Happy Veteran's Day

On Tuesday night, our favorite Veteran's came to Brody's Cub Scout Pack Meeting to talk to the boys about Citizenship. Both Grandma and Grandpa talked about their days in the military and what it means to be a citizen of this wonderful country. Although I have heard their story a dozen times, I am still amazed when I think about all they went through for us...for our country. Brody loved that his great grandparents were there speaking to his cub scout friends. I think he felt very proud and honored...as did I. It was a great pack meeting and a great way to remember how truly blessed we are to live in this great country. Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have served or are serving for our country.

Brody was lucky enough to wear grandpa's military jacket while he explained all the medals he earned during his time in WWII.

Love this picture of Grandpa holding up a picture of him and Grandma in their uniforms.

All the boys in Brody's den loved trying on Grandma and Grandpa's uniforms. They looked so cute all dressed up.

Brody did earn a bicycling belt loop tonight from his new leader Brother Myers.

Brody painted this cute flag in honor of Veteran's Day.

We love these 2 Veteran's!

"We're Goin To The Zoo Zoo Zoo..."

...How about you you you?" (I know your singing with me Jody!)

Today I had the opportunity to go to the Phoenix Zoo with Case and his first grade class. I always love attending field trips with my kiddos. It's fun to watch them interact with their friends and see what they are like in social settings. Case chose Lucy to be his partner today. When I asked him about it, he told me that she was the only person left to pick from. Hmmmmm...I doubt it Case since she is the most darling girl ever! Case, Lucy and I had a great time walking around the zoo in the windy cold weather. We especially loved that Jefferson, Libby, Elle and Sara were with us too. I'm so happy I was able to go even though I think I may have a fear of riding on buses. I have decided that school buses cannot possibly be safe with all of us bopping around inside without seat belts. It's just a weird feeling to be in a vehicle so BIG and not have a seat belt on. Does anyone know why you don't wear seat belts when on buses? Just curious.

We hung with these cute kiddos all day.

Quinlin, Max, Jefferson, Case, Katie, Lucy, Elle and can't remember this cute girls name...oops.

Case chose the orangutan as his animal to learn about today at the zoo. The new orangutan exhibit is amazing. It was fun to learn all about this extremely human like animal.

Grandparents Day

In an effort to get people to eat the Thanksgiving Feast provided by the cafeteria, the school decided to have Grandparents Day today. My boys of course wanted their grandparents to come feast with them, but opted for a carry out from Mattas. Thank goodness, because we all know you can't feed a person Thanksgiving for only $3.00. The boys were thrilled to have Sugar and Jim at school for lunch and are begging for more Grandparent Days!

Case had given Sugar his order of 1 bean and cheese bean burro and then decided that he would need more. He asked me to call her this morning and add a bean tostalada (tostada) to that order. Oh and I needed to remind her to not forget the Sprite! Apparently he ate every bit of it!

Brody was all concerned when he got the cafeteria today and saw that they had placed the Grandparents in the back where the 2nd graders usually sit. He asked Sugar if they could move cause heaven forbid people think he is still a 2nd grader!

1 Bean and cheese bean burro with chips, salsa and root beer for lunch is my kinda lunch!

And this is why

I mentioned earlier that Ledger and I have been having some very deep and exciting conversations in the car. Today we talked about lots of important things such as being kind, Heavenly Father, primary songs, all the good stuff. Today during our deep conversation I asked, "Ledger, how do you know that?" His response...

"Because I'm learning from you Mom."

Did I just hear that? Tears came to my eyes. So often as a Mom I feel like what I am doing goes un noticed, most of it does. To hear Ledger say he is learning from me was powerful. I hope he is learning that people are good. That being kind is important, That serving others is important. I hope he sees my love for him, my dedication to him. I hope he feels important. I hope he learning that his role in society is big, that he can make a difference. I hope he is learning to be patient and understanding with those around us. What an important role I have as his mother. I am learning from him daily. He has taught me so much. This is why I don't give up when sometimes I want to. This is why I continue to stay strong when things are falling apart. This is why I am tired all the time. I am a teacher, a mother, a wife, an example.

Trick Or Treat!

Halloween is by far one of my favorite holiday's. I love the excitement of dressing my kids up and playing spooky games all month long with them. This month seemed to whizzzzz by however. I didn't get to do most of what I wanted to with my kids, but we did do a few fun Halloween things this year.

One thing I hate about my kids getting older, is that they have their own ideas of what they want to be for Halloween. In the past, I would tell them what they were going to be for Halloween and we would work a "theme" out of it. This year...not so much. The only kid who knew exactly what he wanted to be, was Ledger. Brody started off wanting to be a zombie and then changed his mind. Case didn't want to dress up AT ALL! He told me that he thought it was a little weird that we dress in costumes and knock on doors asking for candy at night. After he explained it all to me...I totally agreed! After 3 stops at the costume store, he finally gave in and picked a costume. As for Miss B., I still get to pick her costume which means it will be complete fluff and over the top darlingness!

This year we headed over to Sugar's house for a low key (haha) family party. Sugar had fun games planned along with a scavenger hunt that made the night. We ate yummy food and trick-or-treated her neighborhood. As I was walking my kids around the block, it dawned on me that even though I grew up in this neighborhood, we never went trick-or-treating there. It was always tradition to trick-or-treat in my best friend Sammi's neighborhood. Our dad's would take us kids out while the mom's stayed home to pass out the candy. I have no real memories of trick or treating my own neighborhood until about 8th grade when my friend Misty Breinholt were catsup and mustard together. Miss B. and Ledger did great walking around the block while Brody and Case ran from house to house with Kim, Katy and Hunter. Everyone enjoyed the night, especially all the candy.

When we got home from Sugar's house (at 8:30), all the neighbors were out on lawn chairs at the Dolenar's house passing out candy. We grabbed our chairs and headed over for more fun in the neighborhood. We have such great friends and families here. We are so lucky! I literally thought my kids were gonna pass out by time the night was over. Case was hysterical at about 9:15 because he was hungry and I wouldn't let him eat. I was too tired to think about food so I threw him in bed crying. He fell asleep about 2 seconds later and we were done! With all the class parties and candy today, it's amazing we made it past 7:00! Although Halloween is one of my favorite holiday's, I am looking forward to the calmness of Thanksgiving, some cooler fall weather, and more football games! Hope your Halloween was spooky fun!

I love this picture of Spider Man reaching for the doorbell.

Trick or Treating is so much fun!

Playing games at Sugar's house was the best part of the night.

Case playing bowling.

Lady Bug B and Spider man.

While at the cabin for fall break, Sugar had all the kids make a Halloween bean bag to use for Halloween night. The kids each signed their names and the year so they will have them forever.

The scavenger hunt was a huge hit.