Happy Holidays!!

I LOVE this time of the year - I love Christmas music, I love planning gifts to give, I love decorating and I LOVE seeing all the reminders around the house of the season and what it means.  I love the nativities, the Christmas Tree covered with ornaments that remind us of family and things we have done together.  For Family Home Evening - we decorated our tree - talked about why we put up and decorate a tree and talked about the ornaments we have, where they came from and what they mean to us (most of them are from family members, made by family members, or commemorating something like a new home, a new baby, a vacation, etc.)  Christmas to me is all about Christ and Family - and it has been fun getting into the Christmas Spirit!

Unfortunatly, This Dan also usually has a show he has to travel for in Early December - so Dan left us for Florida on Thursday.  Thankfully James took his first few steps in the time between trips so Dan was here to see it - James had his longest streak today during church when he took 6 steps totally unaided and with out falling!  :) He's so cute - and soo wobbly!!  

Last night (12/1) Anna decided that she was tired of her tooth wiggling in her mouth and yanked it out - LOL - she is SO much more brave than I am - I could NEVER have done that as a kid!  LOL - she came upstairs to show me (this was after she should have been in bed) and she had blood all over her mouth!!!!  I can't believe that girl!  What amazed me even more was the next morning when she saw her dollar and wanted to donate it all in a tithing envelope.  What an amazing girl!  

The weather has been beautiful - low 70's for the last couple days - so the kids have been loving playing out side and riding bikes and swinging on the tire swing.  It's nice to have a place to send them to get their wiggles out!  :)  

James has been working on how to climb stairs for the last few days - he loves to climb up these little steps and sit on them looking around.  He has also recently started doing this funny thing where he likes to sniff things.  I've never had a baby do this before.  The other day, I put lotion on my hands and he was very interested in the smell - he kept pulling my hand to his nose and sniffing it (he usually pulls my hand to his mouth to try and chew on it)  Then the other day in the bath tub, he pulled the "spoofie" (what we call a loofah) to his nose and started sniffing at it!  It is so funny to watch!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

The holiday season has officially begun, though until Wednesday night, it didn't really feel like it.  Dan was out of town and the kids in school Monday and Tuesday and it felt like a normal week.  Wednesday then felt like Saturday - it wasn't until after Dan was home and I was shopping for the necessary food stuff for Thanksgiving that it started to feel like it was Thanksgiving time.  On Thursday, we spent the morning cooking and then headed over to Stuart and Rebecca's for Thanksgiving dinner.  It is so fun to be living near family!  The kids love spending time with their cousins and I LOVE watching them get to know and love their Great Grandpa.  As usual, the food and company was wonderful!

On Friday, Dwayne and Nicole and family came over to play and eat dinner.  The weather was beautiful so we headed over to the park to play for a bit.  The kids had fun climbing trees, swinging, and running after the soccer ball.

This has been a big week for James - he popped out two teeth on the top - he had a kinda nasty diaper rash, but other than that, he gave no indication of teething.  But he now has two teeth poking through on the top.  He also took his first unassisted steps today - He didn't manage more than 2 or 3, and he's not very steady, but he is SO CUTE!!!!  Don't think he ever really figured out why we were all so excited, but he was having fun.  

We got Eileen a camera and she has been having a blast taking pictures of everything.  She loves her camera - she picked out some fabric and I made a case for her.  Then Friday, I took her to Walmart to get her pictures printed.  She loved it, and has been looking through her pictures all the time since then. It's fun to see her excited and having fun.  Sometimes she wants to copy me and take pictures of what I take pictures of - but I have also been trying to encourage her to take pictures of the things she thinks are important. (heehee - it's cute to see what she wants to take pictures of.)  :)

Adventures in Colorado

This week started off in the normal way - laundry, school, and playing.  On Tuesday, Dan left town - we drove him to the airport in the morning.  Piano lessons, Choir and all the usual things followed.  I took Eileen and Evie to get their pictures taken - they came out so cute!  The photographer was amazed at Evie's ability to follow directions and pose.  Thursday night was Eileen's 2nd grade program - we all went to listen to her class sing - they were so cute!  Other than that - we really haven't done much this week - I don't really have the energy to do much beyond the normal playing and picking up, cooking and dishes.  (Well I haven't actually done much cooking - we've mostly eaten leftovers and freezer meals)  But still!  Church is always insane when I have to lead the primary music AND take care of a rather exhausted baby who needs a nap.  He really is a VERY good baby, but when he gets tired, he gets really wiggly - not cranky, just wiggly.  Now we are just looking forward to Wednesday - Dan gets home - the kids get out of school and we are looking forward to some fun quality family time!

Things are getting prepped for Eileen's baptism - we have a date set and she had her interview with the bishop today - she is such an amazing girl - I can't believe she's growing up so fast!

Back to Reality

Back home now and readjusting to life in the real world.  Dan and I are thinking maybe we will buy ourselves a hut on the beach in Cozumel and Sell coconuts to tourists and home school our kids.... Well maybe not....

The first half of this week was unpacking, laundry, cleaning, and trying to remember routines! Tuesday included a quick jaunt to the polls to vote.  On Thursday, Dan had to work late - but to make up for it, he went in late - so we spent the whole morning trying to be productive and enjoy the morning together.  Dan made up some strawberry jam that we have been enjoying ever since.  I spent most of the morning raking leaves (at least 6 garbage bags worth - and they are still falling!!) Then the kids had a blast playing in them that evening.  James was mostly interested in just watching the others play - he didn't see the fascination inherent in a pile of crunchy leaves.

We celebrated Eileen's birthday this weekend.  She had a couple friends over for a birthday/slumber party.  Her long time friend Morgan and a friend from church - Ali came over and we ate pizza and gold fish cupcakes and watched movies and painted toe nails and just had a good time.  

Saturday morning was spent by the kids playing, in the afternoon - we spent some time cleaning house and letting the kids do some extra chores.

Sunday was wonderful - somehow no amount of "relaxation" can ever compare to the emotional uplift that the Sabbath brings.  Even if I am exhausted by the end of the day, it's a hopeful and good exhausted.  :)

Sail Away

Our first 2 days were Sea Days - which meant that we got to spend a lot of time exploring the ship, enjoying on-board entertainment, winning plastic trophies in silly games and reading!!  By the second day, I was wishing I had brought at least one more book.  :) 

On Wednesday, we arrived at Jamacia.  It is a lush and beautiful island.  The people are beautiful and friendly, the food is delicious.  We started with a bus ride to "Magic Mountain" where they have a bobsled ride and a zip line.  One the ride - we had a tour guide telling us about the island - it was really neat to hear about the history and culture of the island and it's people.   It was also sad to see the contrast of extreme wealth and extreme poverty.   And yet it's awesome to see the national pride they have - something that seems lacking in our country sometimes.  

Here we are getting ready to go on the Jamaican Bobsled (really a roller coaster that looks like a Jamaican Bobsled)  It was a lot of fun.  After that we had a Jerk Chicken and Peas and Rice Lunch.  

Then we went on a series of zip lines through the canopy.  The scenery was beautiful - the guides were fun and the zip lines were awesome!  We also got to begin and end our adventure with a slow gondola ride up the mountain.  

The next day we stopped at the Cayman Islands.  Our only plans for the day were to go enjoy the beach!  We got a taxi to the Seven Mile Beach and enjoyed our time swimming in crystal clear water, collecting sea shells and playing.  After we headed back and (at the recommendation of some of the local shop owners) went to an Italian Restaurant near the port. The food was really good and we had a great and relaxing day!  

Our final port of call was Cozumel.  We got off the boat and got on a bus to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum.  The ruins were gorgeous and the weather was beautiful - but we were glad to have a chance to cool off at a beach right near by.  The history nerd in me LOVED seeing and hearing about the ruins and the people who had built them and lived in them.  It was also fun, because the ruins were covered in iguanas - they were all over (LOL - nearly as many iguanas as tourists) After we grabbed a quick bite at a small restaurant near all the tourist shops before heading back to the boat.  

The last day was spent at sea just enjoying the games and entertainment and each other.  Some of our favorite parts of the trip:
1.  No dishes to clean.
2. Newell and Becky right down the hall to play games with and eat dinner with.
3. Time together to talk and laugh and enjoy being together.
4. Lots of things to do together.

5. Not having to worry about kids.
6. New experiences like zip lining and the ruins
7. A really funny hypnotist show on Thursday night.  We enjoyed going to all the shows - but that one was by far the best.  :)

It's hard to believe that it's almost over - but it's been wonderful and it will be good to get back.  

And We're Off!

We had fun with family in town this last week.  My family generally keeps pretty busy with family stuff going on and spending time with everyone.  Monday, my parents and Sandi and Taz went up to the cabin for the day and had fun up there, then came back in the evening.  For FHE, Dan got a used tire and a rope and hung a tire swing in the back yard for the kids - they had a blast washing it off and swinging in it!

Jon surprised us all by driving in and showing up to help Sandi out - Taz had been kinda clingy with all the changes, and Sandi wasn't feeling good and was tired courtesy of the little bun in her oven.

We met Grandpa and Doug and Frank and Tina and Frankie for breakfast on Thursday, then the boys (and kid)  left and the women went for a bit of pampering.  I am continually grateful that my kids are getting this chance to know my grandpa!  

On Friday, the family headed back to Texas and after school got out, Dan and I took the kids down to Aunt Tina's house.  We went and did a session at the Temple and  then had dinner together at Chili's.  After we went home to pack and do a bit of cleaning .

Saturday morning, we were picked up by Newell and Becky and headed to the airport.  We arrived in Galveston, checked into our hotel, and headed out to dinner.  It was rater strange being able to go do something with out having to worry about arranging a sitter, or worrying about kids bed times :)

Sunday we got on the boat - the Carnival Magic - and got lunch and got settled into our rooms.

Guests!

It's been a busy week for us - we've been trying to get our house ready for guests and get ourselves ready for the weekend and preparing for the cruise. Friday was our preschool day and we took a "Field Trip" to a pumpkin patch - a cute one with a hay maze and lots of animals - the kids had a great time - and even James did well considering he missed his nap. :) The kids loved looking at the animals - and LOVED feeding the goats who would eat any hay you put near their mouths. It was a fun little trip and we had fun with friends and talking to the kids about fall and the animals.

Saturday morning the kids had Soccer - Dan took them to soccer while I cleaned up and got rooms ready. This was the kids last day of soccer and they went out with a bang - both teams won! They came home with their little participation medals - very excited! I spent the rest of the day cooking for my Mom's birthday party - Deviled Eggs, 7 Layer Dip, Cheese Dip, 2 Cakes and Spaghetti and Guacamole. Dwayne and Nicole and kids came over to eat dinner and play games and make bread with us during the evening - we had fun playing and eating and playing. The kids all get along well together and their kids are sad to go at the end of the night - so they must be having fun too (lol - we hardly see the kids - they go run around outside, or downstairs, and keep themselves busy)

 My parents and sister got in around 8:30 - after getting them settled and finishing the cooking - I was totally dead on my feet! I'm not used to spending the whole day standing on my feet! Today was our Stake Conference - James was rather cranky since he didn't get a nap and hasn't been feeling very good. After - we went home - finished getting the food ready while James napped - then we headed over to Grandpa's for my mom's 60th birthday party. As usual at Francone get-togethers we had WAY too much food (lol - I wasn't even the worst offender!) But it was all yummy, and we all had a great time together.  Grandpa put together a slide show with pictures from my mom when she was younger, and even a tape with her singing both as a kid and as a teenager - it was adorable to hear her sing as a kid and kinda neat to hear how much she sounded like Sandi and I sound.  Our plan for her gift is to take her out to a spa for a morning with just the ladies and some relaxation!  We are looking forward to a week with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sandi and Baby Taz around!

I Love Music

This week started out like any other week, well kinda.  The weather is finally turning into that cool fall weather - the leaves are turning and I am craving soup.  Wednesday was a bit crazy with me having a dentist check up, Evie having a doctor check up and other errands that needed to be run - however, Dan was wonderful and worked from home in the morning to make it all MUCH easier - so it was a busy, but not stressful day.

This weekend we kept ourselves rather busy too.  I had concerts with the Colorado Mormon Chorale on Friday and Saturday.  They went well - I always enjoy the time spent singing.  I am so grateful for a husband who understands my need for music in my life and supports me by giving me up and watching the kids for rehearsals and concerts!

Saturday the kids had soccer in the morning - The teams coaches pick out someone from their team each week that they felt deserved a medal and this week both Aaron and Eileen got medals - Anna had gotten one two weeks ago - so here is a pic of our proud kiddos after a cold soccer morning and showing off their medals!

In the afternoon, Eileen had a birthday party - then after we went to hang out with Dwayne and Nicole and another MS friend.  We had fun chatting and eating - then i went to go have fun singing.  It's so fun having them live in this area!

At the Saturday concert I saw an old friend that I sang with in Texas who has recently moved to the area - it was fun to chat and catch up.  

Today - in addition to the usual insanity associated with Sundays, I also had a talk to give - I have only given a handful of talks in my married life - and I am perfectly content to keep it that way!  However it went pretty well - I at least went over 5 minutes long and I don't think i spoke too fast....   After church and ward choir, we went over to the Whelan's house for dinner and dessert.  I'm excited to get to be Jill's visiting teacher now - she's an awesome person and it's nice to make a friend that won't be moving any time soon.  :)  This was our last week of relative normalcy - after this begins all the insanity of the holidays and family and while part of me can't wait - the other part knows it's going to be an exhausting few months.... :) 

Snow!!

Dan left town Tuesday morning and as a result this has been kinda a busy and exhausting week.  Dwayne and Nicole came and watched the kids on Wednesday so I could go to choir.  Becky came over on Thursday so we could have fun chatting and crafting.  On Thursday night, the temperature dropped and we got a bit of snow, so that we woke up to this. 

Saturday was freezing cold and the kids and I all froze during soccer in the morning - so we hurried home after for hot cocoa, lunch and General Conference. General Conference, as usual was wonderful - a much needed lifting of spirits.  It was also fun to watch the kids get excited about it.  Dan got in late last night and we have enjoyed our day with him watching Conference, playing games and making food. 

Scrapping

This week was a bit nuts for us - we've been keeping busy with friends, and school and piano and such.  The kids had their first "track meet" - they had all the elementary age track participants choose 2 events to participate in and then they all had fun running and jumping - Eileen chose all jumping events and Anna chose the 2 longest running events.  They both did really well and had a lot of fun.  And we all had fun watching them and cheering them on.

Unfortunately, after them meet was the end of their session of Track and Field and we were too slow signing them up for the next session - we all miss track and field.....  The kids come home so much more restless - there were so many benefits - they were healthier, more willing to sit down for piano lessons and homework after school and I didn't have to wake James up from his naps every day to pick them up....  Gonna have to do better next time... :)

This weekend, I flew out to Utah for the Scrapbook Expo in Sandy.  It was utterly exhausting, but a blast!  All day Friday and all day Saturday, the 4 of us hung out at our booth, scrapped, and met people.  And by all day, I mean we were up at 6:30 and didn't get back home until after midnight!  But we had a lot of fun and it was fun to meet people that I have known online for 4-5 years now, but haven't met in person until now.  Nicole was nice enough to put me up for the weekend since Paul and Candace were in the middle of a move (and it was probably easier this way since I didn't have my own car) but I do wish I had had some spare time to go see their new house.  

After the expo ended on Saturday, Nicole took me to her Roller Derby match - it was a blast to watch and cheer her on!  Plus her team won - which is always exciting :)

I flew back to CO on Sunday morning - just in time for church.  It was a lot of fun - but i was very grateful for my Sunday afternoon nap :)

Where did September Go?

I can't believe we are in the final part of September, this month has just flown!  We have been keeping ourselves plenty busy with track and field, soccer, and play dates.  After checking out my cameras, I apparently only took pictures of my boys this week.  The weather has been gorgeous, so we took a walk over to the park with my friend Nicole and her 3 kids (who are close in age to my youngest 3) James just LOVED the swing.

Dan was out of town for a few days - thankfully his travel this month has been really light and we have loved having him around!  Nicole and Dwayne watched the kids for me so I could go to choir.  Apparently the kids totally tried to manipulate them the whole time "Yes we can do this - just one more movie - we can stay up a bit longer - we won't be cranky!"

Becky came over on Thursday I really enjoy having her over - we may do nothing more than chat and craft and eat lunch - but it's such a relief to have wonderful female friends around to hang out with especially when Dan is out of town and I am TOTALLY starved for adult conversation (ya know - anything other than "mommy - this dinosaur is gonna come eat you - does that tickle?"  and "mommy I'm hungry - what's for lunch" - that one about 10 minutes after breakfast)

James is getting totally mobile - he even figured out how to climb into the lego table - thankfully he doesn't much like eating them - they are too pokey - but I've been trying to do better about putting a blanket over it while he is around it.

Soccer is going well - I really like that all the coaches are more interested in having fun and getting the kids equal play time than winning. Aaron is starting to like it more and more - he really got in there and played some tough (for a 4 year old) defense - and even remembered which way they were supposed to be going.

It was also team picture day - this is the girls team - they have been enjoying it too - but vary between playing and trying hard and kinda standing there watching it all happen (when they are supposed to be in and playing) 

So during primary today - Eileen had a lesson about lying and telling the truth and the teacher did an object lesson using a piece of rope that he wound around Eileen's wrists to show that when you wrap it around once, it may be easy to get out of - but the more you wrap it around, the harder it is to get out of.  She really thought this was fun, because when she got home - she found a piece of rope in the back yard and the girls all began tying each other up.  

Birthday Girls

This is a week of birthdays for us!  And those birthdays were surrounded by a week of insanity!!!!  Why does it feel like I say that every week.....

Well - this week - Dan had a show in town, which meant that he got to sleep at home, but we didn't see much of him - one night he wasn't home until after I was asleep and was gone again before I woke up the next day.  Which means, that he almost might as well be out of town.  The week began with the usual hustle and bustle - track and field, piano lessons, laundry, grocery shopping, choir and trying to keep up with everything.

James is growing and learning - this week he learned that cake crumbs are really yummy.  Dan was making a birthday cake for me and didn't realize that he had dropped a crumb on the ground, James found it and ate it and LOVED it - Dan had to fight him off of the crumbs after that.

On Friday, Dan and I got a babysitter and went out for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.  We had a lot of fun together - but we always do.  Then we came back to the house to watch a movie together.  He got me some fun new books for my birthday - which may not sound fun to some - but I'm kinda addicted to books and reading, and I'm really looking forward to these!

Saturday was a bit crazy - in addition to getting ready for Evie's birthday and family coming over on Sunday, we had soccer in the morning, the primary program rehearsal and Anna had a birthday party.  Followed by some shopping and creating and of course cleaning.  

I just loved the action shots I managed to get of Aaron - it's so funny to watch him play - he alternates between getting in there and doing his best, and standing on the side whining about being tired and picking his nose.  The girls are a bit better - and it's fun to watch them learning and getting better.  

Anna really enjoyed helping me make a present for Evie - She did almost all of the tying for this little blanket and she loved it!  The rest of the kids had gone to Costco with Dan and she and I worked on this together.  She had such a hard time not telling Evie about it and when Evie opened her presents - she had to open that one first!!!!

James likes to crawl and climb everywhere - the other day, I found him stuck like this - of course I grabbed my camera for pictures before helping him.... he really wasn't upset though - he just kept working on it until he got himself free - I'm still not sure why he felt that was the best way to go in the first place though.  :)  

Eileen borrowed a book from school about bugs and has been kinda obsessed with them for a couple days now.  She has spent so much time reading this book and wants to make everything in there that it shows how to make so that she can catch and watch bugs.  So strange for a girl - but i LOVE to see her learning and how smart she it!!!

And of course, our little birthday girl!  Dan made her a birthday princess crown - she loved it!  We asked her what she wanted for her birthday - her only answer? "Pink CAKE! with Pink Frosting!!!!!"  Eileen kept trying to get her to ask for fancy cupcakes - but all she wanted was pink cake! 

Granda Francone, Frank, Tina and Frankie, and Stuart and Rebecca and family all came over to have cake and ice cream with us and celebrate.  I'm glad they did - we have way too much cake around here - it's good to have help eating it - plus I just love being with family!  I'm so glad that my kids have the chance to get to know them - especially their great grandpa!  

Wish I Were Super Mom

LOL - If I were Super Mom, then maybe I would have endless stores of energy and patience :)  Unfortunately I have neither.  Thankfully I have sweet children who (along with the normal dose of tantrums and whining) give me sweet kisses, snuggles and smiles that make it all worth it in the end.  Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who, after a long day at work, comes home and helps out and cares for me like I'm a queen.  Thankfully I have wonderful friends and ward members who help out when my hubby is gone and I have 4 wiggly kids and a very tired baby at church and need to get up and do music time with the primary kids and need help entertaining James.

This week we had choir start back up for me - it was wonderful to be singing again and to see friends again. Also I found out that Sandi will be singing with Evening Song - I am so excited for her!

We also started preschool stuff for Aaron again (and some for Evie too) we talked about our body parts and had fun tracing the kids - after, Aaron spent a good solid 2 hours coloring his in - at the same time James and Evie both took naps and I had a wonderful 2 hours to get some stuff done and relax a bit!  I even got to eat lunch with out two kids hanging over me and begging for food!  LOL - I'd call it a minor miracle - but to me it's not so minor.

We asked Evie what she wanted for her birthday, and she told me she wanted "A pink frosting cake!!!"  So cute and so easy to please!

As of this morning - James now has 2 teeth on the bottom - he is growing so fast and has such a wonderful little smile!!

Today was a bit insane - we are getting the primary kids ready for their primary program in 2 weeks and since we have stake conference next week, we spent the full 2 hours doing a run through - sigh....kids attention spans are NOT that long - and James was not a happy camper, having been in need of a nap for over an hour when it started.  After church we spent the afternoon playing games and doing crafts until dinner time.  Now I am totally ready for bed.....zzzzzzzzzzz

Labor Day Fun

Well we have had a fun, wonderful weekend!  But I'm getting ahead of myself!

We started out our week like normal - kids with school, piano lessons, track and field and lots of fun.  Dan and I have some friends moving to the area and the husband drove in with their things on Thursday and the wife and kids flew in this weekend - we wanted to make sure they didn't starve and had Dwayne over for lunch and dinner and sent him home with food.

Anna had her 6 year old well child visit on Thursday and we found out that she is a healthy, happy well adjusted, smart girl - but we knew that all ready :)

James is ALL OVER the place - he is very mobile and pulling up on everything and starting to walk around the edges of things. He is also a very happy and easy going baby (at least as long as he is fed and not tired)  And he officially has a tooth!!!

On Friday, we took off to Utah to spend the weekend with Paul and Candace and their family.  It was wonderful - Eileen and Anna spent all their time hanging out with Annmarie who is about Anna's age.  Aaron spent all his time playing with Cannon and Christian and leaning how to be a boy with Nerf guns and dinosaur costumes.  Evie spent all her time with Genevieve who is about her age and James spent all his time with their pre-teen daughter Bianca who is an awesome baby sitter!  It was so fun to watch them play together and get along so well.  When we had to leave to come home, Eileen kept saying "I wish we could come here more than just once a year!)  We were all sad to leave!  It's fun to watch Dan with his brother - they are very alike in their sense of humor and their interests.  I love Candace and the example she sets for me - she is a wonderful mother - creative, loving, patient, talented - but then again - I married into a wonderful family of women!

We stopped at Little America on our way home - turned out to be the perfect lunch stop - decent food - cheap ice cream and a play ground for the kids to get wiggles out, and even clean bathrooms!