Birthday Fun

Spencer had a great day. Jeremy picked him up from school and took him out to lunch. He had popsicles at school for his birthday treat. When he came home I let him open some of his new presents, which just happened to be a slip n' slide and a new swimsuit! When you have an 80 degree day in April you have to take advantage. Then we headed off to POJOs, some version of chuckee cheese, but with bumper cars! Then we came home and opened presents and had cake. And the cake, it might not look too exciting, but that is pretty impressive considering the ingredient restrictions we had to work within. We were all happy, and Jeremy saved the day once again!

Happy Birthday to You....

You know you live in Idaho....

when your son comes home from preschool with

It's Time

When I started my blog about a year ago I wasn't sure what direction it would take. I knew for sure that I was not going to talk about some things that are just too close to my heart. I have changed my mind. I have wanted to talk about this on my blog for some time, but wasn't sure how to. For most of you, this will not be a surprise. But, I know there are friends, and maybe even some family that this will be new information. April is the month we celebrate Spencer's birthday. April is Autism Awareness Month.

About five years ago Spencer was diagnosed with PDDNOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). We really didn't know what that meant at the time. Since then we have learned that PDDNOS is on the autism spectrum. About two years ago he was officially diagnosed with Autism.

About five years ago my heart started breaking. So many pieces have broken off I don't think it will ever be back together again. My sweet boy is trapped behind this wall of autism. We are tyring to chip away at this wall to help him emerge. Every day is a challenge. Every day we fight the battle. Some days we see glimpses of Spencer come out from behind the wall. Those moments are so wonderful!

Thank you to everyone who has supported our family. Thank you for loving Spencer!

Easter

We had a lovely Easter weekend, and a very busy one. The weather cooperated, and we were able to have a great time with 15 kids running around for Easter Dinner. I hope you all had a nice holiday too!

Wednesday Night

Spencer has been asking us lots of questions about coconut trees. So, I decided we better check it out for ourselves. The boys were so excited, they couldn't wait for Dad to get home to open the coconut! A fruit with milk inside? Unbelievable! A year ago today we were on our way to Hawaii. I thought a little coconut party would be appropriate.

Wednesday Morning

One of the things I love about my blog is that I can show my family moments from our life instantly. We end up with a lot of serious bed head at my house because of baths right before bed. Sam usually gets the best because he got the thick Wismer hair. This week has been kind of nuts. Super busy, nonstop craziness. I did take the boys on our first family bike ride where both Spencer and Sam were on bikes without training wheels. Hooray! It was kind of fun, and kind of not fun. Not only do you have to teach your kids how to ride a bike, but I guess you have to teach them bike safety and etiquette. Whatever! Thank goodness our neighborhood is so flat. We hit one little hill, and complete mayhem! I guess I forgot to teach them how to brake too. It was definitely a little nuts, but fun, and mostly nuts. Matthew was in the trailer behind my bike. I kept telling the boys to follow me, and then Matthew would say, follow me too!

What were we thinking?

Jeremy and I cleaned out our garage this weekend. When we were going through the garage we found this lone piece of wood. We both looked at each other wondering why we had it. Then we realized, at some point we decided to save this piece of wood for fuel storage. We really had to laugh out our brilliant plan. I'm sure our family would survive a winter on that!

Sam's new love

Yes it has been windy here, but that is not why his coat is blowing. He is moving fast! I'm not sure why I was so scared to teach my boys to ride a bike. The first time he got on the bike he just took off like it was nothing. Of course the stopping and starting took some practice, but now he is happy riding all over by himself. So lovely!

Spring Break Part 2

Friday and Saturday we packed in more fun, family, and friends. Most of the time I forgot the camera, but here are some pictures when I remembered! We had fun taking the boys to BYU campus. They loved the bookstore, we are kind of bookstore nuts. Jeremy and I frequent bookstores for date night, and we take the boys whenever we need to get out of the house. They are becoming experts at perusing the aisles and finding the books the are interested in. The BYU bookstore has so many memories, and it is fun to share that with them, especially the candy counter! The BYU art museum has a great exhibit for kids right now showing the art works from the I Spy Books. They had a great time playing at Connie and Dave's house as always. Thanks! We got to have an adult sibling dinner, a real treat. We got to eat Cafe Rio for the first time, thank you Anne and Dave! I was able to have lunch with one of my dearest, sweetest friends in the world. Thanks Heather! We got to have Dinner in Salt Lake with Jeremy's Dad, and amazing dessert! Obviously, a great trip all around.

Spring Break Part 1

Wow, it has been too long since I last posted. Now I have all these posts I am anxious to get out! We had such a great Spring Break week! On Monday we went to the Discovery Science Museum here in Boise. The boys loved it, each one going off on their own and doing the experiments. Ok, Matthew just liked pushing all the buttons that he could find, but Spencer could have stayed there all day. He was fascinated with everything there. On Tuesday we went to the YMCA to go swimming. I was kind of bummed because I am just not ready to get into pool mode yet. But, I was surprised again at the independence of my children. Sam and Spencer could go on the water slide without an adult, and the place was loaded with lifeguards. Matthew is practically ready for the Olympic swim team so he was off on his own too. Fun! On Wednesday we headed off to Utah, in a blizzard of course. We just can't avoid them on road trips. Thursday I took the boys to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving point. Another great outing, and this time I remembered my camera. Here are some of my favorite shots. Spencer was the ultimate tour guide and made sure his brothers saw everything and kept moving. Am I becoming obsolete?

Matthew didn't know what to do with his dripping wet hands, but apparently his head needed some blowing!

My favorite shot of the day. I told the boys to act scared!

Spencer captured this shot of Sam, I love it!

Family Art Night

Pho with Dad

Matthew has gotten go on some fun lunch dates with Jeremy and I this year while his brothers are at school. He is always a great kid to take with us because he will eat anything and love it. Today was no exception. Jeremy took me to get some Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup. Matthew loved it, and he could not get enough soy sauce. I finally had to hide it, and then he kept saying, hey where is the soy sauce? I need more soy sauce! This was especially cute because he kind of has a lisp.

Crazy Kid

I keep finding Matthew in the bathroom with crusty, spiky hair because it is filled with hand soap. He goes in there a couple of times a day and "washes" his hair. It is kind of driving me crazy, but it is pretty cute too. This kid is just a nut. He has been the best two year old I have ever had, but I am getting nervous for his threes. He has to disagree with everything I say, and loves to torture Sam endlessly. He just walks around the house creating disasters. I just figure there could be worse things than soap in his hair. Like the pencil drawings all over my walls...

If I hear that one more time.....

For some reason my kids speak perfectly good English (well, for a 7, 5, and 2 year old) until these three phrases come out of their mouths. They are heard so much in my house they should be put into the Evans family dictionary or engraved on a plaque in our Family Hall of Shame.

1. Nuffin. This is used mostly when being asked, "What are you doing?" Nuffin. Hello?!! First of all, the word is nothing. And second of all, that is an outright lie!! You are doing something and you just don't want to tell me. Drives me crazy!

2. I don' wanna. This is used mostly when they are asked to do just about anything. Something happens to the t's in my house when my kids need to do something for me, like put your shoes on, or finish getting ready for bed.

3. But, Mom. This is used all the time, mostly by my oldest. This is always said in a whiny voice and Mom turns into the longest word ever. But, Mooooooommmmmmm. I keep telling them my first name is not But. Seriously, people!!!

Love at Home

So, have we mentioned before that everything in our house--including, in this case, two of the lovely heart valentine balloons Molly put up this weekend--eventually ends up being used as a lightsaber? I thought the photo was cool, but obviously the boys weren't sitting still for me.
-Guest Post by Jeremy

Karate Kid II

Sam had his first Karate Belt test on Friday. He is now an orange belt! He is the one on the left. This has been such a great activity for Sam, we are so proud of him!

Gummy Bear

In the morning Matthew likes to turn his sleeper into a super hero cape. I love to watch him run around the house and fly with his cape flapping behind him.

Hello

Well, I really have nothing to blog about. Life has been busy and stressful and crazy, but really boring. You know what I mean?

The diet update. This is now week 2 of our gluten free/dairy free diet. It has been going well I think. I made chocolate chip cookies that turned out pretty decent, and I am hoping to try pizza crust soon. Nobody has been complaining, which has been great. We have eaten out once at Red Robin which had a gluten free menu. The one thing Jeremy and I have really been craving is cheese. Last weekend for our date we both really enjoyed cheesy pasta, something I wouldn't usually order. In case some of you are wondering, we are really on this diet for our son Spencer. So, the rest of us cheat now and then. Does that sound bad? It really has worked out well so far. This whole thing is definitely evolving as we go along. For two of my favorite food finds click here.

Karate is still going great for Sam. He chopped a board with his hand last week! They have these boards that come apart, so it is a big confidence thing. He loves it. Matthew is just a crazy kid. He asked me to call him Gummy Bear. So now I just call him G.B. for short.

Thank goodness January is ending. January is always about survival for me, and this one more than most. I decided to not even think about my resolutions until this month is over. Who needs another reason to feel bad about yourself? But love month is coming and I know that spring is around the corner. Three more days....

Noodles

My boys are obsessed with eating noodles. Thank you Kung Fu Panda. Almost every morning when I go in to get Matthew up in the morning he tells me that he had a noodle dream. Today Sam asked me to take a picture of him eating noodles. Most Sundays we come home from church and Jeremy "makes" a big batch of Top Ramen. We decided to live it up today because we will be switching over to Rice noodles. Mmmmm, yummy!

The Lookout

When your five-year old says that he wants to play a new game in the car called lets try and find a police car, don't do it! It sounded like a fun idea, sure keep your eye out for a police car, great idea. Then your drive to the grocery store becomes a nightmare.

Sam: Mom there is a police car. He is coming to get you.

Me: What?? Hit the brakes, look around.

Sam: Oh no, that wasn't a police car.

2 seconds later

Sam: Here comes the police car, I see it!

Me: What?? Where?? Is it behind me?

Sam: Oops, that was not a police car.

Not a good game at all, and it has been going on for 2 days. Now my boys think I am scared of cops. And I think they might be right.

You think your Diet is Hard?

We are going Gluten Free/Casein Free here pretty soon. Basically that means Dairy Free/Wheat Free. Basically that means anything and everything that we eat here at every meal is being thrown out. This is something I have been wanting to do for a couple of years. Then I got kind of serious about it in the summer, meaning I thought about it more and got books from the library. Now I am REALLY serious, meaning I have actually bought the books and started trying to incorporate new foods into our daily eating. What a pain!!! If anybody knows anything about this diet and would like to share, feel free. It will definitely be an adventure, and hopefully will make a difference in our son's life! Happy Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Food I Love Free New Year!

My Karate Kid

Sam has been begging me for months to let him take Karate. His first class was everything he could have hoped for. Punching, kicking, blocking, and saying hi-ya! It was extremely refreshing to not have to drag a child to a class that I paid for that is supposed to be fun. He went willingly, participated, and can't wait to go back. Success!

Subtlety

My kids have taught me so many lessons, especially Spencer. Probably because he is the oldest, but mostly I think it is because, well... he is just Spencer. He lost his first tooth a couple days after Christmas. Literally, he lost it. We were getting out of the car one day and Sam told us that Spencer lost his tooth. What? Jeremy and I went over to Spencer, yup he had lost it and that was it. First tooth, gone. Then today he headed off to school with a really loose tooth. Jeremy put a little plastic bag in his backpack and told him to put his tooth in there if it came out. I was going through his backpack at the end of the day, and there it was, a little tooth in his bag. He didn't tell anybody, he just pulled it out before recess and put it in his backpack. I asked him why he didn't tell me that he lost another tooth. He said, "Well, I already lost my first tooth, this was just another tooth." Ok, loosing teeth not a big deal. Got it.

Oregon or Bust

Our family has developed a little bit of a reputation of making crazy decisions to take last minute trips no matter what stands in our way. This Holiday was no exception. Thanks to a little storm that hit the Northwest this Christmas our trip to Oregon was completely nuts. And, I would just like to add that we did the entire trip without a DVD player. And all I can say about that is why do kids just randomly turn and whack their brother when they are bored? The drive was beautiful and kinda scary and really, really long! But, we made it and were pretty much snowed in the rest of Christmas. We ended up staying an extra day to let the roads melt a little more and made the trip home in record time. Jeremy was definitely my hero this Christmas!