Happy Halloween from the Menn

All dressed up and somewhere to go

Today was the Halloween party at Carter's preschool so I took a half day and got the boys all dressed up! They had a lot of fun and Carter loved the cotton candy.



Most of the chocolate came out so his costume is now wearable.




Clark Kent is a silly guy



Smurf disaster

With family in town this weekend we all decided to go to the Trunk or Treat at Jeff and Rachelle's ward Saturday night. The party started at 6:00pm so we scrambled and had the kids dressed with a few minutes to spare. Here is Jude...



Jude at 5:40PM. (The night before I had spent the evening with my sewing machine finishing both boys costumes.)





Jude at 5:45PM post chocolate covered granola bar that his cousin left and he found.



Jude at 5:50PM after I gave up and changed him to a skunk.

A new babysitter!

On Thursday Dave presented at what is called a Pecha Kucha (he will blog more about that since I have no idea...) and I wanted to go and see his presentation. A friend of mine from church offered to watch the boys and I was hesitant not because of her abilities but because of Carter and his anxiety towards new and different situations and people. We decided to give it a try and it went great! Carter loved Tammy and her family and Jude loved them and all the animals. They even got to feed the cows! Tammy and her husband actually asked us to go out again so they could have them back... twist my arm... and Carter wanted to go back there as soon as we left. I think we will be sending the boys there more often for fun with Farmer Tammy and family!!



Jude found a new use for Tammy's canning equipment.... Silly boy!



Inquiring minds want to know

Yesterday Carter was being very curious and asking what many different words meant. I can't remember all of them but here are a few:

Dave: "Carter that is really annoying."
Carter: "What does annoying mean?"
Dave: "It means you're bugging me."


Brook: "I hear a rumble in your tummy."
Carter: "What does rumble mean?"
Brook: "It's a loud noise like a growl."
Carter: "Will it wake up Jude?"
Brook: "No, it's not that loud."
Carter: "I don't hear it!"


Dave: "That's an interesting maneuver."
Carter: "What does maneuver mean?"
Dave: "It means to control something. See I'm maneuvering your arms."


and my favorite... While changing into his pajamas and putting new underwear on:
Carter: "Mom, what are these?"
Brook: "Those are testicles."
Carter: "What does testicles mean?"
Brook: "Ask your dad."
Carter: "Dad, what does testicles mean?"
Dave: "Boys have testicles. They are part of your private parts."
Brook: "You'll need them when you get older."
Carter: "Are they fragile?"
Dave: "They can be."
Carter: "What does fragile mean again?"
Dave: "It means it breaks easily."
Carter: "Do testicles break easily?"
Dave: "If you play with them too much they can break."





During the fragile/testicle conversation. Glad I caught this on film.

 

Impromptu play date

Tonight upstairs Abby and Megan came down for a little visit and Carter was loving it. It's nice to see him play with other kids and come out of his shell a little. Thank goodness for friends close by!!

Kissy face

Jude did his first kissy face which, of course, had to be documented.

Pumpkin Regatta reveals new goal in life

Last week my coworker told me about an event called the Pumpkin Regatta that was being held at Sugar House Park. I was so excited about this that I insisted we go. I even begged my sister in law to let me take her children!! I was totally not disappointed. The pumpkins weighed anywhere from 900 to 1500 lbs and were totally awesome. Here is a photo journal of the day with a few explanations.



They used saws to carve these enormous beasts which was really cool to see. This particular "boat" was named "Life is Gourd"




We were all rooting for this guy and he ended up winning!



We took lunches and ate them by the water so we could watch them finish up all the carving



Then we took to the huge hill and the kids had fun climbing up and rolling and running down. Even Jude liked it. I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of the kids.
Michael and Jude




Carter and Jenna




Abby and Emma




Abby, Jude and Emma




The girls



The kids




Silly kids.

 After the regatta I came home and started searching Pinterest and Google for different techniques to grow ginormous pumpkins. My new bucket list item: grow, carve and race a ginormous pumpkin. I can't think of anything cooler to do with my teenage boys in the future. Dave thinks I'm crazy but I am totally serious! This should be fun!

Activity Days

Friday we had Activity Days at my house and we decorated cookies and played games. This picture was taken before 3 or 4 more girls showed up and before Carter was glued to the pack. He had tons of fun and made some new friends. Dave used the time the girls were over to escape and go visit John in the hospital (he's home now) and, surprisingly, Jude slept through all of the chaos. It was fun but I am grateful I won't give birth to 10 pre-teen girls all at once!

Housekeeping?

First let me start by saying that Dave's phone takes the crappiest pictures! I know this because it used to be mine...

So with everything going on lately and Dave working evenings and all the projects I'm working on and ...   our housework has been the last on the list. Since tonight I have the Activity Day Girls coming over for our activity and next weekend the Manns will be here and the weekend after that my bestie from New Hampshire is visiting I gave Dave a super solid guilt trip this morning about the house needing to be clean. Looks like he found some help...

Bonus kid time

Well, a few days after my "modes of transportation" post we had a transportation issue. Our sweet babysitter is sick today so we had to take the kids to my sister in law's which is not really a walkable distance and we need new tubes for the bike trailer. So I had to take an early lunch and pick up all the guys, take them to Rachelle's and then have Dave drop me off at work. When we got to Rachelle's she was not quite home so I used the time to take some cute pictures of the boys with my phone. You can never have too many cute pictures!! As blah as it was to drive all the way home and back it was nice to see my kiddos in the middle of the day. I always love some bonus kid time!



Carter drew a picture of what Jack brought today.




My little Prince Charming.



Just chillin'

Leave it to Jude, the funniest kid alive, to pick me up from a bad mood. He does this thing where he sits on the ledge in our fridge when we open the door and this time I decided to take a picture. I am so glad I did because his cheese face was priceless. Love this kid.

Modes of transportation

We are a one car family and have been since I was pregnant with Carter 5 years ago. It can be a struggle but we seem to manage. Here is how we get around these days:

Not pictured: Dave's bike and Trax.

Chalk it up

Jack brought chalk for both boys today so Dave took them outside and let them go crazy.



Jude is OBSESSED with the letter Y and I'm sure that Daddy couldn't stomach writing a Y for him without writing a U right next to it.

 

Carter drew himself sitting at a table with a glass of water and a flower. He is getting really talented!! (That is definitely from his dad!)



Struggling

Do you ever have those days where you just want to put your head in the sand and hide? Today is one of those days for me. There is so much on my mind right now that I can't control and I feel like as much as I want to help people I can never give enough.

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Today is my niece Jenna's 8th birthday. It is also my brother in law John's (her dad) first day of chemo. In an effort to help and make her day special I made her this cake.

I think she liked it. A mixture of emotions today as it is also my sis in law Rachelle's birthday AND my best friend Karyn's birthday. Birthdays make me so happy but I can't help but be a little anxious for John and the rest of his family. As hard as it is being slightly on the outside and looking in I can can only imagine what it is like for them. I had a special little talk with my niece Abby last night and I am very touched by her faith and love. Between her and Noelle I know John will be well taken care of. All we can do at this point is pray and be there. Love you guys.

A little bit of love

I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come. Lately the boys have been finding ways to play together. It's nice.

Also, Jack has been visiting our house bringing treats to count down to Halloween. This morning: pencils!

Dapper Jude

Everyone knows I am a sucker for a little boy dressed like a little man. This photo is from a while back but I had to share.

Carter Art


I had to take a moment to share some of Carter's artwork with you:

This is a picture of Sir Jude and Sir Carter rescuing Princess Mommy from the tower guarded by the ferocious dragon. And Carter's cousin Lucas is on the right getting into a rocket.



Come on Baby Light my Fire



As most of you know I have worked really hard to get healthy since having my boys and have succeeded in losing all of my pregnancy weight and wedding weight. I know how to lose weight but I am having trouble learning how to maintain. I have actually gained back a little of the weight I lost and am not feeling as good about myself as I was. I hate that I can't switch my brain back to that 100% committed me. I need something to get me back on track but I know that ultimately it has to be me that commits 100%. I still enjoy eating healthy and making healthy meals it's mostly sweets I am struggling with right now. If anyone can help get me back to my happy healthy self please comment. I need something to happen. I am not happy with who I am right now even though what the scale reads is not bad at all (I am still lighter than when we got married) I see myself in a way that makes me sad and whenever I make a bad choice I get angry at myself. Please help!!



Keeping up with the Menn

It's been a little while since we gave a family update. I will go youngest to oldest:



Jude is growing up SO fast! It seems like all of a sudden something clicked and he is a word learning machine! He is having fun learning letters and currently knows Y, Z, G, D, O and the number 6. His favorite book is Caps for Sale and we learned the hard way (during sacrament meeting) that if you don't read it he will read it for you loudly and with lots of expression. He has almost a full mouth of teeth with the fangs on top and bottom coming in right now. He is sleeping in a big boy bed and shares a room with his big brother. He loves anything Sesame Street or Grover and could watch it for hours if we'd let him. He is a happy, social little kid who loves his Mommy and likes to shake his booty to any kind of music. His favorite songs are Hey Jude, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree and anything Daddy is playing. He is an eating machine and we are currently trying to break his fruit snack addiction.




Carter is on his 2nd year of preschool and loves having his cousin Lucas there with him. As you can see in the picture he got glasses and looks even more like his Daddy. Carter is very into Legos and Lego guys and also loves playing Wii. He is a super brainiac and loves to learn just about anything. He has 12 of the 13 articles of faith memorized and is almost done with the 13th but is taking his time. He does still have the febrile seizures which he is supposed to grow out of at some point. He is learning to read and enjoys when Mommy gives him spelling tests. He also has become quite the little artist and loves to draw and paint. He amazes us daily with this talent. He has been growing like crazy and seems like such a big boy now.


Brook has been very focused on work lately as she is tutoring her coworker for the Life and Health Insurance exam. She is also very obsessed with freezer meals. She has been sewing a lot lately and is still enjoying being crafty. With the discovery of Pinterest she has had a whole new world of creativity opened to her. She looks forward to the future when she will get to stay home with her children and be the mom she really wants to be.

Dave is doing amazing in school and is on track to graduate with his bachelor's degree in the spring. After that he will start the 2 years master's program. He is now the Vice President of UPSO (University of Planning Student Organization) and has presented at several events that include all of the faculty of the planning department. Dave also got an internship working with the city of Taylorsville developing the neighborhoods of 2 of his brothers. He is working as an on call dock worker for a trucking company in Salt Lake and has recently been moved to the top of the call list due to his excellent work.

Our family recently had a new addition, a piano! The boys are already so excited to play it and it will be nice to have more music in the home. All in all the Manns are doing just fine. We are enjoying each other and trying to focus on the good things rather than the struggles. This time in our life isn't easy but there is a light at the end of the tunnel when we will be able to settle in and hopefully be comfortable with where we are. We appreciate every one's love and support and feel blessed with such loving family and friends.