Growin' boys

Today is crazy hair day at school.

I offered to spray glitter in their hair, but they weren't ready to go that far.

Yesterday Caleb had scouts after school, so Brayden and Dillon walked home together. Dillon came in the house, but Brayden didn't. I went to the window to look for him, and found this:

He was out there talking to Miriam for 15 minutes

before he finally came inside.

Brayden is 10!

We realized yesterday that if Brayden had been born two days earlier, he would've turned 10 on 10/10/10. So close...

I can't believe I'm old enough to have a ten year old. My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to stay awake at night to feed my new baby (actually, that did happen yesterday...but it was a different baby).

I used to feed Brayden in the livingroom at "the little house" and I would turn the radio on to help me stay awake. There was a song by Kenny Chesney that was really popular at that time, and it often played while I was feeding him. To this day, EVERY time I hear that song, it instantly takes me back to that time when I was a new mother, feeding my baby in the night. I'm adding it to the top of my playlist if you want to hear it, although the words have absolutely nothing to do with motherhood or a new baby.

It will always be one of my favorite songs, just because of the feelings and memories that I have when I hear it.

Brayden chose "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" for his birthday theme this year. I didn't get a very good picture of it, but I hung caramel popcorn balls (meatballs) and play food from the ceiling with fishing line so we could have food "raining" on us.

These spaghetti and meatball cupcakes were by far the easiest birthday cake I've ever made. I just used a frosting tip for the spaghetti, added some food coloring to our strawberry jam to make it look like sauce, and used Reese's Puffs cereal for the meatballs.

Then I rolled no-bake cookies into meatballs
And I made fried egg candy with pretzels, white chocolate chips, and M&M's.
For dinner we had a giant hamburger, and "Sunset Jell-O". Thanks Dad, for your help with the hamburger bun. It doesn't look that great, but it tasted good! (the first one I made looked better, but I cooked it a little too long). The Jell-O was supposed to be yellow. I bought three boxes of "island pineapple", but the recipe for Jiggler's called for four boxes, so I added a box of orange since the store was closed and that's all I had on hand.
Nate and Erin came IN COSTUME, which I absolutely loved. Erin wore an awesome unibrow to be Mr. Lockwood. Nate is Steve, the monkey thought translator. Jackie is Sam Sparks, the meteorologist, and Billy is none other than BABY BRENT (holding a can of sardines). Have I mentioned that I love having family here?
And here's the birthday boy hiding behind his loot. He got the Chronicles of Narnia, a Lego Hero Factory guy, a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book/journal, two hexbug nano's (so they can race), his new Webelos book and accessories, an official cub scout pocketknife, a Star Wars music CD, some money from Grandma Great, and some of those silly rubber bands that have taken over the world. He also got a new shirt, which isn't pictured.
Fun facts about Brayden:

-he loves to read

-he knows the scriptures stories better than his Mom. (The other day, Caleb asked me who Amlici was, and Brayden filled him in while I was trying to remember).

-his favorite school subject is Science

-his favorite color is yellow

-his favorite soda is Sprite

-his favorite ice cream is Vanilla

-he has slept with his favorite afghan since he was a baby, but ever since he left it at Grandma's house a few weeks ago, he has done just fine without it.

-he eats as much as his parents...sometimes more. I'm pretty sure if we let him, he'd be able to eat an entire box of cereal in two meals.

-he is growing WAY too fast.

We love you, Brayden!

Cub Scouts and brotherly love

I told the boys I was posting this picture for the Grandma's, but it's really just to show off the fact that I finally got around to sewing their badges on...and now I'm behind again.

Tonight Caleb earned his Bobcat, and Brayden got his Bear. I will never understand why the Mom has to paint their faces, or why we have to cheer by pretending to spit out watermelon seeds, but the boys had fun. Having been a den leader for a year, I can more fully appreciate all that their leaders do.

And here is a picture of poor Dillon, anxiously waiting for his boys to come home from school. Tomorrow is the last day of the school year, and Dilly couldn't be happier. I, on the other hand, could use another week to finish de-junking and organizing before having the kids home all day long.

What color should I paint?

We are in the process of finishing a bedroom (and hopefully the family room) in our basement in preparation for the baby.

I've been "collecting" idea's for the boys' science room for forever, but I am at a complete loss when trying to decide on paint color(s). I have until Friday to figure out the paint and carpet, so if you have suggestions, PLEASE HELP!

The boys want a space room, but I'm afraid they'll grow out of it too soon, so any "space themed" stuff needs to be easy to take out as they get older. My sister designed these cute scrapbook papers for me, that I'll use to mod-podge on frames, or containers, or whatever to add some "space" to their room. (By the way, you can click on her "Scrappity" link on my sidebar to download any of her papers).

The bedding will be like picture on top, except the stripes will be navy, orange, lime green, and a bit of turquoise. We have two huge illustrated maps for one wall, that are blue/turquoisey in the background. The boys also have an aquarium, and we'll be using their microscope, volcano lamp, and bio-dome habitat as decor in the room as well.

I love this organizational wall from Pottery Barn:

I do have some corrugated metal in the back lot that I'm considering using as wainscoating (sp?) across the bottom of one wall, with moulding across the top. Is that too weird?

I like using color in kid's rooms, but I don't want it so crazy that you can't rest in there. We don't really need any extra crazy in our house. Also, it's a basement room with one small window, so I don't want it to be too dark.

Any and all suggestions or idea's are welcome.

Brayden's Bat Party

I got this blow up bat at the dollar store. It was the last one they had so I got the display model. We hung it on the ceiling fan, turned it on low, and it "flew" around our heads.

Brayden moved on to the Bear den and had his first meeting today after school. His webkinz bat, Fangs, is modeling his new neckerchief and slide:
Because of Todd's recent gum surgery, he couldn't wear bat teeth with the rest of us. It's just as well, though, because the grocery store only had 4 sets left anyway.

Grandma Graves gave Brayden this cool volcano lamp/toy that he saw (and loved) in the gift shop when we visited Mt. St. Helen's. She also gave him three books full of volcano facts, and he is thrilled to read and share them with us.

The arrow behind Brayden's head is part of a huge styrofoam target that we got Brayden to go with his archery set. (His brother's did not shoot him in the neck...)

Todd has been waiting for weeks to play Star Wars battleship with Brayden. I only know the millenium falcon, but there's a bunch of other good guy and bad guy ships too.

Dillon is already showing off on Brayden's new skateboard.

Grandma and Grandpa Salisbury gave him this Halloween shirt with bats on it...

and Lego Star Wars for the Wii. They can't wait to play all the levels on this one.

Caleb and Dillon gave him a Lego Bionicle, and Grandma Great gave him money and he's dying to go to the store and pick out another Bionicle to share with his brothers.

The battleship game is over, and the boys just used their flashlights to hunt for plastic bats in our dark basement. Now it's time to sing and eat cake.

Brayden is NINE!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

That's our boy...

Today was our last day of soccer. I am a terrible mother and didn't take a single picture, but it's been a great season.

Caleb scored his first goal a couple weeks ago, and he's still talking about it. Soccer has since become his FAVORITE game.

We discovered that Dillon got all the athletic ability in our family. He can kick the ball while running, and he's not the least bit scared to hit the ball with his head (even though he's terrified of the wind). This season he just practiced with a ball on the sidelines, but next year we'll definitely put him on a team.

Brayden pulled off the move of the century this morning. He was playing defender, and in usual Brayden fashion, got distracted and bored, and laid down flat on the grass to watch the clouds.
The other team was kicking the ball towards our team's goal, and Todd started yelling at Brayden to get up. Brayden raised his head to see what was going on, just in time for the ball to bounce off of his head, which blocked the goal, and his team won for the first time.

It was a perfect ending to the season.

It's the first day of school!

I made it!

Our summer went well until we got home from our Washington vacation, and then everything kind of fell apart. It is most definitely time for school...for my house to stay clean for a few hours, for a normal bedtime, and for cooler weather. I love, love, love Autumn.

The only crying I did was yesterday, when I thought that I might not survive the final 18 hours of summer break without self-destructing. If I never hear the words, "Mom, I'm hungry" again, it will be too soon.

Thankfully, all of that is forgotten now that I've had a few hours to work on a project in glorious silence (pictures soon), and I'm sitting here looking at my cute boys who have grown way too fast.

Brayden is in 3rd grade this year!

...and Caleb is in 2nd grade.
I had to laugh last night when Caleb told me that Brayden
didn't look tall enough to be a 3rd grader.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Boys Grow

I love this poem, written by my friend Cathy Brian. Maybe it's because I was raised on a farm. Even though my Brayden learned how to tie a tie, rather than move sprinkler pipe, the feeling you get from this poem describes how I feel today. I can't believe my "baby" is starting third grade in a week and a half.

Boys Grow

The hay is cut

They stacked it high

to feed the cattle

winter's nigh

The air is chill

My nose is cold

The shadows stretch

The leaves are gold.

It froze last night

mid-day's still hot

The light has changed

I like it a lot.

The birds fly south

The fruit is ripe

The days grow short

we change sprinkler pipe

In spring 'twas hard

Boys worked together

But seasons end

With change in weather

Young boys grow strong

With work to do

It still aint easy

They muddle through

But now alone

they change each line

They jump right in

They do it fine

What once they

couldn't do alone

they finish now

each on their own.

Yes, seasons change

And boys grow

Just like the leaves

My hearts a glow.

-Cathy Brian-

Pinewood Derby

Brayden had his first Pinewood Derby last Thursday night, and boy am I glad it's over!

I was in charge of the "Kid Zone" where we had tables set up with coloring, playdough, car-painting, a car mat, and noodle collages. It worked great...we managed to avoid the chaos from bored siblings (and even scouts) running around the gym.

Brayden designed the car himself...down to every color.

Todd used a pattern from a book that Brayden got for Christmas to cut it out.

We were so proud of Brayden. His car lost EVERY race, and he handled it so well. During one of the races, his car and the other car crashed at the bottom, and the other car lost a wheel. He said, "My car isn't good at winning, but it's good at crashing!"

One of the wheels on his car was crooked, due to the cut in the block of wood he got. Todd looked up the rules and found that you HAVE to use the original cut, so they did. I'm just glad that Brayden was okay with the results.

Some of the competition:

It runs in the family...

I got a call from the school this morning, telling me that Brayden had hit his head on the door while going into the school and he needed stitches.

I ran over to pick him up and the secretary and principal were completely bewildered. They couldn't imagine what he'd possibly done.

I was able to reassure them that Brayden's grandpa Salisbury, and "uncle pianoman" had both done the same thing before (only they passed out) so it must run in the family.

Three hours, four Tylenol, and five stitches later, he's back in school.

I guess I'll start my day now. These are the times that I am so grateful to be a SAHM.

Brayden's baptism

Brayden was baptized on October 18, 2008.

The proud father :o)


The proud family
"Can we change out of our suits, yet?"


Chuck and Susan and their family came (Todd's best friend from high school), and Todd's brother Aaron and his wife Cherish surprised us by showing up the night before the baptism. They came from Washington bringing Aunt Elizabeth's "sweet ride" (a '08 Honda CRV) because she moved down to start school this winter.
Linda (Grandma Graves) was especially excited, because Brayden was baptized on the 33rd anniversary of her own baptism.

I feel bad that I didn't get any pictures of my family. I always hate to be the "pain" and round everyone up for pictures, so I stopped after this one. My mom and dad hosted a wonderful lunch after the baptism. Thank you to EVERYONE who came (or helped with the lunch) for your love and support. I'm afraid I wasn't much help after having a D&C the day before, but the day was a success thanks to all of you.

Brayden's 8th Birthday (OR) Felicia is drowning in a sea of testosterone

The birthday boy, saving the day.

I got the (brand new) costume on ebay for 99 cents.

The display. The dollar store was packed full of Spiderman stuff,

so I gave myself a $10 limit, and went to town. My mom used to go all out for our birthdays...blowing up that balloon and taping it to the ceiling above our chair.

I had a lot to live up to. :o)

Brayden dramatically collapsed when he saw the display.He got his scout stuff...

...and a scooter!

He asked for strawberry milk (yuck!), which we had with

muffins and oranges (his favorite food).

The boys blew their party blowers(?) until they were so full of spit they fell apart. Always a hit.

Spiderman vs...the green leprechaun??

"Web slinging" with silly string. Yes, Mom, they are wearing shorts, and yes it's freezing cold outside. Luckily, it only took about 30 seconds.

I bought silly string for each of the kids (make that 3 of the kids...the 34 yr. old was a bit upset at being left out). So, he "helped" Dillon....while wearing his SUIT PANTS!@#!

We got trick candles, but our Spiderman was too smart.

He blew them all out, and they didn't re-light.

I had never made, or even tried, a red-velvet cake, but it reminded me of Spiderman, so we did it. Not bad, just...not chocolate. Todd made the cream cheese icing.

Here are the boys, playing with fire, trying to figure out why the trick candles didn't re-light, and what would happen if they burned the entire candle??

As I left to come downstairs to download these pictures, I heard: "What would happen if we lit our eyebrows on fire?"

Heaven help me.