Just so I remember

Joseph can be very emotional and what sets him off varies.  Tonight he called me in because he felt like he was a failure because he doesn't know what he was meant to do.  He doesn't feel that he is proficient at anything to provide for his future family.  It is cute that he is so concerned and we are tying to get him to relax and just enjoy exploring all the interesting things the world has to offer.  He has tried his hand at video game design, but he was upset that he can't sell it yet because he wants other people to have fun with it. 




We watched a video with some Mo Willems stories and in it Mo Willems describes how he came up with his Pigeon books.  Joseph decided that he wanted to publish a book.  He was also crying because he didn't want to kill trees by wasting paper when he messed up on the characters and with his drawings (which don't look like what he wants them too). 




One night at dinner, as we were eating as a family, he got very philosophical on us.  He was pontificating on the discrepancies between what the bible teaches about the creation of man and what scientists have discovered with cavemen.  He is definitely a thinker.  He loves asking questions and loves to think about things.  On another note, we were watching a show on tv and some commercials came on.  One was for Christian Mingle.  It talks about sending messages online and meeting God's match for you.  Joseph got this strange look on his face and said, "That doesn't seem right.  It is not natural."  I explained that some people do date online and that it works for them. 




Samuel is very attached and very into natural disasters.  He talks about "anphobias" his word for all things phobia.  He loves to explain plate tectonics and volcanoes and has lots of questions about all kinds of things.  His favorite videos are Disney's Imagineering "Newton's Laws of Motion" and Popular Mechanics for Kids "Lightning and Other Forces."




Another current fascination is bacteria.  He doesn't want to get close to babies because they carry lots of germs and throw up a lot.  He is still a bit anxious about vomiting because we all had the stomach flu a few weeks back and we were all vomiting.  We took him to the doctor's office because he has been having "dominal pains."  He wants to find ways to fight bacteria so no one gets sick, but he also wants to build a mountain, and a pond, among other things. 


Samuel is also obsessed with sock monkeys and he would like a truckload of them.  Everywhere we go he looks for them.  It all started with a free sale that we passed in West Valley.  They had one and he loved it.  He loves, loves, loves all books by Mo Willems.  His favorite series of books are the Piggie and Elephant books.  He will read them to himself and laugh. 


My boys are getting so big and it is hard to believe that my baby is almost in kindergarten.  I love them a ton.  :)

Life as we know it

Well, I have been a horrible blogger over the past year or so.  Last time I blogged we were in New Jersey.  Now we are living in Utah.  We moved back to Provo.  It has been surreal to say the least.  So much is the same and there are so many things that are different.  We were almost gone for 2 years. 


Right now, Joseph is in 2nd grade.  He is in an English only class so that means he knows his classmates for next year.  He is playing soccer and loving it.  He also has designed a video game and wants to try and sell it. 


Samuel is doing great too.  He is a light sleeper and ends up sleeping on the floor in our room or his brother's room, but one day he will appreciate having his own bedroom (or so we hope).  His favorite things these days are Minecraft and sock monkeys. 


Joe finished another semester of school and is working full time for the Provo School District.  It seems to be a great job for us right now and he gets more time off too. 


I am busy trying to keep the house in order and getting things done. 


There is so much more to say, but I have to get ready to take some chocolate covered strawberries we made to Joseph's teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week.