Pumpkin Carving Time

I didn't want to be the terrible mother I was last year so we made a special effort to carve our pumpkins BEFORE Halloween this year. So, ok, we finished at 4 pm on Halloween--but we did it! And the kids had lots of fun. We got to carve with the Websters and Ben & I and it went pretty smoothly. I did not want to decorate the house too much but I had heard that there would be a lot of Trick or Treaters in our neighborhood so we had to have Jack O' Lanterns. I was super glad I'd been warned about the T-or T'ers because neither Ben's house or mine were frequently Trick or Treated at when we were growing up. And we had a steady stream for about 2 hours. Ben & Dad Webster took the kids out Trick or Treating for about an hour and then they came back for bed time. Mom Webster and I got to clean up the mess and pass out the candy--fair trade for sure--I get much colder than Ben and Eliza would have wanted me to carry her the whole time. The kids do not understand why Halloween is over already--Eliza still carries 'Ellie' around wanting to get dressed up and they both have had more sugar in this past week then they've had their entire lives! Happy Halloween everyone!!!

The Best Zoo Trip Yet!!

Well, it is pretty obvious why this trip to the zoo was better than the others--we had 3 very special people with us that have not come before: Daddy, Grandma and Papa! Ben's poor parents arrived Thursday night after being delayed about 3 hours (putting them in at midnight) and all the kids could do was talk about going to the zoo in the morning. They were troopers though and we had a blast! We finally paid to feed the birds (which the kids have asked for for awhile) and it was so worth the $1! We had birds everywhere--as you can see. It was so nice for me to have extra hands around the zoo (especially the one to hold). We really enjoyed our morning there and the kids only talk about who they will take next!!

Krispy Kreme Donuts

Xander's preschool field trip this month was to Krispy Kreme! We were all so excited that even Daddy came. It was so much fun to watch them make the donuts and then taste them fresh! Since it was also Halloween week, everyone dressed up in the costumes--unfortunately, my camera batteries died right after I snapped this picture. But we had a delicious time!

Funny Kids

One of the funniest things about the home we are renting is that there is no grass in the yard--just bark. We have had lots of splinters from the bark and so the kids do not like going outside (much to my chagrin!) Well, since the rains have been coming--the bark doesn't seem to bother them as much and my little Picasso's have discovered that the stepping stones that create a Zen-like garden atmosphere are perfect places to create chalk masterpieces...so cute! And then the rain washes the pictures away and we get to start all over! I love Mother Nature!

Trunk or Treat

Our first Halloween party of the year was a hit with the kids--Eliza even started to say "treat" and "thank you" really quick once she realized what was going on. Here are our adorable kiddos sporting their costumes: Xander in his 2nd debut as Thomas (he refused to be anything else!) and Eliza as "Ellie" the Elephant. Ben and I wore our Canarian costumes that we picked up in the islands on our trip there--although it was too cold to not wear the extra pieces that didn't exactly belong. Oh well...we had lots of fun!!

Newest Additions!

LOOK WHAT I GOT FOR MY BIRTHDAY!! YEAH, NOW TO JUST LEARN HOW TO USE IT!!! thanks honey!!!

Yesterday afternoon was the Primary Program Practice (every year the Primary group for our church--kids ages 4-12) for Xander and since Ben had just returned from a week long trip to AZ we decided to go out with Eliza for dinner. (the Primary fed the kids pizza for dinner) Ben looked at Eliza and said, "Eliza would you like to go and spend time with Mommy & Daddy?" And she looked at Ben with the biggest smile and said, "COSTCO! Pizza! Smoothie!!" So, not wanting to disappoint her (although we weren't really in the mood) we went to Costco. and BOY are we glad we did! We've needed a new blender for awhile. Thanks to our good friends the Svetz's we had a smoothie maker but it broke and so we've been without. We've been saving up though for either the Vitamix or the Blendtec. After LOTS of hours of research we'd decided to go with the Blendtec (check out www.willitblend.com for more info) Well, the Blendtec just happened to be at Costco yesterday--they weren't suppose to be until 2010 and so we were waiting but not any more...now we have a blender that will grind wheat and rice into flour, make ice cream or soup, salsa or fondue--the sky is the limit! So glad we went to Costco--Thanks Eliza!

Xander-isms 10/2009

**Xander is really into understanding family relationships. I recently made a comment about Ben's mom as "mom." And Xander said, 'But Mom. That's my daddy's mom." And I said, "Well, she's my mom too." Xander, "But Nana is your mom!" And I said, "Yes, that's right. But because Mommy married Daddy--now I have 2 mommies!" Xander was very perplexed. So I tried it this way--"So if you marry Hayley, then Sis. Bywater will be your Mommy, just like Mommy is your mommy." He thinks for a little bit and then says, "Or if I marry Lucy, my favorite girl, then Sis. Moss will be my Mommy!" Yes that's right! He got it. (Oh and Hayley is his best friend and Lucy is his favorite girl--SOOO Cute!!!)

**On Saturday we baby sat a couple of kiddos so our friends could take some time and go to the LDS Temple. We love these kiddos--they are our neighbors and we will miss them so much when we move. Anyways, it was getting sunnier and sunnier as the day went on and on and so I kicked Xander & Haley outside while Ben worked on getting McKenzie to take a nap. And all I could hear was LOUD giggling and something slamming. I was really nervous and so I got my game face on and went to the sliding door. I look out and see Xander and Hayley WEEDING! They were picking weeds, giggling and running to the green waste garbage can and throwing it away. And then Xander says to Hayley, "See Hayley, if we do the work, then my Mom won't have to do it!" I couldn't help but smile--they spent 10-15 minutes doing that! It was hilarious. They would smell it and giggle with the stink. Oh so cute. When they finished I made a really big deal about being such big helpers and had them pick treats for me to make them...good thing they are only four because they only picked brownies. It was the best treats I ever made ONLY because of why I was making them.

**In the car today, Eliza says, "I want Xander." And I said, "Well, ask Xander if he can hold your hand." And so she did. And he said, "Yes, I will hold your hand because I love you. If I hold your hand Eliza, it means I love you." Then when Eliza stopped holding his hand he says, "But Eliza then I can't love you any more!"

**As I was getting Xander in the car he says, "Mom why are you still wearing those earrings?" And I said, "Because I'm too lazy to pick different ones." And he says, "Mom, why did you put holes in your body? I don't like that you have holes in your body." What do you say to that???

A Wild Rumpas!

Xander couldn't have been more excited when he learned they were making the book, "Where the Wild Things Are" into a movie. (Which he is still dieing to see). And then our library put together an entire party around the movie release for kids ages 3 and up. So Xander and Ben went and had a blast. There was a special story with the Wild Things and there was a bounce house, bubbles, crowns to be made and coloring to be done. Xander was in heaven! Now if his folks would just get their acts together and get him to the theater! :D

Humbling Moments

I really wasn't sure what to title this post. But I had 2 amazing experiences this weekend that really helped me to reflect on the abundance of blessings that I have in my life. The first experience was Friday night--

I came across the local chapter of Alliance Francaise here in Portland and subscribed to their newsletter and then had the opportunity to join them this weekend by attending a lecture. I was really nervous to go but am so grateful that my husband persuaded me to do so. The lecture was by Monique Saigal, who is now a teacher at Pomona College in California. But she is also a Jewish French woman. She was born in 1939--one year before the Nazi regime occupied France. Her father was killed very early in the war. Fearful for her granddaughter, her grandmother put her on a train for children's fathers who had died in the war (not Jewish children) headed to the south of France (an unoccupied zone) where the children were to have a short vacation and then return to their parents (kinda like a foreign exchange program). At 3 years old, she was put on the train without anything and with only her first name pinned to her coat. She arrived at the train depot and climbed out of the train all alone. While she was crying on the platform a 20 year old woman and her father came to her and asked what the matter was. She could only say that she was to wait for her father. The woman was at the train depot to pick up a child who was actually enrolled in the program but when he didn't show up, she petitioned her father to take home the little girl. The woman located the girls grandmother and arrangements were made for her to stay with the family in the south. Within weeks, the grandmother was taken to Auschwitz and was killed. Monique's uncle informed the woman and the woman agreed to continue to keep her and arrange housing for Monique's sister. This woman raised Monique as her own (she did not get married until later in life) until Monique was 12. Monique and her sister then reunited with their mother. What a great act of heroism! Having realized this later in life, Monique then wrote a book: French Heroines 1940-1945. She sought out other woman who did other great acts of kindness and heroism during WWII. As part of the lecture she recounted many of these stories. What a great opportunity to assess my own life and values and ask if I could do such great things in the face of adversity. Would I be willing to put my life on the line for something I believe in? Am I willing to stand up and defy even governments for the truths that I believe in? It was truly a great time for reflection and learning. I can't wait to read the book!

The second such moment that I had this past weekend was while watching the inbetween General Conference clips. Our church holds a world-wide conference bi-annually and there are 5 sessions. During a break between the Sunday morning and afternoon sessions, BYU TV aired a story about Empower Playgrounds. What touched me so much in watching this clip was that we are so blessed here in the United States and yet we are so ungrateful. The clip was about Ghana. Apparently, once you get outside of the city limits you no longer can receive electricity. While serving a mission there for the LDS Church, a man realized how detrimental this was to the education of the children because they could only study when it was light outside--but that is also the only time they had to do chores and stuff. Upon returning to the US, he organized a group of Engineers at BYU to create some type of equipment that could generate light for the schools. The engineers created a merry-go-round that the kids could play on and by doing so, create light. It's an amazing story and you can read an article here: http://www.byutv.org/magazine/pdf/July2009.pdf. What touched me the most though was that the students clean their own classrooms and have so much more respect towards education. I wish that we could some how instill that in our classrooms here--instead our children cut classes and do whatever they can to get out of school. I hope that won't be the case with my own children but I think that until we as an American society better teach our children more respect for education we will continue to suffer as a society.

Anyways, I just wanted to document these amazing experiences. They truly helped me grow as a person, as a citizen. I think I sometimes forget that there is so much more to the world than the little bubble that surrounds me and this was a good reminder to think outside the box. Sorry to ramble and I'll be sure to get cute pics of the kids activities up soon...until then!