basement/backyard project

 we have started the basement/backyard project.  the HVAC guy has been here all week starting that portion in the basement, and the contractor will start next week.  

we also need to get the backyard hardscaping portion in the backyard finished so renters have an entrance.  we had a few people come out and give us estimates, and after the lowest one came in at $30,500, we decided this was a project we needed to tackle ourselves.  we're putting in a patio, tiered retaining wall that will double as garden beds, and a walkway.  we went to a few places to find the most cost-effective material that we liked.  the boys and i spent at least 2 hours at this rock place on monday.  we ended up not going with their product, but the boys sure loved making rock slides on the displays.

after a long day out and about, we stopped at the duck park.  it was still warm enough that the entire duck family and aunts, uncles, and cousins were still there.  

a cold snap moved in yesterday.  all our materials were dropped off from a couple different places yesterday and the day before.  even though it was windy and drizzly, the boys were outside climbing all over the gravel and dirt for a couple hours (the unstable flagstones and pallets of retaining wall blocks were off limits).  david is taking all next week off, so we're planning on cranking out this project!

happy birthday pace!

pace had a great birthday this year!  i can't believe he is 5 already.  he's doing a great job reading and writing, exploring his whole world, being a great big brother, and friend to all our new neighbors.  he never ceases to surprise me with his vocabulary, smarts, and things he says!

his birthday was on a wednesday, library day (i love that he colored multicultural friends).  he loves running circles around me, collecting leaves, and his new favorite stuffed animal, penguin.  david took the boys to the aquarium when i was away with heather, and pace picked out a penguin stuffed animal and max picked out a sparkly pink seahorse.  penguin has not left pace's side since the aquarium.  as a side note, i love that pace is a very literal child.  his stuffed animals don't have names; their names are what they are..."penguin", "giraffe", "whaley", etc.  it's so funny when people ask him what his animal's name is, and he'll give them a look and say (with a "duh" tone of voice), "penguin." although, he did tell me later his penguin's full name is "penguin adorable coombs".

pace loves helping me in the kitchen.  he helped put sprinkles on his birthday cake.  later that night we celebrated by inviting our new neighbors over for cupcake decorating and birthday popper throwing in the cul-de-sac.  lucy brought over some glow-in-the-dark glasses for pace.  pace had his 5 year check the next week, and got 3 shots in preparation for kindergarten next year.  pace still needs to know how things work from start to finish to feel comfortable with it, so we talked a while about shots, what they do in the body, what it would feel like, and the best way to help it not hurt (squeeze your hands together and don't let go).  pace didn't cry one bit for his shots!  his leg that got the tetanus shot was a little tender later, but he did so, so great for his check up!

cutest neighbor ever

our next door neighbors have 4 girls, and their youngest, lucy, has quickly become pace's favorite playmate.  we first met them over the summer as their house was being built.  pace very excitedly showed lucy our dirt and rocks in our backyard and they happily threw rocks together.  when i was tucking pace in that night, he was a little dreamy-eyed and said, "mommy, i love that lucy girl so much."  and he didn't stop talking about her until we saw her a few weeks later.  the next time we saw  the workman's, lucy was dressed in a tight pink leotard and tutu.  pace had talked her up so much, and had been so excited about her, that when he saw her in person, he immediately clammed up.  pretty much the cutest sociological boy-girl relation viewing ever.  pace sat on my lap, hiding his head in my arms for a good 10-15 minutes.  once lucy started throwing rocks again, pace swallowed his shyness and joined in.  since they've moved in the kids have been running around playing together nearly every day.  we do snacks together, painting and projects together, inside and outside together, dirt digging and rock throwing together...not sure why they are in the closet in this photo.  maybe they were checking out something glowing?  i love having lucy over for a number of reasons, but mostly because the boys respond to my pleads to be gentlemen.  lucy was over for lunch one afternoon and we only have two chairs for their little table.  both boys immediately said, "lucy, you can have my chair!"

girls night out

heather and i had our annual girls night out and 5k in park city.  a girls night out isn't a girls night out without "mormitos" (mormon mojitos) and a fancy meal at a fancy restaurant, a 5k (i finished sub-30 and placed 2nd for my age group!), shopping, and a halloween pedicure.  so fun!

the 5k had a photo booth

best race breakfast: banana with crunchy peanut butter and honey!

heather knows where to go to get the best massages with a pedicure.  i do not complain.

a few more things

pace loves, loves, loves his halloween costume.  he is getting really good at directing traffic.  max loves being pace's helper buddy.  max's vocabulary and sentence structure is pretty hilarious these days.  some of my fav things he says:
-i be carefully (he says as he's going down the stairs or climbing up a stool)
-his frequent use of the verb "to be"  he says all the time something like, "the flags are fall down"; "he is eat that", "seahorses are not have legs", "rexy is can sit here", "daddy is was heard that", etc.
-"mama, 'nuggle noses.  now kiss".
-"oh dear".  not sure where he picked this one up, as i don't say that, but it's super cute.
-still says " 'hanks" and "i not love ______"
-if the boys are counting things, when they get to their ages, max says "dat's older i am!  wee!" (that's how old i am, three!)
and pace's new fav saying:  "Hey!  Don't.Kiss.Me!"  

we got an address stamp referral gift in the mail!  apparently someone took our review seriously.  

for experiment day last week we made paddle boats to learn about elasticity.  the paddles didn't work very well, but the boys didn't seem to mind.  especially when the tsunami and whirlpools hit.

this week on experiment day we made rubber band guitars to learn about vibrations.  i quickly became the pied piper of the neighborhood as all the kids in our cul-de-sac came over to check it out. i think i made a half dozen rubber band guitars that afternoon.  we are so excited to have our neighbors moved in and playmates over all the time...we're going to have to start a rubber band band!!

word to the wise:  don't get in a battle with a costco shopping cart.  they will win.  it's a hard job being a klutz, but someone's gotta do it.  (don't worry, it's just a sprain)

putting on the full armor of god

for fhe a couple weeks ago we talked about putting on the full armor of god.  we pulled out our aluminum/cardboard armor we made when we were teaching sunday school years and years ago, and the boys absolutely loved it.  i am hoping they remember more than just the aluminum foil battle...

and then pace gave a talk in primary that sunday, and we decided continue the armor theme.  he did a great job!

family photos

we found some great places to take our family photos this year!  we absolutely love our new end of the valley.  it's fresh, clean, amazing cycling and running, great places to explore--we found maple lake while out driving--and i'm not even going to complain about the occasional rooster or cow we hear through open windows...now the big job of picking which one to use for our christmas card...