob up a bowl of soup and say to him, "Here you go Bob, you can put the toppings on it" and lay it on the counter...Bob is preoccupied with figuring out the phone messages. I sit down with my bowl of soup......

Me: "Bob, I dished you up a bowl, can you hurry so we can say a prayer"

Bob: "Just a minute...do you know what is wrong with this phone?"

Me: "No....pleeeease....I'm starving" (Then I start talking with the kids. I look up to see Bob dishing up a bowl of soup and the one that I dished up is sitting on the counter)

Me: "Bob, I already dished you up a bowl"

Bob: "Why didn't you tell me?"

Me: "I did"

Bob: "No you didn't"

Me: "Yes I did"

Bob: "Well, I didn't hear you."

Me: "That doesn't mean I didn't say it"

The back and forth of what I said and what I didn't say continued for another minute or so....argh!!! Yep....I got sucked in. I just had to prove my point. Finally it was nice when Amanda piped in and confirmed that I did say it....just knowing that SOMEONE was hearing me triggered my mind to STOP and GROW UP!!! So now you see why I laughed at the video clip...OH MY!!!

What are little girls made of?

Is it....Sugar and spice and everything nice.......awwww....

Amanda once again was nominated to the homecoming court....even though her highschool has a rule that if you win princess once (it was one year ago she won....and I was just starting the blogging experience...man time flies!!)...you can't win again until your senior year.....her peers still thought enough of her to nominate her. Still a little awkward because she now had to go to the dance and she's not dating until she's 16....but she organized a group of around 20 non-daters and daters and had a blast. It was especially fun when they all came barging into our home after the dance around 11:00pm to play foos-ball and the wii until midnight....boy they can be loud! But, a fun loud. We loved it!

Two days later.....skrreeeppppttcchhh.....hold everything.....uhhhh....what happened to the sugar and spice and everything nice?

Yep....that's my girl :)

This year's soccer season has been a blast. I can't believe the improvement from last year. They actually have a winning season!! Amanda is super fun to watch as center mid.....wow....I must say her confidence level has definitely increased!

My Forever Boyfriend is 39!

Awwwwww.....Bob was such a cute little baby. I love the goobee tongue hanging out. Looks like he's always had that big and happy mouth of his...hmmmm...perfect for when he grows up....the better to kiss me with (oh-sorry...c'mon...keep it rated "G" for the kiddos)

Yesterday was my Bobby's big day. I asked Nathan if Dad's birthday beat his in the "really bad-bummer birthday" category....Nate responded with a positive, "Yeah!". It really stinks when you get older and have to go to work early and get off late.....Then...your kids take over your night....Derrick had soccer practice and Amanda had a soccer game in St. Helens, Oregon....about 40 minutes away. So, finally....at 8:30pm, after convincing the coach to let Amanda ride home with us instead of on the bus, we headed off to find a restaurant in St. Helens to celebrate. We ended up going to a Chinese food place called "Bings"......hmmmm. Surprise....it actually was really good!!! We headed back home to have cake (pumpkin pie) and open presents at 9:30....got home after 10:00pm.....poor Bob! And still....with all the bummers....we all had a ton of fun! I love Bob so much! He brings so much laughter and fun into my life. I seriously LOVE being with him every minute!! I'm glad we're sealed for Eternity....there is just no other man for me!!

I love you Bobby.....Happy Birthday!!

I didn't have 39 candles....my bad! So, I improvised....made the number 39 out of the candles I had. Can you see the number?

39 hip-hip-hoorays!!!

Bob's greatest gifts :)......Oh wait, I'm not in there....well, I am the ULTIMATE GREATEST gift!!

My Mad Scientists

Well...Nathan has always had a creative mind. There isn't a week that goes by where he hasn't created something. Each year for Christmas he asks for duct tape and empty boxes.....his staples. Well, now that he has a younger brother....it's even more fun to create because he now has an assistant....and an he's an assistant that admires his "genius". This last Sunday took the "genius" topper..... It reminded me very much of Young Frankenstein....I know this shows a huge generation gap with me....but Igor cracks me up...Anyway... Here's the story......

Bob's been out out of town for 2 days....it's Sunday mid-morning and church doesn't start until the afternoon....I am very tired. Amanda is away at choir practice so I tell the boys to do some quiet play so I can take a little nap. I am resting in my bed just at the point of sleep when I hear an explosion from downstairs that jolted me straight up....followed by hysterical laughing. Then I hear Derrick's little voice giggling and saying, "ahhhh....the burn....it's burning". This gets me out of bed! When I yell to the kids what happened....they run up the stairs giggling and saying, "Don't worry mom".....hmmmm. Finally when I see them they are dripping with gunk all over them. They proceed to tell me that they did a science experience.....and it EXPLODED everywhere in the kitchen.....but...they were going to clean it up.....hmmmmm again! When I got downstairs I noticed the gunk all over the cupboards, the blinds, the windows...and....ON MY CEILING!!!! What in the world!!!!

Nathan told me that he got one of his containers and mixed ingredients in it...then shook it up...but nothing happened. So, they slowly took the lid off to watch it fizz....as they had their heads poked over the bubbling ooze....BOOM.....it exploded. Nate in all perplexity couldn't figure out why it exploded. Here's the ingredients they put in......see if you can figure out the explosive trigger. If you can't figure out what the trigger for the explosion was....at least figure out for me how in the world those little brains came up with their extensive list of ingredients....they are a crack up! (the dog food is my personal favorite)

Fabric softener

409

soap

Murphy's oil soap

dirt

vitamins

dog food

milk

water

lemon juice

ketchup

vegetable oil

toothpaste

plax

lotion

diswasher powder

air freshner

baking soda

vinegar

Needless to say...(through my laughing) I tried to have a serious discussion as to how dangerous this is....even though these things are just laying arond the house doesn't mean that they are safe to be adding together. Major bombs are made out of simple household cleaning supplies. Oh my!

My new ceiling decorations... I haven't gotten around to cleaning this off yet....HELP with the sanity!!

It's good to be poor

No doubt we are heading into some tough economic times...but...as I'm watching it all, I keep thinking....well, I guess I should be grateful that I am and always have been.....POOR (well, I guess I'm middle class....but, after doing Quicken....I feel poor). Other than the irratation with having my grocery bill double and now having to pay for other's lack of integrity and not be able to sell my house or get a car loan....I'm sitting nice and pretty in my natural state of poor-ness. I have NO clue what it's like to lose millions or billions of dollars! :) So, I don't have to feel that stress.....nice! Oh, we've got a few stocks here and there....but, nothing that has ever been of real benefit to us. I've been loving the humor that can be found in all this commotion. I know others will think I'm naive....but....sometimes you just gotta laugh so you don't cry :) Although...all this could change dramatically if Bob loses his job.....but until then.....Enjoy! And, if anyone has anything come their way.....forward it on!

THE TREASURY PUT OUT A NEW DOLLAR BILL THIS MORNING

HALLOWEEN IS GONNA STINK THIS YEAR (the real phrase that went with this comic is "Halloween is gonna suck this year"...but as not to offend...I changed it - ha!)

SEPTEMBER MADNESS.....FILL OUT YOUR BRACKET AND SEE WHO WINS (CLICK ON THE PICTURE IN ORDER TO MAKE IT BIGGER SO YOU CAN READ THE WORDS...HILARIOUSLY CLEVER!)

The best time of the year

It's General Conference!! I grabbed the camera and quickly poked around the corner to take a candid shot of just what our family is like during conference. For sure we have to be close to being translated - not! Notice....

1. House is a mess!

2. Nathan is sleeping and in a grumpy mood. (Hint: look under the striped comforter for the bugman)

3. Amazing Amanda is diligently taking copious notes....and representing the style of hair and dress of all of us.

4. Bob has Franklin Planner out for notes

5. Derrick has a "conference packet" to keep him busy and focused.

6. Blankets and pillows are the essential accessory for the day

7. Julie is overly sentimental and embarrasses everyone by taking a picture and putting it on her blog.

I seriously LOVE General Conference. I must admit that I even get teary-eyed when it ends on Sunday afternoon. I feel like a starving sponge that can't get enough water! The counsel that is given is sooooo relevant to my every need and I love the relaxing feeling of not having to prepare for something on Sunday.....I know the Sunday thing is lame...but TRUE!

We have another TEENAGER!

Can you believe that Nathan is officially a teenager!?!?! He turned 13 just 6 days after Derrick's b-day (see post below for Derrick's b-day). Lucky for me Nathan was born at 9:00pm so I didn't have to wake up to turn off an alarm in the wee-morning hours. I always get mushy on my kid's birthday. I just always remember how happy I was when they were born. There just isn't anything closly comparable to the joy I felt when I held them in my arms just moments after they took their first breath. They are the most precious things EVER!! Just writing this post makes me all teary eyed....oh my! And much to my kids embarrassment....I always cry at some point on their birthdays....just so happy (and kind of sad that they're growing up so fast)

Well, Nate had what he considered a "boring" birthday. I didn't let him have a friend party (getting a little old now...will wait for sweet 16) and Amanda had a soccer game that we had to go to.....BORING!! But, he was a good sport and had fun anyway. For his dinner, he chose to go to Sweet Tomatoes.....go figure. Nathan is such an amazing young man. It's fun watching him grow up. We love him tons!!

The cake shot....notice he has an icecream pie. Nathan doesn't like cake....how odd is that? Oh well, I guess that's why he's so skinny!

I just love the blowing out candles shot. He wanted those sparkler candles. They were a lot of fun.

OH MY GOODNESS......IT'S A CELL PHONE!!! What kind of parents would let their 13 year old have a cell phone? We actually had to laugh because Nathan has NEVER wanted a cell phone.....until now. It's crazy how things change....now he's into the middle school scene and He's made some friends from other wards....ummm.....GIRLS! :) Oh yeah....and he's taking showers every day without grumbling and is very concerned about how he looks....doing the hair gel --ha! Okay...if he reads this he'll be TICKED at me :)

Nate begged and begged for a new bike.....I would have LOVED to wait for Christmas....new bikes are PERFECT for Christmas tree pictures!!

Is this legal? I screamed when he took off on his bike through the halls of my house!!!

Scouts and Missionaries

Derrick told us last week that he wants to be baptized. We are soooooo excited!! We now get to have the missionaries over each week (we're doing it for FHE....only night we don't have something going on!). He was so sweet because the night they came over for the first time he got a notebook and pen because he HAD to take good notes. I can't even explain how wonderful it is having Derrick in our home. I know he was suppose to come into our family and that it was suppose to be at this time. I love him to bits!

This kid is a scouting maniac!! HE LOVES IT!! He's passing off things right and left. He reads his Bear book every night and comes up with tons of things to pass off. At first I couldn't believe that I was back in cub scouts....more pinewood derby cars :/ But, I'm actually having a lot of fun. I love his enthusiasm!!!

We have a nine year old!

What a fun day!! It was our first birthday with Derrick! He set his alarm clock for 4:02am. (the time he was born). Although.....it was I who ended up waking up at 4:02am to turn the alarm off......of course both boys slept right through the alarm!! It's fun having an elementary schooler again....they still want to do cute things.....we bought Derrick some cookies for his class and he happily bounced into school carrying the bag....it was so cute! After school we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese for a fun and NOISY celebration. He invited 2 friends from school, his foster family, his Aunt's daughter and children, Adam & Lindsey family and Danny & Holly family. It was a great evening and it felt so nice seeing so many people who loved him. He's a great kid!

It's Chuck-E and Derrick (hmmm...I don't know....should we be worried about Chuck-E? The picture looks a little creepy....isn't there a horror-flick with a chucky???) Derrick looks absolutely adorable with his gold medal!

I had to put this one in.....this is the present I gave him!! It's Sour Cream and Onion ruffles.....Yummy!!! Just look how happy I made him. I am such a good mother :)

Derrick SCORED on the tickets!!! Holy Cow!!!

The party animals.