I am grateful...

for so many things....
but today, i am most grateful for these little fellas.

(thanks geri for taking fun pics of my boys in the freezing cold!)

Welcome Home....

.....from the Land of the Rising Sun!
As many of you know my in laws have been serving an LDS mission in Japan. It blows my mind that their 18months has come to an end already! When people say to them WOW did you serve the whole 18 months, that went FAST? They say, maybe for you but it seemed like a year and a half to us!
It was sure fun to go down this last weekend plus a few days to see them. When we pulled up to the house and Nobby came out to greet us it really felt like good ol times and they had never been gone.
When they left Cole was 18months and so when we were giving hugs and saying hello he quickly hid behind Lane and I's legs. It was kinda surprising since he and my father in law were the best of friends before they left. (he would bring him a balloon from Macy's almost everyday.... Cole thought that was pretty swell) When he saw Kitty at the top of the stairs he did give her a hug and quickly warmed up after that.

Opening their mission call and obviously pleased to be going back to Japan!I think they are about the cutest couple ever!

It was so fantastic to get frequent updates on how life was and all about the interesting food they were enjoying!Some looked real tasty to me, and some didn't.....I couldn't find one of the pictures of Nobby getting his drivers license there dang it! (he said that it was the hardest part of their mission for him....tough test!)
Also they sent me some AMAZING pictures of hairstyles of young people there. I can't find them either but when I do.... it is worth sharing! Quite edgy and somewhat frightening! I am sure they think the same of some of us here too.

Here is the Missionary couple at the airport...
I am sure the people of Nagoya are sure missing you and sad you are gone... but we are sure glad you are back!
You are such an amazing example to everyone around you. I have never met a single person that didn't just rant and rave about you both! You guys did such a great job raising your children which I am so grateful for cuz it makes being married to Lane such a joy! He is the best dad and husband I know and I would like to thank you for that!
Thanks for all you do and the light that beams from you both....
Kitty, now that you are back, would you teach me to hem my jeans? I have never seen such amazing work. (no offense mom, i appreciate your hemming too. Hers is just...different) hehe
Also, thanks for the happy coat, the dvd's (the boys watch them daily), the authentic dolls etc. It was like Christmas!
WELCOME HOME!
(oh yeah, if you are interested or wondering, their "mission report" will be this coming Sunday at 1pm at their church house.)

Coley is 3...

Even though he usually tells people he is 5. He wants to be bigger like his brother so bad. And to be honest I think he is going to be bigger than his older brother pretty darn soon! Whenever anyone asked Cole what he wanted for his birthday, his response would go something like this... a football helmet, a treasure chest, a shark, a guy, a crocodile, money, a movie, a transformer, and so on. Although, he did tell Bobbi that he wanted "nothing, I will get it myself"

Well, it started out WAY too early (again). Dawson can not handle his excitement in situations like this, and it wasn't even his birthday! He woke up about 5am and I told him to go back to his bed til 7am. Well, he waited an hour and at 6am he had woke up Cole and they were ready to roll!

We didn't do anything all that special today to celebrate. Tuesday's are a busy day around here so the poor kid is gonna have to wait til we are down in Utah to hit up Boondocks or Chuckee Cheese.

So as most of you know Lane is the birthday cake "designer" in our home. We asked Cole for days and each time he would say a baseball game cake. We tried to give him more exciting ideas but nope, baseball game trumped. (lane wasn't too impressed with himself but the boys and I thought he did GREAT!)

Daws begged to miss school today so he could "spend time with his favorite brother" and since I wasn't feeling so hot I said SURE! I took them to McDonald's and let them go nuts for a bit. We came home played a whole lot of Wii and then I made Cole a birthday dinner and off to my Primary meeting I went.

I must say I dig this age. He is so funny, and he is so quick to apologize, he admires Daws so much, he asks sooo many questions, he tries to show off for girls by telling them he farted (we need to teach him that that is not cool to us girls, must be a boy thing), he begs for mac and cheese for breakfast, he actually listens to me (something his brother stopped doing recently), he is just a good kid with a big heart and I just love him!

He said he had a great day and loved all his presents. The biggest hit was the 4dollar bowling set Lane bought him last minute at the dollar store.... so much for the $$football helmet!! ah well.and here is a little birthday kiss for everyone!

"Haka"

Ever since Dawson went to the BYU football game with Lane he has been obsessed with the Haka. He thought it was the coolest thing EVER!
(for those of you who haven't been or heard, some of the players do the haka before the game) It is actually really cool I must admit.
My sister in law works at BYU and is usually over or has to overlook the multi cultural activities, including the Luau. It is my all time favorite activity to attend because I think the culture seems so passionate and the Samoan Slap dance and the Haka are just sooo fun to watch! (it almost chokes me up every time for some reason!)
Anyways, as we were searching for a good video of the BYU football players doing the Haka for Dawson's pleasure we came across the "Missionary Haka" which I found very entertaining! (lane thinks that they may have a bit too much time on their hands to tape this...)

Our Halloween

What do ya do when you can't decide what to wear or be on halloween?OR
OR
OR

Ya wear them all!

Neener Neener Neener!

We had a real hard time this year deciding which costumes to wear and to which function. So they all got worn a little the day before at our trunk or treat, and the day of.
We combined their candy together cuz Cole does NOT like candy and Daws does NOT like chocolate so it makes it quite nice for both of them to combine.... and their is no fighting over one or the other!!
(p.s. if anyone needs to borrow a dragon costume next year, give me a call!)