Chili

Funny story:

So we went to a chili cookoff/birthday party last night, put on by our friends the Bracken's.  We had a great time!  While we were tasting the other chilis, one of them I knew I had had before--and it wasn't the one I brought.  I couldn't put my finger on where I'd had it before.  I was so intrigued and kept saying "this chili tastes so familiar..."  Josh also looked perplexed while he ate it.  It was my favorite one.  After the tasting part when we 'revealed' what we'd brought, my friend Andrea admitted that she had brought Wendy's chili!  She went to Wendy's and bought enough to fill her crockpot.  Genius.  She was inwardly laughing as she saw me mumbling about having had this chili before.
Wendy's chili is a favorite of Josh and mine.  Obviously I've had a ton of it :)

Sour cream on toast--random note: I just had some leftover chili for lunch and Michael was having buttered toast (that came out of the toaster we just got on cyber Monday for $14.99! Reg. $49.99!)  Anyways, when he saw me put sour cream on my chili he said he wanted some on his toast.  He liked it, and had me cover the rest of his toast with it.  We'll see if he asks for it again!

Preschool--random note #2:  I taught preschool in my home for the 2nd time today.  I'm in a preschool co-op with a few friends.  I love it.  I love teaching it--which surprised me.  I'm having a blast with these boys and I totally want to do this with my kids in the future.

No more diapers--r.n. #3:  Michael has gone 4 nights now without wetting the bed!  When he first said to us a week ago: "I don't want to wear a diaper to bed anymore!"  We let him wet the bed a few nights in a row, and that got old really fast--especially when we had to get up more than once in a night and clean it all up.  Now we've started taking him to the bathroom right before we got to bed.  It's hilarious!  He's so sleepy he can hardly stand in front of the toilet, he keeps swaying back and forth and I have to hold my hands on him to steady him. This seems to be doing the trick, I hope it continues!

"I love you"--r.n. #4:  Michael has started saying "I love you" all the time.  It's been about 3 weeks now, and he'll say it all throughout the day at the most unexpected times. It's so sweet, and always softens me right up.  "I love you, mom"  as we walk into the grocery store.  "I love you, mom" as we sit down for lunch, or as I'm buckling him into his carseat.  He says it about 5-7 times a day to me and Josh and I don't think it will ever get old!

Saratoga Springs Mudslide

Hi, I'm really late in posting this, but I have to share what happened to my friend Brittney and her family a few weeks ago.  She lives in Saratoga Springs, and many of you know that they have had severe flooding.  Her basement was filled completely with mud in 3 minutes--Thankfully they were not home and no one was killed in the flood!  It ruined their heating, air conditioning, water, everything.  They don't have flood insurance and get no support from the government to cover the cost.  If you would like to donate to their cause, which supports all 11 families that were affected, go to saratogaspringsrelief.blogspot.com 
their blog is rbfamily123.blogspot.com and has some pics of the flood.
Also, show your support for Home Depot, who donated shovels and other equipment for the cleanup and Chuck A Rama, who donated $10,000 to the cause.  Yay for good people!!

RochesterFest

The Parade

I told Michael to show me his candy:

Madi would not let go of the candy in her hands throughout the parade.  She kept trying to fit more and more into her little fingers, refusing to give up any she had already found.

Breakfast on the farm:

On Saturday morning we went to Gar-Lin farms for breakfast.  It was a blast!  We got to see how the cows are milked:

They had a petting zoo.  Both kids loved that:

I especially liked this guy:

Michael got to make some rope:

We saw this calf be born... yep, we saw the whole thing.  It was amazing:

Us on the hayride:

Michael in the tractor:

Tractor wheel photoshoot:

This couldn't have been comfortable, though Michael didn't seem to mind:

Go BYU

I wanted to take pictures of the kids in our BYU hats since they pulled them out of their storage box.  As I was trying to get this picture of Madison, Michael was in one of his very excited moods where he has to be in the middle of everything--

Michael was soooo hyper, but I love his smile here:

Sears Pics

Uh oh.  We've reached 'that age!'  Michael is now to the age where he knows how to NOT smile naturally.  

 I bought the CD to this photography session at Sears, so I get to actually post these pics, which is so fun!  I'm going to post most of them, because i love the cute/awkward ones that don't get picked.  It's just funny to see the kids' expressions...

These ones are especially funny as Michael tries to smile but can't quite seem to make it happen:

 so close in this one...  the photographer must not have done many toddlers up to this point, because she told Michael to put his chin up.  Big mistake to tell a little kid that!  I learned that from my years at Kiddie Kandids :)

Now THIS one turned out perfect!!  I love Madison's little teeth on the bottom that she's had forever and her huge smile.  You are so cute, Madi!

 This one's the one that ended up on the wall:

 Love Madi's face here:

 They both have their tongues out, how did they plan that?