Lewie's Tree

My mom spent about six months gathering and preparing to do a tree for Lewie at the Festival of Trees. You know that if Eileen was going to do a tree it would be perfection and nothing would be overlooked. When Lewie was in the hospital he had a U of U sock monkey that they used to prop up cords and he was always by his side. A sock monkey tree sounded like the perfect theme for Lewie's tree. 

For about two weeks the tree was setup in our garage so my mom could decorate it. It was not an easy task decorating it with all their rules and regulations but when Eileen was done it was beyond darling. The boys loved having the tree in our garage and watching the progress, but they were devastated when we came home and it was gone. Nothing like having a fun Christmas tree in your garage.

When we got out to the festival the boys were so excited to see the tree on display! They loved looking at all the different sock monkey things that we had gathered to go with the tree. It made my heart burst to think of all the people that were there admiring Lewie's tree and pausing to think about him. We are so in love with our Lewie and so grateful that we were able to focus on him this Christmas!

Christmas Tree

This year the Christmas tree caused a bit of contention in the marriage. During our nine years of marriage we have never had to pay for a Christmas tree but that doesn't mean it didn't come without some pain. Whenever a tree my mom used for decorating one of the hotels died she would ask if we wanted it. Sounds great until you realize you have to cut the lights off of it and then restring the tree every year.  So this year I put my foot down and decided I had enough and I wanted to for once pull a tree out of the box and plug it in. I made an executive decision and went and bought a tree without Mark's permission. 

That night the boys and I were excited to put the tree up until Mark intervened and asked how much the tree cost. After learning I had spent $150 on a tree he wondered why he needed to spend that much when we (aka Aubrey) could just get one of the trees in the basement and string the lights on it. While we were discussing this Luke told me that it was okay with him if I told Mark that this is "bull shit!" We can thank the fans at the Utah football game for that! Finally Mark agreed to go with the tree so now let's just cross our fingers that it lights up when we take it out of the box next year!

Brody put about five ornaments on the tree and then he was done. Luke was the opposite throwing ornaments on the tree as fast as he could. He was moving around so fast that I was lucky I even got one picture of him. They were both really into decorating the bottom of the tree because it was much easier than standing on the stool. I had to do a bit of rearranging without them noticing too much!

When they were finally done they sat back and admired their work! It was so fun to hear them talk about each ornament and which one was their favorite or the memory that goes along with it. This year Brody picked a Curious George ornament. It was very fitting since he literally watches the show all day long if we let him. Luke saw the picture for the Peyton Manning ornament at the store and was determined to get it. Sadly, it was sold out at every Hallmark store in Utah. I tried to talk him into a few other ornaments with no success so I ended up paying triple what it was worth on eBay. Probably not the smartest choice for the budget but it sure made him happy!

If it was up to me we would all sleep under the Christmas tree but Mark is totally opposed to this tradition. Since I'm very pregnant this year I also opted to sleep in my bed. I should have just slept out there though because I checked on the kids all night long. I kept having nightmares of the tree tipping over on them. They had a blast though and that's all that matters! I cannot wait for this Christmas season!!!

Luke's Surgery

There is one thing I hoped we wouldn't have to go through with our kids and it's surgery. So far Brody has already needed tubes and now Lukers needs surgery. He started to have a problem and soon found out it was a hydrocele and needed to be repaired right away. 

The poor kid was obviously in a lot of pain but he was also pretty proud of it. He was constantly reminding us that he had "the biggest junk alive." We had to have a talk with Luke because he was telling everyone that he was going to have his junk cut open. He even told his teacher that he couldn't sit on the floor anymore because his junk was too big and he was going to have surgery on it. Obviously he wasn't ashamed of it and was letting everyone know...bless his heart!

Luke was pretty excited about his surgery and made sure we were ready. He insisted on new pajamas, slippers, etc. It made me start to worry because he was very excited about his surgery and had no idea what was coming.

The morning of his surgery he couldn't believe that he wasn't even allowed to drink a sippy of chocolate milk. All morning he kept reminding us that he wanted a cheeseburger the second he woke up. After we got him all ready and prepped for surgery Luke snuggled down in his wagon. It wasn't until the anesthesiologist asked him if he was ready to go that I realized we hadn't prepped Luke for the next part...we weren't going with him. It broke my heart when he realized that we were leaving him. This was one of the worst feelings as a mom. I couldn't believe that I was sending my little guy off to surgery and I wouldn't be there to protect him and keep him safe. My Lukers is the toughest little guy I know and he gave us both a love and was ready to go. 

His surgery couldn't have gone better and I was so excited to see him. It was weird to see my energetic Luke so lethargic and motionless. He was doing great but he was very worried about his IV. Luke didn't dare move hand with the IV...even after they took it out he held his hand still until we got home. Sadly, Luke is like his mommy and his body didn't handle the anesthesia that well. Poor Lukers puked a few times and so we had to stay for a bit so he could be monitored. 

I was worried it would be a rough week of recovery but Luke proved me wrong! Thanks to oxytocin Luke was ready to go ride his bike the next day. There is very little that keeps Luke down and surgery was no exception. I am so grateful that things went smoothly and my Luke is safe and healthy...there is nothing that brings me more joy as a mom than safe and healthy children!  

Trick-or-Treating

After the trunk-or-treat the night before the boys were more than ready for Halloween night! There was no need to convince Luke to dress up in his army guy outfit! Brods finally understands the importance of his air force guy costume but still a no go on the helmet! 

Earlier in the day we went to Pluralsight to visit Mark and let the boys trick-or-treat around the office. Mark's team dressed up as Duck Dynasty and it was pretty funny to see Mark with his beard and camo on. Luke loved it and Brody told him, "I no like that thing (beard)!" 

Mark took the boys out trick-or-treating that night while I stayed home and passed out candy. We definitely don't get many trick-or-treaters in this new neighborhood so it was a pretty quiet night. They made their rounds and then came home to show me their loot! Luke was the most excited about his bag of Cheetos, can of root beer and Reese's peanut butter cups. Brody wanted to rip into it all and especially the Skittles. He loved opening the candies and not eating them.

After we were done sorting their candy Luke asked what the War Head candies were. Mark and I smiled at each other and convinced the boys to give them a try. Awesome parents I know! It was probably the funniest thing! Brody spit it out instantly and Luke gave it a go but couldn't handle it! They were definitely on a sugar high and it wasn't easy calming them down for bed. After a good wrestling match they were tired enough to head to bed!  

Trunk-or-Treat

It wasn't easy getting Brody's costume on him this Halloween! I kept telling him that he had to wear it to the ward trunk-or-treat or he wouldn't get any candy but he was okay with that! Brods is about the sweetest little guy but good luck trying to get him to do something. Whenever I try to put his costume on him he says, "I no army guy, I just a boy!"

That night when he walked in and saw his buddy Nash dressed up as an army guy too he yelled at us to go home and get his army guy outfit, helmet and face paint so he could be just like Nash! Oh Brody! 

Luke of course could hardly wait for this party...he was all about getting lots of candy!!! They had a donut eating contest that Luke loved. Brods wasn't a fan because he was getting sticky and dirty. He kept wanting to use a napkin to hold the donut. My boys couldn't be more opposite! 

Even without a costume Brody still got tons of candy and couldn't wait to get home and inspect his loot. I swear they got more candy than they will on Halloween! Let the sugar rush begin!!!

Mutton Bustin

Ever since Luke found out about mutton bustin he was determined to do it! It is all he has talked about so I needed to make sure it happened for him. We already missed a few rodeos and I didn't realize how popular it is how fast it fills up. I was finally able to get him into the Davis County Fair Rodeo. 

He was beyond excited and watched YouTube videos nonstop to try and get some good pointers. I thought for sure these videos would scare him but not Luke. Luke is one of the toughest kids I know! He was so ready and could hardly wait!  Whenever we talked to anyone he made sure they knew he was going to be in a real rodeo! 

When we arrived at the fair that night we intended on walking around and eating dinner before the rodeo but Luke was too excited and wanted to get to the rodeo and get ready. Sadly, we soon found out that the mutton bustin was towards the end of the rodeo. It was agonizing for Luke to wait that long. He kept asking nonstop when it was his turn. It finally came time for him to go down. Mark took him down to the shoots. 

Even after watching a few bad crashes Luke wasn't nervous at all. When it was Luke's turn his sheep came charing out of the shoot and Luke was on the ground in about two seconds but he was super proud of himself and that's all that matters! He had one of the best nights of his life and we are all so proud of him! Way to go Lukers!!! Love my little cowboy!!!

Carving Pumpkins

I keep thinking that just maybe this will be the year that Brody likes to touch pumpkin guts...um no! Luke and I tried but he just wouldn't do it! Luke didn't seem to mind too much because it meant more fun for him. Brods just sat there and watched Luke in horror as he gutted the pumpkins!

As you'll notice there are no after pictures of our pumpkins because Luke had an epic meltdown before it was time to actually carve them. It's rare lately that Luke has meltdowns but when he does look out! I have never really documented one of his meltdowns but I really should so I can show him someday! It took a few hours for him to calm down and then we finished but the pumpkins but by the time we were done I had zero patience left and taking pictures was last on my mind! 

Brody chose a cute traditional face which took about two minutes to carve. Luke, on the other hand, was determined to have a Bronco on his.  Of course there were no patterns so we were relying on my artistic talents which isn't much. By the time I was done I felt like it hardly resembled a Bronco but Luke was quite pleased with it which is all that matters!