Tell me, what is half so sweet
As a baby's tiny feet,
Pink and dainty as can be,
Like a coral from the sea?
Google is amazing, don't you think? I had no idea that googling "feet quotes" would pop up much of anything. Apparently quotes about feet are wildly popular. These little feet are the only ones I'm wild for right now though. (especially with their new barbie doll pink polish.)

Hooray for cooler weather. I really love October. Sure it sometimes gets a tad too warm during the day, but you can always count on the evenings and mornings to be cool. I have been trying to get Ruth ready for school in enough time to walk her there, it takes about an hour round trip *(I swear it takes twice as long to get home...)* But were only successful about once or twice a week. I had just been walking with our normal stroller, but Marcus fixed my bike trailer and I used that the other day. It was fabulous, until the tire went flat again 1/2 way to school. She was tardy for the first time on last week of the quarter. *sigh* then on the way home, Liam wouldn't walk, he kept saying his new favorite line "I'm too tired!" Adele had no intention of staying in her seat, luckily I had my little baby carrier (that I was borderline accused of child abuse today for putting her in... What do you think? Child abuse?) Neil told me he didn't ever want to walk Ruth to school again because it made him thirsty. I told him if he had put the water in the right stroller we wouldn't have been thirsty. Our thirst was finally assuaged when we got home and took our nice cold water bottle out of the cup holder of the stroller folded up in the corner of the garage. (That sentence had "of the" written way too many times) Next time I will take the water out myself or be very VERY specific. Even if Liam and Adele are already buckled into the OTHER stroller when I ask him to take the water bottle out for me. Neil is Awesome. Speaking of Awesome... Grandma Evans gave him some "Goggliers" as Liam keeps calling them. Neil was so excited. He said he was going to go right out and find some ticks on our Dog. That makes me giggle. Maybe I should buy him a microscope for Christmas.

Here is Adele looking at Mom:


And here she is looking at Dad:Does that seem fair to you? I get plenty of smiles from her, she smiles a TON more than Liam ever did but if Marcus is around its like *pshhhhh* Im not gonna smile at you... If she hears his voice she will arch her back and look around the room upside down trying to find him. She never cries when he puts her to sleep for the night. He can get her to giggle.
Megan <---only a liiiiittle bit jealous.
No, I actually love that our kids thing their dad is fabulous, they crave Daddy time and love being rewarded with a date with dad to get an ice cream cone. It's also nice that Marcus puts Adele to bed most evenings. ACTUALLY Adele isn't being held by anyone right now. she has found her friend! (It's been hiding under her first fingers knuckle for the past 2 weeks driving her nuts.) She would go to town on her knuckle and it just wasn't satisfying her. Every time she accidental got her thumb in her mouth she would get so excited she would scratch the roof of her mouth and then get angry. Seems to have gotten the hang of it today though, she just put herself to bed.
not sure how I feel about that actually.

Halloween Sneak preview... I woke up on saturday to see my kids playing trick-or-treat. I love Neils Jedi robe.

I keep forgetting to put my notebook in the car I use to write the silly things my kids do and say in, so I have been writing them out on my phone and saving them in drafts. The other day I accidental sent one to Marcus and he thought I was crazy. Well, I do sound a bit deranged if you read them out of context, it said: "Can I have a baby Giraffe on Thursday? It is my CHANCE! It is my food on Sunday." Those are all things Liam said to me one morning while we were out and about. He always yells "It's my chance" when he gets in trouble. Probably because I tell him things like "final warning..." and "Last chance..." when he is ignoring me. He also likes to use the days of the week randomly in sentences.
A few days ago Neil asked me how I was feeling (in regards to my surgeries) and I told him I was good as new. He told me gazing out the window as we were driving "Oh good, because I was prayin' for ya." <--how cute is that?
another car trip, on the way home from Carters baptism, the car all of a sudden got smelly. Marcus started asking the kids who had done it and Neil said: "Not me!" I said, are you sure? and he replied "Yeah, I can feel my toots." :) A few minutes later, same car trip, Ruth said: "I don't get it! The mountains are closer to the sun and its nice and cool up there. But were BOILING down here further away from the sun. I DON'T GET IT. (honestly I don't get it either.)
I had the kids sitting up for dinner eating some cucumbers (that were just a tad wrinkly and slightly sour but fine with ranch...) while I put food on the plates. Ruth comes up to me and gets my attention by asking me if I needed any help, making an effort to maintain eye contact. mom <---slightly suspicious by this behavior. I stepped back, as she was slightly into "my space" more than was comfortable when talking with someone, and noticed she was trying to use slight of hand to throw her cucumber into the garbage. One half a second and she would have gotten away with it, but her fingers hadn't quite escaped the lid when I glanced down. They are getting smarter. I'm a little nervous. Speaking of smarter, she now eagerly has me write out math problems like 1653+463= for her to solve...for fun. Is she mine? She was so excited when she figured out how to "carry" a number to the next row.
Neil loves to call Adele "precious" and "gorgeous". Makes me smile whenever he says it. I was wondering where he learned those words, I usually call her beautiful and wonderful, then I heard my mom calling her a gorgeous girl and she said it just like Neil had. Reminds me of when Ruth was 2 and always said "Shall we..." to begin her sentences.
All three of my big kids make up stories about a fellow named "ghostie" who lives in our house. It was actually really funny when we were at Disneyland and went to the haunted mansion. Neil was very serious about the ghosts and making sure OUR ghostie came home with us and didnt stay with his ghostie friends. When they arent playing with Ghostie, they are playing with their "tinys". If I had to choose an imaginary friend, it would be ghostie. I hate hearing Neil saying things like "My tinys are cold!" from the next room. I really thought they were talking about what my boys now call their "tenders" when I heard it for the first time. (thanks Kung Foo Panda!)
Adele is telling me a secret! Liam is so funny, he doesn't really get what a secret is, so when he tells you a secret he whispers "secret!" in your ear real soft. Well apparently Adele has learned how to tell secrets because he is always putting his ear right over her mouth and then giggling and telling me what she 'said' (usually her lips smacking or her tongue clicking. Such a sweet boy...most of the time...part of the time actually. I keep hoping to wake up one morning to find my sweetest boy is back, but then he gives me a dirty look for something he sees as a slight and i just have to sigh in resignation, hopeful for the day that he stops whining, grumbling his new favorite line "It's not FUNNY!" and demanding instead of asking. He told Marcus to stop bugging him last night when we were doing a puzzle together and Dad came over to praise his completion of Larry the Cucumber. This morning I tickled his tummy and he tried really hard to give me a dirty look, but he kept smiling every time I did it. He is his old self when Ruth and Neil aren't around. Don't know what to make of that. Ive never had one go through the terrible 2's; its always been that terrible 3's so maybe He will be over his grumps soon.
I want this boy around more often.

We went to Rio Rico this past Saturday for my nephew Carter's baptism. He was excited to meet his new cousin Adele, and he is so good with babies. I can't believe he is 8 now! Travis works for the border patrol now, so they are right by Mexico, Callie said we were going to get a little taste of what their ward is like at the baptizm because a little girl was being baptized as well, and her family only spoke Spanish. Their were talks both in Spanish and English, the Hymns (and Hymnos) were sung in both languages simultaneously (that was interesting) and LUCKILY Reddin, (Marcus brother and my brother Travis' friend) was there because they didn't have another Spanish brother to be the witness at the font! Speaking of my brother, Travis got to meet her yesterday for the first time as well; It was fun to spend time with family. We went over to Trav and Callie's house afterwards for a bit to hang out. Liam got to cut some paper with scissors while we were there. He had everyone laughing when we noticed he was opening and closing his mouth every time he opened and closed the scissors! Happy birthday Carter!

What happens if you eat all your yummy fish and cous cous first saving the (not quite what I was envisioning, yet perfectly edible) squash for last? You gag on it. What happens when you barf up your entire meal (getting some on dad in the process) when you are told to eat the squash you threw on the floor thinking it would get you out of eating it?
It's all you get for dinner the next night. No don't call super nanny on us! I told her if she hurry and ate it she could have her pork chop and rice. She ate it with only a groan of dismay or two but there was no heaving this time. Poor Ruth, hopefully she wont throw food on the floor again...Dad doesn't like that.


What do you do when exhaustion sets in?You lay down and go to sleep, right when you walk in the house, right on a dirty towel.

What do you do when your son says he wants to be just like his dad? you let him. :) JEALOUS?


What do you do when you have the cutest baby in all the land? Brag. I have the cutest baby EVER!

Meet Octomus Prime. I didnt get a picture of his fellow captive, bumble bee, but acording to their new living accomidations, they may be staying for a few days.

Wasn't conference weekend relaxing?

Such a nice change of pace being able to stay at home in jammies while being spiritually fed.

I have been having a very hard time thinking of what I can do to make this:
look like a playhouse a kid would love to play in. It's Soooooo boring.

Last night I had a thought...and when I googled that thought:

Google: Tuscan Villa

Marcus was a little worried to walk in and see me perusing pictures of Tuscan villas on travel websites thinking I was planning our next family vacation...but I was super excited to see pictures like these:

I'm seriously so excited. maybe i wont give this as a present to my kids. Maybe I will put a sign over the door (that will look a little something like this: that says "mama only" (in Italian) :) Anyone have any other fabulous tuscan ideas that can be replicated with felt? Im thinking a little fountain and some lovely vines...