Turning a new leaf... or thousands!

The leaves gave me a back ache from raking them up, all 15 bags... they just gave the boys pure enjoyment! The pictures are sufficient to prove this point:)

Truckin!

My dad was in town... and he had his big rig with him! My boys were so excited to learn that Papa was in town, and even more ecstatic when they knew he had his truck. When we got to my parent's house for dinner on Sunday Oct 16th, the first thing they asked him is if they could see his truck. He was happy to show them around his truck, but not as happy as those two!!

Papa let the boys each have a turn "driving" the truck...

And honking the horn, their favorite part by far.

What a great time we had. It was my first time in his truck as well, so that was a good experience for me to see where my dad spends the majority of his time. I can't imagine being a trucker, it would get lonely and frustrating for me, being so far from my home and all those that I love. I honestly don't know how my parents do it!! Love you dad and can't wait to see you at Christmas, keep on truckin...

Pumpkin Patch

It worked, my server connection is decent enough tonight to upload photos... and I feel like blogging:) So where were we, way back in October, the 15th to be exact. We headed down to Utah (despite me and Zach being sick) and spent all day with Mike's parents. We decided that it was about time that we visited a real pumpkin patch, one of those "firsts" in our marriage. It was pretty affordable, $5 a person (price included a hayride and a pumpkin, of your choice). I have never seen so many pumpkins in my life, I became attached to many different pumpkins and ultimately had to choose one, that one being a short rotund beauty:)

Mike was the lucky one, he got to pick two pumpkins out! The hayride operator decided that anyone who was torn in their pumpkin decision could go back and get the other pumpkin that they desired so much, to prevent any emotional meltdowns later. He found one that was big, tall, and still had a thick, green stem attached to it. I didn't go back and get one of the other pumpkins that I had looked at, I was content at this point with my pick.

Little boy with a big pumpkin, at least for his size

So many to choose from

Hayride!!!!

Kimball, Brandon, Marge, Marty, and even Zach got a pumpkin. The tricky part was trying to fit all 6 pumpkins in our car, so we had Marty help out a little. The funny thing about this pic is that he looks like a pumpkin snatcher, makes me laugh every time I see it!
I will, if possible, buy my pumpkins from a patch every year... Walmart is always a convenient alternative though:)

Blog lag

I am behind, but that is ok because I have been having fun:) So perhaps tomorrow evening while Mike is in Idaho Falls and the kids are in bed I will spend some time updating my blog... or perhaps I'll read a book instead. I am not feeling the blogging vibe, I would rather enjoy the season. I may or may not update soon, we'll see.

SERIOUSLY???

My little boy, only 3 months old, is rolling over by himself and has cut his bottom tooth!!!
This is so not cool with me by the way:(

When the Moore's visit, we play!!

My sister in law Daymi called me on Monday Oct. 3rd to tell me that she would be able to come for a visit on Tuesday, I was stoked! I used this information the next morning to "help" my kids be good boys and listen to mommy... or else they wouldn't get to play with their cousins who were coming to Pocatello to visit, hehe!

So how do we spend a day with cousins? We play, of course! We got a pizza at Papa Murphy's and had a pizza lunch at my house, followed by an action packed afternoon at Outer Limits Fun Zone. We were the only people there practically, the kids had the play area all to themselves and had a ball! I snapped a few shots of the kiddos in action.

Elena

Abigail

Kimball

Kelvin

Brandon

After all of our hard play, we decided to take a break and go see a movie, Cars 2 in the cheap theater. $1.50 per person, Abby and Brandon were free, and $1.50 drinks and popcorn... who can beat that? No one I tell you!! And get this, Zach didn't cry once during the movie:) He was too busy nursing and sleeping... thank heavens the movie theater is dark, that is all I have to say about that.

Mor-mor surprised everyone when she walked in halfway through the movie to join us. I guess the clerk who sold her the ticket was confused as to why she wanted to watch a movie that was half way over, too funny! She was tired of studying and wanted some much needed R&R. When we got out to our vehicles after the movie we found a note from my hubby, he had stopped by. I guess him and Corey were jealous of our adventures without them today, I would be too especially if I had to spend the whole day studying like they did.

We enjoyed a slow-cooker meal, creamy potatoes and chicken and play time at mor-mor's house. It was a comforting meal, especially with how the weather changed from that evening clear up to Saturday, it was quite chilly and wet. Thanks Daymi and kids for the wonderful visit, it was VERY enjoyable to spend time with you!

Slipped my mind

I just realized earlier today that it totally spaced my mind to share our family pictures on our blog (I didn't forget to post some on facebook though). So, because of my thoughtlessness, I am sharing some pictures that I didn't share on facebook, so it isn't boring to those who have seen the ones I posted on facebook already:) The quotes are from The Family: A Proclamation to the World

"Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ"

"Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live"

"Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents..."
Kimball, 4 1/2 years

Brandon, 2 years (3 in November)

and the littlest beloved spirit in the Matusek household

The love of a father

Precious moments in motherhood

1 month old Zachary Abram

"Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children"

"Fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families"

"Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny"

"The family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children"

What we do on October 1st

October first for us this year was awesome! We pulled out our halloween decorations, as we always do. On top of that though, I was feeling better after being sick all week, we were able to listen to our Prophet and church leaders speak to us, and I got to spend time with my mom while Mike went to the Priesthood session. Great weekend! My FAVORITE talk was Elder Anderson's talk titled "Children". I also loved Julie B. Becks talk, as did Mike... and we don't even have daughters, yet. I listened to President Monson's address at the Priesthood session tonight with my Hubby, very powerful! So grateful that Mike enjoyed that address so much and shared it with me.

Wanted: Good playdough recipe

I attempted and failed miserably, either that or the recipe I had was horrible. In any case, Kimball had a ball with my attempt at making homemade playdough! Doesn't that look like fun, to squish a blue, cold, gooey mess through your hands? So please, if you have a tried and tested recipe for playdough, send it my way! Hopefully I can find a recipe that actually comes off of the hands of the kids who play with it!

Park Hoppers

Am I the only one, or are there others who "park hop"? Let me explain... so that we don't get bored with one park, me and the boys like to go visit different parks in town. Variety is the spice of life, right? If there are other park hoppers like us, to you we say hop on:)