The King Lamoni Affect

Tonight during family prayer, dad had a lot to say. It was a very grateful and heartfelt prayer and it had such an affect on the little boys that they passed out like King Lamoni!

Much love,
The Petralias
"...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" Alma 37:6

A Grand Day Out

Today we (mom, Hinck, Max and myself) all took a break and headed to the park and the zoo. The boys had fun and it was nice to squeeze in at least one more outdoor activity before the snow starts to come!

LOOK AT HOW MUCH FUN WE HAD!

Hinckley was SO cute in the "swirly chair" I couldn't stop snapping photos! So here is a collage just of him:


I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to have this special day!

Much love,
The Petralias
"...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" Alma 37:6

Finders Keepers

Lately Max has been pipping off with all these little sayings. I'm not sure where they are coming from, but its pretty funny when he says them!

((What goes around, comes around.))

((Zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket.))

((Finders keepers, losers weepers!))

Much love,

The Petralias
"... by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Alma 37:6

SUPER HERO THEME DAY!!!

Since I have been home, the boys have been begging me for a Theme Day! I told them we'd have one in due time. - Having already done Aloha Friday, Pirate Day, Dinosaur Day, Mexican Fiesta, and Solar System Day I knew they would be expecting something good so I needed some time to plan.

Finally they woke up one morning and everything was layed out. They were about as excited as they are on Christmas morning! - This Theme Day came complete with costumes and alter identities: SUPER HERO THEME DAY!!! Batman ((Max)) and Super Chooser ((Hinckley)) were given a secret mission to defeat the evil Mr. Invisible. They had to create their own army of Super Heroes ((giving them names, powers, and super suits)), and go through Super Hero training ((playing Lego Batman on the PlayStation)). Then they had to watch a training video ((The Incredibles)) while we rounded up the last of our Super Hero helpfuls ((Greg and Cinthanie)). All in all, it was a SUPER day and my little Super Heroes were all tuckered out when it was over.

I wonder what NEXT theme day will be!!!

Much love,
The Petralia's
"... by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Alma 37:6

((If you want to learn more about Theme Days, please contact me at alley_oop85@hotmail.com with "Theme Days" in the subject line.))

Arnold: The Terminator

On Mother's Day the boys got my mom two goldfish: Bruce and Cutie. Of course, being goldfish they promptly died within the week. After that, not wanting to have an empty fishbowl and 2 very disapointed boys, my mom took a trip to Wal Mart and got some more fish. This time some white ones with black stripes. The boys named these fish Cutie II and Arnold.

Now Cutie II and Arnold did last longer than the goldfish, but Cutie II still didn't live long either. Although Arnold held on, mom thought it best to get him a friend. - In her 2nd trip to Wal Mart to invest in yet ANOTHER fish, my mom decided to do some research on the species of fish she had been choosing and found out they prefer to live in groups of 5 or more. So she bought 4 more of the cute little things. Now, I can't tell you all the names of those 4 fish, all I can tell you is this: its been a month and the only one alive is... Arnold.

Mom has come to the conclusion that Arnold is living up to his name and "terminating" all the other fish. He's made it obvious he prefers to live alone and so, afraid for other innocent fishes lives, we have stopped buying friends for Arnold.

Much love,

The Petralias
"... by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Alma 37:6

Hinckley and the calling jacuzzi tub.

While we were on vacation we stayed in 3 different hotels throughout the trip. The last one ((in Las Vegas, NV)) was a particularly nice one that everyone was very pleased with. ((It pays to have a family member with a Travel Agent license!)) While we were checking everything out, we all gathered into the bathroom to locate the toilet, shower, and tub.

The spacious bathroom came with a large jacuzzi tub inside. Hinckley started shouting at all of us "Look! Its a jacuzzi tub! Oh wow!" we nodded and smiled but pushed it aside. As we were all standing there talking, it was apparent we had underestimated Hinckley's excitment, when he began stripping down to his nothings right in front of everyone!

After that, mom took his cue and started the water for him and we all left the room. The thing is, we still couldn't figure out why he was so excited because... we have a jacuzzi tub at home! 

 Oh well. It definitely is the simple things in life...

Much love,

The Petralias
"... by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Alma 37:6

{picture courtesy of http://www.clippervacations.com/}

Souls

Its funny to me the perception little kids have of the world. Its so crazy that they comprehend things and use adult words and it seems like they know so much. ((Well, they do know so much!)) I try not to get surprised anymore or laugh when Hinckley in his ripe young age of 8, or Maxwell at age 4 say things that far exceed what I thought they knew! But I always am surprised. They are so smart. ((I also think a lot of it has to do with the movies they watch and the games they play...))

While we were in St. George spending time with Marissa, they boys and I had the opportunity of going out to breakfast with just us and Mars. As we were driving, Marissa whispered something and Max quickly pipped up "you sounded like a soul just then!" Marissa and I weren't sure how to take that. - After breakfast we went to visit Marissa's boyfriend's mom where she works at the mortuary. I waited in the car while the boys went in with Marissa. When they came back out to the car, I asked the boys if they liked being inside with all the dead bodies ((I asked repectivley of course)). The boys told me that it felt creepy and that they could hear the bodies souls talking.

I was grateful I had stayed in the car.

Much love,

The Petralias
"... by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Alma 37:6

{picture courtesy of www.howstuffworks.com}