sing it with me now...

andy got a new car, andy got a new car. happy halloween sweetie...it looks like days of driving the ole lincoln around are no longer. welcome the newest member of our family, mr. g35.

one more

so a while ago when one of the kids were getting into trouble i said something like jadeyn you better stop or you are going to be in a lot of trouble. bennett said jadeyn you better stop or mommy will sell you away. so now when the kids are getting into things i always say jokingly of course, well most of the times, cortie i am going to sell you away. well last night bennett in his sweet little timid voice offered this prayer...

...please heavenly father, do not let mommy or daddy ever ever sell all these kids away. i would cry...

i am pretty sure i need to stop joking around like that. i really think bennett is worried about jadeyn or cortland appearing on craigslist.

what's on my list of to dos today?

well even though i just posted about a bajillion entries, i must now move onto a big chore of hanging up a TON of clothes. i wish this was an exaggeration. this weekend amongst the painting jobs we did, party's and stake conference, i brought up all the winter clothes and washed them all. i have never in all my life seen so much clothes. now i have to take down the summer and hang up the winter which will literally take me all day. i better get started.

little quirks

my little jadeyn and cortland are so funny. i mean really funny. i wanted to jot down some of their quirks for my benefit.

*the do not like tv, but they will watch the whole episode of YO GABBA GABBA which is probably the craziest show on tv.
*when they find anything they shouldn't have like something small to choke on or scissors or food that is not theirs of a picture frame or anything like that they will immediately run it over to me.
*jadyen is a human vacuum or she inherited my passion for cleaning. they toy room never has a toy on the ground. everything has a place in jadeyns little world.
*when cortland gets sad or his feelings hurt his bottom lip puckers out and quivers. it melts your heart.
*they love baby maddox and shower him with kisses all the time.
*the eat more than i do i am pretty sure of it. andy has nicknamed jadeyn the goat because she will eat anything at anytime.
*jadeyn loves to draw and will carry around her magnadoodle where ever she goes. like a little puppy trailing behind her. real cute.
*cortland loves to be chased and will say get you get you and start running to be "gotten"
*they are twins and they live up to all the stories you hear about twins having a closeness that is undenyable. they are so sweet to eachother and are always holding hands.

block partay

not only are we so grateful for the home we live in, but we are so grateful for some really great neighbors. we have been blessed. this weekend we had a block party. everyone on the block showed up. we live in a culdesac so we have one street and it is so fun. we had lots of great food and good treats and then we carved some pumpkins. the kids had such a great time. it is so nice that we are all kind of new to the neighborhood so there are no pre established friendships. we are all new and ready to meet and greet. we have had treats from just about everyone on the block already. i love it here. how'd we get so lucky?

now onto the not so lucky section...

notice how blury my picture is? something is wrong with my camera...very very wrong! i have an appointment with best buy TODAY!

some yummy treats

we have made several pumpkin treats

and halloween treats. including our pumpkin spice cake doughnuts

and our hotdog mummies.

the kids have had so much fun with all the creative food. tonight for family night we plan to make some punky ice cream balls

or punky sugar cookies

or some really good pumpkin cupcakes.

oh the decisions.

some october fun

i know i have mentioned before how much i love this time a year. i love the weather. i love the clothes. i love the food. i love the smells in the air and the colors outside. love it love it love it. i also love how many activities we are able to do this time of year. we love outings as a family. we have went to a pumpkin patch twice now. lots of fun. we have made many many pumpkin recipes that have all been so delish. we had a little block party to celebrate the season and many many halloween stories have been read and created in our home. here are a few pictures to document our october fun.

bennett lost his fourth tooth

cami and bennett enjoyed making a pirate potato head punky

bonfires at the lake

pumpkin patch fun

aunt nan and grandma kathy having fun with the kiddos. this is where cortlands love for punkys was born.

curls...

as if he is not cute enough...

he has these darling curls that his mamma just loves to death...

maddox, teach me how to be so perfect.

seriously breathtaking

i was looking at some of the photos from the fires in so. cal and they are literally breathtaking. i am horrified by them. in unbelief. our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by these fires. i cannot even begin to imagine the sadness and shock that these people who lost their homes must have gone through. i have always my whole life wanted to be a cali resident and am quite shocked we do not live there right now. i love everything about that place. i hope that the people who lost their homes and belongings can find peace throughout this trial.

I love my mom

my mom deserves an award for this past week. it is weeks like this that i am soooo grateful to live closer to home.

as mentioned in an earlier post I was sick and all four kiddos were sick as well and then by the end of the week andy was sick too.

my mom is off on mondays and monday she came over and went to work. she loves my kids. she just adores her grandkids like no other. they are everything to her. she is just so happy around them and cares for them so much. i am so grateful to have a mother who adores my kids. that makes me feel even more special to her.

so monday she came over early with presents for the kids. jadeyn was in dire need of fall/winter clothes and grandma couldn't resist buying pink for her. then she did all my laundry which was probably about 5 loads. {we have a lot of laundry around here btw.} she swept my floor and did all the ironing and that was while the babies took naps, because when they are awake she is way to busy playing with them, chasing them and hugging them like crazy to be bothered by chores. i was even able to get to the dentist for some much needed work while she watched the kids. {i have a really good dentist btw.;)}when i got home i was so happy to see everything done and look so neat. she even put together all my great grandmothers china and set it up in our new hutch. it looks so great. she sent me to nap when i got home and held down the fort until andy came home.

what a good mom. i hope to be like that someday. someone who really cares about her children and their children's well being. she is completely selfless when it comes to us. i am so grateful for that and one of the things i am most grateful for is being taught how to be such a good grandma first hand. thanks mom for all the hard work and the endless amount of love.

50 things about michael

My SIL had a really great idea. Paige invited everyone to write 50 things about our hubby's. It will be kind of fun to get to know all of our "other halves" a little better and be able to see all the wonderful or maybe even not so wonderful qualities that we fell in love with. So here goes my 50 AND I am now inviting you all to join in on the fun.

50. He is genuinely nice to every person he comes in contact with.

49. He speaks Spanish fluently and every Latin person he has talked to in convinced even though he is a white boy through and through, he is from Columbia because he sounds so authentic.

48. He went to one of the best dental schools in our country.

47. He was the only one of 2 that was married and the only one to have kids in the dental school and the doctors on a daily basis commented on how they had no idea how he was able to do both.

46. He served a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for two years in Guatemala.

45. HE met his wife when he was 15.

44. HE is so smart and knows some of the most random facts ever.

43. He is one of 11 children. The third oldest.

42. He loves to run and is hoping to run a marathon in the very near future.

41. HE loves his children and wife more than anything and has always put us first and way higher than any other priority.

40. He has always wanted to be good at basketball. His two older brothers would always play and he always wanted to play with them. He thought if he got really good they would want him to play with them. He would practice for hours and hours to get really good. That never really happend, but he does have a sweet spot.

39. He is a true BYU fan through and through.

38. He has over 200 cousins.

37. His great great grandfather is Heber C Kimball who was a early pioneer of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

36. He was born in the same hospital and had the same pediatrician as Bennett.

35. On his days off he likes to get the kids up and ready.

34. Loves for things to be clean and organized.

33. Doesn't ever really watch TV, unless byu is playing.

32. Likes to read.

31. Loves to be handy around the house. He loves to fix things or make things. Loves when I ask him to do something and nothing ever goes undone.

30. Is the most humble person I know.

29. Went deaf as a child. He was being fitted for his hearing aids when he was given a blessing and was checked again to only see scar tissue. His hearing has been fine ever since.

28. Does not feel pain.

27. Is an Ox. My dad says. For being 5'11 169 you would never realize how strong this guy is. He did carry two car seats everywhere. He pretty much single handedly carried everything in our house including all the big furniture.

26. He takes care of his wife like no other.

25. He LOVES LOVES LOVES sweets. Anything that is overloaded with sugar he loves. Funny he is a dentist right?

24. He hates with a passion more than anything else, shopping. He always says it is the worst torture to him. He says all we do is walk around forever and then never ever buy anything. What is the point he says.

23. I was at his office the other day and he is truly in his element being a dentist. It was so fun to really see him in action and he absolutely loves every minute of it all.

22. He almost received a perfect score on his boards to graduate from dental school. He got a 99 and a 100. The average is 76.

21. He had head gear in grade school. He said he would wear it for attention. I asked why because it had to be negative attention and he said he didn't care, it WAS attention.

20. He has lived in Wyoming, Utah, Texas, Illinois back to Utah and now back to Illinois.

19. He endures my craziness with the house and all the organization.

18. He told me when he was in high school he wanted to be a dentist. I really supported him. I did not know I would be on the adventure of forever school with him. I would do it over 100 times with him.

17. HE is so good with peoples names and goes out of his way to meet people and get to know them.

16. HE makes sure we say family prayers and do family night and scriptures every night. I am so grateful for that.

15. He encourages me to get out for breaks once in a while. I rarely take his offer up, but it is so nice to know he recognises my efforts.

14. HE is an early to bed early to riser.

13. HE is always in a good mood. I am not sure I have ever seen him in a bad mood.

12. His brothers and him ;) have all married really amazing girls.

11. Was taught at an early age how important it was to serve others. Which is actively does everyday.

10. Wanted to change his name to Michael when he was younger and every time they would move he would try and get people to call him that and it never worked. That is his middle name.

9. Once burnt down his fathers green house in Wyoming after telling his younger brother of 13 months that he could not play with fire because he was too young he would burn something down. They all kept running to the fridge to fill their cups with water from the dispenser to run out and pour on the fire. They didn't use the faucet that would be a more obvious choice or better yet the hose sitting right next to the green house. Silly boys.

8. Has really bad eye sight. His contacts are -10.75.

7. Has a great singing voice.

6. Plays with his kids all the time.

5. IS 5 months younger than his wife.

4. Taught himself Portuguese.

3. He is one of the funniest people I have ever met. That really isn't the thing that jumps out at you when you meet him, but he has said some of the funniest things I have ever heard in my life.

2. He has never handeled our finances.

1. He loves me and the kids so much and we know it. He shows us and tells us everday. I am so grateful for that.

Andy, seriously you have made this girl feel as if she is the luckiest gal around. I ask myself every single day how in the world I got so lucky to have you as my partner in crime raising the little ones. I do not know the answer, but I do realize how blessed I am. There is not a moment that goes by that I am not grateful for who you are and who you love and where you stand. You are my everything. Thanks for picking me.

it's not fun being sick.

especially accompanied by four sick kids.
i am grateful though.
i know it could worse.

Some things I have learned

#1 Do you remember when midnight wasn't really late? I do. And if feels like it was yesterday. Yeah I would be a little bit more sleepy the next day, but I could handle it. Now when 10 o'clock at night hits, I am done for the day. I need my bed. I know that not only will I be extra sleepy the next day, but I will probably not be the normal cheerful mommy as I once was.

#2 Life insurance is a good thing. I used to think we don't need it we are young, we are invincible. Due to my dad having his insurance license we got a great deal for the both of us. {If anyone is interested, he will work for you too} I feel a little more secure now.

#3 Biting off more than you can chew is just not worth it. Whether it be commitments or financially-not worth it!

#4 Being out of school is nice. Real nice.

#5 I am so grateful to be a stay at home mom.

#6 I am a home body.

It's about time

I was watching the today show this morning happend to hear an interview with Candace Cameron. She looks amazing and had such postive things to say. You dont' hear much of that in Hollywood. She praised stay-at-home moms. She is so cute and it was such a great interview. I am not sure why they had her on, you don't hear much about her anymore, but thank goodness she still has a voice and it was heard today by many. I am sure I like her so much due to my mad crush on her older brother! Remember I WAS the president of his fanclub onceupon a time. Look how cute she is!!!

And for old times sake.

*I am pretty sure I just hit an all time low, blogging about my 1980's hearthrob*

why am i such a dork?

it never fails...every time i am packing up my children's clothing at the end of a season and the start of a new one i get sentimental and sad. i get sad knowing that i probably won't see those clothes for a while and i am reminded how fast they are growing up. i know i am such a dork and get really sentimental about my little ones growing up too fast, but over clothes? i am a dork.

funny story though i just remembered. 2 springs ago i was packing up the twins adorable clothes and even had tears in my eyes while doing it. andy had just walked into the room and was kind of making fun of me saying that was a little extreme, which i agree. i kept saying who knows when i will see these darling clothes again for another baby. that night i couldn't believe how attached i was to my kids clothes. then the very next day i found out i was pregnant with maddox. so at least i had an excuse, i was slightly hormonal. and lucky for me i got those clothes out again a little sooner than was expected.

i'm in love

this little girl is so fun. i'm so in love with her.

she loves all the things that little girls should love.

she loves purses, she love shoes {especially mommys},
she loves getting her hair done and will sit forever to let me play with.

you know i suppose if she is the only girl i get,

i'm glad she is my one and only.

Lots and lots of Punky's

Last night we set out, being the adventurous couple we are, for yet another pumpkin patch. Andy was not able to go to the first one, so we decided why not do another one. Really this one was a little bit different though. This was the fun farm.

They had lots and lots of activities for the kiddies. They even had a spooky hay ride which was by far the biggest hit of the night. Bennett was a little scared. Peter Pan the movie scares this child, so we were not too surprised. The twins the whole

time had a look on their faces like

what on earth have they gotten us into now? Maddox, oblivious.

It was a perfect night because it was a cool 70 degrees

which is really perfect for this kind of thing.

What a fun time we had. We have Cami staying with us off and on while her parents are in Hawaii. The pumpkin patch was fun and all, but I am pretty sure I would take Hawaii over the smell of roasted weenies any day.

Oh and the title of this blog refers to

Cortland saying all night last night,

lots and lots of Punkys.

He calls pumpkins punkys.

Could it get any cuter than that?

guess who has three more teeth?

this little guy

he is officially 9 months old. how can that be? he is really just the light of my life. he always puts a smile on my face. what can i say, i am a sucker for his little brown eyes, he darling little smile and a personality that i cannot get enough of. i love you baby maddox. thanks for picking me!

some random facts on this little guy:

-he can pull himself up to anything

-he was caught on the fifth stair the day he learned to pull himself up

-he does not know how to cry

-he is my only dark eyed child

-he loves to boogie

-his favorite thing to do is clap when he hears clapping

-he is a snuggler

-he loves to eat

-loves the new space to explore

-loves his brothers and sister and break out in a laugh when he sees them

-he has 7 teeth now
-is such a little gift to me

my hubby turns 30

so andy turned the big 3-o. he feels old. in my card to him i wrote about knowing him for half of his life. we met when he was 15. unbelievable. gosh i love this guy. i love how he works so hard. how he plays so hard, with his kiddos. how he always takes care of me and makes sure i am happy. he knows how to listen and how to make me laugh so hard i almost pee my pants. {ok i am pretty sure that comment was indecent}

honey, i love you so much. these past 15 years have been the best and the rest of forever will only be better.

andy' mom's birthday is 4 days after and his youngest sister cami's birthday is 5 days before.

agenda

so apparently i am enjoying my new blog. this makes the fifth entry in 2 days or something. i just really want to get adjusted and see by the end of the week if i will keep this one or if i will go back to my "home".

so andy is out of town tonight till tomorrow afternoon. he is only an hour and 45 minutes away, but he will stay up there tonight. i am a wimp and not only wish i didn't have to stay here by myself, but i wish he were here with me. what would i do if his job required him to travel? i can't even answer that question.

so today on my list i need to hang up and fold enough clothes that you would think instead of 6 people in the home we had 20. i need to work on our master closets. i also want to mop our wood floors. this will be the first time since we moved in. i think they need it. as much as i like, well love to clean, a cleaning lady occasionally sounds real nice once in a while.

tonight my sil michelle and her friend chelsey are coming over to scrapbook. at first i was not real excited for the fun because i have plenty of projects i really need to do outside of scrap booking, but maybe this is just what i need. a little break from the madness. it should be fun. i am excited to get some school books done for the kids k-8. we'll see though. the part i do not like is going to the basement and hiking it all back up for the night.

i also am going to try and download some pictures today. be sure to check back for new photos. i know these entries are way more fun with pictures to look at.

my furniture is coming on monday and i am a little excited about that.

i hate my cable company.

i got my hair done last night. i needed a color, i was starting to see more grey than brown, and a cut. all i said was i did not want red or orange or any variation of the two. guess what color my hair is? um, a reddish or orange. i guess i am in style for the holiday? i am a little sad about that. and it isn't nearly short enough. it is a little frustrating. when you pay that kind of money for you hair you want to like it at least and hope to love it. she did really good last time. should i give her another shot?

one really exciting note is we started the week off on monday at 96 degrees, that's not the exciting part btw, and today it is a chilly 67. i love it. i love this weather. i would really love a few weeks in the 70 degree zone. is that too much to ask?

hope you all have a way more fun day planned out other than cleaning and exercising with reddish orange hair!

a first grade conversation on the bus

little girl with the cute blond bob: bennett will you please chase me at recess?
bennett: ah. no.
little cute girl with the blond bob: please?
bennett: no.
little cute girl with the blond bob: why not?
bennett: because i don't chase girls.
little cute girl with the blonde bob: please.
bennett: no.
little cute girl with the blonde bob: well then can i chase you?
bennett: well i guess. if you have to.

um, serisouly, does it get any cuter than that?
and notice i spell blond/e two different ways, how do i not know how to spell it?

on the oh so good list

so being at the pumpkin patch and all i wanted to whip up some super easy cookies for bennett's arrival home oh and andy's. i have the simplest recipe ever for some really delish pumpkin chocolate cookies. no these will not help my quest to drop 20 pounds, but they sure put a smile on my little ones face. here are the details.

pumpkin delights

15 ounce pumpkin puree

1 box spice cake mix

1 cup mini chocolate chips

bake in a 350 oven for 12 minutes

let your self have a little treat today. they taste as if you were in the kitchen all day and yet they take all of 3 minutes to prepare and pop in the oven. bytheway-my kitchenaid has made it's return. hip hip...gosh i love that thing

ah, a fieldtrip

so today

bennett and i

are heading out to his very first

first grade fieldtrip.

he is very excited. in kindy i went on every single fieldtrip there was.

here in this school there were so many parents that volutneered t

hat they needed a drawing to dwindle it down to only

7 mothers. kind of crazy. bennett was so elated that i was chosen.

it will be kind of fun to do something with him today while the other 3 are

home with aunt michelle, bless her heart. so off to the pumpkin patch we go.

at least the weather is finally in a

pumpkin patch

kind of temperature!

to paint or not to paint, that is the question

so here i am in my new beautiful home wondering if i shall paint. do i want to color these near perfect white walls? i don't know. i have some worries about that. i know it will look good, but once i have all the colors up will it look like a rainbow in my home. i like very clean cut straight lines. will i get that same look if one room is a gray blue while another is a butter yellow and another is a mocha brown? i don't know...someone tell me what you think? let me know what you have done and how you feel about the color in your home. maybe i should start upstairs and see how that goes because i have a really pretty rose petal pink and a baby blue with chocolate brown stripes that I am really excited about. Oh yeah and then I have to somehow figure out how to incorporate spider man into bennett's bedroom without it looking to much like an elementary classroom. anyway, your thoughts would be greatly appreciated

a new season

so here we go. a new season, a new home and now a new blog.

we will see how it goes. i have been thinking about

crossing over for some time now and i am finally doing it.

who knows i may like it and then again

i may just jump right back over to

my spaces site

http://theenglishbunch.spaces.live.com/

...we'll see.