Santa Claus

When Gordon got up on Christmas morning he ran to me and said, "Mommy. Does Santa like water?" I told him that Santa LOVES water. Gordon said, "Yippee! He loves water just like me!"

Fat Boy

Our neighbors gave us "Fat Boy Ice Cream Sandwiches" for Christmas this year. Yesterday we were eating dinner and told the kids that they could have a Fat Boy when they finished. Ellis was having a hard time finishing and he told Seth, "I want you to help me be a fat boy."

When Ellis finished and was ready for his dessert he said, "I am ready to be a fat boy now!"

Good Things

In Primary yesterday Gordon was given a link of paper chains to count down the remaining days until Christmas. His teacher told him that he was supposed to do something good and then he could take a link off. This morning he asked me if he could take a link off and I asked him what good thing he wanted to do. He looked around and said, "Not make a fire." Then he took the link off.

Prayers

We ran out of the children's toothpaste last night. I thought we had an extra in the "cabinet" but we didn't. The kids had to use adult toothpaste (aka "hot" toothpaste). Tonight while Ellis was saying his prayers, he said, "Please don't make us use 'hot' toothpaste any more..."

A Boat

We took the kids to "Ponyo" today and there was a part where they were talking about ships. When they got a close up of the ships, Gordon started laughing and said, "They thought they were ships but they are just boats!"

Let Me Check My Schedule

I overheard this conversation between Jared and Mia:

Jared: I fell off my bike and scraped up my whole arm.

Mia: You get hurt a lot.

Jared: I know. It is in my life schedule.

Invincible

After Jared hit Mia, I told him that he can't hit girls. He looked at me and said, "It's no fair! It's like girls are invincible!"

Professional

Jared had his friend over on Friday and they were playing Mario Brothers. I heard Jared say, "Lewis, did you know I am a professional at this game? I am."

Snowflake Sweater

Gordon wore a sweater with a picture of a snowflake on it to church last week. One of the ladies in the ward said, "Gordon, I like your snowflake sweater." Gordon said, "It isn't a snowflake sweater. It is a sweater with a snowflake on it."

Hair

Yesterday while sitting at the table eating breakfast Gordon said, "Ellis. Did you know that our dad has no hair? He doesn't. Did you know that?"

My Mom Can do That!

Mia's friend that we carpool with asked me to put a ponytail in her hair once we got to the bus stop. She pulled out her elastic and said, "I don't know if this elastic will work." Mia said, "My mom can do ANYTHING with an elastic and hair!"

Who can you see?

We had our Primary Program today. I couldn't see Mia from where we were sitting so I moved to the pew behind us. Seth had Ellis with him and after a while Ellis came and sat with me. I showed him where Mia was and I asked, "Ellis, can you see Mia?" He said, "Yes. Mommy can you see Daddy?"

Did you laugh?

When Gordon went up to say his part for the Primary Program today one of the counselors tried to tell him what to say. Gordon said, "I can do it by myself." Everyone started to snicker. He said his line just the way we had practiced, went to sit down, gave Jared a high five on the way and sat down. After he sat down, he turned and looked at me and said, "Mommy. Did you laugh at me?"

Smile Ellis!

During the Primary Program at church today, Gordon's teacher told him that if he sang I would smile at him. Gordon was really singing. He was so loud and just really into it. Everyone was kind of giggling at him. I was smiling. Seth was smiling. Ellis was not smiling. After the song Gordon said in a VERY LOUD whisper, "Ellis. You are supposed to be smiling at me!"

It's Gordon

Today at church Dayna Meier was exiting the chapel. Gordon was between her and Karen Nordgren. Dayna turned and said, "Hi Karen. How are you?" Gordon looked at her and said, "My name isn't Karen. It's Gordon!"

Soup

Mia's favorite meal is Baked Potato Soup. I made it for her the other night. When she took her first bite she made all the appropriate noises one would make while enjoying their favorite meal. She looked at me and said, "This is SO good! Did you make it all by yourself? I saw you make it and you didn't even use a can!"

Gord or Gourd?

I was watching "Veggie Tales" with Gordon. There is a part called "Silly Songs with Larry" that would be the intermission of the movie. The song was "High Silk Hat". A big squash sat down on Larry's hat and squashed it.

Gordon was asking me about it. I told him, "A gourd sat down on his hat and smashed it."

With tears in his eyes, Gordon said, "Yeah...that was me."

House

Mia asked Ellis if he wanted to play house. Ellis said, "Yeah! with blocks!"

Mummy?

We were talking about what the kids are going to be for Halloween. Jared said he wanted to be a mummy. Ellis said (laughing), "You have to be a grown up to be a mummy." Gordon said, "You can't be a mummy. You have to be a daddy."

What's that smell?

I was talking to Mia yesterday morning, asking her to get into the shower. She asked, "What's that smell? Why does it smell like talking in here?"

It's Dark

Last night Seth was going downstairs with Ellis. The lights were out and when they got to the bottom, Ellis said, "It's dark down here. Yike!"

Glasses

When Jared told my friend that he needed to have his eyes checked, he said, "Then we can have a whole team of 4-square players that wear glasses!"

Pets

During Sharing Time in Primary yesterday the kids were talking about pets. Gordon said, "We have spiders but they are not our pets."

Moms

When the kids play house, Ellis is always the mom. I didn't know why until I heard Mia telling Ellis, "Ellis. Moms always eat last."

Money

After Mia went to gymnastics on Tuesday, she really wanted to go buy something. I told her that we needed to go to watch the boys play soccer. She asked again to go buy something. I asked her what she wanted to buy and she couldn't think of anything, she just wanted to look. I told her that we couldn't because we needed to go watch soccer. She put her hand on her hip and said, "Besides, you know girls like to spend all of their money!"

Good Bye

Gordon and Ellis went to Grandma's house while I took Jared to the doctor. I picked the boys up and headed home. When we were about 1 block away from Grandma's house Ellis yelled, "Good bye Grandma's house. I'll see you later. I love you!"

Thanks!

Ellis got a thank you card in the mail. When I gave it to him, I told him it was from James. Ellis grabbed it and then yelled as loud as he could, "Thank you James!"

Glasses

Jared had his well-child checkup today. Dr. Jackson told him that he thought he should have his eyes checked. Jared thought about this for a while and then he said, "If I have to wear glasses no one will make fun of me because lots of kids in my class have glasses."

Hear the Music

Last night Seth was going over spelling words with Jared. After Jared got one right, Seth went to do something on his computer and it started playing this beautiful music. Jared said, "Is that the music you are going to play for me when I get it right?"

Handwriting

We had SEP's today and Jared was talking to his teacher about setting goals. He couldn't think of a second goal and she asked him, "How is your handwriting?" Jared said, "My handwriting is good when I want it to be and bad when I am rushing. I don't need to work on it."

Toys

While waiting at the bus stop this morning, Mia pulled out 3 "Littlest Pet Shop" toys. A sixth grader named William was standing near her and looked at her. Mia said, "Can't a girl play with her toys?" and walked off.

Friends

Gordon told Ellis that he would share his water bottle with him while we were at the park. Ellis wrapped his arms around Gordon and said, "Gordon, you are my best friend!"

Reading

School began on Monday. The first thing Jared said when he got in the house from school was, "Mom, how many hours can I read tonight?"

Daddy's Games

Seth likes to play little "games" with the kids. The other day the kids and I were driving somewhere and Jared said, "When I am a grown up, if I can remember, I will play games on the kids I get like daddy does." After a minute he told me, "The easiest one will be the 'Leave without Mommy' game."

(When everyone is in the car except for me, Seth likes to ask the kids if they should go without Mommy and then pretends like he is going to.)

Experiment

We went to a friend's baptism on Sunday. Mia was having a hard time holding still. I told her that she needed to listen to the speaker. She turned to me and said, "Why? So I can have some experiment when it is my turn?"

Wet Bed

Gordon wet the bed the other night and was wearing a diaper. When he got up he told me, "My tummy peeded the bed."

Hair

At Jared's baptism, Gordon was looking around at every one that came. He leaned over to me and said, "Everybody has a lot of hair except my dad!"

Feet

Tonight while I was brushing Ellis' teeth I said, "You have really cute feet." Ellis said, "I don't have cute feet. I have BIG feet. To kick people!"

The Ghost

We went to Jeremy's baptism yesterday and during the confirmation, Jeremy was given the gift of the Holy Ghost. As soon as Jason said that, Ellis whispered to me, "Mom. He's got the ghost." He kept saying this a little louder and a little louder until I responded to him that Jeremy did indeed have the Ghost.

Fertilized

I was giving Ellis a Nebulizer treatment and Mia said to him, "What are you doing." Ellis was shaking the dispenser part of the nebulizer so it would empty completely. He said, "Umm. This." Mia said in her cutest baby-talk voice, "Do you like getting fertilized?"

My Brother

Lately, whenever we talk to an adult we haven't seen for a while, Gordon will wrap his arms around Ellis and say, "This is my brother. His name is Ellis and I love him. Some people call him he is a bad boy, but I call him he is a good boy."

Black Turkey

Seth brought home some beef jerky for the kids yesterday and it was a little spicy. Seth and I were talking about it and Seth said that it was spicy. Ellis looked at me and said, "That black turkey was spicy and it will turn me black."

Laboratory

I was taking the kids to the park and I was telling Ellis that I didn't want him to wet his pants while we were at the park. The kids all began talking about wetting their pants and how we aren't supposed to do it. Jared said, "Yeah. We shouldn't use our clothes for a laboratory. That is where adults go to the bathroom. I learned that from 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'."

Fourth of July Surprise

We went hiking for the Fourth of July and on the way down the mountain I asked Mia to stay to the right so people could pass us on their way up. She quickly moved and then asked me to take a picture of her. She usually doesn't like me to take her picture and loses interest quickly.

I told her, "Thank you for listening to me so quickly, Mia."

She said, "That is my Fourth of July surprise. I am going to listen to every thing you say."

I told her that was a great surprise and asked if she was going to listen all day.
Her reply was, "As long as I feel like being nice."

Colors

Seth and I were talking about a kid in Jared's class who is black. Jared said, "He is NOT black. He is dark brown."

Now I Know

Jared's teacher did a "Red Carpet" awards ceremony for her students yesterday. The kids made invitations and dressed up to attend. All of the students were excited to welcome their families. When I arrived, Jared showed us to our seats. Jared has a black boy named Keandre in his class. When his mom arrived Jared said, "So that is what his mom looks like."

Eeeew!

We have been potty training Ellis this week. He is doing OK and really wants to wear underwear. Yesterday I heard him come in the house crying softly I went to see what was going on and he had wet himself, just a little. He was walking like Yosemite Sam and crying, "Eeew. Eeew."

Music

Mia really loves music. I was at the Distribution Center yesterday and Mia asked me if I knew where the children's song books were. I showed her where they were and she asked me to buy her one. I told her that maybe I could get her one for Christmas, but I wasn't going to buy one today. She decided that she wanted to buy one for herself. I explained to her that it would take all of her money, but she could buy it if she wanted to. She decided to buy it.

On the way home, Mia was sitting in the back reading her songbook and just a singing the words to any tune that fit her fancy.

Say What?

The kids like to me sing them a song before bed. Jared told me that I could choose what ever I wanted to sing. I started singing, "When the Family Gets Together". When I sang, "popping corn and having fun" Jared burst out in a fit of giggles. He asked me, "Did you say 'popping Gordon having fun'?"

Brainstorm

We were having a little thunderstorm today. When the thunder rolled, Gordon ran in and said, "That brainstorm is sure scary!"

Movies

We went to the Drive In last night. When we finally got to the cubicle to pay we found out that they don't accept debit cards. Cash only. Since neither Seth nor I carry cash, we had to go get some. On the way out of the Drive In, Gordon said, "My idea is that you can use some of MY money."

Camera Shy

We went to the dentist today. After the technician finished with the X-Rays, she told me that when Mia went back to have hers taken she said, "I am camera shy." and she kept closing her eyes at the camera.

Hair

Today while we were driving in the car, Gordon said, "Dad has had too many hair cuts and now he doesn't have any hair left. I don't want too many hair cuts."

Voices

Jared gave Gordon his old bicycle for his birthday. Yesterday Gordon was riding it and he tipped over on it. A little while later I was outside with the boys watching them play. After Gordon got on the bike and started riding it, without falling down, I heard him say, "Thank you for not falling down." In a deep voice he said, "You're welcome." Then Gordon said, "That's not my bikes voice. That's Jared's voice."

Noise

After going to the bathroom, Gordon ran up to me very excited. He said, "My bottom has a funny voice and it makes Ellis laugh!"

Bug Ball

Last night I was tasked with helping Mia prepare a Family Night lesson. The difficulty was not in preparation, but decision-making. I offered at least 30 different topics, ideas, and activities to her over a period of more than an hour and spanning over dinner, only to be rejected time and time again. I almost had her at "earthquake preparedness," but that was eventually shot down also.

Finally, in defeat, I told her to just pick something and then I would help her prepare it. At the last moment before starting time, she came to me with full confidence and excitment in her eyes. I asked her what she wanted to talk about, which she summarized in a single word: bugs.

So I helped her slap together our spiritual enlightenment for the night, which included some common misconceptions about bugs and a stupid video on youtube which was done to The Ugly Bug Ball from Summer Magic. The kids loved it (and maybe the parents found some enjoyment in it too). Even though we didn't have the full attention of any one of them the whole night, we did get much more involvement from them than we've had in a while. And we danced the "bug ball" to groovy 60s tunes and the chipper voice of Burl Ives. How cool is that?

I think the church website needs a suggestion box for FHE lesson topics.

Ooga-Booga

I told Gordon that I was going to call Karen and asked him what I should say to her. He said, "Ooga-Booga!" I thought it was so funny that I let him call her and when she answered the phone he shouted, "Ooga-Booga!" and then he was done.

Pictures

I took Mia's picture at a family party recently. She was looking through the pictures with me. When she saw this picture, she said, "Was that really on my head?"

Harry Potter

We were watching Harry Potter with the kids. At one point Harry receives an invisibility cloak from an anonymous donor with a note stating that it was once his father's and to "wear it well." Harry put it on and we could only see his head, then later only a hand and a lantern. I said, "Harry is just a head. Now he is a hand." Jared started to giggle and said, "He is wearing it well!"

Super Mia

After watching "the Incredibles" Mia decided that capes were no good. Gordon was playing super heroes with Mia and he wanted to wear a cape. Mia said, "Super Mia doesn't wear a cape because they might sucked up and kill you. Capes are really dangerous."

I think the way we play super heroes has changed forever.

Dads

On the way to soccer the other day, Mia was riding quietly in the backseat. After a bit she asked, "What are dads for anyway?"

Feed Me!

Mia did something I didn't think she was old enough to do today. In classic parent language, I commented, "Mia, you're getting so big I don't know what to do with you any more." She replied, "Yeah you do. Feed me!"

Lazy?

Mia has this whole list of things she *has* to say to me before she will go to sleep each night. She recently got tired of saying it so she just says, "Good Night. Same thing I say to you every night!" I *have* to reply, "Back at you." or she will keep saying it. The other day when I was tucking Jared in he said to me, "Same thing Mia says to you every night." To which I replied, "Back at you."

Soccer

Mia had her first soccer game yesterday. She also had a loose tooth. While we were driving to the game she excitedly said, "Maybe I will fall down on the floor and it will knock my tooth out!"

Mom

Mia had a friend over today and I over heard them talking. Mia said, "Do you know why I always like to be the mom when I play house? It is because I don't know how to act like a kid."

Megaphone

In primary Mia's class made some megaphones to go along with the lesson. Mia had forgotten about hers until yesterday. She pulled it out and started making noise with it. Our phone had been having problems, so when the Qwest guy showed up, Mia ran to the door and said, "Da-daa Da-daa! The Priest-hood is res-tored!" and then ran away.

Moving Movie

Last night we finished exposing our kids to the complete "Star Wars" saga, except that the way they experienced it was far different from the way we adults did. They watched episodes 1-6 in order, which means, there were actually surprises. The big surprise was that Darth Vader turned back from the "Dark Side" and destroyed the Emperor, saving his son.

It was an emotional high point for all of us, but Mia especially must have been really affected. At least 10 minutes after we had put away the DVD and turned the lights back on she turned to me and said, "Daddy, [referring to the scene above] when that happened it made me cry." I replied, "Yeah, it was very emotional for me too, sweety." Then she said, "And Daddy, when I think about it now it still makes me cry." Then she burst into tears.

Bed Bugs

The kids always tell me "Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the Bed Bugs bite." I always have to say, "You too." or they will say, "I guess you want the bed bugs to bite me."

Tonight when I put Ellis to bed he said, "Good night. Don't let the bugs eat."

BuddyNana

Ellis was in going to the bathroom and I went in to check on him. He told me, "I went one stinky BuddyNana. We don't eat stinky buddynana's. That would be stinky!"

Menu

Mia told Ellis that she was making a menu. Ellis said, "A men me? You are making a men Ellis?"

Yawn

Gordon told me, "Mommy. I ated my yawn."

Just Like Daddy

In the car tonight Gordon said, "When I cut my hair and I don't have any left, I will be just like Daddy!"

Fights

Mia and Gordon were fighting over something in the car and Mia said, "Gordon won't stop fighting me!" I told her that it takes two people to fight. Mia said, "Or two nations."

Suntan

Jared asked me if taking a really hot shower would turn your skin brown.

Monkey

I was reading a book to Ellis and he was naming all of the animals he could see. He pointed to the lion and said, "Lion." He pointed to the turtle and said, "Turtle." He pointed to the monkey and said, "Mia."

Jared

For FHE last night Seth was telling Jared all about where his name came from. We were watching a video slide show about Jared Cook and we got to one picture where he was burning his tie on his mission. Seth said, "He must be about halfway through."

Jared said, "Halfway through his life?"

The Soap Song

This is what I heard Gordon singing while in the shower this morning. "Soap in my eyes. Soap in my eyes. Soap in my bum. Soap in my eyes and soap in my bum."

Good Night

The last thing Ellis said to me last night, before he went to sleep was, "Mia's my best friend."

Cookies

I was handing out Oreo'sto the kids for a snack. The kids were all saying, I want 3 or I want 2. Ellis got into it and said, "I want 42."