OCTOBER

It's Halloween time! We started the month off by going to a farm with a petting zoo and a hayride to pick our own pumpkins. John has started a new thing called "studying". He even started doing it on Saturdays so on this Saturday it was just me and the kiddos. We were the first ones there and the kind owner took pity on me and gave us a free cow train ride. After that we spent time enjoying the farm. Then we got a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time. The kids wasted no time carving the pumpkins. Here's the proof off all the fun, Enjoy!

Just this morning the sun looked like this so I had to take a picture. It was so bright and it looked like a pumpkin!Lantz loves pumpkins!

Lantz was not shy or grossed out at all. He was quite the helper, especially when Zak was gagging from the pumpkin guts.
All three kids did it all on there own. The cleaning and the designing!
Lantz with the pumpkin he chose.
Leaving the pumpkin patch with the pumpkins.
The pumpkin is almost as big as him.
We were too cheap to buy the food so the kids started picking up fallen food to feed.
Lantz is always ready to "cheese".
They had a barn swing which Zak loved.
The pregnant pony was everyone's favorite.

We are excited to go back again and again and hopefully John can come too. We also have to buy more pumpkins because we left a huge candle in them overnight and practically burned the pumpkins. Woops!

Things about the kids

Things about Zak these days
*He is the lady's man at school. He gets mad if you tease him and he doesn't let the girls hug him he just walks away. But he loves talking and playing with them.
*He can sound words out phonetically . He even wrote planned my meals and wrote my shopping list this week.
*He is a great help around the house and an awesome babysitter.
*He is learning to write his phone number and address.

Things about Makelle
*She can recite the first four articles of faith!
*She loves yard sales.
*She caught a huge fish for her first time with her new barbie fishing pole.
*She will finally ride her bike on the street and in the driveway instead of just in the garage!
*She is no longer scared of the vacuum!!! I made her vacuum last week while she was clinging to me and crying but it seems to have gotten her over it.
*She loves having school with Mommy in the mornings, and she is getting super smart! She is learning sequencing and rhyming
*She does hand stand all the time and she is very good at it.

Things about Lantz
*He is a STINKER
*He is a MENACE
*His name should be Lantz "Richard"
*In one week he learned how to open the outside doors and let him and my babysitting kid outside.He also learned how to push a chair to the counter to reach stuff.He learned how to climb up on the counter.He learned how to get into the top cuboards.He learned how to open the outside doors with the child proof doorknobs on!!!
*He hasn't played in the toilet this week but he still plays in the trash and dumps out cereal.
*He has been in his big boy bed for one month and has only gotten out once!
*He knows all of the actions to several songs like "Popcorn popping" and he loves to sing.
*His favorite things are to eat candy, play outside, read books and be naughty!
*He is so dang fun and cute!

Things about John
*He still loves to eat!
*He actually studies this semester. He went to the library for the first time on a Saturday!
*

Things about Ashley
*Is flunking Economics!
*Loves being in Young Women's and watching my ladies become leaders!
*Is glad that most days I am perfectlly content with my life. The bad times are only just "moments".
*Has the best friends who help me to be better. They also watch my kids and that is WONDERFUL!
*Was super excited to go to the ball. I felt like a princess for the night, at least until I got to the PARTY!!!

I think the most repeated sentence in my life is "Life is Crazy" or maybe "Lantz is a menace". I think the latter may be the reason for the first statement! Life is Crazy for our family but mostly in a very good way. Here are some highlights for last month.

John took both of the boys to the Father's and Son's camp out. John was willing to take Lantz, and Zak wanted him along so it worked out great. They had a fun time sleeping in the tent and drinking homemade root beer. Zak loved widdling with his pocket knife and then he lost it there somewhere. I guess I don't have to stress about it anymore! Makelle and I had a fun evening hanging out at a dental school picnic by ourselves, then grocery shopping and we ended with a McDonald's ice cream and a sleepover on the bean bag. Then next day we had a great time yard sale-ing and found some great stuff we didn't need but it was way to cheap to pass up. Makelle bought herself a Barbie fishing pole and she was in heaven. I realized it is really fun and relaxing to have just one child and even shopping is enjoyable!

Last month John and I decided we needed to start having family councils with the kids. We weren't sure what to expect from the kids but they LOVED it. It has been so fun to have them with the kids. They get so excited to have a meeting with Mom and Dad. They are so used to us going to meetings that they feel so cool to have one with us. They get their pens and clipboards and start drawing pictures and writing things down. We each take an uninterrupted minute to talk about things we want to have happen in our family. The first week Zak wanted us to all do better picking up our clothes. Makelle gave a big long talk about how God loves us and how he helps the world. It was great! Last week Zak decided they needed to help more around the house. This week I had dishwasher and laundry helpers all week. I love the things they come up with. It gives us one more night to take time to be as a family to sing and work together to make our family better.


Another big thing for September was the "Ball on the Bell". It will get its own post later!

Now for the latest pictures of the crazy crazy kids!

Makelle loves to do hand stands anywhere and anytime even in the car!


Makelle is just pullin Lantz around.
Lantz wanting to be like Makelle. Of course Zak knew he would get in trouble so he didn't paint his nails, just his brother's.
Stinker!


Lantz loves to put things in his ears. Before I get mad at him I first have to take a picture. It is a little funny and dangerous!

Silly kids!

Here are some random pictures I uploaded a while ago and forgot to post!
Zak was proud to be matching his dad.

A stinking cute cowboy!
Cute kids ready for church.

We had homemade doughnuts for Family Home Evening and they were MESSY!


Did I mention they were MESSY?!

Too Big!!

Goodbye Crib, Hello Big Boy Bed!! Crazy I know especially considering what a stink he is. He kept getting his legs caught in the crib. So despite thinking it was a bad idea I took the crib down. So far he is on his 6th day in his bed and NO problems! Wahoo!!!
Silly boy posing for the camera!!

HAIRCUTS

After a fun filled day yesterday we ALL came home for haircuts. Of course John was the barber! Makelle didn't want to be left out so she decided she wanted to look like Mom. She said it will just grow again so she wanted it cut off.




I was shocked to walk into the garage and see locks of Makelle's hair on the ground. She got 8 inches cut off! She looks darn cute! She asked all to call her by her middle name, Ashlyn, since she looks just like me! She wants us to do our hair together the same everyday! She loves it, loves it! Don't they all look so big and cute? Seriously John needs to make a career change. I had two more people stop me last month and ask who cuts my hair. Funny stuff!

Zak's love note

Zak is liking school more. He loved it at first then started to not like it. He is one shy boy in big groups. The have observation window were you can watch the classroom without them knowing. It is so sad to seem him playing by himself or reading by himself. Outside at playtime he was doing the same thing. It is a sad thing because you want your kids to be happy but it has to be their choice. Happiness and success have to come from within. We would talk everyday about maybe why he didn't like it or he was bored. I would give him ideas. I am happy to report he thinks it is great again and he has several buddies he talks to and plays with outside. He still isn't himself in the classroom yet but I am hoping for great things! He has been learning about living things and the food chain. He loves when he comes home and can teach me and Makelle new things. One day he came home with a picture. Makelle asked what he drew. He said I didn't draw it a girl did and gave it to me. I asked him about it and he said a girl he never talked to drew this for him. Here it is!

WAY TO GO ZAK!!! He gets so mad when we tease him!

Every night we do a fun activity with the kids after they get their charts done. On this night I chose the activity and I was practicing a game for my YW activity. Now it one of the favorites and they beg for it every night.

John chose the egg game and they love it now too! What silly kids. Our neighbors probably wonder about us in the backyard every night carrying eggs with spoons!




Makelle was excited to start Joy school with me but it looks like it will just be us instead. She wishes she was five and in Kindergarten. The first few days of school I was really missing Zak's help around here. Now Makelle is learning to be a great help. She says everyday she is practicing to be a mom!

Lantz is a stink!!!! My days are endlessly filled with cleaning up his messes. He plays in the trash, dumps the cereal, plays with the toilet paper, the toilet, and his favorite is dumping cups of water. SERIOUSLY he is a STINK!!! Good thing he is so dang cute and fun or I would call it quits lots of days. He is learning songs now and his vocabulary includes lots of words. He loves sitting on my lap and reading books.

I started school, seriously what was I thinking? Life is crazy busy and I am going to school!! No, it is crazy but I am actually liking my classes. It is fun to learn more stuff and actually have something to talk about with John! He has never seen me get excited about learning stuff before so he likes it. As strange as it may sound I get lots more done when I have lots to do.

John and I went boating with the youth on Saturday. We had a great time although now I feel like I got whiplash. Oh the things we do for fun!