Opening Geotrax

Blake is so much fun. And Peter with his fanfare! Andrew is very helpful.

Happy Birthday Blakers

Blake turned 2 yesterday. We had a great day filled with new toys, friends, and lots of sugar.

Sunday=Funday

I lazily stayed in bed this morning for about thirty minutes snuggling with Blake. He came up to my bed and said, "Come up bed. Come up bed." I grabbed him, pulled him up beside me, and got in some cuddles. Since he's been a bit sick he'll snuggle with me more than usual. After I was done being lazy in my bed I began doling out some suprise tickles and stealthily placed peek-a-boos. He has the cutest giggle.
After I finally rolled out of bed I decided it was a good Sunday to make muffins. Randall bought me an oversized muffin pan recently (if you remember pics from my last birthday) and I enjoy putting it to its intended use. Unfortunately, I think I might be the only person that shares that sentiment in this house. Randall will eat the muffins and enjoys them at times but it's not his favorite. The other boys just pick at them. So mostly I will eat a muffin pan of muffins when I bake them and therefore try not to bake them too often.
This morning I made blueberry muffins. I ended up adding too many blueberries (new recipe) and had almost a clean layer at the bottom of the muffins. I thought it was delish. I flipped it upside down on a plate, took out a spoon, and enjoyed the hot gooey goodness.
The morning passed by quickly. I did some dishes, got ready for church, failed at my attempts to have the boys take naps (like always), and made some sloppy joes for lunch with yummy sliced carrotts on the side. The carrotts were almost swallowed whole and though I received high praise for the sloppy joes ("Mom, this is so good. You are now a better cook than Uncle Kendall.") they were hardly touched until threats were flung.
And now to church! The boys were doing really well... and then... Blake threw up. LUCKILY, it is something that we can tell is coming and I got the first bout in his sweater while Randall wisely grabbed a plastic baggie. When Blake satisfied his bodily need of expulsion, Randall grabbed Blake, the baggie-o-puke, I grabbed the sweater, and waved goodbye to Randall and Blake as they went home for the rest of the meetings. I was quiet jealous.
It wasn't until Sacrament meeting was wrapping up that I realized all of my Primary things were still in the car. "Oh well," thought I. Not so much "oh well". Two minutes before Primary started the first counselor leaned over and whispered, "So, we're going to go ahead and give you all of sharing time to practice the songs for the Primary Program." To quote The Wedding Singer: Things that would have been good to know YESTERDAY! But even that heart attack ended up turning out just fine. I came up with a good game that allowed us to get through all the songs with reverence and excitement (a rare and valuable combination that is hardly achieved in room full of children).
After church finished, after my voice had resigned its position, I had choir rehearsal. Our choir is very newly formed (we haven ow had two rehearsals) and the songs are crazy hard for a ward choir. But eventhough I feel completely inadequate as a Soprano, it was really fun. Peter and Andrew behaved themselves and the practice sailed by.
Randall picked us up from church (oh, and yes Blake is fine. Well, fine enough.) and I set to work on another load of dishes and a batch of mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are my most favorite food and I enjoy making them tasty-tasty. I did not dissapoint myself. We took the food and the fmaily across the parking lot to a ward members apt and had a potluck. We ate Pumpkin Brains (that was a new and yummy experience for me) and enjoyed the company. The kids took most of the attention because, well, they're cute... and loud. And cute. That's the second food invite we've had since moving here (not counting family). It was a lot of fun. The home had three large bookshelves with one shelf full of books that I have mostly read and I'm certain I will be borrowing the ones I have not.
And that's my Sunday. The kids are in bed. Randall is watching baseball. Andrew is fighting to never sleep. And now I will work on finishing up the book I have been reading. Adeiu.

Striking

Tonight we had our ward Halloween Party. It was very fun. We ended up getting there almost thirty minutes but didn't really miss anything. Peter was dressed as a black ninja. Andrew dressed as Ben 10 (a character from Cartoon Network, I believe), Blake was a pirate, Randall was a wizard, and I was Carmen Miranda or The Chaquita Banana woman (whichever.) Peter and Andrew ran around doing carnaval games. Blake more or less wandered. When it was time for Trunk or Treating I took Blake around. It's fun when your kid gets what the whole TorT thing is all about. The first car we went to Blake took the candy and iddn't want to put it into the bag. After the second car he realized he didn't have enough hands to hold the candy and the bag. By the third car it clicked: every car had candy. He was a very polite and excited boy. We went from car to car saying some version of "Trick of Treat" and always said "Thank you" as he attempted to place each candy into his bag all by himself. It was a great time. Randall passed the candy from our car.
I had a lot of "Oh he's so darling. Oh he's so cute. Oh look at him. Arrrrrgh." It's always nice. Though, selfhisly, I will say that the best compliment of the night was directed toward myself. Someone came up to me and told me that if there were a costume contest I would win for Most Striking Costume. I've never heard of such a category but it kind of blew me away to have the work striking used. I had a few people from the ward take pics of my costume (er, I guess of me) so maybe I'll try to get one posted. I took a picture on my phone of Andrew and Peter.
I really wanted to take a family photo when we got home (since we had forgotten to take one there) but Blake threw up in the car. It was quick way to destroy a pleasent evening. It wasn't really suprising, though. But have you ever tried to take apart a kid seat to wash all the parts? Man, his ages seat is so blasted difficult. I was in charge of carrying Blake (still attached to the seat) up the stairs and peeling his clothes off, and getting him washed and dressed and putting the boys to bed. Randall took care of cleaning the car and began the washing machine. Team work! We make a pretty good post-puke team.
So, when all was said and done it really was a great night and I'm glad we were able to participate and enjoy everyone's hard work. There were a lot of great costumes.
Mine was the best.

Andrew's brilliant

If I have not already told you a million times, Andrew has been reading at a higher level than his older brother for most of the summer. He eats up words. I love this video because he not only reads words but he puts emphasis on words and phrases.

Opposites

Favorite pic of me ever.

Dumbest pic of me ever.

B-ball court fun

I am grateful for any time spent outside my hell-hole of an apartment (and yes that sentence has already been edited for content). I found the time and sanity to take my boys outside to run a muck. They're just so blasted CUTE! I just need to remember that sometimes.

Phone picture

In a moment of vanity I began taking pictures of myself. "What Sara? You? Vain? Taking pictures of yourself? That's unheard of!" I know. I know. But sometimes I try to get out of my recluse shell and share a bit of myself with the world. The important question here is, which picture is the best?

Playing with the boys

I had been so busy with the Roadshow the past few weeks (oh, I was in charge of our wards roadshow) that when I looked at m pics over the last month I was suprised to see that I had taken so many pics of the kids. I almost feel like I haven't spent any quality time with them since I'd been so stressed and

mentally occupied with the roadshow. But, I guess I at least did a few things with the boys. Not terribly exciting, we went to Costco. But, it can be exciting when you're four and almost two I suppose. Isn't blake just the most adorable thing? I gave my white fuzzy hat to a boy in my ward because I hardly wore it (though it looks best on Blake) and he has gotten quite a bit of attention. Funny. Blake is also smelling a red flower just outside of the gym. He has gotten into the habit of always grabbing a flwer before we go to the car. He tries to sniff it and enjoys the non-existant aroma. He's going to be 2 in less than a month. Woah. Oh, you might also notice in the Costco picture that I cut Andrew's hair. To which Randall commented, "Aw, I miss his long hair." I guess I can't please everyone.

I did take the boys to a local park a few times in the last month, since the weather has cooled a bit. They all like to swing at the same time. They like One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to... GO! with a big push. They also like when I chant Three little monkeys swining in the swings, teasing their mommy, "You can't push me! No you can't push me." Along comes mommy, as quiet as can be, and PUSH those monkeys high up in that swing. Oh yah, I'm clever.

An outing with the little 'uns

Inspired by my bf, I took a trip with Andrew and Blake to the outlet mall. To my surpise it was the same outlet mall I grew up with in CA. It was so much fun to go shopping with my children and take a trip down memory lane.

A couple highlights of the rendezvous was going to Build-a-Bear and finding a Texas Longhorn stuffed animal in full football gear. Blake never wanted to let him go. I also got to re-try on a dress that I had tried on in Houston with Jess. I ultimately decided it was too short when running after children. But I learned that I need to get myself a wrap-around dress one of these days. What a great and simple design for a dress.

Though not pictured, we spent a lot of time at the Rainforest Cafe looking at all the cool animals. Blake kept finding this aligator pen and then sitting in the stroller ready to leave. Andrew really liked the big aligator that would randomly jump out of the water and snap at you. My favorite was the Big Fat Hissee Fit snake candies where all the snakes were beheaded: poor snakes.

Too much fun. Thanks bf for helping me get out and have some fun with my children.

I PASSED!

So it has been five weeks since I tested for my AFAA but didn't want to blog about it until Iknew I passed. AND I PASSED! So I can now tell you all.

When I got my job as a group fitness instructor I knew I needed to be certified to teach. They allowed me to start working with just my CPR but informed me that I needed to become certified as a groupd fitness instructor. I was originally planning to wait until January when they are coming to Dallas but a friend of mine, Jess, asked if I wanted to take a weekend trip to Houston and get it done earlier. A roadtrip? With no kids? With a friend? At someone's nice house? With nice food? With no kids? Sign me up!

We got our books to study about a week and a half before testing and crammed! It was hard to find time to study and Jess and I were sharing the materials. But we did our best, kissed our kids and husbands goodbye, and started our four hour drive to Houston. We stayed at Jess' in laws' home. It was beautiful. And boy, they could cook! The testing was in the morning. We got there on time and signed in. We were there for about 9 hours, I believe. They prepped us for the individual written test (100 multiple choice) and the group and individual practical testing. As a group we had to demonstarate a warm-up, a cardio segment, propper weight-lifting technique for each major muscle group, and proper stretching or each major muscle group.

It was quite the whirlwind and with only a week and a half to study I was very nervous that I hadn't passed. But WOOHOO! I DID! And, so did Jess. *smile*

While in Houston we had pedicures done, went shopping, and even went to High School football game (pictures above). Talk about Texas being serious about their football: the stadium was HUGE!

It was just the perfect weekend. Thanks so much Jess. Let's find another excuse to do it again.

Spur of the moment

Blake: just chillin' watchin' his bro' Andrew: getting ready to ride

There he goes! He jumped up and down after each ride. He was so excited, and a bit cold.

BAM! He's so cool!

Just when I think I am getting good at living without, saving money, being careful and cautious, I go and throw money away on a spur of the moment thrill. *sigh*

Now that I've put my sad regrets out there let me just tell you how much fun this was! I took the boys (Andrew and Blake) to the mall so they could play in the play area. I thought we'd just take a walk around the mall and then ended up there long enough that I thought maybe I'd be a little bad and throw a couple bucks at Sonic to hold my kids over until we get home. (How lame is that rationalizaion? I could just go straight home: they'd live.) So as we were walking around the food court i saw this store called Adrenaline. It's this cool boarding shop that APARENTLY has a wave maker (I don't know what it's really called) in the middle of the store. I've seen Vans stores with skate parks inside but I've never noticed this before! I was so excited so I shuffled my kids inside the store. An employee was bustin' some sa'weet moves and the kids just kept saying, "Aweseome!" I started talking to another employee about how cool that was and he looked down at Andrew and told me he was tall enough to go inside. I couldn't believe it. Before I knew, I paid the store twenty bucks and tossed my kid into a thirty minute surfing lesson.

I was already feeling bad spending a couple bucks and here I go throwing out twenty. Then, since we were there for even longer, I still bought them food at the food court. Then I bought Randall his anniversary gift.

I should never go to the mall. Maybe I should just never leave my home.

Buuuuuuuuuut.... Woah How cool, right!? My little dude, my little surfer dude crashing out on the waves and coming back for more. A mother could not be more proud. He's so going to be spending summers at Grandma's house and living at the beach when he's older. Is it bad that that is my dream for him? I don't know: he just seems like that type of kid. So in typical fashion I'll probably steer thim that way. Am I perpetuating a stereotype? Do I care? How cool is this!?

About Peter, for Peter, something something

Okay so I came up with the arrow idea so he could look like an Avatar, but these pictures are all Peter!

Isn't the above picture perfect? Look at his little arms?

Another post from me, for me, about me

Waiting at BJ's for a seat.

Relaxing by the pool. Giving my sister the famous Platypus face.

My sister does this thing with her lips she calls platypus. Google a picture of a platypus if you're interested and you'll see the striking resemblance. My sister is hilarious. She is a photographer and has managed to take pics with herself and many others giving her this unique look. I keep telling her she needs to make a collage or something of platypus faces. I feel honored to now have one to add to her collection. I think I should have worn lipstick. The pic with me and the phone reminds me that I'm getting older. I see so many wrinkles, and my blasted neck wtih all it's folds. But I say that in minor annoyance. I find it sort of fascinating to watch my face age. I'm not really complaining about my wrinkles: sure it'd be nice if my face looked twenty-one forever, but then I'd be twenty-one forever. Honestly, life is an experience and I'm glad I'm still at it. So these wrinkles are more like my battle scars of life. I'm so optimistic, eh?

Anywhoo, thank you sis for taking pics of me. I like myself. LOL

Peter's first day of First grade and the Tooth Fairy

Daddy driving Peter to school. What a Dad!

Don't ask me... this is ALL Peter. I don't know where he gets it from. LOL

Bonus picture of Andrew saying, "Geegeegeegee."

I don't know that I have any good first day of school stories. All went smoothy. Peter knew exactly what he wanted to wear. He was very excited about getting dressed for school. Isaw a couple of his old classmates after school and they exclaimed to me, "Peter got a haircut!" I guess he looks different. teehee

OH, Peter lost his second tooth on the third day of school. It's spectacular. So let me tell you about the Tooth Fairy.
The Tooth Fairy lives up in the sky. She comes down to your home. She has two pockets. The top pocket is where the teeth are held. The bottom pocket is for her money. She is very strong. She has to be very strong because she is smaller than a tiny butterfly. This is what Peter told Randall and myself. Awesome. I love my kid.

We bought a couch

Check out this kids nostrils. craaazy.

Peter doing his camera magic. Me, sweating.

Isn't Randall handsome... I mean... keep on task, Sara.
So we bought a couch. Wow. It changes the whole feel of our living room. It's more formal than our futon, ack, our futon. Our futon was very functional as we had to sell our furniture in ID to keep us through our unemployed period (in case anyone wondered how we had money, the current lack of worldy possession is one of the answers.)

But we've been in TX now for 6 months and I deceded it was time to have my apartment feel more home-like. (I know, your home is where your heart is, but I don't consider my apartment my home: it's not mine. When I live in a place where I can make my own repairs, then I will call it my home.) Anyway, I went on Craigslist and found this fantastic couch. Yay for Craigslist. We can now seat our entire family. I could actually have someone come over and I can see them when we talk (it's hard to chat with someone when you sitting the same direction.)

So the conclusion is this: most of the time you live and work and save so you can get your house, have a down paymet, pay off debt, biuld your savings, etc etc etc. And sometimes you do things for sanity's sake. Here's to my sanity. I feel I've earned it.

Tooth Fairy

It finally happened. My big boy lost his first tooth. When he first informed me that

his tooth was wobbly I got teary eyed. My boy is growing up! He starts first grade on Monday and we are all so excited. And now he gets to run around showing his Kindergarten friends (now his first grade friends) his new toothy smile. He sticks his tongue through the hole and whistles something FIERCE! What a KID! And see, his hair is nice and fuzzy for school. So handsome.

Return Missionaries

Ken bo? Magillicuty? I don't know... my relations

Woah. I didn't notice how much they looked alike. It's a baby version of Dad!

Randall is definitely looking at the camera

Blake... teehee... he just makes me laugh.

Randall's parents just finished their second mission to Santa Domingo. On their way back home to ID they purposely made a five hour layover in TX so they could see their family. We met at Red Robin, ate (way too much of course), and chatted (never enough of course). It was so great to be able to see them and talk with them. It will be wonderful to have them around again. It reminds me how wonderful it is to have amazing in-laws. From parents to siblings, Randall's family is the perfect family to be forcefully attached. Welcome home Mom and Dad, I hope your house wasn't too destroyed by us.

Happy Happy Birthday

My 28th Birthday

My birthday finished right. Randall took the boys shopping while I showered and dressed in my new birthday shirt my Mom got for me. Now side note: Mom, if you're reading this, see how it's almost the same? Another side note: My mom got me a shirt but it was too big, so I returned it and ended up getting a shirt that looked a little different, but want my mom to know she did a good job picking out a shirt.

Randall got me the jumbo muffin pan which is the perfect size for tasty blueberry muffins. Andrew got me the yo-yo ball which is awesome because I use to have one but lost it in CA. He also got me the Mokey Love birthday card. Peter got me a very beautiful necklace that I will never take off because it was near impossible to work the clasp. Side note: I know these are just pics of me, but I wasn't the one weilding the camera so don't blame me. Other side note: Kari, here are my 28 pics.