Singing and dancing- some of Abbi's favorite things

Abbi had a busy & exciting week last week- her preschool program and dance recital all within two days. She was in heaven. These were days she had been waiting for for a long time. She loved singing at her preschool program. Luckily I got a few pictures before my camera died.

Then at her dance recital she loved dressing up and this time had 2 dances to dance in. And one of them was with her sweet friend Kayla.
All the boys stayed at home since Zac was sick, so Abbi and I even got to stay and watch the whole recital. That's a girl thing and we loved it!

Cinderella

Today Abbi was bored with no Zac (he went back on track after 4 weeks off) and no friends to play with. She couldn't think of anything to do. Then she told me she wanted to clean the kitchen floor all by herself. At first I wasn't so into the idea but then I wondered why I wouldn't be. Even if she didn't do that good of a job it was better than nothing. So I helped her sweep and then she took her bucket and rag, got on her hands and knees and mopped. She even did a pretty good job too. I went over a few spots after she was done but it definitely took less of my time having her do it. Here's to hoping she continues to think that mopping the floor is fun!

Snow's Here!

This morning Carter was VERY insistent on going outside. Little did we know that there was a brief snowstorm outside. Carter did not care. In fact, he loved it. He ran around sticking his tongue out and catching a few snowflakes. Winter has more in store for him.

Out With The Trees

Thanksgiving is now done and gone so the family wasted little time in pulling out our two Christmas trees from the basement. Angie bought a small 4-5' tree for the kids to decorate. Angie likes to decorate the larger one in the living room. This year she had to strategically place the ornaments out of the reach of Carter.

Little Trouble

For the past month we've been reminded how much trouble a pint-size toddler can get into. Carter is definitely expanding his horizons and when he isn't busy trying something new, he walks around screaming because he is bored. If you don't believe us, we caught him in the acts and want to share them with you. His latest troubles include:

1. Shaving the end of his finger on a pair of misplaced scissors.

2. He's discovered that if he can get to a chair he can get on top of the dining room table.



3. Using the chair idea he can get on top of the computer desk and he makes a rather big mess.



4. Carter is constantly hungry. He found the mother load when he popped open the pantry door. We also caught him fishing out a measuring cup and filling it with crackers that he looted from the pantry.



5. Oh the joys of a light switch. He learned that one from my nursery class. If he can't climb a sofa to one, then he gets a small stool to help with the needed height.

Grandma

My grandma passed away yesterday. Although she was 85 years old she was always very healthy and we thought she would be around much longer. She was in a car accident and was hit by a car running a red light. Even though how she went was tragic I can't help but think it was meant to be. She lived a full life. She lost her husband at a young age and raised 6 kids. My grandpa has been gone for 41 years and 41 years is a long time to be alone. My grandma served a genealogy mission to England. She spent many years in the Genealogy Library in Salt Lake helping numerous people with their genealogy. Every time we visit Tom's family in California a woman in the ward thanks me for my grandmother helping her with her genealogy when she came for our wedding reception there. She has played the organ at the Salt Lake Temple for years and always enjoyed that. She even was walking to her car from the temple during the infamous Salt Lake tornado and survived that. Recently she started taking phone calls for the temple prayer roll. Just last Sunday she told us how she had received a few phone calls to put John McCain's name on the prayer roll. We saw my grandma every Sunday at my parents' house for dinner. She always brought "the mix" (chips, crackers, and M&Ms) and then a treat for the kids. Although you had to be sneaky about eating "the mix" or you might get in trouble for eating too much it was a part of Sunday dinner. Everyone always looked forward to "the mix" on fast Sunday especially. In the past several years my grandma hasn't been the same. Her mind hasn't been all there. She's always been very physically healthy but she wasn't the same grandma I grew up with. It makes me sad that my husband and kids never knew the grandma I knew and loved. As a kid there wasn't much better than sleepovers at grandma's. We loved staying Christmas night at grandma's house with our cousins. I have fond memories of sitting in her white living room staring at her ballerina statues and trying to pose exactly like them. As a child I looked forward to visiting my grandma's house on weekends. Holidays were always spent at grandma's house. Her birthday is just 2 days away from mine and we would always celebrate together. Sunday dinner won't quite be the same without grandma, her mix, her stories, & her phone call to tell us she had gotten home safely but I know she's in a better place. What a reunion she must have had with my grandpa and her parents. She always talked about that reunion and I'm sure it was just as sweet (or more so) than she always hoped. I'll never forget the way my grandma loved. Being together as a family was her favorite thing to do. I can even still hear her at reunions and such say how thrilled she was that we were all together. We will miss you grandma and look forward to being all together again.

Draw You Funny

My little brother has a new website and I'm here to advertise. He draws caricatures and has drawn several for family and friends. He used to draw editorial cartoons for the U of U newspaper (yet don't worry, he's not a U of U fan- we're blue through and through). He has a new website where you can get your caricature drawn. The best part is it's free, at least right now. So go over there and send him a picture and he'll email your caricature to you.

www.drawyoufunny.com

Happy Birthday to someone

Someone had a birthday around here but he doesn't like to celebrate that much. He even worked on his birthday so we went and visited and took some pictures. The kids went to the dollar store and each picked out a gift they thought (and I thought) he would like- a crossword puzzle book and shoe shining stuff. Very nice although Zac did want to get him a multicolored wooden hook thing. Luckily I talked him out of it. The next week my family forced a little celebrating out of him with a cheesecake and a Happy Birthday song. Happy Birthday dear!

Happy Halloween

The kids loved Halloween this year. Indiana Jones and Cinderella got to wear their costumes several times with the neighborhood carnival, trunk or treat, school, and then trick or treating. I was glad they got good use out of them too since there was so much effort into putting them together. We now have candy coming out of our ears but somehow I think we'll find a way to eat it. Carter loved Halloween because he got to walk around and be outside, two of his favorite things to do. He didn't go for that long, but long enough to be satisfied. He looked so cute waddling around in his green monster costume. Luckily we had super nice weather this year for Halloween (except for the few raindrops). Now before we know it, it will be Christmas.

Pumpkin Pickers

We had plenty of fall festivities lined up this . . . fall. We first went to a corn maze but the batteries to the camera died and so we didn't take pictures. It was a first for the children and we had fun trying to get through the maze.

A week later we went to a pumpkin patch to pick out a few for the trip home. I never could bring myself to buying a pumpkin from the grocery store. When I was a kid we went to the pumpkin patches and I wanted to continue the tradition. Each of the older two picked out their special one. Of course, Abbi took no time at all and Zac wanted to tour the entire patch of pumpkins before he made his decision. Afterward we let them play on some tractors that they had in front and then we concluded the night with ice cream from Artic Circle.

Pioneer Trekkin'

Yesterday we decided to go on a hike for family home evening. Since Mount Timpanogas was snowed over, we decided to hike up to the top of Ensign Peak. We've never been there before and to be honest we had to look up directions since we were unsure of were it was. The Ensign Peak park had a small plaza that had some informative plaques explaining the importance of the peak to the LDS church. There were nine block seats in the plaza that represented the first nine members of the church that went to the top. There were also supposed to be nine trees surrounding the plaza but we think one of them died. The floor of the plaza had a map of the world made from pavers and if you stood on the state of Utah you could see Ensign Peak through a break in the trees.




The hike up to the top was steep but the kids and Angie were impressive in making it to the top. Zac kept talking about how far we went and how he was such a good hiker because he didn't even need a drink. We hardly noiticed that Abbi was there because she just kept her small legs going. Carter, however, was a delight. I first carried him on my shoulders but when he realized that everyone else was walking he kept throwing himself from my shoulders toward the ground. He finally got his wish and when he wasn't busy trying to pick up rocks he was hiking about half the distance.





At the top it was sure windy. We spent time trying to find recognizable landmarks throughout the Salt Lake valley, reading a few plaques, and making sure that Carter didn't wander off a few of the ledges and cliffs. We talked about the pioneers and Zac said that the pioneers went for a long walk after people kicked them out of their houses.

The trip down was not as long and Carter was content staying on my shoulders as long as I kept him bouncing. Angie caught plenty of pictures of the whole trip so we'll share them with you.

Burn burn burn baby burn....

Abbi is our singer in the family. When she was little she would always go around singing. Especially "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." And now in church she's not one of those sunbeams that just stares as all the other kids sing in sacrament meeting. No, she sings her little heart out. She comes home everyday from preschool singing the songs they sang in singing time. And she loves singing in the car. Her favorite is Taylor Swift. She's a young country singer and Abbi loves to sing along to her songs. Once Abbi was almost asleep in the car and one of Taylor Swift's songs came on and she sat right up and sang along. So my parents found this Taylor Swift shirt for her. It's a teenager size but we were able to make it fit and she loved it.

I've been tagged

My good friend Tamsen tagged me with this meme- six unspectacular things about me. So here they are. And they are unspectacular.

1. I hate soggy food. I finally discovered this after years of hating breakfast foods. If it's soggy, I won't eat it. I detest maple syrup for that reason and rinsing it off of my kids' plates is nasty.

2. I'm obsessed with spelling. If something is spelled wrong somewhere it bugs bugs bugs me. At church if someone spells something wrong on the board I can't stop looking at it and I want to go up and change it myself. I don't of course. Now watch, because I said that I'll spell something wrong on here.

3. Along with the spelling thing, I am constantly typing words with my toes, fingers, and my mind as I listen, read, and especially think. I don't know why. I'm weird.

4. I love the Dixie Chicks and I hate that the radio stations won't play them because they said something stupid years ago about our President.

5. I love household tips. As a kid, we had a book full of household tips and I would spend hours reading it. You'd think I'd be really organized because of it. I wish.

6. I am a paranoid person. I'd tell you stories but you'd really laugh at me. Those of you who know my stories have already laughed at me.

Meme terms & conditions:
Link the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules on your blog.
List 6 unspectacular things about you.
Tag 6 other bloggers by linking them.

I tag Melissa, Karalee, Alanna, Sara, Heather A., & Simone.

Splish, Splash

For Labor Day weekend we met up with my brother and his family for a fun-filled day at Cherry Hill. We've never been there before but I think that it was a perfect place for our young children. There was a lot of sun but I think we all avoided getting burnt. Carter had the hardest time because he missed both of his naps. We all had fun, however, and we thought we would post a few of the pictures.

A Hiking We Will Go . . .

Last month I decided to take our Zac backpacking in the great Uintas. I had been to a lake called Island Lake a few weeks earlier with some coworkers from the station. I thought it would be a great destination for the two of us. It was only 3.5 miles and there wasn't too much elevation gain (unless you ask Zac). The first question Zac had, however, was if there were bears in the mountains. I accidentally responded yes. You can probably figure out what the topic of most of our conversations was. We wouldn't have ran into a bear anyways. Zac kept talking the WHOLE ENTIRE time we were on the trail. Wow.

Once at camp we fished, fished some more, and fished again. Following Angie's predictions, we didn't catch any fish. I did break one of my fishing poles, though. We stayed for three days, two nights, and Zac slept the longest (and warmest). We hiked around in the meantime and saw some deer. We had a fun time. Zac kept coming up with ingenious reasons why lakes had certain names and kept pointing out the rock ducks. He always had his eye out for Haystack Peak. The hike back out was hard for Zac but he persevered. He did a really good job and I hope that next year he looks forward to going again. While on the trail, though, he came up with a list of those coming on our next trip: about 20 people that included cousins, friends, and my "mates" from the fire station.

Fun in the Canyon

Tom made an executive decision and decided we were going to the canyon for dinner last night. I think he had wood he wanted to get rid of. So we got some stuff ready for a dutch oven dinner and went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to a campground site. Having a crawling child in the outdoors like that isn't my favorite and Carter proved the reason why. Within minutes he was in the dirt and filthy. But he loved it. He especially enjoyed playing with the roaster stick in the dirt. It was later used to roast marshmellows but a little dirt never hurt. Our dutch oven dinner was delicious (so say Tom and I, the kids on the other hand were just forced to eat it) and everyone enjoyed the smores. Carter decided after awhile that screaming was just the thing to do and as Tom said, "I think that's the first time Carter's ever gotten on my nerves." I'm sure it won't be the last. Zac and Abbi had fun exploring and throwing things in the fire. They attempted fishing a bit but Tom's first pole kept getting stuck in the trees (or something like that) and he couldn't get the pvc pipe thing to his other pole open so that was a little disappointing. But besides that we had a great time.

Sleepover

My kids love sleepover at Grandma's house. It's a big highlight when they get to do it. But my mom isn't always available for such things so I decided to make my kids happy and we had a sleepover here with their cousins. Well, Zac went to my brother's house and slept there with the older 2 boy cousins and the rest came to our house. It really wasn't that crazy and they had a lot of fun. We went and rented a redbox movie and I even took all 5 kids to Walmart with me to get it and do a little shopping. That wasn't that bad either. We frosted cupcakes and ate them and then they got in their pajamas and in their sleeping bags and watched the movie. Their selection for the evening was Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief. Not the greatest movie but it didn't have a villain in it and little Alex can't handle villains. It kept them entertained though. After that the challenge was getting them to sleep. Some wanted to keep others awake and others were exhausted. But finally they were all asleep and I didn't hear a thing until 7:15 when I could hear the rustle of the Froot Loops cereal box. We had blueberry pancakes with bananas and special whip cream for breakfast. Then we did all the girls hair and tried to clean up. Fun was had by all and grandma didn't have to do a thing.