12.11.10

Morning at the Opera

Mack and Henry enter stage right. Henry holding one large car, Mack holding two smaller cars. Henry and Mack both lay down on the floor with their backs to the audience and begin driving their cars back and forth in front of themselves.
Mack: I'm a fire, a fire, a fire ca-car.
I'm a fire, a fire, a fire ca-car.
I'm a fire, a fire, a fire ca-car.
And I'm a pizza, a pee pee, a pizza car car.
I'm a pizza, a pee pee, a pizza car car.
I'm a pizza, a pee pee, a pizza car car.
And we are the same! We are a pizza and a fire car!
And we are all the same.
Henry: NO! I am a fire car!
An argument ensues. In order to illustrate his point and prove he is right, Mack rolls onto Henry. Henry roars and Mack decides to back off.
Mack: I'm a doctor car the doctor car is coming!
Hey did your engine die? Did it? That is why I am coming.
Henry: No I have an owie. Owie right there, and I have wheels.
That's my engine. No, that's my engine.
Mack: No Henry it is something that rhymes with the letter K K car.
Come on guys football car,
It's nice to meet you again.
FOOT BALL CAR! It's nice to meet you again.
This is my cousin.
FOOTBALL CAR! WOO!
It's nice to meet you again.
Henry: No I'm a a king, I'm king! I'm king!
BYE BYE, I go my home.
Henry exits stage right, followed by Mack.

Critics of this morning's opera were left speechless and had only this to say:
"Bu. Bu. Bu."
-Wallace Morley

8.11.10

Bathtime

Mack and Henry have the best conversations.
Today, the boys and I spent nearly all our daylight hours at my Mom's house. I was sorta working on Christmas gifts, Mack did 'homework' in his preschool workbook and Henry built towers while attempting to eat his weight in cookies. Wallace mostly cried because he doesn't feel good (he's got a cold), but when he wasn't crying his was flirting with his Granny and Aunt Kloe.
After family night, we came home and Tyler put the two older boys in the bathtub.  After they'd been in the tub a while, Mack let out an enormous toot in the water. Henry turned and asked him very seriously, "You pooped?"
Mack answered him, "No, I tooted."
"You tooted in the water?"
"Yeah, under the water."
"Oh."
A little while later Mack leaned back in the tub and sighed, "Ahhh. This is the life."
Toddler potty training underwear-- y'know the kind that's really thick and absorbent-- should not be sold in packs of three. It should come, at a minimum, in packs of at least TEN.

3.11.10

Let Me Entertain You

Mack was in a particularly musical mood this morning. He was walking around with his little Primary Songbook, singing away. I was lucky enough to transcribe a little of what he was singing. You're just going to have to imagine what the tune sounded like, but I can tell you the last one was a little bit like a rap.

A grown up can help you with that,
Two grown ups get baptized
sho-di-do, sho-sho-di-dooo
You have been taught by these later days.
Bridge: Lots of nonsense word singing
You have been taught when Jesus was born
We have we know about Jesus was born and food friends too 
and back then...

Break to talk about his "food friends" (these are imaginary friends he has named after different foods. Like Pancake, Cupcake), apparently they were born when Jesus was born. They are a family and the food family grandparents live far away from here. "Pretty sad, huh?"

They have been taught by latter-days
Children were gathered around Jesus,
They don't know why.
Oh di-do-di-do.

I asked Mack if he wanted to sing somemore. He said, "Actually when everyone gathers up in a big circle. But you can't be in the front, I am."

By these latter days 
I have been to church.
On day of days
If I had been to the temples.
You are
the odi modi
testimony.
And you are in the sky.
If you go 
on a trip 
You know 
on a whip 
you only know the odi-do.

Now he says he'll sing for me some more when I come to the big circle in his room. Gotta love this kid.

26.10.10

PUMPkin Patch

Last week we went to FOUR pumpkin patches in five days! I must have lost my mind. First, we took the whole family on Tuesday for a delayed family night. The second time, I went with the boys on Thursday morning-ish for a poorly attended ward play-date. Finally, on Saturday Henry, Wallace and I met up with my parents to check two more patches off the list while Tyler and Mack were off hiking Mt. Pilchuck with the scouts. Henry was cranky on Tuesday and Saturday, but overall they were good times. Like any mother, I forced my children to take an insane number of pictures, and find myself unable to edit it down to just one or two. Enjoy.

Wallace is like this ALL the time! We lucked out with this boy.
Henry's favorite pumpkin.
Mack's favorite pumpkin.
Henry's general attitude towards having his photo taken. I've got a bunch of pictures where his face looks like this.
The wagon was just for the kids. We'd already bought our pumpkins at the grocery store, sorry.
These photos are from the second patch. Henry was in a great mood this time. I cannot get over our cute little Wally! One of these is going in a frame.



Mack and Henry love trying to hold the pumpkins up over their heads to show me their super strength.


Try as I might, I completely failed at getting the boys to look at me while sitting on some bales of hay. They were much more interested in who had the better pumpkin. I learned that Mack is partial to the green, and Henry likes the ones that are "broken".

20.10.10

BOMM-SHAKA-LAKA!


Who just put up TWO blog posts in one week? ME! That's who! Enjoy these pictures please.
Batman and Super Gnome arriving home from a super hero themed birthday party.


Brothers.
And the award for 'World's Most Piercing Blue Eyes' goes to... Wally. Just ask anyone.
This is how my boys entertain themselves when Mommy is working out, making dinner, nursing, checking her email...Basically every chance they get they play in the garage.


18.10.10

Now Here's a Shocker

This is our Ward Building. Shocking. Shocking.
No one was hurt so it's really not a HUGE deal, but it is very inconvenient, surprising and a little teensy tiny ittie bittie bit scary. We went to a different building yesterday (they were having stake conference, so the building was empty), and will find out what the more "permanent" solution will be later this week --permanent meaning until they rebuild. On the plus side, I know Tyler is looking forward to the new building hopefully having a full size gym.


You will not find our family anywhere near any of the news crews. I'm much too embarrassed to ever be on TV again after those I made silly comments I made about The Bachelor were aired two years ago. :)

27.9.10

Why My Back is Sore

I don't even know how to start this.

I locked myself out of the house today.
I was about to leave for Mack's Spanish class this morning and I had Mack and Henry with me down in the garage. I had just buckled Henry into to his car seat and told Mack to hurry up and get his shoes on. I was feeling good about everything, we were about five minutes ahead of schedule and I even had lunches packed for everyone to eat on our way home afterward. I went to go back inside to get Wallace up from his nap -- he was still sleeping in his crib -- and the DOOR WAS LOCKED.
My mind started going to a million miles a minute. I could not believe it. My phone and my keys were sitting inside in the kitchen next to our lunch. I ran out to the front door. Locked. I checked the back door. Locked. I went to all the windows and took the screens down and tried to pry them open, which I knew was hopeless. I went back to my car and found a clothes pin, took it over to the garage door, started praying and tried to unlock it like in the movies. I had no idea what I was doing. I tried the same thing on the front door. About this time I started thinking about which would be cheaper to break, a window or a door. I decided a door. I knew we had various hammers and saws and what-have-you in the garage, but I couldn't think of how any of these things were going to help me since the door is made of metal and the hinges are on the inside. I couldn't really call anyone, Tyler had some very important meetings scheduled today and besides, what could my parents or anyone else do that I couldn't. I did what any desperate mother would do and started throwing my shoulder into the door police-style. I probably tried this about 10 times until, finally, magically, the door swung open! I couldn't believe it! I ran upstairs, got Wallace and our lunches and headed out the door to Mack's class. What a rush! It's taken me nearly all day to calm down and stop shaking. What an ordeal.
Let me tell you, it will NEVER happen again.

8.9.10

Cereal

We don't eat much cold cereal at our house. Breakfast (for Mack and Henry) is typically one of the following:
  • Oatmeal -straight up with nothin' in it!
  • Zoom -cracked wheat cereal mixed with applesauce, a little brown sugar and a ton of cinnamon
  • Scrambled Eggs -2 per boy with cheese if we've got it
  • Waffles -with peanut butter
  • Pancakes -with peanut butter
  • Leftover Scones -with peanut butter
  • English Muffins -the Multigrain kind from Costco also with peanut butter :)
Breakfast is always consumed with a big glass of whole milk and the occasional banana on the side. If he's home, Tyler will usually make french toast. Yum. I really didn't think our breakfast menu was very diverse until I just typed out that list. However, it's all carbs and grains, so maybe I'm not doing that great after all. My kids love peanut butter, and we switched to the simple stuff with no sugar, just peanuts. I figure its better for them than jam. Right? At least everyone has a full tummy at the end.  Overall, I think we do alright. We try to keep Cheerios or puffed wheat and corn in the pantry for snacks or to take to church in little baggies, sometimes we run out.
But my point is we don't usually eat cereal for breakfast. I don't have anything against eating it, I just kinda forget about it mostly. BUT, right now we're staying at my folks and when we are here the boys LOVE to eat cereal! I noticed this morning as I was asking Henry what kind he wanted for breakfast, that we've made up our own cereal language. The list sounded like this, "Do you want Baseballs?…Chocolate?… Pillows?…"  Baseballs are Kix. Chocolate is Cherrios. Pillows are Life, or Chex, whichever is available. I'm sure lots of other families do this sort of thing, but I just wanted to write it down (or type it out).

By the way, he chose the Baseballs, with no milk and "no fork".

6.9.10

Harry Potter

"I'll kill that Dumbledore!"
-Mack, playing with my brother Kody's old playmobil castle in my parents living-room (we're house sitting again). Maybe he was too young to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last week? It was PG. I wonder if he was pretending to be Snape or Malfoy?
A little later I heard this, in a very sinister voice..
"I'm the new Dumbledore, waha ha."

17.8.10

Once Upon a Time, We Went to the Aquaruim

April was our last month with an aquarium membership, so we made sure to fit in one last trip with the entire family. Due to sleep deprivation, I don't remember too much about the visit, but I do remember we ate lunch there and it was yummy! I know we had a good time and I know Henry would kiss a fish on the mouth if he could. He's obsessed with the darn things. Here are some pictures to prove it really happened.
MOM! Hurry up! OKAY?
Wallace is starting to fall asleep.
Just be glad you're not in matching outfits.
Go ahead, drop the baby. We're taking this picture.
Mack. Always eager to please! One sorta smiling? I'll take it!

Chronicles of Naptime

Mack and Henry are supposed to be taking a nap.
I just walked in and found them dressing up like a bunny.

25.6.10

Busy Week

We've had quite the busy week around here, but no pictures to show for it.
Monday: Took the whole family to see Toy Story 3. The boys loved it and were all very good for the entire movie. It was cute to see them sitting in their big movie chairs while drinking juice boxes and eating bunny snacks. Henry refused to share his armrests and wanted no distractions. Mack ran up stairs to see if he could catch his toys moving around as soon as we got home. The next day, he asked me why "Lightning-the-Queen" wasn't in the movie.
Tuesday: Mack's last day of Spanish Playschool. I don't know if he really understands that he has no school during the summer and when he goes back in September it won't be the same group or teacher. To celebrate his last day (and a break from driving to Ballard 2x a week for me!) we met up with Kassey and her girls at the zoo. The kids did okay. The weather was nice and they enjoyed looking at the animals but we were all exhausted at the end. Luckily, Tyler took the bus over after work and provided some parenting relief for the last hour or two.
Wednesday: The morning was crazy. Mack pushed Henry down the stairs from the very top (on accident) and I was never able to regain control of the 'home' situation. I packed up the kids and we headed over to my Mom's house. The boys were much more behaved over there and after a lunch and a nap we headed down to the beach for the afternoon. Everyone had a good time, especially Mack who got to ride back up to the house with Grandpa on his motorcycle.
Thursday: Spent the day on Lakes Union and Washington on my Dad's boat with Kassey's family and Karly and Kloe. We even picked up Tyler from work at a dock on the south end of Lake Union. Wallace didn't love the boat. He cried a little and mostly slept. Tyler, Mack and Henry had a mellow tube ride. Then it was Kloe, her friend Sienna, Karly,  and her "friend" Jake" on the tube. I'm still laughing just thinking about Karly's fall on the tube. She flipped up over the back, it was the highlight of my day. Kassey, Tyler and I took a turn on the tube and while my Dad swears he took it easy, we (Kassey and I) were freaking out the entire time. The whole situation was just nuts, I couldn't stop screaming, Kassey's hand was in Tyler's armpit, and Tyler's feet hung off the front of the tube. You had to be there. On the way home we stopped at Five Guys. It was good, but no Shake Shack.
Friday: Today. We're finally taking it low key with Peter Pan, a new no-bake-cookie recipe, naps and laundry. The fathers and sons outing is tonight and I CAN'T WAIT!! I've been looking forward to this night for over Four years. I have might night all planned out--Sushi, chocolate ice cream and BBC period films.

7.6.10

Mack's Birthday Party


I still haven't adjusted to having 3 kids. Its tough. So Mack's birthday was streamlined. It was held at the nearby children's museum and since the party room has a 'story-bookish' mural and chair, we focused in on a Knight & Dragon theme. Granny made the tasty Knight cake-- it was completely gone by the time we left for California the next day. For a party favor every kid got a sword, which was a big HIT (get it).  For party games all the kids decorated Burger King crowns (which Tyler spray painted gold) with stickers, then I read them a book about a knight and a dragon (each kid also got a copy of the book). I think everyone's favorite activity was the hour or so spent playing in the museum before and after the party. A smashing good time was had by all.

Forty Hours of Driving over Three Days

And my boys are still all smiles! All three little men loved being in the car. Tyler and I both agree that they were better behaved on the the road trip than they are at home. Henry rotated between reading himself books, drinking chocolate milk, playing with Bert and Ernie puppets and pointing out every single semi truck on the freeway. Mack also read and played with Wallace while eating chocolate Costco muffins. Wallace slept, ate, and then slept some more. When we arrived at a hotel and it came time to go to sleep, Henry couldn't contain himself. All day looking at trucks and then a SLUMBER PARTY! First we tried having him sleep with Mack, no go. Then he got into bed with me and Tyler slept with Mack. Henry wouldn't stop tickling my arm, so I rolled over and he played with my hair instead.
The boys were troopers at the funeral. Tyler had to take Henry out a few times, but the building's nursery toys had all been left out, which was very helpful. Henry may or may not have broken one of their matchbox cars in half. No one can prove anything.

Here we go...

It's been a LONG time since Tyler or I have had the time to transfer any pictures from our camera to the computer, therefore, all the pictures on our blog lately have been either given to us on a picture cd or 'taken' from other places. NO MORE. I have downloaded a LOT of photos (over 1,000!) and now I'm going to attempt to back track. Please be patient with me. I'm a busy lady. Lets all see how many posts I can get done during nap time!

4.6.10

Overheard

"Henry, doing it with your big-brother is best." -Mack, age 4

Overheard while in his room playing with puzzles. Mack and Henry had lined up every puzzle we own in a row and were working their way down the line. When I went in there a little while later to get some laundry (always working on that laundry), Mack asked me "Do you want to buy one?"

28.5.10

My Grandpa

I'm not very good at writing tributes. I just end up going round and round in circles, making no sense and in the end, cutting it short. I would either write too much mumbo-jumbo, or never really explain how I feel. My Grandpa passed away recently and my Mom put a wonderful tribute on her her Blog. I can't possibly top it, so I won't try. My Grandpa Dick is a really good Grandpa. I can't quite write about him in past tense just yet. He's not really 'dead' just moved on to a somewhere new. I love you Grandpa, we all do.

26.5.10

Playtime

Earlier this morning, as I went to put Wallace's laundry away in his room,  I discovered how my "little guys" had been occupying themselves. While I had been busy folding clothes, Mack and Henry had taken advantage of my absence and removed all the rings from one of our stacking toys and instead, stuck them on Wally's arms and legs as if they were bacelets. Without looking, I instinctively told Mack and Henry to stop it, but Mack protested that "Wallace likes it" and Mack was right! Wallace and Henry both had silly little closed mouth grins on their faces and now Mack tells me this ring stacker thing is "Wallace's favorite toy."

29.3.10

Just Can't Get Enough...

I can't get any time to update this blog, and I can't get enough pictures of the newest member of our family. Here are some MORE pictures of WallaceMorley. Handsome. I'm having trouble deciding which one of these pictures to frame (and finding the time), I love so many.  I especially love the ones of Wallace with his Daddy (predictable). Wallace has huge hands and feet--they're as big as his cousin Winni's) but he looks teeny tiny when Tyler holds him.
All pictures are courtesy of the generous and talented Mackenzie of MACKENZIE ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHY.  Not only is she talented but also patient. Wallace cried almost the entire time. AND she took all of these photos indoors on our couch. Kudos.