A Late Thanksgiving

OK, So I am so late, but things have been busy around here. This was our Thanksgiving table. Brian flew in from Utah and Mom and Dad could not stand to be home all alone. So we had a full house. We loved having all the Company.

The kids made these turkeys to put on the table. I think they turned out so cute. They were very proud of them too.

We took uncle Brian to the swimming pool with us and the kids had a great time. The love having someone to throw them and chase them all around in the water.

We sure enjoyed our time with Brian and can't wait to see him again soon.... right!

7 Years Ago

Seven years ago, my life changed forever. I learned what it really meant to love someone. Jordan has taught me so much in his short life. I learned that being a mother is the greatest thing in this world. I am so glad that I get to love on this little boy forever.

Our first moments together. It was love at first sight.

One of my most favorite moments. He was so cute, even when he was sad.

He became the king of the castle. But we didn't care.

There is nothing like seeing your husband become a father that melts your heart.

Time spent with mommy was time well spent.

He just kept growing and growing. I miss those chubby cheeks.

Even back then he wanted to be a train conductor.

He makes me smile with all he does. He was the cutest Shepherd I ever saw.

This summer I saw this picture and I knew that little boy was growing up.

Jordan has always captivated people with his smile. He is full of laughter and happiness. I am so grateful to have him in my life. My life will never be the same since I became his mother. I love you Jordan.

One last picture. It is one of my favorite. This is Travis and Jordan when they came to Idaho with the Snake River in the background.

Step out for Diabetes

Last weekend our family went to the Step out for Diabetes walk that was here in Columbus. We have a good friend here with a son that has Type 1 Diabetes. She has helped us a lot over the past year. They had a team named "Austin's Allies". We had matching T-shirts while we did our 3 mile walk. All three of the kids did the walk, Hailee was pushed those 3 miles. They had all kinds of things there for families to do. Face painting was one of our favorite. This is what the kids chose.

This walk was a great experience for our family and we are going to try and do this every year to help find a cure for Diabetes.

Halloween Bags

The boys bags!
The girls bags!

I made these bags for the kids Halloween. I think they turned out GREAT!! I love them and I think the kids will have fun using them year after year. Plus there is the added bonus of not having to store those huge buckets anymore. T

Tonight, we had a little melt down. We were supposed to get ice cream at McDonald's, but things got crazy, so I changed the plans and we were just going to eat Popsicle at home. Mackenzie went NUTS! She has not done this for a long time. I told her that she could not have a Popsicle because she was going crazy. I told her to go to bed. She went up and was screaming. She did not have sheets on her bed, so I went to put them on. She was still screaming. I spanked her on her bum, just to get her attention and the wailing got louder. She flew her head back and smacked in on her headboard. Then the wailing got EVEN LOUDER! She was hyperventilating. I had to take her to get a drink she was going to nuts. Then she was milking it. So I put her back to bed. As I was tucking her in, she said to me "I am never going to have a happily ever after". I told her that she still had time to find it. It made the whole ordeal a little more enjoyable. I sure love that little girl...messy hair and all!!

Sad Pumpkins

Today we went to the Wellness Center at Honda. We got there at 10:30 and they told us that the pool was closing at 11:00 for an hour. We decided to swim for the 1/2 hour and them let the kids go play in the gym for the hour before the pool opened again. When we got out of the pool, we found that they gym was closed. While we were trying to figure out what to do, we saw there plates and paper. They were having a contest. You made a pumpkin and could submit it. I grabbed these and went to the Kid Zone and borrowed their kids scissors and crayons and we had a craft. It all worked out fine. After we were all done swimming and going home, McKay showed me his pumpkin and said "mom, my pumpkin looks sad". I told him that we would make him look happy when we got home. He looked at me and said "No mom. I want him to look SCARY!" What was I thinking.....

Boo at the Zoo

I still have not figured out how to post the pictures in the right order, so they are scattered all in this post. But this weekend we had a lot of fun. Here at our zoo, they have what is called "Boo at the Zoo". The kids dress up and trick-or-treat while looking at all the animals. This year was really fun because Batman came to the Zoo. He put on a show and they kids were in HEAVEN! So here are some pictures from our weekend.

Batman talking to the kids about all different types of Hero's. This was the best picture I could get with all the heads in the way.

She was so happy. She smiles like this almost all day long. Hailee was dressed as a Pink M&M. I will get a better picture later.

This is her favorite place to be. She holds onto your hair and smile the whole time.

The kids enjoying their treat for a minute break. The boys were Power Ranger and Mackenzie was the Little Mermaid.

The kids posed for this picture around Hailee. I was taking some of her first trying to stand.

Me with the kids when we first got to the Zoo.

She was laughing at us the whole time we worked on the Scarecrow.

Building our very stuffed scarecrow at the kids school. It was a lot of fun.

When I grow up...

For school this year, we filled out a student of the week form for each of the kids. There were the normal questions on it, like favorite color, favorite TV show and things like that. When I got to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I asked all the kids for their answers. Jordan wanted to be a train conductor, no surprise, Mackenzie wanted to be a mother ( loved that answer). When I asked McKay, he looked at me and said "Mr Incredible" I explained to him that I was asking him what kind of a job he wanted to have when he was a dad. He looked at me again and said "I know. I want to be Mr Incredible." So I had to write it. That was what he wants to be. I really hope that they send that paper back home with him before the year is up. I want to keep that forever. My "Mr Incredible" Boy!!!

Nana

My grandma is one of my MOST favorite people in the whole world. She is someone who has been a rock to me since I was a little girl. Some of my first memories are of her and I together. She made all of us feel like we were the most important people to her. I have learned so much about motherhood, love and laughter from my grandmother.


Sadly last night Nana passed away. I knew it was coming, but was not really aware of how I would feel. I can not imagine a world without Nana in it. I will miss her forever. As I was thinking about myself and how much I would miss her, I started to think about what it must be like for her right now. What a reunion it is. She is together again with her sweetheart, Bop, who she has missed so much since he has been gone. Her son who she has lived without for 4 years, her parents who have been gone lots longer then I have been alive. Her baby that died when he was born. Her brothers. The list could go on. Suddenly I was not as sad...She has been missing those people for so long. I would have loved to have seen her when she got there. I am so grateful for the knowledge that the Gospel brings to my life. I know that she is with her family again and that one day.... a long time from now, I will see her again too. But today, I am missing the best Grandma that ever lived.

Three Packed Lunches

Three Backpacks by the door.
Three Shoes ready to go...

Three of the cutest kids ready for their first day of school!!!

Baby Jail

So when I put Hailee down for a nap, she usually cries a little bit before settling down to sleep. Today I went in to check on here a little into her nap and this is what I found. I think these might be the cutest crib pictures ever...

Big Brother Jordan

Jordan has become such a good big brother. He is really kind to his brother and sister...most of the time. A few reasons that I say this is because Jordan has a bank with a lock on it. He has been saving money in it for a long time. just change that we find around the house and things. The tooth fairy came for another visit to Jordan this past week and he asked if there was enough money to buy an Iron Man Guy. The tooth fairy was not that generous. He got 2 quarters. So we deiced to open his bank and see if he had enough money. We counted it all up and he has 18.00. That was quite a bit of money for a 6 year old. So I told him that we could go and look at Wal-Mart for an Iron Man. When we were on our way, he told us that he wanted to share his money with McKay and Mackenzie so that they could get one too. I though that was so kind of him to even think about it because he could have got a really cool toy for 18.00.

Another thing that he did a while back was when we were in the car, McKay did something, don't remember what it was, but I told him that he could not have the treat that we were going to be getting unless he apologized. He was being very stubborn and would not apologize. Jordan was saying to him "say I'm sorry McKay" but McKay was not listening. Finally after a few minutes of this I hear Jordan say in this deep voice, "I'm sorry mom". It was so funny! I wanted to bust up laughing. I hope that he can stay close to his siblings forever.

Family

I was thinking this weekend about all the people that I love. There are way too many to name, so I wanted to focus on four of them.

First is Travis.
Travis was the baby of the family and he fit perfectly. I left the house when he was only 8, so I missed a lot of things that he did, but he and I are just a tight as anyone else. He grew up so much this past year while he was getting ready to go on his mission. I saw what a fine young man is was and was still becoming.

Then there is Marcia.

I think that everyone should have a sister. Growing up Marcia and I were very different and did not have a lot in common. But now that we are both "grown up's" we get along great. She honestly is my best friend. I am so glad that I have her for a sister and can share all of life's experiences with her one way or another.

Next is Brian.

Brian and I have always been close. I have learned so much from Brian. He has the most giving heart I think of all the people that I know. When Brian came home from his mission for the Ukraine, he came home with very little. He gave almost everything that he had to them because they had so little. Brian has taught me patience and how to be a more loving person. I try everyday to be a little more like Brian. He is such a great uncle to all of his nieces and nephews. What a great example he is to all of them.

And then there is Andrew. Andrew was my buddy when he was little. I loved to be his "mother". Andrew is so committed to the things that he does and he does things 100%. He just got into the accounting Program at BYU and I know that he will do fantastic in it. He also is a great uncle. We have talks about uncle Dewey often in our house.

I love all you guys and am so glad to be your sister.

Night Away

When Mike came back to Texas, my parents and I decided to surprise him. His birthday was on the 13th and we were all still in Texas. So when he got there, I whisked him away for a quiet night without the kids. I think this is the first time we have done this since long before we moved to Ohio. We had so much fun. We went shopping...for me even though it was Mike's birthday, ate at Pappasito's Mexican restaurant. Mike LOVED it. We stayed at a really nice hotel. We went to the pool and got to swim without little one's hanging on us or splashing us. Then we got a full nights sleep without interruptions. I have not had that in a long time. Mike travels a little and get to sleep alone, but not me. So I was so excited. We had such a great time. I think each couple needs a night away from everything occasionally. Thanks Mom!!!

Having Dinner at Pappasito's
This was Mike's birthday hat. He was a little embarrassed...but the best was yet to come. After they put this on him, they made him stand up and play a broom like a guitar while the entire restaurant sang happy birthday to him. It was GREAT!!

I was really hoping that this picture would turn out, but we will be blurry. We were relaxing in the hot tub at the hotel. It was so nice.

Texas Summer

We are back from our trip to Texas. It was so much fun being at Grandpa and Nana's house. The kids were swimming by 9:00 each morning... sometimes earlier. We had fun with Uncle Dewey, Aunt Marcia, Uncle Aaron, Jake, Austin and of course Grandpa and Nana. We swam every day but Sunday and played, played, played. We have been a little bored since we can't swim three times a day. Here are a few pictures from our trip.


Uncle Dewey was great fun. The kids would jump to him and then he would throw them in the deep end. His arms might have grown bigger while he was there.
McKay smiling just to be there.
Hailee loved the pool too. She had not been in a pool very much before this. She would just kick and kick. She knew what to do. I love the smile on her face here.
Our family in the pool. The sun was in our eyes, but I think it is a very cute picture.

Our cute swimmer.
Mackenzie was in her element helping with Austin. She loved to help him to everything, and I mean everything. But Austin did not seem to mind... most of the time. Marcia and I were sure glad to get together again. When we moved away, my dad said, "you will never see each other again since you are moving so far" hahaha dad. I sure am lucky to have such a great sister.

Trying to get a picture before Marcia and the boys left for the airport.

Everyone in the pool on the 4th.
Just a really cute picture of a really cute girl. I just love her....
We attempted to get a picture of all the kids with grandma in their 4th T-shirts, but they were all so tired, we could not get them to cooperate. This was the best we could get.
The about explains how we felt at the end of the day. Pooped!
The best. Chicken fighting. The boys loved it. Marcia and I had a chicken fight while we were there too. She won, but it was cheep. Marcia, I want a re-match one day.