Carson's Chore Chart

I am finally trying something I have wanted to do for a while now. A chore chart for Carson. He doesn't really need a chart for chores, since he is always a big helper. But, I want to teach him some GOOD habits, like making his bed, brushing his teeth, saying prayers, and so on. My sister Marisa mentioned that he is at a good age to do a chore chart. I figured I should start out simple, and I can always add more chores later as I see a need for it. I included a catagory for picking up toys, eating his food (He can be quite a fussy eater somedays) and for No Accidents (toilet wise, which isn't a big problem, but sometimes he gets so distracted playing that he goes just a little in his pants...it is really annoying!). I found a book of 2000 stickers at Target for like $3, so they should last us awhile. I had a lot of scrapbook paper that has been collecting dust since I started doing everything digital (which I am way behind in doing!). So I put the paper to good use and made the chart with what I had. I think it turned out cute. I took pictures of his bed, toys, plate, toilet, toothbrush, and of him folding his arms to help him remember what is on his chart. I love digital cameras and color printers!! We hung up the chart in his room at a perfect height, so he can put the stickers on himself, but the stickers are where only I can reach! I told him that once he fills up all the chart with stickers we can take him to get purple ice cream and gummy bears. (He loves coldstone's blueberry muffin mix icecream, with mini gummy bears as the mix-in). We will see how it goes!

Just some pictures to share...

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on...so to make this fast, here is some pictures I wanted to share. This first one is from last Sunday. Matt & Nat came over for conference, and like normal did a great job of entertaining Carson...if that's what you want to call it!!

Carson thought it was so fun pushing Kaylee around in the lego bucket...and Kaylee agreed!!

This picture of Kaylee makes me laugh!

Kaylee puts EVERYTHING in her mouth!! EVERYTHING!! Carson was never like that. This morning, she was crawling around with a sock in her mouth. It makes us laugh!!

Carson climbed in the crib with Kaylee...without me knowing, so I had to take a picture before I told him to GET OUT!

'How do I look as a girl?' *This is my wig for my halloween costume this year! We laughed so hard when we put it on him! He is actually being a pirate for Halloween.

And Kaylee is a cute Pink Poodle...adorable don't you think?

Let it SnOw!!

I woke up to Carson exclaiming "SNOW DAD....SNOW!!!" So I jumped out of bed and yes it was true...snow. I had to get my camera and document the first snow of the season.
Nick and Carson headed out before church and "shoveled" snow...but mainly played in the snow. Carson loved it!! Can you tell?

Isn't the snowman so cool!? It wasn't the only one in the neighborhood, it looked like everyone was just as excited for the change in weather.

Happy Birthday Kristi

Yesterday, we took advantage of a Kristi's Bday to make it a girls day out! We surprised her by taking her to Applebees for lunch. Yummy!! Jana made her really cute crown!!! Isn't that creative or what!?! It was so fun to hang out with all the girls! Thanks for everyone who came! I hope Kristi had just as much fun! Happy Birthday!!!!! Thanks for your friendship, you are the best!

(Note: Jana is not pictured, since she was taking the picture!)

How to paint a wall in 2 weeks...

You start out by having your wonderful family come and help you start to paint the wall a medium shade of blue, and the rest of the room light blue. We thought it was time for a new paint job in Carson's room. I really wanted to do one wall with stripes, so we got off to a great start, and got his whole room painted on Saturday. Thanks Papa Bear and Karen for coming and helping us with our projects. We waited until Monday to tape the wall for the stripes. After about 1 1/2 hours of taping, Nick went to remove one to adjust it this is what happened next.....
A lot of the paint came off of our walls. Not just the blue paint, but the brown paint and the primer. Right down to the sheet rock!!!!!

We ended up peeling off all of the paint clear down to the sheet rock and started all over again.

You can just imagine how upset I was when this happened. It made Nick and I just sick to our stomachs since we had worked so hard to get to this point. So...we had to prime it on Saturday, paint it Medium Blue again on Monday, and then we started all over again with the stripes on Thursday....

This time we had a much better result:

It worked!!! It turned out very fun! We finally have moved Carson back into his room. He has spent several nights sleeping on our closet floor. (He loves to make a bed in there, it is like his little hut!). That way he didn't have to breathe in all those fresh paint fumes. Now we just have to put stuff back on his walls. What a project this turned out to be. I don't think we will be taping anything in the near future, until we test a little area of paint first of course! Thanks Meredith for the great inspiration for the stripes!!

Bring on the Rain

I love rain. I love fall. I love that it isn't boiling hot. I love to sit and watch it rain, especially when it pours. Today Nick is at work, and I just put the kids down for a nap. My house smells like pumpkin chocolate chip bread baking, I am listening to conference, and I am watching it rain. (Yes I am blogging and listening to conference at the same time...I multi-task well!)
With fall now here, we decided we better stock up on our freezer jam supply before we can't get strawberries anymore. So last night Katie, Jana and I went to Melissa's house while our hubby's took the kids, and within 2 hours we cranked out quite a bit of jam! Yum!

Check out Jana's stirring skills! WOW!!!! Both hands....at the same time!!

This is what happens when you get 4 silly girls together....it must be the sugar in the air!

Thanks Melissa for letting us make a mess at your house!!

Red Tigers!!!!

Soccer is over for fall and we will get to play again in spring. I think 6 months will make a big difference on how well the kids will do playing soccer. We have such a fun team. All the little boys on Carsons team are just adorable! They have been fun to coach and to get to know. It is also fun to see how three year olds interact with one another. At the end of our last game, we took team pictures. I just took my camera so I wouldn't have to pay for pictures, and I was glad I did. They are the cutest little soccer team! Go TIGERS!!!

(Notice the soccer cookie...Carson wouldn't put it down, even for the picture!!! It was funny!)
This picture was taken the week before, after we got home from one of his games. He must of worn himself out with all that running!

Eight Months Old

Wow...My Little Girl is getting so BIG!!! She turned 8 months today. She has made the past 8 months such an experience and we wouldn't change it for the world!! She has brought such a joy and loving spirit into our home. She is such a great baby, if you don't mind getting up still at night! She is getting even more mobile and is starting to realize that she likes to be with her mom! Which is nice and flattering, but it can be kind of annoying when I am trying to get things done!!!
Here she is showing off her newly aquired skill of scooting. (Notice her hair is becoming more and more noticable...)
Kaylee loves to be outside and does great in the strollers. This was at one of Carson's recent soccer games. She loves to chew on everything, but still no teeth!! So anytime now I am expecting at least one to appear. She is slowly getting better about sitting up on her own, but once she realizes she wants something, she leans back or to the side so she can be on her tummy and can go get what she wants.

We love you Kaylee....

This is Carson's favorite thing to watch...

Something to think about...

On Wednesday, Nick and I attended a funeral for a friend. His name was Von, and he was only 26 years old. He grew up in Holden with Nick and their families were very close. When he was 2 1/2 years old, he had a cattle gate fall on him, and he was basically dead, but the Dr's were able to save him and bring him back to life. Since then, him and his family knew that he was living on borrowed time. He lead a very full and productive life, despite the mental complications his accident left him with. He served a partial mission in Provo, and served a full service mission at Welfare square in SLC. He was the manager for the Millard Eagles football team for almost 10 years. He was such an example of how people should live thier lives. Not judging, not critisizing, and loving everyone. He was on his way to work last Friday morning, when he overcorrected in his truck getting on the freeway, and the truck rolled, and he was killed.
As I thought about death and how we live our lives, it really brought it all to reality for me. We all live and we all die. We can't control how or when we die, but we can control how we live. Do we do all we can everyday to live the gospel? Do we go out of our way to give service? Do we show and tell the people around us we love them? What kind of priorities do we set? I could go on and on with questions that I ask myself. I am not perfect, and I have a lot to learn still. I have such a good family and great friends, who are great examples to me.
I just want everyone know how much I love Nick. He is a great husband, and I don't know anyone else who would be able to put up with me! He is a wonderful father, who is always willing to help with the kids, and he puts Carson to bed everynight. I love sitting outside the door as he helps Carson say his prayers. It is the cutest thing in the world. He reads with them, plays with them, feeds them, and loves them! He works so hard for our family. He gets up at 3:45 AM every day! And works anywhere from 40 to 60 hours a week, just so I am able to stay home with our children. He supports me in all that I do. And despite our disagreements sometimes, he is always on my side.
I love my children. Carson is such a delight and I love him to pieces. He keeps me laughing, smiling, and sometimes yelling. (He is a three year old, and gets into everything) But he is my joy! To watch him learn and grow the past three years has been amazing. I knew having children can make you happy, but it is so much more than that. It is a feeling that is so hard to explain. It is exhilarating! No amount money can buy anything so great! Kaylee is just a doll, and even though she is a lot of work, she is just an angel! She is getting such a fun personality, and I can't wait to see how she grows! I feel so blessed to have these beautiful children, and I can only imagine the love our Heavenly Father must feel for us, when I know of the love I have for MY children. I am thankful everyday for the blessings of health, safety, and love that our family has.
I am sorry that I am rambling, I just want to share my feelings that I have had the last few days. I hope that I don't have to attend any funerals for a while. The thing I fear the most is loosing someone in my family, especially my children. I pray for the Whatcott family and I know that they find comfort in knowing that they will see Von again someday.
Just something to think about...