Carol's gone fishing!

OK, for this post you will need to start from the bottom. I accidentally posted the pictures in the wrong order and I don't know how to fix it. So, you will need to scroll down and start reading from the bottom up. Just pretend today is opposite day or that you are a nonconformist. See you at the bottom of this post.





Amith and I caught fish at the exact same time. So here we are with our catfish! I am not going to show anymore pics of catfish that we caught, because everyone else caught bigger fish then me.(Except RO he got a 20 lber too!) So, I am now finished with this post. Thank you for thinking outside the box and reading my post upside down today! Please leave a comment if you think my fish is cute.

This is me talking to my fish. I am telling my fish thank you for letting me catch you. I caught the only flathead of the day. I don't know if that is cool or not. I know nothing about fish. I like to pretend that it is very difficult to catch a flathead since everyone else caught blue gill catfish.

Here I am with my whopper of a fish! 20 lbs.! I am glad it wasn't more, I don't think I could have reeled it in if it was!

Here I am catching my first fish of the day. RO likes this picture b/c my eyes are closed b/c I am working so hard to catch this fish. (The neat part about me catching this fish is that I just went to help reel in the reels and there just happened to be a fish on the other end.)

Here we are on the start of trip! We just got on the boat and we can smell Elton's fried chicken. Mmmm Elton's fried chicken. Today is going to be a good day.

Snow in Richmond, Virginia? What?

So, I have been meaning to put these pictures up for quite some time. I think we got our big snow back in February or March. I'm not sure which one. We had a blast though. Turner made lots of snow angels, as seen down below. We took long walks through the snow and tried unsuccessfully to build a snow man. We did a lot of sledding too! We usually went when it was dark-night sledding is the best. Turner ran around with a flashlight and RO and I did most of the sledding.

YAY! for snow in Virginia! Please come again next year snow. We love you!

Girl's Night In!

This will be a short post. ( I just wanted to add this post for memory sake.)

This past Friday I had a slumber party! Yes, 30 year old ,Carol Settle, had a slumber party and it was so fun! I could talk to my friends all night without any interuptions! (Highlight of the night) And eat lots of good food. We had a pretty good turnout (15 Ladies!)
I was little sad no one wanted to play Wii or heart attack the Bishop's house(yes, I was planning to do that) I loved doing stuff like that when I was a teenager. I did think that I was too old for TPing someone's home though. Heart attacking is a little bit nicer and I couldn't imagine our Bishop climbing in a tree. Anyway, it was a great way to bond with friends. I can't wait do one again.
I did forget to take pictures-hopefully someone will send me a couple that I can post.

***Oh! I was also able to talk about decorating until my little heart was content! I am so excited to start some decorating projects. I will post some before and after pictures and you can tell me what you think. So, stay tuned.***

Surviving Three Under Three!

Okay, Okay I really didn't have three under three this week. Their ages are 1, 2 and 3 but close enough. I didn't want to give up that title, Surviving three under age four sounds lame.

I have been watching my two year old brother along with my two boys this week, while my parents went on a cruise for a week.

So, here's a few survival techniques that I learned from this experience.

1. Paper Plates-Enough said. Taking care of three small children is hard enough without doing the dishes. I know it's not eco friendly, please don't judge me. I do recycle so I think it evens out and I'm pretty sure that paper plates are biodigradable. Also, my house stays clean with minimal effort from me. (This is the first time I have ever used paper plates, I did not realize what a joy paper plates are. I may never go back.)

2. Chick-Fil-A- and ice-cream- I am not talking about the best nutrition, I am talking survival. All the boys love the ice-cream which you can get for trading your toy from the kid's meal and we go through the drive thru which makes life easy for me. Also, I turn on a movie in our van and we sit and eat our lunch. I let them eat their ice-cream first, which makes everyone think this is a special holiday. Everyone still eats their lunch b/c it's chicken nuggets and fries and I enjoy my lunch in peace. Win- Win for everyone.

3. Running Outside- Whenever I noticed the natives getting restless, I would bundle them up and send them to run around outside in the backyard. That helped so much. They could burn off all kinds of energy and be as loud as they wanted. They came in with such great behavior after their run and appreciated the warm weather indoors.

4. Movie Time- Never underestimate the power of T.V. It can be a mother's helper in times of great distress or making dinner (which can be one in the same for me). I feel very fortunate that the two oldest will sit and watch a Disney movie so I can make dinner or do household chores.

5. Wii-I'm so happy my parents got this for us for Christmas. It is so kid friendly Turner(3) and Jordan(2) can play and actually beat me at tennis and bowling. We had fun cheering for each other.

6. Hide and Seek- Especially when the kids hide. I can get a set of dishes done before I find them. Matthew (1) also has fun coming with me to find them.

7. Story Time- I am so glad that everyone enjoys a good book.

8. Coloring- Was a huge help late at night when I feel too tired to do much else. We all sat and colored.

9. Reading my scriptures- Helped me. Each night I read my scriptures, the following day was great. The one night I did not, let's just say that was my least favorite day of this past week.

10. Oddly enough, trips to Target. I got the huge cart that has the two seats in the front and put Matthew and Turner there and Jordan in the big cart. They thought they were going for a ride and we also stopped and looked at the toys in the toy section. We also played with some of the toys and everyone went home with a Hotwheel car. So, everyone was happy.

Well, I don't have a lot of wisdom. I'm sure that most of you guys already know these tips. But it was a learning experience for me to have three little boys for a week, during one of the coldest weeks Richmond, VA has seen in years. I probably should have put a disclaimer on the top stating that these activities are based on temperatures below freezing. However, we had a lot of fun and I might even have three kids after this experience.

Tuesday's Thoughts

Well, here are some of Carol's thoughts today.

First thought, I probably shouldn't write this while I am so tired and fighting off a cold.

Second thought, Oh well, here goes.

Third thought, I think my Christmas tree looks awesome. Which makes me think of Turner and how excited he is about our Christmas tree. He asked if he could invite his friends over to look at his Christmas tree and have a party. I asked him what he wanted everyone to do at his party. He said, "Look at my tree and have everyone say how pretty it is and drink hot chocolate." Sounds, like a good party to me. I think we'll do this after Thanksgiving and play some Christmas music. Maybe I'll be super mom and come up with a cool craft for them to do or make them sing Christmas Carol's or something. Probably not, I'll just have everyone come over. Give their kids lots of hot chocolate and send them home to their parents.

Next thought, that last thought was very long.

Fifth thought, I love that Matthew looks at the Christmas tree, points at it, and waits for me to say "Christmas Tree"enthusiasticly and then smiles!

Sixth thought, I am so surprised that Matthew has been so good about not touching the Christmas tree! (However, I am surprised that Matthew goes after my Christmas tablecloth and pulls it off at least once a day. Which is why I can not put a centerpiece on my kitchen table.)

Last thought, I've never put my Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving, but I could get used to this. I'm really glad my children are excited about Christmas. Since I seem to be on a Christmas theme, I will end my thoughts here and not add anymore.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone as well!

First Day Of Preschool

Here's Turner waving goodbye on his first day of preschool! I thought it was about time that I posted this since, school has been going on for about a month and a half now. Turner loves school and especially his teachers! His school was even in a parade for Glen Allen Day! (Pictures soon to follow)

Last squirt of the summer!

Well, our family has a traditional joke- we try to get whoever is in the backyard close to the kitchen window and then squirt them. We have gotten pretty tricky with this. However, RO knew what I was up to last time and turned the hose on me. My kitchen ceiling now has a water stain on it, but every time I look at it I think "we have a fun family!"
Now with the cold weather approaching it looks like our family trick will have to wait a season or two. Hello! Snow! Goodbye! Swimming Pools and squirt guns!