Church Guys

While we may not be perfect, the boys keep us on track. Spencer is practicing reading a verse of scripture each night, and he does remarkably well. He is getting ready for the children's presentation in church this Sunday. He has a small speaking part (which Carson has also memorized--now we have an understudy!) and he is also the shortest member of a group of 4 or 5 kids to sing part of a song. In a Primary of about 200 kids, it is an honor to be chosen! It should be interesting and entertaining, as always.

I know it's tiny, but these are the boys in front of a stand-up temple facade that was used during the Pioneer trek.

Spencer is teaching a lesson about Jesus for family night. He did a good job! Carson listens with rapt attention when Spencer is talking!

At school every year there is a creativity contest called "Reflections." The kids are given a theme and then they can write a story, poem, draw/paint pictures, photographs, sculptures, etc. This year's theme is "Together We Can...." Spencer decided to take a picture of Carson and his friend and call it "Together We Can Build." This was his entry. I thought it turned out cute. I got the little aprons for 77 cents!

We have been working hard on potty training Carson. He has been lackadaisical for quite a while and I'm cracking down on him! The first day was terrible. The second was marvelous. This morning I put on his training undies and he said, "I hope they get hit by lightning." That seemed like a random statement, so I asked, "What? Who?" "The underwear!" he said. Yikes! What am I in for??

Like Father, Like Son

Spencer is eerily like his father in many ways, one of which is taking candid photos of himself.


You see how they are??


That's his gum....

Our Creatures (Great and Small)

Here are some pics of what our pets have been up to.

Dakota had her first bath at the self-service dog wash. This will be a nice option in cold weather. She wasn't crazy about it, but it was easy to use and very convenient, especially since we didn't end up with suds and dog hair all over the house!

Not many days afterward, Dakota came to the door looking like this--excessively happy and covered with mud! I told her to show me what she'd done and she brought me to the muddy hole she just dug and rolled in. Uggghhh!

These pictures actually don't give you anywhere near the idea of how filthy she was. She got a bath from the hose this time!

At the end of the swimming season, one of the nearby pools has a special party just for dogs. They call it the Dog-pool-ooza. Dakota thought it was a riot! She didn't spend much time in the water (next year we'll bring toys) but she had a blast playing with her doggy friends. Some of her pals from the kennel were there and she was delighted to see them again. There were even vendors with all kinds of dog treat samples and coupons.

Let us not forget our dear Slippers, who was helping me make Carson's new curtains on this particular day. Sometimes the way she sits makes me wonder if she was a rabbit in another life. She is a good kitty. She follows me around to tuck the children in at night. She curls up with Spencer and sleeps with him for a while. She also "catches" her toy mice and takes one to each bedroom. Then when I go to bed she comes to spend the rest of the night with me.

It's not a great picture, but there was a beautiful rainbow one evening. We could see about 3/4 of it from our backyard. I love that fresh feeling in the air after a good rain.

Silly Spencer

Spencer is doing well so far in first grade. He seems to be adjusting better now. The other day he came home with two girls' phone numbers in his backpack! Apparently, they like him a lot and they chase him and his friends around the playground at recess. They want Spencer to come and visit them at their homes, so they gave him their numbers and asked for his! He's quite matter-of-fact about the whole thing. I had no idea this would start so early!! Also, I was walking the dog one night when some little girl yelled out, "Hi Spencer's mom!!" I didn't recognize her, but she knew who I was. He's quite a celebrity!


This is my son....

This is my son after the girls have been after him all day....

These are my two sons after they've been playing together!

Not Happy

Carson has a cold. This was our conversation this morning:

C: Mom, are you happy, Mom? Are you?

K: Yes, I'm happy. Are you?

C: No, I'm sick.

Poor baby!

Spencer's Birthday

Yes, I know this is delayed, but I had to put the vacation pics up first. So, Spencer had lots of parties--one with the family, one with friends, and one with Grandma and Grandpa.

He gave me very specific instructions on the cake--vanilla cake with orange frosting, and plastic frogs encircling a #7 candle.

My sister's boys came up to celebrate that night. As you can see, they always have a great time!

The next morning was the friend party. We had five guests, making seven little boys in all! They started by coloring pictures of frogs (for the frog-themed party).

We played some games, including this one where they have to pick up marbles from the bottom of the pool with their toes, then put them in a floating bowl. Spencer had a little meltdown because he couldn't do it and Carson was a pro!

These are all the buddies. They play together outside every chance they get!

The frog toss game.

Froggy story time--I'm going to be a library story time lady some day!

Next was cheeseburgers and fries for lunch, followed by more cake.

Andy hates crumbs, so he vacuumed off each child when they finished eating. They thought it was pretty funny. He is such a clean freak!

Carson

Here's a new one: Tonight Carson refused to eat his vegetables because "Spencer taught me not to eat them!" The blame system is in full force around here! Some pictures of Mr. Not My Fault...