Yikes....

where has September gone?

tomorrow will be October already.  When I said this to Tyson today, Thomas overheard it, and declared that he was ready to go trick-or-treating, and was jumping up and down.  Both Tyson and I had to remind him that he has to wait until the END of October.  But the rest of the day was spent talking all about the costumes we picked out, and who was what, and he is excited to use the cool trick-or-treat bag that we bought from the DI (it's a purple monster hand on a handle with the bag attached). 
We are also looking forward to the Pumpkin Walk  in Logan, and Mom's Birthday Party/Halloween carnival.  But that's all at the end of the month. 
I wonder what else the month of Oct. will hold for us this year. 
We have General Conference this weekend. 
Tyson will be going on a big trip to San Fransisco the 16-19.  He and his buddies are going to see the 49ers vs. Raiders game.  I convinced him to make a trip out of it, not just going to the game.  So I hope he'll have a good time and see some cool touristy stuff.
There really isn't much else planned, so I look forward to either some nice relaxing fall days, or some fun filled family activities :)

chestnuts roasting

on an open fire :)

well, it's not really an open fire - it's a FAKE fire LOL --

it took some assembly -

and it was broken a little bit on arrival, but we fixed it and we LOVE it!!!

working in the yard

after the kiddos were done in the hole, we finally planted our little apple tree

You've got Mail!

weeding

I like weeding - it's therapeutic.  I especially like doing it on nice cool days, with a bit of a breeze.
Today was one of those days.  I have been weeding for hours :)
I have been telling some people today that I am weeding my GRASS - and they have been suggesting that I should probably just do weed and feed on it, instead of working so hard. 
Yeah, I could do that, but it will take FOREVER to get rid of all those weeds in our yard.
Or I could just get out the weed wacker - but that wouldn't actually get RID of them - it would just spread their dang little seeds everywhere, so they could grow more of them.



Actually, I am only doing this in the front yard, I want it to look pretty :)   
(the back yard would be impossible - it's pretty much ALL weeds still - we'll work on it more next year)

And we did do weed and feed.  It is doing a good job!  The grass is getting stronger, and the weeds are sorta dying.  I can tell some of the types are dead - I can tell when I try to pull them out and the root is completely rotting!! YEAH! 
But others of them, well, the leaves on top have died, but when I pull the roots out - they are still holding on.

My favorite thing is when you pull, and ALL the root comes out.  Not just a part that has broken off, but the whole thing.  And it is even better when that root is as long as your arm!!!!  Makes me feel so buff!

In the back yard I did have to pull up some weeds to get them out of the way of the garden area.  We had to laugh at some of those weeds, because the dirt in the back is so strong/impenetrable, that instead of going down deep - they just decided to go sideways.  Though they were close to the surface, they were still tough to pull out.



So here is a peek at what I have been up to - I know ya probably don't really care, but it's my blog, I can do whatever I want LOL.

I like to think of the weeds as little monsters or dragons.  Look at this one right here at the bottom of this picture --- it totally looks like a dragon head, breathing fire.

I am the DRAGON SLAYER !

Doesn't that dragon totally look like a weed coming up out of the ground??

It totally does.

The weeds I am pulling, are all along the sidewalk, and the driveway, and the front of the house.  It is looking good!  And with the weeds out of the way, it will give the grass the room to spread out!!

before                                                                                           after



                                                   afters

Can you spot the bird in this picture???

You can click on the photos to make them bigger too.....

























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how about in this one???

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how about in this one???

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here is what she looks like.....



I am not sure if she is sitting on eggs, or just in the tiny bit of shade that dinky tree provides.  But she didn't move a muscle - just squinted her eyes at me when I asked her if she was dead.  Today is the first day I have seen her there.  I will be interested to see if she is still there tomorrow.


Can anyone tell me what kind of bird it is????

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I am guessing a Prairie Falcon??????
http://www.birdphotography.com/
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Party Time

Scooby-Doo/UP Party

Thomas's party went well last night - except for when he got in trouble for trying to make mud again --- now I just face the daunting task of cleaning it all up.  It is a good thing I got the sprinklers shut off, or everything that got left outside would have been soggy this morning.  We pulled most of it in, but I thought I would go back out after everyone left to finish cleaning it up... but I was totally wiped out by then.

We started with the bird house painting! Painting is always fun!  Even Grayson was loving it.

Then we grilled up burgers and hotdogs.  They were so good, that is what I plan to have for lunch today too.

Then we did some Pinate action. They came RUNNING :)

I was totally unsure about this pinate's construction, I had never tried to make one shaped like a house before.  But it turned out to be just strong enough for it to be a blast!  

Next time we will use a shorter stick, I think the kids were having a tough time swinging this one.

Halden delivered the final blow to crack it open!

As dusk arrived we had to go inside to avoid getting eaten by the Corinne mutant mosquitos.  Thomas was a pro at opening gifts this year.  I just laughed as he went back and forth between wanting to linger on one gift, to simply tossing aside the gifts as quickly as he could get the paper off of them.  The new school shoes my mom got him were the best, he pulled open the box, yelled "SHOES" in excitement and then pulled out the shoes and tossed them over his shoulder and moved on to the next thing.

I just have to say Thanks to everyone for the fun stuff.  I love when other people pick stuff out for him, it makes him test out new things that he wouldn't have concidered before. (Grayson it loving the new stuff too)   And Thomas is excited about the new school clothes (ya'll picked good)!

All in all, a wonderful fun day.  I am so worn out from it all though, I might just go easy for his birthday next year....... (maybe)........

Happy Birthday THOMAS!!!

Thomas is turning 5 today.
He missed the cut off mark for going to kindergarten, so he get another year at the Early Learing Center.
He is so bright and so smart.
I never know what makes his little mind work.

Right now his favorite things are:
 playing on the computer - he loves the sites Playhouse Disney, and PBS kids. They have all his favorite caracters on them, Handy Manny, Chuggington, Imagination Movers and Mickey Mouse, and on PBS kids he loves Super Why, Dinosaur Train, and Clifford.

learning sign language - I turned on a baby see and sign video one day (more for Grayson - cuz he isn't talking yet -than for Thomas) and Thomas LOVED it.  He makes me play if for hours at a time, several days a week.  He has all the signs memorized, and he makes me and daddy do the sign, and he guesses what it is.  He can do a few of them (his hand coordination isn't the best), but he would rather make us do it LOL

and anything to do with playing outside (or in the garage).

right now his favorite things to talk about are The Sky - he always has to see if there are any clouds in the sky, and then he tells me what they are shaped like (usually it's a big bear).  On really cloudy days he will say "where is the sky?" because he can't see any blue.
he also likes to talk about playing in the mud - which is not allowed.  I built the boys a sandbox, and they would still rather dig up our yard and track mud all over the place.
and when we get together with family, he tells me all about the fun things he has done with Grandpa Anderson, and how pretty Grandma Anderson is, and how she will get him a juice box, and he also mentions his newest cousin Rusty - he tells me that he shouldn't sit on him, because that would make him sad and he would cry - and i just smile and say yes, we don't sit on babies.

Grayson is getting bigger by the day too.  The baby sign language is working for him as well - he will sign Milk, More, and All done.  He has also learned how to nod yes.  and last night he signed Bath, and he trys to say Bath too.  He has also sorta said Ball, and More.   He has also decided that he is big enough for turns on the computer too.  He climbs up into the chair and pulls it up to the desk, then slides out the keyboard and stratiegically puts one hand on the mouse and one on the keyboard.  Good thing our screen saver comes on 2 mintues after we stop using the computer, and goes back to the main screen which requires the password to get back in, or he would really reak havoc on there.

He and Thomas are getting along much better.  Grayson just adores his big brother.  And still does everything he sees Thomas doing.

It's back to School Day!!!

Here he is getting ready - all by himself!

Eagerly watching for the bus (he soon lost interest in that though LOL)

Here it comes!!!!

I can't wait to hear all about his first day, when he gets home!