Potty Training

Me: Come on Jared, please go potty in the toilet so you can be a big boy.

Jared: Or else I will be a girl.

I guess we still have a lot to learn.

Life with Boys

Being the mother of four boys has taught me so many things. Some days I have to sit back in a stupor because the whole experience is so messed up in my girl brain. For example:

*Farting is always funny.

*Obsession with guns and shooting things. Jared even carries his Wii gun to bed.

I just don't get it. Tonight we were putting together their pine wood derby cars. I have been finding the nails to hold the tires on for the last two months all around my house and it has been making me a little nutty. But tonight could we find them, not so much. So how do boys solve this problem? They go to the garage and find the metal detector to search the carpet for the nails. It is amazing what you can find under your couch with a metal detector.

I made the boys proud last month. I was blocked out of my bathroom and my closet. Something had fallen behind the drawer in my bathroom and had pushed the drawer open, successfully blocking the bathroom door. After an hour of trying to get in, I finally took a sledge hammer to the bathroom door. In my brain it was the cheapest option and it was blocking my way to my shower, toothbrush and clothes. There was no way I was going to work in my pj's with morning breath and crazy hair. In their head, smashing a door with a sledge hammer is the coolest thing ever. I may end up figuring out how to live with boys one day after all.

Thanksgiving

November is a great time to express the things that you are thankful for. Many people are posting every day. I am not good at the daily thing, so here is my list of 50 things I am grateful for:

1-Tanner working super hard at school this year and getting almost straight A's.
2-My super cool kitchen table that Chris and Devyn made for me for Christmas last year.
3-Diet Coke, total lifesaver.
4-Books, ditto total lifesaver.
5-Chocolate.
6-Jared telling me, I love you mustard, eyeballs, hamburger, or whatever he is calling me at the moment.
7-Devyn bringing me breakfast in bed, especially when he has Jared help him bring it to me. Devyn makes really great crepes.
8-Justin rubbing my feet while he watches tv and I read my book.
9-Sami painting my toe nails.
10-Super greatful that my kids can cook and make me dinner.
11-When I have a chance to go away with my sweet hubby.
12-Wednesday lunches with Shanna.
13-Bread, I really love good bread.
14-Becky coming to clean my house.
15-Rare moments of peace and quiet.
16-Football is over, until next season!
17-My job, I know it's a surprise.
18-The super amazing primary kids in our ward.
19-Sweaters.
20-Really soft fuzzy socks.
21-Coming home to a clean house and happy kids.
22-Knowing that my 12 year old is going to be a fabulous mom, because she is typically the one that is responsible for the clean house and happy kids.
23-Fake nails.
24-When my family laughs and is happy.
25-The funny jokes that Jared and Justin tell to make us all laugh.
26-My Savior.
27-My dad.
28-Pedicures.
29-Mobile car detailers.
30-My testimony.
31-My sisters.
32-Even my brothers.
33-Freshly washed Egyptian cotton super soft sheets.
34-Days I get to sleep in.
35-LASIK surgery enabling me to see without glasses.
36-Weeks when Chris is home.
37-Weekends when I have absolutely nothing on the schedule.
38-Morning texts and nightly phone calls I get from Chris when he is gone and the lunch dates we have when he is home.
39-The snooze button.
40-The pool in our subdivision.
41-Vacations.
42-Cirque du soleil - the two performances I have seen are really amazing.
43-Phone calls to Karen to tell her my crazy stories.
44-Summer.
45-That I don't have to live through Wyoming winters anymore.
46-Ice cream.
47-Watching Sami play basketball and seeing how aggressive she plays.
48-Sweet hugs from my family.
49-Watching my kids succeed or make good choices.
50-When my husband makes dinner.

I have many other things that I am grateful for, but this is already really long. Thanks to my family and my old friends and my new friends. I am grateful to all of you for helping me become the person I am today. I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving.

My husband, the mighty hunter

Chris went deer hunting

with his friend, Doug

They both came back happy hunters.
I ended up with a gross big deer in my garage.

Chris left his camera up on the hunt. He was very sad and was frantically searching for it, while I was frantically trying to get ready for the primary program. Chris didn't have time on Sunday to go back and look for his camera, so he phoned a friend that was still up there to see if he could find it. His friend found it and then lost it. He told Chris I think it fell out of my pocket in a flat spot by the river next to a tree. The following Thursday, Chris drove up there to see if he could find his camera. He actually found the flat spot by the river next to the tree and found his camera. It had been sitting there since Sunday, in the rain, and it still worked. Chris took this picture to test it out. I am still amazed that not only did he find it, it still worked.

Halloween 2010

Lauren, Jared, Tanner, Justin and Devyn

Lauren and Jared (tigger thinks that something is funny)

Tanner the Ninja

Devyn our biker rebel

Justin our nerd
(we are still debating whether he actually dressed up or really looks like this all of the time)

Sam and Jared as a caterpillar on day 2
(one of the benefits of being the youngest is that you have lots of costumes to choose from
he was also Bob the Builder at one point)

Samantha, Brynn and Brooklyn (barbie likes to pose)

Chris had to work and missed Halloween, but one of his friends was kind enough to dress up as Chris Perren, the Hunter, so at least Chris was with us in spirit

Beautiful Problems

I have a friend who was sharing an experience where she was frustrated and she called her mom for advise. Her mom basically said sweetie, you have beautiful problems.

I have thought a lot about beautiful problems since then. I am amazed at how often I am frustrated with things and when I think about it, the problems are beautiful. Things will work out and I don't need to stress about them. Luckily at this point they aren't nasty problems.

It has really helped me put things in perspective and I am grateful that my problems are beautiful.

September 11th

September 11th has always held a lot of meaning.

It is my dad's birthday

It is Ryan and Devona's wedding anniversary

It is Jenalee's dad's birthday, the day she called to tell me she was pregnant with Halle and later her son's birthday

It is the day the twin towers fell

It is Tanner's baptism day

Sadly, most people only know about the twin towers and they remember the day with sadness or horror. This year as I was planning Tanner's baptism, I wanted to do it on my dad's birthday and I ran into a scheduling conflict. Now September 11th is a day of service. It made me happy that people are doing good on this day rather than just focusing on the destruction. I know it would make my dad happy that people are using the day to do something good for someone else.

As for the baptism, Tanner just wanted to make sure we had good dessert. His happy memories are the baptism and the 4 1/2 donuts that he ate.

Tanner really wanted to spend the night with his Grandma Gayle. So Chris drove out to her house to pick him up on Sunday morning and they were late coming back. I also didn't have a chance to see him get dressed and it wasn't until we were at the church 10 minutes late that I realized he had one short sock and one long sock on. Since he could sit by the bishop and we were late he had to hurry up to the front before the sacrament prayers started. So Tanner ran as fast as he could through the chapel and sat next to the bishop a second before the sacrament prayers started. I have many memories about the baptism, but I will never forget Tanner sprinting through the chapel with mismatched socks on with the biggest smile on his face.