A Little Demo...

...Demolition, that is...

We lived in our first home happily for 7 years, not doing much work on it except for paint, until the last two years when we finished the basement, redid the kitchen, and put a deck in the back, not to mention the brand new furnace and central air that we had installed. And then we moved. Well, we've been in this home for 5 years. Aside from tearing apart the front yard to impress the neighbors ;), painting the outside of the house, painting a little here and there inside, and redoing the least-used bathroom, we haven't done very much. Until now *dun, dun, duuun*

Until this:

 Helper Monkey #1

 Helper Monkey #2

 Helper Monkey #3

And there's more! But you'll have to wait for the pictures until it's done. I'm excited for it. But now that we're finally doing some work on our home, does that mean we'll be moving in a few years? Hmmm...

I can feel it coming...

...the mass blog update. I know I've been terribly lax in updating, but I'm pretty sure it's just around the corner. Wait for it -- it won't be long...

And to give you a little taste of what our family's been up to...

Edible Food-like Subtances

A Sonnet by S. Judd

Corn syrup comes in lots of different kinds, 

Like "white," "high fructose," "regular" and more,

This doesn't make a difference how it finds

A way to turn your good health into poor.

Though sugar is all right once in a while, 

Too much will make your body big and fat!

So don't go running down the candy aisle

On ev're trip to grocery stores -- that's that!

Away from artificial you must stay, 

Made out of chemicals and man-made stuff.

So throw away the colors now, today!

Preservatives and flavors -- that's enough!

I'm sure there's more, and in this modern time, 

The fast food numbers are subject to climb.

You're welcome. :)

Halloween

S went to a Halloween party at a friend's house dressed as...

me:

(I'm using this picture as evidence for J that, when I want to chop my hair off and go with the pixie cut, I will totally rock it.)

 S went to school on Halloween dressed like this:

(He was amazed when he won the prize for most original costume: it was thrown together in about 5 minutes the morning of Halloween.)

 O was a dentist:

 H was Yoda:

That night we had our own family party. We all took a trip to the grocery store -- J with dog ears and a painted-on black nose, me in my jammies, bathrobe, and pigtails, and our kids in their costumes -- for a bag of treats each, root beer extract, and dry ice. Then home to hang a sign on the door (Out of Candy), concoct the root beer...

...and introduce our kids to the new Doctor Who. (Christopher Eccleston, you were a good one. And Rose! How we miss Rose!) We skipped the ward Trunk or Treat and neighborhood trick-or-treating, but I don't think my kids missed either one bit. I feel a tradition in the making...

Birthday Boy!

 This year J turned the big 3-8! We celebrated with chocolate cake and English toffee ice cream. The day before his birthday, J bought a propane torch kit with which to annihilate the weeds in our yard. Best. Birthday. Present. Ever. Here he is unwrapping the second and third best birthday presents ever:

 The kids wrapped it.

 Can you tell?

 Strawberries and blackberries from our garden and hard candy.

 Because every boy needs a lunch box.

The day before J's birthday was a whirlwind day. I was in and out all day -- taking kids to piano class, running errands, picking kids up again, taking boys to buy jammers (the tight swim bottoms for boys, which at first embarrassed them and then became awesome because Olympic swimmers wear them), going to lunch with an awesome friend, driving up to IKEA for a few things, going to dinner and a concert with a couple more awesome friends -- and didn't get to spend much time with J. The day of his birthday was the Brigham City Temple dedication, which made it so we were home by 11:30AM. The rest of the day was spent relaxing with our favorite furry white guy. I love him so much. Yes I do!

A Big First...

 This Big First made me cry. Up until now all of our kids have worn clip-on or zip-up ties with their dress shirts (when they wear a tie at all.) S asked for a green tie to go with his green shirt, so I bought him a regular tie. Here is J, teaching him to tie his first tie:

 This is my favorite picture:

 My handsome boys. I promise they were all happy -- not just H.

Sundance Sunday

After church one Sunday in September, we headed up to Sundance Ski Resort to ride the lift up to the top of the mountain. (All these pictures are from S's camera.)

Here we are on the shuttle:

 S and me on the lift:

 Our whole family is in this picture somehow. Can you spot us all?

 A furry little friend we encountered at Stewart Falls on the hike down:

We want our kids to know that there are many many ways to commune with their Heavenly Father and find joy in spending time together as a family. What a blessing it is that we live so close to such beautiful places -- the best of the Lord's creations. The kids love hiking and enjoying the view. While we were on the lift, S pointed to a spot in the distance and began telling me of the house he was going to design and build for me when he becomes an architect. Not too big, lots of windows, and a room for him :) Perfect.

September

We began September with a Praying Mantis...

 

 ...crawling all over S...

...whose freaked out face in the previous picture was just because it was tickling him as it crawled up his arm. He was so fascinated by it. Every time it tried to leave him, S would pick it up and place it back on himself.

 

Grandma Lundgren came to visit for Grandparent's Day at H and O's school. 

Who is that mowing the lawn?

Is that my 5-year old?

Impossible!

But true. 

H mowed the front lawn all by himself. Amazing kid!

And, to get in on the fun, O did the back.

He came into the kitchen to get a drink of water and said, "Whew! It is hot out there! I'm mowing the lawn, Mom! I'm going in circles and curves! I don't want it to be all straight like when S does it!" Sure enough...

I am a Jedi Master. Make me breakfast, you will...