Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving Elder Tee!


Tonight the boys and I made signs to tell Uncle Stephen Happy thanksgiving. I took pic's and sent them to a wonderful family in Wisconson that is sweet enough to feed my ever hungery brother tomorrow! Thanksgiving just isn't quite the same without Stephen! Watching him eat is amazing! He'd eat more than I thought possible sit back rub his belly, take a deep breath and then ask for more! I love that skinny kid! Having a Missionary Brother is the greatest thing ever! Until of course it's a missionary Son (or 5!!)!






We also want to say Congrats to Tom Gile. He's getting baptized on Saturday! YEA!!!






Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Snake Girl!!

Ok so I have had SO many people say that I am crazy for letting the boys have their snakes in my house! And there is probably some truth to that, but I don't really have much to do with them. But my Brother Stephen has the greatest girlfriend named Melissa and she got a pet snake just for herself! And she thinks he's cute! There is a reason she fits in with our crazy family! We love you Melissa! You ROCK!!!

It's official....Grandma's getting MARRIED

Well, I guess it's official!! Mom's got engaged on Friday night to Don Wittky. As far as I know they haven't set a date, but she's got a ROCK! Congrats!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Mike O's German Pancakes


Isaac has been begging his dad for "Mikeo'sgermanpancakes" for a week now. Until yesterday when Isaac came running to me saying that "Dad's not listening to me!!! He won't make me what I want for breakfast!" I was unaware of his request. Mike had no idea what he was saying and so he kept giving him cereal! I finally translated and today we had "Mike O's German Pancakes" (That is the title of the recipe in the family cook book!)















Yummy Yummy!!!!!!!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Nature Center


We went on a great preschool field trip (and I actually got to go thanks to Grandma Nona!) to the Ogden Nature Center. It had been a long time since I'd been there and it was a lot of fun! The kids had fun looking for animal tracks and walking like the animals. After we were finished with their activities we got to explore. Eagles are amazing animals. There were Deer and turkeys out roaming! We then went to the Teepee and had out Thanksgiving lesson. It was so much fun to be out and about with my boys!Sharilyn and Jamie taught our Thanksgiving Lesson

Isaac and Lucas and I loved the Teepee
The Kids got to make their own animal tracks book!



Ready set race!

There were different animal tracks
on the carpet strips, and the kids races as different animals! They loved it.









It got a little crazy when the kids decided to race both directions on the rugs!





Lucas walking like a deer!

SHOTS!!!!


Yesterday was Nick's 2 month Doctors appointment which means of course SHOTS! But with it being Flu season I decided that Isaac and Lucas and I would get our shots too! Why waste a visit? Isaac wanted to go first. He is very proud of the fact that he doesn't t cry over shots! I went second....and no I didn't cry either! I was hopeful that Lucas would be ok since Isaac and I had been ok, boy was I wrong! He started thrashing around and screaming to the point that I practcally ahd to sit on him. And I still had one more kid to go!! Nick was a typical 2 month old, and we quickly left the Doctors office! On the way home Isaac reminded me of our long standing tradition of Happy Meals after shots. Leave it to that guy to not forget anything! (5 Years ago Tyler was under going some testing and had to have a lot of shots, and his blood drawn a lot, and Happy Meals can get a stressed out kid through just about anything!) The 3 "BIG" kids recovered quickly but Nick was so miserable all afternoon! Mike and I kept massaging his legs with Vapo rub and the poor kid just screamed and screamed! But all of that stress lead to 8 HOURS OF SLEEP last night! I woke up at 4:15 his morning in a panic! He'd gone down at 7:30! WOW!Thanks shots!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Boytrapped: How far does it go?

You know, five and a half years ago when we went to get a snake for Tyler, Liz saw this big boa constrictor and went out on a limb and said "you know, we could get TWO snakes if one of them was a boa constrictor..." Well she didn't have to tell me twice. Little did she know what she was getting into.




So this is the snake we had come for. Tyler named him Tyler and it's a boy snake.





And this is the snake we bought for Matt - a female boa constrictor named Hagapina. Liz says it doesn't count to say that there are two girls around here if one of them is a SNAKE. Good point huh?




So once Isaac realized he didn't have a snake of his own...now he does too. This one COULD be a girl, we don't know. It's a corn snake named Corny. Fits huh?


So anyway, to cut to the chase, besides the obvious of having snakes in the house, every 2-3 weeks Liz gets to enjoy two rats and a mouse thawing out on a plate in the kitchen for a half day before feeding time. And the occasional gem like when the boa constrictor doesn't shed quite right and I have to give it a bath and rub off the flakes of skin that are still stuck. Well, today was a new one. Yesterday was feeding night. Boas are big, and they are not entirely dumb. If you feed them in their cage, they learn to strike at anything that comes in the top. Hands...bad idea. So we feed her in a plastic crate with a locking lid - put her in, drop in a rat, lock it and come back in the morning. While she's in there, she strikes at any movement she sees, such as when people walk by the crate, which she did several times before I got her out. When I did get her out, her face was all deformed. Yes, snakes faces can be deformed more than the usual. In her case, her lower lip (yes, snakes have lips) was pulled up inside and a tooth from her lower jaw had snagged it and was holding it inside her mouth. Her upper row of teeth then was piercing through the outside of the lip and holding it in place, and I couldn't tell if her jaw was broken. Matt was nearly in tears, and Liz told me I had to get it to an exotic vet right away. Isn't she awesome? She even loves the snakes. Not because of the snakes themselves, I'm sure, but because that's how much she loves the boys.


First I tried to fix it myself. "Here, hon, hold the body so she can't coil around my hands while I pry her mouth open and try and unhook her lips." That didn't work - the snake was writhing, hissing, and biting down as hard as she could. So I got on the phone. Eventually I found a vet who used to treat exotics, but not anymore. He talked me through it - said to wedge the mouth open with a stick so that I could be free to unhook the lips, and to make sure enough people were holding the snake (she's about 6-7' long now). SO here we went again - Liz holding the writhing 4" diameter body that is as strong as a person's arm, while I got to pry open the mouth, jam in a stick cross-wise, and work on unhooking the lips trom the teeth. Hagapina is fine. When we were finished, I said to Liz "You really didn't know what you were getting into when you said we could get more than one, did you?"


SO yeah in addition to nurse, counsellor, cook, maid, shopping service, seamstress, answering service, teacher, cycling instructor, and akela, being a boytrapped mom now means exotic veteranarian assistant. Does she rock or what?

Friday, November 14, 2008

Pomegranate's

Mom brought up pomegranate's for the boys to try and Isaac went to town! Everyone but Lucas loved them, but not as much as Isaac! Lucas calls them Mickey Mouse's!

2 Months Old Already!



I can't believe it, but Nicholas is 2 Months already! Yesterday when I woke up I layed there thinking about the last 2 months, and I can't believe all that has happened is what is really such a short amount of time! I am so thankful for my sweet baby. He is a gem. And he's smiling!! There have been a few times when I thought maybe, but as of Monday it's real! I am so excited to see his personality come out! Having a newborn is so amazing!












(This means today Preston is 7 months old! unbelievable! How did he get so big?)

Oh to be two!



I love my sweet Lucas, but oh boy is he 2! He now has to pour his own cereal, pour his own milk, and I just caught him drinking from the milk bottle! I spend my whole day hearing "MY DO IT MYSELF!!! screamed at the top of his lungs! The other day he was chasing Isaac around the house hitting and pinching him. When I asked him if he could please be nice to Isaac he screamed "NO!!! ME TWO!!" Oh boy! And for his sake I won't even start on the potty training! But along with those crazy moments come some of the sweetest. Lucas is also my chore buddy. He loves to help with whatever I'm doing and he never complains! And he melts my heart when he says "Mom, me snuggle you?" Two can be exhausting, but it also one of my favorite stages. They fight and love with all they have. To quote Tigger "It's GRRRRRRRRRRRRReat!

Monday, November 10, 2008

"Chores are just not my favorite part of Life"

I love being a Mom, but there are times when I wonder how we are all going to make it! Friday was one of those days. I had been fighting with Isaac all day over chores. He DID NOT want to help. Finally he said "But Mom, chores are just not my favorite part of life!" I had the hardest time not laughing! What can I say? Not my favorite either!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Blessing Day



Well yesterday was Nicholas' blessing day. We decided to bless him at home with just our parents and siblings, my grandparents and a couple of close, not sick, friends (in other words a small group) to try to avoid germs. We are trying really hard to avoid RSV. Anyway, it was a wonderful day. Mike gave Nick a beautiful blessing. I love my husband he's the best. And my boys. How many mom's are lucky enough to get 5 boys?!? And I always love having my family around. I really treasure the time I get with my Grandpa. He's 82 now and who knows how much longer we will be blessed to have him around. I tell you though, Grandma Beverly has been a blessing. Her love and attention has breathed new life into grandpa!

It was kinda funny to realize that my brother Stephen (who Nicholas is named after) was also blessed at home! We named him after Stephen for several reasons, but who knew that they would have this in common too! They are both the fifth child. Stephen and I are 10 years apart, Stephen and Tyler are 10 years apart and Tyler and Nicholas are 10 years apart! We've also named each of our boys after someone special. Someone that we want them to be able to look to as an example of goodness and love. Someone that they can try to be like, and Stephen is certainly someone who is all of those things. I love my brothers. I guess I've been lucky in my life to be surrounded by boys! Of course I would never make it through a day without my sister. (Or my mom!! Of course the list could keep going, and going!)
Yesterday as we were driving to Church Matt said "girls are lucky because they get to be mom's." And that pretty much sums up mylife. I'm lucky to be a mom! Aunt Mary, Kyle and Nick!
Uncle Danny

Uncle Paul and Jonathan

Grandma Kathy and Don


Angel Jamie

Sammi the little mom


Brynlee the babysitter



Huh? Everyone else on the couch was all cozy so Mary decided to be cozy with Danny!

David and Sinda


Travis
My wonderful Grandpa and Grandma Beverly




Grandma and Grandpa Staten



Kami and Jamie, my life support's!


Melissa

This was such a great day! I Love my little Nick!