Carving Pumpkins

Last night for FHE we carved our pumpkins. "We" being Nathan and myself. The boys just pretty much watched and told us how they wanted their pumpkins to look. Here is Dallin complaining about how the pumpkins smell and how he doesn't want to touch the gross stuff inside. The thought of eating a toasted pumpkin seed made him sick too! Typical Dallin for you!

Is it Halloween already?

Usually kids have tooth issues AFTER Halloween right?? For the past week or so Parker's front tooth has been changing to a dark shade of GRAY! I asked him if he hit it on anything and he has come up with quite a few stories so I'm not sure if I'll ever get to the bottom if it.

Anyway, I took him over to our dentist friend and he said that kids do things like this all the time and not to worry about it. I also read about it online and I saw that in some instances the color will actually come back but it could take months and months to do so. This picture doesn't do it justice...

Oh....Parker! Maybe this happend after he attempted to do a front flip off the toy bin in the family room! He is one CRAZY 3 year old!

Starnes Family Photos!

Here they are....a few of our NEW family pics! They turned out pretty cute for it only being 25 degrees out! Unfortunately Parker and Landon were D-O-N-E very early on so we didn't get any individual ones of them. Missy did a great job as usual! I want COMMENTS people.....tell me which one is your favorite!

Busy Weekend

Is it really Monday already? Where did the weekend go? The weekend FLEW by so quickly because we were just SO crazy busy!!

We had primary program practice, father/son activity (aka...Staci peace and quiet time), a tailgate party at Nate's work, YW meetings, and we found some time to go on a date with Jen and Jason. Nate has never been to a corn maze before so I was excited about it. We decided against the HAUNTED maze. (Nate is just too jumpy) We had a really fun time. The guys kept running away from us and trying to jump out and scare us. After the maze we went to the YW/YM Barn dance to do a little chaperoning. It was so funny to watch all of the kids......such an awkward time of life. We had fun doing a little behind the scenes matchmaking and making sure none of the couples were wandering over to the lake next to the barn.

Today was fun. Melissa and I took the kids to the zoo to see the NEW exhibit. Boise FINALLY has LIONS and GIRAFFES! The Out of Africa exhibit is finally open and it was GREAT! Hogle Zoo is still a million times better but hey.....this is huge for little old Boise.

I'm a Walmart mom

Today was one of those days where I ask myself........WHY do I even try???? Neither one of the boys had school today so they decided to cash in their "Starnes bucks" and head on over to Chuck E Cheese. I was excited...lunch and entertainment for $20 plus they can run and wear themselves out so we can have a nice quiet afternoon while Landon naps.
I'm not sure what is going on with Parker lately. Its like he is regressing back to the terrible 2's. We totaled up all of our tickets after playing for about an hour and went over to pick out a few prizes. Parker picked 3 things, Dallin picked 3 things, Jadah (the little girl I watch a couple of days a week) picked 3 things and then I got a tootsie pop for Landon. Parker was FURIOUS that I gave a treat to Landon. He then proceeds to start CRYING, SCREAMING, and KICKING. He was absolutely inconsolable and out of control. THEN, he goes over to our table and throws the high chair over....luckily Landon wasn't sitting in it anymore. That was the last straw....I picked him up by the arm dragged him out to the car. I am not kidding when I say EVERY single person in the place was starring at us. I looked like a Walmart mom....only about 20 times worse.
Here is a clip of Parker at the tail end of the tantrum...which means its not even bad at all. O yeah..and Landon is crying in the background as well. Not the afternoon I had in mind! It is so ironic to me that we went out to do something as a REWARD for good behavior and then THIS happens! Grrrr! It's a good thing he cashed in his "Starnes bucks" today, because he would have lost them all anyway!

Fun Fun!

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days. First off, on Tuesday night, my friend Jen was on WHEEL OF FORTUNE! She was on the show awhile ago but couldn't say ANYTHING until it was over. She had a huge party to watch it over at the Charter Pointe clubhouse. It was lots of fun! She ended up winning $4500 bucks but the overall winner ended up winning $1,000,000! Crazy!! And last night my friend Aubrey and I met up over at Linder Farms with all of our BOYS in tow. She has 4 plus my 3. It's always a good time! She is so cute and our boys get along so well! Good times!

Family Pics

My good friend Missy took our family pictures this weekend. We had my brother's homecoming and my nephews baby blessing. It was such a crazy, busy and fun weekend! It was such a HORRIBLE day for pictures....it was only about 28 degrees out and it had been SNOWING the night before. We decided to take the pictures in my parents backyard so we could run inside and defrost quickly if we needed to. Here are a couple of them:

The original Rock Family:

I love this one of my mom looking at my dad. Still crazy about eachother after 30 years!

I can't wait to get the ones back of my family. We had to bribe Dallin and Parker with money to keep smiling but hopefully a few of them turned out. We'll see in a couple more days!

Photo Tag

I was photo tagged awhile ago so I thought I would post that one today. I guess you post the 4th picture in your 4th file and explain the picture. SO...here it is:Here is a picture of my baby Parker on a spring day at Manitou Park. While we lived in Spokane we spent many a Sunday walking around that AMAZING park. There are rose gardens, a beautiful Japanese garden, ponds with swans and turtles, willow and pine trees...seriously, I could go on and on! If you ever get the chance to up there...DO IT!

Elder Rock returns!

Last night was AWESOME! Elder Rock returned from serving the people in the Mexico City, Mexico mission. He looks GREAT and we are so happy to have him home!

I've never been to the airport to pick up a missionary (since he is the first in our family to serve) and it was such a joyous and emotional experience. We were all bawling as soon as we saw him come through the security gate. Mom had been an absolute ball of nerves ALL DAY long. Right before we left to go to the airport she was cleaning the outside of all of the windows in the house with a floor mop with CURLERS in her hair. It was hilarious.

Anyway, you could tell he was overwhelmed and had a hard time thinking of some of the words he was trying to say. Luckily Nate was there to help him do a little translating once and awhile. His suit jacket was shredded and his shoes were VERY worn but he is so HAPPY and I am so grateful for the example that he has set for my boys.

When he walked into the house he couldn't stop the tears from falling. He kept saying, "We are so blessed you have NO idea." He then proceeded to go into the family room and lay on the carpet. We enjoyed a huge feast and spent the rest of the evening looking at all of his pictures and hearing about all of the sicknesses and injuries that you only hear about AFTER the missionary returns home safely!

Here he is checking out the new boat! He was definitely surprised!!! Welcome home James!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

Our friends Alex and Marie, invited us to the pumpkin patch last night for FHE. Linder Farm seems to get better and better every year. This year included a petting zoo with both a ZEBRA and a CAMEL. Can you say RANDOM? (Only in Idaho)

The kids had so much fun running through the maze and took their time finding just the right pumpkin. The Fenns were right...its a GREAT idea to go to the pumpkin patch before it gets TOO cold! Every year we are always frozen solid and it kind of takes the fun out of going...especially since we usually go when all of the pumpkins are picked over.

Landon tried to stay awake but the hayride through the mud was too much for him. This little boy NEVER falls asleep in my arms. He woke right up after the hayride though, just in time to enjoy some donuts! Fun night!

Meeting baby Carter

Yesterday Nate and I met our new nephew and the boys met their newest cousin. Carter is just DARLING. He has huge eyes and the sweetest little lips. I have been in baby heaven the past couple of days...especially since I don't have to feed him and stay up with him all night. (Poor Nat!)

We are all gearing up for Elder Rock to return from his mission in Mexico City. I can't believe it has been 2 years already. Only a couple more days until he is here!! Crazy!

We were all laughing about how the family has changed since he has been gone. We've gained 2 new members of the family Landon Cooper and Carter James. We have also "lost" half a member of the family.....since Nate is half the size he used to be!

Welcome FALL!

Alright, I FINALLY decided that today I would EMBRACE the fact that fall is really here. I've been in denial about it for some time.....maybe because it has still been been so hot here (in the 80's and 90's) the past few days. I usually LOVE the fall but for some reason I've just been having a tough time letting go of summer this year. Last winter lasted WAY too long so I was determined to make the most of each and every summer day. I only remember ONE single day during the whole summer where we just stayed at home and did absolutely nothing.
We definitely had a great summer. My favorite memories are: going to St. George on the girls only trip, Lake Powell, Redfish Lake, days at Roaring Springs, boating, staying up late with friends, 4th of July, birthday parties, Twin Falls temple open house, girls trip to Boise, family coming to visit, SURPRISE birthdays, lunch at the park, free movies, and going to the cabin with the Dallings. No wonder it's hard to let go of summer!
My mom took the boys for me today (thank heavens for Grandmas) so I decided that I would get into "the spirit of fall" a little bit while they are gone and pull out some of the fall decor. I also ran over to Real Deals and got a couple of new things. I LOVE that place!

First off, here are my new metal pumpkins: ($16 for both of them...can't beat that!)

Here's my new wreath for the front door: Here is the $6 garland that I put on top of the entertainment center:

And of course we have the cute rocking chair covers for the front porch. (Those are from last year)
So long summer....until next year! I guess there's only one thing left to say (Ty Pennington style) Welcome Fall.....Welcome.

What's in a name?

I was suprised to see that quite a bit of this silly quiz is TRUE about me!

What Staci Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Stress remedy

My recipe for a long and stressful day:

Go outside, take a deep breath, and watch my half dressed Landon try to hit a golf ball. His squeals and laughs always put things back into perspective.

New Calling

Well...today was the day. I have known know for almost 2 weeks but it wasn't official until today. I've been in Young Women's now for almost a year. I was the Beehive advisor for the last 9 months and then a couple of months ago I was switched over to 1st counselor.

Today I was officially put in though as the new Young Women's President in our ward. It is such a HUGE calling and I am very overwhelmed intimidated and excited at the same time. When the bishop came over to extend the calling and ask for Nathan's support I burst into tears as soon as he asked me. I thought for sure he was coming over to give Nate a new calling....I did NOT see it coming at all! I was so sad when our last YW President told me that she was expecting again.....(that means her babies will be 14 months apart) because I realized that everyone would get released which meant I probably wouldn't be in YW anymore. OBVIOUSLY that isn't what the Lord had in mind. I just love being in there with the girls! I am excited to get everything figured out and moving! Let the craziness of life continue!!!