This is a must see!

Okay, you absolutely must see this video! I found it quite stimulating and am re-thinking my upbringing in a logging/hunting/bear slaying family! I will admit it is a complete waste of time and you may curse me for having you watch it, but I do believe you will forever mourn the trees like these loving people do. I am sure that each of you will be buying fake trees this year, I know I will (but for completely different reasons, the mess!). Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSEaHyzbqTA

Jack-o-lanterns!

"Pumpkins come and pumpkins go, but a Jack-o-lantern steals the show!"

We finally got our pumpkins carved tonight, the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the huge mess they made of our kitchen. Each boy tried to design his own pumpkin and Connor even drew his own. After a few mistakes and wiping the pumpkins down with Mr. Clean Magic Erasers he was pleased with what he came up with and we got them all lit up, the kids and the pumpkins! Now for the real show tomorrow!

Happy Fall

Happy Fall

Just wishing everyone a happy fall, my favorite season of the year. Just a few pictures we took this evening over at Gardner Village, my favorite place of the year!

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch this fall. The boys picked their pumpkins very quickly so they could get on to the corn maze. They took off running through ahead of me and realized very quickly that they were lost! Well, Connor found his way back but Tate was lost in the maze. We finally saw him through the corn and called to him, he immediately tried to come over to us, not staying on the path and he biffed it bad. Head first into corn stubble! He scratched himself up pretty well and shed a few tears, but I think they were mostly over his relief at finding us again. He didn't stray to far after that and Gage never let go of my hand the whole time, he was a little scared of the tall corn. All in all it was a fun Saturday, the first one we had been able to spend as a family in a long time!

White or Brown?

I just took my kids Christmas shopping, trying to get some things done early before the baby comes. Well, we got all the presents we needed for all the cousins names that we drew and decided to look at things the boys might want to put on their lists. We also looked at dolls for their new sister. Tate was especially interested in picking out a dolly for his new little sister. While checking out the dolls he asked me, "Mom are we going to get a white baby or a brown baby?" I assured him that it was positively a "white" baby, but he doesn't agree, he figures it is just a likely a "brown" baby and has insisted that we will have to wait and see. How do I explain that one?

Nativity 2008

Each year I get together with all my siblings and we take nativity pictures for Christmas. Each child can choose whether to dress up as a shepherd, angel, wiseman, etc. Of course baby Jesus is always the youngest and Emma is always Mary as she is the only girl amongst the throngs of boys. Don't bother counting, we have 17 nephews and one poor, lonely, protected little niece! We are missing Aiden in this picture as he was sick at home with his dad. Two of the kids even opted to dress up as cows this year, I wonder what next year will bring. But amazingly we were able to get these done in only 1/2 an hour. I think our standard of "good and great" has greatly declined in the past 6 years but no one is complaining!

I LOVE BYU Football

Okay, I admit it, but I hope Ryan doesn't read this. But I really love BYU football. I can't deny it anymore. We watch every game that we can and if at all possible attend the games. My boys dress in their BYU gear on game days and really believe that what they wear affects the outcome of the game. They have even learned that the Utes stink. What more could we ask for? We had a great time at the game with Blake and Maren, wished they lived closer to do more things with! By the way, I figured of all the teams out there shouldn't there be a maternity line for BYU gear? Couldn't find any, so opted for a bigger shirt to cover my 7 month belly. This could be a great business idea for someone in the market, I mean who has more pregnant students and alumni than BYU?

T-Ball Pro's (and con's)

The boys are in their first (maybe only?) season of t-ball. They are loving it and I am going crazy. It is amazing to see their personalities come out in a team environment and we have been surprised!

Tate is VERY aggressive and pushes his way to the ball each time, he pays attention to the game and knows where he is supposed to be, all though that doesn't necessarily mean he will be where he is supposed to be and he really enjoys playing the game. In fact, as soon as he is through batting he either joins the other team on the field or gets back in line to bat again. He doesn't want any of this sitting around stuff! No picking dandelions in the outfield for him!

Connor thinks it is fun on a social level but is not as concerned with winning and losing as is his younger brother. Connor is happy to just run around the bases and get home, missing a few on the way because he is just "too fast"! He loves the game but is more concerned with giving everybody a fair shot rather than being the best himself. Not sure where we went wrong.

Gage is just miffed that he is not on a team, so he spends the time playing catch with mom. He is a lefty and only has a right hand me down mitt from his brothers but he doesn't let that bother him, he puts it on the opposite hand and plays very awkwardly, but pretty decent for a two year old.

These boys are so much fun, even if watching 2 hours of t-ball can be excruciating, not sure if there are supposed to be rules or not, it appears NOT!.

"Hunting" with Grandpa

Connor and Tate were so excited to wear their camo and go hunting with Grandpa Gulbranson. Grandpa was nice enough to take the boys for a few hours, we sent them with cookies to ease the pain of the dynamic duo! Well, it was after a long day and Tate fell asleep quickly and thus missed most of the hunting experience. Connor spent the entire time asking Grandpa questions. At one point he asked, "when are we going to get there and stop driving?" Grandpa apparently does all his hunting from the comforts of the Jeep now, to which Connor did not agree. On another occasion he told Grandpa, "You are not allowed to hunt here, there are signs everywhere that say NO HUNTING!" But Grandpa informed him that he had put up those signs to keep other hunters off his property. Not sure Connor believed him, but needless to say he drove Grandpa crazy with all his questions and answers. They did get see a few bucks and does, but did not shoot anything, much to the boys dismay. Maybe next time.