A "Treat" for which we are "Thankful". The best of presents!

The Holidays are an exciting time.  Halloween is full of treats more than tricks.  Thanksgiving evokes gratitude and of course some football games.  Christmas of course is the king of them all with presents and fun galore.

In the midst of this exciting time our family has been "treated" with the addition of another "baby" that will be coming to our home for which we are "thankful"as this will be the best present we will be receiving coming to our home around June 7, 2013

This news has been the best of treats for which we are thankful!

Won & #1

As I turn on the tv to watch some football Parker notices the gold helmets of Notre Dame and says, "Look, gold hemets, its Notre Dame." Watching football was not what he wanted so he said "Let's go play some football." As we get outside he says to me, "I will be Notre Dame, you can be the Cougars." He won! Oh and by the way Notre Dame is #1.

Brock's Buddies

Brock likes his stuffed animals.  From the start it was a monkey that presumably disappeared in a parking lot in Price.  Since then attempts have been made to replace that monkey.  Some have been accepted while sadly some have been rejected.  Some of those that have been embraced and thus loved, carried, dragged, slobbered, squeezed, are a blue "doggy", a Mickey Mouse adopted from mom's old room and a oversized monkey also from mom's old room.  The blue "doggy" goes everywhere Brock goes.  It goes in the crib with Brock, on trips with Brock, and has been the source of comfort for seemingly every tantrum Brock has endured.  When possible we will sneak it out of Brock's sight so to wash it from the dirt that it has gathered upon its various trips.  Upon waking up from every map he identifies where his "doggy" and "mouse" are, puts them in headlocks and climbs out of the crib.

Often I have thought about getting Brock a dog.  After watching Brock with his "buddies" I see know no need for such entertainment.  After all, it is a lot easier to feed these animals

To the Movies - Wreck It Ralph - Brock's First Movie

Parker has seen enough movies to qualify him to be a movie critic.  Brock seems to not be drawn to the big screen as much as Parker was at this age which we are ok with.  Just a few months shy of Brock's 2nd birthday we decided to take Brock to his first movie in the theatre.  Parker was all for it calling the move "I wanna Wreck It" while Brock came along for the ride figuring that a cartoon on a big screen with a guy smashing things might be up right up his alley.  We were somewhat right.  Brock loved the first 15 minutes or so but spent most of the time going back and forth between mom and dad with an occasional peak at the big screen while eating handfuls of smarties.  The theatre was packed and there were plenty of other younger kids so we didn't worry about an active 2 year old on the loose going back in forth on our row.

The movie was good and was made fun by being in 3D.  It brought "Wreck It Ralph" a little more to life.

If Brock does become a critic I think he would have given this movie experience - TWO THUMBS UP!

Happy Halloween 2012

While trick or treating Parker expressed his feelings of Halloween:

"Dad, Halloween is my favorite holiday."  To which I responded, "Why is that".  "Because you get treats and you get to dress up."

Such a profound answer because it is a profound truth.  Not only did the boys experience a perfect halloween night but Halloween lasted for over a week and yes there was plenty of candy and plenty of dressing up.  Here is a recap of the Halloween Highlights that make this the best holiday of them all (at least for now).

Wednesday October 24 - Ward Halloween Party

For starters we had the ward Halloween party.  After a quick trunk or treat in the parking lot the fun headed inside for some soup and rolls with the ward family.  Captain America and Batman apparently are the new dynamic duo with Spiderman also making an appearance.  And of course we can't forget the trusty sidekick horse that surely is fitting for any super hero

Saturday October 27 - Stewarts & City Party

Facing the nightmare of being alone with two monsters in the house (Melissa was with her mom and some friends) was made easier with double the parties on Saturday.  The first Halloween smash was at local grocery store "Stewarts".  The grocery store transforms into halloween games and even a haunted meat shop that Parker conquered because there were "only pumpkins".  It didn't hurt that if you survived it you got a can of pop to go in your bag.  The donut eating contest was fun but I think more fun when you could eat it right out of your hand.

Castle Dale City Party

We took our show to the Rec Center that night where we had homemade chicken noodle soup and Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies.  Parker made it to the top 5 in the costume contest losing to a "tractor" of all things (though I confess that I was impressed).  We topped the party off by carving some pumpkins and getting some pumpkins to take home with us.

Monday October 29 - Pumpkin carving.

For family night we broke out our carving skills and carved some pumpkins while listening to some Halloween tunes.  Mom and Parker brought Mickey Mouse to life while Brock attacked his pumpkin as if it was Frankenstein.

Wednesday October 31 - HALLOWEEN!

Halloween came to life as Parker was allowed to wear his costume to Pre-School.  Following pre-school it was time to terrorize the neighborhood with some trick or treating.  We took a quick trip to Ferron to visit some friends there and pick up some food at Grub Box prior to hitting our neighborhood.  Parker and Brock loved every minute as they ran from house to house.  It was fun to see these brothers walk up to the doors in their excitement.  Of course Brock's "doggy" had to come along for trick or treating as well.