November in a Snapshot or Two

The first weekend in November Jordan and McKay hand-tilled our back yard and planted grass. McKay kept Jordan going by reminding him of how much he had done and Jordan appreciated his 'help' to keep going. His arms/tendons were sore for a couple of weeks afterward. We have enjoyed watching the grass grow... it LOVES all the rain we have been having.

The epitome of cheap entertainment.
My onion powder turned to rocks due to the humidity but I needed some for a recipe I was making and got enough powder to make the rub. The boys had a ball transferring the tiny and the not-so-tiny rocks from one container to the other. They would have been entertained for hours but I cut them short to hopefully limit the mess I would have to clean up!

Maxwell turned 18 months November 20th and went to nursery without a backward glance. There are a couple of 'rough' boys in there that have made it a bit harder for him to be excited to go to nursery but overall Maxwell seems to enjoy it.

McKay and his cars sat on his stool looking out the window and waiting for Nanna Anna, Grandpa and Chantelle to arrive for Thanksgiving. After about an hour we called to see where they were. Grandpa told McKay what time they would be there according to the GPS so he got the clock from the bathroom and notified me each time it got a little closer the time Grandpa told him. I knew they had arrived when I heard McKay run out the door to greet them. Excited? I think so.

I did a terrible job of taking pictures while they were here so most of what I have is what my mom took. They arrived on Wednesday and on Thursday we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner once the turkey finally got done. It was nice relaxing and visiting. McKay loved having so many people to play hide-and-seek with. Friday we went to Old Town and ate at Coyote Cafe. Then we hurried over to the Mormon Battalion for a tour.

After the tour Mom and Dad went to Lancaster for a massage and we took senior pictures of Chantelle around Old Town and then with the sunset at the beach. Jordan & I enjoyed taking pictures of someone who smiles and does what you ask!

Panning for gold.
We spent Saturday at Sea World. Jordan finally had people who could go on rides with him (at least rides that don't go in circles) and it was nice having more laps at the shows and hands to hold between! We went to a 15 minute Polar Express in 4D and hit all the major shows: dolphins, sea lions, and Shamu. The boys and I were entertained by the penguins while the others went on one of the rides. The day was just warm enough that they were able to go on the 'wet' rides and not totally freeze. It was a lovely day!

McKay was very disappointed when it was time for them to leave. I forgot to remind him they were leaving on Sunday so it was a bit of a surprise. He is already asking when they will be back again or when we will be going to Arizona.
Thanks for visiting!

The new grass at the end of the month, after 3 1/2 weeks of growth. Not bad!

Primary Program

McKay was in his very first primary program yesterday and he did great! He had his part memorized which is no surprise considering how well he memorizes. It was "We lived with our Heavenly Father as His spirit children before we were born." He loved practicing it and would say it over and over and over again. When it was his turn he got up to the pulpit and said it loud and clear. As he finished there was an audible 'ahh' and chuckles. After the meeting we had several people tell us how much they enjoyed watching him sing all the songs, especially 'Praise to the Man' which is one of his favorites. The sunbeams were sitting in the front next to the pulpit so everyone could see him the whole time. We are so proud of him!

On another note, we were happy to be able to attend since have all had our turns being sick for the last 2 weeks!

Happy Halloween!

We haven't made cookies for a while so one Sunday evening Jordan and I decided to make some. As you can see above, the boys were so excited for the cookies to be done!

Where are the cookies??

Yay! The timer dinged!
I put Maxwell on the chair so I could get the cookies out of the oven without worrying about him and McKay went and sat next to him.

'I love chocolate chips!'

Check out the size of that pumpkin! 20 lbs! When we were at the pumpkin patch they showed the boys where the pumpkin's bellybutton is and Max loves to point it out.

The Saturday before Halloween we went to Sea World to see their Spooktacular Shows. We went to see a Pirate show in 4D. McKay liked it until the very end. Then he wanted to leave immediately. The bad pirate got a little too mean.

We enjoyed a couple other shows and the boys did a little trick-or treating.

After a loooonng wait in line, McKay and Jordan finally got to go on the Elmo ride. Max wanted to go too but I wasn't about to go with him!

For family home evening Jordan and the boys carved the pumpkin. McKay remembered carving the pumpkin last year and knew exactly how he wanted it to look this year.

He always makes this face when he is carving or doing other things that require the same amount of concentration and precision.

Maxwell didn't love the carving part. Nothing to do but watch and wait...

Maxwell wasn't too sure about touching the slimy stuff at first but he got into it... and made sure nothing stayed on the table if they happened to miss the bowl.

It was dark in the room so I didn't know McKay was doing this until I saw the picture later.

Our ward had a dinner and then trunk-or-treat this year. McKay knew exactly what to do and most people could tell what he was right away. Maxwell caught on quickly. He wasn't too sure when Jordan gave him a bite of chocolate so he just took a bit. He said 'mmm' as only Max can and opened up wide for another bite!

Front - notice the line of mailboxes along the road. McKay picked where each car should go.

After I took these pictures I added a tent and campfire that you can see in the picture above. I thought this would be a breeze compared to the christmas tree last year. It wasn't as difficult but it turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. Hopefully McKay will pick something a little easier next year!

This is the back. McKay chose Jessie to be the rock climber. He initially chose Buzz but after I warned him there was a chance he could get lost, he immediately changed his mind.

McKay wore his costume to pre-school so I let Maxwell wear his costume to take McKay to school. Halloween evening we took the boys to a few houses in the cul-de-sacs near our home. McKay was all business and said 'thank you' at each house. Max said thank you sometimes but he always waved and said his sweet little 'byen', sometimes several times, which of course made most people smile and 'ahhh'. It made Jordan and I smile every time.

We got home and McKay was anxious to finish trick-or-treating inside (hand out candy) and anxiously looked out the door for the next people to come.

After putting way the clean silverware (McKay's job) he offered to help me with the dishes. Maxwell woke up before I could finish so McKay ended up doing them for me. He did a good job too!

Tuesday Morning, November 1st, McKay woke up with a croupy cough and sore throat. We haven't left the house yet. So far Maxwell has escaped sickness but he has been taking nice long naps; he usually sleeps 2 1/2 hrs but I've been getting 3 this week. I haven't fared quite as well and am hoping to get some sleep tonight!
Here McKay is trying to take a nap... in his box. He tried for quite a while but didn't ever succeed. The boys have had SO MUCH FUN playing in this box. It will be a sad day when it falls apart!

October

McKay started preschool this month and l.o.v.e.s. it. I knew he would. Max always wants to stay and play when we take McKay to his class. The class I ended up doing is though the Rec center in the city next to us. Check out McKay's cool Toy Story lunchbox. I have enjoyed having one-on-one time with Maxwell and each day McKay wonders if they will paint or color or what animal they will talk about. He has preschool Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Tuesday is our park playgroup day, Thursday is story time at the library, and Saturday is soccer. The fun never ends!

These boys love to play with cars. Maxwell is always so anxious to get to play with McKay when he gets home from preschool so I typically wait a bit before I lay Maxwell down so they can have some time to play.

A whole new world has opened up for Maxwell... YIKES!

After McKay's soccer game on October 15th we drove to my mom's sister Mary's home in Palmdale, California. Her youngest son Cory just returned from the Ft. Worth Texas Mission and spoke in church on the 16th. McKay was anxious to get to play the drums he remembered from 2 years ago when we were there for Cory's farewell and Maxwell quickly caught on.

Grandpa Cardon did a triple-take when he saw me. They didn't know were were coming. It was so great to get to see them!

My Uncle Sam and his family were there and the kids were anxious to swim in the pool. I didn't even think about bringing swimming suits... something about it being October, windy and cool. The boys were disappointed though so while Jordan visited with Grandpa and Grandma Cardon outside, I took the boys inside to play the drums, play pool, and drive fast cars. McKay surprised us by knowing the basics of playing pool. His game is a bit simpler though... you win every time you get a ball in the hole. :)

I love the expression on his face.

Maxwell and I slept in one room and McKay and Jordan slept in another room. I think Max was too hot because he couldn't seem to stay asleep until I turned the ceiling fan up on high. So with his short nap on Saturday, his late Saturday night bedtime and difficulty falling asleep, he was wiped out! He doesn't usually sleep in the morning but with 1:00 church, we knew we wouldn't make it unless he took a nap. Only problem was after 1 1/2 hours he was still in such a deep sleep he was hard to wake up. Since we got home he has been taking longer than normal naps and both boys have been sleeping in. I guess we effectively wore them out!

We have so little vacation that it is hard to make it to all the reunions and get-togethers. Even then, just because I am able to make it one year doesn't mean other cousins will be there. As a result, I hadn't seen my cousin Kathryn (Mary's daughter) since Cory's farewell 2 years ago. It was so great to get to visit with her and to meet her little Sena. She is expecting her 3rd little girl in January. It is fun to be pregnant together.

(click on the picture to get the full effect)
McKay made this picture frame at preschool and insisted this is how you use it. He had me take picture after picture of him.

Then he took pictures of Maxwell and I.

Today his preschool had a field trip to Oma's Pumpkin Patch. I was a bit bummed I had to pay full price for Maxwell ($7) since he couldn't do or enjoy a lot of what was there. Such is life. However McKay had a lot of fun. He probably went down this cotton-seed on the toboggan 50 times.

The only thing we did with the rest of the preschool was go on a hay ride. Max kept calling the tractor a train and loved seeing all the animals and making their sounds. Well at least the cows, horses, and goats they had.

We stopped the longest to look at the cows and Max was 'moooo'ing at them. Both boys really enjoyed the hay ride.

McKay: king of the haystack!

Another huge favorite of McKay's was the maze. He went through it several times. I was too tall so Maxwell and I waited outside, peeking in on him every now and then.

I told McKay to face me for the picture in the maze and Max thought asked for his fishy face. Here is Maxwell starting to do his fish face. :)

Both boys enjoyed throwing or strategically placing magnetic darts on the target. They also enjoyed swinging and climbing on the playground.

Each child got a 'jack' pumpkin. They had WAY too many to choose from and it took McKay a while to choose the one he wanted to take home. Max picked too many...
Maxwell has learned a new word: punkin, which is what he calls the pumpkins when he isn't calling them apples. This afternoon I caught him kissing his punkin. mmmmwwaaaah! :)