Halloween Spiders

My boys wanted to be tarantulas for Halloween. I though it sounded easy enough. The only problem was that the fishing line between the legs broke after a while. Considering we had three different Halloween parties to go to, my mom and I had some fun with fishing line....This year was the first time both boys went from house to house in our neighborhood and we had a blast. Brian was the master pumpkin carver and I was just interested in baking the pumpkin seeds. We also had one of those bowls from Target that had the electronic hand in it. It provided a lot of entertainment for the week. We had to replace the batteries. I can still hear it in my head, "want some candy..." It was a great Halloween.

Cameron is in Kindergarten!

Cameron started Kindergarten this week. He was really excited and he didn't seem to be nervous at all. I wasn't nervous at first, but when he started to ride the bus I have to admit I wanted to go with him and hold his hand, luckily, I overcame my mother hen tendancies. After his second day of school he told me that he "needed to put a lock on those bells at school because they don't work right. They don't give him enough time to play". Spoken like a true boy. Gotta love it. He was so excited for show and tell. At first he wanted to put JJ in a box and take him, but then he got a remote control taranula, and well, sorry JJ, but that won out in the end. It should be a great year.

Summer

This has probably been the lamest summer ever for me. Unfortunatly, I spent most of the summer on the couch. I sometimes feel bad that the boys did not get to do that many fun things, but they don't seem to be fazed at all. Summer is so short in Idaho, basically July and August, that I want to fit so many things in. The boys spent a lot of time riding their bikes and we did manage a Lagoon trip with some cousins and a trip to Ross Park with some other cousins. We did make a short California trip in June too, so I guess they did get to do some fun things. I just can't wait to finally feel better. Then I will resume all of my "duties" with fervor and excellence. Well, maybe not excellence, but mediocrity??? In the end, it will all be worth it!!!

Tball

T-ball has been a great adventure. I was one of the coaches in the beginning but then we went to California and then I was sick so I passed my shirt on to someone else. It was pretty easy to do. I have been proud of Cameron. When he hits the ball he knows where to run and then also runs to the correct base after someone else hits the ball. Its not rocket science, but that comes from someone who was raised at the baseball field, so I may be a little biased. Here are a few pics of Cameron and JJ playing with Grandma. Thank goodness for Grandma, JJ would have been lost without her.

Chesterfield

For Memorial Day we went to Chesterfield with my mom and cousin Payton. Chesterfield is a small township in southeaster Idaho that was settled in the late 1880's by our Anson Call ancestors. My great,great grandma Ruth and my great grandma Charolette Vienna are both buried there in their cemetary with their husbands. These women inspire me and give me strength. They lived difficult lives and still pressed forward showing love and serving those around them. The pictures of me and my mom by the cabin is Ruth's actual home that they are restoring. The fun pictures of the outhouse were taken at my great, great uncle Ira Call's home.

Happy Birthday Cameron

My big boy is 5! Yeah. Cameron is so happy that he is getting older. His only concern about turning 5 was that we were going to take his training wheels off of his bike. He said that if he woke up in the morning and they were gone he was going to get daddy's wrench "an wrench 'em back on".

We did the same thing for his party that we did for JJ's party. I mean really, if it is easy on mom, it is easy on the rest of the family. Have any of you seen me stressed out? It isn't pretty. I am either passed out or hyperventilating. This party was also Transformer theme, great for me! I made two different ice cream cakes which I have to say were pretty yummy. We had a great time at the bounce house too.

We love our Cameron boy, he is growing up fast, but I like it. He says funny things all the time. My favorite is when Brian is reasoning with him and Cameron is reasoning right back. It cracks me up!!!!!

Happy Easter Everyone. We had a great time at our neighborhood easter egg hunt and had a family dinner on Sunday. It was at Bev's, so of course we ate too much, but it was worth it. We kept it simple and they boys were so happy about their Transformer light up shirts that I found at Walmart for $1.50. It doesn't take much to make them happy. My life's goal is to keep holidays as simple as I can so that they don't grow up expecting too much. It takes all of the fun out of it if your kids are too spoiled. The other day Cameron found a toy he wanted on the internet so he printed out "Cameron's Chore Chart" so he could get the toy. I was so impressed that I followed through with it. He had to make his bed 10 times to get the Jetfire Transformer. Now, I just have to stop making his bed for him (since it is easier ) and not let him get out of the habit.

JJ is 3!!! After a few experiences of overdoing the birthday parties I decided it was better for all of us if I kept it simple. This year we went to the bounce houses and then came back to the house for ice cream and cake. The party had to be Transformers theme, what else? JJ made out like a bandit and we had so much fun sliding down the slides. It was a great party.

If you cannot view the video above, try opening the blog in Explorer. I could not get it to work on Firefox. Thanks.

Playing with the QuickCam

I realized last night that my average is one post a month and my month is almost up! Friday is my day off, HURRAY, and so we thought we would play around with the computer at Grandma's house. We had a great time, until they started climbing all over me and pulling my hair. Now they are watching PBS. Thank goodness for a little TV time.

Funeral

My dear dad passed away on January the 16th. We all miss him dealry but are happy that he is happy now and is pain free. I feel grateful to have had 28 years with him. I hope that my children will be able to get a glimpse of what he stood for and what a wonderful man he was.