The Fall in NY

So I'm really not doing well with my blogging attempt... we have started the school year in full force, the kids are staying active and enjoying the new year. Faith is now in Middle school and what a change that is for all of us... she's totally a preteen.... I hope we all survive the next 7 years!

We had my friend Shauna visit from Utah for a few days and we had a great time with her. We went apple picking in the POURING rain and went into the city for a quick lunch and enjoyed the Halloween Blaze (4000+ Jackolanterns) it was amazing.

Hailey is my little reader, she loves to curl up with a good book. She told me just today that she was planning on reading 12 books in one day, well after a little motherly nudge she has decided that 1 or 2 is a good goal. The principal at the school is going to "kiss a pig" if they read 10,000 books this year, she is really into it! She loves activity days at the church with Faith and they really love that time together, it will be interesting to see what happens when Faith moves onto Young Women's next Summer.

Noah started Preschool and it is going wonderfully for him, he really needed this! I love the group of children and their mothers who take turns teaching.. what a blessing for all of us.

Ammon is more full of energy than I can even put into words... to sum up the past 2 weeks, I found him sitting on the stove playing with the knobs, on his his bed with steak knives (I came running to Noah screaming, "mom, mom, Ammon's into mischief" he was trying to share one of the knives with Noah, what a sweet brother!), He toilet papers our home many times each day (I KNOW, just shut the door, well it doesn't latch and the toilet locks only work if EVERYONE remembers to lock them, the toilet locks are a direct result of Ammon going on an afternoon "FLUSHING" rampage, he flushed (at least attempted to) full sheets of paper, paints, paint brushes, toothbrushes, full package of travel tissues, his pizza crust, many kitchen utensils and WAY too many other objects, I AM SICK of sticking my hand in the toilet.... Our main bath toilet is still out of order, flushing very slowly because we could only grab a toothbrush and we aren't really sure what else made it down there but it's flushing very slowly....! Ammon also has a bad habit of dumping any drink, can of soda, juice box, really anything liquid on the carpet FOR FUN! Real fun for Mom! I feel like my life is a crash course in how to protect Ammon from himself! TERRIBLE 2's doesn't even begin to describe my life.... oh, just today he locked him self in my bedroom and I had to pick the lock while my friend LeeAnne and her girls were here, oddly it was just "the norm" to be picking the lock to free my little Ammon! LeeAnne just laughed... my life is just this way every day with Ammon.

This too shall pass..... he is such a sweet and loving little boy.... who just happens to be very, very MISCHIEVOUS!