So Much to be Thankful for...

This picture is a year old (we need to take new family photos), but it shows what I am grateful for...

From Because Life Should Never Be Ordinary

With Thanksgiving being a busy day, I had time to reflect but not time to post what we are grateful for.

Mom: What are you thankful for?
Max: for Jesus
Mom: What else are you thankful for?
Max: No, I'm just thankful for Jesus (works for me)

Ryan: His vocabulary includes the following although I'm sure he is grateful for much more: Mama, Dada, Nana (banana), uh oh, duck, Daydi (Saydi, grandma and grandpa's dog), Nee Nee (we don't know what this is).
I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that Ryan is also grateful for tickles because his face lights up and he has the best giggle whenever he is tickled.

Daddy: is grateful to have two healthy, happy boys and a lovely wife. He is also grateful for the ability to fly for free.

Mommy: I'm grateful for my little family, for a husband who works hard, who is intelligent and able to do pretty much anything. I think he's a rockstar. I'm grateful for my sweet, loving and healthy (except for right now) boys who make everything fun and adventurous. I'm thankful for parents who taught by example about loving the Savior, showing gratitude and working hard. I'm grateful for brothers (and their families) who are generous and always trying to be good people; they are good examples. I'm thankful for good friends both old and new, without whom I would go pretty much crazy. I'm grateful for the family that I married into (all of them) because they are truly supportive, generous and kind (especially, especially my second parents). I feel pretty blessed in the family department. I am grateful for life experiences and trials that have helped me to learn to lean on my Savior. Mostly, I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Things That Matter

I've been pondering this talk today http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1298-7,00.html
We are all imperfect people who are trying our best everyday. If someone doesn't like us, it's sad, but what's most important is our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let it Snow!

We thought we'd play in snow when we got to MONtana but we got it here in the pacific northwest as well! The boys were so excited!

From November 2010

From November 2010

Ryan's not going to let inclement weather be an excuse. Go lawnmower man!

From November 2010

From November 2010

Boo Boo Eyes

Excuse my very congested voice. This video makes me laugh!

Camping---Man Style

Tony wanted to take Max on a quick car camping trip, so they spent last night at a church campsite in Nisqually. Shane and his boys joined in the fun. I was hoping Tony would be able to blog about this but he got called into work tonight (snow) and will be gone all day tomorrow before we leave for MONtana!
So we'll let the pictures tell the story.
Instead of sleeping in the A-frames, they played in them

From November 2010

I had to ask Tony to bring the camera! Here's the campsite

From November 2010

From November 2010

The kid likes marshmallows

From November 2010

And so does this one!

From November 2010

Shane fights his way to the marshmallows

From November 2010

Max and Tony's "tent"

From November 2010

From November 2010

From November 2010

Total guy fire-making (love it)
And some of the activities also included
bike riding

From November 2010

And swinging in these barrel swings

From November 2010

And Max grew up over night. Seriously, when he was telling me about their adventures, he sounded so grown up!

Automatic Dance Party

Yes, we mostly sing "Old McDonald" or listen to Caspar Babypants, but we like to rock it a bit when we're in the car. So, if I'm listening to music while driving or doing laundry and this song comes on--it's an automatic dance party with the Eppersons. Max dubbed this song "his" quite some time ago. Taio Cruz's "Dynamite". Here's a clip from when he performed on "Dancing with the Stars". See if it doesn't make you want to dance too!

Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words

Another photo shoot by the fabulous Becky, who has photographed our family since we got engaged. We like her a LOT!

From Boys' Photo Shoot September 2010

From Boys' Photo Shoot September 2010

From Boys' Photo Shoot September 2010

From Boys' Photo Shoot September 2010

From Boys' Photo Shoot September 2010

From Boys' Photo Shoot September 2010

The Joy of Gratitude

Today was my last time teaching Joy School for the year. Next year my turn will come around again. Here are the cute kids:

From November 2010

This is what our day looked like:
Circle Time: Hello Song, Counting new numbers, Doing activities "8" times (hopping, jumping, skipping, etc.), Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Talk about blessings, thankful, please and thank you, play "Please and Thank You" (sung to the tune of "Ring around the Roses" Please and Thank you, Please and Thank You, are what we say, what we say, Please go faster, please go faster, we all fall down"
Free Time
Snack Time
Circle Time: Letter T, alphabet bag, Thanksgiving Book, Leaf Book, Find the Leaf Game (hot and cold)
Color the Letter T printables
Turkey Craft
Free Time

I'm grateful to have this experience with my son and his friends. We have a great time together.

Camera + Batteries = Happy Mama

Yes, we bought batteries at Sam's Club today! The cuteness can be recorded again. There is a Max funny that I want to remember. This kid has a sense of humor, I tell ya. On the way home from the zoo on Friday, I was teaching Max a French phrase, "Sleep Well, baby" because Ryan had just fallen asleep(thankfully). Without the accent aigu, this won't look right, but...

Mom: "Say, Dors (Door)"
Max: "Dors"
Mom: "Bien"
Max: "Bien"
Mom: "Bebe (baybay)"
Max: "hahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaah...say that again...hahahahahahahah"

Apparently the french pronunciation for baby is HI-LARIOUS!

Oh, and even though we haven't had batteries in the camera to record things lately, this past week, I've been sick (24 hours), Tony was sick (24 hours), playing, and weekend fun (Tony went shooting with a school friend), we had family time and then Tony and I had a nice date (dinner and a movie)-5 hours away together, it was nice! The boys (and I) go through daddy/Tony withdrawals on Mondays since it's the beginning of the 5 days of just minutes a day (for me) and none (for them).

The Aftermath of Halloween

Seen in our home last night:

From November 2010

From November 2010

It all started with Ryan finding his costume after his bath and trying to "put it on"
Here he is showing off his belly button