Labor Day Vacation

 Every year we go on a big Labor Day vacation to visit our families in Idaho. Dave is my hero and sits with the kids in the back while I drive the entire way. I get horribly car sick and needless to say, sitting in back with our kids can sometimes make anybody ill.
Notice the big old nasty stain of olive juice on Dave's gut. Bless his heart...

 On our vacation we stopped at a park during one of our may stretch-our-legs-pit-stops. The play equipment was old school (maybe 30+ years old), and HUGE!!!! You can't really tell here, but Carson is like 8 feet in the air.

 This slide was CRAZY. It was so tall and so fast! I stood next to it and raised my arms to give you an idea.

 Don't mind the hideous pictures of me. Those are courtesy of Dave, and I was truly scared out of my shorts but wasn't about to be bested by a 4-year-old.

 See what I mean, this teeter-totter is well above my head, and as you all know, I am no tiny lady!

 What a hunk!

 On our trip we went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair

 We stayed in Provo as well for two nights with my sister and her husband. These are my cousins whom I hadn't seen in about five years. I also got to spend some time with Ben, who just got off his mission in August. I know I am biased but aren't we a good lookin' crew??

 Lastly, what is a vacation without Drake fighting sleep like it was his worst enemy. Forget sleeping in a bed...this will do.

Preschool!

 Carson and Drake are both doing preschool this year. This is the first year I have enrolled Carson in an official preschool program and so far Carson has really enjoyed the crafts they do and the books they read. I have quit asking him what he is learning because he gets kinda irritated answering the same thing over and over again, "nothing mom, I don't learn anything in school". He is right though, they did preliminary testing as the beginning of the year and the teachers sent home a report telling me he already knows everything on the curriculum. He passed every single item off the list including his address and phone number.
Drake and I are doing a special little preschool together. I was going to join a co-op but EVERY other child in it lives quite a ways away from us. We would have been doing a lot of commuting. Instead I chose to focus the time Carson is away at school entirely on Drake. It makes me slow down a bit and really prioritize my life. Kids before cleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping, callings, etc. We spend a couple of hours twice a week to focus on letters, writing his name, a fine motor skill, gross motor skill, a craft, and some sort of memorization. Drake has really blossomed in this little program and he and I have bonded over school. He loves doing it, and I love exploring his world with him. It has been a big blessing and something I just might have to institute with the rest of my kids.

Carson Reads

We put Carson on a reading program this summer to hopefully teach him to read and give him something to do. His incentive was a movie once the list was completed. Not only did Carson pass off each book but his reading skills really took off and he has been able to sound out difficult words, even identifying ones he has never seen. He reads the scriptures every night, and rarely do we have to help him. He is one smart little boy. His intelligence really speaks for itself. So does his good taste...the movie he chose at the end of his reading program was The Incredibles :).

Rub a Dub Dub

 

Three boys in a tub! For the first and close to last time. These boys are simply too big to fit!

  

Mt. Bierstadt Pics

 Remember long ago when I told you I would post more pictures of hiking Mt. Bierstadt? I finally am :).

I am so very, very tired

I need to get some pictures up here!! You wouldn't want any of the last couple of days though. The stomach flu has ravaged our home. I am the only one who hasn't gotten it and it is a particularly contagious bug, so either, I am going to be slammed in a day or two, or I have already had it at some point in my life (which is what I suspect).
To preface being so tired, I should tell you that my hunk-of-a-husband is always the one that gets up with the kids. Jealous ladies?? It's never usually too terribly much, but there is always at least once a night that someone needs help going potty, had a nightmare, bonked their head, has a stuffy nose ("my nose is broken!"), or something of the like.
When I get up, I have a hard time falling back asleep; it usually takes a good hour or so. Dave can fall asleep rather quickly.
Two night ago, Carson woke up vomiting and continued to do so throughout the night. Dave got up with him as did I. I was up from about 12:15 till 3:30, then again from 5:30 - 6:00ish, then I got up at 7.
Last night, Brooks woke up covered in vomit. At this point Dave had been hit by the sick truck as well so I did my very best to do it on my own. I succeeded except for when we were trying to bathe puke-covered baby/get the vomit off the floor/rinse the bedding and get it started in the washer/keep said baby from puking in another hard place to clean up. Fortunately, Dave was able to get to bed before nine, and all the fun began just after eleven. He was able to get back to bed, but I was up till 4:00, then up at 7:00.
Suffice to to say, I am not a night owl. Neither am I a morning person. I need at least 8 hours of sleep a night. I never even held a schedule like this in college. I. Am. Dying.
All in all though, I feel very sustained and helped in the last couple of days. I like to work hard. I get things done, and I don't mind a bit of blood, sweat, and tears along the way. This whole experience has taken things to a new extreme for me and it has been insane. Heavenly Father has blessed me, and I know it. The fact I haven't gotten this bug (at least not at the exact same time as everyone else), is a miracle in and of itself.
Now, I just need to get some rest so I quit tearing up at the dumbest things...

...and then I burst into tears.

General Conference has been really wonderful this weekend. We've partied and listened hard, all Friday evening (in prep for conference), Saturday, and Sunday. The boys did beautifully listening and gathering candy as the "special words" were each said. My soul is full of joy, and my sweet little family and I have been spiritually fed.
What will stand out about this conference to go down in the history of the church, was the changing of missionary age requirements. I don't think I'll ever forget, but the boys can now serve at 18 years old and the girls at 19...
Instantaneously, I couldn't hold back the tears. I know this is inspired. It feels so right. I do not question it in the least. I know that much good will come of this. It is exhilarating news. But...I am sad that my boys will be gone sooner than I had planned. I feel like I am "losing" time with them, and that is a painful feeling. I cherish my time with these precious little men. Even though times are tough, I eat up every moment I am blessed with. Of course I want them to do the right thing, and especially by the Lord, but oh, how I will miss them.
I know, I know - I am totally jumping the gun here, and it's not like things will be that different. If they didn't go on missions right away, I would sure hope they would be going to college somewhere... just don't be surprised if I don't put them into kindergarten until they are 7 :).

I just spent $12 on "frozen novelties" at Albertsons

Carson and Drake were jumping off the stairs right after breakfast. I won't even try to express how many times or ways I tried to get them to stop. Suffice it to say, Carson almost bit his tongue off this morning. I am not overstating this.
Drake took a chunk out of his tongue over a year ago and still has a nasty scar from it. For a tongue to scar, it has to be BAD. Carson's injury is twice or more as bad as Drakes. You can see from the bottom where his teeth almost went through. It is almost severed from the middle, clear over to one edge of his tongue.
We are currently icing (via popsicles and ice cream) to stop the bleeding and try to avoid the ER to get it cauterized.
Now our fridge is loaded full of frozen treats and I am not sure whether to laugh, cry, or be utterly frustrated.
By the way, Drake's surgery went really well. We were home by 8:30 am...and the doctor was even 20 minutes late. What a blessing!

Bilateral Tympanostomy with insertion of ventilating tubes

a.k.a. Drake is getting tubes in his ears.
It seems like every time anyone in our house sneezes, Drake gets an ear infection. I don't love that we are already struggling with which antibiotic to use because he has been on THAT many for his ear infections. The ins and outs aren't important, suffice it to say, the health of his ears is sub par. My favorite part of the doctors appointment and all the testing yesterday was his answers to various questions. Each time he heard a beep he was supposed to say a specific word. The word changed with each test according to the questions they asked him.

1. "What is your favorite food?" I myself was curious to hear the answer, but once I did I almost knocked myself in the head because he DEFINITELY has a favorite and all I had to do was think about it for half a second.
"Sheeze Tortilla" (Cheese Tortilla...if you EVER ask him what he wants, this will always be his answer. This is also what he requested for his birthday dinner).

2. "Who is your favorite cartoon character?" This one piqued my interest even more than the first question. We own a television, but it is not hooked up to anything but the DVD player. Therefore, we don't watch ANY t.v.
"Popeye!" (We do own a DVD with a compilation of old cartoons.)

3. "What is your favorite animal?"
"A Zee-bwa"

Drake so good and so cute at his appointment, and very "bwave" to boot. The boy melts my heart.

Some Pictures

 Brooks doing the tango... and LOVING IT!

 Drake blocking a bayonet charge with Ernie.

 Not a Gatorade Ad. Drake and Carson after our Olympics FHE. Carson is from Egypt, and Drake is from another country.

 Carson's nasty scab after two weeks of healing.

 Backyard camping.

 The boys less Brooks.

Funny face.

I hiked a "Fourteener"

Mt. Bierstadt aint got nuttin' on me. I hiked to the tip top summit of 14,060 feet with my gimpy leg and all. We did it with the youth this weekend and it was a blast. I will post more pictures of it later, but for now, here is one I stole off of facebook.

*The instruction from the photographer was to "look excited" that we just summited the mountain...pretty sure I nailed that :).