Another Tooth Bites the Dust

Joshua had a horrible time giving in to the visit of the tooth fairy recently. He just wouldn't let us pull his tooth out. Finally Earl noticed that he wasn't brushing his teeth very well at all, so he tackled him, brushed his teeth really well, and brushed that tooth right out of his mouth. Josh was so mad, but got over it as soon as he found his dollar from the tooth fairy. Well, Earl also brushed his other bottom tooth loose, so the whole drama started over again with Joshua not letting us pull his tooth out. By the time Sunday came, his tooth was literally hanging on by a thread! It was just flapping around like crazy in his mouth and making me sick! I couldn't even watch him talk. Well, I told him he couldn't eat lunch until I pulled it out, so he decided he wasn't hungry. Then I told him he could have chocolate ice cream and oreo cookies for lunch if he would let me pull it out. He didn't believe me. I took him downstairs, scooped the ice cream, put the cookies in and said, "do you believe me now?" Well, he STILL DIDN'T BELIEVE ME! So I did what any good mother would do... I tackled him, sat on him, held his arms and Earl pulled it out. This was the result... and absolutely no bleeding. What a wimp! And after all of that, he lost the tooth! I mean, he physically lost the precious tooth that he didn't want to part with. He had to write a letter to the tooth fairy. Good thing she pitied his evil, mean parents and still left him a treat. I didn't know that there could be so much drama surrounding a loose tooth.

It's pretty easy to use a straw now with so many holes in his mouth!

Don't laugh... it's not funny!

Halloween Fun!

We've been having too much fun the past week with all of the Halloween parties! The boys are all at the age where trick or treating is the one thing that they all look forward to almost as much as Christmas morning. Of course, I had just had enough of children by this afternoon that I stayed home and handed out candy while Earl took the boys trick or treating. That was fine because Jill and I played and talked to all of the kids (and too many adults and teenagers!) who came to the door. Everyone was a sucker for Jillian's tiara... she is so good about leaving it on her head. I call her pretty girl and she just smiles and laughs. She has been practicing her wave and "hi" (sounds like haaaaaaa) to everyone who waved at her. She also said dadadadadada tonight... Earl didn't believe me, but she did! Here are some of the hightlights of our night:

Buzz Lightyear.... to Infinity and Beyond... or just around the block for a little candy!

Somebody got caught with her hand in the candy bowl!


Jillian practicing her new word.... haaaaaa (interpreted "hi")


Ok kids, dump your candy so mom and dad can steal a few pieces... err, check it!
Right?!

Bishop's Pumpkin Patch

Every year I love to take the kids to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch in Wheatland. We have so much fun there! There are so many things for the kids to do... the list is too long. And the best part is if you go on a week day, it's free to park which makes it even better! We didn't have a lot of time this year to explore and play, so we hit our favorite spots and sites, took some pictures, and ate corn dogs for dinner! Here are some of the highlights...

This was the best picture I could get this year... the more kids, the harder it is to get everyone to look at the camera!

I thought this was a great picture of Jonathan with Jillian ... there is a huge patch of gigantic pumpkins that is so fun to explore and take pictures in.

We went with our friends this year... Hannah and Eliza Carr and thier mom Jenny. It was fun to have another adult there to keep me company and help with the kids. Thanks Jenny!

Jimmy is my little animal lover. He loved brushing the goats in the petting zoo area and feeding them. The other boys just ran from them... they like to see them, just don't like to touch them. I don't think they would do well on a farm!

More fun things to play on....

Another photo opp... how many crazy faces can you make?!

Such a cute baby! She loved her first trip to the pumpkin patch!

And we always take a ride on the train! It's the best!

How late is too late to send out birth announcements?

I'm pretty embarrassed that it took me 3 months to send out Jillian's birth announcements. I ordered them in July and had the addresses all filled out and everything... just let them sit there on the counter. Call me lazy... I am! My rationalization is that I bought address labels to make return labels on the computer and just didn't do it. I kept saying I was going to do it, and now it's October and so I just mailed them. It would be even more embarrassing if I sent them with our Christmas card. Yikes! That's coming soon! But here are a few more recent pics I took of Jillian today. I thought they were cute, and I made her bow, so I was really proud of them.

Fun at the Fountains

We had a fun family night at a new shopping center in Roseville last Friday. Went to Costco (because no trip to Roseville is complete without stopping there), had dinner at Panda Express at the mall (kids' choice), and went to explore all of the new sights at the Fountains. Earl and I had a fun time just watching the kids. It's always so much fun to see them enjoying the world around them. We could have stayed there all night. They had a blast!

The Fountains is a really nice shopping center with (you guessed it) several different fountains spread out around the shops. The highlight of the whole experience is the fountain that shoots water with different lights and misters to popular songs. It's so fun to watch the boys and even Jillian enjoy the show.

Jonathan and Mommy with the cool misters (Joshua called it the Lava) behind us!

Joshua and James in Awwwhhh!

Too cute... had to add this one! Jillian enjoying the show.

The really fun part came after the water show when we let the boys change into their swimsuits and play in the cool water feature outside the shops. They loved to let the water shoot up their bums.... boys! And Jimmy loved to just run around the whole thing and try really hard to not get hit. It was a really warm night and perfect for a fun night in the water. They had a blast!

We spent a ton of time just enjoying the warm evening and letting the boys play in the water and then at an adjacent playground. What a cool idea to put such fun things in the middle of a shopping center. I'm totally hooked. Now, if I could just go into the stores instead of just looking through the windows, I would be thrilled! Who has time to shop with 3 boys and a baby?! Better question is who wants to shop with 3 boys and a baby? It's just not easy!