Annual Pumpkin Patch Escapades

Matt has been enjoying piggy back rides from big brother.  This started on the trampoline, and has spilled over into the hallway.

For FHE, we made our annual pilgrimage to the J&K Farms pumpkin patch.  They are the nicest people out there!  And you can't beat the prices.  We got all 7 pumpkins plus some decorative ones for $14.  Totally worth the drive out past Laurel.  If you go, it is on the road between Laurel and Red Lodge (but it is just outside Laurel -- turn left after mile marker 50).  Our tradition is:  Pick your pumpkin, then go to Pizza Hut!  The people at Pizza Hut always get really big eyes when we walk in and tell them there will be 7 people dining all at once, and most of them are under age 9.  It was 6:30 by the time we got to the restaurant, so the kids were ready to revolt if we didn't get some food inside them, and quick.  So we did, then they went into a carb coma, and everybody was fine!

Here are some pics from our adventures:

Andrew tried to hide, but I found him.

Walking was not easy in the patch.  Matt tripped just about every other step.  He became very familiar with he ground.  Here is one of Joey's (Matt went tumbling down right after this):

Matt carried his load several feet before dropping it!

Matt found several that he scattered around the patch.  He didn't quite know what to think of this activity, but he definitely liked it.  The pumpkin patch was in disarray after he left.

I told the kids to go look around, and stand by a pumpkin with their hand up when they found one they liked.  This was for crowd control, mostly.  Grace was (again) the only one who listened:

Joey cutting his pick:

Joey was happy with his final decision:

Andrew found a small one, but traded it for a larger one from the greenhouse:

Andrew added to the load, but Dad was able to handle it.  Andrew was hungry:

Can you tell who this Batman is?

Matt had to get in on the action.  Whatever big brothers do, Matt does, too:

Andrew looked dazed and confused.  Not sure why:

Joey fit very nicely in the "cockroach":

Grace fit very nicely in the "witch":

First try for a family pic was the best, but...

I thought this one was hilarious:

This one is cute.  He sat still very nicely for Daddy.

See you again next year, J&K!

Derma-Bond and "The Field"

 Today in church, Matt tripped right in the middle of Sacrament meeting and split his chin open on one of the pews.  It bled for over half an hour, and wouldn't stay together.  A couple of the doctors in our ward looked at it, and one of them (thanks again, Dr. Jake T!) took him back to his dental office and glued him back together.  Here's a picture of the finished product (much, much better than it looked earlier!). 

 ***

We had a great potluck after church, and since we still had a few ounces of energy left, we walked a few blocks over to the field.  The boys rode their dirt bikes and we walked.  It's a great place to explore and climb.  The kids took a few spills, Matt almost didn't make it up one of the hills (Andrew helped him up the rest of the way), but we had lots of fun.  Even Ben was messing around in his suit.

And that's why he goes through suits so fast.

The Weekend

We didn't do a whole lot this weekend, which is the way I like it.  Next weekend won't be that way.  I've got Symphony, Haley and Dad have Temple Grounds cleanup, then Ben has to cook everyone breakfast, then Haley goes to a special leadership training, and Ben goes to a different leadership training, then I go back to Symphony.  And that's just Saturday.

So, needless to say, I enjoyed a relaxed weekend this week.

We did a little cleaning, a little playing, and a little cooking.  A little of some things is better than a lot of everything.

The kids helped out.  Matt always wants to help with everything.  "Mommy, I help you," he always says.  It will wear off.  But it does come back -- Andrew is now always wanting to help Dad fix stuff.  He was wearing his tool belt all weekend.  He proudly told me what you are supposed to put in each spot, and what each little contraption is used for.  He's really excited to help Uncle Sam put in Grandma Jane and Grandpa Jerry's new deck next week.

 (A little play time)

***

Matt hasn't gotten his spacial reasoning skills yet:

 Neither have I.  I don't know why I can't tell how much of something will fit into a container.  I always have to ask Ben.  (This is Butternut Squash soup for Sunday's potluck.)

***

We made baked potatoes and soup for dinner.  Halfway through, Grace and Matt decided it would taste better sitting outside on their new bench.  Grace is such a little mommy.  She had fun feeding Matt.

Then she had fun eating another potato with mustard.  I know -- gross.  But it was her idea, and she loved it, so no problem here!

Mentor

Lately, all we hear from Matt is "No, I do it!!!"  That is what Gracie heard from him when I asked her to put the silverware away.  She was more than happy to teach him how.

Last night, as Matt got into bed, he started crying about something.  Joey said, "Don't worry, Matthew -- tomorrow is Grandpa Day!"  That's all it took to get him to stop crying.  Ben said, "Isn't it great when the kids can help each other?"  It is great.  That's less work for us.

***

We played a game of UNO last night for FHE.  After the first game, Ben got a call from someone, so Haley, Andrew, Joey, Grace and I played another by ourselves.  I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.  I love to play cards with Grace.  As we were getting to the end of our game, things were getting exciting.  We were all trying to play our "draw 2" and "draw 4" cards, our "skip you" and "change direction" cards.  Grace didn't have a clue what she was doing, but out of nowhere she said, "Giant mushroom!  Maybe it's friendly!  Friendly mushroom (she then started bowing to the giant mushroom)..."  We almost busted a gut.  It was hilarious.

A New Perch for Garbage Day

It was another beautiful Garbage Day.  The "Grass Man" always comes in the morning while I am making breakfast and packing lunches.  Standing by the window is not good enough for Matt.  He insists on being outside.  But since I am otherwise engaged in meaningful work, it is now Andrew's job to sit with him on the front steps.  Matt decided to get comfy this time with some chairs.  They ate their breakfast and patiently waited until the show started.  Soon, they were joined by the others.

Matt is so excited when the garbage gets dumped every week -- time after time -- again and again.  It's truly the highlight of his week.  Well, besides Grandpa Day, that is.

***

Matt had one of those days.  Every time I turned around, he was busy doing something.  Not always something naughty, but always something.  Here, he had all 4 of our Firefly toothbrushes on the counter in the dark.  He had them all going at the same time.  I couldn't get a picture of all 4 of them, but it was quite a light show.

***

For all of you who haven't tried it yet, go to Billings Best Yogurt.  It is super fun -- my kids love it!  It's a do-it-yourself frozen yogurt shop that is over by the new movie theater.  They have great prices (they charge by weight -- of your yogurt, not you!).  It's a really fun night out with the family!

Blog Trouble

I'm having trouble uploading pictures onto our blog because of a new program on our computer.  We'll hopefully get it fixed pretty soon.  So, no pictures until then.

Maybe I'll give you a union update.  For background on the Union/Management conflicts and history in my house, click here and here.

The Union's Steward has been especially busy lately.  He has grown more demanding in his requests, and has added power words to his vocabulary.  These include, "Dat's MINE!", "Now!", "No want it!", "Again!", and "Stop it!"

The Union has sent him on missions to destroy management's assets.  We will be seeking mediation shortly if these days of destruction continue.  Until then, we will document our losses here so that we can request compensation at some later date.

1.  Microwaved a box of dominoes.

2.  Destroyed tiles in the master bathroom.

3.  Turned the Assistant Manager's makeup into a lake.

4.  Tried to destroy kitchen floor with water, barbecue sauce, chocolate milk, and applesauce.

5.  Starts dishwasher with no dishes in it, and stops dishwasher during cycles.

6.  Tried to burn down house with candles.

7.  Tried to cut through the kitchen counter with knives.

8.  Unrolled and destroyed a large roll of outdoor vinyl.

9.  Attempted to short out the electrical system by sticking a paper clip in an outlet.

10.  Poked a hole through one of the living room screens.

11.  Dumped out an entire bottle of brand-new shampoo.

12.  Almost destroyed the kitchen counter and table by drawing all over them with marker.

Rest assured, this list will continue to grow.



Joey or Matt? Who is who?

 People always comment on how much Joey and Matt look alike.  I usually don't see it until I look back at pictures.  I was adding Matt's picture to a collage of the other kids, and I stepped back to look at it.  I couldn't believe how much they look alike.  But I think he's a good mix between Andrew and Joey.  His baby pictures look a lot like Andrew, too.  Can you tell who is who?

Laser Tag Injury and A Naughty Little Boy

I really promise I'm not a bad blogger.  I'm going to be better and do this more often.  I think Opera rehearsals are sucking the life out of me...

Andrew and Joey went to their friend's birthday party last week.  Andrew came home and told me that his shoulder hurt.  Now, I don't ignore my kids' serious injuries, but I do usually wait until they complain more than once about something.  Otherwise I'd be treating every boo boo all day long.  When Andrew came back again, and told me it hurt, I decided to take a look.  I guess it really did hurt!  That is quite a bruise.  He was proud of his war wound.  That must have been some game!

I'm pretty sure you can all guess who the naughty one is going to turn out to be.  Here is the mastermind behind all my troubles.  When Grace goes to preschool, it's just the two of us.  Weird.  I haven't had just one kid at home for almost 6 years, even if it is just for 3 mornings a week.  So when I take a shower, he lines up all of his goodies (usually a bowl full of dry cereal, apple juice, a banana, his tiger, and his "dee dee" -- blanket) and he sits down to watch Clifford.  I usually find minimal damage afterwards.

 But today there I was, minding my own business, when Ben called to me: "Um, honey, you better come see this!"  I knew I was in for trouble. 

I entered my bathroom, where Matthew had taken out all of my make-up -- you know, the expensive Bare Minerals stuff -- and dumped some of it into the sink.  But that wasn't the worst part.  He had taken the plastic container that I use to store it, filled it up with water, and then submerged the rest of it carefully into the container.  And, of course, he had taken all the lids off first, so it was completely ruined.  Fabulous.  That's just what I needed.

This is what was still floating after I tried to rescue some of them.  We'll see what happens when they dry out, but I'm thinking they'll be a total loss.

I'm adding this to his tab.  He's got quite a bill running.  I hope he chooses a profession that pays well, because he owes me a lot of money.