Seriously???

Yes, it is the end of September... and yes it is still warm enough in St. George to play in the water! When we were moving here we were trying to decide if we should find a house with a pool... HOWEVER due to Carters lack of not having any fear what so ever we decided it wasn't a safe choice! The safest thing for him was a kiddie pool! But, now I'm not so sure!!! As You watch the video pay attention to Carter in the background!

*** And yes I did retract my "Awesome" comment and threatened him within an inch of his life to not do it again! Especially when he started to try and do them backwards!!!

Candy Bar Cookies!

Ok - it is no surprise to anyone in my family that I don't like cookies... I never have! Even growing up - cookies have never been my thing. It's sad to say that I don't even like to make them... Yes, I am a mother and I don't like to make cookies - I can hear the gasps! HOWEVER - my very sweet neighbor, Mindy is the best baker I know! Her kids Erin and Kaden come over in the evenings to play with my boys and she is always sending fabulous treats with them. Last week she sent over some Candy Bar cookies that she had made. James & the boys dove into them and I was enjoying how pretty they looked in my domed cake plate!!! I don't know why - I think Carter was "sharing" with me - But, I took a bite of one... AND they were amazing! So, for me to share a cookie recipe you know they have to be good!


Candy Bar Cookies

1 C (2 sticks) Butter or Margarine Softened
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C firm pack light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 3/4 C candy bar chunks
3/4 C chopped nuts (optional)


In large bowl cream butter & sugars until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl combine flour, soda & salt; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in candy bar bits. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes at 350, or until edges are lightly browned & centers are still soft.


Mindy uses the mini candy bars and the ones that she made us that were so fabulous were with 2 mini snickers, 2 kitkat, 1 milky way & 2 3 musketeers. But, the fun thing is that you can mix them up with any candy bars you want. AND with Halloween coming it is a good way to use all those mini candy bars your kids will get trick or treating! Enjoy!

Letting Go...

This man is growing up faster than I can handle... Kindergarten has seemed to have catapulted him to little man hood. We were getting him ready for school the other day and he asked me if I would do his hair like a "peacock"... I had to have him explain to me what he meant because I wasn't quite sure about the "peacock" explanation! But, laughed when I realized that what he meant was a mohawk! At first I told him no. But, I sat there and comtimplated it. I'm usually not the type to let him run around with a mohawk... But, I decided it was time to let it go... time to step back and let him start to express himself in his own little ways a little bit more. So, I had to smile as I watched him get on the bus and all the kids started telling him how awesome his hair was! As the bus pulled away he stuck his head out the window with the biggest smile on his face and yelled back at me that he loved me!

Today he came home from school and said "Mom, is my hair called a peacock or a mohawk... because this kid on the bus said it was called a mohawk"! So, I had to tell him it is called a mohawk and will probably never hear him call it a "peacock" again... But, it was really cute while it lasted!

What A Good Friend!

So, I have had this house in our neighborhood that I have been stalking since we moved in in July... For awhile it was for sale... then it wasn't... then it looked vacant... I didn't know if they had sold it or if it had gone back to the bank or if it was even vacant or not. But, they had this pomegranate bush that was absolutely loaded and I wanted to pick them sooooo bad! I even started to plot schemes of going in the middle of the night - not that I ever really would!?!?!?!


My friend Rachel and I are the room mothers for McKay's Kindergarten class. We had to go up to the school today to throw a little Birthday party for his teacher and I just picked her up on my way and she rode up to the school with me. On our way home I told her I wanted to show her a house because there was something that I was considering stealing from it!!! So, when we pulled up to the house she saw what I was talking about and said "You want those pomegranates don't you"!!! She didn't know the story of the house much better than I did... BUT she told me that if I would pull up to the door she would go knock and see if anyone was home! Something that I was too chicken to do! I probably would have ended up sending James! Anyways - she marched right up there and a lady came to the door and told us we could pick all we wanted! So, Rachel said "lets go pick pomegranates"! Carter had a blast carrying them and putting them in the car - we didn't even have a bag & we just had to put them in the car as they rolled all over the place!
By the time we were done I made it home with 40 pomegranates!


THANK YOU Rachel for going and knocking on the door when I was too chicken!!! You are fabulous! And tell Rick thank you too... I noticed on my caller ID that he had called looking for you while we were picking!!!

8 Months

My little man is growing so fast. I think the time goes by faster with each child. I have been really struggling lately feeling like this time that I cherish so much is just passing by all too quickly.

At 8 months Cannon is mobile... he rolls all over and pushes himself backwards. You can see his frustration when something he wants is out of reach and when he tries to move he goes every direction but forwards! When he gets frustrated he does the motor boat sounds with his lips - the more frustrated he is the louder it gets!

He is very much the center of his brothers lives right now! They both beg to hold him, bath him, feed him... They are always the first to tell me he is awake and when I get him out of his crib he is flying his head around looking for his brothers and starts kicking and going crazy when they come running in. I pray that the friendship and bond that my boys have now will last them throughout their lives.

Cannon's favorite place to be is on my hip! AND, my favorite place to have him is on my hip! But, I do have to admit that with two brothers running around it's sometimes the safest place for him to be!

He says Mama and Dada and the boys work with him several times a day to get him to say their names. McKay told me last week "He will be saying my name any day now if I keep practicing with him"!

We love this little man so much! It is fun to watch him starting to get excited and aware of his little world. He got his first tooth this week! So, Carter thought that meant he could eat real food and tried to share his peach with him! Cannon enjoyed having something to gnaw on and they both ended up pretty juicy and sticky!

James took McKay and Carter with him to Logan this weekend and Cannon and I stayed home. I had a very nice quite weekend getting to love on Cannon! We rocked, read books, cuddled, watched Pride & Prejudice together( I think I enjoyed it more than he did!), ran a few errands & ate some really good sushi (Thanks Rachel & Rick for the invite)! I really enjoyed my time that I was able to just get to give to him. With two other children that doesn't happen very often!

Here's hoping that time will slow down just a little bit so I can take this time in my life in just a little bit more!

Is Bribery Bad?

McKay has been in Kindergarten for over a month. His teacher has a color change system that she uses for their behavior. They start out the day on green - if they are well behaved & they stay on green all day they get a sticker at the end of the day. If they act out then they have to change their card to yellow and don't get a sticker. They can earn their green status back - but don't get the sticker. If they really act out they change their card to red and the teacher calls the parent. Sooooo, my Son as of last week had got a color change every day but three days! He would come home and say "Mom, I only went to yellow - I didn't go to Red"! So, when I went to his Testing with him I asked the teacher if I should be concerned! She told me that he and the little boy that he sat next to weren't a good combination and she was going to move them. So, when he came home last Monday I had high hopes that he would have a sticker! But, he had another color change! I asked him what was going on and he said "Mom, I try soooo hard to hold still - But, by then end of the day I can't take it anymore and I just start moving crazy"! James told me that he was just a boy and that I needed to leave him alone and it would work itself out... But I couldn't! So, in came the bribery!!! I told him last Wednesday morning that if he went Wednesday, Thursday and Friday without getting a color change that we could go to the store and he could pick out his favorite ice cream Friday night! We even said a extra prayer for him before he headed out the door!!! (I was desperate!) So, he went to school and when he got home he was soooo proud because he hadn't got a color change! But, the funny part is that he had forgot to get his sticker and had got out on the bus when he remembered! He made the bus driver wait while he ran back into the school and he said he told his teacher "I forgot to get my sticker and you have to give me one or I am afraid that I will get home and my Mom won't believe me & then I won't get ice cream"! (Poor little guy)! So, instead of a sticker she put a smiley face on his hand with a magic marker to make sure it didn't get lost! So, he went the next two days without color changes! It even got to the point that Carter was cheering him on - he realized that if McKay got ice cream that meant he had high chances of getting it to! So, Friday came and we celebrated with sherbet ice cream!


So, this morning I asked him if he wanted to make another deal! I told him that if he could go the whole week without a color change that we could go to McDonald's for an ice cream cone and to play on the toys on Friday night! I never take my kids to McDonald's so he was ecstatic! But, all day today I have been wondering if I am putting too much pressure on him... Or, am I doing a good thing by giving him something to work towards and accomplish??? Thoughts anyone?

*** UPDATE*** He didn't get a color change again today!

Labor Day

We have a water tower on a hill in our neighborhood and McKay has been wanting to "hike" up to it ever since we moved here. So, this morning before it got too hot he and I made the walk up to it. He loved watching the jack rabbits run around. This is our neighborhood! It looks a little different than Idaho!

We had a good day after the hike we took the boys to play baseball and then came home and while we were working on putting things in the attic and pulling weeds they played for a couple hours in the water. In the afternoon we went and rode horses at the Shepherds and McKay stayed after and played with Dawson. When we finally got him home from that his little friend Parker came over to ride bikes with him - and they ended up back in the water! We finished the night off with me trying a new recipe for Bajio's shrimp tacos and sweet rice! They were divine! So, all in all we all had a really good day!

Labor Day

Our neighbors the Shepherds called and invited the boys over to ride their horses today. They had a total blast! Carter loved it and didn't want any help and just wandered around the arena on his horse all by himself. McKay loved riding also, but really enjoyed driving the 4 wheeler while they practiced their calf roping. His thumb got so tired that he had to find new ways to do the gas as you will see in the video! Sorry about the end of the video... I meant to cut it off and forgot. It was a fun afternoon and we all had a really good time!

A Little Baby Love!

What a handsome little man - all dressed up ready for church.

Tagged!

So, My friend Jennifer tagged me on Face Book... But, I couldn't figure out how to do it back on there... So, here it is!

Can you fill this out without LYING?
I can do anything I want to!

What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
Cheetos!

Have you ever kissed anyone named Matt?
Yes, more than one... moving on...

Where was your profile picture taken?
McKay's Preschool graduation

Can you play guitar hero?
Haven't tried

Name someone that made you laugh today?
McKay - He was sitting in my bathtub playing a game so Carter wouldn't bug him!

How late did you stay up last night and why?
Midnight - It's the only time I have time to watch TV!

If you could move somewhere else, would you?
That's a tricky question...

Ever been kissed under fireworks?
If you have been in IF for the fireworks then you would know that answer is always yes!

Which of your friends lives closest to you?
My new friend Rachel

How do you feel about Dr Pepper?
Wish I could drink it!

When was the last time you cried really hard?
Yesterday when Carter got stung by a scorpion...

Where are you right now?
At my house

Who took your profile picture?
James

Who was the last person you took a picture of?
McKay - sitting in my bathtub.

Was yesterday better than today?
No, not really

Can you live a day without TV?
No, I NEED my kids to watch a little TV each day!

Are you upset about anything?
Wishing I was closer to Travis

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
They are worth everything - you would be pretty lonely without them

Are you a bad influence?
I hope not!

Night out or night in?
I stay in all the time - So, a night out is nice!

What items could you not go without during the day?
Windex, Lysol wipes, and chap stick!

Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
My Brother Travis

What does the last text message in your inbox say?
I Love you - from James!

How do you feel about your life right now?
A little scattered!

Do you hate anyone?
No - It takes too much energy to hate someone.

If we were to look in your face book inbox, what would we find?
Nothing! I just emptied it!

Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
I would always pass it.

Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
My Husband!

What song is stuck in your head?
The Power Tunes Attitude song! Yes, I am a mother!

Someone knocks on your window at 2am, who do you want it to be?
Carson and Lacey!

Wanna have grand kids before you’re 50?
I haven't even thought about it...

Name something you have to do tomorrow?
clean bathrooms...

Do you think too much or too little?
WAY to much...

Do you smile a lot?
Yes

Who was your last missed call on your Mobile phone?
Carson Beattie

Is there something you always wear?
My wedding ring

What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Cleaning the kitchen

Did you have an exciting last weekend?
I spoke in church... is that exciting?

Have you ever crawled through a window?
Yes!

Have you ever dyed your hair?
Too many times to count!

Are you wearing a necklace?
No... surprisingly!

Are you an emotional person?
Only about certain things and people.

What's something that can always make you feel better?
My family

Will this weekend be a good one?
I haven't even thought about it...

What do you want right now?
To go to Target - but, Carter's still asleep!

Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing?
Only when I am pregnant

Have you ever worked in a food place?
Mrs. Powell's Cinnamon Rolls for 3 years!

What’s on your schedule for tomorrow?
Girls day at my house, take the boys swimming, register McKay for flag football... the list just keeps going!


I tag Stacey Maughan, Megan Anderson, Melissa Stokes & Miranda Folau! Have fun girls! You know the drill copy and change answers to your own!