3 boys, 3 trips to the doctor’s office, 3 ear infections, 3 bottles of antibiotics

…..broke daddy

……….tired mommy.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Erik’s sister Kirsten and her husband Dallas?  They are the coolest!  And what is even cooler about them is that they actually think we’re cool!  Well, they attacked us Sunday night. As we sat on our comfy couch watching the Winter Olympics, they stealthy crept up to our front door and plastered the entire thing with dozens of paper hearts complete with funny, kooky phrases.  I love them!

I think Rulon would make a great subject for a flip book:

Lincoln thought this one was extremely humorous.  He also mused over the notion that if Mom was, indeed, “hot” that he might be able to fetch a good price for me so that he could buy himself a new guitar.(Should I be concerned, flattered or just insulted?)

I’ll admit, manufactured holidays that guilt me into spending more money have never been my cup of tea until I had such enthusiastic kids to share it with.  And when you really get down to the nitty gritty of it all, a holiday that reminds us to celebrate the people we love and cherish most isn’t half bad, is it?  Here’s how we celebrated our day:

Valentine’s breakfast…thank goodness for food coloring!

My little helper, Ellis.

My sweet lovable Ruly-guy.

Valentine’s from Mom & Dad!

Will ravenously attacking his poor heart pancake.

So I’ve been trying to find the time to catch up on my blogging but as you can see my efforts have been in vain.  So I’ve decided that before my bad memory gets the best of me I better record a few choice memories:

Lincoln (1 week before Christmas):  ”Mom, I think I’m on the naughty list.”

Mom: “Why do you say that honey?”

Lincoln: “Well I’ve been making bad choices.”

Mom: “Well, Lincoln have you repented?”

Lincoln (in an anguished voice): “Yes, but I don’t think Santa’s a Mormon!”

(I assured him that even though I wasn’t sure of Santa’s religious affiliations, I am sure he believes in the concept of redemption.)

Rulon (following a FHE discussion about the Holy Ghost):  ”Mom….(head cocked to side and looking up at the sky), Jesus is talking to me.”

Mom: “Oh really…(slightly bewildered and wondering what prophetic news is about to be bestowed by 5-year-old son)..?

Rulon:  ”He says I need to hit Ellis.”

Mom:  ”No, Rulon, Jesus does not tell you to hit your sister!”

Rulon (later that night at dinner):  ”Mom, (head cocked to side and looking up again) Jesus is talking to me…”

Mom:  (this time on my guard)”Yes…?”

Rulon:  ”He says I don’t have to eat my carrots..”

Mom:  ”(sigh), Rulon, Jesus didn’t say that, Jesus likes carrots.”

I think we need to have a review session for our next Family Home Evening…

Just a few bits and pieces from some of our favorite summer memories:

Lots and lots of swim meets…

Cooling off in the backyard…

Guitar Hero at Uncle Dallas & Aunt Kirsten’s house!

I couldn’t resist posting a few random pics from the last week.  (Sorry about the quality, they’re from Erik’s iphone.

Lincoln and Rulon in a rare moment of zen…

Ellis and Dad trying out Rulon’s bike.  Not much peddling happened.

Our DVD player after we discovered why it wasn’t working (thanks to Ellis).  Mind you this is a single disc player…

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary I may be:  2a: a ruler who exercises absolute power oppressively or brutally b: one resembling an oppressive ruler in the harsh use of authority or power.

So I may not be brutal, but man I am passing out the time outs like no ones business. Crying unnecessarily (in my opinion)? Time out!  Pushing, shoving, general rudeness/craziness?  You’re outta here!  Most recently I’ve decided to put the kabash on using mom as a waitress/maid.  I’ve told the kids unless there is a tip on the table when they decide to pick up and leave, their plates better be taken to the kitchen.  Plates on the table? No tip?  Time out, baby!  Sadly, my eldest has been the biggest offender and has spent much time in the dark abyss of the laundry room (our designated time out corner).

So what do you think?  Tyrant or just a grouchy, overweight pregnant lady?  Maybe there’s really no difference…

As Lincoln sat with me watching the numbers come in for the presidential election he became inspired to make some “campaign-type” posters for the event.  As you can see he was pretty fair in representing both candidates but don’t let that deceive you, he was totally rooting for Obama.  I am sure that will make his Grandpa Adams very proud.

Rulon made his own posters but it still is undetermined who he was supporting….

If we didn’t have enough going on with Halloween festivities, Lincoln’s Birthday was November 1st and we had promised to throw him a big Pokemon-themed birthday party with 8 little boys in attendance.  So after we finished trick-or-treating that night and put the kids to bed, Erik and I then geared up to make birthday preparations for the next day which included assembling a bike and making a Pikachu birthday cake.  

Our late night efforts were well worth it as Lincoln loved his new bike and had a lot of fun with all of his friends at the party that afternoon.  Erik and I, on the other hand, were still dealing with nervous twitches late into the evening as we recalled what it was like to have 8 hyper-active boys in our house for 2 hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon.  

I do not recommend this balloon stomping game!  So very loud…

Lincoln wrote this “essay” in his first grade class last week in regards to possible career choices.

A translation for those who need it:
“I don’t want to be a vet because I want to be a guitar player better and especially I don’t want to be a doctor because you know how those babies screech so loud it hurts my ears. And I don’t want to help an adult because I don’t want to see their lungs. Well, that’s all for now, unless you ask more questions. (I bet you’re interested).”