Busy and Amazing Week!

Monday morning, I had a doctor's appointment to try and figure out what steps to take concerning my miscarriage, and what steps to take to try and keep this from happening anymore.  It was a necessary, but depressing way to spend the morning.  The rest of the day was uneventful.  Tuesday was the usual.  School and preschool, choir for Eileen and Anna and then in the evening, my parents, sister and niece and nephew arrived.  We sent all the kids downstairs, then surprised them with their main Christmas present - an adorable little yorkie terrier named Koopa.  The kids were all excited - though at first they didn't realize that the dog was for our family and would stay with us after Grandma and Grandpa went home.  James would say "wait... so he's going to live with us forever??"  

Eileen was especially excited.  She has wanted a pet so badly for so long that this is her dream come true and she has excitedly tried to do as much puppy care as she can.  So much so that Anna has grumped a bit about not getting to do anything because Eileen does it all.

Anna got her suitcase for her trip to Scotland with Grandpa, she also got to have a lot of fun talking about their plans.  Anna's suitcase had come in a big box that the kids had a blast playing in until they broke it - then they kept having fun playing with it until mommy made them clean up all the little pieces.  I called them my "3 boys in a tub" which they thought was pretty funny.  

Wednesday we spent a little time at the library with Sandi and Grandpa and the kids - it was fun and the kids enjoyed it.  Sandi doesn't like to stay home with the kids because they get a bit crazy with out something to do. We had some fun there before heading home for lunch.

Thursday we got snow and Sandi took the kids out to play in the snow and shovel snow.  I went and took a friends daughter to her doctor's appointment and then after, I met Dan for lunch before heading to pick up the kids from school.

Friday while the kids were at school, we all tried to go to Walmart so my parents could get some birthday presents for the boys, we could get some food items, and I could refill a prescription.  I was done and ready to go home after about 25 minutes.  We left about 2 hours later....  Sandi really likes being out, but James and I would mostly rather be at home.  The kids have been having tons of fun together.  Kai has really been loving hanging out with the big girls.  Friday night, after dinner, Dan and I left the kids with Sandi and my parents and went to see the new Star Wars movie.  We really enjoyed it and really enjoyed getting out of the house with no kids and just us.

Saturday, Dan and I had meetings in the morning, (mine was for girls camp!!)  and then in the afternoon, we headed for the museum.  The kids spent most of their time in the Space Odessey, (which James adores - he loves the sand and he loves dressing up as an astronaut) and in the Discovery Zone getting wet and digging up dinosaur bones and banging on drums.  Finally, Grandpa Cox and I took the Eileen, Anna and Aaron up to the Sherlock Holmes exhibit.  It was so much fun!  It was really well put together and we all had a blast!

Saturday evening, we waited for Grandma and Grandpa Jones to get in (unfortunatly they had all sorts of trouble with flights and car rentals and were late) then we had a birthday party for Aaron.  We did cake and Ice Cream, then he got to open his presents.  He got all his cub scout stuff from Grandma and Grandpa Jones and some new Skylanders from Grandma and Grandpa Cox.  He got some new clothes from Great Grandma Penny and some new scriptures and a book from mom and dad.  

Church today was wonderful.  The talks were wonderful and the lessons were wonderful!  After, we all (all = our family, my parents, sister and her family, Dan's parents, Steve and Claire and their family) gathered at our house for pancakes and bacon and eggs and fruit.  Then we played some games, chatted, I finished Kai's quilt and then we headed to the church.  It was so amazing getting to be there with so much family and so many friends.   I was surprised by the turn out, and grateful for the wonderful people who helped bring refreshments.  There are few feelings better than sitting with your son while he is preparing to make his first covenant with God, surrounded by people I care about!  My heart is so full!

Here is my amazing oldest son - choosing to follow his Savior!  I am so proud of this boy and the choices he is making and the person his is becoming!

After, we went home and tried to put the kids to bed.  Some of Steve and Claire's boys stayed with us and so we let Eileen stay up to play Killer Bunnies with us.  Tomorrow, my family heads home.  I will be sad to see them go, but it will be nice to have my house back!

And a Happy New Year!

This weeks collection of pictures is mostly a hodge podge of fun stuff from our week together.  

Monday morning, Dan headed back into work - he had a project that needed doing and it kept him busy for most of the week.  Thankfully he got Thursday and Friday off for the holiday.  Tuesday morning, I had a doctors appointment - Dan hung around to watch the kids until I got back.  I was having a second ultrasound, only to find out that there was no heart beat and no growth since the last one.  This is my 3rd known miscarriage in a year and a half.  Got another appointment tomorrow to try and figure out what is going on.  

Wednesday was a normal everyday, hangout and go try and convince the kids to play outside and enjoy the sunny (if not exactly warm) days.  Wednesday night, Dan took Aaron out to spend his gift card on the new Skylanders game.  He has wanted to play it every minute since....  Dan took Evie and James and Eileen out on Thursday and after, I took Anna to Michael's where she got a grownup coloring book and nice colored pencils, plus a sand bottle craft kit.  Dan took some time to put up some shelves in the girls rooms under their beds.  Eileen and Anna both have some stuff that they don't want shared around and they need someplace to keep it.  Dan let them have fun painting them shelves - mommy just tried to keep James out of the acrylic paints....  Aaron's friend Isaac came over on Thursday morning, and the boys spent the whole time playing Skylanders and having a blast together.  

Thursday night, we let Eileen stay up with us to celebrate the new year, we ate pie, drank sparkling cider, did a puzzle (well I did the puzzle, Eileen got distracted by the movie) watched "The Princess Bride" and then played a game of 7 Wonders.  (picture below is my piece of pie after Dan got done putting whipped cream on it.... no I did not eat all of the whipped cream.)

Friday we tried to go to the museum with the kids, but it was so packed that we gave up and just went and played in the snow and threw snowballs at each other instead.  In the evening, Dan's brother Steve came by.  He had dropped his oldest daughter at the airport and wanted to wait in town to make sure she got off ok, so he came and had dinner with us and played a game of Dominion and creamed Dan and I.  

Saturday was mostly spent cleaning.  The kids HAD to clean up their bathrooms to get ready for guests next week and I spent some time cleaning and organizing the craft room and working through a few clothes and stuffed animal repairs to get it ready for family coming into town on Monday.

Church today was wonderful!  Eileen and Anna chose to fast with us for President Monson and they were so amazing to watch their faithfulness even though they were really hungry!  After church, Aaron had his baptism interview.  I can't believe he's getting baptized in just 1 week!  I put some fun glow sticks in the kids stockings and tonight the kids had fun breaking them and running around in the dark basement.
Here's Eileen and Evie with their glow glasses

Aaron being a robot.

James throwing a tantrum (probably because I said no to something or other)

And the only pic I managed to get of Anna while we were out playing in the snow.  

Merry Christmas to all!

This week was full of fun and family and friends!  We started out on Monday with Morgan still over visiting and spending the night for one more night - and Evie's friend Emery came over for a play date.  They had so much fun together!  Tuesday Morgan was still over for most of the afternoon, then her mom picked her up late afternoon.   

Wednesday the kids had piano lessons in the morning, and Dan took the day off so I could get my Christmas shopping done.  The kids piano teacher and her daughter stayed for lunch so the kids could play a bit longer.  Also Mark and Julia and Doug came by after lunch to go over Julia and I's song for that night.  I did some more shopping in the afternoon and finally got it done enough...  Then we packed up into the car and headed to Grandpas for singing Christmas songs.  The kids read the Christmas Story and Eileen played her flute again!  Julia and I sang and some of the sweet people there remembered me singing "O Holy Night" in years past and asked that I sing it again.  After, we all enjoyed some yummy treats and Hot Cocoa and then headed home and got the kids to bed.  

Thursday was Christmas Eve and Dan and I were mostly working to get cooking done and to get the house cleaned up.  In the evening, we headed over to Frank and Tina's for Bagna Caulda.  We let the kids watch "White Christmas" in the car.  The kids had fun running around and playing with cousins and eating yummy food.  Then we spent some time singing and then headed home to get the kids to bed.  The kids got their Christmas Eve gift - slippers for Eileen and Anna, a bathrobe for Aaron and PJ's for Evie and James (which PJ's they have tried to wear every night since) and slippers for Dan and comfy PJ bottoms for me!  

Christmas morning started for us around 7am - The girls were up and waiting patiently downstairs - the boys were still out cold, so Dan woke them up and we all went to open our stockings.  the kids had a blast and then were hungry and wanted to pause for breakfast, so we paused and ate our pop tarts, hot cocoa and oatmeal.  

We got a White Christmas - part way through the morning it started snowing!  We called Aunt Pam and Grandma Penny on Skype and chatted while the kids opened their presents from them.  Anna and Eileen got cute umbrella's from them - Anna decided to use it while she shoveled snow on our driveway before people got her for Dinner.   We spent most of the afternoon playing and relaxing, then we turned to clean up and cooking again.  

Family started showing up around 4 and we all had a great time eating, playing, exchanging gifts and chatting.  The kids loved their gifts and had a great time with their cousins.  Becca and Jeremiah came too and we all had a great time!  

Saturday was mostly spent enjoying our Christmas presents.  We got the kids a new computer and they have been enjoying it thoroughly.  We also got 2 new Killer Bunny Expansions and a Dominion Expansion, So Dan and Eileen and I have been spending some time in the evenings playing games together!   Dan ran a couple errands on Saturday and we went to a baptism on Saturday and Dan helped some people in the ward move, but the rest of us mostly took it easy.

Church today was wonderful!  The talks in Sacrament Meeting were wonderful and the musical number was just beautiful!  The lessons were great and the hardest part of the morning was trying to figure out how to snuggle 4 kids on my lap at once.  After church, Dan took the kids up to care for Newell and Becky's cats while I took a much needed nap, then we spent the afternoon playing games and eating dinner and snuggling.  James has eaten way too much junk this week and his tummy isn't feeling so well - so thankfully he went to bed quickly tonight (as opposed to last night when he stayed up way too late playing in his room.

Crazy Christmas Fun

We had a fun week this week!  Monday was our usual insanity and laundry and such.  Dan got home after the kids were in bed from his short 2 day trip.  We were woken up early Tuesday by a call from the school letting us know that it was a snow day.  We hadn't really been expecting snow, so we looked out the window and were rather surprised to see over half a foot of snow on the ground!  We all just acted like homebodies for the day - it kept snowing most of the day, so Dan stayed and worked from home.  I left for a doctor's appointment and that was it!  Most of us hardly bothered getting out of our PJs!  We had the Elder's over for dinner - they weren't allowed to drive in the snow, so Dan picked them up and brought them over.  

One night - James wanted to be carried to his room to go to bed, but I've been having back and shoulder issues all week and couldn't, so his wonderful older brother gave him a horsey ride to his room.  

Wednesday was the usual for the kids - school day, James and I went to the library with Nicole and Tayanna.  They gave us some yummy gingerbread houses and people!  In the evening, We were invited to go to the Cub Scout Christmas party since Aaron will be joining Cub Scouts soon.  He had a great time and is REALLY looking forward to cub scouts now!  The kids all had a great time playing red light/green light (though they gave it a cute Christmas-y name that I can't remember now) 

Thursday was the last day of school for the kids.  They were all so excited about their Christmas parties and since Aaron's teacher had said I could bring James with me, we went in and helped with crafts, read stories and ate snacks.  Aaron had a blast. After, the kids had their piano lessons and we settled in for a quiet evening at home - for once.  

Friday we played at home.  The kids mostly just goofed off  and we all took it easy, enjoying our first day of vacation.  In the evening, I took the girls to a Messiah Sing-In - we all had a great time together!  It was so much fun sharing that experience with my kids!  

Saturday was a bit crazy.  Eileen and Anna and I went to the rehearsal for the Ward Christmas Program in the morning, then Eileen had flute lessons, Dan ran some errands in the afternoon, and finally in the evening, we had a babysitter for the kids, so Dan and I could go to his Company Christmas party.  We had a lot of fun and ate too much food!  

Today was the Christmas Program at church.  It went really well.  Eileen played her flute and we enjoyed singing Christmas music and being filled by the spirit!  The afternoon was the normal lunch, play games and talk to family on the phone.  Then in the evening, Eileen's BFF Morgan came over to spend the night.  We always try and get the girls together for a day or two during breaks.  Eileen was so excited that she stood at the window waiting for her for over half an hour.  :)  

 Now we are in the countdown to Christmas, and I still need to do some shopping.....

I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

This week has been busy!!!  We started out normal - Dan and I have started trying to take some time on Sunday to look at our schedule for the week and get it all on a calendar so that we don't forget stuff :)  

Monday, I had a few extra kids at the house - I ended up with three 3 year old boys and an 18 month old.  They were so funny to watch them play together.  They all were superheroes and had fun running around like crazy :)  Other than that, it was the usual school, clubs, homework, piano practicing, laundry and grocery shopping.  

Tuesday, James had preschool.  He always has fun at preschool - it's a great group of kids that he loves to play with.  But his favorite part of the week is when his Best Buddy comes over to play Monday and Tuesday for a couple hours.  Tuesday night, we had the sister missionaries over for dinner.  

Wednesday the older kids had late start, then James and I went to the library with Tayanna and Nicole.  It really is a great little library and the kids love it.  After school and afternoon craziness, I had choir practice which was our tech rehearsal for our orchestra concerts and went for nearly 3 hours.  I was so tired by the end that I was about ready to pass out when I got home.  

Thursday was preschool for James, school for the kids, piano lessons in the afternoon and my second concert of the season.  There's something about singing with an orchestra that is just so amazing!  The concert went well, Doug and Grandpa came to hear me - after I went with Grandpa back to his place for hot chocolate and shortbread.  I also got to look through an old picture album that he had from his father's time in WWI - it was amazing and horrifying all at the same time.  

Friday morning, I went visiting teaching, then James and I took it easy while i tried to get some stuff done at home.  Then another concert in the evening.  Dan took the older 3 kids to this one while one of the young women came to babysit the younger two.  Frank and Tina and Frankie came too.  After the concert, I took Aaron over to meet the percussionists and they were really nice and showed him around and he looked like the proverbial kid in a candy shop - grinning ear to ear!  After, we went out for dessert with Frank and Tina and Frankie and got pie at Village Inn.  The kids had a great time, but Aaron and Anna were exhausted by the time we were done.  

Saturday morning, my dad got into town and we hung out at the house with the kids in the morning, then in the afternoon, we tried to take the kids to the Hammond's Candy factory Candy Cane Festival, but it was all outdoors, and it was snowing and James forgot a coat and Evie had left her's at school, so we looked around a bit, shopped a bit and headed home to get warm.  

Then, my dad and I headed to my final concert of the season and Dan and the kids headed to the ward Christmas Party.  The kids got to sing and James even went up and sang with them since he knew all the songs.  Dan recorded it for me so I got to see it!  The party was "Polar Express" themed and so Dan went dressed as a hobo.  :)  The kids all got to wear their pajamas and loved it!

Today Dan headed out of town this morning for a meeting and then after church, we headed home for lunch and cookie making before going to ward choir practice and then after that we took Grandpa to the airport so he could head home.  At church today, they needed people in the nursery, so I went in and helped out during 3rd hour, and had a blast!  I had fun reading to the kids and playing with the kids and singing with the kids!

A week filled with Christmas music can't be a bad one - but it will be nice to have some time with my family again!

Christmas Crazies Begin!

So we got our tree last week, but I didn't post the pictures, so here's a picture of us with our tree outside Home Depot.  

Monday evening for Family Home Evening, we decorated the tree.  The kids loved putting their ornaments on and looking at all their ornaments.  They are really getting excited for Christmas!  

Tuesday was the usual.  We had preschool at our house, but we only had two other kids come - so we had fun and took it easy and the kids had fun.  After school was choir for the girls as usual, but Anna's trumpet lessons have been moved so at least we didn't have that too.  :)

Wednesday James and I went to the library with Nicole and Tayanna, then after, they came to our house for lunch and Dwayne and Dan met us there.  We had fun and ate good food and James (as always) was sad to see his friends go.  He is such a social little boy!  In the evening, I had choir - last rehearsal before concerts start!

Thursday James had preschool again so he had a friend over - just one - but they had a lot of fun together.  In the afternoon was piano lessons as usual.  The kids love piano lessons, both because they love the lessons and the teacher, and also because they love having the piano teacher's daughter come over and play with them  :)  In the evening, I had Institute - the lesson was wonderful!

Friday I spent most of the day listening to James be mad at me because he didn't have any friends coming over....  Once we picked the kids up from school he was ok again.  :)  We went to get my allergy shot - and he had fun flirting with the ladies there, but once we got home... "mommy are we going to pick up Payton, or Tayanna or Lauren?"  "Well who are we going to get???"  In the evening, I had a girls camp meeting.  It was fun and I'm starting to get excited about next year!

Saturday was full of crazyness.  Eileen had flute lessons, I had a Relief Society activity (cookie exchange - yum!) Evie and Aaron had a birthday party and Anna had trumpet lessons.  Somehow Dan and I managed to get everyone where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there.  Dan also got some shopping done, I got some cookie dough made and then in the evening, I took Eileen, and we went to my first Christmas concert of the season!  The concert went well and then after, Eileen and I got dinner and dessert together.

Sunday was wonderful and crazy.  Church was amazing!  I got to see a friend there who is usually unable to come, but she came to day and it was wonderful to see her there!  The testimonies born today were wonderful and the lessons were amazing! After church I was beat (two wiggle kids battling for lap space can be exhausting, even if I do enjoy the snuggles)  but I made lots and lots of cookies and cleaned up the kitchen.  Around 3, Newell and Becky and family and Natasha came over to decorate cookies with us!  It's always a fun group to get together.  Then after decorating, Dan made dinner and the missionaries came over for dinner.  We had a great dinner followed by the Christmas Devotional which was wonderful.  Finally the kids went to bed - Dan and I cleaned up the chaos that was the kitchen, we finished frosting the cookies and now he's out cold and I'm ready to head to bed too!

James was so funny to watch decorate - he was so meticulous about how he decorated his cookies.  Evie's were of course laden with sprinkles of all kinds.  Aaron was careful and so cute!  Anna had a lot of fun being artistic with hers and made some beautiful cookies.  Eileen and Zoe were having tons of fun together and it was fun to watch them have fun together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The week started out normal enough.  James' friend came over to play on Monday and Tuesday, The older kids had school and homework and Dan had work and I had all my normal stuff plus Choir on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.  Then came Wednesday.  The kids were off school, Dan was off work!  The kids had piano lessons in the morning, Anna had trumpet in the afternoon and Dan and I cooked.  Thursday, Dan cooked some more (rolls...mmmmm) and we spent most of the day cleaning up the house and playing together.  In the evening, we headed out in the snow to go to Stuart and Rebecca's for Thanksgiving dinner and had a great time with all the family!  The food was wonderful and of course the company was even better. 

Friday was a great day.  We mostly stayed home to avoid the Black Friday junk, but we went out to get our Christmas Tree and tried doing the dollar store with the kids so they could pick out presents for each other.  The older four were awesome, but James just did not get the idea of getting stuff for other people and not for himself, so he and I sat in the car and he threw a tantrum while the others shopped.  We got home and the kids had fun wrapping their presents to each other.  James managed to hold off on touching them for almost a whole day - so now our tree is empty underneath again and the presents are re-wrapped and hidden until Christmas. 

Saturday we spent hanging out around the house.  I spent some time cleaning up my craft room and getting it ready for guests, and finishing some projects and helping Eileen with her projects.  She is making cute little stuffed animals for each of her siblings for Christmas.  

While in my craft room, I found this cute note from Anna - she's such a SWEETIE!  I just hope she thinks this way in another 5 years :)   

Sunday was wonderful, Church was mostly great - I wore my cloak, so James curled up inside it for most of Sacrament Meeting.  Dan gave a wonderful talk and we had some great lessons.  After church, Dan got home and Eileen, Anna and I headed for choir.  After choir we got back and Dan taught the kids a new game.  He taught them MASH.  When he asked Eileen to name 3 boys - Eileen struggled, and when he told her to name a boy she liked - she got all bashful and shy and adamant that there were NONE!  The kids all got a kick out of it all :) We had a fun evening playing games and talking to Grandma and Grandpa Jones, then put the kids to bed!  

Yey for Snow!

Umm - so I never thought I would actually type that title... I'm not generally a snow person - I don't mind looking at it through a window from a warm house with hot cocoa in my hand - but I'd rather not be out in it if at all possible - mostly because I hate being cold - and if it's snowing, there is some part of you that is cold.

The week started off normally - laundry, groceries, I went visiting teaching and had a great time visiting some amazing ladies!  After school was the usual.  Eileen had her needle arts club and came home with the makings for a cute little stuffed animal.  She loved working on it and had it finished by the end of Tuesday.

Tuesday was a SNOW DAY!!!  The kids let me sleep in a bit, then they all got their piano and homework done, then we spent the rest of the day playing and relaxing and not feeling guilty at all!  It was a really nice day off from all the usual insanity of life!  Unfortunately, I'm a lazy mommy who took no pictures... Anna still had trumpet lessons, but that was our only commitment for the day!

Wednesday was late start day for the kids and library fun for James and I with Nicole and Tayanna.  After was a normal Wednesday routine of picking the kids up from school then helping with piano, homework and stuff.  I had choir practice in the evening, rehearsal went well and I got a solo for the upcoming concert!  My dad will be flying out for one of the Christmas concerts to hear me sing :)

Thursday is usually piano lesson day, but the teacher had car issues, so we had to cancel this week.  So we had a relaxed evening together.  Thursday morning, James had his field trip to Hammond's Candy Factory with his preschool group, while I took a friends daughter to a doctor's appointment.

Friday was a rather normal, uneventful day - mostly just me getting some stuff done at home and hanging out with James.  I went and got my allergy shot and then James and I built block castles.  Dan and I played killer bunnies with Eileen during her extra hour up.  :)

Saturday was busy with errands, flute lessons, school projects and cleaning.  The kids had some fun in the evening playing games with Daddy, then Dan and I played a game of suburbia and got some work done and went to bed

Church today was wonderful!  The choir was singing and I think it went well - I really enjoyed the song we were singing. The lesson in Relief Society was wonderful  and I'm starting to get excited about getting ready for girls camp next year!  After church we had tithing settlement then Dan went home teaching and we had fun playing together at home.

Portland!

This week was fun!  We started out mostly normal, Monday we had James' friend Payton over to play and as always they had a great time together.  Monday was also the usual laundry and shopping trips.  I did my shopping during the day with James though because we needed a couple things with dinner.  The sister missionaries came over for dinner.  They tried to give us a wonderful FHE lesson, but Anna was so helpful and so good at answering questions, that she gave most of the lesson for them :)
Tuesday was Preschool for James then Payton coming over to play after.

Wednesday I was watching a friends son and we took him with us while we tried to go to the library as usual, but they were closed for Veteran's Day, so we went and played in the mall play area instead.  The kids had lots of fun and then we headed home for lunch.  In the evening, I had choir, we are meeting at a new building now, so it all felt different - but it was wonderful as always.  After, I headed to the Stake Center to play volleyball then got home and collapsed into bed!  And once again, I was sore the next day!

Thursday, James had preschool again and I started on making Christmas Presents!  After school was piano lessons, then we started getting the kids packed and ready to go to aunt Tina's, and in the evening I went to the Institute class.

Friday was a day of getting ready.  Dan took the day off work, so we spent the morning getting ourselves packed and ready for our trip, then Tina arrived and dropped us off at the airport.  We arrived that evening in Portland and had a great dinner with Gene and Ann at Outback, then to our hotel for the night.

Saturday morning, Dan and I got picked up by Gene and Ann, then went to the temple, we had a quick lunch with Paul and then met with the rest of the family before the sealing.  It was so neat to be back at the Portland temple.  We haven't had the chance to be back since we were married there.  It was so amazing to look around and remember and to think about how much life has passed since we were there last and to think just how amazingly blessed we are.  The sealing was wonderful!  After we all hung out together to celebrate then in the evening, Dan and I went with Paul to stay at John and Melissa's house.  It was lots of fun seeing their new house, and even more fun was getting to see Sara!  Dan and I really haven't gotten to see her since college, so it's been a long time since we've seen her and we got to spend the evening hanging out and playing games together

Sunday morning we went to church with John and Melissa (well with Melissa - John had to be there early for meetings) Church was wonderful, it was kinda nice to get to sit with Dan and to not have kids climbing on me!  Then Paul, Dan and I headed to the airport.  We finally got home safe and sound and tired.... so off to bed for me - I've been fighting a cold all weekend - and sleep is what my poor tired body needs.  :)

Birthday Girl

I can't believe that I'm blessed enough to get to be a mom to this amazing girl.  I also can't believe that she's 11 already.  Monday was her birthday - she had enjoyed watching the packages come in the mail.  Dan made her a puffin cake (at her request - he's so awesome!!)  She loved her presents!  Dan gave her a few books from a new series she's been enjoying, but he got her digital copies of the books, so to tell her, he wrote her a note in a series of runes used in the book and made her translate them!  She picked burritos and taquitos for her birthday dinner and during dinner, I told her the story of the night she was born.  

Eileen is such an amazing person.  I'm so glad that she is my oldest daughter - she has been such an easy way to get used to motherhood in each age.  She is helpful, kind, funny, a good example to her siblings and fun to be with.  

Dan and I weren't feeling very good on Tuesday, so we mostly stayed home and rested - James obliged thankfully, I think he might have been a bit under the weather too.  Anna still had trumpet lessons in the evening and after, I chatted with Sara and Tyler for a few minutes before heading home.

Wednesday was the usual, James and I went to the library with Tayanna and Nicole.  James kept asking if we were going to eat lunch at their house again - I told him that we weren't this week, but maybe we could invite them for lunch at our house sometime!
Choir was a ton of fun - we are working on Christmas music and we are doing some really awesome stuff!  After, I tried to go play volleyball again, but no one was there.  :(  Hopefully next week!

Thursday was the usual.  James had preschool and the kids had piano lessons.  Then in the evening I had institute.  I've really been enjoying the class - Sara is an excellent teacher and I love the chance to really study the scriptures and discuss them!

Friday, I messed up.  I double booked Eileen's Great Grandpa time, and her well child check up.  We kinda managed to squeeze them both in, but I felt bad :(  Eileen is healthy and growing well.  After the check up, we all got our flu shots.  I got mine first so the kids could see me not cry :)  Then Eileen got her flu shot plus her vaccinations.  Then James wanted to go next.  He was disappointed when he only got to have one - he wanted more like Eileen got.  He was so cute and tough.  The nurse said she had never had a kid ask for more shots!  The rest of the kids all did great too - the nurse said she was very impressed at how well the kids all did!  That evening, we had the Youngs over for dinner.  We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes and had fun chatting and hanging out with our friends.

Saturday was cleaning day.  We got the house straightened up, then we let the kids do some extra chores.  Evelyn has been throwing away the lunches we send her to school with and has been buying school lunches - and racked up a big old lunch bill.... so she is now doing extra chores to pay us back for that....  In the evening, we went to a baptism at the church, then headed home quickly to meet Jasmine who was babysitting for us.  We were going to get pedi's but the place closed an hour before they said that they closed online... so we just went to a movie instead, we saw the new Bond movie.  We had a great time - but since I always have a great time, just being with him, that was a given :)  After the movie, we headed home and watched a bit of TV before heading to bed.

Sunday was wonderful.  James threw a huge tantrum at the beginning of church, so we spent all of first hour in the lobby with him on time out and pouting.  After that he was fine though.  The rest of church was wonderful, then we headed home for a relaxing afternoon of playing together, interrupted only by ward choir and singing beautiful music!  We had yummy banana muffins for dinner and then we called family and chatted a bit before the kids went to bed.

Happy Halloween!!

It's been an insanely busy week!!  Monday was laundry day as usual, then Nicole and I took the kiddos to the library near her house for a Halloween Story time.  Inside the library, they had a cool cockpit and pilot outfit that the kids could play with.  They had a blast!  After, James and I made a quick grocery stop to get the pumpkins to carve that night.  

For FHE that night, the kids carved their pumpkins.  They were so funny to watch.  The older kids wanted to do it all themselves and the younger ones had fun squealing over the gooey insides.  They all loved it though and we had a great evening!  

Tuesday was James' field trip to the pumpkin patch at Nick's Garden Center.  James had a blast exploring and playing with his friends.  The only down side was all the fun things to do that cost money.  James spent a lot of the time there asking to go on the bouncy houses and train rides.  I spent a lot of time telling him that he couldn't go on them because they cost money.  Eventually he got over it and had a good time though.  He especially loved a big talking pumpkin that told jokes.  

Anna hadn't been feeling good after school again on Monday, so on Tuesday, we kept her home - which turned out to be a good thing since she  slept all morning.  Dan stayed with her and worked from home so I could go with James.  After school, Eileen had choir and Anna was feeling better so she still went to Trumpet.  That evening, we had the Elder's over for dinner.  They are both brand new to the area, and both seem really eager to get to work - it's great!  

Wednesday was late start day for the kids.  I had been going to help out a friend with getting kids to appointments that morning, but, she ended up not needing my help, so James and I ran some errands - we made a necessary trip to Costco and returned some library books.  We had piano lessons this week moved to Wednesday, so the kids were busy with piano lessons after school.  In the evening was choir practice for me.  After choir, I took Nicole home, then I went to the church to play Volleyball with some friends from church.   I had a ton of fun and LOVED it - but was exhausted and sore by the time I got home around 11:30!  

If i had been sore on Wednesday night, it was nothing compared to Thursday - running on not enough sleep and too much soreness - I took James to preschool, then went home and took a nap.  :)  After school, the kids did piano and homework while I frosted cookies to take to my visiting teaching Sisters and their families.  In the evening, I went to the institute class - I've really been loving getting to immerse myself in scriptures like this!  

Friday, the kids were allowed to dress up in costumes for school.   They got dressed up and had a blast at school!  I spent the morning cooking chili and getting my allergy shot done.  Then we spent the afternoon getting ready for the Trunk or Treat at the church that night.  The trunk or treat and chili cook off was awesome - we had a ton of visitors, a ton of yummy food and lots of fun!  The kids loaded up on junk food and candy - but at least most of them got some decent food first... Evie however didn't eat hardly anything healthy and ended up throwing up during the night from too much junk and not enough healthy food.  

Halloween was busy - in the morning, we spent most of the morning cleaning up, then Eileen had flute lessons, and I went to Heather's house to help her clean up.  The sister missionaries came to help out too and we had it all done within and hour and a half.  Then i got back home and cleaned some more, ate a yummy lunch that Dan made for me, then I headed out again to take Halloween cookies to my sisters.  I stopped and visited with a couple, then stopped at the grocery store.  I got home and made up a ton of frozen burritos to get them ready for Eileen's birthday dinner on Monday.  We had a quick dinner, then we took the kids out trick-or-treating.  we just went around our little block - considering how much candy the kids had gotten on Friday night, we figured that was plenty.  :)  

Today was wonderful!  We were there a bit late because Heather had overslept courtesy of Daylight Savings changes - but it was all good - we still got to see the baby blessing and take the Sacrament.  Lessons were wonderful.  After church, we played games, did crafts and had fun together.  We had a yummy dinner and then we called Grandpa Cox and Grandma and Grandpa Jones.  We are starting to think about and try and prepare for Aaron's baptism in January!

Friends and Fun

Monday, Dan had to re-dig up a huge hole in our front yard.  A pipe was leaking and constantly running water into the ground.  Dan dug a huge hole and our friend Nate came over to help him with fixing the pipe (and to help him get out of the hole which was nearly 6 feet deep.)  Nate's wonderful wife and daughter came over also and brought dinner with them, so while the men worked, we made hamburgers and salad and had brownies for dessert!  The guys finally got it all done, but put off filling in the hole until the next day.  

We found this cute note in our mail box.  Evie had wanted to send a note to her friend, but hadn't realized the need for an envelope, stamp and address.  I took pictures and sent them to her friend's mom so that she would get her little letter!  

Tuesday was wet and rainy, so after picking everyone up from school and choir, we took Anna to trumpet, but just hung out in the car since we couldn't really play at the park.  

Wednesday, James and I went to the library with Tayanna and Nicole.  We had a great time - though I think James' favorite part was getting to use the umbrella with me.  After school, James was a bit tired, so he found his blanket and curled up in the girls dirty clothes hamper for a nap.  He was so cute and sweet and sleepy!  

Thursday was school as usual for the kids and piano lessons after.  In the evening, I went to the institute class.  I really love learning more about the scriptures and having a chance to really study them and learn from them.

Friday was nice and quiet (relatively) and we enjoyed a relaxing evening together.

Saturday morning, I picked up Heather and we went to the Stake Women's Conference.  It was wonderful!  After, we went to a friend's baptism, then we had a fun pizza-ball dinner before I headed out to my choir concert - the concert went well and was lots of fun!

Saturday night and Sunday morning, Anna was throwing up :(  I needed to be at the church to help with the choir, So we brought Anna with us and she sat in the foyer with Heather, then Dan took Heather and Anna to our house where they fell asleep and took a nice nap while the rest of us were at church.  After church, we all came home, ate lunch and spent some time crocheting together - James wanted me to teach him too.  Then the kids were tasked with finishing the clean-up job that they had been putting off all week....

Home Sweet Home

Tuesday afternoon, we headed back from the cabin to get laundry done, take Anna to trumpet lessons and try to recover.  Wednesday was a dentist check up  for Eileen and choir for me.  

Thursday morning, the kids had Piano lessons and Dan got home!!!  Dan and I spent most of the next 2 days trying to get errands run and get back to normal.  We were in desperate need of groceries and still needed to get laundry folded and the lawn needed to be mowed.  Eileen had flute lessons on Saturday and an appointment to get new glasses on Friday.  

Saturday, Dan and I went to furniture row with the kids and then to Ikea.  We have been making a list of the larger purchases we would like to make in the future and getting a price range for what we need to save up for before we can get them.  

Sunday was church in the morning, the lessons and talks were wonderful.  After church, we had lunch and I made cookies for choir.  Ward choir met and I substituted for Bonnie, then I headed home.  In the afternoon and evening, the kids spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  We have tons of leaves on our lawn (even though we just mowed on Friday and even though our trees still look like they have most of their leaves.)  Either way, the kids had a ball playing in the leaves and goofing off outside.  

Adventure Here We Come

This week started out normal.  School, after school clubs, trumpet lessons, piano lessons, homework, Choir, all that good stuff.  Thursday, Dan headed to Nashville for work, and the kids and I stayed busy.  Thursday evening, I was teaching a relief society activity about freezer food and then the girls friend Neveah came to stay with us while her mom was in the hospital having her new baby.  We dropped her off at school the next day and then got packing and getting ready to head up to the cabin for the weekend!  We met our friends Mark and Marie and their kids and headed up for a weekend of playing, chatting and hiking

Hiking to the mine and looking for rocks is always a favorite!  Everything looks so different up there at this time of the year.  It was at the tail end of fall - the leaves had mostly fallen and the flowers and plants were mostly brown and dead for the winter.  

We had fun roasting marshmallows and making s'mores and playing games and running around outside.  Grandpa came up with us also!

Sunday we went to the local ward for church - it was a really nice service - great lessons and talks and a beautiful place to spend the Sabbath.

Conference Weekend

This was another fun and crazy week.   James had a dentist appointment on Monday - and he was so excited.  He did really well, sat still the whole time and was so excited to get his own tooth brush and tooth paste and floss.  He's been calling it 'gloss' all week and it's cute to watch him try and floss his teeth on his own.  

James and Payton had a great time playing together in the afternoons - during one of my check-ins, I found them like this in James' room - with coats on - I had to convince them that they would be too hot if they tried to wear them outside.  James still asks me if Payton is coming over every day.  They are so cute!  

James had preschool on Tuesday - he loves going to preschool and playing with friends.  He's a very social boy!  Then Payton came over after preschool to play.  Then after school, Anna had her dentist appointment.  

Wednesday was late start for the kids and then I picked up Nicole and Tayanna and we went to the library - they were having a special birthday story time with balloons and cupcakes.  Nicole watched the kids at the library while I went to a doctors appointment.  I talked to my Ob-Gyn and got some blood drawn and then went back to pick everyone up.  After school was the usual bustle and then I had choir in the evening. 

Thursday James had preschool again and had a blast, The kids had piano lessons after school.  Their piano teacher commented on how good Aaron's rhythm is - something I'd noticed also, so at least he should make a good percussionist.  In the evening, I went to the Adult institute class again.  I am really loving spending time studying the Old Testament.  After I stayed and chatted with Joey and Sara for a bit - they are such amazing women!!  

Friday morning, James and I stopped at the library to return and replace a damaged book - the wonderful, sweet, amazing library lady waved the processing fees for me and made it all easy!  Then James and I headed to go get my allergy shot followed by a stop at Costco.  Then home for lunch and picking up the kids 

Eileen decided to try and teach the chicken a trick - the chicken can now balance on Eileen's hand with no help... 

This weekend was conference weekend and it was amazing!  The speakers were just amazing - the talks were uplifting and wonderful!  Dwayne and Nicole and their kids plus Jeremiah and Becca came over for lunch.  Then Dwayne and Nicole watched some of the second session before they had to leave for an appointment.  Becca and Jeremiah stayed for dinner and lava cakes and a game after priesthood session.  I tried to teach Becca how to crochet - she's a quick learner and picked it up easily.  (I'm just not a very good teacher)

Conference today was wonderful too!  The kids even did a really good job watching and being reverent (mostly!!)  Rachel and Neveah came over to watch the final session with us.  Now i'm totally beat and heading to bed!!