Tuesday was Nick's birthday and he celebrated by taking the day off and making an early morning trip with his Dad to Cabela's for a little "man shopping". The boys and I had given him Rock Band 2 for the XBOX so in the afternoon we all put our music skills to test and were booed off stage immediately. We then dropped the boys off and Grandma and Grandpa Oliver's house for a playdate while we went to the ultrasound appointment, you know how that one ends. On the way home we stopped for dinner alone where we unsuccessfully tried to think of baby boy names. Back at the Oliver's we had birthday pie (my first attempt at a homemade pie!). Nick says it was a good birthday but I told him not to count on an exciting ultrasound next year (or the one after, or. . . )

        

Carson absolutely loves Kindergarten and I'm still having a hard time picking out which child is mine when I go into volunteer. There is one boy who bears a striking resemblance but he is so quiet and focused on following all the rules and directions that it just can't be mine. He has especially enjoyed the recent unit on spiders and snakes and calls himself a "spiderologist" and can give you a dissertation on them if asked.  In fact he took on this extra at home project making a spider observatory and was so proud to take it in and share it with his class. Bless his dear teacher who just gushed and praised him endlessly for his hard work and eagerness. Let us not forget his kindhearted mother who is with child that went out with him in the rain to catch (not squish) the spiders to put in the observatory. She too deserves some extra credit.

And finally this week we found out that my parents have been called to serve as Mission Presidents (spanish speaking) in a country TBA after the first of the year beginning in June.  As hard as it will be not having them close by we are so proud of them and the great example they'll be for our boys.

So this has been the million dollar question this month. . . well it's usually phrased as "do you know what you're having yet?" When I've said "no" usually I'm then asked what I think it is and I have often answered that I think it's a girl although I've had no real reason to think so. Yesterday Nick and I went in for an ultrasound and 92 pictures and an hour later (they're so thourough these days) we now know the score: boys 3 girls 0. Yep that's right in March we will welcome baby boy #3 to the Oliver family. Nick and I just laughed and shook our heads in disbelief. I've been warned by a friend who has 5 boys that at this point in the conversation some people (none of you of course!) will 1) offer their sympathies for it not being a girl 2) assume we will be having a 4th child so we can try for a girl 3) ask about our personal family planning. And to all of that I can honestly answer that we couldn't be happier! I can give you a list of reasons of why it would be fun to have a girl but  2 miscarriages later none of them seemed very important to me as I watched our healthy, VERY active litle guy swim about on the monitor. What more could a girl ask for?

I've been meaning to write this for a week now but the days just seemed to get away from me somehow.  Since it's that time of year we express our gratitude I'd like to thank all those Californians who helped Prop 8 to pass last Tuesday. We watched with anticipation for the outcome of the decision knowing that it would only be a matter of time the same issues would spread here to WA. Thank you for valuing families the same way we do, for stepping outside your comfort zones, speaking up and giving of your time. The fight for what is good and right is not over and never will be, but this is one small victory I am especially grateful for this year.

Carson and Spencer both chose to be pirates for Halloween this year, probably because it meant they got carry their first weapon (big foam swords). I was feeling a little Martha Stewart-ish this year and decided to sew their costumes. My favorite part is their boots which are last years rainboots covered with black duct tape and embellished with a gold coin trim.  Here they are in their mean pirate pose.

 

But mostly they are good sweet pirates

We had several people comment that Spencer's cast was a great accessory to the pirate costume, not knowing it was real. We just smiled; it saved us the 5 minute explanation. We first went to downtown Main Street to trick or treat to the businesses. It's a perk of living in a small town and is always so much fun getting candy from the feed store, library, City Hall, the local tavern, laundry mat, restaurants etc.  We then had a potluck dinner with several families and then went out again bombarded the neighbors with 12 kids standing on their porch screaming for candy. When it came time to trick or treat Spencer hooked his candy bag onto his cast so that he had a free hand to choose the candy he wanted. Let's just say he came home with more candy than Carson and only went to half the amount of houses. We then went back to a friend’s house for treats, hot chocolate and to play a little Rock Band on the XBOX. Spencer totally got into rocking out on the microphone, guitar and drum set that he didn't even touch his candy bag.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa Oliver,

Thanks for our date on Friday night, I loved eating at Red Robin and then going to see The Emperor's New Clothes at the Sprouts Theater. It made me laugh when the actors were running around on stage and the kids had to yell to tell them which way to go.

   

But I really liked going to Claim Jumper's and making my own ice cream sundae and beating Grandma at checkers! Thanks for the fun night and letting me stay up way past my bedtime! I love you!

From Carson

If you are a California resident, you have an important vote to cast on the ballot this Fall. No matter where you live, I encourage everybody to pay attention to Proposition 8. There are a couple of great sites setup to learn about what is going on:

ProtectMarriage.com

PreservingMarriage.com

The Divine Institution of Marriage

Even if you are not a resident of California this will have a major impact on the social fabric of our nation. We have contributed in a small way financially to support the passage of Proposition 8. I ask you to consider doing the same. Backers of the proposition have been very successful at raising funds from a very large number of donors contributing very small sums. Contributing can be done easily through the ProtectMarriage.com website.

We have not been California residents for almost 3 years, but if we were, our votes would be yes.

-Nick

 

Having kids just makes you laugh at times. . . here are some examples from just this weekend.

1. Saturday afternoon I took the plunge and cut 11 inches off of my hair (yes, mom "my one beauty"). Before I even left I warned the boys that I might look different since it's been pretty long over the past few years. I myself was in a little shock about how different it looked and felt, I lost nearly 4 pounds from the haircut alone!  When I came home Carson saw it and told me I was a beautiful mommy (Nick has trained them well in this department). However, Spencer was in complete oblivion, this was the conversation that took place.

M: Hey does anything look different about me?

S: No

M: Are you sure? Look at my hair.

S. It's dark (wrong, I just paid a small fortune to get it highlighted)

M: Is it long or short now?

S: Long you should get it cut.

At this point he was done with the conversation and walked away and has had nothing else to say about it. Are you kidding me? I am hands down the one person he spends every single day with, how could he not notice a huge difference like this?!

2. This last week Spencer and Carson have been both been sick. Carson's has been able to turn his on and off when it's convenient. So last night at dinner I was trying to diagnose exactly what was sick about him. Here's how the conversation went. . .

M: So what's feeling sick? Your head, ears, throat?

C: Well mostly my head but last night when I was sleeping on the couch my ear hurt so I stuck my finger inside and something orange came out and I tasted it but it was gross so I wiped it on the carpet.

First of all I agree this sickness is all in your head buddy. Next, way too much information about the late night earwax tasting, especially at dinner. I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough to share with us, but I'd rather not know the details of all the gross stuff you boys do. And finally lets respect the carpet, didn't you see the pregnant lady steam cleaning it last week?