Shuttlecock

If you have never read this book- you are seriously missing out. It is one of my favorite books of Elliott's. Completely hilarious and well worth the time. Pneumatic drills, explosives, and of course a game of shuttlecock.

They play badminton in it but they call it shuttlecock in the book- that is another term for birdie. Anyway- Elliott will only call it shuttlecock and he can't ask to play without Craig and I laughing for awhile.

Last week in a nutshell- for Joshua

Every week I send my little brother an email- he is on a mission in Florida-Tallahassee. This blog emails him the posts every time I make one so it is an awesome way to get multiple emails to him throughout the week or whenever. I seriously don't know what we would all do without the internet.


We had a little class this week at the bay. It was about worms and things. Elliott was quite thrilled to be there- pretty obvious here huh?


Elliott has also just this last little while taken a liking to holding bugs- it seems only if mom holds them first- so I do. Harlequin Beetle- I wish I could have got a shot of this guy- it was big and they are such cool bugs. If you know El this is a big deal to hold a bug and actually enjoy himself.


Elliott and his cousins- Nate, Kenyon and Collin. I am so glad and grateful that we get to have them so close and that they love each other so much. I joke that Nate and E treat each other just like brothers- love/hate relationship.


On Saturday we took a family hike. Every Saturday we have decided to do something that gets E out and about to see and do some new things. Broaden the horizons of our 3 year old.


Just a picture of my cute guy. Isn't this field incredible?



Elliott cracks us up. He has this thing for weird games- no love of soccer (yet) or basketball- he is fine with both but when asked what he would like to do he answers- "Shuttlecock" (see next post), croquet and bocce ball. I love the tongue out concentration.





For those of you who don't believe me- we are 1 1/2 hours from snow. We can grow bananas and go to see snow all in one day. I adore California. Franz and Serena- El asks "Who are those people that live up there again?" we tell him and he goes- "Yeah, them- they live in the mountains with the snow." So funny.


Lastly- We have introduced Elliott to Star Wars. The heavens have opened with this one- I surely wouldn't have thought it would be so cool. This is his reaction to Jabba the Hut. We edit a bit- don't freak out. I gotta tell you that some of the stuff on the tele for kids these days (E doesn't watch 99% of it) is WAY worse than a little Star Wars. I love these movies. It is a little fun time for just the 3 of us- special movie nights.

Sorry about the red eye- I wasn't in the mood for photoshop.

The things he says-

Tonight for Family Home Evening we were learning the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego - Elliott loved the story. He loved it so much we had to recreate it multiple times each taking turns with the different parts- soldiers, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Interestingly enough he never asked us to play Jesus- he would just get all sweet when we would ask him who came to rescue them- he would say- Jesus.

The topper was a few moments later on our next adventure with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego- right after the soldiers throw them into their fiery death he goes:

"Look mom and dad- It's Batman....."


Always to the rescue, good old Batman. Thank you Batman.

Kite flying

Yesterday was a somewhat windy day so we took out the kite. I forget how much fun kites are until we go kite flying again. Every time I am reminded. E had a great time and he was hilarious trying to get the bird up in the air. One of his tosses was the longest the bird stayed in the air. It ended up not being windy enough. Oh well, good times.

Vacuum

We got a new vacuum- the best vacuum in the world. I never thought I would love anything as much as I love my VitaMix- who knew. I adore my vacuum- so does Elliott. You can take this back piece off and the air blows out (it is also an air purifier). Elliott sits in the breeze and goes to town laughing and being silly. I love things that make us all happy.

The Elliott I love

These are the faces of Elliott lately- minus the really ticked off/angry faces of late. Phases- I am tired of the "fit" phase- does it EVER END??? Seriously- not fun. Thank the beautiful heavens for those perfect moments of love between E and I that make the fits somehow disappear. Seriously- what the heck- fits. And- what a dumb word for it- fit- I admit at moments it is like E is having some sort of physical fit- rage out of nowhere. We need a better word for this problem.

The things he says-

Tonight while having his bath, both Craig and I kept asking him to stand up so we could wash him- he was totally ignoring us- so we asked again- for like the 5th time- reluctantly and with a bit of exhaustion in his voice he says:

Yes, your majesty.

The things he says-

Elliott got a little Leapster for Christmas- such a cool toy for kids this age- if you don't already have one. They have learning games of all kinds with a few built into the piece.
However, they have this little button you can push and it has a bazillion commercials for their other games you can buy for the little leapster (stinkers)- one being Batman.

Oh, for our new love of Batman.

E hardly even knows who Batman is- superhero-good-Spiderman's equal-drives a cool car-and the Batman song. Now he is enamored by Batman- well this little commercial.
This little 3 second blurb has got his little brain thinking.

Where does Batman live?

In a cave with the bats, that is why he is called Batman.

Mom, I want to go to Batman's house.

2 1/2 hours later- right after he wakes up from his nap-

Maybe we could call Spencer (a friend of ours little boy) and go to his house to play Rock Guitar... and then we could call Batman- and go to his house.

The things he says-

While playing with some Legos-


...and there was a tremendous boom.

small pause

...in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Swingers

We went to the park a few weeks ago- I know this video is long- but the two of these guys just crack me up! Nate is an old pro at this swing thing. As of recent- E has been pretty skeptical of many of the physical "triumphs" for little ones- you know- slides, jumping, riding on the swings like this....He really takes his time when he wants to try something new. He must not be pressured. It is really fun when he attempts something new and exciting. Oh yes, this is a few weeks after he was trying this for one of the first times and totally overshot and flew off landing on his stomach. Craig and I were in tears it was so funny- poor guy.

I am so proud that he got on and keeps trying. Sweet El.

Tag- My lover and I

How long have you been together? Married for 10 years in August- I know- crazy long time. It has FLOWN by- that is a great thing, I am happy with Craig.

How long did you date? We don’t know when we started dating- it wasn’t something we paid that close attention to- then we were kissing and then engaged- so- a little over a year- we’d been good friends for over a year before.

How old is he? 38 and perfect- I know, I am such a cheese.

Who eats more? If dark chocolate is involved- him.

Who said "I love you" first? I don’t know.

Who is taller? Craig

Who sings better? Good question- I think he sings well- he doesn’t sing often- I like to sing- so we're both fine but nothing special.

Who is smarter? Definitely Craig- we each have our things that we are smarter with- but he just keeps me grounded. I usually ask- “Hey, did anything happen in the world today that I need to know about?” (I hate the news) and he usually fills me in. Also, with regard to the gospel- he wins big time- he is always knowledgeable about the good details. This is something that has always made me really appreciate Craig, he really is smart.

Who does the laundry? I wash and dry and try to always have it all done- but he usually ends up helping me put it away, total champ.

Who does the dishes? Usually me- He runs off to play with E while I clean up- I prefer that they have their play time before bed- this is really important to Elliott.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Craig- he is closest to the gun.

Who pays the bills? We usually talk about them- then I usually go in and pay them (I love auto bill pay).

Who mows the lawn? The best gardeners in town- :-) we spoil ourselves- we look at it as time we could be apart working or time we could be together doing something meaningful- the later won out.

Who cooks dinner? Me, I like to have dinner ready so we can be done with it and be on to bigger things- this usually involves- pirates, Harry the Hedgehog or light sabers- but well worth the dinner being made earlier.

Who is more stubborn? Totally depends on the situation. I am pretty stubborn- but if it is something that means more to him- he can be stubborn one.

Who kissed who first? He totally kissed me- MacDaddy.

Who asked who out? We really don’t know- seriously- we were such good friends we were with each other practically every day anyway- it sort of just happened.

Who proposed? Craig did- it was cute. I totally knew it was coming because he was acting so funny and nervous. It was at a park where we had first kissed- so I knew something was up. It was perfect.

Who is more sensitive? Again, totally depends on the situation. Craig is a pretty sensitive guy-so we take our turns. I'll go out on a limb here and say it is usually me though- something about us girls- seriously- what the heck?.

Who has more friends? Craig

Who has more siblings? Same on both sides.

Who are you tagging? Karlea, Janice, Jennifer S., Jennifer G., Mandy and Wendy- Come now, I know you all have sooooo much free time.

Motorcycles

My brother-in-law has a motorcycle. E thinks it is so cool! He was totally stoked the other night to get to sit on it and pretend for a bit. When Kenyon generously passed over the helmet- he was in heaven (sorry for the blurry picture). Elliott LOVES motorcycles. Every time we see one from the car he must make sure that everyone inside of the car has seen it go by. He is such a boy.

Hair

Sorry this has taken forever- E took this picture today- (my cameras seem attract him- he is always wanting to take photos)- so thanks be unto Elliott. I have had so many tell me it isn't that short- I realize it isn't that short- it still seems so short to me. My hair used to go all the way down my back- so- change is good.

Children's museum

I am a little behind on my posting- we went to a children's museum with Craig's sister, mom and my sister and all the kids last week. We had the GREATEST time and plan to make it a place to go more often. It was one of the only places that we have gone where I didn't have to say one time- "oh, don't touch..." it was a little piece of heaven for littles- it was all hands on for them- every single thing was for them to touch and play with and to make a mess with- they loved it all- it was a really fun outing!

Time for a change

I go through strange hair spurts. I will grow out my hair for years and then chop it off one random day- well this time I chopped it off for a good reason. It was time for a MUCH needed haircut- I wanted to cut off 7 or 8 inches anyway- so I thought, what's 3 or 4 more- right? 11 or 12 inches later I was able to donate my hair to locks of love . I am in a bit of shock- I don't think I was really ready to cut soooo much off at once- but happy to share something with a little one that will make them feel better about themselves. I have had some random cuts here and there since E was born- but for the most part- 3 years of hair.

The things he says-

I was singing a song to El last night that ends with "...yes I know Heavenly Father loves me." and here is our conversation...

Mom, Does Heavenly Father love me?

Yes, he does, very much.

Heavenly Father loves you too and Daddy.

Yes, he does.

Does Jesus love me?

Yes, he loves you very much too.

Mom, when I am bigger and you are smaller, I will let you ride on my back and give you piggybacks.

CLASSIC

Lately- he has been doing things- like putting on an article of clothing or jumping or doing something he deems as "big" and he will say-

"Look (Mom or Dad- whoever is there)- I'm a man."

The gift that keeps on giving...

Craig's parents gave E a drum set for Christmas- he just got it a few days ago since all of Craig's family was out of town for the holidays. Anyway- we LOVE it- seriously. We are just trying to learn how exactly to hit it- as hard as possible to soft but still completely audible. Let me tell you- as hard as possible keeps on winning. So today Nate and Kenyon came over and Collin was asleep so we gave them a different option. Heavenly option. I told them they could hit this one as hard as they wanted and Shelly and I wouldn't say a thing. It was hilarious. The other part that was hilarious was how TEMPTING a real drum set is when it is RIGHT there in front of you! They had to keep walking up and stepping on the peddle. So funny! I am stoked to have a little one that loves music as much as I do.

Family New Year

The day started with a train ride to a petting zoo. The kids had a blast on the train-it was so exciting for them.






Petting zoo excitement. No really- we had a great time. The kids had a great time which made it really fun for all of us adults.


I love Elliott's face. He was a little bit skeptical about feeding the animals. He would really just kind of drop the carrot and if the animal happened to catch it- well it was a good moment for all. Then he got a little bit more cozy with them and started holding them for the animals to actually take from him.




As you can see- more of a throw than a feed.

We had a great New Year's with Craig's family. His two sisters and their families were able to come down so it was great to see them and enjoy our time with them.

Family Christmas

This one CRACKS me up! My mom wanted a little Christmas story reenactment- well it sort of worked. Elliott was totally stoked to be a shepherd and Nate was totally stoked to be a king- however- miss Kenyon was not totally stoked and decided it was way more fun to be the boss and get everyone in costume. The boys loved it all.



My mom, Lauralee and sweet baby Collin.



My cute brother, Spencer- I wish we would have got a shot of all of us adults with all of the gold crowns on our heads. We were showing the kids how cool they were and we seemed to just keep them on- the kids wanted nothing to do with them.

It was a lovely holiday with my side of the family. I feel like I so rarely see them- it was really nice.

I Love to see the Temple !! ( Rock Version )