Sunday Night Entertainment

Last night the boys decided to do a "puppet show" and did a great job. They went in their room for about five minutes, came up with a story, and some props, and then practiced a couple of times before performing. Good job Steven, Nathan, and Jacob.
(please ignore the wires all over the wall, Steve is getting to it. ;))




Since the camera was out I decided to take a picture of grumpy boy who missed his nap. Earlier Steven somehow broke half of his binky off, but it seems to still be suckable. Enjoy. Oh, and yes he does have a black eye that is healing from Jacob scratching him with a hockey stick right under his eye, and he has a scratch on his head from falling off the lowest bench of the bleachers at Steven's football game Saturday.

Football and Firetrucks

We are really enjoying the fall weather here in Georgia. Not quite cold enough yet for hot chocolate (that is for you Felicity) and it is still humid, but it's not as hot and we can tell the cool weather is coming. Yea!

Through much discussion Steve and I decided to put Steven in football this year. He didn't really want to play at first because he doesn't know much about the sport, but Steve talked him in to playing. We just thought it would be a good way to get him moving, and we wanted to see how he would do. Steven actually loves sports and wants to be a sports guy, he just doesn't have the natural talent and he doesn't seem to have it in him to practice until he gets good. We keep trying with him though. :)

So, last week they started off the football season by having the teams run through the tunnel and then Steven played his first game. It is nice to have him in a sport again even if it does complicate our night life.



Now for Brandon. The poor boy is just bored a lot of times at home unless we are out at stores spending money. I have come up with a couple solutions. Once a week we are going to go to the school and have lunch with one of the boys. We went to eat with Steven today and Brandon loved to be with all the kids. And Steven loved teasing Brandon in front of all his friends.
The other great thing is playgroup has started! Yea! I love playgroup because it does allow Brandon to play and learn things, and it let's me hang out with my dear friends. Last Tuesday we went to the fire station and got to see the fire trucks and see the fire man in his gear. It was lots of fun and Brandon was pretty impressed with it.

Jacob has had great behavior in school this week and so he is the star student of the week. That means he gets to bring home Max the monkey to share the weekend with him. We will take pictures of things we do with Max and then do a little scrapbook page to put in the Max book.

Nathan is doing well also although there is nothing specific about him. His behavior in school is getting better and his grades are always Great, he is a smart boy. Basically he is just loving life.

Our Temple Trip

As an anniversary surprise to Steve, I arranged for us to go to the Columbia, SC temple last Friday night. It is about a three hour drive, and because of that we haven't gone very often. So, this time I arranged for us to go overnight. I had each of the boys stay at a different families house from the ward.'They went from after school on Friday, until Saturday afternoon. It is so wonderful to have a network of friends that you trust to leave your kids with, and who are willing to do it. It also made it a fun weekend for the kids as well as for us.

Of course as with every time we try to go to the temple it seems there is trouble. I spent all week finding people to babysit, booking a hotel, and getting things ready so we could take off on Friday. On Friday morning I checked the temple website to get the address, and happened to see the schedule of closed dates. And lo and behold I see that the temple is closed on Saturday. The very Saturday we were planning on going. So, of course I go into panic mode and do what I can to try and get us there Friday night for the 7pm session. As I am calling people to see if the kids can come a little earlier, two of the four families say they have sick kids in their home. And not just a little sick, but a fever, throwing up, and soar throat sick. But being un-intimidated by germs as I am, I said if they would still take the child, it wouldn't bother me to leave him. They both agreed to still take the child. Whoo hoo!

So, Steve and I are in the car by 4pm and headed to SC on Friday afternoon on Labor Day weekend with no time to spare. Needless to say we did NOT make the 7pm session. We got to the temple at 7:15 and were able to do sealings for about an hour which was absolutely wonderful!

What we found out after it was too late was that there is a short cut to the temple. Steve and I trust our GPS a little too much, and thought that it would take us the best way. Well...it took us fifty miles out of the way to keep us on a freeway. In Georgia, often times the fastest way to go is on the back roads. So, we took the fast way on the way back, and it cuts out between 30 and 45 minutes from the drive. Enough time that we would have made it if we went that way Friday night.

After the temple on Friday, we went out to eat at Outback which was delish. Steve got a fish dish since he is trying to eat healthier, and I got the chocolate cheesecake for dessert since I was out to eat as an anniversary celebration. :) Saturday morning we slept in until 9, then played a game of cities and knights on line which is our favorite thing to do as of late. Then we got up and drove back to the temple for some pictures. Next to the temple is a very nice church bookstore that we browsed at for a while including an outdoor yard sale they happened to be having that day. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful overnighter. Then we drove home the fast way and were home by 2:30.

So, it was an eventful trip, but it all worked out beautifully in the end. The boys all had a great time, and the families said they had no problems with any of them. Brandon wasn't the best sleeper, but they enjoyed him other than that. And miraculously none of us are sick this week even after the exposure we had over the weekend. We do have good strong immune systems though. It must be our lack of using hand sanitizer. haha

Definitely a FABULOUS anniversary get away.

9th Anniversary

Yesterday (Sept. 1st), Steve and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. I felt a lot of gratitude this anniversary for all the wonderful things that have happened in my life since I married Steve. Many anniversaries just pass by without much thought, but this one was a little different for some reason. I am so happy in my life right now. I love being a Mom of four boys, I love living in GA, and enjoying the people in this area, I love our ward here, and MOST of all I LOVE my husband. He has done so much for my life that I just couldn't have done without him and has helped me to learn and grow in so many ways. Our wedding song lyrics said

You were meant for me, and I was meant for you.
Nature fashioned you and when she was done
You were all those good things rolled in to one.

And I do think we were meant for each other. I know there are other people we could have each married, but we are a great combination. We seem to be moving at the same pace, and that makes living with someone so much easier.

So, for our anniversary Steve took the day off. Yea! for Steve's endless days off. haha We had a nice day, and then for dinner he made his chicken curry which is one of our favorite meals. We then took a break from anniversary stuff so we could go to a student showcase night at the school. (the kids got to show us some of the work they have done so far this year) We walked to the school, and then took a detour on the way home, and walked around our mile long block behind our house.

When we got home Steve gave me beautiful flowers, and a delicious cake. He even bought a number nine candle to celebrate the number of years. We all enjoyed the cake as a family.

The great thing is... the fun is not over! I have planned a surprise for Steve on Friday that is going to be great. It is not elaborate or anything, I just don't manage surprises very often, so I am excited that this might actually stay a surprise until Friday. Cross your fingers for me.

I do LOVE Steve so much and all that he does for our family. I have confidence in him to lead our family down the path we want to take. He is a loving husband, and a wonderful example to our boys on how a husband and father should be. I am so glad we are together forever.

{the boys}


{bad picture of me. beautiful flowers, and cake}