Twilight!

I don't know about you, but my wife seems to disappear for a short while and reappear a few days later. This natural phenomenon was known as "Twilight time!" Brooke would devour and re devour all four of the books. I am somewhat of a curious person and wanted to know what all this Twilight was about, so I read them for myself. I have been hearing all about the new Twilight movie all summer. Brooke has been talking about it and Margaret has been updating everyone weekly with the new characters and movie trailers. Brooke and her friends went out to watch it on pre-opening night (Thursday at 12:00). Brooke decided she was going to dress up for the occasion. She looked pretty good in the dress. What is funny is that she borrowed it from a girl in our old ward that is maybe 5' 4". She had to let the hem out to wear it. Brooke loved the movie.

After all the hype from Brooke and students at school about the movie I ventured out to see what it for myself. Jeremy braved it with me, who knows what people at the movie place thought about that? But any way, we almost went to watch 007, but it didn't start for another 40 minutes. It definitely is a chick flick. The movie followed the book really close. I have to say it was pretty clean as well. The special effects were pretty bad (yes, I know they didn't have much of a budget, but it was still pretty bad). It is always hard to be as good as the book. I don't think I have ever seen a movie that was as good as the book. It just isn't the same.

XXL

Ethan has the fattest feet - XXL! He can't wear normal shoes, actually he doesn't fit into any shoes.

I am getting old!

Recently I have had a series of events that have lead me to the conclusion that I am getting old. It is hard to admit, but I am getting old. Here are some of the events that have lead me to believe this.

1. I have a grey spot the size of a dime on top of my head. It has been there for a few years. Avery comes to me and says, "Dad, you have grey hairs."

I reply, "I know. It has been there for a long time."

"No. Not there. On the side of your head, it's all over."

2. Sitting on the couch with Liam. He says, "Dad you have cracks on your face." (I love their honesty).

3. I don't heal like I used to. It's pretty frustrating. I have had tendinitis for over two months on my left knee and it isn't getting any better.

4. Brooke keeps telling me I dress like my dad (no offense dad. I like the way you dress - obviously).

5. I have never been a big sleeper, but I look forward to a Sunday nap.

6. One of the kids at school asked how old I was. I said, "How old do I look?"

"38!"

Dang. I feel old.

A few firsts

Avery got the book Stargazer from the school book fair and we were fighting over who got to read it first. She won out and is already finished. I haven't got to far, but I was able to sneak one from the school library. So we had some small overlap.

We had a few firsts this week: Liam started preschool and Ethan started walking. Liam can be pretty shy (as Liam says, "like my dad"). He doesn't like pictures (sounds familiar) or talking with people he doesn't know (that sounds familiar too). But he had a great time on his first day of preschool. He is doing preschool one day a week as a rotation with a few friends. When I called at lunch he was so excited. He started talking about what he did and all I could put together was "Dad..." The rest was a jumble of excitement.

Ethan is our late bloomer. Avery and Liam were walking by 10 months, but we are glad Ethan is taking it a little slower. The missionaries were here on Sunday and got to yet again see another big day in our home, Ethan walking across the room. It was the first time he was able to get more then a few steps. He'll be running pretty soon!

Liam the Dancing Machine

Liam, as most of you know, is in love with Thomas the Tank Engine. All he wants to do is play trains and watch his Thomas movies. At the end of the new Thomas movie there is a new rap song for Thomas. It is kind of a catchy tune, and Liam loved it. I can't tell you how many times we have listened to it. Here is a clip of him rockin' out. He should be on dancing with the stars! The first one is hard to see, but he gets some good spins in.

Halloween

Avery is a very creative little girl. She came up with the idea for my costume of Michael Phelps. I put all the details together, but Avery made the medals. People actually knew who I was dressing up as. That is a bonus. Avery got a little embarrassed with me walking around like that for the rest of the evening, but she will get over it someday (20 years down the road and after counseling). I have to admit it isn't as cool as Martin Hansen's.

Brooke was her classic witch. Avery was her beautiful "Autumn", Liam a bee, and Ethan a pumpkin (Brooke bought Ethan a costume that was made for a dog - pretty funny). We had a good time trick or treating with the Ward's, Mc Farlane's, Hansen's, and Burnett's. Thanks Margaret for some of the pictures.

Cart video

Here is Ethan pushing the cart. Liam is pretty mad in the background. He is in his onesie because he got it all dirty from the cake.

Ethan turns 1!

He's grown a lot in the first year.

My little Ethan is 1 year old! It is hard to believe he is already one. Ethan is a pretty mellow little guy. He likes to play with anyone, and is always laughing or smiling. For his birthday we had a pretty small party, just us, and the missionaries stopped by as we finished singing happy birthday. They stayed while he watched Liam open his presents. Ethan loved the cake and homemade ice cream. It got all over. The big hit was his little cart (not a stroller according to Brooke). Liam got pretty mad and wanted a turn. We are working on sharing in our house. We are so glad to have the little guy.

Trunk or Treat

We had our ward trunk or treat last night. We opted out of last years family theme and went to a kid individual costume. Avery has been talking about Halloween for months. "I want to do this ..." or "I want to do that..." She finally decided on being "Autumn", like the season. Liam was a bumble bee and Ethan a pumpkin.

Random pic's

Last week was a blury week for me, class, conferences, games, and more classes. Brooke was able to capture a few of the moments down so I could remember them. I thought I would share a few of them with you. They are just too cute!
Liam's first "alone" birthday. He was so excited to be going to Sammie's birthday that he waited outside for a long time to go.

Jill always says, "Ethan's eyes are always so big." Not all the time, but they are pretty big.

On top of the car? Again?

Brooke is a wonderful person, but like us all we have our faults (I will spare you mine - too many to count). Brooke's - putting things on top of the car and forgetting all about them.

1. Phone #1. We had to buy a new phone because Brooke put one on top of the car while working in the yard or garage. I drove away and the phone crashes to the ground. We found the phone smashed to pieces a small distance from our home.

2. Phone #2. The second time, by chance or miracle, the phone stayed on and worked, it was even raining while I drove around for an hour with it on top.

3. Keys #1. While going on our trip to Portland I heard a scratch up on top of the car. I pulled over and Brooke looked up to see that she had left her key on top. Luckily it didn't fly out into the intersection.

4. Keys #2. Last week Brooke left her key again on top of the van. I went to Albertsons to get some meds for the kids. Brooke woke up to take the kids to school and couldn't find the keys. She started stomping around blaming me! She loaded the kids into the Volvo and realized her mistake. She back tracked my steps to Albertsons and found the keys in the middle of the intersection a mile away from our house. The key still works, but the clicker is destroyed.

5. Books #1. Today at church Brooke said she couldn't find her manual and asked me to go look for it in the car. Guess where it was? On top of the car.

Good thing we love her and will keep her around!

Everyone and Ethan

Tubby time in the Cottle home. Ethan gets mad any time that Liam gets in without him.

These two are quite the little buddies already. I can't wait to see how they do as they get older.

Here are some fun pics of everyone with our little Ethan. He is starting to stand up on everything and move around. He is really growing fast. I can't believe he will be one this month.

General Conference

Avery came up with this creative idea for conference. I think she read about it in the Friend. I am not sure? But any way, it made our conference. Avery got this idea to make a tent facing the prophet, as did the people facing King Benjamin. Being in Oregon we don't get conference on local tv and we don't have cable (yes, I know no Sport Center - I have been in withdrawal for years), so we watch it over the Internet. We strung some rope from the armourer to the bed and put up the blankets. Liam was going crazy, he thought it was the coolest thing ever. But the big surprise was that they actually listened to some of the talks.

Nutria -1 Me - 0

Margaret wrote a pretty funny experience we had this week with a nutria. I can't write it any better than her. Check out the story on Margaret's Blog.

They grow up so fast...

By the time I finish typing this Liam will probably have grown another inch and a half, but that is the life with kids. It is amazing how fast they change. Liam is our enforcer. He makes sure that everyone follows the rules. (Ethan picking up Thomas the Tank Engine) "No Ethan. You aren't supposed to have that." Or. "They said 'shut up!' We don't say that word." He is changing out of his tolder stage into a little boy. Liam just starting writing his name, counting (understanding what the numbers mean), and he read his first word. Brooke had something out and Liam was looking at it. He ran into the room and was pretty excited. He said, "Mom look. E - A - K - 1. That says Ikea!" Brooke was proud that his first word was Ikea.

I swear Ethan eats more than Liam. He is starting to put it down. I guess that's what happens when you are on the move, crawling and climbing on chairs to stand up. He even found the toilet today - not good.

Avery is starting to turn into a young woman. She filled out a labor intensive application to be part of student council, and was one of four chosen to represent the four grade. She did a great job and we are proud of her.

1,000 mile club

I have reached the 1,000 mile club. I finished my 5th Lotoja (Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming). The race is 206 miles in one day. It is always fun to ride and be with family. We beat our ride time this year by 1 hour. It is a pretty draining race and always leaves you exhausted. It was definitely an experience to even get there: Brooke flying out for the funeral of her Grandpa Butler, Liam throwing up in the car ride to the airport, and me trying to get my assignment for my class in before I left. Thanks to lis for all her help with the kids, even our sick one. Just glad hers haven't got the bug. Once there everything worked out well. No one got sick or bonked to bad. I feel pretty good and actually road again today. All in all it was a good time.

The Olympics

Now that the Olympics are over I feel I am finally getting back to sleep at night. We spent many hours up late watching the events. There was definitely a lot of hype and excitement with Michael Phelps, Misty Mae and Kari Walsh, and Bolt. But what about synchronized diving. Every Olympics Brooke and I get into a random and unusual event. This year it was synchronized diving. It was pretty entertaining watching the 5' 1' chinese boys do their thing. They killed the competition! NO one was even close. Their synchronization, style, and entry were tough to beat.

We were pretty inspired by the Olympics and had a family home evening to celebrate. Brooke bought a 4x4 plank and I sanded it down to make a balance beam. We had our own Olympics out in the back yard. I am sure the neighbors got a kick out of Brooke in her swimsuit trying to land a cartwheel on the balance beam (she did land 2 of them). Avery and Emily have been out in the yard all week coming up with new routines.

Pigeon Mix

With all the ladies sharing recipes and great meals I decided to get in touch with my feminine side and share one with you. Melissa takes pictures of her amazing food, so please don't compare this to hers. Actually, we went to hear Ben Cryer play his guitar for family home evening and we brought the pigeon mix to share. Some people wanted the recipe, so enjoy the calories.

Pigeon Mix

1 large box of Golden Grams
1 large box Corn Chex cereal
1 cup sliced almonds
2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cup butter
2 cups Karo syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar

cook sugar, Karo syrup, butter until boils. cook and stir 2 minutes. add vanilla and soda. stir down foam (Brooke let ours over flow last time and it took a lot of scrubbing to get the sticky mess off). pour over cereal in a big bowl.

Avery and the Chipmunks

We just watched the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was a pretty funny movie. I didn't even recognize that the main guy was from the the show My Name is Earl. He looked a little different without the stache. Avery's favorite part is when the Chipmunks first sing "Funky Town" to show Dave their skills. So Avery decided to do her own version. We got a good laugh.

More summer pics

Here are some more summer pics.Liam and his glasses, Avery and her new glasses, and popsicles.