Lions and beavers and skunks, OH MY!

Mark Wesley's cake creation. Look closely, it's hilarious!

This is why we rarely have pictures of all four of us.

Little beaver trying to eat the tree!
That's me, I'm a tree.
Stinky skunk hiding in his tree.
A lion in a tree? Is that possible?

We just got home from our Trunk or Treat with the 2nd and 3rd Wards. We had a lot of fun! Our "trunk" won 1st place!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our prize was Mark's cake. We had a family theme: Josh-lumberjack, Stacy-tree, Ayden and Ian-woodland creatures. Dakota was the sweetest lion around! I sat in the hole with Ian and passed out candy while Robin, Josh, and Mark went around with Dakota, Ayden, and Brooklyn. Everyone had lots of fun!!!!!!!! I can't wait until next year, already!

the Singing Holloways

My mom just sent me some pictures from my dad's childhood. This one is my favorite! There are 7 children in his family, and these 5 used to sing gospel music on the radio. From left to right: my Aunt Sally, Aunt Lavern, Uncle Mike, Dad, and Aunt Ann is playing the piano. I'm honored to have such a talented family. I remember when I was 4 years old my sister, Dixie, was just born and they all got around the piano and blasted out "You Are My Sunshine" in four, maybe 5 or 6 part harmony. I was awestruck then, and I'm still amazed when I hear them sing. Uncle Mike and Aunt Sally have both recently passed away, but I have a cd of them singing together that I cherish. Music flows through our blood more strongly than oxygen!

My maw-maw

We drove to my Aunt Videt's house yesterday to visit with my maw-maw, Nora Holloway. We had a good time with her, watching the Game Show Network and shootin' the breeze. She turned 90 this year, and I'm sure she'll outlive us all! Here she is with her great-grand babies!

Ian's finally happy!

I've been trying my darndest to get "happy" pictures of Ian in his beaver costume. Every attempt has ended in tears. He HATED that beaver outfit. Well, I took out the scissors and my sewing machine and altered his costume. Yes, I used the sewing machine, and it worked!!!!! It was like a sleepsack, constricting his legs. Now it is like an all-in-one with his legs kicking freely. Here's the long awaited photo shoot of a happy boy in his beaver costume.

Happy Sweetest Day!

I'm a little late posting this because we had a soccer game, voting, boo at the zoo, a birthday party, and dinner/play time with "Emily Elizabeth" and "Jonfen". Anyway, today is Sweetest Day, which is similar to Valentine's Day, but no one really knows about it. To read about this holiday, go here: http://www.theromantic.com/sweetestday.htm. I learned about this holiday from a friend who grew up in Michigan, where it is more popular.

Anyway, I want to say to all of my blogging buddies, thank you for posting small pieces of your lives, so I can check up on you at least 4 times a day, just in case something else has been posted. My day isn't complete without a little blogging in it. Just ask Josh, he laughs at me because if I get 5 minutes of quiet, my first priority is checking my email and everyone's bloggs.



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BE YE WARNED! THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SAPPY LOVE EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU MAY NOT WANT TO ENCOUNTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







Now, to my Joshy. I love you. No, more than that, I like your shoes. (Our inside joke). I loved our date last night. You make me laugh, even when I'm trying really hard to be cross with you. I'm so glad I chased you down so many years ago. I'm excited to have you with me for the years to come. I love how you touch so many people's lives at a deeper level than they're used too. You brighten up every room you enter. I love watching you with our boys. They love their Daddy. Even though they demand most of my time, you're still "My widdle baby." (another inside joke) I'm a lucky girl. You'd be surprised how many times I think that to myself. I love you to the millenium and beyond! Now, a special tribute to my hubby performed by my Uncle David and his trusty parrot, Ricky.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

FYI: Ricky can sing these songs in their entirety, but chose not to on this particular day. Josh was the most thrilled to hear him, don't you think?

Moosabur's in truvul!

Oh, the joys of parenting. We had a classic evening that was documented in my journal and is worthy of a blog post. Last night for our "family home evening" Ayden learned about the preexistence. If you don't know what that is, you can ask me sometime. About an hour after, I was feeding Ian when Ayden came running to me saying, "He's in truvul, he go time out." I asked who he was talking about and he replied, "Moosabur. Moosabur go time out. Moosabur get BIG spankin'." I busted a gut laughing when I realized what he was saying. In case you haven't figured it out by now, he was saying Lucifer!!!!!!!!

Well I be done seen 'bout the cutest thing!

We went to the DS pumpkin patch this morning.

Luckily, we met up with Maren & co. and Maren took some pictures! Thank you, Maren.
Ian's first wagon ride!!!! Just when we thought he couldn't get any cuter...
I don't have any pictures of the front of our house, so I took advantage of the moment. Their first wagon ride (of many) together.

All play and no work!

Ayden is helping "Mike" play with Mr. Truck.

He has the letter "K" and a caboose stacked on top.

When I asked Ayden what was going on he replied, "Mike is watching his show!" As you can see, so are his friends, Mr. Truck and the lizard (all with their own chairs).

Never a dull moment in the Hutchinson homestead.

My Big Sis.

My big sis. I love her.

• She taught me how the rollerskate when I was only three years old.



• She colors better than anyone I've ever met. (She outlines first, then always colors in the same direction.)



• She taught me how to mold playdoh into a cube and poke holes in it to make dice.



• She lead me and my brother on many outdoor adventures. For example, one day we found the beginning of a log cabin in the woods behind our house. We tried our best to lift a huge log to finish the job and have a secret hideout of our own. (It didn't work.)



• She was my first vocal coach. When we were all in the musical "Annie" at SLU I remember her telling me I didn't have to try to sing the high notes loud, I could back off and I would hit the notes better.



• She used to pick me up by my head, or the feet and swing me and chant "tick-tock, tick-tock". I loved it because I loved getting any attention from her.



• I watched her put on her make-up, and I STILL do mine in the same order.



• I tried to pierce my nose to be like her when I was only in fifth grade. (It didn't work.)



• She was the one who always jumped up to help people with eveything, which is why I think I am lazy.



• She always told the best stories from her vivid imagination.



• I had to take over her babysitting gigs, and the kids always told me they liked her better.



• We share the same giggle.



• We have very similar taste in home decor.



• Every time we talk, we both get so excited like we're kids again.



• She always gives the best advice when I'm complaining to her about my latest drama.



• She adores my two boys.



• She's moving to Colorado.

Chani,

I miss you already.

Tiger Fans...UNITE!!

I just did my daily blog check, and a lot of my fellow bloggers shared their theories on how LSU beat Florida last night. I agree, the energy coming from all of the fans helps tremendously. I have to say, this little fan would make any team want to win! How many times have you seen a kid riding a donkey pinata, wearing a purple and gold outfit topped off with a fireman's hat? Go tigers!

A Covenant Kept

A remarkable realization happened today as I was talking to my mom. She was commenting on how she heard that I sang out strong without crying at Josh's dad's funeral. She knows me well, and has seen me sob through countless songs, unable to hold out any kind of a melody. I made a promise to Spencer (like a prayer) that I would sing out and hold back my tears, because I wanted the songs to be a gift to him. So, I asked him to help me. This is where things got interesting. My Mom told me long ago that when you feel like you want to cry to write check marks on a piece of paper over and over until you're distracted. I've been practicing this over the years and remarkably, it has seemed to help. When the family began to walk into the chapel, I began to write imaginary check marks on my leg with my index finger. This kept the flood of tears from coming. I managed to sing through every song without shedding too many tears, but cried throughout the rest of the service. I was recounting the story to my Mom over the phone (except for the part about the check marks), and she said Spencer must have helped me because she watched him control his emotions during Josh's mission farewell in 1997. She went on to say that she watched him write check marks over and over on a piece of paper. I was absolutely floored and full of EMOTION at this news. I didn't remember that it was he that Mom originally learned this method of relaxation from. I'm still overjoyed at the thought of my late good buddy (Spencer) helping to soothe me through the service. He lives on even in DEATH!!

Let the Games Begin!

Ayden LOVES wearing his new cleats and shin guards!
Waiting on the sidelines for the game to begin.
Keeping Ayden "in the game".
Already making friends!
Standing like airplanes, waiting to give high fives to the white team.
Ayden's first "Good game, good game, good game..."
See the parents in the background with cameras?


Oh, the moment we've been waiting for. Ayden experienced his first sporting event. I think the parents had more fun than the kids. These are 3-4 year olds running in swarms after the ball, sometimes the wrong way. Ayden isn't a very aggressive child, so he enjoyed just running back and forth after the clump of kids yelling "hi guys!" We were all laughing the whole time when the kids would lose interest and run to their parents, or crash into eachother and have massive pile-ups. We're going to have a great season! By the way, no scores are kept, but we counted and we won 3 to 1! Shhh! Also, Ayden has already improved with standing in line (we've been practicing in the back yard.)

GO LIONS!
P.S. It's close to impossible to find toddler sized cleats! Josh finally found the one and only size 10s at Academy Sports.

Do any 3 year olds enjoy waiting in line?

Last night was Ayden's first try with "organized" sports. It was anything but organized. We signed Ayden up for soccer, and last night was his first practice. He doesn't ever have to wait in line, so that concept was foreign to him. There are 12 kids on the team and they were taking turns kicking the ball into the pretend goal. As far as motor skills, Ayden did great, BUT he just couldn't wait in line. We decided that we're going to get some of his toys at home and practice waiting in line. I talked to the coach's wife after practice and she assured me that he'll get the hang of things soon. I hope so. His first game is Thursday night. I guess we'll just tell him, "listen to Coach Mike" and "kick the ball to to goal". It's going to be hilarious. I CAN'T forget my camera for that moment.