What to get 2 spoiled kids

I have spent the last several weeks thinking of what to get my children for Chrismas. When I ask them I have got suggestions of...a Wii, a Lightning Mcqueen you can really drive, Spike the Dino,and a puppy (Dad could really go for this last one, but I would end up having to take care of it and I already have to feed and clean up after enough people!). All of these things are several hundred dollars. After lots of looking and a few trips to the toy store I think I found something Pason wants that is reasonable, but I am still at a loss for Carter. It seems like we have so many toys that there isn't anything left that's real exciting for his age that his older brother didn't get already. I really want to know what I'm looking for when I hit the stores Friday. Hopefully inspiration will strike soon!













Does it look like they need more toys?

We have a niece!

My brother Nathan and his wife Mary had their first baby last night. We want to welcome little Natalie Joy to our family! Carter's response to his new cousin's first pictures was "she's cute!" Pason's response, "why doesn't she have long hair? Girls are supposed to have long hair." Congratulations Nathan and Mary!

Dresser Disaster

This afternoon I was talking on the phone while the boys were supposed to be taking naps (Pason was, Carter wasn't). I heard a loud crash and then Carter's cry. Those are two sounds a mother never likes to hear together. I ran to Carter's bedroom, opened the door and saw his dresser tipped over. I couldn't see him at first because he was under the drawers. I quickly but carefully pulled the top drawer off him and then he started to stand up. That was a good sign that he was moving on his own. As I pulled the other drawers off him he said between his tears, "my wamp (lamp) is bwoke". At that point I realized he was probably okay if he was worried about his lamp. I checked him over and he stopped crying and told me he was okay. I took a picture (for the blog of course!) and then started to clean up. When I set the dresser upright and started putting drawers back and checking for damage I found a scratch in the paint with hair imbedded in it. I went to check Carter again and sure enough he had paint stuck in his hair. I previously thought this was just leftover from lunch. I felt immediately grateful for a Heavenly Father who is watching out for my family as I realized how amazing it was that I wasn't headed to the doctor's office for stitches or broken bones to be cast or worse. I guess he has that hard Rowan head. I love my Carter bug and he hopefully has learned a lesson about climbing on things!

My Political Vent

My head and my heart are full of uncertainty right now. I was not a big John McCain fan. In fact I really just considered him the least disasterous of our choices for President. However, I am still trying to wrap my head around how so many people fell for the smooth talk of Barack Obama. Before I voted yesterday I asked myself if there was anything in the scriptures that might give insight into my desicion. The passage "by their fruits, ye shall know them.." popped into my head. Obama made lots of pretty speeches and promises, but what are his fruits? Well for all those who said Sarah Palin was inexperienced, I would like to know where Obama's experience is? His few short years in the Senate give him a record as one of the MOST liberal senators. His opinions on social issues scare me to death. How could any one with any humanity favor partial birth abortions! His plans for the economy make no sense to me. While I would love for the people who make ridiculous amounts of money to take away some of my tax burden, I understand that it doesn't work that way. Raising any taxes right now can only translate into more job loss in our country, which means fewer people paying taxes, which means greater burden on those who are paying! And when it comes to foreign policy...I could go on and on, but I won't because Barack Obama is the President-Elect of the United States of America. As disappointed as I am in this, I believe that as our President he deserves our respect and our support (as much as possible without compromising our standards). I hope he can bring the country together. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to be right, but this is one time that I really hope I am wrong.

I hope I don't offend anyone with my opinions, but this is also kind of my journal, and I wanted to get my feelings out of my head!

Back when Halloween was...

When I was a kid Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. I got to dress up, stay up late, and get tons of candy. Now that I am a Mom I have to admit, Halloween really isn't the top of my list. I have to figure out costumes for my children, deal with sugar crazed kids (I am one of those mean moms that takes the candy away and only allows treats when the whining becomes too much to take!), and try to keep from eating way too much candy myself! That said this Halloween was a pretty good one. I got lucky and found Halloween costumes for both boys while shopping at the outlets in Barstow. Carter was a Sheriff and Pason was a skeleton pirate. Jared still had me up brainstorming Thursday night for his costume, but at least the boys were taken care of. We went to Jared's work Friday to trick-or-treat and then did trunk-or-treat at the church. After that was over we went to a get-together with some friends and ate munchies and played Trivial Pursuit, Men vs Women. Girls Rule! Also I love that daylight savings is later now and so we got that extra hour of sleep the same weekend as Halloween. We needed it! Here are some pics!

Vacation Pics

The Happiest Place on Earth!

We began our journey Sunday the 19th. After church we loaded up the van and drove to my parents home in Idaho. We stayed yhe night there and then got up early the next morning to drive to California. We conveniently put the boys car seats in the back of the van, with Grandma and Grandpa in the middle. We drove all day to Barstow, CA with a stop in Vegas at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner, and a trip to the M&M Factory. Tuesday was a day for shopping. Barstow has some great outlet stores and we found some great deals! Wednesday was when the real excitement began. The boys got their first Disneyland adventure! It was so much fun to watch the boys' faces as they took in everything Disney. Pason is just barely tall enough to go on most of the bigger rides. His favorites were Splash Mountain (he got soaked) and Star Tours. He didn't really like dark tunnels on some of the rides though. Carter's favorite was the Nemo Submarine. He would fuss and say he didn't want to go on almost all the rides. Then when he got off he would say "That was my favorite!" The next day was Jared's 30th birthday, so we started the morning with a character breakfast buffet that was soooo yummy! We saw Minnie, Pluto, Lilo, Stitch, and Max (Goofy's son). They sang to Jared and he got to blow out his candle on his mini Mickey Mouse cake. Then we went to California Adventure and then returned to finish up at Disneyland. I think everyone's favorite ride there was Soarin' over California. And we loved the parade there. It has all the Pixar characters starting with Lightning McQueen and ending with Mater. Carter was so excited and he kept waving and staring at McQueen. Both boys fell asleep as we were leaving the parks both days. We had a wonderful time, and Mom even got her Disney wish. There was no whining at Disneyland! Friday we were back in Barstow. We took it easy, shopped a little more, had a BBQ with my grandparents and Aunt and Uncle, and the boys played with my cousins. Saturday we drove back to Idaho, and Sunday we drove home. I think we logged around 36-37 hours of driving time, but it was worth it. We love Disneyland! I was also very grateful to have the chance to take my boys to my grandperents house. It is so far away and I hadn't been since before we got married. Now it's back to normal for awhile. Here are some of my favorite pics.