October Celebrations

In October we did some celebrating of sorts for a few milestones and memories in our lives. I decided at the beginning of the year that I wanted the kids to "know" their grandpas since both mine and Randy's dads have passed away. I got the idea to celebrate their birthdays every year. We have a little party for grandpa where we talk about them, read a story, or give some of our memories. So far for both birthdays we have also let the kids eat something that reminds us of our dads. For Grandpa Zan, the kids got to try sauerkraut (and even complained about the smell just like Randy did as a kid!) and drink some Dr. Pepper. For Grandpa Keith's birthday, we had Burger King in honor of him and after dinner, we went to the park and played a little baseball. Granted, we couldn't have a full on game with only five people but we did have fun smacking the ball around and running around the field. All of my kids have a knack for baseball and are really quite good at it. They must have learned some things from grandpa! I just wish he could be here to play with them.
B also had a big thing happen for her. She has had a loose tooth for quite some time that she just wouldn't get out of her mouth. It had been sitting there so long that the permanent tooth was coming in behind it. When we went to the dentist, I was hoping he would just pull it and get it over with, but unfortunately he just told her to get it out soon. We tried for days to get her to wiggle it. Finally, a few Mondays ago, she came home with a teeny tiny tooth in a plastic baggie and she was so excited! The story went like this according to her: She was on the bus, showing her friend across the row from her that her tooth was loose. She pushed on it a little with her tongue and it popped out flying to the girls seat across from her! The girl looked down, saw blood on the tooth, and said "Ew! There is blood on it!" Which of course made all the other girls grossed out by it! However it happened, we were just glad it was out. Since then, she has lost her other bottom tooth. Randy did the honors of getting that one all the way out for her! That permanent tooth is not coming in yet so she actually has a space like most kids do after losing a tooth! She is growing up too fast :(

Halloween Festivities

The month of October was full of fun things for us to get ready for Halloween. There is a city in our valley that always does what is called the Pumpkin Walk. Different groups of people sign up and decorate pumpkins in different scenes from movies and other popular things. The first time I ever went to the Pumpkin Walk was way back in college for Family Home Evening. It was late, cold, and there were a ton of people. Since then, I have started taking the kids during the day when the crowds are not so bad and it is (usually warmer-last year, we were in our snow clothes to walk around!). This year, it started over UEA weekend so it was a little more packed with people than usual.....but we did get to go during the day since there was no school! I made the mistake of getting the kids flu shots right before we went so A was not in the best mood-hence her face (or non-face) in the picture!

To celebrate the holiday we also decorated sugar cookies. K has been asking me to do it for a while so I decided that we would do them with leftover cookies from a mutual activity. The kids had a great time making their pumpkins, cats, moons, and ghosts into all sorts of creative things with tons of candy on them!

Finally we did the annual pumpkin carving. Just like every other year, the kids wanted nothing to do with getting the guts out so that job landed on Randy and I. Our pumpkins were soft this year so it made it easy for the kids to carve them alone-or with only a little help-and no struggling to get the pieces out. The few weeks before Halloween were pretty full for us!

A little Late

So, I have been slacking on the blog posts once again. I was really good there for about a week while I caught up on all those long ago summer months. Then, I decided I was done for a while. So, to start back up , we will go to the most recent thing that has happened:Halloween! The kids had a great day and night. K and B got to wear their costumes to school which is always an exciting thing and to have their little class parties for the day. A also wore her costume all day long and had to watch the movie she starred in (see picture below) to celebrate the day. Once everyone was home from school, work, and dance it was time to shovel in some dinner and head to the ward trunk or treat.

Once we were filled up there, Randy took the kids around the town (I can't say neighborhood since we don't have one of those!) and got their bags filled

up. One nice thing around here is the kids get to pick two candies out of the bucket since no on trick or treats anymore. So, even if you only go to half the houses of a close neighborhood, you get just as much candy! I stayed home this year to await people coming to our house. I soon realized that no one was coming so I called up Randy and headed out with them for the last half hour of getting goodies. Looks like next year we

won't even waste the time with someone sittin

g home! Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

School Days

Well, by the time I am writing this, both kids have already been in school for almost a month. I had to catch up from the summer, but now that is done, I can move on to more current events.

Anyway, school has been going well for both kids. I don't really have much to say about it, but I wanted to post their "first day" pictures. There is an extra one of B with cute little A. B was so excited to get on the bus and start school and her excitement rolled over into A. She was so happy for her sister to be doing something she really wanted to do! (Or maybe she knew she would have time with mom all by herself once B was on the bus!) Enjoy the pics!

Out Of Titles

I am out of titles to name this one....yet another post updating our summer. I have already used the review and highlights so now I am just going to write this and get it done. Check one off the list of things to do today!

So, August ended our summer vacation. Luckily, we had a few more fun things to do to keep us entertained for the last few weeks. I first took the kids to the fair. Last year I went with the Young Women in the ward for mutual and saw that there are tons of animals to see there. I figured the kids would like it-which they did-so now I have kind of made it a summer tradition

when it comes to town. Granted, there are only three different kinds of animals to really interact with-the stinky pigs, goats, and lambs but it is still fun and the kids have a good time getting up close to cow bums and looking at all the different sizes of bunnies, chickens, and roosters. So, I headed out with the kids on a nice hot day to check out the animals and walk around the booths. Last year we went on a few carnival rides, but I decided this year it was not worth the money and problems like we had last year so we opted to go around and get free balloons and candy instead! K and B even participated in their first three-legged race and won! I was really proud of their teamwork and how there was not even a single argument as they were running back and forth. I guess it just goes to show that sometimes they can be nice to each other!

Randy and I also celebrated our 9 year (yikes!) anniversary in August. Instead of the two of us going away for the weekend we opted to take the kids (I know we are nuts....I mean nice parents!) down to the Salt Lake area and use it as our one last sha-bang before school started. We had already done Sea World but the rest of the summer had been pretty boring for us so I was feeling bad about not being a good mom and letting the kids do lots of fun things while out of school. So, we left on Friday morning-did something that every kid requested which made for a long weekend, and came home Saturday afternoon. It was a lot packed into two days, but we all had a fun time and luckily there were no doctor days this trip!

K wanted to go to the Dinosaur Park

B wanted to feed the parrots

A wanted to see the elephants

We thought our weekend trip was going to be our last fun thing for the summer, but we were wrong. The Monday after school started (but still in August!) we were able to go boating with some friends in the ward. The kids had never been on a boat before and had fun just going for the ride. Of course, things got even more entertaining when dad got out on the wake board and started doing tricks. Then the real fun was starting! Once the wake board was put away, out came the tube for the kids to have some fun. K and B went first with some older girls. They were having a great time going nice and slow. Once the boat started picking up speed and they were going over some bumps, they were not sure what to think. After they realized it was supposed to be that way, the big grins came back and they had a blast. Then it was A's turn. Randy went out with her to make sure she stayed on the tube. I didn't know what she would think of the ride, but that girl was in heaven! It is hard to see in the picture, but she has a big cheeser on her face while they are riding around. Even with being dumped in the water at the end, she still talks about going again and how much fun she had.

I guess we will need to save up for a boat!!!!

That ends our summer craziness. Then it was back to school and back to schedules!

July in Review

July was another fun month of summer playing for us. We finished off our trip at grandma's and headed home just in time to see the fireworks at the stadium. We also celebrated the fourth with some fireworks at home. Before we left grandma's we made one quick stop at the hot air balloons at the Provo Freedom Festival. The kids had a great time watching the balloons go from dead on the ground, to full blown, to up in the sky. K was pretty excited to see the famous Darth Vader balloon.

Once we were home from all our traveling, it was time for the kids to have their annual swimming lessons. Both K and B were able to take lessons while A sat with mom in the balcony. The place we go is pretty nice in that if you are taking lessons, you are also able to use their outdoor pools both before and after lessons if you want. This turned out to be a lifesaver for A since she really loves to swim and wanted to get in the water for lessons. If there were no swimming before and after, she would have been a wreck!

B was also able to have her birthday party (finally) in July. She had a water party at grandma's house-since she has grass and we don't! All of little girl friends were able to come, cool off in the water, get candy, and decorate cupcakes. She had a lot of fun.

July also brought some more cousins that we have not seen in a long time. They came up to our house this time and it was nice to see them.

Lastly, we finished off the month celebrating Pioneer Day with the ward. After the annual breakfast, the kids got to be in their very first parade. The older ones decorated their bikes to ride through the crowd and the little ones got to throw candy from the four wheeler with dad. It was made even more fun by having some cousins there to join in the parade. That was our July in a nutshell!

June Highlights

So, I decided I would go back through the summer and highlight a few things that we did so those of you who care to know can see how much fun we had! It was quite a full summer so here goes:

A few days after K got out of school, we packed up our car and headed on a 12 plus hour drive to San Diego so we could take the kids to Sea World. We all had a fun time, getting soaked by d

olphins and Shamu and going on rides. While we were there, I found out I have a kidney stone and lucky me, it acted up while we were there. Excruciating pain, lots of stress and tears, and a full day at the doctor made for some interesting memories. At least the good ones outweighed the bad in the end! A still talks about Shamu and how he splashed us so I guess it was worth t

he trip! We also went to the beach on a nice breezy day but luckily the kids still enjoyed the water and sand.

After we got back from Sea World, we quickly unpacked, did some laundry, and repacked our bags to head to grandma's house. While we were there, we saw lots of cousins, uncles, and aunts. We did a lot of fun things including going to the farm, swimming, watching a parade, and playing baseball.

The last two things we did in June that are pretty noteworthy were some birthday celebrations. Before heading to San Diego K turned the 7 with his Indiana Jones cake. And while we were at grandma's B had her 5th birthday with her princess cake. Lots of fun and lots of memories for the month!

We moved in!

I have been asked to update this blog for my one loyal reader (you know who you are!) with some pictures of our house. I have not been very good at this blog so I am going to try and do better from here on out.

Yes, we finally moved in! At this point, it is old news to most everyone. We moved in on one crazy Memorial Day weekend. It was a short time frame, but with some help, a lot of working, and late nights we got everything into the house so the kids could sleep here for their first night that Monday of the holiday. We had a surprise in their rooms for them so we kept them away from the moving in process until it was totally done-well, their rooms at least. They were pretty excited to see all their old toys come back and even some new things that had been stored away. It was like Christmas in May! K was also happy to finish out his last few days of school being picked up and dropped off at his new house. So, here are some pictures. You will have to excuse some of the clutter in certain areas. We had just come back from our vacation and I was getting ready to head out again with the kids to grandma's house for a stay so things are a little crazy. The pictures of the outside are the most recently taken...meaning today! ENJOY!

The kitchen/dining area/computer desk (to the right)

The girls princess room

Transformer room

Master Bedroom

Outside

These are just some of the rooms in the house. And, really, pictures don't do a room justice. For a complete tour...come on out and visit :)

7 years

Today marks 7 years since my dad passed away. With that thought, come so many memories. This picture describes how most of my family will remember him.....wearing dirty work clothes, being silly for the camera....all he needs is a diet coke in his hand! I was watching my sisters wedding video the other night and saw myself dancing with my dad-one of the very few times I did. How I wish I would have taken more opportunities to spend time with him rather than being a stinky teenager who thought her parents were not "cool enough." Oh how I miss him. But, even though I may be sad, I will use his passing as a reminder to always cherish those I have on this earth and to spend that time with them I may not have again. I think I will go hug my kids and tell them yet again how great of a grandpa they have and how much he loves them! I love you dad.

What is IT Like?

When I took K out to the bus this morning, this is what greeted us on the slide, ground, and roof of the house. While we waited for the bus in this snowstorm, we were covered from head to toe and I even had to shake the pile off K's backpack before he went to school. So, I just have a quick question for those of you who are actually having a spring season...what does it feel like?! Does the sun shine? Can you play outside? Can you go out to your car, store, etc without a big heavy winter coat? Maybe we will join you....someday.......

A Month To Go

Yes, it is true. In one month or less, we will be moving into this place. Or at least have the permit which allows us to put some stuff in it! (Whether we are moved in or not all depends on how speedy we are!) I can say it will be in that time frame because our loan rate will run out in a month and we don't want to have to hassle with getting that extended. Here is what the kitchen area looked like as of Easter Sunday.

And here is the outside all finished besides the upper vents being painted and the stairs put in to the front door. It is looking more and more like a house and starting to get exciting...if only the time would go faster! So, who will be our first visitor?!

Soccer Stars

We have officially started the soccer season as of two weeks ago. Both K and B are playing this year and it has been interesting so far. This is B's first year playing and she is the baby of her team. The cut off to play is the first of July so she barely made it. With watching K for two years and her aggressive personality, we thought for sure she would be all over the field and taking people out to get the ball in the goal. Well, we were very far from correct. At this point, she is more interested in making sure mom and dad are watching her every move while she runs/walks around the field. Usually you can see her running the field, staring at you with a big cheesy grin, and totally oblivious to where the ball is! She has had a few times that she would have made goals if she knew what was going on. Maybe by the end of the season, we will see some progress.
K is also the baby on his team. He went up a level this year which means they have positions and a goalie. His team is double the size it was last year which is good since the field they run on is three times as big as they are used to! This will be a hard season for him and his team. With the goalie now it is a lot harder to score and the teams they have played are hard competition. He is so good at soccer this year compared to past years. He plays great as a defender and keeps the opponent right in front of him. (He even had Randy his soccer dad, impressed with his ability!) When he is a forward he also does a great job helping his teammates. It will be a grand day when his team get a goal.

Soccer in Utah is very sketchy....weather wise-as you can see by their layers under the uniforms! So far we have only had one game canceled for wet fields and one and a half games that we froze through. But we can't complain since some people we know have sat through down pours of rain or snow. GO BEARS AND BOBCATS!!

The Tables Have Turned

Randy and I are not very lucky when it comes to drawings in which your name has to be picked to win something. One time when Randy was in maybe third grade he won a scooter at school...and he constantly reminds me about his "big win." Other than that, we have been down on our luck...until now folks! It all started a few weeks ago when we were in Breckenridge, Colorado for a conference Randy attended. The first night we were there, they had a drawing for a free I-Pod Touch and Randy was the lucky winner! We were both in shock seeing as how we never win anything like that.

Anyway, we thought our luck was used up, but it wasn't meant to be. Tonight K's school had what is called OREO night where the families get to go listen to teachers and aides read their favorite books. When the stories are done, every child gets to have cookies and milk and choose one book to take home. This year they changed things up a bit and added a contest/drawing for a free book set along with all the other fun things.

A couple weeks back they had all the families start reading The Indian in the Cupboard as a family read-a-thon. Then tonight, if a child wanted to, they could participate in a trivia contest about the book to have their names put in the drawing. We forced/encouraged K to give it a try just to see what would happen. Well, long story short: they ended up having a total of 9 winners in all and guess who was one of those 9? You got it K! Now you have to understand that there were a ton of papers to pick through for these 9 winners so we were pretty sure we had no chance. But with our newfound luck....well you know what happened! I think we might try the lottery next!

Here we all are with each child's free book and our brand spanking new set of the Chronicles of Narnia (BOXED SET even)!

A Child's Prayer

A said her prayers all alone tonight. Here is how it went.

Mom: "It's time to say your prayers, do you know how it starts?"

A: "Heavenly Father. Thank thee...."

Mom: "For this day"

A:"For day"

Mom: "Thank Thee to be happy"

A:"No, quiet (directed to mom). Thank Thee for daddy. Thank Thee for Mommy. Thank Thee for K. Thank Thee for B. Thank Thee for A. Jesus. Amen."

Short and sweet and yet so tender! She knew just

what to be grateful for :)

A Dream Come True

Earlier this month, the high school put on the musical "The Wizard of Oz." I took the kids (yes, just three kids and me) to see the show. Despite trying to keep A entertained and quiet the whole time, we all had a good time. B knew everything that was going on from watching the movie at grandma's house not too long before this. She was so excited to meet and greet the actors after the show. She kept asking me throughout the play when it was time to meet Dorothy. Of course, when it was time to get up close and personal, she got all shy but she eventually was brave enough for a picture. It was fun too since we (at least I) knew Glinda the Good Witch.

Do you want our autographs?

So, K and I are famous now...just to let you know. Our bishop wanted the Young Men and Young Women in the ward to take on the task of making a Mormon Message for the new Mutual theme. Our dedicated and creative YW President did a ton of work on it and got it submitted by the deadline. If you are interested in seeing our beautiful faces, go to youtube and type in: mormon message - we believe (and yes, those are spaces between each word and dash). Look through the little pictures and you will see a darling young man in a white shirt and green tie who looks just like K and there you are! I am in all the big group shots if you can pick me out...and I think you can find both of us in the other parts! Enjoy!

The House

As per request from one of the few readers of this blog, I will give an update on the house plans going on next door. Yes, we have been building our house....for quite a few months now. It is now at the stage where the inside is being worked on. In the next couple of weeks, the finish work (meaning the trim, doors, closets, and door frames) will be done. Somewhere in there the siding should be getting on the outside too. Then comes the best part..painting! Actually, I am not looking forward to that part at all because Randy and I will be doing all the work to save money. So, the next time I write about the house, I will probably be complaining about it! Once the paint is done, it is time for all the final things. That is when the cabinets, flooring, and bathroom things will go in. The builders gave us an estimate of being done by February or March. I am going to guess March (and probably the middle of it) so as not to get my hopes up just yet!