The Carpenter Clan

Not Such a Baby Anymore!

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:41:00 +0000

My baby is 4. I don't know whether to be elated or cry over this. A little of both I guess. And despite my New Year's resolution to post more about our family here, it's the last day of January and I've done nothing. And we've had a fun month. I might as well start with a tribute to my big boy.

Despite big plans, Roland had a hard, grumpy birthday which started with tears in the morning (mine) and many, many tears the rest of the day (his). I think he's been losing too much sleep in the last week. But he's been planning a "new lego ninjago birthday" for months now, so we went ahead despite the grumpiness. He loves lego ninjago, which is why I was surprised when he hated the new t-shirt I gave him first thing in the morning. We are working on giving gracious thanks whenever you receive a gift from someone. (understatement of the year)

He did okay playing alone in the morning, which he does well every day. Roley is always an independent player and has a harder time interacting well with his brothers. And I sure hope he had a good day at preschool, but I didn't receive any negative feedback, so... The party was scheduled for after school and I want to thank my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for all their help in setting up and then helping at the party. They are awesome!

We had balloons and dancing, cupcakes and soda, bubbles and swings, games and favor bags. And Roland only had to be taken out three times in 1.5 hours for crying meltdowns. Let's just say it was a lot different than Alden's 4th birthday. Ro is definitely my baby. But I think the three guests from his preschool class had fun and Roley's first friend birthday party is history.

We made Ro's favorite orange chicken for dinner and he had visits from Auntie Candice's crew and Ma'am and Grampa before bedtime, which couldn't come soon enough. Apparently we are in the formidable fours now. The mood swings are amazing.

Here's some details about Roland's personality and life right now:

I can still convince him to snuggle with me for a few minutes at a time. Especially if I rub his back or his skin somewhere. He likes it when I touch him really light and give him goosebumps. He holds so still. We call him Master of Snuggles, which comes from Lego Ninjago where each ninja is the master of an element.
He loves preschool, where he now has the same teacher and school as last year. He started the year at a new school and despite how wonderful his new teacher was, I just didn't feel good about it and he is back with Teacher Julie now - he's a Boulder Creek Bulldog! I even got him a school t-shirt for Christmas. He rides the bus (which he enjoys too) and is gone from 11-3 Mon-Thur. Roley's speech is still hard to understand sometimes, but he is making great strides with the therapist at school, Miss Cindy.
Roland loves to dance, do ninja fighting (pretty much the same as his dancing), and play Lego Hero Factory, Lego Ninjago, Kung Zhu ninja hamsters, and Star Wars light saber fighting. And he loves sticks. Are you sensing a theme here? His choice of toys & television is much older than it should be because of his older brothers - it's pretty hard to separate these things. He is also generally athletic and good with balls, but hasn't shown a distinct preference to a sport. I'm thinking about soccer for the fall as his first team sport but we'll see.
Roley started as a sunbeam in primary this year - he is the oldest in his class and the tallest too. (he's above the 90th % for height) He is not terrible in primary, but he has a ways to go before we can stop asking his teachers how things went every Sunday.
He still sleeps every night with his Minky Moo. We have been reading the Book of Mormon (kids comic book-type) as a family every morning early and he loves to bring his Minky downstairs for this. Otherwise we try to keep it up in his bed.
When Roland gets hurt he cries huge tears that drop all over everything and he needs to hear this: "Oh, Roland! That's awful!" And then he says, "And terrible!" Or we say terrible first and then he says awful - it's hilarious. This is true for everything from imagined hurts from his brothers to serious injuries.
He loves to take pictures and I often find tons of random shots of the floor, walls, and his toys on my camera. He loves the self-portrait of his feet or legs too.
When Roland is concentrating on something, especially if he is having a hard time, he will yell at anyone in the room to "Be Twiet!" Even if you aren't talking to him. Even if you aren't talking at all. Mostly this is directed at Mommy, but others too. Today he even told me. "Don't even breathe, Mommy."
He's a super jumpy kid. He loves trampolines, bouncy houses, jumping on beds or couches, and just seems to hop along through life.
He has a big gap between his front teeth just like Emmett. I love it and worry it will be gone when his permanent teeth come in.
He has the cutest buns in the whole world!

FHE Hip Hop Style

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:34:00 +0000

Alden & Emmett took an after school karate class this fall, and then Alden had golf and a Lego class. And Emmett has been taking a hip hop class. (We love that we can use our school contribution money that is tax deductible to pay for these classes!)

So tonight for Family Home Evening Emmett showed us the routine he's been learning. I even bought the Justin Bieber song so he can practice. And as soon as his routine ran out the other boys joined in with their best moves. And Aaron & I sat back and enjoyed the show.

Afterwards we worked on putting up the Christmas tree. We're planning to have all our decorations up this week since we are hosting a Carpenter Christmas party on Saturday.

His First Book Report

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:52:00 +0000

When we were in Flagstaff in January we visited Bookman's, our fave used bookstore, and had Alden join their kids program. When he reads 10 books they let him choose a new book to keep! We are only choosing chapter books that he reads himself, and it's so fun to see him sitting somewhere reading for an hour on a Saturday. I gave him a new spiral notebook to write his book reports in and this is what he came up with for his first one. We are proud of the reader he has become! Not to mention his serious writing skillz.

Our Soccer Stars

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:33:00 +0000

Alden & Emmett both played soccer this winter. It was a bit much for Emmett, who had played in the fall too, but he learned a lot & we convinced a bunch of his friends from the ward to join our team for the 2nd session. We had Alden play with his old team, back in our old neighborhood, because we love his coach! But it got a bit old driving him out there for practice. But we did enjoy seeing some old friends every week. And we sometimes had dinner with my parents, which is always fun.

I love these pictures of Emmett, who is always good for some funny faces or interesting hand positions. That kid is awesome! He has been making so many new friends too. Between our ward and his soccer team, I think he'll know at least 18 new kindergartners at the elementary school next year.

I NOT TREE, I TWO

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:51:00 +0000

For about a month before his birthday we asked Roland daily how old he was. Which he knew. But when we would talk about his birthday coming up and how he would turn three, he was always angry and said, "I not tree, I two!" But by the time the big day rolled around, we had finally convinced him.

The day before, Papa Carpenter had a big birthday party, which he graciously shared with Roley. We took Spiderman cupcakes with bright blue frosting and Nana gave Roley his own Spiderman! Can you tell he's obsessed? His preschool teachers tell us he also talks of Spiderman constantly at school. At least he can pronounce it fairly well now, for the last six months it's been my-a-man.

He woke up the morning of his birthday in his Spidey jammies, holding his new Spiderman. I made him a cute pin to wear to church over his fancy corduroy suit. He's like a little man.

We had the Blasnek family over for cake, ice cream & presents. Ma'am & Grampa got him a canopy for his new loft bed and we gave him some Toy Story Legos. Buzz & his Alien friend still get in a little playing time with Roley, especially since Spidey is too noisy to take to church.

The last year with Roland has been fabulous - he is a sweet and fun boy. He will give Mama loves and kisses anytime and runs bawling to me 10 times a day after "Emmett hurt me!" Yet he's the tough one who jumps his brothers constantly and loves to wrestle. He is more and more interested in book and reading stories and can sit still for a movie at the theater now. He is going to be a star soccer player next year, and wants to play golf too. We can't wait to see how he develops in the next year. We love our Ro Ro!

The Semi-Frozen North

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:03:00 +0000

My parents invited our family to share their timeshare in Flagstaff again this year and we were happy to take them up on it. It's been a few years since we've been and I'm a little glad we waited - I think things were much easier now that the boys are a little older.

We scrounged snow clothes for the boys and the boys played in the quickly-melting snow around the condo. When we arrived at 8pm, Roland wanted to go right out. We obligingly left him on the porch in his PJs, where he shivered for a minute and declared it too cold that night. But the next morning we suited the boys up and sent them out. While the sun wasn't great for the snow, it made it much more comfortable to be outside for more than few minutes.

I couldn't resist this picture of Roley crying with a face covered in snow. His brothers got a little rough.

We had a great few days, hitting McDonald's, Bookmans, church, redbox, etc. And on Monday we went sledding with the Rasmussens, who drove up just for the day. It was a beautiful, warm day, with lots of slushy hills. We left our camera in the car, but imagine Alden as the young daredevil, who would go off the tallest and steepest hills face down! He loved it so much and we're pretty sure he's going to become an Olympian in some winter sport. Emmett and Roland had fun too, going down the hills plenty of times. Roley constantly wanted to have a snowball fight and would throw handfuls of snow constantly while giggling - he's a cutie. Alden went off with the Rasmussens to build a snowman and have a real snowball fight. Kirk & Jody said that even when he had a faceful of snow, he was smiling wide and laughing. Here are a few shots from the car afterwards. We were all soaking wet because of the barely-there snow, and I loved Alden's face covered in dirt from going face first down the hills.

Thanks for inviting us, Ma'am and Grandpa - we want to go again next year!

My Baby Started School!

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:43:00 +0000

After a fairly quick and pain-free round of testing as soon as he turned the required 2 years and nine months old, Roland was accepted for the special needs preschool. His class is pretty much like a regular preschool, but extra focused on speech, which is the ONLY thing wrong with my perfect baby. (You get the sarcasm there, right?) This all means that on January 3rd Roland started preschool! He attends four days a week, for two and a half hours, but with the bus (which comes to our front door), he is gone from 8am until noon, Monday through Thursday. I have spent time in his class, which has about a dozen kids ages 3-5, a teacher, a full-time aide, and a speech therapist who is there one day a week. Roley LOVES it and also enjoys riding the bus every day. We are noticing small changes in his speech already, and anticipate big improvements in the next couple years. Barring unusually fast progress, we anticipate he will continue in this program until he starts kindergarten in two and a half years. I am so thankful for this free service from our school district.

A little shy posing for pictures on the 1st day

He is a Boulder Creek Bulldog and this is Teacher Julie

First day riding the bus all by himself

In far more important news - between Roland & Emmett's overlapping schedules, I now have a blissful 2.5 hours to myself, two days a week. One of those days I use for volunteering in Alden's classroom, but that other day... I can totally take a morning nap if I want!

The Amazing One

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:15:00 +0000

I am thankful for a fabulous husband who helps so much around the house. Often it seems like I'm the one helping out a bit while he does most of the work. Today he made a delicious pork roast dinner, with all the fixings, for our family and his parents & sisters. I didn't go into the kitchen the entire time. Then he served dinner to the boys & I; then cleaned up all the food. Isn't he amazing. And just now, while I was resting from my not-so-strenuous day, he was ironing the new shirts and pants that he recently picked out and bought for himself. He bought these because he also started a new job last month, where he works harder than ever and provides more than amply for our family. He's a keeper! And handsome!

And what was I doing today? Reading a book, watching football, and putting together our Christmas cards. I put the kids to bed too, including individual stories for each. I think we know who got the better end of the deal today. But I can't say how much I love Aaron, and how thankful I am that he wants to share the load with me. Thank you, sweetheart!

A Little Late for Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 05:21:00 +0000

Alden was a vampire for Halloween this year. But it wasn't until tonight that he completed his fang look. This is what his mouth has been looking like lately:

Minus the pizza sauce, of course, that's only there a couple times a week. One of his front teeth has been moving more & more towards center, but not getting much looser over the past couple months. Obviously the permanent tooth was coming in and I was debating going to the dentist to get it pulled. But after getting knocked in the mouth at basketball on Saturday, the tooth bled a bit & then turned black the next day. Out it goes. Too bad we had family pictures in the meantime. And too bad he smiles such a huge smile, showing off his crazy teeth. Oh well.

But at FHE tonight, my mom came prepared (she's a hygienist). She brought numbing gel & used the kitchen table. Here's the process:

A few minutes later & we have this:

All he wants for Christmas is his two front teeth! He won't be this way for long though, you can already see the permanent tooth pushing through. Thanks, Maam!

Dressing Up

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:17:00 +0000

My trick or treaters this year:

While Mom & Dad attended a fancy dinner at the Biltmore for ASU Homecoming:

And then Sunday night the boys handed out candy at our house. They loved it! Their costumes? Old shirts of mine that I intended to make into a quilt (yeah right!) and now serve as darling nightshirts. My first t-ball team, my first year at girls camp, and my junior high softball shirt that has my nickname on the back (Bookworm). They let me be the manager since my skills weren't quite up to snuff.

Please vote!

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:13:00 +0000

Somehow this is the most important thing I've voted for in a while. I know, I'm seriously deficient. Don't tell Aaron.

Easter on a Farm

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:47:00 +0000

We spent this morning at a local farm near our new house (we moved the end of Feb). Every Saturday Superstition Farm has tours, but today they also had an Easter brunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Despite some long waits and a fairly grumpy two-year-old, we had a great time checking out the animals, learning about the dairy farm, and enjoying the products of the farm: buttermilk for the pancakes and eggs for our breakfast burritos.

We were sorry to miss conference, but are trying to make plans for the kids so we can enjoy as many words from the prophets as possible the rest of the weekend.

Happy Easter!

In the Blink of an Eye

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:12:00 +0000

Roland turned two years old on Saturday. I no longer have any babies, only toddlers and crazy boys. I find this both sad and exhilirating. Roley is the sweetheart of the family, although he has recently discovered the joys of screaming for no reason. He adores his older brothers and is completely infatuated with our dog, Bella. He is even sweet to Mom & Dad most of the time & will give kisses. Ro-Ro loves balls and cars and anything train related. I swear he could watch Thomas for hours. He's still pretty attached to his Minky-Moo blanket and holds it while he sucks his thumb. He's been a little bit slower on the talking that his brothers, but his vocabulary is increasing steadily and we're starting to understand what he's saying most of the time.

Here he is the morning of his birthday. The brothers often sit with their blankets, sucking their thumbs, and watching cartoons early in the morning. You can see his sippy cup of milk, which he calls "cars." He always asks for "cars" and could go through 8 cups a day if we let him. All the sippy cups we use for his milk have pictures from the Pixar Cars movie. So he never says milk, just "cars."

Saturday was also moving day for Roley's Autie Candice & family, so we had Jaycee over to play all morning. These two love & hate each other. Just like siblings. I think they will be very close growing up and it was fun to see them ride on the glider together - that's a new skill for Ro.

After an early nap - we started Roley's birthday party. We planned a fun-filled afternoon for our family of five to enjoy. We started with a late lunch at Chick-Fil-A, which is everyone's favorite. Roley followed the cow mascot around the restaurant, loved the play place, got balloons & cow presents, and ate tons of chicken & Oreo shake.

From there we drove to McCormick Ranch Railroad Park, where Roland was in heaven and just ran around crazy saying, "choo choo! choo choo!" We rode the big train (Alden & Emmett rode in the cattle car!), and the carousel, and checked out the extensive playground for a while. All the boys really liked to room full of model trains too. Then we had Roley's birthday cupcakes and gave him his present - a new lawnmower! He was always running around the backyard with the old, garage-sale one we had, even though it had lost two wheels. We figured it was time to upgrade.

For a final treat, we took all three boys to the dollar theater to see Planet 51. It was Roland's first time in a theater and he did pretty well. We got home just in time for bed and to exclaim what a fun family day it was. I'm really glad we chose to do this rather than a more traditional birthday party for Roley. We love him so!

First First Day of School

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Alden started kindergarten. Hooray! and sigh. but no cries. He's only four, and we did have him signed up for pre-K, but that program was cut with the budget crunch. So full day kindergarten, here we come. He loves it so much and can't stop talking about it when we pick him up every day. He goes to MacArthur, which is where I spent seven years of my childhood. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Harvey, and is making new friends in his class every day. He is always telling me about a new kid that he knows now. We were happy to have Hailey Bastian in his class, from Miss Peggy's preschool - so at least he had one friend on the first day. His buddy Kaleb Rasmussen is in the class next to him and they see each other often.

Movie-time Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:42:00 +0000

The old Superstition Springs dollar theater has been closed for a year or so but was bought out and refurbished. They re-opened today but had a special free pre-screening yesterday in conjunction with the kid's club at the mall. I took Alden & Emmett to see Tales of Despereaux. The boys were pretty good while we waited in line for 45 minutes. Emmett only pushed other kids twice. And they didn't even fall down. The theater even gave out free kids packs (popcorn/soda/candy) to everyone. Alden was perfect during the movie, but I think we need to wait another year for Emmett. He did okay, but left by himself twice. He wanted to play the video games in the lobby. It was fun though - even with Emmett's meltdown as we walked to the car about leaving his (empty) soda in the theater. That's what I get for thinking he can skip his naptime. (He fell asleep on the way home and napped for an hour when we got back.)

Emmy's a big boy

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:12:00 +0000

I'm just going to write this post and totally ignore the fact that I haven't posted to this blog in 2 1/2 months. More on that later.

This week Emmett and I are working on potty training. And it seems to be going pretty well. He finally started acting interested and ready in the last few weeks. He's been taking his diaper off when he's wet. And he even insisted he needed to go potty one night last week (after we put him to bed, of course). And he actually did. Miracle.

I worry that things have gone so well because he's been a bit sick and not drinking nearly as much as usual. So while we go sit on the potty 20 times a day, he only goes 3 or 4. Not many accidents though. He's learned that when the kitchen timer goes off - it's time to head into the bathroom.

Yesterday was good and Emmett filled up the rest of his potty chart. It has 15 circles on it and he gets to choose a sticker every time he goes. He's filled up 2 charts now and somehow he decided he was getting gum for this one. We've never really let the boys have gum, so it's the mystery of the thing I guess. All three boys and I were dressed and at the store before 8am this morning. Emmett picked out some watermelon Hubba Bubba and I let Alden get something sugar free. Here is our big boy showing off his accomplishments.

Our Little Bob the Builders

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:43:00 +0000

My friend, Jody, gave out the cutest gifts this year. They were gingerbread house kits. There were foil covered boards, graham crackers, royal icing in ready-to-squeeze bags, and plenty of candies for decorating. And it was all wrapped up in plastic and tied with a gorgous bow. Such a great idea!

We had Jody's son, Kaleb, over to play a few days after Christmas and decided to occupy the boys with a little building. We built the houses and started out like this:

Poor Emmett's house quickly deteriorated to this:

And then this:

And finally this:

But Alden and Kaleb were very meticulous and did a bang up job on their houses. Thanks for the kits, Jody. And thanks for letting Kaleb come to play and show us how to decorate.

After our little builders finished we met up with the Rasmussens & the Eggers at the park for a little picnic and playfest. We were happy to get a little time to spend with Jeanna & Jason, who were visiting from California. We miss them!

Visiting the House of the Lord

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 06:38:00 +0000

Aaron and wanted to attend the temple during his time off work and finally harangued someone into babysitting the morning after Christmas. (Thanks, Candice!) We have been out of the habit a bit and are really enjoying the temple again, especially together.

As I sat in the session, I paid strict attention to every word, wanting to learn and grow. I know the temple is full of symbolism and I was racking my brain, trying to gain more insights and figure out all the pieces of the puzzle. Then I realized that gospel answers don't come that way, through the brain. Although studying is a big part of learning, I remembered that all understanding comes through the Spirit and that I needed to sit back and listen with different ears.

As I realized this and began to soak up the words with all my senses, I did gain a little understanding. I was very touched to see an elderly woman in a wheelchair helped by her companion and a sweet temple worker. This woman could not physically do the things required of her in the temple and these other two women did everything for her. I was suddenly overcome with the realization that that's a huge part of what the temple is about. Doing something for others who can not physically do it for themselves. This little thought made my day and left me feeling refreshed and anxious to go to The House of the Lord again soon.

Who wants to babysit in January?

A Long & Lovely Christmas Day

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 05:54:00 +0000

Our Christmas was wonderful and jam-packed with family and fun. Santa Claus found our house and apparently the boys had been good this year. (Who am I to argue with Santa?) Here are a few pre-shots. Roley got new bath toys. Don't look too closely at the year on his My First Christmas stocking. He will have his own by next year. Luckily I finished Emmett's last week so Santa could fill it with lots of goodies. His is the burgandy one next to the cool new pirate ship. Alden Bear got a cool new Disney video game from Santa.

And here are some after shots of everyone playing with their new toys. We had lots of fun just being together as a family and enjoying the gifts. I know my boys are growing up and I'm trying to treasure this time together while they are small. Roley is 11 months and could sense the excitement but will really be getting in on the fun next year.

We had a big, yummy breakfast planned, but decided to save it for later and just grazed on whatever we could find to prolong the fun of Christmas morning. Suddenly it was time to get dressed and head to Ma'am and Grandpa's for some time with the Blasneks.

We loved spending a few hours with my parents and Tami's family. The cousins always get along so well. My Gramma Blasnek was there too - she is content to sit in the corner and quietly watch all the action. My mom made all our favorites - crepes (really blintzes), blueberry muffins, and a breakfast casserole. Everyone took turns opening the mountain of presents, with Grandpa handing them out as usual. Here he is with all of his grandkids. Some look happier than others to be with him.

My Dad always saves his own, small stack of presents until the end. I had spent a lot of time making him a special book and we all enjoyed watching him open it - then cry a bit as he read it. It was all about why his children and grandchildren love him, complete with pictures of him and all of us over the years. I was so thankful to my Mom and Tami for helping me complete it.

I love this picture of our family, despite the blurriness. I am not loving my new camera, a Sony Cybershot. There is a distinct possibility that I am an idiot and just don't know how to use it, but my pictures are just not turning out well & I miss my Cannon PowerShot.

We returned home in time to get Emmett and Roland down for naps and tried to get a little rest ourselves. Aaron made a delicious pork roast in the crock pot and we enjoyed the aroma all day. We watched a little football and had a fabulous dinner. Then Nana & Papa (Carpenter) came to visit and exchange a few presents. They got Aaron and I a digital thermostat, which I am eager to install. Candice and Jaycee made it over right after that and more gifts changed hands. Candice made the cutest wooden blocks for the boys - she Mod Podged pictures of the boys on the fronts. Even Roley loves playing with them.

We are blessed to have so much family around us during the holidays. We were happy to see many of them on Christmas day, and still save some time for just the five of us. I hope everyone else had as lovely a day as we did.

Pre-Christmas Parties

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 05:44:00 +0000

We had a long round of Holiday parties this year, with both sides of the family. We started with the Pollock party the Saturday before Christmas. When we drove up my Dad was loading up this sleigh and I jumped on with all my boys. Then we were a little suprised when he drove us all the way to Kathy & Lester Pearce's house and we all had to squish in the car to get home. It was pretty fun though & we sang carols down the street.

My Papa came down from Pima for the party and every living decendant of my grandparents was in attendance. It was full of good food as always, this year featuring my Aunt Susan's delicious soups, mom's rolls, and a plethora of other yummies. My mom had presents for all the kids (Transformers for our boys) and then banished them all downstairs to play while the adults had their gift exchange. This was the first year the Pollocks tried a white elephant exchange, and the gifts were supposed to be something that reminded you of the family, or Pima, or something. Aaron started out with a big camping/fishing stool, but ended up with one of the MANY camper/fisher/hunter in a bottle gifts that Susan brought. I ended up with the new shovel that Preston brought and tried his hardest to take home himself. And Susan got back the honey pot that she bought Papa for Christmas a few years ago that he has never used.

Aaron wasn't feeling well and went home after a few hours, but the boys and I stayed all afternoon to play with cousins. They play especially well with Preston & Melanie's boys: Bradley, Carter, and Jackson. We don't see them often now that they live in Florence and we sure miss them. Melanie is due in a couple months with their 4th boy.

Aaron was sick all weekend and ended up calling in sick to work Mon. & Tues. And since he had Wed. thru Fri. off for the holiday - that meant he was home for an entire week with us! He was a huge help with the boys and took them out for part of every day to let me get things done at home. And then he stayed home with them so I could finish shopping and go to the gym a few times. I signed up for a 30 day free pass at Pure Fitness (the old Goldens) and Aaron is joining too. We are determined to get in shape next year.

We also want to be better at writing thank you notes this year, so Sunday morning they boys made awesome Transformer cards and we took them to my parents before church. Aaron was home sick & kept the baby but Alden & Emmett looked so handsome in their blazers and we took these pictures. We ended up staying at my parents for pancakes too and still made it to church only a few minutes late.

The Carpenter family party was on Monday night and we ate shrimp cocktail, soups in breadbowls, and Aunt Bev's jello knox blocks. We had the traditional white elephant exchange, separated for the kids and adults. Alden got a coloring book & crayons, Emmett got a talking Elmo, Aaron stole one of Candice's homemade tote bags and gave it to me, and I got a container of Ghiradelli baking chocolate - we had a great year! It's always fun to see all the Carpenter cousins. Bob & CJ's condo is a bit crowded, but they are in the process of buying a new house here in Mesa. We were supposed to have the adult fondue party Tuesday night, but it was cancelled because CJ was not feeling well. I guess you don't feel like hosting dozens of people just days after you get out of the hospital where you received multiple blood transfusions. Go figure. We are sure hoping that the doctors can find out what's wrong with her soon.

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents for the Blasnek party, where we were again fed very well. It was really nice to spend a little time with my Gramma Blasnek and Aunt Cheryl - I wish we saw them more often. (It's my own fault.) Alden also made fast friends with his 2nd cousin, Tyler Colby, Patrick & Sheila's son. Tami and her family came too and we are loving seeing them so often over the holidays. There was another white elephant exchange and we got a great Land o Lakes hot chocolate set and a cool clock/picture frame that Aaron is going to take to his office. The only bad part of the evening was that my mom had a terrible migraine and was pretty much in bed the whole evening. Everyone pitched in to clean up, since my parents were still expecting Tami & I with our families on Christmas day. Then Aaron & I headed home to tuck our boys in so Santa Claus could visit us.

Way to Go, Auntie Candice!

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Friday morning Aaron and I drove down to Tucson (again) to attend Candice's graduation. She has been getting her Masters Degree in Library Science from the University of Arizona for the last three years. And I am sure glad it's over! I've grown weary of hearing that she can't hang out because "she has to study." I pretty much went down to make sure she was actually in the program and not just making up something to avoid spending time with me for the last three years.

Aaron & I dropped the boys at my mom's for the day then hit a little shopping on the way to Tucson. Trader Joe's, Starbuck's for hot chocolate, and some final Christmas items from Ikea found their was into our car and then we were on the road. When we got to town we had lunch at the most wonderful Mexican restaurant, El Charro. It's in an old home so the atmosphere is amazing, and the food was just as great.

Then we got some lucky, close parking and enjoyed the ceremony. Which just as luckily wasn't too long. Although there were plenty of graduates, Candice was near the beginning & I got some half-way decent pictures of her with my new super-zoom camera. And afterwards we got these great pictures:

After a few family crises, including a broken foot for baby Jaycee and a needed ER trip for Aaron's mother, we had a nice sushi dinner at Ra, where Aaron & I ate last time. Then we headed home, bringing Aaron's parents with us so they could hit the ER. Everyone was fine in a couple days - no need to worry.

So - a big congratulations to Candice! Our little Masters graduate.

Our First School Program

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:36:00 +0000

This year we attended our first school Christmas program. And let me tell you, that Miss Peggy puts on an awesome show. We had our whole family there to support Alden, and even my mom slipped in at the last minute. It was kind of funny because Emmett had to give up his seat for her and he was NOT happy about it. The whole class did a great job with all the songs, actions included. I was pretty excited to see it because I had been catching Alden practicing bits and pieces in the previous weeks. And I was not disappointed. I mean, just check out some of those props. My mom was so touched that she actually shed a few tears during one part - no, not the nativity. Okay, I might have misted up once, but no tears left my eyes. My baby is growing up!

And naturally, Alden was the star of the show. Well, he snagged the part of Joseph in the nativity scene. And he couldn't have been prouder - check out that smile. And of course, Hailey played the part of Mary. The class was assembled into their places and then they had been coached to just smile & hold position for like five minutes of photos. Then they sang, Picture a Stable in Judea, which was the favorite at our house this Christmas. Even Emmett knows most of the words now. Thanks for doing a great job, Peggy!

He's No Pele

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:21:00 +0000

Alden just finished his first season of soccer with The Fireballs. It's the first time he's played sports and it could not have gone any better. We signed up with all his friends - Kaleb Rasmussen, Brigham Stokes, Mary Joe Spencer, Scotty Ponder (Skousen). Coach Jon Thomas is amazing and thanks to him, Alden actually learned a lot of skills and improved a ton. He was the youngest on his 4&5 year old team, so he has a lot of room to grow. Some of the older boys had played before, but the league was great (NYS) and we had a great experience. The boys all played a lot and learned all the positions. There wasn't any pressure to perform and the many times that Alden and other players ended up kicking the wrong way were really no big deal. Our family really enjoyed attended weekly practices and games to support Alden.

Above is his team. (We totally skipped team pictures this season but will try to make it next season.) L to R: Coach Jon Thomas & his daughter, Ella, Kaleb Rasmussen, Garrett, Brigham Stokes, Alden, Reed Connolly, Isaac, Weston, Mary Joe Spencer.

The last game was very close and exciting. In the end The Fireballs were up by one goal, and Alden was assigned to be goalie. I was down there helping him and I was a wreck, jumping up and down and yelling instructions. I prayed for the ball to be no where near our goal, but it was. And Alden was awesome! He saved two goals (one kicked by Mary Joe) to retain the lead and The Fireballs won the game! After the game, all the players and their families went to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch, arcade games, and the trophies. It was really fun for everyone and Alden was so proud of his trophy. He carried it everywhere and practically slept with it for a few nights.

We signed Alden up for one more round of soccer since Coach Thomas and many of the kids were planning to play again. Unfortunately his games will overlap with the sewing class I have every Saturday this semester. But I will catch practices and Aaron can handle the games, hopefully with a little help from friends and family.

Merry Christmas (Post)Cards

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:22:00 +0000

I sent out our Christmas cards this week, which consisted of a postcard with our faces and a crossword puzzle. I promised the puzzle answer for those of you who spent hours debating over Aaron's favorite pasttime being golf, polo, or ball.

Let's just qualify some of my answers for a moment.

*Roland is not quite walking yet, but almost and I thought he would be when I first made this crossword. It's not my fault he's stalled.
*Aaron takes the bus several times a week to save money & cavort with all the bus-rider friends he's made. He's only been kicked off twice.
*Yes, Emmett is still pretty attached to his blanket. And he tends to suck his thumb when he holds it. But it's mostly at night and hardly ever out of the house. Aaron & I take a backseat to the blanket when Emmy gets hurt. He cries, "Blanket, want my blanket!" and runs to find it instead of coming to Mom or Dad for comfort.
*Aaron got a set of golf clubs from Santa last year, after playing a round with his buddy, Kim, when we visited Utah the summer of '07. And wouldn't you know it - those clubs have been sitting in the closet for the last year now. I think Aaron just needs another buddy to go with. If you play golf, please call him!

If you don't get one in the next few days, and are just dying for a postcard of your own, leave me a comment & I'll get one to you. Or, if you just want to see it - click here.

Parents Day Out

noreply@blogger.com (tarable) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:36:00 +0000

Aaron was asked to speak at a Security Conference down in Tucson and I was able to go down to spend the day with him yesterday. Thanks to Candice & my Mom for taking our boys for the day. Hopefully they weren't too much trouble. Oh yeah - there was the whole diaper explosion from Roley, but maybe that was all.

We left early and were there by 8:30. It's hard to remember the last time Aaron and I had uninterrupted conversation for two hours. Even when we go out together there are distractions and activities. We really enjoyed it. And then I really enjoyed hearing Aaron's presentation at the conference. I learned more about his job than ever before and was impressed with his delivery and competence. The attendees seemed to like it, which was more evident by their attention to the next speaker, whose material was pretty boring.

After the morning session we were free to pursue our own pleasures - which means FOOD! We found a great pizza place on 4th Ave. (like Mill Ave. in Tempe) where we enjoyed a salad with warm sauteed veggies and a Greek pizza with feta, pine nuts, and spinach. If you're ever in Tucson, try Magpies - the pizza crusts are delicious. Then we found ourselves a fancy outdoor shopping center to stroll around, enjoy the nice weather, and do a little window shopping. La Encantada has great stores & restaurants, including a Sephora, Tiffany, Kenneth Cole, and an Apple Store. I slobbered over the iPod Touch for a while, and Aaron occupied himself while I did other browsing. And after all the walking around we were hungry again, naturally. So we stopped at Ra for happy hour. For under $20 we enjoyed the outside weather, a couple sushi rolls and a couple appetizers, a soft couch where we could cuddle, and a good view of the Tucson mountains.

I had my new camera and tried out some different features while we were eating. Here's Aaron making his most handsome faces while I try out the continuous shoot mode.

We headed back pretty early and picked up the boys before anyone lost patience and tied them up. I even got a little bit of napping time on the drive back. I hope he gets invited to speak every year!