Lately In the Bjorkhood

It's time for another installment of Lately in the Bjorkhood. I know I post pretty regularly, but I still have SO many other posts swirling through my brain that I've really been wanting to get to. And they're just not gonna happen if I don't clump 'em all together. Pretend you care.

Here we go:

Reese decided she was going to run away one day.  I had to laugh thinking back when I threatened to run away as a little girl. I remember even packing my suitcase and my mom telling me I wasn't allowed to take my Sunday dress when she saw I was packing it. :)  I thought Reese might like a picture to look back and laugh at one day.

Then there's Everett who decides to try and run away EVERYDAY. 

And one time he was successful.  He sneaked out our door that leads to our garage where our actual garage door was accidentally left open. He then CROSSED THE STREET and started to go around the corner!!!  Luckily there was a very nice man driving a huge water truck who saw Everett standing on the corner (in his diaper!). He pulled over, grabbed Everett, and started knocking on doors. This all happened in a matter of about 3 minutes--with that last minute being a very frantic one for Tom and me. We obviously regularly dead-bolt our doors, but we've now also switched our alarm system to beep every time an outside door opens. It's kind of annoying, but helpful/needed I think. Then there's the lovely baby gate I put up regularly.  People think it's funny when they come to my door, but hey, just gotta up the security for the boy who would live outside if he could!

When Everett's not running away, he can often be found tackling his sisters or hugging me.  "Mommy!" he shouts out.  It's kind of adorable. Tom doesn't find it quite as adorable when he's greeted with the same little excited, "Mommy!" as he gets home from work. E has really taken off with his vocabulary lately, and will mimic a lot of the words we say. "Daddy" just hasn't made that list yet. (My favorite that he says and even uses appropriately is "Ay-oo"=thank you.)

Seminary is back in full swing--year number 3! Tom continues to love it, and I continue to try and be the most perfect and supportive wife. Just don't ask Tom how that's going!  Really though, I am so impressed with his dedication.  I CANNOT imagine preparing a lesson everyday and having to go to work on top of that. He would never tell you this, but one of his less active students told him that she has never had anybody explain the gospel in a way that she can understand it like he does. Quite the compliment, in my opinion!

Claire's preschool is also in full swing.  It's going much better than I anticipated. Claire loves it so so much! She also has a major crush on Mikey (between Claire and Reese).  They even say they're each other's boyfriend and girlfriend. Yikes!

Reese lost her two front teeth just in time to become our little Reese-o-lantern for the holidays. She came home from school one day with the gnarliest snaggle-tooth. She wouldn't let me touch it, but ended up getting some help from her little dentist brother later that night.

Tom was pulling Reese on a blanket and Everett was chasing after. He eventually fell on top of her, kneeing her in the face. Out popped her two top teeth! The second had just barely begun to wiggle. She was totally ticked and stayed mad at Everett for quite a while! Tom and I thought it was quite hilarious.

She got over it by the next morning though when she got 2 whole dollars.

Santa Claus, I mean Momoo, came for a visit a bit before Halloween. She spoils my kids and has a blast doing it. She makes such great efforts in developing close relationships with her grand kids and I appreciate it probably more than she knows. We all love love love when she visits!

(Elitches during one of their trick-or-treat weekends.) 

I participated in "Yoga for Congo Women" put on by my friend Ann. It was really moving and heartbreaking to listen to some of these women's stories while doing the Yoga. We have no idea how blessed we are!

The Saturday before the election, Tom and I ended up going to another Romney rally. The venue was a lot bigger so it was much easier to get in. Plus we had "VIP" tickets (that made me laugh). We were pretty dang close and it was awesome!

Needless to say, I was pretty depressed/angry on election night. I'm slowly getting over my super mean thoughts that I did a pretty good job keeping just between Tom and me. I will say this though--I really don't hate Obama. I don't think he is evil, and I really think he thinks he's doing what's best for the country.  Obviously I think there's a better way though. Really more than being sad that Obama is president, I am just so very sad that Mitt Romney is not.  I REALLY think he would have been incredible. Tear.

Just an average morning/weekend with my kids all piled on/around me.  My kids have been out-of-control clingy lately! Claire usually comes and climbs in bed with me after Tom leaves for seminary. And as if it's not enough to be touching me the whole time, about every 5 minutes she will frantically wake up and shout, "Mom?! Oh, I just wanted to see if you were still here." Fun. I guess there are worse things than being so loved.

(Probably watching our new-to-us FAVORITE show, "Good Luck Charlie".)

The girls took swimming lessons from September to mid October.  They would squeal with excitement before each lesson.  Reese did great and advanced to the next level.  Claire did well, but is still figuring out how to not suck up water through her nose.

Reese also participated in an after-school karate program. She had been asking to take karate for about a year so it was the perfect opportunity. It was so adorable to watch her try and be so tough. Definitely good for her.

One day while I was dragging the kids around on errands in preparation for Super Saturday, we took advantage of being down south and stopped at the temple. When we pulled up, Reese exclaimed, "Claire, that's where we get to get married!" :) This is also where I got my favorite new shot of my littles.

We have loved our fall weather and are sad that the super coldness is coming/kind of here. 

Reese, riding Claire's scooter when little Everett sneaked up and jumped on for a ride.

Speaking of the coldness...Tom had to break up with "the other woman".  His garden is his baby. There have been times when he'd get home from work and go through the back gate to look at his garden before even saying hi to us. Thus, "the other woman".

Checking out La Gardenia after a frost hoping to salvage something.

The hope...

 The Longing....

 The Despair....

(Am I a mean wife for making fun of my husband? He's just so cute!)

And lastly, for Thanksgiving, we took a last minute road trip to Idaho.  I ended up getting the flu pretty bad right before, so my energy level was completely zapped all week long.  I didn't have much of an appetite (I actually lost a few pounds which is unheard of when I go to the Bjorkmans) and took a total of about 3 pictures. :/ Even with lame mom putting a damper on things, Tom and the kids had a great time!

And there you have it--a taste of some of the more exciting things going on around here.  We've also had our share of stresses and non-fun things, including finding out that one of my absolute dearest friends is really sick. I think about her all the time and actually got to see her for a teensy bit on our way home from Idaho. She is incredible and, without knowing it, teaching me some important life lessons. Sometimes it's good to get a good kick in the pants to help put things into perspective and remember what's most important.  I'm pretty sure all these people pictured in this post would make the top of that list for me (maybe minus Mitt Romney).

Thanks for reading my life story!