Make-up

For Alex's birthday, Jason & Suzy and family gave her a gift certificate to Build-A-Bear Workshop. She has been asking for a couple of years if she could go there and since she hadn't mentioned it in awhile, I completely forgot. Thank you Suzy for saving the day! She was so excited for our girl's night out tonight. She earned a kid's meal from TGI Friday's for being an excellent reader at school so we went there for dinner. It was below freezing out and we were bundled up pretty good. But when I asked her if she was warm enough on our drive over there she said "ya, but my hams are a little cold". You're hands? just put them under your legs or in your coat pockets then. "No my HAMSTRINGS are a little cold, not my hands." I didn't have an answer for that one, just one of many laughs we shared tonight. At dinner she decided on a blue raspberry slushy to go with her dinner, I was surprised she picked blue over the many pink drinks she could choose from. On our way out the door we picked a mint out of the basket and her's had another mint attached to it, the wrappers hadn't been cut apart like they were suppose to. The hostess told her it was her lucky day, she gets to have two mints instead of one! Alex smiled, thanked her and skipped out the door.

After dinner we headed over to the mall to pick out her new friend. On the way, she stopped at the quarter machines and bought me a handful of Mike and Ikes (with her own money) and wanted to get two gumballs for herself but decided to get one then and the other one after Build-A-Bear. Well the machine gave her two gumballs and she couldn't believe it, it really WAS her lucky day!

It took her no time at all to pick out the girliest, pinkest, most magical animal they had there, the unicorn. She then picked the pony sound to go with it and helped stuff her so she was "snuggly soft". When the girl was done stuffing her Alex gave her a good squeeze and asked her to take a little out to make her softer. So she took a tiny handful out and Alex said that that was enough, now she was perfect! She made a wish on her heart, stuffed it inside and her unicorn was quickly sewn shut. Then the real shopping began, she spent quite a long time browsing through the different outfits and accessories in the store. At one point she had a volleyball outfit in hand (no persuasion on my part I swear) with little knee pads and her own volleyball. Then she realized there were too many pink, sparkly outfits to choose from to waste her choice on a sporty outfit. In the end she ended up with a sparkly "rock star" outfit and a Hello Kitty party dress, as well as a pair of wings so she can make her a pegasus whenever the need arises. She then, groomed and fluffed her at the "fluffing" station, dressed her in her rock star outfit and went online to register her and give her a name. The name she chose? Make-up. She decided on it so fast I never had a chance to give her suggestions (not that any of them would've been good enough). What kind of nick-name can you give a unicorn called Make-up? Well, Shadow of course (for eye shadow). So now Alex can go online and carry Make-up around in her little backpack and play with her virtually as well as snuggle up to her at home. Oh, and since she bought her a pair of wings, Make-up can fly her all around Build-A-Bear land as she wishes. On our way back to through the mall we stopped off at See's candy for a chocolate truffle (or two) and of course said hi to Santa to show him her new friend and remind him about her Littlest Pet Shop house she wants for Christmas.

When I asked her if she was going to buckle her unicorn up on the way home she said no. Then I asked her, what if we get in an accident and she flies out the window? (because it's never a bad time to remind her of the importance of using her seat belt). She just explained "I'll just put her wings on her!"

Stay young my little one. I loved spending time with you tonight! Love, Mom

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I love Christmas decorations! It's a shame they are only up for a few short weeks. If it was up to me, I'd start decorating in November, but alas, I have to keep peace with the hubby.

This is my village that sits in the nook above our TV, it'll stay up until Spring!

I love my Willow Tree nativity.
Let's hope they all survive the holiday, they are set up out in the open where the kids run by it every day.

My cute little nutcracker that I got from my sweet Grandma when she passed last October.

The only time of year my living room gets put to use. I love the two extra stockings added to the end of the mantel for Ri and Hunter. :o)

Then my favorite part of this time of year is the snow!

If it's below freezing outside, everything had better be covered in white.

It snowed enough this morning that the kids had to wear their boots to school today. Of course Alex is in a skirt and thank goodness the snow was too dry to make snowballs for the kids at the bus stop. I can't wait for a white Christmas up at the cabin!

And this isn't a Christmas decoration, but I just got these up and I'm so happy to have updated pictures on my wall! Yay!

Time to Celebrate!

The crew came over tonight to help Alex celebrate turning 7. These last few days from her birthday until today were very long for her. She asked every day if she could open another one of her presents. So far she had opened clothes and one toy from Johnny (a FurReal kitten that moves and meows and purrs. About as close to a real pet as she's going to get any time soon). Well tonight she was showered with Littlest Pet Shop, Barbie art supplies, a beading kit, a pet-care Barbie, puzzles and a Build a Bear certificate (she's been waiting years to make a visit to the Build-a-Bear workshop!). The house was packed, the kids ran wild, the cupcakes and ice cream were de-lish, and Alex is on cloud nine!

Birthday Epilogue

This is the main outfit my Mom got for Alex. She picked it all out, head to toe. Alex felt a little self conscious in it, not wanting to draw attention to herself (go figure). I'm sure she'll get plenty of compliments at school and it'll be her new favorite outfit. Please forgive all of the lame shots, she wasn't in the mood for posing for any of them and we were rushing to get then taken before the bus came to pick her up. I'm sure I could take some darn cute ones of her in this sweatshirt/jacket though. I'll bring it to the cabin with us for Christmas and coax her outside amongst the pine trees and snow for some cute winter shots. All I have to say is, she'd better not have a huge growth spurt between this winter and next, it'd really be great if she can get more use out of all of these cute clothes!

Oh, and I asked her this morning about her letter to Santa. The "nobude" part of the list was to state that she wanted a cake makin' thing that nobody else could touch. Then I asked her if this meant she didn't want any Littlest Pet Shop Stuff anymore and her eyes got big and she rushed to add it to her list. We're good. :o)

Happy Birthday Baby Doll!

So my little Peanut turned 7 today. Quite frankly, I've been thinking she was 7 all year long anyway so it wasn't much of a shock for me. She's tall enough, smart enough, and a lot of her friends are already 7. But now that she is 7 and her next birthday is 8, it seems strange. We already got her baptism letter in the mail, the date is set (BTW, it's Dec 5th). Is she really old enough be a year away from Activity Days? I'm afraid I'm going to blink and she's going to be entering into Young Women's. And speaking of growing up, I mentioned in an earlier post that she has taken an interest in picking out her own clothes. Well, she always has had an interest in it, but she's always accepted the fact that I pick out her clothes for school. Since she's put a stop to that, my Mom and I went out on a mission to stock her closet with plenty of cute clothes to choose from. She has insisted on skirts (not dresses) and wants to wear them, not only to church but to school as well. I let her open her "clothes" presents a little early so she could sport her new clothes starting on Sunday when they sang her Happy Birthday in Primary. She also got a new winter jacket (because the jacket she's been wearing is a boy's jacket and she hated wearing it). Here are a few outfits she's put together so far.....

I'm trying to not make suggestions because then she's automatically pulled in the opposite direction. I did let her open a gift from Johnny today so she got something other than clothes on her actual birthday, but her party isn't until this weekend.

Then tonight I came home from a meeting and Sariah shows me the letters the kids wrote to Santa. Usually I like to be around when they're writing out their lists so I can persuade them in a certain direction. I've already finished all of my Christmas shopping so they are already getting certain things whether or not they are still on their lists. Well Alex has been asking for Littlest Pet Shop stuff and wanted a big adoption center for them to play in and everything. Here's is what her list says (I'm going to have to ask her to clarify a few parts of it for me tomorrow morning).

Dear Santa
I want a prinsus actin figyrs.
grl spi stuf.
cak maken thing and nobude.
sowen stuf.
I love you
Love Alex

I know she was copying off of Hunter's list for the first two and making them girly (princess action figures, girl spy stuff); but my favorite ones are the "cake makin' thing" and "sewin' stuff". I don't see Littlest Pet Shop on there ANYWHERE!!! I think we are going to have to have a redo for Santa letters in the morning! Thanks Sariah!!!
Then once she was done with her letter I guess she asked Sariah, "can I just address it to my Mom?"

Happy Thanksgiving!

This was the first time in a long time that we've spent Thanksgiving with my parents. It was so nice to have them over for the week and Sariah and I got to treat my Mom to a Thanksgiving dinner for once (instead of the other way around).

The rolls I "just knew" were not going to turn out because I accidentally used 1% milk instead of whole and had to let them rise in the cold garage since the turkey wasn't going to be ready to come out when they were suppose to go into the oven. They were delicious though and I can't wait to try them out as cinnamon rolls next time!

As far as I'm concerned, they should all be wearing turkey hats!

Brad dressed up for the occasion as usual.
That bird is anything BUT Kentucky grilled chicken...

And to top it all off, a little cheese from the family.
Happy Holidays!

Discoveries

Alex has discovered that "all of the other girls at school pick out their own clothes and they all look really cute!" I usually let her dress herself on the weekends and then I lay her clothes out for her on week nights. This is what she's picked out for herself for her first school day of picking out her own clothes. This ensemble consists of a long sleeve white shirt, a short sleeve pink shirt and a crop white hoody, embroidered jeans and her favorite pink striped skirt (that she's had since she was 3). I told her I have veto power if she picks something too out there, but this kid definitely needs to be able to express herself.

Johnny has discovered the gigantic half-pipe we've been hiding in our bathroom. He loves his little "Tech Deck" skateboards and the tricks he can make them do as they zoom through our bath tub. He reenacts every trick for me asking, "Whoa! Did you see that one?!!! It went like this, and flipped like this, and went like that!" So easily entertained!

We did it!

We finally did it! It's been almost 2 years since our last family picture, and after our little escapade to get this one taken, I now know why. Brad was reluctant and looked tortured the entire time. Alex was freezing and wanted to hide herself behind her scarf and was mad if Johnny got to sit and she had to stand, Johnny was goofing off and wouldn't hold still or look at the camera (or look somewhat natural for that matter) for a single shot. I was stressed about the time and weather and feeling bad for making my family endure this and hoping at least ONE will turn out. Then there was poor Sariah who I put behind the camera with little knowledge of what I wanted or how to use my camera, trying her best to make sure she got at least one shot with everyone looking at the camera with a smile on their face. Not a small task. Out of 200 shots, this is the only one that works, but I'll take it! Don't we look happy? I'm looking up at the picture we took in May 2008 and everyone has bright, natural smiles on their faces and the kids look so angelic. What happened? At least it's done, right? We're good for another year at least!

Ri & Boo

The leaves were barely hanging on the trees and the ones on the ground were covered in frost. We knew our time was running short on fall pictures so we made a quick trip to the park for some cold, but cute pictures of Sariah and Hunter. Check them out on my photo blog!

Happy Halloween!!!

Jack-O-Lanterns

(click on the picture above to see them up close!)

This has been an exhausting week. I spent a good amount of it making plans to fly to Cali to be with my family for my Grandma's funeral and I kind of put primary on the back burner. Then it jumped out at me on Saturday when we had our Primary Program Practice. I was at the church from 9am to 3:30pm, trying to help get everything organize for Sunday. Well, today we pulled it off and now it's smooth sailing for the next couple of months. Yeah!

Friday warmed up and then that evening it started to rain and I couldn't resist. I left my new treadmill behind and went for a run in the rain to clear my head. It felt so good and reminded me of home, I only wish I had thought about contacts or a hat before I had taken off to shield my glasses. But once I started, there was no turning back.

I had promised the kids we were carving pumpkins for FHE on Sunday and then I was at Wal-Mart and was so tempted when I was in line and saw a bucket of push-in pumpkin faces. They're kind of like Mr. Potato Head faces, but for your pumpkins. Brilliant right? However, I resisted and followed through with our initial plan to carve yet another year. Then tonight Brad informs me that he has meetings from 6-8:30pm and I was missing my pumpkin gutter (ya, that's Brad). It worked out though and although it was a bit time consuming the end results were worth it. Sariah carved one for Hunter and I had two for my kids. Then of course I had still wanted to carve my two little ones I picked up at the last minute. I had plans for the little rat that I couldn't pass up. Bedtime came and went and I was working on my last pumpkin, Alex's and the largest one, when Johnny started crying about something. I was desperate to finish so I asked Alex to put him to bed for me. Some of you might think of this as a cop-out, but I see it more as a lesson in service. She brushed his teeth, read him a book and tucked him in bed. Then called me up for prayers and a kiss good-night. She is so good with him when he is having a hard time, she always knows how to cheer him up. She made a game out of it and raced him up the stairs, letting him win. I even heard her singing him a song as I listened through the door. It was a good ending to a long week and this one is sure to go by too quick. Here's hoping we pull it all off!

Such a poser.....

Johnny

We made it happen, after getting Alex's pictures taken I knew I had to hurry and fit Johnny's in before it got too cold. The kid had a cough and it was a little windy, but it was overcast and not too cold. He was excited to go play on the playground with me so we made it a quick shoot and had plenty of time for playing. We got to Alex's school just as she was boarding the bus so we snuck around the edge of the building hiding from her until she was out of sight. Because it was so short I didn't have time to coach his smile. He can really deliver some serious cheese when he's taking pictures. So I let him call me names like "chicken lips" and "lilly liver" and then I would act shocked that he would call his mother such names. It seemed to do the trick and I think I got some cute ones. So check them out on my photo blog!

Grandma Jane

Anytime I see the symbols "XOXOXOXOXO" I think of my Grandma. She added lots of these to every card she ever sent me and never missed a birthday (mine or my kids). This morning my sweet Grandma Jane passed away. My mom was able to be there with her and give her comfort as she accepted the call beyond the veil. My Grandma loved God and tried to live her life as he would want her to, showing kindness to all she came in contact with. I think she was a little fearful of the unknown and was hesitant to make the leap. I know she is being taken care of now and hope she finds peace in the warm embrace she's receiving now. I'm so grateful for my knowledge of our Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness and to know that there isn't anything to fear in death. I think sometimes I take that knowledge for granted (which not everyone does have) and the peace that comes along with it. I'm so grateful for my family and to know that we are linked together with purpose; and I know that it was her influence in raising my mother that has molded me into the person I am today. I have a little bit of her inside me as do all of my siblings and that's something we can be proud of.

Lots of Love Grandma!

Now you have a better advantage point to watch over us by!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Countdown

So here are the countdown blocks I mentioned in my last post.

Maybe I can use these to help Johnny with his counting too...hmmm.

Could this really be right? Only 10 more days?

Time for a costume check,

I haven't even tried Johnny's on him yet!

And I still have to find a day to take their pictures...

Highlights

Weekly Highlights:

• Two costume parties for Alex


• One field trip to the pumpkin patch for Johnny with biting cold wind. He is keeping his pumpkin in his room for now as a pet until it's time to start carving.


• Trip to the doctor's for Johnny's cough. Cough is better but we're going to try and get in tomorrow for an allergy test.


• Took pictures of Johnny on the playground. Should be done editing soon...


• Flu shots bright and early in the morning before school started on the other side of town.


• A walking field trip for Alex to Albertson's where they learned about healthy food and got to check out their own snack at the cash register. She's been telling everyone what food groups they are eating ever since.
  
• Helped out in her classroom the next day and I think I know all of the names of the kids in her class now.


• Gymnastics as usual.


• Moved Brad's parents into a new house in Meridian, closer to us!


• Johnny and Hunter went to a book reading for "Where the Wild Things Are", made wild sock puppets, bounced on bounce houses and watched the movie with Sariah. Beware, apparently it's not a kid's movie (come on people, it's based on a popular children's book!).


• Squeezed in some quick Super Saturday craft blocks counting down to Halloween and another set for Christmas. Very cute!


• Made the oh so cute lanterns pictured at the top of the page. Thank you Sara for the cute idea!
  
• Looking forward to seeing what next week has in store for us.

Westin's Warriors!

Westin himself, catching a ride on his Dad's shoulders.

On Saturday we all got together to support Westin

and to help celebrate people with Down Syndrome.

We called our group "Westin's Warriors"

and he got lots of support, both from those of us who live close

to him as well as lots of people who couldn't make it to the walk.
Jolene even made a trip out here to be in the Buddy Walk with us.

And here's the whole gang.
We love you Westin!

A Visit from Grammie!

After a chaotic month with both my Dad and Grandma making a trip to the hospital, my Mom was still able to take her long awaited trip out to Idaho to visit with us for the week. We're glad she was able to make it out to us because it'll be awhile before we'll be able to drive all of the kids out to California again. It turned out that the kids had last Thursday and Friday off from school so Friday we took them to the Boise Zoo.

It seemed short but oh so sweet. We miss you Mom!

Next time maybe we can steal Dad out here with you as well!