Pine Wood Derby

The Elder's Quorum is our ward held a Pine Wood Derby race for the elders! Anything went, including a five pound weight limit! No jets or anything that would catch fire or push the other cars over! It was amazing what they came up with! Anthony had so much fun! He decided to design his after the cruiser in Star Wars, but everyone thought it was a spider! He drilled holes in it and filled with melted lead! It was one heavy car!

Anthony working on his car, trying to get the wheels on straight or something! My girl mind couldn't really understand the importance of everything he did to it!

Finished product!

The competition!

I thought that this one was so cool! A covered wagon complete with passengers!

Racing the Rat!

In the end, Anthony ended up with Third Place! He was so excited and I was so proud! His fastest time was like 2.12 seconds! It was a lot of fun! I got to know alot of new wives and that made it worth to me too! It was so fun to watch our husbands act like little boys! The guys would run over and declare, "Did you see? Did you see? I won that one! Watch!" It was awesome!

New Family Photo

Finally! We have a new family photo! One that Andrew doesn't look like a baby and one that includes our new baby! I took this photo at my parents and then my brother's family! My mom commented how glad she was that she hadn't removed that fence section! Ne ways... I am way excited to have a new photo! I have learned from this experience that it is much easier to have someone else do you family photo then to try and do it yourself with three squirmy boys! (You have to actually go to our blog page to see it! It's our new header! I only got one good shot! I'll post new pics of the boys soon! Promise!

Pumpkin Patch

A couple of weeks ago we went and got some pumpkins from a local pumpkin patch! It was aweseome! The boys were so excited and had a blast picking out their pumpkins! Peter kept running around and pulling them off the vines! He was trying to help us find ours! We did this last year and I think that it will become a family tradition! The best part is that the pumpkins aren't huge so that means no big dig outs!

Andrew with his pumpkin! He decided right after we got out of the van! He said, "That one! I want that one!"

Peter after Anth cut his! I was thankful that the pumpkin stem held and that we didn't have smashed pumpkin!

The results of our labors! I did take it landscape but for some reason blogger keeps turning it vertical! We ended up with five because Anthony decided he didn't want to share his with me. Sniff! Sniff! No really, I'm okay with it because then I get to use the biggest for a photo booth that I doing for Anthony's family Halloween party! Overall a great success!

We also got apples from the same farmer. They were fiji applese and they were huge! The one on the left and in the middle are the ones from the farmer! That it about the average size of the apples! I have never seen apples so big and they taste great! I had to go and get another box because they were so good!

How the Human Body Works

[Posted by Anthony]

Thought I'd post these links here for safe keeping!

• How the lungs work (Animation)
• How the heart works (Animation)

Online TV Shows & Cartoons

Here are some links to online tv shows and cartoons. The Netflix ones require a subscription, but the rest are free to watch.

Cartoons

• Arthur (Netflix)
• Bob the Builder (Netflix)
• Caillou (Netflix)
• Flintstones (KidsWB)
• Harold and the Purple Crayon (Hulu)
• Inspector Gadget (Hulu)
• Jetsons (KidsWB)
• Pebble And The Penguin, The (Hulu)
• Scooby Doo (KidsWB)
• Smurfs (KidsWB)

TV Shows

• Bewitched (Hulu)
• Dick Van Dyke Show (Hulu)
• Lost in Space (Hulu)
• Land of the Lost (Hulu)
• MacGyver (CBS)
• Star Trek: The Original Series (CBS)
• Mary Tyler Moore Show (Hulu)
• The Twilight Zone (CBS)

Is Summer over yet?

This has become a typcial response at my house this summer. Peter can't wait for summer to be over so that he had get on with fall activites. He will ask every couple of days if its fall yet. So this post is in memory of our summer that is almost over.

Peter has decided that he is going to be "a star! I'm going to get a stage and sing songs to people!" He loves to play Anth's guitar and make up songs!

The first of July, Peter had to get a root canal! That's right! You didn't read it wrong! His back molar had a huge cavity and because the molar would guide his later teeth in, we had to do the root canal and place a crown on it. Because of the size of his tonsils we couldn't do oral sedation and had to do a complete knock out. It was a over all good experience and Peter loves to tell the story. He was suppose to have this surgery on the day that I had Matthew.

Just a few of the home repairs that we have had to face this summer. Our fence blew down when a strong Idaho wind came through and a hole developed in our ceiling when we had a downpour. My brother reached up and touched the ceiling where it was wet.

The Fourth of July was pretty awesome as well! We had a lot of fun watching the fireworks and then playing with sparklers. An all time favorite!

Matthew's blessing day was perfect! We had a lot of family and friends that came to support us. We had a great day with terrific food. Matthew had the awesome privilege of wearing Anth's blessing outfit! The first of our boys to do so!

A new Monson was added to our family when my SIL had a baby almost three weeks after Matthew. Her name is Kaylie! Isn't she cute?

A four generation shot of Anth with his mom and grandma. Our summer has been filled with reunions! I think that we went to four! Crazy! At least for us! It has been a lot of fun to visit with family that we haven't seen for a year or more.

My wonderful husband, who always knows how to make me laugh! He has been an awesome support this summer with Matthew being born and taking care of the boys while I have some me time or a nap! This is one in a handful of times I have seen him wear jeans!

Bike riding as been a highlight of our summer! The boys love to ride their bikes and it makes for a great bribe when we need one. This is one of the pictures that I submitted to the county fair this year. No prizes this year but I had fun anyways.

Our summer has been busy and I have the feeling that life is no longer going to be as slow paced as it once was!

Life in the fast lane

That is exactly how I feel my life has been since Matthew was born....fast! Its crazy around my house right now! With feedings every three to four hours (both the older and young boys...husband included), doctor appointments, vacations, family reunions, holidays, church callings, I feel like I am constantly running. I have grown fond of the stairs in my house...its a split level so to go to the bathroom or to where the basement(where Peter and Andrew play) I get to go and then down or down then up! I am getting into shape plenty! I am doing good as well Matthew! He has gained five pounds since he was born and is sure to grow more!

Peter and Andrew love their brother and their new found freedom that comes from Mommy being busy taking care of "Mahew" as Andrew calls him. Flushing things down the toilet, making mud soup in the sandbox with Mommy's rice, salt, pepper, sugar, and what ever else they can get their hands on has, attempting to potty-train ourselves (poor Andrew...he wants to be so desperately but I am a little preoccupied), it has been an adventure at our house.

Peter (in order to get attention, we believe) has been flushing things down the toilet. We know for certain that their are two bottle caps, a toothbrush, and an excessive amount of toilet paper. Anthony was plunging it out and a bottle cap and nipple popped up! It has been frustrating but it is getting better. We are unsure about what else may be in there! Anyone know a good plumber?

Andrew can tell me when he needs to go to the bathroom but is not patient enough to sit for it to come. I think that must be my genes because I have an awful time being patient! I once prayed when I was single to help me to learn patience. The Lord, with his wonderful sense of humor, sent me three wonderful mischievous boys!! Andrew loves to talk to Matthew but is convinced that he is not a boy! Matthew is a baby! He is not a boy! Andrew and Peter are boys! It has been so fun to watch those two with Matthew! They definitely love him!

Matthew is continuing to grow and has started to smile! His favorite time to smile is at 1:00 am when Anth and I are tired and irritable about having to get up! He knows how to get out of trouble. He'll look up at us after eating a few ounces and give us a huge cheesy grin! The frustration just melts! He is such a special addition to our family!

Sorry about the wordy post...but I wanted to write down some of this stuff before I forgot what these days are like. I often hear myself repeating phases my mom would say. You know the ones..."I can't have anything nice!" "You're driving me crazy!" But most of all, "I love you!" Being a mom is tough but definitely worth it when I check on my boys before I pass out every night, and see them sleeping like angels.