Ok, so I have to tell these stories really quick or I know I'll forget them. Wes and I have been really struggling with figuring out how to be good parents. It's good to have moments like this that help us laugh a little.
This past week Connor had an episode with a marker and his belly. Yah, I should have taken a picture, but I didn't want to encourage him.
Well, I talked to him a little bit about how his body is a special gift from Heavenly Father and
that he should treat it like a temple. A few days later we're driving back home from dropping Bradley off, and he starts asking me what's going to happen when we die. I explained everything to him, and then he said, "What will we be when we come alive again?" I told him we'd be ourselves, but he didn't think that was right. He told me he is going to be a temple, and that it's going to come out of his belly button! Ha ha ha . . . I think somehow he got the whole "your body is a temple" thing all mixed up. And there was marker all over his belly button. :)
Ok, on to our little reader. Today, we are driving to church, and Bradley's new favorite thing is spelling stuff. So, for awhile he was asking us to find signs, tell him the word, and then he'd look at the sign and spell it. Then he decided he'd read the signs to us, and we'd spell the words. So, he says, "Wendy's." We spelled it. Then he says "Long John Sliver's." (We still can't convince him it's "Silver's.).
Ok, you ready for this, he says, "Spell Bad *** Coffee." We couldn't do it! We were trying to contain our laughter. While we were trying to control ourselves he and Connor were telling us to spell "Bad *** Coffee" again and again. Oh my, it was hilarious. I am not a fan of lying to my kids, but we convinced them that we were laughing at something Daddy said. Oh man, I wish you could get the whole picture. It was absolutely hilarious.
When we calmed down we had a serious discussion about words we don't say in our family, and Bradley felt pretty bad. He was just reading the sign after all.
Needless to say, parenting is hard work. I told Wes we're not going to drive to church that way ever again so they can forget about it. If not, I know they'll enjoy saying it much more often - especially if Wes and I can't contain our laughter the next time!!
We stayed with Wes' parents the first week there, and Rhenda was so good. We were exhausted that first day there. She set the boys up in the family room with a movie while we relaxed and visited.
And then of course, the next item on the agenda was SNOW! The boys went out to play with Wes and Spencer while Halley and I took naps. 
Anyway, the reason I bring that up is because Bradley missed school that entire week. They had a Christmas party at school the day we were leaving for UT so I took the kids just for that. Bradley's teacher wanted him to read a book to Santa. She is really proud of him. I am too. He is reading books like crazy now. His teacher took some of the books he reads in class to the kindergarten teachers, and they said he is reading on an end of first grade level! We are so proud of him.
For Christmas this year, the boys asked for three different things. First, all they wanted was a racetrack. Then, they saw some stuffed Dalmatian puppies at Kohl's, and that's all they could talk about. Then, we went to Wes' party for work, and the first kid asked for a Transformer, so, every kid in succession - boys and girls alike - asked for the same thing. After that, the boys changed their minds about every day. They were very lucky though, and between Santa and grandparents, they got everything they asked for. :)
These first pictures are actually from Thanksgiving Day weekend. We took at trip to what the boys call "the rock beach." It was right before sunset, and it was BEAUTIFUL! The sounds, smells, and feeling were just amazing. It is so fun to get out with the kids and experience nature. I loved hearing the huge waves crash on the shore!
