Family Fun Time

My parents & grandmother came to VA to visit for 11 days at the end of September beginning of October.  We had a ton of fun just hanging out, chatting, & playing together.

I haven't seen my grandma in almost 2 years so I took advantage of it & let her teach me how to make her famous homemade egg noodles.

Both my mom & my grandma told the girls stories from their childhoods & young adult years.  The girls LOVED learning about them.

And my dad became a big kid & played with the kiddos the entire time he was here.  They were in heaven.

With my mom having been so sick for the last 2 years, this was a great vacation for her to come & spend time with my kids.  She still doesn't feel fantastic & she's still recovering from SO MUCH, but she had a great time & each of the kids got some special one on one bonding time with her.

My favorite part of our trip was driving down to Virginia Beach & eating at The Cheesecake Factory. My mom meets her friend from BYU there every time she comes here.  I love Cheesecake Factory.

We also took a mini-trip to Williamsburg to the Yankee Candle Factory.  The kids loved showing them the shows, Santa's list, & the snow.  We all enjoyed some fudge, candles, & shopping.

My mom even got to make her very own candle.  It was really fun.

The trip was too short.  I miss them already.  I love you Mom, Dad, & Mamoo!!!

Scarecrow Day

October 2nd was Scarecrow Day in Taya's 1st grade class.  She begged me to make her look like a scarecrow.  What a cutie she turned out to be!!!

Lorien: My Little Soccer Star

Lorien is playing soccer this Fall & she's loving it.  She's wicked fast & just loves every minute of playing.  She plays goalie a lot & loves that too.  She is NOT scared of the ball AT ALL.  That ball could come straight at her face & she wouldn't even blink an eye.  That, of course, makes her an outstanding goalie.  

I'm just happy she's found something that she really really loves doing.  We love going as a family on Saturday mornings to watch her play.  It's been a fun experience for everyone.

Good job Lo.  You make our family proud.

Godzilla

This little guy is putting me through the ringer.  Trek was gone all of September & I can't even begin to tell you all the mischief this little guy got into.  Canyon is almost 18 months old now & the toddler phase is in full swing.  He is a stinker & loves "exploring" everything around him.

He loves to take my phone or iPad & knows how to get to the silly camera.  He takes the funniest pictures of himself.  Did I mention he's only 18 months old????

I think he might be spiderman, but don't tell because it's supposed to be a secret.  He can climb anything & DOES climb everything.

Everything he touches quickly becomes one more mess for me to clean up.  EVERYTHING he touches.

He now can turn on the faucet in the bathroom by himself & loves to CLIMB into the tub.  Thank heavens he hasn't figured out how to plug it up yet.  Whew.

He has the most angelic face you've ever seen. . . don't let that fool you.  ;-)

He loves any & every electronic device he can find.  He will find one, go & hide behind a chair, under a table, or in my closet & play it until he gets caught.  As soon as he knows he's been caught, he pushes every button he possibly can as fast as he can before you can take it away.  This action usually results in unwanted phone calls or texts to people. . . renaming your contact list names such as sadkjfw;oeihnavs or 302934u20u, & in most cases. . . a lock out screen.

He also loves food.  He will find food no matter where you hide it.  We now keep our kitchen trash can on top of our table (which he is now scaling!!) because he likes to climb inside & eat whatever is thrown in there.  Yesterday he managed to get a candy necklace, sucked on it, got it all over his hands, & proceeded to wipe his hands all over our hardwood floor, wall, & living room couch.  We should nickname him FLASH because this occurred in the time it took me to switch my laundry from the washer to the dryer.  Then this morning he climbed into the trash can (on top of the table mind you) & pulled out an empty yogurt container from breakfast.  He licked the remnants the best he could, got it all over himself & his hands, & proceeded to make a blueberry yogurt trail all across the carpet in my living room.  Thank you buddy.  You are making sure mommy gets her daily hour of exercise.

But when all is said & done, he does take good naps in his little bed.  

Did I mention he's an expert at locating electronic devices?  I didn't even know our library HAD a kids' computer.  Sheesh.  Guess what he runs to the instant we go to the library on Thursdays?  Yup.  You should see/hear the tantrum when I tell him "NO!"  We go to the library to read books darling, not play on the computer.

Yes, I tease & yes, I'm completely exhausted 110% of the time, but I wouldn't trade him or my experiences for anything in the world.  Canyon is my baby. . . my last.  I love him.  I love my little godzilla.

1st Day of School

First day of school.  Wow.  Another school year begins & the kids get a little bit older.  Why can't they stay little itty bitty things forever?

I'm excited for them though.  They are growing up to be such amazing kids/tweens & someday I hope they will be awesome adults.  They are all so beautiful, smart, & kind little people.  I love them so much.

Cadence starts 6th grade this year.  Her favorite color is pink, she loves her wardrobe & picking out clothes to wear every day.  And this year is the first year where she's been doing her hair by herself.  She has learned the art of the flat iron & curling iron & is practicing her braids daily.  She is a sweet sweet girl, loves everything around her, & LOVES TO READ.  Her favorite subject is Science & she is super excited to be part of the big 6th grade science fair this year.

Lorien is 9 & is in 4th grade this year.  Lorien's favorite color is yellow & her favorite subject is History.  Lorien loves sports, especially soccer, & loves being outdoors.  Lorien is my social butterfly.  Kids flock to her because she is so fun loving & fun to be around.  She is the kindest kid I know & makes everyone feel loved & at comfortable around her.  She is nervous to be at the new school, but ready to tackle every obstacle she faces.  She's a very determined little girl & knows she can do anything if she can put her mind to it.

Bladen is 5 & starts Kindergarten this year.  His favorite color is orange & his favorite subject in school is LUNCH.  His life revolves around food.  ha ha ha.  He is excited to get out of the house & have a teacher at a big boy school & he is excited to show everyone how fast he is going to learn in Kindergarten.  He is a funny kid & I imagine there is a little bit of a class clown inside him, but he promises to be super good at school for his teacher.  Bladen loves hanging out with his friends, playing mine craft, & reading.

And Miss Taya is almost 7 & is starting 1st grade this year.  Her favorite color is pink & she loves all of school. . . everything.  Taya is my little sunshine.  She's always smiling & her happiness is contagious to everyone around her.  She is friends with everyone she comes in contact with & she has a way of building people up when they're down.  Taya loves to read & do homework & can't wait to do LOTS of reading in 1st grade.  She's her brother's best friend & can't wait to have him on the bus & in school with her.  She promises to protect him at all times & make sure he is happy & safe.  I love this kid!!!

All 4 of my beautiful school aged children.  Oh how I love each & every one of them.

The Sr. Elementary School bus comes first in the morning.  The bus stop for this school has tripled in size since last year.  My girls are excited to get to ride the bus with all their friends from the neighborhood.

Sisters & Best Friends

The Jr. Elementary bus stop has grown as well.  We have the greatest kids in our area & I'm certain our bus stop is the best of the best.  These kids are awesome.

Canyon was excited to have his friend Will at the bus stop to play with from now on.  They missed each other over the summer.

I admit, I cried a little when my big boy got on that bus for the first time.

I love how his little spiky white hair stuck up so I could see him in the window.  Goodbye my sweet son.  Go learn & have the best first day of school EVER.

So here's to a fabulous new school year!  Cheers!

New Year New Teachers

After our trip to PA, we had the opportunity to go to the kids' schools & meet their new teachers for this new school year.

Bladen starts Kindergarten this year & he got Mrs. Mann (Taya's teacher from last year.)  We are SO very excited to have her as his teacher.  We loved her last year & can't wait for Bladen to do great things in her class this year.

Taya is in 1st grade this year & she got Mrs. Lenz as her teacher.  We've heard great things about Mrs. Lenz.  We can't wait to see what Taya learns from her.

Lorien is a big girl this year & has moved on to the Sr. Elementary school with her big sister.  She is in 4th grade this year & she has Ms. Claggett as her teacher.  Lorien is nervous about being in a new school, but with her sweet & determined personality I know she's going to do great things.

Cadence is excited for 6th grade.  She loves school & has missed it all summer long.  She has the opportunity to have Mrs. Bailey as her homeroom teacher this year.  Since she's in 6th grade she has an A,B schedule for PE & Band & then every day she is with Ms. Bailey in the morning & Ms. Mitzel in the afternoon.  This is the big year preparing her for middle school next year.  She is SO excited.

I can't believe it's time for school to start again already.  My my my how summer flies.  I'm going to miss these kiddos while they're at school.  It's been YEARS since I've only had 2 kids at home.  It's going to be SO weird for me.  But I know my kiddos are going to have some great experiences this year.  I can't wait to see how they grow leaps & bounds in these great teacher's care.