Christmas break

Dave has this game called Rampage, it is a monster game where you jump on buildings and try and earn points. Caden has recently taken an interest in this game and is pretty good. We looked on line to get the code to unlock all the monsters so he has more than 4 to choose from. He was asking me if I could look up the codes again so I could unlock the monsters. I told him I didn't need to look it up because the code was in my head. This is what he did next...looking for the code! Silly kid.

Dave's big project this semester was to make a set of dentures. He worked really hard and did a great job, see... by the way, they were washed really good between mouths! They are sure nice and straight, but I am super glad Dave's teeth don't really stick out like that!

Our ward had a nice Christmas party with a special guest, can you guess who it was? We have pictures of all the boys, but Caden was the only one who looked.

We went to cut down our Christmas tree again this year. It is such a fun thing. It was kinda windy, and cold, but we had a great time being together.

The boys really wanted to put candy canes on the tree this year.

Caden got this funny straw from his class party, silly hua? I love how he looks so serious even though he thought it was so funny!

Christmas Eve I attempted a traditional German dinner, three different kinds of wurst (sausage) and hot potato salad. I am pleased to say that it was delicious. This was the first year I have had to do the wurst, so I was a little nervous. Christmas morning was fun, the boys really got into it this year. Caden and Austin forgot to wake us up before going downstairs, so that took some of the fun out of it for Dave and I but it was still great!

Well, that's all in a nut shell. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas also!

A little Christmas laugh

So do you remember Elf Yourself last year? Well they added a few new versions. Here is one of the boys. They laughed so hard when they saw it and wanted to see it over and over again. Enjoy!!
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/jaCxJFNNcFt65HolaaR1

Thanksgiving

I know this is a little late for a Thanksgiving post, but Dave had all the pictures on his laptop so I had to wait for him to put them on our computer.
So kinda last minute we decided to make the drive down to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Dave's Sister and her family. What made it even better was a few days before Dave's mom called to say she was going to be there to.

Dave's sister had her third baby, Whitney on November 6th so I was a little hesitant at the thought of us all there, but she insisted that they wanted us to come. To lessen the chaos we booked a hotel for our time there. Because she would still be recovering (from an almost 10 pound baby, without any drugs!) I told her I was going to do the dinner...all of it. Boy was it yummy. We had turkey, cranberry apple stuffing, sweet potato casserole (it tastes like candy, not gross sweet like the kind with marshmallows, but buttery brown sugar pecan goodness sweet) mashed potatoes whipped in the kitchen aid, corn, maple glazed baby carrots, homemade rolls, and apple juice mixed with sprite. For desert we had turtle pumpkin pie, triple chocolate pie, and a pecan pie (that was not made by me, we had a couple come to dinner from Dave's sister's ward)

We had a ton of fun hanging out together, playing games, going swimming at the hotel pool, shopping Black Friday, I even got to see a good friend from University Student Apartments that moved to Virginia.

We had such a nice time with family, it was so nice for the boys to get to spend time with their Grandma. I probably had a lot more to say about this whole experience, but I have let it sit too long, now all I want to talk about is Christmas. We did have a fantastic time though, it is always great to get to be with the people you love the most!

Whitney Dee and Andrea

Me and Andrea

Our Dinner group

Swinging with Grandma

Grandma and all her grand kids.

Playing at the pool

Sorry it is blurry, still kinda fun!

OK, so this was fantastic. There is a place called the Monticello trail, I think it is 4 miles round trip. We walked down the last mile. Well I walked, the kids ran, the whole thing, and guess who crossed the finished line first? Guess who never took a break when the others did? NO, not Taylor, that is Austin. Can you imagine cute determined Austin with his limp running the whole thing? Well he did and was sooooo proud of himself, and so were we. He continues to amaze me in the way he pushes himself, and overcomes his physical challenges!!

Andrea, Eric, Dave and Me

I hope everyone had as fantastic of a Thanksgiving as we did!

I thought 2's were supposed to be terrible...nobody told me about the terrible 4's!!

Those of you that know me really well know that I absolutely adore my youngest (I absolutely adore all my boys but for the sake of this post I am only talking about Caden).

When Caden was born I wouldn't put him down. Grandma was lucky if she got to hold him! Give me some credit though, I didn't get to hold my first 2 for almost 3 months!!

Anyway, Caden has always been a sweet, go with the flow type of child. Not anymore! There is a fight about everything, and I mean everything. Don't get me wrong, he is still very sweet some times, but lately though, mostly not!

Lately Caden does not want to sit in his car seat, he wants to sit in one of the big boys. He is fine in a tall booster with a seat belt, but I have just been to lazy to get him a new one (and I don't want to fork out the cash!) After all, he still fits OK in his. Well, this last weekend I was visiting a friend in Ohio, and she gave me one of her old boosters that she isn't using, to use for Caden. It was perfect, I thought. Today Caden got to try it out. He got in it and was all situated and said to me, "I don't like this seat, I want my old one!" Me: "What do you mean you don't like it? You always want to sit in Austin and Taylor's, and now you have your own!" C: I don't want to sit in Austin and Taylor's, I just want to sit in mine." Me: "Well, that one is yours now. You are getting to big for the other one." C: "If you say that again, I won't be your friend!" I laughed and off we went to the store. About half way down the road he found a little pocket/cup holder thing on the side of his new seat and was thrilled. C: "MOM! Look at this!" Me: "That is for a cup, or maybe some snacks, or a little toy." C: My old seat doesn't have that. Me: "No it doesn't, do you like your new seat now?" C: "Yah! It's great!!"

Later on today, I walked into the front room where the old seat was still sitting and found this:

However frustrating my days seem to be with this little guy lately, I sure love him!

Halloween Fun

The night before Halloween the boys and I decided to carve their pumpkins. They each had one and were getting ready to choose what they wanted them to look like when Caden broke down in tears because he didn't want to cut his. So sad, but cute to. We didn't cut his!! Here are how Austin and Taylor's turned out.

So I thought I was going to be able and get a good picture of the boys in their costumes, but it just didn't happen. We had a fun Halloween though. Dave took the boys out trick or treating while I stayed home and tried to get rid of all our candy!

After they were all done and had more candy then we gave out, we had a fun little Halloween dinner. A friend made "mummy dogs" for a little party she did and I thought they were so cute, I made them for us. So we had "mummy dogs", witch fingers (french fries dipped in ketchup), green goblin goo (apple sauce died green), and dirty witch's brew to drink (chocolate milk). I was kinda sad after we ate because I didn't get a picture of the spread, it was pretty impressive! This is what the mummy dogs look like though:

After eating we went to a little party our friends were having. They had it in their back yard with a big flood light. A nice warm fire and hot cocoa kept the chill away. They had a wagon full of hay for a "hay ride" (which the boys loved) a pumpkin bean bag toss game, a "stick your hand in here and feel some brains, severed fingers, worm and eyeballs" thing. Goodie bags, costume contest, and a real live scarecrow! We had a really fun time!

Well, I went to the store today. All the Halloween stuff is 70% off and all the Christmas stuff is out in full force. What about Thanksgiving? I love this time of year we are going into. It makes me grateful for the fantastic family I get to share it all with.

Pumpkin Patch and Trunk or Treat

A couple weekends ago the boys and I went to Cincinnati while Dave stayed home and studied for a test. One of my best friends lives there. We met when we moved in above them at the University Student Apartments 5 1/2 years ago. Anyway, we got to go to a pumpkin patch that is also a farm. The boys had a great time feeding the goats, petting the cows, riding on the hay out to the pumpkin patch and of course spending time with great friends.

Last night there was a tri-ward trunk or treat at our church. It had been raining most of the day so they moved it inside. It was a little crowded but the boys still had a great time. This year the boys told me what they wanted to be, without any help from me (or Dave). Taylor and Austin both wanted to be a "light saber guy" I found a great deal on a Anakin costume for one of them and thanks to a friend that had one from a couple years ago all I had to buy was light sabers. Caden wanted to be a cowboy. I made him some chaps out of felt and a belt buckle and borrowed some cowboy gear form the same friend that gave us the other costume. I thought he looked pretty cute. Hopefully we can get some better pictures on Halloween.

I'm your best friend?

So recently Caden has started saying to me, "I won't be your best friend" if you don't or if you won't something or an other. At first I was a little hurt, how could such a sweet boy say something so un-sweet? Then after hearing it a few times I got to thinking, he thinks of me as his best friend. How great is that? How long will this last? He still loves to cuddle, he sporadically tells me that he loves me, he will be walking away and say "oops I verygot (forgot) something" and come back to where I am and give me a kiss. I look at him every day and sometimes find myself staring at him in amazement. Where has the time gone? When did my baby turn into such a big boy.

Look What I Did!!

Last Thursday a friend and I and our kids who weren't in school went to a local orchard and picked red raspberries. They charge $2 a pound and you can eat as many as you want while you are picking. I was having such a fun time picking that I went home with 5 1/2 pounds. After eating A LOT of them with cream and sugar I made jam. I have never made jam by myself and I am quite pleased with the results. It is so yummy!

Time, I have plans for you!

Today Caden started pre-school at a little church down the street from our house. He has been so excited to go. We have driven by it as often as I would allow, just to see the playground all summer. I was telling Caden yesterday that he was going to get to go to pre-school tomorrow. He got really excited. I told him I was going to miss him while he was gone. He looked at me and smiled and then said, "I will miss you too momma, but I will come back." I thought it was pretty funny that a 4 year old was doing the comforting.

Caden is going to be in a class with 20 other little kids, three of which are his friends from our ward/neighborhood. He was really excited about that. There was no hesitation from him going into his classroom this morning. I'm sure all the puzzles and toys had something to do with that. It made it easier for me too.

This is what happens when you have 4 moms trying to take a group picture at the same time. Can you tell where everyone's mom was?

Caden getting right into it.

Rise and Shout the Cougars are out!!

So this post is a little backwards. I am just way too excited to get to say that college football has started. Not just college football, but BYU football. Those of you who know me well, know that I have been going to BYU football games since I was 4 years old. I absolutely LOVE them. I love being in the crowd, I love wearing the blue and white, and I LOVE the game of football. I love to hear the pads hit together, I love to watch a long drive, I love...well I think you probably get the fact that I LOVE BYU FOOTBALL. This was something I got to share with my dad, who also was a huge fan, it is fun to have memories of him every time I get to see a game. Now the sad report. Comcast does not carry the MTN. here in Indiana, I guess not a lot of people out here are interested in the Mountain West conference. We will get a few of the games, so I guess I should be happy with that. I have also already told Dave that when we are done with school I would like us to be season ticket holders, he is a fan too so I think we will make sure that happens! OK, so that is probably enough of my ranting, I just really love it!! GO COUGARS!!

Last Thursday Dave and I (and some friends) got to go to a Colts pre-season game is the new Lucas Oil Stadium. I know it is not the biggest stadium, but it is the biggest I have ever been in. It was amazing. Because of Dave's injury we were able to exchange our tickets for some that were in the disabled area, they were really good seats too. No one in front of us, the snack bar right behind us and no stairs for Dave to have to climb. We had a great time!

Now a little report on Dave's Achilles. He had surgery on the 22nd. It was a much bigger deal then either of us thought it would be. Dave was intibated and the surgery lasted about 3 hours. They gave him a nerve block in his leg to help with the pain. Apparently, according to the surgeon, this is the most painful of orthopaedic surgeries to recover from. This proved to be true on Saturday. Now, Dave is a tough guy, he doesn't complain and whine when he is hurt. I don't think anyone knew what really happened when it did because he just walked off the court. Saturday, was horrible, I was bawling watching him be in so much pain, and knowing there was nothing I could do to make it better. The catheter they put in for the nerve block was turned up as high as it could go and was not working and he was taking as much pain meds as he was allowed. By Sunday afternoon his pain seemed to be under control, thank goodness! He has gone back to school and has a follow up appointment on Thursday. We have been told that he could be in a cast for the next 6-12 weeks. Yikes!! We are both hopeful that some of that time will at least be a walking cast so he can get around school/lab a little better. I wanted to say thank you to those of you who have called and wished Dave well. Also those of you who have watched our boys during the last couple weeks, thank you to the two great friends who came and gave Dave a wonderful blessing, and of course all of your prayers on his behalf. Your kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated. We recognize the hand of the Lord in all things and are grateful for His help during all of this.

Our exciting week!!

Last week was quite an eventful week at our house. The most exciting was that Austin and Taylor started first grade. They had a great week and both love their teachers (they are in different classes this year).

Dave had his first monthly exam last Monday, so after everyone got home we all went to the Indiana State Fair, and oh what a fair it is. We rode rides, saw a circus show, played on a little farm, saw a lot of stinky farm animals, and or course ate yummy fair food. Dave's favorite is the big turkey leg. It is pretty yummy, but I feel a little barbaric eating it. He also decided that this was the year to try fried Pepsi. Yup, you heard right, the fry everything you can imagine. Snickers, oreos, brownies, cookie dough, peanut butter cups. For the fried Pepsi they make a batter using Pepsi instead of water, fry it, then they drizzle Pepsi syrup and powdered sugar on top. We were little disappointed, but it was still fun to try.

And last but certainly not least...Dave was at the church playing ball with a bunch of the dental guys, he pushed up to jump for a rebound and fell down instead. Wanna know what happened? He ruptured his Achilles tendon. He is in a cast for now, and has an appointment with a sports medicine Dr. on Thursday. The first Dr's he saw told him that surgery is almost inevitable. He can't put ANY weight on it and has to use crutches. This is panning out to be a hard thing to do when he is in lab trying to carry a tray. Go figure!! The thing is, I think I am taking it harder than he is. We are looking forward to Thursday to hopefully get some more definite answers.