Family Pumpkin Carving

It's always a lot of fun for the kids to pick a pumpkin and carve it. I am always glad when the activity is over and we haven't lost any fingers and the mess is cleaned up! I know I don't sound like much fun, but I do enjoy myself and love seeing the creativity of my kids.

My little sister Lizzie was able to come visit over UEA and we have just loved having her! She is so cute with the kids and a great friend to me. We will miss her and look forward to the next visit.

Monday Memory

Any skeletons in your closet??? Doug and I went all out for a halloween party with some friends several years ago. I am not one who loves to dress up for halloween, but every once in a while I can be talked into it. This was a fun costume, I remember my baby being afraid of me. Can't say I blame her :).

Goodmorning Grace :)

One of the many indearing things we love about Gracie is her morning hair. There are many mornings she brings a smile and a chuckle to Doug and I. Lately though, she has become a bit sensative about this. The last picture I took, she said I could only take it if I didn't put it on the blog. So, after putting this threesome together I was given permission after some thought and a little persuasion. Thanks Grace, for bringing a smile to our faces.

Beautiful Fall Morning

This is the view from my front porch this morning. Sure miss those spectacular mountains, but I have sure been enjoying some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Gingersnaps with Grammy

"What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give undonditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies."

I am so thankful for grandparents in my kids' lives. They are able to do for them what I can't always do. This was a special and fun day for Grace and a memory I am sure she will always have with her Grammy.

Grace is Eight

What a darling birthday girl she is! Happy Birthday Grace.

Birthday Duo

My little birthday partner and I celebrated another wonderful year! It was a beautiful day, cool but pleasant. The boys and I picked up Wendys and went to the park before the Kindergarten bus came. In the later afternoon it started to rain; I love the rain. We all enjoyed a family birthday dinner of chicken pillows, rice and corn; a popular birthday choice around here, complete with dirt cake for desert. Carter went on a little treasure hunt for his present. I had sketched little pictures of where to find his next clue. His gift ended up being in our shower (a skateboard). He was thrilled. Doug surprised me with studio lighting for my photography hobby! I am excited but intimidated with this next learning curve. We ended the evening with a slumber party and movie upstairs. I had planned on sleeping up there with all the kids, but when "That Darn Cat" was over, I couldn't resist climbing into my own cozy bed. I am so thankful for my sweet family, and to get to share a birthday with Carter is an added joy.

Mitchell . . . Mitch . . . Mitchie . . .Twitch

Latest of our little guy. Nine months old, where does the time go? What fun he is in our home. It has been so much fun to see how much the older kids adore him - they are crazy for their baby.

Police Visit

Yes! It has happened again. Yesterday evening we had our quarterly police visit. Our backyard backs up to a canal, and our iron fence is missing a bar where the boys like to squeeze through. I had a very nice neighbor come over and tell me the police had been called because my little boys were out by the (dry) canal. I called the boys in and reminded them of our rule of not going out by the canal. I told them the police were coming because some worried people called them to talk to us about it. Nathan asked me if the police would shoot him. I told him no, but that they would not be happy to have to come to our house and talk to them about the rules they already know. Several minutes later, we were having a nice little visit with the officer. She told them that they should never go back there because little kids get hurt in canal's every year. It was a good lesson for all of us ( including me ). I am so thankful for all the eyes watching out for my kids - I just need to do a better job.

Meet 'n' Greet

I can't believe it is already that time of year again. On Thursday, the Elementary school held a meet 'n' greet, where you bring your school supplies and come meet your teacher. I couldn't help but miss all the familiar faces and comfortable surroundings of Quail Hollow. I also couldn't believe the list of school supplies we needed to get. We spent $75 on supplies for two kids!! I guess I am just use to having the kids show up with a back pack on the first day. We are planning on a great year. The kids are excited to get started, although Carter did say he misses Utah, I asked him what he misses about Utah - he told me he misses all his friends as he blinked back the tears. We do miss our friends, but we are excited to get involved and meet some great people here.

Birthday on the Islands

Coi Feeding

At the Marriott in Lihui there is a big Coi pond. Coi are very valuable, beautiful fish that come from China and can live for 100 years. Every morning at 9am, the fish are fed. It is really neat to be there for the feeding frenzy.

Kipu Falls

The Garden Island

We recently returned home from a family vacation to Kauai with Doug's side of the family. We ended up taking our three oldest kids and had a blast! The kids loved spending time with their cousins, and I loved being able to spend time with family. The island is gorgeous and the weather was perfect even with the threat of a tropical storm headed our way. It was especially nice to have Doug all to ourselves for a whole week as he has been super busy with work. My favorite day of the vacation was the day we went to Kipu falls - a secluded water fall and rope swing. It was fun to watch everyone swing from the rope and jump from the water fall. Later that day a lot of us played in the waves together where we shared a lot of laughs as we got tumbled around a bt. A perfect vacation, although I was anxious to get home to my little boys.

10 Years Old!!!

Happy Birthday Abby! You are growing right before my very eyes. The scarry thing is, is that the next ten years will probably fly by even faster. What would I do without you? You are such a great example for your siblings, and such a help to me. I love you.

Happy Birthday Doug!!

Doug Is...

Awesome Dad

BBQ expert

Confindent

Dedicated

Efficient

Fun

Generous

Hard worker

Inexhaustible

Jacket fan

Kind

Leader

Motivated

Nature lover

Original

Patient

Quiet in groups

Reliable

Strong

Triathlete

Understanding

Visionary

Wise

XO XO XO

Young at herat

Zeal for life

"In this world of responsibilities and realities, having you to dream with and share with, to talk with and laugh with makes everything more beautiful."

Happy Birthday to my sweet heart.

Latest of the Kids

I had fun taking these last Sunday - it all began because I have the perfect spot in my family room to hang something this size. So, my mother suggested pictures of the kids. This is what I came up with. They are all growing so fast!

Digi Scrapping

As most of you know, I love taking picutres and when I get the time, scrapbooking(which very seldom happens). Recently I have discovered digital scrapbooking. The reasons why I like this alternative is because you don't have the mess and you can easily pick up where you left off. I really like working in photoshop and visiting my favorite scrap sites and purchasing digi kits which you can use over and over. I printed my pages by uploading them to Archivers web site and they are all ready to put into a book. I prefer the hands on, personal touch of scrapbooking, but I also enjoy creating on the computer. I have posted one of the layouts I recently finished.

All moved in!!

I hope I never have to move again. What a project. Luckily we had the help of a moving company. We aren't out of every box yet, but pretty darn close. I think we will really like it here, our house feels like home, but the area will definately take some time. It was so much fun to have my Mom up for a visit last week. Together we go a lot accomplished - she helped me with the hanging of pictures and making our house look like a home. The kids couldn't get enough of her and can't wait for the next visitor. I am looking forward to our trip to S.L. next week. We are coming down for about a week so I can see my sister while she is visiting. We are all doing well, just trying to stay cool in this heat.

Baby Birds

We were so lucky this year to have a robin nest in the tree in our front yard. My kids were the first to discover it. We watched as the mother robin sat on her eggs and Carter told me when he first noticed the baby birds. As I went outside with him to check it out, the mother bird flew into the tree at that moment with a beak full of worms. We heard the babies chirp eagerly to be fed and saw as their little beaks were filled with food. Carter said "It's a miracle". I was glad I was able to share that little miracle with him. Those four little babies grew so fast and before we knew it, the nest was empty. Isn't nature wonderful?

Welcome!!

I have now joined the world of blogging. I decided to start a blog site to be able to keep family and friends up to speed with the going on's in our crazy home. Life is so busy for our family right now. We are planning on moving from our much loved home at the end of June. Moving is hard. I am sad to leave our family, friends, and all that is comfortable and familiar. It will definately be a big change for us and an adventure. I will try to keep you all up to date as we start our new life in a new place.