Behind again

Yes, I'm behind at posting again. Please forgive me. :0)

MJ-She was selected as "Student of the Week" in November and got to eat a pizza lunch with the principal. That was a highlight for her. She has also earned 40 AR points and continues to receive recognition for her reading. She is drawing and starting to spell a lot. She just loves school and was totally bummed when we had our first snow day this week.

Emma-She is also enjoying school. She's been playing house and Barbie's a lot lately. She loves to help around the house, and especially if I've ask MJ to do something first. She loves to dance, sing, draw and play playdough.

Jayten-Such a busy boy-always smiling. Such a sweetheart. Learning more and more every day. He points to his body parts, loves to get bread and peanut butter out of the cabinet for a snack, loves to eat anything really. He loves to play with the barn, horses and cows, push trucks around, but can also be found with a baby and blanket. (That's what you get when you have two older sisters.)

I attended our annual cattle convention for three days in November for work. Josh and the kids stayed here. They seem to do just fine without me, so that was good. We had Katrina and family out for Thanksgiving dinner, then went up to Mark and Carla's later that night to see all of them. That Friday, we also went up to M&C's to watch the BSU game. Last Saturday, Josh and I helped Jared and Stephanie move. It was nice to get some time to visit with them even though we were working at the same time. I've been busy finishing the last of my photography sessions for the year. Will be taking a break until 2011, as I have three publications coming out in the next couple months.

We've decorated the house for Christmas and will begin making goodies soon. We received a ton of snow this week. They canceled school on Wednesday. We had one day of rain, but have at least 12 inches still in the yard and it snowed more today. The girls and I went out to play in it today. Tonight we went to the local tree lighting, saw Santa, had cocoa and cookies, rode in a fire truck, played at the park in the snow and listened to some big band music.

This season always seems to fly by, so I cherish the time we stop the busyness and just enjoy the little things.

Some photos from this fall

Emma made this spider hat at school for Halloween.

MJ was a cat again this year. She had fun at her school Halloween party, playing games and getting lots of treats.

We attended the Fruitland/Homedale game. Uncle Zeke coach's Homedale. Jayten was really intrigued by the game.

We attended a Halloween party at Karen and Richard's Oct. 30. The kids had a great time playing with Austin and Isabella, and the rest of the kids. Jayten got lots of comments on how cute he was as Pooh bear. All the three of the kids have worn that costume. Emma even got into digging out the guts of a pumpkin so Uncle Matt could carve it for her.

On Halloween night, our family went to Trunk or Treat at our friend's church. It's our annual tradition. The girls take turns handing out candy and walking around collecting it.

MJ lost her top two teeth! One of them became loose after she bit into a cookie on Nov. 15. She lost it Nov. 17, then the other one came out shortly after that. We thought they would never come out. It's probably been over a year since she lost four of her bottom ones. Her class is singing "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" at the school Christmas program. She thinks that's so funny!

She turned Seven!!

I realized I had put these on my photo blog, but not on the family one. We had a lot of fun during her seven-year-old photo session. I'm excited to turn these all into an album!

Oh man, it's hard to believe our MJ turned seven in September. She is just growing up so darn fast. She really seems wise beyond her years, and each day I see something new in her. She had a great parent teacher conference last week. She's doing well in school, learning all of her subjects, and being a great friend and helper in class. She reads every day at school and at home, and we see a lot of progress. Her vocabulary continues to amaze us. Her teacher said she loves math and science and remembers everything. The other day she used the word predicament and correctly! She's very responsible and takes care of E and J. She and E have a love/dislike relationship-I guess typical sisters. The days they play well together, it warms my heart. Other days they go at each other like crazy! She still loves mommy time, and I try my best to get her one-on-one. We are very proud of the young lady she's becoming, but it's happening way too fast! We love you Mackenzie!!

Mackenzie's Birthday

 

After school on Friday, Sept. 17, Mackenzie helped make the cupcakes for her “cupcake decorating” birthday party the next day. Emma and I made yellow cake earlier in the day then, she and Jayten went to stay with Grandma Carla and Grandpa Mark, so we could have some Momma/Mackenzie time. We baked fresh strawberry and chocolate cupcakes. You got to stay up late that night. You helped get all the sprinkles and toppings organized. You were especially excited about the fondant and the little cookie cutters to use with it. I surprised you in the morning with one more flavor of cupcake-Orange Creamsicle! We made cream cheese, vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream. You invited 7 friends because you were turning 7 years old. Each of you decorated 7 cupcakes, one to eat at the party and six to take home. Once everyone arrived, you decorated your own cake boxes to carry your cupcakes. Everyone also received a chef’s apron to keep. You all had fun deciding what you might call a bakery if you had one. After your boxes were ready, it was time for the cupcakes. You all went to town on, using frosting, sprinkles, colored spray, chocolate chips, toffee bits, crushed Oreos, gummy worms and more. You created some very colorful cupcakes! Your friends Madison, Hannah,
Diego, Myah, Sarah and Gracie came. Chanler was unable to attend. After the cupcakes were finished, you opened presents, then had a pizza picnic out in the backyard. You spent the rest of the time
playing outside and in your room with your friends, then enjoyed a cupcake at the end of the party. You really enjoyedplaying at with the end and had some nice one-on-one time with your friends. You received a Barbie Repunzel Horse,Fancy Nancy Cupcake book, horse stickers, Easy Bake Oven
Mix, Pixos, Activity book and crafts, Furry Friends and a Glamour Barbie.

My Little Man and all his messes

I need to get this little guy on video because he's just so funny. He is my little cuddle bug, but he's also into cars, trucks, dirt, bugs and mud. He loves to play outside in the sand, pouring it in and out of plates and cups. He loves to climb up the swingset and dance around-makes me so nervous. Then, he slides down as fast as he can. He eats a ton most days. I sit by him at dinner and sometimes he just takes things off my plate-salad even!! He loves cuddling with his sisters or Daddy in the rocking chair. He's got the biggest grin and pretty big cheeks to go with it. I forget what little mimics they are at this age. He sees his sisters or someone doing something, and he just figures it out or tries to do it himself. He likes to put his shoes on himself and gets his pants on most of the time. They usually get hung up on his diaper. I just love having a son-he's the perfect compliment to his sisters, with a little of both their personalities. And a whole lot of his own. Ah, love him!!

Look at the ornery grin!

Uh-oh, left alone with peanut butter, apples and his sister. I think she's the one who gave him the Leap thing to play with. I'll give you once guess which sister. :0) Yuck! I finally got everything clean.

This morning it was oatmeal.

Yogurt was the culprit today. I think he needs a bath after every meal!

My birthday~ I am VERY blessed!

I celebrated my 32nd birthday yesterday and it was a great day. Jayten and I took Emma to school, then ran errands to the postal place and the bank. Then we went downtown to drop off some clothing at a women's/kid's consignment store. I also found a couple new-to-me items-new dark khaki pants, a cool black jacket and a fun brown plaid hat. I also found a pink corduroy skirt for Emma. It was the perfect find to go with some new-to-her funkie tights she got from friends of ours. A couple weeks ago I found a silver/gray vest for MJ. She had been wanting a puffy vest, and this one fits the dress code so she can wear it to school. Consignment store shopping can be annoying as you never know what you'll find, but it's also super fun when you find exactly what you were looking for in the right size, gently used or sometimes new and priced right. We stopped by to see a friend who was working nearby as well and had a nice chat. We picked up a few supplies at Staples, grabbed a quick lunch at Burger King, then went to the DMV to renew my driver's license. It had been eight years since I had a new one! After that, we made one more consignment store stop. Little J was such a good boy. He just sat on a rocking horse and hung out while I tried on a few items. The only time he whined was at the first store when the candy dispenser was at eye level and mom wouldn't give in. Other than that, he was great. At home, we waited for the bus, then took MJ to jazz (she started last week), then to a friend's to leave for religious ed. Josh had gone to town for groceries and when we got back, I started working and he prepared a delicious birthday dinner. He had baked a cake-yellow with chocolate frosting! (He's never baked me a cake, so this was a real treat.) He also made Caesar salad, breaksticks and shrimp alfredo. And he'd cleaned the house (not that it was that dirty to begin with) and did my laundry! I give him a bad time about not cooking dinner much, but he is really good at helping clean up and do laundry. After dinner, everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. The girls picked out a Denver Broncos zippered sweatshirt and J & J gave me some new shoes. Mackenzie made a very sweet little card. It was a wonderful day. I spent most of it thinking about how truly blessed I am. I also am wondering what this next year will bring. You know we are put on this Earth for a purpose-to know and serve God and others. I have been thinking a lot about where I am being called to serve. Of course, my family first, but where else might God want me to be using my talents? I will have to keep praying and discerning about it. Whatever this year brings, I am so thankful for my family, my great friends, my health and all we've been given. The older I get, the more I want to make sure I'm giving back as much as I've received. Here's to another 32 years!

Labor Day Weekend at the Cabin

We headed up to McCall for the holiday weekend, getting their late Friday night. Mark, Carla, Michelle, Jared, Stephanie and Mya were already there. That first night we enjoyed sitting around the fire visiting. The next day was absolutely beautiful and quite warm for September. We spend time on the beach, lying out on the dock and out in the boat. It was a perfect day. That night us adults stayed up and played Taboo. It made for lots of laughs! We took our usual walk to Charlie's Gardens and Stephanie went on a pretty good hike Saturday morning. The kids loved the sand and water. We are so thankful to have the cabin and love all the memories we've created up there. We all left Monday then gathered together that night for the BSU vs. Virginia Tech game. It was a wonderful family weekend!