Gingerbread fun

We made our gingerbread house for the year. We invited the Willard's over and Conor and Kyler decorated to their hearts content then the adults took over. We had a great time listening to Christmas music and eating candy. Mmm..yum..yum. Unfortunately I fear our house is not going to make it to Christmas. All the decorations and icing are slowly falling off, probably with a little help. The bad think for Conor is that his blood sugar will always reveal his snitching. I must admit that he is very good about not snitching though. What a trooper. He will pull it off and then say: "Mom it is falling off, can I just eat it???" This is what I think gingerbread houses are for, so I don't mind. No perfect, 10 year old, petrified and stored gingerbread houses for us. Here is the finished masterpiece before the snitching began.

Santa Was In Town

Conor and Josie were able to take their turns on Santa's lap the other night at the ward party. Conor was pretty excited, he even abandoned his pumpkin pie so he could go stand in line. He wanted to know where he parked his sleigh and then he kept asking me what he should ask for since he had written his letter to Santa earlier and couldn't remember what he had asked for...eye roll here. I guess that means he doesn't really have his heart set on something, or he has his heart set on too much.
Josie could take Santa or leave him, she really didn't mind sitting on his lap and seemed to be fascinated with the beard. I was just glad she didn't try and rip it off.

Living in Thanksgiving

Today I had to speak in church. Normally I despise speaking in church, and as much as I hate to admit it, this time around was a breeze. I was given the topic of living in Thanksgiving. The topic was great. Our ward never has the couples speak together, so Kevin spoke months ago and it was nice to sit on the stand and watch Kevin wrestle with the kids. I heard Josie squawk/squeal several times and saw Conor get lost trying to find his way back to the seat after a trip to the drinking fountain...It is a different view from the stand. Josie was having a very off day at church. She can't hold still for anything so I took her into the nursery to try her out since she can officially join in January. She did OK...she would have been fine if I left her alone, but I didn't dare leave her in fear of the havoc she would reak. She does not know how to share...she is very determined and I am afraid she can be a bit bossy. We are too lenient with her at home I guess. We will be working on that for the next month.

I have once again managed to escape learning how to cook turkey, I know I am pathetic. We spent Thanksgiving with Kevin's family and had a much better dinner then I could ever produce. We came home Friday evening to a bit of snow so the kids went out and played in it for a few minutes. Josie thought it was great-aside from the fact she couldn't walk very well with all the winter garb. We put most of our Christmas decorations up and I even talked Kevin into putting lights on the house and they look great! He was very reluctant, but once he got started he couldn't stop. :)

Happy December to everyone. Good luck with the Christmas craziness, and a bit of advice from my talk: It's not having what you want that counts, it's wanting what you have, and less is more. I need to live in Thanksgiving daily, and never take for granted the little things in life or assume that I deserve them, or created them on my own. The Lord has provided all.

8 Years!

Yesterday marked 8 years of wedded bliss for Kevin and me. We actually attempted to celebrate together. In our 8 years of marriage we have either been on a plane, in a car or with extended family on each of our anniversary's. So this year we almost didn't know what we were suppose to do, but we got a babysitter (flakey girl-1/2 hour late,) but babysitter none the less and we went out to dinner just the two of us. It was great to get out and reminisce about our courtship and early years. I giggle a little bit when I think about how we couldn't get enought of each other and how we lost much sleep, just to be together...look at us now, sadly things change. But, in some cases this change is for the better. On the day we got married I thought I loved Kevin as much as I could. I never imagined that I could love him any more. Boy was I wrong. I love Kevin a million times more today, and as we roll through life together I fall in love with him more and more every day. I am so grateful and blessed to be Mrs. Kevin Kellogg. I love you Kevin!

Conor quote

Today Conor was eating some red hots and he walks up to me and says "Mom feel my breath," he opens his mouth and blows all over me and says..."Isn't it HOT?" So cute. He is also referring to cinnamon bears as Hot Bears. Kevin keeps trying to correct him, but I think it is adorable. I hope he always calls them hot bears.

1st Time Out

Josie is in trouble! What to do with a 16 month old who thinks she is 5? Josie has to do everything Conor is doing, yet she still refuses to talk. She makes it a point to be in the middle of the action or else she will scream until there is no action. She is very very determined. We were playing a game at our tall kitchen table (counter height) because we wanted to keep it away from Josie. Well she figured out how to climb up on the tall tall chairs then proceeded to climb on top of the table. After pulling her off several times, we abandoned the game. Small problem. She now knows how to climb up on to the table and she thinks it is great fun. Josie is an accident waiting to happen. She always has a bump/cut or bruise on her head and now I am waiting for the broken arm or leg. So after struggling with the table I finally put her in her 1st time out. Oh was she mad. I even pulled out the camera to document so you could all see. It seemed to work for a while, but we still have the late afternoon stretch ahead of us.

Halloween Costumes

Conor/Luke Skywalker

Josie Bumblebee

Halloween at our house this year was great fun, we had a bumblebee and Luke Skywalker to keep us safe. Josie loved trick or treating. At the first house Josie just kept going back for more candy, then she saw their dog and dropped all the candy and we had to drag her away, the 2nd house she tried to give them candy from the last house, and when they declined, she decided to take a few extra from them. The next couple houses she had it figured out and she took as much as she could in the first offer and then would try to sneak into the house if she could see or hear a dog in the back. She is fascinated with dog's since we don't have one. Fortunately the neighbors all have one so she can get her fill from them. We trick or treated in the neighborhood and then Dad and Josie went home and Conor and I went and met a friend in their neighborhood and trick or treated some more. It is incredible how much candy he hauled in. At first it was hard to resist, but he is getting to where he will choose a treat after meals now. I guess he realized he didn't need to eat it all at once. All though the good chocolate mysteriously disapears if he doesn't get to it first? Hmmm...

Pumpkin Carving

Conor was begging to carve pumpkins for weeks and weeks before Halloween and he was more then ready when the time came. He carved this entire pumpkin all by himself. He did a great job! Thank goodness for the new pumpkin tools that are pretty non lethal, I remember back in the day trying to carve a pumpkin with a butcher knife.

Conor lost his 1st tooth!

This was a big shock at our house. We didn't even know his tooth was loose. Conor actually didn't know what happened. He bit into that ball sitting next to him for some reason and tugged hard enough that it hurt, so he went to the bathroom because he tasted blood. It never ocurred to him that his tooth fell out. He then comes to me to show me the hole and I was shocked. I asked where the tooth was and he just looked at me like, what tooth? Then he sort of got a little concerned. I reassured him that it is OK to lose your tooth and we were able to find it on the floor. Daddy had to throw in his little concerned medical training (not dental, mind you.) This was not a fun twist, but we all got over it and Conor was soon excited with the prospect of the tooth fairy coming to visit. Congratulations Conor! My first born is growing up...

Washington Bear Lake

This weekend we happened across this little man made lake that isn't all that far from our house. It is actually called Bear Lake. Much smaller then the Bear Lake we are use to. We drove by it on our way to a soccer game on Saturday and I decided I wanted to go back on Sunday to check it out. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and they have a paved trail around it so we walked around and threw in some rocks and sticks and enjoyed the weather. On our way home we stopped at the moose park that has a zip line swing. The kids loved it! The parents thought it was pretty fun as well. We had a contest to see how far back we could roll back after the initial finish.

Conor Moment

Since Josie had on a dress yesterday and it is too cold to wear sandals now, I broke out the dreaded tights, she happened to be wearing cream. Conor didn't even notice until he touched her leg in church. He does a double take, then touches them again and looks at me sort of concerned, and says: "Mom...Josie's legs are really really dry!" What a concerned brother.

Pumpkin Fun

Today Conor went on a field trip to Greenbluff. Josie and I got to tag along. We learned about apples, went on a hayride, explored a corn maze, and got to pick out a pumpkin. I snapped a few pictures and thought they were worth posting.

I thought these pictures of Josie turned out super cute.

Showing off the pumpkins

Here we are on the hay ride

This is Conor's class in front of the talking pumpkin. Conor asked me after if there was someone inside doing the talking. He was very skeptical.

8 things - Tag

I have been "tagged" Which means I get to answer these questions that I'm sure everyone needs to know about me.

8 shows I like: CSI-Las Vegas, CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Dirty Jobs, Cash Cab, Lost with Out a Trace, Bachelor, NBC Evening news

8 things I did yesterday: Slept in, Watched general conference, Made some cards, Scrap book journaling, Made blueberry pancakes. Drove to the South hill, Had a taco bar with some friends, Gave Conor a shot

8 things I am looking forward to: My bike ride on Saturday, Getting a gym membership, Learning about insulin pumps, Josie using words to communicate, A new kitchen, Putting the kids to bed, Finishing the valence for my kitchen, Kevin having a day off

8 things on my wish list: My house being decorated exactly how I want it. No more diabetes, An island in my kitchen, A new wardrobe, Grass in the backyard, A family chef, A bosch, Kids that listen the first time.

8 people I'm tagging: Melissa D, Jerilyn, Erica, Emily, Kelli, Debbie, Abbie, and Melissa N.

Kid Moments

Both Conor and Josie did something today that made me laugh and of course I want to remember. Conor and I have been working on what sound each letter makes. Unbeknownst to me Josie is also working on this. We were working on the letter K, and I asked Conor to tell me the sound that belongs to K and Josie pipes up with a perfect KKK sound. I find this especially funny because this is coming from a 1 year old who refuses to speak. Maybe she will learn to spell before she acutally forms a complete word. I guess she needs to spell if she is going to be typing. (earlier post)

I think Conor is a pretty brave kid, but he has a tender spot for scary Halloween stuff. He wants to like it so much, and always begs to go down the Halloween aisles at stores, but is quick to run the other way if something makes him jumpy. For the last few days I have been hearing about a witch that is sitting by the door at his friend Caleb's house. He has asked me to walk over to their house to help him get past the witch. I have said it is pretend and to be brave and get over it (nice mom I know). Today I found out that he had knocked on another neighbors door to see if their older boy would go over to Caleb's and knock on the door with him. So, I had to go over and see what all the fuss is about. You would expect something awful...but no. It is basically a picture of a witch that is m0vement sensitive, so when you walk by it cackles and then will open her eyes and stick out her tongue. It is maybe 8x10 and it isn't even eye level, it is just sitting propped up against the wall. Conor won't even go up on the front porch until someone opens the door, then he bolts past inside. Hmmm...I am assuming it just startled him one time pretty bad and he just can't get over it.

Funny Josie

If anyone plans to follow this blog regularly, I have to warn that I will be including a lot of pictures of Josie right now. She is in that adorable stage of life where everything is an adventure and something to be explored or pulled out or destroyed. Her current favorite pass time is shoving items into small spaces, (usually where they don't belong) Example: If you are looking for a DVD at our house don't look in the logical place, check under the chair or couch. Josie has slipped 98% of our small collection under the furniture like her own personal mailbox. She also likes to stick items through the cracks under doors. I will often open a closet and find a small collection of odds and ends on the bottom. The drawer under the stove is another favorite location. Her 2nd favorite thing to do is "play on the computer" We joke that she is starting her own blog at this young age. She will even come up to you if you are on the computer and force herself up onto the chair and literally push you off so she can have her turn. She is also turning into a ham. She will give you this cheesy, wrinkle the nose smile when ever the camera is pulled out.
This picture was taken just after our ward Lua. Not your traditional lua. We were an hour late, Conor got stung by a bee 4 minutes into our arrival and it was sprinkling, windy and down right cold. You would think Conor could handle a little bee sting considering he get's poked with a needle several times a day, but he was hysterical! This was one lua we wish we hadn't attended. On the bright side, Josie loved the lei. She still puts it on and actually keeps it on as she ransacks the house. How can you be mad at a face like that?

Teasing Josie

Conor and Josie generally get along quite well, but there are a few times Conor just can't resist teasing her. His current favorite form of teasing is to get a balloon and blow it up then let all the air out so it sputters around the room or blows all over her. Josie can't stand it! She isn't quite sure what to think. She use to laugh then cry and back and forth, now she crys when he even pulls out the balloon, and runs to me for shelter and comfort. Conor laughs so hard he can hardly breathe. I have had to resort to time out to stop the torture. So now he self imposes time out because he apparently thinks getting a good laugh out of it is worth it.

1 year in Spokane

We have reached our 1 year mark here in Spokane. It is hard to believe that an entire year has gone by. It is crazy to me how time really can fly by. The 1st 6 months here were torture, but once we finally got into our house and met a few people and got started in school and settled into routines it is finally starting to feel like home. Although I know in my heart of hearts I will always refer to Logan as home. I guess that is how you know you are completely happy some where, when you stop calling your prior living arrangements "back home" and start referring to your current location as home. I was thinking back to our first few weeks here and how I would get in the car to go somewhere and panic about finding my way home, or I would go some crazy out of the way route, just because I didn't know better. I know better now! Here's to another year of adventure and fun in Spokane.

Conor Mutton bustin

Mutton Bustin

We love the fair! There is just something about the fair that draws us out every year. We like to go check out the animals and vegetables on steroids. Oh- and of course the people watching at the fair can't be beat. I personally like to watch money pour out of people's pockets as they buy up fair "junk." This year was especially memorable because Conor had the opportunity to do some Mutton Bustin! We asked him if he wanted to try it and the first thing he said was: "How fast do they run?" They told him they go about as fast as he can ride his bike so he decided he could handle that and jumped right on. He held on like nothing else, even when his legs came loose he was still clinging for dear life. Way to go Conor! You were so brave.

My first attempt at blogging

I have decided to finally take the plunge into the blogging world. I have been toying with the idea for a while now, but decided it is time to join.