WOW!!!

My boys have been saving and saving for a four wheeler (the reason for the paper route! They are now up to 430 papers, they started at 140. 140 takes too long to save, haha, they are so cute!). They had a little gas powered 50, and they out grew it, so they finally got the money, and this is the first day that we have been able to ride. I told Cars if he asked me one more time about Saturday he would not get to ride. He had to catch himself about 10 times from saying something. It had set in the shed, waiting for them to have to the money to buy it (about 1-1/2 mo), so it would not start this morning. After Carson practically becoming a mechanic (I was quite impressed at his "natural" knowledge of what to try!), it was up and running. They were frantically putting on their helmets (thanks Nana and Papa, a present to them about 2ish yrs ago I think) and running to the field by our house. Chet went with them while I stayed home with the babies (story of my life. wah, wah, I know!) After a while we traded places, and I about had a heart attack. I was instantly telling them it was too fast, they couldn't ride like that. In unison, they all say, "Dad let us!" In the picture above, Carter is "spinning cookies". It was hard to get a picture, but they are good at that! It is so much fun to see them have so much fun at something. I just don't know if my heart can handle it!!!

Temple Trip

This year we have decided that we are going to make our very best effort at organizing a monthly temple group. So, this is trip number one. We planned and called and planned and called. We thought we were prepared. But what do you do when someone is trying their very best from keeping you from the temple. You pray and have faith the Heavenly Father is more powerful, and know that HE is looking out for you. Here's a little run down. To start the week, some of our families got sick. The illnesses were not getting better, but maybe even worse. Many people had expired recommends, but several rushed to get new ones. When we hit the interstate this morning (25 min late), we started texting everyone to see where they were. Luckily, we were all within 5 min of each other. Our lead car had to pull off to clean vomit from all over their car and precious little girl. Then they had to stop in at KMart and buy her some new clothes. We got to Billings and drove to our church where we would be leaving our kids with some teenage sitters. The parking lot was full. Our building was not available. The bishop that told us we could use the building said we could bring our FIFTEEN small children to his house. As you can imagine, taking our small out of control boys to perfect strangers (who is a Dr we later found out, I am sure that house was NOT child proofed!) house was not high on the priority list. We drove to another building in town and happened to catch some people coming out and used that building. Probably not alright, but we did it! Then we scrambled to the temple, where we missed the session! (Thats the reason two friends that were kidless for the trip were not in the picture, they made the session) The sealer was amazing and thanked us I think 4 times for being there. That was very nice to hear!!! Then we all went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (10 of us!). We had a blast. I was so happy!!! We all split after that and so we all got out of town at different times. The lead car text to let us know they hit STRAIGHT black ice at Sheridan. By the time we got there, there were guards missing from being "taken out" by other vehicles and about 5 police officers to slow us all down. Traffic had been at a complete stand still while they sanded the road. After we made it through that, about 50 miles later, we experienced a first. A car was coming at us in the left lane of the interstate!!! Chet was in shock as he passed us going at least 75mph THE OTHER WAY!!! We called 911 and saw emergency vehicles entering the interstate a few miles later. We called in at mile marker 53. Friends later told us, that were behind us, he was stopped by several police cars at marker 37. Almost 20 miles that crazy made it going the wrong way. We made it home, and are already planning next month! How can we top this one!

Martin Luther King, Jr

Friday at school the kids learned about Martin Luther King. Caden came in the door and was going a hundred miles a minute about him. He had a picture of him and was so happy to know all about this "wonderful man who helped brown people be able to use white peoples bathrooms" He was confused as to why "brown" people couldn't use "white" peoples bathrooms. He was so sincere and you could tell he has a heart the size of Texas. Later that day he walked in on Carter playing the Wii. He asked if he could play and Carter asked if he could wait until he was finished with his game, so he didn't have to start over. Caden says, "You know what. That's what King Jr would want me to do. Sure. I will wait. King Jr would be proud of me!" It was so sincere and cute. He is SOOOOOO kind! Love my Cade-A-Babe to PIECES!!!!!

Test

Today I found a little paper in Carson's things that had some scores on it. I asked him what they were and he said they practiced today for their state testing. His scores were lower than they should have been, but I read with all the kids in his class so I know that his reading is WELL above most in his class. I was really confused and asked him what happened. Not kidding, this is what he tells me. "Mom, I know that I am a good reader. I can read 5th grade books, and I have them down (they have to read and retell). But that testing is BORING! The story was long enough that I had to scroll down like 10 times. I read through half and decided I didn't care enough about that answer so I just guessed at the end." Then he tells me, "But guess what was really cool! Andrew just guessed "a" for every answer and got higher than me." He raised he eyebrows and smiled at me, and I could just see it in his eyes, that's what he wants to do next time. How can he be this way? I HAD to have straight A's, and highest scores. And not because I knew everything, but because I learned what I needed to know for that short time and then discarded it. I think his theory is better, to know and not care what the test shows...unfortunatley colleges don't!!! And something tells me, neither does the state.

Drinking

Tonight Colby spilt a water bottle all over the kitchen floor. Cael was the one that left the water bottle on the edge of the table, so we got him a towel and told him to clean up every drop. Chet and I started getting the kids shuffled to bed, a nightmare in its self. Chet walks into the kitchen where Cael is on his hands and knees "sucking" the water off the kitchen floor. Chet says, all disgusted, "Cael! What are you doing!?!" He responds, "Drinking with my mouth Dad." and continues on. He's got the brains of his namesake. This one's for you "Uncle Mogan"! On a side note, I was talking to Morgan tonight on the phone while Cael was in the room. When I hung up he asked who I was talking to. I told him Uncle Morgan and he got really excited and asked if he could talk to him. I said sure, we could call him back. He was jumping up and down all excited. He was so excited to tell Uncle Morgan hi and everything the family was doing. I love that little kid. So cute and full of life. Very much in a stage where everything is so matter of fact. He is just "thrilled" about everything, especially his Uncle Morgan!!! How lucky they are to have a young aunt and uncle to look up to so much.

Moms and Dads

I cannot stand to be touched while eating. If I have to hold a baby, I will not eat myself. I will wait until they are done and I can put them down. I have to sit in a certain seat every night with Chet next to me so that my chances of being malled are lower. Strange little fettish I have. I also hate to have to get up from my plate once I sit down. I make sure EVERYTHING is ready for dinner before I sit down (There must have been too many plates made and gone cold before I got to sit and actually eat). This morning at breakfast I made all the waffles and sat down before Cael had gotten his. I got up to get it and said, "Ah, I hate getting up while my breakfast sits there getting cold!" Caden says, "That's part of being a Mom. You have to get us breakfast. Too bad you are not a Dad!" Then Carson says, "nu-uh Caden. Moms tell Dads what to do." It made me laugh to see the perception of the kids. Caden felt he was entitled to my help since I was his mom, and as a Dad he didn't have to do it (which is SOOOOOOO contrary to what Chet's example really is!) and Carson thinks that Moms just boss Dads around. Carson might (wink, wink) be a little closer on his perception than Caden!

For Thanksgiving we took a trip to Laramie to see "Uncle Morgan" aka..The boys second hero! Morgan is a football manager for the Wyoming Cowboys, so he gave us a tour. Their shoes alone are HUGE! We were dying. We all went to his dorm room and hung out for a while. It was really fun. The room is tiny, as I'm sure most dorm rooms go, but we all crammed in (12 of us total) and my boys thought it was awesome. They all had to see if they were tough enough to hold all of Morgans books. There was some major back bending to keep their arms up. We went to Perkins for lunch and Applebees for dinner. It was a great trip!

Brownies

I have a pretty busy calling right now. When I was called the bishop asked me to make sure my family didn't suffer, or eat Mac & Cheese everynight, while I helped others. I was called and asked if I could make brownies for something last minute, so as I was throwing them together, my boys all started jumping up and down excited that I was making them brownies. I threw another batch together for them and cooked them. I was running behind, so I pulled them out and ran to finish getting ready. About 5 min later I run out to go deliver them, and as you can tell the ones in the DISPOSABLE pan were undeliverable! Luckily...I had the extra one! Sometimes I really have to take a deep breath and remember what really matters!

Boys and Their Toys

You never really know what kids are going to want to play with...and what they will not. You spend endless money on toys, and they play a little with some, alot with others, but my boys mostly make their own! We discovered this a while ago and really quit buying toys. What do all of these things have in common?

Gatorade Bottle Gun

Stapler Gun

Spoon Guns

PVC Gun

Wall Plate Hanger Gun

Needless to say, everything is a gun!!!

How to Treat a Women

Last night the boys were playing stations on me (they love to each take a "station" and pamper me - comb my hair, rub my feet, hands, back, etc. It is so cool! haha). Chet was in the room, so I say to him that he should watch so that he could know how to pamper me later. Caden says, "Yeah Dad. You should watch and learn how to treat a women!" It was so funny. I laughed and laughed and Caden was so serious. He kept saying, "huh Mom, Dad needs to learn." The funniest thing is is that teaching the boys how to "treat a women" is one of Chet's highest priorities. It takes alot to get Chet mad, but just disrespect me and he goes from calm to irrational in .2 seconds. It always makes me smile when someone puts on facebook that they are the luckiest girl in the world to be married to their husband. I love it because all women have that option, to feel like THEY are the luckiest women alive. One of my favorite things about Chet as of late is his thoughtfulness towards me. The last time Sarah came to see me in Gillette I asked if she could bring me some soap from Bath & Body Works. She didn't have time to go so she brought some of hers from home. I don't even like the foaming kind, but after she died, I wanted the soap to last forever. One day I saw the boys using it and they were pumping it like 5 times. I flipped out and started crying and telling them they weren't allowed to use my soap, that it was special soap. Chet calmed me down and helped me see I was being irrational. Now every time the soap is almost gone, a full one appears. Every time I see a new one, my heart melts. He loves me so much. I am so glad that my boys can learn how to treat a women, because I think they have the best example around!

Dream Come True

The boys have had a paper route for about 2 mo now, and they are doing fabulous!. It's so hard for me to watch them "blow" their money on stupid things, but I think there is such a learning process that needs to happen. At some point, they are going to wish they had money, and they won't (we make them save 50% and pay tithing of 10%, so they do have some untouchable money, the rest is theirs to use as wanted). So, today we went to the dollar store. I took all 5 boys and we walked around for about 45 min looking at all the treasures. That is a lie. The boys ran around all excited, running up to me with their newest find. I told Caden and Cael they could buy one thing each. Finally after MANY, MANY, MANY final decisions, Caden settled on a cop kit. Carter and Carson couldn't hold all of their things. It was so funny to watch them, and I warned them they were cheap items and were not what Chet calls "Parker approved". They would not make it 10 min in our house. When we got home, Caden rips open his package and starts putting everything on and around his waist. He says so excited, "This is a dream come true! Please don't wake up Caden! Please don't wake up!" I had to laugh so hard. Within one minute he dropped his gun and it busted, but he just put it back together and off he went. He wasn't as excited about any Christmas present! The things that make kids tick! Who ever knows what will be their dream come true!

Date Night

So date night has to be one of the most important things to me. I don't care where I have to cut in the budget, there will almost ALWAYS be money for date night. When times are tight, I am a little more creative, but for the most part I will always find a way to make date night happen. I think it's kinda like the gospel. If you don't have it, you might think that you are happy. Once you have it, you realize what you have been missing, and how much happier you are. I think that when you date as a married couple, you get that happiness that you never knew you were missing. I still get all excited everytime Chet is taking me out, just like when we were dating. I get all dolled up (most of the time) and the boys help tell me if I look "hot" or not for dad. (blah, blah blah, I'll get off my soap box and on to why I am posting!) We have always felt two things about babysitters. I will not ever leave my kids with someone who doesn't want to be there (just there for the money or someone that is made to do it, like my siblings for example. Paid or free, NEVER!) So, it is not an easy job to watch for us, as you can imagine. We have had 3 sitters tell us they are not interested in coming back. One said flat out, and the other two made it very clear while trying to not just come out and say I will not watch again. Well, we thought very early on that we always wanted to be able to find a sitter, so we have always tried to pay well. I had a mother of a girl that has never watched for me, just because I have 4 other fantastic sitters, nothing against her, tell me today that I was ruining it for anyone else. I was very confused and had to ask for what, she was so serious! She said that her daughter was quite upset because she made half of what some other girls were making watching for me. Inside I was doing cartwheels! On the outside I just said, "She has never watched for me though. It's not an easy job. You earn all $10 an hour!" She just laughed and we went our seperate ways. VICTORY! I should never have a problem finding a sitter! Mission accomplished! The $1800 ish I pay a year in babysitting is worth every penny!