Halloween 2009

So I have been lectured by Julene that just because I posted Halloween pictures on my facebook, it doesn't mean that everyone has seen them since not everyone (Julene) is on facebook. So here we go...

After watching the latest Harry Potter movie with my Mom this summer, I made my usual phone call to my sister Kathy so that she could explain to me what happened and why, and what will happen next. I do this after every Harry Potter movie because I've been too lazy to read the books, but I can't stand not knowing what happens next. After watching this movie I considered reading the last book, since there was only one more left, and then I would finally know how it ended. The only problem with this is that Kathy told me that so much more happens in the books than in the movies, and there are even characters in the books that aren't in the movies. I figured it would probably be even more confusing if I only read the last book so I decided that the next movie doesn't come out for another year, why not make it a goal to read all of the books before then. I thought a year would be just about enough time. Well I didn't need a year because It only took me 6 weeks. I had no idea I would get so into them. I was so caught up in them that Sam decided to read them too, and we had to race to the finnish.. (he won. but that's not the point.) Because I was constantly reading Harry Potter, my boys became obsessed with it and they've never even watched any of the movies! We decided to let them watch the first one because it's not as scary as the rest, and after that Nicholas HAD to be Harry Potter for Halloween. Now because Nicholas was going to be Harry Potter, Christian Had to be Harry Potter. So I went to the fabric store to find a Harry Potter robe pattern, only to discover that they don't make them. I did however find a
Little Red Riding-hood pattern that with a few alterations, would work. I found some great cloak like fabric at walmart for only $3 a yard and started sewing. It wasn't until I had both costumes cut out that I realized that I bought 60" wide fabric, thinking it was 45", which if you sew at all you know that means I bought way too much. I couldn't just let all that fabric go to waste, so I decided to make a cloak for me too, and then I could dress up with the boys. When mine was finished, it didn't seem right not to have Sam dressed up too, however he had forbidden me from spending anymore money on halloween costumes, and I didn't have enough leftover to make him a full costume. Luckily a sister from my ward donated some fabric to the cause of making Sam dress up, and it all worked out great!
I decided to be Tonks, (No, that is not my real hair, it's a wig- I actually had some people ask!)) and I made Sam be Lupin, I even made him grow some facial hair, (which he hated, but I thought was kinda cute)
and we had 2 Harry Potters, (Christian wouldn't keep his glasses on)

P.S. If you are wondering, Sam put the wrong ties on the boys which is why Nick's is too small, and Christian's is too long!
P.P.S You don't have to read my Halloween post next year since we will probably be wearing the same costumes. I didn't put all that work into it to only be worn once!

New York City

If you asked Nicholas where he went last week, he might have told you New York City. After a few reminders he might have said York City, and then after several "repeat after me..." 's, he could probably tell you that we went to Yorktown, Virginia. It's not quite as exciting as New York City, but there was still a lot to see and do. Yorktown is the site of a huge Revolutionary War battlefield. It's just a few miles outside of Williamsburg, VA. Sam's Brother Ben and his wife Kate, and baby Archie were passing through there at the end of a summer full of travels, and we met them there to visit for a few days. It was great to spend time with them. My boys really loved running and playing rowdy with Uncle Ben. I'm not sure how, but Nicholas and Christian talked Uncle Ben into having a race up and down a huge field in Williamsburg, while Nicholas was running, and Ben was pushing Christian in Archie's stroller, back and forth they went, and then if that wasn't enough to wear him out, they talked Sam into joining the racing fun and before I knew it, Sam and Ben were running up and down the field with Nicholas and Christian on their shoulders!


I now understand why whenever I complain to Sam's mom about how crazy Nicholas is, she always says "Now, Ben was my kid who did that..." I'm just now sure why it's fair that I got the crazy kid, when Sam was her tame child! Isn't the 'Mother's Curse' that you will someday have a child just like yourself? Anyway we had a great time. The boys also loved playing with baby Archie, they love babies, but I'm not sure babies love them quite as much.

I'm not sure Little Arch appreciated all the "brotherly affection" my boys had for him, but he sure put up with it well!

We went to a fun 'hands-on' museum in Yorktown where they had several displays of what life would have been like for Revolutionary war Soldiers. My boys really got into that, especially when a guy came and gave them some pretend money from that time period, money is one of Nicholas' favorite things. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't spend it, he likes to play with it.

*Note: Christian has a very terrible fake smile :)


HMMMMM...Sam would have been a HOT soldier!




After a long day at the museum, my boys found one of their favorite things to play in... A big dirt patch! Even little Archie got in on all the dirty fun!

While seeing the sites was fun, probably my favorite part of the trip was just being able to sit and talk with Kate and Ben. Being so far away from family we don't get to do that very often, and I loved it. At night after we put the kids to bed, the 4 of us played a fierce game of Risk. We stayed up way too late, but it was fun! We miss you guys, and hope to see you all soon!

The Title of Liberty

Last night we had a really fun Family Home Evening that I thought I would share. I briefly told the boys the story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty. Then I gave each of them a piece of fabric that was cut into the shape of a coat. I let them each rip the arms of the coat off, to make a rectangle shaped piece, and with a fabric marker we wrote "In memory or our God, our religion,and freedom, and our peace, our wives and our children" Just like Moroni did, and then we used hot glue to glue them onto sticks, and then had a parade marching around the house while the boys waved their 'Titles of liberty' while singing 'Families can be together forever'. They had so much fun! When I put Christian to sleep that night I asked him what his favorite thing was today, and he said "Ripping the coat and making a flag like Moroni, and protecting my family."

The Green Cheetahs!

Nicholas has started his 5th season in soccer. In years past they didn't keep score or have a goalie, they really just wanted the kids to have fun, and learn to kick the ball in the net. This year they are stepping it up a little and have added a goalie, and they have full uniforms, not just a jersey. It has been fun to watch his games, the kids are really getting good. Nick has finally stopped crashing into all the kids just for fun, and he actually gets right into the game.



He has also enjoyed being the goalie a few times, he likes it because he gets to use his hands if he wants to!

Hooray for school!

I'm back, hopefully full force! Nicholas has finally started Kindergarten, which frees up my mornings, (he's in half-day Kindergarten) thus allowing me to go shopping, clean my house, and blog or whatever else I might want to do. You are probably wondering what about Christian? Well, without a big brother to fight with, he is perfectly happy having free reign on all the toys, and he has also started pre-school. We are doing a little co-op preschool with some friends from church. He goes once a week for 2 hours. Each week we take turns teaching, so I only have to teach the kids once every 5 weeks. It is great! Christian has been so proud that he is going to school, and he is already learning so much!

Such a busy Summer!

I am a detail oriented person. When I blog, I like to include details about things. How else would you be able thoroughly experience what I am trying to express? Unfortunately, and fortunately at the same time, I have had such a busy fun summer that I haven't had time to blog at all. So now that things are winding down, I find myself putting off the recording of my memories because there are too many now, and I don't have the time or patience to do any of them justice through blogging. I have finally come to the conclusion now however that It's better to at least jot down the highlights, and get on with my life. So please understand how painful it is for me to only post a few pictures of each thing, and hardly any detail. I promise in the future I will try not to be so boring!
Now, where to begin...?

Fathers Day

My sweet boys made Sam these beautiful ties for Father's day. He was such a good sport and actually wore them to church. The best part was that they asked him to help pass the sacrament, so the whole ward got a good look at them. I love him.


Sam's parents came to see us in the end of june.

We went to Chimney Rock state park, film site of last of the mohicans. Beautiful.



20 Minutes away was the Biltmore house. The Nations largest estate, where you can take a tour of the house and the expansive gardens.

My favorite part was when Nicholas found this water fountain and exclaimed "Look mom! A potty mouth!".


4th of July

We went to the Children's Parade in Durham. They had a bunch of scrap materials and you got to pick through them and decorate your ride. Nick was adorable. He waved at everyone watching and said "Happy fourth of July!". They had a fire truck there for the children to explore and after the parade they got out the hose and sprayed it out on the grass for the children to run through. My boys loved it!




My parents came to visit.

When my parents came we went out to Washington DC. Sam and I went there last summer with my sister's family, so when we went with my parents we saw a lot of the same things, except this time we scheduled a tour of the Capitol and we saw a lot more Abe Lincoln sites because my Mom is a huge Lincoln fan . You have to book this several months in advance with your senator. An intern from his office gives you a personal tour. Sam even found a statue of his great great grandfather Philo T. Farnsworth-Inventor of the Television! Since we had done all that planning were really looking forward to our tour, you can imagine our disappointment when we were in the rotunda room- the dome of the capital, when suddenly some people started chaining themselves to each other, ripping off their shirts to expose black shirts with bright pink writing, and shouted "CLEAN NEEDLES SAVE LIVES! CLEAN NEEDLES SAVE LIVES!" Over and over. The whole building had to be shut down and all the tours canceled. Let me tell you, after that, I REALLY wanted to support their cause!





Since my Dad has a knack for finding 'hidden treasures', he found us a gem stone mine to go to as well. He saw a special on it on the travel channel. You can go and sleuth for real gem stones. It was RIDICULOUS to find, but my boys had a blast searching for shiny rocks, so I guess it was worth it!





My Cousin Dezra and Aunt Eva came to visit

Sam had to go to a conference in California, so Dezra and her Mom came to hang out with me so I wouldn't be lonely. I finally got to meet Dezra's little Levi (who Christian kept calling 'Levite'). He's a super cute baby and my boys had tons of fun playing with him. We went Blueberry picking-a NC must! We also had "girls night" every night that Sam was gone. We watched chick flicks, ate ice cream and brownies and peanut M&M's. It was a blast!





Nicholas' 5th Birthday Party

We had a pool party for Nick's 5th birthday. He had tons of fun swimming with his friends. He got a Lightning McQueen cake, which turned out to be a bit of a problem. Note to all parents: Avoid cakes with BLACK frosting on them!





Last but Definitely not Least!

When Sam got home from California, he brought me a REAL-not black market but REAL COACH PURSE! He knows I've always wanted one. I love him sooooo much, (and my new purse too!)

Knock! Knock!

When the primary announced they were having a talent show, I asked Nicholas what he wanted to do for his talent. He didn't really know what a talent was, so I listed some common talents, sing a song, paint a picture, tell jokes,...immediately after I said tell jokes he got excited and said "Knock Knock jokes! I want to tell Knock knock jokes!" Now if you've ever heard his knock knock jokes, you would know why I cringed a little when he said that. Most of them don't make sense because he doesn't finnish them right, but he and Christian laugh like crazy anyway. However, since his is very into telling them right now, so I figured why not. The next week I was talking a friend of mine at church who has a son Nick's age, and when I told her that Nicholas wanted to tell knock knock jokes for his talent she started laughing and said that her son wanted to do the same thing, and she was worried about it for the same reasons. We decided it would be fun for them to do their talent together. So we did our best to practice with them how to tell the jokes right, and we let them each tell 2 jokes. So here it is, Nick and Ayden's comedy routine...(Except that I didn't get the camera turned on in time for the first joke)



I think they did a great job! (Even though Nick forgot part of one of his jokes. Yes, that was me in the background shouting 'Police':) )

Fools Mock

A recent conversation with my sister went something like this...

N: You should see my garden, it's growing like crazy. My tomato bush has 15 tomatoes growing on it, and at least 30 more blossoms, and my so-called dwarf peas that were only supposed to get 2-3 feet tall, out grew their trellis, so we had to build them a new one, and they are taller than Sam now!
J: Wait, you have a garden? Where did you put it?
(I live in a townhouse)
N: In pots.
J: Where did you put the pots?
N: Up My front walkway, it was the only place that had good sun. We also found a spot along the side of the door for the peas, and we planted some watermelons in front of the bushes.
(Julene starts laughing hysterically)
J: It must look ridiculous! You just have a bunch of vegetables growing in pots up your walkway? You have to post some picture on your blog, I've got to see this!

I told her I would and then we continued to talk about all the things we've planted in our gardens. As ridiculous as it may sound, I am quite proud of my little garden. Here, let me introduce you to it..

MY SUGAR PEAS


If you look close, you can see where the old trellis ends. Below is a picture of them reaching the top of the new trellis.

This is the pretty pink blossom that comes before the peas.


These are what we have been eating all week, and they just keep coming. Every morning I go outside and there are more ready to be picked.

MY GREEN-BEAN BUSHES, CHERRY TOMATO PLANT, AND 1 OF MY 2 BLUEBERRY BUSHES

Yes, some of the green-bean bushes are planted in an old laundry soap bucket. Why not, it was free! And, in case you are wondering, the watermelons are planted right behind the grass-like bushes.
MY WATERMELONS

I planted them a week and a half ago, and they just came up on Saturday. Aren't they cute?

MY OTHER BLUEBERRY BUSH, BASIL, TOMATO PLANT AND ANOTHER GREEN-BEAN BUSH


This tomato plant and I have been through a lot together. For about a month it just kept trying to die, it was one crisis after another, but I finally talked it into living, and look at how it's turning out!




And so Julene, my garden might be a little 'out of the box', but it's growing like crazy! Now I'm daring you to post pictures of your garden, and we'll see who has the last laugh!