Christmas Hope

Nov. 29, 2010- This was decorating day at the Festival of Trees. We all met at the Expo center around 9am and spent a delightful day together making our tree absolutly perfect! After it was finished mom said she wanted to buy it she liked it so much. Then on Tuesday night, Nov.30, we all went out to dinner with our spouses to Ruby River steakhouse and then went to the Opening Night Lights On ceremony. It has been quite the journey and I'm glad that we decided to dedicate a tree this year to the best mom in the world! I'm alsoi very greatful that she is now cancer free. She has about 6 weeks of radiation left and then it will all be over and we can get back to life again!

All I want for Christmas...

Nov. 25, 2010-Cooper came over for a sleepover a few weeks ago, the day before Thanksgiving, and we found that he and Max had both lost there left top front tooth at the same time. As Stacy and I compared stories they lost them in the same way too! The night before the sleepover they were both supposed to be in bed and they both came looking for help because their tooth was coming out. Both sat with a parent(me for Max and Kevin for Cooper) for about 45 minutes before they finally got it out! It was awesome! When we went over to pick up Cooper they both went running to show each other that they had lost a tooth. The only difference was that Cooper lost the other one on Thanksgiving and it took Max another week to get up the courage to pull out the other one. Nice work fellas!

Pictures taken by Janae

My awesome sister in law Janae took these cute pictures of my kids for me. I was completely disappointed in school pictures this year so i asked her to take portraits for me instead. These turned out way better! Thanks Janae! They are also featured as the kids pics on the side bar of this blog too.

A third generation Quilter

Nov, 23, 2010--It is no secret that my mom makes beautiful quilts and I have been know to dabble in the nine patches every now and again. Well, I was given the assignment to make a quilt to go along with the country/Christmas theme for our tree for the Festival of Trees. I was basically given several boxes and bags of material and told to have at it. Once I figured out what I was doing I got the top finished and had a tying party with mom and the sisters to help it along. When the day was through I was left to finish it and Carly asked if she could help. My initial response was, "no", then I thought, "what the hey? Maybe you can." So I gave her a yarn needle and showed her what to do, thinking she either would do a few and loose interrest, or not be able to do it and get frustruated and leave. Turns out, not only can she tie a quilt, she's pretty good at it! She even asked to help the next day too. Here are some cute pics of her helping to tie the quilt for grandma Rome's tree.

Hello- SNOW!

Nov. 20,2010-- We took the kids out to dinner for getting such good marks on their report cards and when we left the house it was raining. When we came out of the restaurant a few hours later, it was snowing. Everyone was so excited! As soon as they got out of the car they were out running in it. Joey went out also to shovel the driveway but it was coming down so hard that he decided just to wait until in the morning and helped them make a huge snowman instead! It is very wet snow so it stuck together really well. So, here is a picture of our first snowman of the season!

Hey silly rabbit! Trix's are for kids!

Nov. 19, 2010---Yes, this is Leo, my 21 month old sitting at the bar eating cereal with milk and a spoon, reading the cereal box! I thought this was just hilarious! He obviously can't read the box but sees Max doing it and wants to be like his big brother! I also find it funny that he likes his cereal with milk already. My others were all at least 3 before they ate cereal with milk and Carly still eats hers dry once in a while! He's so cute, you can't help but smile!

Reflections awards ceremony

Nov.9, 2010----I got a call a few weeks ago from a lady on the Reflections committee at the elementary school. She was calling to let me know that Max's reflections entry had been chosen for an award of merit. She invited us to the awards ceremony to see him get his award. I am really proud of him for this accomplishment because he really does enjoy drawing and is pretty good at it too. I hope this gives him a little more encouragement to continue working on his love for drawing and art.

Leaves, leaves, and more leaves!

It's that time of year again when our three huge trees in the front yard are loosing their leaves. The kids look forward to this every year as we get to rake and play in the leaves for weeks before they finally are bare and the leaves get moved to the garden. Here are the first shots of playing in the leaves for this fall season.

Scool Halloween Parade

October 28, 2010---Today was a busy day for Halloween fun! I got Max and Carly up and dressed and out the door by 8am, then took Gus and Leo over to the school for the Halloween costume parade at 8:45pm. Then, when we got pictures of Max and Carly I ran Gus over to preschool at 9:30am and waited in the commons for there parade, and got some cute pictures of him. Then, I ran back to the elementary school by 10am to help out in Carly's classroom with the Halloween party. Then, after the party I ran back to the high school to pick up Gus at noon, went home and got some lunch, and put Leo down for a nap. Then Carly and Max got home from school at 12:45pm. I actually felt like a Taxi mom today running around all morning to do things for my kids! I know it may be the first time but it won't be the last!

Pumpkin Carving

On October 27, 2010 we took the two pumpkins we got from our garden and the one that Max got from his fiend trip and carved away! Max and Carly sat and drew all over there pumpkins first, then I cut off the tops and helped them dig out the insides. Then Joey helped them carve out the faces. The we put them out on the porch and I had to beg and plead for them to sit next to their masterpiece for a picture (because they were FREEZING!) Then Carly helped me clean up the seeds and we laid them out to dry and roasted them the next day! Yummm!

Ward Trunk or Treat

On Oct 23, 2010 Max and Carly went to the primary program practice for the program tomorrow at about 4:30pm. Then around 6:00pm all the kids changed into their costumes, we had pizza for dinner, then went Trunk or Treating around the halls in the church. We sometimes go outside but it was drizzling and cold so we stayed inside today. I think I get the best Halloween pictures at the Trunk or Treat because it's typically the first party of the Halloween season. Everyone is still excited and fresh for all the fun!

Grandma Mona's quilt

Over the last month or so I have been working with my Aunt Paula to get pictures of all the grandkids together with the quilts that she made for us at the reunion back in September. She made one for each grandchild plus an afghan for each of her own kids. We put all the pictures together in a book for them so she could see which quilt went to which grandkid and could remember the day. We presented it to her when she was here on Monday for a doctors appointment. She and grandpa both were so appreciative and kept thanking everyone for the nice book! What a feat for an 82 year old who is slowly growing blind. She is amazing and I just love her! Also, she cross stitched pillowcases for each great granddaughter and grandpa made rubber band guns for each greatdrandson! Pretty cool, huh! I have the best grandparents in the world. Here is a picture of the quilt that I got.

Which Witch?!?

I got to go and chaperone Max's field trip this year. There was a Halloween theme so we started out going to a pumpkin patch and each student got to pick out a pumpkin to take home. Then, we went to Gardener Village to do the annual Witch hunt. They have a bunch of witch's hiding throughout Gardener Village and you get a list of the ones you need to find. Once you find them all you can turn in your sheet for a cookie for a quarter at the bakery. They didn't get cookies, however, Mrs. Duckworth had a bag of candy for them to pick a treat out of. Then, we went to the dog park for lunch and to play for a bit. It was fun to spend some time with jusy Max. I don't get to do that very often. He usually goes with Joey on outings and I enjoyed his company. He was really excited to have me on the bus with him and he kept saying, "Hey guys! This is my mom!" See he still likes me!