I dare you not to smile...

Merry Christmas to you!

My friend Melanie took these & I love them! I will always treasure these fun Christmas pictures that totally capture my kids' personalities.

(melaniesphotoshoppe.blogspot.com)

ho hum

The last 3 pictures on our camera:

Mack waiting by the freezer for his gogurt to freeze. It was a LONG wait!

I noticed a few bite marks on one of our lollipop ornaments!

Bella showing off her armful of silly bands, aka "Pretties"

I have really sucked at keeping up our blog lately! Generally I love keeping up on it, but I think ever since I started using the Internet on my phone, I rarely turn my computer on anymore. I guess I'm officially part of the rat race that's doing everything on the go in the fastest possible way. How obnoxious!

We have been busy through the holidays. We went to Idaho Falls for Thanksgiving a day later than we planned because of a big storm that closed the highway at the border. My cousins were here & had to stay a day later too, plus Len's parents came into town to stay at our house a day early! We had a houseful for 1 night & it was crazy, but fun! The boys were thrilled to sleep on the floor while Len & I got to remember how tiny twin beds are! It took 6 hours to get to Idaho, but we made it. We enjoyed our quick feast & visit with the family before we turned around & came back home the next day. Then, we celebrated with Len's family Friday. What a whirlwind! Unfortunately, I forgot to take even 1 picture in all the craziness.

We are getting ready for Christmas now. We had our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving somehow & got most of our shopping done. Still, I feel like I'm running in circles! We met our medical insurance deductible, thanks to Bella's constant ear infections, so we've been visiting lots of doctors before the end of the year! We've also been attending parties at school, church, family & friends, plus finishing up cub scouts for the year. Today I started to plan what we need to bake & buy for neighbor, teacher & friend gifts and address our cards. Life is so busy (although much of what I do is out of enjoyment, not necessity!). I still think "Simplify" is going to be our 2011 family theme, because sometimes you have to cut back on things, even when you enjoy them. I really enjoy laundry :)

Our trip to happy valley

Whenever we enter happy valley, aka Utah County, we have to make the ritual stop at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. The kids love watching the round lump of dough that they're about to consume get fried in oil! Yum!

There's nothing like a Krispy Kreme!
It was an especially great distraction on this particular visit to happy valley, because silly me got us all in a tizzy! After arriving on perfect mormon standard time, we discovered the dine & dash shuttle was no longer running from the University Mall to the BYU stadium, where we were supposed to be. So, we headed toward the UTA buses & found a cheerful driver that said he could drop of us within a block of the stadium. How sweet! It would've been perfect, except for the fact that I realized the football tickets were sitting under the Krispy Kreme box on the front seat of the van...while we were on the bus. Arrgghhh! After exiting the bus & missing the other bus back to the mall, we found ourselves stranded in a strange & unfamiliar part of Provo. Honestly, it was scary, but nothing like being stranded in Phoenix or D.C or some other big city. I knew we couldn't be in too much trouble. So, we walked around & found a dollar store, where we hoped to find out directions, & of course, use the bathroom (3 boys- you know). The girl at the checkout was so nice when I asked her questions & eventually told her our dilemma. She said she was getting off in 5 minutes & would be happy to drive us to the mall. Weird, but I felt comfortable with this offer. I was glad if we had to be stuck, it was in Provo, Utah!
Not only did she drive us to the mall, but she waited until I grabbed the tickets & also drove us to the stadium. Phewww! It was such a relief. We didn't make it to the game until the end of the 3rd quarter, but the boys were thrilled anyway. We were just glad to be there, be safe & having fun. I was so grateful that we ran into such a nice girl & plan to pay it forward, as soon as I have the chance.

We missed the scouting tribute, but we enjoyed watching BYU kill UNLV. :)

Oh my heck, Happy Valley lived up to its nick-name!

Cutsie pootsie

Trick or treating at Grandma & Grandpa's house :)

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to record cute things my kiddos say, since I'm not very good at writing them down in their baby books. Well, a few days ago Mack said something REALLY cute that I wanted to record on the blog & now I can't remember what he said :( I want to cry! I hope it comes back to me. I guess I'm not very good at keeping up on my blog either!

I better quickly write down a few cutsie things the kids said this morning...

Mack was studying the runner on my dresser (pictured above) & suddenly said to me, "why are there naked childs on this?" He looked at me disgusted & shocked! It was so funny!

Also, Sam & Mack were eating breakfast this morning & drawing in their workbooks. I said, "you guys are so smart." Sam said, "I'm not smart. I make lots of friends at school." Mack chimed in & said, "yeah, Sam has like a million friends." Before I could say anything, Sam said, "Mack is so smart he can read books for 100 year old kids!"

I'm so glad they are standing up for each other, but it makes me feel bad that Sam thinks he's not smart. They have different strengths & are both smart, just in different ways. This is what we talked about after I stopped laughing!

Happy Halloween & first snow

I finally got to volunteer in Sam & Mack's class for their Halloween Party. It was so fun! The first thing that made me smile was their teacher pulling me aside to tell me that Sam asks her to go home with him everyday! She was so tender to him & said he was her best paycheck! He's such a sweetie :) Mack was so excited & introduced me to all his friends. The theme was the five senses. I read the class a story for hearing.

We brought things for the kids to touch & smell, plus they bowled for sight & had doughnuts for taste. It was so cute!

Then, the costume parade around the school. Mack is the black ninja squished in the middle!

Sam is Ironman!

Unfortunately, I missed Noah's costume parade because of a doctor's appointment. So, we took a picture of him before he left for school. Isn't he a handsome Abe?!

The day before, we had our first snow! The kids were dressed in their snow clothes & ready to play at 8 a.m.! They pretty much used all the snow we had to build a fort & had a blast!

Len got in on the snow action too, while I stayed in the warm, dry house :)

Happy Birthday little lady

My baby is turning 2 already & I keep wondering if I was in a coma for a year or something, because it went by too fast. Is everyone hiding some horrible accident from me?! Maybe it's just the mommy fog. It seems unfair because I have tried so hard to enjoy every moment, hold her longer than I need to, slow down & take it all in because I know she's my last baby. Yet, still time is zooming past me at lightning speed. I love her so much.

I had a friend birthday party for her, because we don't have much family that have kids her age! She's a bit young for a real birthday party, but I did it anyway (part of the enoying every moment thing). Bella was probably wondering what in the world was going on, but she enjoyed it never the less. She has such cute little friends in our neighborhood & a few cousins her age. It was adorable seeing all the kids in their costumes interacting together. I try not to post pictures of other peoples kids, but trust me- all those little princesses were enough to make anyone sigh. We also had 1 little pirate, a monkey & a skunk! As always, things didn't go as planned & the games I thought would be a hit weren't. Kids just have fun being together though. It was a fun morning :)


Bella got really spoiled with cute & fun gifts at her party. It makes me embarassed, but I know kids love opening & giving little gifts at birthday parties. My Mom's friend also gave us an old kitchen set, which we gave to Bella after her party & nap. She woke up & immediately started organizing the dishes & getting on her tip toes to cook things in the microwave! She (& the boys) are really enjoying her new toys!!

I just have to try & keep enjoying every moment. Luckily, I really look forward to seeing my kids grow up & I often find myself wondering what they'll be like as adults. I guess if time's not going to slow down, it will seem like a blink & I'll be planning this baby's wedding! Ohhh! My heart is very full.

Roarrr!

The kids at the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum with Ethan

The sand was my kids favorite part, naturally. Unfortunetely, Ethan was here for surgery & still had drainage tubes in his chest, so he couldn't play in the sand.

Bella's thoughts: "SAND & WATER...this is heaven!"

Getting older

Len's been in Lake Powell with his work having a L O N G meeting! Ha! His boss takes all the managers on a retreat every year & this year it happened to land on his birthday. We wanted to celebrate with him when he got home too, so we decorated, cooked & waited all day yesterday for him to come home. The kids were elated to see him :)

I made our new favorite meal: honey-lime chicken enchiladas, cilantro rice, cafe rio dressing & carrots to dip! Can you say YUM?!

Daddy brought t-shirts for the boys & they looked so cute walking out the door this morning all in their bright green. Bella got a Halloween shirt, since she's our Halloween girl :)

Happy Birthday Lenny! We love you & Sam said it best, "it doesn't matter if you're old."

Someone else is getting older too...Bella blue! We love our little lady & are getting ready to teach her a big girl trick. Wednesday is our official "potty party," where I will teach her how to use the potty. I am gearing up by loading up on her favorite dry & salty snacks, lots of juice, a dolly she can teach, party favors to make it fun & cute girly panties! :) Maybe the kids will stop calling her "stinkerbell" soon!

She's already showing lots of interest :) Out of 4 kids, she's the first that loves Sesame Street. So, we picked Zoe to train on Wednesday & got lots of Elmo & Abby cadabby snacks & treats :)

We can't wait for our big party!

I'm HOPING that she gets it as fast as her brothers did. She likes to say "no" & is a bit more sassy than they were at this age! Keep your fingers crossed :)

Miracles never cease

Ok, maybe it's not REALLY a miracle, but it felt like a miracle when I realized this morning that I slept through the night. Then, I went running, came home at 7:20 & the house was still quiet. At first I was afraid a mass murderer had crawled through the window I reluctantly left open last night. I peeked in Bella's room & found her silently, peacefully, adorably sleeping with her many stuffed animal "babies". I didn't know what to do exaclty.

So, I ate cereal by myself.

A few minutes later, this cutie woke up with bed head & an armful of "babies".

We finished my cereal together. Me in my sweaty running clothes & Bella in her pj's & a sunhat. Whatever. I'm just happy I got sleep. Ahhh!

I have nothing interesting to say...

...only cute pictures to share! Bella enjoying a cupcake, while Daddy enjoys a cuddle.

My Mom & I took the kids to Oktoberfest at Snowbied last weekend.

We had tons of fun, but this was the start of my body & brain pooping out! I seriously am updating our blog out of guilt for not keeping it up for the kids to look back on someday. I don't want them to say I never took pictures of them or wrote down any of their cute sayings. I wish I were happily keeping it up with lots of creative & interesting things to say, but really...It just want to go crawl in bed & read! Sam is sick, Bella's been waking up lately, we've been going 100 mph, the kids started soccer & Len started school. It all adds up to a dead tired Momma! Don't get me wrong, they are all so cute I want to pinch their chubby little cheeks all day. I just need to s l o w down!

We couldn't resist playing in the beautiful mountains though!

Mack crawled up this rock wall before the lady working there could get Sam snapped in his gear. She was very surprised, but I told her he was climbing out of his crib at 9 months practicing for this very moment!

1 little gingerbread girl didn't find this as interesting as the polka band!

Guten tag!

Monkey's in the middle!

My cute boys are in Kindergarten! They are so big & didn't hesitate to run into their new class. Mack was really excited to find out that there's another Mack in his class! Now he refers to himself as "Mack A"! Sam told me his new best friend is the boy in the blue shirt! :) I love these characters! Can't wait to watch them grow up this year.

Bella toting "Rosie" & her cookies to school, expecting that she was starting too! She's now happy to discover that not going means lots of one on one time with Mommy :)

The Grand Finale

The boys finally got their camping trip in before school started. They camped at Albion Basin for 2 nights, hiked to Cecret Lake, roasted hot dogs, & got filthy! Fun boy time :)

We also made it to the zoo.
We saw the bird show, until one of the hawks flew into a tree & wouldn't come down! It was pretty exciting for the kids.

We played until we dropped!
We also went to the Ogden Dinosaur park the same week. It was crazy & we were so tired. It was all so much fun though!

This weekend we took Noah out for a special night of fettucine alfredo & bread sticks. He acted like he was starved!

Waiting for the Grand Finale of our summer to start with Grandma...

The broadway version of the Lion King!

It was a m a z i n g !!! The costumes especially were fabulous.

Noah couldn't wait to run to the first day of school this morning. I could hardly get him to stop for a picture! It was a great summer & I hope it's an even better school year :)