Putting up the Christmas Tree

We put up our tree right after Thanksgiving like we always do and the kids had a blast. Each year they each pick out a new ornament to add to our tree and it's fun to see the previous ones that they all picked. Our goal is to give them all of their ornaments when they get married or move out so they can decorate their own tree with them.

I feel truly blessed this year and am so thankful for my husband and children more than ever. It is so fun to watch the children grow and change and develop their own little personalities.

Halloween 2009

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating last night. We left at 6pm and didn't get back until 8:30pm. Logan did request a pick up at 8 though, so Jeremy came and got him and took him home while we stayed out with our friends. It's hard to tell what they are with coats on, but Mallory is a Butterfly Fairy. Logan is "The Master" from Star Wars (we're pretty sure he means the emperor). Lyndie is Supergirl.

We had a great time and it never got too cold for us which helps.

Please don't leave Logan!

Lyndie tried her best today to make Logan stay home from school. He is her best friend. She is saying "Please don't leave Logan!"

Trampoline moving day

Thanks to a few guys from our ward, we were able to move our trampoline to our new house today. It was quite a spectacle as you can see, but we love having a tramp, so it's worth it to us. Hopefully they will arrive there with it in one piece.

Weight Battle: round 3

I have done Weight Watchers off and on now for about 4 years. For some reason my weight eventually creeps back up everytime! I officially started counting my points again yesterday and started going walking a little. I will keep my progress updated as it goes. I might even post a before picture once I have actually lost weight and don't feel so insecure :).

What a morning!

So, I woke up this morning to realize that Lyndie had somehow found a pen last night in her bed and drew all over her body. And I do mean ALL over!

I thought it was just on her face arms and legs, but she was sitting with her nightgown up so I could see her belly button. It then dawned on me that I hadn't checked her WHOLE body. This child cracks me up. She was so happy with herself for doing this. When I asked her what she did, she told me with a big smile that she colored to make her pretty.

Other parts of my morning that went fantastic: I came down to find Logan dumping cereal on the floor on "accident". And then Mallory put her shoes on for school and I noticed a huge trail of dirt following her all over the house. OY VAY! Hope the rest of today goes a little better.

Chunky Watch

This is the watch that I made at our ward's Fabulous Friday! Cute, huh?

Bow Making!

So, last night our ward had our fabulous friday where we did a bunch of crafts. One of the crafts was bow making. I only made one last night, but then I saw how easy it was to do and went and bought more ribbon t his morning and made a bunch more. I love how cute they turned out and wanted to share them.

Lyndie's 3rd Birthday!

I totally neglected to add an entry for Lyndie's 3rd brthday. We celebrated at a family party and then had cake at home with the family. Her big present was a new stroller for her dolls. WE got her a sturdy one since her and the kids think they fit in the doll strollers.

Lyndie brings so much energy and laughter into our home. She is such a joy to have around. Although she is a bundle of joy, if you cross her, she will let you know. We love you Lyndie!

New School Year

Mallory actually started last week, but I forgot to take pictures. This is Mallory in 2nd grade and Logan starting Kindergarten.
Silly faces!!!!
Is it just me or do girls get more dramatic as they get older?
We go to Mallory's bus stop every morning with her. It's right across the street from our house.
Logan waiting in line before school for his teacher to come get his class.
Logan and his friend Jade waiting together.

Fun day gone terribly wrong

So today I decided that I was going to take the kids down to the Gateway and have lunch and run through the fountains and then come home.

It started out simple enough. We went to the Trax station, purchased our tickets and got on the train. Got there, had lunch and then walked to the fountains. I was watching the kids play in the water while I sat on a bench nearby. I was looking at Lyndie and then glanced over to look at Logan for about 2-3 seconds. I went back to look at Lyndie again and she was gone. vanished without a trace. I quickly started to scan the area thinking she couldn't have gone that far. I then started walking around the fountains and scanning the outer areas as well. Then panic set in. I started to ask other parents if they had seen a little girl with curly blond hair. Soon many of the other mothers were helping me as they could see my panic. I then ran across the street to tell the security guard my daughter was lost and to gather help.

Just as I said that to him, another mom ran over to me and said she thinks my daughter is up the stairs by another security guard. I started to walk over and was saying "but I can't see her, I can't see her!" I ran up about 50 stairs to the second level and there was Lyndie sitting on the edge of a little pool just dipping her feet in. I thanked the security guard for staying with her. He stayed with her because he knew it seemed like no one knew where she was. Like she was all alone.

This incident today has totally made me realize how easy it is to lose your children. I literally looked away for 2 seconds and then she was gone faster than I could look for her.

Are you ready for the freakiest part? Last night I had a dream that I had lost Lyndie! In my dream she was found by a police officer and he had found her walking alone the side of the freeway. Has anyone else had an experience like that? I seem to have them more often than I would like to admit.

Anyway, we are all home and safe now. I think our outings are over for a little while. I need a valuum.

Mallory's Birthday Party 7 yrs. old

I totally forgot to blog about Mallory's birthday party. We had friends over for water play outside and pizza and cake. They had a blast. I heard that the little girl screams could be heard for miles away.

Going Private

So, for those of you that are not sure why you got an invite to be a reader on my blog, it's because I am going private now. My friend, Kelli, called me last night after looking at the traffic on her blog. She noticed that someone from Spain had downloaded pictures of her little girl and they had come to her site from mine. She also noticed that they had downloaded pictures from my site too of my kids.

So, to protect my kids, I am now going private. If any of you have a blog, I would check your traffic and see who is visiting your blog and what they are doing on there.

Awards Assembly for Mallory

So, this morning I went to an awards assembly for Mallory at her school. There are basically 3 levels of awards they try to earn during the year. We didn't really try, so Mallory got a certificate of participation along with all the other kids who didn't really earn it. The kids who earned one of the awards got a medal.

After the assembly I caught up with Mallory on the way back to her class and told her how proud of her I was, etc. She then looked at me and said, "What!? I don't get an award? All I get is this piece of PAPER!?" That made me laugh, so I had to share it. I think next year we will try harder to get it? Some of teachers did all the passing off of goals on school time with the kids, so hopefully Mallory gets one of those teachers next year.

No Joke!

I have to write about something that happened to me at Wal-Mart on Saturday. I was at the cash register paying for my groceries. The checker told me my total and I got out my debit card and swiped it like normal. I then looked at the number pad to enter my pin and there was a huge furry spider on it!

I totally freaked out and made the checker come kill it! If anyone knows me well, they know that me and spiders do not mix well. My heart was racing and my toes were curling, literally. I could barely think straight enough after that to finish my transaction.

I will ALWAYS look at the debit machine from a distance now to make sure nothing is on it! GROSS!

Camping

This last weekend we went on our ward campout. This was in the morning when all the men were trying to cook breakfast in the rain. It turned out pretty good considering...
I was one of the few that came prepared for rain and I was not about to give up my umbrella.
Logan really enjoyed poking the fire with his stick. He would sit it in the fire until it caught on fire, then he would take it out and blow it out. I don't know how safe that was, but we came home with no injuries.
Mallory was finding little sticks to throw into the fire.
That's Lyndie in there mooching chocolate off of one of the moms.
Logan was so tired. And this was right after we got there! He was a trooper though. He didn't complain about it, he just laid down when he could.
This is Mallory with one of her little friends, Grace. She was glad that some of her friends came up so she could hang out with them.
Lyndie still mooching food off of other people. They willing give it to her. Those big blue eyes and soft blond curls get her a lot. We are in big trouble with her.
Logan enjoying some Oreos by the fire.

It was a good time. We ended up sleeping in our van, which was really warm. I was worried about the cold since it had rained all week down in the valley. One scary thing did happen when we were there, though. Mallory wandered off with one of her friends "exploring". After a few minutes of them out of my sight, I got a feeling to go look for her. The other little girl's mom also started looking. Pretty soon the whole camp was looking for them too. I was panicked, but a couple of boys from our camp found them and brought them back.

I truly believe that Heavenly Father watches over out little ones. Mallory and her friend had gotten worried about the same time I got the feeling to go look for them. Mallory was crying when she got back and said that they had wandered into the wrong camp. The rest of the trip, I watched her like a hawk. She hated it, but I didn't lose her again and that's all that matters.

Mallory's 1st grade program

Mallory had her 1st grade program last week. They sang and each had a speaking part that they had to memorize.
This is Mallory's friend Averi on the left and her twin brother Noah in the middle.
This is Mallory waiting to say her line.
Mallory loves to be behind a microphone as you can tell by the way she holds it. She did a great job and had her line totally memorized :
"Our rotations were filled with lots of excitement. We loved computers, library, PE, and music. Going to each one every week with a different teacher was a great adventure."

We got Mallory some flowers for doing such a great job at her program.

Logan's Preschool Graduation

This is Logan with his favorite friend at preschool, Michael. Logan said, "Mom, I will miss Michael the most." What's even sadder, is that they won't go to the same elementary school next year.
Lyndie was there, of course, and she thought she was part of the preschool class, too.
This is Logan playing with the girls tassle next to him. Such a teaser, that boy!
This is Logan's teacher, Mrs. Lisa. She won't be teaching anymore because she is pregnant and due in August with her 4th child.
During the program the kids all gave their Mom's a rose.

Doing the pledge.
Logan and Mrs. Lisa. Preschool 2008-2009.