Thanksgiving

We spent this Thanksgiving with Zach's brother and his family.  Nick and Rochelle cooked up a huge feast for us and it was very yummy! It was a nice evening and I missed seeing my family but it was nice not having to jump from location to location. 

During the past few weeks surrounding Thanksgiving I have been trying to teach my kids how to express gratitude. I would ask them what they were grateful for and they would respond with something I would expect 6 and 5 year old to say.  What is hard is trying to help them understand that it is not just the big things we need to be thankful for.  This is defiantly going to have to be a work in progress and not one that we approach once a year, but every day.

I realize I must be the example and show much more gratitude in my everyday attitude, I know I spend way too much time stressing about silly stuff when I should just be thankful for all that I have which is so much!

I am thankful for my husband.  Good times, bad times, I know he loves me no matter what and that is all that matters.

I am thankful for my children.  They make me a better person each and every day.  I love learning from them and I love teaching them and I only wish I could be on my A game for them everyday!

I am thankful for my family.  Did I ever get lucky to have such supportive people to call my family.  I am truly blessed for all they do.

I am thankful for my friends.  I have amazing friends.  Such strong, amazing moms who set such good examples for me everyday!

I am thankful for school.  Not only do I love seeing my children learning I am also so grateful for the opportunity to go back to school myself.

Things are not always easy but by taking a minute to jot this stuff down, I realize just how lucky I am!

Proud

My Mom has spent her entire life taking care of people.  She is a giver and would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it.  A few years ago she decided that she was going back to school.  Mind you she still had a full time job, was a full time Mom to my sister Samantha and still managed to fulfill all her Grandma duties of spoiling the Grandbabies.  I am so amazed by her determination to finish and so proud that as of Monday she is officially an RN at UMC in the Labor and Delivery Department.  I foresee many good things in the future for my Mom and she has been and still is who I look up to everyday!

In May my Aunt Susan threw my mom a huge party for her graduation and my sister's and I put together a pretty cool desert table for the occasion. 

My Mom got exactly the job she wanted...it was worth the wait!!!

Halloween Festivities

My four girls all dressed up in their costumes for the school trunk or treat. They were really excited to finally get to dress up, and of course get their first candy of the Halloween season.

Natalie was so stinking cute in her fairy costume. She was twirling around in circles, it was adorable!

Next was Trunk or Treat for our ward. I love seeing all the costumes that the kids are in, there are some seriously creative and talented women in the ward and they always impress with their costumes. It was a fun night except when Maile got lost. That was just scary, good thing for the awesome Missionaries who found her and brought her to us. She went to the car when she couldn't find us. Smart girl. Hopefully I will get some pictures of actual Halloween soon, I was in such a rush I forgot my camera, so now I just have to wait to get some from my mom and sister. To be continued....

Happy Baby

This is the face of a happy, not teething, not sick Natalie.  I miss this face.  I hate teething and sickness.  I miss my fun baby.  I miss sleep too. Here's to hoping she feels better soon. 

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We love the pumpkin patch. It is always a good time, I love seeing all the kids run around and have fun together.  It is also fun looking back at previous years pumpkin patch pictures and seeing how our group has grown!  I am pretty sure we are at a final count of 14 kids between our three families.  Such a cute group of kids we have!

My kids know the drill.  Sit for pictures, smile nice and then and only then will you get your ride tickets.  It's a system that works pretty good, I am not allowed to ask them to be still for pictures after that.  So all we get are the goofy ride pictures that Daddy takes a hundred of.

 Natalie was loving the pumpkin patch.  She was dancing, picking up pumpkins, riding the rides and of course waving to everyone!  I am pretty sure Zach and I are smitten with this one right now!

Always a good time!  And a post about the pumpkin patch wouldn't be complete without a shout out the Mommies who make all this fun happen year after year! Thank you ladies for always being game to have fun!

School Photos

 Maile

 Alexis

Rebecca

Happy 30th Lezlie

Birthday Girl Lezlie, Me, Anna Bananna 

My older sister turned 30 this year, very exciting except for the fact that it means I will be 30 next year.  I got a chance to hang out with my sister two nights in a row first night to see a movie and the second night to hit up the town.  I was really dreading going out, (don't really like dressing up right now) but of course I would do anything for my sister.  So after a late, late dinner we went dancing/clubbing.  It was fun even though I was so out of my element.  Of course my sly sister sweet talked the bouncer and our whole group got in free and then to our surprise we got an impromptu concert by none other than LL Cool J himself.  I am not a huge fan but my dear husband grew up listening to him so I knew I had to get some video for him. It was exciting, we happened to be at the right place at the right time and were in the front row of where the stage was.  At one point he pointed to around where I was standing and told us to come on stage, I didn't want to but apparently he gets what he wants because the bouncer I was next to yanked me up with a bunch of other girls my baby sister included.  Even though I really didn't want to be up there but I took advantage of the situation and  after he was done performing I tapped on his shoulder got a hug and some video of me and him (all for Zach of course) :).  Needless to say I had a really fun time with my two sisters and it was fun showing Zach the pics/video's of LL when we got home.  He thought it was pretty cool even though I woke him up at 4 am.  You probably won't catch me out at a club for a long time, if ever again,  but I can say I love hanging out with my two sisters. 

Me (dork), LL

Springs Preserve

I just found these pictures on Zach's phone and am so glad he got some of this day.  It was a rare day that daddy was home and able to do something fun with us.  It was our first time at Springs Preserve and I had no idea all the fun stuff it had for kids to do.  We had a really great time and the weather was perfect. 

Grandma Fayeannette

Zach's mom was came down from Sacramento two weekends ago for a visit.  The kids adore Grandma Faryeannette and she sure knows how to spoil them. Nothing like a trip to target to pick out a toy to get a bunch of kids excited! (9 kids...it was pretty crazy!)  This trip I got to spend extra time with Grandma Faye and we really had fun together!  We look forward to another Grandma visit, the kids love having her here and it brings Zach's brother and his family closer since they come over the whole time she is here.  The kids were loving all the time they got to spend with their cousins.

I have been longing for another cloudy day like this...

Birthday for Two!

Alexis and Rebecca had their 5th birthday about two weeks ago. On their actual birthday I took cupcakes into their lunch at school, we all went to the park and then Aunt Susan came over with presents and helped us sing happy birthday to the girls.

Friday was finally their PJ sleepover party that they have been asking for since last year. It was CrAzY with about 18 kids aged 1 year up to 12 but it was so much fun. We danced, played, ate tons of treats and then calmed down (kinda) and watched a movie while we waited for parents to come. The girls looked so happy the whole time that I am so glad we did it and I will say it went pretty well for having so many kids!

The Birthday Girls

Auntie Amanda, Auntie Sam, Paige, and Grandma (the best helpers ever!!)

The kids, Chloe, Alexis, Rebecca, Illiana, Seth, Alex, Aidan, Lennox, Natalie, Lailie, Jacob, Josie, Maile, Leila, Cooper and Urijah!

Party Time

 Natalie had a small little family party last night and she sure had fun. She played and played with all her cousins, ate some bundt cake and opened some presents.

Happy Birthday Natalie

It came and went in the blink of an eye.  I can't believe my last baby is a one year old.  I don't want to believe it but it is my reality.  As sad as I am,  I can say that she is becoming one of the cutest toddlers I know.  She is a funny little girl, always trying to make us laugh making her funny faces and noises.  She loves to be her own person, don't try to help her do anything!  She loves to sit in things and loves playing with all the big kids.  Natalie is a great eater and could be a better sleeper for sure, maybe one day!  I am very excited for what Natalie has in store for us as she grows!

School!

This past Monday I watched all my kids get a little bigger. Zachary off to 7th grade, Maile to first, Alexis and Rebecca to all day kindergarten. A new chapter in our life is starting and we are all really excited. I will be honest and say that the past year has been pretty hard, my patience level has been really low and I couldn't keep the twins busy enough to stay out of trouble. I can already tell that being in school is going to give them the stimulation they have been needing for a long time. It is also going to give the really worn out mama a much needed break! Everyone likes their teachers and so far we had a really good morning routine going. I am so excited to see what this year is going to bring us!!

Bee-U-tiful Day

I am not going to lie. I am scared of bees and wasps. Really scared. So lets just say a couple of my friends and I pack up our kids and some lunch and head out for a little fresh air in the Mountains. The picnic area I have been to a few times before was closed so we chose a spot just barley off a hiking path nearby. We lay down some blankets, open our sandwiches and all of a sudden there are few bee's (or yellow jackets) flying around us. I didn't panic at first because I still thought they were the little things that look like bee's, you know the ones that fly funny but don't sting. Anyhow before you know it there were lots of them and they wanted our lunch. They were flying all around us and in our bags and on our food. Now me pretty darn scared, my kids pretty darn scared, Danielle pretty darn scared and lucky for us Chrissy, brave as can be. She pretty much saved the day and picked up all our stuff for us, took on hungry bee/wasp things and rescued all of our lunch. Now we thought we must have been near a hive so we chose another spot that seemed to be free of the pests. Well no such luck, they followed us there and then all the way to the car. I thought the day was ruined but we decided to eat in the car and then drove back down to the Mt. Charleston hotel where the kids got to run around, we got some pretty pictures and we only had to deal with a few bee/wasp things there. What I thought to be a spoiled afternoon turned into a pretty good time. Unfortunately I had my camera set all funky and didn't realize till half way through the day but I love these pics so I had to do some serious stuff to them to make them even light enough to see but I love them anyways. These kids have grown up together. I love seeing how big they all are getting and how much they enjoy each other when they are together.