Taking One For The Team

Because I feel it is in all of our best interest that I contribute toward this:

scrumptiously squishy goodness, I feel it my responsibility as a nursing mother to assist my children in their Halloween candy consumption, and consumption of all up coming holiday treats. It is a sacrifice I had not foreseen before becoming a mother, but one that I have buckled down and accepted as part of the work load that honorable motherhood requires.

Note: due to my diligent sacrifice, 7 mo. old Davy is now weighing more than Dallin, Afton , and Lindsey weighed at 1 year. I'd estimate that currently there is a good inch of soft babiness that squishes between each of your fingers when holding the child.

Halloween Pics

We met up at Em's for some homemade pizza and increasingly loud pre-trick-or-treating hype.

Back, L to R: Storm Trooper: Dylan Rich, Ghost: Brad Andrus, Strom Trooper: Nick Andrus

Front L to R: Batman: Jake Rich, Pirate Girl: Lindsey Parker, Cowboy: Conner Andrus, Buzz Lightyear: Dallin Parker, Birthday Cake: Afton Parker, Bumblebee: Spencer Andrus

Bottom: Dragon: David Parker

Just hatched from the dragon egg.

Aunt Em tames the dragon.

Birthday Cake costume (a little worn and torn by Halloween after a few parties), made of an upside-down canvas laundry bag and hat of paper plates with pipe cleaner candles.


Halloween is so much fun with cousins!


Quote of the night: "I'm not gonna say 'trick or treat' I'm gonna say 'trick or toilet!'" by Jacob Rich. And I can assure you, he stuck to that objective, and still received large amounts of candy!

Happy Election Day!

We had a debate at the dinner table tonight. Dallin told us he was voting for Obama (after a few questions on which one was which.) I asked why and his response was that McCain was a little fat.(?????????????)
Jared responded by referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger's remarks at a rally on Halloween for McCain:

"Every year, the first week in March, I come to Columbus Ohio and my friend Jim Norro and I we organize the Arnold’s Classic which is the greatest body building expo in the world. Now, of course, the Arnold’s Classic is all about building up the bodies and pumping up. That’s why, the next Arnold’s Classic, I want to invite Senator Obama, because he needs to do something . . . he needs to do something about those skinny legs. We’re gonna make him do some squats. And then we’re gonna go and give him some bicep curls to beef up those scrawny little arms. But we, if only we could do something about putting some meat on his ideas.”

Having skinny legs, however, didn't persuade Dallin against Obama, but when I mentioned that McCain was from here in Arizona, he became a hard, fast McCain fan. We'll see what happens tomorrow when Obama is likely to be victorious. We may see Dallin quickly jumping the McCain ship. He has remained loyal, though, for David, as he told us the other night over a chicken enchilada dinner. I had just explained to Afton that we were not eating tacos or burritos, but enchiladas. Then Dallin piped up: "Too bad David lost."
"What?"
"You know, David Enchilada on American Idol."

At least Dallin will have a memorial ring from this years election. He was happy to have found this among his Halloween loot on Friday night and proudly showed me:
"Hey! I got a ring with the two guys that want to be president!"

The Darndest Things

Recent conversations and daily life have produced the following remarks:

Afton in prayers:

"And thank you that is Halloween. And thank you for Halloween decorations. And thanks for Christmas decorations. Becuase some people have both Halloween and Christmas decorations. . ."
(the eager department store marketing of Christmas items during the Halloween season have Afton a little confused, but very excited)
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Dallin: Mom, you like David the best.
Me: Why do you say that?
Dallin: Because he's the cutest
Me: Oh my little cutesy wootsey tootsey kiddie, blah blah blah (pinching Dallin's cheecks and giving little hugs.)
Dallin: (pushing me away). I'm GLAD Davie is the cutest.
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Afton: Mom, who was the cutest at the Halloween Party? . . . . ME!
(a welcome comment after Em and I rushed to put together her requested birthday cake costume in the last hour and first half hour of the ward Halloween Party (can't be sooner than 45 min late!))
Afton: Someone thought I was a cupcake!!!!! (in disbelief.--it is important to get costume recognition details right for 4 yr olds.)
*****************************************************************
Dallin: I love kindergarten. I'm so lucky I'm in kindergarten. Afton is gonna be the next lucky one to go to kindergarten.
*****************************************************************
Dallin: Mom, I like Clarissa. She is the new girl. She looks like Sleeping Beauty except for the hair and I don't know what color her eyes are, but they might be blue. (Are there any other ways to look like Sleeping Beauty for a 5 yr old girl?)
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Me: Lindsey, I love you.
Lindsey: (nodding and looking up at me) Heavenly Father luff me. Uh huh.
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Dallin: Lindsey, you were the winner too, because you were on the team with Afton and I and we beat Mom and David. (to Lindsey after she fell down on the walk/race home from school and ended up being pushed in the stroller with the losing team).

Some Serious Discipline

We were really excited to move to this house. Then we found out it came fully equipped with a 10 foot time-out spot. This house was made for us.

A Million and One Pictures of the Parker Kids

Good buddies are invaluable. Jordan Daines took these pics of my kiddies (and me, at my protest, just not the photogenic type). We miss our little South Pas now that we are here in Gilbert, AZ, but can I just say Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh to a back yard, and a garage with MY OWN washer and dryer to revel in, and a culdesac where the kids play outside almost all day long, and cheap rent, and enough rooms that David doesn't have to nap in Jared's office where he wakes up every 15 min. You can't beat the weather in southern California, but again . . . aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Anyway, here are the pics, by Jordan Daines, and for all my friends back in S.P., I would totally hire her, (hope you wanted a little advertising Jordan). It is HARD work to get any of my kids to cooperate in any manner whatsoever, and she managed to pull it off with all four.

Sorry, I like so many I couldn't decide which to post an posted a bunch of them.

Dallin, D.J., Deej, Deejamus Prime:

--Dallin makes me want to laugh. He has a contageous laugh, and is ideal to watch a good comedy with because his laugh makes it much funnier.

Afton, Aftie Tafties, Taffy:

--Afton makes me wonder. There are no boundaries for her imagination, and it's awesome to ask and find out where she is thinking at any random moment.

Lindsey, Lindsey Lu, Lu Lu, Lu Lu La:

--Lindsey makes me feel loved. I have to ask before I can kiss her. She usually grants my request, but she likes to specify where the kiss will occur. Sometimes on her nose, sometimes on her cheek, her arm, her knee, or wherever needs a kiss.

David, Davie, Davers, Schootch:

--David makes me feel popular. I've never had so many people, young and elderly, surrounding me as I did at church the other day, all of them gooing and gaaing at the little flirt.

The REAL Windsor SLC house.

Sorry for tricking so many of you with my last Windsor post. Here are the post recent pics of the house, just about to be posted on the MLS. We are proud of it, but Jared is as tired of it as I used to get of my school research papers just before turning them in. He just wants to be done with it. There is still some landscaping to be done, which we have complete assurance will be done this week??????
If anyone knows someone who wants a really cute little house in a darling neighborhood in SLC, and who is voting for Obama (or someone who loves to debate people who are voting for Obama, since most of the neighbors are sporting Obama signs in their yards) then this is absolutely the house for them.