Stone Soup

Carter had a special lunch at his school called Stone Soup. The story about Stone Soup is here. 

All the kids in Carter's class brought a fresh veggie, frozen veggie, and cup of grains or rice. Every child helped prepare the soup from the class. Carter was very proud to share it with me. 

 

Carter's table decoration. 

The rest of the class. 

Our soup and crusty bread. 

Carter's turkey. 

  

Afterwards we walked around for a bit so Carter could show me his art.

And get some dessert.

Cole had another orthodontist appt and his teeth are doing great. They haven't moved and he's brushing well. He has such a beautiful smile. I'm so glad for him!

After his orthodontist appt I brought him back to the office with me for a few minutes while I finished up some work and Cole finished his homework. 

Sunday morning as I made breakfast the boys watched a movie together and Cole read a little bit. Such cute boys. 

Some new friends for Cole

Just a normal night at our house

Cole was telling me at dinner tonight (Chris is on swing shift this week so it's all about SuperMom-Power this week) that his class had a mock vote and he was about the only one in his class to vote for Obama. This morning the first thing Cole asked me at 5:45 am was "Who won the election?" and when I told him Obama he literally lept for joy. We talk some politics in our house but it's not really over the top because the kids are young and it's all nonsense anyways. (Sidenote: I'm so glad the elections are over. However, I did not factor in that now all the political talking heads are going to analyze every single electoral vote and re-analyze if the media called Ohio too soon. Oy vey.) However, I was surprised Cole was so interested in what happened. So going back to our conversation Cole was telling me that alot of kids at school are upset Romney did not win and he was pretty surprised at that. Like I mentioned, Idaho is a very red state.  

I am what I would consider a bleeding heart democrat. So of course as Ohio was announced that it went to Obama I felt so proud and relieved that Obama will have 4 more years to finish what he started and follow through on what he promised. And I do hope he will finish it. I believe in his vision. I believe the country is moving in a more balanced and modern direction. Love me or hate me for it. I also LOVE that this dialogue about how America elects a new president was so prevalent in Cole's class today. I believe he also appreciated being & feeling like he was part of the process too.  

Chris voted for Manti Te'o who plays for Notre Dame. In case that raises a question of why waste a vote...here is how Chris looks at it. He's disappointed in Obama and didn't want to vote for Romney either so why not at least write in someone he adores. 

So with all of that said...the election did leave us with some funny Youtube videos. So enjoy and I really hope America can unite under a president that we may not all agree with but hopefully can work together to strengthen this amazing country.

(*p.s. these videos are a little naughty--nothing terrible but a few curse words---some spicy language...just so you know I warned you!) 

Buh-Bye Braces

 Look at this beautiful little boy. Pretty excited for him!

What Cole has been up to.

I would say Cole is very creative and quite the little inventor. Here's a taste of one of his creations. The idea for this came from this You Tube video below.

Chris watched this video in a special training for OSHA a few weeks ago. He now has another special certification for his job. He's kinda awesome. Anyways, after his training he showed the boys this video and the kids loved it too. 

Cole is such a sweet child

I was going through my email and clearing out some old files and I found this from Cole. He must have at some point found my email open on our family Mac and typed this message up. It's from October and I can't believe I didn't see it before. He never sent it. It was in my Drafts folder and this is why I'm sure I didn't see it prior. 


What did I say. Cole has a heart of gold. 


From: Catherine Smith <designoutloud@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 6:48 PM
Subject: Love. You we have a. Nice. Family I. Love. You. Mom and. Dad. Fromcole
To: 


Love.  You we have a. Nice. Family I. Love. You. Mom and. Dad. Fromcole

Cirque Mechanics Boom Town!

A night out at the theater. Cirque Mechanics Boom Town! was presented at the Colonial Theater by my  arts organization, Idaho Falls Arts Council. Cirque Mechanics is an off-shoot of Cirque Du Soleil. Most of the performers rotate in and out of performances with Cirque Du Soleil into the smaller performances...like Boom Town! I am pretty sure they are on rotations to give their bodies some time to rest. They are increadible athletes. So Cole and I enjoyed a night at the theater. Upon dressing Cole and  putting on his shoes Carter decided he wanted to go as well. So he put on his tie....he clipped it onto his tee-shirt. As we left Carter cried and cried in the window. That was sad. When Carter is 5 he can go to the theater too. 

Boom Town! was all about mining and the story revolves around a funny miner that drifts through a old western town. So keeping with that theme....Cole made mining shafts and mining tools much like what we see in Butte, MT when we go to visit. Butte, MT. Land of the most awesome donuts and pasties and pork chop sandwiches. 

Here is what Cole was trying to create. He did a pretty awesome job! 

Inside the theater as we wait for the show to begin. 

Cole's newest favorite pastime. Reading his Harry Potter book on the couch. He reads and laughs and giggles and loves it. It's so awesome to see him reading so well. 

Family Fun Post ND Trip

 These are from last weekend. The first weekend Chris was back from his trip and we all sported the Notre Dame tee shirts he bought for us at the  campus bookstore. They are the tee shirts the students are wearing at the games this year. So we feel pretty special. Cole has asked me to start videotaping him at his soccer games as well so we can send it to Notre Dame. He wants the coaches to see him playing so they know he is planning on attending there (oh boy oh boy...I think we have created a monster...)
. Here are some pics from the last week. 

Cole playing goalie

Cole is number 10 right above

Boys. 

Tuesday 3:02 pm

Cole jumps into the car after school and has a HUGE grin on his face.

Cole: "Hey Mom, do I look different"? 

Catherine: "Hm...I don't think so. Did you spill something on your shirt today?" 

Cole: His eyebrows are dancing up and down on his forehead and he's smiling with such excitement. 

"We did laps today. I did 12 laps. I'm getting into shape. So I look different today."

and scene. 

"A BEAR TOOK A BITE OUT OF MY LEG"

Cole returned home from this hike with his Dad and with a scrap on his leg...and he told me:

"A BIG bear was chasing us and it got me. But then I ran really fast and got away from it."

Vacation Bible School

Cole has a week of vacation Bible school and the theme is Saddle Ranch Fun. 

When I picked him up today from Christ the King he had a big smile and a twinkle in his eyes and he told me....."Mom! Jesus is a Cowboy!" 

After some more discussion in the car we learned that the theme of the week is based on cowboys and at the end of the week Cole will get a bandanna and cowboy hat. 

Somewhere....it was lost in translation that Jesus was a man of the Wild West! 

Pretty much sums it up....

Three little monkeys sitting in a tree.....

And a story from Cole:

Once upon a time there was a guy. And he sang a ton of songs. And then he drank alot of wine and then but he didn't get drunk. Then he played guitar music. When he played guitar music it was really loud and really bad. Then he went home. He got changed into his regular clothes and he went to a store called Wal Mart. And he got alot of groceries. He got 350 groceries. Then he went home and kissed his wife. Then there was a show tonight fo him to sing. He played more bad music. It was really getting late and he said I wish I'm going to be 99 years OLD! And then it was morning. And the end. 

and the inspiration for this story:

The one and only Jimi Hendrix....Chris believes Jimi may possibly be his father....and I'm not kidding. (sorry Kathy!)

So after Cole came home with that lovely vibrant story we learned a few things and Cole promised us a few things. 

#1 Cole won't be discussing who is drunk or not drunk at school any more.

#2 Cole is brilliant. He picked out Jimi Hendrix's picture from a pile of magazine clippings. 

One of Chris' proudest moments ever.