Cousins and a Cuncle

Lori, Ann, and Larissa
Cuncle Cody and Spencer

My cousin Larissa and her husband Cody were able to come from Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was so much fun as Lori and Dan had never met Cody and it had been some time since Lori had seen Larissa...I was able to see both in Omaha on their way to Chicago. But the kids had a blast with Larissa and Cody and luckily for us worn our parents, they had the energy to keep the kids entertained...but not without a scratch and a few bruises. But before we left we were trying to figure out exactly what Cody was to the kids and so we come up with 'Cuncle' not quite an uncle, not exactly a cousin.

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

Elijah, Brynn and Noah (proudly showing off his pokemon card)

I thought this picture of Chase was so cute...I couldn't resist

Spencer, Chase, Kohl, Brynn and Noah...again flashing his gansta sign

The entrance to the zoo...it was great because it was FREE! Noah and Drake

Well, 6 hours, 3 states, and 1 van later, we made it to St. Louis. We had a great time eating, eating, and even more eating...seriously I don't think I ever have or ever will eat that much smoked turkey in my life but it was so GOOD! Anyway I thought I would share with you some fun pictures from our trip. We had to cut it a day early due to the lovely winter weather of the mid-west but at least we got to spend a great 4 days with family. Thanks for the hospitality Lori and Dan, thanks for the great baby-sitting Larissa and Cody and thanks for the comfy bed Mom.

A Date with Spencer

Spencer and the Sea Turtle...hmm, that sounds like a great children's book title.

Umm, a future teenager behind the wheel...

Oh, Spencer, how we love thee.The other morning we woke up to a beautiful, warm, sun-shiny day in the great state of Nebraska so I thought we better take advantage. So after sending the kids off to school, I went back to bed...just kidding. No, after sending off Noah and Elijah to school, I packed up Spencer and we headed to the zoo. We had a great time and Spencer, the budding photographer, took many, many, many pictures...many, many, many of them were deleted by his evil, evil, evil mother because they were all of the same thing...fish! But here are a few of the pictures I took, we took, and he took.

"You Are A Lucky Man Elijah"

Why is it so embarrassing to have the birthday song sung to you?

Elijah's birthday cake...and Spencer trying to get his fingers into Elijah's birthday cake.

"Why yes, I would like to attend Harvard at the ripe age of 7...I thought you were going to challenge me....haha" You know that is what Elijah is thinking.

I just don't even know what to say about this?

Oh, I almost forgot, after Elijah opened his gifts, Noah said to Elijah, "You are a lucky man Elijah." I thought that was pretty funny.

Happy Birthday, Birthday Boy...

Elijah proudly showing his Pokemon cards.

Not sure what is going on here but funny none-the-less.

His art supplies that kept him occupied for many hours.

Opening his first gift.

You know you have made it when it takes you two hands to show 'how many are you?'

Holy Cow, it is official, Elijah is 7 years old. How is it that he is getting older when Jim and I are only getting younger? Elijah had a great day opening gifts that consisted of art supplies, a dictionary (yes, he did ask for one and I know...a 7 year old asking for a dictionary, we ARE in trouble) a board game, and of course Pokemon cards that were from Noah. Grandparent presents will be birthday part dos. After church and dinner we invited some friends over for cake and ice-cream. When I realized that there would be 17 of us in a home intended for 2 and a few cockroaches, I knew we would be in trouble, but we had a great time and thank goodness for the basement! Oh ya, the cake, it was chocolate chocolate-chunk cake with white sour cream frosting and then to go all fancy pants I drizzled melted chocolate over the frosting...it was cute, yummy and delicious.

Snack Time with Spencer

Today at Spencer's pre-school, Christ Child, the parents were invited to go to school with them at snack time and free play time. We had lots of fun eating vanilla pudding and drinking capri-suns and playing lots and lots and lots.

Elijah's Suprise Birthday Lunch

Oh my goodness...my little Elijah is turning 7, yes 7 on Sunday! So I thought I would surprise him with checking him out of school and taking him to lunch to celebrate. I didn't tell anybody, including Jim, because I wasn't sure if was all going to work out but it did and he was SO SURPRISED! When he came down to the office, I asked him why he thought I checked him out and he said "well, to take me home." And I quickly answered "well, I am taking you out to lunch for your birthday." And he quickly reasoned by giving me a big hug and telling me he loved me. So of course, we ended up at McDonald's. But here are a few pictures we took while eating at the Mac's.

Noah the Long Lost

Okay, I am feeling a little bit bad that I don't have any pictures of Noah to put up and then I remembered that whenever I get the camera out, he now pulls the I-am-too-cool-for-the-camera-mom disappearance act. However, I was able to capture a moment of Halloweeness with him and his cute teacher Miss. Bacome, whom he absolutely adores. But notice the eyes...what is it with boys and crazy eyes?

Spencer the Talented

Noah earned some points at school for his good behavior and was able to pick something out of the 'treasure box' so he brought home this little toy that looks like a pipe and at the end of it is two baskets and you blow the ball that comes with the toy into one of the baskets. Noah played with it for like 5 minutes but Spencer was quite taken with this toy so we took some pictures. We are sure that eventually this will become on Olympic sport in which Spencer will definitely bring home the gold and the millions he will make in 'blow toy thingy' endorsements.

I'm a Ladies Man...

The other night I was tucking Elijah into bed and I asked him "So Elijah, do you have any crushes on any of the girls in your class?" He thought about it for a minute and then answered me with a little swagger smile on his face..."Mom, I don't really like anybody, but all the girls think I am cute and I agree." Hmm, cute---check, humble---not so much. But from these pictures, I think he may be right.

Up Chuck UR Cheese?

Well, moving to Nebraska has been a plethora of firsts for us: first time moving out of the state of Utah, first time the temperature says 50 degrees but with the wind chill factor it is like 20 and the biggest one of all, the first time we visited Chuck E Cheese. Our cute neighbors, the Peterson's, invited us to attend the birthday party of their equally as cute daughters, Zoey and Gracie (who I am still trying to convince to come live with me but is a little bit hesitant) to the C.E.C. I for one have never taken my children there because well, there is something bothersome to me when I see an overgrown rat being the spokes person for pizza. I know, I am a mean, mean mom who will rot in the depths of pizza hell for not allowing my children this one restaurant of pure pleasure, but I know I won't be alone...my sister Lisa will be there with me. But regardless, the kids had fun, but still a rat...pizza...really?

Stupid Questions...Stupid Answers

Where did we meet:I think the more important question is why are we still talking?
Take a stab at my middle name: Depends on what State I am in.
Do I smoke: Smoke what? Smoke hams...No, but I like to eat smoked hams.
Color of my eyes: white, black and some other color that nobody can seem to really explain.
Do I have any siblings: depends on the day and what the situation is.
What's one of my favorite things to do: What time of day is it...in the morning, I like to sleep, in the afternoon, I like to eat, in the evening I like to sleep.
What's my favorite type of music: Music that I can hear...what other type of music is there?
Am I shy or outgoing: Depends on the situation...standing in the public naked, SHY. Standing in public with clothes on OUTGOING, I mean am out and I am obviously going...
Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules: Depends on the rule...
Any special talents: my lawyer requires me to answer NO
How many children do I have: depends on what day it is and what the situation is
Describe me in three words: really, only three?
If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one thing that I would bring: Well, first of all I would be pissed that I was standing on a deserted island in the first place, how the crap did I get there and how come I could only bring one thing...really only one thing I mean who travels like that. I can't even pack one bag for an overnight stay in a motel let along being deserted on an island and bring one thing...who thinks of such dumb questions...probably the people that think they are going to be standing on a deserted island with one thing!

So I Have A Crazy Story For You...

(Only my sisters will find any humor in that title) So I have decided that after Jim finishes school, I want to go back to school and get a degree in the Culinary Arts. I know funny right, to think that 11 years ago, I didn't even know how to make meatloaf (again, only my sister Lisa will understand that statement). So in my quest to get ready for a career in the culinary arts, I decided I needed to beef up my menu and start to cook meals that would actual fall into the category of 'fine dining' and a fall away from 'trailer dining' aka dinner in a box. So I bought a cookbook from Martha Stewart. To make a long story short, don't ever buy a cookbook from Martha Stweart and never NEVER mix Cinnamon with beef...we took two bites, all gagged and ended up eating cereal for dinner. Oh, by the way I checked the recipe and it called for lamb, not beef...don't tell Jim. Would have taken a picture but even the picture looked gross.

The Long-Gone Days of Summer

As I am sitting here, in the freezing cold of the Nebraska winter, my mind can't help but wonder off to my 'warm' place (yes, I know most people have a happy place, I have warm place). And with going to my 'warm place' I can't help but think about the hot summer days and the warm summer nights of Utah. We had a great summer, filled with total chaos of selling a home and moving across the country, but still we had a great summer. We did it all...from family visiting, a family day at Lagoon, to boarding a plane for the east coast. So as I sit here, totally depressed that it is 32 degrees outside and it doesn't look to get any warmer, I thought I would post some pictures of a picture perfect summer...Enjoy!

Down By The Bay

Since my children posses such amazing singing abilities, I thought I would share one...please don't be jealous...

A Tourist in Omaha

Suprising enough, Omaha has a lot of fun things to do so I thought I would share a few pictures. They include, Vala's Pumpkin Patch (aka Nebraskas version of Disneyland), Henry Doorly Zoo, The Children's Museum, and The Heartland Of American Park, which is right downtown Omaha

3 Litte Pots

We have some dear friends, The Joneses, who nicknamed Noah when he was a baby, Little Pots. As Jim and I have gotten older, we have nicknamed our boys 3 Little Pots...and so here they are, 3 Little Pots. They may fight, they may hit, they may scream but I know that they love each other more than anything. Everyday, when Noah and Elijah leave for school, Spencer always turns to me and says "Mom, I miss Noah and Elijah." I couldn't agree with him more.

S is for Spencer

I don't even know where to start with this kid. Spencer is all about Game Cube (which he asks if he can play morning, noon and night and has become my secret weapon with him) friends, he always wants to play with Nick, a little boy the lives down the side walk from us and he wants to eat...all the time, adult food...where did he come from? Just like his brothers he loves StarWars and is always asking to be Luke Skywalker. To wrap up Spencer, his nickname explains it all: Spenace the Menace. But where would I be without my 'sugars'

E is for Elijah

What can even be said about a child that thinks like an adult. When Elijah was about 2, I caught him taking apart an old TV remote and trying to put it back together again...another Potter engineer in the making. He is always asking why and trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in his head. For example we recently bought a couch and told the boys that they cannot jump on it. Elijah innocently walked up to Jim later and asked him, "Dad I just want to understand WHY I can't jump on the couch." This is also coming from a kid that asked for a Dictionary for his birthday. I figure that in about 2 more years, this kid will be smarter than me, I just can't let him know that. Oh by the way, he told me he wants to be a rock start when he grows up.

N is for Noah

Since I am now an official blogger...that still makes me laugh, who even came up with that name...anyway I thought I would introduce my family. Noah is the oldest of 3 boys and is a great kid. He is playing basketball, loves to read, love to play with his buddies from the 'hood' but most of all he loves animals. Here is a bit of a conversation we had about 2 years ago.

Mom: Noah, what do you want to be when you grew up?

Noah: I want to take care of sick animals.

Mom: Oh, you want to be a Vet.

Noah: No, I want to take care of sick animals.

Mom: I know, a Vet is somebody who takes care of sick animals.

Noah: Mom, I don't want to be a BET, I just want to take care of sick animals.

Enough said.

Who would have THUNK it.

Well, who would of thunk it...the laziest mom of all time, Ann Maire Potter, has started a blog of her families life. But how can I not share the happenings of 3 kids, 1 law student and a mother who thinks everything is funny (only after the glue has set, the mess is cleaned up or the stain finally comes out). I am still a virgin blogger (can I say that) so I am still trying to figure out the ins and outs (no pun intended) so just bear with me as my husband of 11 years has so graciously done.