A Phone Call

So, we have been getting these calls lately from BYU- Idaho. They are kind of funny actually. They normally call while we are putting the kids to bed. Maybe they don't understand that 5:15 pm mountain standard time is 7:15 pm our time. Maybe they don't get that we have kids. Maybe they don't get the fact that we are college students still (although it has been almost 10 years since I left Ricks College). Anyway, normally, I just tell them we are too busy to talk but they are welcome to call back later.

So, last night my sweet wife got a call. I answered it. She was holding Levi and trying to get Isaac ready for bed. After they introduced themselves and asked for her, I told them she was putting two kids to bed. They asked if there was a better time to call like tomorrow (Saturday) morning. I said that she was going to be out all morning buying a cow. She held her composure very well on the other end of the phone line, but probably thought this was the most original excuse she had ever heard. You could hear her kind of laughing on the inside.

While this was an original excuse, it is true. We decided to buy a hind-quarter. She is picking it up this morning. At least we don't have to butcher this one.

Please note that pictures are in the previous post (yesterday's).

The Garden!!
Well, it is finished, almost. A neighbor/friend of ours helped with the whole thing. First we had to remove the stump and some roots. These are some of the roots (up to a four-inch diameter) and the stump (in the lower right corner). The cereal bowl is there for comparison purposes.
We then had to loosen all the dirt, including digging one corner down a good deal so it wasn't just clay, so we could mix in the new dirt (6 40 pound bags of top soil and 2/3 of a 40 pound bag of fertilizer) and level the garden site. Last year every rain fall would wash away some of the dirt, so leveling was necessary.

We planted carrots, peas, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, banana peppers, pumpkin, squash, and cantaloupe. We were going to plant some zucchini as well, but the packet of seeds literally disappeared before we could. I wonder if they got buried. I just don't know.Our lime tree is blossoming! I am so excited!!

In other news, we found a place where we can buy 1/4 of a cow, and they will process it for us! The one we got is 148 pounds hung weight (that is meat and bones weight together) at $2.29 per pound. We will pick it up tomorrow!

So here are the pictures I know you have been waiting for.
Michael(who just typed his own name) is now enrolled in pre-school.

Isaac loves to give kisses, and his vocabulary is growing.


And Levi is very smiley!

Levi Update:

13 pounds 9 ounces
23 inches
7 weeks

I guess all of my kids have been on the larger side once they decided they liked to eat.

In other news:
We are still looking for a pre-k school for Michael. Kindergarten in Florida is full day, and I am not sure neither he nor I could handle that without some sort of part day first. But there are 97 to choose from in Tallahassee! Most of which are held in day care centers. Thankfully, Florida pays for pre-k for three hours a day! The program is called VPK or voluntary pre-k.
Isaac has decided he is no longer interested in potty training right now. I guess we missed the window:( but I hope it will come again sooner than later. It was just hard to get him to the potty frequently enough to make it a habit for him. He is also saying more words with clarity. He is a talker. I just can't understand most of what he says. Although he communicates well in other ways, so speaking hasn't been a huge thing for him yet.
Levi is smiling a lot now. He also is trying to respond with sound when you talk to him. He is sooo adorable! They all are! I know, I'm just partial.
Anyway, the thesis writing is going for Daddy. We are aiming to have it done by May.
I have been working in the garden! I know, there is still snow on the ground in most of the country, so I will keep this garden update short. We are adding more dirt and firtilizer to what we already have, so I have been removing stumps and roots galore! Now the dirt that is there is broken up enough to mix in that which was bought. I will post pictures when we get back to Tallahassee (we are in Georgia right now).

What a big baby you have

I know that everyone expects to see wonderful pictures of our children on these posts. I think the biggest concern against this would be the fact that we don't keep pictures on this computer. So, I think that I will describe them. Ok. I am really joking, but Levi has chubbed out some, but not nearly as much as I did when I was in that awkwardly overstuffed with triple chins even on my elbows stage when I made my best impression of Jabba the Hut. It just feels like he has been part of our family for a long time. He fits in so well and is loved by his brothers.

Have you ever thought of what it means to be smothered with love? I think you know where this is going. While Levi looks twice his age (1.5 months x 2 = 3 months), he is still just as immobile as any other kid his age. Mommy put him laying down on Isaac's toddler bed while all were playing in the room. Isaac decides to give his brother a hug, something we encourage when we are holding him and at bedtime. So, he goes to give him a full body hug. Fortunately, Mommy stopped him before he could be a Levi sandwich, but it gave new meaning to the the thought of being smothered by love.

Everyone else seems to be doing fine. I have been working feverishly on my thesis. I wrote most of the first draft in one week. It should be ready in about 40 revisions. Both Michael and Isaac seem to be growing quickly too. Isaac is a jabberer while mostly non-coherent. If you have ever been to the ICU where the person was "awake" but heavily sedated as to not have function of motor skills such as writing or speaking, but thinks they are equally capable to communicate as Socrates, Plato, or Thomas Jefferson (part of the drugs), then you know what I am talking about. Michael has decided he wants to learn Spanish now so he can understand us when we talk. Finally. It may take longer to teach him now though. We are also looking for pre-schools for him to attend here in town. Mommy is doing well and somehow surviving having 3 kids at home to herself while I am attending to writing and classes at school.

So, while no pictures, I think you get the picture.