A Few of Our Favorite Things!

TANNER DOUGLAS

Favorite Movie- NACHO LIBRE (Isn't that hilarious? He loves it and will really sit and watch it! I think Doug and Kyle were watching it one day and now he just always wants to watch it!) Am I a bad Mom for letting him watch that sometimes? Maybe he wants to be a wrestler one day!

Favorite Question- "Can I have some candy?"(No joke....a million times a day....if anyone has any suggestions on how to stop this madness, please let me know!:))

Favorite Pastime- His Cars, being outside and "Pretending" to play Guitar Hero on the Playstation.

JACOB ROBERT

Favorite Movie- Too wiggly to even watch more than 3 minutes of a Baby Einstein. Would much rather stare at himself in a mirror! It is fascinating!

Favorite Words- "Dadadadadadada"....I try to teach him "Mamamama", but it isn't working and Tanner thinks it is funny when Jake says the opposite of what I am trying to get him to say! It is pretty dang cute!

Favorite Pastime-Being outside or in the bathtub...two things that solve any sadness!!

I thought it would be good for memories sake to write down some of the boys favorite things as of late. So I will probably do this periodically....maybe every 6 months or so, just so we can remember the fun little things that made them happy on a daily or more frequent basis!

Happy Birthday Rebekah and Rachel!

Happy Birthday Rebekah and Rachel! Wish we were closer to spend them with you!

They're Engaged!!

Congrats to the newly engaged couple! We are so excited for my brother Jonathan and his new fiance Melinda to be married in February! We can't wait to come to Portland for all the fun!!! Love you guys!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

We decided to decorate our gingerbread house a little early this year so that we could enjoy it before we head to Denver for Christmas! Tanner was in heaven....he was wired because he kept stealing candy and thought it was so funny that he was eating it instead of putting it on the house! It was pretty funny. He had a blast doing it. Doug was excited too...except he was zonked out on the couch because he has been sick and decided to take 4 sudafed p.e., which he thought would not phase him, and then all the sudden it hit.....so basically he was dead to the world, but at least he got a little rest which was much needed. Now we have the Gingerbread house on the counter and everytime Tanner comes downstairs he asks if he can eat some gingerbread house.....maybe we shouldn't have done it so early!:)

NEW RECIPE BLOG!

Okay....I finally did it! I created a recipe blog for anyone who feels the urge to post recipes that they love and would like to share with everyone. Some of us have been talking about it and thought it would be so fun and helpful! It is called DELECTABLE DISHES! I know...kinda cheesy, but that is all my dead brain could come up with.

If you are interested in posting recipes on the blog let me know and leave me your email and I will give you all the info....you know, the passwords and stuff. And don't be shy....anyone is welcome...I mean anyone! Even if I don't know you look at my blog, I don't mind! The more the merrier! None of us are professionals, at least that I know of, and we all like to experiment and try new things.

It won't be a blocked blog....anyone can look at it if they want. I think that it would be smart as we all post to use the labels as food categories so it is easy to find something if we need to...such as cookies, main dish, appetizers, etc. You all get it I'm sure. And of course everyone loves pictures of the recipe...so that is always a plus! I posted the first recipe tonight so you can check out the blog. It is....

wwwdelectabledish.blogspot.com

(There is no . between the www and delectable and although the blog is called Delectable Dishes, the address is only delectabledish. Hopefully I haven't confused everyone with that....but believe me, blogger was not working with me or I would have made it a little simpler.)

I am sure I am forgetting something...please let me know if you think of anything! This is exciting, I always love new recipes!

Thanksgiving Day 2007

Our Thanksgiving Day started out with the annual Turkey Trot! Melis and I decided to walk instead of trot....I was pushing Emma because my sister Emily wanted to run and Melis pushed the boys. Uncle Paul and Auntie Kelsey came down from the Y to spend thier Thanksgiving break with us! We had so much fun! Paul ran and got second in the race...GO PAUL!! Those other two turkeys decided to walk too.....whooses!

Jake getting snuggly with Uncle PaulDoug and Kyle struttin' their stuff!

And guess who showed up at the end of the race?? Santa!! Isn't he an awesome Santa? He was so good....he put on a little show of cute magic tricks and then read them the night before Christmas. The kids loved it!

Then it was time for Pumpkin Pancakes! They were soooo yummy! And it was just enough to hold us over until the huge meal we were all looking forward too! Isn't it funny that Em and Erin are both being cheesy behind each other in these pictures! Funny!

Chip, Erin, Tayto, and Pricee chowing down!

Emily was such a good flipper!

Later that afternoon we were off to Thanksgiving Dinner! We went with Chip and Erin to their Thanksgiving dinner at Chips Aunt and Uncles house. They had three blow up bouncing things that totally kept Tanner occupied the whole time. It was fun to relax and hang out and it was such a nice day!

Tanner was in heaven!

Jakers and Nash keeping each other occupied by stealing each other binkies....it was funny!

Jake enjoying the Arizona winter grass!

Kels and Melis

Brotherly Love!

Jake loves his Tanner! Of course Tanner thinks that Jake is older and can do a lot more things than he really can already, like wrestle for instance! But soon enough Jake will be able to hold his own and I am sure that they will be wrestling all over the place! Don't worry that Tanner has marker all over his hands because he thinks it is more fun to color his body than paper and Jake's sweatshirt is soaked because he is teething....or he has a cold and can't breathe out of his nose, therefore he keeps his mouth open and then is soaked....most likely a combination of the two. I love these boys!!!

Golfing Pros...well, not really

Putting in heels and a blanket doesn't really work
Kyle won the challenge....he was so proud!

Last weekend we went to the driving range and after the guys hit their bucket of balls we putted around on the green. I was cold....go figure, but we had fun messing around anyways.

Scorpion King

The other night Doug and Kyle found a scorpion at the front door! Tanner was fascinated! I guess that is what happens when your husband is in the bug business. Although, I am never thrilled when they catch bugs, rodents, or spiders of any kind! They fed the scorpion a cricket and we all watched it get demolished . They still have the scorpion at the office, where they continue to feed it different creatures. I wish Tanner was more scared of bugs like me...it would be nice to know that when we walk by a spider I don't have to worry about him picking it up and examining it, but that is exactly what he does. The other day he was in the backyard and he walked in the house and said "Look mom...a spider!" and he was holding a moth by its wings. We had to go outside and let it go, because it was trying so hard to get out of his tight grip.

It's Official!! Tanner is the Culprit!

Yes, that is right, today while I was putting Jake down for a nap, Tanner thought that it would be fun to pull off ohhhh, about 20 keys off of Melissa's laptop while he was watching Wonderpets! I came downstairs and he was having a hayday. You better believe he got in trouble and went to timeout. The best part about the whole thing is that we now have official proof that he is a laptop destroyer!! While I was in Oregon this summer after I had Jake, Tanner and his cousin Austin were found in the office....but this time Jonathans (my brothers) laptop keys were everywhere. Of course we didn't know who really did it....we assumed it was Tanner, but he was still too young to tell who did it and of course he wasn't fessing up to anything and Austin wasn't saying too much about it either. Thanks to my Dad and his little tools and a youtube video showing how to replace keys on a keyboard they were back on in no time and worked as good as ever. Unfortunately....my Dad doesn't live here and I don't have the skill he does when it comes to computer stuff. But now we do have official proof that it was Tanner back then and it was definitly Tanner today! (why would sweet little Austin do anything like that???yeah right:))

The eventful afternoon didn't stop there though....I took Tanner up for a nap and after we did our little routine I told him to stay in bed. (lately we have transferred him to a toddler bed...which he does fine in at night, but naps are hard for him to stay in his bed because it is so light outside....and he likes to jump and move move move!) So I hear Jake still crying and not settling down, and I tell Tanner "I need to go check on Jake....stay in your bed!" Of course two minutes after I leave I hear this big thud and Tanner screaming. I run in there and he is on the floor with blood dripping down his face and a deep little gash on his forehead. It was only like a half inch long, but pretty deep. Long story short....we clean it up and my sisters husbands sisters husband(you get the idea) who happened to be in town and is a doctor was able to dermabond(medical superglue) it back together. Thank goodness we didn't need a stitch or two. I wasn't feeling like attacking the hospital this afternoon and sweet little Tanner is terrified of the doctor ever since the broken femur incident. So Thank you Matt....you were a lifesaver! And that was our Friday afternoon!

The culprit! Doesn't he just look like a little rebel in this picture! He has fake tattoos....which he thinks are stickers, all over his body(there is even one on his stomach).....a sleeveless shirt that his Dad tells him shows off his muscles, and a gash in his forehead to show he is tough! What a guy!

Coons Cousins!

We are so lucky to live close by family down here in Arizona. My sister Erin has Price and Nash that are both really close in age to Tanner and Jake. Price is only a couple months older than Tanner and Nash is only a week older than Jake. These are just a couple pictures from this last week....we like to take turns babysitting the boys if we need it. It sure comes in handy!




Jake and Nash are so sweet! Nash is such a good little....big guy! He is twice the size of Jake literally, even though they are only a week apart.











These two like to get into mischeif.....mostly because of Tanner, but Price goes along too. We have to keep a close eye on them!:)

Around the house!

Happy Boy!
Playing with the Hose! One of Tanner's favorites!
What cute centerpieces!
Just "driving his car" in the magazine rack!

CP80: GET ACTIVE,GET INVOLVED!

CP80
We can NOT let our children drown in a sea of Internet pornography!

*DID YOU KNOW…
*12-17 year olds are the largest consumers of internet porn.*11 years old is the average age of first exposure to internet pornography.
*85.5% of the pornography business, stems from the United States.
*There are over 600 million pornographic websites.
*Businesses lose $85 billion a year due to workers misusing the internet.
* 70% of pornography is viewed between 9am-5pm.

Ralph Yarro is trying to pass legislation nationwide. HE NEEDS OUR HELP! This legislation will change our society forever if passed. Ralph is a computer genius from Utah whom has established a way for there to be such thing as a ‘CLEAN’ computer. He has hired on full time, 4 people to work on this program. He recently met with Jon Kyl on September 28th and presented this plan to him. This anticipated day was a great success. Jon Kyl is THRILLED about it and has high hopes it will come to pass; however, now needs to present this plan to the White House.
If this legislation passes, there will be no need to buy a new computer or software. It will simply involve contacting your internet server (Cox, Quest etc…) and stating you want this specific channel. It’s as easy as flipping a switch for them and BOOM all of a sudden you have a ‘clean’ channel that isn’t even capable of processing FILTH. It’s not a filter, but literally a CLEAN channel.
I’m sure a lot of you are thinking: Why does this need to be approved by the government? Well it is because the US government controls these channels and so therefore; they need to approve opening a new ‘clean’ channel across the country.
What can I do to Help CP80?
STAND UP AND BE HEARD- write, email, or call your state Congressmen and Senators. Let them know this issue is important to you! Let them know you SUPPORT CP80!! CALL NOW.
BE A VOICE IN YOUR COMMUNITY- write a letter to the editor or call radio shows. Discuss the dangers of internet pornography on your BLOG.
BECOME A TECH SAVVY PARENT-be actively searching for better ways to protect your children from all internet sources.
BE STRICT WITH RULES AND STICK WITH THEM.

EDUCATE YOURSELF- register at http://www.cp80.org/. It is a simple and quick process. You will receive updates on the status of CP80 and the progress it is making!
PLEASE MAKE MULTIPLE COPIES OF THIS FLYER- pass them out to family, friends, neighbors, and all of your ward members. MAKE CP80 KNOWN! Encourage others to register at http://www.cp80.org/
*WE EACH CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! LET’S JUST DO IT!!

The Perfect Pumpkin!

Our Little Fireman and his dalmation!

Tanner loved being a fireman!
Our dalmation with his puppy dog eyes!
Uncle Todd as a Pirate!
Daddy and his boys!
Cousins Price and Taytum!(Price did not want to dress up...but he was a cowboy at heart, plus he still got the candy...who needs a costume anyways!:))

Halloween was so much fun this year! I have been trying to prep Tanner for the last couple weeks about how it all works by reading a Halloween book and so when we actually got in our costumes and said "trick or treat".....(he would just say "treat please") I think he understood a little and was happy to be in his Fireman costume. We got way to much candy and I am going to have to majorly regulate the intake of it....or basically use it as a bribe to eat his meals. Today Doug poured it all out on the table to get Tanner to finish eating his lunch and I have never seen him eat so fast in my life....it was hilarious! His eyes got huge and he went to town on his leftover fruit! So then he got to pick one piece, and of course it was a sucker! Funny boy!

Vertuccio Farms

We went to the Pumpkin Patch tonight to pick out our pumpkins! I know it is almost Halloween, but they don't last that long down here in the heat anyways. We will carve them tomorrow because by the time we got home it was time to put the boys to bed...but we had fun finding the perfect pumpkins!

I'm not sure what he thought about all of this.

"I want this one!"
Jake driving the tractor!