Trevor Turns 4!

Today Trevor turned 4 years old!  We had a party with some friends at the church building.  We had bikes and power wheels which created for a very fun and dangerous party, but the kids had a great time.

Trevor wanted an Incredibles theme, so of course we had to pull out our Halloween costumes from last year and I whipped up an Incredibles cake, complete with red, yellow and black layers.

Everyone, even Austin, got involved in the bikes and power wheels chaos!

As a mom it always makes me to happy to see my children happy.  Trevor loved being sung to and blowing out his candles.

Thanks to everyone who came, including Miss Maleah who is not pictured.

The following day we had a family party.  Listen for Trevor's signature sound at the end.

Merry Christmas From the Hales Family

Santa Trauma

It was a tradition in my family to visit Santa each year and have our picture taken.  We continue that tradition in our family.

In my younger years I (almost) always smiled in the Santa picture, but never cried.  My younger sister, Stacy, was NOT OK with Santa on any level.  She cried at the sight of the guy and screamed when made to sit on his lap.

So it makes me laugh to see my children follow the pattern my sister and I established many years ago.

And you know what they say, "Tis the season to be jolly...unless of course you are sitting on a stranger's lap."

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

Tonight Trevor participated in the Primary program at our ward's Christmas dinner.  He was a shepherd.

Trevor said that sometimes being a shepherd is fun, and sometimes not.

The program was touching and yet hilarious because of the antics of the children.  One of the best parts was when one of the little Sunbeam shepherds took one of the gifts from baby Jesus and tried to open it.  Then he realized that he probably shouldn't be touching it and slid it across the stage back to the baby Jesus.  Hilarious!

I took several videos of the whole presentation, but this video was my favorite.  When I asked him why he was giving me thumbs-down he said, "It means not good, Mom."

FHE: Gingerbread House 2011

Tonight for FHE Trevor and I made a gingerbread house, while Darren took pictures and Austin ate the candy. 

And as Trevor would say, "We did good teamwork, Mom!"

 

Our house looked good enough to eat, and over the next couple weeks I'm sure that all of us at one point will pull a treat or two off the house when we think Santa's not looking.

Thanksgiving and the 2nd Ammendment

This Thanksgiving we traveled to Montesano, WA to celebrate with Darin's family and shoot guns.

 

It was cold and wet, so Austin and I just sat on the porch and watched Darren and Darin shoot.  Austin looked so adorable wearing his ear protection!!

As the day wore on, the boys got more creative about things they could shoot.  Here is a video of Darren taking out a roll of toilet paper with a shotgun!

Laundry Pedestal

Last week I was browsing around one of my favorite sites (ana-white.com) and came across the plans for a laundry pedestal.  I knew I had to make it.  So, I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and drew up the plans.

Later that night after the kids went to bed I couldn't resist any longer and I made a trip to Home Depot to pick out my lumber.  The next day during quiet time and after the kids were in bed for the night I started building.

Within 48 hours of my trip to Home Depot I was ready to start painting.  We decided to paint it the same color blue that we used to paint our house.  In the morning when the paint was dry we installed it and it fit like a glove!

**With my new pedestal in the laundry room, my ironing board was in need of a new cover, so after a quick trip to Joann Fabrics my ironing board got the update it so desperately needed.**

I Love to See the Temple

            I love to see the temple.
            I’m going there someday
            To feel the Holy Spirit,
            To listen and to pray.

For the temple is a house of God,           
A place of love and beauty.           
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;           
This is my sacred duty.           

            I love to see the temple.
            I’ll go inside someday.
            I’ll covenant with my Father;
            I’ll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place           
Where we are sealed together.           
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:           
A family is forever.           

 © Dennis West

Thankful Tree FHE

Tonight for Family Home Evening we created the very first ever Hales Family Thankful Tree.  We had fun thinking of things we were thankful for and the boys had fun putting the leaves on the wall.  All in all it made for a successful family night.

The Newest Member of our Family: Simon

After lots of reading, planning and negotiation, we made a trip on October 2nd to pick up the newest member of our family.  After holding a lot of rabbits, we finally decided that Simon was the rabbit for us.

Simon is a one-year-old Rhinelander with beautiful markings.

For the first couple of days all I wanted to do was watch him, especially when he was eating and washing up.  He is just so adorable!

Each of us has had a chance to bond with him, and he is so very, very tolerant of the boys.

Austin likes to share his apples with Simon.  Austin also likes to steal his carrots and eat them himself!

Trevor loves to give Simon a goodnight kiss almost every night.

Simon likes to ride in the car with us and if we go to the park, Simon comes too.  Today Simon had a chance to go to Preschool as part of "R" week.  The kids adored him, and he tolerated their petting and grabbing.  It helped that I brought some raisins for them to feed him as a treat.  :)

Simon is smart too.  If the boys close his cage and he gets hungry, he'll just climb into the bag of timothy hay for a quick snack.

He also knows what he likes and what he doesn't like.  Apparently, plastic keys are not a favorite and he doesn't like to share his bed with Austin.

Simon has been the perfect pet for our family and we love him a lot. 

And he seems to like us too.

Halloween Fun

• Fox Hollow Farm, October 8th

A delightful little farm that we all fell in love.  We saw lots of animals including horses, pigs, rabbits, goats, mules, and cats.  We even saw some salmon swimming up stream in the creek.  Both boys also got to ride a pony!

Aunt Cheryll and Austin watching Trevor on the rope swing.

Grandpa giving Austin a dunk in the hoop.

Trevor loved sliding down the bouncy house slide.

Meanwhile, Austin was having his own fun on the "roller coaster".

Trevor was so excited to ride a pony.

Since the line was long, Austin and Grandpa went to look at the ducks and geese.

A trip to Fox Hollow Farm made for a very special birthday weekend for my Grandma Kay.

• Thomasson Family Farm, October 12th

Trevor's preschool took a trip to another farm and pumpkin patch.  We went on a hayride, rode tricycles, played in the corn, saw the animals (cows, goats, pigs, dogs and rabbits), and picked out the perfect pumpkins.

• Pumpkin Painting and Carving, October 26th

This year we decided to let the boys paint their pumpkins instead of carving them.  That way I could turn them into pumpkin pie after Halloween.  Both boys got in on the action and had a lot of fun.

We also had a larger family pumpkin that was carved.  Darren and Trevor removed the guts and I carved it after the boys went to bed.

• Trunk or Treat and Costume Awards, October  28th & 31st

This year Trevor wanted to be Scooby-doo and it was easy enough to turn the rest of us into the Mystery, Inc. Gang.  Darren even died his hair blonde for the occasion. On Halloween, we entered into a costume contest and we won Best Group and a $25 gift certificate!

Happy Halloween Everyone!