Carl Spencer Hutchinson- the Legendary "Zeke"

The Hutch boys sharing memories of ol' Spence.
Sitting around at "the Old Place" September 25th.

From left: John, Josh, Matt, and Jason Hutchinson

Spencer's creations in front of "the Old Place Cemetery"

which he built on his land behind the house he also built.
Some of his grandchildren: Top row: Jared, Ethan, and Tyler. Second: Adam and Ben. Third: Morgan, Megan, and Megan. Bottom: Ayden and Ian. There's three more grand kids not in the photo: Ashleigh, Dakota, and Peyton. That's a grand total of thirteen, and he adored every one of them.

Proud paw-paw with Ayden. Dad was so excited about Ayden's first Halloween, he gave us this outfit the day he was born. Ayden saw this outfit the other day and said he wanted to be tigger for Halloween again. Sorry, Granny worked too hard on your skunk costume, buster.
Christmas, 2006. Little did we know that this gathering would be such a precious memory.

Ian with his Paw-paw July 4, 2007.
He will continually hear about his legacy throughout his life.

One of the many times he helped us with our clunker that he actually

picked out for us years ago. I love the haze effect. It was so humid that day, the camera fogged up. I think that's another inspired moment. Thanks, Louisiana!

On Sunday, September 23rd, dad passed away. In the end, his heart was too big for his body. It was one of the hardest days of our lives, but we're hanging in there. This week has been full of tears and heartache as well as deep pondering about the more profound things in life. We will somehow find our way through without our Superman. We miss you to the ends of the earth, but we know we will see you soon and experience a joyous reunion for eternity. Thanks to all of you that have expressed your condolences. Please keep us in your prayers.

Another boy for the Holloways!

Do you like this outfit, Aunt Nikki? Too bad, I'm holding on to it!

Nikki just found out that she's having a boy ! I'm so excited to finally be able to pass on some clothes to my boys' little cousin, Taryn Cyrus. I can't wait until January!!

Pepe Le Pew

What's that stinch?
Get out the tomato sauce!
Little Padfoot

Thanks, Granny, for sending us the skunk costume!! It's perfect!

My mom made this outfit for Ayden's Halloween costume. Ian will be a beaver (pictures coming soon). I just have to make some final touches to make it fit just right. Ayden loves wearing it, too! We can't wait for Halloween!!

Seek and ye shall find...

We've been missing a couple of toys for a while, and I am confident that I keep pretty good track of them. This was puzzling me until today. I had a revelation that I haven't checked under the couch cushions in months! I was specifically concerned about Ayden's wooden hot dog and the army man that belongs to his Toy Story collection from Aunt Odie. Lo and behold, they were both hiding in the crevices of our big couch. I also found some other sneaky buggers. I guess the Christmas ornament reveals just how long it has been since I rummaged through the couches. I haven't checked our recliner yet...

Useful Things To Know

I received an email from my sis-in-law, Meredith, and I thought it was very interesting. Take some time to read this and you'll be glad you did! My favorite is number 42. I'm going to test this one out!

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11. Bee stings - meat tenderizer
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)
15. Stinky feet - Jell-O !
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub
18. Kool aid To clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff.)
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon Plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray
22. Pam Will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on 25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar !
26. Body paint - Crisco Mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!
27. Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , Soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!
29. A Slinky Will hold toast and CD's!
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter !
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce Towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , Soak overnight!
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate Toothpaste and brush it!
36. Dirty grout - Listerine
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , It will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax - Sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , Or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie. They are: Monday - Blue, Tuesday - Green, Thursday - Red, Friday - White, and Saturday - Yellow . So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue - Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

A Perfect Smile!

Ayden showing his teeth at 18 months of age.


Lexie's blog reminded me that I never reported on Ayden's dentist appointment. We had to drive through Humberto's fury to get to the dentist (we had an arm from the category 1 hurricane that hit BR on Thursday). This was Ayden's first experience, so I was nervous to see how he would handle it. Yes, you are supposed to take your child as soon as they cut their first tooth, but I didn't, okay?! Well it turns out that he didn't even need x-rays because his teeth looked great. He had his teeth cleaned, a flouride treatment, AND got a balloon and sticker for being such a good sport.

Shapoopi, Shapoopi, Shapoopi....

Okay, drumroll please...............Ayden has pooped in the toilet for 2 days straight!!! The trick? Josh heard from a co-worker that a gumball machine works wonders, and she was right! He bought Ayden a gumball machine and we made a big deal over it, put it on the top of the fridge, and told him he could only have a gumball if he went poopy in the toilet. He was so excited, he tried and tried. He would talk about how he wanted the white or red one, and he finally DID IT!Today, he went all by himself without any help from us. I feel like we've conquered the world!!!

Give them the old "Frazzle-Dazzle"

I had a crazy night. First, Ayden came to our room crying, so I had to bring him back to bed and comfort him. He said his legs hurt, so I gave him Ibuprofen to help him sleep. I stayed with him until he calmed down and fell asleep, then I heard Ian starting. He's been having a rough week. I spend all day wondering what the problem is-hunger, diaper rash discomfort, gas, teething, etc... I held him for a while until he calmed down, then Ayden started again. I didn't want him to wake up Ian or Josh, so I went to his bed again. This time I think he had a bad dream. He wasn't fully awake and kept mumbling jibberish, so I waited to make sure he was okay, then went back to bed. Ian waited about a half hour and decided it was his turn again. Then an hour later- again. It all started somewhere around 3am and ended around 6am, then Ian was up for the day at 7-ish, but I let him babble to himself until he got angry, tossed him to Josh and I took a quick shower before Josh had to leave for work. Surprisingly I'm okay this morning. I was afraid that I would be cranky and have a short temper, but so far-so good. Sometimes motherhood can be draining. That's why I love my D.P. (Dr. Pepper). Good thing it didn't exist when the Word of Wisdom was established. I would just have to break that rule. HE-HE.

Prego Nichole

Meet my baby sis, Nikki, and her fiance', Devon.
Presenting: Their creation, coming soon to Boise, ID. We'll know the gender in a couple of weeks! Please refer to the left column for her due date. We're all getting eager to meet the new addition to our family. She/he will be grandchild number 5 for Granny and Paw-paw. These proud parents will be getting married on October 31st, "Sleepy Hollow" style. I wish I could be there, but we're planning on visiting when the baby is born in January. We love you, Nikki! Keep off your feet, lil' momma.

Potty Update

What's all the excitement about?
The royal potty has been transferred to the bathroom! Ayden now goes on his own, without mommy and daddy asking him if he needs to go every 10 minutes. We're still waiting for him to go "number 2" but he has been staying dry for a few days now!!! Good job, Ayden!

Guess who? Part Two

Okay, at this age, it's a little easier to tell them apart. See what you think.

P.S. I love these pjs on both of them!

Some Privacy, PLEASE!

What's going on in there?
Oh, just a little man sitting on his throne.

Yes, we have begun extensive potty training. My mom gave me some passive aggressive advice, and I took it! Thanks mom, for not saying what you really thought: "Why isn't that three year old out of diapers? Back in my day we had our kids potty trained before they turned two!" The reality is that kids train later nowadays. However, I have been lax in motivation to begin helping Ayden use the toilet. It took the rude awakening that his peers are all in underwear, and my mother saying, "Aren't you tired of changing those nasty BIG poops that could just simply be flushed down the toilet?"I think I just don't want my baby to grow up. Every milestone of Ayden's has been bitter-sweet for me. I had a hard time when he started table food and now this. He has been doing great. He feels the pee coming and runs to the toilet. We just added his spiderman tent to the mix for privacy, and he loves it! His toilet is in the living room right now for convenience, and we'll move it to the bathroom when he improves a little more. I'll keep you "posted".

Ayden and Ian's Check-ups

Ian Charles Hutchinson

6 months old

27 1/4 inches long (75th percentile)

17 pounds (50th percentile)
Now saying: Da-da, ahh, pptttt, nnn, ma-ma,

and best of all- blah, blah, blah (as if he's mocking us)!

Ayden Spencer Hutchinson

3 years old

40 inches tall (95th percentile)

32 pounds (50th percentile)

Current funny phrase: "I just can't believe it!"

While mom and dad were here, I took advantage of their presence and took Ayden and Ian individually to their doctor appointments. They were both average with their weight and above average in height. I guess Josh should start introducing them to basketball, if they're going to keep this up.