Proud to be 4

We celebrated Matthew and Jordan's 4th birthday this week! We partied at Great Wolf Lodge (one of my favorite places ever) for a couple nights. Anyway more details about the big day will be posted later. What I really wanted to quickly share (before I forget) were some of the funny things Jordan has said about being 4. Matthew thinks it's really cool that he's 4 now, but Jordan thinks he's suddenly an adult...

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We were at the waterpark on Sunday (when the boys were still 3), and they weren't big enough to ride some of the slides. Well, Monday was their birthday and they were officially 4. When we got to the waterpark on Monday morning, Jordan said, "Am I big enough to ride the roller coaster slide now?" As if he had grown a foot overnight. :)

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On Monday my mom and Jordi were walking down the hallway and he told my mom, "Well, my clothes are going to be too little for me now. I guess I'm going to need to wear Daddy's clothes, or buy some new ones." Ha!

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The hotel had a breakfast buffet that served kids 3 & under for free. My parents were going to take them down to the buffet and my first thought was, "Oh geez, Jordan is going to immediately tell the lady that it's his birthday because he's so proud." So, before they went down there I said:

"OK Jordi, when you go to the restaurant, don't tell the lady it's your birthday. And, if she asks you how old you are, tell her you're 3." (nice, I know, teaching my 4 yr-old to lie)

"But Mommy, I'm 4."

"I know you're 4, Honey, but just pretend that you're 3."

"Ooookayyy..."

So, the boys go down to the restaurant with my parents, and what's the first thing to come out of Jordan's mouth?:

Jordan: "It's my birthday!"

Hostess: "Oh, Happy Birthday! How old are you?"

Jordan: "Well...my Mommy told me to tell you that..."

And then my mom clapped her hand over his mouth and said, "He's 4."

Ugh! That's what I get for trying to teach my chatty 4 yr-old to tell fibs. :)

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On Tuesday the boys and I were having breakfast, and I could tell the wheels in Jordan's head were spinning. He asks, "Mommy, am I big enough to drive now?" Ha! I thought he was joking, but when I told him "no", he goes, "Ah man! But I'm 4!" According to Jordan, 4 is the new 20.

A Bride Again

The other day Jordan told me that he wants to marry Hannah in the temple. Matthew immediately told me that he can't marry Hannah in the temple because he wants to marry me in the temple. (aw, I love these boys)

I just had to post this quickly before I forget because I've always wanted a little boy who wants to marry his mommy. ;-)

Halloween Hayride

There is a place here called Windmill Farm that does the BEST hayride ever. It's a wild 25-min ride that bounces up and down hills and trudges through mud so deep that it completely covers the tractor tires. The destination is a cute pumpkin patch in the middle of a cornfield where the kiddos get to choose their own pumpkins.

Carving Pumpkins

In this picture Matthew is saying "That's groooooss." Both boys absolutely refused to stick their hands in. :)

A Sleepover w/Brighton

In October, I surprised my best friend here in Dayton with a weekend getaway with her hubby. We babysat their little boy, Brighton, so they could go out. Brighton also happens to be Matthew and Jordan's best little buddy, so the boys had their first sleepover. Alone these boys act like typical 3 yr-old boys, but when the three of them get together their energy level increases about 100 times. :) They were wild and crazy as usual and had so much fun. Some pj pics (I'm in love with the boys' Buzz and Woody pajamas):




At first we tried putting all three of them in the boys' room, but when they still weren't remotely settled down by 11pm (actually poor Matthew was trying so hard to fall asleep, but Jordi and Brighton were being crazy), we decided to bring Brighton into our room and he slept in the pack-n-play. When he got home he told his mom, "I slept in the little bed. I liked it." He's too cute.

By the way, this allows me to check another one off my list of 101 in 1001: #73 Watch Brighton for a weekend so Brian and Collette can have a getaway.

A Knight of Murder - Murder Mystery Party 2010

This year our annual murder mystery dinner was renaissance-themed, and it was the biggest (and best) one yet. Usually the murder mystery parties we have include 8 - 10 people, but this year we had 17 people! Everyone really got into their roles and all the costumes were amazing (Jeremy was voted best costume!). I decorated our family room to look like a castle by taping up stonewall paper from floor to ceiling - it looked awesome. The table and other decorations were also beautiful. Unfortunately, when everyone left and I cleaned everything up, I realized that I took zero pictures of the room. :( Bummer! Luckily I did get a couple shots of the lovely subjects of Fernwood Manor:



Jeremy and I were the Lord and Lady of the manor. I'm so proud because I made our costumes myself! I owe so many HUGE thanks to my mother-in-law who helped me out a ton with figuring out the pattern, how to sew on some sleeves, and do some other fancy footwork that I really have no clue about, and I think the finished products turned out so great. I would never claim to be a seamstress, but I do like to tackle the sewing machine once a year for costume making. ;-)

If you're looking for a murder mystery party to throw, I totally recommend Night of Mystery. We've tried 3 or 4 other murder mystery companies, but these guys are by far the best.

Visit @ Grandma Vickie's & Grandpa Mac's

Jeremy's brother, Andrew, came home from his mission in September. He served for 2 years in Santiago, Chile for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. All of us flew out to see him and the rest of the fam (well, those that are living out there) just after Andrew got home. We had a blast. The boys had the best time playing with their uncles!

We hiked to Mt. Timpanogos Cave. Jeremy and I both had forgotten how long of a hike it is - a little more than 1 mile each way! That's a long way for little 3 yr-old legs, but the boys did awesome. It wasn't until we had almost reached the bottom that they even asked for any help. I'm so proud of my little mountain men!

Grandpa Mac, Daddy and the boys close to the top

While in Utah we also visited with some of our best friends. Rosanne, Dayne and Hannah moved to Utah from Dayton more than a year ago and we miss them so much! We had SO much fun playing with them. These are pics of us at Silver Lake (isn't it beautiful?!). As we were leaving their house one day, Matthew said (speaking about Hannah), "Mommy, I love my shy little girlfriend." Awww...I'm telling you, it's love, and Rosanne and I will be in-laws one day. ;-)





We took a little hike to the Grotto with more of the fam. Like I said, the boys LOVE their aunts, uncles, Grandma and Grandpa!