Moments With The Hughes Family

Mail

2012-02-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, I was cleaning out the kid's school totes on the counter. Micah was watching me do that and noticed that the totes had labels on them with thier names. He looked at the tote labeled "Mail" and asked if that was my name (because it started with an M like Mom.) I told him, no, that it spelled mail. M-A-I-L, mail. Micah said, "Oh! I get it, mail is spelled, M-A-I-Line." I guess Micah still needs help with recognizing lower case l's. :)

Fishing

2012-02-23T22:31:00.001-08:00

On Monday, we went with John's parents on a drive, and ended up at the boat ramp at the beach. Eli sat down with a long stick and put it in the water. I asked him if he was fishing. He replied, "Yep...for marshmallows!"

Do WHAT to my eyeballs?

2012-02-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

This evening we were watching TV and a mini-wheat commercial came on. At the end of it, a mini-wheat comes around the cereal box carrying a cinnamon roll. I mentioned that it looked like a mushroom. Micah looked up from his Nintendo DS screen and said, "Dad, you need to clean out your eyeballs!"

It didn't stop there, he had is feet in my lap and suddenly kicked me really hard. I said, "Ouch buddy, that hurt!".
He stopped again, giggled, and said, "Sorry dad, I thought you were a rock." Gave me a cute little Micah look (yeah, those of you who have met him know what I am talking about) and went back to his game.

After a long day, I needed that smile. Love ya buddy!

Drain the Tub!

2012-02-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Today at preschool they were learning about the letter "V". They were drawing pictures of where they wanted to go on vacation. Micah was drawing a picture with water. Sister Pettit asked him what he was drawing a picture of. He said, "The beach." She asked what he was doing in the water and his reply was, "I'm drowning." She was kind of shocked and said, "Oh, no you aren't!" He said, "You're right, I'm swimming!" :) Silly kid.

What a Gentleman!

2012-02-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

We were in Salt Lake City today for John's UPPAC meeting. We picked him up at the State Office of Education building, and headed to the van. Micah got around our side of the van first and went to open his sliding door, but changed his mind and opened mine instead. Then he said to me, "There you go my good lady!"

Made me chuckle. Keep being a gentleman little man.

It's Tough...

2012-01-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

As I was rushing out the door to pick up my two oldest from the church from a music rehearsal, Eli headed for the door as well. Of course we had to find his shoes and coat before we left. Got the coat on, not the shoes. (little stinker).

I got out to the car and got him in. I climbed in and we were off. As we were driving I hear and deep sigh.

"What's wrong buddy?"
"It's tough lere sd;fkjsdlkfj!" (It sounded like It's tough living here).
"It's tough living here? Is that what you said?"
"No Dad, It's tough being little!"
"It's tough being little?"
"Yeah"
"Why is that buddy? Because you can't see out the window?"
sigh..."Yeah."

Needless to say I enjoyed a great chuckle for the rest of the drive.

Oh what a smarty pants. We sure love you little buddy. And don't worry, you will be too big too soon!

This Little Piggy...

2012-01-22T07:39:00.000-08:00

John and I got new bikes for Christmas (thanks Santa!). We went for a bike ride out towards the airport. We figured that would be safeset for our first time out with all the kids tagging along since there's not a lot of traffic. We were heading up the hill toward the freeway overpass, and off to the side is an old abandoned house. It's not very big, and is covered in wood shingle siding. I was riding next to Micah who was a little slower, so we were way back from everyone else. Micah and I were enjoying our ride and chatting about this and that. Micah looked over toward the house, got real excited and said, "Mom! It's one of the little piggy's houses!"

Chillin'

2011-12-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

Each year my parents take us to Sam's Club as part of our Christmas gift. I love doing this for a couple reasons, 1) it brings my whole family together for a morning or afternoon and 2) we can stock up on household items that will last us approximately 6 months- and THAT my friends is a bonus!

While we were searching and locating our desired items, my children were wandering with various older cousins. When we finally caught up to our kids, this is what we found. Not only were they kicked back, but they were loving the massage and heat settings as well.

What silly boys. It took a minute to convince them to exit the chair so we could leave. I love these two....

(And thanks mom and dad for the amazing gift)

Kidnapping...

2011-12-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

We (as in John and I) are going to see Forgotten Carols tomorrow with Ms. D and Mr. Z and leaving the kids with John's parents.

I was talking to Micah and telling him I needed a time out from him so I was leaving town.

Micah said, "No, you're going to Bountiful Baskets."

Ms. D piped in and said, "No, I'm kidnapping her!"

Micah (without missing a beat) said, "No you can't, she's not a kid!"

The Potato Song

2011-12-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

We delivered all our friend's Christmas gifts for Family Home Evening tonight, and then once we returned home, finished up by having treats and watching Claymation Christmas.

Carol of the Bells started playing and Morgan said, "Oh, my favorite song!"

Micah looked at the TV and said, "Oh yeah! I love the potato song!"

It took a second to figure out what he was talking about. I guess claymation bells can look like potatoes to a four year old. Lol

Little Boys

2011-12-06T21:12:00.001-08:00

So, I am so grateful for my good friend Mr. Z. See, he became a part of our family about a year ago through blogging. Mr. Z has some serious ninja photo taking skills. You can see his work by clicking HERE and if you are up for some serious laughs, click HERE.

I love this picture of two of my sons. It captures their mischievous spirits perfectly. Thanks for the great memories Mr. Z, you are AWESOME!

Getting Bigger

2011-11-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night we went for a drive with John's parents. John was chatting with Micah. He mentioned something about "when I was little..."

John stopped him and said, "When you were little? What are you now?"

"I'm big," he said.

John asked, "If you're big now, what will you be when you get older?"

"A chef."

A Bird, really?

2011-11-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

I noticed a red mark on Micah's chin yesterday. I asked him about where it came from. This was his response...

"You remember how I was outside playing a little bit ago?"

"Yes..."

"Well, a bird flew down out of our tree and bit me."

"A bird bit you?"

"Yep."

"And you didn't even cry or anything?"

"No, Mom. I was real brave."

Sure it did Micah. :)

Love you too!

2011-11-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

I was sitting on the floor holding Eli tonight and I whispered "I love you!" in his ear.

Instead of replying I love you too, he said, "I love you two times!"

Made me smile. :)

Watch out...we have an insulting computer!

2011-11-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

So this morning I was tired of seeing the "download the new i-tunes" box pop up when I started up the computer. I've tried to do so several times, but it has yet to work. I decided to give it a go once again this morning. To my surprise it actually started downloading the new i-tunes. I left it to do it's thing as the computer is several years old and slower than cold tar, and we went to exercise at the church.

When we got home, I set to work cleaning the house, and Micah asked if he could play the compter. I said he could. He excitedly climbed in the computer chair and then said to me over his shoulder, "It's done insulting stuff, Mom!"

"What, Micah?" I asked.

"The computer. It's done insulting stuff." Micah said again.

I had totally forgotten that I had told i-tunes to install and for the life of me could not figure out what he was talking about. I came over to the computer to see exactly what he meant and saw a box on the desktop that said i-tunes had finished installing and the computer needed to restart.

I didn't even know he knew what installing meant, and how he knew that's what the computer had done was beyond me! LOL

I'll have to watch our computer closer. Maybe that's why it runs so slow--the programs are tired of getting insulted and are refusing to perform!

Did you know?

2011-11-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night at dinner we were asking the kids about school. John said to Micah, "You never told me what you did at Preschool yesterday. You were at Simmon's house, right?"

Micah said, "Yes, and we learned the letter 'N'. We made it in noodles! Sister Simmons put the glue on and then we put the noodles on all by ourselves! We had nannas, and nilla wafers for snack!"

He kept rambling on about all that they were learning then mid sentence he stopped and said, "Did you know chickens poop?" The look on his face was priceless as he had not ever thought about that before. He was so serious, it was so random, and came out of nowhere that we couldn't help but laugh!

(By the way, the Simmons have chickens and Micah noticed some poop on the trampoline and Katelin was filling him in on what it was. lol Silly kids.)

My Dad Doesn't Work!

2011-10-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

Micah asked me this morning, "Mom, how come my dad doesn't work?"

"What?" I asked.

"You know, how come my dad doesn't work like all the other dads? He just goes to school." Micah said.

"That is your Dad's work, silly boy! He teaches school. That's his job."

I can totally see how that could be confusing. LOL

Smart

2011-10-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to Micah while we were in the car running errands. He rambled off some random math fact asking if I knew what the answer was. Before I could answer he told me what it was.

I said to him, "Wow! You are so smart! How did you get to be so smart?"

Micah said, "Must have been all those times I went to preschool."

Yep, must have been. :)

Yes Morgan, There REALLY is a Santa Claus

2011-10-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

I love my little girl. Tonight I had to run to the school to make some copies of different assignments I would need to teach my science lessons. My oldest daughter wanted to come with me. I love that special daddy daughter time together, so I totally agreed to that one (much to the sadness of my two oldest sons). We got to the school and I started copying. Because it is a tedious process to scan and wait for copies, I struck up a conversation with my daughter about what she was hoping to get for Christmas. She told me she wasn't sure yet. I suggested a couple of things and then mentioned how glad I am that she still believes in Santa.

She confided in me that several kids in her class didn't believe in Santa anymore. She continued by stating that she told them there HAD to be a Santa because he brings her gifts that her mommy and daddy can't afford to buy, like her DS. She told me she was very grateful Santa had brought her that.

I smiled inside knowing that my little girl is one special human being.

I love you Miss Morgan.

Eli and Counting...

2011-10-08T13:04:00.001-07:00

A good family friend, Cindy M., had come to pick up her daughter from voice lessons and was entertaining Eli while she waited. She kept getting him to count to ten. It was quite comical. Thanks Cindy, for entertaining AND educating.

Big and Small...

2011-10-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

I think the picture says it all...

I Miss You Mama!

2011-10-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was cleaning off my desk in the scrapbook room. There isn't a door on the room as it is off our master bedroom, but we do have a baby gate. Eli was in the doorway playing with the swinging door of the gate. He swung it too hard and locked himself out. He threw himself on the floor and just started sobbing.

After a few minutes he stopped and was just laying on the floor outside the gate.

A couple of minutes passed and then I heard, "Momma, I miss you! Pweeese open the gate!"

I love that you missed me even though we could see each other the entire time! LOL

Way More Sense...

2011-10-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Before school this morning, Zander pulled all his papers out of his backpack and put them on the counter. He pulled the last one out, and was kind of hesitant to show it to me. On the front of his homework was a note that read "Awesome Work!", a smiley face, and the letter E circled.

Zander said to me, "Mom, I got an E. That's almost an F!"

I said, "The E means Excellent."

Zander said, "Oh, well that's good! But she should have done an A for Awesome. That would have made way more sense!"

Sorry you had to think you were getting a bad grade for so long. Maybe you shouldn't wait until the next morning to show me your homework! LOL

The Box Man

2011-09-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

I made John a pop-tart for breakfast this morning. I over heard Micah say to him, "Dad, we got a whole bunch of Sundae pop-tarts the other day. Guess who gave them to us?"
John: "Who?"
Micah: "The Box Man!"

Gotta love The Box Man! Thanks UPS and Fed Ex--we love you! :)

Cute

2011-09-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Micah was playing John's I-pod this morning. Lindey was sitting on John's lap next to where Micah was playing. Micah noticed that she was watching him play the ipod and held it up for her to see. After a minute he came into the kitchen where I was making John's lunch and said, "Mom, when Lindey watches me play the I-pod, she's so cute and puddley!"
Glad we have a cute and puddley little girl. :)

Out to Lunch...

2011-09-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I had to take the three younger children with me to Provo for a doctor's appointment. Not excited to go by myself, but it couldn't be avoided. I held off feeding them until we were back through the canyon (the boys get carsick), and they had actually been much better than I was hoping they'd be as we went to the doctor and ran a few errands. I took them to Wendy's for a late lunch. After we had ordered, gotten everyone to the table, drinks filled, meals handed out and settled in I sighed in relief. Micah looked at me (in a very suave manner--head cocked to one side, one eyebrow raised), and said, "Mom, thanks for coming to lunch with me."

As if it was all his idea!
LOL
Anytime Micah, anytime.

Way To Go IAN!

2011-09-28T20:22:00.001-07:00

Tonight was Pack Meeting. My oldest son's last cub scout meeting. We all gathered in the cultural hall of the church and waited on our metal chairs. It was noisy and busy and wonderful...

I cheered as the boys received their hard earned awards. It is exciting to see something so positive happen in the lives of these amazing youth.
But, I couldn't be more proud of my oldest. As he got in line to get his many awards, I beamed with pride. After all, that was my boy up there getting all those awards. When all the packs had received their awards it was time to give the Arrow of Light awards to the two boys who earned them. My son and another young man (that is actually in my class). It was neat to watch the boys and their parents cross the bridge from cub scouts to boy scouts. The video below shows that part. They were greeted by their boy scout master on the other side. My son is very proud of his arrow of light, which is the highest award you can earn. And we, as his parents are very proud of him.

Way to go buddy, way to go!

Our Sweet Little Girl...

2011-08-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we almost caught her laughing. Our little girl is growing so fast it is unbelievable.

We sure love you little Lindey Lucille!

Superman???

2011-08-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

This evening I took the 5 older kids and went to visit a good friend in town and his kids while our wives were at their monthly BUNKO girl's night out event. When we returned home, I was getting Eli out of the car and I dropped a water bottle on the ground. It was dark and I couldn't see where it went. Micah was standing by me and started looking for it. He looked for a minute and then reached under the van. He reached again, and again. Finally, he looked up at me and said, "Dad, you need to lift this thing up so I can get the bottle!". It is nice to know he thinks that I have superhuman strength and could lift our van...
What a character!

The Master...

2011-08-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

Micah loves to play our iPods and he especially loves to play Angry Birds.

He asked me last night if he could play. He was playing away and beat a level. He asked for my attention over and over. When I finally looked at him he smiled at me and said, "Dad, let me show you how to beat this level. Watch the master dad, watch the master!"

I replied with, "The master?"

"Yeah dad, I-AM-THE-MASTER!"

My wife and I laughed and laughed. We sure do need those moments of laughter. Thanks for that our silly boy. We love you!

Not Me...

2011-07-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

I guess we should change the name of this to "Micah's Crack-Ups" or something. He is definitely the most featured child. Of course if you KNOW Micah at all, then this is easy to understand.

Yesterday for Eli's birthday we got him an AWESOME car track. Click HERE to see it on Amazon (and no, I am not making money if you click... lol). Well last night the kids were fighting over it, so I told Micah and Zander they were not to touch it again until we told them they could. Eli wanted to play on it and after all it WAS his birthday! So this morning I was working at the computer and I could hear the car being put in the top of the track.

Me: "Who is in there?"

Silence.

Me: "I said, 'Who is in there?'"

A tiny voice: "Not Me..."

I cracked up laughing.

Also at the table this morning Micah noticed some spilled milk next to his bowl and looked at Morgan's friend Taylnn.

"Talynn, you spilled!!!"

Talynn just looked at him.

"Oh, maybe that was me..." (laugh from Micah) "Silly me".

Gotta love this cute kid.

She looks like a boy?

2011-07-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

As I was getting the kids ready for church this morning Micah says to me...

"Mom, Lindey looks like a boy."

"She does not! What makes you say that?"

"Because she has short hair like me!"

Give it time Micah--I'll be braiding an curling her hair before you know it! :)

How many Belly Buttons???

2011-07-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

Micah got undressed so he could go shower, looked down at his nipples and said, "Wow! I have 3 belly buttons!"

Seriously Micah, you crack us up!

Birthday Wishes

2011-07-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Micah's birthday is fast approaching, and as his mother, I realized I had no clue what we were going to get him for presents, what type of cake he wanted, etc. Yesterday I had this conversation with him...

"Micah, what do you want for your birthday?"

"My birthday is tomorrow???!!"

"No, in 10 days it will be your birthday. So, what do you want for presents?"

"Hmmm....a new coloring thing."

"A new coloring thing??"

"Yeah."

"What else do you want?"

"Chocolate cake..."

"What do you want your cake to look like?"

"A race car-- like last time."

"The same as last year?"

"Yeah, I like that."

"Ok, what other presents do you want besides a new coloring thing?"

"CHEESE!!...and ice cream."

"To go with your cake?"

"Yeah, and that's it."

Should be pretty easy to please! :)

Crack of Dawn...

2011-06-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

We were sitting at dinner tonight and Micah announced to every one at the table that, "Mom will have a crack of dawn on her stomach for the rest of her life".

He was talking about the incision lines she will have.

I don't know where he comes up with these things, but we sure love him for it!

Introducing Lindey Lucille Hughes

2011-06-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

We realized we had not even had a chance to introduce our little princess here on the family blog (now that she is almost 8 weeks old).

We love this little girl SO much and are grateful to be going home to finally get to be with her and love her.

Welcome to the family little one. We are so pleased you are here and healthy. Please know that it will be crazy, and with four brothers probably kinda rough sometimes. But your big sister is so excited to have you here that I think she will be a great friend for you.

We promise to do our best to raise you right and give you all the love we have in our hearts. Please be patient with us as we work to do our best for you.

Love you baby girl,

Love,
Mom and Dad

Sister Allie's Mom...

2011-06-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

So, this is a story that will be short, but bring a smile to your face. Yesterday when our friends had stopped by to see us, Heather shared this story. (I hope I get it sort of right). She said that while we were gone, she had seen Micah at the store (I think it was the store). He ran up to her, knowing that she was his friend Allie's mom. He is a show off by nature and wanted to show her some new trick he could do. Because he couldn't remember her name, said, "Sister Allie's Mom... Sister Allie's mom look what I can do..."

We love you little man and we are glad to be coming home today to be with you again.

We Interrupt These Messages...

2011-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

We apologize that we have not been updating this blog lately. However, our lives took an interesting turn 15 days ago, and we have been at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in the ICU unit ever since. We are only about 1/2 way through this journey of ours, and we know that we will be better people because of it.

Our children have sure been troopers and are good examples to their mother and I. We miss our babies very much, and look forward to the day when we can all be home together as a family again.\

So, thank you to all of you. Those who have and those who continue to provide prayers, help, and love! We love you as well.

So, we will return soon with more witty and crazy adventures in a few weeks! Thanks for understanding...

John, Allisha, and kids

Look At All Those Gum balls...

2011-05-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Micah has been spending a LOT of time with grandpa (and his "big old buddies"- that is what he calls my dad's golfing buddies. Micah gets to go with grandpa golfing almost everyday anymore). My mom and dad have had the two little boys a lot the past week in an attempt to help my wife get some rest.

Today we had a decent hail storm hit, complete with thunder and lightning. The hail started slow at first but quickly grew in size and amount. Shortly before it ended, my mom called to tell me about Micah and the hail.

She had taken him outside to watch it on the porch (at least I think she did). Anyways, as he watched his eyes got bigger and bigger and he said, "Look at all those gum balls...it's a gum ball day!"

What a cute kid.

We love you buddy!

"I am Sick,,,"

2011-05-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

My sweet daughter was at school while my wife and I were at the hospital trying to get little Ms. Lindey here. Eli was having a hard time at home without his mom and dad around. Morgan was feeling a little down because she wanted to be at home helping Grandma Millett with him.
At some point in the early morning, Morgan went to her teacher and said, "Ms. Wilske, I am sick....Homesick. I want to go home.
Mrs. Wilske knew what was going on at home and asked her to get a drink of water and use the restroom and see if she felt better. Mrs. Wilske knew that Allisha's mom was really in no position to come and get her, what with the little boys there so she tried to comfort her. After a while, Morgan settled down and she ended up staying for the rest of the day.
What lucky parents we are to have such a sensitive and caring little girl who wanted to help her grandma and little brother. We love you sis!

Those Just Popped!

2011-04-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to take the kids on a walk today to give my wife and mother-in-law a little break and quiet visit/rest time with Lindey. We walked to the ACE Hardware store to get some replacement equipment for our new tetherball setup as Ian got a little carried away and broke the clip. After the hardware, we went to the post office. That was kind of a wasted trip. Got a magazine- but my wife DID get a nice card from the women's staff at the hospital with notes from all the nurses. That was nice.

After the mail, I had promised the kids we would go to the park and play for a while. However, after we left the post office, we noticed that all the construction they are doing on Main Street had made it impossible to cross to the park. The kids were muy sad and were starting to pout and complain. Thankfully, Ms. Durrant was there getting her mail and suggested we just go to the elementary school and play. The kids perked up and we headed right on over to the school. We played for about an hour. It was nice. Ian kicked my butt in HORSE, we all played some recognizable form of 4-square, and then we headed home.

On the way home we were walking by a row of houses in town. Micah was lagging behind (he had been doing this the whole walk. He would wait until we got ahead, and then run to us to show off his 'super-speedy shoes'- crazy kid!) and when he caught up to us he said, "Hey dad, theirs popped just like ours!".
"What?"
"There's popped just like our did?"
"Their 'what', buddy?"
"Their roses have popped just like ours did!"
"What do you mean by popped?"
"Those roses popped right out in to flowers."

We all laughed. What a creative little kid- and a good memory too, since our roses are no where near ready to bloom. We love you Micah!

She Came With A Bow...

2011-04-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

My parent brought the three oldest kids to the hospital today to see their new baby sister. Zander was SO excited to see her. After he gave his mom a quick hug he immediately started asking to hold her. I made him wait while Morgan held her. I mean after all she has been waiting for a little sister for a long, long time! After Morgan had a few minutes to savor her I had Zander sit on the couch in the room and scoot all the way back. Then I handed him the baby!

What a glorious moment that was. His little face lit up and he just beamed at the little bundle of joy sitting in his lap. He looked and poked and squeezed and smiled. Finally he noticed the bow the nurse in the nursery had put in Lindey's hair. He looked up and smiled and said, "Look dad, she even came with a bow!"

We all had a great laugh, and even Zander was laughing. what a sweetheart!

Nooo!!!

2011-04-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning at about 6:30am, I walked down the hallway to wake the kids up so they could get ready for school. As I was in their rooms I hear, "NO! NOOOO!!!" I quickly went to find out what Eli was screaming about. To my surprise he was fast asleep. I watched him for a few minutes and he didn't even stir. I thought, "Okay, that was weird." and then went on with our morning of getting John and the kids off to school.

About an hour later, both Eli and Micah were still sleeping, and I was in the scrapbook room pulling some things together to work on later. Again I heard Eli yelling, "NO! NO! MICAH!!!!! NO, MICAH, NO!!!!! NOOO!!!" I rushed back to the boys thinking that Micah had woken up and was in the crib with Eli trying to get him out or something. Again, not the case. Both the boys were still fast asleep. His yelling didn't even stir Micah. LOL That must have been some dream Eli was having!

Since I won...

2011-04-03T16:06:00.000-07:00

While we were watching General Conference this afternoon, I got out Conference Bingo for the kids to play. I also gave them a small bowl of cherrios for markers and some jelly beans for the free space. Our rule is that they are not for eating until someone has gotten bingo, then you can eat your pieces and start over. Micah quickly began putting cherrios on all the squares. I tried to help him by showing that he had to listen, and when the speaker would say one of the words on his board, we would mark it then. I quickly realized that I didn't want to fight him on it, and as long as he was being quiet and not distracting anyone else, I would let him do what he wanted with his bingo board. After a few minutes, all the spaces on Micah's board were filled up. Then came this comment...

"Mom, since I just won, I'm going to go ahead and eat my cherrios and jelly beans."

Congratulations on getting the first bingo, Micah! Lol

Harsh!

2011-03-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

It had been a long, but excellent day. I had taken the kids to a friends house while my wife had her BUNKO party here at the house (it is a GIRL'S ONLY event)! When the party was over, she rode back to the friend's house so we could ride home together (and so I would know she was done partying!). We visited with our friends for a few minutes and then headed home. As we were coming up the front steps, Micah was not watching where he was going and ran right in to the corner of the diaper bag.
"Ouch, that hurt Mom!" (Pause) "That was pretty HARSH!" and then went bounding in the house. My wife and I stayed on the steps laughing for a moment.

I wonder where he gets these things! (I have heard rumors it is from his father...but I don't believe them...)

What Are You Going to Be?

2011-03-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

So last night as I was snuggling with the kids on the couch, Micah climbed onto my lap. I love to chat with him because he ALWAYS makes me laugh (even when I want to be angry...). Anyways...I started asking what he was going to be when he grew up. It went something like this:
Me: So, when you grow up are you going to be a bull-rider?
Micah: Yup
Me: Are you going to be a race car driver?
Micah: Sure (shoulder shrug)
Me: Are you going to be a brain surgeon?
Micah: Yes!
Me: (thinking that he was just saying yes to everything I was saying went for the BIG one...) Are you going to be the President of the United States?
Micah: (He stopped what he was doing and looked at me in pure disgust) Ummm.. NO!

I laughed and laughed. Guess we don't have a politician in our midst.

Are you coming to dinner?

2011-03-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

We occasionally have John's parents down for Sunday dinner. We knew they wouldn't be able to come today because they were heading out of town after church. The kids asked if they were coming when we had breakfast, and I told them no, but apparantly Zander didn't get that memo. While we were sitting in Sacrament meeting, Zander asked Grandma if they were coming to dinner. She told him no, that they were leaving town after church. He asked her when they were coming back and without waiting for an answer he said, "Next Saturday? We can save you leftovers until then and you can eat them when you get back!" Silly, thoughtful, little boy!

Geese Shapes

2011-03-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

We were out for an evening drive last week with John's parents. (We've been seeing a lot of wildlife lately--turkeys, deer, and Canadian geese)

We were watching the geese in a corn field when a bunch of them took to the sky.

Ian asked, "Are they forming a V?"

Zander quickly replied, "No, they're forming a rocket!"

You've got the same amount as the rest of us!

2011-02-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

As we were leaving church today, Micah gave Sister Robertson a thumbs up. He then started pointing other fingers and making up his own signs at random. (I've been trying to teach him how to do "I love you" in sign language, but he hasn't caught on that I am actually saying something to him. It's pretty funny to watch.)

Sister Robertson did the "Live Long and Prosper" sign, and asked him if he could do that one.

He gave her a funny look and then said, "I can't do that! I don't have that many fingers!"

All full, and laps are best (especially if it is Grandma's)!

2011-02-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

We were eating dinner at the Chow Hound on Monday and right before we were leaving, Micah, who had been sitting with Grandma and Grandpa, came over to me and said, "I ate all my chicken, I ate all my fries, and I drank all my drunk!"

After dinner we went up to Grandma and Grandpa's house to play the Wii. The kids were playing Mario Kart. Micah was looking around for a place to sit and saw that Grandma's lap was unoccupied at the moment. He went over to her and said, "Can I sit on your lap? It's easier to play if you sit on laps."

Micah, you never cease to keep us laughing!

Super Speedy Shoes

2011-02-23T12:51:00.000-08:00

I asked Micah to go get on his tennis shoes last Thursday so we could go to the store.

He said to me, "Mom, those are my super running power ones." and then went to go get them.

He bought me his shoes and after I helped him get them on he said, "You want to see how fast I can run? Go get your camera and I'll show you!"

I got my camera and snapped these pictures of him running around the coffee table.

Boy, Micah, you sure are super speedy!

Dad, I am Gonna Miss Her...

2011-02-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

Aunt Nichole came to visit us today, all the way from PA. Well, okay, she didn't come just to visit us, but she did stop by with her two cute girls. Micah enjoyed the afternoon playing with his cousins that he doesn't get to see very often anymore.

It was after 6pm and Auntie Nichole needed to get going as she was going to Colorado for the night to visit friends there. After she left, Micah came and crawled on the couch next to me and said, "Dad, I am gonna miss Aunt Nichole and Linny". I told him not to be too sad as he would see them again on Saturday in Vernal. He smiled at me and then ran off to play. He is such a cute kid. Thanks for the smiles, Micah, when your Daddy needs them most.

I Am The Dangiraffe...

2011-02-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

When my son broke out in a major rash over his whole body, I was concerned about him returning to school after the weekend. Not because I thought he would contaminate the other kids (never really crossed my mind), rather I was worried about his classmates teasing him.

I talked to him about this. He shrugged his shoulders a little. A sign that he was also worried about it. We started being silly. Ian commented that his spots were large like a giraffes. We all giggled a little. It was true, his dots were becoming large spots!

Our family loves to watch Disney's Phineas and Ferb. In one of the episodes, Candice turns in to a crime fighter. She calls her self the Danger-affe or Dangiraffe.

Ian stood up and said, "Look, I am the Dangiraffe!" We all laughed. Pretty funny little man...pretty funny. I want you to know that I am proud of you. You are not afraid to be yourself! Thanks for that!

Time To Go...

2011-02-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

This isn't a funny moment, but one to document for the record. Our family has been sick for almost two weeks now.

Allisha and I have had the loss of voice, headache, congestion routine. We are just exhausted more than anything, and don't sleep well because we are busy taking care of whimpering children at night.

Ian has had a cough, headache, body aches, and then a head-to-toe rash since Thursday. He has been to the clinic twice, and once to a PA in Price. They drew blood and we will know the lab results tomorrow. He is getting much better as the Price PA put him on medication to reduce the rash. I am grateful that he is healing. I am also anxious to see the results tomorrow. I hope it is nothing serious. The PA in Price thought maybe Mono. I REALLY hope not!

We took Morgan came home sick from school on Wednesday and missed Thursday as well. She returned on Friday only to come home after school and start breaking out in spots like her brother. Allergic reaction to Amoxicillin for both we are not sure? Again, we are waiting for blood work results tomorrow.

Zander has been our little trooper. He has not even really been sick. I guess he just has that kind of constitution. We are grateful that he is healthy. Phew...

Micah has been sick off and on. Boy! If he is funny when he is healthy, he is a BEAST when he is under the weather. We love him to pieces. He is also the proud owner of spots all over his body. They are not nearly as severe as Ian's or Morgan's spots. We are not complaining about that either.

Eli has been sick more so than the rest...OR...he is just not handling being sick well. It is probably the later. He is has been very clingy and whiney. He also has the spots. The PA in Price took ALL the kids off their antibiotics. We are okay with that too.

I am hoping that this week will bring closure to the sick chapter for our family. I know the cough and rash will linger for a while more, but I hope that sleep and health will come our way! We can only hope.

"This Doesn't Measure Me"

2011-02-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner we had breakfast. I know, I know- crazy family we are. Apparently we have a a thing for breakfast. Anyways, Micah wanted to have a sausage link, so I gave one to him. He looked at it and decided he wanted TWO of them with his dinner. There was a small piece of one on the plate, and knowing his tendency to not eat everything, I didn't want to give him two whole ones. So I gave him the little piece. He cheered when I put what he thought was another whole link on his plate. Then he finally noticed his sausage link wasn't the a whole.
Micah: Hey, this one's a little one.
Me: It's the same size as you.
Micah (picking up the sausage and holding up to his stomach area) This doesn't measure me!
We laughed and he laughed too. What a silly boy he is.

She still got me!

2011-02-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Great Grandma Millett is notorious for putting confetti in birthday cards. When Morgan was opening her card from Grandma this year, she thought she was going to be so careful and not get confetti dumped in her lap. Morgan carefully took the card out of the envelope, and gently began opening the card. When she couldn't see any confetti right away, she quickly opened the card the rest of the way up. I think there were only 3 peices of "Happy Birthday" confetti in the card--all of which ended up in her lap. Morgan made a disgusted noise and said, "She still got me!" Great Grandma's getting tricky in her old age! :)

Just Thought You Should Know That!

2011-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

As we arrived home yesterday, Micah was in the Trooper with me. We pulled into the driveway and I opened the door and got out. Micah was sitting in the back seat and was working his way between the seats to get out the door. He made it to the doorway and stood there looking at me. We were about eye level.

"Dad, I love you. I just thought you should know that."

"I love you too buddy."

And then my precious 3 year old boy was gone in a flash running up the walk to the front door.

That was enough to make the bad day I was having seem a lot less dark and reminded me that no matter what, I will always have my sweet children. I love you Micah!

Population...1

2011-01-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago we were getting ready for dinner, the kids were helping, and we were just chatting about the day. As soon as we sat down at the table, Ian asked a question about something we had just discussed.

John looked at him and said, "Where have you been?"

Everyone was so focused on Ian that we weren't expecting Morgan's quick-witted response of, "In Ian-ville."

Reverence

2011-01-24T15:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at church, Sister Parsons gave a talk on Reverence. (She is also in the Primary Presidency.) She was talking to the children and telling them about what they could do to be reverent. She mentioned getting a drink and going to the bathroom before Sacrament Meeting started so as not to disrupt the meeting. As she finished saying this, Micah went over to John and said, "Dad, I need to go to the bathroom!" John internally groaned as he knew what the talk was on and how it would look to get up and walk out with Micah right then, but took him anyways because he's 3 and just can't hold it that long. After Micah finished in the bathroom, John helped him wash his hands and then Micah announced, "Now it's time for my drink!" John said, "No, we're not getting a drink--that can wait." Micah got upset and said, "But Sister Parsons said I needed to go to the bathroom and get a drink so I can be reverent!" John started laughing and said, "She meant before Sacrament started, not during!" See, kids do listen! LOL

I've got Dust in my mouth!

2011-01-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

This morning on our way to exercise at the church (8:15am), I got the boys buckled in the van, and Micah says to me, "Mom, I've got dust in my mouth."

I gave him a puzzled look and said, "Dust in your mouth?"

He said, "Yeah, look! **huff, huff**" (He could see his breath.)

I just started laughing--that's one way to describe it!

What's An 'Oh My'?

2011-01-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

My parents decided to take us to dinner at a local fast food joint (The Chow Hound- or Chat n' Chew for those out of towners). We had ordered and were waiting for our food. The kids were excited because they knew that after dinner we were going to grandma and grandpa's to play the Wii. Zander wanted to see grandpa play his hunting game. Allisha was sitting at the table with him.
He said, "I get to go and play grandpa's hunting game!"

Allisha: "Are you going to hunt Lions, and Tigers, and Bears? Oh my!"

He looked at her for a minute with a weird little look and finally asked, "Mom? What is an 'Oh My?'"
My wife laughed and laughed.

We love you Zander-Doodle!

Yup, The Pretty Much Hurt!

2011-01-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

We were sitting in our rocking love seat (we=my wife and I). Micah was behind the couch and was playing or something. All at once we hear a thud.

"Yup! That pretty much hurt!"

Holy cow- where does he come up with these lines?

Keep 'em coming Micah, Keep 'em coming.

Jesus Was Where?

2011-01-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

My what a silly boy we have! We were looking at pictures as a family from the trip my wife and I had just taken. One of the pictures was of Jesus Christ in the visitor's center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It is a beautiful setting and has a picture of the cosmos behind it. (see picture below). We had taken several of them.

As Micah sat and watched he finally said, "Look, Jesus is on the moon!".

We all stopped and looked at him. He just smiled and pointed. We laughed and laughed about it. What a smart little boy we have. We love you Micah!

High Five

2011-01-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

So my wife was at the elementary school picking up our daughter from cheer camp practice. Morgan is very excited to be doing the cheer camp and we are sad as her parents to have to miss it. As my wife was waiting, a friend of ours came over and started visiting. Our daughter plays at their house all the time and Stacy said she just had to tell Allisha what Morgan had done on her last visit. (As my wife was telling me this story, I kinda cringed. You just never know what kids will do...) Anyways, Morgan had gone to play and Stacy hadn't heard what what we were having. She asked Morgan if she knew if the baby was a boy or a girl. Morgan said, "It's a girl...High Five!" and held her hand out.

Allisha and I laughed and laughed. She has never been this forward with her excitement at home and we loved hearing that she really is excited.

Love you little girl...Love you lots.

Daddy's Home

2011-01-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

It just melts a guy's heart.

I started my last semester of Master's program tonight. Check out my Educator's Life blog for more on that. As I was driving home, I was glad to be out a little early knowing that I would most likely be able to see my babies before they headed off to bed.

I pulled my tired old brown trooper up in front of the house and shivered in the freezing cold as I put the window cover on to help speed up the morning routine! (Since my Trooper is so old it won't idle and with my window cover, I spend less time outside. I was shaking it was so cold as I headed up the steps to the front door. What I got was wonderful.

As soon as I opened the door I heard "Daddy! You're home!". All my kids (except my Zander who was sleeping) came running. My oldest son told me he wanted to help warm me up and gave me a huge bear hug. My daughter just wrapped her arms around my legs and squeezed. My 3-year old Micah came running to tell me he was excited I was home, and my Baby boy Eli came to me dragging his blanket and whimpered until I wrapped him in it and snuggled with him.

It is days like this that make me so glad I have all my wonderful babies and that being a daddy is one of the best things on the planet!

Sunday Dinner

2011-01-09T16:59:00.001-08:00

So we were eating dinner and my oldest son was being a smart aleck. I told him, "I ought to smack you!" It was very quiet at the table and all the kids were looking at Ian, waiting to see what would happen. Leave it to Micah to makes us laugh. He said in a quiet voice, "Yeah! Right on your butt cheek!"

We all laughed for a long time. Morgan even shot her drink out her nose.

Phew...now that was a good time.

We Just Had To!

2011-01-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

With all the funny, funny things that happen in our house on a daily basis, we knew that we needed to have a place just for those moments. This is the result. A NEW blog- because we had too much free-time (NOT!). But I am excited to create this place, a place where we can make quick notes of funny incidents and quotes from our children. I am most certain that one day they will find it a place where they can come and reflect on those moments that brought true laughter to our home.

Feel free to browse the regular posts. Or if you would like to read about one specific comedian, click on the name at the top and enjoy!