Nooooo....I'm not Reid

These capes I made the crazies for Christmas have turned out to be the best present ever. They are the most used...least forgotten...toy in our house. You can always find them at the top of our toy box if they're not around the kids necks.


Does anyone remember this? Well Alter Ego Parker has a brother following in his footsteps. I can't remember the last time Reid was just Reid. It's like he has seriously forgotten that was ever his name. I can ask him repeatedly to do something and he doesn't even acknowledge me....he doesn't flinch. He doesn't look up. He doesn't respond in any way. But when I call him by his superhero name, he'll do what I ask...whether it be to brush his teeth, stop hitting his brother, eat his lunch, or clean up his toys. It's tough. I don't always know who he is. Finally he'll say NOOOOOO. I'm not Reid. I'm ________. Fill in the blank with whatever random superhero he's personifying.

I can't even comprehend how he does that. We play superheroes regularly at our house. I'm usually Storm or Wonder Woman or Elastagirl. The world of superheroes is seriously lacking females. I can't, for the life of me, remember to answer to my superhero name. I forget to respond until they call me Mom.

Watching Parker and Reid play superheroes together is a real trip. They never forget to call each other by their superhero names. They're hilarious. And they are both WAY into Marvel comics characters. So they become the most abstract superheroes (and sometimes bad guys) ever. Under our roof, you can frequently find people (or mutants) like Magneto, Ironman, Spiderman, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Wolverine, Xavier, Iceman, Green Goblin, Superman, Captain America, Mr. Fantastic, Pyro, Wolverine, Cyclops, Batman, Robin, Incredible Hulk and the list goes on. And when they're not being superheros, they are usual some one like Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent. In fact, Parker had a sub in his Sunbeam class one Sunday. He told the teacher his name was Peter Parker. My boys are nuts.

Last night they came running down the stairs shirtless while our home teachers were over. They were screaming like banshees that were both Incredible Hulk. (Then one of them called Reid a "little man" and I found him crying on the kitchen floor a few minutes later. He has a major complex about being called "little." He's BIG.)

Reid has a hard time starting a word with the letter 'S'. He'll tell me he's Uperman. (Pronounced OO-perman.) I'll repeat him with "OK Uperman." Then he responds, "No, not Uperman...Uperman." He can hear the difference, but can't say it and I think it's hilarious.

With all the alter egos my boys take on, nothing has ever topped the time Parker was Al Roker.

Messy Gooey Boy Cookies

We decorated sugar cookies for Family Night last night. It was fun to decorate cookies sometime other than a holiday. Sugar cookies get made about twice a year at our house. Always for Valentines and then either Halloween, Forth of July or Christmas. But that's about it. Yesterday we made them just for fun. A little blue and green food coloring and a box of Scooby Doo sprinkles (thanks Grandma) turned our cookies into the biggest batch of messy, gooey, boy cookies I've ever seen.

Sugar cookies are quite possibly my favorite cookies to eat, but making them is a whole different story. I was cookied out long before we decorated last night. It was like four separate activities.

• 10:00am - Making the dough...letting it sit in the fridge.
• 2:00pm - Rolling the dough and baking the cookies....letting them cool.
• 5:00pm - Mixing the frosting.
• 6:30pm - FINALLY decorating.

Seriously, my whole day revolved around these cookies. One baking activity a month is more than I need to satisfy my baking desires. Four in one day was WAY too much. I don't really get into baking...especially with kids around. The crazies LOVED the decorating part which made it all worth it. Parker even talked me into getting out my frosting bags and tips.

Reid showed up to decorate cookies shirtless...with a cape and sunglasses. He sat down at the table and said, "This is my decorating cape."

Parker's comment was, "We're the cookie seller guys. But...we're going to sell these cookies to our own selves."

The only thing Gray did was grunt for more cookies when he ran out.

I was way too consumed with the mess these three crazies were making to get any pictures of the action.

Babysitting Fee...Chocolate Cake

Park took this picture of my cute mom. (She is also available.) I LOVE this picture. This is how she looks when she's playing with my kids. This is her Grand-kid smile. Cute huh?

As most of you know, my mom came to visit a couple weeks ago. Having mom around is almost like a vacation at home. I found myself daily sitting down...breathing...with nothing pressing to do. There was an extra set of hands to wipe sticky fingers, play games, referee fights, corral wandering children, make lunches, clean up dishes, work in the yard, entertain and so on. Only she doesn't change dirty diapers...unfortunately. On top of that, we went out to eat, got pedicures, made jam, and took the kids bowling, to the park and to the movies. And as if that weren't enough, Spencer and I had a chance to get out without the kids and the only babysitting fee was Spencer's chocolate cake. Not bad, huh?

So here is a weeks worth of Grandma's entertainment in photos...

Sunday Best



Mom's good at remembering to take non-stroller pictures of Gray.




Mom also took the kids outside while I finished unpacking. I had no idea it was possible to get work finished to quickly.





A trip to Burger King


Ice cream on the back patio

Parker and his concentration face

The highlight of the week...bowling

I didn't include this picture to show off my winnings, but to point out who beat mom. Parker beat mom by 6 points. She only beat Reid by 2 points, but it was touch and go for a while. Reid was ahead for a couple frames in the middle.

Thanks Mom. I expect a good time when you come visit and this trip did not disappoint.

Bachelor Number One...Come On Down

Web designer by day...cowboy by night. Something happened to my city boy brother when he served his mission in the small towns of upstate New York. He came out of that place a goat-ropin', country music listenin', horse lovin', cowboy. (Sort-of.)

I was busy with the move and traveling during Mike's birthday. So as promised, I am making it up to him with today's flashback. Prepare to be embarrassed Mike.

My tribute to Mike...Bachelor style.

Mike is a 28 year old man seeking a woman. (Preferably one who can keep up with all this that is Mike.)

Mike is an outdoors man who enjoys camping...


...fishing...


...climbing trees...


...and of course, long walks on the beach.


Yet he still knows how to clean up to enjoy a night out on the town.

(Don't ask me about my outfit...you can blame my mom for that lovely look. Mike, however, looks very dapper.)

Mike's playful side...


...brings out not only the animal lover in him...

(that's a toy puppy on his shoulder)

...but also makes him great with kids. Especially his three adorable nephews.


Mike has always been a sports fan...with a particular love for Hockey and football...


and likes to root for the Cougars.

(Don't let my smile fool you. I was happy about the parade, NOT the BYU shirt. I'm anti-BYU and would dispose of this picture if Mike didn't look so stinkin' cute.)

Mike is a concert goer. He loves music of many genres and has always been a bit of a musician himself...



He has been quite the traveler. We have been all over the US together and have pictures in front of the capital building, not once...


...but twice.


We even traveled to Arizona on our own when we were 16 and 17.

(Actually Mike, this is one of my favorite memories. I had so much fun singing and snacking and sharing thoughts and secrets on that road trip. Very fun.)

Mike is a world class dancer...

(learning a native dance in Hawaii)


(after Hawaii on the way to a youth dance)

Mike has always been up for anything adventurous...from snow skiing to whatever ride this was at the Space Needle in Seattle.


And on top of all this, he has always managed to be an amazing brother. He is very generous. We have shared so many memories. I LOVED having a brother so close in age to share things with ...from friends, to a car, to secrets, to clothes (ok, I went through a phase were it was really cool to wear my brothers big t-shirts). I have great memories of sitting up after a youth dance eating Oreo's and watching SNL while the high from the dance wore off and I'd eventually fall asleep on the couch. It is because of Mike that I wanted my first child to be a boy so badly. I wanted to make sure the rest of my kids had the opportunity to have a big brother.

I had the unique opportunity to have Mike stand as a witness at my wedding. I'm always grateful he was able to be there and do that for me.

And ladies,
he is available.