Not Quite the Look I was Going For

A little over a week ago, Emma, Colton, and I went to Brooke's school to help her celebrate at her Kindergarten Fall Festival; we were there for almost three hours (yes, I am a little nuts).  I of course, like usual, took a zillion pictures in an effort to capture every moment and memory.  I guess I should point out, that we also ate lunch with Brooke on this fun filled day; in between bites of our catfish nuggets (actually not as gross as they sound, but won't be adding to our menu at home), I snapped some pictures.  At one point, I turned the camera towards Emma and instructed her to smile, and this is what she gave me. 

First this,

then this,

and finally this

This was not quite the look I was going for, but hey, after looking at these pictures, you don't doubt that Emma is full of personality!  There is no one quite like our sweet, crazy Emma, and we like it that way!

Did you know...

...that you can not even go brush your teeth for two minutes as a mother?  That is, not if you have a soon to be two year old boy in your house, and that soon to be two year old is alllllllll boy!  I learned that lesson this past week, when I left the living room to go brush my teeth, keep in mind I was only gone for about two minutes, and came back to this scene. 

My first clue that something was up was when I came back, and Colton was not where I had left him; that my friends is never a good sign! By the way, if you can't tell, that is powdered sugar and butter that Colton is happily using in his covert operation to drive me crazy!  He just better be glad he is adorable!

If you don't know the words, make up your own!

As Rich will tell you, if I don't know the words to a song or simply can't remember the correct ones, I just make up my own.  It seems that I have passed along this habit to my children, as evidenced by the following story.  

Tonight this cute thing...

belted out this tune.

"...Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey

Whiskey makes my baby full of frisky!" 

After I stopped laughing, two things came to mind,

 

1) I'm sure glad she has no idea what frisky is, or whiskey, and

2) I think I need to monitor better the songs she hears on the radio. 

 

For tonight though, I sure got a good laugh!

Colton's New Skill

A few days ago, I looked out the window to see that Colton had acquired a new skill, a skill that made my heart skip a beat.  I yelled for Rich to come look out the window; upon arrival, he calmly looked out the window and said, "Oh, he has been doing that for a while; don't worry, he can handle it."  It's a good thing he is around, because I wanted to rush out and rescue him. 

If I had rescued him though, I would have never gotten to see his sweet face beaming with pride, and Colton would have never learned that he can do hard things!

I could never take that away from him!



This is what you get...

when you raid your firetruck bank, and con your sisters into helping  you have a lemonade stand,

an imaginext batmobile!

Mini Vacation to Myrtle Beach

Here are the pictures from our mini vacation we took back at the beginning of July.  We went back to see the blessing of my new beautiful niece Olivia, and stayed for a week of surf and sun; yes, we spent most of our vacation on the beach, just where I wanted to be! There is nothing like going home, especially if your home is Myrtle Beach!

(feel free to close that bothersome superpoke pet, not sure why they are putting that on there now)

The Scriptures According to Emma

As we already know, this sweet little thing has her own unique way of doing everything, and Sunday night, we realized she also has her own unique perspective on the scriptures.  Before I continue, I should explain that it is a Maseda habit of ours to go on long drives as a family; often these drives take place on Sundays.  Between work and church, Rich is fairly busy these days, so our drives usually give us time to talk and catch up.  These drives typically also give us some quiet time; the cuties usually play and talk to each other, and Rich and I try to squeeze in as much reconnect time as we can before the van pulls back into the driveway.  This past Sunday however, was quite different; each child decided it was time to tell scripture stories, with Braden going first.  Braden honored us with a wonderful and accurate rendition of the Tower of Babel, following which Brooke made a selection from the Book of Mormon choosing to share with us the faith building story of Nephi and the Brass Plates.  Of course, considering Braden and Brooke have started a little competition lately amongst themselves trying to one up each other (yeah, not loving that, trying to nip it in the bud), Braden had to then share with us the story of Noah and the Ark.  By this point, this little bundle of vivaciousness could hold it in no longer!

Emma began to scream, 

"Be quiet! It's my turn to tell a story!!!!!!!!!!!!"

At this point, of course, Emma had our rapt attention; realizing that we were waiting with baited breath, she began.

"They built a big tower upon the sand, so the rains came and washed it away. So, they built a big boat instead."

Well, there you have it folks, the scriptures according to Emma; it's not very doctrinally sound, but it sure is entertaining!

First Talk

This past Sunday Brooke gave her first talk in Primary at church.  Her topic was the Holy Ghost and how it can help us know the truth of things.  Of course, being that Rich has been out of town, life has been crazy at home; yes, we waited to the last minute to get it ready!  Brooke and I sat down Sunday morning and talked about what she knew about the Holy Ghost and what she wanted to tell everyone about the Holy Ghost, and then we got started!  I did guide Brooke, but I wanted it to be her talk. 

Here is the talk she gave.

I love to get gifts!  I love gifts of all sizes!  In a few years, I am going to get a special gift.  It won't be wrapped in a box or covered with ribbons, but it will be a great gift!  When I am baptized in a few years, I will get the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost will lead me to Heavenly Father and Jesus.  You may not be able to see him, but you can feel him inside your heart.  He can lead you and I out of the badness, and he tells me when things are true.  One day a stranger started to talk to me;  I got the feeling from the Holy Ghost that I should walk away, so I walked away.  You have to remember that the Holy Ghost leads all of you.  You just have to listen to your heart and keep the commandments, and the Holy Ghost will help you!  You have to remember that when you get that feeling inside, you listen!  The Holy Ghost will guide you, comfort you, and be a constant companion.  He can help you know what is true and comfort you when you are sad.  The Holy Ghost is going to be one of the best gifts I get!

*Don't worry Mama, I was within ten feet of Brooke when the stranger tried to talk to her.  I know how you worry about these things.