Max Cuteness

Yesterday evening, Max prayed that "he would be good when mom came to his school".  He told me at least 5 times how excited he was to have me come to school.  Today, I got to help in his reading class (which is a different teacher) and then in his class.  I did some projects for his teacher (cutting and copying) and then helped the kids with counting collections and grouping them so they could count by 5, 10, etc.  It was so fun.  It was also fun to see how excited the kids were to talk to "Max's mom" or "Mrs. Epperson".  The teacher had them all thank me at the end and then as I was leaving the school, they saw me from the lunch line and called out "Good-bye, Mrs. Epperson" over and over.  I seriously felt like a celebrity.  A total pick-me-up for someone with post-partum hormones. :)

Stay Calm and...

Yesterday morning I ran some errands and worked out.  I had 2.5 hours to myself and as I was stretching after my workout, I decided that I really some calm music to listen to while I stretched.  I just needed to quiet my mind and actually relax.  So I had a great post-workout stretch and decided to keep listening to my meditative music as I walked to the store to get a few things.  I browsed the Christmas decorations and just enjoyed the calm, the lack of noise and the time to myself.  When I was done browsing, I started to leave (still listening to my calm music).  All of a sudden it dawned on me that I had stuff in my hands and I quickly turned around and paid for it, joking with the store employee.  Sometimes you just need to get away and (almost) steal.  and bytheway, when I googled "Keep Calm and Steal" because that's what I thought of, why had someone really made a sign with that slogan?  Really people? haha.

Veteran's Day

For Veteran's Day, we decided last minute to visit the Museum of Flight.  We listened to the Boeing Employee's Band play songs as a tribute to veterans.

 

Looking around at everything but the camera.

Evelyn seeing mom's favorite plane, the Gee Bee.

 

They have a new exhibit on Amelia Earhart.  I didn't get pictures of it, but here is the engine that flew in her plane, the Lockheed Vega and it also was the engine of the Kingfisher, Grandpa Bob's plane. 

 Here is the plane Amelia flew, well, not the actual one of course.

The boys brought planes with them and were flying them around the whole time.

 Playing air traffic control.

 Jason staring at the airplanes.

 And of course we always have to take a picture in front of Ryan's favorite too, the Corsair or Skipper in "Planes". 

Planes!

Tony and I took the boys to see "Planes" two weekends ago.  The boys dressed as aviators.  Max doesn't have a bomber jacket anymore so he wore his Boeing hat.  They had so much fun. 

 

 

Ryan fell asleep.  Too cute!

 

Evelyn Again

 

Ryanisms

My sweet-but-I-want-to-sell-him-to-the-circus Ryan, says some fun things sometimes.  He has a little bit of a lisp and has a cute way of saying the letter "r".  The other day he said, "Mom, look at my little speedo." He was talking about the little LEGO speeder he had made.

Today we had some friends over and he said, "When Alanna's a mom, I'm going to marry her.  Then she can be my granddaughter because she's my friend."  I then asked, "if you marry her, won't she be your wife?"  He replied, "No, my granddaughter.  And we would live together so we would need a bunk bed." What a funny kid.

Also, tonight he and Max were taking a bath and Ryan came out and told me about how he and Max had cleaned up ALL BY THEMSELVES and they had cleaned (smeared) the mirror and picked up the tub toys without being asked.  And they had cleaned up water on the floor.  They were so excited to show me.  Hey, I'll take the smeared mirror and happy, helpful boys any day--I've been missing them ; ).

Good Books--The Wizard of Oz

This past weekend, our local church congregation put on the musical, The Wizard of Oz.  It's so fun knowing people in the production.  A friend even did the graphic design for the poster.

 

Only Max and I were able to go but he loved it.  The Tuesday before, I let the boys see the movie for the first time and they loved it so Max went to the production knowing the story and getting to learn a little bit about a stage production, orchestra pit, etc.  It amazes me the talent that is around.  Everyone did an amazing job. 

 

After we saw the play, I let Max know that I love the book, The Wizard of Oz and that I have all 14 books that are set in the land of Oz.  He was excited to learn that and he and Ryan have been looking at these books every day since.  We started reading it aloud each night and we just finished the chapter where Dorothy meets the Scarecrow.

 

There is another movie called, "Return to Oz" which is not so good and is based on another book in the series, it's just not done as well.  Some of the books in the series are better than others and some don't involve Dorothy at all.  I have to admit that I love Dorothy's storyline the best.  I am going to have fun rereading these as I read them to the boys.  Definitely a childhood favorite that has quickly become a favorite of the boys.

Christmas Book Advent

Today was a hard day.  That is all.  I've said many prayers today.  I got some great inspiration.  Tony and I read this talk by President Uchtdorf.

So hard day aside.  Moving forward.  I'm going to blog about an idea I'm stealing from another blog, Simply Kierste.  I love pretty much all of her ideas.  This is a Christmas advent that is totally up my alley.  Click HERE to read how to do it on her blog.  It's really simple; just wrap 25 children's Christmas books and read one a day until Christmas.  I had started a tradition of buying a book every Christmas but it just adds up and I already feel like I have PLENTY of books so I just requested some awesome books from the library.  I do it online so that when they come in I just go in and pick them up.  I'm more likely to find any book if I search through the whole county library system instead of just my local library.  I get to keep the books for 3 weeks so it's perfect!  We'll read the library books first and then read from our family collection. 

Evelyn Kate--2 Months

Our beautiful blessing had her two month check up.  She was 25th percentile in length and she is 8 lbs. 10.5 oz which is the tenth percentile.  Her head circumference is in the 10th percentile.

 

Becky came and did a photo shoot.  She looks so adorable!

 

This is Evelyn's dancing pose below.  She was caught mid-groove. 

 

I'm not exactly sure why but I think her little umbilical hernia/outie belly button is super cute.

 Both these feet poses are so cute I couldn't pick just one.

 And ready to jump him and record his cute 16-month-old self is Mr. Jason himself.

 

 

 

Daybook 11-3-2013

Outside My Window...
The sun is shining brightly and I have a great view of the autumn foliage on teh hillside.

I am Thankful...
for friends who are willing to hold my children at church while Tony's teaching and while I concentrate on the Primary Program which is 2 weeks away.

I am Thinking About...
The primary program.  We practiced in the chapel today.  Just want to work out a few kinks in the set up so the children can share their testimonies.
 
Notes About School...
Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up this month and I'm really excited for them.

From the Kitchen...
Nothing.  It's fast Sunday.
 
I am Creating...
This section is hard for me.  I'm not one to "create" a lot.  It's time to start planning a few homemade Christmas gifts though. 

I am Working On...
An idea I have to start a book club.  I feel like it would give me a chance to socialize and hopefully share the gospel.  I just plan and pray because I don't want to add too much to my already full plate.
 
I am Reading...
I just finished  "Let it Go" by Chris Williams.  This is his story about how he was prompted to forgive the person who was responsible for crashing into and killing his wife, unborn child and 2 of his 4 children.  It was amazing.
 
I just started "Beyond Band of Brothers".  It's a WWII memoir.  Tony and I are taking turns picking books and reading them.  This was the first one and Tony's pick. 

I am Praying...
for the primary children to feel the spirit during the Primary program and to KNOW that they are children of God.

I am Struggling...
with routine.  Finding a good one.
 
I am Hearing...
two boys playing quietly and nothing from my babes.  They are sleeping.
 
Around the House...
It is clean except for the weeks worth of clothes that need folding.  At least the clothes are just piled in baskets and not all over.  At least there's that. :)  I won't do the laundry today..  Laundry and I have not been friends lately.  I choose my battles.

One of my Favorite Things...
Max still calls me mommy sometimes. 

A Few Plans for the Next Week...
Primary visits, workout routine, house hunting.  It's the beginning of the month so lots of property management duties.