when you live in the swamp...

you may wake up to this...

(sorry for the gross toilet, he brought something up with him)

around noon the little sucker somehow got out (even though i thought i booby-trapped the toilet pretty well).  we quickly captured him under a bowl and he's still sitting there waiting for the man of the house to get home!


i was teasing with chase a little bit a may have tramatized him for life...

(be sure to watch the second half of the video)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

so proud...

TANNER: mom, today a boy at school bet me that i couldn't eat all the pickles in the pickle jar-which was 8, and drink all the juice in the jar, but i did...so i won!

MOM:  what did you win?

TANNER:  my pride.

our Haka dancer...

chase saw a video of BYU football players doing the Haka, and thought he'd share his new found talent with the rest of the family at dinner time...too bad it did not end well! oh, and just for the record, i usually do not condone dancing on the table at dinner time (or any other time for that matter)

finally...

my almost-8-year-old finally lost his first tooth. "dentist dad" says that it's good to lose them later, but tanner didn't think so. his friend kneed him in the mouth and made it loose a week ago. since then, he has been trying for two days to pull it out. then last night, he brought jake a string and told him to wrap it around his tooth. i couldn't watch. but then about a minute later, there it was, dangling by a string.

we now have chase walking around trying to pull out his teeth, "i want money, i want money."

Wordless Wednesday...

HELP!!

Chase has learned to unbuckle the seat belt that keeps his seat secure to the seat. He does it constantly, then pulls himself up to the seat in front of him. I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to prevent him from doing it...nothing has seemed to work. The other day I decided to stop and pull over to re-buckle his seat every time he unhooked it to see if he'd get the hint...I ended up pulling over 12 times in about 3 minutes! I think he gets his stubbornness from his mother! Any suggestions?

"Yeah...I know"

I never had a chance to post this before we lost Elizabeth, so I thought I'd share it today on the 16th...one month after we delivered her.
Chase was the first one I told when we found out we were going to have a sister. Apparently, he already knew! What a great big brother he will be to her one day...

nice band-aid...

I guess it makes sense--you scratch your nose, put a band-aid on it.
When I've needed a pick-me-up these last few days, I look at this picture and can't help but to laugh.

An amazing invention...

T discovered a calculator tonight...

"Mom, this is an amazing thing. A machine that does math for you. I wonder if my teacher knows about these. So far, it has been correct every time! I love this thing."

That's my math geek! Love him!

Whoopsie...

I have NO idea how this happened...at least no one was hurt!

Our conversation...

Here's how my conversation went with Tanner while picking him up from school today...

TANNER: Mom, I just had the most weirdest experience.

MOM: Why, what happened?

TANNER: This boy I didn't know came up to me and said, 'Hi, Tanner.' Then I was like, 'Excuse me boy, I don't remember meeting you. How do you know me?'

MOM: What did he say?

TANNER: He said nothing and walked away. Do you know what I think is happening here?

MOM: What?

TANNER: I think I am becoming kind of popular.

MOM: Popular?

TANNER: Yeah, you know, like that song you play in the car, 'I'll make you popular, I'll teach you what clothes to wear, how to fix your hair, everything to be popular.'

MOM: (trying not to laugh) I'm happy for you. It's important to be nice to everyone, even people you don't know.

TANNER: Well, I am almost 7. I guess it was just that time.

He didn't make it...

Our turtle, Beckham, couldn't pull through! He actually died the same night I posted this. We put him out in the grass to roam around in the fresh air, and found him later...deceased!

Tanner took it really hard, it was sad to see him try to hold back the tears. Later that night we buried him in the backyard (I'm sure the owners of the house are going to love that) and Tanner gave a great eulogy. He gave his testimony that he knew that we would see Beckham again! Kids are so funny!

Dad...Is That You?

We have been receiving"Details" magazine for the past 5 months...but don't know how. Anyway, Logan found this issue on the kitchen counter and asked, "That Daddy??"

Jake has walked around with his chin in the air and his chest puffed up ever since...thanks Logan!

My budding photographer!

Note to self:
Do not leave camera within children's' reach!

This was only 7 of the 42 pictures that were taken!

This is what happens when I find the time to take a shower in a day!

Our new dentist (Dad is getting too busy)...

TVs in the ceiling, a red balloon to take home and neon sunglasses to block the dental light...SWEET!

Too Much Beyonce...

A cure for the common tantrum?

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hectic Family Scripture Study...

This is how productive our scripture study was last night...

...at least I enjoyed Jacob 2 vs. 1-34!

TANNER: Mom, can you play UNO with me?

MOM: Sure, I need to sit down anyway, Mom's stomach feels a little funny.

TANNER: Mom, isn't that code for 'I have gas'?

Chase's B-day recap...

Overheard a couple of weeks ago while the boys were playing in their room:

Tanner: Chase, I know your birthday is coming up and I feel bad telling you this, but you can't have a party this year because you don't really have any friends here in Florida. But don't worry, I'm sure mom will make you a cake or something and you'll probably get to wear the "Birthday Boy" badge on your shirt.

Tanner was right. We didn't have a big party this year, like last year, but we did go to dinner as a family and hooked Chase up with some sweet presents...

His favorite, Elmo...

A pack of size 6 diapers...

Mickey Mouse apple chips...

A new basketball hoop...
We celebrated with dinner at On the Border. Chase had his favorite--cheese quesadilla, fries and milk...

This was my (poor) attempt at trying to get a 2 year picture of Chasers...

Out of about 30 pictures, this one was the best...but I love it!

Update: Our little Chase has become better with his anger issues. Since moving into his "big boy bed" he seems to be less stressed and more happy. We still have a tantrum now and again, but we see more laughing than screaming and crying these days!