Attitude of Gratitude: Fall

There's just something about the changing seasons that get's me so excited. Everything seems to be shifting and changing into some new version of itself. Leaves, weather, even my boys seem to be changing and growing up more and more every day.

We took a rare moment with Jason this week to go and pick our own pumpkins. We found a pumpkin patch where we were able to go out and pick our own pumpkins right off the vine.

Zach had to show me how strong he was as he tried to pick up this gigantic pumpkin. He finally gave in saying, "Too heavy mom!"

But this one was much more lift-able.
Yet another giant pumpkin had him perplexed.
Till he realized it made a decent bench to "take a break" as he says.
I loved that he was actually able to see where pumpkins come from, especially since it was with his dad.
Kyle was all smiles the whole time. All I had to do was look at him and he would grin at me with a sparkle in his eyes. He just loves to be outside! Anytime, anywhere.
Finally the boys found their perfect pumpkin. Warts and all!
And my sweet boys even humored me with a photo op. Though I'm not so sure Kyle is very impressed.
This was my favorite picture of the day. They get along so great and you can really see how much they love each other.
"OK mom, enough with the pictures"

I really do think this is my favorite time of year. I love the colors! I love the food! I love the sense of holidays quickly approaching and I'm so excited to share them with my two sweet boys and fantastic hubby. I know Thanksgiving isn't until November but I just really feel like this whole season is a time for thanks and I just don't think I can express how thankful I truly am for all that we have right now.

Attitude of Gratitude: Brotherly Love

Today I'm thankful for my boys and the love that they have for each other. It's funny that even as young as they are, I can already see the special bond that they have. They play so well! Zach is always gentle and cautious with Kyle while Kyle will brighten up instantly when he spots Zach walking into the room.

Today I put them in the bath together and I loved watching them interact with each other. There were plenty of giggles shared between the two of them.

Zach would splash softly or pour water from a cup over Kyle's hands, earning more giggles from his little brother.
Kyle would basically try to stuff anything and everything he could get his hands on into his mouth. Is it just me or does this kid have an abnormally large mouth? This is a foam circle he kept in his mouth like this for some time. He's also been known to fit his entire binky into his mouth, handle and all. Goofy kid!


"Ky-Ole! What is yous eatin'?"
Zach even managed to balance a "hat" on Kyle's head.
They really are becoming close friends. The other night Kyle woke up just as we were putting Zach to bed but Jason and I left him in his crib and snuck out of the room to see what would happen. Just a few moments later we heard some giggles coming from the baby monitor. As we listened we could tell that both boys were just giggling away. Not a word was spoken but somehow they had communicated something pretty silly. Eventually, they both went quiet as each slipped off to sleep. It may not have seemed like much but for me, it was a precious moment to have witnessed. (Especially since it involved them going peacefully to sleep!)

I look forward to watching them grow up together and I hope that they continue to grow closer because the love between siblings really is something special.

Attitude of Gratitude: New Neighbor-Friends

So, I have a friend who is doing 40 days of gratitude on her blog. She challenged her readers to do something along those same lines and I thought it would be a great thing to join in. Now, I'm not so fantastic at updating very often so I don't know that I'll make the 40 days in a row goal but I'm definitely going to try to make it a habit- at least when the boys go to bed early enough.

Today I'm grateful for new neighbor-friends!

Whenever you move somewhere new there is always that apprehension of meeting new people. As we prepared to move here I pictured myself snowed in with my two boys at home while Jason worked 26 hours a day. The boys would be watching hours of TV while I gained 30 pounds eating bon bons out of depression and loneliness.

Happily, I don't see that happening any time soon. We have been SO lucky I can't even express. Not only is there a really awesome group of gals in my ward but I've even been able to become friends with a few of my neighbors. To make things even better, there's plenty of kids around that are just Zach's age. They all get along so well and I can tell that Zach is just having the time of his life. We have a little girl who lives right behind us so all we have to do is open the gate and it's play time! There's also a little boy next door and a few down the street as well.

This is a picture of Zach with the brother and sister who live just down the street. We went to the zoo a little while back and they had a blast running... just running! from place to place.

The other night we had them over for dinner (their dad was out of town and Jason was working). It was going to be just us, 2 moms and 4 kids. 2 on 2... that's an alright number. THEN the neighbor behind me called needing a quick babysitter so she sent her daughter over as well, that put us at five. That's right FIVE kids, 2 adults, 1 house. It was madness, but in a good way. The kids basically just ran around the island in my kitchen and down the hall and back about thirty times until they were ready to pass out. They were giggling and squealing the whole way while Kyle hopped excitedly in his bouncer. He couldn't get enough of all the action.

Yes, my house was a mad house but the kids were having so much fun I would do it again in an instant. And ya know, considering how close everybody is, it really could happen again any time. That's the best part!

Trampoline

Warning: I'm way behind on posting so I have just posted a whole slew of stuff. Be prepared for an update overload! At least this stuff is from today.

Today was Conference Saturday and we had a great time hanging out together while listening to the speakers. We even took a break in between to go play outside in the cool fall weather. It's the first time we've pulled out our jackets!

I love this first picture of Kyle. Believe it or not, there's NO photoshopping on his eyes! They really are that blue.

This was his first experience with the trampoline and he actually enjoyed it for the first while. we jumped together for a while and Kyle giggled and giggled. Then Zach and I did animal impressions as we ran around the outer edges of the trampoline with Kyle in the middle. He still giggled.

It wasn't until I pulled out the camera to document his static hair that I got this face:
And then when Zach started to jump a little too close, we got this face:
"Save me mom!"
"It's OK Ky-Ole, It's OK. Don't be scared Ky-Ole"

From the mouth of Zach:

At the dinner table

Zach: "Tell me sumpin! Tell me sumpin!"

Dad: "What do you want me to tell you?"

Zach: "A story"

Dad: "How about you tell ME a story"

Zach: "OK! Once upon a time... nobody crossed the road!"

(same conversation, same story for the last 3 nights)

Randomly throughout the day

Zach: "Bana Who! Bana What! It's a Joke! HA HA HA HA!!"

(his version of the "orange you glad I didn't say banana knock knock joke)

First Sweet Potatoes

So.... what do we think of sweet potatoes?

We LOVE them!

Applesauce!

Friday I was really excited that I had the opportunity to help my bishop's wife to make applesauce from the apples she had in her own backyard!

We started out fairly early in the day. We picked, cut, cooked and squished through the morning and well into the afternoon.

It was fun to be able to visit with some of the other gals from my ward while our kids played together.
There were 3 trees and it seemed like and endless number of apples. We ended up only getting 17 large jars done before we all had to take the kids home for naps and there was still a huge box full of apples waiting to be cut and cooked.

You may not be able to tell but Kyle loved being able to enjoy the beautiful sunny day. The applesauce was SO yummy. It was my first canning experience, I felt so domestic and productive. One little trick... we boiled the apple slices in apple/cherry juice to sweeten it just a bit without adding a whole bunch of sugar. Zach couldn't get enough of it!

Athens Race

I ran another race! And this time was much better than the last. It was 4 miles so I was nervous since I haven't even done a 5K but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I did the first 2 miles in 21 minutes and ended up finishing with a time of 46:20. I was mostly just glad I finished!

Jason brought the boys to cheer me on and then Zack and I did a little mini-race afterward. He "won" a football and was pretty excited about it. I look forward to my next race.

Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll be able to do another race since I'm starting to have some pretty serious issues with my right foot. I actually have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon later this month. Hopefully I'll be back on the track soon!

First Sweet Potatoes

This is our first attempt at sweet potatoes. Rice cereal was completely rejected so we have moved on to more flavorful fare. Our only problem now is that Kyle doesn't seem to think it prudent to open his mouth to eat. He just prefers this method...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRfshYJBL3M

Guard Baby

Our neighborhood has started up a neighborhood watch and Kyle was more than happy to take over guard duty. He set up in his favorite spot.

"Burglars beware, I've got my eye on you!"
Uh Oh! He's falling asleep at his post!
Yep, he's out. Maybe we should rethink this guard baby duty.
(yes, his head is resting on the window)

Puddles

When visiting the park, beware of Puddles!!!

Zach started out just running through the puddle. Then, he tripped and it was all over!

Farewell!

After 8 years we have finally said farewell to our dear table.

It was a wedding gift, and it has served us well. But, it has definitely seen better days.

We sawed off the edges to make it smaller when we were selling our last house, in hopes that our kitchen would appear larger. Nice!
That wasn't too long ago. The table top itself, however, has been scraped and stained by Koolaid for a good number of years.
And here's just one of the 3 broken chairs. That's right, 3 out of 4 chairs were booby traps for company who didn't know how to gingerly balance themselves.
Would you believe someone actually took it shortly after I took these pictures? Hopefully it found a good home and someone can give it new life.

I had thought of fixing it up myself but we found a fantastic deal on a beat up floor model table at Sams so I'm thrilled with our new kitchen seating.

Still, a moment of silence please for our old kitchen table and all the memories that we had with it. :::sigh::: (I'm such a sentimental dork)

Did pigs fly?

The other night I was working on my evening dishes and I noticed Kyle was being especially quiet behind me so I turned around to find this...

Oh! Precious boy! Snuggling with his blanket. I only wish this would happen more often.

Baby gift

I just love making baby gifts!

This is what I put together for my neighbor who just had a little boy.

Burp rag:

(I may or may not have ended up making another of these burp rags for myself 'cause I loved it so much)

Wardrobe:

(I love how the J ended up kinda looking like and M&M)

Poopy Clutch:

(My button hole maker broke on my sewing machine so I ended up with a snap, and I'm glad! I learned how to do something new and I loved how it turned out)
Last but not least... the Hooter Hider:
It's another one I may or may not be planning on repeating because I loved how it turned out. Especially the little flower pin...

Eggs in a Nest

A few years back I picked up a pack of easter egg shaped chalk in the after easter clearance. Now that we have a good sized area to draw on we've pulled them out and Zach has enjoyed all kinds pretending. His favorite, which means we have to re-draw it every time it rains, is the nest. He MUST keep his chalk eggs in their nest.

Yes, I realize he looks a little "special" here with his half swollen eye and helmet. He wanted to wear the helmet so that he could be "safe" and as soon as he had it on his head he started running around in circles saying he could be "speedy" now that he was "safe". The eye, well, that's explained in the next post.
"That's the ORANGE egg mom!"
Here's your up close shot of the eggs all nice and cozy in their nest. I wonder when they'll hatch?

Another Mosquito bite

I guess Zach is a teeny tiny bit allergic to mosquitoes.

Ya Think!

(don't worry, it didn't slow him down a bit)

Sneaky Cheese!

While we were having quesadillas the other day, I mistakenly left the cheese a bit too close to Zach. While my back was turned he swiped it from the table and dug in. YUMM!!

Finger Painted Butterfly

Zach really enjoys reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar so we decided to make our own beautiful butterfly the other day.

We started with some crazy finger painting!

And finished with a butterfly any kid could be proud of
Kyle was the judge and he gave it two thumbs up.