So Thankful.

NOTE: This list I started during Thanksgiving and am just putting up. Yeah. I'm that behind.

I've had a 'thankful list' going in my head ever since I put up the fall decorations and only now have I been able to sit down and write them. Life has been a little hectic around here to say the least.

My husband. He's such a hard worker, fun dad and wonderful person. I can't think of anyone else I'd like to spend an eternity with.

My boys. They make me laugh, scream and cry. They have made me a better person (I think) and are some of my greatest teachers. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time and stop them from growing quite so fast though I can't wait to meet the men that they will one day become.

My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are very few things that I know for certain or can count on in my life, but the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is a constant amid chaos and a guiding light to my life.

My family. I am so thankful that I have never doubted for a second that my family would be there for me when I need them. They say it takes a village to raise a child, well my boys have the best 'village' I could ever think of.

Music. Though I don't get to do enough with it, I am so grateful for music. It can brighten my mood, push me to work harder, and help me to reflect on the eternities. I am grateful to be able to sing and just belt it out when I want (which is usually in the shower or car), sit down at the piano and play a melody or strum something on the guitar.

Modern life. Living in Bolivia showed me how easy we have it. No hand washing cloths, going to the market several times a week or daily due to lack of refrigeration or making every meal from scratch. I have it SOOOOO good and I hope I always remember it.

Working. Even though I've worked from home, I have never had to be away from my boys for the most part. And now I'm even more grateful I am able to work at home doing something I really love, where I get to be creative and allows me a lot of flexibility and do a lot of service for people in the ways of giving to charitable events.

Meeting Santa

For weeks I have been talking to Levi about Santa and what the whole thing is about. He's watched Polar Express who knows how many times so by the time came to meet Santa he was quite excited.

The first time we saw him he was at the Vial/Fotheringham work party a couple weeks back. We all waited in line patiently after some fun activities. Ok, Max wasn't so patient and he was very skeptical of the man in the red suit.
Levi was pretty focused and excited.
While this shot is a little blurry, his look says it all about how he was feeling, in awe. It reminded me of when he met Spiderman at the 4th of July parade. He was so excited before and after but completely in shock and speechless during the whole thing.
And guess what Santa brought? Cars, from Cars of course! How did he know?

Hilarious Levi Part V?

"I'm a hooker mom, I'm a hooker!!" (he had a hook in his hand while putting him in the car at church. I almost died of laughter and wondered if anyone happened to overhear)

Dressed up as a knight with armor, hat and sword Levi realized he didn't have his horse (oh, by the way, he had put a crown on me, just to keep with the theme). So he ran off to get it saying, "I will get my horse. I will be back as short as I can" It's not super hilarious but I am forever amazed with his complete sentences and thoughts. They make me smile.

Levi's going off about superheros right now, despite the fact he's totally dress up in a full 'knight in shining armor' costume. He's been taking for several minutes already, so here's what he's saying:
"Superman lives on the red planet. Superheros don't be persons. They're superheros. Spider man is a hero. His webs can make him swing so he can climb up. Flash is a superhero, he's fast. Superheros save people, they're good. They save the day! Wolverine has claws. He scratches people. You're not a super hero. You don't have claws in your arms mom." I wish I could remember the rest of the superhero monologue, I'm sure it was awesome.

Mom: "Levi can you give Max the monkey?" (it was a Curious George that he loves to sleep with)
Levi: "But if I don't have a monkey.........then I won't have a monkey".
Great logic bud.

"Mom, twirl your hair around, and then we will laugh!"

"Elephant's don't fit in houses. They are from the Jurassic Period". I think he's been watching too much Dinosaur train.

"I'm going to use my new sharp teeth" while eating dinner. When asked which ones those were, he pointed to the ones in the back.

Rocket Man

For Levi's b-day he got a huge rocket ship from Grandpa G. that he loved and loved and loved. The boys would put as many toys as they could fit and 'fly to the moon'!
I have no idea how much stuff could fit in such a small space.

Sugar Rush

For the ward Christmas Party I was asked, along with a number of ladies at church, to make a gingerbread house for 'Santa's Workshop' for the kids to see before they saw Santa. I thought and thought about it and came up with nothing. But while Levi and I were playing one of our many games of candyland, I decided to do something with a candyland theme. Off to the computer I went for some ideas and saw some of the coolest candy/cake replicas I have ever seen.

I knew it was more than what they were asking but once I had it in my head, I knew nothing else would do. So with the help of my crafty and clever husband and with some restraint from the kiddos we did it! Though I must admit that by the end of it all I was a little sick of candy for a couple weeks.

All and all it wasn't too tricky, just took a lot of time. Jason was a huge help and did the base along with doing the 'Candy Castle' out of rice crispies. He got way more into it than I thought he would.
Doesn't it look yummy?

It took a couple days to get it all set up and on the last night before the big event, I stayed up till 3 on the finishing touches. I was extremely exhausted and was sick of it all by the end. But when I woke up it the morning and saw it with refreshed eyes I was so happy I did it! Levi and Max were practically drooling when they saw it.

Here's Levi with it at Santa's Workshop. I asked him to point to his favorite part and I totally thought he would point to Gloppy because that's always been his favorite. Guess what he's pointing to? The train set that was set up. Typical.

Check out my other blog for more pics and instructions!

Wishin'

I have always wished for more time in the day but now I'm really wishing I was a vampire and didn't need to sleep. Oh, the things I would do.

Though I have lots of pictures to put up, I have barely any time to edit them or even write this but thought I'd write something for Larry's sake.

Here's what I've been up to:

Trying to keep up with holiday orders. Luckily I have a gal in the ward who has been coming and babysitting several times a week so I can stay on top of things.

I've done two craft fairs/bazaars and have two left this weekend.

Finishing decorating the house, which is mostly done thanks to Jason.

We're working on a candy model of the game Candyland for a ward activity. I might have bit off more than I can chew with that one but Jason is helping and it's been fun so far. We'll see how it turns out. In my mind it is amazing. We'll see what reality brings.

Putting together Christmas packages to send off.

Oh. And this weekend I had to deal with a tooth ache and had a root canal yesterday. I SO hope one of my boys become a dentist. If you saw my face you would laugh. I look like the elephant man. It's kind of gross.

We'll see if I write more later. Just a tidbit. Levi is getting dressed up in his knight costume AGAIN and watching the Polar Express, which is now one of his favorite movies probably because it has a train in it.

Smittin'

Sorry grandparents, this isn't about the boys. Well, not really.

Last night I got to go on a fun date with Jason to get me some shoes and see Harry Potter. I love going out with him, without kids to stress about, just him and I. It reminds me of when we met only it's MUCH better. There isn't any nervousness about me wondering if he would still like me if he knew I was such a grouch in the morning, or if he really knew how impatient and irrational I can be. Or if he'd still love me as much with all my crazy ideas and messes around the house. I didn't have to wonder if he thought I looked good or if I chose the right outfit (even though, yes, it still took me 3 outfits to pick the right one). I knew that he thought I was beautiful. He knows all my horrible habits and faults but yet I know that through all that he still loves me. There is no greater feeling than knowing someone loves you so unconditionally.

When I got married it was a huge leap of faith, especially since we only dated a short while, I had trust issues, and lots of other stuff. But once I made that leap he has shown me every day that it was the right one.

Jason I love you more than you'll ever know. Thank you for everything you do for me. For waking up early with the boys so I can sleep in, for never complaining if I ask you to make dinner, for always making me feel absolutely beautiful regardless how disgusting I feel, for helping me with all my many projects and actually caring, for always driving on road trips. Thank you for always encouraging me to take time for myself, never complaining about a girls night, for making sure I am able to accomplish the goals I set for myself. Thank you for being so wonderful with my family, for letting your career take a backseat so we can help take care of my family. Thank you for not only putting up with your (sometimes) bossy wife, but with her equally bossy mom and grandmother with out much complaint. I know I couldn't handle that as well as you do. Thank you for being so wonderful with the boys, the absolutely love you. And as cheesy as it sounds I am everything I am because of you.

Best. Decision. Ever.



Oh, then after our date night Jason made me watch this. Almost made me cry.

Dance Baby Dance

Me and the boys have a little routine going every day. Levi wakes up pretty early, well, Max usually wakes up pretty late, regardless of the time he goes to bed. He doesn't get up until 9-10 in the morning.

Usually we have a later breakfast after Max wakes up (Levi has a small pre-breakfast to get him going) but then we'll do something bigger for the two boys. After the boys have messed up themselves and the kitchen we'll do a brief kitchen cleanup and then head off for a bath. Yes, we do ours in the morning most days. Sometime in the evening. Sometimes both, it just depends.
Once the boys are done they take their little naked butts to my room where we have a dance party on the bed and get dressed. After the first couple times we did it, Max started insisting on playing the music the minute he saw our cd player.

I love his goofy little face.
Classic Max. Note the pencil in hand.
Brothers. This is Levi's interpretation of putting his arm around someone. Borderline choker hold. Max loves it though.

An Apple A Day

Two thing my boys love: dress up and apples.

Obsess much??

I don't know how it happened but Mr. Max is OBSESSED with spoons, tooth brushes and any sort of writing utensil. Basically anything he can easily hold in his hand. He carries them around all day and woe to anyone who tries to take it from him.

Here he is at our kids Halloween party when we first got there. Take a look at his left hand, he brought in his yellow spoon. This is one of those battles I didn't want to fight. Sometimes I make him leave it in the car, this time I didn't care so much.
The rest of the party.
Maybe he likes spoons so much so that he can be ready to eat at a moments notice, though many times he just ends up eating with his hands. Here he is "decorating" cupcakes. His spoon you ask? Yeah, he's still holding it.
And he held it all the way home. (Oh, he even slept with it after I cleaned it, it had gotten a little gross. I didn't want to fight that battle either. Maybe another day.)

November Randomness

My brain is completely random. I usually have a million things going on at once and am lucky to ever get anything done on my to do list. So here goes.

We've all been a little sick these days, mostly the boys, though I just started getting a cold. No fun. It better go away quick. Or else. But now both boys have pink eye and for the first time we've had to deal with doing the dreaded eye drops. You should see them run when they see the bottle. It's kind of funny.

I did my first craft bazaar this week and I think it went pretty well even though I was very nervous and stressed about the whole thing. Selling online and selling in person are very different but I think I learned a lot, which will help with my next two I'm doing. I almost only did one but I'm glad I'm doing more because it's a lot of work for just one. I am not really stressed about the ones coming up, which is great. One of the things I liked the most was talking to the people who buy my jewelry. Online it's much more formal. They buy, I make and send and there's not a lot of chit chat. Hopefully their input will help me improve!

Speaking of jewelry making, I was thinking about it and I have NO idea how I was able to do every thing when I was working at the law firm part time, doing what I do now AND finishing school. I am so glad I quit even though at the time I though I was a little foolish for doing it while Jason was between jobs and money was tight. But I was pretty much stressed all the time, making family life pretty unpleasant. So it was either stay with a steady income and be completely stressed and miserable or take a chance to do something I love. I am SOOO glad I took the leap of faith and quit! Now Jason has a job (not his dream job by any means, but a job) and I can do what I want with my jewelry and make some good extra money. I actually make more than I did at the law firm and it's a lot of fun for me. Since I was 15 I have worked and haven't really stopped except for a brief 3 months after Levi was born. I don't know if I could ever not work in some way or another. I am pretty sure I get that from my mom, though she's a much bigger work-a-holic than I am. My sister is too. That probably comes from my grandpa. But I like earning 'my own' money and contributing what I can. Because of it we have been able to pay off the car in a very short amount of time, pay down debt, save for the boys collage/mission funds and for retirement. And a bunch of other random stuff, like a trampoline and a super awesome bedroom set.

This weekend Jason painted the bathroom, which I have been wanting to do almost since we moved here. If you've ever seen it, it was quite a masterpiece. When I was in my early teens it was a summer project for us grand kids. It was painted a kind of teal blue green color with a decorative border about 2/3 the way up that was sponged on in orange. On that it had foam stamp shapes of stars, moons and suns, also in a shade of orange. Not horrible I suppose. I'd grown up with it but it's not exactly my taste. So Jason was wonderful and painted it while I did my bazaar. It is a darker red and I fall in love every time I walk in. We just have to paint the cupboards and figure out what to do with the counter. It's still the original one from when the house was built, a nice mustardy orange. Very 70's.

Max is a sleepaholic. I've been figuring it up and he pretty much sleeps 16-18 of 24 hours in a day, if it's a normal day. It's great and I'm taking advantage of every moment. I don't know how I'm going to get everything done when he decides he doesn't want to nap anymore. I know some of the time he's just chilling in his crib and needs time to wake. But I don't want to interrupt his quiet time.

I have a bunch of Christmas sewing to do. We'll see if I can get it all done in time. If not they'll just be a little late I suppose. On the good side of things I'm mostly done with all the other Christmas presents, but still have a couple people to go and I have assigned several to Jason which I am not in charge of at all. Yeah for delegation!

I think that's all. Oh, my cousin's bridal shower is this weekend, right after a craft fair I'm doing, and I'm in charge of decorating. I'm playing around with some new stuff but so far so good. My house is a mess, like usual, but I was able to fold 2 loads of laundry, do a load of dishes, clean up the kitchen and living room, feed 2 boys and even had time to play some games with Levi. So far so good. Now it's time to try and convince him he needs a nap. Wish me luck!

Halloween

We had a very busy, very fun, Halloween, though I don't have many pictures to prove it. To start off we had a church party where we got our only family picture while we were in costumes. During the week we had a party with some friends, then off to Washington we went to celebrate with "the uncles". We picked some apples, trick-or-treat downtown, a trunk-or-treat and we hit up a number of houses in between. It was lots of fun and Levi got a TON of candy. Max pretty much slept through most of it. That boy loves his sleep.

The ward Halloween party and our only picture of us all in costume. King Jason, Queen Kendra, Sir Levi the knight and his squire Max. When we asked Levi what a squire does he replied 'he squies'. Here is some pics from the fun kids party we threw. They all had a blast (at least it sure seemed like it!)
Drawing.
Games.
Food. Hot dogs and Mac N' Cheese. The lunch of champions.
And we ended with decorating cupcakes.
The girls and Cameron got really into it.
The rest of the kids (all boys)? They pretty much ate candy and frosting then went off to play. They know where it's at!

Noodles

For birthdays around these parts the birthday boy/girl gets to choose their favorite meal for our Sunday birthday bash. I chose my mom's famous homemade chicken noodle soup. She makes the noodles from scratch. They are ah-mazing!

Max got into it and help my mom roll out the dough,
And Uncle Isaac helped him cut it.

Reasons why I love Levi Today

He cleaned off his art table without even being asked (and he did his lunch dishes earlier today too) I was very impressed. Only took hundreds of times reminding him.

I taught him the fine art of thumb wars, which he thought was hilarious.

He's been referring to himself as 'puppy dog' for pretty much the entire day.

Today has been a pajama day because all his cloths are being washed and nothing is cuter than pj's on a little boy, at least in my opinion.

There have been no complaints about the food I have given him today, though I do know the things he absolutely hates and I didn't even bother to offer.

We did flash cards and he read the word "mom".

We also did our insect flash cards and he knew just about all of them, he loves bugs so much.

Today he did 'squishy face, stretchy face' with me when he had gotten close to my face. It was adorable.

It was handy when I needed a glass of water refilled, he went and filled it for me very cheerfully.

I sure love my little man.

While Mommy's Away

He's very passionate about food.

The Great Pumpkin Hunt

This year we went to a new pumpkin patch to search for the perfect pumpkins. This place even had a train, so you know the boys were all over that.

We went on a Saturday and so of course it was packed. The train line was a little longer than the boys would have liked. See how patient he's being??
We finally got aboard and both boys were sort of in shock with the whole experience. In shock in a good way, they loved it.
Guess what Levi did first? Climb hay mountain.
Max was a little scared about the whole thing but Levi (and dad) was there to help.
Then it was time to get to the task at hand. It took Levi a good 10 minutes to find his. Can anyone guess what his favorite color is?
My boys sure liked looking at the bugs. They got a little distracted with them.
While we were on the hunt for a 'Max' pumpkin, Levi found this one for him. According to him, it was 'so teute'
But Max found his own, with a little help from daddy.
A quick shot of the fam. I think both boys are uncomfortable, what with them sitting on all those pumpkins.
Can you guess who's whose?

Our Little Carnivore

Granpa Larry would be so proud.

Sandbox

A Walk

The other day we explored our neighborhood and found leaves, rocks and bugs. Oh and we talked a lot about what a fire hydrant is for.

Simplicity

We went to the park the other day for a fun picnic dinner and playing on the playground. When we got there it was obvious their was a soccer practice going on in the fields, which didn't matter much because all Max and Levi care about are slides and swings. It was so fun to see the boys giggle as they went down the slide and asked to be pushed higher and higher on the swings.

As we were playing I realized how simple our life is right now. Yes, we are busy with all the daily necessities of life but within the next couple of years our lives will revolve around school, homework, soccer practice (or something of the sort) and who knows what else. While I'm sure it will be a exciting time in all our lives, I will miss the simple times when we can basically do whatever we want and just have fun.

My Little Big Boy

One of the great things about having to start my jr. primary chorister calling the very week we started practice for the primary program, leaving me even more clueless than normal, having had zero experience in primary, is that I've been able to sneak Max in to nursery a month and a half early! Jason usually is teaching during the second hour which means I would have to take Mr. Man with me (and wouldn't THAT be a sight?) or find someone else to watch him. As luck would have it there are some amazing women in nursery who apparently like me enough to let me slip him in. Both times I have taken him he hasn't even looked back and has loved it. Tear. I can't believe he's that big.

This is the first picture he made me.

Choosing My Battles

Each person has to choose their battles, especially when it comes to kids. I've been thinking a lot lately about which battles I pick and which ones I don't. I've written them down not to say what's right or wrong but rather just random thoughts and opinions of which I'm sure will change as the years pass.

Battles I've chosen to fight:

Kid Cleaning. I have always made each of the boys clean what they can. Sometimes I want to give up because I could do it 10 times faster but I know it's good for them and hopefully they will be a help to me down the road. Levi is great at putting things away, picking up garbage and toys, 'helping' make the bed, and putting his dishes away. For him it takes a lot of reminders but he does it and usually is pretty happy to help. Max has also just started to put some things away if he knows where it goes, can put laundry down the laundry chute and hand me dishes when he's done eating. He's very proud of himself when he does.

Eating together. I try really hard to have a meal on the table in the evenings and have us eat together more days of the week than not. Sometimes it's more sometimes less but it's always my goal to have that family time.

TV. No, I haven't banned it. Let me tell you the joy I felt the day I realized I could have Levi watch Sesame Street while I laid next to him on the couch. He was 18 months and I was VERY tired and VERY pregnant. Why I hadn't thought of it before, who knows. It was a nice break. I try really hard to limit the time he watches TV in a day. Part of that is often a Spanish learning program and the rest is PBS in the morning. I've found if he watches TV later in the day he's a grump about it and will demand it the rest of the day, it's awful. Now he knows he can watch his shows and then we're done for the day and that's worked out pretty well for us.

Time Outs. I'm all for them. Levi has gotten used to the idea of time outs and is pretty good about sitting there, though it's gotten a little trickier because our time out chair has been claimed by Max who will start screaming if Levi gets in it. I think we'll have to move it for a bit. But after a good 3 minute time out he will have normally calmed down and so have I and we'll talk about whatever it was. Time out's I've found require a lot of patience but for us it has worked so far.

Gospel learning. Anyone ever try to sit with a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 year old and read scriptures? It can be kind of a joke sometimes. We have a great set of Book of Mormon picture books but many times Levi will start some crazy story about them though I think he kind of gets some of it. Who knows what's going on in that little boy head of his. I try really hard to pull a book out once a day, or have a picture to talk about or I'll tell a story or sing a church song at least once, hopefully a couple times a day. Also we are pretty good about prayers, as simple as they might be. None of it's very profound but I think at these ages it's not the depth but rather the repetition that is most important.

Social time. It is my goal to have the boys have 'social time' at least once a week. We offer to baby sit a lot and try to make it to play groups when we can. So if anyone needs a sitter......

Battles I've chosen not to fight:

Bedtime. We do our best to have the kids in bed by 8 but sometimes when 'Nese' is over, or uncles/aunt (which is often) the boys will stay up WAY too late and have a party with them. I'm fine with it because they both usually end up sleeping in a little the next day anyways and they get some fun family time. They can only do this for so long until school will start running our family life.

Me cleaning. If you come to my house there is usually at least one area that's a little 'disorganized', ok probably a complete mess. I've come to realize my house will NEVER be clean, at least to what my 'clean' is. I'm learning to let go a little of having a perfectly clean house all the time. Like that would ever happen. So I don't follow the boys around cleaning or clean 5 hours of the day. Usually I do a big clean in the morning for an hour or so with the boys helping and then I try to clean along the way. Like when the boys are eating, I clean the kitchen a little or taking a bath and I clean the bathroom a little if it's needed. But that's it. Once I've done it for the day, I let go and save it for another time. I'll do a little here and there but that's it. It's been very stress relieving.

Food. I try to give the boys healthy choices and let them decide what they want. If they don't want it or want to finish it, I'm not going to force feed them, but I make a good effort to give them healthy options. My boys hate vegetables. But they love fruit. Levi hates meat (sorry bud, hot dogs aren't meat) but loves mozzarella cheese. He refuses any sort of 'yellow' cheese in fact. Both boys have had their share of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese and processed food, but I've seen them both turn down cookies, soda, candy, french fries.... and BEG for an apple or choose wheat bread over white.

Grandparents. I really do believe in the saying "What happens at grandma's/grandpa's house, stays at grandma's/grandpa's house". I used to care about what was going on with the grandparents like what they were feeding them, having them watch... but I've given up caring. I realized that they can have/do special things with grandparents that they don't do with us but while they're home, they know the rules. I'm just happy they have fun and that's all I need to know.

Shopping with kids. I have a confession. I have NEVER gone shopping with both my kids by myself. I stress out way too much and I just don't want to deal with it. I stress out enough being in a store with both boys and Jason or some one else. I figure there is nothing I need that can't wait until Jason gets home or someone can watch at least one of the kids. I think a lot of this is because Jason worked from home for all of Max's life up until a few months ago so I could leave whenever Max was napping to go do what I needed to do with Levi. Going shopping with 1 kid? I LOVE IT! It is such fun bonding time. But two? No way. I'd rather go grocery shopping at 4 in the morning than put myself through that torture. I'll still go out with them but it has to be something I can just walk away from if there is some sort of break down.

So there it is. We're not perfect but that's ok. Who is?

Bikes and Dinosaurs

We went to a friend's kid birthday party and the boys had a great time and were quickly drawn to some of their favorite toys, can you guess what they were?

Randomness

For the past couple weeks I have been working on editing some wedding pictures I took and made a promise I wouldn't do my picture stuff (both for fam and etsy) until I had them done. So I finished on Friday but have been playing a lot of catch-up around the house.

Saturday we had some friends over for a game night, which was tons of fun and something we need to do more. We showed the back room, where I do my jewelry because they wanted to see 'where the action happens' and it was disgusting. Projects piled every where. Also it has been where I put bags of stuff that needs to go to goodwill and such. I was mortified and I'm pretty sure Jason was too because, let's face it, I'm the big mess maker in that room. So I started cleaning it out first thing yesterday. It's still pretty messy and lots of unfinished projects, but I'm working on it.

Also yesterday I was excited to get a tree in the mail. Ok, it's a vinyl tree, a giant wall sticker for all you who don't know. I don't know why but ever since I started repainting rooms I wanted to get one for a wall. They are huge and can look pretty realistic. I thought I could paint one or something but Jason talked me out of it. So after our bedroom was painted I started seriously looking for one. It took a long time for Jason and I to agree on one we liked. But this one is awesome. It's very lifelike and 7 feet tall and it's going in our bedroom, partly 'hanging' over our bed. I'm still working on finishing putting it up but I'm in love with it. I am positive it is the most expensive decorative thing I've ever bought. Probably 5 times what I've ever spent on anything (I'm cheap.... thrifty and a diy-er to the core)

Last night as I tucked the boys in I thought how big they are growing. I will miss it when Max sleeps normally, without his little butt in the air. It's the cutest thing ever.

Speaking of growing up, Max has FINALLY been put to work around the house. I like to start them early. He will now put things down the laundry chute if I ask. He LOVES it. So yesterday I piled up the laundry by the chute in the kitchen and him and Levi had a blast throwing things down. Also I've discovered he'll give me his dishes afters he's done and put things away (sometimes). He's really starting to understand things now. I am loving it.

Max also loves to do pretty much anything Levi is doing. If he sees milk in Levi's hand? Squeak, 'maaaaa', squeak. Levi has a toy? Squeak, grab, squeak. Levi goes to play in his room? Max is sure to follow. Good thing Levi doesn't mind and is really good about sharing for the most part.

I'm getting pretty excited for Halloween, so are the boys. We've talked a lot about it because I wanted to know what Levi wanted to be so I could do his costume. At first it was Superman. For weeks 'Superman'. He's been on a real superhero kick lately. But after my mom got him a king crown from the Shakespeare Festival he decided he wants to be a king. So Levi might be a king. But he might be a knight. Max is a knight definitely a knight because the costume's done so we'll see what happens with Levi. Everyone will just have to wait and see. Also we put 'spiders' up in the house the other day. Is September too early for Halloween stuff? All I know is both boys LOVE them and point them out to me all the time.

Also, weirdly, I've been thinking a lot about Christmas and how it's coming quickly. I am really wanting to get all my presents done soon because I know I will be busy with etsy stuff the closer it gets. I have a lot of fun sewing projects I'll be working on in the next month or so. I miss sewing. I wish I didn't have to sleep or rest or anything. So much to do, so little time.

We need to paint our bathroom, desperately. I have no idea what color. Part of the room is carpeted in the dark green carpet, making picking a color a little tricky. All I know is I don't want white. I'm a color person. We'll see what we figure out for that one.

This is pretty much how my mind works. Random. The good news? We're having Taco Soup for dinner.

Roxy

We had a friend over the other day and guess who got into the green frosting? It was a team effort I'm sure. Don't they look cute? I couldn't help but smile at those bright green faces.

New Cut and Old Friends

The other day I chopped off all my hair, not that I had a lot to begin with. It's the shortest I've ever had and I'm loving it!

Also that same day I was able to see two of my best friends from high school. Even though we don't hang out a ton because we sort of spread out after we graduated, I still consider them two of my most favorite girls in the world! I SO wish they were my neighbors. We'd have tons of fun.
Go team 'Pup n' Suds'!

Dots

Levi loves it when he gets to wear a tie like dad. "Check it out!"

Play Time

Everythings always funner when you have friends!

Max thought Jackson was hilarious!