Halloween

Clone Troopers and Bandits and shortcakes and Leprechauns oh my!! :)

Sadly this year Jaxon AND Kaden were NOT going to dress up for Halloween.  It seriously made me so sad as at 12 and 9 I still think they should feel as though they can go trick or treating and be kids.  BUT Jaxon felt as though he shouldn't dress up nor go trick or treating (not much of a candy fan anyway).  Kaden still bummed out by his 4th Grade teacher -- whom in the past has NOT done any parties thought it would be stupid to dress up when they weren't even going to have a party.  SO on that note we. were. not. prepared!! So the weekend before Halloween Kaden found out his teacher decided to have a party SO it was ok to dress up.  We snatched up this little candy bandit get-up in a few quick minutes! whew what a life saver!  Jaxon was Still not having anything to do with dressing up (only for his friends party the weekend before--which he ended up being a bandit too).
Zeke on the other hand!! OH MY! how do I say no to this little fart?  He spies this storm trooper costume at Target and FELL. IN. LOVE!!!  I hear Gregg in my ear saying I always wanted to be a storm trooper and my Mom wouldn't let me get the costume.  SO! Me being a sucker for Halloween forked over the $40 bucks (WAY Overpriced for the quality) for the happiness of my little trooper (whom in the past has run around all day saying things to me like..."mom I wish I were a storm trooper", "why Zeke?" "So I could save you from the bad guys AND have a gun!")
Ella!!! Oh my heart melts! she loves Strawberry Shortcake!! YES.SHE.DOES! So I whipped up this little puppy from pinterest! what a breeze! (Only thanks to my awesome Mom) She looked darling and when she found out if you keep your hat on and go to the door they will give you candy....she was more than willing to keep that hat on! :) My little chocolate lover!
Jaxon....well the night before he decided he wanted to wear the University of Utah Santa hat to school the day of Halloween.  That morning he changed his mind....SO off to the hat box to pull out the little beauty of the Leprechaun hat! How silly! whatever.  I pinned on him a couple of shamrocks he wore a green shirt and called it good....OH BOY!  with an October birthday I thought for sure he would love Halloween like me.  NOPE! Not even a little.  OH WELL.  Ya win some ya loose some!

TwEeeeeENnnSSs

Jaxon my 12 year old!
Holy Moly! He is 12.  Some days, weeks, months, years I didn't know if he would make it to the next morning! But he is here.  AND HAVE THE TWEENS HIT US! :)

Really He is a Great Kid.  For the most part. Except when I want to go have his picture taken.  No he is not the happiest.  And lets me know it! :)  That is ok.  Because for the most part this kid is seriously such a good kid I. Just. Love. Him.

He is so sensitive to others feelings.  He has a great heart.  He is super smart!  He is so proud he scored the highest on his most recent science test in 6th grade (definitely takes after his Dad!).  He is reading on a level Z (I guess that is really high.  I mean there is no other letters right?) and is really proud of that.  He has been trying his hardest to keep his grades up during football this year and I think (hopefully) he has succeeded.  He started school off on a great foot and really likes his teacher Ms. Korones.  He plays the position he loves the most in Football (defensive end) and LOVES. IT. (did I mention that his team is undefeated in his division going into playoffs!) He ROCKS at the guitar...literally and can play a new song just by watching someone play it (did I say he takes after his Dad).  He will crack a smile (for a minute) for his mom even though he is in a terrible mood and wants to sit on his bed and play on his ipod.

I love you Jaxon.  I am so glad you are my biggest boy! You are turning into quite a young man. I love you! 

DAD is GREAT he give Us ChoColAtE CakE!!!

Bill Cosby: Dad is Great He Gives us Chocolate Cake...uh uh, Dad is Great he gives us chocolate cake... uh, uh

Yes, We love Bill Cosby and every time I look at these pictures I sing the song in my head!  Ella thoroughly enjoyed chocolate cake today with her Dadd-yo.  She is so cute and has her Dad's passion for chocolate! mmmmmm!

I had a HUGE craving for Costco Chocolate cake....TO. DIE. FOR.  Of course I shared!   

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2012-2013!!

Oh my goodness! I was so ready and excited this year! Jaxon started 6th Grade with Ms. Korones, Kaden started 4th Grade with Ms. Handy, and Zeke started Kindergarten with Mrs. Asay!  

As you can tell Jaxon is just more than thrilled at the thoughts of going back to school.  Funny though because all he does is sit home and facetime, email, text his friends or play video games!  He needs it [not to mention Mom needs it too]

Kaden is less than thrilled at the thought of a whole year with the same teacher his older brother struggled with.  He is so spunky and has such a great attitude I know he will make it. 

Zeke is excited and super quiet about the whole thing.  He is my thinker and is waiting to see how it goes before he will say much.

Now that we are into the 2nd month of school here is the status update:

Jaxon: likes school [surprisingly].  Still loves to read and reads like a worm! I can not keep enough books in the house for this guy.  He finished the whole Harry Potter series in seriously  a month.  And that is only because I didn't pick up the other books fast enough for him.  He re-read the ones we had while he was waiting for me to get the others! He has decided school is okay and started school with a great attitude.  He likes his teacher so far and is doing really well in his class!

 Kaden: is very Leary!  This makes me super sad as he is my guy who just goes with the flow.  He has started the year by getting in the truck at the end of school in tears because he is having a hard time adjusting to his teacher.  I know he will make it through.  He is a good kid and will survive a year with a less than 'happy camper' as a teacher!

Zeke: [in case you didn't know that is his favorite color...ok he is a boy....deal with it! :)] HE LOVES KINDERGARTEN!! My heart sings! I LOVE HIS TEACHER.  Kaden had her as well and just loved her.  She is so darling and great with the kindergarteners.  Zeke thinks it is totally cool that his teacher is a grandma!  I can see the wheels turning in his head as he tries to figure that out! :) love that kid.  He just comes home and sings his songs and is just a happy camper.  The only problem is he needs a full day!  He is so bored at home by the time we pick up his brothers he has tormented his sister to the point she is so grouchy no one wants to be around her!!!

I love when they go back, I love when the are off track.  I feel like it is the best of both worlds! I don't know what traditional is like as my children have always been on year round but I like it.  I love the breaks they get then I love it when they go back!  I think I will miss having Jaxon home next year when he goes to traditional in middle school.  I can't wait to see how he adjusts to that schedule.  

What a funny girl....what am I in for?

Today while I was cleaning I found my little mischievous Ella doing something rather funny. Funny?  I don't know.  Funny or naughty.

First, yesterday for Conference I have found for my boys to actually listen to conference we would put out a tray of 5 bowls of candy.  Everyone gets to pick one word for their bowl of candy.  When that word is said during conference by any member or speaker speaking they along with anyone else who heard it gets to choose said candy.  Very clever [thanks pinterest].  Yesterday was a hit!  candy a-go-go! YES!  the boys listened and it was fun.  So instead of eating it all, they were smart and saved the candy in a Ziploc bag for later. 

Ella is pretty smart.  She, like her Dad LOVES chocolate.  Well there was plenty of chocolate saved in those bags.

Back to the story.  Today while cleaning I found it a bit too quiet in the house.  I found her in the 'man cave' with above mentioned candy bag.  She had only gotten away with one peanut butter cup by the time I found her.  I said Ella that is not yours.  She gave me a big grin and gave me the rest of the bag.  I put the bag on the top of the dresser [taller than her] and got back to my cleaning.  A while later I again found it a bit too quiet.  I found that little stinker had pulled out the bottom drawer of the dresser pulled herself on to the drawer and pulled that bag of candy off the top.  She was then crouching in the corner with candy stashed behind her back and two fists full of candy, enjoying more peanut butter cups~! I looked at her and again she gave me the most proud grin and giggled.  I said Ella that is not your candy and you are going to get a tummy ache.  That is naughty.  She, still grinning, smiled and nodded her head as proud as can be! I said it again, Ella that is naughty.  She, again, smiled and nodded in approval!

While this is so funny and many would say that is normal.  I will say, my boys did not do that!  So I say, what in the crap am I in for?  She is so cute and gets away with so much.....whew am I in for it! :)

Daybreak Car Show

Gregg was out of town again! So on a whim to fill up time for the boys I drug them over to Daybreak.  Mostly because I wanted to see the Batman car in person.  But secondly because I thought they would like it.  Seems as though Jaxon is sporting a 'teenage' attitude sometimes.  As you can tell from his eager smile! :) He was a good sport and went through with it even though he didn't want to go.

After walking around the cars, I asked the boys to stand by their favorite one and I would get their picture.  So funny what they chose. 
I LOVED the blue cobra.  Despite its color it was so sexy! whew I loved it. 
Zeke how funny, he loved the Volkswagen orange bug with a mow hawk! Very funny.
Kaden couldn't choose between the purple Pontiac GTO and the flame Chevrolet Corvette!
Jaxon--sometimes that kid melts my heart--As I said he was not really in the mood to do anything but be a grouchy teenager so he was not into it much.  BUT he chose this red car....don't even really know or remember what car it was.  We walked away and he said, "Mom I didn't really love that car anyway."  "Why did you want your picture by it then?" I said.  "Well no one was paying attention to it and I kind of felt bad."
Seriously!  doesn't that melt your heart!?
Jaxon can be the sweetest most thoughtful little bugger I have ever met! Love. That. Kid.

Extended Vaca

As Fate would have it our vacations alined this year! WOOT! So we had Lake Powell planned and boom wouldn't you know it Gregg needed to be out of town in Las Vegas the following Monday through Thursday!  Ah, worked out perfect.  We all got to go! YES! What fun.  The kids have never been to Vegas and I hadn't seen my dear friend MeKell in Vegas for years.  You know that friend the one who made a mark in your life and you just can't ever forget them.  That friend who you will want to remember forever....Yep, that's MeKell. 
So after 5 days in Lake Powell we headed to Las Vegas for a shower and a bed!
First stop across the street UNLV for our Pennant.  Yes, Gregg has started a fun tradition that for the boys we will get a pennant for every college/professional team for each city we/Gregg visits.  It is pretty fun.  It has dotted the 'Man Cave' with plenty of sports paraphernalia.  The boys love it.  However, after 5 days in Lake Powell in 100 degree weather [near/on the water too cool off the heat] 105 in Las Vegas on the pavement YIKES! not a good way to start off the Las Vegas adventure! They were complaining after 5 minutes of walking.  I tell you UNLV was seriously just across the street.  We just crossed the street and to the book store and that was too much for them. 
OK heat wave over.  We will be heading in-doors!
Second stop, meet up with the Joffs for a fun afternoon INDOORS at the Childrens museum.  The children had a great time.  And Who knew the 'bubble station' would keep older boys entertained!?  Well that kind of fun I'm down with!  Ah the smell of 'good. clean. fun!' literally!
Then after the museum we went to Joffs. What a beautiful home and back yard.  They are very proud of the new pool area they have just finished and I was so impressed with the beautiful landscaping they have done themselves! Love that girl I tell ya.
Then we did the 'strip' stores entertainment.  The kids loved the M&M world [maybe as much as me]. But the Coke taste testing around the world was fantastic.  It was pretty fun to taste the different soda's from around the world.  The strip is a fun place to see stuff.  We went in the earlier afternoon and kept our eyes off the ground! :) [If you have been there you know what I mean!]
Gregg treated us all to a FANTASTIC buffet at Paris and it was de-lish.  The boys got to taste and experience some really nice food that they may otherwise have not have tasted....that is until they discovered the dessert bars! YUMMY!  It was a very expensive but memorable dinner!
Great vacation.  I hope the kids will remember it.  What a long vacation too! Man, nearly 2 weeks away from home felt like forever.  I love to get away.  It is also great to get back home and into routine too!