Wonderful Turkey Day

I have so much to be thankful for that I don't know where to begin. This Thanksgiving, Jake, the boys and I took a road trip to Las Vegas and then to Mesquite, Nevada to spend time with family. Along our journey we were able to visit with every single immediate family member on both sides of our families. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. We saw everybody! That only happens once in a blue moon and so we were especially grateful for that.


Since this is kind of my journal, I am going to outline our journey with a couple of pictures.

Thursday -
We made the trek from Rupert, Idaho to Las Vegas, Nevada. We left at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at 7:00 p.m. We pit stopped along the way to visit Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, Grandma and Grandpa Claridge, Great Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, and Great Grandma Claridge. Other than that it was sitting in the car playing, visiting, and sleeping.
When we arrived at the Luxor, we met up with my brother, Zach, and my sister, Tami, and their families at Little Ceasers. The kids were all so excited to see each other. We sat out in the hall and chatted for quite some time before we made it into Tami's room.

Friday -
We woke up and the weather was perfect for an outdoor swim. The pool was heated and so undoubtedly the kids could spend all day in the water. We went to eat lunch at the Rio and then it was nap time. After naps, we went to the Adventure Dome (Circus Circus). That was a crazy ride. Isaiah was not quite tall enough to ride the rides, but one guy let him ride the airplanes and he cried the entire time!!! We rode with his cousin Austin, who loves airplanes, but after that ride was DONE! Sorry we ruined it for ya. :(

Saturday -
Saturday Zach's family and ours went to this "Old Town"at Bonnie Springs. They put on a Meladroma and a town hanging. They also have a petting zoo and a train ride. It was definately only a one time adventure. During the Town Hanging show, Isaiah felt the need to swallow a hand full of rocks. I found them in his poop during the next few days (too much information, hu?) When we got back, Jake took the boys and put them down for a nap while we watched the BSU football game. I went and played poker, and it was sooo much fun. This is the only time that I am going to mention playing because when I left the table, I was up $250. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Treasure Island with Zach and Tami. (It is way spendy, but it was the best food I ate the whole time I was there.) We went to the Balagio and watched the water fountain light shows. My nephew, Bryan, loved it. His face was so expressive as the water shot into the air.

Sunday- The fun only gets better
Sunday we went to church where Jake attended when he lived there. The boys that he taught while he was the Young Mens President, were ecstatic to see him. After church, we drove down to Mequite to meet up with the rest of the family, mom and dad and Lisa. We had our Thanksgiving dinner a little early and it was delicious.

I am not done, but I need to go to bed. Will be continued.....

Swimming at Givens Hot Springs

If you are from Nampa and have nothing planned for the evening, there is this "HOT" spot we love to go to. Isaiah went swimming there for the first time when he was 2 months old and we find ourselves there quite often with our friends Morgan and Elisa and their new addition, Aislynn.

Jake with his little water doggies. They would spend all day in the swimming pool if they could.

Look at that smile! He is definitely not camera shy.

We are going to turn Aislynn into a waterdog also. Isn't she darling?

Halloween

So... I know that this is a little late which is not like me, but in this case, better late than never. We were the "Cow" family for Halloween. " Mommy Cow Brooke with her calves Isaiah and Corban "

This year, we went with some friends to Skyview High School to beg for candy. The National Honors Society passed out candy at all of the classrooms. We loaded up. Isaiah didn't really care about any of the candy once he had his sucker, and Corban fell asleep the minute we put him in his stroller. Enjoy the pictures.

Little Cows in the grass pasture.

"Dressy" Hair Bow Holders

http://www.dressyhairbowholders.blogspot.com/
http://www.dressyhairbowholders.etsy.com

Tired of your hair bows being disorganized. I make hair bow holders for the princess in your life. Each one is a custom, one of a kind holder. I can make these for your child using the colors you would like or you may choose from any of the pictures I have listed. Each dress holds around 75 bows. This is a precious way to organize your child's bows.

Take a peek and let me know if you are interested in ordering one.

The "8" thing I was tagged with!!!

Eight shows I love to watch:
1. The Biggest Loser (while I eat pizza)
2. Dancing With the Stars
3. Chuck
4. Life
5. Judge Judy (I wish I could say what she says out loud, but until I become a judge, I will just have to keep it to myself.)
6. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
7. Intervention
8. Lipstick Jungle (Jake watches this with me, too. He can't help himself. He is a sucker for chick flicks!)

Eight things that happened yesterday
1. I colored Nemo pictures with Isaiah
2. I read books with Corban
3. I took my kids to the park
4. I did 5 loads of laundry
5. I went to numerous different stores looking for these dumb storage shelves that I couldn't find. (Sorry, I am still a little bitter.)
6. Made pizza for dinner
7. Played "Settlers of Catan" with some friends
8. Played with my kids!

Eight places I love to eat
1. PRIMO'S (It is my number one choice. You get all you can eat Pizza, Salad, and Pasta and Isaiah eats free!)
2. Chapalas
3. Red Robin
4. Olive Garden
5. Sizzler
6. Golden Corral
7. Pipers Pub
8. P.F. Changs

Eight things I am looking forward to:
1. No longer changing "crappy, smelly" diapers
2. Isaiah talking and telling me what he needs
3. Corban sleeping through the night
4. Having a backyard that my kids can run around in
5. Jake taking care of the kids so that I can get a massage
6. Jake coming home from work. (I look forward to that EVERY DAY!!!)
7. Going to Mesquite for our family reunion in November
8. Meeting Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (I know it sounds funny, but I really can't wait to meet them in person!)

Eight things on my wish list:
1. Fit into my clothes
2. Get my Doctorate by 2012 and teach at the college level
3. Raise happy, productive, and self-reliant boys
4. Read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year
5. Learn how to be in more that one place at the same time
6. Have eyes on the back of my head so that I can see what my kids are doing
7. Have dinner ready by 6:00 everyday
8. Always be a positive person

Eight people I tag
1. Elisa
2. Amber
3. Mel
4. Emily
5. Roz
6. Julie
7. Staci
8. Wendi

Fun with Family in Spokane

This last weekend, we went to Spokane (Liberty Lake) to visit my sister, Tami, and her family. If you have never been, it is time to start planning! It was beautiful. There are tons of gorgeous trees of all different colors, the parks are absolutely amazing, and all together it is just a relaxing place to be!

We don't get to spend a lot of time with Rich, Tam, Austin, and Livi, so we did just that. We went to McDonald's a couple of times to eat and play on the playground, we visited a couple of parks, played at Tami's house, made bows and cookies, and spent time just catching up.

Corban, Livi, Isaiah, and Austin

I think that one of the funniest things that happened was:

Jake talking to Austin said, "Come on, Chief."

Austin declared, "No, I'm Austin."

Later that day, I said, "Come on, pal."

Austin disgusted with my lack of knowing who he is said, "No, I'm Austin Airplane."

It was funny. We sure do miss you Austin Airplane!!!

Isaiah loved playing with his cousins. He had this compulsive behavior of taking Austin and Olivia's chairs out of their play room and dragging them into the family room. Thanks for sharing all of your toys with me guys.

Corban was just happy to be along for the ride. He is such a good little boy. When we were at the park, I put Corban in the swing, and started talking to Tam while pushing him. Next thing I knew, he was asleep. What a nut! Who falls asleep at the park?

Thanks guys for a fun weekend!

Things I LOVE about my kids...

So, today started out really great. Jake didn't go to work until about 8:30 so he helped me bathe, feed, and pick-up around the house before he left. What usually takes me two hours to accomplish, I was able to get it done in 30 minutes. Thanks lovie!!! Tyffanee brought Sienah over to play, the kids took naps and then I went with Wendy, Jaron, and Maycee to the movie Walle. (A total waste of money, but Isaiah seemed to enjoy it.) Then when I got home, I went to feed Corban in his room. Usually, Isaiah just plays in the family room with his toys, no big deal, right? Well, I walked into the family room and Isaiah was no where to be found. I was in panic mode! Well, Isaiah can open the doors now! He opened the laundry room door, and then the door to the garage. I found him in the dark garage just standing there! I didn't know whether to hug him or spank him!!! Ever have those moments?

So, in order to calm my nerves, I thought about reasons that I love him:

1. I love that Isaiah was my first born. He is such a mellow little dude and is very happy.

2. I love that Isaiah is a good eater. He definitely has his favorites: pizza, noodles, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, french fries, green beans, fruit, etc.. He loves diet coke!! I wonder who he picked that habit up from?

3. I love that Isaiah goes to bed when he is tired. Jake and I are in awe that we sometimes find Isaiah fast asleep for his naps or bed without us telling him to go.

4. I love that he folds his arms when I put him in his high chair. He says ,"men" when the prayer is over! Love it!!!

5. I love that Isaiah is such a soft, kind big brother to Corban. He always shares his toys and will trade toys with Corban when he wants the one that Corban is playing with. He shares his snacks with him. Sometimes, I have to go fishing for fruit snacks or goldfish so that he doesn't choke, but, I don't want to discourage him from sharing everything that he has.

6. I love that Isaiah is such an independent player. He can entertain himself for hours. His favorite toys are balls, the shape sorter, his Tonka trucks, the piano, and his leapfrog toys.

7. I love that when I ask Isaiah to go get a book, I don't ever get away with just reading one to him. We usually have a stack of books that we read 5 or 6 times. His favorite books are the Ladybug book, Old McDonald had a Farm, The Alphabet book, Tails, Good morning, Goodnight, What Makes a Rainbow, Who's Hiding in the Jungle, etc. (There are WAY to many to list!!)

8. I love that Isaiah loves his baths. A bath is not considered a bath unless he gets to play for at least 30 min. I usually leave the room wetter than he does. But, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Plus, it's just water and it cleans up really easy.

9. I love that Isaiah plays well with his little friends. Thanks to Amber, Wendi, Tyffanee, and Roz for always being willing to hang out with us! We love going to the park, eating at Primos, going to the movies, etc! Thanks guys!!!

10. I love that Isaiah crawls up in bed with me in the morning and watches Sesame Street so that I can get 20 more minutes of sleep.

11. I love when Isaiah says, "uh-oh, hi, yah, up, car, bawl (ball), nak (snack), men (amen) and most of all, mama." These are the only words that he can say so, I am grateful when he says them. For all of you out there that wish your children would just be quiet, I would do anything for my child to TALK, TALK, TALK.

12. I love that Isaiah is infatuated with helping me do chores. He puts dishes in the dishwasher, he pulls his sheets up on his bed, he puts the clothes from the washer to the dryer for me, he unfolds all of the clothes that I have folded and lastly, I kinda love that he follows me everywhere I go when I vacuum the house.

12. I love that he rides good in the car. I can count on one hand how many times Isaiah has cried in the car.

Okay, there are millions of things that I love about Isaiah but I will stop for now.

So onto Corban. I have to premise this with a laugh. Corban has been a rather difficult child. He wasn't the happiest baby and I can't count how many restless nights of sleep we got but,

1. I love that Heavenly Father sent Corban to our family. He has taught me so much about unconditional love and has taught me to have patience.

2. I love that Corban is just like me. Determined, stubborn, and always cries his mind. He can't speak or I would say speaks his mind.

3. Corban is so excited to see me in the morning. He kicks his legs so hard with joy.

4. I love that Corban has the biggest smile. You can always get a smile out of him. Now, it is accompanied with a giggle.

5. I love that "Goobers" will eat anything that I put in his mouth. He ate 1/2 a french toast with syrup this morning, mac and cheese for lunch, and chicken noodles, green beans, and sweet potatoes for dinner. Along with 4- 8 oz bottles. He is gi-nourmous. If that is even a word.

6. I love that he will play in his walker for awhile. The only thing that makes me SOOOOOO mad is that he eats my plants and pulls them over. I flick his hand and it doesn't even phase him!!! He loves his new found freedom!!!

7. I love that Corban can crawl. I didn't think that I would say that, but, it is nice that I no longer need to bring the toys to him. He can go and get them for himself.

8. I love that Corban is sleeping through the night. I didn't think that this was EVER going to happen. He sometimes wakes up and cries, but will fall asleep soon after.

9. I love that he is a good little brother. Isaiah "wrestles" (by that I mean climbs all over him) with him and he laughs and laughs. He always grabs Isaiah for a "tight" squeeze.

10. I love that Corban has taught me so much about Heavenly Fathers love for each one of us.

And much more.....

The following is from the October 2005 Ensign by President James E. Faust:

"While few human challenges are greater than that of being good parents, few oppor-
tunities offer greater potential for joy. Surely no more important work is to be done in this
world than preparing our children to be God-fearing, happy, honorable, and productive.
Parents will find no more fulfilling happiness than to have their children honor them and
their teachings. It is the glory of parenthood. John testified, “I have no greater joy than to
hear that my children walk in truth.”

In my opinion, the teaching, rearing, and training of children requires more intelli-
gence, intuitive understanding, humility, strength, wisdom, spirituality, perseverance,
and hard work than any other challenge we might have in life. This is especially so when
moral foundations of honor and decency are eroding around us. For us to have successful
homes, values must be taught, and there must be rules, there must be standards, there
must be absolutes. "

I love that Heavenly Father has entrusted me to care for HIS children. I love them with all of my heart!

Hay Ride to the Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went with the boys and some friends to the Berry Ranch Pumpkin Patch. They take you on a hay ride out to the patch and then let you choose which pumpkin you want. It was fun to watch Isaiah crawl around in the dirt. He kept on going for the ugliest white pumpkin in the whole patch. He FINALLY lost interest in it. Thank heavens!

The rule at the pumpkin patch is that you have to be able to carry your own pumpkin. Corban held onto this little pumpkin for quite a while.

Other pictures taken at the patch:

Isaiah loved climbing all over the implements at the patch.

SNOW..... in October?

This weekend we went to Paul for the baby blessing of my niece and we ended up in a BLIZZARD!!!

So, this is what it looked like on Saturday morning (above picture), and this is what it looked like by 3:00 in the afternoon. (picture below)



My mom had a snow outfit for Isaiah and so Jake took him out to play for a little bit.

I can't remember there ever being snow on the ground during the middle of October. All of the farmers are still harvesting their crops (sugar beets, potatoes, hay, etc.) Please keep them in your prayers so that they will be able to harvest their crops. It never ceases to amaze me that we usually get what we pray for. As a community we have been fasting and praying for moisture, and on the Lord's time table, he sure has blessed us with it abundantly this weekend. It was a beautiful site.

Vacuuming Troubles

So my kids are infatuated with the vacuum. Every time that I get it out, they come running over. Corban can really get around in his walker now! Anywho....this five minute job takes anywhere from 15 - 20 minutes. So, I came up with this brilliant idea to keep them contained while I get the job done....

It worked great!!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures below. They are some of my favorites.

Watching "Clifford" in their recliner. Every morning they sit by each other for 15 - 20 minutes while I get things ready for the day. Isn't that adorable?

I have not found a food that Corban will not eat! He is our little garbage disposal. He can drink out of a straw now! YEAH!

Jake and Isaiah playing MarioKart! He is WAY to young to be starting this!!!

Just eatin' breakfast! Yummy Yummy!

Oh my gosh.... Look at what your kids do when you are not there!!!

So, I was giving my kids a bath the other day while taking some cute pictures. I take Corban out first so that Isaiah can play and splash just a little bit longer. Needless to say, I walk out of the bathroom to put Corban in the family room and this is what I saw when I walked back in....

Since when did Isaiah become a climber???? and why did it have to be in the tub. (The safest place of all.) I didn't want to startle him and so I said, "Isaiah, are you having fun?" He jumped down soooooo fast. All I could do was laugh. But, seriously honestly, why do your kids try new things when you are not there? I am afraid that this is only the beginning of what he might try when I am gone!

Actually,Jake just informed me that he taught him how to do this! Isn't THAT just great what your husbands do when your not around?!?

Boise State Football Game

'Cause we're the best of friends........

On Wednesday we took the boys to their first football game of the season. Isaiah was such a good little buddy and just went along with the crowd. As long as he had his toys, fruit snacks, and drink, he was good to go!
Jake is in high heaven with his two "pals." He loves his boys and is a great daddy!
Corban slept when he was tired and played to the fullest when he was awake. I was quite surprised that the noise did not bother him at all.

I can't believe that my boys are growing up so fast. Just a little sappy note, it seems like yesterday that Corban was born and I was completely overwhelmed with an 11 month old and a new baby. Now, I love taking them out and enjoying every moment that I can with them. Everybody asks if they are twins. I just laugh and say look closely, one is a little bit more advanced than the other one. (I can't say bigger because little brother is bigger than big brother.)

I am the luckiest mom in the world!!!!

Boise State Bronco Fans

As BSU fans, I dressed our kids in their outfits to celebrate the victory over the Oregon ducks. GO BRONCOS!!! Isaiah loves to watch the football games with his daddy. I am way out-numbered when it comes to watching TLC over ESPN.

Isaiah and Corban playing with the Leapfrog characters.

Corban took off when I put him in his walker last week. He spends a lot of time running away from Isaiah. Soon, it will be quite the opposite. Our little "tanker" now out weighs his brother by 1/2 a pound.

Girls Night Out!!!

So... I just got back from a well deserved "Girls Night Out." Our husbands watched the kids while we got a pedicure, went to Olive Garden, and saw the movie "Mamma Mia." I am so lucky to have a husband that will let me act like a teenager every once in a while.

Yeah!