Happy Birthday Grandpa Moore!!!

Today was Grandpa Moore's birthday. Mom and I took the boys to the cemetery to leave a bouquet of balloons at his grave. When I spoke with Grandma Moore, who is in a rehabilitation center right now recuperating from knee replacement surgery, she was in tears she couldn't get to the cemetery today. She was so grateful that Mom and I and the boys could make the trip. We sang Happy Birthday to Grandpa and each talked about the things we loved most about him.

We all still miss Grandpa Moore terribly. It's hard to believe it was just one year ago we were all at he and Grandma's house celebrating his birthday with all the extended family. Although he was sick, he was able to participate in all the fun. He went downhill so quickly. I'm so glad we had that big party for him last year. Who would have guessed we'd be at the cemetery the next year to commemorate his birthday.

We miss you, Grandpa!

We're Not in Kansas Anymore...

I got to spend four days last week with one of my best friends, Tana Chlarson Hall, at her new home in Kansas. Her husband is in the military and was transferred to For Leavenworth a few months ago. Tana and I have been friends since our American Fork Junior High days - we were on the yearbook staff together. We didn't stay in touch after high school, but met up again when Tana was my first mission companion and trainer in the New York Rochester Mission. What a fabulous experience when I was feeling so homesick and nervous about the whole mission experience to have Tana there! I remember President Jensen telling us that he had a hard time separating us when it was time for transfers a couple of months later. He said we were definitely two peas in a pod. What a compliment to be considered similar to Tana! We've stayed in touch since our mission- through all those years we wondered if we would EVER get married and every thing in between. Asher and her son, Maxx, were born just a day apart- which was so much fun to keep in touch about our pregnancies and what was going on and now how the boys are each growing and how they're reaching their developmental milestones.
The greatest thing about Tana is she is not a high maintenance friend. All of my high maintenance friends have fallen to the wayside. Tana and I can go weeks and even months without talking and pick up right where we left off when we do get in touch again. Tana's life is definitely always on the move with Sam being in the military. I have been able to visit them in Korea, North Carolina, and now Kansas. Maybe their next transfer will be somewhere exciting like Germany.
Asher and I had so much fun visiting Tana and her family! Maxx and Asher entertained each other, usually choosing to push a car around as the went from room to room. They each love to "shake their booty" whenever music is on. They also love books and spending time looking at them alone and having them read out loud. We visited some fun places, but Tana and I both agreed that probably the most fun they had was playing at the park and splashing in the puddles on the sidewalk in front of their house. As parents we often try to take our kids to these fabulous places when the greatest amount of fun is just on the other side of the front door- especially for almost-two-year-olds. We can't wait to get out to see them again!

We took the boys to Train Town - Baldwin, Kansas - for a ride on the historic train. There was a tornado in the town the night before, so we were glad the train didn't get swept away!

Asher and Maxx taking it easy on the train ride.

Asher thought the trees and other scenery needed a friendly wave hello.

At the turning back point, we all got off of the train while the engine was switched.

Asher thinks this train-riding business is pretty fun.

Asher and Maxx enjoy the beautiful scenery from their window seats.

Every time the train would blow it's whistle, Asher would put

his hands on this cheeks and make a big, "OH!" sound.

We ate lunch at the coolest train restaurant.

The train travels from the kitchen to your table to bring you your order.

Asher can't wait to eat his lunch that was just delivered by the train.

Enjoying the water fountain show in front of the Crown Center in Kansas City.

The water fountain show was synchronized to music and it was quite mesmerizing.

Our Two Year Supply...

I love it when I find a deal! Seriously, it's like a drug for me. When I find something for a great price, I experience a high like nothing else. The other day I found 12 packs of Gatorade for TWO DOLLARS!!! The regular price is $6.00, so I was thrilled - especially since everyone in my family sucks down the Gatorade in tremendous portions. Does this count towards my two year food storage?!?!

Where the Time Goes...

Many a night, as I'm reflecting on my day and all that conspired, I try to think of exactly what it was that consumed all of my waking hours. Usually, there is very little physical evidence of what sucked every ounce of energy my body could produce in a 16 hour period. I have to sigh and think, "Well, we are all still alive." Hopefully that brings some level of satisfaction.
A few mornings ago, as I was spending the usual tremendous amount of time cleaning up Asher after a meal, I decided to document what he usually looks like after eating. Independence in an almost two year old is a mixed blessing. Asher INSISTS on feeding himself. If I get my hand even close to the utensil he's using, he does this growling thing. If I push the issue, he gets mad and will throw his entire plate on the floor. So he gets to feed himself and I get to spend a enormous amount of time each day cleaning him up, cleaning the counter and floor up, changing his clothes often after each meal and adding to the already mountains of laundry that are always accumulating in each hamper throughout the house.

All of the boys do love Cream of Wheat or oatmeal for breakfast, which I am glad they do like a hot breakfast.

But it's just the clean up that makes it bad! Have you noticed that if Cream of Wheat or oatmeal is not immediately wiped up off the floor, counter, and dishes it turns into a substance like Super Glue that requires a puddy knife to remove?

"Don't even think about touching my spoon!"

"Eating Cream of Wheat makes me happy!"

Nothing quite like a hot bowl of mush to start the day off right.

Then Asher looks confused, as if he has no idea where all of this mess on his clothes came from. Have you noticed that when you try to wipe off Cream of Wheat it just kind of rolls around- the washcloth cannot seem to pick it up!

All Aboard!

Eli has started his second year of preschool at All Aboard Preschool. The original plan was to go to another preschool some others in the neighborhood had been to and really liked. I spoke with the teacher last fall and she told me Eli had the last spot in the class. When I called in February to ask when I needed to send in my deposit, she told me I was actually on the waiting list. I was a bit bugged, to put it mildly, so I decided I'd look for another preschool for Eli. And boy am I glad I did!!! I called the Pleasant Grove City Office and asked for a list of people who had applied for a business license for a preschool. My thinking is if someone goes to the work of applying for a business license for their preschool, they're pretty serious about it. I started calling the names on the list and finding out who had any openings, what time the school was to see how it would coordinate with taking Oakley to school, and the other basic information. As soon as I talked with Stacey, I KNEW she was supposed to be Eli's teacher. I was so impressed with her and all she did in her school. Unfortunately, she didn't have an opening, but we could be on the waiting list. I was totally bummed. I KNEW Eli was supposed to be in her preschool. The next week Stacey called and said that one of the kids in her morning class was going to have to move to the afternoon and said Eli could have the spot if he wanted it. Short of jumping through the phone and hugging her, I made it clear that I for sure did! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh - I love it when things work out how I feel so strongly they should. Why I had such a strong impression that Eli should be in Stacey's preschool, I don't know - at least right now. Maybe not even in this life will it become clear. But I know he's right where he's supposed to be - attending All Aboard Preschool with Miss Stacey.

Not only does Miss Stacey teach 2 preschool classes, but she also teaches early morning (5:00 a.m.!) aerobics and is the Primary President in her ward - not to mention she has four children of her own! I have no idea where she gets the energy to carry on her schedule- she is completely amazing!

I Think We're Ready...

I don't know of any other time in my life that I've carved a jack-o-lantern on September 17th. But I've also never been the mother of four-year-old Eli during the Fall of 2008. For Eli, Halloween is very close to being as exciting as Christmas. He has ALWAYS loved Halloween ever since he's had any concept of holidays and celebrations. I don't know how many times a year he pulls out the Halloween decorations and wants to play with them. We have a skeleton that is about 24 inches high that sings and dances to the song, "Play That Funky Music White Boy," that is supposed to be a Halloween decoration, but Eli plays with it all year round. Maybe his great love of Halloween has something to do with going house to house getting free candy- Eli LOVES candy!!! The first time we took Eli trick-or-treating he refused to put any candy in his bag- he ate every piece of candy as soon as he got it and before we got to the next house. It's a good thing we only hit a few that year!!! Whatever the reason for his tremendous love, Eli was so thrilled when we were at Rite Aid yesterday when he could look at all of the Halloween decorations. I told him he could pick out one small toy. He decided on a pumpkin carving kit and for two days, forty-eight solid hours (he probably even dreamt about it!) all I heard over and over and over is, "Mom, I need a pumpkin to carve!" I gave him crab apples and tomatoes to "carve," but he was holding out for the real deal. This afternoon, more for my mental health than anything else because I knew if I heard, "I need a pumpkin," one more time I was sure to end up in a corner in the fetal position rocking back and forth, I took Eli to get his pumpkin. I tried to convince him to wait to carve his pumpkin because it would be rotten and all shriveled up before Halloween- no such luck. He wanted it carved and he wanted it carved now. I guess maybe doing one now and one again at Halloween will some how make up for the fact that we never did get them carved last year...
All of the Halloween decorations showing up in the stores is just fine with me. I LOVE fall!!! Not only is Eli anxious for the Halloween season, I must be, too. I ordered the pictures to include with our Christmas card a few weeks ago. It was mostly influenced because I had 100 free prints that were expiring that I wanted to make use of, but I, too, am looking forward to Halloween, sitting in front of a warm fire, Thanksgiving, hot chocolate, Christmas shopping, getting to bed earlier because the sun actually goes down before midnight, and the most fun of all - CHRISTMAS!!!

Eli has his pumpkin carving kit and is ready for action!

The finished product! I was so glad when he picked an easy pattern.

"How would I look with a jack-o-lantern smile?"

This is Eli's "scary Halloween Face."

The Freezer with No Handle...

Asher has found much entertainment opening the freezer of our new fridge and throwing the contents all over the kitchen floor. After putting Popsicles, Uncrustables, broccoli, chicken nuggets, and other various freezer items away numerous times a day, we decided the best solution was to just take the handle off of the freezer.

I really love my new fridge with the French doors, ice and water in the door, and the freezer on the bottom. If only Asher would leave the freezer closed! I know that in the life span of the fridge, Asher emptying out it's contents is in reality a short time frame - so it's worth enduring his current obsession with playing in the freezer.

Those two copper-looking screws is where the handle once

hooked on and hopefully will again in the near future!

He got over his frustration about not being able to open the freezer pretty quickly. He's now moved on to the lap top keys. He loves to take all of the keys off of the laptop computer we have on the kitchen table. Sigh... As soon as we find a way to stop him from doing that, he'll find something else to destroy.

The Dirt Hill...

As usual, there is a "project" going on at the house. The kitchen is on indefinite hold- our cabinet guy could be awarded biggest flake of the year. We did have another cabinet maker give us an estimate, but it was twice as much!!! We figure we can deal with some flakiness for that amount of money. Another, and probably the actual reason for the kitchen being put on the back burner is we've undertaken some major landscaping projects. We had a landscape architect come and draw up 'the master plan' for all two acres that are ours. We cannot afford the $80,000 price tag (and that doesn't include any of the actual plants, trees, or bushes or the huge garage we need to build.) in one big chunk. Our top priorities are the entryway and getting a fence in. The entryway is what has been bugging Scott the most while I have been wanting a fence in desperately to separate us from the neighbors horses. EVERYONE assumes that they are our horses because of how their corral sits right next to our drive. It makes me feel really bad people think the horses are ours because these horses are in a TINY corral they can barely make a full circle in, have no shade for all of the 90-100 degree days in the summer, no shelter in the freezing winter, are actually taken out and ridden once or twice a year, and I wonder how often they even get water. I don' want anyone to think we could treat another living creature that way. The fence will remove that whole assumption.

The two colums of bricks will have a brick wall that curves out from them and ends at another column. I was so excited they were able to match the brick from our house so well!

We'll put some lanterns on top of the columns when it's all done. The columns are built so that some day we can add an iron gate - but if we ever actually do get a gate, it will be in the far distant future.

Asher, and the other boys, too, LOVE riding with Scott on the big equipment. Scott is in all his glory!

Scott is always out offering to help out the contractors with anything he can do. He feels so manly driving the big equipment around.

I think the big equipment that's been here for the past few weeks has been the highlight of the summer for all four boys in the family!

One of the greatest result of the entryway being redone is the amount of dirt that is having to be removed to flatten out the front flower bed. The dirt is being placed on our neighbor's field where they are hoping to level it out some day. Eli is taking full advantage of the dirt hills. Watching him out playing today reminded me of the hours we passed playing on the dirt hill behind our house. We grew up in a neighborhood where a lot of new homes were being built. All of the dirt that was scooped out to make the basements was piled up and seemed to be calling every child in the neighborhoods name. The favorite activity was pulling our Big Wheel to the top and flying back down. We'd stick our legs straight out to the side so the pedals wouldn't rip our feet off and go warp speed to the bottom of the hill. I'm sure we hit speeds of at least 100 m.p.h. It's a wonder no long-term bodily injury occurred. The other favorite activity resulting from all of the new construction was the leftover pieces of sheet rock we could find inside of the houses. Of course these were the days before sidewalk chalk, so we used the sheet rock to make bike trails all over our cul-de-sac. We made a path to ride our bike in with stops like a gas station, park, library, store, etc. to drive to. The benefit of living in a cul-de-sac and having minimal traffic, I rode my bright blue bike with the banana seat covered with a rainbow and butterfly (How's that for a 70's look?!?!) all day on the "sheet rock trail."



It's nice to see that there are still some of the real joys I enjoyed that my children are able to enjoy, too. Dirt- the fun is timeless!