Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the BYU fan club!

I Made Something!

About 4 years ago, I made one of my daughters a Halloween costume.

She loved it . . . and felt so loved because I had made it for her.

But I was pretty sure after that experience that I would NOT make costumes again.

This year, Austin wanted to be Cosmo (BYU cougar mascot).

I was lucky enough to find a Cosmo costume at a great price!

A couple of my girls were having a hard time deciding what to be . . . and working around Austin's costume became an idea . . . they could be BYU cheerleaders!

I was really excited about this idea, but not sure how I would pull it off since I don't make Halloween costumes anymore:)

I gave it another shot (what love for your children will make you do)!!

And this time it went SO much better that last time!

I guess the more you sew, the easier it gets.  

NOT that these skirts never had any stitches torn out or things redone on them by any means.

Anyways . . .  I am going to toot my horn and announce that I made skirts and we decorated the shirts ourselves (well, I decorated them after discussing the matter of design with the girls).  And I love how excited my girls were about them . . . it made it so worth it!

More Halloween pictures to come!

Halle Turns 9

Halle turned 9 this month.

She was so excited!

I was not. (sniff, sniff)

Halle got the skateboard she wanted!  

Isn't that funny that a daughter of mine loves to skateboard?

I think it is awesome.

We invited a few friends over for a birthday party.

I made an ice cream cake.

We decorated cookies, ate doughnuts off string hung to the trees

and played a few other games with music blaring in our backyard.

It really was so fun and I love it when the weather cooperates with outdoor parties in October!

Happy Birthday Halle!

I Got Braces . . . Again

For some reason, half of my teeth want to keep moving up.

Among other problems.

I have had braces twice already. 

Well, maybe I should count it as 1 1/2 times . . . the second time the braces were only on for about two months in between college semesters . . . to fix what you can see above.

The first time they were on for 3 1/2 years.

15 years later . . . and a broken retainer have led to my teeth STILL remembering where they once were and moving back home!

So . . . almost 3 weeks ago I had braces put on again.

I am looking at 9 to 18 months . . . it kind of depends on what/when teeth will move.

I am feeling optimistic!
But probably will not be confident enough to post pictures with my decorated teeth for awhile:)

Soccer Stars

Halle and Gwen played soccer this last season.  

Oh how I love soccer season.  

I REALLY like going to all their games and being busy with this sport.  They both played so well on their teams.  Gwen would score most of the goals for her team.  It really helps having a fall birthday.  She seemed so much older than some of the other kids in her league.  Halle did awesome as well.  That girl has some natural soccer moves . . . she looked so good out their and scored many goals as well.

It is kind of nice to have our Saturday mornings back . . . and the weeknights . . . but I can't wait until next year!

Six Years Old!

Gwen turned 6 this week!

She has had a birthday countdown for the last month!

Gwen had a birthday party after school.
I attempted a Hello Kitty cake.

I love it when the weather is nice enough to have the party outside . . . it helps out with that doughnut eating game!

Abby and Halle were such good helpers at the party.  Abby would spearhead some of the games, and Halle would help me out with whatever I needed.

Happy Birthday Miss Gwen!

Football Game

It has been a long time since we have been to a BYU game as a family!

For the last few years, Ben has taken kids one at a time.

A hot, Saturday afternoon may not have been the best time to try it out again . . . but now that they are not hot, thirsty

or "feeling sick" . . . I am sure they would tell you they had a great time with family and friends!

1st Day of School

My girls could not sleep the night before school . . . they were too excited!

Check out Halle's jeggings. Aren't those the funniest pants?

Kindergarten started one week after the other grades.

That was one LONG week for Gwen! It was so hard to watch her sisters go to school!

She has been looking forward to kindergarten for a long time.

Happy New School Year!

I love school starting!

I love the routine and busyness of it.

I love all the fun holidays and cooler weather that are around the corner.

And my house stays a little more clean!

August Family Reunions

The first weekend of August, we had family reunions for

both my mom and my dad's side of the family.

I wish I had gotten more pictures.

Friday evening we spent with my mom's side of the family. We had so much visiting with grandma, cousins, and aunts/uncles.

Saturday we spent at Payson lakes with my dad's side of the family.

We borrowed a canoe and that turned out to be big hit!

My kids were able to make some new friends with family they didn't know very well before.

We are looking forward to the next reunions!

Stewart Falls

We took our kids on a hike to Stewart Falls on July 24th.

It was beautiful and not too hot.

Austin tripped over a branch along the trail.

He gives us a little scare whenever he gets hurt.

He seems to hold his breath for a long time,

and appears to almost pass out or have a mini seizure.

He did this on the hike.

But he always comes back in a few minutes.

He can answer questions about who he is and such.

I'm not sure if this is something to worry about or not.

Um . . . Abby is almost as tall as me.

She has surpassed my shoe size by quite a bit as well.

4th of July

We stuck around a little longer in Wyoming so we could be there for the 4th of July festivities.

They have a great parade that is only about an hour long and they throw out candy . . . we can only go to parades that throw out candy!

For the evening, we went up to the top of a hill that overlooks the city, had dinner with the ward the Ben's parents belong to, and watched the fireworks from there. The weather was so nice and we all had such a good time!

Wyoming Rodeo

A couple days before the 4th of July, we went to the Cody Stampede Rodeo.

Abby was here too . . . but off playing with cousins during the picture time :(

Austin stayed with Nana at her house along with some of his little cousins that were too little to enjoy sitting at a rodeo for hours :)

I still can't get over how young some of those girls look doing the barrel racing . . . I would be so scared to go on a horse that fast . . . but I guess if you grow up riding them it isn't a big deal.

Family Reunion in Wyoming

Ben's mom turned 60 last month. So the whole family headed out to Wyoming for a party!

Ben has 10 brothers and sisters . . . and 7 of them and their families were there!

Such a fun time.

Abby Turns 11

Abby turned 11 last month.

She had been planning her party for months!

She did a good job too. It turned out so fun!

She wanted an "evening party".

So we had it in the evening. We served hamburger and hotdogs, had a huge slip n slide going on, along with a sprinkler under the trampoline.

Then we came inside and watch 16 Wishes (I usually don't like Disney Channel movies very much . . . but this one I totally recommend watching!).

Later we had chocolate cake with strawberries and peppermint ice cream. You actually can't buy peppermint ice cream right now . . . at least not anywhere I could find.

So Abby and I just made our own.

Happy Birthday Abby!

Shadow Mountain

Abby was able to go to Shawdow Mountain this year.

It is a two night/3 day camp for fifth graders.

Here is a picture with her and her pack.

I guess she was a little embarrassed about having such a big pack . . . and wanted to take a suitcase? Camping?

At the Hospital Again

It seems like we have had a lot of medical needs this last seven months.

Yesterday . . . we were able to keep that thought up!

I took the kids to Seven Peaks yesterday.

Abby and Halle are old enough and tall enough to go down many of the slides themselves.

So when we go . . . I let them go do the slides they want to and then Gwen and Austin stay with me.

After being there for about an hour and a half, I am notified that Abby and Halle were hurt in one of the slides and that Abby was being looked at by the EMT.

Halle was shaken up and said her head hurt, but she could walk and talk.

When I got to the First Aid station, Abby was laying on a stretcher with a neck brace.

Apparently she had blacked out for a minute after falling off the tube in the slide, hit her head and shoulder pretty good.

They recommended taking her by ambulance to the hospital.

I asked her if she wanted me to just take her, but she didn't think she could even sit up. And I guess where they weren't if her neck and head were injured, it was probably a good idea to not make her move anyway.

She rode away in an ambulance.

I packed up the other kids, called Ben, and met them at the hospital.

Luckily, she checked out okay. No broken bones and neck damage.

She said it will be awhile before she will get back on that slide.

I'm glad she is okay.

While I was at Seven Peaks, I was actually thinking to myself how much easier it has gotten to take them there . . . now that no one is a baby and the two older girls can do some things on their own.

So much for that!

Appendicitis

Abby had already stayed home sick for a few days before we found the culprit!

Last Wednesday, Abby woke up with a fever and said she felt nauseous.

Wednesday evening, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to sleep because her stomach hurt so much. I took her into the doctor convinced she must just have strep throat.

The test came back negative, so the doctor said she probably just has a virus and that there was nothing he could do for her.

I didn't think about it at the time, but the doctor never even checked her stomach! Isn't it routine for doctors to check vital organs?

Anyways, she stayed home from school Thursday too . . . not much better than the day before.

She still complained about her stomach.

Friday morning, we took her back into the doctor.

He checked for strep again too . . . but also checked her stomach and suspected appendicitis.

After some blood work and an ultrasound confirming the suspicion . . . Abby was admitted to the hospital and surgery started around 5:30 p.m. Friday evening.

The surgery went well. Her appendix had not ruptured, but apparently it was close. She stayed in the hospital through Sunday afternoon.

I think she liked being able to just watch movies and order milkshakes for breakfast. But the novelty of the hospital did wear off and she was ready to come home on Sunday.

Now she is home resting and we'll see how soon she will feel up to school.

On a side note:

I think she has several "unexcused" absences because I don't call by a certain time in the morning. Give me a break. This "rule" is becoming a huge pet peeve . . . I called yesterday and said she had surgery over the weekend and that I didn't know when or if she would be able to come to school this week. I guess that phone call worked for yesterday . . . but I still got a call today from the school saying she was not there and was "unexcused". I really have to call EVERY SINGLE DAY?

Okay, back to the post:

Thank you to all those who called, visited, and sent messages/cards to Abby.

It really lifted her spirits to know that people cared about what was going on with her.

Dog

Luckily my kids were NOT in the car with me!

I was driving on a busy 4 lane road this afternoon.

I didn't see the little dog running across the road until the last minute.

It was too late to stop and I was hoping that if I kept moving the dog would stay in the middle of the car . . . and not get hit by the tires.

And then I felt my right tire roll over something.

I felt awful. I still feel awful.

I stopped the car right there in the lane. I wasn't sure about what to do. I got out and looked back and saw that poor little dog laying on the ground. His back legs twitched for a minute or two . . . and then stopped moving.

I was waiting to hear crying kids or an angry owner to come and yell at me.

But no one came.

A man who was waiting at the crosswalk came and just picked up the dog by the legs like a rabbit and walked away with it.

He didn't even look at me.

I couldn't tell if he was the owner or not . . . or if he was upset or not.

I realized I was blocking traffic . . . so I just got back in my car and drove away.

How awful!

I am so sorry!

Easter Weekend

We had our own Easter Egg Hunt this year. I think we have the perfect backyard for it! The hunt can be easy . . . but then with the mountain backing up to our yard . . . we can hide some of those eggs pretty good for the older ones!

Luckily they all still liked doing an egg hunt this year.

Here they are in their Easter dress. Gosh they are getting big.

Happy Easter!

Dentist

My kids REALLY like going to the dentist. It is seriously an event that they look forward too! Austin (now that he is 3 . . . sniff, sniff) is finally old enough to have his teeth checked out too.

I had to get a picture of this!

My New 3 Year Old

Austin turned 3 last month.

I had bittersweet feelings with this birthday.

I am always a little sad to see my children get older, but this time it was more weird because he is my youngest. I have never had just a 3 three year old without a new baby to take care of!

But here is Austin . . . in his new "Dinosaur Train" pajamas! This kid loves pajamas. He would rather wear them than get dressed.

We had pancakes for breakfast. His FAVORITE.

He opened presents . . . which was so fun!

We picked up McDonald's for lunch and ate it at a park . . . a HUGE hit!

For dinner, Austin wanted corn dogs.

This kid is so easy to please!

I made him a blue "car" cake. It didn't quite turn out the way I had intended . . . but I don't think Austin minded.

Happy Birthday Austin!

Pancakes

Austin's favorite breakfast is pancakes.

He asks every morning if we are going to have pancakes.

He invented a game where he and his sisters pretend that they are pancakes!

Here are all my children stacked on top of each other like pancakes!

Ballet

Right now, I let my girls pick two sports to play per year . . . to keep life from getting too crazy. This doesn't include their piano or summer swimming lessons ( which they just have to do because Ben and I want them too!) or school clubs.

Anyway . . . this winter, Halle and Gwen picked ballet.

Here they are at their last session.

They really liked learning the steps and the correct terminology. It was fun to watch them practice their dance routine at home.

And they chose to wear matching shirts . . . I love that!