the Goods, the Bads, and the Uglies

GOOD: Kole is a little sweetheart.
Jessica Mortensen and I had an early morning 9 am get together (okay, early for me when Ryan and I stayed up until 2:30 the night before) to figure out the decorations for our Church Christmas Party.  Jess is so talented and had so many great ideas, that we had a plan in place in no time, but we had to chat and catch up b/c no "meeting" should be under 20 minutes.  While we were "working" on ideas, Kole brought us each a plateful of salad, with celery, fresh strawberries, unwashed carrots from Kole's wheelbarrow garden and some shredded cheese.  It tasted great, we loved it, and wanted him to take pictures of it, just to prove how much. I must love Kole, b/c these are some lovely no make-up, hair not combed, pictures of me, Jess looks perfect as always. Sigh, what can you do?

GOOD:
Braydon is brave and Kole mastered his fear, I think.
 I had Ryan climb up in our nook above our front door to put some Christmas decorations up there.  Kole decided he wanted to climb up too.  He would climb a couple of rungs and then climb back down, this happened a couple of times.  Braydon walked over to see what we were doing and decided he wanted to climb up. So, Braydon got on the ladder and climbed right up.  Kole was down below telling Braydon to be careful, that what he was doing was dangerous.  Braydon made it up there and was hanging out with Ryan, so Kole decided he had to try.  He started climbing and while he was climbing he kept saying over and over again,"come on Kole, you can do it." It was so cute.  He made it to the top and was shaky and all sweaty, but he was so proud of himself.  Braydon wondered what the big deal was.  The brave just don't understand sometimes.  So after a photo-op it was time climb to down, Braydon was fine (check out his cool boxers) as for Kole ........ that was another story. Let's just say they all made it safely down the ladder eventually, with Kole kissing the ground, so glad to be safe.

the Goods, the Bads, and the Uglies

Good/Bad? My boys are little Hugh Hefners.

We were at Target and they both were so excited to spend their allowance on their first robes. I got a really cozy robe from Ryan for Christmas of last year, and it is so soft, the boys were very jealous of it.  So, the boys have been wanting robes for a long time.  I thought it was so cute, and that they looked so cute in them.  What's the problem? For one, they look like Hugh Hefner and we definitely don't live in the playboy mansion (don't worry they don't even know what that is.) Secondly, they wear them around the house all the time. They get home from school or church and put their robes on for the rest of the day. Thirdly, Kole wanted to take his to school for show-n-tell. We talked him out of it. Fourth, I can't wear mine around all day if I won't let them do the same.....I guess there isn't really a problem after all.

Ugly: kjarendales my hot family

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the Goods, the Bads, and the Uglies

BAD: Braydon who doesn't really like candy: "I'm not trick or treating anymore, all you get is candy.'" Wow, where did this kid come from, we lived for trick-or-treating and that candy was treasured, hoarded, with even a few pieces saved until Christmas.
BAD: Kole: "I am only going to trick or treat one more year and then I'm too old for it." First of all, can't you trick or treat until you're 12 or something, secondly who thinks of those things after bringing in the mother load?

GOOD: They looked super cute in their costumes.

the Goods, the Bads, and the Uglies

GOOD: Sledding fun, this time with dad! Of course, the day he takes them, it's 60 degrees.

The Goods, the Bads, and the Uglies

The Goods, the Bads, and the Uglies

Good/Ugly: We are in day 2 of our first real winter storm. We have at least 1-2 feet of snow already on the ground, and it is still snowing. The wind is blowing and it is freezing cold outside. Ryan is working from home, I emphasize WORKING, so I am left to entertain our boys.  So, did we stay inside and watch a movie, or play a game, or make a fort? Nope, we went outside. I don't like the cold or going outside in it, so I don't even have the right winter gear. I had to wear Ryan's ski pants that kept falling down (don't worry, I had sweats on underneath it) and his goggles that were too big. Anyhow, I love my boys, so I went outside and we played in the snow for about a half of an hour We tried to build a fort, but the snow wasn't cooperating and I was informed that, "I don't make good forts like dad, he can do anything "so good" because he is so smart." Thanks boys, yet again another reason why I am not as cool as dad.

Then we decided to go sledding on the hill across the street. We didn't walk to the the top of the hill, nope we drove that 1/16 of a mile. We got there, all of us dressed for skiing, including our goggles and were ready to sled. There weren't any pre-made sled trails  (b/c nobody is crazy enough to go out in this weather but us) and we just kept sinking in the snow. We decided to make some trails ourselves, which was me dragging a sled behind me up and down the hill. We got the trails made, and the boys go down a couple of times. I then took my turn sliding head first on my belly, no accidents this time. I was finally having fun at this point, I turned to look for the boys and.......they are sitting in the truck b/c they are cold and are "pretty sure they have frostbite" and want to go home. I was tempted leave them in the truck and go for another run, but 2 boys ages 7 and 9 sitting in a running truck while I continued sledding just didn't seem quite right. We came home and made hot cocoa. I'm guessing in a couple of hours they will want to go out again, and NO, I'm not going this time.

The Goods, the Bads, and the Uglies

GOOD:

These are pictures from our Trunk or Treat/Fall Party for our ward. Ryan and I are the committee chair people, so good, bad, or ugly we are in charge of running our ward's activities. I wanted to get pictures while the party was going on, but we were too busy, so these were taken before the "party" started.  Those carnival games didn't run themselves. Ryan was a big help with the decorations. I think they turned out great. Isn't he so creative? Other people on our committee made the posters for the games and helped with prizes, food, and the always coveted cleanup.  Church members brought stew, chili, and soup. We had a ton of food. The whole thing went great, if I do say so myself.  What an awesome ward we belong to.  Everyone is so great to participate and help out! After games and eating, the kids trunk-or-treated, so each "little spook" had a big bag of candy to take home. Good or Bad, I don't know.

Ryan was a firefighter, we just didn't get a picture of it. I was a Roman Empress, my first time dressing up since I was a pumpkin when I was pregnant with Braydon, almost 8 years ago.  The boys were with my parents in Utah so, they missed the festivities but had a great time in Utah, so they didn't seem to mind too much.