Halloween Pics

This year for Halloween it was my turn to take the boys trick-or-treating around the neighborhood while Nate stayed home to hand out candy. Luckily for me they wanted to eat their candy as fast as they were getting it and were done after about twelve houses. Having children has made celebrating the holidays so much more fun.

Scarecrow

Bob The Builder

Soccer

So this year we decided to enroll McCoy onto a fall season soccer team. Nate was really excited and took McCoy to the sporting good store to buy cleats, shin guards, a new soccer ball and net. Maybe that was a little over the top for a three year old starting his first sport, but Nate has been looking forward to this for a while. Then we went to his first game and McCoy was so intimidated by everyone that it took him half the game to get the courage to go out onto the field. He got over his shyness, but spent most of his games standing around, staring at people and goofing around on the side lines. It was actually quite comical because at one time, we had McCoy and two of his other teammates running in circles on the field while the rest of their team was trying to keep the other team from scoring. Another time he told his dad that he was mad because no one would let him have the ball. Nate told him that's part of the game and he needs to get in there and go after it. Now that the season is over, I look back and can chop this up into the experience category and maybe next year McCoy will be little more interested in chasing the ball down the field. Overall, McCoy said he had lots of fun and was sad when it ended.

Landon

I thought I would share this little insight about Landon with you. I've always been a little worried about having another child. I thought Landon might be a little rough with a new baby. A couple of weeks ago when we were down at my dad's house, my sister-in-law had jumped into the shower while her six week old baby, Jacob, was asleep on the bed in their bedroom. Halfway through the shower, she heard someone trying to get into the bathroom. After she finished and opened up the door, she could hear the baby crying and saw Landon running into the bedroom with his blanket outstretched to give to the baby. When she walked into the bedroom she also saw little toys laying around the baby. Apparently, it was Landon trying to get into the bathroom to let her know the baby was awake and crying. Since he couldn't get in, he decided to try and help. My heart melted when I heard this story. He really is a sweetheart. Then, last weekend we had taken our little one year old niece to the park. Her mother had stayed behind to finish a project and gave us a bottle of milk to take with us in case Charity got cranky. After awhile, Charity started fussing and Landon immediately went to my purse, took out the bottle and then ran over to where Charity was and gave it to her. How sweet!

Love Bird Tag/ Husband Tag

I don't usually do these tags, but I saw this one and thought I might just for the fun of it

1-What is your husband’s name? Nathan
2-Where did you meet? I moved in with some girls and he was living in the apartment next to us.
3-How long have you been married? Almost 6 years.
4-How long did you date? We had our first “date” on April 24th; semi dated until August, were engaged on September 10th and then married December 15th.
5-What does he do that surprises you? He is like the energizer bunny. Whenever he is doing something strenuous (hiking, working outside in the yard, moving stuff, etc) he never stops until it’s done. He just keeps on going and going and going.
6-What is your favorite feature of his? Eyes, smile and legs (he has killer thigh muscles).
7-What is your favorite quality of his? He forgives easily, is very responsible, a hard worker, has a big heart and when he decides to do something, doesn’t waste time piddling around.
8-How old is he? 30
9-Who eats more sweets? Me, of course.
10-Who said I love you first? I can’t remember. I wish I had wrote it down
11-Who is taller? Him
12-Who can sing the best? I’m really not sure. Nate doesn’t sing very much or very loud, but I think he has a good voice in there somewhere.
13-Who is smarter? It depends on what the category is. If you’re talking numbers, politics, business, home improvements, religion, mechanics then he definitely is.
14-Does he have a nickname for you? Honey
15-What is his favorite color? Camouflage
16-What is his favorite food? Roast and potatoes or anything with meat.
17-What is his favorite sport? He is a sports fanatic and loves them all, but I think football and rugby would be his favorite.
18-Who does the laundry? Well… I’m in charge, but he helps out a lot.
19-Who pays the bills? I’m a little embarrassed to say that Nate does. Not because I can’t, but we keep all of our finances on his computer and it’s just easier that way. Plus, he loves it.
20-Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me
21-Who mows the Lawn? Him. Although, I have surprised Nate a couple of times this summer with fresh cut grass when he got home.
22-Who is first to admit when they are wrong? Nate
23-Who kissed who first? Nate kissed me
24-When and Where was your first kiss? A couple weeks into “hanging out”, Nate kissed me while we were watching a movie at his apartment.
25-Who asked who out first? I don’t know if you would consider it a date. I was interested in him, but I didn’t think he knew I existed. My closet door broke and since his mother owned the apartments we lived in, I dolled myself up and went next door to see if Nate would fix it. He came over, fixed it and left. I figured he wasn’t interested. Then, the next morning Nate called and asked if I would go to church with him (which was a little awkward since we both went to the same ward). A couple of days later, he asked me if I wanted to go on a drive up to the mountains. That was probably our official first date.
27-Do you have any children? Two little boys, McCoy and Landon
28-Does he have a hidden talent? Hmm
29-What is his favorite type of music? Country, but he mostly listens to talk radio.
30-What do you admire most about him? He is very patient and loving with his boys. He is a really good dad.
31-Do you think he will read this? Probably not

In Memory Of My Mom

The thirteenth of October is a day I will never forget. It's hard to believe that my mom passed away exactly three years ago. I'm sitting here trying to write something and remembering everything like it happened yesterday. I remember gathering around her and telling her goodbye. That one word that I wasn't ready to say yet. It's amazing how life goes on. So much has happened since then; my little brother got married, my dad re-married and four new grandchildren have been born. I have felt her along the way and know that even though we can't see her, she is still apart of our lives. There are times that I wish I could talk to her and tell her what I am feeling, but today I will have to settle with my thoughts in this message. I miss you and love you so much. I will never forget you. http://carol5205.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday to ME!

So today didn't start out as well as I would have liked considering it is my birthday. My boys decided to go for an early morning wake-up call. I was really hoping that they would decide to sleep in for once and since Nate is out of town (which is another reason I was feeling a little gloom), I had to get up with them. After McCoy's soccer game this morning, Karin, my sister-in-law offered to watch the boys for a couple of hours while I went shopping. This was one of the best gifts that I could have been given (Thanks Karin). Then this evening, I met my brother, Lance, and his wife, Stacy, for dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory. We had a good time and afterwards they came back to my house and we let the kids play together while we watched a movie. I feel grateful to them that they were able to take time out of their day to spend it with me and make today a special day. I miss Nate and will be glad when he returns on Monday. Amazingly, today ended up being a pretty good day.

Happy Birthday Landon!

My September 11th baby has turned 2. I can't believe how big my baby is getting. Landon went around singing to him self "haty birday to you" all day long. It was so cute. Here are some things to know about Landon other than the fact that he is sometimes painfully shy and very stubburn...

Favorites

Food: - spaghetti, popsicles, juice and candy
Toys: little motorcycle - “Agogo”
People: Daddy, Mommy, Papa Jewkes and Brother- "Drudger"
Places: Anywhere outside
Things to do: Ride his bike, play with his toys and play in the water.

He loves to help out- He says, “I hep, I hep”. And for some out of this world reason, he likes to pull my dish towels off onto the floor. I think he might be a little bit of a tease like his daddy.

He also likes to push buttons a little too much (TV, remote, garage door opener, computer keyboard, cell phone, etc.)

Landon is very special to our family and I can't imagine our life without him. I love you Landon!

Harvest Time

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love when the leaves start to change on the trees and the temperature cools down a little. I also love when it's time to harvest all the fruits and vegtables that grew throughout the summer. This last weekend, Kamey and Nancy came up to my house to do some canning. I can't believe all that we accomplished. We made my mom's famous hot sauce, salsa, spaghetti sauce, raspberry jam and bottled peaches. I think we were a little crazy now that I think about it. My kitchen has now just finally been put back in order.

Salsa

Hot Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

Raspberry Jam w/ Huckleberries

Peaches

First day of School

I can't believe McCoy is old enough to start preschool. The best thing is that we only have to walk down the street five houses to get there. He really likes his teacher, Miss Kathryn, who is the most organized person I have ever seen. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with Landon two days a week while McCoy is gone.

Labor Day Camping Trip

For Labor Day weekend we went camping with my family. For the first two days we had great weather, but then it turned cold and started to rain and hail. I wish I had taken a picture when it was storming because the ground was covered in white ice. Luckily, our tent held up okay and our stuff didn't get too wet. But, there was mud everywhere and it was really hard to keep the kids clean. Although, they didn't seem to mind and looked like they were having the time of their life. We decided to leave a day early to dry out and went back to my dad's house. That night, we stayed up playing games until the wee hours of the night. Nate and I taught Nancy, Michael, Tasha and Jim how to play Nights and Cities of Catan (our favorite game). Michael won the first time and Nancy won the second - probably beginners luck. Overall, we had a great time and were glad to spend time with family.

We went fishing at Wrigley's lake and the only person who caught a fish was Amelia who had never been fishing before - beginners luck again, I guess. My little boys had a good time sticking their poles in the water and catching moss. No wonder Nate didn't catch anything :)