Life Has Really Been Happening Lately

What’s new with us? Quite a bit actually. It’s been a while since I’ve updated so a lot has happened since then. Tyler participated in a Cub Scout Fishing Derby and caught two very large trout: 18 and ¼ inches and 17 and ½ inches. The only pictures we got were these on the tray after they had been gutted and beheaded. But those are bigger than any fish I ever caught even from Cotter’s Pond (my brothers and cousins will know that reference). So not a bad day for a kid who had only fished once before in his life.

He also has started basketball season. They played well in their first game, but still lost. A friend from church (Jerry Balch) and I are coaching the team together (he has a son on the team as well). I missed the first game though because I was in the hospital. More on that later.

This is what happens when you let a 3-year-old dress himself.

We are probably going to have Bailey do tennis again this spring, then in the summer let her do something else. Trevin is going to do some sports classes with me as well, and he is starting preschool again this week.Lastly, Caden turned two on April 23rd and we finally had a little party for him on Sunday. He loved the Happy Birthday song and sang it to himself. He also enjoyed having cake and ice cream and opening his presents. He especially liked the ice cream, because he hasn’t really been able to enjoy ice cream for many months, since we took him off dairy. However, his ears are working perfectly and we have let introduced dairy back into his diet again. He went to the Dr. last week and checked out perfectly. He has another cold now, so if he avoids an infection this time, then it’s safe to say he has been cured of ear infections. Oh what a blessing it has been that he went to the naturopath. We can’t thank Cory enough, and of course, the Lord as well. And speaking of our little two-year-old, these are some of my favorite Caden-isms at this point in his young life:

Oh my goodness
No I didn’t
Swing and a miss
I hold you (meaning “you hold me”)
What are you doing dad (or mom)?
Bye, hope you find a new job (when I leave for work)
I got it! (when the phone rings)
Lastly, he likes to climb up on the piano bench to sing and play (the best a two-year-old can) “I Am a Child of God.” Quite sweet.

The kids also had a visit from their Aunt Ginger and two cousins Caleb and Ellie, recently. The six of them had a great time together.

Now for my hospital story; we got a call at 6:00 AM on Saturday from Carol’s mom. Her dad has been in the hospital for a week, and from the call it sounded like he was quite possibly on his death bed. They requested a blessing and wanted me and our Stake President, President Nashif. He was busy working out and so I paced around for 45 minutes waiting for him to get back to me. I hadn’t slept much or had anything to eat since the night before, so I was tired and little dehydrated, I would learn later. We eventually met up at the hospital and we gave him a blessing. Then, just seconds later, as we were about to leave, I felt dizzy light-headed and nauseous. I knew I was about to go down, so I headed for Carol’s Dad’s bed and laid down. The nurse quickly took my pulse and it was at an alarming 84/45 or something like that. They wheeled me down to ER and long-story-short, I spent the entire day in observation, taking several tests and several labs. The good news; everything checked out fine and it was most likely just caused from those several factors I mentioned, plus the fact that I stood with locked knees for a few minutes during the blessing. All those things combined and my body reacted. Anyways, quite a funny story now, but not how I wanted to spend my Saturday. On the plus side, I did get to watch most of the Sox beating the Yanks while I laid in bed all day. As for Carol’s dad, he is making some progress and might be able to finally be discharged tomorrow. And as for Carol, be sure to read till the end for a good laugh. Now onto the latest funnies…

Trevin has reached a point in his life where he is all-knowledgeable. Every time we tell him something, he responds: “I know that.” So I told him something recently, to which he replied, of course: “I know that.” I said, “every time we tell you something, you say: ‘I know that.’” He replied matter-of-factly: “Yeah, because I know everything.”

A couple of days later, I told Trevin he needed to go get his teeth brushed. He replied with his new catch phrase. I then you need to go get your diaper on, too. Again, “I know that.” I then said: “well if you know that, then why don’t you go get it done.” He said: “I don’t knew that.” Then, as if he remembered our conversation, earlier in the week, he said: “There is only one thing, I don’t know. I know everything else.”

We had a lesson on foul and vulgar language for Home Evening a couple of weeks ago. We talked about words that qualify as “garbage words.” So the other morning Trevin comes into our room and says, “Dad, Bailey said dumb.” I told him that wasn’t a nice word to say. He asked: “Is that a garbage word?” “I replied, yes it is a garbage word.” He quickly headed back out to the living room to report to Bailey that she had used a “garbage word.” We didn’t hear her response, but Trevin came right back to our room and asked: “Is ‘so’ a garbage word?”

The boys were watching one of the Blazers’ playoff games this past week and as the broadcast came back from a commercial, they happened to show the Blazer Dancers, as they often do. Usually we turn the TV off for commercials, but Carol was changing Caden’s diaper so she didn’t get to it. So Tyler and Trevin were watching pretty intently and Carol said: “OK, you don’t have to stare.” Trevin responded: “Yeah I do.”

Bailey does not like kidney beans. She disdains them. We have them as part of our dinner meals quite regularly because they are so good for you. Anyways, we usually only give her like 4 or 5, but even that is a fight. We always try to tell her that if she eats them with other things on her plate that she won’t even taste them. She complains that no matter what, she still always tastes them. So I told her: “It’s all in your head.” Then, in all seriousness and quite emphatically, Bailey says: “No, actually, it all goes in my tummy.”

Tyler and Bailey were whispering to each other at the table. However, they were covering the mouths on the side and actually talking into each other’s noses. So Carol said: “Where do you hear from, your nose or your ear?” To which Bailey responded: “I can hear from my nose, too. I’m a hearer.”

Trevin was eating some of Caden’s birthday cake and forked basically his whole piece. Of course, most of it fell off and tumbled to the floor. Carol said in a frustrated tone: “Trevin!”, to which he quickly responded: “That was the cake’s fault.”

Carol has too funny habits while she sleeps. She likes to talk occasionally and it always has hilarious results. Unfortunately, when she is pregnant, she tends to snore a lot, too. She doesn’t too often when she is without child. Anyways, recently it has been getting worse, as she progresses in her pregnancy. When she does, and I’m still awake, I gently try to bump her so she will just kind of move herself without waking up. So I did this the other night and she turns over to me with a big smile on her face, but says nothing. So I made a snoring sound to let her know why I had bumped her. She turned away immediately, saying nothing. I said; “I know, you can’t help it.” I then named off several other things that she says “I can’t help it” about, all in a loving way, though. Then I said: “What else can’t you help?” I thought she was totally awake at this point, mind you, but she replies: “When I go to school.” I said “what?” She said, “That didn’t come out right.” Anyways, we both got a huge laugh out of it. So a couple minutes later, I tell her good night again and she appears to be awake, but then literally two seconds after she says good night, she lets out a big snore. I laugh and she says, “What?” I asked: “Didn’t you hear that?” To which she replies: “That wasn’t me, it was the keys.” I repeated it to see if I heard it right, then laughed so hard, I almost started to cry.” She heard the noise, but didn’t even realize it came from her. It was so funny. Carol has insisted that I put a disclaimer in to explain that when she does this, she is half asleep and half awake and usually is dreaming. She says she gets her dreams and reality mixed up and that is why she says the things she does. Whatever the case, I always enjoy a good conversation with a half-asleep Carol.

July Is Coming And Carol's Belly Is Growing

Happy Easter everyone! The kids enjoyed a good egg hunt here at the house and we made sure to remind them of the meaning of Easter with our FHE lesson last week. Plus, for good measure, some of the eggs had special messages in them to remind them that Jesus died for them because he loves them. We also hid an empty one to remind them that the tomb was empty after the Savior was resurrected. Hopefully they will remember that as they eat all their candy.

They also got a visit from Grandma Livingston and Monica on Saturday and Monica put on quite an egg hunt for them, they really enjoyed it and all the candy. Let's see, what else is new? Just an update on General Conference, I was replaying the first session on the computer one day this week and on two or three talks Tyler said: “Oh, I remember this talk.” And then he repeated what it was about. That was great to hear, and it tells me they indeed were listening at least some of the time. I have started up Wii Fit again, after a very long lay-off. My body has been feeling the pain all week, too. But it’s gotta be done. I need more energy to keep up with these kids.

We planted our strawberry bulbs this week, as well as a tomato plant, and we are anxious to plant the many other things we will try to grow in our first attempt at being Mr. McGregor. Let’s hope that pesky Peter Rabbit doesn’t show up.

Carol is doing well and the tummy is growing. Just three months to go, now, or maybe a little less. Trevin starts pre-school again in a couple of weeks, and Caden will probably be a little bored when he goes. He does well at entertaining himself most of the time, though. And he sure can talk up a storm. One of his favorite things to say right now is: “What are you doing, Mom (or dad)?” But he doesn’t necessarily like it when we ask him the same thing.

Bailey lost her fifth tooth this week, and this time she was biting the piano. Yeah, you read that right, the piano. She was holding up the lid with her teeth, so she could look inside the piano to see the stroke pads moving as she hit the keys. It slipped out of her mouth and her already loose tooth was hanging by a thread. Carol yanked it out and that was that. Hopefully this picture illustrates what I tried to explain.

One more thing; Bailey is quite thoughtful about remembering other people’s birthday’s and other occasions, and she drew this picture for her little cousin, Madison for her 2nd birthday, which is tomorrow. Here is a picture of it. She still plans to send it in the mail, but because it would be late we told her we could post it here for her cousin to see, on time.
Hope you all had a nice Easter. Now it’s on to the latest and greatest kids’ quotes:

Trevin was having some little stick pretzels for a snack and he had evidently stuck all of them in his mouth at the same time. He had a huge mouthful, and barely had enough room to chew. I said: “You need a drink.” He shook his head no. I said yes you do. He began to inch forward in his chair to head to the fridge, with a big grin on his face. I said: “See, I told you, you needed a drink.” He replied with a big grin: “There’s a lion behind you.” I guess that was supposed to scare me into submission.

Carol went in to check on the kids while they were sleeping. When she went to adjust Trevin in his bed, he mumbled something that she couldn’t understand, and then he said loud and clear: “In my royal underwear.” We have another Disney book to thank for that one. When Robin Hood and Little John rob Prince John in his coach they leave him nothing except his royal underwear. I guess that part really stuck with him.

Caden came back to our room and said to Carol: “I pee.” She asked, “You went pee?” he replied “yes.” She said, “It’s OK, you have a diaper on.” Caden replied: “Oh”

Carol got new frames for her glasses a couple months ago, which are kind of reddish. So, she recently updated her Mii on the Wii and made her frames red. She and the kids were playing the other night and she asked them if they had seen noticed the change. They said yes, and then Tyler said: “You should make yourself fatter because your tummy is fatter.”

Trevin left the bathroom light on and I called to him from our room to go turn it off. Nothing happened, so I continued to call for him. Finally, I got really loud; to make sure he could hear me. I wasn’t angry, mind you, just loud to make sure he could hear. He finally responded: “I’m coming right now, for crying out loud.”

Trevin, Tyler and I were getting ready to play basketball and I was helping Trevin get his basketball shorts on. He said: “We gonna win. And Tyler gonna lose. And then Tyler gonna pout.” So I tell Tyler about it and Tyler says “yeah right.” Then about 3 seconds later, Tyler says: “He might be right.”

The kids like tease mom about her growing pregnant belly, but honestly, they really aren’t getting it from me. Anyways, we tried turkey pepperoni on our pizza the other night and Bailey took a couple a bites then said: “This tastes different.” Carol told her it was turkey and said: “That means it has less grease.” Bailey then said: “But my pizza still has grease on it.” Carol replied: “But it has less grease.” Bailey then said (remembering something I once taught her): “Grease makes you fat. Mom, you must have been eating a lot of grease lately, cuz you’re kind of getting fat.”

My mom has done foster care for many years and she has had a little girl who is Caden’s age (2 this month) for most of her short life. So, the kids were asking Carol about when we got married and who was there? Bailey asked if Grandpa and Grandma Shirts were there, then if Grandpa and Grandma Livingston were there. She then asked if Monica was there (my youngest sister). She said yes to all of them. Then Trevin says: “But not Jaylyne, she was still in Grandma Livingston’s tummy.”

Bailey’s bed is made out of wood and kind of creeks when you get on it in a certain spot, at least according to Carol. So one night Carol climbs up on her bed and says: “Geez, Bailey, your bed sure is getting squeaky.” Bailey replied: “Yeah, because you keep getting bigger.”

Don't Pay For Photos Anywhere Else

These are by far the best photos we've ever taken of the kids. They were so cooperative for the entire shoot and the shots couldn't have turned out better; don't you think? And in case you didn't know, you can click on the photos to see them much larger; and thereby then take in all their glory.
No, this is not a Halloween mask...

By far, the creepiest face she's ever made...

I think he almost pulled his cheeks completely off his face...

Not so creepy, but he saw his siblings having fun, so he gave his best attempt, unprompted by us. In fact, Bailey started the whole thing and as soon as we got the camera out, they all wanted a piece of the action.

Who Was That Four-Armed Man?

What a wonderful General Conference weekend we’ve had; but first a report on our Spring Break. After several impressions while listening to past General Conference addresses at work, I have felt the need to come up with a way to spend more one-on-one time with each kid. So we have started “Day out with Dad.” One day a month, I plan to spend several hours with each kid individually doing something together away from the home and their siblings. Being Spring Break, we were able to do all three of them this week. (Caden is still not quite old enough for this, but we’ll begin doing a scaled down version for him soon.) On Tuesday, Tyler and I went up to the church gym and played sports together. It was a lot of fun. On Wednesday, we went to Monsters vs. Aliens with Grandma Shirts. It was a pretty funny movie and the 3D was great. Then, on Thursday, Bailey and I went to the Library and checked out some books. However, Bailey is becoming quite the young lady already, and after a short time we headed to Once Upon A Child (used kids clothing store), where she tried on several dresses and then purchased one she really liked. She wasn’t done yet though; we then headed to the Dollar Store where after much deliberation, she bought a bag of bubble gum.

Trevin’s turn came on Friday, and of course, he wanted to do what Tyler did, so up to the gym we went again. We played catch with a football, then shot baskets, played kickball and played a little baseball. He was ready to head home though, after about an hour, so I asked him if he wanted to something else, like go look at toys at Wal-Mart (right across the street). He said he wanted to go where Bailey went and look at clothes. I said: “Look at clothes, really?” He confirmed, then I said: “That’s for girls.” He stopped and asked with a concerned tone: “Really?” I said: “Well guys look at clothes, too, but is that what you really want to do?” He decided to look at toys at Wal-Mart instead. All-in-all it was a fun week with lots of good moments with the kids.

And of course, I haven’t even mentioned Monday, yet. We finally brought soil in for our garden box, which we made two years ago. They were all very good helpers, including their cousin Hailey, who was spending the day with us. And they are excited to plant, and then harvest a garden.



Now to General Conference: We are to liken the scriptures unto ourselves, right? So with that in mind: Mosiah 2:1&5-6 read: “1…the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them. 5 And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his family…. 6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them….”
We wanted to get the kids excited about conference, so we read them those verses and then set up their tents. We made them a word find, and came up with a good way to get them to pay attention. We chose about a dozen words or phrases and attached each of them to a different snack. Each time they heard a speaker use one of the words, they got the snack. Of course, they loved that game. Hopefully, over time, as they grow older, they’ll come to love and appreciate conference for its spiritual nourishment and not just the physical. But for now, we were pleased to see them sit (mostly quiet) through four sessions of conference. And Tyler and Trevin even went to the Priesthood session with me. They like to go (and are very reverent), so who am I to say no?

One other note on conference; Tyler gave us a lesson on the importance of general conference on Friday evening. As part of that, we all made two selections as to who we thought the new Apostle would be. Bailey went first and picked two from the 70. She then changed her second choice to Neil L. Andersen. I said, no you can’t pick him he’s my first choice. Of course, it was OK that we both picked him. I have listened to a few of his talks over the past several weeks, and I just had a feeling he would be the one. So, with that in mind, it was really cool to hear his name called.

Well, that is a recap on our Spring Break. Kind of wordy, but for those who don’t have this much time on their hands, remember Grandpas and Grandmas, do. Now, on to the latest funnies:

Trevin was on the couch with Carol and I and he kept stinking us out. Carol said: “Whoa, stinky tooters; point that bummy somewhere else.” Trevin replied: “Point that tummy somewhere else.”

Bailey was choosing her treat after lunch and we still have a few mint M&Ms left from Christmas, in a little container. She asked: “Can I have all of them?” I didn’t think she knew that they were the mint flavored ones, so I told her they were. She said: “Oh, then I’ll save them till next Christmas.”

Trevin wanted a toasted English muffin for breakfast, and he wanted to make it. I asked him how he was going to make it? He said: “You can butter it, and I can put it in the toaster.” I reminded him he couldn’t reach the toaster. He replied that Tyler got on the counter and did it. So I had him come over and I picked him up so he could put it in. He ran back to the table and excitedly said: “Bailey I put my English muffin in the toaster, all by myself.” Bailey remained quiet for a moment, and then said: “Well, I don’t have to be excited about it.”

Trevin likes to push his little brother around, tackle him and knock him over. It’s something we are always telling him to stop doing. That’s not working obviously, because he continues to do it. The other day he knocked him down and Caden’s forehead hit the corner of the couch. It is solid wood and it left a huge dent, which later turned into a huge bump which starts in the middle of his eyebrow and goes close to an inch above it; nasty looking lump. After the fact, Trevin was upset because he had lost some privileges for the rest of the day. He then said he didn’t push him down, he fell down by himself. I told him to tell the truth. He said that was the truth, even though he had earlier admitted to his deed. I said: “You’re supposed to be honest. I’ll bet in Primary they teach you to be honest.” He replied very emphatically: “No, they never tell us that.”

As explained above, we are getting ready to do a garden for the first time this year and just brought in soil. The next day Trevin asked Carol if we could go out and plant the garden. Carol told him we didn’t have any seeds yet. So they were naming some things they would like to plant, and Bailey asked: “Can we plant squash?” Carol replied: “I don’t think you guys like squash.” Then Bailey replied with the wonderful facial expressions she is so akin to: “Yeah, I tried it like 19 years ago, and I just liked it.”

Bailey’s joke with me the other day: B: “Dad, what’s your name?” Me: “Dad.” B: “What color is the sky?” Me: “Blue.” B: “What’s your last name?” Me: “Livingston.” B: “Dad Blue Livingston”, followed by hilarious laughter by Bailey. She’s got a future as a Late Show writer. Later, I learned from word on the playground (Tyler) the last question is supposed to be “What’s the opposite of down?” thus making the answer: “Dad blue (blew) up.” So much more funny, now that the punch line is correct.

During the closing hymn of the Sunday morning session, they showed a shot of the two guys playing the organ. However, it was lined up just right that one of the guys was right behind the other and all you could see were his arms. Tyler, said: “Whoa, what happened? He has three arms. No, he has four arms.” Carol said: That organ is so big it takes two people to play it.” They then showed a different angle where you could see both men.” Tyler goes, “Oh there are two of them.” I said: “Did you really think he had four arms?” He smiled and laughed at himself and said: “Yes.” We all had a good laugh, him included.

A Weekend Of Fun

Saturday was a busy day for us and it all revolved around Tyler. But first, Bailey lost another tooth this week, while biting a sucker. That’s three teeth lost by biting now; a sucker, pizza and the first one while biting me. This one had been loose for a while and in fact, it had been sitting there so long that her gum tissue moved down inside the hollow tooth and had formed into the shape of another tooth. Quite strange looking, but it is receding now, so hopefully it will take care of itself.

The kids went to a school carnival on Friday night with Carol and her mom and had lots of fun; and of course brought home a bunch of wonderful little goodies (or as I would call it: more crap to fill up the house). But they had a good time, so it’s all good.
On Saturday, Grandpa Livingston came up from Eugene for all the festivities. First, Tyler had his last football game of the season, and they played their best game of the year. Although they didn’t score, they held the other team to just one TD. That same team scored 6 or 7 times against them each of the other two times they played them, so it was a great moral victory. And in fact, the other team should not have been given credit for their TD, because the kid did some major flag-guarding on his TD run, but the refs didn’t call anything. But despite that, we felt pretty good about this game, compared to all the rest.
After his game the, team had a pizza party at Izzy’s (nothing but the best), which the whole family enjoyed.
But we still weren’t done. We then headed to the church for the Pinewood Derby. It was Tyler’s first time, and his car did pretty well. He ended up third overall, and he and I were both pretty happy with that.
He wanted a Blazers car, so this is what we came up with. Carol and Tyler did the painting and I took care of the cutting, sanding and grinding.
Plus, we got an assist from Jerry Balch (a friend in the ward) on the wheels and axles. All-in-all it was fun to watch, and 3rd place felt pretty good.
Plus, his car looked pretty cool, so in my bias opinion it had to have earned a few style points, too.

Here's Caden enjoying a snack at the Pinewood Derby

And here is Trevin doing the same

And this is a rare moment when Caden is actually enjoying being with someone who is not direct family. Congrats Jason Bird, you are one of the very few to have this privilege.

Well that was our exciting Saturday. No funnies this time, I haven’t been as diligent lately, sorry. But at least you can enjoy some new pics. And, if you enjoy faith-building experiences (and you haven’t already done so) read the entry just before this one.

We Have Been Blessed!

By the way, here are our new e-mail addresses. (Yes, you all know how old we are, now)
kentlivingston71@gmail.com
carollivingston78@gmail.com

Well, I suppose I should give an update to my family on the results of a family fast we had on February 1st. Anyone else that's interested can read on, also. As you know we are employment-challenged and in January we were told by FedEx (my only job) that all part-time employees would have to call in each day to see if there was work. The first two weeks were bad. Although I went in each day, my weekly hours were cut by about a third. So I went from less than 30 a week, to less than 20 a week. We had an extended family fast for this and for other reasons as well. I can't speak for the others, but as for us, here is what happened.

Of course, I was hoping for a great new job which would mean the end of the part-time nightlife with FedEx. However, that's not what happened. But the Lord did hear our pleas and he had an almost-immediate answer. The Thursday after our fast (my birthday coincidentally), FedEx announced that all but four full-time workers would be given the option to be laid off or go part-time. That of course, meant more available hours for the part-timers. So I'm thinking this is really good. I could work 6 hours a night (that's the most they will let you do in a night), which was even more than before. However, then they announced that they wanted to keep every one at 25 hours a week, at the most. Better than nothing, but not as much as I hoped. But, nothing is impossible for the Lord. First of all, there are several people who aren't getting any hours. And secondly, I have talked with several guys, and the supervisors are being very strict with them about not going over 25 hours a week. And they all still have to call in before the shift each day, even the guys who were full-timers. My story is different. First, I do not have to call in before the shift. One of the supervisors told me to just come in every night, and there would be work. And as far as the hours go, I have worked 6 hours almost every night, since they made the announcement. No matter what, there always seems to be enough work for me, and the supervisors just never say anything. I don't know if they aren't paying attention, or just turning their heads the other way and pretending they don't notice. Whatever the case, I attribute it to the hand of the Lord. With limited work available and everyone else being strictly kept to the 25-hour rule, there is just no other explanation.

Again, I was hoping for a great new job, but with so many people losing their jobs and so many others getting their hours cut, I cannot complain about my situation. At least we have some employment, and in fact I now get more hours a week than I did before we fasted and before they made the first announcement about cutting hours. So, indeed the Lord does bless and watch over us, and we never will suffer more than is for our good. Elder Quentin L. Cook quoted President Harold B. Lee in his October General Conference talk: “Sometimes the things that are best for us and the things that bring eternal rewards seem at the moment to be the most bitter, and the things forbidden are ofttimes the things which seem to be the more desirable.” That is so true. Well, I just thought I would update everyone on how things are going and let you all know that we are grateful to you for the prayers and concerns. THANKS!

Who Knew Bailey Was Even Married?

We’ve been battling the pukes here at our house for the last 10 days, and oh what fun that is. Each kid has been touched by this ever so unpopular visitor, with Bailey holding out the longest, but finally succumbing on Saturday night. But on to more pleasant things (sort of): Tyler’s football season is nearly reached its completion, with the last game being next Saturday. They had a hard fought loss this last Saturday 21-7, but he played really well and came close to scoring so many times, including the long run that ended with a kid diving and kind of tackling him to keep him about two yards short of the end zone. So despite the cold and wet weather, it was still a pretty decent game. He is also working on his Pinewood Derby car, which will be run next Saturday. This will be my first attempt at a Pinewood Derby car as a Dad, and I’m a little nervous, because I don’t have the same car-making abilities as my dad. I’m letting him make all the decisions, though, so hopefully it will turn out well for him. We shall see. Tyler also recently received an honor at his school for “Bucket-Filling” behavior. Basically that means he has a positive attitude with other kids in his class, instead of “emptying their buckets.” Well that’s about all folks. I better get to the funnies, because there are quite a few.

So Trevin likes to play some of Tyler’s Wii video games that are a little too complex for him still. He was playing Backyard Football and he thought he was the “White” team (Carolina Panthers) and the computer was the “Black” (Pittsburgh Steelers) team. So the score is already 18-0 after about 4 or 5 total possessions, and he thinks he is winning. He says look, no one can get me down. So I check things out and, of course, he is actually the Black team and is getting hammered. I tell him that he is the Black team and that the computer is the White team. He argued with me and we went back and forth a few times. Then, about a minute later, he said: “Dad, the referee said I am the White team, so ha ha.”

Bailey loves to play things from church that she sees or hears her mom do. So the other night, Carol and I were giving the three boys a bath. Bailey was in the living room by herself. I came out, unknown to her and she was “on the phone” playing enrichment. Carol had been very busy over the past few weeks with a big enrichment activity. So I hid behind the couch and just sat and listened in. She is hilarious, because she can fake a conversation on the phone so well. She pauses, changes subjects, answers questions and anything else you would do in a normal conversation; and does it seamlessly. After a bit, Tyler was done and came out. She kept going, because she is only embarrassed to do it in front of me. At one point, Tyler thought she was asking him a question, so he answered, and she said: “I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to the girls.” So he apologized and then she says to the “person” on the other line: “I know; that’s my husband. He does that all that time. Anytime, I talk on the phone he just freaks out.”

The kids were having a snack one evening while Carol and I were folding laundry. I called the three older ones back to put their clothes away. So they promptly came and did it. Then, when they got back to the living room, and their snacks, part of Trevin’s was mysteriously missing. “Where’s my licorice?” he asked. Carol had no idea, and I didn’t at first. Then, I looked at squirrel-cheeked Caden, and asked: “Did you take Trevin’s licorice?” “Uhu.” “Is it in your mouth right now?” “Uhu” So I told him not to take other people’s food; that’s not nice. About 15 seconds later, he walks over to me with a 2-inch piece of licorice covered in other pieces of his snack and tries to hand it to me. I guess he was ready to repent, right then.

Bailey was at the dinner table and of course that means time for some “musical” work. I had my back turned and she let one go. I asked: “Who was that?” She responded: “The person who always likes to do tooters.” So I said: “It was you huh?” Bailey: “Yep, I like to do tooters.” We had a good laugh, and then she said: “Please, add that to the blog.” So dainty, our little princess.

I call home from work sometimes to say goodnight to the kids. Bailey loves to answer the phone and she did this time. I used some high-pitched voice and chatted for a second, then asked her if her daddy was home. She said: “No, it’s you dad.” I said: “You’re too smart, I can’t trick you. “She said: “It’s because I go to school everyday, dad. That’s why I’m smart.”

We drove by Grandma Shirts’ old work site and Trevin pointed out that that was where Grandma used to work. Carol said jokingly: “Yep, but then she retired and now she just sits around all day and does nothing, right?” Trevin quickly responded: “No, play the Wii.” So he already has retirement plans ready.

With our pending arrival, we have been looking for a new vehicle. Our van is great, but it does not include a shoulder belt for the fifth passenger in the back, so we need to find something that does. (We wanted to go in the Suburban direction, but in order to get the fifth shoulder belt, you have to get 2007 or newer, and that is not in our price range. So our attention has turned to 2005 or 2006 Honda Odyssey. Not our favorite, but Carol keeps having kids, so what am I going to do?) Anyways, the whole family (minus me) was driving home and Bailey said: “we should get a jeep.” Carol saw a soft-top Wrangler and said, “like that one right there?” Bailey said, yeah, that one. But then she looked at it closer and said: “But it only has four seats. We would get cut off. Me and Tyler would never get to go.”

Our next-door neighbors (or at least one of them) apparently work for a Ford dealer close by, because they have different vehicles quite often and almost all of them have the same dealer license plate cover. Anyways, the guy had a big white truck for a couple of a days and then one morning when Carol opened the blinds he had the same kind of truck, except it was gray. Bailey saw it and said: “He must of painted his truck last night.”

One night I asked what we were having for dinner and Carol said tacos. Trevin then asked: “With beans?” We always have kidney beans with tacos. She said yes, and he said: I don’t want any beans.” Carol asked him: “Who are you Donald Duck?” (Side note: we have a Disney book “Mickey and the Beanstalk”, where Donald says: “I hate beans.”) So I called Trevin Donald Duck. He then called me the same. We went back and forth calling each other Disney characters from these different books we have. I then left the duck category and said: “You’re ‘Goofy on the Hillside!’” (The name of another book we have). He then replied: “You’re just goofy.” Well played, young Jedi Wise-Guy.

Tighty-Whities, Karaoke And Taking Care Of Business

The football season continues and the so do the struggles. Tyler says he is having fun, though, so that’s what is most important. He has recently been made the QB, and he played there the full game yesterday. He did OK, and did rush for a TD, but unfortunately that was the only one his team had. But again, he says he is having fun, so good for him. Meantime, he passed off all 13 of his Articles of Faith and received a giant Hershey bar in primary. Also, Bailey and Trevin have already passed off the first two, which is pretty cool, considering Trevin is only 3. So what else is new? Not much else really comes to mind right now, so I guess I’ll just get to the funnies. Enjoy!

We were doing our family scripture study and were reading about the 2000 stripling warriors. Tyler asks Bailey: “Do you know what this is about?” She wasn’t really paying close attention, so we sang the line: “We are as the armies…” and she then guessed it. We said, “OK, who is that song about?” Again, we got an unsure look. So I said “the 2000…?” but still nothing. So I just gave her the answer. She then said: “2000, that’s a lot of young men to take care of.” Then, she went into a role play that could only come from the mind of a mother-to-be, and said (considering what it must be like to take care of 2000 young men, and as though she was them): “I gotta go to the bathroom. I gotta go too. I gotta go too” and then repeated several more times. Then as the caretaker, said: “Well, there’s no bathroom.” The day before, she was in that position herself at Tyler’s football game, and Carol could not take her. So I guess she applied that situation, x2000, with the stripling warriors.

Later, during that same reading time, I pulled up my long, black dress socks. It was Sunday, so I was already in my suit. Bailey said: “You have long socks. Ewe, Whitey-tighties.” So, a quick lesson on “tighty-whities” followed. Let’s hope that is all cleared up now.

So we get to church, later that day, and right as I’m about to get Trevin out of the car, I notice he has a booger on his finger. I said: “So what did you find? What are you going to do with that?” He looks at it, then, you guessed it. He ate it. I just don’t understand why anyone would do that. Anyways, I expressed my utter disgust and told him “that was so gross.” Then Bailey says: “Well Dad, maybe you should try eating one?”

The kids were watching a video from Grandpa Shirts’ 75th birthday weekend. Towards the end of the video there are several karaoke performances by different members of Carol’s family. The one of her mom singing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a classic, but that’s the only good thing I’ll say about karaoke. If it were up to me, karaoke would be banned from ever happening again, anytime, anywhere. It’s not my thing. I know, you are all so shocked. Anyways, during this particular weekend the karaoke went on long enough to last me a lifetime, and then several more hours after that. So, when the video reached that point I told the kids to turn it off. I said I listened to it enough that day two years ago and I didn’t want to re-live it now. Trevin, sitting right next to me, says: “Well, Dad, why don’t you just go to your room.” I lost out to karaoke. Ouch!

So Bailey says to Carol one night at the dinner table: “Take off your glasses, I want to see what you look like.” Carol removed them, and Bailey said: “You look a little bit like yourself.”

I was leaving for work one evening and said my goodbyes, then said “I wish I didn’t have to work anymore (meaning at night). But Trevin had an even better idea and asked: “For the rest of your life?” Wouldn’t that be nice?

Caden is to the point where sometimes he tells us what he is doing when he has to take care of business; and other times when we ask: “what are you doing,” he answers: “Pooping.” So he and Carol were in the play room the other day and were going to get our little plastic bowling set out. However, Caden felt the urge and since he’s not quite two, no time is as good as the present. Carol asked him what he was doing, and of course he replied: “pooping.” She asked him: “Do you want to play bowling?” he replied: “No. Pooping.”

Bailey and I were playing the Wii and Trevin was just sitting on the floor watching us. Carol was on the couch – covered with Bailey’s Disney Princess blanket – and told him to come and sit with her. He said no. She asked: “You don’t want to come and sit with me?” he replied, “No.” She asked him why not and he said: “Because you have girl blanky.”

Trevin has always had a hard time saying the “K” sound when it comes at the end of a word. We have been working on it with him for a lot, recently, and he has been doing quite well. So the other day, we were playing a game (I can’t remember which game, but it involved the color yellow somehow) and he was having a hard time saying the word yellow. I said: “Welwow, or…yellow?” he tried once or twice, then I said: “ya, ya, ya” and he then said it, but added a “k” sound at the end: “yellow-ka”.

So Carol and I were laying on Bailey’s bed after a long, busy Sunday, while she was hanging up the 10-12 different outfits that she had worn since returning home from church that day. Then, unprovoked, Bailey walks over to the bed and says: “Dad, you better not toot on my bed, or I won’t sleep on it anymore.” Carol and I had good laugh, to which se replied: “I’m serious, Dad.”

And Now For The Latest Anatomy Lesson

Flag football is underway for Tyler. They are learning the basics and the coach has only been teaching them one side of the ball at a time in practice. Tyler had been on defense for all three practices, until the last 20 minutes of the last practice, because the offense was short one guy. He promptly caught a short pass and took it about 70 yards for a score. He later got a hand-off and did the same thing. The coach suddenly realized what he had on his hands, and on Saturday, Tyler played both sides of the ball, but mainly on offense. However, his team (him included) was not ready for their much larger and more prepared opponent. They got crushed. They don’t keep track of the score in this league, but it was probably 63-7; tough day. Tyler did break off one great run for the length of the field. It looked as though his flags were about to fall the entire run. And then, literally, a step before the goal-line they fell to the ground. The rule is if they fall, you’re down. It didn’t matter that he had already run well past every player on the other team, they still called him down. He then, got in two plays later (according to our coach who was on the field), but the other team grabbed his flag and threw it behind the line. The refs stood their not sure what to do, and in the end called him down again. So he never officially scored a touchdown. Oh well, that’s the breaks. His run was fun to watch, anyways.

Game two: Well, on a whole, the team was much improved, but again they faced a better prepared and much larger opponent. It is supposed to be 7-9 year-olds, but I would like to see some of these kids’ birth certificates. They were huge. But anyways, the team scored three times, which was three times as many as last week, so that was improvement. They also stopped the other team a couple times. I don’t know what the final would have been, but Tyler scored two touchdowns, and the first one was from his own 10 yard line (his other was about 15-yarder), so it was a lot of fun to watch. Carol got both of his TDs on video, plus his awkward somersault after he was laid out while playing defense by a much, much larger kid, who put a great block on him. All good stuff and good preparation for him if he’s going to play tackle, which he still says he wants to do, even after that hit.

Other happenings: Bailey has earned so many Image Eagle tickets (a program at her school for positive behavior) that she earned a certificate and a coupon for a free kids’ meal at Taco Bell, which we redeemed today. Throw in the free Chalupa coupons from the Blazers’ game a couple weeks ago, and we got a free lunch for the family courtesy of the Bell. Now that’s thinking outside the bun.

On to the latest funnies, which may be for a PG-13 audience. ;-)

Tyler and I were getting ready to go to his first football practice and Bailey and Trevin wanted to go, to. As Carol was bundling them up, she said: “You guys need to stay where Dad can see you. You can’t run around wild. And listen to dad.” Trevin then sincerely asked: “Can we run in a circle?”

OK, are you ready for some more fun in the bathroom? Trevin was on the potty, while Tyler and Caden were taking a bath. Tyler was just about done, when Carol noticed a peculiar look on Caden’s face. She quickly said: “Tyler get out, get out!” He wondered what was wrong and hesitated. “Get out, just get out!” He did, and sure enough, it was just in the nick of time. Now, for those who have seen Bee Movie (our kids have watched it at least 20 times), you might recognize this. Trevin, upon seeing Caden’s dirty work, yelled: “Ahhh, poo water!” Oh the joys of kids in the bathroom.

Our little princess let one go at the dinner table for all to hear one evening. She and Trevin were both rubbing their fingers in their soup bowls at the same time. So I told them to keep their fingers out of their bowls, then Tyler added, speaking to Bailey: “And you keep your tooters in your bum.” I said: “Well, you can’t do that. It will hurt your stomach.” Bailey, who sits on her knees and consequently her feet, at the table, then said: “Yeah; and it keeps my feet warm. And it keeps my hands warm, when they’re under there.”

Sorry for this one in advance, but it was just too funny not to share. We were watching one of my Michael’s (my brother) many home music videos. There is a spot where Ashley (his wife) and Madison (daughter) are dancing on their bed. Ashley does a kick move, and the kids always think she is kicking Madison because of the angle of the shot. Well, Trevin was watching it again the other day and said “Ashley just kicked Maddie in the Willard.” I questioned: “Ashley just kicked Maddie, where?” He repeated: “In the Willard.” I said “buddy, girls don’t have willards.” He said, “Yeah.” I then reiterated: “Nope, they don’t.” He asked, “Then, where do they go pee at?” Carol and I couldn't control the laughter. While we were carrying on, and with a smile on his face, he calmly advised: “Put that on the blog.”

We were driving home from piano lessons and went by SEH, where Grandma used to work. I pointed it out and Trevin asked which grandma? I told him Grandma Shirts worked there for a long time. Then Bailey said, “yeah, then she graduated.”

Bailey and I were doing some home-made valentines and she was kind of doing things out of order with the glue and cutting. I said, “Bailey, you should have put the glue on the other side of the paper.” She replied, “I know, I wasn’t thinking.” Then pointing to her head, added: “My brain wasn’t working.”

Tyler came home from school on the day his class had their Valentine’s Day party and started to go through his loot. He pulled out one card and didn’t really want us to see it. He just said: “I’m so throwing this away.” We said “what is it?” He stopped on his way to the trash, and then held it up. It was a “High School Musical” valentine.

My brother uses the song “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” (http://www.spike.com/video/paul-simon-me-julio/2863122) in one of his home music videos, and there is a line in the song that says: “Goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona; Seeing me and Julio Down by the schoolyard”. So Tyler was singing the song the other day and doing his best on what he thinks it says. When he got to that part he said: “singing king of Moroni; Singing me and Julio down by the schoolyard.” We asked him about it and he said, “Well he says something about Moroni.” Good to see the gospel influence in his life.

A Proud Day For The Livingstons

Well, what a day Sunday, February 1st was. It went by in a blur, but there were, of course, some very rewarding moments. First, though, on Saturday, Tyler had his birthday party. We had it at nearby church building and just took a bunch of things for the kids to play. He had 4 boys and 4 girls, plus his 3 siblings come and celebrate.

They all had a good time. And at the end of the party, Tyler emphatically proclaimed: “This has been one of the best days of my life!” Little did he know.
Tyler really enjoys playing with his uncle Cory, and had invited him to come to his baptism. Cory lives in L.A. so it was no small trip to get here. But he came, and it was a surprise to Tyler and his siblings. On the way to get him at the airport, I picked up Tyler’s new bike, which had been waiting patiently to be used at his Grandparents house. So, we got back to the house and I left the bike on the front porch, then rang the bell and ran. Cory and I went around the back of the house and came in the back door as all the kids went out front to check out the bike. When they came back in and saw Cory sitting on the couch, they were in shock. In fact, they were so taken back, they were speechless. It was quite funny to see their reaction. But wait, there’s more. Cory took Tyler, myself, and a friend (Tyler chose Hayden Priebe) to the Blazers game that night. But that was also a surprise to Tyler, which he really didn’t figure out, till we got to the Rose Garden; even though we drove around for about 20 minutes looking for parking. Hayden knew about it, too and he even played along the whole time. It was great. We all had a good time, and the Blazers crushed the Jazz, so that made it even better.Then came Sunday and the day flew by with many different church assignments. Before we knew it, it was time for Tyler’s big moment. His baptism was very well attended and we were so thankful to see everyone that showed up. But we did greatly miss those who weren’t able to come. It was a special occasion and the emotions were near the surface the entire night. As Tyler and I were getting our baptismal clothing on, I told him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him. We shared a big, long embrace, which was so wonderful. He gave the talk on baptism, most of which, he prepared himself. He did an excellent job on it as well. When we returned to the bathroom to change after the ordinance, I told Tyler that: “These are the moments that count the most.” I told him how special he was and how thankful I was to have him. And of course, we shared another big hug. I also let him know that although he has received many talents and will accomplish many great things in life, we would always be most proud of moments like this. The emotions were strong throughout, but when the time came to confirm him, I was a wreck. But what a blessing it was to use the power of the Priesthood to perform those sacred ordinances.
After the service was over, Tyler received his own set of scriptures courtesy of his Grandpa and Grandma Shirts, and his Great Grandma Livingston, who passed away this past May. His grandparents shared their testimony in the triple combination. And Grandma Great even took the time to write her testimony in the Bible before she passed, so it was really touching to read their messages. It was a wonderful night and great blessing for our family. As a parent, I have never felt more proud. It is hard to describe, but I know that many of you have had similar experiences, so you know what I mean.
Thanks again to all those who came and to all those who sent well-wishes via phone, e-mail or Facebook. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness to our family.

Hey Ging, At Least Someone Notices You've Been Taking Care Of Yourself

Hello again. Not much new to report this week. We did celebrate Carol’s Dad’s 77th birthday last Thursday, and Carol’s mom provided another most excellent fruit tray. She has a gift with fruit. Carol’s sister Sharon and her family got him a little padded lap tray (seen in use below), which has to be the best gift he could have possibly received. And judging from that smile, I'm pretty sure he agrees.

I think he should just have it permanently attached now. Anyways, it was a fun time and we all ate really well. Carol did a great job on the cake, too. Ummmmm, cake.
Tyler turns 8 next Sunday and, as I’ve mentioned before, he will be getting baptized that night. He also starts Cub Scouts and flag football the following Wednesday. Our kids are getting older and that means life is about to get even busier in our home. That stinks, cuz I’m getting older, too, and I really just need more time to sit around in my chair and complain about the government and the weather; and maybe where some sweet plaid pants with a nice white belt. I don’t have the energy anymore to be chasing kids all over the house, let alone the city. The effects of old age are already creeping in. Oh, how sad. Well anyways, as promised in my last edition, here are the latest and greatest funnies. Enjoy!

Trevin has a little habit that whenever he has his shirt off, mainly when he gets a bath, he plays with his nipple. Don’t ask, I don’t know. I just try to ignore it. Anyways, sometimes I can’t and the other night as Carol was drying him off after he and Tyler got a bath, Trevin was doing some double-nipple action. I said what are those? He said “I don’t know (but he knows full-well what they are).” Carol, said: “Those right there, that you’re touching.” Tyler then says in all seriousness: “Those are your nibbles.” I’ll leave the jokes to you.

Carol was putting Trevin in his diaper to go to bed, and Caden walked up and saw him in his glory, pointed, and said: “Pee.” Trevin then said: “Yeah, that my Willard. You have Willard, too.”

Trevin and I were boxing on the Wii, and although I was trying to let him win, his arms just aren’t long enough yet, for the sensor bar to really catch his motion on boxing. Anyways, after a while, I finally knocked him down and out, to which he commented: “That was wude of you.”

Bailey was enjoying some ice cream after dinner one night, and was taking her sweet time. I asked her if I gave her too much. She assured me that I didn’t. About 5 minutes or so later she finished and pronounced: “See Dad, you didn’t give me too much. But I’m freezing.”

Carol was leaving the house and we gave each other a kiss and a hug (I know, ewe). Bailey was apparently watching and yelled: “I saw Mom and Dad fall in love!”

Carol was wrestling with the kids and they were trying to pull her off the couch. Tyler, not really trying to, put his hand on her stomach and kind of pushed. Carol said in a gentle tone: “Tyler don’t push me on the stomach.” Trevin then said emphatically: “Yeah, cuz her gonna get pregnant.”

The kids went back to get their pajamas on one night and Trevin came out with his bottoms on, but he needed help unbuttoning his shirt before he could get his top on. Carol noticed his pants were a little crooked, so she adjusted them. Upon doing so she discovered he had forgotten to put his underwear back on. She asked him, “where’s your underwear?” Surprised, Trevin then pulled the front of his pants away from his waist to check. After a quick glance, and without saying a word, he ran back to his room to finish the job.

Carol and I were reading scriptures and Caden came back to the room and just kept shouting: “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.” Carol told him that we were reading scriptures and asked him if he could be quiet. He said “yeah,” then he started right up again, this time in a much quieter voice: “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.”

We have a picture frame in our room and one of the photos contains a shot of Carol, my sister Leslie, and my sister-in-law Ginger. First (I feel a disclaimer is necessary), let me just say that I have no idea where Trevin comes up with all of these things he says, but anyways, he was looking at the frame and named off the three parties in that picture. He then said: “I don’t like Ginger’s mouth.” Carol said: “That’s not very nice, why would you say that?” He didn’t answer the question, but added: “I don’t like her lips.” Carol and I both just kind of waited silently, and then he added: “I just like her body.”

Finding Joy In The Journey

So, I have been listening to General Conference talks for several weeks while I’m at work and it has been a great blessing. The words of the Lord’s called prophets and servants have truly had a great affect on me. There are so many that have meant a lot, but the #1 talk that has made a difference is from President Thomas S. Monson. It is from the October 2008 Sunday morning session, entitled: “Finding Joy in the Journey.” I know that each talk can have different meaning to different people, and that the messages reach us in different ways. However, if you love your family and friends, then this talk applies to you. If you have never heard it or read it, then you should. If it’s been a while since you’ve heard, or read, it, then listen to it, or read again. It is such great counsel. And again, it has meaning for anyone who has family and friends, whether you are a member of the LDS or church or not. I don’t mean to get on a soapbox or anything, but I just know that everyone could benefit from President’s Monson’s words. And of course, many of you already know that, but some might not, so here is a link: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-26,00.html.
If you would rather listen to it or watch it, you can use this link. Just scroll down to the Sunday Morning Session, about in the middle of the page, and choose your fancy: http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-947,00.html
Sorry, no funnies this time, but some good ones are forthcoming, I promise.

Trevin Weighs In On The Next Apostle

Howdy everyone. I know, it's been a while. Life just keeps getting in the way of blogging, but whattaya gonna do? What's new with us? Carol had a check-up today and everything is normal, except he found three more babies in there, plus two small puppies. Crazy stuff. OK, so that's not true, but then I shouldn't have had to add that for anyone, because no one is that gullible. Carol is doing fine and getting quite a little pooch, but after five pregnancies that is to be expected. She hasn't had any sickness lately. Actually, she never has thrown up, but she sure had a lot of nausia in the beginning with this one. The kids are excited and Bailey is really hoping for a little sister this time. Trevin, on the other hand, wants a boy. Tyler took his excel testing last week and said he enjoyed. He said the questions were very easy, but he says that about everything. We don't know when we will find out the results. Bailey is doing well in Kindergarten and she had her first opportunity a week ago to give a talk in primary. She did very well. She also recently lost her third tooth. Trevin enjoys playing Wii Golf and not having to go pre-school. He is doing better in primary though (read more about that below), which we are very happy about. Caden had had a cold pretty much straught for about 5 weeks, but through it all his ears have not had any infection, which is just a continued answer to prayer. He talks up a storm and throws fits like a champ, but he has gone to nursury without mom or dad two times in a row, so we are thrilled about that. We are looking forward to Tyler's baptism in two weeks (on Feb 1) and for he and Bailey to start taking piano lessons in another week. Also, Bailey started some tennis lessons this past Saturday and really liked it; plus Tyler starts flag football in a few weeks. So, life is busy, but it is good to be busy. And now enjoy the latest and greatest kid quotes:

For those of you who don’t know, Trevin has never been a fan of nursery, or preschool, or even the brief moments he has spent in primary. Well, with the New Year upon us, that means graduation to the Sunbeam class. It has been difficult getting him ready him for this transition, and for the past month, we have been trying to prep him for it; despite his continued insistence that he did not want to go. So Sunday January 4th was the first day of the new class. And lo and behold, the little guy actually did really well. We were very proud of his bravery. Now despite his good first day, his taste for primary is still, let’s say, a little sour. When Carol went to pick him up from class when church was over, one of the Sunbeam teachers informed us that when asked what makes him happy, he replied: “My Mom and Dad.” And when asked what makes him sad, his response was unequivocally: “Primary.”

And for good measure there was also this exchange. Trevin and Carol were in the kids’ room on a weekday morning just after his first Sunday in primary. As Carol opened the blinds for the day, Trevin asked: “is today Sunday.” Carol replied no, and Trevin said: “Yea, I don’t have to go primary.”

Bailey likes to play “going to the store" with her grocery cart and cash register. So we were playing together and she was running the register, while I shopped. After a while, she was ready to switch and said: “OK, now I’m going to buy some stuff, and you can be the cashew.”

Bailey and Caden were in the bath together and Bailey likes to do her brothers’ hair. She was messing with Caden’s hair and he was kind of losing his balance. Carol said to her: “Bailey, will just stop messing with him. He keeps losing his balance. I’m afraid he’s gonna fall.” Bailey replied in a total grown-up tone: “Oh just stop it. You’re not afraid.”

Carol was cleaning up after dinner one night and Bailey said to her: “You look pregnant!” Trevin was at the table, too and said: “She is pregnant!” Bailey said to Trevin: “You’re pregnant.” He quickly responded: “No I not. I boy. Boys not pregnant.”

Carol made some orange juice with the frozen concentrate mix. She rarely makes the stuff, and we never buy it pre-mixed. Anyways, Tyler takes a swig, and says in all seriousness, “You make delicious orange juice mom.” Good to see he appreciated all the blood, sweat and tears it took his mother to stir the stuff up.

Tyler got “Backyard Football” for the Wii for Christmas and he and I were playing a game. He had Ben Roethlesberger on his team, only he was playing wide receiver. Anyways, Tyler kept throwing to him and he kept dropping them again and again. I finally said: “Roethlesberger can’t catch anything.” Trevin was within earshot and went to Big Ben’s defense: “Maybe he don’t have any hands.” Well spoken young analyst.

I was downloading some more talks from General Conference onto my iPod and Trevin and I were reviewing the names of the Apostles and First Presidency. He is aware that Elder Wirthlin recently passed away, so he was asking about the new Apostle. I said we’ll find out in April during General Conference. I then said: “is it going to be you?” He smiled and said no, then offered this possibility: “Maybe Daniel Bird?” He is our Elder’s Quorum President, for those of you who don’t know. So indeed, Daniel, you must be thought of quite highly by Mr. Trevin.

Lastly, we were all outside playing on a sunny day in January, today, and Trevin said “Dad, I want to get my bike out.” I said: “Why, so you can ride it for 2 seconds?” “No,” came his reply. “OK, three then,” I said. Trevin then thought about it and said, “No….10.” I said, “10 seconds isn’t very long.” Then, as he climbed aboard his bike, he said in a somewhat pleading voice: “OK.......11.”

Do You Know What Sprite Looks Like?

Well, here we are again; another new year is upon us. How time flies. The adage is true: “The older you get the faster time goes.” It really sinks in when your kids hit milestones. Tyler will be eight in a month, which means it will be baptism time for him. It just doesn’t seem possible, but sure enough, time never stops, so we have only the choice to live life as it comes and to take advantage of all the “time” we are blessed to have; or to blow it.

So, I’m sure most of you have seen my last entry announcing our pending arrival in July; now for the story behind it. Carol and I had been talking about it for a few months, but we were not really convinced we were ready again. All of our kids have been brought to us with the help of clomid (baby-making drug). Carol had the prescription, but had not yet filled it. As we continued to fast and pray about it, we decided we would go ahead and give it a shot. But, nothing happened with Carol (you figure out the details, yourself). So we thought: “OK, maybe this isn’t the right time.” Wrong! The Lord was so sure that this was the time he took nature into his own hands. So this baby is a drug-free baby. By the time we decided we were ready, Carol was already pregnant. Surprise! We told our families at Christmas, and found out that my sister (July 11) and my sister-in-law (July 2) are also expecting. July will bring lots of fireworks to the extended Livingston family.

On to other things: I was responding to a friend from BYU about this blog, and told her that it has occurred to me that this has quite literally become a way for me to record a history of our lives. So, from time-to-time, I need to include other types of info on here, which may not necessarily be interesting for others to read, but will be a great source of history for us and our kids to look back on. So with that in mind: recently, Tyler was at school and because of the extreme cold, the kids had some days of indoor recess. Anyways, he was playing a game with a group of kids, and another boy, who is a member of our ward, asked if he could play, too. One of the boys told him no. Tyler said that after the boy walked away, he got up and left what he was doing, and went to ask the boy who had been turned down if he would like to do something with him. They then played together instead. We were quite proud to hear of his kind act.

And of course, here are the latest funnies: Trevin tells me he has to go to the bathroom, the other day, so I ask him: “What do you need to do?” He says “go get up on the potty.” So I tell him go do it then. A few seconds later I call to him and ask: “Did you make it?” He says “Yeah.” Me: “Are you going poop?” Again he responds: “Yeah.” I respond with an “Oh man,” to which he replies in a total “ha-ha” tone: “You have to wipe it up.”

During this holiday season, every time we took the kids to the store with us to look at things, Bailey bombarded us with the phrase: “Oh, I want this for Christmas,” or “I want that for Christmas.” Literally, every time we are at a store she added to her list about every 30 seconds; no joke. So we were at Fred Meyer, and after proclaiming her desire several more times, Trevin held his hands up and while bringing them down to slap him on his knees so as to say “enough already,” he said: “Bailey, you want every thing for Christmas!”

Trevin hit an ornament on the tree with a toy hammer, and it came apart. I said “that doesn’t make me very happy. Mom, does that make you happy?” Carol replied, “No. disappointed, actually.” I said, “Yep, pretty, disappointing.” Trevin quickly retorted: “I’m not going to jail.”

Bailey loves to play school, but usually not while she is being watched. Anyways, she decided to let me play the other day and I was one of her students. She was holding up a book and telling us (me and the other students--stuffed toys and babies) the story. I got distracted for a brief moment and was looking at the poster of David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox player) on the wall. After a couple of seconds, Bailey kindly reminded the “class” without singling me out: “Eyes need to be up here. Not looking at other things.”

Tyler went with Grandma Livingston to the grocery store while we were in Eugene, a couple days after we had announced our pending July arrival. They were talking and Tyler said: “Grandma, I don’t want to have another baby.” She replied: “How come, because you would have to get a new car?” To which Tyler replied: “No. Because then I would have to be even quieter. I already have to be quiet when Caden’s asleep. Now when I come from school, they’ll be two babies asleep.”

Trevin was wrestling with his cousin and brothers in Eugene, and he was a little too rough, so I grabbed him and started wrestling him. His pants came down a little and he was, well, bum-cracking. I gave him a little squeeze and said “bum-cracking.” His quick response as he reached back to pull up his pants was: “Dat not apopiate!”

You’ve all had sliced deli turkey before, right. So of course you’ve seen the little lines of fat that sometimes show up in certain parts of the turkey, right. Well, the Trev-man was eating his lunch a couple days again and told me he didn’t want to eat his turkey. It was basically untouched, so I asked why not. He said, “cuz my turkey has owies.” I said what are talking about? Your turkey doesn’t have owies.” “Uh-huh, look,” he said, pointing to those little lines of fat.

We were eating stew for dinner and a discussion began as to whether it was stew or soup, because of its consistency. Tyler insisted that it was stew each time Bailey called it soup. So the discussion continued and Bailey asked what “runny” meant, thinking that it was the same as mushy. I explained the difference between them and then Bailey turned the conversation a little gross. Trevin then asked: “like tooters?” I said “no tooters are gas.” Bailey then said “like this,” and without hesitation dropped a giant bomb for all to hear. Our sweet little princess!

Trevin was coughing at the dinner table and was going on for quite a bit, kind of like he was forcing it. Carol told him, OK that’s enough, to which he replied: “My throat is doing that.”

And lastly, I went in to check on Trevin, on a recent trip to the potty, when he informed me as he went pee: “that looks like sprite.” So those are latest funnies and the latest happenings in the Livingston’s Life and Times. And these are just a few pics from the last couple of weeks.

All aboard the Tyler train

The cowboy way

Family fun in the snow

Who was that purple girl?

Super(cute)man