It's Official: We are MOVING!!

Less than 2 weeks ago we made an offer on a house in Roseville. A very low offer. And we thought nothing would come of it. Today, that house is closing. Yep. They took the offer, along with a very quick escrow and today we should be gettting the keys. Are we excited? Definitely! We are just a little stunned at how quick everything is going. So here's a few details about the house: It's big! 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It has a pool, but overall a small backyard. There are 2 pantries :) and a 3 car garage :) And the very very best part is that the elementary school is only 1/4 mile away and the middle school is only 1/2 mile away. Both are great schools. While we are sad to leave our ward and great school, we are excited about it. The boys can't wait to have their own rooms and I can't wait to walk the kids to school next year and save on gas money. Pictures to come soon!

"Kristenisms"

I never realized before I had kids, how hillarious they could be. I was the youngest of three, and I'm sure I said some silly, crazy things, but I was too young at the time to realize it. All three of my kids have said some pretty funny things, with absolutley no intention of being funny or witty. I still remember the dinner when Grant asked "So mom, did you and dad mate?" He had been reading informative kids books about animals, that safely explained some behaviors animals display before mating. I was proud of myself for being able to answer with a straight face, "Well, yes, we have three kids, so yes we did." Fortunatley, the topic was quickly dropped as he asked me to pass him the ketchup. Whew!!

Well, yesterday my little Kristen is the one that had me laughing. She was very excited that it was Valentine's Day. We picked out her outfit fitting as many hearts and as much pink as she had. As I was fixing her hair, I grabbed a black rubber band. She looked at it and said, "Mom, can't you pick another color? It is Valentine's Day, not Black Friday!" Okay, I never even knew she had heard the term "Black Friday" before.

So not long after, we were headed for school. I had made a green smoothie and was drinking it on the way. My funny little lady said to me, "Mom, you need to put that down. It's illegal to drink and drive." Nathan was sitting in the front seat next to me, and I just couldn't help it. We both had to giggle.

Motherhood can sure be challenging, but who knew it could be so entertaining? Thanks to all my kids for the giggles and smiles they bring me on a daily basis!!

Christmas Smiles

This was the gift the kids picked out for Chris.

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a great Thanksgiving at the coast with family! It was relaxing, mostly good weather, great food, and the kids were having so much fun with their cousins that I don't think I heard one fight amongst the 16 kids. Amazing!! It was truly a wonderful couple of days!

All the kids were really into card games like Uno and Blink.
We had the traditional Thanksgiving feast. Of course it was delicious!

Some of the younger kids!

Andrew and Grant at the "big boys" table.

We spent quite a bit of time down at the pier where some of the kids tried out crabbing. They had a ton of fun, but didn't catch anything big enough to keep.

Uncle Jared was kind enough to chaperone many of the older kids at the pier 2 days in a row! What a guy!

And we always enjoy hot cocoa after being down at the cold beach.

But I think the favorite part for the kids was when there was a brown out and most of the electicity went out. Grandpa gave all the kids finger flashlights to use. They still were able to play their card games and have a fun time!

Grandma had the coolest light of all! The flash makes it seem light, but it was very dark!

The next morning, the kids were determined to head back at the pier and try out crabbing one last time. No luck, but again, lots of fun!!



And the following Monday, we had more excitement! After 4 weeks, it was time for Kristen's cast to come off!

One last cast pic

She said it tickled when they took it off!

And it's off! Good as new!! So happy to be able to wear all her clothes again!

Oktoberfest, and Broken Wrist!

October was another busy month for us! It started with the 1st grade Oktoberfest. I love the Oktoberfest at the school. It is adorable. The kids learn German songs and dances as well as their colors and numbers in German. Kristen was very excited to perform!

Here is Kristen with her partner, Adam. They were both wearing outfits Chris bought in Germany several years ago on a business trip. They have been used by all the kids!

Can you tell she's excited?!

She had a part as the blue matrose in a song. So cute!

Getting ready to dance with Adam.

I loved watching them waltz!

And I loved watching her waltz with her daddy!

I got a chance to be her dance partner as well. She did a great job and created many fun memories that day!

And later in October, we were off to the pumpkin patch for a field trip.

So many pumpkins to choose from!

This is the one!

I think her favorite part was playing on the swings!


A class picture to end the day!

And then our adventure really began! When the kids got home from school, they were more hyper than usual. I remember telling Nathan to calm down or go outside more than once, but I was busy doing something else and didn't follow through. Within minutes, one little girl was crying, one big brother was denying, and one mother was yelling. Yep, I was quite upset. A trip to the doctor, and then to X-ray showed a broken wrist. It was splinted, and we were sent home to try and get homework done, get the boys to scouts and keep a hurting little girl from crying. Did I mention that Chris was out of town? To sum up our adventure, Kristen's wrist was casted 2 days later, and we rushed her back to school just in time to enjoy the tail end of her class Halloween party!

We had to cut the sleeve to fit her cast!

That evening, we got together with some friends for pumpkin carving! Kristen didn't let her casted wrist stop her.

Grant didn't like the insides and insisted on wearing a glove!

Nathan liked helping David with his pumpkin.

Showing off their creativity! I think they did a great job, and boy was I glad that the week was over! And hoping not to have a repeat of that craziness any time soon!

Life has been very busy!!! Part !

I know I can never catch up on every little detail, so here's a quick recap of our summer. It all started when school got out! It was a great year for all the kids. Many thanks to all you wonderful teachers out there, making a difference for our kids!!

Nathan is done with 5th! It was a challenging but great year!

Grant loved his teacher and became quite the math pro!

Kristen loved everything about kindergarten, especially her teacher!

Nathan turned 11 and had a fun swim party with lots of friends. Boy, can those boys eat!!

We had a fun visit with the Hodgkins! We spent some time together playing at Dillon Beach.

I went to Girl's Camp. And I must admit we do some crazy stuff that we would never do otherwise! It was a busy but uplifting week. I got to know other leaders I never had a chance to know before!

All the kids did swim team over the summer, so our days were busy with practices and weekend swim meets. Chris and I loved watching the kids and helping as timers. Nathan did awesome and placed 3rd in the backstroke and 4th in the freestyle finals at champs!!

That's out of like 100 + kids!

Grant also made major improvements! One of his biggest accomplishments was finally diving off the blocks. It can be a little scary on those high starting blocks!

Kristen is my little fish and loved the whole season. It was hard getting her out of the water when her race was done! She also made massive improvements in her times!

Kristen turned 6 and celebrated with friends at Roller King.

Chris and I took the boys and hiked Mt. Tallac. They did awesome and the views were spectacular! They can't wait to do it again.

We took another trip to Dillon Beach with the Clarks and had a fun, relaxing time!

And then, it was back to school. Don't they look sharp for that first day? This is the only year that all three kids go to school and get picked up at the same time. YES, it is HEAVEN and I am enjoying it very much! It was a fast paced, busy summer filled with fun.