Our little artist

Adison loves to draw and color-- Especially with Markers-
It will entertain her for atleast a half hour.
I am amazed
Mike on the other hand hates that she loves markers
She can never keep them off her skin or clothes
Percisely why she is in a diaper in this picture

Carson had his first solo sleep over

Carson was invited over to his friend Andy's house. His brother was at the party- I didn't think he would want to go- so I only mentioned it to him once the day before. When they got to our house Carson put his shoes on and told them I am riding in your car. He wasn't even going to say goodbye. So cute- I didn't tell him it was a sleep over- However when he arrived at their house he very comfortably said- can I borrow some pajama pants because I am sleeping over. He had a blast having one on one time with Andy and didn't even care he was missing out on the party.

How did our sunshine do for the night

Adison - was a little awe stricken by the craziness of all the boys

The boys got quite a kick out of Mike
He really was a trooper
Roasting marshmallows on his finger
Being a scary monster squirting silly string at everyone
And entertaining them on the tramp
FUN TIMES FUN TIMES

Garrett's Halloween Party

Garrett had a halloween party this weekend- he invited six friends over to stay the night
After I adapted to the craziness of seven boys under the age of 8 - things went great
I think they had a blast
We ran around our neighborhood BOOing people
Played some games
Jumped on the tramp
Had a lesson on when not to burp
Learned a few new songs (I am sure all their parents love)
and watched a movie
Garrett was thrilled to spend the entire evening with his pals
The only downfall for him was I didn't let him invite more people

Scare crow day at Garretts School

Last Friday I had the opportunity to volunteer in Garrett's class for scare crow day. It was a fun to see the shy guy in action. He did have a few girls ask him to sit by them. But other than that he was pretty quiet the whole morning. It was fun to meet the kids and put some faces to names.

More info on Drew.

Sorry I did not add any stats about Drew. He lives at the end of our block and is 16 years old. He is the oldest of two children. His sister is eight years old. He has a Caring Bridge site but I do not have the exact address. I will post it at the end of this post when I get it.

The whole situation is so tragic. It really puts life into perspective. Another example of how our fate really does not lie in our hands and that we need to be appreciative of all we have- FAMILY FRIENDS and NEIGHBORS --

We can raise our children to be incredible human beings who make good decisions most of the time, but ultimately we have no control over their fate or destiny. Every breath we take and every moment we have here on earth really is a gift. Situations like this remind me to enjoy the little things in life more. Even in the midst of chaos-- As I tucked my kids into bed tonight I took a second look at their cute little faces and thanked God for the day-- all the crazy moments included.

Praying for Drew

Our Neighbor Drew was tragically hit by a car on Monday evening - He is currently in the hospital in ICU- He is in a induced coma and they are not sure if he will pull out of this. He has severe head injuries and they are not sure how much brain functioning he has at this point if any. The family is still in shock and the Dr. say they will have no information for atleast a few days- and recovery if possible could take up to a year-- they really do not know how extensive it is.

Please pray for the entire family and Drew's full recovery.

In addition if anyone is willing to make a meal for the family that would be great. Drews Mom,Val is a vegitarian so please take this into consideration. (I have no idea what types of food they eat).

Carson got into a thicket bush

Leave it to carson to play in the middle of a thicket bush.
It took a good five minutes atleast for me and Arlin Brown to get all of the stickers out of his hair.

MR. WISE GUY

Oh what a good looking boy- --but this handsome fella has become quite the wise guy. Dinner time is always when this personality trait shows the most. Last night we were chatting about how Carson took such a great nap. Garrett thought this deserved a round of applause. Then Mike tells a joke he learned from Carson and I asked him -oh where did you hear that one- Garrett says he heard it from a white man. He really is a mini Mike looks and all. It is truly amazing how the kids spend so much more time with me but talk and act so much like their father. Thankfully their father has so many great character traits.

Great times with our Cousin

Spending time with Cousins just doesn't happen as often as it should in our household anymore.
But last weekend our cousin Grace spent the evening with us and the kids had a blast.
It is so fun to see them play together-
The day was filled with human sling shots - forts- bike riding- pumpkin picking- digging for worms- dress up-
and of course a late night movie
Lucky me they even slept in till eight thirty the next morning. It just doesn't get better than that.

The Shrine Circus

We visited the "famous" Shrine circus last weekend. It was very fun to see the kids react to the show. Garrett was mesmerized and a little tired by the end. Adison did not care about much of anything except her Cotton Candy, and Carson was on the edge of his seat the entire show both loving the acts and hoping that he would get one of the fifty souvenirs that came up and down the isle. All three kids devoured the cotton candy Aunt Carol bought them. It was a great time.

Riding on an elephant is sure to be a once in a lifetime experience for the Border boys-
This elephant is worth ninety dollars- That's right they get ten dollars a kid for a three minute ride--

Ask the kids and they will say it was worth it

NO COMMENT on how we felt about it.

Adison and the boys running Drew over with a tractor at the apple orchard--
Oh the looks we got when we told them to pose for this picture.

Carson loves the great outdoors

Yes yet another story about my children's bathroom habits.
We spent a great day at the apple orchard last week with the Barnetts--
Our trip would not have been complete without Carson peeing in the corn maze.
Of course I did not know he was peeing. When I rounded the corner I found Carson in this position.
We had a little chat about peeing outside at the orchard where there is a lot of people.

I am sure he heard none of it-

About an hour later he ran across the corn field and peed directly in front of the port-a-potty,
pants completely down, butt showing- families walking by him- with a big grin on his face.
I responded like any "good mom" would from across a pumpkin patch
I laughed until I almost peed and then had a brief chat with the adorable little man.

Mike has a new love !!!

Yes Mike has a new love and addiction-- it is pumpkin bars. He grew found of these after the neighbor brought them to a few potluck events. I made a pan for him this past week and he has not stopped eating them since Monday. He eats them periodically throughout the morning afternoon and night. In fact, he has polished off almost an entire pan all by himself in the past three days. (I am not making fun of him-I fully admit I can do the same thing with a pan of brownies) just keeping everyone informed- HAHA

Growing Old can be no fun- - not sure I ever want to.

As another week passes by and the Grandparents in our lives get another week older I am reminded that getting older is really no fun-- A while back I blogged about Randy Mikes dad being sick and asked for prayer for him- but there are so many others in our families that are also having medical issues. I won't list them because it is a long list -- however- It reminds me of a day when we were at my Aunt Mary's house and my Grandpa Sicard was struggling to get into a van he said it sure is Hell getting old--

Isn't it the truth though.

I am young enough-- healthy -- no real issues in life-- but most of the grandparents in our family live day to day with some type of health problem -- Many of them life threatening-- I cannot imagine waking everyday in pain or wondering if the next day will come-- Of course some people handle these things better than others-- never complaining never wondering why them-- what sets these people apart-- FAITH ?? Not sure-- I hope so-- Cause if it is maybe as I age I won't grow crabby or cynical--

I hope to be able to enjoy the little things in life that keep people going--- Visits from Grand kids even if they are only once ever six months-- getting to see your great great grandchildren--getting together for holidays with all of your kids--listening to the laughter of the young and crying with all of my old Friends--laughing at yourself and our inability to keep up with the craziness irrationality of the young etc.

Or maybe I will be a crabby old lady who hates everything and everyone- LOL

For Now I am just asking for prayers for all of the grandparents who are currently in our lives-- those who are nearing the end and those who are healthy and lively-- Many of whom do not believe in God-- some who do believe in Him but have no relationship with Jesus-- Pray that they will fall in love with Him-- and that all of them will live the rest of their days and years out in peace -- even if they are sick (that their illnesses and ailments would not overshadow their ability to enjoy life and all that great things it brings)-- that someday they too will get to enjoy the simple life in Heaven- Partying with all those that have past including my Dad--

Picture deleted

I had to delete the picture from the last post-- Someone flagged my blog -- I guess it is not appropriate to take a picture and post it of a toddler on the toilet-

Keeping us on our toes

Before I start writing about our little sunshine-- I will apologize to Mike-who is going to freak out when he sees this picture- I just could not resist--

Last week I was getting Adison ready for the day and got side tracked for a moment by -- Facebook-- I got her undressed into her onsie and let here run around for awhile - typically this is not a big deal-- well two minutes later I come out of the laundry room to find her diaper on the floor- Immediately I run around the house looking for pee spots and Adison- Instead this is how I find her. She was wiping herself and everything-- Not sure whether to start training her or to just laugh and forget that it even happened.

I have to say she never ceases to amaze us. As her vocabulary grows by the day and she is becoming quite the little toddler-- we are completely astonished by her(like all parents are of their own children) .
She is a sweet- spunky little girl with an attitude. Mike asked her why she was throwing food on the floor and she said cause. It is definitely her new favorite word. She also likes to tell the dogs to get down and say don't and mine to her brothers any chance she gets. I love that she enjoys pushing her babies down the driveway on the skateboard and likes to mow the lawn with dad-.

Despite her spunk and stubbornness- she is probably the most compassionate out of our three kids so far. Running to her brothers sides every time they are hurt and making sure we are aware of when they are crying. She hugs her Friend Alex every time they say good bye, snuggles with Mike everyday after work, and still loves to get rocked at bed time. Love the differences between her and the boys.

Carson the super hero

Carson has decided that playing Super Hero on the play ground at school is the best thing ever. The teacher informed me today that this is their newest version of tag. Only today a group of boys were using their fists while playing.

Oh how I love Carson - but of course after she told me this I starting thinking oh great he is taking kids out at school- What to do- I did not speak at first (wow I know) then said well I hope he listened when you asked him to stop. She said oh of course we just told all the boys superman does not use fists and we don't fight at school. Carson pipes in at this point and tells her yes superman does fight people, he punches and kicks, he fights bad guys. We talked about it for another minute- And Carson was very confident and held his ground, I just laughed a little and started to walk away after telling Carson we could talk about it later- Then the teacher stopped me as I was getting into the elevator to reassure me that Carson is a great listener and is always very helpful and good to the other kids that I had nothing to worry about-- Now I wasn't really concerned -- However

?? Did she know that I was thinking - Oh my goodness what do I have to look forward to-- Or- Wow good thing he is listening here-- Or -We are really going to have to chat about this fighting thing at home- or- Well that's my Carson -- all boy-- a rough and tumble type of a kid -- so honest-- but such a sweet boy at heart I can't imagine him being any different-- what would life be like without him around-- Just not nearly as fun and exciting- He is really so lovable and unpredictable--

Garrett is a shy guy

It turns out Garrett is a lot more like Mike than I had thought. He is quite the introvert at school. Although his teacher had really great things to say about Garrett- He is very well mannered- plays well with other children- interacts with all the kids etc. He rarely raises his hand to answer questions and sometimes participates in group activities. I was a little alarmed thinking he was shouting out answers or something. Turns out he just doesn't like to be called on- She said he doesn't like to be the center of attention. Pretty funny- Mike is the same way- His conference went well and it was fun to finally sit down and chat with his teacher.

A day at Country Sun Farms

Everyone needs to check out this cute little place near Stillwater - It is called Country Sun Farms - The kids absolutely love going here every year-

The highlight of the trip was Mike getting pecked by a chicken and trying to get one calf to stop drinking another calves pee. The boys thought it was hilarious. Adison called every animal a cow and Carson chased an escape goat in the feild. It was a very memorable hour.

Our Little Pumpkin Patch

We planted some pumpkins this year- Little did I know that they were going to take over our entire garden in the back yard. I just trimmed them back- before I did they literally were into the grass took up 3/4 of the house length. We now have five pumpkins growing. Hopefully they will last till Halloween and will not get frost bit. The kids cannot wait to pick them.

My Little Lumberjacks

After a day of apple picking and pictures the boys decided to see if they could swing an ax and chop some wood. It was a little frightening for Me but fun for them.

Things that made me laugh this week

• Watching Adison chew gum- and not swallow it
• Garrett comtemplating bringing a rose to a girl at school
• Carson trying to surf down the banister- Not with permission of course
• Seeing myself do latin hip hop with a big old belly
• Having someone tell me that I look like I am 14months pregnant- HA HA SOO FUNNY- they were serious
• A 6 year old explaining the definition of piss off
• Garrett saying that there is a NY African Jungle in MN full of lions tigers and monkeys - located near the Johnson Farm
• Mike Saying that I am having a midlife crisis because I am watching 90210 and joined facebook thanks to Sarah Barnett- (if you do not have a page you should definitely join - it is very interesting)

Reality is sinking in-

Yes reality is kicking in
Not only will we be having a baby in 13 weeks
Christmas is only 12 weeks away
That is only 84 days and 6 paychecks from now
For all of you who like to get your shopping done early
You need to start shopping now-
Shops will be set for Christmas within the next two weeks
SHOP TILL YOU DROP

I will be waiting till November- or towards the end of Dec. when I want to induce labor- HA HA

Welcome to the world new babies

Welcome to the world Alex Brown-
I just couldn't resist posting his cute little face.

Look Out Little Leaguers Mike is back

We had a friendly game of baseball in the yard- Mike sported the t-ball helmet- wristband and yes he used Garretts bat. It was the highlight of last weekend.