tuesday tidbits

:: corbin ::

1. Corbin is in a college and career class at school and right now they are on the cooking section. The class had a pancake war and his group of four boys won first place! So naturally, he made breakfast for us the next morning. Since we didn't have parsley for the final touches, he went outside and cut off the green tops of our carrots.
2. There was a huge science test last Friday, which is one of three that is worth 90% of his grade! Justin and I felt like he had not studied enough and were on his case BIG time Thursday and Friday morning. When I picked him up Friday afternoon I was dying to find out how he did, he casually mentioned that he got 100%. 
3. Last night, after I gave the little brothers a bath, I came into the kitchen and the island had been cleaned off and wiped down. Corbin had a tender smile and I gave him the biggest hug. Service is definitely my love language :) 

:: taylor ::

1. Taylor has a group of friends at school that love to sit around at recess and make up funny lyrics to songs. I am so happy he has found some good friends at school.
2. Some of the very best hugs are given by Taylor. They feel so genuine. 
3. Taylor was the first to get his Halloween costume. I laid it on his bed and when he came home from school I told him to go downstairs to put some things away in his room. He came upstairs so excited (I even got one of those really good hugs) and he wore it the rest of the day. 

:: levi ::

(he got into the fancy pancake decorating too)

1. Not sure if it's a third grade thing, but Levi is starting to get into Pokemon. We haven't bought any, but he has had a couple of generous friends who gave him one or two. We also printed off some pages of Pokemon to color. My favorite though, is when he and Rudger opened a pack of fruit snacks and they turned the Halloween characters into a Pokemon game :) 
2. Levi is a spunky one and sometimes I am exhausted by it, but I have had many people from teachers to coaches that tell me Levi is one of their favorites :)
3. Out of the three older boys, Levi is the only one that really enjoyed Soccer...and will be the only one that continues after the spring season. He scored his first goal last week and I think the smile stayed on his face all day. (he also told me that it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be)

:: rudger :: 

1. Rudger is obsessed with little stuffed animals right now. 
2. Four years old is one of my favorites right now. Almost every word that comes out of his mouth, I just die. Like when he said "Mom, strong is adorable and I'm adorable." 
3. He has a bad habit of staying up a little later with mom and dad. We really need to end it, but Justin and I love the time with this boy.

:: adeline ::

1. Oh this girl, to say that we are all head over heels in love with this girl is definitely an understatement. She is learning new things everyday and are favorite right now is every time someone says hi, she waves. Also, clicking her tongue.
2. She is walking everywhere!! She started taking a few steps just over a month ago, but that was about it. Then two weeks ago while I was sick, she decided she would just take off. The boys were so excited when they held her doll out and she kept walking for it around the island. She made it to 64 steps and they told everyone.
3. For almost her first year of life she was the biggest mama's girl. But in the past week things have changed. It's all about dad. As soon as he gets home, she walks as fast as she can, and as soon as she is a couple of feet away, she gets down and crawls backwards to him. Yesterday I was standing next to him, so when she backed up, she backed into me. She looked up, crawled forward a little and then  tried again to back into Justin. We were dying laughing. And he of course picked her up and gave her the biggest hug and they both went into the kitchen to eat something, because that's what they do.

this weekend

 I feel like this is the weekend I finally caught up on life. Still so much to do, but I think I have my head floating above the water now. And that feels really good.

I work with the scouts in our neighborhood and we went on a lovely hike up in the mountains. I won't deny, I wasn't looking forward to leaving my kids and spending Friday afternoon with a bunch of 9 year olds (it's kind of funny that I have an eight and ten year old in scouts and I got put with the age right between them) But when we were up in the mountains, it was a good place to be.

Friday night we watched Frankenweenie and got a surprise visit from the missionaries. (unfortunately our house was a giant mess, kind of embarrassing.) 

Saturday we wrapped up all boys soccer games for the season. Wahoo! We were in charge of treats for Taylor's game and the whole time I was trying to keep Adeline from attacking the cookies. Eventually I let her have one. :)

We enjoyed the rest of our Saturday celebrating Grandma Morris's birthday. We made her Beef Broccoli, roasted veggies, spinach salad, and apple cake. It was a very happy visit!

Sunday was exactly what we needed. In the late afternoon the boys played out in the the cold and thought it was the greatest ever. They played some adventure game (Corbin was the harvester, Taylor was the hunter, Levi had technology powers, and Rudger was just stinkin cute) and they can't wait to play again during our fall break this weekend!!

roller blade training

A couple of weeks ago Rudger and Justin came upstairs from hanging out in the exercise room. Rudger was so excited to show me something he had been working on. Rollerblade training. He put on the blades, grabbed onto the couch, leaned over, put his game face on, and pushed off towards the kitchen island. And then he did that everyday for a week. He went around and around the kitchen, each day getting better and better. (I probably should not alllow this inside, but life's too short.)  

Justin decided it was time to graduate to the sidewalk outside. Yikes. But, I couldn't stop taking pictures. It was just about the cutest thing ever.

found fall in the mountains

A couple of weeks ago we went for a Saturday adventure fall drive. It was a total flop. I was so sad and totally let down. A week later, after church and dinner, we drove up to the place we should have gone the first time. I guess it just made this trip all the sweeter. 

My camera did not do it justice (I should have adjusted the settings better because it did not capture the colors like they really were) But it did capture plenty of happy moments along the trail.

The boys ran around like the adventurers they are exploring the trail and finding plenty of sticks. We collected leaves to make a fall banner (they are currently drying in between book pages). Adeline loved standing on the trail picking up leaves, we (and the camera) couldn't get enough of her. In the end, it started to get quite chili, so we left with a big handful of leaves and plenty of sticks to last until the next time we head to the mountains.

conference weekend

Why is it that Conference keeps getting better and better! It seems like there has been more persecution and disrespect for our church in recent years and so hearing from our church leaders brings me so much peace and reassurance. I am grateful for their love and faith and kindness. I needed that boost so much and feel extremely grateful for the joy I felt this past weekend.

Bonus: fall m&ms that Adeline couldn't get enough of (she would climb mountains and cross rivers to get to those), kind big brothers, cinnamon rolls + scones + breakfast casserole + dips, cousins + girl time with some of my favorites, pizza + ice cream, and fresh air in between sessions.

Not a bonus: the mess on Sunday afternoon