Dancing King

A few weeks before school ended this year, I had a friend mention something about a dance off at school.  Her daughter who is in  Zack's class, had told her about it.  Zack had never mentioned it, so I asked him about it later that day.  (He will tell me every detail of his math test or the book he is reading, but not so much the social stuff.  Derek on the other hand, tells me all the drama of first grade on a regular basis.)

I asked Zack about the dance off and he said, oh, yeah, that was last week.  He said that all the boys had to choose a girl to dance with and then have a dance-off.  He chose some girl in the class to dance with and he said it was sooo embarrassing.  But then he said, " But, I played it cool."  ?!?!??!  Haahaaaa, Matt and I laughed so hard.  It is fun to watch these kids grow up.

Another hilarious story is when Matt told Zack the facts of life.  I will not put it on the blog, for fear of scarring my son forever, but if you really want to know, talk to me in person :)  It is hysterical.

One More Note for Michael

Dear Michael,
I just want to let you know that you are the most awesome young man I know. Thanks for being such a great example to all of us and for going into every situation with a great attitude. You are such an awesome, amazing talented guy and I feel very blessed to have you as a brother. I don't tell you these things to give you a big head (I mean, it is already naturally kind of large) but because they are all true. You are my hero!! I love you.

Happy 15th birthday!!

Love,
Laur

Birthday advide from Zack

Dear Michael,
Happy Birthday. I hope you are having fun. I want you to play with your fun Rescue Heroes. (the guys with capes.) I hope you enjoy your movies over there. And again, Happy Birthday. And, have fun reading books. And, don't cross the street without looking both ways. Listen and learn from your parents. have fun outside. love zack.

Dear Michael,
Happy Birthday.
love,
Derek

Michael,
Bye.
Love,
Austin

Happy Happy Birthday

(a little birdie told us you would like nothing more than a blog post dedicated just to you today)

Ode to MICHAEL

your sweet Moves on the basketball court rock
the way you always Include others
Constant vigilance is necessary to protect ourselves from your side jabs
you are the Happiest kid we know (excuse me, 15-year old)
there is no charge for Awesomeness, or attractiveness (from Kung Fu Panda)
Everybody loves michael
please come Live in utah!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Bedtime Stories

*A few nights ago, I was putting the boys to bed. Matt was sick, so he was already in bed, reading a book. Zack said something really funny and I went downstairs to tell Matt. Our bedroom is directly under Zack and Derek's room. As I was telling Matt the funny conversation Zack and I had had, I hear Zack yelling from his room,

"I can hear you, you know!! Even with a broken ear, (Zack is deaf in one ear, he calls it his broken ear.) I can hear everything you are saying!!"

We started laughing and couldn't stop.

*Last week, I was putting the boys to bed while Matt was working from home. (Our computer is in the loft area between the upstairs bedrooms.) Everyone was in bed, but I was fielding all the final requests for water and back scratches. I had been helping Austin and was on my way back to Zack and Derek's room. As I entered the dark room, I see Zack sit up in bed and say,

"Mom, there is something in my pillow!!"
"Zack, there is nothing in your pillow."
"Yes, there is!" he reaches his hand inside the pillowcase.
"Sick!!" he yells as he withdraws his hand at the speed of light.

I head over to his bed and turn on the lamp. I open the pillowcase to reveal: A ROTTING, SQUISHY BANANA.

"Zack," I say, "Did you bring a banana up to bed?"
"No!" he says, indignantly.

Then from across the room I hear a giggle and a little singsong voice says, "I did! I put it in there! Wasn't that a good joke, mom?"

"Derek!!" yells Zack. He is completely grossed out. I took the offending pillow/banana combo into the hall to show Matt. We were both laughing. The pillow was sent downstairs where I cleaned it up.

*Last night, all the boys were in bed, but not quite settled. Matt was working here at home and I was on the couch in the loft reading a book and keeping an eye on the bedtime situation. We have a rule that if you need a drink of water after you get in bed, you have to lie quietly in bed from ten minutes before I will bring you one. (This is to prevent Derek, the king of bedtime stalling, from asking for a drink every five minutes.) I was telling the bigger boys that they had to lie quietly before I would bring them a drink. They were soon very quiet and I could hear Austin talking to himself in his bed. He seemed to be having a conversation with himself. At first I thought maybe he had some toys in his bed and then I peeked in through the partially open door and saw him in his crib, on his back, just having a conversation with himself. This is what we heard:
"No, you be quiet!"
"No I not!"
"Yes, you not!"
"Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Amen."
"Rawwwwwr!"
"Aghghghgh!!"
"Okay."

After about ten minutes he and his split personalities/and or imaginary friends, all went to sleep. I went in to check on him and he had pulled the covers up over himself and was out.

Bedtime for the boys is usually my least favorite time of day (especially right now and especially when Matt is working at home.) because I am exhausted before we even start. These little stories have made bedtime so much more enjoyable this last week!

Teaching R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Conversation at the dinner table last night:
(Zack is setting the table and sits down in a chair.)

Me: Zack, will you please go sit on the bench seat next to Derek? It is hard for me to sit in that seat right now.
Zack: Is that because you are so fat?
Matt: Zack!! You can't say that to your mom!
Zack: But she is so fat!
Matt: Zack, we do not ever call people fat.
Zack: It's just mom.
Matt: Zack, when you talk about people like that, it hurts their feelings.
Zack: But it doesn't hurt mom's feelings, she is just fat cause of the baby.
Matt: You don't know what hurts people's feelings. Mom will get skinny again sometime, but you don't EVER tell anyone they are fat because that is RUDE.
(I was long gone at this point, hiding in the pantry because I was laughing so hard.)

Today I took the boys to the dinosaur museum while Matt was working. When I took off my jacket, Zack looked up and said, "Mom, that sweater is way too small for you." Thanks, son. I can always count on you for complete honesty.

Because We Have Missionaries on the Brain

Derek (sweetly): Zack, I will miss you when you go on your mission.
Zack: You will?
Derek: Yes. Will you miss me when I go on my mission?
Zack: Sure.
Derek: Will you be so, so sad?
Zack: I guess.
Derek: Will you cry?
Zack (witheringly): Why would I cry?

(Like he didn't sob for days leading up to dropping James off at the MTC.)

The MTC (for Mom and Dad who requested photos)

The very short drive from Lehi to Provo.
We made Jamison wave goodbye to the hospital, his second home away from home.
Getting out of the car at the MTC.
Zack is starting to get worried. (He was the only one who shed actual tears, but he was really tough and waited until James was gone.)
Missionaries help unload the luggage.
Austin, waiting patiently for ANYONE to get him out of the car.
"Oh, really? I did not know that."
One more piece of luggage.
Don't worry, mom, he didn't lift them all by himself. (Austin is finally getting out of the car.)
Zack, Austin, me and a 28 week belly and Jamison.
Post hugs and goodbyes, Matt requested one more photo. We sent him on his way. He was so happy! Due to new regulations, no family members can enter the MTC. It is stop and drop only. We were literally on the MTC grounds for less than five minutes. We are so excited for James, he will be a fantastic missionary.

The Last Night

We (all the brothers and sisters...minus Uruguay Michael) got together last night for dinner and goodbyes. I caught Jamison just about to swallow.
Some game the little cousins invented called " back wrestling."
David, making an interesting point.
Tara (2nd oldest), Chris (4th), Jamison (5th), me(oldest) and David (3rd). (That would be my son trying to squeeze his way into the photo.)
My family plus some brothers. After we ate, James had to say goodbye to Tara's family and David. The rest of us headed back to my house and then on the Stake Center where James was set apart as a missionary!

(Maybe now would be a good time to mention that the Stake President thought I was Jamison's mom. It's true. I guess I should just be proud that someone would think I raised such a great kid, but I am more confused. Since this is the second time this has happened with Jamison, do people think I am a young looking 40 something mom (who is still bearing children) or that I had a child as an 11 year old? Hmmmmm......Matt and my brothers about died laughing as we left and got in the car. Then this morning, Zack woke up early to draw a picture of our family for James to take. When he showed it to me, he said, "Mom, you are bigger than everyone else, but it is just because you are pregnant. If you are not pregnant when Michael goes on his mission, I will draw you smaller." Thanks, Zack. Just so you know, in the picture, I was a foot taller and at least a foot wider than everyone else in the drawing, including Matt and Jamison. Overall not a great 24 hours for my self-esteem. I overheard Matt this morning saying to the boys, "Doesn't mommy look great? Isn't she so beautiful and young?" Thanks, Matt. Nice try.) Jamison moved his mattress into Zack and Derek's room for the night so they could have a sleepover. We didn't stay up too late packing and all got to bed at a decent hour.

Presenting the Dinner at My House After Jamison Speaks in Church Prior to Leaving on a Mission (Not a Farewell)

There were people in every room of my house. Even the unfinished basement.

There were over 90 people here...holy cow.

So many of Jamison's favorite people came.

The line just kept coming and coming. Matt would come and give me updates on how many people were left so I could figure out how much food we still needed.

Some of my parent's missionaries came to say goodbye.

Jamison and some future missionary nephews.

Dave and Doreen, cousins on my dad's side.

Grandma and Grandpa Boothe were sad to say goodbye, but so excited for him.

Breakage

Yesterday seemed like my day for breaking things. When I fist found out I was pregnant, I was perusing the Old Navy Maternity section looking for some jeans on clearance. I found some! A nice looking pair for $1.99. Yes, one dollar and ninety-nine cents. The catch was that the maternity panel had a slight tear in the side where the stitching had not held together. No biggie, I thought, I am sure they will last a little while and they were $1.99!! The jeans came home with me. They soon became my favorite, they were fitted enough to not make me look ginormous and comfortable enough to wear frequently (or daily.) The rip in the maternity panel was right where the panel met the jean fabric. As the months passed, the rip became a little bigger. The other side began to pull away from the jeans as well. (Keep in mind this was along the back side of the jeans. If I ever bent over a little too far I would hear a little rrrrrrrriiip. I always made sure to wear an extra long shirt when I wore the jeans, just in case.

Well, yesterday was the day. I was driving my brother James up to Bountiful to meet my sister and she was going to pick him up for some last minute pre-mission shopping and family visits. Lehi to Bountiful is not very far, only about 40 minutes. I do get really uncomfortable in the car, but as long as I am not driving I can change positions and it is fine. But when I am driving, I get this horrible cramp just above my ribcage. The longer I sit in the same position, the worse it gets. This happens every time I am pregnant, but not usually this early. It started to get really bad in Salt Lake and by the time we reached Bountiful, I needed a stretch. Once I parked the car, we were just waiting for Tara to show up. I first stretched my legs as far as they would reach in the car and then bent forward to stretch my back. That is when I heard a HUGE rip and felt some cold air on my back. I reached back to feel the damage and realized that the entire panel had pulled away and there was no way I would be able to keep my pants up when walking around. So the pants are toast, the fabric is so stretched out I don't think I could fix it with my minimal sewing skills. But that $1.99 did last 6 months!!

The second thing I broke was a lot more than $1.99. This weekend my little brother is speaking in church before he heads off on his mission next week. After church, there will be a humdinger of a shindig over at my house, since that is the day most of the family will be saying goodbye to him. In preparation for the big day, I have been methodically cleaning my house. I had everything fabulously clean last week and was doing a great job of maintaining until everyone came down with ear infections and colds and now it is not looking so good. Well, yesterday, I decided it was time to finally clean the fridge. Not just a wipe down of the inside, we are talking taking every shelf out and scrubbing. I was almost done, the fridge was glistening, all I had left to wash was a glass shelf that is over the vegetable bin. It is the lowest shelf in the fridge and where we usually keep milk. As I was washing it in the sink, all of the sudden it completely shattered in my hands. Glass flew everywhere. I can't believe no one was hurt. I quickly locked the kids in my room and cleaned up the floor first. Then, I gathered the big pieces out of the sink. Then, I spent 45 minutes picking the shards of glass out of the sink with tweezers, to make sure none fell in the disposal. Aaack. I found out today a replacement shelf is $85. Seriously? There is is no way the shelf is worth that much. So for now, my vegetables are getting lots of fresh air and the milk is up at the top of the fridge while I decide how badly we need a shelf there. Kenmore is trying to con me, I know it.

Happy Valentine's Day from Zack

(Zack, ready for school on 2-13-09)

*The last two afternoons have been dedicated to getting Valentine's cards ready for Zack to take to school. He decided on Transformer Valentine's that come with a heart-shaped sucker. He was very discriminating in deciding which card went to which classmate. The yellow Bumblebee cards that said "Bee Mine" went to his favorite (read: ALL) the girls. I asked who he thought the cutest girl in his class was. He said: Izzie, no Madison, both of them. And Maya, and Sydney. They are beeootiful. I said but who is your favorite? He said, Izzie because she is so nice. And Madi, but he mostly just looks at her.

*The boys received cards that said, "We make a great team!" Speaking of, Zack's favorite friend from school, Cade, came over to house to play yesterday for the first time. He and Zack had so much fun together. They have another friend, Braxton, who completes the trio. The two of them were telling me that when Braxton is not at school it means trouble at recess. I asked why and they said because the "grills" as Zack calls them, will chase them. I asked what makes a difference when Braxton is there? They said when Braxton is there, they run. :)

*When Zack came home from school yesterday, we were walking home from the bus stop and he said, "Mom, I have to wear a red shirt tomorrow."
"Why? Is it red shirt day?"
"No," he said, slightly exasperated, "It is our Valentine's Party and I want to look nice."
"So you want to be dressed nicely tomorrow?"
Zack: "Oh.Yeah."

The Potty Nightmare

Derek (just barely 3), does not want to be potty-trained. No desire whatsoever. Ok, that is not completely true, when he was about 22 months old, he would sneak up to Zack's room, take off his diaper and put on Zack's underwear. I had to wrestle diapers back on to him. Maybe I missed my chance there, but I had an 8 week old baby, I wasn't about to start potty training at that time.

Then, about a month ago, I decided it was time. Derek didn't agree. He screamed and freaked out for two days while I tried forcing him to go potty. I gave up....after all I don't want to traumatize him completely. I decided we will wait for a while and try again later.

This morning, at 6ish, I heard screaming. Derek is NEVER awake that early, so I knew something was wrong. When I got to him, he was at the top of the stairs... (my room is on the main level, all the kids are upstairs.) screaming..."I DON'T WANT TO WEAR UNDERWEAR.....I DON'T WANT TO WEAR UNDERWEAR....PUT MY DIAPER ON, MOMMY......PLEASE!"

I led him back to bed, telling him he did have a diaper on and to go back to sleep. Yeah, like that worked. Now all the kids are awake as I am typing and it is only 6:30am. We will save potty training for another day.

Anybody have tips for getting a recalcitrant toddler to want to go potty? (Is that even a correct usage of recalcitrant? It just seemed to fit...)

A Day of Laziness

I have photos to upload from Derek's birthday yesterday, but I am too tired to go find the camera. (Baby Austin, who isn't really a baby anymore,) is getting his molars and is miserable=tired mama. I had some funny moments to record:

1. The other day, Zack says, "Mom, what is a Mobile Steed?"
"What?!" I say. Zack, "I think it might be a really good horse." Something clicked for me then, I remembered on Sleeping Beauty (which we have been watching a lot of lately), Prince Phillip's horse is called a "Noble Steed." I asked if that was what he meant and he was like, duh.

2. This week, Zack is Star of the Week in his class. We made a poster together of all his favorite things and I had to bring it to school at 10am for the presentation. We set it on an easel and Zack got to hold a pointer and explain everything on his poster to his class. After he had gone through the poster, he said, "I'll take questions now."

I think I had a few more, but poor grumpy baby is waking up from his nap so I must be off.

Funny Things the Kids Say

* The other day we were going to have some extra riders in our van. I moved Derek to the back of the van with Zack so the middle seats would be open. As I was driving to the meeting spot, I hear Zack say to Derek:

Zack: So, Der, you want to talk?
Der: Sure
(Zack, pensive and looking out the window) Well, you know that Batman is sure a hero.
Der: Uh-huh
Zack: I wonder where he learned all his moves.
Der: Uh-huh.
Zack: So, were you happy with what you got for Christmas?
Der: Uh-huh.
(Zack gives up.)

* I recently tried on my wedding dress. Mostly because I was curious if it still fit, 8 years and three kids later. (it sort of kind of in an unbearably uncomfortable way did. Thank goodness it had an empire waist.) These were the reactions:
Matt: Wow, you are cute! But you look....older than when we got married. I mean (grasping now, realizing he has made a possibly fatal error) you were just a baby when we got married! I mean, wow! you are skinny! (Saved)

Zack: What is that? Are you going to wear that to the party tonight?
Me: No, this is my wedding dress, do I look like a princess?
Zack: Not really. But you look....(searching for the right word) very beautiful. (what a diplomat)

Derek: Mommy! Are you a princess?
Me: Yes.
Derek: No, you just mommy!


* And I recently saw Derek brushing his hair in the bathroom. When he finished he said, "I look good!"

*The other day I was getting ready and Derek picks up some of my makeup and says, what is this. I tell him it is my makeup. Then he says, "You can never have t0o much makeup." ?!?
(I later realized that one of the "grooming" robots says this on Wall*E and he has watched that show several times in the last week.)

Fun times!

Funny Conversation

Yesterday, I watched my sister's kiddoes while she went to the hospital to hang out with our brother James. It was a bit crazy, I admit with two five-year-olds, a three-year-old, a two-year-old and two one-year-olds. And yes, by the time I was putting my own sweet children to bed, I had had it and just walked downstairs, told Matt, I was done for the day, and went to bed. (At 8:30.) To Matt's credit, he put the kids to bed and CLEANED THE KITCHEN AND FAMILY ROOM while I slept. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Great hubby.
Anyway, amidst the craziness yesterday, was this little tidbit:

I was juggling two babies on my hips and I heard screaming from the yard. I look out the window and see Zack crying. I run out and Meg (Tara's five year old) tells me that Derek hit Zack with a plastic hoe. I supervise all of this from the deck and holler back to Zack to take the hoe away from Derek and bring it to me. Zack says, "No! He will hit me again!" So I ask Meg to take it away. Derek by this time, is hiding under the fort portion of the swing set. Ever the obedient neice, Meg climbs under the fort and start pulling the hoe away from Derek. However, Derek is freakishly strong for a two-year-old and puts up a good fight. Meg can not get it away from him. Finally, Zack steps in to help (it was a tug of war) and he and Meg together began to wrestle Derek for the hoe. Meanwhile, both babies are crying, Zack and Meg are yelling at Derek to give them the shovel and Davis (the three-year-old), who is standing on the sidelines, starts yelling, "Everyone, CALM DOWN! JUST CALM DOWN!" Finally the hoe-down was won by Meg and Zack, I hid the hoe, and I hear Meg say to Zack, "Boy that Derek sure was mean to hit you!" And Zack's immediate reply," Don't call my brother mean! He is not mean! Don't you say that again!"

**Little brother James had surgery again today. He had developed and obstruction that was blocking his digestion ( a result of his previous surgery) and part of his bowel had herniated in three places. They also took out his appendix (just for good measure. I guess with this type of surgery, the appendix is easily irritated and sometimes has to be removed later, so they took it out now so they don't have to open him up again.) He is doing great! He still has a pick line, and an NG tube and so can not eat or drink anything yet, but the doc said 7-10 days in the hospital and he will be good as new. He was in quite a bit of pain when he came out of the anesthisia, but after an epidural, is feeling really good. (note: I nearly passed out during the epidural and had to run out of the room to avoid embarassment. Because running out of the room in the middle of his procedure was not embarassing at all. :)). He is awake and talking and has lots of great people looking out for him. He is really tough. Only downside is that he will not be able to go to Uruguay with my parents for Christmas. Although we are really excited he gets to be with us!***

Issues

Well, today was a pretty good day. Derek has not been to time-out a single time. We made cookies. I showered AND FIXED MY HAIR. (which is really a miracle.) I even mopped the kitchen floor and entry hall. (another miracle. one of my least favorite chores since the tile stretches all the way from the front door, through a hallway, past a square of carpet we call the family room, and into the kitchen, which is quite a large kitchen and I don't feel justified in mopping just the kitchen, I have to do the whole tiled area.)
Anyway, on with my story:
There will be a couple little side-stories in here, so bear with me. Oh wait, I need to do one more side-story before I continue with the main event. I have phone issues. Okay, I have a lot of issues, people spitting, clowns, and the stinky mink farm near my house. But back to the phone issues. Over a year ago, Matt bought us a set of three cordless Panasonic phones. They each had their own charging station and we placed them in the kitchen, master bedroom and office, respectively. Now, just for reference, the office is in the loft area of our house. The desk is scooted up against this half wall and about a foot of railing that overlooks the front hall. The phone is on the edge of the desk, probably a good foot away from the railing. (Can you see where this is going?)
So a month or two ago, Matt was on the computer, I was standing next to the desk chatting with him and the children were running amok. The phone was on the couch, directly behind the desk. I picked it up, so as to replace it in its little phone cradle home. I was reaching for it, I swear I do not know how this happened, but as I was reaching, I lost my balance, the phone landed haphazardly in the cradle, but the momentum of my reaching was so great that the phone continued past the cradle, through the bars of the railing and down to the tile floor, a good 15 feet below. I ran down the stairs to pick it up and discovered the battery lying next to the phone. I put it all back together and saw that the screen was slightly scrambled. Only the top half of any number, name, etc. would show. Not too bad considering how far it had fallen. We re-assigned that phone to the master bedroom, because we don't use that one as much. One phone down.
About two weeks ago I was talking on the phone and making lunch. I opened the cupboard right next to the fridge to get a glass and at that moment Derek swung the refrigerator door open with such force that it hit my arm and I dropped the phone. On the tile floor. I frantically checked it to make sure it was working and discovered the screen was completely useless. Not even half of the info showed up. Nada. I put off telling Matt until I was running out the door to a Relief Society meeting that night. He took it fairly well, considering. Two down.
So today, after a pretty good day, I took Austin to see his pediatrician. (Where both Zack and Derek were very, very much not on their best behavior. The verdict was that the poor baby has another double ear infection. That would be his third since the first of September. So I came home and put Austin in his high chair for a snack, set the other kids in front of the TV and called my insurance company to see what a set of tube is going to cost me. (not too bad, and poor Austin will finally have some relief). After I finished with a very nice and helpful customer service rep, I called our favorite ENT for an appointment. (she knows us well.) I was talking to the receptionist when Zack and Derek started screaming and fighting and going completely crazy. I retreated to the front room, to escape some of the noise, because I literally could not hear anything this lady was saying. She then asked for my insurance number, and i realized the card was back in the kitchen with my wallet. I ran quickly past the screaming children, and as I rounded the corner, you guessed it, I slipped on a patch of tile that was not completely dry and landed on a knee, elbow and my wrist hit the ground a milisecond later. The wrist that connects to the hand THAT WAS HOLDING THE PHONE. THE LAST REMAINING PHONE WITH A WORKING SCREEN. And.....I saved it. I saved the phone!!!!! At the expense of having bruises for our family pictures on Saturday. (thank goodness I'll have long sleeves.) Matt is so proud. And the receptionist never even knew what happened. I jumped up, hobbled to the counter and gave her the necessary information, hobbled back to the phone cradle and gently placed the phone in its resting place. And now, the kids are still fighting, Austin is still crying and clinging to me and my knee and wrist are throbbing. I think I need a bubble bath. OR a shopping trip, or dinner out, for saving the phone, at least I should get dinner out! Oh, wait....since I broke the other two phones, maybe I will just go for the bubble bath.

Zack the provoked bully

Today I picked Zack up at the bus stop and we started walking home together. I asked him how his day was and he said, "Good, except for recess." I asked why. Now I will replay our entire conversation so you can relive my bewilderment.

Me: What happened at recess?
Z: The fast girl cut me.
Me: What?!?
Z: The fast girl cut me.
(I then inspect his knuckle, which is slightly skinned and bloody and covered with a band-aid).
Me: Who is the fast girl? ( I was kinda hoping my boys wouldn't be running into any fast girls until at least junior high.)
Z: I don't know.
Me: Is she in your class?
Z: No, a different class.
Me: Well, what did she cut you with?
Z: I don't know.
Me: Why did she cut you?
Z: Cause I was fighting her.
Me: WHAT?!?!??!?!?!?!?!
Z: We were fighting.
Me: You do not fight with girls!
Z: Why?
Me: Because that is not respectful. We treat all girls with respect. Do you fight with Meg? (his cousin) or do you see Daddy fight me?
Z: No.
Me: How did the fight start?
Z: Braxton tripped her and me and her and Ethan and Braxton all started fighting. (this whole time I am dying trying not to laugh.)
Me: Did you get in trouble?
Z: No. But the lady on the playground told us to stop. No fighting allowed.
(he felt really bad at this point and emphasized that I had never told him not to fight with girls, obviously an oversight on my part.)
Me: One more question. Why do you call her the fast girl?
Z: Because she runs really fast and I don't know her name.

***We ended the conversation by me telling him that he needs to apologize to the fast girl on Monday, and NEVER, NEVER fight girls again.****

A fun, busy and exhausting week....in review.

Highlights this week:

*A Canning Extravaganza: So a month or so ago, we had a lot of women in the ward express interest in learning how to bottle/can, whatever, fruit and veggies. Somehow, the Relief Society came up with this brilliant idea to hold a class to teach everyone. However, we had so many people sign up, it has been three days of two-three classes each day to get everyone in. I spent all Monday getting the tomatoes and peaches and other supplies. Tuesday Suzanne did three sessions at her house, yesterday I did two sessions, and today there are two more, luckily I only had to drop off the supplies at the respective houses. I think all up we will end up with the women bottling 270 quarts of peaches or tomatoes. Holy cow this has been a project. I was exhausted last night when we took the last batch off the stove at 10pm. It is worth it though, to get people excited about learning something new and realizing that it is not too hard!

*Derek making a "hockscotch" for Zack. With markers. On the tile floor in the kitchen. It was very cute, though.

*Me spilling burning hot syrup to bottle with the peaches. Now I have sticky cabinets and tile floor.

*Reading Zack the story of John the Baptist. The next day, Matt asked him who Zacharias was. Zack immediately replied, John the Baptisms' father. "Right," said Matt. "And who was his mother?" Without a pause, Zack replies," Eliz Arias." Get it, Zack and Eliz Arias? We were laughing so hard at that (but a little later, so as to not hurt Zack's feelings.)

*Derek looking at the fat, black belt I am wearing today and saying, "Is that a light saber belt?"

*Zack and Matt have started reading Harry Potter at night for Zack to get his 20 minutes of reading in for school. It is really adorable to see how they look forward to that time together.

*Austin has decided to become a walker. He has been standing for at least two months and taking tentative steps here and there, but in the last few days he has really taken off, although very shakily. He is so so so proud of himself!

*Matt has been such a champ during this crazy busy week. Thanks, babe, you rock!

Use the Force, Austin!!

Austin thinks he is as big as his brothers and loves to play with them. The other day he got his hands on Derek's light saber. Here is what happened: Aha! He has found an enemy of the Force! Wait, how does this thing work?
Ah...now I have the idea!
Count Zachary has been defeated!
Time to celebrate!