Ahhhh!!

I am crazy-excited family will be getting here starting on Saturday! (the others will follow a few days later)

Hmmm...if only my house could gussy itself up just a bit on its own...

The Nose

We should simply call my second son, The Nose. He sniffs out even the most obscure smells. From a very early age he would comment on how the road smells on a hot day, the stink of his baby brother's spit-up or determine if he would like something or not from the scents wafting up to his little schnozer. A couple of weeks ago we had a FHE on the fly as we were driving dinner to Daddy (standing duty) that night. We were talking about our senses and how blessed we were to have them. Josiah mentioned his favorite sounds and the things they made him think of. We then moved on to the sense of smell. This was Gavin's forte. While the rest of us mentioned such things as molasses cookies, pizza and flowers, Gavin's were more unique. He loves the smell of ice-"it just smells nice and cold", the smell of horses-"makes him think of Grandad and his work clothes", and the smell of the outside of a gas station-"makes me think of trips to Oklahoma".

So, when he came to me this morning wearing a shirt pulled from his drawer claiming it smelled "just like Grammy's house", I just had to have a sniff. I bunched the shirt up, tucked my nose in, closed my eyes...and smelled the warm scent of the Applegate home.

Balance

My husband is worried I am turning our only daughter into a prissy princess with her big hair bows and girly things. Considering her 2 favorite toys of the moment, I think I have a pretty good balance...don't you?

Happy Hauntings

We celebrated Halloween well this year. We tried a basic version of the "13 days of Halloween", munching on ghastly dinners and snacks. It was fun for me to get into the feel of the holiday. In addition to fun meals, Kit and I thought we'd try out a local pumpkin patch. After a mishap of wrong times printed in a flyer for my children's schools, an hour drive, sad kids and the resulting McDonald's dinner, I ended up taking the kids myself another day while Kit was on duty. The end result was so fun. I only wish we had been able to stay longer (we rushed back for the boys' primary program practice).

Gunnison loved the chicks and ducklings.

The corn maze. The boys had a blast. Gunner was worried a couple of times, but Josiah, our navigator, made sure we all made it out alright in the end.

There was something about the giant ones that attracted Gunner He was determined to choose the largest one there to bring home.

The only picture I took of Emmeline. She was trapped in the sling the entire time. She doesn't seem too worse the wear, however.

Our family pumpkin carving. Josiah was completely grossed out scraping out the guts.

My sexy husband...he's going for the "psycho" look...yea, I can see it...

We attended 2 parties this year. The Coast Guard base party and the Trunk-or-Treat for our ward. The CG party was a bit of a bust, but at least we got a couple of pictures. the Trunk-or-Treat was a blast, but of course I forgot the camera completely. Blehhh.

Our 3 Little Ninjas. Ready for action...well, all except Gunner there. He looks a little bit unprepared if someone came to battle.

Little Miss Emme...may I present my first pink Halloween costume! I was so excited to dress someone in something girly! Ahhh, it felt wonderful!! She's our little flower fairy.

Kit, dressed as the OSU fan, holding our little pink. He thought she was adorable, and was just a little bit irked she didn't win the costume contest. "A plush Frankenstein costume won, a plush Frankenstein!" He did, however, think it would have been even cuter if she had been a little girl ninja, too.

The ninjas trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. They had a blast!

Whew! Quite a bit of pictures to get through. If you made it, hoorah! In case you didn't notice, I did another post before this one of Gavin's birthday.

Gav Turned 5

Yes, Gavin had his birthday a while ago, but life seems so crazy around here...and yep, that would be my excuse.

Gavin is now officially 5. He has been working towards getting a year older...well, for a year. He is ALWAYS looking ahead and trying to be as old as Josiah. I think he is finally realizing he won't ever catch up. He is our "all rough and tumble" boy. From 9 months he was walking and he hasn't slowed down since. We love you, Gav!!

Surrounded by gifts. Huh, not quite the happy face I was expecting from someone about to tear into wrapping. I think he was spacing out.

In his requested skateboard gear and his new wheels

Gav requested we go to Red Robin for his birthday dinner. He wanted to have the "Tower of Onion Rings!". Which I found a little comical in that he only really likes the breading on the outside. No problem, Kit and I love onion rings!

He was so excited when the waitresses and crew came and sang to him. They brought not just one sundae, but 3-one for each of our 3 boys. Nice move!! Note Gav's head gear. He received this birthday crown from him teacher and wore it all. day. long.

His cake of choice was a box of cupcakes with white and dye-your mouth black frosting. He wanted the cool transformer rings artistically placed on top of each.

We let him go outside and practice some cool moves after cake and ice cream. We love the boards from Target-you can get starter ones with tighter bearings so they don't roll away from you quite as much.

Gav making a "fierce" face.

I will take the time to brag a bit about Gavin here. He was chosen from his class (with another little girl) to be the Citizen of the Month. With being the first of the year, they didn't have a character trait chosen to be exemplified, but chose children who came into the school year already above and beyond in good citizenship behavior (sharing, listening, honesty, etc.). I was so proud of Gavin. He can be a bit of a stinker at home and I was slightly worried about how he would take to going to school, especially all day. He has loved it and according to Mrs. Blake, his teacher, they love having him.

Nice hair, dude. I do send him to school with cuter do's than this. I believe he has played much already.

We love you Gavin!! You are one blurred movement most of the time, but when you slow down, we get to experience your sweet heart in motion. Thank you for being our favorite red-headed 5 year old boy!

Delivery Service

I love libraries. The warm smell of paper, beautiful orderliness and the quiet snick as people type, searching for information. It holds one of my favorite addictions-books. A place where I could spend hours, if allowed.

We made a run to the library today. It was all four beasties-the big boys had a half day. We traipse through the library, a miasma of sounds surrounds us, interrupting the hush. We pick out movies, then off exploring the shelves for waiting treasures. I love how my children love the library...I just don't love bringing my children there. Where once a peaceful place, you add my brood and it becomes active, chaotic. I catch Gunnison as he runs to show Josiah a "special" book shouting at the top of his lungs, "Jos, it's your favorite!". I herd Gavin away from his typing on the computer-to look for books on ninjas (hmmm...are we surprised). Josiah wanders over to the non-fiction on his own. Emme, thankfully, is trapped in her carseat carrier. She, however, adds to the cacophony with her squeals, turning quickly fretful. Me? Do I get a chance to feed my lust for letters lined neatly on the page? No, this visit isn't for me. I'll get my fix sans beasties around, thank you.

We collect our chosen items and head for the front desk. Gav isn't feeling well, so he lays down. Josiah joins him. Gunner is off, well...who knows why Gunnison likes to meander off, and Emmeline has now officially had it. I stand patiently (as much as I possibly can) bouncing the car seat to calm Little Miss, but set her down to dart after wandering Gun. Her fussing reaches shrieks. I think we have officially passed the point of "you sure have your hands full". Yes, we have. We have reached the point of "Delivery Service". I entered the realm of fast food library-ness. With the suggestion and understanding smile (from a second librarian who arrived on the scene), I pack up my beasties and move on out to the car. They delivered our literary goodies right to my driver's window. With great gratitude (and a wee bit of shame) I appreciated the delivery service.

There will always be another library outing. How could I possibly keep my children from learning to love the library as much as I do? BUT- Here's to hoping I won't be using that particular service again.

Dinner & a Show

The show was a farce...

We settle down to eat the chicken noodle soup and biscuits I made for dinner. There is a bit of a scuffle over who gets to say the prayer. Gunnison asks first, so he is the lucky one. Gavin, the unlucky one taps his spoon throughout the prayer in defiance over the situation. Kit and I ask the big boys about school, people munch, I feed Emmeline, things are good. Kit turns to me, "Where's Gunner?" Hmmm...youngest son is missing. We find him, make him stay at the table and eat a little more of his, as of yet, untouched food. Gavin tells Josiah to pull his finger (??!!!). I quickly put a stop to that-I don't like potty-humor, especially NOT at the table. But, the discussion of what pulling your finger (or hand) means ensues. I sigh, Kit laughs...dinner continues. Where's Gunner? We find him, remind him he has to stay at the table until he is excused. He picks out a few pieces of chicken from his bowl and starts eating (sans silverware of course). Kit and I start talking about the house; Josiah breaks out in song (we actually have a rule against singing at the dinner table-cruel and unusual, I know). Gavin shows off by seeing how high he can flip his spoon by slamming his fist on the handle and...where's Gunner? We haul his skinny little bottom back to the table, make him eat one more bite, ask to be excused, and now he's legitimately on the loose. Gavin tells us the noodles taste funny and asks to be excused. He's legitimately on the loose. Josiah asks for another bowl of soup, his third (!!!), but only the "liquid soup part" because "I don't really like the rest of it". He hunches over his bowl, his hands demurely laying in his lap, and proceeds to slurp loudly from his bowl, with just his mouth. Emmeline, not to be outdone by the chaos around her, decides to squeal and make herself heard. Gunnison comes running into the room, Gavin's chasing him. We send him back out. We look down, and Gavin is skulking in and trying to hide under the table and Emme's high-chair. He is "spying" and "being a ninja"; we send him back out. Josiah declares loudly he is stuffed, and to prove it, lifts up his shirt to see just how much his belly protrudes from between his bony litttle rib cage. He asks to be excused and heads out to join the fray of the chase/battle we can hear coming from the family room beyond the kitchen. Kit and I smile, laugh...or cry?? and comment on how in 30 minutes, the meal had become a dinner and a show.