Fall top 10

We have been so busy having fun that I have not had much time to blog about any of it so here I go. The following is a list of my top 10 things we have done this fall and have loved every second of it!

We went to our local balloon festival. This is one of our most favorite things to do as a family. We meet a bunch of friends bring food to snack on and then sit back and enjoy the beautiful balloons. I love that we have FINALLY lived somewhere long enough that we have traditions that the kids look forward to each year. We celebrated Morgan's birthday. She wanted a Halloween themed party so we all dressed up and decorated and made slime and all sorts of fun things. She had a blast and has worn her beautiful church dress she asked for to church every week since then!We visited our local cider mill. This day was filled with corn mazes, bouncy houses,hay rides, yummy food, and great friends. Not to mention the smell of fresh cider being made. YUMMY!!!!Charlie has started a Sunday tradition where he makes crepes for breakfast. They are so good and they make us look forward to each Sunday morning.

Fall is such a beautiful time of the year here we always try to snap a few pictures out in the leaves. We got a few good ones but they will most likely end up being our Christmas card so you will just have to wait until that comes.

We went to our ward trunk-r-treat. We worked on our trunk for awhile and we won an award for one of the best trunks. We used lots of dry ice and made bubbly blood and monster drool. The picture did not turn out that great but we had fun working on it with the kids.

Some of our good friends hosted and adult only Halloween party and it was a BLAST. Charlie and I went as Deb and Pedro if you could not tell from the picture. I was a bit sad that we only got one picture because the shoes finished off both of our outfits and you can't see them in the shot we got. Charlie had on black moon boots and I found a pair of silver LA Gear shoes. We were quite the couple. It was so fun to get away for a night with amazing friends and just be goofy. I hope it becomes a tradition!

Miss Morgan lost her 1st tooth. It had been loose for awhile and she finally got up the courage to let me yank it out. She was so excited for the tooth fairy to come and visit.Carving pumpkins is always a treat in our house. We let the kids draw out designs and then we get busy carving. Halloween was a favorite holiday growing up in my house an I have for sure passed it on in my own family.

Last but not least was the big night. We bundled up and headed out to a few houses to collect some loot. Sam was a frog, Ethan a BMX bike rider, Abby was Dorothy, and Morgan was a witch. My favorite part of the night was seeing little Sam toddle around holding his pumpkin bucket with a green glow stick around his neck. He was in his glory just wandering the streets and having people give him candy. It is one of those moments that make mothering worth it and a memory I am sure to keep forever!

Wow, it has been a great month or two. I love this time of year and my goal is to enjoy as many of these days while I can before dreaded January hits!

Need a laugh?

My friend sent this to me last night and it made me laugh so hard I just had to share it! Enjoy.

Pledge of Allegiance

For some reason ever since Morgan started Kindergarten she has convinced herself that she is learning everything in Chinese and Japanese. She came home today and showed me a certificate she got for knowing the pledge of allegiance. She then quickly informed me that she also knew it in her two other languages. So I grabbed the camera and this is what I captured!

I am not quite sure where it is all coming from but it does make me laugh. Should I worry though that she apparently has forgotten English?

Beautiful Day(s)

This is where the vacation all began. I had to snap a shot of this rare (and by rare I mean never) chance we had to drive our van with not one single child in it, unless you count the one in my belly, but that one does not have to make potty stops and beg for snacks and ask "are we there yet?" every 5 minutes.

This was a great chance for us to have 6 hours of uninterrupted talking. The time flew by and we loved listening to the music WE wanted to listen to and stop when WE wanted to stop and ate what WE wanted to eat. Wow...it was so nice.

That night we checked into our beautiful and very contemporary hotel that was not suited well for children at all and it made me love it even more. Then we hopped on the train and headed to the city.

Charlie had made us a reservation at a FANTASTIC restaurant. They had printed special menus just for us that said congratulations on the top because Charlie had told them we were celebrating finding out about our 5th baby. I am pretty sure they were expecting an older couple walking in because when they saw us they looked surprised that we were having our 5th baby. I suppose that is a compliment but the looks we got made me laugh a little.

The food we ate was amazing. I felt like it was the first time I actually tasted my food in a really long time. Each bite just melted in my mouth. They made their own lemonade and really tart lemonade when I am pregnant is one of my favorite things and let me tell you this stuff hit the spot. My mouth is watering just typing about it.

After that we just walked around the city and went to one of our favorite spots, Buckingham Fountain. It was a beautiful night and it was great to be care free and enjoy my great company!

The next morning we woke up and had a great breakfast in the hotel and then got all our gear together for the adventure that was ahead of us. We headed to Soldier Field with tickets in hand excited to see what our first GA experience was to bring.

We drove around for an hour trying to find a good place to park and ended up parking right next to the field but we had to dish out $45 for parking. Did you hear me??? $45 just to park a car! We took a deep breath, paid the lady and then forgot all about it as we grabbed food, chairs, sunblock, camera.....and rushed to find the end of the line and see how many people were ahead of us.

We got there a little before 1. The gates did not open until 5. Opening band started at 7:30. U2 did not come on until around 9. You would think 1:00 you could get an ok spot right? Well, when we showed up there were already about 2,000 people ahead of us!

We ended up in line right next to this couple and a few other really fun people as well. The funny thing about these guys was that the husband went to U of U and the wife went to BYU. How is it that in a crowd of 65,000 people we end up sitting next to the two people we probably had the most in common with? They were a blast and we had so much fun getting to know all of the other fellow U2 fans. I can honestly say I have never had more fun with a group of complete strangers in all my life.
So after sitting outside for 4 hours the anticipation built as we made our way to the inside of the stadium. Is this stage not one of the most amazing things ever? It was an absolute sight to see. We made the mad dash to the stage to claim our spot.
We ended up just outside of the inner circle right next to the catwalk. It was a perfect spot to see all that the night had to offer. We were super close to the band but we could also see all the screens and lights which you can't do from inside the "inner circle". I can honestly say we had the best spot of the night. I have posted some video below and I think once you see a few clips you will agree.

We then waited another 2 hours for the opening band to start. This began the second phase of no eating, no drinking, no nothing because if you left your spot there would be no return. I was nervous seeing as I am pregnant and make frequent trips to the potty and the kitchen but I knew I could buckle down and hang in there for one night and I did!
Here are a few shots of the night. Keep in mind this was not zoomed in...I was actually that close to Bono!!!! I think my heart skipped a few beats :)

Ok, so here are some of my clips. The first one is of Bono right next to us. Seriously I was in heaven. The end of the clip Charlie put the camera on me and I had a huge grin on my face but you can't see it on this version so well, but trust me I was grinning from ear to ear.

The next clip is one of my favorite moments. There is nothing better than a choir of 65,000 people singing along with you to your most favorite songs. What a blast!

The last clip is a classic...With or without you. What would a U2 show be without that song?

The show was amazing and I must say as funny as it may sound it was one of the best days of my life. Totally exhausting but worth every second.

We got back to the hotel around 1 A.M. and collapsed into bed just to be woken up a few short hours later with alarms going off everywhere and announcements being made to evacuate the hotel due to a fire. So half asleep we made our way outside with all the other guests in robes an p.j.'s...it was quite a sight! Luckily everything was contained and we were let back in the hotel about 30 minutes later. What a crazy night.

I then made the lonely drive back home by myself since Charlie flew out first thing this morning for work. It was not quite the way we would have liked to end our trip but we were so glad to have had the time together that we did. This is a weekend I will not soon forget.

Lastly, a HUGE thanks to our good friends who were willing to take our kids, even a teething grouchy baby and love them and care for them while we were away. You are the best and I so appreciate you letting us escape for a few greatly needed days!

First day of school

Yesterday it arrived...the first day of school. I have a confession to make. I have seen recent commercials on t.v. with parents dancing through the school supplies happily loading their carts to the tune of, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." While it is difficult to keep 4 little ones busy all summer I was not really looking forward to school starting. Am I crazy?

I have had fun this summer. Seeing the kids grow closer together, staying in p.j.'s until lunch time, long days at the park with friends. The list could go on and on but really I have had so much to enjoy this summer and I was a bit sad to see it all come to an end.

That being said, I sent 3 little ones off to school to start a new year with new friends and new experiences. Samuel and I miss the kids terribly. The house is unusually quiet and feels a bit empty with them missing.

Here are some pictures of the big first day.

Kindergarten must be a bigger transition for Morgan than I thought it would be. I have found her here the last two days out like a light!

Ethan lost his first tooth on the bus today. He was so proud and stuck it in his lunch box so it would not get lost :)

Only 9 more months until next summer....but who is counting?

First Steps...finally!

The other night Sam started to take his first unassisted steps. He has been walking holding on to things for a long time but has been too timid to take his steps all alone. I'm not sure what it is with my boys but they are perfectly content to just let me carry them around all day. Who needs to walk when someone will carry you right?

I have been a mother long enough at this point not to rush the whole walking thing because after walking comes running and then comes running away from mommy and the new found freedom of exploring, BUT I am feeling ready for him to move on to the next stage.

It was fun to see how excited he was. I think it will still be a few weeks before he takes off on his own but we are getting closer.

Garden Lunch

We have always wanted to have a garden, but due to frequent moves and now a yard that gets no sun we have never been able to have one. This year we got our own little garden plot at our local community gardens and planted away. The kids have learned so much and look forward to each Tuesday when I tell them it is time to get ready to go to the garden.


This is where we started at the beginning of summer. I was not confident that much would actually grow but to my surprise this is what our garden is looking like as of last week!

Today we picked our first cucumber and broccoli and the kids and I had a great healthy garden lunch with lots of greens and
some homemade banana bread. YUM!

Although our garden may be small we are proud of it and enjoying each week. I can't wait for the tomatoes to come in so I can have a fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella toasted sandwich. Ahhhhh, summer makes me happy :)

Family Trip

After 10 years of marriage and 4 kids later Charlie and I just survived our first family vacation. We realized as we got on the road that every trip we have ever taken has been to see family or with family. I hope our next trip is not another 10 years away because although it was tiring we had a blast and made some great memories.

We started our trip in Palmyra to see some church sites and go to the Hill Cummorah pageant.

We went to the visitors center and then hiked up to the top of the hill. It felt so good to get out of the car and move our legs around for a few minutes.

We then headed over to Joseph Smith's home and then to the sacred grove. We had a great family home evening the Monday before we left about all that we were going to see. Abby and I had a great moment in the grove where we sat on a bench and no one else was around and we talked about how amazing it must have been to look up and see Heavenly Father and Jesus standing right above us. She for sure felt the spirit and I hope that she remembers this trip and the feelings she had.

This was us walking into the sacred grove.

A family in our ward was actually in the pageant this year and saved us front row seats to the show. The kids LOVED all the fire and rain and stayed awake through the whole thing despite the long day. We made it back to the hotel around 11:45 and were ready for bed!

The next day we headed to Niagara Falls. When we got there it was raining but that did not stop us from having fun considering the fact that we were about to get VERY wet soon any way. Our first stop was to a walk way that went right next to and under the falls. We put on our ponchos....but I don't think they served much purpose. There is a point where you can go stand right under the falls and I was already pretty wet and was not wanting to go but Abby grabbed my arm and pulled me under and we both got SOAKED from head to toe. I screamed at the top of my lungs and she laughed so hard. I have to admit it was one of my most favorite parts of the trip.

I LOVE this picture of Samuel in his poncho. He was such a good sport on the trip.

This is a little bit of the bridge we went out on. On the top of the picture where the falls are coming down is the part you can stand under where Abby pulled me to. The force was amazing!

We stayed in an beautiful hotel that looked right over the falls. The kids loved sitting on the floor and just looking out the window. The two shots below are from the window in our hotel. It was a splurge but I think well worth it.

That night we walked around town and went right up next to the falls to watch the fireworks. We were right under them so they were really big and loud and the kids loved it. Samuel LOVES fireworks and I snapped this shot of him watching the show in all his glory.

Our last adventure was a hike behind the falls. It is amazing to hear the roar of the water and feel it rumble the ground beneath your feet. I went on this same hike when I was little and still remember it....I hope my kids do too!

Here are our last few shots by the falls. The trip was a success. Charlie and I even had a moment alone one night after we put the kids to bed. We ordered some cheesecake and chocolate cake and went and sat in the bathroom and whispered quietly as we ate! Nothing spells romance like eating cheesecake while sitting on the toilet! Hey...you have to give us credit for at least trying :)

Baptism Day

I have been a bad blogger lately but I am going to do my best the next few days to catch up on some of the great fun we have been having.

A few weeks ago we baptized our first child!!!! I can't believe I am old enough to have a daughter who is baptized and has started activity day girls. The day was wonderful. We had both sets of grandparents in town and that made the day even more special. Abby was so excited and was well prepared for the step she was about to take. One of my favorite moments was seeing Abby stand between her grandmothers and sing. They sounded beautiful together and I am so happy Abby has so many wonderful women in her life to be an example to her.

I can't explain the joy that filled my heart as I saw her enter the font with her proud father waiting for her on the other end. As soon as he took her hand my eyes filled with tears. I met Abby with a towel when she was done and her fist question was, "Mom, are you ok?" I scooped her up and gave her a big wet hug and told her how proud I was of her. I then got to change her into her beautiful white dress, which made me cry even more. I could not help to think ahead to the future and realize that before I know it I will be standing in the brides room in the temple once again helping her into another beautiful white dress.

It was such a special moment between just the two of us. The kind of moment that does not come around very often. I am so lucky to be Abby's mom.

I have to give a big thank you to our families who came. It was a wonderful few days and we wish we could have them more often. Thank you for taking the time to be here. It meant the world to Abby and to us.

This will go down in history as one of my most favorite days ever!

To my kids

8 years ago you made me a mother for the first time. Until you came along I had no idea how it was possible to instantly fall in love with someone. 8 years ago I had no idea what I was doing but you were patient and I have learned so much from you. I have gotten a small glimpse into how our Heavenly Father must feel about us. I am filled with joy when you are filled with joy and my heart breaks when your heart is broken. I am in awe of your excitement to share your testimony and be a loving example to everyone around you. I am so blessed to be your mother. Thank you for sharing the last 8 years with me!

365 days ago you were swimming around in my belly and I had no idea what you looked like or what your personality would be or how you would change our family. 365 days later I can tell you that I am so glad you are here. The last year has been filled with joy and laughter. You are an easy going and happy little man. Ethan loves being your big brother and the girls love to take care of you. You are just learning how to stand without holding on to anything and you are so thrilled with yourself. You are a great eater and sleeper and are very busy during the day. My favorite part of the day is when I get you from your crib after naps and you look up at me with the biggest 8 tooth grin I have ever seen. It warms my heart and gives me the energy to make it through the rest of the day. I look forward to the upcoming years watching you grow and learn. I am so glad you came to our family!