Conlin Carve 2014

Last night we held one of our favorite annual activities: the Conlin Carve!  The boys look forward to carving pumpkins every year and have become really independent carvers with fun creative ideas for what they want the end result to be.  Tommy was the only one who had to have help carving, but he still did most of the scraping himself...much to Adam's joy (he hates pumpkin goo almost more than Luke!).  They came out so great...er...adorable...uh, I meant...awesome...wait, I mean...spooky!

We grew this one in our garden!

That face says it all...GROSS!

We made this one for Kai, who arrives tonight with Auntie Lili!

Five Fun Facts About Josh's Tenth

It was a busy day for our family, but Josh still said it was one of his best birthdays ever! 

• Josh just left the single-digits behind.  For the next 90 years, he will be double-digits in age.
• This is the only year Josh will ever double Tommy in age.
• Josh's birthday list was comprised of only two things, and they both related to soccer: a Belgium National Team jersey and a goal-keeper jersey, requested in orange (which Nana and Papa gave him).  We threw in one soccer surprise, a pair of off-field soccer flats, and two non-soccer surprises, a new hat and some yummy Lindt chocolates.
• Josh loves good food, and all day long we made sure he had it: "Grandma pancakes," a.k.a. Belgian pancakes, for breakfast, ham and cheese on panini for lunch, shrimp- and alfredo-topped angelhair pasta for dinner and brownies topped with half-melted marshmallows and peanut butter M&M's for a treat. Oh-ho-ho boy!
• We had to get everyone up a bit earlier to let Josh open presents before school, and lit candles, sang "Happy Birthday" and gobbled down his birthday brownies before everyone took off for soccer and church activities.  On Tuesdays in the fall, no one is home at the same time between 4:00 and 8:30pm.  No one complained about needing to eat treats right after school at all!

The Bits: October 15th Through October 21st

This month is awesome...and exhausting!

Cuddling with my Luke.

Tommy was his preschool's King for the Day last Wednesday, celebrating his upcoming birthday with his friends from class.

The boys love holiday specials!  They are always such a fun way to celebrate the season.

This is a great example of why the brain of a teenage boy is simultaneously flabbergasting and hilarious.  When dropped off a few minutes early for soccer practice, instead of warming up, like normal, rationally thinking humans, they decide to play merry-go-round soccer...while it is spinning.  Likely to cause injury?  Indeed.  But incredibly fun?  Heck, yeah!  Let's do it!

Zac has decided he loves scary stuff: books, movies, haunted houses, all things terrifying....  So Thursday night, Adam and I dropped Zac and four friends off for a tour of the Haunted Mines, which Adam and I visited one time a few years back with my sis.  They had a long 2-hour wait in line to get nice and psyched out before they even went in, and when we went back to pick them up, Zac was chased through the parking lot to the car by a guy with a chainsaw.  Nice.  He loved it!  No, thank you.

I'd say they survived, but looking at those eyes...I'm not so sure they came back to us quite the same!

My friend Diana finally talked me into going to visit her PT husband to see what is up with my leg.  This is me resting with my post "dry needling" (a.k.a. acupuncture done by a physical therapist instead of an acupuncturist) heat pack on my backside, which seems to be the source of the problem, my gluteus minimus.  Oh boy.  Whatever those needles did sure did help!

Saturday we took a tour of Colorado for soccer games: Aurora, Centennial and Fort Collins!  We left the house at 8:30am and returned at 5pm.  We had two great games and one rough one.  It was such a long day that after dinner, I just wanted to get the kids in bed and then climb into bed myself, but soon after we arrived home I got a text from a friend asking if Adam and I were going to the adult session of Stake Conference that night, so we rallied our energy and went.  I am so thankful we did!  The messages and spirit were fantastic.  I am so grateful for that text and that God knew I needed it. 

After his game in Centennial, Josh was able to hang out for a few hours with one of his best buddies, Sanjay, who moved up to Denver at the end of the last school year, while I drove to Zac to his Aurora game and cheered him on.  The boys had such a great time reconnecting and are already setting up a sleepover after soccer wraps up. 

We were in the very, very back row for Stake Conference on Sunday morning, but we were there!  So: WIN!

Superman and Superdog; Hulk dressed as Superman and Ruby by Tommy.  I love his budding skills!

Tommy was inspired by Luke's Family Home Evening Lesson last Sunday, so he orchestrated one of his own for this week.  We learned about Noah's ark and built boats out of paper to see if they'd sink or float.  He did a great job, but what I really loved was his determination to teach and plan the whole thing.

On our Sunday afternoon walk, while on a particularly leaf-strewn section of the street, a sudden gust of wind caught up all the loose leaves and we were caught in a leaf blizzard for a few moments.  It was so cool!

Since I took these photos on Sunday, with light breezes and cooler nights on Sunday and Monday, many of the trees have lost their leaves and are nearly bare, but it's really been a beautiful, colorful autumn!

Monday, Adam did his civic duty reporting for jury duty (he didn't get selected, but learned a lot about the justice system which he excitedly told us all about over dinner).  I thought I'd do my civic duty too, by filling out and dropping off my ballot.  Maybe the political calls will stop coming in now.  I checked the voicemail yesterday and there were 17 missed messaged...over half were recordings for one political agenda or the other.  Argh.  One of the members of our ward is running for Colorado Secretary of State; pretty cool!

Tommy and I are in charge of the co-op preschool group this week and we had a great time on Tuesday, collecting leaves, talking about colors and then painting with them.  These kiddos are so cute!

Josh on Josh: Ten

Josh, our magic middle, is such a wonderful little man, and at ten, he is finding his way through the bliss and murk of moving from little boy to big boy.  He is insightful and inquisitive, seemingly mature beyond his ten years.  He is always asking questions or seeking information that will help him to expand his knowledge of the things he enjoys (and we've yet to find a subject that he doesn't enjoy), and pushing for bigger responsibilities at school and at home.  He takes initiative and is unceasingly determined.  He has deep fears of the night and darkness that he just can't shake no matter how much he tells his active, beautiful imagination to settle.  Josh is a kind, considerate and helpful friend and brother.  He has a lot of great friends at school and on his soccer team and is always begging for time to play with them.  He loves to help and share his vast knowledge and understanding, which is usually pretty nice, but he is still working on knowing that unwanted help isn't helpful.  This particular trait causes Josh and Luke to butt heads a lot and improving their interactions is something we are all working on.  Josh loves to read and write and is a math whiz.  He is excited about expanding his vocabulary and checks the thesaurus regularly for new words.  His grades are stellar and his thirst for knowledge and love of sharing his knowledge are unquenchable.  He loves to share about his day, his life, his thoughts and the things he has done, and appreciates when he can have an undivided audience more than any of the other boys.  Special one-on-one time and cuddle time is a requirement for him.  He is our biggest son, as far as placement on the growth chart goes (50th percentile!), so it is easy to forget how very sensitive and tenderhearted he can be, but he really is.  He feels things deeply and needs gentle guidance for his stubborn streak.  Persistence is a crowning trait, which as a parent can be a double-edged sword!  We love that he doesn't back down to a challenge, but also would love it if he wouldn't challenge so much...for now.  We are proud of our sweet Josh, and know he has a bright year ahead!

How old are you?  "Ten!"
What makes you happy?  "Being with my family; also being with my friends."
What are your favorite things to eat?  "Fettuccine shrimp alfredo, potstickers, most things Mom makes."
What is your least favorite thing to eat?  "Cooked spinach."
What are your favorite things to do?  "Play soccer with Eli and Canyon, and Sophie."
What is your favorite TV show?  "Hmm...Studio C...totally."
What are you really good at?   "Soccer, rollerblades, reading, math, and other stuff like that."
What is your favorite movie?  "I honestly don't know, I like a lot of movies...Maleficent."
What is your favorite animal?  "Narwhal."
What is your favorite color?  "Orange."
What is your favorite song?  "Counting Stars by OneRepublic."
Who are your best friends?  "Eli, Canyon, Sophie and the Ryans (Dean and Simonds)."
What do you and Mom do together that you love?  "Going to movies and snuggling while reading or watching a movie."
What do you and Dad do together that you love?  "Playing soccer."
What is your favorite sport?  "Soccer."
What is your favorite book?  "The Kronos Chronicles."
Where is your favorite place to go?  "The Conlin cabin and Panda Express."
What makes you feel scared?  "Dark places."
What do you want to be when you grow up?  "Pro soccer player."
What words would you use to describe yourself? "Cheerful, fun to be around (most of the time), fun, happy, smart, inquisitive, curious."
What is the most exciting thing you got to do this year? "Went to Florida?  Wait.  That was last year.  Went to the Sand Dunes.  Turning double digits."
What do you want to tell the future you? "Nice uniform.  Work hard if you want to stay on the team!"

Celebrating Tommy's One-Hand-Full Birthday

FIVE!  It's a big, BIG deal to have a birthday when you are five, isn't it?  It means that your age can be expressed using one full hand of fingers, and to Tommy, that is very awesome.  Tommy has been counting down the days until his birthday possibly since Ben's birthday, but certainly since the start of October, with very few skips.  By the time the week of arrived, the first thing he did after dinner was change our block calendar that displays the date, watching that 17 get closer and closer.  Although it wasn't a friend party year, we wanted to make sure Tommy's day was special, because we think HE is so special!  It was a bonus that the brothers were home from school and Dad was able to take a few hours off work to celebrate the day all together.

Below are scenes from celebrating our Tom!

Breakfast request: creme-filled doughnuts.  As much of the doughnut as you see gone in the picture is all that he could get in before the sugar overload hit him and he was done. 

He was not waiting.  Presents followed breakfast!

New Toms from Dad!

Checking off that list!

He said, "We need more Gups now, Mom."  I said, "Put them on your Christmas list!"

Tommy LOVES himself a nice crispy spring roll, so Panda Express was his birthday lunch spot of choice.

After noticing that The Book of Life movie came out on his birthday, Tommy decided that he wanted to see it for a birthday outing.  

My baby and me waiting for the movie to start!

The brothers made sure Tommy was given the kingly treatment!

Tommy's birthday wish: to play Candyland one-on-one with each of us in turn.  Trash talking at Zac during their game: "I'm beast at this game."

Time for some candles on a "leaf cupcake" (where does he come up with this stuff?!).

Carefully made wishes....

And out they go!

Tommy enjoyed his gifts throughout the day, including his new socks.

How can it be that he is five?!

Tommy wanted macaroni and cheese with hotdogs for dinner--specifically made by Dad.  I guess I don't make it as good, possibly because I won't eat it!

He gobbled his dinner, that included his favorite, Honeycrisp apples, all up.

We finished the night with the Lego Superheroes before reading stories together, saying prayers, and listening to our yoga relaxation meditation.  Then it was lights out on a wonderful fifth birthday for our darling Tommy!