Halloween Morn

Alden got to wear his costume to preschool, but the other boys are stylin' in their Halloween t-shirts. There's the Jack o' Lantern we (I) carved yesterday. Roland is distracted by the ghosties hanging from our porch.

Here's Alden with his best buds, Kaleb (The Green Lantern) & Brigham (Captain Hook). Where's your mustache, Brig?

Sometimes It's Even Cool Enough to Go Outside

Arizona is hot. The End.

Every once in a while it cools off enough to spend some time outside. Mostly we just make the boys go play out there, where they ride their bikes & scooters. Last week I was about to scream with little boys bugging me, so I took a deep breath and said, "Let's have a picnic." We spread the blanket on the back porch, brought out sandwiches, Capri Suns, and treats, and enjoyed the shade. Even Roland got in on the fun. Sorry, no picture.

Conference weekend I bought some sidewalk chalk for the boys & they have been having fun drawing pictures ever since. This is Emmett watching conference. Seriously.

The next week we had the Spencers over to play & pulled out the sidewalk chalk again, then everyone had rides in the wagon. Dillon pulled the kids around long after I had patience.

Chasing the Ball

Alden is playing organized soccer for the first time. He has practices on Thursday evenings, which are tons of fun for him, and for the rest of the family. Alden is playing with Mary Joe Spencer, Kaleb Rasmussen, Brigham Stokes, and Scotty Ponder and all the families go to the practices. Emmett has plenty of kids to play with at the playground, and I have plenty of adults to talk to. As long as the weather is nice, the practices have been the highlight of our weeks.

The games are fun too, but a little more stressful. Whereas the practices are at MacArthur (my elementary school) with just our team, the games are at a junior high with about a million other people. It's pretty funny to watch a bunch of four year olds chase the ball in little swarms. The first game Alden almost kicked a goal for the other team. The second game today he did better, with a break-away & dribbling the ball half way down the field. Our little Fireball team is doing great, and they are always a little more tired in the afternoon after all that running. Hurray!

Those Things are Sharp!

I have been meaning to mention that Roland's top two teeth have come in. It was a couple weeks ago; I'm gonna go with Oct. 12th and 14th for the official baby book dates. We had three or four nights of much more crying in the middle of the night, then those pearly whites were making their appearance. And once again he's a happy boy. Until Mama tries to take a picture of them. Try to ignore the boogery nose.

October brings...

"It's Looking Pretty Scary in Here"

quote by Alden

Emmett-isms

I was just changing Emmett's diaper so he could take a nap. He was chanting, "cutie, cutie." I asked him who was a cutie. His reply: "My buns!"

I guess he is listening when I tell him he has cute buns all the time.

He is a Child of God

Today was the primary program at church and I have to admit being a little bored with programs in the past, or even making fun of them a bit. So I was amazed at how differently I felt with one of my own up there. I apologize to all of those primary presidencies and parents that have known all along how special these programs are.


Just watching my son trying to perform I Am a Child of God in sign language was enough to bring tears to my eyes, as well as a little chuckle. Aaron & I couldn't believe that he seemed to know almost all the words to every song. And his little seven word part was memorized weeks ago and delivered just as speedily as could be - so that we were probably the only ones who knew he said, "I learn about prayer from the scriptures." Alden also gave a talk during sharing time about prayer and did a great job. He loves being up in front of everyone and talking in the microphone.

My Neighbors

We sure do love our neighbors, the Spencers. Lacey is wonderful with all my kids. Anytime Emmett sees her at church, he runs off to give her a big hug. And she's one of the few people Emmett will happily stay with when I need a babysitter. Thanks for watching my kids all the time, Lacey! Alden loves to play with Dillon & Mary Joe and yells at them over the fence just about every day. He stands on the swingset and yells, "Hi, my neighbors! It's Alden!" Just in case they thought it was someone else. Roland & Riley Spencer are as close as two 7 month old babies can be. They are less than 2 weeks apart. Here's a few shots of when they came to visit.