Ward Trunk or Treat Party

Our ward trunk or treat party was last Saturday but my SD card reader was destroyed by one of the unknown entities in my house that goes by "I don't know, I didn't do it, or It wasn't me". Anyway, I have purchased a new one and thus the 2 posts tonight of things I have wanted to post for some time now.

Our boys decided a while ago that a good costume idea for them was Alvin and the Chipmunks. I was thrilled with the idea and that we would have a theme going on this year and one that I could practically do with nominal expenses. In discussing which chipmunk everyone would be, there was of course a debate but with a little help from friends, I convinced them which way it would logically go.

Benjamin, our ball of energy that never stops moving, would appropriately be Alvin.

Jacob, our joyful and fun loving child, would be Theodore. This kid loves his victuals as much as my favorite chipmunk and he has the adorable cheeks to play the part.

Noah, as the tallest and oldest would assume the role of Simon. Like Simon, Noah is very factual and loves to please the adults in his life, thus striving to always follow the rules.

Jacob doing the check out my tail pose. He is such a ham!

We gave them little tails, spiked their hair, bought the appropriate colored hoodies, glasses for Simon (although Noah wouldn't leave them on because he said it was too hard to see), used makeup to try to darken their skin, and told them they had to stick together so people would get the full effect. They were adorable and the cutest chipmunks ever.

Promised pictures

Here are the pictures I have been promising.

After 10 weeks of working on our shed, which is actually only Saturdays and the occassional weeknight when Seth gets home before dark, it is finished. This time period also includes 2 weeks of being out of town. Here is my beautiful shed that my husband built with his own 2 hands. It is officially done and we are now trying to decide how best to utilize our additional 200 square feet.


Hannah is growing SO fast. Here are the boys with her.

This is Hannah mauling Jacob. You can see she is just about as long as he is and she had her first vet visit on Friday and weighs 21 pounds at 12 weeks old. I'm SO glad my baby isn't going to grow quite that fast.

Yes on Prop 8

Here's an update for those of you interested.

The Yes on Prop 8 campaign has had about $23 million donated, much to the surprise of the opposition. This weekend, I was able to help deliver lawn signs with Noah. It was a huge boost to go through the neighborhoods and see the support of our neighbors and to say to those who were afraid to have their own sign that they aren't alone. Unfortunately we learned that there was an organized group of opponents who would be going around stealing our signs. Ours was on stolen on Saturday evening. We had been counseled to bring them in but when we went to bring ours in for the night, it was too late. We will be posting a new one and the kids think it is awesome to play find the Yes on 8 signs when we are out and about. I think it's wonderful that we have been able to be involved as a family and that my children understand that there are things we stand up for. They were terribly upset by our sign being stolen. It has been a struggle to help them understand that unfortunately, those who are against Prop 8 are trying to take away our right to freedom of speech.

Anyway, the vote is coming up on election day. I will post results as soon as we have them. Thanks for your support.

Long Weeks...

This week has seemed like it might not ever end. Seth is out of town on a camping trip and the kids have been particularly naughty. My children are mostly well-behaved but it's like something has possessed them this week and I can't seem to keep perspective enough to deal with the battles that seem to rage in our house. Thank goodness for school hours, at least they are getting to do something fun and they aren't with "mean ole Mom" all day. Benjamin has told me numerous times in the last few days that he "wants Daddy". I love that one. what does that mean? Am I really that bad? He has been particularly difficult to deal with so maybe it's because we all are out of sorts this week.

Onto something more entertaining and funny. I am 30 weeks into this pregnancy and now people are bold enough to assume that I am pregnant and not just overeating. People are always telling me how I can't possibly be as far along as I am but I know how I look without my clothes on and exactly how huge I'm going to get at the very end of my pregnancy. Well, Benjamin is always asking when our baby is coming and wonders how big my tummy will get. As I said and most women know from experience, you look much smaller with clothes on. Here is an account of Pico coming to this realization. I was just coming out of the shower when it became an emergency for Benjamin to use the bathroom right then, so in he comes as I'm drying off and he looks at me and exclaims "Mommy, your tummy is huge!" (just the words every woman wants to hear, right? but he's 3 so I try to keep that in perspective)
I reply, "Yes, honey, the baby is growing."
"Mom, you really need to work on getting that baby out."
"Benjamin, the baby is still too small to come out. He needs to get bigger so he can be healthy."
To which he replied, with eyes bugging out of his head, "Just how huge is your belly going to be?"
I then demonstrated the size of a possible belly and he exclaimed, "I'll never be able to hug you if you are that big."

It's fun having a little one in which pregnancy is new for them. I always like to hear what they are thinking since small children don't know how to filter their thoughts.
This is the first picture Noah has taken for me with our digital camera, thus it is a little sideways.