Harvest Moon Hurrah 2011

Once again we had fun at this years' Harvest Moon Hurrah! There were lots of activities for kids to do. M & Morgan, and J had fun taking Tal around to all the different booths.

Dani, Tate, and Sierra met up with us also. The kids played, we took some pictures, ate some yummy food, watched the performers, and got balloon animals. Fun times were had by all!

August/September Family Party (and some July)

We had our family party in September and celebrated birthdays from August, September, and a few from July. There were a lot of birthdays and we had a lot of fun celebrating! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. We love getting together and spending time together!

Nightly Reading

This is J's new favorite spot to read to me. What a crazy girl! It actually works well because she is away from all other distractions and she can read to me while I am cooking or cleaning the kitchen or what have you. Whatever works to get her to read:)

Monopoly Deal

Our friends introduced us to this game and it is a blast!

We've had a lot of fun playing it with them.

Fashionista Parade

Last night we were playing games with some friends, when these 3 cuties announced that they were going to give us a "fashionista parade"!

Then, of course they had to pose for pictures.

Lots of poses, giggles, smiles, and good times!

Halloween Candy Jars

I made these cute Halloween candy jars with two of my cute SIL's.

We always have so much fun together and make the cutest things! I love it!

My Little Chef

My cute J LOVES to cook!

Family Party

We had a little party to celebrate the birthdays of J, Michael, and Dani.

What a good looking family, don't you think?

Sierra and Tate

I feel so blessed to live by so many family members. And even though I don't see them all the time, it is so nice when we are all together. It's always so much fun! I just love them!

Jakob Asher

S and baby Jakob Asher!

T has always loved babies!

We all love him!

M with Jakob and Tal!

We were so excited that Jakob Asher was born and that all went well. He is such a cute guy and we are so glad that he is part of our family:)

Flag Burning Ceremony (from July)

The Scouts were invited to participate in a Flag Burning Ceremony.

It was a pretty neat experience. They each got to carry a flag and give it to a soldier to be thrown into the fire.

T & his friend carrying their flags.

The flag S carried was huge.

There were hundreds of flags burned that day. Very cool.

First Day of Scool

4th Grade

My baby is in 4th grade. CRAZY! She is definitely full of life, she is a little chatterbox. She loves to play with friends. She is growing up too fast, she thinks we should treat her like a teenager, we are in trouble with that one! We are excited about this year and think she will grow and learn a lot. She's dancing 4 hours a week and also keeps busy with activity days. She loves to play with babies and is always excited when her little cousins come over. She's got a spunky little attitude and I love everything about her!

5th Grade

This guy was not super excited to start school this year, but after a few days decided that it won't be that bad. He has an awesome teacher who S is really enjoying. He's been staying after school a few days a week to help clean up. They recently went on a field trip and he was in charge of finding parent volunteers to go with the class. I think it made him feel very important to have that responsibility. He is really enjoying scouts and has just earned several scout pins. He made a personal goal to run more to stay in shape, and has done a really good job at trying to do this every day. He is always full of energy, and I love him SO much!

7th Grade!

This was M's first year of Jr. High. She was so excited to start. T was very helpful with walking her around the school and showing her where all of her classes were. The first couple days were an adjustment for her, but she is doing great now. She likes most of her classes. She is super dependable and always gets her work done without being asked. She loves to babysit and has gotten quite a few babysitting jobs lately. She is dancing A LOT. She practices 11 hours a week. . But, it's her love. And she's super good at it. I love watching her learn and grow. I love watching her dance. I just love her!

8th Grade

T thinks he's big bad stuff now that he's in 8th grade. He thinks he should get to stay up later than everyone. Only problem is that he doesn't want to get up in the mornings. He keeps busy with homework, scouts, and cross country. The other day they ran 4 1/2 miles for practice. I don't know how he does it. He is super athletic. He is the Deacon's Quorum President and the Sr. Patrol Leader for Scouts. He's a good kid when he wants to be, and I love him:)

I can't believe school has already been in for 4 weeks. CRAZY! I wasn't sure I was ready for it to even start, but we are getting the hang of things. The switch from carefree summer days-late nights-sleeping in to homework-bed times-schedules has been a big adjustment for us this year. But, we are making it all work.

Court of Honor

(Horrible picture quality, I know.)

T was elected Sr. Patrol Leader for his troop.

At the court of honor last month T earned several awards.

First, he earned his First Class! He's worked very hard for this advancement, and I'm so proud of him. He also earned the Camping merit badge, some kind of patch for the camp out they went on, and a few others. He's really enjoying scouting and has some great leaders. He's one step closer to getting to his Eagle!

Braces

Before

After

Welcome to the world of braces. They go their braces on almost a month ago and we've already been to the orthodontist 5 times. Such fun!

J Turned 9!

Now that we have a power cord, I can actually use my computer. My little baby turned 9 on the 27th of August. I can hardly believe she is all grown up. She had some very specific things in mind that she wanted to do for her birthday. First on the list was Trafalga.

First she wanted everyone to ride the "Frog Hopper".

Next on the agenda was rock climbing.

They all took turns.

The girls finished and then we were off to do Laser Tag.

The girls, DH and I rode the merry-go-round and...

...the boys rode the go-carts.

They also did the bumper boats. DH and I opted not to do that activity. We wanted to stay dry.

J wanted to go to Grandmas for dinner, presents, and cake. So when we were all done at Trafalga, we made our way over there to enjoy the rest of her birthday.

This cute little girl is always so much fun to be around.

J with her chocolate cake and pink frosting made to order.

I hope she had a wonderful party. I love this girl so much and am so glad she is part of our family. How lucky I am to be her mom!

Wishing

Totally wishing that we were still playing in the water and enjoying careless summer days!

Scout Pins

S got 3 scout pins at the last pack night. He's on his way to getting his Webelos badge!

Computer Woes

I hate not having a computer. Our power cord broke and so we've been without the use of a computer for several weeks now. I hate it. We really need to get a new one so the kiddos can use it for school AND so I can blog. I might be able to sneak a few posts while I'm at school. We'll see!

Sharing

M & Tal sharing a yummy root beer float!

Target Practice

T built this guy the other day to use as target practice. He filled the jug with red juice so it looked like blood when he shot it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. but he had fun.

My Beautiful M

My beautiful M went to 7th grade day yesterday and LOVED it!

I hope she has a great year.

Boys in the Kitchen

T and his best friend Riley were hanging out and were trying to figure out something to do. They finally decided to make cookies. They made Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they were delicious!!

July Family Birthday Party

We had our July family party a few weeks ago. (My computer cord broke, so I haven't been able to post. Luckily I'm using my sisters computer for a minute.) M was the only birthday we celebrated in July. There are more birthdays, but not everyone was able to make it.

M got: a mirror, make-up, M&M's, Milky Way, and Mentos.

We had a great time as always!!

T & J at the Campout

T & J at the ward campout.

Proof that they actually do like each other!!

Splash Pad at North Park

Fun times at the splash pad!!

Stuff

M had her 7th grade shots this week. She is in the 49% for her height and weight. Everything went well at her checkup, now she is ready to start school. Speaking of school, it starts in 2 weeks. I can't believe it. Not sure if I'm ready.

T got home from Scout Camp and had a great time. They went rafting, hiking, swimming, slept outside, ate dehydrated food, explored, cooked, and had tons of fun. Now he is pooped.

We went to the ward camp out last night. It's always a lot of fun. The kids love it. Only thing bad was that I froze during the night. I barely slept. Our mattress was not at all comfortable, and did I mention it was freezing? Other than that we had a great time. DH and I decided we really need to invest in some good camping gear. We really enjoy going, but we REALLY need some better stuff. Maybe that will be part of our Christmas this year. A tent heater will definitely be on the list!

We are having shelves built upstairs. I've wanted them built for a long time. They are looking great and will hold a ton of stuff! Pictures to come. I can't wait until they're done!

That's all for now!

30 Day Blog:" Why, Oh Why?", Day 25

Day 25- Your most peaceful place to be.

I love to go to the temple. It's so peaceful there. Nothing you need to worry about when you're there. I love it, I need to go there more!

30 Day Blog:" Why, Oh Why?", Day 24

Day 24- Your favorite summer activity.

Swimming. Hands down, swimming. LOVE it!

Date

J has been dying to go on a date, so since everyone else is gone we decided to go out to dinner. She chose the restaurant and was super excited. After dinner we'll go home and watch SYTYCD!!

Scout Camp

This morning we got up bright and early at 5:30, so we could get T to the church. He's off for a week long scout campout. They will be hiking, exploring, swimming, rafting, fishing, and much more. Hope he learns a lot, and has tons of fun!

30 Day Blog:" Why, Oh Why?", Day 23

Day 23- Your most exciting sports experience to date.

I've been to many a sporting event being the mother of 2 athletic boys, 2 dancing girls, and 1 sports-hungry husband. On top of that I've been to several pro- baseball and basketball games. But, probably the most exciting has been watching my kids love what they are doing. And win or lose it doesn't matter (of course winning is always fun;)!