Fall Leaves

For Family Home Evening this week we took another trip, this one with my Mom and Kiara, up to see the leaves. This time we went up South Fork. The colors were some of the prettiest I have seen in a long time. The boys are constantly asking if they can take a picture, but with my new digital SLR I just don't like them touching it. So I pulled out our old Fuji digital cameras, put new batteries in them and the boys were good to go. It was fun watching to see what caught their eye and what they wanted to take a picture of. Once I figure out how to download the pictures I'll share, but in the mean time here are some of mine.

Oh how I love Fall...

The smells, the colors, the sounds... It all just brings such great joy to me. That's why we love calling Utah home. Right when you're getting tired of one season the next one is on it's way. Tommy was only home for 24 hours this weekend so after dinner on Sunday we decided to take a quick drive up and over the Alpine Loop 'on our way' to his office in Orem. It was such a beautiful drive. We got out and took a little hike with the boys and took a ton of pictures! One of these days we'll get better and the lighting on the pictures, but for now this is what ya get.

Oh the woes of not doing what you're asked....

Friday night is 'Clean the Playroom night'. This is something that I as a mother just dread. There's yelling, fighting, toys flying, and screaming.... which makes me wonder why they even have toys. The problems all stems from Cooper not helping. Noah ends up doing most of the work. So tonight was different, I sat them both down and give them there jobs of which toys they were responsible for and told them if they weren't cleaned up by dinner then it was straight to bed with bread and milk for dinner. To make a long story short 45 mins later I found Cooper watching a cartoon and only half of his toys cleaned up. So the tears started at 6pm! We put his pjs on and off to bed with his bread and milk.... 1 hour and 45 mins later he was still crying. I was amazed he honestly didn't stop the entire time. That's when you really question if what you're doing is working or causing long term problems. I guess we'll find out next Friday when we clean the playroom!

Update: 8:30 came and there were still tears. He even cried all the way through prayers and brushing his teeth. His crying abilities are amazing. I think it finally got the best of him though because he was asleep by 8:50. Thank goodness!!!

Nothing makes a girl happier than new shoes!

I'm one happy girl! The other day Tommy asked me to book a hotel room for him, I quickly asked what was in it for me... His response was, "Whatever you want". Sweet!!!! For Tommy those are usually pretty safe words to say because I'm the practical one in the family. However, I was leaving for a shopping trip to Kohl's in an hour. So I quickly booked his hotel room and told him I'd let him know what I wanted (and bought) when I got home. So here they are, my new shoes. Thanks Tommy I love you!!!!

Strawberry Jam

This year has been so much fun when it comes to canning. I got some more free peaches from my in-laws and I just couldn't let them go to waste so I decided to make Peach jam. Then I found a good price on strawberries so of coarse I had to make some strawberry jam too. Cooper loves to be my little helper, the only problem is he gets distracted way to quickly. So he started by helping me wash the strawberries, but before I knew it he was just eating them!

Splash Park

A few weeks ago we met my friend Kendee and her 3 kids at the splash park in Highland. It was such a beautiful day and the kids had a blast. It was our first time there and I wish I would have gone earlier in the summer. It's the perfect place to just let the kids run and get wet! As you can see in the pictures they all had a blast!

Jordan, Cooper, and Cy having a snack

Cooper's speech

Cooper had a rough start when it came to hearing. The first two years of his life were filled with ear infections and fluid in his ears. At the age of 2 he finally got tubes. I really wish we wouldn't have waited that long. We only did because our Dr didn't seem to concerned because his ear infections didn't come very often and seemed to go away quickly, but the fluid was always there. When we took him in to the specialist she said he wasn't hearing anything out of one ear and only 25% in the other. In other words it was like he spent the first 2 years under water! So today he went in to be tested to see if he qualifies for the school district's speech therapy. We're really hoping he does, he really needs some help. I feel so bad when he gets frustrated because we can't understand what he says. So let's keep our fingers crossed that he gets in :)

9/11 The day that changed the world

For some reason today I spent more time than normal reflecting on the events of Sept 11, 2001... 8 years ago. In some ways it seems like just yesterday, and in other ways it feels like an eternity ago. I still remember starting my day as any other: shower, drying my hair, then turning on the TV to iron, that was just moments before the 2nd plane hit. I like most people couldn't believe what I was seeing... so many questions running through my head. I woke everyone in the house, and ran out the door with a mini (4") tv to take to work. I couldn't help but think about the meeting our company was holding that day at Window on the World. Working in HR I knew there were several people I knew who would be there. I spent that day at work trying to call and track down the 4 employees we were hoping had made it out. As the towers came crashing down I was in total shock knowing almost 99% sure 2 of the admins were in that building. Wondering, "How can we ever recover from this? What kind of a future does America even have?". As the days went on I was, I guess, the lucky one who got to fill out the insurance claims for the 4 employees who were lucky enough to be enjoying coffee in the lobby (15 more mins and it would have been a different story), they lost everything they came with, but they left with their lives. One of them was from NY and I remember him telling me that in his son's elementary class 50% of the kids had lost a parent. He was so grateful he only lost his BMW and golf clubs! I guess with all the rambling I'm trying to say that it's nice to know the world will go one, we will recover from tragity, but we also can't take life for granted. Every year I'll remember Gabby and Clara!

Peeing at the park...

The title says it all.... if I would have had a camera you guys would have been able to see it in all it's glory, but you'll just have to use your imagination. This is how it went down. Cooper gets out of pre-school 15 mins before Noah gets out of school so we decided to meet some friends at the park. Not long after we arrived Cooper announced he had to pee, of coarse the most inconvenient time and place. After a quick scan of the park I told him to go behind the rock on the other side of the toys, no one will see him there - right? I glanced over to see if Noah was coming from school, noticing all the cars of parents lined up picking their kids up, then a glance back at Cooper. Holy Cow! He decided to stand in front of the rock for the whole world to see, pants around his ankles and leaning back as far as he can so he doesn't pee on himself. Way to go Cooper, you just showed your pee pee to all those people. Yes, I hid my face in shame for a min and then enjoyed a quick laugh with my friend Gretchen. Ya gotta love boys!

I love this time of year

On Friday my mother-in-law Roma invited me over to can some peaches. These weren't just any peaches they were peaches from their tree! How could I possibly say no?! All I could think about were those cold winter days that I can pull out a jar of peaches and dump them on top of a bowl full of cottage cheese - yummy. I think even more than eating the peaches I love canning them. I have yet to venture into the world of canning by myself, but I sure love canning with others. Plus it was just 1 year and 2 days since Roma was terribly burned canning tomatoes... peaches went much better this year :)These were the leftovers that I got to bring home to eat!

Some of our peaches.

Pre-School

My little boy is growing up! Part of me can't believe he's in pre-school and the other part of me can't believe he still has 2 more years until Kindergarten. It's been so much fun watching how excited he gets about the even thought of going to school like Noah. On Tuesday the Moms went with them, so we could see the classroom and they could all meet each other, making the trasition a lot easier on everyone. Then on Thursday was his first real day. He did great and loved every min of it. The only complaint was that they played outside and not inside with all the fun toys. We are so happy that Miss Jenny decided to open up an afternoon session.The three amigos: Evan, Cooper, and Jace

Cooper at his table

Playing Wii after pre-school with friends.

I love Tommy's face in this one.

His first 'offical day'

A husband addicted to sports...

Tonight I ran to the store. Leaving Tommy to get the boys out of the bath and in bed. When I got home I was excited to find a quiet house... other than cheering crowds. I came downstairs only to find him with the Utah football game on the tv and the Yankees game going on his laptop sitting next to him... at least I know he can multi task now!