pumpkin carving, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin decorations...

It must be OCTOBER! Well, October flew in with a cool breeze and has come to an end just as fast. The first week of October was a bit boring and HOT! Then mother nature decided to give us a bit of cool air to set the October mood. We pulled out our winter clothes (well a few of them, because next week it will be hot again) put out Halloween decorations, carved a pumpkin, baked pumpkin cookies and enjoyed the cool weather. The boys had alot of fun getting ready for Halloween this year. They LOVED putting fake spider web all over the front porch and pulling the ooey gooey guts out of the carved pumpkin( They are ALL boy!).Pulling out our winter uniform for school. Shorts with a sweatshirt. LOL! This is how we do it in the south! :) Carter's cute winter pajamas! By the way for all of you who ridiculed me for Carter having a pink stroller, we now have a new blue one. SO THERE! :>

Getting the guts out of the pumpkin! This was their FAVORITE part!

Daddy concentrating so hard to carve the pumpkin. He defintly has a touch of OCD! :)

Finished pumpkin!
Lighted up at night! Carter kept saying"Ohh, Scary pumpkin outside!".

Making pumpkin cookies. I invited some of the church kids, who live in our neighborhood,over to make cookies.Carter just wanted to play in the flour. He just looks so innocent.

Rolling out the dough. They were having fun making a mess!

Ready to put in the oven.
Finished product. Let's eat! YUM!

*Thanks Sarah for the cute idea for the can pumpkins!

Mobile Zoo

A couple of weeks ago we decided to be adventerous and check out the teeny, tiny, in the middle of no where, Mobile Zoo. My friend Kaitlan and her girls came along for the adventure. When we first got there we realized that the entrance was a one lane dirt path (literally). I was a little skeptical at this point, but once we finally figured out where to pay and where to start, my boys were in animal heaven! Kaitlans girls were petrified, too many loud noises and too many crazy looking animals. But Cooper and Carter thought it was the best place ever. It was more like an animal refuge then a zoo. There was just big open fields with cages and grassy walking paths in between. We saw a few snakes NOT in cages, just slithering across the path! YIKES! Most of the animals were rescue animals from labs, fairs, peoples apartments and circuses. The boys favorite part was being able to feed the animals peanuts! The birds were fun to feed, as long as you didn't get your fingers to close. :0 The bears were also alot of fun to feed. They had long tubes from the fence to the bears cage where you could drop peanuts. The bears would put their snouts in the tubes waiting for a peanut and you could feel their breath. Cooper still is talking about feeling the bears breath on his face! :)

Carter thought this alligator was fascinating.
Both boys really liked feeding the birds peanuts.

Carter thought the baby turtle was really cool.
Watching the peacocks and chickens that had free reign of the place.

Feeding the bears!

Cooper and Hailey excited about seeing something.

Group pic. Carter kept licking the salt off his hands from the peanuts used to feed the animals, GROSS!!Which way do we go?
Cute picture of them looking at a turtle.
Hailey and Carter acting silly!
Having alot of fun at the zoo.

Goals!

So I know it is not January, but I figured any time is a good time to set new goals as long as I really try to keep them. When Cooper started Kindergarten I had 3 goals in mind that I wanted to accomplish before the end of the year. Goal number 1: Potty train Carter (Very excited to have this one crossed off my list) Goal number 2: Read the entire Book of Mormon before the end of December and Goal number 3: Get in shape. With Potty training accomplished I am now working on the other two goals. They have not been easy goals and sometimes I just want to quit, but I am determined. I have never been a constant reader of the scriptures(some days I would read others I would skip), so doing it everyday has been a challange. I finally found a good time for me to read and have been sticking to it (15 minutes in the Carpool line when I pick up Cooper). Now Goal 3, getting in shape, proved even more of a challenge. I HATE gyms and have never had a real workout rountine. I found an eight week challenge on-line that seemed reasonable. It builds you up from couch potato to running 3 miles in 8 weeks. So I invested in a jogging stroller and a new pair of running shoes to get me motivated. Let's just say it has been really hard, but I have stuck with it and feel very accomplished each day after my run, even though I can hardly breath!! :) I hope to be able to write a new blog on here in December telling of my success in keeping my goals! Wish me LUCK!

Thankful for Small Blessings!

I just want to show my appreciation for all the small blessings that I have been blessed with lately. These past few months have been extremely hard with Blaine working so much and with ALL of the household/yard duties falling on me. Don't get me wrong, I know alot of people are far worse off and I am TRUELY grateful for my health and strength to be able to handle all of these things, but it has gotten a bit overwhelming at points. At the shear moment I thought I would break,the Lord heard my pleas and gifted me with wonderful friends, family and neighbors that made my life a bit easier! I just want to say Thank you to my neighbors who offered to cut my grass when they saw how long it had gotten, to Kaitlan for offering to take my kids so I could enjoy YW in peace (and all the other times you have taken my kids on a moments notice), to Jennifer who lets me talk her head off without her getting a word in edgewise, (you may not even know this Jennifer,but our walks have been a great therapy session for me) to my sister and sister-in-law for taking the time to take me to lunch me on my Birthday (it meant ALOT), to my other sister, Lenora, for the phone calls where she lets me vent about everything and anything, to the guy at Wal-Mart who knows my kids and me and always gives us a smile and kind words, to Sis. Allen who takes a screaming Carter every Sunday in Nursery and makes him feel so special and lets me know he will be okay, and to all of the many church friends who offer to help whenever needed and are always there to give kind words, good wishes, and words of encourgment!! I am truely blessed and am THANKFUL for all the wonderful Blessings I have received.

Bye,Bye Diapers!!

Carter is officially potty trained! Around when Cooper started school, he was showing signs of wanting to potty train. So I figured what the heck, I am at home with him all day just the two of us, so it might be a good time to start trying. He had been doing very well peeing, but he wasn't getting the other part. So I just kept being persistent and encouraging. Well, last weekend at Jills he told me potty and went poop on the potty. I thought it was just a fluke thing and didn't really get excited. Then on Monday he did it again and has consisently peed and pooped on the potty throughout the week. Friday and Saturday he went both days without any accidents at all. So I think it is safe to say he is potty trained!!! YEA!! Way to go CARTER!!!!! :) I am SO excited to be finished with diapers! Dosen't he look so big in his underwear?

Update!

It's been awhile since I last posted and alot has been going on in the Britt household! Let's see, where do I begin? Two weeks ago my dad, mom and brother came down for a surprise visit! My oldest brother decided to fly home for a few days and visit family. He hasn't been home in two years, so it was quite a surprise and pleasure to see him again after so long. The boys LOVED seeing their Gigi and Papa and finally got to meet their Uncle BB.


Then that weekend my niece was turning 8 and getting baptized. So on Sunday we drove to Hattiesburg, MS and spent time with family and got to attend my nieces Baptism! I can't believe Chanie is 8 already. It seems like just yesterday when we lived in Pine Haven (family housing for married USM students) and Chanie and Caymin (her sister) would stay with me while their mom went to class. She was only 2 at the time. Her mom and me would take the girls and dress them up and take pictures. They were so little and adorable!



My dad sent us home from Hattiesburg with fresh peanuts, so on Monday I boiled peanuts for the first time! I LOVE boiled peanuts, but have never made them myself. So after calling my mom for directions, 7 hours of boiling, too many "Are they done yet?", and LOTS of salt they were finally ready! The boys tore into them and ate until their tummys could hold no more. I also ate my fair share! They were so delicious!

On Tuesday I regorganized my craft room/laundry room. Instead of pouting to Blaine about not having enough room to do my sewing, I decided to go to Lowes and see if I could find anything cheap to help me organize it better. I found a tall and skinny plastic drawer organizer(to hold my fabric) that fit into a small space between my sewing table and the water heater and I found a cheap curtain rod to hang on the wall that can hold rolls of things such as ribbon and stabilizer. I also got another thread rack to hang on the wall for my growing collection of thread. I then stole Blaine's nice comfy computer chair from his office because my bum was getting so sore sitting on that hard fold up chair. He didn't mind since he dosen't use it much anymore! Anyway, my sewing nook is still TINY but at least I have a place to put everything now!! I can't wait till the day when I can have a huge sewing/craft room all to myself!!:)

Then on Wednesday my sister had her BEAUTIFUL baby girl! She is just gorgeous! They named her Julia Sibley Holm. I didn't get to go see her because they live in Shreveport , LA but here is a pic my sister sent to me. CONGRATULATIONS to the Holm family!

On Saturday Cooper started his gymnastics class. He has taken it before but this time, I moved him to the older class. He loved it! They did more complicated things in the older class and he was with more kids his age. Even though he is 5 now and thinks he is big he still has his moments. In the younger class they got stamps after class if they were well behaved, well in the older class they don't do that. After his class was over he went and sat down and waited for them to give him a stamp, when he realized he wasn't going to get a stamp he got really upset and started crying. I felt so bad, so I promised him we would go buy some stamps and if he did a good job at gymnastics, I would give him a stamp!


Saturday afternoon, I made some new shirts for the boys. Carter LOVED his shirt and wanted to wear it all day. He calls it his GATOR shirt.

Then that night after Blaine got off work we drove to LA to be there for Drew's (Blaine's cousins baby) blessing. It was our first time meeting Drew and he was so sweet! He is just the cutest redhead ever! It was such a sweet blessing and we throughly enjoyed getting to visit with everyone.

Can you find Cooper?

Here is a picture of Cooper's Kindergarten class that his teacher posted on her website. Now I can put a face to all the kids Cooper comes home talking about. Cooper is doing very well in Kindergarten and has met many new friends. He comes home everyday telling me about how much fun he had that day! His favorite part of the day is gym and music time. I am so glad Kindergarten has been a positive experience for Cooper!