New Tricks

Last week at our house everyone was full of new tricks. Having three boys really keeps me on my toes. I love it, but man they are busy. There is no slowing down.

Austin.

He learned to sit on his own! He now has a whole new view of his world. If only his brothers would leave him alone long enough for him to enjoy it.

Luke.

My brother Bryce came and put in a new kitchen fauset for us, and the new one has a side sprayer, something the last one didn't have. Luke has learned to give the whole kitchen a spray down. And if you get close enough you will get a shower...ask Blake. This little guy is so wild!

Blake.
He is our creative one. He was asked to put the clothes from the washer to the dryer. His favorite part is cleaning out the lint trap. This time he was laughing really hard. We asked him what was so funny then he came out of the laundry room holding this lint man!

Gingerbread Houses

I have started the tradition of letting my kids make a gingerbread house Thanksgiving night. This year I brought the tradition to everyone! After Thanksgiving dinner at my parents, all the grand kids made their own gingerbread house. Necia and her kids were able to join us for this. We were lucky this year to find a little mini village so all the kids had a different house to make and a huge plus they were tiny!

Luke with his masterpiece. He was the first one done and completed it in record time, about 3 mins and he was ready to eat it.

Blake carefully placed each piece of candy and and frosting to make his perfect. It turned out amazing. He is getting pretty good at these.

My handsome boys and the finished houses.

My niece Shelby. Hands down hers looked the best. But come on she's 12!

My niece Shaylee. This is house #2 for her. The first one didn't turn out right so she quickly started over. This is a trick good ole' Aunt Kirsti would have pulled. Love it!

My Nephew Gaige. He and Blake kept discussing what they thought would look good. They carefully planned out every move.

My Sweet niece Taylia. She cheated! My sister Necia took over and made this beauty. The only reason I knew this was every time Tay took a piece of candy off Necia would tell her to stop ruining it. Clearly that is not the work of a three year old. Ha..ha...

Thanksgiving

My parents hosted our Thanksgiving dinner this year. It was good food and good company. We were lucky enough to be able to share it with both of my Grandmas, my Grandma Cook and my Grandma Bingham. Three out of the five kids(Geoff, Kirsti, Bryce)were there with their families, and even Karen, Greg, and Lindsay joined us.

I was in charge of bringing some kind of dessert. So I stuck to the classic and made my own homemade pumpkin pie for the first time. Chad was pretty impressed with my pie and gave it rave reviews!

I also wanted to bring something that would be a little more appealing for the kids. So I also made these cute pilgrim hats. But when my dad saw them he decided to use them for the center piece for the table. I think he was just being nice and trying to encourage my domestic skills that are lacking.

Then the guys even got in some football. Austin is such a daddy's boy and loves to hang with Chad. These guys were two peas in a pod.

My cute Mom with Austin.

Not So Sneaky...

I had a work meeting to go to, so Chad came home on his lunch break to watch the kids. I guess Luke thought he could pull a fast one on Chad. Instead of asking for some pie he thought he would just sneak some and nobody would know. Um, I think you got caught red handed Luke. I am so happy that Chad got photos of this!

LOTOJA 2010

Back in September Chad finally got to participate in LOTOJA. He and Craig trained for this all summer long. They put in thousands of training miles to prepare for the big day. Kristi and I got to go along and be their support vehicle, meeting them along the way to provide food, water and to shake the cow bell for encouragement.

Chad's goal was to finish the race in under 12 hrs. He was a bit disappointed because he was able to finish in just over 12 hrs. I thought he did amazing and every time we saw them they were going strong. This race was so fun to be apart of. This was a huge goal for Chad, and something he had wanted to do for a couple of years. Before the race we had talked about this being a one time thing...but now that Chad has done it, of course he wants to do it again. A) being he wants to beat his goal of under 12 hrs and B) he loved it! I am so grateful to my mom for taking Blake and Luke while we were gone. This is not something that would have worked well with kids. Austin was only 2 months so he got to come along.

Chad and Craig climbing Snake River Canyon

(the only action shot I got. When we saw them I was too busy shaking the cow bell and yelling out the window that I forgot to take pictures)
2nd feed zone and about 1/2 there.

Just after Chad crossed the finish line. I would have been on the ground after the 206 miles. He was walking around like it was no big deal.

Chad at the start line.

In Logan waiting for his group to approach the start line.

Just arrived at the race. Getting all the prep work done.

Just after the longest climb of the day. He acted like it was no big deal that he had just climbed for almost 100 miles.

Geared up and ready to go.

Water....check

Food...check

Chamois butter...check

These guys were totally prepared and hit the start line with confidence. The weather was perfect and they couldn't wipe those smiles off their faces!

Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween was a 2 day event this year. Friday they started off with the festivities at the school, the costume parade and then the class party. Then they got to treat or treat at Chad's office. Uncle Craig's department really gets into it and decorates all their cubicles. They had fun going through all the different themes and collecting candy.

All three boys dressed up and ready to head out trick or treating. Too bad the weather didn't work out. Oh well, they looked adorable. The three cutest boys I've ever seen!

Blake the Ghostbuster. This costume was a hit. Blake is not into superhero stuff and that seems to be all there is for kids his age. I went out on a limb and got this one. He loved it. I even educated him about his costume by letting him watch the movie. He thought it was cool.

Luke the Mailman. At first Luke had his heart set on being a shark. But when he saw this mailman get up he quickly changed his mind. So glad he did, I have never seen a cuter postal worker!

Austin the Lion. This little guy had no choice. A) We already had this costume from when Blake was little and B) It is warm. What's not to like?

I had to work on Saturday, so Chad being the best dad ever, took the kids to a farm to pick out their pumpkin's then helped them carve them. I was so impressed! They were so excited to show me what they had been up to when I got home. And plus, it was all cleaned up and no sign of pumpkin carving! I should work more holidays.

Luke's Surgery

Luke had a small surgery done at Primary Children's last week. He did so well with everything. He thought having his own hospital room was awesome. He took full advantage of all the buttons on the bed, adjusted the bed up & down several times, controlled the lights, and loved the TV remote, he didn't keep it on one channel for more then about 30 seconds. I am just thankful he didn't hit the nurse call light. I told him it was only for emergencies, but stuff like that Luke can't help but push.

Luke thought his hospital visit was so much fun. Who wouldn't? As soon as he came out of surgery they offered him a slushie, Oreos & milk, Cheetos's, and anything else he wanted or could think of. My hospital experiences were never like that. Maybe I need to learn to flirt with the nurses like Luke...

Here he is trying out the "sleep mask"