temple

We went to the Sacramento temple today.  It was beautiful.

halloween

Tonight we went to my sister's ward chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat.  I think every Mormon church in America must have this activity.  The kids had fun playing the games and going through the haunted house. 

on our way

Today the kids and I headed to California to visit my sister and her family.  The kids travel really well.  Hunter had his moments, of course, but over all they were great.  For lunch we stopped at McDonalds (pretty much our only option) with no playplace, but across the street was this park.  The kids were running and playing around enjoying the fresh air.  I wanted to get a picture but Hunter would cry when I put him close to the others.  So I snapped the picture and we headed for the car.  When I put him in his seat he started crying again and I looked down at his leg and saw about 20 stickers stuck to his pajamas.  I was pulling them off and ouch, they were sharp.  I felt really bad for him, I thought he just didn't want his picture taken.

class parties

Today the kids had their Halloween parties at school, because there is no school tomorrow.  They were worried they weren't going to be able to go because they have all been sick.  But by Wednesday night they were all feeling better so I let them go to school today.  Kye wants to be a box of cereal this year and he can't sit down in his costume.  So for his school party he had to be a ninja turtle. 

seriously....

Over 2 years ago a friend of mine gave me this window mirror. I didn't like the color so I sanded it and changed the stain. I did it totally wrong and it looked horrible so I had to sand the entire thing again and start over. While sanding it I kinked my neck so I never finished. It was put in the garage and there it sat, driving Trevor crazy that it was there.


Now fast forward to present day. Trevor started working shift work again and decided to sand and stain my mirror for me on one of his nights off . I was so excited. After he did that I put on a couple coats of wax and it was now ready to hang. It is really heavy so we had to buy a stud finder and a heavy duty hook. While Trevor was putting the hook in the wall Hunter walked over to the mirror, which was leaning against the wall, and climbed up on the shelf. The mirror fell over and hit the couch breaking the top left mirror. Trevor had the hook in the wall so I told him to hang it up anyway. I put tape on the crack and someday I will get new mirrors, but until then it will hang on my wall broken and drive Trevor crazy once again.

batty

We have a Halloween tradition to make hand bats.  We started doing this when Max was 3.  I love to see how their hands have grown over the years.  Now that the kids are getting older they are being more creative with their bats.  This is the first year we have had multiple eyes and noses.  Also, Sam made our first purple bat.

piano ninja

Tonight Max had a Halloween Piano Recital.  All the kids played Halloween songs.  Max played his song before Trevor got there.  His teacher was up giving her closing remarks when a man in the back raised his hand and asked if the "piano ninja" could play his song again because he knew Trevor missed it.  I thought that was really nice of him to ask.  Max was a good sport and played it again.  He did a great job.

baking

For cub scouts Max needed to prepare and give a family home evening lesson.  Part of his planning was making the treat.  He made chocolate chip cookies.  They were delicious.

two to zero

The boys are doing great in soccer this season.  Today Max's team won their game 2-0.  Max was excited because he scored the two goals!  The first one he dribbled from midfield, went  around the defenders and then waited for the goalie to come out of the box.  She did come out and Max dribbled around her and scored a goal.  It was awesome!  The second goal he was in the right place at the right time.

one year shots

I finally got Hunter in for his one year well baby check up. He is getting so big.

weight: 23 lbs 3 oz

length: 31 in

head: 48 cm

He was due for some shots and had to get 5 sticks. Ouch! He was not happy at the technician, first he gave him all those shots then he put on a barbie band-aid. What a meany!

reading

Max loves to read.  He is very diligent about reading at least 30 minutes every day.  Tonight he didn't have time to read before soccer practice so during Kye's practice he sat and read his book.

dress for success

At school they have different dress up days.  Today was dress for success.  Kye was very excited to wear a tie to school.  He woke up and picked out his clothes first thing.  Max was relieved when I told him he didn't have to dress up if he didn't want to.

girl backpack

Sam has been using the same backpack Max and Kye both used for preschool. She was disappointed when I wouldn't let her pick out a new backpack for school. The one she is using is in great condition and I got it free when Max started school so the price was right. It is however a smaller backpack and she, unlike the boys, has a binder she takes back and forth to preschool. It barely fits in the backpack but the zipper won't close. I told her to tough it out.

Well just her luck I was walking through Target and I found this backpack on clearance for $3.50, so I bought it. You have never seen a happier girl. Over and over she tells me, "Thanks Mom for getting me a girl backpack."

cinnamon rolls

It was my turn to make the treat for FHE.  So tonight I decided to try the cinnamon rolls I learned how to make last Saturday.  I only make bread once a year at Christmas time, so for me this was a big deal.  They turned out great.  They looked beautiful, they smelled delicious and everyone thought they were super yummy.  I realized I didn't take a picture before they were devoured, so everyone told me I could take a picture of their bellies.

flying

I got a great leg workout today!  Sam thought this was so fun.

I sewed...

Today was Super Saturday at the church.  I signed up for a sewing class and a couple cooking classes.  If you know me well, you know I don't sew.  It was a class to learn how to make a pair of pants into a skirt.  I thought it turned out cute.

already...

I can't believe it is pajama day again.  Where does the time go?

bobcat

Max received his Bobcat award at cub scouts pack meeting tonight.  I got a mother's pin, which really should be a father's pin in this case because Trevor did it all with Max.

picnic

On the way home from dance today Sam asked if we could have a picnic for our lunch.  She was so excited.  Hunter needed a nap, so we had to have our picnic in the backyard.  She didn't seem to mind.  She helped me make the sandwiches and packed it up in our "picnic basket" (a.k.a. our cooler). 

our entertainment

Hunter, how big are you????

Soooooooooooo Big!

walking

Hunter is walking!  And he has the bruises on his forehead to prove it. 

the seat

Well it has finally arrived....Trevor's ejection seat.  It has only taken 3 years, but it is here now and decorates our living room.

johnny cake

Hunter was introduced to a Merrell tradition today... johnny cake!  And like his father and siblings before him he loved it!  I will eat it, but I am not a huge fan like the rest of the family.

cookie time

I finally cooked up the rest of the sugar cookie dough and let the kids decorate them. Sam's are the cookies with so much candy on them you can't even see the cookie. Kye's are the ones with minimal frosting. Max liked making fences with the candy corns and I decorated the rest.

pumpkin patch

Today for preschool I took the kids to a pumpkin patch.  It was a great field trip!  We had another preschool group go with us and all the kids had so much fun.  They had a jumpy castle, a huge slide, and a blow up obstacle course, which I think was the favorite.  It didn't take the whole time so after the pumpkin patch we came back to my house and decorated the little pumpkins they got from the pumpkin patch.

mmm... chinese food

I picked the boys up from school and we went to a book store.  I love book stores and so do the kids.  We spent forever in  there without even realizing it.  When we finally came out it was past dinner time so I stopped by Panda Express for some dinner.  I am so glad my kids like fast foods other than burgers and fries.  Even Hunter ate all his food.

pumpkin preschool

This is my week for preschool.  These kids are great!  We had so much fun learning about pumpkins.  We learned the history of pumpkins, we explored a pumpkin inside and out (only a couple would actually reach inside and touch the pumpkin guts) and we decorated pumpkin sugar cookies.  I hope they had as much fun as I did.

presents

I think Hunter liked the paper more than the actual presents. He figured out quickly how to rip the paper off. Of course he did have a lot of people showing him what to do. Max, Kye and Sam couldn't wait for him to get the paper completely off. And yes that is Christmas wrapping paper, it was all I had!

yummy

I gave Hunter a quarter of the cake. Mostly because I wanted to see what he would do with it. He loved it. He would take a bite and look at us like he couldn’t believe what we had given him. He didn't eat much (probably because of his HUGE dinner), but he still managed to make quite a mess of himself.

one

Hunter turned one today!  We started the day going to soccer games and Hunter got a little sunburned.  We barbequed and Hunter ate two hotdogs!  When I put the cake down on the table he immediately reached over and grabbed it.  But then he started to cry because he didn't like the frosting all over his hands.  I had to wash his hand off before we could sing Happy Birthday because he was so upset.  It was strange because he usually doesn't care if his hands are dirty.  It was probably because we were all staring at him.

cake

One of my favorite parts of birthdays is deciding what to put on the cake.  Hunter’s birthday is tomorrow.  I can't believe he is one already.