Chandler Fam

Chandler Fam

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a lot of fun Thanksgiving celebrations this year.  Wesley's kindergarten class put on a really cute little play.  I was glad I got to sneak in and see it.
 Amy and I enjoyed an adventurous drive to Twin falls with 6 children packed in our van.  Doesn't get better than that!!!
We stayed with my parents and had fun watching Christmas movies together.
The Twins had a birthday party at a jump place.  Everyone had so much fun! 
 Thanksgiving Day was awesome. I really enjoyed working in the kitchen with my mother-in-law and her mom.

We had a fun crew. 
The cousins always love being together.
 

 Wesley turned into some kind of animal and wanted to eat all the Turkey right off the bone.  He literally ate this whole leg!
 After dinner we took a little walk along the canyon.
 Such a beautiful view.
 All the boys lined up for "the rules." 
 Don can't have any activity without some made up rules :)

 And, we're off!  It was technically a speed walking race, but only a couple kids actually took that seriously.




 Just fun to be with family. 
We ended the weekend watching holiday fireworks with my parents.  Chilly, but fun.  I love how much my husband loves fireworks!
I have so many things for which to be grateful.  When we took turns sharing on Thanksgiving I mentioned 2 things:

1.  My incredible husband.  He is amazing.  He does so much for me and I am so grateful for all the little things he does to make my life easier -- like take out the trash and fill up the cars.  Simple, but so helpful.  And he is the best father.  I love seeing him connect with our boys whether its about Harry Potter, jeeps or race cars, he always seeks to involve them and I love him so much for it.

2. The blessing to be a mother and to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a support.  I cannot imagine trying to navigate the day to day struggles of parenting without a knowledge of Christ and His plan and without the help of the Holy Ghost, prompting me what to do. The sweetest moments I have as a mother are when I am teaching my children about the Gospel.  Those moments are so tender and I'm so grateful for them.

Happy Thanksgiving! (I know, Christmas is next week --trying to catch up!)

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

The Missoula Children's Theater came to our school for a week in November.  With a little encouragement Dillon and Wesley both tried out and made it!  Wesley was cast as a chameleon and Dillon as Bill the Goat. They practiced everyday after school for a week and performed twice on Saturday.  It was a long, but fun week!
 
When the chameleons first came out they were so cute.  Wesley was doing great until he started picking his nose and eating it on stage -- classic! He also had a hard time staying focused during the show but he was pretty entertaining to watch. He and his little friend Noah were by far the youngest in the cast.  He was a great little singer!
 Dillon really stepped out of his comfort zone and jumped into character.  He remembered all his lines and was so fun to watch on stage -- he was sincerely having a great time!
 They had a photo shoot between shows.



 Can you find my boys in the cast shot??
 My sweet sister Kamie came and supported the boys.  They were so thrilled to see her...
 ...and cousin Avery.
 Their local cousins came to see the show too.  Lots of cousin love!
 Pretty cute in their costumes!

 They both had a good buddy in the show -- who are also brothers.
 That really helped them enjoy themselves.
 We were lucky enough to host the directors for the week.  My boys loved having Kwame...
 ...and Latrisha in our home!
It was a great week!  So proud of my boys for trying something new!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Poem #4

I'm married to an incredibly creative and talented man.  He started a little tradition 9 years ago and has kept it going.  Here is his latest masterpiece:

THREE’S A CROWD, FOUR’S A PARTY!

Winter, Spring, and Summer are nice,
But Autumn is there for a reason.
For a year to be complete, you see,
You need to have all four seasons.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are great,
But with only three, something is wrong.
The Bible simply isn’t the same
Without the Gospel of John.

Think about the rock group The Beatles,
John, Paul, and George are so-so,
But the Fab Four would only be three
If they didn’t have drummer Ringo.

And bikes and trikes are certainly fun –
With two or three wheels you’ll arrive –
But to really enjoy your travels,
You’ve got to have four wheel drive.

As all Scouters know, when it comes to plant-life,
If you see leaves of three, let them be.
But stumble across a four-leaf clover,
It’s luck of the Irish to ye!

Have you ever heard of a barbershop trio?
That’s something I’ve just never met.
For in order to make the best music work,
Most songs require a quartet.

Four quarts make a gallon, four quarters a dollar.
And we sing of four calling birds.
Mount Rushmore has four faces,
But avoid those four-letter words.

I guess you could say I’ve got four on the brain,
And you’re wondering, “What is the deal?!?”
Well three years have passed since I’ve written a poem,
So here is our shocking reveal.

Nan and I have bounced all around,
First Utah, Virginia, and then Illinois.
In each of three states, we’ve been very blessed
With the birth of a new baby boy.

Now we are back in beloved Idaho.
The closeness to home can’t be beat!
We’re in a new house, with three awesome boys,
But our family is not quite complete.

Much like the Gospels, the Beatles, and seasons,
Our three boys are great – why stop there?
So we’re happy and grateful and eager
For we’ve wonderful news to share.

A new baby is coming, early next May!
As to boy or a girl, we’re not sure,
All that we know is that we cannot wait
For the arrival of our Number Four!

He's awesome, huh!  I'm going to include the previous 3 poems just for fun!
 
OUR SECRET SOMETHING
 
Hey there Fam! How do you do?
Boy, have we got something for you.
 
This “something” is something you don’t want to miss,
So hold on to your hats, y’all ready for this?
 
It’s really quite simple, but how do we start?
Sometimes it is hard to speak from the heart.
 
Perhaps we’ll begin by giving you clues,
Perhaps – if you’re smart – you can guess our new news.
 
If you do have a guess, and you’d be so kind,
We ask you to please keep your guess in your mind.
 
Just bite your tongue, don’t blurt it out loud,
Don’t ruin the end for the rest of the crowd.
 
So zip up your lips, seal them with glue,
And open your ears, ‘cause here’s the first clue.
 
Our something’s not big, not large, and not tall,
Our something is little, it’s petite, and it’s small.
 
Nope, not a coin, nor pebble, nor key,
Nor is it something you’ll find in the sea.
 
Our something is small, and it has lots of wrinkles,
And it’s not made of sugar like frosting and sprinkles.
 
Nope, not a raisin, not a bed-sheet, or shirt.
Not a wrinkly puppy dog rolling in the dirt.
 
Are you having trouble guessing? C’mon, you have to think.
Here’s another clue – our something’s kinda pink.
 
Nope, not a flower, not a lollipop, or pig,
Nor is it a necktie I picked up in Leipzig.
 
Our something is pink and wrinkly, but also really sweet,
But it’s not cake and ice cream; it’s not a thing you eat.
 
Think of something small and pink, lovable and new.
What’s a thing to cuddle with, a thing to be close to?
 
Nope, not a teddy-bear, not a blanket or a pillow,
Our something’s not a quilt or a fuzzy pussy-willow.
 
Our something is something living; with a heartbeat, lungs, and head,
It’s something that breathes in and out; it isn’t something dead.
 
Nope, not a monkey, not a kitty, nor a lizard,
Our something’s not a strutting rooster, grateful for his gizzard.
 
Our something isn’t here yet, but we're sure it's on its way.
Our something should arrive in the merry month of May.
 
Yet it won’t come by mail, some say it comes by stork.
But our something comes from heaven, not from China or New York.
 
Our something isn’t far; it’s inside of my dear wife.
Nan gives our something love, she gives our something life.
 
Ok. That’s all. That’s it. Are all the clues enough?
I think you know our something after hearing all this stuff.
 
So should I tell you? I just don’t know. Yes? No? Maybe?
It’s just so exciting, I can’t hold it in – we’re gonna have a BABY!!!!!!
 
2008
 
It’s the end of December, the end of the year,
And wasn’t ’07 just great!?!
Our hearts overflowing with holiday cheer,
We’re ready to welcome ’08.
 
The Lord is so giving; we all are so blessed
As on the past we reflect.
A new year beginning, let’s give it our best,
Here’s just a few things to expect.
 
For the Hobbs family much is in store.
The Mission Home always is hoppin’!
Zone conference, transfers, sick elders, and more,
But Mom and Dad Hobbs just ain’t stoppin’!
 
Brittany’s a senior at Providence High,
Come June she will don cap and gown.
In August she’ll be on her way to the Y
To join Jason in sweet Cougartown!
 
Speaking of Jason, he’s just so dang smart.
Ace O-Chem? Just how does he do that?
But his BYU classes are only the start,
This summer he’s taking the MCAT.
 
With Kamie, her fam, Heather, Richelle,
There’s just too much fun for this list.
In their crazy lives you never can tell,
Baptisms, weddings—you get the gist.
 
The Chandler home could be so quiet these days,
All except Lauren are gone.
But she makes up for the quiet in so many ways,
There’s still quite a lot going on.
 
She’s dancing and singing but that is not all,
She’s also excelling in school.
A big Twin Falls Bruin she’ll be in the fall,
And then she will really be cool!
 
Luke is a Cougar; his year has been awesome.
But he’s anxious to go do some fishin’.
As a fisher of men he’ll help the Church blossom,
This year he’ll be serving a mission.
 
For Amy and Shane it will surely be crazy
‘Cause Carson and Cade are around.
Those two newborn babies won’t let you be lazy,
We’re so glad they are here safe and sound.
 
A summer in Utah for Lindsay and Wynn
To help him in his education.
There also will be a new temple in Twin—
Can’t wait for the spring dedication.
 
As for Natalie, Dillon, and me,
’08 will surely be fun.
After three years of study I’ll have my J.D.,
It’s hard to believe I’ll be done.
 
And early next fall I will start making money!
But first I must pass the exam.
And the bar exam folks—it just isn’t funny,
So in June and July I will cram.
 
And somewhere in there—we still need to plan—
I’ll pack up my wife and our boy,
And load all our stuff in a big U-Haul van
And move us all to Illinois.
 
One other thing—right around July third—
Another small something to do.
We already have the doc’s final word,
We’re going to have Number Two!
 
Oh, 2008… I can hardly wait.
 
GOODBYE AND HELLO TO GRANDPA
 
At times like these, our feelings are tender
But that is why we’re all here.
To laugh, cry, and fondly remember
The life of our Grandfather dear.
 
Saying goodbye is a hard thing to do.
But one way to soften the blow
Is to never forget the beautiful truth
That there’s always another hello.
 
For birth’s not the start of human existence
And death is not the end.
By virtue of Our Father’s plan
We know we’ll see Grandpa again.
 
’Til that sweet day comes, however,
Grandpa won’t just be “pushing up daisies.”
There is work to do; he’ll be busy as ever,
Heaven’s no place to be lazy.
 
I don’t know if it’s doctrine, but I’d sure like to think
There are spirits who’ve yet come to earth
Whom Grandpa will meet, love, and adore –
His great grandkids well before birth.
 
One of those spirits will soon come to Texas
Where Jason and Di work and study.
But around the same time, maybe April or May,
Their baby might get a buddy.
 
Another great grandchild for dear Grandpa Petty
(Who named every critter by species and genus).
In words he might use, we proudly announce:
Nan is gestating a fetus!
 
 
Some of these include jokes you may not get if you don't know the people, but you get the idea -- Aaron is amazing!
I'm so grateful to married to such an incredible man and to be able to welcome another child into our family!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Halloween 2013

Our Halloween celebrations started a week early by going to the school Monster Mash Dance.   Caleb was so excited to put on his "Monster Mash Costume!"
Then we got Dillon and Wes all suited up in their Harry Potter and Ron Weasley attire.
I think the hair color totally made their costumes!
They were excited to find their friends at the dance.

and their cousins!
 On Halloween we got all dressed up again and headed to the outlets for a little trick or treating.
I love how they all got into their roles.  Dillon and Wes kept yelling "expelliarmus" instead of trick or treat!
Then "Grandpa of the year" showed up in full costume to trick or treat with his grandkids.
We stopped for dinner with some friends from church and then met up with family for the night's festivities.

After collecting candy we enjoyed these super cute caramel apples and some yummy caramel apple cider.  Mmmmm!

 
 

Leaves and pumpkins

Two of the best parts about Fall are leaves and pumpkins and even with a pretty busy schedule we made sure we found time for both this year.
(yes, Caleb has glasses painted on - a frequent request)
 






 They had so much fun the day Daddy raked them all up into a big pile to bag.
Aaron would throw them into the pile and we all giggled as they disappeared.

Caleb found Mommy's witch hat and headed back out to the pile.
This Daddy deserves an award!  He's been pretty busy at work but made sure we got a night of pumpkin carving in.  While I went to Parent/Teacher conferences he let Dillon and Wesley both pick out a design for their pumpkin and then set to work.
 Dillon's was pretty straight forward.  I'm sad I wasn't around to watch the process, apparently Aaron animated this guy as he carved -- "Ahhh, my eye is falling out!"

 Wesley, on the other hand, picked a little more difficult design.  But Aaron was committed and made it happen.
 They both turned out awesome!
Later in the week we invited some friends over for our traditional Dinner in a Pumpkin.
 Yum!
I love Fall traditions!!!