Kayla's Holiday Concert

I had big plans to go to Kayla's school holiday concert on Tuesday evening. Just my mom, my grandma, and myself. However, most of my Monday lessons canceled, so the boys, Darreck, and I hopped in the car to run to Target Monday night. Somehow, we ended up at the concert instead (the series runs two nights). We debated over and over in the car whether the boys could handle the show, but I'm so glad we sucked it up and took the whole family. We had a blast!

First, we watched the lower level bands, orchestra, and choirs. Jack fell asleep right before Kayla's band played. However, through all the kiddo wiggles, we all got a lot from the music. It's such an amazing experience viewing live music in a concert setting, and Darreck and I loved sharing it with the boys.

Sometimes we are our biggest enemies in creating positive family memories. It's so much work to take all three boys somewhere, but it's almost always worth it in the end. Almost- that is. Monday night was definitely worth it.

Trimming the Tree

We finally broke down and got a new tree this year. We've been using Gram and Grandpa Jack's old tree for years, and it's looking a little worse for the wear. However, I've been reluctant to replace it because it's sentimental and because I'm cheap. Darreck finally talked me into it, and we had so much for decorating our new toy with the boys. We always put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving, and it's one of my favorite traditions. We always turn on a movie, and the boys get really involved. This year we watched the classic Frosty the Snowman. Since getting everything up, Jack has been keeping us on our toes by un-decorating the tree daily. Life with a toddler is never dull.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year, minus the boys' overall craziness. Darreck had the entire week off, and Max was off Wednesday through Sunday. We took it pretty easy Tuesday and Wednesday, thanks in large part to a snow storm. Thursday we spent the morning at Hale's house- they already celebrated Thanksgiving earlier in the week when Tim was home. After nap, we headed over to my parents for dinner with our family and the Johnsons. This year I contributed cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and apple pie, thank you very much. The whole dinner was good, and the boys did great. After we put the boys to bed, Gram came and sat with them while Darreck and I went shopping. I'm usually opposed to shopping on Thanksgiving, but my moral misgivings are eclipsed by my desire to spend kid-free time with my husband. It was fun and crazy.

The shopping craziness continued on Friday. I went out in the morning with my sister and mom, and we were later joined by my dad. We ate breakfast then I rejoined my boys for even more shopping. On the bright side, all our Christmas shopping is done! Woo-hoo!

Some of my favorite moments this past week had nothing to do with major holiday events. Max is really into games right now, so we spent many hours playing chess and Life. He's actually getting pretty good at chess, especially for a six year old. We also watched a lot of family movies, which is pretty much Luke's favorite pass time. I also took the time to put away yet another size of Jack clothes. It's always a little bitter sweet, but I'm glad he's growing up healthy.

Luke also went to a movie with Darreck on Saturday as a reward for potty training. It was his first movie, and he did great! They saw The Good Dinosaur, and ate their fill of candy, pop, and popcorn. In fact, Luke calls the movie theater the "popcorn store". Too cute! It was a great end to a great week.

And... a few pictures of my sister from prom! She asked a friend from the other high school and attended the dance with a large group of friends. I helped her pick out her dress, and I did her makeup for her. She had a great time, and I'm a very proud big sister.

Halloween with the Hales

Halloween was a little wonky this year but still wonderful. We had stake conference this weekend, so we celebrated Halloween on the 30th, a Friday. First, I went to Max's end-of-quarter celebration at school where we did activities, and I picked up his ginormous pumpkin! He was so excited to see me in his classroom, which warmed my heart. I wish he'd keep that sort of enthusiasm all the way through high school. I have my doubts.

Darreck was able to escape work at 3:00, and we headed downtown for safe trick or treating. It was crazy busy downtown, but the boys loved it. It was a great substitute for our normal neighborhood trick or treating. We had some downtime, so we stopped by my parents' house to show off the boys. My family bailed on the ward chili cook-off in favor of the crosstown football game. Smart people, my family. We, however, headed to the church. The trunk or treat ended up being great, and everyone was so thoughtful of Luke's limitations. We felt very loved.

Kayla watched the boys Saturday night while we went to conference and saw my dad speak in his first stake conference as a member of the stake presidency. He did a great job, basing most of his talk on an extended metaphor about a tumbleweed against a fence post. Sunday we attended the general session and survived with the boys. Barely. Two hours is a long time with little ones, but Darreck treated me to two open houses afterwards. My real estate addiction makes everything better.

Fall Break! Woohoo!

This is one of my favorite weeks of the entire  year- fall break! Darreck's days off are Monday and Tuesday, so he took off Wednesday so he'd get the entire week. We certainly made the most of it, thanks in large part to beautiful weather. This fall has been gorgeous. Seriously amazing! Unfortunately, there was one dark spot on the week. Darreck and I were supposed to go to the temple on Thursday, but Jack got sick. It was just a minor cold, but it was very apparent he needed his mommy and daddy around. We missed going to the temple, but it was one of those good, better, best decisions. Choosing the boys is always the best option.

Since Jack was feeling much better by Friday, we picked out our pumpkins to carve as a family. I loved the designs we picked this year- very cute and family friendly. They turned out great and took a reasonable hour to complete. I was glad we went pretty simple and were able to involve the boys more than every before. I was also thrilled that they wanted to scoop out the pumpkin guts. Crazy kids!

Friday night we spent the evening out on Black Eagle Island so I could photograph some family friends. I'm loving all my opportunities lately to take pictures for friends. It's so cool to help people preserve their family memories, and I love the opportunity to flex my creative impulses.

Saturday was once again beautiful, and we headed out to Giant Springs with the boys. It was a perfect morning. Saturday evening, Darreck and I left the sleeping boys with a babysitter and joined our friends for a small waffle party. Our friends the Graffs made us authentic Belgian waffles, which were so yummy. It was nice to get away for a few hours and act like proper adults. Now it's back to the real world and real work this week. It's going to be hard to send Max back to school and Darreck back to work, but it also means we're once step closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Good enough for me. And, some cute Jack pictures just because.

Family Pictures

As usual, we enlisted the help of my friend Wendy to take our family pictures this year. Then, the bills started arriving from Luke's procedures this summer, and I wondered if I could just take them myself. I cancelled on Wendy, got brave, and convinced dad to come help us out and take the family shots. I've been practicing this year with family friends, but I knew trying to photograph my own kids would be an entirely different beast. And it was. Luckily, no blood was shed, and the pictures turned out great. I did a little more yelling than I would have liked, and the mosquitoes were terrible, but it was all good at the end of the day.

Good Birthday. Bad Church. Cool Eclipse.

We're back to massive updates, apparently. Life is crazy busy right now. I'm back to teaching lessons, Darreck is working tons, and Max is in full school mode. It's cool and chaotic and awesome. Life is really awesome.

My birthday was a week and a half ago, and I seriously forgot to blog about it because it was pretty much a non-event. It was a Wednesday, so Darreck worked all day and I taught all evening. I did have friends over for a playgroup in the morning, which was cool. We also squeezed in cake and presents in between lessons and bedtime. The boys spoiled me, as usual, and my parents got me a cool new blender, which I've been using nonstop since then. We did go out to dinner on Friday for a belated celebration, and that was surprisingly relaxing for having all three boys there. I'll take it!

Onward to today, which was a total disaster at church. First, Darreck went to a choir practice that was canceled. That should have been a sign of things to come. During Sacrament meeting, Jack was a little bear. He normally naps at 10, so ten o'clock church is somewhat of a challenge. Today, no matter what we did, he wouldn't calm down, so Darreck finally took him home to sleep in his own bed. I'm pretty sure he's sick or teething or something. Then the Luke poop drama started. Darreck took Jack home in our car, so when Luke pooped his pants, I had to have my mom take him home to get new pants and shoes. That was fine until he pooped, yet again, only 20 minutes after he got back to church. I was in the middle of teaching my Sunday school class, so he was passed off to Grandma again. She deserves sainthood after today.

Luckily, after our bad run at church, we had a great remainder of the day, and we even got to watch a full blood moon eclipse. I wish I had thought to pull out the tripod and take some good pictures, but I didn't think ahead enough. It's seriously amazing! So completely cool!

Weaning Jack

This time finally came this past week to wean Jack, and I'm surprised at how hard it's hit me. This is the first time I've weaned a baby without expecting to have another one at some point in the future. We're not planning on having any more kids, and while I know that God and our plans sometimes don't align, our family feels very complete for the time being. For the more part, I'm really looking forward to having three bigger boys who can hike and kayak and play with us, but it's also sad to say goodbye to the baby stage. Not so long ago it felt like I'd be attached to the couch nursing a baby forever. Six years of my life have passed incredibly quickly.

If you ask Jack, I'm not sure he'd care about this week one way or the other. He's pretty cool about not getting bedtime feedings, which were the last to go. He put up a small fuss the first few nights, but nothing more than an extra squeak or two when I turned out the light. He's definitely ready. Jack seems like a toddler now more than a baby, especially since he's babbling up a storm. That kid wants to communicate! I felt the same way with Max, but Luke took longer to speak and therefore felt like a baby longer in my mind. Jack has no plans to remain a baby in anyone's mind any longer. He's big. Just ask him.

So, I'm taking this week to mourn a little bit, but I know I'll be fine after a good cry and my hormones righting themselves. Really, I do love being a mommy to bigger boys. While I miss Max during school, I love getting to see the "real" him. Max and Luke have such varied interests and temperaments, and it's so much fun getting to know these very real people who reside in my house. Darreck and I may have created them, but they are certainly individuals unto themselves. Now, Jack is joining their ranks.

The First Day of School

It's finally here- Max's first day of 1st grade was today. His principal, Bill Salonen, always goes all out for the first day. This year's theme is "Saddle Up for Success", so they had real horses on the front lawn and a plastic cow to practice roping. The entire staff was decked out in western wear, and two news crews rounded out the circus. It was crazy and really, really fun!

Max's teacher this year is Mrs. Rask, and I've yet to meet her. Darreck met her at supply drop on Monday and had a very mixed opinion. So far, however, Max likes her, and I guess that's what matters. We'll see as the year goes on. His room is A3, but right now they're sort of homeless as their room is being painted. You'd think they'd get all that stuff out of the way during the summer.

The real adventure came after school. Everyone went into full-on meltdown mode after school today. From the moment Max stepped in the door at 3:00 until Darreck got home at 5:30, someone was crying almost the entire time. It was chaos. I considered selling the kids on the black market. It was bad. I'm really hoping that either the rest of the week goes better or that someone offers me a fair price for the kids. Seriously, I'm cool either way.

Last Summer Update

School starts tomorrow, so even though Darreck's been back at work for a week, these few days feel like summer's last stand. And of course, we're doing it up right! After celebrating Darreck's birthday Friday, we attended the wedding of my high school friend Brianna on Saturday. It was our first Catholic Mass, which was fascinating in it's own way. We had a great time! Sunday was exciting for our family- dad was called into the stake presidency. Apparently, they didn't want him to have too much leisure time now that he's down to only one job. Or something like that...

I've had a raging head cold all week, but I wasn't willing to miss out on family fun the last few days of summer. Cold and all, I convinced the family to hike the Sluice Boxes yesterday, and it was beautiful! I feel so grateful that such beauty exists a mere 30 minutes from my house. However, the boys did not appreciate the freezing creek, which bisects the trail numerous times. Darreck and I had to carry the kids across the creek, and it was so, so cold! At least the scenery is worth it.

Today we've been in full back to school mode. We got Max's hair cut, spent a ridiculous amount of money on new shoes (he's super picky), and bought some new clothes. I have a feeling tomorrow morning is going to feel very early, and I think it's well worth our time to prepare today.

Here are the pictures summing up our fun the past few weeks~

We went out to Ryan Dam last week for a morning. It was beautiful and we had the whole place to ourselves. The boys practice their bouldering, and Luke had a close encounter with a bull snake.

 One of Darreck's favorite spots in town is Wadsworth Pond. We took dinner out there, but didn't plan on swimming. Darreck dragged us back the next day with our swimsuits so that we could do some serious playing. It was really fun until the clouds rolled in.

 Darreck's back to school potluck was held at Oddfellow's park this year, which is one of my favorite spots in the city, speaking of favorites. They put  in a new playground that the boys loved, and it has one of my favorite river beaches in the area.

 Darreck got wireless headphones for his birthday, and Jack promptly stole them. He walked around the house all morning listening to Coldplay, and he screamed each time someone tried to take them away.

Finally, these are the pictures from our hike yesterday morning. The pictures don't do it justice, and they also don't show the smoke. We're praying for rain. Much of northern Idaho and eastern Washington and Oregon are on fire. Hopefully our little corner of paradise is protected.

Darreck's Birthday

We're at the tail end of Darreck's 30th birthday blowout week! We believe in going big for birthdays, especially the milestones. This year I thoroughly embarrassed him by throwing him a pool party at Water Tower Pool. We pretty  much invited everyone we know, and had a good turn out, in spite of the weather not cooperating. It was cold and windy, especially as the night wore on, but everyone still had a blast. The kids got really into in, no one more than Max. After his last round of swimming lessons, he's decided he loves the pool, and we were so impressed with his willingness to go out and play with his friends. Luke, on the other hand, was much more reluctant. He's not so into the whole swimming thing this year. The pool party was also Jack's first time in a pool, and he was a little rockstar! He stayed in until he was shivering so hard we forced him to get out. He was not amused. All in all, it was a great night.

The fun continued Tuesday night with Darreck's family. We had a little birthday party for Bryan and Darreck, complete with cake and singing, although the kids missed it because they were too busy playing. Friday, Darreck's actual birthday, he spent most of the day working. Boo! However, we squeezed in dinner with my family at Pizza Hut and the traditional donuts. The major excitement, however, was that we got a new TV for the basement. Darreck and I watched one of the movies he got for his birthday, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, on our newly acquired big screen. It was pretty cool!

Darreck and I figured out that this is the eleventh birthday of his that we've celebrated together. Man, time flies! The first birthday we spent together was his 20th, and we had a picnic at Ryan Dam. This year's festivities were much louder and more chaotic thanks to the kids, but it was fun to reminisce on how far we've come. Over the past decade, we've lived in two towns, six homes, had three kids, and gone through I don't even know how many cars. I'm looking forward to some stability in the next decade, but I suppose nothing is ever guaranteed. At least we know we can get through it together!

Luke's 3rd Birthday Pictures

I try to take pictures of the boys on their birthdays, but sometimes it's hard to work up the motivation, especially when they've hit that stage where they won't look at you or smile naturally. My friends, Luke is in that stage. Taking pictures of the kid is a little like running a marathon. I walked away tonight feeling completely worn out- and here's the kicker- even though we only spent about 15 minutes. Sheesh!

 In Luke's defense, I don't much like sitting around and having my picture taken either. I suppose I can't really blame the kid. He'd much rather be riding his bike or playing with his swords or tormenting his brothers. I get it. I like tormenting Max from time to time, too. Still, we got some good shots, and I'm glad I took the time to preserve all his unique little cuteness right now.