Unbelievable. Six boys and eleven years without a broken bone, now we've had two in four months. We were at the high school this afternoon playing football and during the roughhousing Trevor accidentally stepped on Zack's hand. Poor Zacky. He was moaning about it all day, but unlike Lance's, it didn't look broken, so we just figured he was being dramatic. Then this evening Jeremy noticed it was starting to swell, so he took him into the doctor and he came home like this!

We've been having a fun Halloween holiday. I made a noble attempt at taking Halloween cookies to neighbors:

Of course the ones the kids make are just big awkward lumps, so I figured I'd make another "neater" batch later, but just haven't gotten around to it, and don't suppose I will. Oh well.

We went to Frightmares last weekend, which of course was a blast. Corben and I dragged each other into two of the haunted houses. I don't remember Corben ever being so cuddly! It was fun.

We went on the J&J hay ride to pick a pumpkin a couple of weeks ago, then the twins got to go there last week. One of the cute moms who does their neighborhood pre-school decided to do it, and the twins couldn't have felt more cool that they were going on a "field trip." Even though they had just been, they had a great time and came home full of excitement.

Two nights ago we went to the Syracuse pumpkin walk and the library's Halloween story hour. I just love Halloween. There are so many easy and cheap/free things to do to entertain your kids.

Well, I finally gave in:

So does this make me a good wife or a wimpy wife? I HONESTLY don't know.

The sad part is, that thing could've replaced my family room set ten times over.

Do you think it needs it? (yes, that is duct tape wound around the ottoman)

Today was Corben's first time to attend priesthood session for conference, so I had to capture it.

Isn't he handsome? Jeremy is too, you just can't tell. I always make fun of him for being like Chandler Bing. He has the cutest natural smile, but you point a camera at him and he develops some twitchy, stiff-smile disorder.

Anyway, Corben said he had a great time. They went with all the guys on Jeremy's side of the family to Grossias, and then watched the session together. He even told me several stories, which proved he was listening! I was so surprised!

As per our priesthood session tradition, Kira and I took all of our kids to play at McDonalds. It's nice, because they play for so long that we don't have to be without our husbands at home for too long. The kids have a great time playing and we get to just sit and visit.

Both boys had their last football games today. Jeremy and I were breathing audible sighs of relief. I mean, it's really fun and we both enjoy it, but by the end we're just really ready for the nine month break before it starts again.

Just like most moms out there, I remember seeing little kids running around in mismatched clothes, wearing cowboy boots with shorts, etc., always thinking, "I will never let my children dress like that. They will always look perfect." At what point does that desire slip away from us? Pretty much the only time I comb my kids' hair is for church. And once your babies can start dressing themselves, you're so happy to have that few extra minutes in the morning, it's hard to find the strength to argue with them that the red Christmas sweater and camouflage shorts they are wearing, as Jace was the other day, doesn't match! Not to mention that it was 90 degrees out and that sweater looked really hot! Jace wore that outfit all day, and we even went places! And the worst part is, I didn't even really notice it until the end of the day. That's when I started wondering at what point I gave up.

I LOVE going to the library.

Let me rephrase that. I love going to the library BY MYSELF. I love reading and always have a book that I'm working on. Lest it sound like I'm bragging about how smart I am, just understand only my nearest and dearest know the caliber of books I read. Can anyone say Nancy Drew? I read purely for entertainment purposes; I'm not trying to learn anything! Anyway, the book I'm currently reading is Bridget Jones' Diary. It is EXCELLENT. I've never seen the movie so I don't know how it compares, but I LOVE the book. I'm nearly done with it, and yesterday I realized I don't have my next book lined up yet. PANIC. (Like I said, I HAVE to be reading something, at all times). I realized that they were doing story time at the library so I asked the little kids if they wanted to go. Of course they did. Miraculously, they sat through about three of the stories. When I could tell they were getting restless I gathered them up and told them I just needed to find one book. Well, that was too much to ask. They were running full speed all over the place, taking random books off the shelves, just being complete maniacs. So we ended up leaving bookless. Little turds. So tonight Jeremy took all the little kids with him to Lance's soccer game and I dropped Corben off at football. On my way home I realized I have a good half hour all to myself. I giddily changed course and hurried to the library. I was in heaven. I got to browse through the computer, trying to find a book that suits my fancy. I get this feeling every time I get to go to the library by myself. It is the BEST. I'm not spending money, but I'm still coming home with a treasure (I'm not someone who buys books. I must admit, I don't understand spending $10 and up when you can borrow it free. Except maybe in the case of the Twilight books, with the waiting list being ten miles long. Still didn't buy it, though. Waited patiently. Was hard.). And getting to take the time to browse because I'm there by myself is priceless! Thanks for taking the kids, J!

We did it! After twelve years, we are diaper free!! Oh, the freedom! Here's how it happened: The twins were invited to be in a neighborhood playgroup. None of the moms cared if the kids weren't potty-trained, but I decided to seize the opportunity. Tuesday was the first day, so I got Jace all prepared to go with his backpack and other supplies, and explained to Brody that they don't allow kids who wear diapers to come. He was devastated. I was VERY close to giving in and letting him go, because it was so heart-breaking. But thank heavens I stuck to my guns! I took Jace, alone, and dropped him off at the playgroup, then I went jogging. By the time I got home Brody was sitting on the toilet, having gone #1 and #2. And he has done perfect since then, not one accident!

My two football studs did AMAZING today. They both had some great plays. They also both came away with injuries, but that goes with the territory! They are very minor (Hopefully. I hope Corben's knee isn't the size of a basketball tomorrow). The games overlapped, so I stayed behind for Trevor's game in Syracuse, and Jeremy took Corben up to Logan for his game. I got to watch it all on video tonight. Way to go, you guys!

Tonight was our ward party at the Roy Aquatic Center. We weren't too sure about going as the weather was a bit iffy all day, but much as we tried to talk them out of it, the kids were adamant on going. So we went and they had a blast. Jeremy and I were too wimpy to get in our suits, and just watched from the sidelines. I can't believe how much fun kids can have in the water at 7:00 at night when it's, at best, 80 degrees outside. And there were Pace bars to boot! So my kids are sitting there wrapped in their towels eating their Pace bars, shivering like they're about to explode. Trevor was doing front flips off the diving board. Can you say heart attack? I'm glad we went. It was a lot of fun.