Slippery Linc

My new favorite way to give Lincoln a bath is in the kitchen sink... And- his second tooth popped through yesterday. (Oh the pictures are comin')

Pumpkin Party

When I mentioned a pumpkin party the boys couldn't wait. So on October 2nd they had a few of their little friends over after school to get in the spirit...

They painted pumkins...

Ate dangling donuts...

(This was so fun to watch. I'm not even sure if this is a Halloween tradition- but it's in one of our Halloween books so the boys insisted on it.)

And they finished up by making scary candy necklaces and watching a fun Halloween movie. The end.

Wednesday

So this is a Wednesday? I'm usually running around trying to get everything ready for the Young Women activity. Calling girls. Talking to the other leaders. Planning dinner so it can be done and we can eat before I take off. But not today. (Oh- don't worry- the scurrying will come tomorrow- planning rides for 60 kids since it's with the boys too- up to S.L. to work in the Humanitarian Aid Center.... having a 4 hour activity instead of an hour or two.... and missing my book club :( but that's tomorrow.... ) Today I'm trying to relax with the boys. Elliott has a friend over. Ollie is trying to tag along. And baby Lincoln isn't feeling so great and wants to be held all day. He is so calm in my arms- not the little jumping bean he usually is. But I'm glad I can hold him and not worry about having everything ready for tonight. Wednesday nights off have been very few- usually around Christmas or other holidays. It feels like I want to celebrate- go to dinner or something. But at the same time I want to stay home. It'll be weird to have the night off permanently some day- it's been a while. I was thinking back and Ollie had just turned one- and now he's almost 4!

We talked about this for family home evening the other night. Ollie picked the lesson about the "Widow's Mite" (those golden coins that go with the lesson are so tempting!) We have had this same lesson before- lots of times. But this time we talked about how she was sacrificing for her church. We talked to the boys that we sacrifice with our time too- like in YW and Scouts (Adam's been cub master FOREVER!) I'm not sure they understand completely yet. But it's such a part of their lives. Every time we go to Costco they ask if this receipt is ours or for the bishop. So many times I will have treats ready for the girls and the boys want some. I always say if there's any extra they can have some. And there never is. They've gone on so many walks with me to visit the girls for their birthdays or whatever. So really our whole family is sacrificing. And the other leaders have sacrificed so much more.

But the girls in our ward! I could go on and on about them! They are so sweet and humble and good! I just can't believe they are teenagers sometimes. And the sacrifice is worth it. But I'll take this Wednesday as my own.

cowboy

Here's another baby shirt I might have a hard time getting rid of someday. I think this was one of my little brother, Mikey's too. I love it. I couldn't decide on one picture- Baby Lincoln is just too cute!



I love how he's sucking on this apple- he loves them.

(Oh! That chubby wrist!)

Here are some pics of Elliott with the cowboy shirt when he was 4 months old. (Jan 04)

'09 Harvest

This year we had a small number of pumpkins, but we grew one giant one- so it was a trade in I guess. These are from the same seeds and of course Elliott called the bigger one early in the summer. He took care of it all summer long. He would pour water on it- even though the root was five feet away, he put a special sticker on it so everyone would know it was his, and every time he found a praying mantis (we had tons this year) or a spider, he would put them on the pumpkin to protect it. Not to mention checking on it a few times every day ("I think it's getting bigger Mommy!")
We waited until the last few days of September this year. We can never quite make it to October...
Oliver and his pumpkin. We also grew 3 little white ones and two tiny gourds.
We also couldn't quite wait until October to decorate the house. We were all so excited- I tried to capture the boys in their happiness:

I just remember as a kid taking out the same decorations every year. It was the best and I can tell the boys feel the same. And I know they won't always be this excited so it's fun.

Happy Halloween season!

Fall is...

Soup (the boys put all the ingredients in.)

Jackets

And Caramel Apples!

Cousins

After the zoo the other day, Linds and I stopped for dinner with all of our kids (6!). We were quite the sight. A table of 3 older couples sat nearby and gave us knowing smiles all the while. (Lots of energy + food taking forever = CRAZY kids.) As they were leaving they stopped to talk to us (and the kids) and were so nice. It was refreshing and it made my day!

Sunrise Surprise

Some mornings Ollie's hair looks like it just stepped out of a salon- I don't even have to comb it. Other mornings, not so much...

Snuggle Time with Ollie

Ollie is so hilarious to watch with the baby. He wants to hug him and love him all day long. We remind him often that Lincoln is still little and that he can't hold Ollie's weight on top of him. He also loves to give Lincoln big sloppy kisses. The baby used to cry when Ollie would come around, but now he smiles and loves the attention... until he's had enough!