Trick-or-Treat

After Halloween parades and parties at school, we went up to Luana's sister Marlene's house in the thriving metropolis of Elwood, Utah (up "narth" by Tremonton; population apx. 600-ish). They have a town trunk-or-treat at a park down by the river, and everybody totally gets into it. There was one car that was all decorated in a beach theme and the guy was dressed in beach attire and handing out capri suns. Another lady was dressed like a fortune teller and had a crystal ball in her lair. Someone even had a haunted horse trailer we had to walk through to get treats from them. We got to do the rounds a few times and got as much candy in about half an hour as we would in a whole night of trick-or-treating to houses, with way less walking. Zack was Davy Jones (from Pirates of the Caribbean), Ethan was officially the Human Torch from Fantastic Four, but he prefers to be called "Lava Guy," and Mason was a monkey (I guess he didn't really need to dress up for that one!) The kids had a great time with their cousins, and after the trunk-or-treating, we went back to Marlene's house and made homemade root beer. A good time was had by all!

Carving Pumpkins

What would our Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins be without eating a few pumpkin seeds? I guess traditionally most people roast them first. Don't try this at home--they definitely taste better cooked.

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

I guess I should start out by confessing that we got our first real DVD player less than 3 years ago. (We did have a little portable one we had gotten a year before that, and we just plugged it into our TV when we wanted to watch DVDs.) We also finally got surround sound a while back, but it wasn't until a year and a half later when a techno-savvy friend came to visit that it was hooked up properly. (By the way, it is not even unpacked yet since this last move 5 months ago!) We just got Dish TV for the first time, and I was too intimidated to even look at the remote for the first week or so. (Finally my urge to watch HGTV got the better of me!) We don't use voice mail on our home phone; we just use the answering machine that came with the phone so I can see the light blink when we have a message. We do not have an iPod, Gameboy, Wii, Playstation, or anything of the sort in our possession. I started out as one of those people who swore I would never have a cell phone, and I laughed at the men I overheard in grocery stores on their cell phones saying, "So should I get the Palmolive or Joy dish soap?" (Greg & I each have our own cell phones now.) Are we nerds, or what?? I guess to put it in a nutshell, we just haven't traditionally been quick to jump on the bandwagon of the latest technological trends. So it took me quite a while to figure out what the heck a blog even was! Since then, there have actually been various times when I have considered starting one. But those times all passed quickly. And then I recently got an email from my younger sister saying that she had started a blog, and another email from my friend Amy saying she now had a blog (notice I didn't say she started her blog! Ha! Nice work, Shelby!) And, well, I was inspired! I'll admit, I was pretty nervous about starting one. I'm kind of notorious for not really keeping up with even such things as email. I'm not sure how I feel about the pressure of having to actually keep something updated. Who knows if I'll ever get around to downloading any pictures on this thing! I was also a little intimidated from the pressure of having to come up with clever or witty things to say on my blog. But hey, don't expect much and you won't be disappointed! Maybe I'll even surprise you one of these times by actually posting pictures and saying something cool! So here we are now, part of the blogging community. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Frogs Are Made For A Little Boy's Pocket

One day, about a year ago, Zack came to me and said, "Mom, have you seen my spider?" to which I replied, "What spider?"  Zack answered innocently, "The one I brought inside. I put him on my dresser, and now I can't find him anywhere!"

FYI, we now have a strict bug rule in our house. Any bugs brought inside must be in cages, and must remain in cages as long as they are in the house.

In the days before kids, if you had asked me if I would enjoy going on a bug hunt, or if I knew the difference between a frog and a toad, or if I thought it was mean to step on a spider and squish it, I'd say no way. Now, 3 little boys later, I have found that frogs are not the only things that can go in the pockets of little boys. If it comes from outside, especially if it's covered in dirt, it's fair game for pockets. Frogs and boys and bugs and dirt and pockets just seem to be inseparably connected. And as a mom of boys, that simple truth has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I have learned that every creature (except mosquitoes and ants) is precious in the site of a little boy. I know firsthand that worms really are as squishy as they look, unless they're all dried up of course. I have discovered that a preying mantis' front claws can be a little sharp. I have seen that little boys will go to great lengths to get a toad to hop. I have looked at spider webs as dazzling designs lined with diamond dew in the morning. I have learned that a two year old's fat little fingers are not quite coordinated enough to pet bugs without squishing them. I have witnessed hysterical giggles as my sons let daddy longleg spiders crawl all over them, tickling them uncontrollably. I have seen how much higher grasshoppers can jump when they're on the trampoline with little boys.  My eyes have been opened to a whole new world of excitement and fascination that I never would have discovered if it weren't for these three little boys that I love so much! Boys are the best, although it's still best to always check their pockets before doing laundry!