I can't believe it is December already!

Snowman Trevor, Snowman Luke and Snowman Jake!



Well, we are in the crazy retail schedule once again. As you can tell from the picture above we did get out Christmas tree up (thanks to Rob and the boys while I was at Super Saturday!) except for a box of candy canes we haven't got any other decorations on it. Tonight the cub scouts made snowmen and I brought stuff home for Trevor and Luke to make one also (anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for snowmen). The boys had lots of fun and loved their creations. Jake even wanted to sleep with his. Happy December!!!

Today I was on the computer and realized I hadn't heard from Luke in a while. (Usually a bad sign). I started looking for him and found him on the couch buried under all the pillows asleep with only his fingers sticking out. By the time I grabbed the camera he had moved and this was the picture I got.


It reminded me of a traumatic day when we lived in Bakersfield. We couldn't find Luke anywhere. Luke was 2 and by far the worst 2 year old I have ever had. There wasn't a childproof device that he couldn't get out of. Trevor, Jake and I searched the house. We looked in closets and under beds, anywhere we thought he might hide. I wandered the neighborhood calling for him and still couldn't find him. I decided he had been missing long enough that it was time to call the police. Luckily I decided to search the house one more time. I was looking in my room and saw a chip sticking out underneath the drapes. I pulled back the drapes and this is what I found.

I guess our house is so chaotic the only way to get a nap in is to hide!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween (a little late) from the Edwards kids.

Robert's dream weekend

Robert says I never blog about him, so here goes...



We went down a few weekends ago to visit my parents. The kids were excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and their cousins. I wanted to just hang out and have fun, but Robert was the most excited because he had tickets to the Breeder's Cup at Santa Anita.
For anyone that doesn't know Robert follows horse racing. It started when he worked at the Arcadia JCPenney (they share a parking lot with Santa Anita). After a good visit or for a special lunch the store manager would take the management team to the club at Santa Anita. It is a sport and Robert follows ALL sports (but horse racing is one of his favorites).
To say he was a kid on Christmas morning would be putting it mildly. On Friday (the first day of the races) he was up and ready before the time we had set for the alarm to go off. He left early and it was a good thing because a truck carrying frozen chickens had overturned during the night and traffic was terrible. He got to see all of the big horses and Zenyatta won the big race of that day. I had a workshop that night so I was gone before he got home.
Saturday morning I can't tell you how early he was up, cause I had only been home a few hours when he left. Curlin (a horse Robert has followed since he started racing) was racing today. Unfortunately he lost. Robert likes to see the horses when they walk them through the paddock and at Santa Anita when you are near the rail you are pretty close. Robert took tons of pictures, but I don't know which horses are which. Short of the Kentucky Derby, I don't know if we will ever top going to Breeder's Cup

Jake earned his wolf

Jake has been in cub scouts for 6 months now and has already earned his wolf badge (we actually had to hold off for one month so Dad could be there to see it also). The entire pack did a puppet show that night. None of my pictures came out great (apparently Jake can't hold still). Now that he has earned his rank we are on to working on arrow points and belt loops! Way to go Jake.

I was tagged.

I was tagged by Allison to list 4 answers to a lot of different questions so here goes...

4 things I like about my husband:
1. He makes me laugh.
2. He is an incredible dad.
3. He is not afraid to cry with me when we watch touching movies (especially if sports are involved).
4. He picks out better clothes for me than I pick out for myself. It is nice having my own personal shopper.

4 jobs I've had:
1. I worked at the snack bar/cafeteria for all 5 years in high school (No I did not fail a year, our high school started in 8th grade) The lunch ladies LOVED me!
2. Clothworld (now Joanns)
3. Assistant Manager for Sweet Factory
4. Dispatch supervisor for an office repair company

4 Movies I have watched more than once:(I think this is my all time favorite 4)
1. A League of Their Own
2. Signs
3. Pretty Woman
4. Armageddon

4 TV Shows I watch:( I am leaving all kids shows off this list, this is what I watch when I am controlling the remote)
1. ER
2. CSI
3. Jon and Kate plus 8
4. Anything Food Network

4 People who email me regularly:
1. Maggie
2. My Mom
3. Creative Memories
4. Pam

4 favorite foods (this changes from day to day):
1. bread
2. pasta
3. pumpkin roll
4. cheesecake

4 places I want to visit:
1. Disney World (we went when I was pregnant with Luke and I want to go back)
2. Utah
3. New York
4. Any temple in the world

4 things I am looking forward to in the coming year
1. Going home (southern California) next weekend.
2. Christmas season being over and Robert's schedule being normal.
3. Next summer and hopefully it will not be as busy as this last one was.
4. Luke starting Kindergarten next fall.

4 people I tag (SORRY)
1. Maggie
2. Tammy
3. Laura
4. Patricia

Um, you put your apple where???

Luke is just one of the reasons that there is never a dull moment at our house (and why I am usually dangerously close to losing my mind!) At our house after dinner you can have fruits or veggies if you get hungry. It sneaks in extra servings and there is no reason to fight about if somebody ate dinner or not because if they are hungry they know what they can have. (The downside is if I want junk food I have to share or wait until the kids go to bed before I break out the ice cream). Anyways the other day Luke was having his after dinner snack and decided he was done with it. I told him to throw it away, but he got the genious idea to drop it in the toilet and flush. Luckily it was too big to do through the S bend and just stayed in the bowl. Luckily Dad and a disposable fork saved the day! Saving us a very expensive call to the plumber. I can only imagine what Luke will think of next.

See the resemblance???

It is all of the sudden cold here. We went from way to hot to the start of way to cold in a matter of a few days. (We completely skipped the nice part that I actually like when you don't need air conditioning, but you aren't too cold in shorts either.)


This is Jake's skins reaction to the colder weather. He doesn't help this out any by licking his lips, but not all of it is from licking his lips.


I have to admit as you can see he got this from me. I licked my lips too, but as you can tell I couldn't cause all that. So for the lovely winter months we slather on the lotion and try not to laugh at him and the clown mouth.

"Holy Moly what a fire!"

That was an actual quote from a kid who say Robert's birthday cheesecake ablaze. Yikes! That is only one step short of saying he is old! For anyone counting candles we did not put them all on there. It was hard enough to light as many as we had on there. Trev was the photographer and we didn't get any of Robert actually blowing them out, but it was still a Happy Birthday.

Jake's Pack Meeting

Jake earned his 3rd bead toward his wolf badge (he is almost there)! He also got a lot of belt loops like Archery, BB Shooting, Ultimate and Swimming. He has been a busy Cub Scout these last few months!

Trevor is Mr. Responsibility

Trevor got the student of the month award for September. The work of the month was responsibility. It was a surprise, he didn't know he was getting an award. He probably got a hint when he walked into the assembly and Robert, Luke and I were sitting there. We are proud of him!

Magic Mountain with the Biehn's

With our Magic Mountain passes we had enough tickets to meet my sister's family there and get everyone in. The kids were excited to say the least. We made the trip down the grapevine and had sooo much fun. We got there right when they opened and ended up getting on almost every ride.

Here are some of the highlights...

Robert and Norm (my Brother-in-law) made a new friend.


Luke got to ride Ninja (or Ninya as he calls it) for the first time. Finally he felt like one of the big boys!


We had fun in the Looney Tunes Lodge (one of our favorite places). It has balls that you can shoot at each other, a canon you load balls into and then fire the canon, and lots of things that dump the balls and shoots them into the air. It is always fun.

Trevor and Jake wait for the downpour of balls


Luke's favorite thing to do is load the canon and shoot it. He does it over and over.


Robert and Cassie um work out some marital differences!

We all went home exhausted, but it was a great day.

Scout Camporee

Trevor's Scout Troop was going to the camporee. He and Jake begged Robert to go (If Robert went Jake could go too). They even resorted to promising to wash the car. So we packed up the tent, sleeping bags and tons of other stuff used for camping and sent them to a huge park only a few miles from our house. Luke was unhappy with being left home and said "I a 4 year old now, I awoud (allowed) to go". Jake wasn't feeling good that night so Luke and I had to go pick him up. Trevor had fun doing all the scout things. They even started a fire in 18 seconds.

Happy Birthday to Luke!

It doesn't seem like 4 years ago that we were doing this. Back then he was Baby Luke to everyone who knew him (or baby Woop if you asked my neice Richelle). We never said Luke without the baby in front of it. I don't know how that started, but it stuck.


Or 3 years ago that my chubby little boy was eating his first birthday cake by the fistful.


Or two years ago that my Elmo obsessed son loved his elmo birthday party


It seems like we just celebrated his birthday that was a whole year ago now.


Last night in a moment of nostalgia Robert called him "baby Luke". Luke immediately corrected him and said he was "not baby Luke, he was just Luke". How quickly they grow up. So happy birthday to Luke! But he will always be MY Baby Luke.

Trevor's first Boy Scout Court of Honor

Well it's official, Trevor is a Boy Scout. He had his first court of honor last week. Luckily Robert's schedule worked out (it was on Wednesday and Robert usually closes that night) and we could all be there. Robert and I got to go up when he got his award and he pinned my Mother's Pin on me. There were a lot of other troops there so it was a lot to sit through (especially for Jake and Luke), but we are all proud of our Boy Scout.

Trevor made it home

Trevor and Kristian did get to share a cabin. They had a good time, but are happy to be home.


This is Trevor with Rachel and Marissa (girls from church that are also in his class at school. Thank you Patty for the picture, I borrowed it from her blog).

Trevor's week of Science Camp came to an end. We picked him up Friday afternoon. As soon as he got off the bus Luke took off running and said "I am here Gurgur" (Luke's name for Trevor). He then jumped into Trevor's arms for the biggest hug imaginable. It was the cutest thing I think I have ever seen.
Trevor was happy to be home. He was homesick at the beginning of camp, but got over it in time to come home. He is glad he went and I am glad he had a good experience. After we got to the house he wanted a shower that lasted longer than 2 minutes (the camp limit) and chocolate (I can't imagine where he gets that from). He took great pictures with his camera while at camp, the camp sign, their cabin, his bunk and others. It will make the perfect scrapbook page (I can't imagine where he gets that from either)!

Funny Sayings!

I know I usually only stick to Luke, but Jake had us rolling last night so I had to share.

Me (as always worried about how Trevor is doing at camp): Jake since you are saying the prayer tonight would you please pray for your brother.

Jake (obviously confused): Do you mean I have to say 2 prayers??? (I guess thinking pray for your brother means take his turn also?)

Me: Uh, no just pray that he will be okay.

Apparently we need a lesson on how to pray for someone!

And now to Luke...

Luke does not say stupid or shut up (those are bad words). So he is always looking for something to call you that shows his feelings without getting him in trouble. That word is cheater. It doesn't matter what you do that annoys him, if he is mad at you then you are a cheater. I can tell him to go put on his pajamas and his response is that I am a cheater.
There is a family at our church with the last name of Peterson. He heard that last name and has now attached it. So now when he is mad at you then you are a "cheater Peterson". I don't exactly know why a cheater Peterson is worse than a cheater, but believe me it is. (My apologies to the Peterson's. I guess your name kind of rhymes. I don't exactly know why he does it). So if Luke call's you a cheater Peterson he is not happy with you!

Trevor left us for a week!

I can't believe he is old enough (wasn't it just yesterday that he was born???), but Trevor left for Science Camp this morning. Here is is called SCICON and anyone that has lived here when they were in the 6th grade has gone. On Friday at JCPenney one of the other managers was telling us that she went to SCICON the first year they did it, and she is close to retirement so you do the math. I guess that means that for decades moms have felt how I feel today. Wanting him to go off and have fun and realize he doesn't always need me, but nervous because can they really take care of my Trevor the way I would? He will be fine and I am sure the week will fly by.

As we were loading his stuff on the bus, a boy asked Trevor if they could sit together. His name is Kristian and I think (I hope) they are in the same cabin. As they climbed the bus steps I told them to have fun and be good. Kristian said "don't worry we will take care of each other". I hope that Trevor has a good experience this week.

Some call it crazy, but I prefer quirky!

I have been tagged by Maggie to list 6 quirky things about myself. The funny thing is I thought of more than six. I guess I really am quirky. So here goes.

#1. I am not very good at video games. Sometimes playing them makes me dizzy and the hand eye coordination just isn't there. When the entire family plays the Wii there are actually fights about who HAS to have me on their team. (I am good at bowling, but baseball and tennis forget about it). I think at the moment Luke and I are about tied in video game ability, but I am sure that won't last long.

#2. I can not stand pee on toilet seats (or anywhere on the toilet for that matter). I think this is a strange pet peeve considering Heavenly Father gave me all boys. When I am keeping up on housework the kids toilet gets wiped down at least once a day. I prefer the boys not use my bathroom. Part B. is even funnier... I can not throw up in a toilet that isn't clean. I get horribly sick when I am pregnant and have thrown up everywhere from trash cans to ziplock bags to outside to toilets (and as Rob just reminded me taco bell trays... it was not pretty). But if the toilet is not clean I can't put my face anywhere near it and have actually grabbed the cleaning wipes and wiped it down so that I could throw up.

#3. I have obsessive compulsive tendencies. I like things done my way. Most of my OCD things revolve around efficiency. I like to do things in the most efficient way possible. One of my OCD tendencies that doesn't fit this mold is the cups in my cupboard have to be stacked by color. I didn't even realize I did this until I was on bed rest when I was pregnant with Luke and it annoyed me how Robert stacked the cups. There is no logical reason that they have to be done by color and it took 4 1/2 months on bed rest to decide that it was okay if everything wasn't done my way. But even now if I put the dishes away the cups still get stacked by color.

#4. I like the water when I am taking a shower as HOT as it will go. Robert accuses me of trying to burn my skin off, but for those 5 minutes (okay, who am I kidding more like 2) I can relax and think without the constant noise that is my life.

#5. I am an avid coupon shopper. When we lived in Southern California and stores doubled coupons I got 2 newspapers every Sunday so that I could have two coupons and knew just when to buy things to get them at their cheapest. I still do this (like waiting for something to go on sale, then using a target coupon and a manufacturer's coupon). I like looking at the bottom of my receipt and seeing "you saved $150" (when I only spent $30). It is like a personal challenge to save the most possible when shopping. My dad says one day I will figure out a way to leave the store with a cart full and they will pay me to take them.

#6. I see things in paper. I know this probably makes no sense but sometimes I just see things in my head made out of paper. The challenge is then to make it look in real life like how it does in my head. I have gotten a lot of ideas for invites, thank you notes, scrapbook pages and even the fountain for Trevor's 4th grade mission this way.

#7. I like to drink through a straw. It started when I needed some dental work done and cold liquids hurt one of my teeth, so I started using straws while I waited to see my dentist. Now, I can't stop.

#8. Food... I get grumpy when I am hungry (we all know where my kids get it from). So if you want me in a good mood then feed me.

I adore bread, and pasta, and rice and all those things you aren't supposed to have. I could go as far as to say I am addicted. (Last night for dinner I made chicken alfredo and garlic bread. AHHHH I was in heaven).

So now that you know more than 6 quirky things about me it is my turn to tag. So Kris, Keiri, Tammy, Jennifer, Allison and anyone else that wants to do it. I would love to see your lists. ; )

Scotch tape

I don't know why, but my kids have always been excited about scotch tape. They find tons of uses for it and if I would let them they would go through rolls at a time. This was Luke's latest use for scotch tape. I am not sure what he was doing, but he thought he was cool. I had to stop laughing long enough to take the picture and then I helped him get it off and told him not to do it again. Boys, what are they thinking?

The first day of school

Well, school is upon us again. The boys went back Thursday, August 14th. Trevor is in 6th grade (I know when did that happen!) and Jake is in 3rd. Luke who was shell shocked at the beginning of summer (because he didn't know why these boys were home invading his space all day) had the opposite reaction and missed them terribly when they had to go back to school. so far school is going good. We are still trying to get into the swing of things again (homework, music practice, reading, etc.). Tonight is back to school night so I get to go in and talk to their teachers some more. In Trevor's class he has all the girls that age from church and several people from his class last year. Jake is most excited about a boy who was on his baseball team last year and is in his class this year.

Luke was the least excited about getting dressed to take the boys to school. Luckily Rob was off that day to help me so that we could make it out the door on time.

Aahhhh boys!

Ok so being the mom of boys has its moments that I think I will lose my mind. Like the constant noise, the wrestling matches that can break out at any given moment and pee on the toilet no matter how many times I have cleaned it in one day (a personal pet peeve of mine). But it also has its moments that I am soooo glad that I have boys. We start school tomorrow and so we have been busy getting everything ready. I sorted their clothes and took everything that was too small out. Then I got the boxes (hand-me-downs from Trevor) out of the garage for Jacob. He was completely excited about it. He got to pick what he wanted out of the boxes and loved getting all the cool stuff that used to fit Trevor. If he didn't want something we just left it in the box. He thought it was even better than going shopping because he didn't have to be dragged through all the stores for hours. I can't imagine girls reacting quite the same way.

Conversations about potties.

This is for everyone wishfully thinking that saying goodbye to diapers is the best. When we started potty training Luke didn't like to go potty at the store. We were at JCPenney (Rancho Cucamonga) to exchange a pair of capris and buy Luke underwear. Something that should have been a 15 minute shopping trip turned into more than an hour because Luke would need to go potty and then we would go in, get his shoes and pants off, sit there and not go potty and then get back to the department. Then have to go again. I finally got him to go potty in the public restroom.
The new fight is boys can't go in the girls potty. Which makes it a problem when he is shopping with me! Yesterday the boys took him into the bathroom in Rob's store and then he wouldn't let them help him put his underwear back on. He wanted Mommy. Luckily I found the store's Assistant Manager to go in and rescue the little boy whose mom wouldn't go get him. :)
Then today we took the boys to see WALL E. I took Luke to the potty during the movie and spent 15 minutes discussing why a boy could use the girls potty. 15 minutes!!! I don't remember the other boys even caring about that. ARGH!
So just remember sometimes the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Trevor turned 11!

These kids keep getting older and I keep wondering where the time has gone. In the past I have been accused of being "over the top or an overacheiver" when it comes to birthday parties (and most everything else). Well those comments certainly don't apply here. For Trevor's birthay we had a few boys over, pizza and all the video games boys could play. They were in heaven. We had DS's, the WII and PS2 what more could a boy want? Trev loved every minute of it!

It's POTTY time!

Well I haven't posted lately, but we have been a little busy. The kids and I went down to my parents and during the week we were there. Luke (FINALLY) started using the potty. It has been a long wait but he stays dry at night and I can't remember the last accident he had. We are kissing pullups goodbye, forever!!!!

Sunday

Well we went to church pink hair and all. It was just my luck the entire Stake Presidency came to our ward on Sunday. People either looked at us funny or asked what bet Robert had lost, but it wasn't too bad.

What a day!!!!

Well the day started off nice. I got the house cleaned up this morning. Which is always nice. Then I had a massage appointment. Robert got me a gift card a long time ago but I have never been able to set up an appointment at a time that worked for us. So today was the day. I had my massage and it was great. Robert got free tickets for him and the boys to see Incredible Hulk so they left for the movies before I got home from the massage (I thought that was smart on my part, boy was I wrong). I got lunch and came home and read in a quiet house - a rare treat. Robert texted me and told me he had a surprise for me - something pink. Thinking he was the best husband ever and had remembered to get me something for our 12th anniversary tomorrow I was excited to see my surprise. He and the kids finally get home and this was my surprise. To be like dad all 3 boys decided they wanted pink hair too!
So mom, today is your day. You knew there would come a day in my life where I couldn't control my children's hair. I just didn't think it would come so soon and with their dad's help. So in honor of you (and all other mothers) who have gritted their teeth through various colors/styles. I will laugh and repeat your famous line... "It's only hair, it will grow out."