Halloween

We began the almost balmy evening with a pre-trick-or-treating party at our neighbor's house (we won the guess how many Hershey kisses in the jar contest!) Marcus was tireless when it came to trick-or-treating...I could almost see his little doggy tail wagging. Holden got a kick out of pushing everyone's doorbell - the candy was just an extra bonus. Baby was happy to play with unopened candy in his stroller (the sound it made was very entertaining).
Kjell brought back many hats from his trip to Asia, including the two we are wearing. Certainly not my best effort at a costume, but was feeling a little under the weather today. Kjell is a Communist, Marcus is Scooby-Doo, Holden a bee, and Wether a bug.

Blog Book

Has anyone else been stressing out about getting your blog printed off for years now? Been wondering the best method/website to use? I finally turned my blog entries from 2007 into a book and I am very satisfied with the process, cost, and result. Here are some pictures:

I downloaded Booksmart from Blurb, which proved to be very user friendly (and free). When chosing to create a blog book, I selected to "wing it" instead of having Booksmart format each page for me. I don't recommend selecting the latter. Like I mentioned, the software is very user friendly and only took me a few minutes to figure out how to format my own pages, although I discovered more "tricks" as I went along. It will let you know how large you can make a picture considering the resolution so that each photo is crisp and clear. Booksmart will also show you where each page will be trimmed.

My book is almost 100 pages, printed on premium paper and bound in hard-cover with a dust jacket. Including shipping the book cost me about $50. Check the website for more details. This is cheaper then printing out hundreds of photos and buying an album! And the best part? Sitting on the couch propped up by pillows under a warm blanket and watching TV while making my blog book...oh how I love the digital age.

My Little Helper

Couldn't help but use the title "My Little Helper" seeing as it is practically manditory for all moms in the blogging world to do so when a picture is captured of the oldest child actually helping the youngest child (or any child trying to help clean but really is making a bigger mess). Anyway, hopefully this will be the first of many "My Little Helper" posts:

I gave Wether a chocolate covered pretzel the other day only to find a regular pretzel sitting on the floor by his feet a few minutes later and a chocolate covered baby. Marcus noticed this and instead of complaining that he didn't get a treat or lick his brother clean, which wouldn't have surprised me in the least, he went and found a wipe and actually cleaned Wether. Well. Without being asked. I think I'll keep him.

Refinished High Councilman Table

Found this table and 8 chairs at a garage sale for $165. Here are the before and after:

Surprise Visit

Wether and I are enjoying our last day in Connecticut. We decided on Monday to fly here to surprise my dad on his 66th birthday and departed from Utah on Tuesday night! We've had a great time visiting, shopping, eating out, and going on the boat. What a nice break for me and a real treat for mom and dad to spend some time with W.W. who mom has now dubbed "dub". Kudos to Kjell for taking charge of Marcus and Holden in my absence. So far they've hiked in Rock Canyon, eaten at Applebee's, made bottle rockets, and (hopefully) Holden will be getting a much-needed haircut today given by daddy. Well, we're off to the airport in a few hours - wish me luck on the long flight!

Marcus at 4 and a Half Years

Marcus is growing up so fast! My lovely sister-in-law Julie, who took all these gorgeous pictures, said "Marcus led his own photo shoot. 'Take my picture up on the ladder and over here by the grapes'. Sometimes he'd get so close to the camera, I couldn't even focus. I'm glad he had fun, too."

Marcus loves pre-school and has really gotten excited about writing letters and his name. For the past month or so, any sort of art project has held Marcus' attention for quite a while. Our refrigerator is covered with intricately colored pictures, cut out designs, glued-on and colored Styrofoam peanuts and the like. He needs no motivation to take on an art project and begins many on his own. Marcus is looking forward to carving pumpkins and daily begs Kjell to wrestle with him.

Holden at 2 years and 4 Months

Holden, Holden, Holden. Where to begin? This kid keeps us on our toes! He's very independent. If he wants to go outside, he puts his shoes on and finds a way to get out the door. Hungry? He'll dig up a box of something in the pantry, rip it open, and look for scissors to get the inner bag open. Today he wanted to sit in Wether's outdoor airplane swing so he pushed Kjell's shopvac underneath and stood on top while trying to heave himself in. Lately, he loves to brush his teeth and gets very upset if you don't let him sleep with his toothbrush. Our biggest challenge with Holden is his habit of jumping on Marcus' tricycle (Holden's feet don't reach the pedals yet) and taking off down the street any chance he gets. He's gotten quite fast at running while sitting on the tricycle seat and repeats "superfast" over and over again. In fact, he's gotten embarrassingly far on more than one occasion, so that we have to practically keep the trike under lock and key, which does not hinder his resourcefulness in getting what he wants (for instance, he somehow dragged the trike out of Kjell's shop and around three-quarters of the house so that he could go on one of his excursions). Several times a day I'll say "where's Holden?" then bolt out the door down the street...luckily we live in a quiet neighborhood. Holden is extremely observant and a quick learner.

Wether at 8 Months Old

Wether continues to receive frequent comments on his cheeks (no explanation needed). He just got his 4th tooth and is in the process of being weaned. Wether loves to roll around the room, yell (babble loudly), and try new foods. He will notice if you are eating something across the room and will yell until you share. Ergo, W.W. has had quite the varied diet at such a young age.

Photo Shoot at Sundance

For our Playgroup today we took photos of our kids at Sundance. I tried, I really tried. 47 pictures later, this is the best I could get (and yes, Wether is eating a pinecone):

A Start in Soccer

Marcus played on the White Team through the city of Orem Youth Soccer Association. He'll continue on the same team in the spring. We were happy if he kicked the ball the whole game (he's the youngest on the team) but he was enthusiastic most of the time, got some exercise and loved the uniform and playing with "all the boys". He really wanted a medal (like Special Agent Oso) after his last game so we made one when we got home (he'll get a trophy in the spring). And yes, it's official, I'm a soccer mom.

Cousins at the Grocery Store

Aunt Julie is so talented with the camera that I insist she has picture duty when the cousins get together. Still, I couldn't resist taking a few shots at the grocery story with Marcus and cousin Ansel (both 4 years old and future college roomates). Please ignore the post-donut faces.

We enjoyed 1 blessed (crazy and loud) day together with 6 boy cousins. We went for a walk in the newly cold weather, colored, had a photo session with Aunt Julie, saw UP at the dollar theatre, ate tacos and ice cream, and had a generally terrific time all around. We plan on getting together at least one more time before Julie packs the kids in the van and heads back to Washington (what a woman!)

Domestic Husband

We have a HUGE grapevine in our backyard. My kids (all three) eat them constantly. I eat a few grapes every day, admire their beauty, watch my kids eat them nonstop (which leads to seedy diapers...), etc. etc. Kjell, whose domestic abilities exceed mine in many ways, has an innate desire to store food. (Hmmm...wonder where he got that from? My mother-in-law Ruby can feed the state of Oregon if there is ever a natural disaster. Her mother, Grandma Nordmark, has a pantry chock-full of more canned goods than I thought possible. She shares liberally and has kept us well supplied for years with everything from rhubarb to apricot jam. All from her garden, natch). Anyway, canning is practically the state pastime in Utah. My flush-faced friends who spend hours and hours in the kitchen canning their home-grown fruits and veggies get my full admiration if not my desire to join in. For all of you Utes, we East Coasters (well, my family at least) buy our canned goods at the grocery store (sometimes at the overpriced Farmer's Market), including all juices, jams, jellies, salsas, sauces, fruits, veggies, and anything else that can be preserved in tin or glass. But, this does not compare to the tastiness borne of the experienced hands of my domestic husband and friends (grape juice, grape jelly, and blackberry and apple pies made from hand-picked fruit shown in pics). I'm glad one of us takes the time to preserve. Me? I love you Welch's.