Galleria Mall

We went to the mall to hear the Sacramento Choir break into the Hallelujah Chorus as a Christmas flash mob. We thought we were just some people who knew someone. Nope. A good portion of Roseville showed up to listen. There were 5000 people shoved into the food court. Something like 50 people called 911 to say they could hear the floor cracking and shifting. I took this video about 10 minutes before the mall was evacuated by the fire department. We never got to hear the Hallelujah chorus. =(

Sweet guy

Yesterday, Caleb and I had a cute conversation. It went something like this.

Caleb: "mommy can I have some m&ms?"

Me: "nope!"

Caleb: "but you always say yes!"

Me: "well I'm saying no."

Caleb: "but...but... But you're the sweet guy and daddy's the mad guy!"

I laughed so hard. What a booger he is to try to work us already.
Ps. I'm definitely the mad guy, they just don't care. They only pay attention when kyle's upset.

They're getting Nuttin' for Christmas!

I don't claim to have perfect children. They are, after all, all boys. Generally, I consider them pretty well behaved. Adam always listens when you tell him to do something. Caleb... well he whines and cries. Still, they don't have any major disciple problems. Even their mischievous i-know-this-is-wrong-but-i'm-gonna-do-it-anyway moments are pretty tame. So, when I tell you my story, keep in mind that for them, this is about the worst thing they've purposely done.
It starts in the bathtub, as trouble often does. They bathe together and I let them play till they get nice and raisin-y. I check on them occasionally, but I can hear them from my room, so I don't worry too much.
They are bathing, having a grand old time. I go downstairs for 2 minutes to sweep the kitchen floor. Dust pan in hand, I hear a pitter-patter from above. Thinking Levi had miraculously grown muscles and coordination, I went to check the noise. I see one, two flashes of flesh. I'm not nearly as alarmed by that as by the things in their hands. What do they have?
Giggles are coming from the bathroom. Giggles, and an awful lot of splashing. I round the corner and they come into view. Both are now laying down in the bathtub, with blankets, pillows, toys, and worst of all: books. Books in the bathtub! They ruined 5 books, including a nice copy of Animalia, which is more mine and Kyle's than theirs. Everything was soaked.
I don't think I've been so mad at them. After getting the riff raff out of the tub, I finished washing the little devils and put them straight to bed. It was barely 6 o'clock.
The books were beyond helping. I tried to wring out the blankets, but eventually gave up. Instead I grabbed a laundry basket, transported them downstairs and put them in the washer. Pillows just had to dry out.
Now that it's been a few days and I no longer want to scream when I think about it, it's actually kind of funny. They wanted to read in the bathtub. It's cute, right?
Right???

New word

Adam used a new word today.

To Caleb, "Fine! Be a attitude!"

To me and Kyle, "I called him a attitude."

He was so proud of himself for using a new word that we didn't have the heart to tell him he used it wrong...

First Date

We have a couple of friends who come over to our house and play regularly. They bring their 3 kids everytime and the boys love playing with them. Last night we turned on Shrek 4 to keep them quiet while we played cards. They were quiet. Maybe too quiet?
It was so funny to check on them and realize that they had paired off. Caleb was with Irelynn, who is 7. They shared a seat. Adam was with Kalaya. She is his age and they are in primary together. Yes, for those of you wondering, this is the girl he was making out with during the Primary program. I had to get a picture of them cuddling.

Hey Santa!

Kyle and I do not push Santa. I don't know why we decided that. I like to think maybe we don't feel right about lying to our kids. That sounds slightly noble right? I think the truth is probably that I don't remember a Christmas far enough back to where Santa would have been the man. I don't remember thinking Santa was coming or spying on me. My earliest Christmas memory is of staying awake until midnight. That's when Santa was supposed to come, but the presents were already all under the tree. The tree was a sight. No green, it was a rod in the middle and tinsel (possibly pink?) wrapped on wire. Think Lady Gaga's dress where she held the star in her hand. That dress is my earliest Christmas memory. Oh what fun, right?
So, at Christmas we talk about presents and about Jesus, but leave the fat guy out of the equation.
Dunno how exactly they came to believe in Santa... probably everyone around us. I think my Dad secretly whispered all about sugarplum fairies and flying reindeer. I'm not anti Santa... just not the biggest pusher of fantasies. I wonder if we'll tell them about the tooth fairy...?
Recently we were walking through Walmart. A sweet old guy was just begging to be recognized. His white beard and red sweater screamed purveyor of presents and consumer of cookies. Caleb said, "Hi Santa!" He was pretty excited.
I am not sure how they came to believe in Jolly Old Saint Nick, but there it is. My kids are suckers.
And you know what?
I think it's pretty great.