Hulse Family Happenings

A few people have told me recently that I am letting my blog slip and they want more frequent posts. I sometimes think my life is really boring so I hesitate to post the mundane. But, here it goes.

My older boys are in 1st and 2nd grade. Daniel loves to read and write, Jaxon is the complete opposite. We spend what feels like hours every afternoon trying to get through what should be 20 minutes of homework. Wesley has just turned 4 so I started giving him the same reading lessons (Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons By Engelmann, Haddox & Bruner). We work on these while Garrett naps and so far he is doing very well.

In the last 3 months I think I have seen Johnny 4-5 times. It has been over 5 weeks since he was home last. While he has been gone I have made some changes! After school one day Daniel (7.5) and Wesley (4) decided to kick Jaxon (6) out of the room Danny and Jaxon shared. I thought it was a brilliant idea but didn't want Jaxon to feel thrown out. I bought a used bunk bed Army truck and Jaxon was more than willing to move to Garrett's room.

I felt like superwoman taking beds apart, moving dressers, and building a bunk bed with no instructions. The Army truck/fort looks rather ridiculous from a home decor standpoint but my boys LOVE it and that is what matters! My little baby Garrett is not so little sleeping on the bottom bunk. It makes me sad he is in such a big bed. The fighting has not stopped between my boys of course but this arrangement helps.

Johnny should have a few weeks off after this job is over before they move on to a job in El Centro, CA. I plan to potty train Garrett and possibly go on a vacation. I took all my boys to AZ last month for a friend's son's baptism and we will go for another baptism again this month. I love and miss AZ!

Here are a few other things we have been up to...

We have gone Visiting Teaching quite a bit. My boys rode around in the car out back while we visited and then they never wanted to leave. My companion has two boys, so to one appointment we had 6 boys with us. Not exactly a spiritual experience, but we made the effort. I was called to be the 2nd Counselor in Relief Society at church. The Lord does have a sense of humor!

 We play...

We get all dressed up for church. I love making them match when I can and I LOVE sweater vests even if it is still too hot.

 Every once in a while I will catch them with an arm around each other...and a weapon in the other hand. Garrett is obsessed with Mater (Disney's Cars 2) and Rocket (Little Einsteins). He has figured out how to change the DVDs by climbing on a table he pushes over to the TV. He also knows how to get in the freezer of our new refrigerator and get himself GoGurts and Otterpops. He certainly keeps me on my toes!

 Wesley had immunizations recently and wanted to hold Garrett's hand for comfort. Wesley has become super clingy. He cries and screams about going to preschool and only wants me, not even my mom or dad. He told my friend the other day that his dad is living in NV and never coming home. I had a good talk with him about Daddy coming home but I'm not sure he believes me or understands.

 We went Halloween costume shopping. My boys wear their costumes everywhere! They like to build forts in the living room and have wars.

 We ride bikes to the park, in costume of course! This is my army man at the park.

 Ninja at the eye doctor. Jaxon will start wearing his new glasses in two weeks. He kept telling me I was blurry, or the clock was blurry, etc. I made sure to get the extra protection plan. He is very accident prone!

Johnny asked me for a picture of myself on the bed (hahahaha, can you tell he has been away for a while!). I asked him what exactly he wanted and who he wanted me to have take the picture. This is what he got. 

Me on the bed with another man (not that he asked for me to have another man in the pic!!). Daniel took the picture for us! Every night I wake up with a different little man next to me. Sometimes I don't even notice when one of them comes in. The other morning I woke up between two of them with a third wanting in as well. I never liked them sleeping in my bed before, but now I don't mind too much. I'm sure they will all feel displaced once Johnny claims his spot back next week. 

I started playing my French Horn in a community orchestra one night a week and playing soccer and basketball in the mornings with a group of ladies from church. I am feeling more well rounded these days.