October Rat Race

Olly Olly Oxen Free, If I don't post now it will be I. T. (for this blog, that is)

WAY WAY lots of stuff has transpired this month and I have GOT to jot it down. It's all good stuff for us, so stop holding your breath. Or do...if you like to test your lung capacity while you read blogs.

Hip hip hooray, soccer season is over! And guess who ended up loving it? Ding Ding Ding: PRESLIE. The one who was dreading it the most! Hunter enjoyed it also but he is always meh about most things. And Mack was... Mack.

We celebrated Mack turning FIVE! Wow. I really never thought this day would come. This child has been 2 for like EVER. I am still waiting for him to grow out of the terrible terrific twos.

Dax asked him what he wanted for dinner on his birthday and he said, "Well, for breakfast I want a gingerbread house, for lunch I want candy corns, and for dinner I want a bowl of suckers."  As you can see we tried to honor his requests (after nutritious meals of course). I think he had a happy day. I am never sure with him.

I also gave him his first friend b-day party. I tried to think of everything he likes to do and incorporated it into the party. We decorated sugar cookies, played some outdoor running games, and smashed a pinata (destroying + candy is so Mack's style).

Mack wanted to stand behind the pinata so it would look like Ventress's head was on his body. Yes, this is a Ventress head pinata I made.

It has been such a busy month, as is always the case at our house in October. Dax has been hunting a ton and absent from the day to day rigors of busy family life. So jealous happy he could be playing so much!

And in true Tristie form, whenever I have a ton to do and need an escape, I start a new and different project that is tons of work! I have housewife A.D.D! Here is my girls' room as of the beginning of October...

And here I am removing the light fixture so I can finish painting the ceiling. I cleared out and painted the entire room - walls, trim, ceiling, closet, and doors - by myself while my husband was gone. I don't recommend it. It took 2 weeks of chaos to finish. But it looks super nice now and I will post pics when I get the room arranged.

Halloween is in full force around my house and Quinn is the right age/size for our 2 year old Halloween jammies. When Hunter was born my girlfriend Katie gave him and Preslie matching Halloween pjs. We've passed them down to all my kids.

I ran my first 10K and my oompa loompas ran a 1 mile kids' race. This is the same week half my family got strep and the night before the race I started feeling it but ignored it because I had worked too hard on our costumes to stay home. I ran 6.2 miles with strep in a velvet suit! Dax was waiting for me half way through the race to cheer me on and was also at the finish line cheering. It was a fun, long race. 

Dax and I thought we had a mouse in our basement! We kept hearing a little scraping/scratching noise. Dax set out traps and the next day we could still hear it. Finally, we found where the noise was coming from...a beetle trying to climb out of a sack. Relief!

Quinn said this to me last week:
Q: One day I killed a rat.
Me: Oh, really? Where was it?
Q: I dunno. Dead.

I can barely handle how adorable and sweet and wonderful and cute she is. She talks all the time and says the cuh-uutest stuff in the most darling voice ever. One day she took the 2 halves of her shape ball toy and put them up to her chest and said, "Look at my bah." (bra)
Quinn and I got to go with Mack and his preschool class to the corn maze. Fun!

We celebrated Hunter's 9th birthday! He didn't have school because of UEA- he stayed in his pjs all day and played video games with his buds. That is his kind of day!

My kids and I went deer hunting with my Dad. His family always hunts together every year and this year 4 of them had Book Cliffs tags so we went out to join the party. My dad brought all my kids a pumpkin to carve;  they had a ball camping in Grandpa's trailer. It was great to see aunts, uncles and cousins!

{deep breath} What a month and it is not over yet! We are just getting warmed up for Halloween. Hopefully I have enough energy to finish October with a bang! I might need to be medicated!

fall blessings of beautious bounty

My good girlfriend took our family pics on Saturday. It's good to check that off the 2012 'to do' list. Out of over 100 images we got 1-2 good shots of our whole family- where everyone is looking WITH their eyes open and mostly smiling. The area that we went to up the canyon is so beautiful.

 Worth the trip even if we hadn't got any good shots!
That day we found out my bro Tyrel and Kaeli are going to have a baby boy! Yay for another Warner to add to the crazy clan!

The next day was Dax's b-day. We enjoyed having his parents here with us to celebrate! We attended a broadcast of the Brigham City Temple dedication. So grateful for temples to bind families together. I LOVE my family. My parents and sibs, my hubs and kids, and my in-laws.

We went back up the canyon and enjoyed the fall surroundings. The kids and Dax melted down a bunch of tree sap in a can over the fire then made a mold on the ground and poured the molten sap over the mold and made a "34" plaque for Dax. Simple pleasures make life great.

 I am happy to be with my man. He is the best husband a girl could have. I've known him 13 of his 34 years. Time flies.

 Quinn is cute with Echo. He has been a good and patient dog. He has so much energy! I have taken him running a few times and he drags me the whole way. It doesn't even look like he is running; it is so effortless for him but I am running my fastest and breathing so hard, it is ridiculous. But I feel so blessed to be able to run! Every time I am out running I thank my Heavenly Father for the ability to do it. There are so many who are unable to move that way. I love having a body that is capable of so much!

Hunter and I have been working in cub scouts faithfully and he has earned his Wolf and 3 arrow points. I have loved being his den leader. He is a sweet, smart, easy kid. He will graduate to the Bear den next month when he turns 9. I will miss him!

I am thankful for all the blessings in my life! I feel like I am trying to get a sip of water from a fire hose. My life is so overflowing with blessings that I don't have the capacity to receive and realize them all. On top of it all, my Mom who has been suffering and very unwell for 6 years has started to feel a tiny bit better this past week. I am grateful for a merciful Father who could grant this to her for whatever time she can have the relief. I love her and count her as one of my heroes in this life.

My husband has been hunting and working a lot and I have been left to keep things moving along and see to everyone's needs in our home. I have felt blessed to be able to meet the demands before me and while I have a few challenges I am trying to figure out and work through, I feel peace and know that I am being watched over. I am so thankful for that.

Mack snack

 Mack's exact words to Dax Sunday afternoon..."Dad, can we make a drink out of this?"

The kid loves to "make drinks" and he always has a great (psycho) idea for ingredients. He begged me to make a candy corn smoothie for a week. Sometimes I have to put my foot down. I love to hear how he thinks things are made. The other day Hunter was commenting on how gross dog food smells and said he wondered how it was made. Mack quickly pipes in, "Oh dog food? They just get a dog and then some food and they mush it all together."

Mack says he hates soccer. He hates everything that isn't his idea. He does like the snacks afterward, though.

Mack started preschool! Here he is on his first day in his Mack uniform: t-shirt, "soft" shorts, and crocs. This is not one of the battles I choose to fight.

 


Yes I fear the wrath of the Mack.

It seems like Mack has been 2-3 years old for FOREVER (he's almost 5). I must say he HAS grown up quite a bit this year. I never thought I'd get him into a dentist chair. It had to be his idea. He was there when the older kids had a couple check-ups and then asked, "Mom, when do I get to go to the dentist?" I scheduled his appointment right away...

 He did great!

He is a fun kid and we just love him to pieces. The rowdy kids, while exhausting, are the most entertaining and come with the most personality and fun.

I chuckled to myself today as Mack was teaching 2 little cute neighbor girls how to play Star Wars on the Wii..
"Ok, this is how you fight. Push this button and then you choke people like this, but don't choke him too much cause he's your buddy. Just choke him a little." All the little girls wanted to do was play Barbies with him so they got more than they bargained for on this particular playdate.

Mack has been a lot more than I bargained for in a son. A lot more awesome than I ever thought possible.

signing my life away

It's been a good summer but yes, school has started once again. And in true form, Preslie has been ecstatic for it to start with a paper chain counting down the days and poor Hunter dreading every day that moved him closer to school time.

P- 5th grade      H- 3rd grade

Preslie has had her first week of outfits picked out and hanging in order in the closet well ahead of time. She has been driving us all nutty with her over-zealous and over-prepared self.

 

The night before school started I realized Hunter probably needed something decent to wear in the morning. Here is the conversation that went down before bed...

Me: Hunter do you want to pick out some clothes for school tomorrow or should I just lay something out for you?

Hunter: (no response)

Me: You probably don't even care what you wear do you? I will just pick something and lay it out for you.

Hunter: ...uh Mom, sorry. When you started talking about clothes you lost me.

 

Lost. Kind of like his brand new pair of school shoes. No where to be found that morning. Did he care? No. Did he know where he wore them last? No. Would he have gone to school without shoes had we not all but put them on his feet? Yes.





Preslie even had her hairdo planned out for the first day but needed a little help. While I was pinning her bangs back...
Me: How big do you want the poof in front?
P: Not that big. Not as big as Snooki's.

That evening, Dax and I were in charge of putting on our neighborhood picnic. It was a success with over 80 people in attendance and good times and food had by all. We live in a GREAT neighborhood. What a blessing that we often take for granted. I liked the streamers I hung across the road from my house to my neighbors' house. It made for a great party vibe. If anyone ever needs 200 feet of streamers, I'm your gal.


That same week soccer started. This is our first year playing it (or any sport) so it is a new thing for all of us. I didn't realize I would be signing my life away for 7 weeks but hey, who needs to eat dinner or clean their house or go to back to school night?

Dax's work has picked up like crazy and he's been gone more nights this week than he's been home. Couple that with hunting season and you have yourself a semi-single Mom here. So what does a busy Mom do with herself spread so thin? How about get a dog?!

Meet Echo. The newest member of the family.

WHAT? Am I crazy? Totally! I don't know WHY we have this dog. I saw him on our local KSL-ish  site and I kept thinking about him. I know it is weird and surprising and cheesy to think that perhaps this dog was meant to be in our family. He is a great dog. Smart and obedient and awesome with kids. It's work to have a pet though and I don't know why now, with the busiest we've ever been, I decided this was a great choice. Now we add fence the rest of the yard to our list.



Life is fun and crazy and keeps us guessing. I can't help but get excited for Halloween when I receive severed limbs in the mail. It's just so awesome.

 

And here is a fun decoration I set up for a neighbor boy's b-day party. I wanted to take Mack's picture by it (it was the first party he's been to) but he refused.

But hey-it's September now so can openly get excited about Halloween. Let the good times roll.

"I'm Bored!" ...(j/k)

This summer has been the hardest yet for keeping my kids busy and not saying "I'm bored!" every other day. I WISH I was bored! That sounds so relaxing. I can think of a hundred things I want to do but can't get to.

 I brought home boxes of plums from my parents' house and Dax helped me make jelly and syrup. It turned out yummy. I hope this will last for the next year! I made/canned pickles today from some neighbors' cucumbers.

Here is a cute pic of Quinn helping my Dad unload the dishwasher. She is hanging on my back right now saying, "Happy Gampa! Nice Gampa!"

Yay! The kids thought of something creative to do. They made a time capsule and each put things in it that represent them at this moment in time. I even wrote some stuff down and put it in there. Preslie wrote on the outside, "2012 time capsule. Open in 2017."

 Preslie opted to open it in 5 years rather than 10 because she'll be 20 years old if we wait that long. 20? Weird. The kids wanted to put the time capsule in the attic. They also wanted to get up there and look for treasure. I told them we didn't have that kind of attic. Mack was dissappointed.

Who is so tired of their kids staying up too late? ME! I am ready for earlier bedtimes!

This next series of pics is cute to me. Quinn LOVES her Dadda! She always wants his attention and is just his little sweetheart.

Mack, Preslie, and Hunter all started soccer this week. Holy cow, it is going to be crazy keeping up with all their practices and games but hopefully fun. Congrats to me, I will be a soccer Mom for the first time! Not one of those cute, primped ones; more of the frazzled, sweaty types.

yard sale show and tell

Preslie and I went yard sale-ing this morning. It was super fun and we scored some awesome stuff. Everything we bought was $2 or less. Take a look...

Preslie's favorite find were these cute Nike hightops. She didn't take them off all day. TWO bucks.

pants $5, shirt $3 from our local thrift store.

 We got a lot of cute clothes and some cool toys but my fave find was this adorable wool jacket. Ah, my heart melts every time I look at it. It was $1. You read that right, ONE DOLLAR.

 Preslie and I made outfits with our new stuff but had to stop prematurely to stop Mack and Quinn from flooding the back yard with the hose.

I'm not sure I like the jacket with shorts...

top- yard sale $1, white under tee- thrift store $3, belt- yard sale .50 cents, jacket- thrift $6, shorts- Zara (in Spain) 16 Euros.

cardigan- yard sale $1, tank- thrift store $1

top- yard sale $1, tank- thrift store $1, skirt- yard sale .50 cents,
shoes-yard sale $1

Here is a fun toy I've seen in stores but couldn't bring myself to pay $25 for it. I got it today for $2.

We did well, don't you think?