Cousin Chaos Continued...

It think we had the best week of 2009 the week that Brad and Lara came. No joke, this year has not been very fun in my opinion--it seems that every enjoyable memory from this year has been tainted by something difficult in the background, except for this week we had from the Saturday before Thanksgiving until the Saturday after. It was the first full week of true vacation for me, and I wasn't even the one on vacation. : ) I love the holidays, and I love family.

Tyson played so hard that when it was all over, he could fall asleep in the most uncomfortable of positions. : ) Poor kid--he misses our cousins & doesn't understand that they live so far away.

Ean with his furtive glance out of the playhouse. Apparently, Ean is Tyson's best friend. That made me laugh, because Ean & Tyson had the most run-ins. They're close enough in age to want to play with all the same toys, and just far enough apart that Tyson realizes he's a little older. So what does Tyson do? He bosses Ean around. Of course, Ean didn't want any of that, so he bit Tyson twice. When it was all said and done, though, Tyson won't stop talking about his cousin Ean.

Isaac & Orrin in the playhouse.

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to get a Christmas tree. Here's Tyson & Heber.

My cute baby in his new outfit that Grandma bought him. They don't get any cuter than this, folks!

Karly came with us, so we took this shot with her in it...

Our whole gang for trees. We were lucky to have Stetson with us! He drove us around in a jeep thing--that was fun. This was also Cache's last trip before his mission.

Tyson kept his hands in his pockets the whole time it seemed! He was cracking us up as he trapsed around in the woods with his hands in there to keep warm. He tuckered out in front of our Christmas tree in his Daddy's arms.

After Thanksgiving dinner at Clyde & Jami's, we went to my Aunt Carla's. Tyrel was talking crap, so Mitch showed him who's boss.

Mitch & Tyson in front of the pond, Thanksgiving Day

Shaun and Shay came to have Thanksgiving with us! Two beautiful girls! Shaun and I were touring the gorgeous house when we went out on a balcony and saw some kids in the field with the cows. She said, hey, there's kids out there...wait, that's my daughter. And I said, oh! Wow--wait! That's Tyson! It was so funny to be wondering whose kids they were and then to realize they were ours in the middle of the field scaring the bajeebies out of the cows.

Emmett found his thumb at Grandma Borden's house. Oh, no!

One night Grandma Borden came over to spend time with all her grandsons while Brad & Lara went to the temple. Ean fell asleep right in her arms while everyone watched Bolt.

It's not so silly now to see Santa's sleigh, but you have to realize that when we were at the zoo, it wasn't even Thanksgiving, yet, and the kids thought this would be a great spot for a group shot. We had so much fun that day & by the end of it, I was really glad we went, but it took me a few hours before I felt that way. For the first few hours, I kept wondering what on earth we were thinking to take 7 kids to the zoo ages 6 and under. We didn't even get to see animals until after an hour of being there already. Getting out the door was even a fiasco, as Tyson had the worst blow-out dirty diaper of his life. Of course Emmett had to be nursed by the time we got there, so we had to find a place for the other 6 kids to play & keep happy. THEN they wanted lunch. It was quite the ordeal, but then once all that was over, we were able to tour the zoo successfully. We did one of the loops and it took us about 4 hours, but they had fun, and that's what matters!

Ammon--what a cutie!

Everyone took a bathroom break, and I stayed with the little kids. Tyson kept going over by the monkeys, and I had no idea why he kept going to that one window until I tried to get him to leave and Lara was like, "Oh my gosh, that monkey is right there!" Tyson had about 15 minutes of one on one monkey time while the kids all took a potty break.

Why did we go to the zoo? To climb on trees of course.

Who are those ragamuffins on the giraffe lookout tower? Oh, wait, they're ours!

Aren't they so handsome in their church clothes?

Emmett's baby blessing day was so sweet. It was a special day, and it was like he knew it was a special day for him. He got to be blessed by his Daddy, and his uncles Brad, Brian, Nick, and Mike were in the circle, as well as both Grandpa's and the bishop. It was a sweet baby blessing & we felt the Spirit. Children are truly a gift from God, and they bring a bit of Heaven with them to earth.

These are just a few of the people who came to support us on Emmett's blessing day. It was kind of a whirl wind preparation as we planned it last minute to make sure that it could happen while Brad & Lara were here.

Emmett's first time meeting Great-Grandma Fern.

Cousin Chaos--Nothing Else is Quite Like It

Brad & Lara showed up last night around 2am with our ADORABLE nephews! It's been an awesome day, I must add, and we are so fortunate to get them for the next WEEK! Whoo hoo! It feels like a holiday with them around & everyone's had a great time. We walked to the park & played for a couple hours in the sand. I loved watching Isaac & Orrin lying down on the sand...gross! Boys just love dirt, I suppose.

Tyson, Ian, Orrin, Ammon, Isaac
Orrin

Isaac LOVES babies. : ) He's kept Emmett happy all morning. I caught him lying down & staring at Emmett for minutes at a time. It's so sweet. It's so much fun for me to have these guys around. We are so lucky. Having everyone here makes me want to have more kids. There's just a happy energy when all these cousins are playing together & it's contagious.

Flowers & Apples...What a Sweet Hubby!

Mitch was so kind the other day & brought me home roses just to bring me roses.

How sweet, huh!
These are just as cute...if not sweeter a gesture than the roses. I couldn't remember what kind of apple I had the other day, but it totally trumped my used-to-be-favorite-granny-smith-apple, so my Baby Hubby bought me a variety of apples just so that I could have a taste test and figure out which one I like best with my pumpkin dip. : ) I didn't get through with it b/c the baby was crying, but I'm pretty sure it's the Fuigi apples that I like, although I did learn that the skin of the Red Delicious is not as disgusting as I remember it, and that I like Golden Delicious, too.

New Moon

Okay, so it was fun and fabulous! We ate so much popcorn, drank too much soda, sat and chatted for hours, and LOVED the movie. It was like a million times better than Twilight because Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson weren't jerking their heads every single time they said their lines, the visual effects were much better...sometimes still fakey, but BETTER, the vampires were creepier, and the wolves added a nice twist. I think the movie moved a little slowly at times, and I like the way Rosalie, Carlisle, and Jasper looked in Twilight better, but over all New Moon had the quality I was hoping for....

Mom, you're so cool for coming to the midnight showing--that's all there is to it!

Taylor decided to come up and grace us with his presence after ditching us to sit with some girls...he thought that would be better than me coming down to embarrass him by taking photos of him with his entourage of ladies.

D-Jo, Tina, Jodi (not blinking, I might add)

Lindsay, Deej, Tina, Erin, Heber, Jodi (celebrating her passing of her state board written test that she took today! Whoo hoo, you go girl!)

Cameron, Kelly, Cassie, Lindsay

Beauty Queen

This is my adorable little sister. She's 20 years old, has a heart of gold, and had one of the best weeks of her life this week. She's a Beauty School Graduate!!!! She looks awesome here, by the way. On Wednesay, the 11th, her school had a miniature ceremony just for Jodi. She got to sit in a hair-chair with balloons while everyone at the beauty college who knew her got to say nice things about her & congratulate her accomplishments. Mr. McCoy, her teacher said some wonderful things about her smile & the energy she brings to a room. He also talked about her determination & accomplishment in finishing at Earl's Academy as it hasn't been an easy road. He said it was awesome to get to see the look in her eyes when she saw her score on her final examination & knew that it meant she passed & was done with her program. He said that she was so excited & kept saying, "I've got to tell them, I've got to tell them," but he needed her to get some paperwork first & he said that he couldn't get it fast enough, b/c she was so excited to share the news with her family.
Jodi and I have been study partners for the last couple of months. She's been at my house almost every single day for the last couple of months. She's been studying for hours at a time as I've been calling myself the "Test Nazi". Holy cow were there so many tests to take. She's been working so hard! She's made hundreds of flashcards, answered and re-answered hundreds of workbook questions, read and re-read chapters from the text book, and tested on tough material--some of which I had no understanding of because it was so hard and I had to learn it with her in order to be able to help her with it. She has tested and re-tested, and let me tell you, graduating beauty school isn't an easy thing to do. I'm so proud of her for her accomplishment; she's earned her diploma all the way.

I couldn't stop crying when she called me on Monday after she took her final and said, "Guess what?! I passed my final!" I was pretty honored when I realized I was the first one she called (even before Mom & Dad). That meant a lot to me & I was so excited to share those precious moments with her over the telephone. She told me thanks for working with her, and I told her she was worth it. It's really been a blessing for me to have her over at my house every day. I feel we've become closer as sisters & know each other better. I love her so much, because she loves me despite all of my flaws, and I'm lucky to have her as my sister.
Because her ceremony was on Veteran's Day, it was actually pretty easy to make sure all of the family could get there. I'm so glad we all made it to celebrate with Jodi--she deserved a party! It's kind of hard to tell in this photo, but Erin & I crowned the "Beauty Queen" with a flashy pink & sparkly sash that Erin made, and a tiara with flower on on it that I found. It was fun to have her wear that--it even matched her outfit.

Denise had her Baby!

Denise and I found out that we were both pregnant...you know, before we were telling people we were pregnant. : ) We were both sick at school at the same time, and excited to be expecting. I remember the day she came into my classroom & hugged me, it was so funny, because Stacy knew we were both pregnant and was like, well, don't tell Denise I told you, but she's pregnant, too, and then Denise came into my classroom after she dropped her kids off at a special or recess or something & she already knew (from Stacy) that I was prego, too. We were due a month apart, and she had her adorable little Ryker on the 6th of November. I got to go see her on the 10th & I took Emmett. It's amazing what a month can do--Emmett looks like a beast next to a 4 day old baby! : ) The boys were both born about the same size. Ryker was 8 lbs 4 oz, and Emmett was 8 lbs 6 oz. Look how small Denise is already...some people have all the luck! :) That's okay, she can still be my friend...even if she is skinny ALL THE TIME. I'm excited she has a couple months off of school--we'll be planning a play date for the newborns...they can lay on a blanket next to each other. LOL By the way, they are totally matching & we didn't even plan it.

Surprise Visit

Lindsay (Blair) Hancock surprised me yesterday with a visit! I was so excited! It meant a lot to me that she called & swung by. I haven't seen her since her wedding 3 years ago, and it was awesome to catch up. Her kids are adorable and happen to be the same ages as my kids, so we took a picture. It's so fun to have little tykes at the same age. Raylee & Tyson are both 2, and Rider & Emmett are both a few weeks old...well, Ryder is a few weeks more than Emmett, but they're still close in age. I really wish that our families lived close together like we used to, so we could see each other all the time. She's a fabulous friend, and one I miss having around.

Too much fun

I enjoyed Haloween this year; it's a great time to be neighborly, and both Mitch and I had the opportunity to visit with neighbors who we don't get to see that often. We live on a great street, and it's good to get to know our neighbors better.

The Boys' First Halloween as brothers!!!! (Emmett, you crack us up!)

Tyson made the neighbors all laugh, because he was bouncing around like Tigger. He had been practicing his bounce for Halloween. He was so cute knocking on doors, saying Trick-or-treat, and thank you. He told me this year, "I love Halloween! I love candy!"

This was our special "Jack-o-lantern" pizza from Papa Murphey's. We could barely eat it between the constant ringing of the doorbell. Tyson kept hopping up between bites to run to the door & pass out candy. He was as excited to pass out the goods as he was to dress up & go out himself.

Here we are at the ward party. Tyson was in his giraffe costume that night (the one that he picked out months ago at Costco, and the one that I had to con him into wearing). Unfortunately, Tyson shoved the giraffe hood off of his head right before the picture. There's NO WAY I'll be able to get him in that costume for a picture again this year. *sigh* Oh well. It really was cute when he walked around in it. Mitch and I were dressed up as the scariest thing we could think of: Pres. Obama & his wife. Haha! The funniest part was that I said that to people & got a bunch of mixed reactions, so I decided I would just let it be & quit saying that to everyone.

A couple weeks ago, we went to the Pumpkin Patch. Tyson was so excited & loved the pumpkin patch. He's got an awesome memory. You could ask him about it even now, and he'd tell you everything we did there: decorated pumpkins & put stickers on them, saw goats, chickens, pigs & a cow, played in a bouncy thing, went in a maze. It was a trip worth making.

Here's Tyson with his friends that came with us, Mike & Jake.

Baby Days...Can't Get Enough!

His baby faces crack me up!

I set this little play house up in our front room so Tyson can entertain himself when I can't.

He won't fit in the sink for much longer!

I love his fuzzy hair after a bath...it reminds me of a baby chick.

Mitch doesn't wake up to nurse multiple times a night, but he feels like a zombie, too. Often he'll fall asleep on the ground in Tyson's room singing him to sleep, or I'll find him passed out on the floor in front of Emmett's swing, because he sits there giving him a pacifier so I can get some shut eye in the middle of the night. Or, other times, I'll find him on the couch with the boys. I love him. He's working so hard. It's hard to find time to be a dad when you're working full time and attending college, but he does a great job, and there's no question in the boys' minds whether or not their dad loves them--he shows it every time he's around them, no matter how short that time may be.

We dressed up for the Lovell's Halloween party--Mitch was Pres. Obamam (SCARY!), and Emmett was a bear. Maybe we'll have better luck on Halloween night getting Tyson to dress up. I'd like to get a picture of the boys in costumes together this year, but it may be a struggle to get Tyson to wear a costume..."I not like it" he says, or "I wear it tomorrow."

Tyson thinks Emmett is a great little brother, but he doesn't understand the concept that it makes him a brother, too. We'll ask Tyson if Emmett is his little brother and he says, yes, and then we'll ask him if he's a big brother and he'll make a face & shake his head as he says, "No, I not a brother." He is a fabulous big brother, though. He makes sure to tell me things like, "He hungry again," or he'll give him a pacifier and say, "He happy now." Whenever Emmett spits up, and I ask for the burp rag, Tyson will say something like, "Eww, he burp up!" It's fun, and Tyson is a good helper, finding satisfaction when I grant him permission to hold him or to take care of him. Tyson still ooohs and ahhhs over Emmett, and exclaims often, "He so cute! I love Baby Emmett!" The pure love of a brother is so sweet to me.

I knew I would love my 2nd child, but it still amazes me how immediately equal of a love I felt with Emmett. When I had Tyson, I had never felt that type of a love before & it brought a whole new dimension to my life, changing me forever. When I had Emmett, it's like my heart grew, and I love them equally, as if Emmett has been around as long as Tyson, too. I could never live without either of them in my life. I'm so lucky to be their mom.