Naughty Children

Notice anything strange about this tree? It is December 23 and there are no presents. Why?

Because Santa found out that the boys is this house were being naughty. He came during nap time and took all the presents away. Children BEWARE, this could happen to you. The only way to earn them back is by listening to mom and doing what she asks without whining.

Has anyone else noticed that the closer it gets to Christmas the naughtier children become?

christmas cheer

How much would you pay for Christmas cheer? For faces covered in hot chocolate and wide smiles?

Well the people on this street pay an extra $1000 a month on their electric bill. Not to mentions the security guards and storage fees. There is a street here where every house is decked out like the Grunewald's Christmas vacation. Like 30 houses all in a row. It's amazing.

I'd say their expense is worth it :) , especially because it only cost me about 2 gallons of gas to get there. Thanks for the Christmas cheer.

Good Helpers

How many boys does it take to set up a christmas tree?


One and three quarters.



How many boys does it take to change the doorknob?


One and three quarters.
The boys want to do everything with their dad. The days he is home, they are his shadow. Needless to say, not much gets done those days. I was very impressed the door knob actually got changed. Way to go dad. And your three quarters helpers.

catching up...birthday

Most people try to limit their food intake a few days before Thanksgiving. Not this family. We decided to stretch our stomachs to the max with seafood. We went to Red Lobster for my Birthday lunch. The boys kept asking for more shrimp. They are their mothers children. I love shrimp. And I discovered, we all have a healthy appetite for crab legs too.



The waiter was nice enough to let us pet a lobster. We were the only ones in the restaurant so he was excited to have someone to work for. My sweet hubby left a generous tip.

Camping

I have fond memories of camping. Marshmallows for dinner, hot chocolate for breakfast. A nice warm fire and cozy tent. Generally a peaceful fun experience....

Now as a parent I realize MY CAMPING MEMORIES ARE DISTORTED. Who is the person that makes the fire... parents, who makes breakfast and the hot chocolate.... parents. Who gets up in the middle of the night for potty runs... parents. Who doesn't sleep at all because they have children inside their sleeping bag to keep them warm.... parents. Who might need to buy a new air mattress because of the craziness that happened in the tent... parents.

Camping as a parent STINKS!!! I would like to publicly apologize to my parent for all the times we went camping. I realize now that is was not the peaceful, easy vacation experience. Its work all the freaking time.
This video captures the chaos of the weekend...

Rabbit

Notice any resemblance....





Carson wanted a snack, so I told him to find something. This is what he came back with, an entire head of lettuce.


He was nice enough to share. Then he finished the entire lettuce



Every last bite. Just like a rabbit. I've never met a toddler who likes lettuce. Carson you are unique. I sure love you.

And the winner is...

A knight, a dragon, supermom

and John Wayne.

I learned two things about my husband this Halloween. First, he has a great John Wayne impression and second, he carves awesome pumpkins. For a holiday he doesn't like, he sure contributed to it this year. Thanks honey. Feel the Love. :)

Birthday

Cooper's Birthday was earlier this month. Better late than never to post about it.

I was thinking of going to grandma's house for General Conference and opening presents to keep the boys busy. No party, no cake, he's only two - he'll never remember. Than my sweet husband said No Way. So on the way to Grandma's we stopped at Alberson's and found the really neat cake. It was even better because it required no effort from me.

He loved the cake, or atleast the frosting.

His favorite present was the Cowboy outfit from Grandma Jean. Grandma Jean is a smart woman, so she sent 2 outfits, one for each boy. Thanks Grandma Jean and Hppy Birthday to Cooper.

Halloween All Month Long

We are having touble deciding on a Halloween costume. These are some of the options.

A cowboy...


Dragon and Knight...


Tatoo Artist... (this was a self created costume)

or Pirates...

Everyday it is something new. I never new boys enjoy dress up every bit as much as girls do. Three days left to decide... Any suggestions?

A Real Pumpkin Patch

Usually during October, we city folks go to a pretend pumpkin patch. It is set up in the Mall parking lot, with lots of straw and giant blow up carnival type rides. There are pumpkins everywhere and all of them way over priced. The past 4 years we have gone to the parking lot pumpkin patch, snapped a few photos of the boys by pumpkins and called it a good autumn experience. This year we went back to Scott's roots. A real farm with real pumpkins still in the dirt.

During our trip to Idaho, we went to Grandview and got in touch with our inner rural selves. I probably shouldn't say "our", I should say Scott's and the boys inner rural selves.

We all had a great time. Did you know you could eat corn right off the stalk, without cooking it. It was delish.

Vance boys in there natural habitat. Don't they fit in well?

Rainy Day

Today I feel like I have deprived my children. They woke up to the first rainfall of the year and said, "Mom what's that?". On the way to Dad's work, they were very excited about the windshield wipers and as soon as we got home at 7:15am they had to go outside and walk in the rain. They were outside for an hour. We have already been through pajamas, and two pair of clothes. This is what it looks like for a child to see rain for the first time.

Gross

So maybe its been 5 years since we have clean our carpets. And you might notice, that the spot in the corner where the mattress was, is still clean. This is the before...



This is the after...



Amazing the difference a carpet cleaning will do. The $37 on the rug doctor and cleaning products were totally worth it.

Catching up

I'm just catching up on the last few weeks. September flew by and so did my blogging time. Enjoy.

Last day at the water park

Good bye Water Park. We all had major accomplishments this year.

Mom wore her hat all summer, so not to encourage skin cancer or more freckles.



Dad came to the park 3 times. He got his money's worth out of his season pass.

Carson wasn't afraid of the big kid slides. He was a pro by the end of the summer.

Cooper didn't run away from mom this year. He also conquered the Mushroom. Way to go family.

This is the proof of conquering the mushroom.

Where did he learn this.

This must be another inheritated trait. He has never seen Scott or myself do this, where in the world did he learn this?

It must be from my brothers. All of my childhood they would drink like this, even from the gallons of milk. This must be a Craig inherited trait. He wasn't even embarrased when he got caught. Oh Brother!!!

Old Man

Who would have ever though I would be married to such an old man. Happy Birthday Babe. 32 and still kicking.

Vance Trance

My hubby goes into a "zone" or "trance" when he watches a show he is interested in. Football games, action movies, ect. I thought this was a learned behavior but this picture below proves other wise. It is a genetic characteristic of all the Vances. Cousins from three families all have the same "trance". Funny huh.


This is the rest of the gang. It had been almost four years since we were all together. I would expound on our trip but, "What happens in Idaho stays in Idaho". :)