Tricky Treats

Last night we went to the "tricky treat," as Tyler called it. I didnt dress my Ben up, cuz he wasnt in the mood, so I didnt worry about it. But now as I look at the pictures I feel bad cuz he isnt in them. Ahh! My poor 4th child.
The kids had a great time, and were ever so happy "Sams dad gave us giant candy bars!" I figure Sams dad is really trying to rot some teeth out so that in a few years my kids all end up at his office for some root canals. Tricky guy.
And the fun didnt stop there- James decided to have his own sweet tricky treat today. He got the nesquick and dumped it all over the floor, and then decided to eat the powder as he was playing with it. Who needs milk? That was such a nice treat for me to clean up. I tried seeing if Sabras therapeutic method of picture taking would work for me, but unfortunately I am still a little irked. My little James is really making the most out of this lovely 2 year old stage. Happy "Tricky Treats" dear friends and family!

FHE

Last night we went to the pumpkin patch. It was very similar to Kylies schools fall festival which we attended on Friday night, except it was less crowded and cheaper! We ran into friends, relatives and neighbors at both events. They had tractor rides, bouncy-castles, and carnival games. Before we left we let the kids choose their pumpkin. Who would have figured that finding the perfect pumpkin would be so intense. I swear Kylie had to look at every single pumpkin there, before she made her choice. Toast would find one and when he couldnt pick it up would move on to the next one, and repeated this until he finally decided a small one was "cutest." James found a small one too and carried it around while softly patting it like a baby doll.
We ran into my cousin Shami and her family, and enjoyed visiting with them for minute. We live in the same small town, yet the last time we saw them was at Sams Club last November. Crazy.
I got a bit homesick last night after we put the kids to bed. I started thinking of my childhood memories of Halloween and Fall. I loved the crisp feeling in the air. I loved the crunchy sound of leaves, and the sometimes eerie rustle of the wind blowing through the trees. I loved looking at the mountains as they were blazing with color. I miss coming home from school and smelling freshly baked bread, and actually enjoying a warm house. I am having a hard time feeling all fallish when we are in the 90's. It feels off and mixed up! I just really miss "home" and will probably continue to feel homesick until February rolls around and we are in the 70- 80's while my beloved Utah is still frozen over.

Weird Tag!

Tina has tagged me, so I guess I shall fill you in on my "weird" things.

1- I have a phobia of making phone calls. If at all possible I make Daniel call people for me. For some reason I get all tongue tied and feel "like a fool, like a fool." If I get a message from someone, it takes me quite a while to get around to calling them back cuz I have to summon the courage first. And by that time my kids have created some kind of disaster, and then I kind of forget about it.

2- I hate lipstick. And lip gloss. I will only put chapstick on my lips.

3-I add salt to everything- except desserts. Really- everything. And its not like I just put a little dash on- I put a TON on. I really like salt!

4- When a "love song" comes on in the car and I am with Daniel, I sing to him. And not just la-de-da sing- I belt it. And I make up some pretty cool dancing action moves too. So if you ever pass us on the road and it looks like I am having a seizure, take heart- I am only giving Daniel a little LOVE concert.

5- The smell of coffee makes me physically ill. I have puked a few times just after walking through the coffee aisle in grocery stores. Same thing for the flavor. Jelly bellys or ice-cream flavored like coffee is vile in my opinion.

6- My hair picks up the lingering scents of food, which in turn makes me sick, and therefore poor Daniel doesnt get bacon or eggs, or fried foods or anything really(just kidding-) unless I am in a fairly self sacrificing mood and it is in the evening and we can open all the windows and turn on all the fans so it will "air-out" the house quicker. I really hate smelling like food.

I tag Christie, Kristy, Allison, and Lala.

mischief

Know the saying "silence is golden?" Not really the case when you have a 2 year old. As we were wrapping up preschool on Monday, I gathered the boys for reading time until their moms came. James usually tries to be one of the boys, and he did start out with us, but then said something about "melmo" and ran into the other room. I figured he was just gonna play with his elmo toys. I didn't hear a peep from him during the last two books. After we read I told the boys they could play until their ride came. As they all booked it into the other room with the toys, I started to gather the books up, but then heard the boys scream my name. Confused I rushed into the other room, and there was my little 2 year old grinning ear to ear while playing in his make-shift sand box. Made with the entire contents of a newly opened and very pricey 24 oz can of Bens "special" formula. GRRRRR. I was first upset cuz its $30 bucks a can, and I didn't have anymore in storage, nor did I want to take my boys to the store to get some. And with James plopped down right in the middle of it, all over the kitchen floor which hadn't been mopped since before leaving on our unfortunate waste of a trip on Friday, i couldn't salvage any of it. Then I was upset cuz that stuff is so sticky and James had it matted all over himself. This now meant I was gonna have to give him a bath to get it all off. And then the whole cleaning it off the floor was just another thing to add to my "have to do but really dont want to nor was I planning on doing today to do list" I swept the floor three times before I felt it was now ok to mop. Then I had to ponder on the best way to mop as the swiffer would only stickify the remnants further. I ended up just dumping water all over the floor and got out an old towel and danced my way back and forth until I thought it was clean. It dried and to my frustration it was still sticky. SO I repeated my previous mopping job, but once again the floor felt sticky. Once more I mopped the floor, and only then realized maybe the problem wasn't the floor but my feet which I hadn't washed off yet. Smart. Anyway I initially was frustrated with James but as he gave me his popped eyeballs uh-oh face followed by his mischievous smile and his growling weird laugh that he does and then threw in a big hug and a "ow-we"(sorry) I couldn't help but laugh at this little punk. 2 year olds!

Weekend Woes

Earlier last week Daniel decided we should drive up to the grand canyon. I thought about it for a minute and concluded it would be nice to get out of the house, and seeing as how I really enjoy being in such close proximity to Daniel for hours on end, thought it was a good idea. So Friday night we started our little trip. Note to self, dont go on road trips with Daniel when he is grumpy, it will only make me grumpy. After a long and grumpy drive we stopped and spent the night in Flagstaff, then got up on Saturday and drove the rest of the way. Once we were there, the kids were impressed for maybe a minute, and then ready to move on. Another note to self, taking a two year old to the grand canyon where there isnt much in regards to keeping hyperactive toddlers from running right off the edge into the thousand feet drops into the grand canyon is NOT a good idea. A few people even pointed out how they thought I was a negligent mother in the fact I didnt have him tied to a leash. SO after a couple hours, we started the drive back home. upon which I concluded that this was not a favorite trip in the history of the Jackson family. I think its safe to say this weekend I will be perfectly content staying at home.

Polar Express

Daniel heard from a friend of this terrific little experience called the polar express. The grand canyon railway up in Williams AZ has a little event where the kids get to ride the train in their pjs and come have some hot chocolate and cookies on the way up to the "north pole" where they get to meet Santa. Daniel was so excited and told me about it, which got me all excited and we looked into it and luckily enough found a night that wasnt sold out yet- granted its before Thanksgiving, but figuring I get geared up for the Holidays right after Halloween, I think its perfect timing! So we are gonna head on up there and make a little weekend of it, and I think I might just make my paper chain countdown for the polar express tonight!!!

Camera

2 weeks ago I wrote about our little streak of bad luck. Many items of ours broke, most unfortunate- my camera. I have since been on the hunt for a new one, and after much research, decided on the one I want. Since I always LOVE a good bargain, I have been bidding on ebay, but also have been searching various sales fom different camera sites. Ebay was getting a bit frustating with people bidding at the last 8 seconds and then the sales price of a used camera was even more than you can find it brand new. So upon my seaching other sites, I happend to find my lovely camera listed for $29 bucks. $29 bucks for a brand new SLR digital camera? Knowing full well this was definately a mistake, I decided to see if it would let me buy it for the listed price anyway. Lo and Behold it did. I got my confirmation email and my card was charged the $29 plus shipping. SO for the past two days I have been waiting not so patiently for someone at this company to recognize their mistake and call me up to say "sorry, but no can do." I didnt get a call, but an email, asking me to call them. Darn it! Of course this was just too good to be true. If I were a cusser I pobably would have cussed with disappointment. GRRRR!!! OK I am over it.
So now as I have searched and compared and found a respectable price somewhere else, I went ahead and ordered it. At least this one comes with free shipping.

--PREPARE TO BE AMAZED--(movie trivia?) at my soon to be awesome photography skills! Actually, better give me a couple months to learn how to use this new piece of high tech equipment, then you will be amazed!

Birthday Boy

(Since my camera is broken these lousy shots are from my phone)

My Jamesie-boy turned the big 2 today. Its crazy to think that he was born only two years ago. It seems like he has always been a part of our lives. James is our special guy. He has added such an immense love to our family. His birth was one of the most special and sacred experiences I have had in my life. I am eternally grateful to be his mother.
This morning he woke up to his pile of loot and found a little diego trike. He has been on that thing every chance he gets. We went and got Daniel and some take-out and went to a park for lunch, and while it was still hot, it was nice to not be suffocatingly so. (amazing how 102 feels great compared to 112.) He has been obsessed with Elmo lately, so Kylie and I made him an Elmo cake, and he was so excited. He wouldnt wait for us to sing the birthday song before blowing out his candles. All in all it was a pretty fun birthday for my boy!

Tooth Fairy

The tooth fairy sent me a copy of this little note Kylie left her Sunday night after loosing yet another tooth. Its says
"Dear Tooth Fairie, Thank you for the note and for the money, and I did have a great birthday party. I love you. I lost a tooth today and I dream abowt you. what are you doing today? I have three dollars. To the Tooth Fairie Frum Kylie"
A few weeks ago when Kylie lost a tooth, the tooth fairy left Kylie a note on a whim. This gave Kylie an idea. She wrote her a note that night and left it under her pillow. The tooth fairy took that note, but didnt leave one in return-(oops). SO Kylie decided to try corresponding again when her tooth fell out Sunday. She was literally like a kid on Christmas morning- she woke up in the middle of the night and came running into our room to show us the note the tooth fairy left her. Anyway when the tooth fairy showed me the note "frum" Kylie it made me laugh cuz its so flippin cute. She dreams about the tooth fairy? And how is it that kids are so eager to love- even those they have never really met? If I could just find a way to keep this adorable innocence last into her teens that would make me happy.

Sing Choir of Angels

This conference has been a fun one as my Kylie has been somewhat interested this time. Usually I just let my kids do their thing and only try to draw their attention when the prophet speaks. But as she is growing up on me, and since the 2nd counselor in our primary presidency made a little conference packet of little activities, she has been sitting by me and actually paying attention-mainly to figure out what topic she gets to put a sticker on, but it was really fun to watch her try to comprehend whats being said. When Sister Dalton spoke to the young women about preparing for the temple and said something about being an instrument to the Lord, Kylie just looked so perplexed for a minute before she said, "i cant be an instrument-I'm a girl!" I love how kids think.
Yesterday, when the choir of children sang "We Thank Thee o God for a Prophet," both Kylie and Toast sang along. That is now a memory I hope to have forever.
Daniel has a journal that he takes to priesthood session, and after he gets home he lets me devour it and we talk about his notes. He particularly loved last nights priesthood session, and even just reading his notes I felt how powerful some of those talks were.
The thing that has stood out to me the most this conference was the powerful spirit from the "choir of angels" singing "I am a Child of God." My eyes started burning as I tried unsuccessfully not to cry, but they sang with such power and assurity and I was awed by those sweet children. And then every other song they sang got me choked up again.
I am just so grateful for conference. Every time I walk away with an added appreciation for this glorious gospel. How truly blessed we are. Nothing can compare to the hope and purpose and joy the Gospel brings. I love it!

Kids

I tend to jump the gun in regards to Christmas. I decorate before Thanksgiving and to be honest, I never really stop listening to Christmas music. Yesterday I was listening to the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas CD. I thought the following words were pretty profound:
"Thank God for kids there's magic for a while
A special kind of sunshine in a smile
Do you ever stop to think or wonder why...
the nearest thing to heaven is a child?"

Those few words struck a chord and I couldnt help but hold my kids a little closer for a little longer yesterday. They really are heaven sent and each one does bring a special spirit into our home. I tend to forget how special they are from time to time while dealing with the whining/grumpiness/"gimmee gimmee gimmee, I need!"(movie trivia)/bickering they tend to make a daily habit out of. But really when I step back from the little frustrations there is no other feeling in the world to compare to the love I have for them. I love this time of their lives where there is a simple magic to everything. I need to step back more often to appreciate this time before its just a memory.