YABBA-DABBA-DOO!!!!

We went to a halloween party this weekend and the invitation read, "costumes encouraged..." We were the only adults dressed up (sorry, clint and devan!!), but at least we went all out with it and had a great time!

We are just glad clint changed his mind from wearing this one that he had borrowed from the boys... sorry, babe, this one was too funny!

The boys are having so much fun with costumes this year... even Little Bryson was proud to be a superhero! How big does he look here?

You can see how much they have grown in a year... here they are in 2006:

(And before you feel sorry for my poor 3rd child that he was spiderman 2 years in a row, let me tell you that Cason begged to be spiderman again! I am all about recycling the costumes!)

**Pumpkin patch pictures coming soon.... I need to download and edit them first!**

My Man

I have been tagged several times by several different friends, so I guess it is time to go for it!

The name of the game: All about my MAN

1997

2007

The Game of Tag about your MAN:

1. Who is your man? Clinton Samuel Best
2. How long have you been together? almost 10 years!! That makes me feel old!
3. How long did you date? 8 months, then we were engaged 11 months
4. How old is your man? 28
5. Who eats more? Clint
6. Who said "I love you" first? I don't remember (I know that is awful), but I am guessing me...
7. Who is taller? Clint
8. Who sings better? Me, but Clint can carry a pretty good tune... I am constantly making up songs, and singing everywhere I go!
9. Who is smarter? I was Valedictorian, but honestly, I think he is "smarter"
10. Whose temper is worse? Mine, definitely.
11. Who does the laundry? me
12. Who takes out the garbage? Clint
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Clint
14. Who pays the bills? he does. I can handle the stress of knowing that we never have enough money to pay them all! :o)
15. Who is better with the computer? Clint, but I am not too shabby....
16. Who mows the lawn? Usually Clint, but sometimes me when I want a break from the chaos of my 4 little guys!
17. Who cooks dinner? Me, unless we are having omlettes or pancakes!
18. Who drives when you are together? usually Clint unless we are on a long trip. Then we trade out to keep the sanity of the person who is manning the boys in the back seats!
19. Who pays when you go out? It is all "our money" but I always have the "eat-out cash envelope"
20. Who is most stubborn? We are both pretty stubborn. We always laugh at how bullheaded our boys are, and we wonder why!!
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? we are both pretty bad about this... see # 20
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine since they live 10 minutes away. Clint's are almost 4 hours away.
23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me, but he says I begged him by giving him "the eyes"
24. Who asked who out? I asked him out for Sadie Hawkins week at ACU. I just wanted a friend to go with because all my friends were going roller skating together. I always had a fun time with him, but this was the first t ime I felt anything "romantic" at all.
25. Who proposed? Clint
26. Who is more sensitive? Me, but especially in the last year, Clint has become a lot more sensitive!
27. Who has more friends? Me... he is too shy :o)
28. Who has more siblings? I do. I have three and he has 1.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Me. I am a bit of a control freak at times... but I do try to let him think he is in control sometimes!! :o)

Barfapalooza & a Fun Farm

I know I stole that title from someone, but I cant think who... But I do know that BARFAPALOOZA is the best term for October 2007 in the Best household. 5 out of 6 of our household members have been down and out with a nasty stomach bug... that is everyone except daddy... I swear that he is made of steal or something. He never gets sick!! And I am thankful because he has been such a trooper helping take care of us all. Today was our first barf-free day since last saturday... whoo hoo! Hopefully we are on the mend! And in the mean time, I have spent my spare time disinfecting every single towel, sheet, pillow case, blankie, stuffed animal, rug, doorknob, toilet, and child in our house... in hopes that we will be spared from "round 2" of the awful bug! I think I have used an entire economy sized tub of Clorox wipes!

On a much lighter note, we had the Fun Farm come to our preschool last week. Cason was sick that day, so he missed out, but sweet Bryson loved the animals. He would squat down and talk in his high-pitched voice that he uses when he talks to a baby, he was so sweet and gentle and he would give those bunnies hugs and kisses. He was pretty disturbed by the horse and the cow. They both looked him right in the eye and the horse kinda sneezed on him (nice, I know!) and weirded him out.... but here are some sweet pics of him with the bunnies:

Here was his first "conversation" with the bunnies. He took a minute to talk to them before he got close enough to touch them....

"Yes, Bryson, that is the bunny's eye...."

Feeding the goats...

My co-teacher and I decided to "dress the part" and we both wore pigtails and overalls for farm day. Everyone was calling me "EllieMae" and they dared me to kiss this pig. I didnt go that far, but I did hold it as it was squirming and squeeling (an awful high squeel) and had a picture taken with the poor thing...

Can you relate?

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ab28k5yac4

Sweet Dreams....

These have got to be sweet dreams....

This one is for you, Aunt Angie! ;o)

LIFE....

… can be pretty much summed up in Coby’s sweet prayer tonite… here are a few snippits… I had to rush in here to type them before I forgot
"…. Thank you for my mommy that she cooks for me at Sonic [don’t judge me… I do cook (some), but tonite was half-price burger night and we had basketball practice at 5:30 and soccer at 6:30, so there was positively NO hesitation in the last minute sonic run]
…. And thank you for my daddy that he works when I go nite-nite [clint is on the night shift (again) this month, and I am about to check myself into the loony bin… he is working 12-13 hour nights and sleeping most of the day, poor guy! The boys still see him pretty often, but this momma is going nuts!!]…
…And help Micah not to have strep throat and miss his school [because he had it last week… after his tonsillectomy and all that craziness! Who knew you could get strep after a tonsillectomy!] … and help Cason not to fight with me when I get home from kindergarten… and help Bryson not to be ugly and throw his food…
… And help me to obey your laws and to get 'bath-timesd' so I can die and go to live in your house in heaven.... Amen." [then he opened his eyes and asked me, "Mommy, does God have one of those big houses that has the stairs?"] :o)

And I will close with a precious picture of my boys… this is the new part of our bedtime routine… Micah is reading like a champ and he loves to get to do his "reading homework" by reading aloud to his brothers! Plus, this helps me since I am doing the whole routine by myself. While Micah is reading stories to his brothers, I am rushing around like a mad woman getting everything laid out for the next day so we can all be dressed, fed, packed up, and loaded up by 7:15 am!

Just a bunch of random pictures

First, a disclaimer: I have pics of Micah playing on his basketball team, but they wouldnt download from the camera memory for some reason, so I will post some pics of him later... for now, these should keep the grandmas happy!

Bryson and Cason on their first day of Preschool.
How sweet are they?


Cason is ready for anything!

Check out the tongue!

Coby has actually turned out to be quite a soccer player!

And he loved playing "goalie" He is pretty aggressive!

Bry's new hang out spot. He is just tall enough to stand on the stool thing and reach up to the tank. We catch him with his hand swishing around in the top sometimes... he has yet to catch anything! :o) Doesnt he look like he is up to no good!

Our little fish... he makes this face at his new "friends" all the time! Silly boy!

4 important reasons why I have been a bad blogger lately!!!

This is how we all feel after a long day of school! This is how I found him when I came to get him for dinner. He had been sent to his room for time our for talking ugly. I guess he was tired!

Sweet Cason

I know it has been way too long since my last post… so long that it is so hard to even begin a new one. I am not even going to try and catch everyone up on the Best family happenings because there are way too many, hence the absence of any new posts! We are doing good… BUSY, but good! Tonite I had a conversation that I knew I needed to blog about before I forgot it, so here goes…

A very loved and Godly man from our church passed away very unexpectedly last week from a heart attack. His funeral was last Friday, and the entire church was attending, so we had to take Cason with us. I was explaining to him where we were going and why, and he asked why this man had died. I told him that his heart had quit beating, and God decided it was time for him to come up to heaven with Him. Cason has been really serious about all of this ever since. Here was our conversation tonite:

Cason came running in from his bath with his towel on like a cape. He sat down to put on him jammies and noticed his heart beating heavy from running around like a superhero….
Cason: "Mommy, my heart is beeping…"
Me: "Yep, that’s good… that means you are alive."
C: "Mommy, is your heart still beeping?"
M: "Yep, I am alive, too…"
C: "Mommy is your heart going to stop beeping?"
M: "Someday it will, but I hope it is not some day too soon. When our heart stops, we can’t live here anymore; we get to go to heaven and live with God. [trying to fight back the tears and not be too serious about the subject] Let’s get our jammies on."
C: "Yah. Mommy, do we have to go nite nite in heaven?"
M: "I don’t know, maybe. We will have to wait and see"
C: "I don’t want to have to have rest time in heaven. I want to stay up and play v-smile (video games) with Coby and Micah. [his face lights up] Does God have lots of v-smiles in heaven?"
M: "Maybe. The Bible tells us that there are no tears in heaven, so that means nobody cries up there."
C: [face really lit up] "So Coby is always sweet to me?? And I don’t get any spankings??"
M: [fighting back the smile] "That’s right!"
C: "Oh, Mommy, I want to go there! [pause….] But I just want you to go with me…."
Their faith is just amazing to me… and I just think how much like children we are with our own faith. I do want to go to heaven, but just not yet… and I want to take all the people I love with me.

1st day of school and other tidbits

The first day of school went great... When I asked Coby "how was your day?" He replied, "Great.... except I didnt learn how to read!!!" He said that his favorite part was music when they got to sing fun songs, and PE and recess and story time, and the list went on and on. His teacher told me that today (day 2) he fell asleep at rest time and she could not get him to wake up for recess! Today when I picked him up, he beat me to the punch and said, "hey mom, how was your day?!" Sweet boy! Micah had a great first day, too. He made 2 new friends that he didnt know from last year and he ssid his favorite part was PE and the games they played. He also like reading because he knows how to do that now! The 2 little ones stayed with me and worked in my classroom all day to get ready for our preschool which starts next week. We headed to soccer practice, a basketball game, and to church, so it was a LONG day! :o)

ok, now to the fun part... pictures!!!

Here we are at 7am before we left! Whew, that was early! They were all 4 so excited. Even Bryson got to carry his new lunch box with him. It is a basketball and he held it the entire wat there and carried it into school, too... man, they are all growing up too fast!

Cason took this picture of the 4 of us...

Micah took this one... not bad! Coby looks so old to me here. He was so proud to be in kindergarten!


And my sweet biggest boy... he had a great first day of first grade!

Coby at his desk. I leaned down to give him one last hug and kiss and he said, "Are you gonna miss me?? Its ok, mom... dont cry. I am gonna be just fine! Tell Cason I will be home to play with him soon"

Mimi came by to see him in his classroom!

Here we are before school.... I loved how Bryson (who you will notice is still tightly clinching his basketball lunchbox) is looking up at the big boys!

We celebrated the beginning of school by making pudding for dessert tonite... I would say that Bry enjoyed it to say the least. He was so proud to be sitting in mommy's chair, using his own spoon and feasting on the chocolate pudding!

CHEEEEESE

Messy?? Who me?

Here are the "big boys" in their new room.... this room was one of my summer projects!

I have lots more pics from our soccer & basketball games and some fun times with cousins, but they will have to wait for a new post..... I am exhausted!

'Twas the night before Kindergarten

Tomorrow's the big day... the first day of school. Micah will be in first grade and Coby will be in kindergarten.... we went to "meet the teacher" today although we knew them both from church already... but they reconnected with old friends and delivered school supplies... we picniced at the park in honor of the last day of summertime... The excitement was unbelievable, especially since I can still hear them giggling intheir beds!! Coby's prayers tonite went something like this:
"Dear God, Thank you for this beautiful day and thank you for the summertime and the swimming pool. Thank you for mommy, daddy, micah, coby, cason, bryson, and mrs. allen. Thank you for kindergarten and help me stay on green. Thank you for my trains and my soccer team and for my food and my bed. Help me to stay on green in kindergarten and for mrs. allen to be nice to me. Help me not to lose my glasses or get them dirty. And help our fish not to die anymore [we lost 2 over the weekend...] and help me stay on green and make good choices. Help the hungry man on the road to find a job so he can work and have money to buy some food and a house. Help Sam [his friend from preschool] not to cry tomorrow at school and help mommy not to cry too [he saw me all teary in the hallway last year when we dropped off micah]. Make me not be tired at kindergarten and make micah say hi to me at lunch time. And God, please just help me stay on green. In Jesus name, Amen"
I was tearing up and laughing all at the same time... do you think we have hammered it into him enough that we expect him to stay on green??? I thought it was so sweet to have the glimpse into his little innocent mind to hear his thoughts! Sweet boy!
I posted this last year, but it is so sweet I will post it again for Coby.... good luck to all you other moms who are bringing kids for their first day tomorrow.... and to those who start on monday as well!

'Twas the night before kindergarten, and as they prepared,
kids were excited and a little bit scared.
They tossed and they turned about in their beds,
while visions of school supplies danced in their heads.
Erasers and crayons and pencils galore
were stuffed in their backpacks and set by the door.
Outfits were hung in the closets with care,
knowing that kindergarten soon would be there.
In the morning it came--school starts today!
Would the teacher be nice? Would they still get to play?
Faces were washed, and teeth were brushed white;
kids posed for pictures with eyes sparkling bright.
Parents packed snacks, and kids hopped in cars
as if they were boarding a spaceship to Mars.
Some kids brought blankets or their favorite stuffed bear,
in hopes they could nap like they did last year.

Their parents exclaimed, "You're big kids--wow!
Let us hold your bears and blankies for now."
The parents were worried their children would cry
if they left them at school with just a good-bye.
So they told their darlings, "If you want, we can stay
and make sure that everythingwill be A-okay."
The teacher then greeted each one with a smile,
and invited the students to stay for a while.
The room was all filled with toys, books, and maps,
but where are the beds for midmorning naps?
They colored and painted and played Simon Says,
then tumbled and skipped and stood on their heads.
They sang silly songs from beginning to end.
Within just a minute, each kid had a friend.
The children were happy. They loved Miss Sunrise!
It was she who was in for a giant surprise.
When what to her wondering eyes should appear
but sad moms and dad who were holding back tears!
Their noses--so sniffly! Their eyes--red and wet!
This was the saddest good-bye Miss Sunrise had seen yet!
She gathered the grown-ups on the magical rug,
then sent them away after one final hug.
The children all waved from the door of the school,
"Don't cry, Mom and Dad; kindergarten is cool!"
-- by Natasha Wing

Update to my "backyard banishment" post

okay, it is midnight, but clint is working nights this week and I can never sleep when he is not here, so I am posting a quick story before I head to bed so I can toss and turn and wake up at every little noise with my metal baseball bat beside my bed! I am a freak, I know!
Anyways, I had posted a while back about my new "no fighting in my house" policy... well, I have used it several times and it has proven to be quite affective. Today, I sent Coby and Micah out there and I heard Micah say, "Watch, Coby, watch right there at the window and you will see mommy. She will be looking out here at us in just a second..." Smart little booger! Who knew that all this time I thought I was "sneaking one by them" and he knew I was watching all the while! I laughed out loud and let them back inside. They were just glad to see me laughing when I opened the door back up so soon! :o)

Do you see what I see??

Coby has a new look!!! How cute is he?? He will also be wearing a patch over his right eye for about an hour a day to help the left one gain some strength. Apparently the left one decided it was having to work to hard and it realized that the right one had it all figured out, so it was letting the right eye do all the work. We are hoping the patch and vision therapy works so we can avoid surgery! In the meantime, check out his new specs!

And of coarse, since we are talking about Coby, the post would not be complete without a silly pose!

In other news... I have 3 extra kids today and tomorrow (and overnight) while my brother and sis in law go celebrate their anniversary.... so say a prayer for patience and sanity for me as I try to be the "fun aunt" with 7 kids under the age of 6! :o)

Update on Bry and a funny story!

He is soooo much better. The dr gave a one-time high power dose steriod that worked wonders! He is not totally back to normal, but he is definately much better! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!

Now the funny story... my boys have a new hobby this summer... fighting!!! I am so sick of the constant arguing, bickering, etc which usually leads to someone hitting, pinching, chasing, and occasionally biting. SO.... a friend of mine from church (who has 2 older kids who are so well behaved now) gave me some advice on it... she told me to try what she had done when her kids were little, so I did... I told them when they fought that they had to go out in the back yard. I locked the door (but I peaked thru the window without them seeing me) and they could fight all they wanted out there. This takes the fun out of it by telling them they can do it. I was a little worried how my BOYS would respond to this, butI tried it... I said, "You can kick, hit, bite, pinch, chase, what ever you want to do, but you are not going to do it in my house!" So I locked Coby and Micah out there and they just looked stunned...
I heard Coby say, "did mommy say we could bite and hit?"
Then Micah, "Yes, but please dont hit me or bite!"
C: "OK, Micah, I have a great idea... how bout you dont hurt me and I wont hurt you, k?" (what a novel idea!)
M: "yeah... great idea... you wanna go play dumptrucks in the sand box?"
C (big smile): "yeah!"
And off they went......
Between the 3 of them, we did this 4 times yesterday and by the end of the day they were pretty much working things out themselves without being banished to the back yard! :o)

A birthday party and a trip to the Zoo

Before I start this post, I want to solicit your prayers... little Bryson has the most awful case of croup I have ever seen. He is a very sick little baby. It amazes me how fast that illness comes on, but it hit him so hard.... we have been to the dr and he is on a steriod, so hopefully the worst is over and he will only get better... please offer up a prayer for him today... it just hurts me to hear him "bark" and watch him struggle to breathe!

Well, I am going to attempt to play catch up for the last 2 weekends before another one comes and goes... sheesh we cram so much in over the summer! I wont type much since most of you jusr scroll thru the pics anyways, but here are a few events in the best household over the last few weeks....

Cason's 4th Birthday Bash!!!

here is the birthday boy with 2 of his buddies, Caden and Ethan

Cason, Mommy, and Lightning (this was my 3rd time to make lightning this year... he gets easier every time!)

Blowing out the canldes as bryson looks and learns


this is the face he makes at his new fish... he is such a hoot! he loves his new fish!

Abilene Zoo!!!
I really think this might be my favorite zoo... especially for my kids at this age. I hate big crowded zoos... we lost Coby at the FW zoo one time and it was the most horrifying experience! I dont like zoos that are so big that my kids cant walk the entire time... maybe bc there are 4 of them and they are really heavy and it is physically impossible for us to carry them around. Anyways, Abilene Zoo is really small as far as walking goes, but it has all the animals that we want to see and it was only $14 for my entire family!!! That is the cost of one adult admission to the FW zoo I think.... anyways.... on to the pics... it was hot, but it was fun!!:

Bryson and the monkey... he kept pacing back and forth on this ledge right by the window where bry was sitting... he was squealing and laughing at him until he stopped to look at him... then he got scared... hilarious, but I missed that kodak moment!


Bry and the aquarium... he was so intrigued!

The giraffes were a crowd favorite... this is probably my favorite part of this zoo... the kids can literally reach out and tough these giraffes... they fed them thru the fence.

Cason was the only one brave enough to let the giraffe eat out of his hand. Everyone else threw the food as soon as he got close (mommy included) Check out his black tongue!

I just thought this one was sweet of all of them peeking over to see the turtles...

Anyone see 4 sweet boys?

ACU revisited:
I posted before with some pics from our trip to acu... one afternoon, I went with the girls to do some shopping and when I got back to our apartment, I found this:

And this....

And THIS!!!