We're thankful for.....

It's that time of year again! We have a tradition in the Starnes home of making our thankful turkey every year. Tonight for FHE we learned the words to the song "Count your Many Blessings" and then we wrote down some things we are thankful for and put them up on our bird. Nate drew the face on this year......it looks like a very worried turkey this year.

Here are a few of the things we were thankful for:

Dallin: friends, family, all of the air (...as opposed to SOME of the air??), life, vacation, Jesus, food and church

Parker: Grandma's house, the pond that we drive the remote control boat in, Mom, bananas, and the Dad's job

Landon: scribbles interpreted as brothers, family, water.

Mom: ALL of my boys, temples, callings, friends and family

Dad: Mom, Dallin, Parker, Landon, fruit, health, having a good job

As we closed out our family evening of love and bonding Parker said the closing prayer. These are his words exactly: "Heavenly Father, please bless us that we can have a good night and bless us that we won't kill anybody in the name of Jesus Christ amen."

Parker is such a turkey sometimes.

Cyclo-cross Race #1

Today we spent the majority of our morning FREEZING to death! Nate raced in his very first cyclo-cross race over at Sandy Point. I think the temperature was about 25 degrees when the wind chill was factored in. BRRRR!
I thought I was going to have my husband back during the biking "off season" but apparently I was wrong. Cyclo-cross is basically road bikes pretending to be mountain bikes. They ride on dirt, sand, over stairs, through mud, and up steep hills. They even pick up their bikes and run with them occasionally. It is kind of a hybrid road bike/criterium/BMX thing.
The boys and I pretty much just hung out in the car and cheered every time he rode by. We tried to get out and watch from a different point of view but after about 2 minutes we opted to stay in the heated car. :)
It was fun. Nate took 12th out of 40 people....not bad for a newbie.

Just because......

I'm happy it's Friday today! It has been a long week and I feel like I haven't seen my other half at all.

We've pretty much seen each other in passing every day. Nate has been so good about putting the boys to bed almost every night and not complaining at all while I am out couponing, doing the YW thing, or getting some girl time in. I'm so lucky to have him.

I'm pretty much obsessed with him....can't you tell from this picture?

The List

Dallin is off track for the next 3 weeks. I thought I would be a fun mom and have him write up a list of things he and Parker wanted to do to keep us busy. Here is his list: My favorite item on the agenda would have to be "chat with friends" on November 26th SO...if Dallin calls you up on November 26th, not only will he be wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving but he may just want to "chat" as well.

Yesterday we checked off another item on the list by going on our "nature walk" over at the MK Nature Center.

It was such a beautiful and warm day and the kids had a blast playing with the sand and river table. We were the only ones there so we played with it for a good hour or so.

Today was "park" day on the list. We met lots of friends at the park just in time for it to rain. Too bad.

I'm thinking "park" day for Parker meant "lets watch Parker get into as much trouble as possible" day. He dumped the entire container of moon sand on the kitchen floor and proceeded to skate around in it. He smeared toothpaste all over the walls, he threw an ENORMOUS fit when leaving a friends house AND he cut his hair AGAIN.

It looks like his hair is receding like an old mans. This kids drives me NUTS!

Is it really only day 3 of track break? We've got a looooooong way to go.

Costumes....again??

Wasn't Halloween LAST weekend? So WHY are the Starnes boys dressed in costumes yet again??

Tonight was the annual fund raiser at Dallin's school. The school had a "Lords and Ladies Ball" and the kids were invited to dress up. Might I introduce Sir Dallin the knight, Parker the Dragon and the small yet feisty King Landon.

Nate and I just stood back and laughed as we watched our 3 amigos at the dance tonight. When we got there they all just stood together in a little group and watched everyone else dance....such wallflowers! When Cotton Eyed Joe came on Parker's little head started bobbing, Dallin started in with some sweet robot moves and Landon started jumping all over the place. I WISH I had a video camera to capture the moment. After that, we couldn't get them to STOP. (I think Nate and I have the same problem when it comes to dancing!)

It was a fun night until our little king had a royal meltdown.

A sweet little moment....

Nothing warms my heart like seeing my boys snuggled together in the same bed covered in Grandma EE blankets. (They do this almost every night even though we DO tuck them into their own beds!)

I love how Dallin's arm is resting on Parker. It's almost like he is looking out and protecting his younger brother even while they are sleeping.
Tender moment....had to capture it.

Halloween Costumes

I admit it. I drive my husband crazy sometimes. I get these ideas in my mind and I tend to get a little bit carried away.

About 2 months ago I asked Parker what he wanted to be for Halloween. He insisted that he be an "army guy." It makes perfect sense, especially since he has really been into anything army as of late....tanks, guns, grenades, death, why people kill other people, is anyone going to kill him, is anyone going to kill me, did someone kill Grandma....I guess it is all a little confusing to a 4 year old.

Anyway....I was trying to come up with some kind of "family" costume that could go around the "army guy" since Parker was the only one who wouldn't budge on his costume decision. Yep....we were going to be "one of those" families for Halloween this year. I figure there are only SO many years the kids will think its ok that their parents costumes go along with theirs.

After thinking about it for awhile I came to the conclusion that we were going to be the characters from Toy Story. I called Nate to tell him that for Halloween he was going to be WOODY!!!! After a long silence I finally heard........(drawn out sigh).........If you really want me to do it then I will but you know I reeeeeeaaaaaallly don't want to." Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is!

I think secretly he worries that my great ideas are going to cost him an arm and a leg...like that would EVER happen. :)

So....here are the Starnes Family Halloween costumes for 2009....prices included to humor my spouse:

Parker the army man: fatigues borrowed from friend, hard hat $1.00 from dollar store, face paint $1.00. Total cost=$2.00

Landon: cutest Buzz Lightyear ever. Outfit borrowed from friend. Total Cost=FREE!

Dallin: ZURG that bad guy from Toy Story 2. Costume borrowed as well. Total Cost=FREE (On Halloween night he opted to be an army man like his brother since the Zurg costume was so hard to move in!...we had that one already good thing!)

Nathan: A very handsome Woody. Costume includes white shirt $3.99 at thrift store, yellow die for the shirt $2.99, fabric paint and brushes to paint the stripes on shirt $3.00, hat from Goodwill $1.99, spray paint for the hat $.99, yarn for the stitching on the hat $.99, vest $2.00 in cow print fabric, red bandanna: free...already had it, fake gun: $1.00, boots: borrowed. Total Cost: $15.96.
Staci as Jessie: frumpy shirt that was too big from Goodwill $2.99, straw type hat from Michael's $2.99, red spray paint for hat $.99, white yarn for stitching on hat $.99, cow print for chaps $2.00, iron on sheets $2.00, paint and brushes for the shirt $3.00, boots from DI $5.99, red hair spray $3.99 (would NOT do that again!) Total cost: $24.94

Yeah....I did spend a LOT of time painting our costumes and I even had to dig out the old sewing machine to make Nate's vest and my chaps but I think everything came together.

Total amount spent on all costumes: $42.92. That is less than $9 bucks a person! Pretty good if you ask me!
Regardless of the amount of money spent we made some pretty priceless memories. Thanks my dear...you are a good sport and I love you for putting up with me!

Halloween week!

I know I tend to blog about things no one should really care about other than me.....but this is the ONLY journal that I keep and I wanted to make sure I recorded the fun things we have been doing. Sometimes I think I should just make my whole entire blog private.... just for ME and my family alone. I love having a place to write down what we are doing and I never want to come across as "look how amazing I am" or "check out how adorable my kids are" Has anyone else ever felt that way? I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do about that........

ANYWAY.......

We've pretty much been celebrating Halloween all week long! Monday and Wednesday I taught preschool. I was so happy to teach the week leading up to Halloween. We learned about pumpkins/jack o lanterns and had a candy corn day. These little kids are so stinkin cute. We made jack-o-lantern windsocks and Halloween frames and played Halloween Bingo.
Unfortunately Boise experienced some 50 mile an hour wind the day we made our windsocks so most of them were either destroyed or blew away. :(
Wednesday evening was our YW Halloween Party. We played a couple of games and we filled 2 big "Boo Baskets" to give to some older ladies in the ward. The girls brought all sorts of fun things for the baskets. We had pumpkins, gourds, apples, canned peaches, candies, Halloween decorations and more. My favorite part of the night was when the girls went to the front doors of these ladies and handed the goodies over. One lady made the girls sing a song...it was so sweet. Makes me tear up thinking about it. I love these girls. This is the hardest yet most rewarding calling I have ever had. They are amazing and I am so grateful for the time I get to spend with them.

I saw this idea online and HAD to do it. Since Halloween is so SWEETS crazed I decided to make a veggie tray. It is kind of hard to see but the little jack o lantern is puking up ranch dressing. Too funny! It has been a very BUSY week.....and its not even Halloween yet!!! Halloween costumes to come soon.......

2009 Fall Family photos!!!

I've always wanted family pics done at the train depot. Eight and a half years ago we had our wedding reception there so it has some sentimental meaning to us.

It was raining like crazy while we were doing the shoot so I was a little worried (mostly about the CURLY hair) but I am absolutely THRILLED with how they turned out. Missy is so incredible with a camera. She did such a fablulous job.

Now comes the REALLY HARD part....choosing the ones we want!!! Tell me which one you like the best...PLEASE! I need HELP!

Another season comes to a close

We had another great Kickin Kids soccer season! We had 77 kids involved this fall. Parker ended up having to move up to Dallin's league. Parks was frustrated at first because he wasn't scoring 8+ goals like he was when he played the other 4 year olds. It was good for him though. It also made watching games a lot easier because Dallin's team played Parker's team a couple of times.
I love that there are so many families who are SICK of paying for all of the overpriced sports leagues around here. Seriously, these kids just want to have FUN, get a SNACK every week, and get a TROPHY and PICTURE at the end of the season! It just doesn't make sense to pay $120 for each kid....especially when the parents end up coaching and reffing in the regular leagues anyway.

I'm sure we'll get to a point where the boys will have to play mainstream soccer but for now nothing beats rolling out of bed and walking across the street to play a little soccer on Saturday mornings!

More Parkerisms

Parks has kept me laughing today. He has so many questions about EVERYTHING. Where things come from and how things work.

Here are a few of the latest:

1. "Hey Mom.....why do people steal stuff? Is it because they really want to have a party but they don't have any party stuff so they can't have one?"

2. "Mom...I see a MOM over there smoking! She is not making a good choice. Maybe you could tell her to come to my preschool and you can teach her about smoke....Or maybe that lady could come and teach us about volcanos....since she smokes AND volcanos smoke!"

3. "Hey Mom....who makes the wind? Is it Jesus or the weather man?"

4. (To the cashier at Target) "I'm Parker and this is my brother Landon. He had his tonsils out and now all he does is CRY all the time. It makes me so tired."

5. (In front of the cashier at Target.) "Mom...thank you so much for hanging my bunny." The cashier looks at me with this confused expression. I have no clue as to what he is referring to.

By the time we get to the car I finally realize that he means SEWING...not HANGING. Hopefully the Target lady won't think I am some kind of crazy animal abuser. :)

We love our Parker guy. He is always keeping us on our toes and continues to make us laugh!

Twilight Par-tay

I have the most amazing and fun friends. Last week a couple of them threw a fabulous Twilight party. We are all getting geared up for New Moon coming out in November!

We played some wild and crazy games and ate some yummy food. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much. I love these girls! We know how to have a good time when we get together. :)