Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Halloween Fun

Here are some pictures of the boys from Halloween.  We had a fun night.  Avery had been growing out his hair for a while so he could spike it on Halloween--pretty cool don't ya think?  We had a batman costume for Isaac, but he decided he would rather wear the more comfortable Tigger costume--can't say I don't blame him.  The boys quickly got the hang of knocking on doors and saying, "Trick or Treat!" (in Michigan we had a parade before the trick or treating started, so everyone was already outside with candy in hand)  Our neighbors handed out candy by the handfuls, so it didn't take long for the boys to load up.  We hope you all had a good Halloween, too, and now get out and vote!

Shenandoah

About a week ago, we took the boys to Shenandoah National Park.  It was so beautiful with the Fall colors.  It was pretty cold and cloudy, but luckily it wasn't raining and we had a great time.  The two pictures of Avery and Anson were taken after Jon had them chew some plaque tablets--nasty!

Pumpkin Picking, Pumpkin Painting, and Three Little Missionaries

Despite discovering some of the joys of owning a home--bad toilets, nasty gutters, etc, we have had some Fall fun the last couple of weeks. This is a beautiful time of year, so if any of you are ready for a vacation, come on out.

Last Friday we took the boys to a pumpkin patch to pick our Halloween pumpkins. It was our family fun night/Jon's graduation celebration from U of M. We are a little slow on our celebrations at times, but he didn't receive his diploma in the mail until a couple of weeks ago any way. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments, and we know he will make an awesome Dentist in a few years--when he finishes this round of school. I have a truly amazing husband and I am so glad I have him forever!

It was fun to watch the boys work their way through a small hay maze, climb a hay mountain, pick their pumpkins, and ride the hay ride. We had a good time. We then let them paint their pumpkins the next day--such talent:)

Last Sunday Isaac went through a rite of passage as he joined his older brothers in wearing a white shirt and tie to church. Don't they look so handsome? It's moments like this when I look at the beautiful boys our Heavenly Father has entrusted Jon and I with and more fully realize my responsibility to love, nourish, and teach them in the ways of Christ so that in a few more years they will be wearing their white shirts and ties with black and white name tags ready to help others come unto Christ full time.

Avery wants to wear his hair spiky for Halloween. He's going to be a transformer. What do ya think?

Our cute little Joshi boy. He is starting to laugh a little these days. He really is a lot of fun. You really need to come visit and come meet this boy (or boys if there are any you have not met yet:))

Isaac was not feeling well a couple of weeks ago. Those darn canines are still not through yet.

Here are a some funny things the boys have said recently:

While looking at pictures of the prophets, Jon pointed first to Joseph Smith, which Avery quickly got correct. Jon then pointed to Brigham Young and Avery said in a very matter of fact way, "Snow White!" At the same time, Anson said, "Jesus Smith." I think we need to go over the prophets from this dispensation more often:)

The other night at dinner, Isaac said very clearly and in a very cute way, "No Rice." This was the first time he has really put two words together so well. He is sure coming along with speaking.

Update

Well here is another update. I really hope I can get back to writing more often so that we don't have so much to write about at one time:)


We went to a nighttime airshow a couple of weeks ago. It was at a Navy base in VA Beach. It was a lot o fun. I have become a big fan of airshows. We went to the beach first, but it was soooo windy. The three oldest boys still had a good time, but it was a little too much wind for little Joshua.



We went bowling for FHE a few weeks ago to celebrate the end of Gross Anatomy. It was fun to watch the boys try and roll their ball. Avery almost dropped his ball on his foot a few times because he was a little too excited. Luckily that was the closest we came to any injuries. We ate at a very delicious Vietnamese restaurant after we bowled. It was a very nice evening.
Avery, Anson, and I made volcanoes. They were pretty excited, but Anson was a little intimidated when it erupted.


We went to the Aviation museum a while ago. The boys really like airplanes, and it is fun to learn more about them.


Avery is learning so much. He is getting taller and looking more and more like a big boy. We let his hair grow out a little (hopefully we'll get a picture up soon--my soon is not too soon these days, but I'm working on it) and we comb it to the side. He is one handsome boy and it makes him look so much older. He likes to wear his button down collar shirts these days, so he is already looking like the preppy school boy. He is very ready for school, and I am excited for him to start next year. He is starting to read and loves to learn about anything and everything. We made a question box (we got the idea from Sid the Science Kid on PPS) and the first questions he wanted answers to were: How does a caterpillar change inside it's cocoon? How do batteries work? and How do they make toy dinosaurs with a button on it? He is very good with his brothers, although he does like to tease them quite a bit, too. He keeps us laughing and keeps us on our toes. He is a very good biggest brother.


Anson is such a good big brother. He loves helping his brothers to be happy. He hated going to nursry in Michigan, but ever since he has had to help Isaac be happy in nusery, he loves it and has no problems going in. He is learning to avoid or take care of problems before they happen. The other day Anson hit Avery and I told him to please stop. He said, "He's buggin' me." I said, "he's not buggin' you." He then said, "Well, he's going to." You never know what might set Anson off, but when he is good, he is very good and very cute (course, somehow they can still be very cute even when they are not being so good--I guess this is what keeps us from losing it completely). We love our Anson!

We moved Isaac into the toddler bed, took away his bottle, and he is trying to get his canines, so he is the harder one at night and at nap times. He loves to wrestle and is not afraid to egg his brothers on. He is very good at getting what he wants--His big eyes and sad, soft, "no" are too irresistible. He is trying to talk a lot more and is learning new words all the time. When he is not squealing or spitting, he is one cute boy.


Joshua is doing really well. He likes to be held, but he is a good baby. He sleeps well at night, usually only waking up once to eat and then go right back to sleep. He loves to smile and is starting to make little noises. He is probably our longest baby, and he has been playing in his exersaucer toy for a while now. His brothers sure adore him, although Isaac is not too sure at times:) It's sure fun to have him in our family.

Jon is really enjoying dental school. It is so nice that he has found something he really likes and is excited about. He recently finished gross anatomy and although he liked it, the info came very fast and furious, so it is nice to have that one over with.

I LOVE being a mom and I LOVE being in a home. I am so thankful we are able to have one. We have a nice sized backyard, and we just got a fence, so I am really enjoying letting the boys go outside to play while I try and get things done inside without worrying about them.

We really like Virgina, but the mosquitoes are tenacious. I can't step a foot outside without at least one finding me. The weather is really nice right now, so we are looking forward to spending more time outside (as long as the mosquitoes start to die). Well, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get a new post up before Joshua starts crawling:)

Finally, A New Update

So it has been a while since Joshua arrived and a lot has happened since then.  We moved from Michigan to Virginia, Jon finished his Master's of Science in Biomedical Engineering at the U of M, we moved into our first home (and we love it!), we had Jon's mom and his brother help us out when Joshua was born (then his mom helped us with the move out to Virginia--what an amazing woman she is--I love and appreciate this woman so much), my parents came out to visit for a week (my dad was sooo good with Joshua--he is still going through grandpa withdrawals), Jon started Dental school (Gross Anatomy and tooth carving--I don't know the official name for this class) and is really enjoying it--yeah, Jon received a calling in the ward to teach the sixteen-year-old Sunday School class and I just received a calling yesterday to be the primary pianist (sometimes I wish I didn't know how to play:)  I don't play too well when people are trying to sing, so this will be a growing experience for me), and I am trying to figure life out with four young kids and a husband who is not around quite as much as he use to be.  All in all things have been going well.  Here are some pictures of life the last couple of months (we'll get more up as soon as we can, although it is a lot harder to find blogging time these days).  Enjoy!