Keeping Up With the Joneses

This year we bought 2 season tickets for BYU Football. I knew I wouldn't be up to going to many games so for the most part Marshall is splitting his with a friend from work. But I was planning on going to the one last Friday until we couldn't get a babysitter. Marshall offered to just let me go but after sitting in a conference for 8 hours I wasn't up to sitting on a cold bench for 4 more hours. So I went out for dinner with some friends and then rushed home so Mason and Marshall could go. In the past Mason hasn't been so thrilled about going to the games, but this time he absolutely loved it. And we won 37-10 I think so it was a good game for Mason to go to.

Last week Myles' teacher asked them to write a book about anything they wanted. So he titled his "A Book" "Why can't kids get jobs, I wondered" "I wish kids could get jobs" "I don't know what my job should be but you get paid so I want a job." Here are pictures of different jobs he could have--a soldier, store clerk, doctor, doctor that doesn't give shots. And on the last page he has earned $200 from working.  I'm actually sharing this with my Career Exploration class today as an example of a developmental stage of Gottfredson's theory of Circumscription and Compromise. 

We signed both Myles and Mason up for soccer this fall thinking it would be a good opportunity for them to exercise, learn a new skill, and meet new friends. I think we accomplished all those goals but boy was it difficult! Between 1-2 practices and 2 games per week per kid, soccer took up pretty much every evening for the last 6 weeks. I'm pretty sure neither kid will ever be soccer starts, and I don't think either team ever won a game, but they both are more confident in their athletic ability and had some fun. Stinker Myles refused to look at the camera. The kid ran and ran constantly during games which was wonderful because when he got home at night he would go right to sleep. Marshall and I were joking that we are going to start making him run around the block a few times before bed every night.  Poor Mason was the smallest kid on his team by quite a bit and had a coach that pushed him really, really hard. A few times he took some pretty hard hits by the ball but w...

Max had his 4-year well-child check up yesterday about a month after he turned 4. The doctor declared him perfectly healthy and happy and I agree. Of course he is still on the small side: Weight: 30 lb (8%ile) Height: 40.5 inches (56%ile) BMI: 13.13 (.23%ile)--thats right--POINT 23 So he is still a tall and skinny boy but he eats like a horse and probably eats more than his brothers. He is such a sweetheart and my "big boy." Lately he has switched from wanting stories on daddy's tablet at night to wanting "rock-a-bye mommy" and he gets wrapped up in his baby blanket, closes his eyes, and insists I sing the same 3 songs to him every night (If the Savior Stood Beside Me, A Child's Prayer, and Tell Me the Stories of Jesus). When I'm done he pretends to be asleep while I carry him to bed and tuck him in. I love these moments.

So our Subaru was 14 years old and had 170k miles on it but we were really hoping to drive it into the ground. And I guess we did. When we went to get the safety and emissions test last week we were told it needed $600 worth of work immediately and another $1500 in the next year for it to keep running. So we bit the bullet and decided to shop around for a replacement. We decided we wanted something that was 4WD (there are a lot of hills and mountains near our home), something that could hold our entire family for road trips in the winter (the van doesn't do too well in the snow), and it absolutely needed a back-up camera (we have an incredibly steep driveway and I'm paranoid about backing out over a kid). I was really stressed out about the time it would take to shop for a for a car, but we were lucky and Hannah could babysit all day on Labor Day so Marshall and I could shop. We spent hours searching online, narrowed our search down to Toyota Highlanders and Honda Pilots, and t...

Mason starting 3rd Grade. He was so excited and insisted I take him to school 20 minutes early because he couldn't wait.  Myles starting 1st Grade at a brand new school to learn Chinese. He is so nervous and at the back-to-school night last night had tears in his eyes. When I walked him into school this morning he squeezed my hand super tight and said "you promise you will pick me up at my classroom as soon as the bell rings?" Yes my sweet boy--this is hard on me too! Max actually started his new preschool yesterday but insisted he get the same pictures as his brothers. He is going to two preschools this year--one on Tuesdays and Thursdays and one on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I'm hoping this will keep him from being bored while his brothers are at school all day, and then give me a break when the new baby comes.  This perfectly captures the kid's attitudes today. Mason excited, Myles serious, and Max just plain nuts.  This was the pi...

We headed up to Waterton again a few weeks ago along with Marshall's parents and nephew. We had a great time and I realized how much easier it is to be up there with a husband than alone with the kids! Here are a few highlights. Driving up. So much better to share the driving. Truthfully I probably slept 70% of the day. Hello third trimester! Marshall, his dad, his nephew, and Mason went on an overnight hike and camping trip to Bertha Lake. It was quite a hike for Mason but he was a trooper (I just about died on the hike last year). I had a huge panic when that afternoon we saw rescue helicopters flying back and forth to the lake and I went to the helipad to find out what was going on. After a few terrifying seconds they could tell me that it wasn't my family and I started bawling out of relief. Too similar to circumstances a few years ago when things didn't turn out as well.  Mason ready for his hike. Myles loved riding the "two-person bike" wit...