Moments...

I have 'bad moments' - when I am frustrated and scared and wanting to pull my hair out and cry and kick a wall. But, I also have 'good moments'. Moments where I am just completely happy and at peace with myself and the world and absorbed in that specific moment, whatever it might be... I've had a few of those 'good moments' lately and I've had my camera phone by me during some of them... I thought I'd share a few pictures of those 'good moments'...

Archer is hard for me. He's just SO DARN SNEAKY that I lose him and it scares me - which leads to me getting angry. Or he's SO DARN STUBBORN that if he doesn't want to do something, he will do everything in his power to NOT do it! But, he also has that side to him that is SO DARN CUTE!!! I can't help myself. When he turns on his charm, I'm a total pushover. Generally, it's when it's just him and me that it turns on his cuteness that I can't resist. Like the last few nights when DarTanion and Robyn are asleep in their rooms - Jeremiah has gone to bed early or has been in our room watching TV - and I am playing on the computer. Archer will sneak in the computer room, give me a hug and ask me: "Mom, do you wanna snuggle with me?" SERIOUSLY! How do you resist that?! So I end whatever I am doing, go crawl on the couch with my little guy, snuggle under his Thomas the Train blanket and just think about how much I really do love my little guy... :) I've fallen asleep with him twice in the last 3 nights. :) Last night, we read a Thomas book before shutting off the lights...

I woke up and went to my own bed around 3am this morning. Then around 7:30am, I heard Archer laughing. I went into the living room to see what he was laughing at and he was sitting up, but completely asleep, and laughing. :) I sat down on the other couch and just listened to him and watched him laugh in his sleep. When I got up, I hit my leg on the coffee table and probably said a bad word, which woke him up. I asked him what he was dreaming about. He started laughing and said that a chicken was pooping on a fence. Ah, the joys of a 4 year old boy. :)

* * * * * * * *

There is something about the Fall that just makes me completely smile - from the inside, out!. :) I love that the leaves change colors. I love the smell of the damp air. I love that there are pumpkins EVERYWHERE! I love that I can dress up and be silly and get candy from complete strangers houses! How cool is this time of year!?!

My mom and dad came down last week to go pick out some pumpkins. We were going to go to Floyd's Pumpkin Field (one of my dad's old farmers) but Floyd was siting at the pumpkin stand in front of Cal Ranch in American Fork, so we went there. :) Floyd is awesome. Every year he lets us all go out and pick a pumpkin or two. All he asks in return are pictures of the kids dressed up in their costumes or with their pumpkins. I can TOTALLY do that! Here are a few pictures of the boys picking out pumpkins (Robyn was more concerned about riding in the wagons!)

We promised DarTanion that we would carve pumpkins this year (which we usually don't end up doing, believe it or not!) So, instead of just putting the "Mr. Potato Head" type parts in all of our pumpkins (like we did last year), we actually carved 3 pumpkins. Don't worry, we still used the Mr. Potato Head pieces, too, I just didn't take pictures before we put them outside. I'll be sure to take some pictures tomorrow for you. :) DarTanion, Archer, Robyn, and Jeremiah put Pumpkin Head pieces in pumpkins to make the Mr. Pumpkin Heads. Then Jeremiah turned on a Mickey Mouse movie in our room for Archer and Robyn. Since they were nicely distracted, DarTanion and I started carving pumpkins. Archer and Robyn were adequately distracted while all cutting with knives was being done. :) DarTanion loved squishing the pumpkin guts and taking a sharp knife to the pumpkin - the little beast! But I have to say, I had a blast. :) It was so fun to get lost in the pumpkins with my big boy - to spend a little one-on-one time with him for something besides homework! Here are some pictures from that...

mmm... pumpkin guts...
carving his pumpkin
pot of seeds and DarTanion's carved pumkin (with it's lid on crooked)

my finished pumpkin :)
all 3 carved pumpkins (I did a 2-face pumpkin, too)
Robynson decided that she had to taste the pumpkin -
she actually really liked it! :)

I love my kids.

They may drive me crazy, make me have a strand or two of grey hair, make me have panic attacks in the middle of the night - but they are wonderful and funny and cute and make my life great. I wouldn't know how to be happy without them. :)