Boston's Birthday Party

The Jumper (aka life saver!)














The treasure hunt!














Cake and Song














Present time!!!

Yesterday was Boston's 6th birthday party. We had to have it a little early b/c next weekend I have a Young Women Retreat. Boston was a little confused, telling everyone it was his birthday and kept telling his teacher they had to sing to him. I think by the end of the day he figured out what was going on.

His party was from 4pm -6pm, which actually worked out well. Boston invited 3 kids from the neighborhood, 4 kids from church, and 6 kids from school. So if your fast at math, you have already figured out that we had 13 boys, not including Boston and Ethan, running around our backyard. Luckily we have a big backyard!! Whew!!! I rented one of those jumpers, so that helped. Between that, the trampoline and the play house, they were entertaining themselves pretty well. After about 30 minutes of playing and eating pizza, we started a treasure hunt.

Boston has been asking me to have a treasure hunt, for his birthday, for the past 3 months! That was the reason for the repeat Pirate theme this year. The night before his party Ben and I drew up some maps that sent them from one place to the next. The first map lead them to a map under the trampoline. I put the map in a water bottle and tied it to a rope that was attached to one of the springs. (That one took them the longest to find). That map led them to the pool toy box, which then led them to the grill and then to the hot tub. The one in the hot tub was floating around in a water bottle. That map led them to the playhouse, which led them to the shed which had a huge storage container with toys, mardi gras beads, gold coins and candy! This is where I made a huge mistake. Instead of establishing order in distributing out the toys, I let them go for it. That ended up in a lot of frantic crying and chaos! So I had to line the boys up and check their bags and make sure all was fair. I have learned my lesson!

After the treasure hunt, they played pin the flag on the pirate ship, had cake, opened presents and played for another 20 minutes. Besides the whole treasure chest fiasco, everything went smoothly. The only other thing that was crazy was getting the boys out the door at 6:00. Ben and I had a party to go to, which started at 6:00, so I was feeling a little rushed at the end. We had a good time at the Godowns eating pizza, playing Battle of the Sexes, and hanging out. We left around 10:30.....I was so tired!

This morning we were up early for Boston's 8:00am T-ball game. After that I headed over to our Super Saturday. I made a beautiful Christmas Wreath in the shape of a "P" and then I etched some names into some baking dishes. One of them didn't turn out, oh well:( When I got home I was sooooo tired. Ben took the kids to the park so I could get a nap. I was dreaming like crazy, so the nap wasn't the most restful. I was rudely awakened by the neighbor kid ringing our doorbell 3 times!!!! After that it was off to Target, so Boston could use a gift card that was burning a hole in his pocket! Ha! Aubrie brought her money, too, and bought that hair tool that puts beads in your hair. That left Ethan with nothing and crying all the way to the car. Aubrie felt so bad she wanted to take her thing back and get Ethan something. I told her not to b/c I thought it would be a good lesson for Ethan to realize that he doesn't get something all of the time. Of course, I was also not letting Aubrie serve her brother. I couldn't figure out what was the better good.....hope I chose wisely!

Tonight we watched Wizard of Oz and made cookies. I love the Wizard of Oz. I remember waiting every year for it to come on TV. How things have changed since I was a kid. Now you can just rent something whenever you want to watch it! Our kids are so clueless when it comes to having to wait for things. Things are so readily accessible....they even hate waiting through commercials! ha!

Some family photo's

Here are a few pictures my friend Erin took of us last Friday. She is very talented. She has inspired me to get my act together and embrace photography again. We'll see how that goes!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture of Sophia!!! What a doll! A picture of myself I actually don't mind looking at:)

Preschool Breakthrough

So I am in the middle of a dieting mystery. After watching my food intake, which is very hard when you are used to licking the peanut butter and jelly off butter knives and the chocolate off the snack pack lids, I was down 6 pounds by Tuesday. I was so excited when I got on the scale. I rushed to the phone to tell Ben my weight, when he said "Don't worry it takes time". That was a little disappointing; obviously he didn't know my beginning weight even though I moan about it all the time. So anyway, that day I stuck w/ eating right and I even threw in some extra exercise! I was thinking, "I should be down a few pounds the next day for sure"! Much to my disappointment, I got on the scale to only see that I had put half of it back on. I don't get it. I was exercising and didn't change the diet. Did I breathe in calories? What is going on with my hormonal body? I don't mean to make this blog about my body issues, but if anyone has advise I'm open to anything, except liposuction or tummy tucks!

So back to business. This week has been a little on the crazy side; but when isn't it? We did have a break through w/ Ethan. Ben had to leave work early on Monday and Sophia was needing an early morning nap, so I called a friend to pick him up for preschool. He did wonderfully. He didn't cry our complain. He simply got his back pack and walked himself to her car and was off. She said that he even talked her ear off the whole way there. She offered to take him today, and he did well again. I'm hoping we have gotten through the whole "my stomach hurts and I can't go to preschool" crying business! Monday night Aubrie complained and moaned about dance. She HATES ballet and only wants to go for the jazz. I tried to explain to her that she needs it for the technique, but she didn't want to hear it and came down stairs in her dance clothes with a piece of paper taped to her chest that read, "I hate balae!" (Yes, I know how to spell ballet, she doesn't!) I wanted to laugh, but had to keep it in and be the "parent". She does this at least ever other week. I talked to the other Moms there and even the studio owner and she said that most girls feel that way. Glad to know I'm not alone.

Tuesday was another drama day with Aubrie. Before she got home from school, I bought her a book shelf, put it together, and organized all her books for her. My Mom also made her bed that day, so since she didn't have a bed to make or a room to clean I gave her the chore of organizing her dresser drawers. I thought she would be so grateful for what I did for her she would gladly except the "big" chore I gave her. Boy was I wrong. She cried and moaned about it more than it actually took her to do it. She kept saying how she needed my help, which I knew she didn't. Finally, after her bugging me for help, I said "fine I'll help you get started" and I dumped all her things out of her drawers on her bed and on the floor. She was so mad at me she ran in her bathroom and locked the door. I calmly told her to come get me when she was done. A few minutes later I found a note on the dining room floor (the result of her throwing it over the balcony) which read, "I am sorry so much. I gust want your to help me. I don't want you to throw the stuf on my bed. I am happy becus you got me the book shelf. I love you so much. your the bestes mom in the wrold. love aubrie pribyl", with a picture of a girl frowning at the end. Needless to say, she finished her chore (with a little help) and found some things she forgot about in the process.

Today started off early, with the kids all giggling in their bedrooms at 6:15. I know when they are teenagers I won't be able to remember these days, but for now they are killing me! Then, before I had a chance to shower, I had a million worker guys coming to the house all day to fix things for our one year repairs! At one point in the day, while Ethan was at school and Sophia was sleeping, I told the one repair guy that was fixing our vacuum to get the door for me while I was making a phone call upstairs. I actually ran up to my bedroom, locked the door and took a quick shower , dressed and brushed my teeth all in about 5 minutes. Obviously no makeup applying or hair washing was involved. He never was the wiser! So after running around showing people what needed to be fixed, and double checking work and fitting in a little Christmas Party Invitation work, school was out before I knew it. Tonight actually ran very smooth. It was quite enjoyable! I didn't feel rushed before YW, which was nice.
We had a joint activity with the YM; collecting cans for a food drive. Afterward I stopped by one of the girls house, who hasn't been to Mutual for awhile, to say hi and drop off some candy. She was sick in bed, but I stuck around and talked to her 3 sisters for awhile. It was a nice visit. Perhaps I was prompted to go there for another reason than I thought.
When I got home Ben informed me that AquaDots has been recalled. I only mention that b/c it was the Christmas present my kids were wanting the most! Talk about the luck of it all. I was actually looking forward to playing with them, too!:( I don't know who will be more upset about it, me or the kids!LOL

Grand Canyon Pictures...Finally!

The Hotel The Cowboy Shoot Out The Train Ride The Grand Canyon The Ride Back The Reason For the Trip

the weekend update

Just FYI, the working out isn't going so well. Of course, I could be doing something right now... but I don't like working out late. What to do?? I bought this swimsuit on sale at Kohls and it looks awful on me....the bottoms anyway. Why would I do this??? I figured the only time I'll be putting it on is to use our hot tub and every time I put it on it will "encourage" me to lose the weight! We'll see how well it works! Ha!!! Ben and I did go on a walk around the neighborhood on Thursday. It felt good, but I need to work out a little harder.
Friday was a normal day. Sophia slept a lot, but of course I wasn't really planning on it so I didn't' get any huge projects done. I cleaned up all the Halloween stuff and cleaned the house up a bit. Friday afternoon Erin came over and took our family pictures. I always dread family pictures. I feel like it's a circus show. First I have to get 4 kids and myself dressed and keep them wrinkle and dirt free and hair looking decent. Then actually taking their pictures is like trying to ring a bunch of animals into the circle to perform some miraculous trick...to all smile and pose perfect all at the SAME time! By the time I'm done with every photo shoot, I'm sweating and swear I lose a few pounds. Aubrie and Boston do well, except for the fact they think they know where they should pose. Ethan was the main struggle, always wanting to stick out his tongue or do a funny face. Sophia was a little fussy, too, so I felt bad for Erin, trying to work with it all. I got a quick preview of a few of the pictures, and they turned out well! Now we have that out of the way, I have to make the cards.. ugh! I did enjoy making Sophia's announcement, once I got the hang of it. I'm thinking I'll have to reteach myself, it's been so long!
After pictures, Ben and I went to Ah So (one of those Japanese Steakhouse's). I always enjoy those places, put never enjoy the bill....Ouch! Those cooks better be paid well! After dinner, Ben and I went to Best Buy to look at camera's:) I gave him some hints for Christmas, we'll see what comes of it! We then went to Sams so he could look at a DVD/VCR converter. He wants to convert our family tapes over to DVD's. I am actually looking forward to that b/c I think we will watch them more. While we were there we noticed that Guitar Hero 3 was out. That somehow ended up in the cart, not like we needed it! I hardly have time to play the other two! When we got home the kids were still up watching a movie. After it was over, I put Aubrie to bed and fell asleep scratching her back. I woke up around 4:00 and was wide awake. So much for feeling rested this morning.
Today Boston had a 9:00am game and then we headed to the Pediatrician for Flu Shots. I never get the kids flu shots, but Ethan's preschool teacher is requiring it, Ugh. So I figured I would give it too all of them. I knew not to tell them about it, b/c Boston HATES shots. He is so sensitive to shots, he stared crying when he saw them give Sophia her first round of immunizations. They just thought Aubrie had an appointment for some problem she has been having. While we were in the waiting room Boston said to Aubrie, "I hope they don't have to give you a shot"! I was feeling a little bad knowing that he had no idea, but knew it was in his best interest to not let him dwell on it. On the way to room Ben told the kids they were getting shots, which I didn't want to happen, and Boston turned into this wild animal. He started having a panic attack and was literally trying to run out of the Doctors Office. We had to hold him down while he was kicking and screaming, and it took two nurse's and Ben to hold him down long enough to give him the shot. That got Ethan and Aubrie all worked up to the point of crying and screaming. I so wish I had a camcorder to record all of it, b/c it would have won the 100 thousand grand prize from America's Funniest Home Videos. I just felt bad for all the kids in the waiting room. I'm sure it scared them to death! After it was all over, Boston admitted it didn't really hurt too much. I told him he better remember that for next time!
After shots, we went to Home Depot to get some lighting and Aubrie said, "Dad it's November 3rd, can we do the kids project!" How she remembered that, I have no idea? They were cool pirate ships. They did that , while Ben went in and got what he needed. We then got some lunch at Wendy's and I dropped them off at home, while I ran to the Youth Conference. Unfortunately, I didn't know it was Sunday dress, so I got there and had to come back home. They really didn't need me b/c they were just wrapping up with testimony meeting.
Tonight we took the kids to see The Bee Movie. It was cute, but Sophia had a hard time towards the end. She was really tired, and she needs "the crib"! When we got home I surprised Aubrie and switched her bedroom furniture around while they were watching TV. I was just laying on her bed and was looking for a space to put a book shelf, and that is where I ended up. She thought it was cool, and I thought it was cool that I was able to muscle it up enough to move her double bed (with a huge pillow top mattress)! Whew, I'm ready for bed! That's a wrap!

Halloween

Funny how something is staring you right in the face, and you know it's there, and then one day your like how did this happen?! Yeah, that was me when I got out of the shower today. I know I'm still carrying some pounds and my body is less than desirable, but today I had more of a reality check. I guess I knew it all along, but figured it was baby weight that would eventually come off. After looking through baby pictures of Aubrie at Sophia's age, I'm realizing that without some work my body isn't going ANYWHERE! So after talking to Ben this morning about it, the only time for me to do anything about it is at night. Of course, I was asking him when? "By the time I get the kids down", I said, " I have projects to finish up, a house to clean, my blog, and TV shows to catch up on". He made me realize I can watch TV and do our elliptical at the same time. As for the blog, I'll probably have to bring it down to a couple times of week. We'll see what happens. Just a heads up!

I did get some exercise last night! The kids were planning on going up and down a few streets in our neighborhood, but ended going up and down every street. Of course our particular section of the neighborhood is set up against a mountain, so we we going up and down hills. We all know that in the beginning the kids are so excited running with their empty bags from house to house. However, by the third street I was holding Ethan's bag and Ethan was sitting in the front of the double stroller between EVERY house. He wouldn't even take his bag to the door. He would just hold out his hand and then walk back and hand the candy to me and get back in the stroller. How lazy is that?!! Oh the life of a kid!

We kicked off our Halloween night with a Halloween dinner. I made blood(red sauce), guts(spaghetti noodles), eyeballs(meatballs), and green slime( applesauce dyed green). The kids thought that was cool, but Ethan wouldn't touch the applesauce which usually is his favorite. The kids then got all dressed up; Aubrie, Sophia and I were cats, Boston was Batman, Ethan was Superman, my Mom a witch and Ben....well he was the party pooper! We then met the neighbors at 6:00 to go trick or treating. It ended up being about 4 Moms following the kids and having their hands full of all the accessories they didn't want to keep on anymore, and about 5 Dads ignoring what was going on around them as the talked about who knows what! They should have just stayed home! ha! My Mom stayed behind and passed out the candy. I failed to give her instructions and when I got back all the candy was gone!!! I asked her how all that candy was gone already ( I had a large cauldron full of chocolate bars) and she said I only gave THREE to each kid!!! I was so looking forward to my Almond Joys! Oh well!

When we got back we put Sophia down and headed up the street for Chili Dogs, bobbing for apples and socializing. They offered us a beer, but they probably felt dumb after Ben made the comment "You know us Mormons" referring to a comment made my a neighbor about us having so many kids! It's still weird for me to see people drink in front of their kids. We do have some great neighbors , though, and I'm so glad we moved on this street! After the street party, we came home and had the kids finish up some homework while we watched the Haunted Mansion. They ended up going to bed at 9:15! Best of luck to their teachers today! LOL!

Still sick and carving pumpkins

Here is a picture I took the other night when the kids stayed up late to watch a movie. Guess Ben makes a good pillow!

Anway, today didn't really go as planned. I was planning on dropping Ethan off at school and then head off to Sophia's 6 month appointment. Instead, Ethan woke up throwing up, so I had to call Ben home to stay with him while I went to her appointment. Poor Ethan was so pathetic. He couldn't even keep down some Tylenol I gave him for his fever. It all ended up on himself and Ben! I had a lot of laundry to do when I got back. I had to strip his bedding and so he got the special "sick" bedding. It's old Buzz Light Year bedding that I put on the boys beds while I wash their sick ones. It makes them feel a little special.

Sophia's appointment went well. The wait was a little longer than usual, about 20 minutes, but once I got in it went pretty fast. She had Dr. Mitra. I like him a lot. We just talked about different medical philosophies until we realized we were ignoring the main reason we were there, to check Sophia. I like a Dr. who doesn't make me feel rushed. Anyway, he said that she looked great! She weighed in at 14lbs. 5oz, which was the 15th percentile. He said she is still following the same growth curve, and so there was nothing to be worried about. She was just petite! She is tall, however, 26 3/4 inches...the 75th percentile. Definitely Ben's genes working there. Poor thing had 5 vaccines today, along with a flu shot. She did pretty well, considering. She cried as they were sticking her ( Hate that more than anything), and as soon as I held her she stopped crying. She slept well this afternoon, but tonight was a little fussy. Poor thing!

When I got home I told Ethan he needed a nap. He was so cooperative. He just walked upstairs, climbed in bed and was out within minutes. He apparently wasn't feeling well. He woke up around 3:30 and was feeling himself, again. He wouldn't stop eating from the time he woke up until dinner. Guess he was making up for not eating anything before then. Poor boy could hardly drink water this morning!

After dinner tonight, we decorated our pumpkins for Halloween. They are small pumpkins and so we were able to finish them really fast. Good thing, since Monday's are crazy with Aubrie's dance, FHE, etc.

While we were carving pumpkins I asked Ben to get my Halloween container, hoping that I still had one of my carving kits. Unfortunately there wasn't one, but Ethan found some stuff in there he liked. Here is what he did with the fake flowers he found in there.

Hopefully tomorrow will be uneventful. We are having our year walk through tomorrow. I can't believe we have almost been here a year already. Time has flown by!

Aubrie's fancy nails!! They don't even look like kid hands, huh? They only lasted a few hours! Long enough to scratch my back!

Aubrie's new 150 piece puzzle...she couldn't keep Boston away!

Boston Sweeps World Series!

The Red Sox did it again! For some reason them winning the World Series wasn't as exciting as it was in 2004! Of course, it had been 80 something years since they had won it and now it has only been 3. It was cool to see them win it again, and we even thought for a second it would be somewhat cool to wear our Red Sox shirts in our Christmas picture. Ha! We did figure out that every year I had a baby in Arizona the Red Sox have won the World Series. Good thing I'm fixed, our who knows what Ben would do. LOL! Anyway, good series! Too bad Boston fell asleep and missed them win!

McGee's visit

There is so much to catch up. I'm sure I will leave out some things. The McGee's got in Monday night. After Ben picked them up from the airport, they came here for a quick dinner before we headed up to Williams. The drive up was uneventful, which is a good thing. Ben and Jason talked up front, while Abbie and I caught up in back. The kids watched a movie and fell asleep about 20 minutes before we got to the hotel. When we got there we were all starving. Ben and Jason left to get food only to come back with a bunch of junk from the gas station. Apparently nothing else is open past 10:00 pm in Williams. We were also planning on swimming, but this particular Fairfield had to be the only one w/out an indoor pool, except for the one at Disneyland, but that's in California. HELLO! The kids were disappointed, but found a way to have a good time in the hotel rooms. So much so, one of our neighbors banged on the wall. The kids just hit the wall back. I guess they thought it was a game. A few minutes later the manager came, and we decided it was bedtime!

Tuesday morning we started off w/ the free breakfast. We were starving! The kids loved it...and I loved that they were old enough to serve themselves!!! After breakfast, we headed over to the train. Before departure time, they had a cowboy shootout performance. The kids had a good time watching that. They didn't enjoy the smell of the horse poop, but luckily they scooped it up pretty fast. I don't know how Abbie held her breakfast down? She is 14 weeks pregnant and still has a queasy stomach. At 10:00 am our train left for the Grand Canyon. It was a 2 hour ride. The kids liked the music and the refreshment car. They made a few trips back there and filled their bellies w/ a lot of junk.
The Grand Canyon was nice, but didn't really compare to the Havasupia experience. It was still amazing to see how deep the hole really is and all the layers, etc. I wish we had more time to stop at more points. Boston was really freaked out at first, because a four year old girl just recently fell in and died. Once he took a few looks, he got almost too comfortable. Boston, Aubrie and Sydney had fun looking through their binoculars at all the different spots. I purchased one of those backpack harnesses for Ethan. He didn't like it at first, and neither did Ben. He wanted me to take it off him, but I figured my son's life was worth more than what others thought. We didn't even get any looks. I think everyone was glad to see we were using precaution! Ethan got used to it and by the end liked it. After we finished taking the free shuttle around, we had lunch at Bright Angels Lodge. The food was overpriced and average, but we had a view of the Grand Canyon while we were eating, so that was nice. Ethan was so tired he fell asleep in Ben's arms before the food came. We had to box it up for the train ride. I guess he isn't used to so much excitement. After lunch, we strolled back toward the train depot and then headed back home. The ride back was the same; entertainment, refreshment car, free drinks. We did have a little more excitement. The cowboys held up the train and "took our money", or more like our donations. They spent a lot of time talking to the kids (they recognized them from the shoot out) and the kids ate it up. The kids were giving them a hard time and our car was getting a good laugh out of it. We have so many pictures from it all, I don't know what ones to post. I do know that I want a new camera. The McGee's have a new 10 MP camera and it takes the BEST pictures. I thought I just lost my touch b/c my pictures were so much better when I used to have my 35 mm. Now I want their camera...so NICE!!!
Anyway, on the way home we had a little excitement. Our suspension warning came on and when we stopped to check the car out. Our tire was hitting the rim of the tire well. Ben tried driving it for about 5 minutes, until he realized it wasn't going to work. We put our spare on, which is a normal tire, and that luckily got us home safely. Thank heavens for our custom wheels! I never thought they served a purpose till then. Also, I'm so glad our car is still under warranty. Whew!

Wednesday I moved the kids piano lesson to the morning, so we could head out to the state fair early. Wednesday is dollar ride day at the fair. It's such a good deal! We got there around 2:00 and it couldn't have been a better time. It was so empty! We had a GREAT time! Sophia was perfect and I only ate a funnel cake (big accomplishment). We bought 80 rides between the two families and the kids rode about every ride they wanted, except the ones they were too short to ride. Poor Ethan had to hang back on a lot of rides. He was fearless, running up to rides that were clearly too big for him. We actually snuck him on a few that were harmless, like the log ride. We squeezed 6 on the ride, so Ethan was pinned in between Jason and I and he wasn't going anywhere. He LOVED that ride along with the other kids. I would say that was their favorite along w/ the GREEN roller coaster. Jason and I rode most of the rides w/ the kids. Abbie couldn't ride anything and Ben refuses to do the water rides or any of the "motion" rides. I had to go on a few of the spinning rides, and almost lost my water! Oh how I sacrifice for my children. Ha!
We got home around 5:00. We just picked up some take out and enjoyed the hot tub. After the kids went to bed, we finally played some cards with the McGees. That is something we have always done with them. We used to hang out at each others house almost every night when Aubrie was a baby. We started with Canasta, and some how started playing Spades. So now we always play Spades. It's Abbie and I against Ben and Jason. So far Abbie and I are the reigning champions and still are:)

Thursday the girls went shopping while the boys hung out and did guy stuff; fix our electronic set up for our TV's, watch Transformers for the millionth time, etc. We then swam, fed the kids some dinner, and luckily were able to find a sitter so we could enjoy a dinner out. We had a nice time at the Cheesecake Factory. I got my favorite dish; the fish Tacos. When we got home we had a few hours to play some more games and finally after midnight we called it a night and went to bed:(

Friday morning the kids went to school b/c the McGee's left that morning to go back home. I was so sad to see them leave. Their trip went so fast. Aubrie and Sydney had such a great time together. They were inseparable and enjoyed their late nights bunking in Sophia's room (she slept in ours) in their blow up sleeping bags. They did everything from playing Uno, listening to music, playing w/ dolls, playing w/ their webkinz online(under supervision of course) playing in the backyard, shopping and buying matching cloths, etc. They are already planning their trips to visit one another:) Aubrie wants to go to there house first b/c they have 7 cats! Not a big surprise from my little animal whisper! LOL
Friday night Ben and I had our date night. We had dinner at In and Out! How funny is that? Nothing else sounded good to us after all our eating out w/ the McGee's. That also gave us plenty of time to catch a movie. We saw "Dan in Real Life". It was such a great "feel good" movie. When we got home the kids were finishing up their movie "Meet the Robinsons". That was a "feel good" movie, too. So we went to bed on a high note. Ha!

Saturday we didn't do much. Boston had another T-ball game, but Ethan had pink eye, so I kept him home. Boston had a great game, so Ben stopped at Sonic to get him something. Ben swam w/ the kids while Aubrie and I tried to find some black Sunday shoes. Doesn't anyone go to church anymore? It took me 5 stores before I could find some decent ones, argh! After we got back, we made our dreaded weekly trip to Walmart. It's really not so bad, but going on a Saturday isn't the best idea. Unfortunately we were pretty wiped out after the company, so we had to restock on a few things. Of course, you just don't go there for a few things. So we ended up coming out w/ several things not on the list, including a Halloween costume for Ethan. I realized that he never has had a new costume. He has always wore the hand me downs. So this year we let him pick out something. He picked out a Superman costume and is already wearing it around the house!:)
After we got home, Aubrie put on some fake nails the I reluctantly bought her. What 7 year old need nails, right?! Well I definitely changed my mind after she scratched my back, arms and legs!! The best $4.oo I ever spent. Aubrie got smart today and started charging money for a back scratch (not me of course). After she scratched Ben's back, she said I need 2 dollars. Ben asked her why and she said "because this is Aubrie's Spa and that's how much it costs".
Saturday night we watched the Red Sox win another game. Ben had to run and give his Mom a blessing during the beginning of the game and when he got back they were ahead 6 to 0! I told Ben he should take off and serve someone else to clinch the win! Ha! While Ben was gone, I was trying to hold the fort down. Boston was so sweet, wanting to help me bathe Sophia. He was so gentle with her. He, too, will make a good babysitter! Oh, speaking of Boston, Saturday morning Ben said he came out front to find Boston in the small garage. He asked him what he was doing and he told him "he was organizing the garage b/c it was driving him crazy!".....he is so my son. Anyway, back to Saturday night. While Ben was gone, Aubrie wanted to put Sophia down. She rocked her and fed her a bottle and put her in her crib. She did that tonight, too! She definitely has that mothers instinct! When Ben got home I played Uno with the kids while Ben finished watching the game. As we were putting the kids to bed, Aubrie's eyed started looking crusty; darn it! That's when we knew we wouldn't be making it to church.

Today we just took turns taking naps, we have had too many "wake up calls" the past few nights! We also made some Halloween sugar cookies, practiced piano, watched some church videos, and had our home teachers over. Oh, we also had to get some more eye drops. Our first trip over there they were trying to give us eye drops that cost 55 dollars. I told them I never have spent that much for "pink eye" drops. Finally, an hour later, Ben picked up another type of eye drop that only cost 3 dollars! What were they thinking?!!!! I was almost panicking there for a second, especially since I needed two!
Now it's very late! I hate playing catch up on journaling, but there was really no time while our company was here. I'm sure I left out plenty, but something is better than nothing! Pictures will have to wait until tomorrow!

Go Red Sox!!

I have a confession to make, I have sinned! I have somehow managed to instill a "no sports" rule on Sunday, which is a miracle to say the least. Ben grew up in a home that was full of sports games on Sunday. I, on the other hand, grew up in a home where we never watched sports. My Dad would watch an occasional baseball game here or there, but that was about it. After we had kids I slowly started this no TV rule (except church movies) and that also included sports. I thought time could be better spent as a family. Of course, I didn't impose that rule on Ben, but after the kids got after him so many times he resorted to watching them in the bedroom and eventually resorted to catching a few highlights at night, after the kids were in bed. To me that was progress, and I am happy with that. However, today I broke my own rule. I knew Ben was probably wondering what I was going to do about the whole thing, but when I came down stairs in my new Boston shirt he had a huge grin on his face and gave me a huge hug. The kids had fun catching the first few innings while we ate dinner. After dinner we missed the middle of the game while the kids practiced piano, took baths, read and went down for the night. We picked things back up around the 6th inning and Ben and I enjoyed about an hour of watching the Boston win the Pennant. I have to admit it was fun spending that time with Ben. It is a rare moment where he and I are both "into" a game. Now I must go and repent! ha!!

The rest of the day has been great! My lesson, though very rushed, turned out well. The girls were very quite at first, not wanting to comment on anything. I brought that to their attention, and after that they contributed a little more. It's such a delicate subject and I put a lot of prayer into it!!!!! I hope I handled it well. I think I did, so I'll just keep believing that! After church, the kids and I watched some Living Scriptures while Ben and Sophia napped. We then spent most of the day out back. It was so cool and breezy outside; it was wonderful! Around 5 I left for a visiting teaching appointment, and when I got home Ben had dinner going...how nice!!! Tomorrow I have to gear up for the trip. It shouldn't be very hard to pack for one night, especially since I won't be packing for Sophia. This will be the first time I'm away from her overnight! She does so well at home, and I'm sure my Mom will have so much fun with her. She is starting to put on some baby fat, finally! I love squeezing her little thighs, and love watching her make her "cheese" face. She is also trying to get on all fours and push herself around. Personally, I hope I don't see any crawling until after Christmas, but it's nice to see that she catching up!

relaxing weekend at home

Last night was fun. We had some semi-new couple ,from the ward, over for a BBQ. Ben went to High School w/ the wife, but didn't know it until they started talking at church one day. We have been trying to get together for quite awhile, but our schedules never seemed to match up. They are a very nice couple and so down to earth. They have a 4 year old son who played wonderfully with Ethan. We just sat outside and talked until 10:00! Luckily the kids had their new Transformer movie to keep them entertained between playing in the backyard.
Today was relaxing, for the most part. Ben took the boys to Boston's 8:00 am T-ball game, while I stayed home w/ the girls. Aubrie and Sophia were still sleeping and waking a sleeping baby is just not right!!! Ok, I have to admit I was enjoying the fact that I got to sleep in a little, too! Ben said Boston had another good game and Ethan behaved himself.
While they were at the game I started one of my love/hate tasks...washing all the bedding. I HATE making up the boys beds! They are pushed against the walls and it makes it so hard to get all those corners and sides tucked in. On the other hand, I LOVE the smell of clean fresh sheets, AH!
After the boys got home , Ben planted the 45 gallon pygmy palm that has been haunting him on our back porch for the past two weeks. Ethan was so cute out there w/ his shovel, thinking he was helping him. While Ben did that, Aubrie, Boston and I took some Halloween cookies to some neighbors. As a result, a few neighbor kids came over to swim. The weather was so nice, I was able to sit outside and prepare my lesson while I watched them. After about 3 1/2 hours of swimming, lunch, playing in the backyard, and swimming again, we had to end the fun to run a few errands.
Boston got all greens last week, which is an accomplishment for him. He is learning to keep his mouth shut when he finishes his work, which has been very hard for him. The teacher said he finishes so much faster than every one else, and since he has the gift of the gab it is actually quite the miracle. To reward him we took him to the dollar store and let him pick out a toy. He thought that was the coolest thing. I better enjoy it while it lasts! Boston and Aubrie brought their own money w/ them so they also bought a few things on their own. Ethan had fallen asleep in the car on the way there, so Ben sat in the car while I took them in. Aubrie said, "Mom, don't let me forget to buy something for Ethan because I don't want him to be sad". It's funny how they all fight, but then also look out for one another. I told Ben about that and he told me that today at T-ball one of the parents brought doughnuts. Boston went up to the Mom and said "Can I have a doughnut for my sister, b/c I don't want her to be sad when she finds out we had one"! I guess we are getting through to them on some levels!:)
After a few other errands, we came home and watched the Boston game. They crushed Cleveland 12-2. YEAH, go RED SOX!!! One more game and they are off to the World Series!!
During the game, Boston (our Boston) started complaining of a stomach ache. He has been getting them frequently, so I didn't think much of it. He kept complaining more and more until he started running to the trash can. He just threw up in the kitchen trash can, while the other two kids were eating dinner (YUCK)! He didn't' cry or anything and when he was done he just walked away like nothing happened, and finished watching the movie he had on. I think Aubrie was more affected by the whole thing. She told me she couldn't finish her dinner b/c she was too "sicked out"! Boston feels good as new, but was very tired and fell asleep during scripture.
Ben is off to another one of his "ultimate fighting" nights....whatever?! I put up with it, but don't understand it! After he left, I finished up few things for my lesson.
I have the pleasure of giving the "Sacred Power of Procreation" lesson. I'm actually not nervous about the content, but nervous that I might leave something really important out. I hope it all goes well. Luckily I'm teaching the Laurels and not the Beehives. Maturity will definitely help my lesson....no giggles, smiles, gasps, etc.!

"Hairspray!!!!"

So I have to start this out with a funny. It actually happened last week, but I forgot to write about it. Ben, in his excitement due to the new Transformers movie coming to DVD, said to Boston as he was doing some weird movements with his body (trying to impersonate a transformer), "Boston! Guess whats coming out to DVD?" Boston yells with excitement, "Hairspray!" I never have been so proud, except when I hear him sing all the words to the High School Musical songs! The girls are going to love him!!!

So today...... not eventful! It' s was one of those days where I was running all around my house from one task to the next and not feeling like I had anything to show for it. I was able to find some time to paint w/ Ethan. Painting and Playdoh are 2 things that a treat for him. It seems like it takes forever to set up and clean up those two things, so we don't do them as often as he would like.
Tonight the I took the kids to the book fair. Aubrie made it out of there w/ a High School Musical Book and a few Hannah Montana books. She was talking about one of the Hannah books all week. When we got home she went straight to her room and started reading one on her own. That isn't like her at all. Glad she found something that interests her like that. Boston picked out a few Transformers books and I grabbed a few easy readers for him. He wasn't too excited about them, but after I told him they would help him learn to read the Transformer books, he was more excited.
The book fair went faster than expected, so I was able to make it to Enrichment. It was a "get to know you" night. They had you bring three things in a box that would tell something about you and then after a minute or so people would switch. I wasn't planning on going, so I just used things from my purse. It worked better that way. I didn't have to tell people things I'm too embarrassed to share anyway. I'm definitely not meant to be famous. I can hardly handle a compliment. Doesn't mean I still won't take them. Ha! It was fun just getting a few minutes to speak w/ everyone, but having a forced exit strategy at the same time. I'm always so bad at ending conversations, so it was perfect for me!
Ben was happy tonight when I got home. The Red Sox won, keeping them in the playoffs! Hopefully they can pull through and win the next two games and a shot at the World Series. That is about the only sports you will ever hear from me, Ha!!! Tonight Bean and I caught up on some TV (Smallville and the Office). Now, Ben is in bed and I'm still wide awake. So much for taking a Benadryl to help you sleep. I wish I could feel this awake at 6:00 in the morning!!!

6 months already!

Yesterday Sophia turned 6 months old. I can't believe how fast this time has gone. I guess it's hard for me to believe she is that old already b/c she looks and acts like a 3 month old. I guess Heavenly Father heard me when I asked for her to not grow up too fast!:) She is our doll baby. She has the cheesiest smiles and loves to be independent, rolling all over the floor and playing in her entertainer. She doesn't like to be rocked or held when she is tired. She wants to be left alone to fall asleep. That's what makes church so hard, but evenings a breeze! She doesn't like to eat solids; prefers the bottle, which she can now hold on her own! Her naps are unpredictable,1 hour one day and 2-3 hours the next. She usually only lasts 1-1/2 hours before she needs to go back to bed. She still LOVES the water and a fresh diaper; my other kids could care less about that! She is long and skinny and has the smallest head. She is adored by all who see her, especially when she has one of those big bows on top of her head!:) Aubrie loves playing with her and the boys adore her. What a blessing to our family.

family, friend & temple visits

Sunday was another one of those "wake up and look at the clock and see we only have an hour till church starts" days! Luckily Ben's parents went to church and saved us a soft bench! There is nothing worse than sitting in the hard chairs with all the little kids. Every move they make is magnified on those things. Church was good, except for the fact that Sophia did not want to fall asleep or be happy during Sacrament. That's always fun. After church, Ben and Sophia napped

while the boys watched Church Movies and Aubrie got another sewing lesson. I finally made some burp cloths (thanks to one of Erin's great discoveries) and a diaper holder. I committed to go to my neighbors baby shower as part of the missionary buffet, but didn't realize that it was the same day as Women's General Conference. So I thought I would make it up to her by making her something special. I thought they turned out alright for my first time and also considerring Aubrie did some of it!:) Here are a few pictures.

Sunday night we had a family get together at Ben's parents new house. We celebrated Matt's birthday. It was nice to see everyone, but felt so different being in their new house. There was so much more room in their old house. We were really spoiled, having a huge family room to hang out it. Their new house is all tile and there isn't really anywhere to lie Sophia down and play. That made it kind of hard. Here are some pictures of the family.

Monday was pretty normal. Sophia actually took some pretty good naps and I actually got a full hour of working out in. It felt great! She also took another great nap that afternoon, so I put Ethan down for a nap and took one myself. Monday night was crazy. Aubrie had dance till 6:00 and around 6:10 our friends, the Dana's, called to say they were stopping by at 6:45 with some cookies. So we rushed dinner, quickly ran the baby gift to the neighbors and had our FHE before they got here. I don't think we have ever been so efficient! Did I mention that we also got the kitchen clean and house picked up, too! Maybe we should have people drop by more often. Ha! It was a good visit with the Dana's. We hadn't seen them in awhile. She just had her baby in July, so things have been a little busy for them. After they left, we fit in a quick swim and soak in the hot tub. By the time we got out, I was ready for bed!

Last Night I had the chance to go to the temple for the first time, with my Mom. When I was married she didn't have her temple recommend, yet, so she wasn't able to go in with me, and living apart for so many years, etc. we never had the chance to go together. We went to go see one of our friends go take out her endowments. I am so happy for her. She has been through a lot and it made me think of how I have taken the Gospel for granted. There were a lot of people from the ward there to offer their support. We have such a great ward. I love going on trips to the temple with the ward. It's like having a ward social at the best place ever. It makes me think of how it will feel when we see each other in the eternities. After the session we had some dinner at Rosa's, before we headed back. My Mom and I rode with Trina, Maruiann, and Evie. It was fun having dinner and catching up and getting to know each other a little better.