brought to you by the letter E.

A little getaway...

2011-04-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Somewhat last minute and a a hectic time, dave and i decided to go away on a much needed little vacation to utah! We did bring baby with us, but he is such a trooper... he's no problem!

We had the best time!! We did things that we've never done together before and it was a blast! We went skiing for two days, when hunting, when down to provo and drove around our old stomping grounds, visited the Y, ate at our favorite steak house Ruth's Kris, watched some BYU basketball, I got a much needed massage, and just kicked it.

It was so much fun and so needed. It wouldn't have been possible with out Grandma T. The bravest woman to take on 4 kids at home plus our crazy schedule!! And gotta give a shout out to Amy Jo too!! We wouldn't have been able to go skiing with out her.

So when do we go again honey???

Cowboy Jack

2011-04-02T20:41:00.001-07:00

Jack's class had to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up. jack wanted to be a cowboy, so I made him this fun little outfit. If you can tell by the picture, he wasn't too excited about it... come on! Who doesn't like to wear big felt vests???

Jack's Christmas Party

2011-04-02T20:37:00.001-07:00

Jack's class did a fun christmas party too. We were excited to go to it. They little kiddos especially. They think it's so fun to go up to the school! I can hardly believe that matt will be up there too next year! Jack's class made Christmas bells and of course, charlie, being as cute as she is, was given one too!

Christmas Parties

2011-04-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Matt and nate had some great christmas parties this year in their classes. We LOVE their little school and their teachers are the BEST. Each classes made some crafts, played games, decorated cookies or christmas trees, and exchanged christmas books. The boys were so happy that Daddy got to come up to the school too. That's a rare occasion!! So we were so happy to have him there!

Stinker....

2011-04-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

She is so girly. She loves makeup, which I don't let her use of course, jewelry, lip stuff, and well, hair stuff. She's seen her dad put gel in his hair a few too many times... see... and may I just comment on how difficult this was to get out? Although the vasaline was much more difficult. That involved having to rub powder in your hair by the 1/2 cup fulls and massaging it into your scalp. Every time you walked passed me I could cough from the amount of powder in your crazy little head of hair!

At the Museum

2011-04-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

We bought a family pass to the Museum of Nature and Science. Its pretty fun. The kids loved the dinosaur exhibit and the children's museum. Grandma T and Papa J came along with us this day and made it even more fun!!! Can't you tell by those bubbles???? (little wes, can you see that you were in my belly? About 4 weeks after this we met you.)

Happy 5th Birthday!

2011-04-02T20:19:00.001-07:00

Happy 5th birthday matty! It's hard to believe your 5! You are so full of life and spunk! There is truly never a dull moment with you! Never! We love that. You are into everything. Each and every day you talk about the new thing you're into. You love action figures still, you love making things, you love to ride your two wheeler bike, you love your brothers, you love preschool, you love soccer, you love jiu jitsu, you love life. And we love you.

Christmas Time is Near

2011-04-02T20:14:00.001-07:00

Give Thanks

2011-04-02T20:12:00.001-07:00

We have been spending a lot of time up at this kids school! It's been so fun! It was the 1st grade Thanks Giving Lunch. Jack loves when we come visit him. And I think matt did a great
job of taking the pictures of me and Jack!

This kid is amazing!

2011-04-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

Jack's school had a little fundraiser... it involved running, something that at the time Jack didn't love doing so much! So we sponsored him, but we didn't think he would do too much. He was struggling to run in soccer, so why would this be any different? Well, apparently it is. Not only did he do great, but he ran the most laps out of all the first graders. Because he did that his class had no homework that day! The kid amazes me. Most kids stopped for a few drinks. He stopped once and ran for almost 30 minutes straight. And i said ran, not jogged... Way to go jack!

FHE

2011-04-02T20:05:00.001-07:00

We had a fun FHE. We went bowling. After the kids finished their soccer games we told them that for doing so well we would take them to do something fun... something they thought would be really fun! And they thought it was! It was even more fun because Uncle Brad, Aunt Ashlee, Baby Evan, and Papa J came along too!

Alaska

2011-04-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Dave was lucky, so lucky. He went on a little get away to alaska last fall. They caught Halibut, Silvers, and King Salmon. All of which they brought home and we have had the luxury of enjoying!! He had a great time. 5 days of fishing in streams and in the ocean. It was just what he needed at the time. Every time I look at these pictures I can't but help sit in awe of the beauty of the land there.

All of them...

2011-03-24T19:22:00.001-07:00

Where is the time going???

2011-03-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

I felt like it was time again... time for spring pictures. I wanted to go back to the grass knoll, but it wasn't there... so we found a cute little farm. I love these pictures, but I need to do another one of all the kids. I kept asking Jack to shut Wes' mouth, but he kept droping his little mouth back open again. He was in and out of sleep the whole time. You can really see each kids personality though in all the pictures.

jack, the oldest, the worrier, the tough older brother, the strong and dependable one.
matt, the crazy one, the happy go lucky kids, another big brother.
nate, quite but fun, sweet and happy, between big boy and little boy.
charlie, crazy, sassy, sweet, cute, and well taken care of by her brothers.
wes, sleepy, drooly, sweet, new.

One month...

2011-01-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

The bubbers is already one month old. I can't believe it. I hate it. I want time to stop. Each day I wish that if i prayed hard enough I could just keep you a sweet little baby Wes. I would wake up every night still for the rest of my life... i just wish i could keep you this little forever! We all love you so much. Your brothers and sister can't get enough of you... you're just perfect!

Handsome... seriously handsome!

2011-01-23T18:56:00.001-08:00

We've been promising the boys for awhile that we'd get them suits for church... well, the day finally came! All I can say is HANDSOme!!

christmas day

2011-01-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful christmas!!! I dont think we were imagining having a baby so close to christmas, but we did! I wasn't able to be there for christmas eve, but thats ok. Daddy did a FABULOUS job of getting everything ready! He wrapped, put things together, filled things up, and everything in place for christmas morning!! Everyone spent the night at Grandma T's and Papa J's. The kids were so excited to stay there! I sat at the hospital that night snuggling my new baby, enjoying some quiet time with him, and flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch.... nothing great was on!

Christmas morning was great! Santa came and left lots of goodies! Daddy came and got me and wes and brought us home to see you all open your gifts! What a wonderful day it was!!

Happy Birthday

2011-01-12T20:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Nate and Char!

Nate, you're 4. Where has the time gone? I had you just 7 days before we moved to texas. That means we've been here 4 years now and it just doesnt seem possible! Here are my 4 favorite things about you since you're 4:
4. You go with the flow. We're a busy family, but you never complain. You go to your brothers soccer games, we drive to and fro picking up siblings and running errands, and you never are bothered by it.
3. You are so funny. Just recently you really come into your own little personality and we love it. You ask us the silliest questions, like, "hey dad, what do you think I"m looking at right now?" and tease your brothers with out them even knowing that you're cracking a joke! We love it. We love that you have a sense of humor.
2. You love your family. You love your brothers. You love your sister. You love your mom and dad. You love to be loved. You LOVE to be an older brother. You're just a lovable guy.
1. You are the perfect Naters. Everything about you is pleasant and wonderful. You add something to our family that we would miss so much if we didn't have you around. You're happy and sweet, thoughtful and kind. We love you.

Char. You're 2. How is that possible? Please stay small. I love you at this age. You're getting to be so funny! You hold your own with all these boys and we love it. You never cease to amaze us. You love the color pink right now. You LOVE to chew gum. You also love to eat. The first thing you say to me each morning is, "I want food." You love babies, real and fake. You love your brothers. Especially nate. I don't know why, but you LOVe to snuggle him. You love grandma's and papa's, even if they aren't yours. You love chips. I'd have to say that's your favorite food right now. Your nick name is Char Char and sugar bear or sister bear. You love pockets. If you don't have any in your jacket or pants you stick your hands in mine. You are sweet, funny, strong, and proving to be a perfect and wonderful little girl. We can definitely say you are our favorite little girl in the whole world!!!!

Welcome Baby Wes.

2011-01-12T19:46:00.001-08:00

I had been having contractions for what seemed like weeks. I kept thinking each night was going to be the night... and each night i woke up in the morning thinking, what happened??? I thought that would be the night i got to meet you. But you had your own time in mind. I wasn't due until jan. 10th, but on Dec. 23rd we finally got to meet you.

I had a Dr. appointment at 9:30 that morning. I had been having contractions all week so i told Dad to come with me. We had all 6 of us int he car. On the way there I started feeling contractions in my back. They were coming every two minutes. Just like the previous nights. So we got to the Dr. and I went up there on my own. They sent me to labor and delivery, and I told your dad to take your brothers and sister to Grandma T's and Papa J's. Thank goodness they were home and available. We sat at the hospital for a long time. I was admitted there around 9:45am, they broke my water around noon, and we ended up having to start pitocin at 4 pm, and then FINALLY at 9 pm we meet you. And you were perfect. And we loved on you right away.

You're our caboose. You're our sweet baby. And you'll always be my baby. You don't know it now, but you have 3 older brothers and a sister who love you... a little too much! They were just as excited to meet you as me and dad were. You're almost three weeks old now and they still look at you with as much love, and wonder as they did the first time they met you.

Welcome to the world Baby Wes. I know there are great things in store for you. I know you'll be amazing.

First snow day of 2011

2011-01-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

1-9-11

It never ceases to amaze me when we get snow. You just never think of this place a snowy... and really it's not, but I LOVE when it does. I LOVE to get out there and take pictures of you kids in it. There's just something about it that's magical. We probably got about 2-4 inches this day. I hope it happens again this season.

We didn't last long out there. Only about 15-30 minutes. Not long at all.... But that's ok! I'm just glad you all give me the chance to document the wonder that is childhood!

Dad and Wes watched us play from inside. It was so cute seeing them peek out the window together. I think daddy is enjoying his new little buddy... all of us are.

recent funnies:

2010-12-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to begin. There's been so many funny things recently. I hope I don't leave any out!

Jack was recently asked to enter into a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament and when I told him matt said, " I want to too! I'm going to pick the guy up over my head and spin him!!! Can I do that mom????

Matthew was pushing Charlie in the stroller at the mall trying to be such a good boy. I say trying because he lets us know when he's trying to be good... it's a hard thing! So he said, "look at me mom, I'm being so good. I'm like a 6 yr. old!" Then he started running with the stroller and I said, " slow down matt..." he said laughing, " oh! Oh yeah! I forgot!!!!"

Jack definitely has his dad's sense of humor! We were at Target trying to find a birthday gift for his little friend and they didn't have it, so as we were walking out we passed by the women's section and jack got a huge smile on his face, started to snicker, and then tapped on an excessively large bra and said, " oh, I think this would be great for him!" Haha. I laugh and told him to keep on walkin!

Nate informed me yesterday when I picked him up fro pre school that "mom it was so funny, my teacher forgot me outside for a long time and I got to play with the other class too!" He was so happy!

Charlie and I were at home eating lunch and I was sitting on the couch eating some chips. I have craved chips every day since the beginning of this pregnancy. So I was just munching away, but apparently sister was grossed out by me. I guess a few chip crumbs had fallen on my shirt in front of me and a couple in my hair that was lying there too... so she climbed up and said, "eeeewwww..... and then looked at me disgusted! Apparently I was grossing her out. Way to make a pregnant lady feel good!

Last week I got some maternity leggings that go up over the belly. Don't knock em, they're super comfy! Matt walked in on me when I was getting ready and said, cool pants mom, they're really big!" Then later that same day he said, "i really like your big pants mom!" Also that same day Jack looked at me slightly disgusted and said, "what are you wearing?" Thank you Jack!

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

2010-12-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

Every once in awhile i make a last minute decision to take you kids out and do some fun pictures. Today was one of those days. I Drove past this tree farm (texas style tree farm- the trees come in on trucks and they're set up to look like they've been growing there!) a few days before this and thought I wanted to do family pictures there. But who would take the pictures??? Plus i look big and pregnant... so I decided it would be you kiddos!

You guys always have fun, I always try and contain you to a certain area, that never works, and it always ends up being slightly chaotic! But fun.

Char, you wouldn't sit still! Yes you're in all the pictures I posted, but really you weren't in very many pictures. But I loved looking through them fast on the computer. Every once in awhile I could see your little head emerge from behind the trees! Not your whole body, just your head! It was so funny!!

I can't wait to take lots more pictures of you kids over the years!

He cracks me up.

2010-11-04T11:08:00.001-07:00

He wore that hat for two more hours after he got home. He's so funny. He loved the firetruck day at school so much. I can't wait to see who he becomes... it changes every day, but I know he'll be something amazing. Or funny.

Sicky.

2010-11-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

She's even cute when she's sick... how is that possible??

NAMI

2010-11-04T10:58:00.001-07:00

National Association of Mental Illness

We all have times where we need someone to lean on. That's why family is so important. It's really the only thing in this life that matters. The relationships that we build here in this life are the only things we can take with us to the next. Money, houses, cars... none of that matters. But were we there when someone we love needed us? That's the only thing that matters.

This day we were there. And we'll always be. We love you Aaron!

Soccer

2010-11-04T10:45:00.002-07:00

We have really enjoyed watching the boys play soccer this year! We can't wait to do it again! THey both started out the seasons a little scared, but willing, and ended the seasons with a bang! Jack has a great leg on him and is known as their kicker! And matt was known for just running, running, running!!! And scoring. We were proud of them both!

THis is how these two usually look at a game. Nate is falling over, and Charlie's head is stuck in her stroller.

it's not fall time....

2010-11-04T10:45:00.001-07:00

with out a visit to the pumpkin patch!!! Bounce houses, hay rides, pumpkins... it's a little fall wonderland! We look forward to going every year!

Some much going on...

2010-11-04T10:44:00.001-07:00

Some say 4 kids is a lot, but these kids will tell you it's not enough. They love each other.

This little guy is so fun now. He LOOOOOOOVVVEEEEESSSSSSSS preschool. He thinks his teacher is the end all say all. What ever Mrs. Sarah says goes! At school and at home! I love it. He is so excited to be a big brother. He always asks us if his "wittle brother can sleep in his room." It's so sweet.

This cheesy cheese face is so fun too! The last few nights i've told her it's bed time and she runs and gets in Nate's bed. SHe loves her brothers. I love that she loves them... and they truly are so sweet to her.

Today was one of the first days she went up stairs and played by herself in her room. Normally she's attached to my hip and might as well be my second head. SHe did shut the door though and of course pounded on it until someone came to her rescue... still hasn't figured out those door knobs yet. I hope it stay that way for a little longer.

This kids is every bit of six now! He actually probably acts older than his age... some of that's my fault. That's what happens when you're the oldest of five... but he is definitely the oldest for a reason! First grade has been interesting! He's come home with new words and phrases! One of them we were a little taken back by, but the whole way it all played out was pretty funny. Apparently the word "nuts" is cool to first grade boys. Matt was getting on Jack's nerve's so he said in anger, "stop matt! if you don't I'm going to rip your nuts off and make you a girl!" Matt, being the innocent tough guy he is said, " oh yeah, well I don't have any peanuts!" Haha! I love it. Not that Jack learned that, but that matt is so innocent. I wish they all could stay that way.

Jack also came home and was sitting next to me on the trampoline just talking and he said," mom, Scarlet told me about the SH word and the F word. I know we can't say them." So I didn't want to make a big deal of it and said, "yeah, you're right.... soooooooooo............ what are those words????" He said, "well, she didn't tell me, but I figured it out. The sh word is Shut up, and the f word is Fat. And she smelled really bad so I had to go get a tissue to cover my nose!" Haha! Kids are the best. They say the funniest things, and truly are so innocent. I know why heavenly father tells us to be like little children. I did tell Jack aftr that though to make sure he doesn't tell Scarlet why he needed that tissue! :)

Bostonova!

2010-10-31T18:16:00.001-07:00

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great halloween! The boys wanted to be Ninja Turtles this year and each one wanted to be a different guy. So i looked at the stores and every place had only the red one and it was $30.... times that by three and you can see why I opted to make them. We'll see if I ever do that again though. After countless hours of sewing by hand since I don't have a sewing machine the final product looked pretty good if you ask me. The boys loved them! They wore them the whole day and even slept in them that night and are still in them the next day. Definitely worth the effort. They looked RAD! "Bosto-nova, bosto-nova? Chevy-nova! EXCEllENT!!!!!

Charlie on the other hand was a little last minute. She LOVES to wear this wig so we thought it would be funny to send her around in it. So she went as a Diva. Of course EVERYONE thought that she looked so cute and funny. We thought so too. SHe wore it the whole night and every time it fell off she would say, "oh no, hair!" I told her if she had it on people would give her candy. So she wore the entire time AND said Trick or Treat at each car. What a little cutie! We love her so much!

Quotes from Matthew:

2010-10-22T14:45:00.001-07:00

Wed:

Dave and I were going to ym/yw activity and matt and charlie went to grandma lisa's so we could be more focus on the service project we were in charge of.... Matt said:

"I'm going to protect Charlie. If she runs out in the road I'm going to yell at her, STOP, you'll be killed. And if she was killed I'll wait for all the cars to go by and then I'll go pick her up and find a rock and put her under it."

I said: why a rock?

Matt said: just like the soldiers were under the rocks mom... remember?

Friday:

We were on our way to preschool and we carpool with a few other kids. We have the sweetest little boy who is really shy and doesn't always love how overwhelming our bunch can be.... so today we were on our way to the school and Matt was talking to him. He didn't say anything back, just looked at matt and matt said," so what's the deal, did you lose your voice?"

I wanted to laugh so hard.... I am kicking myself for not writting down more of the funny things he says on a daily basis.... he really is the funniest person I know.

Also, the boys are into Ninja Turtles right now... in a major way. They're all going to be one for halloween. It should be cute. They've started quoting the moving saying:
"Bostanova!!!!!!!!!!!

Bostanova?

Chevy Nova!!!!!

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Da da da na na na!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun times...

2010-09-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

We had a fun family home evening the other night! For our activity we made homemade pizza on the grill and then had a nice little lesson.

The pizza turned out great! We'll be making it this way from now on. We're kinda crazy about the grill at our house. If we're eating at home its usually grilled. Chicken with pineapple skewars, chicken for caesar salad, steak for fajitas, fish, and now pizza. it was YUMMY! You should try it out!

Here's some of jack's recent school work! So fun and funny. He did a family picture... he got everyone in there, but added about three extra people. Sorry jack, but I don't think we'll be having three more... or one more. This next one is it! :)

I also LOVE the self portrait he drew. I don't know why, but it cracks me up so much!!!!

I get so behind and have to play catch up!

2010-09-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

SOCCER has started! This is our first year to do soccer and man is it a busy schedule. Two kids, two different teams, and games galore! Matty seems to really like it, Jack is still trying to decide! They both scored goal at their first games and will hopefully keep up the hard work... because it is a lot of hard work when you are trying to play in 104 degrees and humidity...

go tornados!! go sharks!!!

Jack is 6!!!!! I can't believe it! For his birthday this year we decided to do ice blocking! We found the biggest hill we could find and got our boggans ready to go! The four ice blocks lasted all of 20 minutes in the heat! It was worth it though. Everyone had a great time! Thanks for coming everyone! It's so nice to know that we have such a great family! Looking at these pictures make me realize how lucky we are to have so much family around!

Here's Nate and Matt, and char, on their first day of preschool. They are loving it! They both have great teachers and are so excited to go each day! That first week of school Nate would ask heavenly father to help him go back to school each time he prayed. It was so cute!! He's so excited!!! This is Matt's last year before Kindergarten! I can't believe he's almost 5!

Right before school started we took a short little vacation down to San Marcos, TX. We had a blast! We had a lot we wanted to do and it was going to be a lot of fun. Dave had to work the first day down there so the kids and I walked over to Cabela's, then to subway and then back to the hotel in the nasty blistering humid heat. We survived, but just barely...

When Dave got back that night he and the boys went to a movie and me and char hit the outlets! You have to do that when you there... they have so many good ones!

The next day we went to the Schlitterbahn Water Park which was SO MUCH FUN! I kinda wish we could do it every year, but it's really expensive, and we're a super large family now, so we'll have to check with dad on that one! :) After that day there we were so hungry when we went to chili's that we ended up eating three baskets of chips and salsa before we ever got our food... don't judge us. :)

The next day we went to the Natural Bridge Caverns to see the caves. The boys loved it. We even saw a bat fly in.... nasty...

And after that we headed back home to get ready for the start of school!

We went into the gift shop at the caverns and sitting there were flavored crickets... so David thought it would be fun to try them. I wasn't about to even touch the package let alone try one, so he asked the boys if they wanted to. They all said, no, so he gave them a deal... he said if you eat one I'll give you three dollars to spend on vacation. So do you think you can guess who ate one????? Well, ALL OF THEM! Jack, Matt, and NATE! I couldn't believe it! After David ate his I noticed he had a little cricket debris left over in his teeth... see it there???

Here we are at the Natural Bridge Caverns. The kids LOVED this too! The cave was really big and really neat! It was my first time to one and it truly is amazing. Charlie fell asleep at the very end... I don't know how. It's not like backpack riding is exhausting... or maybe it is!

While we were down there we went to Schlitterbahn! It was so much fun! I honestly didn't think the kids would last that long... or myself... especially considering it was 104 and I'm pregnant. BUT, we were there from open until one hour before it closed! The kids had a blast and could actually ride more rides than I thought! It was great! We even did the big huge tube ride that seat like 6. They even let charlie go down with us! It was an absolute blast! The kids keep asking to go back!!! Of course...

Jack's school work...

2010-09-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

School is in full swing and we're loving it! Jack ended up getting a FABULOUS teacher! We couldn't be more excited! She won teacher of the year for our district 2 years ago and is just awesome!!!!

I love looking at the work that comes home. The spelling, the art, the new social studies stuff... it's all so funny! He brought this one home today. I guess he's learning how to use an eraser too... I only say this because there's a hole in the paper. He's learning that if you erase too much in one spot you put a hole in your paper! :)

Love ya jack! Keep up the good work bud!

More to blog... lots more...

2010-09-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Uncle John and Uncle Arnie invited us up for a day of fishing and I must admit... I think it's exactly how the Lord intended fishing to be.

1. lots of fish caught
2. beautiful day
3. peaceful setting
4. chairs and a covered area for the ladies to sit
5. cold drinks and candy in the fridge...

I could do it all day everyday! :)

Thanks for letting us come out there and enjoy the fishing!

Hey Naters.... I think you have a hole in your britches... :)

We recently welcomed Grandma T and Papa J home from their honorable service as missionaries in the Santa Cruz, CA mission. We know they will be missed there... how could they not be, but we are SO excited to have them home. Everyone life is a little fuller with the love of a Grandparent. I think though that their service was such an example to all of us. I can't wait for the opportunity to go someday and serve the Lord the same way they did.

Here's Jack on his first day of 1st GRADE!!!!!! I can't believe it! You really like your teacher this year. I think you've got a great year ahead of you! You're getting smarter by the day and sweeter too. It amazes me how much you truly understand things. Not text book things, but spiritual things. All we have to do is explain it to you, and we can tell that it touches your heart and that you TRULY understand. I think this will be of great worth to you someday.

Naters. You are one of the loves of my life... you are so cute and so sweet. I want to bottle you up so I can keep you like this forever. You're really starting to become your own little person, and actually quite funny. The other day in the car on the way home from jiu jitsu you said, "hey jack, look at my boogers.." So of course I looked back to thinking i needed to pull over and get you a wipe, but no, you had stuck the string of your karate pants up your nose and made it dangle out like a long booger. :) I love you for that. :) I know that sounds gross, but I love your sense of humor. It reminds me of your dad. You're also getting really good at jui jitsu. You're by far the youngest one there, but really good! We have no doubt about it, but you're going to be very good at everything you do!

I don't want to forget the way you looked in pig tails charlie. I love how your hair falls into you face, and I love to watch you push it back and out of the way... please stop growing.

This little girl has so much personality at 19 months. I can't believe how big she is and how natural girly things come even at this age. She love her babies, loves necklaces, loves anything pink or purple, love to hug and snuggle, loves her brothers, loves to eat..., and just loves life. She's a little joy in our house!

back to blogging.....

2010-08-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

wow. that was a long time since the last post. I hate that I'm not better about blogging. The kids say the funniest things on a daily basis and i don't want to forget any of it!!!!

SOOOOOOOO....... I have a lot to catch up on! Let's first start with this....

One sunday afternoon dave and I decided to take a nap after church. In doing this we make a mental choice to expect the worst when we arise. This particular day it wasn't the worst, thank goodness, but it was pretty funny. Matt got into our bathroom and got out the nail polish... he then painted his toes and a few fingers... we told him that he would have to go to karate like that. He of course started to cry and wanted it off immediately. After that we gave him the nickname "Mattalina" for a few hours. He didn't like so we stopped. But needles to say, Matthew has never painted his fingers or toes again!

So now for some bragging on Matthew! He is a pretty determined kid. He also is a little stubborn. If he wants to do something and you tell him no, well, he'll do it anyway. He's be quoted saying, " I just don't care what I can and can't do, Grandma."

So we'd been working on riding a bike. It was a labor intensive effort on my part. My back killed me each time and it made me more nauseas in the heat... so one day while I was pulling weeds and trimming the bushes Matthew decided to "try" and ride his bike. Well, not only did he try, but he succeeded! We were shocked and amazed!!! In about an hour's time, Matthew had taught himself how to ride a bike!!!! We were so proud of him!!!!! Way to go bud!!! Just keep the determination honed in on the right things and you'll be amazing some day!! I just know it! The sky is the limit for this kid!

We also had a great time a few weeks ago enjoying Chick-Fil-A day. If you dressed up like one of their cow's you'd get a free meal... any meal. So the kids all dressed up and got free kids meals! Pretty awesome! It was like $14 worth in kids meals. Sign me up!

On another random day this summer I went to download all of the photos off of one of my cameras only to find that my children had been enjoying my new pocket size camera just as much as i have.... :) What can I say. I'm proud. :) I know who it was. There's only one culprit, well, two, but seeing as how only three people were present in all the 120 photos I can easily tell which person it was. You could probably guess too. It's the same kid who grabbed my phone and took a picture of his bottom with it... which is still on my phone... i won't ever delete that! It makes me laugh without fail every time I come across it!

We also enjoyed swim lessons this summer... or should I say, let the lifeguard gently float me across the pool lessons. I was really dissapointed this year. The last two years have been great, but this year was a flop. It was a really sweet girl, but they weren't really pushed at all. We did have a little scare! Jack was a little hero! While i was putting floaties on charlie so just incase she happened to fall in suddenly I hear jack yelling, " mom! nate's under water!" He has quietly slipped into the pool, no one head a splash and in two seconds everything could have changed. But Jack did a great job! The swim lessons director was there and bought jack an ice cream cone for doing exactly what he should... don't jump in to save them, but call for help. The director told me that most drownings happen when a brother or sister tries to save the other and the original victim pulls them under too. We were very proud of jack. I don't know about anyone else, but I know for sure that Jack was meant to be born first in this family. He has a way of looking out for all of his siblings. He's awesome!

I love this last little picture of charlie... she LOVES to put on lotion. But she tends to only put it on her mouth/nose region. She has been branching out lately to her hair and chest... don't ask. And one day she was sitting at the table eating waffles, made eye contact with me, never taking her eyes off, slowly took her finger and stuck it in her syrup and then wiped on her neck and chest while smiling an innocent smile, all while still keeping eye contact... what? who are you child? haha!

And a cute little thing Nate did: I have had really bad headaches with this baby so one day on the way home from karate the kids were being really noisy and my head was going to explode. Nate was in the far back singing away... so I asked him if he could stop and just sing in his head. He said, "no, I don't want to sing in my head, I want to sing in my mouth." It was really funny if you were there... :)

And a funny thing about Jack, well, 2 funny things. First: Dave was talking to the boys one night about something, I don't remember what, but dad said, "who's my friend?" and they were trying to guess the person Dave was talking about, well Dave works with an AWESOME guy named Twig Branch. It's Dave's Super. So when dave asked the questions, jack said: "Wood?" haha we laughed so hard. We thought it was so cute.

But then the other night we had a babysitter over and as I was dropping him off he said that jack had stuck popcorn in his ear!!! So I had dave look when we got home and yes, there is popcorn in jack's ear. We've tried everything we could think of but I think we'll be making a trip to visit the Dr. tomorrow.

It's turning into a busy summer! But we love it that way! Lots of time at the pool with cousins, spots camps, soccer camp, karate, swim lessons, trips.... it's been a great summer so far. We're so blessed!

And in case you didn't know........ We are expecting baby number 5!!!!!!! We'll meet the last little elmer baby here at the end of december hopefully. We're super excited. The kids can't wait! They want more and more... but i told I had to draw the line somewhere.... five sounded like a nice big number! :)

Funny: by Matthew

2010-06-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have to say that the most one liners come out of matthew's mouth. Every day there's a new one, and today there were just too many for me not to write down!

We'll start with Saturday though:

Matt at this point is mad at david because he told him to something... probably something minor...

Matty: Dad, when you're really old, I'm NOT going to wipe your bottom!

Today: I put the kids to bed, told them not to get out of their beds and about 15 minutes later matt comes to the top of the stairs and says:

"mom, I know it's not my birthday yet, but after this sleep, you need to go to the store and start getting ready for my party. You need to get the presents, the bag for the presents, the party hats, the cake and the dognuts and the candy, and the presents. The girls can have cookies and the boys can have the cake."

me: sure thing bud. we definitely need to get start... it is in nov. we don't want to miss any details! :)

I love the things kids say. I am never surprised when they say it, and it's just as funny each time!!

WICKED!

2010-06-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Last week Dave bought tickets for me and him, my mom and dad, and my brother and SIL to go see our favorite musical WICKED!!! It was so much fun! Even better the second time around. If you've never seen it you're missing out!!! It's amazing. Thanks for the fun night honey or should I say Fiero?

Sugar bear

2010-06-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

She is such a funny little person. She is very motherly. SHe loves to love and helps clean up, she gets after the boys... :) She just had her late 15 month check up. SHe's 22 lbs, 20% for height and weight, and 50% for head. :)

She has super sonic dishwasher radar. Every time i open it she comes running ready to jump in and unload it... I even try to be SUPER quiet just so i can get it done faster... but no, she hears me. She unloads everything into the same place. The silverware drawer.

She also loves to color. She'll find her own pencil and paper and this is what I find her doing almost everyday!

Every day we go to jujitsu. Every day matt and nate and some days jack fall asleep in the car, and this little person babbles to me the entire time. She's also developing some pretty rad dance moves!

The AC broke.... AGAIN!

2010-06-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it's true. This house has the most ac issues out of any house! It's terrible! So one night dave came home from a nice long trip ready to see his family and when he walked in the door he was greeted by 82 degree indoor temps. It had slowly gone up and i never noticed... although I was hot, i just figured when it's 100 degrees out it's gonna feel hot inside no matter what. So by the time it was bed time it was so stinkin hot we had to bring the kids down stairs from their sweltering 87 degree beds. This is what charlie looked like. We set up the pack n play for her next to our bed and figured she'd go right back to sleep.... well. she hadn't seen her daddy for 4 or 5 days so that wasn't part of her plan. SHe wanted to play! She was jumping around in that pack n play!!! Dave and I were so tired we just wanted to sleep so we told her to go night night.... she got sad and then stood up and would whisper to me, "mama, mama!" Right in my ear staring at my from the bed side. It was so funny I kept laughing trying to hold in the sound so she would think i was sleeping, but apparently i kept shaking the bed laughing which was keeping dave awake, so two hours later after she would not go to bed we sent her back to hers! She's such a little stinker. :)

A fun visit from Aunt Kristin

2010-06-23T06:44:00.001-07:00

We had a great time with Aunt Kristin in town! Lots of fun, good food and laughs! That little cody sure is a cutie pie! Charlie liked to love him. We had to tell her that was a no no... you're cousins!! :) Come back Kristin! We miss you!!!!!

Suzy brought water balloons and a her volleyball net which was a great hit! Nothing like a game of water balloon toss with the fam!

memorial Day 2010

2010-06-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great memorial day. Dave had the idea to go visit some soldiers graves out at Restland Cemetery where Grandma Betty was buried so we jumped in the car and went down there. Each boy got a flower so they could put it on any soldiers grave that they wanted. We told them that it just couldn't have flowers there already. It had to be someone who wasn't visited. So they set out to find their favorite. Jack being the sweet boy that he is brought a pencil and note pad do he could write down their names and when they died and what branch of the military they were in. He walked around until he found his favorite. Jack W. Sessums. Coincidence? Maybe. I love that sweet boy.

Belt Testing Day

2010-05-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

It was time again!!! Belt Testing time!!! We officially have three yellow belts. We went from white to white/yellow and now solid yellow. I couldn't be prouder. The kids have learned so much it's amazing. And they're actually getting pretty good at it. Their favorite thing they've learned is the Turtle helicopter... have them show it to you the next time you see them... but they've gotten really good at striking, kicking, guard, side control, back control, shrimping (not out at sea with nets...), turtle helicopter, and being in winning position all the time. Watch out... don't pull any fast moves on them the next time you come over!

It's so funny too, Nate is the youngest in the class and the teachers have to exercise extra patience with him. He just isn't fast like the others and tends to stare at the back of the class rather than looking at the front. So yesterday for his testing he had one on one attention. They had a little 10 yr. old girl from the older class be his helper... so when it was time to do the turtle helicopter ride poor nate was trying to spin on her back to keep top control but his little feet didn't hit the floor, so it was pretty funny. Even these tough guys couldn't keep a straight face... then at the end they awarded the belts and they told the kids to close their eyes and nate of course closed his but with all his might! He looked like he was in pain trying to close them so hard that their instructor again couldn't keep a straight face and everyone started laughing... when they opened their eyes Nate had no idea it was him who everyone was smiling and laughing about. He's so cute! He tries hard. He doesn't always get it and sometime, a lot of times, has to do push ups for not listening to the instructions, but he doesn't care... he's actually gotten really good at them and loves to do them now!

I love that they love it!

Our first Field Day!

2010-05-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

There's nothing better than field day!!! As a kid you wait all year for this day and when it's your first one you don't know what to expect... so after you have it you realize it's greatness! It's much different now than when we (the parents) were kids... (I NEVER really thought I would say that kind of stuff!!!!)... but there was no tug of war, no relay races... instread there were BOUNCE HOUSES and squirt gun fights. The kdis had a great time! Jack was so sweet and shared his watermelon with his little brothers that were in tears that they couldn't get any. I can definitely say though that Matt is getting geared up for his kindergarten year... just one more to go until he gets there!

Wed. with cousin Guy.

2010-05-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

It was guy's turn to come over this week so we packed up our lunch and went down to the park! It was so nice out! The kids were having so much fun until charlie pooped and we had to go home.

Turtle Feeding

2010-05-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again... time when we head out to the local parks and pools! We haven't hit the pool yet, but believe me, we will. This week we did a favorite of ours... we went to feed the turtles. The boys love it. This was charlie's first time to do it and clearly she didn't get why in the world we were throwing good bread into the water. So every piece we gave her to throw she started hoarding... when i ripped off a piece to show her what to do she was a wreck and so mad at me... so to settle her down I gave her a new piece which she added to her pile. Then after all the bread was thrown (except for charlie's) we headed over to the play ground. Matt and Nate were having a great time. Charlie was until she dropped her bread in the mulch and dirt... so me fearing that she would eat it... cause she would... I took it away and break down number 2 happened.... I must say that her breakdowns and fits are still at the cute stage. Especially when she's really exaggerating it and it's obvious, even to her... she'll stop for a minute and look at you somewhat embarrassed for her behavior and then go right back to her breakdown... it's so funny!

while mom's away....

2010-05-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

it only makes sense that everyone should get sick right? I took this when I got back... I went on a little trip and while I was gone Nate came down with a bad fever and sore throat. The day I got home matt got it, and then jack, and then me... why? Why is it that the ONLY time mom's gone they all get sick. THANK GOODNESS for a loving and understanding husband who is willing and capable of holding down the fort until I got back. Not only did he hold it down, it was SPOTLESS when I got home at 2 am... amazing. What a man!

The field

2010-04-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

I love these pictures... they are not what I wanted. I wanted them to look at me. I wanted them to smile. I wanted them to look happy. But this is a true representation of how it really is. They run, wildly, but they're happy, and when i make them look at me and stop for the camera, they turn VERY grumpy. But that's ok, because that's who they are. And I love it.

California

2010-04-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

Why did it take me so long to post this???? One simple answer.... the photographer in me is killing me. I wanted to edit all the pictures before I posted them, but when do i have time to actually edit my own stuff??? If it's not for a client or someone else, my stuff gets pushed to back burner resulting in never being edited or taking me literally 8 months to get to it.

This little trip was SO SO SO WONDERFUL! THANK YOU Grandma T and Papa J for making it such a wonderful time! The kids had never been to the beach, i had never been to california, dave had never seen how happy his wife is when she's by the beach.... and I had never seen david so happy to see his parents... it was truly a wonderful trip for EVERY SINGLE PERSON... except maybe the lady that sat next to me on the plane ride home. :)

We were there for three full days and it was JAM PACKED THE ENTIRE TIME! We hit the Red Woods, The beach, Ate fried artichokes, went to Montarey, went to the denise the menace park, the aquarium, a wedding reception, movies at the apartment, met AMAZING people, watched TWO ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, AMAZING, LOVING, KIND, PATIENT, THOUGHTFUL, CHRIST LIKE missionaries, and went to the carnival on the pier. And ate really yummy food.

Before we left the boys told papa j that they were so excited to find shells... well, what we didn't know is that there really aren't shells to find out there... so we go down to the beach and Jerry showed me a bag of shells that he bought and was going to drop out of his pockets so the boys could find... david never saw the bag and the entire time thought that California truly produced PERFECTLY flawless sea shells! It was so funny.

Then on our way to the wedding reception Grandma T had us stop to get a card and stuff, while in there Nathan started choking on a candy and his foot was stuck, i couldn't get him out of the back seat to help him, so david came ripped hin out, and then papa j performed the heimlic maneuver... we told grandma t all about it when she got back in the car!

Then at the reception david and I and the kids didn't really bring anything to wear so we said we would wait in the car... well, the ward members love The Elmer's so much they threatened if we didn't come in they were all coming out. So we decided to go in, flip flops and all! :)

It was perfect. We want to go back... but we'd rather just have them come home. We were so grateful to be able to go out there and spend some time in their element. I can honestly say that after the trip "I HOPE THEY CALL ME ON A MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!"

remember.

2010-03-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

today i took my kids out to photograph because I would hate to look back and not be able to remember EXACTLY how it was. how the sun shined in their hair. how their cheeks would get really big when they were truly smiling. how much they truly love each other. and how the spirit of childhood can not be contained.

i will forever remember this moment.

SPRING BREAK 2010 "I AM A GOAT...!"

2010-03-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to jump in the happy camper and hit a few hot spots under the texas sun.

Agenda:

Day one:
arrive at the beautiful Athens lake rv camp at noon. (we arrived at 4 and found our selves alone in an abandoned rv park...) The evenings events included games, pics by mom (duh.) hiking, and hot dogs.

Day two:
Texas State Fishery- What can we say.... jack loved it, nate loved that he caught two, charlie was happy cause she ate a whole bag of skittles, and well, matty was happy when mom caught the tree! Papa Guy came out and helped Dave corral the new fishers... thank goodness cause we were catching a little more than just fish... as you can see (jack and mom seemed to catch trees more than fish).

sometimes you just need your big brothers help to find it...

all boy.

in case you didn't notice (which you probably have), Jack's bobbers spent more time in the trees than they did the lake.

Day three:
we hopped in the happy camper and drove a few hours west to Dinosaur valley state park! We absolutely LOVED this spot. It was perfect for a family of boys. It was loaded with rocks, dirt, water, trees, bugs... pure happiness if you're 5 and under. And maybe if you're a grown man named david... We headed down to the river to find fossils and look at the dinosaur foot prints in the river bed.

you can't expect a 5 yr old to know the difference between a shell and a pistachio

we decided to call this picture "the offering"

David's first love - meat. dave also cooked up some of Uncle Rob's dutch oven goodness, Dutch goodness that legends speak of. I think we missed the key ingredient "rob". No really, it turned out ok for a first time. We will have it down in a few more trips.

Day four:
Fossil Rim Park... or should i say, "feed the wild animals at your own risk park...!" Which really was SOOOOOOO much fun! It's basically the best kind of zoo ever. You sit the whole time, snack on chocolate covered peanuts, there's air conditioning, if you want music that's definitely an option... you're in your car the whole time and just drive on thru. So the punch line of our spring break... "I AM A GOAT..." comes from our sweet matthew. We pulled up along side a few baby deer that were white and matthew rushed to that window to feed them, trying to bring the deer closer to the car, we heard him speak ever so softly to the deer, "I AM A GOAT..." Lol, we were laughing so hard. So then we politely told him they weren't goats, so he said, "oh, i am a sheep." :) Gotta love the kiddos.

this is where the "feed at your own risk part comes into play... NASTY! SNOT, Slobber!, and stink! all over my hand...

and this is one of our favorite parts of the trip. Don't be fooled here, charlie wasn't scared of the animals, but rather annoyed with our nasty little friend. She's a girl and she needs her personal space.

carter rallis

2010-02-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

kids are so funny.

mine especially. each and every day they say and do the funniest things. too many to count, too many to remember... i wish i could remember them all though.

last week jack came home from school and said:

jack: mom, i want to change my name.

mom: what do you want to change it to?

jack: carter rallis

mom: (that the???????)

so from now on, when you see jack, just know that he no longer goes by jack, it's now "carter rallis"

And then sweet matt. he's going through his little funk right now. he hated preschool and would cry every time i took him told me he just wanted to stay home, so for now he's just home with me and nate and char... and he's VERY happy. but he still has his moments... he still has his meltdowns, and he still says the FUNNIEST things when he's mad!!

This particular day i don't even remember what was going on, but he was mad, and i told him no about something so then he said, " fine.... DO YOU WANT ME TO SKIP AWAY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It was so funny. I kinda wanted to tell him yes, i'd love to see you skip away. And really, it's so hard to take this little guy seriously when he walks around in spiderman and transformer undies all day....

Then another funny day. Now that jack's in elementary school he's learned some new stuff... so the other day he was leaving for school and said "see ya later suckers!" knowing what he was saying... and matthew, sweet matthew didn't get it of course, and said, "see ya later lolipop!

oh how i love my boys. never a dull moment. but why does that have to have a negative connotation to it... why can't it mean a good thing! cause around our house we never have a dull moment, but in a good way... most of the time ;)

Snow Day Part 2

2010-02-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

This may be the longest picture post ever... we have been having so much fun out in the snow. It makes me wish it snowed more often!!!! I love the first one of me and char because the snowflakes are what's in focus. so fun so fun...

Matt was so into making his snow man... he was very proud of it. He stayed out there the longest. About 45 minutes. Nate was only out for about 15 minutes and Jack about 20-25.

I told the kids to stand under the tree and bump it... they didn't know what would happen. It was pretty funny... don't judge... you know you'd laugh if you told your kid to do that too!!! :)

It think it's safe to say that this little snow day turned out pretty great!

snow day!!!!!

2010-02-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

PART 1:

well, yesterday was a SNOW DAY! If you thought that texas didn't get snow think again. They're saying it was a record snow fall day. 9-14 inches around the entire metroplex. Pretty impressive.

We of course had to dabble in it :)

Don't we have the greatest dad ever? Look how he handled that white stuff!!!

naters is 3!!!!

2010-01-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

time flies. fast. too fast. I feel like he should be one, barely walking, getting into things, but instead he's three. in karate, quoting kung fu panda, putting his older brothers in side control.... he's a big boy now.

he even spoke spanish to me the other day... (thank you dora.)

he's completely potty trained, even at night.

he loVes his brothers and sister.

he thinks he's funny, and his brothers think he's funny.

he falls more than ANY person i've ever seen... he could just be standing still and fall face first...

he's pretty tough.

he LOVES his daddy.

he has fluffy hair. not straight, not curly, just fluffy.

his smile could and does melt every woman's heart.... (locking him up in his teens, so don't come looking for him)

and the sweetest little guy you'll ever meet.

i love my little guy.

hey! has anyone seen my glasses?

2010-01-25T12:32:00.003-08:00

the only positive thing about watching a movie in 3d is the after possibilities.

my little piece of happy.

2010-01-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

one year older and....

2010-01-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

glue too.

Well, last night during the "it's going to be my birthday tomorrow" running around shirtless festivities at our house ( CHILDREN only)... nate slipped on the stairs and one of his top tooth broke through the front of his face. Poor guy cried, but not long. He's so tough. He probably would have been fine and not needed to be taken in, but as a mom I just had to be safe rather than sorry. So he and I put on seven layers of clothing and braved the ridiculously cold weather. The dr. said it was clean enough to just glue it back together.... who knew glue would be considered 20th century medicine. Here he is in all his cuteness!

quotes from matthew:

2009-12-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

Matt- "i don't want my family to get old and live in heaven. I want them to stay here."

Me- " Don't worry matty. Heaven is going to be just like here, but better. You'll play and laugh, and be happy!

Matt- "No mom. I climedb a really big ladder and looked. There's no parks there."

Me- "Matt, don't worry. You can't go to heaven until you're so old you can't talk or walk and someone else has to wipe your bottom."

Matt- giggles

Matt- .... a few seconds later....is there hot dogs or bread?"

READERS BEWARE! Not for all stomachs!

2009-12-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

*This is for Aunt Krisitn. If you happen to have a weak stomach don't read on. If you feel you may pass judgement please skip this post.*

Charlie. Char. Sugar bear. muffin top. bottom feeder.

I first want to start off by saying we love you charlie. Nothing you ever do will stop that.... even when you do nasty things that could be considered the nastiest thing any human has ever done. ever.

Last sunday charlie was crawling around in her church dress when dave noticed she had something in her mouth. I look, said it was a raisin, no big deal, it was. She eats them all the time. As I glanced around the room a little more I noticed a few more raisins. I went to pick them up and they looked kinda weird. Like they had been boiled.... WHAT?!!!!!!

That's right. She was wearing tights so they couldn't have squished through the sides... they made their appearance from the back! I lifted her dress to find raisins pouring out!

I was trying to get david to give me the diapers and wipes, but he was gagging! I couldn't just lay her down.... you know why.

SO she's officially done the nastiest thing in human history. Don't judge her. But only a mother could still love on a face like this!!!!

whoa! look out... studs approaching.

2009-12-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

What handsome boys... that's all I can say.

We thought it was finally time for these guys to start dressing like gentlemen. They hold doors open like gentlemen, so they should be dressed like gentlemen. They stayed like this up until class time. When dave peeked in their rooms all their ties were half way off. :) It's ok. Becoming a gentleman doesn't happen over night. it takes time.

can i get a woop woop? who's that guy in the middle? could somebody get me his number?

charlie.... oh charlie....

2009-12-14T18:11:00.001-08:00

If you haven't already, meet Charlie. She pretty much the star of the show right now at our house. The boys LOVe her... too much at times, she loves them, too much at times, and of course her dad and I are head over heels for her!

Her hair kinda reminds me of a comb over/ toupee. I love it. Dave wants to cut it.

"I think she's cute, I just don't like her hair."-David Elmer

SHe loves to rip out her hair clippies and eat them. I can tell she's already trying to get back at me for making her wear them. Those things are expensive, and this is how she shows her gratitude? By sticking it in her mouth? I forgive her!!! :) Can you tell I'm a sucker for her already?

This is pretty much how she is all the time. She wants me to hold her... but she wants down... this is what I look like at church every sunday...

She's obsessed with spoons right now. If she hears someone open the dishwasher and you shut it before she has time to get out 2 spoons, bang on some things, and take off with them she will flail like in the picture above.

she is very cute though... and I love her....

one saturday we were heading out as a fam and I had on a long sleeve red shirt....... and so did charlie..... to this day I promise I did not plan it nor do it on purpose, but David made fun of me all day and all night... he will never let me live it down. :)

happy halloween!

2009-11-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great halloween!! Lots of candy, lots of fun, and lots of family!!! We were shocked when a "vampire" showed up in our house. I guess it's a sign that he's getting bigger! But Mr. Power Ranger, and SUper Man were back in action and they found a little cupcake! Will and Nicole came over with the CUTEST little scarecrow and moo cow. We all headed over to the church to trunk or treat, then went to Grandma LIsa's and Papa Guy's. We trick or treated there for a minute... literally. Then we headed back home for some of Grandma T's chili, made by Uncle brad, Aunt Kristin's BEST ever cake like cornbread, and a fabulous salad by aunt Karen that we forgot to open AND homemade carmel apple cider with homemade whipped cream by Nicole. It was perfect. We have more candy that we know what to do with, and four happy little trick or treaters.

hey, get that marble out of your mouth!

2009-11-01T07:05:00.001-08:00

On monday before we went to Kendall's VBall game Jack kept putting a marble in his mouth. I told him at least 10 times to "get that marble out of your mouth!" And about 2 seconds later he smiled and said, "I swallowed it." I thought no big deal, it was small, kids swallow stuff all the time and they just poop it out. Apparently, this marble likes it's new home. Right between the large, and small intestine! :) We've had 2 x-rays and it's not moving. Dr's want to go in on monday and take it out. The first thought I had was no! We haven't even given him a priesthood blessing. He needs a priesthood blessing. Well, he's had one now, and I know that all will be fine. So we will go back in a week or two and get a new x-ray. In the meantime, you'll find jack eating lots of dense fiberous things such as, but not limited to: broccoli, chili, beef stew, cooked beans, raw beans, etc. Anything to help move his new little friend along.

I feel pretty confident that you won't find jack with foreign objects in his mouth anymore. That doesn't mean his brothers won't... but at least for now you won't find jack! :)

Fairy tale Ball

2009-11-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

Jack's school had their annual fairy tale ball. All the kindergartners dress up like fairy tale characters and parade around the school. All the grades come out of their classes to watch them parade around. Then they have a castle bouce house, cupcakes, activity stations, etc. It's a big event. Jack HATED dressing up. All the kids started sword fighting and his was the only home made sword.... our of cardboard... and it kept "flopping over". He kept saying, "please... let me take this off! My sword keeps FLOPPING OVER!" I let him know that I'm sorry, but this is the activity for today and he needed to participate. I think he had fun, but he apparently doesn't like to play dress up! :)

Fall Festival!

2009-11-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

it was that time over year again. The Lantana Fall Festival. I couldn't believe how cold it was. Perfect Fall weather!!! Thanks for taking us Grandma Lisa.

we call it her pretty...

2009-11-01T06:51:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU aunt Kristin! A few WEEKS ago Aunt Krisitn sent this wonderful little package with a little something that miss has been missing... the perfect little bracelet for her chubby little arm rolls!

Thank you Kristin! We love it. Especially me! :)

it's become a tradition basically.....

2009-10-03T12:13:00.001-07:00

every conference weekend, i use gentle force and MAKE them take a picture for me. I love it.

big man on campus!

2009-09-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

Matty had his first day of preschool about 2 weeks ago..... FORGIVE ME MATTY! I have been a busy mommy lately and let these sweet photos be held up in the posting process! But here he is. In all his glory!!!!

he ran up and told me he was ready to go!!!! (YEAH RIGHT MATTY! Not with out pants on!!)

here's his cute little cheesy face inside the room!!!!

It's a pretty full class, but he loves it. He's made a new friend and hints about this "funny girl" in his class.... wink wink! :)

and charlie ate her first marker...... obviously. :)

just saving it for later....

2009-09-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

At this age they just like to store stuff.... where ever they can i guess. :)

and this is the happy face that greets us everyday.

the best days....

2009-08-31T18:39:00.000-07:00

the days just seem to be flying by. I wish I could freeze them... well, not all of them. :) But when i sit back and look at it... I realize these are probably going to be the best days of my life.

it's official...

2009-08-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

We have a Kindergartner in the house!!! It was a happy day and a sad day. Jack went with no problems and LOVED it. He can't wait to go back. I can't believe how big he is. We're so proud of him and the boy that he's becoming!!! And I expected him to be wiped out and go to bed with no problem tonight, but no. I put him BACK to bed AGAIN at 10 pm. :) That's my Jack!

and to our amazement this morning our neighborhood had a near wipe out. No, not from a tornado, but from a hot air balloon. The proof is in the pictures people. They were feet away from our next door neighbor's roof! CrAzy!

Elmer overload

2009-08-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Nothing says fun like 88 elmers under 1 roof. no seriously we all fit into one gigantic cabin. We had so much fun.

Aint nothin without NUMBER 1. Thanks Grammi.

As you can see each shirt has a number. The number represents at which point you came into the family. When I married Dave I became number 59.

Our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness allows for us enjoy the blessings of family relationships after this life. I can think of no better group of people and no greater blessing.

two weeks with the fam

2009-08-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Nothing says family vacation better than 19 hours in each direction, family, friends, and best of all daddy with us non stop for 10 straight days!!!! I"m not trying to brag, but I think we may just have the cutest little family ever!!

Grandma T, this one's for you!!!

Papa J, these are for you!!! Strawberry was good to us this year. Dave, Uncle Rob and Brock nearly caught their limit in the first few hours. Needless to say we women had to step up and get in on the action.

The next generation of fishers.

and we had to add this one... brad made his very own custom sieve to join in on the children's money dig action. We expected nothing less from an engineering grad. He's already getting his own designs in action!

4th of July 2009

2009-07-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Gotta give a shout out to Uncle Joe and Aunt Steph for hosting yet another great 4th of July!!!! We obviously had a great time!!!!

A Day at the Show

2009-06-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

We went to the Air Show this weekend and had lots of fun. We saw the Coast Guard demonstrate a rescue. "Lookin good boys." :)

whoa! It's all under control Mr. President.

There is Maverick, there is Goose, and then there is "Ace." Jack thought he was pretty cool sitting in the planes.

F-18 fly-by. This is one sick plane

Who's the new gunner? "My job is to make sure you that you do your job...so my jurisdiction's pretty much in your face!"

We couldn't find a C-130 or T-38 that Papa J flew, but this old Air Force plane was close enough.