someday i'll miss it

The other day there were a few things that happened around here to make me think about our boys and what they are like right now in their lives. School is moving right along, and we are all busy with so many things going on, and as I looked around it made me think, "This is crazy right now, but someday I'll look back and miss it." Take Ben for example. He loves to draw and write books whenever he can. This is a comic book he is working on, and he will spend endless amounts of time and leave a mess of markers and papers all over the table, his desk, or wherever, which can drive us crazy! But maybe one day he won't like doing this anymore--the table will be clean, his desk will be clean, etc. Then how boring will that be? Ok, maybe that is a stretch...a clean desk?? Ben not write books?? Who am I kidding?!!

This is a sample of his latest book he created, "Pirate's Aren't My Buddys." This is a whole other story, which I won't get into right now, but suffice it to say, he really wants to be a writer and to get a book published. (Note--To quote Ben the other day: "I don't want to write books for money; I want to do it because I love it. Some people love money like Mr. Crabs loves money, but not me." Maybe someday he might love money, or at least need some...good luck honey!)

Ben also loves to read books, which is where he usually gets his ideas for his own books (along with movies). Right now his favorite time to read is during meal time, and he will do everything he can to sneak a book to the table. When I ask him to put it down his usual response is, "But Mom, don't you want me to read? I love to read and you won't let me." We'll just say his teacher's at school have never been worried about his reading time at home.

The latest series of books he has been reading is called the "Time Warp Trio." They travel to other times in the past and also the future, which has prompted Ben to think what the future will be like. One afternoon he, Jake, and Jaycie transformed themselves into kids of the future. (Ben asked me, "Mom, do I look like a kid from 2095?" "Umm, sure!" I said.) In these pictures Ben was trying out his "anti-gravity disc." (This was what he googled earlier: "what is an anti-gravity disc? will people in the future ride 3 feet in the air on them?" What kind of response do you think he got?!)

The whole 2095 gang with the anti-gravity disc.

This is one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken! Since these two are sure they are going to get married (for reals) someday, wouldn't this be perfect on their wedding invites?!

And off they go to explore the neighborhood.

Will didn't want to join the others at first, but then he thought better of it and put on his Indiana Jones outfit and was off to find them with his whip and all.

When I came back inside I took one look around and about died about the mess these guys had made in such a short time. After a minute, though, I just had to laugh about it and grabbed my camera.

I had to laugh about it because they were so cute and having so much fun. This stage won't last forever, so I'd better enjoy it while it's here, because someday I'll miss it.

signs of fall

Jake's "Show and Share" instructions for last Thursday: "Please bring a picture or item that shows the signs of Fall." This got me thinking that there are plenty of "signs" around.

So for this assignment, Jake took an apple to school. From OUR apple tree. The one behind him in the picture that has produced squat in past years, but made a complete turn about this year. And they are DELICIOUS!! Jonagold apples, gotta love 'em.

Almost 2 weeks ago we got our first frost of the year here. The night before it was supposed to freeze I went out and covered all the important plants that I still cared about. (If I had a camera on our morning runs you would see that one morning we were in shorts and a long sleeve shirt, and the next day we were in full-on winter gear, including hats and gloves!) Since it was close to freezing almost every night since then, I finally gave up and let Mother Nature take over my garden. It was too soon for me, but oh well.

On Friday I had lots of good help from my boys including Ben,
Will,and Jake.

This picture captures perfectly the relationship lately between Jake and Ben. I have been telling Ben for years now that one day all his taunting and teasing would come back to bite him in the you-know-what, and this day it literally did!! Ben can dish it out, but he hates it when Jake dishes it right back. Brotherly love!

Ronnie was such a great helper that day, even with her arm in a soft cast. She and Ben have been hanging out a ton lately--we have the best neighbors!

This is the decoration the boys were looking forward to putting up the most. They call it a dementor (from Harry Potter). It is strung up from the front corner of the garage to one of the columns by the front door, and it plays spooky sounds as it travels.

Other signs of fall are in the mountains, including Mueller Park Canyon near Bountiful. This is where our Cox family reunion is held every October. It was a bit chilly, but still good times.

It's fun to get together with so many family members. The grandkids have a blast together--all they do is play and play some more. This is Sydney, Drew, Payge, and Jake.

And there is always so much good food, including Aunt Patty's homemade cinnamon rolls. They are seriously good. Uncle Lo was brave enough to take lots of kids for a walk.

Grandma, Susan, Patty, and Janyce--they wanted a picture of all their hands together.

One big happy family! ;)

hamsters

Our poor pet-deprived boys have been begging for something, anything, to have as a pet. I had pets growing up (a house cat mostly), and in my 20's found that I am so allergic to all cats/dogs/horses, etc. that I can't even hardly be in the same room with them without my skin itching and my eyes watering like crazy. Last year I started those allergy shots, in hopes they might help keep me sane around pets (I'm also allergic to weeds and certain trees).

The boys keep asking when will I be done with the allergy shots so they can get a dog. Hmm, maybe...never. I don't have anything against dogs, and I know the boys would all love one, but there's the maintenance, and what to do with it when you go out of town, etc. Anywho, Ben had been begging for a hamster, partially because his friend down the street, Danielle, has one. We decided to try it out, after a few conditions were met. So about a month ago, I was gone to YW one night, and Daren took the boys shopping at Petco, and this is what they brought home... ...and not just one hamster. The sales guy said the hamster would be lonely if it was by itself, so they got two. And the works. Ben set up a name guesser, so everyone would have a chance at putting in their good ideas for names.
The winning names were Lightning Speed and Berry. Lightning got his name because he was always a fast runner when he was let out on the ground. I'm not sure about Berry.
And of course, there have to be rules around the hamsters, especially the "no screaming." All Ben's doing.
Everyone had so much fun looking at them...
...and holding them (like a proud papa!)

And this is how I left them when I went to Hawaii. All happy. All alive. I left on a Wednesday, and that night I got a text from Daren, saying Lightning Speed had died. Apparently Daren was outside mowing the lawn and Jake got Lightning out to see if he could swim in the bathroom sink downstairs. (This was totally against the rules, because they were supposed to ask a parent before getting them out--this stemmed from losing Berry a couple nights before I left when Will got him out, and I didn't find him until the next morning) Nobody but Jake knows all the details of how it happened, but Lightning drowned and Ben and Daren didn't find him until later. It was awful, and I felt bad I wasn't there to help console Ben. He took it real hard and cried a lot. And this was the FIRST night I was gone. What else could go wrong?! Ben held a funeral that Saturday for Lightning Speed and invited all the kids in the neighborhood to come, and apparently he had Danielle video tape it, but I haven't watched all of it yet. He was very sensitive about the whole incident--his old science teacher, Mrs. Perkins, would be been proud of him!

A few days later Berry died as well. Too much love we think. He had a broken leg and one of his eyes was not well. They are both buried in the backyard, and our experiment with pets has come to a quick close. I've had offers of other pets, including a gecko, but for now I think we will keep it as it is, and enjoy all the neighbor's pets around us. It's cheaper, less hassle, and for me with allergies, a lot more easy to breathe.

For Ben's take, he wrote a blog about it to at:
http://usingmyimagination.blogspot.com/2009/10/hamster-life-and-death.html

in the navy (helicopter)

Last Wednesday we had a fun family outing. Daren got word through the FD that there were a couple of Navy helicopters out at the airport, free for viewing for a couple of hours. We took our neighbors and friends, Ronnie and Jaycie, with us--they help keep the boys entertained, and in line.

They were carrying missles with them...fortunately not loaded!

Anyone ready to jump?! The boys really wanted to go for a ride, but they had to settle for just sitting in the pilot's seat, which was still really cool.

Somewhere up there is Jaycie and Jake. As we were getting ready to go see the helicopters, both Jaycie and Jake were telling me how serious they were about "really getting married someday...for reals!"

It's hard to tell, but it was so stinkin' cold out there that day! The wind was blowing, and there was a cold front that had moved in (it's still here!) so we about froze out in the open at the airport, but it was a lot of fun. Even the pilot got in on our fun--the kids were cracking him up. We topped the outing off with a trip to La Frontera after--mine and Daren's old mowing stomping grounds. Fun, fun!