Bentley and THE BEAST

Happy Halloween from THE BENTLEY'S and the BEAST (who also happens to be a Bentley)! 

It takes a lot of "self talk" to get an introverted person like me to walk the streets of small town Texas dressed up in any sort of costume.  I do it for the kids, Steve does it because he secretly wishes he worked at Disney World! Not really...he's just a fun guy.

Our little Mrs. Potts!  She put up with a lot in that costume...the "gold handle arm" was sewn a little too tight, so the circulation in her arm was cut off and right before trick or treating the elastic, that I forgot to sew into the waist band busted. The skirt was never the same after that!  The whole time she was trick or treating, the tulle that was in her skirt to make her look "teapot" like kept tripping her up and trailing behind her! She had a good attitude, but I am sure she is hoping that my sewing skills improve with time.  So am I.

Zac loved being Lumiere, even though he had to wear a yellow dress.  He wore his costume to his kindergarten musical program.  Even though most all the songs involved hand gestures, which he couldn't do with those candle stick arms of his, he improvised and just waved them around.  They even lit up thanks to Steve and his creativity.  JoAnn's Fabric is now Steve's second favorite store and I am fine with that if he is!

One of us needs to get some acting skills so we can take this show on the road!

The clock was sure cute, but it was hard for him to collect candy with his arms stuck so far apart.  He was happy to turn human again!

When we stepped outside, people stopped in front of our yard and stared at us like we had just escaped from a circus! Little did they know....we pretty much had!  One lady even took a picture and Sierra leaned over to me and whispered, "Wow, I feel like a Romney!"  She's been watching a little too much Fox news!

All the stitching people up at work that Steve does really has paid off! Look at these sewing skills!

Gaston really isn't so bad after all! 

Thanks to kind and awesome friends, Megan Burns and Janet Smith, Trevor had the BEST beast costume EVER! The pictures do not do justice to the details of this costume!  We were so lucky to get to borrow it! The kids sure had fun! Actually we all did!

Well, Halloween was fun and exhausting as usual.  Steve stayed up until the wee morning hours for several weekends in a row to pull most of these costumes off!  Next year I think we'll all wear orange shirts and be a pumpkin patch or something.  I say that every year!

Come on over!

If you've been considering stopping by on the weekend, you really should.  We offer entertainment every hour on the hour. Take for instance, Steve's dance classes:

Here is Steve in his "babysitting hat".  I think the kids listen to him better when he wears it. Come to think of it, I wish he'd wear it all the time.

Sierra and I made dinner in a pumpkin the other night. It was good, but the boys were not impressed. "Pumpkins are for carving", they said!  Sierra and I will refine these boys tastes if it's the last thing we do!

We sure do miss these three around the house when they are in school all day!

Stevie Wonder

Saturday's are always a day when Steve uses a few of his talents that his weekday job doesn't fully utilize.  I call him Stevie Wonder, because frankly he's an entertainer. On this particular Saturday, Steve decided to host a fashion show.  He constructed a runway, with a changing area and a beauty station. The hallway has never smelled of so many colognes and perfumes!  Unfortunately, my photos do not do justice to architecture of the event, because the little boys were destroying it as soon as it was built.  As always however, in chaos lies great opportunity! 

Here are Zac and Ammon making their fashion show poses!

                             
Zac thought the whole idea was a little strange at first!

A few of the kids had some new school clothes that they were trying out for the fashion show, and the rest wore whatever they pulled out of their drawers or someone else's drawers!

You can tell an activity is a success when the kids ask to do it again nightly!

 Last but not least, Stevie Wonder modeling his pre marriage wardrobe! Sierra kept saying, "Oh those pants! Why does he have those pants!?"  Rest assured those pants (thermals) will be worn again, if she ever brings home a boy we disapprove of in the distant future.

I have a feeling I will be in hot water for posting this photo on the internet, but who am I to fight destiny?  This picture needs to be seen.

Finally to end the Saturday off, Steve and I had a nice romantic date at home after we put the kids to bed!
Here is a picture of the baby we made:

Graduations, Beards and a Bacon Bouquet

Time is marching on!  Summer is in full swing and things are busy, hectic, somewhat messy, fun and exciting all at the same time.  Here are some of our latest happenings:

Zac graduated from preschool!  He took one look at the picture below and said, "Why'd they have to make me wear a dress?" Good question!  The other day he also asked me something that I don't want to forget so I am going to type it here. He came up to me after getting dressed and said, "Mom, am I awesome?" I could tell by the serious look on his face that he fully intended to believe my answer. I felt powerful! "Yes Zac, you are very awesome.", I said, and then he ran off.  I hope he believes my answer FOREVER!  Awesome is as Awesome does!

    Caleb had to dress up as Abraham Lincoln for the third grade wax museum.  He memorized a speech all about "Honest Abe" and had to "come to life" and recite it every time someone touched his arm. He did a great job!  I have to admit that I got a little sentimental as I was slapping the sticky beard on his little cheeks. Where has the time gone!?  He used to be my little boy and now we are practically seeing eye to eye! No short jokes in the comment section...you hear?!

                                                         

                                                               Sunday shenanigans!

                                  Sierra and Caleb's last lunches of 1st and 3rd grade......EVER!

   Father's day 2012. The crazy things we do for love!  Nothing like raising your husbands cholesterol levels with a beautiful, edible bouquet of bacon to say I love you!  This has to be the craziest idea from the internet that I have gifted to date! I was regretting it while I was covered in bacon grease....but then, I saw the picture below of Zac, and I realized I may just have found the perfect way to say, "You're awesome!" to all these little bacon lovers that I'm raising!

The firework show is small town Texas was an enjoyable success. Here's a blurry picture, taken by an excited and in motion, Sierra. I kind of like it because when I look at it I can see the ghosts of fourth of July's past. Weird!

Thoughts that count

Easter morning 2012.  Bright eyed and bushy tailed, singing "Here comes Peter Cottontail".  Blessed is he that has his king sized bed full of them.  It appears that there is room for one more on the left hand side.

The turtle tank that I forced to become my hearts desire.  I am happy to report that so far it produces no odor and if I try hard enough and stare into the colored rocks as the turtle floats effortlessly above, I become one with nature.

Spring was beautiful in Texas and lasted for about three wonderful weeks.  We went to the park on one of those perfect days and it was so nice that we didn't realize we were getting burnt to a crisp. Zac had an allergic reaction to the hydro turf and his face swelled up until he looked like a"different boy," as he called himself.

Searching for Easter eggs in jammies and curlers.

Sierra in her Easter dress.  We tried our Sunday clothes on late Saturday night together....just for fun and by midnight we were all ready for church the next day. Of course we took the dresses off and went to bed, but at least we knew how to get ready fast the next day! Fashion really gets this girl excited!

Caleb in his championship soccer uniform.  His team is in first place in the finals.  I never knew I would get riled up over sports!  Whenever the opposing team cheers in an unsportsmanlike way, I start to feel my blood boil and I say, "hold me back Sierra".  Not really, but I do get all jittery as I watch the game.  It was a 90 degree day yesterday and I was shaking in my boots.  I really was shaking.... and wearing boots. The outcome was good thankfully!  The score was 4-0!

Yesterday, Steve told the kids that if they cleaned their rooms and helped out with some other things around the house that he would play "Water Circus" with them.  "Water Circus" is something he made up at the spur of the moment, but the kids worked harder than ever and had a fun night playing water games with Steve.  The first game was to see who could rub sunscreen into their partner the fastest, until no white residue was showing.  Who needs expensive toys?  Look at the joy on Zac's face!  Water Circus concluded with a treasure hunt for red jello chunks which were eaten in a baby pool in the back yard.  When I looked out the window all six of them were in the pool, meaning Steve too.  It's a very small plastic pool, and there was no water in it when they all got out, but boy oh boy it was fun!

This is what I came downstairs this morning to find....the kids all dressed for church, bright and early, having done it all by the themselves!  Even Zac, who struggles with wanting to get dressed up, greeted me with a smile and said, "Surprise, and I love church!"  It was truly a miracle, and made my day. I am going to leave out the picture of what everyone looked like after eating breakfast and the details about a few of them having to get redressed.  It was the thought that counted!

Ammon (ăm´un)

Here are some fun facts about Ammon:  He LOVES anything "Toy Story".  His uncle Brian gave him a Toy Story card for his birthday that he made, which was awesome, and Ammon carried it around on a daily basis. It was like a security blanket, except card stock.

 Ammon loves to dress up and has a fetish with socks.  If you leave your socks lying around, he will put them on.

 Here he is dressed as the Tin man.  He doesn't know who the Tin man is yet, but he sure loved dressing up as a "silver guy".  Thanks to my Mom's sewing skills, Halloween is a highlight.


Ammon loves to make messes.  They make him happy.  Here he is dying Easter eggs.  He looked like a colored egg himself for church the next day!

For his birthday this year, he requested a "hot day fun day"...that's how we say "hot fudge sundae" at our house.

 

Ammon's favorite Halloween was last year when he was Woody.

We have a birthday cake hat that Ammon LOVES. He talked all year about wearing it all day on his birthday.  The day came and luck have it, we couldn't find it and he was devastated.  Luckily, I found it right before he opened his presents.

Ammon loves to keep things.....interesting!

Sometimes birthdays can wear you out, no matter how old you are!

One of the many things I love about Ammon is how sweet he can be when he tries.  I should be chomping at the bit to have him potty trained, since he's three years old...but would you believe that after I change his diaper he usually says, "Thank you for changing my diaper Mommy."  On second thoughts, he can thank me for other things!  He says "thank you" all the time and it reminds me to be grateful myself.  The funniest time he's said it to someone was after getting his last batch of shots at the doctor, with little tears welling up in his eyes, he said "Thank you" to the nurse. "Wow, I've never had that reaction before.", was her response.  We are so lucky to have Ammon as a part of our family.  When we named him Ammon, I didn't realize that it would be a name that people would have a hard time pronouncing.  Usually they stumble over it several times, and then look at me with a puzzled look and say, "Where did you come up with a name like that?"  "Well, I got the name from a book that I really love, called the Book of Mormon, have you ever heard of it?"   It's kind of like a "play within a play", only a "missionary moment being brought about by the name of a missionary". Thanks to Ammon and his name that will be mispronounced and perhaps made fun of all throughout his life, I have a lot of opportunities to easily talk about something that is important to me. Judging by his character, I know he will be happy to be named after such a great missionary from the scriptures and he might even just thank me for naming him "ăm´un".