Give me something good to eat!!!

Our Halloween season has been AWESOME!!! I had to work today, but I printed off some Halloween color pages for the boys to do while Cynthia watched them today & also left the Halloween sponge shapes in the gelatin capsules that expand when in water for them to do too. My friend at work covered my last patient so I could come home & get the boys ready :)
Our ward party was tonight & it was really great!! We had it at a nearby elementary school & it was a ward/community party. Chili cook off, bounce house jumping, water tank dunking, trunk or treat fun time :) So many people in the community came out & it was great!!!




I switched it up tonight & joined Sammy in some indian unity :)

Sean didn't have a costume.. although at the last minute acted like he wished he did.. & of course, likes to act annoyed at me taking pictures. He did that stinky face on purpose! Stinky!!!!

Sean made an AWESOME chili that, i think actually won, but we left early. When we came back after it was over, someone told us they thought his won.. I wouldn't be surprised :) He is a great cook!!!
After the ward party, we went to Sean's mom's neighborhood & trick or treated for a block. When one lady answered the door Sam said.. chocolate milk!! You can always tell what Sam is thinking.. no holding back :) He kept trying to walk into peoples houses too. Oh well.. I guess trick or treating etiquette is a learned thing!
After more trick or treating, we went to my mom & dad's to trick or treat one last house. The boys showed off.. & then we headed home.
Joe.. amazingly enough, did not fall asleep on the way home & is grabbing my hands as I type this.




We carved our pumpkings 5 days ago, so they were looking pretty sad by tonight!
we lit our mickey pumpkin in the house & settled down for the night!
the boys made out like bandits!! The cookie jar is now overflowing with candy & we even got some fun toys too!
Happy Halloween!!!!!

It's Halloween time!!!

Yesterday I had to go into work for a few hours of computer training.. sounds like fun, huh?!
When I woke up.. I found this-
pretty much the cutest thing ever :)
After work, Sean & I took the boys to Dewitt stables, in Mesa, for some fall fun.
Both boys got to ride a pony! I was surprised Joe sat through it! He was ready to get off by the end though.

Sammy was a pro!

He also got to ride a little "train" pulled by a "tractor". When he went out to get in, he went for the flatbed of the John Deer. He was a little disappointed that wasn't what he was riding in!

While Sammy rode the train, Sean & Joe wandered the hay maze.

Then we moved to the bounce house. Sean threw Sammy in through the little door flap & he sat there for a good 3 minutes, watching all the rest of the kids bounce. I'm not sure if he thought he had to wait a turn. We finally had to threaten to take him out before he got up & jumped. When he did though.. he LOVED it :)

2 happy boys!
one BEAUTIFUL Sammy :)


So, after the trying on of many costumes.. we settled on indian for Sammy & pumpkin for Joey. We went to the Dillard's annual Halloween party last night & it was AMAZING!! The food was so great & the decorations were the CUTEST!!! Way to go Dillard fam!! Props to Rock for his awesome costume.. & whichever parent helped do his makeup!
Here is Sean & Sam getting ready...


the feather lasted about 5 minutes. Sam told us he didn't like it so it is lost now. Figures... ! The headband lasted about 3 minutes at the party. You should have seen the fight I put up to get face paint on. "mommy.. make up is for girls!!" "Sam.. this is paint, not makeup". Hard to convince a 3 year old. Oh well.. it kinda made it there!

My mom was kind enough to buy Joey a little horsie costume. That lasted about 10 minutes before the constant whining began. I realized it was a little too hot for him & it was too small for Sam, so the horsie will have to make some other little boy cute, another year. Luckily, Sammy's pumpkin costume from last year was readily available.
He made one, adorable pumpkin!!!
Since my boss went to Egypt earlier this year & brought me back a remnant of the culture.. I couldn't let it go to waste :)
2 parties down.. 1 more to go !! Happy Halloween :)

When we're helping, we're happy :)

This week we have had ALOT of "home" time. The boys have been sick, & to spare the people around us of also becoming sick, we've opted to spend time hanging around the house. Consequently, my boys need to be entertained!!!!
We made some pumpkin pull apart bread last night & it was SOO yummy!!! Click HERE for the recipe.

My helpers

my boys LOVE to stand on the chairs next to me & put their little hands into EVERYTHING!!!! I love them standing next to me though :)

Sam also got to help make a Halloween craft of his very own. A spooky skeleton...
Today we colored ghosts. Tomorrow.. new soup recipe :) Love trying new things & having my boys "help" me :)

silly

"Sammy... Sammy?!"
sound asleep :) Evidence, once again, that my children sleep in odd places.

Heavens me.. can I handle 3?!

Yes, yesterday our Sammy turned 3 years old. We are having a party for him next weekend, so yesterday we just looked for ways to have fun.
The Dillards & Grandma Lindblom went with us to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch & Sammy had SOO much fun!! His awesome cousins helped him play all the games he could want!!


He even got some tickets to get a prize with!
Grandma & Aunt JoDee

As the same with every time we've been there, Sam is not interested in eating, only playing games. I'm glad all I got was a personal pan pizza. Me, Joe & Sam all shared it!
The only way that Sam actually ate was that Grant & his friends stopped to eat. My Sammy thinks he is way bigger than he really is. I thought it was funny that he wanted to hang out with the 11 year old kids.
Granty & his friend


Grandma & Josey took turns blowing kisses to each other :)

We are so lucky to be near cousins so Sam can have lots of fun being with them!!!

After we got back, Tiffany & David came over, & the boys ran around, playing all afternoon.
Then Grandpa Johnson & Uncle Justin joined us to grill hamburgers for dinner. We tried a new dessert recipe yesterday, so Sam blew out a candle on his "brownie".


Sam was worn out from all the fun & I'm glad he had a good time!

It's hard for me to believe that my boys are getting this old, this fast. Sammy has always done everything early. He was born early, got teeth early, walked early.. & now it seems like he is acting like he is 12 when he is 3. Today we went out to take some treats to friends in the ward & Sam was being sassy to me. So I turned around & had a good few minute conversation about how he needs to always be kind & people will be more willing to help him do things if he is nice. I started to sing the primary song "I want to be kind to everyone..." & he rolled his eyes, turned away & had this look on his face like- Oh, my gosh, my mom is so crazy! I couldn't believe it!! For a second, I looked at his little face & I was seeing a teenager look back at me. I felt my life flashing before my eyes. How could he know how to be this stinky??!!! I could just see the day that he tells me how uncool I am, or to not embarrass him in front of his friends & it made me so sad. I actually started to cry. But- my Sam is also a sensitive boy & when he saw what his reaction did to me, tears welled up in his eyes & he furrowed his brow & that look didn't leave his face until we made up & I told him how much I love him, but he still needs to be kind.
What happened???!!! It was like, he turned 15 yesterday instead of 3. I either need to grow a seriously thick skin, or have a girl to help balance out this family!!!!!

Sammy is 3!!!

not much has changed :) Happy Birthday Sam.. love you!!

couch potato

I walked into the family room to this...







nothing like a Sunday afternoon snooze! It seriously took me a minute to steady the camera cause I was laughing so hard. :)

spice it up

I have 2 spiceracks. One I keep up on the counter, & another under the counter. Don't ask why, it just is. Joe's favorite past time lately is getting into the spice rack under the counter & taking out all of the spices & carrying them to various odd locations throughout the house. It is not uncommon to find fennel seed in the bathroom, or oregano in the office. Joe also has a problem with being little. He cries at your legs until he is either on the counter, or in his highchair, right next to me in the kitchen. When I took this picture, he had just been sucking on paprika, which apparently he thought was good, cause I had to stop him. Crazy kid!

Tada!

I decided to get off my butt & actually start making all the crafts & recipes that I've been eyeballing. So today I started a new blog all about it, just to ensure that I actually follow through with my commitment. At first I was just going to make it cooking only & then I could call it Julia & Julia :) j/k- but decided to expand it to other things I'm doing too. Check it out HERE.

crafty time

I've been feeling a little ambitious lately & decided I wanted to make a cuter cover for the changing table. So I asked my insanely talented mother to help me with some sewing 101. She always tried to help me when I was younger, but I never really cared too much about sewing. I'm just glad she is willing to revisit teaching this impatient daughter :) So...

Before: the white plain cover...
after: the cutey patootey fun cover :)

I was so proud of myself. Minus a few stitched & measuring, I did it all by myself ( I can hear Sam in my head telling me the same thing) with my mom coaching me over the shoulder. I threaded the sewing machine, I hemmed, I put in the elastic.. go me :)

Houston, we have a problem

this may not look like a problem, but...
My boys are getting a little too used to my bed!!!! Some mornings we wake up with Sam in between us & are both puzzled at how he got there. Neither one of us seem to remember him crawling into our bed in the night. Joey is cutting a tooth & waking up at the crack of dawn, so sometimes I just tuck him under my arm & try to catch a few more zzz's. They love cuddling together once they are both in the bed. We went & window shopped at Macy's tonight & while we were checking out the beds, we joked that we should just get a queen for the boys to share & then they would actually both sleep in their room. Despite being kicked in the face & inched out of my own bed... aren't they the cutest ? :)

slugger

The past 2 weeks relief society has had softball on Wednesday nights. I wanted to go last week, but was late from work & tired & had to work the next day way early. So tonight, even though I was late from work, I decided I was gonna go anyways.
By the way.. it has been YEARS since I played! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE softball, which is why this is so sad!
Most wards didn't have enough people for teams, so the whole stake was scattered into teams. Our ward combined with another had a few extra, so me & another girl volunteered for the other team in the first game.
I was finally up to bat! I hadn't done it in forever, so my heart started pounding. Success.. I can still do this! A single. I sat on first waiting for the ball to get hit again. As I got closer & closer to second, I could just feel myself slipping through the muddy field. It happened in slow motion. I "slid" as I like to tell people now, into 2nd head first. As it was happening, a nice choice word escaped my lips.. which made it even more horrible. My hands reached for the base. Don't worry, I was safe. Humiliated beyond description, but safe. I'm glad I have a good sense of humor & laughed about it throughout the night, cause that is a topper for embarrassing moments.
The rest of the game was me, trying to remember how to play, & reminding my 30+ year old body how to sprint to the bases. Man, I feel old!!!!