Couch = Trampoline

We love our couch. Not only did we get it for free several years ago, but it matches our decor; and since it was free I let our kids get away with almost everything on it. Chase especially likes the couch and does all kinds of acrobatics on it, and jumping off of it. Unfortunately I didn't catch one of his great stunts while filming tonight, but you get the picture. I also apologize that half of the things I am saying don't come out right, and Kai keeps saying "help me" throughout it. (He does that to copy his brother, who will always put himself in a position where he looks like he is falling or trapped and will say "help me"...so now Kai says "help me, help me" too). Hope you enjoy their little entertainment. I especially like Chase's legs flying across the screen at the very end. :)

The Hunt for our Christmas Tree

So I probably shouldn't title this entry as a "hunt" because our tree ended up being an easy find. We had in mind to go up in a more mountainous area to cut down our tree, but had promised our boys that we would look at trees after their afternoon nap on Friday, and decided to go around the corner to a u-cut place that was in someone's very large backyard. However, this little u-cut place off of 36th Ave in Edgewood was very impressive, with a large choice of perfect looking, affordable trees, it just took us some time to find the most absolute perfect one in both of our eyes (I like taller and skinnier trees, Nathan likes shorter and bushier with not a hole to be seen).
Of course, me being goofy since I rarely like to take a serious picture (I am not the most photogenic so I might as well look like I am not trying to look good, haha). At least it looks like we are in a forest, huh?

Ok, I guess I am being serious in this picture, and it turned out ok. Too bad Kai has his "bobbie" in (as he calls it), and Chase is doing his "cheese" smile :).

Look at my man sporting a saw...so masculine :)!

And after, to make the experience even more perfect for the boys, they each got a candy cane...something Chase has been wanting for weeks! (You would think that I would have bought him one since they are so cheap and he has wanted one for awhile, but I am a bad mom, so that's why he had to wait until now to be given one for free ;) ).

Chase wanted to save his candy cane until we got home, (he loves to plan and is often too practical, haha), but Kai on the other hand wants things IMMEDIATELY, and will let you know by screaming if you don't get him what he wants NOW. So he was happy to eat his candy cane right away.

And since the Christmas tree place was seriously only 3 minutes away, it sure didn't take us long to get it back home and put up. What fun...I am so happy it is the Christmas season!

Last, but not least, below is a video of Nathan holding our tree for it to have the loose needles (and bugs, hopefully) shaken off of the tree. Unfortunately I didn't start recording this earlier since seconds before I started filming Nathan lost his grip and the tree fell on top of him while it was being shaken. It was hard for him to get control of it again, but he did :). I just thought it was funny since both of our boys didn't like seeing their new tree get shaken to death.

Random Video Blog

I decided to video the boys playing today, and then got to looking at what was saved on our camera. I found this video of when me and the boys went down to visit my family in March of this year, and my sisters and I were trying to keep our older kids entertained. I guess all of the little guys, each of us have our youngest boys not represented, must have been napping. Anyway, seeing Megan dancing around with them, and then Kelli videotaping it made me miss my sisters even more. I wish we could all be hanging out at Mom and Dad's again tonight :). Oh well, someday :)This isn't that exciting of a video at all, but I realized that I hadn't posted a video of the boys for a way long time, and if Nathan's mom is looking at our blog every once in awhile still, well I thought she might enjoy seeing what they look and act like now. The weather outside was nice this morning, but started getting ugly this afternoon, so we used a box I got today in the mail as a bridge for the boys to drive their cars on. It is funny that the junkiest, lamest toys end up being the most fun.

Anyway, at least I posted something, cause lately I haven't been the best :)

Dirt and a Bumble Bee

Ok, so none of these pictures turned out great...oh well, but here are what the boys ended up being for this year's Halloween. Last night was our ward's Trunk or Treat, and Chase chose to be dirt this year (even after I gave him so many clever, fun, boy costume ideas), and Kai had to be a bee since he is too young to tell me what he wanted to be. I had a difficult time thinking of how we could make Chase look like dirt, and not a poop, and you see the result. We put a little plant on his head to look like it was growing from the dirt, put cocoa on his face to look dirty, and made a sign that says "Can you DIG it? I wanted to be DIRT" and had a garden shovel that can go in and out of the back of it.

Kai doesn't look that cute here, but he sure was cute as he walked around later that night and his little chubby face was hidden back in his big bee head.

So tonight, Halloween night, we will be joining Nathan's sister's family and having pizza and then going Trick or Treating around their neighborhood. Hopefully the weather (and our boys) will cooperate! :)

FHE: Pumpkin Carving

This last Monday, as a tradition of ours, we carved pumpkins since Halloween was later in the week. The boys loved getting to stay up late, and the privilege of getting to sit on the table, a rare occasion, and watch Dad carve out the "yucky stuff" and see Mom carve out the faces. They loved smacking the "yucky stuff" and helping separate the seeds from it.

Don't you love Kai's "smile" haha.

And here are the finished products. Happy Halloween!

Beach Trip!

Unfortunately our batteries died pretty soon after our fun weekend getaway began, but thankfully we were able to get a few pictures in before then. We were able to go down to Seaside, OR with a few of our friends to stay in a beach house and have fun hanging out, a surfing expedition, and playing games. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice that the weather was really pretty on Saturday so we could enjoy the beach. Nathan caught almost every wave that came by him, and even I gave it a shot, but a very quick shot. I figured stand up one and a half times for a second and then I had had enough :). I am not a major ocean person, and after being thrashed in the waves I realized I really am out of shape! Anyway, it was a fun attempt, and I was kept pretty warm in the wetsuit, and it was overall a really fun weekend hanging out together and seeing a really beautiful place.

The beach we went to.

We went to the shops "downtown" and stopped by one of the arcades. Don't you love that 3 year olds have no idea that they are not the ones playing the intro to the game? Sure saves us some quarters at least when they think they are already playing and doing awesomely since that is the example :)

We also stopped by another beach at Cannon Beach, OR before we left to go back home, and the rock in the distance is the same rock at the ending of the movie "The Goonies". Funny.

Nathan's Trip to Santa Barbara

Even though this isn't the best picture of Nathan or his grandma, Bobbie, it was a neat experience that Nathan went down to Santa Barbara for. Earlier this month Nathan flew down alone (it was too expensive to do as a family), and went and sealed his grandma to her deceased husband who died well over 30 years ago. He was also able to then seal his grandma to two of her daughters. It was a neat experience for their family and I am glad he was able to go down and be a part of it.

Also, both of his sisters were able to go too, and so they were able to have fun together in the nice 70-80 degree weather, while the rest of his family (me and the boys) were in the rainy, cooler WA weather :).