Say Cheese!

So, I'm taking photos to include with Christmas cards (no I haven't gotten those done yet...) and when there are 3 kids it is tough getting them all to focus at one time, and to smile and look at the camera.  I guess I was over taxing their little brains because it took quite a few attempts to get one good photo.  I'm going to post the "outtakes" here.  Enjoy!
 

 

 

 

Giving Thanks

We had a small Thanksgiving Dinner this year.  Just our family and my grandma.  It was nice & quiet.   We are thankful to have a house to call home, for all the food we had to eat, and our family.  It was a feast!

The beautiful tulips

Table is all ready

Our "Thankful Tree"

We tried this month to think of all the many things we are thankful for.  Each thing was written on a leaf and put up on the tree.  It was a fun project.

Halloween

It was difficult waiting for Halloween night to come because the kids had Friday off of school (Nevada Day) and Halloween wasn't until Saturday.  Thankfully, the evening finally came and the boys had tons of fun at the trunk or treat at church and then trick or treating afterward.  
Candy overload commencing....in 3....2....1....

Convict DADDY












Punk Rockin' Quinn












Mad Scientist Liam

Cute Kitty Colin

I need a vacation......from my problems.....

So, what movie talks about taking a vacation from your problems??? Quiz time!

I was able to tag along with Ryan while he went on a Rope Rescue class (the second one) for work in Bellingham, WA. A few other wives were there too. It was so nice....70 degrees......and beautiful! I guess it was raining the week before we were there and it is going to rain this week, so we took up the sunshine with us! A big thanks goes to my mom who watched the kids so I could go.

The guys standing around talking.

Beautiful...Trees and ocean

Mt Baker


Had to take a photo of the sign at Nooksack Falls

Ryan being pulled on ropes over Nooksack Falls
(they were behind the sign)

It was a great trip overall....sleeping in....seeing the sights....shopping...fun times!

Glad to be back home, but I sure wish it wasn't still 100 degrees out!!

Oh LegoLand....How we LOVE you!

Another post finally!! We took a little vacay to Southern CA (because that is where the fun is). We visited LegoLand and the beach. Fun times....

Liam being attacked by a Lego knight.

There was even mini Vegas!

Colin loved racing his own car.

Quinn & I were soaked by the Aqua runner.

Colin & Daddy on the cruising boat

It was fun, but glad to be back home. NOT glad to be back in the 100 degree weather. It was a lovely 72 degrees there. 'Sigh'....it will get back to 70 degrees sometime here....in a few months.

Toothless Wonder Twin Powers......Unite!

In case you didn't know, they are twins, so of course they do everything together. Like losing both of their front teeth within weeks of each other. Before the time quickly passes (and they get the big teeth in) I wanted to capture the funny smiles. They are growing up so quickly!

Their powers lately???.......super arguing ability

How long is summer again??

Let's get this party started!

Colin celebrated birthday 4 this week. He had a few friends over (and their older siblings) for a party. We had a few games outside and bubbles. Then had pizza....requested by the birthday boy...

And we finished it off with yummy cupcake cones. You bake the cupcake right in the cone and frost it and it looks like an ice cream cone. I guess it looked too real, because some of the kids were still wanting cake....even after eating the cupcake and knowing it was not ice cream. I apologize to the moms whose children were "psyched out" by the cupcakes.I think Mr. C had a fun day and I can't believe the baby is 4 now!!

Come to Zion, come to Zion

We went on a day trip through Zion National Park on Saturday. Ryan's mom came to town for Colin's Birthday (covered in the next post), and Ryan wanted us all to see the scenery. Didn't leave Vegas until almost 1pm. We went through a great rainstorm in St. George along the way. Got into the park and let the boys get out and run around on the trail. They crossed a little stream with Daddy and found some sticks to help them walk. Then we got back in the car and drove through the park more. Stopped again at another area and the big boys climbed up some rocks. Colin played in the fine sand.

When we left the park we made a loop for Cedar City. Went up in the mountains where the temp dropped and then saw this great view.

Dinner in St George and finally home around 10:30pm. Long day!

Gone Fishing....

We went with our neighbors to Floyd Lamb State Park the other day for fishing. We've never been fishing before, so it was interesting. Liam & Quinn took turns holding the pole, but never had any bites. A man close by caught a crayfish (yuck) and that was all. The fish just were not biting. The boys were disappointed. I told them that fishing takes a lot of patience. It was nice to just get away from the craziness for a bit and be outside with lots of trees and water....and geese.

Check it out!

This is the "green" bookshelf Ryan created for L & Q's room. It's green because we re-used the materials from their former bunkbeds. We sacrificed beauty for durability. That thing is STRONG!! The colors are deepest aqua and orchid. The boys picked the colors.....I guess it works for them. This bookshelf holds all their books and still has room for games and extras. I'm excited to move the games from the hall closet to get more space there. Also be sure to note the "protectors" of the room sitting on the top shelf.

First day of summer vacation........playing the XBox! I'm going to have to limit the time on that!

Birthday Celebration

I've had a great birthday week....celebrating over a few days. Ryan was so great to invite my friends and their families over for ice cream cake on my actual birthday. Then the day after, we went to dinner & my "big" present was tickets for O.

To see just a bit of what it was like click here and then click on "Watch the Trailer" link. The picture below is the ceiling of the theater.


All I can say of the show is..... AWESOME! I am in awe of these performers who can do such amazing acrobatics & combine it with swimming too. The show could have gone on for 4 hours and I still would have been sitting mesmerized and enjoying all of it! So, if you haven't been, GO!!!

Quinn's Creation

Quinn had to have his cheeseburger "HIS WAY" so he added onion rings. That's a shout out to Auntie Meredith!!! He really loved it!

Little trip down memory lane....

Just came back from a quick trip to Provo, UT to visit my Alma Mater. I went with my friend, Nicole to Women's Conference....actually, we only went for one day (the conference is 2 days long), but I really enjoyed the one day. There were A LOT of women there!!

It was fun to go back to visit the campus again. I haven't been back for quite a while, and a lot has changed! Whole buildings are gone and new ones have sprung up in their places. Amazing. Brought back all the memories of dorm life and cramming for finals....also good memories too. Had fun wandering the bookstore (without kids!) and eating some of the yummy Creamery ice cream.

Finally...another lost tooth

Quinn's front tooth was hanging on (barely) yesterday afternoon. He had wiggled it all day at school. We worked on it, but couldn't get the stubborn thing out last night. So this morning, I said we HAD to get it out before school! We pulled and twisted and cried. Finally, the thing popped out when I pulled on it.

The next one is not far behind. And Liam is working on his too. Stay tuned for more tooth updates!

In N Out

Quick bite to eat the other day with Grandma & Grandpa. Colin LOVES the fries! And he really liked the hat too. He decorated it with stickers.

Easter Egg Hunt

Had a fun Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday at the Gardens Park. Throw in a bunch of eggs and kids and it turns into a party! Everyone left a winner. Even Quinn, although in the photo above, he appears to be sad to have no eggs....he just hid them under the "grass" in his bucket.

The County Fair

We went out to the County Fair with some friends Thursday afternoon. Kids had a great time on the rides. Food was expensive and greasy...just as expected. We saw animals....reminded me of when we had some animals while growing up (cows, pigs, chickens, goats). Also saw a few cheezy shows (very bad acting). Everyone had fun getting out and doing something different!

Crazy Hat Day

Yes, the crazy hat day at school today for NV reading week. Every day has been something funny. There was pajama day yesterday, dress like Dr. Seuss (in white, black, red) day Tuesday, & Monday was wear-a-shirt-with-a-lot-of-words day. Tomorrow? Crazy sock day. All in celebrating reading. I love that they are promoting reading and that my kids love reading.

Anyway, thought you all would enjoy a few crazy photos!

Food Storage.....Here We Come!

Used to be an open area with a bar that collected junk.

View of hallway with new pocket door.

Shelves inside the pantry...now we can store lots of food.