My boy turns 8

With Kohl turning 8 he will be getting baptized soon and we wanted him to be ready...scriptures and a suit should do the job.

"Just let me blow out the candles already..."

I wonder what he wished for?

We had 8 friends over and they were all so excited to watch Kohl open the gift they brought for him.

Kohl survived his 8th birthday party. The first one I have actually thrown him that didn't involve just one friend. We had 8 friends over for 3 hours of fun...football, tag throughout the house, pizza making, cookie decorating, apron creating, and lots of Wii playing. I admit that I was very relieved when it was over and done with. Those were 3 crazy hours, but worth it to see the smile on my son's face. He had a great time with his friends and for that I will do it all over again...in 4 years!

Wii love Christmas!

Boy did Santa bring us a fun surprise this morning. He had some fun sending the kids on a scavenger hunt to find their gifts, they were very concerned this morning as they came into my room declaring that Santa had only filled their stockings and had not left any presents. I let them believe that until after they had opened the gifts from family, they were thrilled with what they received even if none of it was what they had asked for from Santa. After they had their fun I had them read a note/clue from the big guy and the real fun began. They loved reading the different clues and finding their gifts. Kohl has been begging for a Wii for a good year and I had convinced him that he was going to have to wait it out another year, he knows who Santa is. When he found his gift and opened it to find a Wii the look on his face was priceless...that is all I want for Christmas is to see that look of pure jubilation on my children's faces. The kids are digging the new games and I have to admit that Dan and I love it just as much as they do.

Christmas Excitement

As I was walking past the kid's bathroom I overheard Kohl say this to Brynn; "I'd forgotten how fun it is to get excited about Christmas morning!"
How true that is...have a very merry christmas morning and I hope you are all as excited as we are to see what Santa has brought.

transend

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_4qwVLqt9Q

I received this clip today and just wanted to share it, it hit home on so many levels. Hope you enjoy.

note to self...

Before turning on the oven, check to see if your mother has used it as a hiding place for the huge platter of cookies recieved at the yearly Christmas cookie exchange.p.s. most of the cookies were salvaged...like I would throw away a plate of cookies due to a little burnt plastic.

5 wonderful months

Although I am very sleep-deprived and my mind feels like mush trying to remember everything I need to do for the kids, house, church, etc., I have still loved having these 5 months with Drake. I really try to enjoy the small moments of everyday that make up our lives. His smile is so all encompassing and speaks volumes to this overwhelmed mother. The way he just wants to put everything in site in his mouth and how thrilled he is with himself that he can suck his thumb. His discovery of those absolutely delicious feet and the quest to get a chance to suck on them. The wide range of sounds he is discovering his voice can make. Our favorite is the low growl, although the fake cough is rather amusing as well. I have to admit that I am so completely smitten with this little guy.

Some Christmas card fun

Having some fun while trying to get our card ready to send out. Let's just call this a preview of what you will be getting in the mail if I ever make it that far.

The Christmas Sweater

I got to go see Glenn Beck perform this story last night. It was such a great way to start this Christmas Season. He was amazing and I highly encourage any and all to see his show or read his book. He reminded me of the greatest gift we have been given, the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is a gift given to all, but opened by so few. Good stuff!

preperations...

To Do List
1. clean every corner of the house in prep for family to arrive
2. prepare sweet potatoes (2 varieties), green bean casserole, cranberry ambrosia,
3. prep dough for rolls, and stuffing
4. don't ignore kids in the process
5. let kids help me and not go crazy

and the verdict is....

I appreciate all of your advice, so fun to get! So, I heeded the majority and had her take off about 2 inches of really fried hair and add some more layers...I like it and I am glad it is still long. Thanks for your help...

to cut or not to cut, that is the question...

See this mane? I am at a point where it is driving me crazy...I need your help. What should I do? I am on a ledge wanting to jump(cut off my hair that I have painfully grown out for a really long time) I need someone to talk me off the ledge...advice anyone?

A Funny Thing Happened in the Cafeteria...

So Kohl was in the middle of his Tuesday ritual of Pizza in the Cafeteria when he suddenly felt an extra something crunchy in his bite...yummy!

He promptly spit out the bite only to realize that something was missing from his mouth...

He was so excited! We have been working on getting that tooth loose enough to pull out for a good 5 months. He suffered many failed attempts by me to pull it out, his Dad has a phobia of mouths and wouldn't even touch the thing. If I had only fed him more PIZZA!

Four Months

To celebrate Drake's 4 month birthday Kohl and Brynn wanted to take some pictures with him. I hate how fast the time is going. He is so much fun and we couldn't love this baby anymore. At his check-up he was 16.5 lbs and 26 in long. The Dr. said he looked perfect...like we didn't already know that!

Fall Fun

After a good frost the tree in our backyard lost all of the leaves at once. It was so cool to see the leaves dropping like snowflakes. I wanted more pics, but my batteries died.

After raking for a few hours the kids got to jump into the fruits of our labor.

Random pics of Drake

It's the Zombie Bumbo pose

Brynn is such an attentive Big Sis

Drool anyone?

I just wanted to put on some pictures I took of Drake. He is growing up way too fast and changing every day. Don't you just want to eat up that cuteness? I can't get enough of him!

Better Late than Never

May the force be with you

Kohl loved the night writing.

All Drake needed was his fist

So much fun gathering candy from houses.
I was out of batteries last week and I finally got some new ones put in. These are the pictures that Dan took of our Halloween activities. We had a great night eating chili at the Bowens, walking miles to gather lots of candy, and ending the night with the Bowen's neighbors for a gathering of kids and fun.

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family." President Thomas S. Monson, General Conference October 2008

Let's Vote!

It was a thrill to go vote this morning and to see a long line of my fellow citizens doing likewise. We are blessed to have this right and even if things don't turn out as I hope, I know that this is a fair process and the people's voice will be heard. I love that my kids are so excited about election day, they were very sad to learn that even though they get to vote at school their vote doesn't actually count toward the real election. Let us all get out and exercise our rights!

HAPPY HAUNOWEEN

What a few minutes of Oprah will do

The kids happened to catch a few minutes of Oprah the other day. It was about miracle children and if you saw it you know what reduced us all to serious tears. Kohl is my extra sensitve child and was really affected by the story of the baby who died after living 99 days. I think it hit too close to home with a 3 month old baby in our home.

why i love chase

Sorry for the undie shot, but I couldn't resist. Believe it or not Chase will only wear his underwear backwards... I think he likes the big Spiderman picture in the front where he can see it. To be 3 again.

Trunk-o-Treat

So we had our yearly Trunk-o-Treat at church last Friday and had a great time. Chase won Best Costume from a Movie as "Jah-Wah" from Star Wars (no idea how to spell that) I must thank Ann as she provided us with the great costume. Kohl won Best Homemade Costume as a warewolf. Brynn was a mermaid, although this isn't the best picture, we will get better ones this Friday. I went as the Karate Kid...I love donning wigs! Dan really wanted to go as Tim Gunn but we just never got enough time to get his costume together and our cute little Drake had to stay home sick...bummer. The candy feast has begun...