Traditions

I was talking with a few of my "friends" today about the holidays and traditions. I am always looking for cute traditions to incorporate with my own. I love traditions. I think that is part of the reason why I love the holiday season. So, if you have any you would like to share I would love to hear them.

A Good Laugh

Try calling this number for those of you who are into psychology. It is hilarious! 650-388-1117

Go Cougars!

At the last minute we decided to go to the BYU vs. Air Force game. One of the perks of being military is that our tickets were $5 and we were 3 rows up off of the field. I know, it must make some of you sick to your stomach, this is a rare moment when I can say haha. We packed up the whole family (no small task) and went to the game. We all had several layers of clothes on, kind of making us look like umpa lumpas but hey the only guy I have to impress is my cute husband. I love the Air Force games because you see so much patriotism. My eyes have been opened since we moved here and have been so affected by the military. You start to have a little more pride in the USA and a soft heart for the families that serve in the military. I know, some of you must be thinking well that is probably because you are in the military. Seeing families torn apart because of a war, men and women being sent home injured or worse, or just young people/families enlisting to make something of their lives you gain a new respect. So, when you see the jet planes fly across the stadium its not too far of a reach to think of them oversees on missions. When I hear the national anthem played, I think of soldiers like my neighbor across the street who has been gone from his family for over a year for the 3rd time in 5 years and I am grateful for our freedom. My boys love to see all the soldiers dressed in their different uniforms. Tyler knows exactly which ones are Army and he will tell me there is someone like daddy. I especially love going to games to watch Matt's face lite up. He is so happy when we are there and it makes my heart happy to see him happy. I enjoy the games too. I think I have myself convinced that if I go back to get my masters degree they will definitely let me on the cheer squad and I will be living the life!!!! I mean who wouldn't want a post baby body girl pushing late 20's in a short cheer skirt? I'm sure I am every guys fantasy!!! The boys had a great time. For the most part they did great. I mean you can't really expect to take 3 small boys to a cold football game and have them be perfect the whole time? Talan saw the Cougar mascot and was convinced it was a lion. So, Tyler would cheer go Cougars and Talan would cheer go lions. We made quite the cheering squad. We met up with our friends Jeff and Julie Jorgensen their son, (Matt's claim to fame that he knows a BYU player) Jan Jorgensen plays defense. We stayed after in the bitter cold to talk with him. It is amazing how tall and big those guys are. From the stands I think most guys think, I could play better, I could take him with 1 arm behind my back but, when you see them face to face I think most guys have a come to Jesus moment and re-think their lofty ideas. Jan was so nice as always. Jeff and Julie are truly special people, we are lucky to know them. Since the Cougars won it made it a perfect family memory.

The Dreaded Halloween Day Comes Yet Again

I have spent most of my life, as a mom, in tears at Halloween. It sounds so dumb but, it has usually ended up with children in tears, often not wearing a costume, much anticipation deflated. I always had such a hard time because I would look forward to seeing my child dress up and go trick or treating and it wouldn't happen. As a mom with a child with Autism you have to set standards low. If I have learned one thing that is it. So, my standards were low. We had our Wall E costume and Tyler loved it. Talan decided he wanted to be Jay Jay the Jet Plane so I searched for hours on the Internet. Leave it to Talan to choose a costume that is no longer being made. So, after bidding on multiple costumes on EBay I finally won one. It came he loved it, we were good to go. So, we wake up and go to Dunkin Donuts. My kids love Dunkin Donuts. There are only 2 in all of Colorado Springs instead of 2 on every corner like in Boston so it is a treat for my kids. We get dressed and drive there to find only about half of Colorado Springs is there getting donuts. The line went clear outside around the building. And I just saying, its in not a great part of town, there were weird people twitching in line, and it was all I could do to stand in this line with my 3 little youngsters. But, we did it. We got our orange donuts. Tyler had downed about 3 donuts before he realized that all the other children around were already in their costumes for the day. So, the idea hit him he needed his costume. We rushed home to grab the kids costumes so we could go to Barnes and Noble for reading time. Ty got dressed up and was happy as a clam (how do we really know clams are happy? Just wondering...........) I got out Jay Jay and here come the water works from Talan the child who I don't have lowered standards for. He refused to put on his costume that I spent hours getting. So, Tyler trick or treated around Barnes and Noble and Talan just put a candy bag in people's faces. We ran home for a little down time when Tyler said,"mom where is your pretty princess costume?" I said, Ty I don't have a costume and he was so sad. So, I put on my old cheer outfit. Lets just say I don't know how I wore that short of a skirt that many times in high school. Its probably because now I have more junk in the trunk then I did then!!! And, now having 3 kids the outfit didn't quite fit the same but it zipped which is all that mattered. Oh well, hopefully i will never see those people again. We met up with our neighbors and went trick or treating in old town Colorado Springs. It was almost like a carnival/parade. It was a blast. Tyler had so much fun. Talan pretty much stuck to the stroller and refused his costume for the day. Matt unfortunately got off late so he came straight from work to meet us still in uniform. While it may look like Matt got dressed up he didn't get to which if you know my better half you know he was disappointed. All in all, my Talan wouldn't dress up, Tyler had a blast, Trevin was a very cute and happy fireman, and I relived my past. What could be better?

Day O Fun

Tyler had Thursday and Friday off from school last week. So, I wanted to try and make it fun. It isn't too often that we have time to kill and fun Holidays around it so, I thought lets make the most of it and live it up. We woke up and went to pump it up with our friends Chase and Aiden. It was so much fun! I swear I could play there for hours without the kids. They would bounce from blow up thing to blow up thing laughing and giggling. It is one of those rare moments where you feel like a really good mom. You know when all those worries, guilt for cleaning too long or talking to your sister on the phone too long all go away and you feel like your kids really love you. I also took Trevin down the slide and he giggled. I thought I might get a nap out of everyone afterwards but no, I was not so lucky. Then we went to the zoo. If you ever need a good work out go to the Colorado Springs zoo pushing a double stroller with a baby strapped on you. It is almost all uphill in the mountains, lets just say certain muscles were beyond burning. We got to hand feed the giraffes and the birds. Talan was afraid the giraffes would eat his hand so he kind of threw the cracker at it instead of letting the tongue come out and grab the cracker. Any who, it was cute. Rumor has it that all zebras have the same number of stripes...... Fact or fiction? Look it up! Anyways, it was a long fun filled day.

Happy Apple Farm

Having just moved here from Boston, we are missing certain things that Boston had to offer. Most specifically besides friends, the apple picking. My family really loved picking apples. It was such a fun tradition, if you have the opportunity by your house you really should try it sometime. So, we found Happy Apple farm in our area. It advertised apple picking, pumpkin patch, hay rides, etc. So we pack the whole fam damily up and drove there. Well, the trees didn't have apples, and the pumpkins were sparse but it was still fun. We walked around and let the boys choose there pumpkins for Halloween. Tyler kept looking for Spookey the square pumpkin but did not find him. Every time we tried to guide the boys to a certain pumpkin they yelled at us and said, "NO!!!! You said we could pick which ever one we wanted." So there you have it, we were overruled by a 5 and 2 year old. Talan absolutely loved the hay ride. He thought it was the next best thing to chocolate milk! The best part for me, the kids got free candy bags with sour licorice in the them! Yum yum.

Tyler's Fall Party

Ty was looking forward to his "Fall Party" all week long. He kept reminding me day of that I

needed to come to his classroom with cupcakes. It was really fun to go in and participate in his party. His face lit up when he saw me, Tyler and Talan. I hope the day never comes when he is embarrassed to see me at school. He is so proud of me when he sees me he tells everyone around who I am and sometimes asks his friends to move so I can sit with him. His teacher is so kind hearted and sweet. She has cute catch phrases like make smart choices with your body, and she says soar in 4, 3, 2, 1 and like magic the classroom is completely still and quiet. It is quite the magic trick. I wish she could come and teach my kids at home. They would be whipped into shape in no time! Tyler kept going through the food line but so many things had chocolate he only ended up eating 2 cupcakes but he was still thrilled for the party. The top picture is of Tyler and his friend Brennen. In the bottom picture Tyler is standing in a white shirt second in from the right.

I have been tagged twice!

I have been tagged twice by friends so here are my 6 Unspectacular quirks, I might add please do not judge me. I after all am only human.

1. When I have people over for dinner I never ask for them to bring anything. I feel like if I ask, it negates the offer of dinner. If you are going to serve someone dinner, serve them. Not to mention it is always a pain for the person to try and transport something to someones house and most of the time who knows if it goes with dinner.

2. I hate raw meat. After I cut off anything weird or maybe weird looking there is nothing left of the meat. And what may be left of the meat grosses me out so more often than not, I don't eat it at all.

3. I hate people cracking their knuckles. It is truly the most awful thing I have ever heard and it makes me crazy. Matt often cracks his knuckles and I always tell him he will get arthritis from it even though it isn't scientifically proven.

4. When I married Matt he yelled at me for the way I put silverware in the dishwasher. Now, I do it the exact same way he wanted it. The like silverware must be all in the same basket sections. That way when you are unloading you grab a handful of forks, spoons, knives, etc. It makes for an easier cleanup.

5. I cannot go out in public in my pj's or without make-up. I know many people who are totally comfortable to go out without being done. Whether I am in labor, dropping off Tyler at school, or even hanging out at the house, I am usually ready for the day. I would say there are only a small few people who have seen me at my worst. And those people I'm sure have been scarred for life!

6. I always have my seat warmer on in the car. It could be 110 degrees outside and I would still have it on. I really love it. It makes my back feel really nice and I wouldn't give up seat warmers for anything!

Do you know a 5 year old?

Not that my blog in read by millions, but we are looking for some kids around Tyler's age to start a playgroup. So, if you happen to know anyone in the Colorado Springs area if you wouldn't mind would you pass them along my info or their info to me. We are noticing a small social regression in Tyler and want to jump on it asap. And, it never hurts to have more friends. Thanks :)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

This morning I was hanging out with the boys and Tyler and Talan suggested we play doctor. So of course I was very, very sick and in desperate need of having my knees banged in by that weird triangle on a stick to check my reflexes. I don't know why they always think its so funny to bruise me but it is their favorite part of playing doctor. I asked Tyler if he wanted to be a doctor when he grows up and he said, "No, I want to be a daddy like my dad. I want to go to the Tony Stewart store and get wood, and fix things." Then Talan in all his wisdom said, "Daddy is a doctor." I asked Talan do you know what kind of doctor daddy is. He said no. I said a teeth doctor. Then Tyler said, I thought dad was an Army doctor. My poor children, it must be so confusing to them. Talan thinks that dad must fly some sort of helicopter since there is a huge one outside the gate we go through to get on post. If you ever ask Talan where dad is he says at the helicopter. In his mind Matt must be some sort of helicopter flying, root canal filling, army tough guy. I can't think of a better way for the kids to say they love their dad than to say they want to be like him though. So, since I have no girls what do I get? You would never wish for your sons to say, "I want to be a mommy who cooks and cleans, wipes up poop all day, pays the bills, packs the lunches, goes to school meetings, acts like a driver, and keeps the household going strong." I am out of luck. I guess I will have to stick with all the I love you moms I can get!

Meet Boston Mower

We obviously got a dog. She is a very cute, very small, morkie. Its a maltese/yorkie mix. She is a good dog and my children love her more than I even thought possible. They really really love having her. Talan my little non-napper super active, little fireball has for the past 2 days taken naps. Thats right folks, this little miracle has come into our lives and blessed me with a napping child once again. Any amount of sacrifice is worth it if I get a nap out of Talan. Talan and Boston go out in the backyard and run circles till they can't anymore and when he comes in, he passes out. I wish I had thought of this sooner! Tyler told me yesterday as I dropped him off at school, Mom please take really good care of Boston while I am at school. She might really miss me so take good care of her. I love seeing my children so happy. As I write this my husband who said, I know we both don't want a dog but it is something you do for your children, he is curled up on the couch with Boston on his lap while he eats popcorn and watches The Breakup. Its cute to see him love the dog too! That movie gives us a good laugh. I think if Matt and I were to ever think about splitting up this would be who we would become. Anyways, on a side note I was helping Tyler with his homework last night and he told me that I was doing it wrong. He told me his teacher Mrs. Bentley is so smart, "her knows everything mommy, not you!" There you go, he is 5 and he already thinks I am dumb. Good luck to me.

We're Finally in Moab!!

Moab is one of our favorite vacations. We are so excited to get back into it. I don't know how many Moab trips we didn't make and I thought we can't wait till we live close enough to go to Moab. We thought we were taking our 3 kids on a fun family vacation but, we ended up only taking 2 of our kids on a fun family vacation. Talan opted out of our family. He decided he would rather have Grandma and Grandpa for parents than us! It got so bad, he refused to make eye contact with Matt and I for fear that he would have to come back with us. We would try to say hi to him and he would turn around and walk away. Poor Vickie probably got so tired of holding him on her lap for hours upon hours! At the end of the trip, he cried and cried, because he did not want Scott and Vickie to leave. On the way home after Matt got pulled over for speeding (hum hum Matt, slow it down a little) he fell asleep and when he woke up the first words out of his mouth were, "where is Grandma." To that I say, its time for all the grandparents to move by us.

Matt Army Strong

This photo is taken courtesy of Miles Cone at OBC during a leadership team challenge. It was one of the funnier times of the 6 weeks. Thanks for the good times CPT M. Cone.

I'm Seeing the Errors in my Ways

Anybody who knows me at all knows at any given time I have messages on all of my phones. I hate listening to messages because: they cost minutes to listen to, it often means I need to make a return phone call, and I don't have a lot of time. So, most times I scroll through my phone to see who has called and just return the phone call thus, I save myself a step. It wasn't till I had a friend, Niki, who made me feel bad because she puts great effort into voicemails. So, for awhile I started listening to them. Well, we moved, my friend Niki doesn't call as much to give me crap so......................... I'm back to having lots of voicemails. Yesterday, we had a sort of emergency and I needed my phone near me at all times. I was running around trying to get the kids round up so we could get out the door and........ I missed the needed phone call. As I was driving down the freeway thinking how could I have missed that call, I hear the bring of my phone indicating I had a voicemail. I quickly call my voicemail and guess what I hear......... you have 34 unheard messages. I have to get through 34 messages to hear this super important informationthat I need asap. I am quickly deleting trying to get through my messages and around message 14 my phone goes dead!!! I couldn't get to my super important message that I needed. I also couldn't keep in contact with others to rely information. There you have it, I am a bad person. So, this blog post is getting my deep, dark, dirty, secret out for everyone to see. From now on I am listening to messages. Go ahead test me when you call. Ask me what you said. If I don't know and haven't listened to your message you should out me in front of everyone.

Happy Fall!!

My Family

My Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle, and cousin came to visit us yesterday. It was really fun to have family come and see us. My boys were so confused because they thought their grandparents were coming. Hint hint to their grandparents, my boys are awaiting a visit!! They were so excited to show everyone their rooms and to play the wii with them. I really enjoyed our visit with them. There truly is nothing like Grandparents. I hope to see them again soon.

Fun and Funky

I found a new line of jewelry that is really cute! You should check it out:
www.twisted-silver.com
Every week they feature one piece that is on sale. At checkout if you type brochure in coupon area you get 20% off!

Are we having fun yet?

If you know a Mower you know that you are automatically associated with bad luck. I personally feel like Matt and I got the worst of it, maybe that title is up for debate. Which is why I think I should go back to being Megan Gould and Matt by association should also change his name. We could try the name on for size for a year or so to see if our luck changes. We decided to go camping this weekend. Matt being from Utah refuses to pay to camp at a campsite or have any sort of neighbor. In his mind, if you camp next to someone you might as well go home and pitch a tent in your backyard where you have your normal neighbors. Finding this sort of campsite in Colorado often proves to be quite challenging. It has in the past lead us to areas where we get all set up tent and all, only to have forest rangers tell us to pack up and move in 30 minutes or less because they are sending the police our way. So, we start out bright and early to Woodland Park. It is gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky, very beautiful. We are told turn left on Painted Rocks road and there are tons of places to camp. We get there and.............. Painted Rocks road is closed for the season except to those who are fancy enough to have a cabin off of it. So, we are all loaded and boy are we loaded. Who knew you needed so much for 1 night of camping. But don't cha worry we have our trusty Tom Tom (GPS) on board with a camping book. We plug in some new longitude lattitude coordinates and off we go. I open up my US weekly enjoying the new gossip, did you hear there is drama on the set of 90210? I am quite enjoying my reading when Matt starts turning a deep shade red. Evidently Tom Tom had gotten us so lost, we were up in places where my nice car shouldn't be. It was a moment to say the least. I think we could have a reality tv show and provide more entertainment than the Hills. To cut this portion of the story short it took us 6 hours, thats right 6 long hours to find a place to camp! My poor kids were wondering if they were ever going to eat since the snacks and food were packed under all the stuff we had. Almost within minutes of getting out of the car Tyler fell and hurt his eye. Then it started to rain. Not a little sprinkling, a down pour. Matt was running around trying to gather wood before it all got wet. We didn't have anywhere to sit except in the car that we had just been in for the last 8 hours. And this is where I started to wonder, is it really worth it?????? The rain finally let up. We went for a ride to enjoy the country. As soon as we came back to start dinner, yep it started to once again pour rain. We ate dinner in the rain. We then were stuck in the tent from 7 pm on. We woke up to cook pancakes and bacon over the fire. We were ready to start the day new. Tyler burned his hands on the sticks we were cooking with. Then, it started to rain again. Picking up camp in the rain is less fun than putting up camp in the rain. It was a wild ride of a weekend.