Straw Maze

Tyler really wanted to go through the straw maze this year. So, we finally went to the straw maze on the 30th of October. We drove there, just to find out that they weren't open yet, so we went to Big Jud's and then off to the straw maze again.

We were one of the first groups there and we had a blast trying to navigate our way through the maze. Although admittedly, one could easily feel a little claustrophobic in there. It took us about a half hour, but we made it through! Surprisingly, Braden especially enjoyed running through it.

We decided that would be a fun tradition to have. Eat at Big Jud's and then off to the straw maze.

Halloween 2010

Fun Halloween this year. Tyler was a clone trooper, McKenna was a ninja, Kylie a spider witch, and Braden was the tiger.

We attended our neighborhoods annual trunk or treat. They always have different games to play and of course hot chocolate and donuts.

There were so many kids this year. We highly underestimated enough candy and we ran out after about 45 minutes. We'll have to plan differently for next year.

Braden was a lot of fun to watch this year. He didn't want to participate at all at first, and then I started taking him to different cars where he would receive candy. He quickly caught on and absolutely loved trick or treating. It was hard to seperate him from his bucket.

Carving Pumpkins

We got our pumpkins at Wal-Mart in Idaho Falls. The kids all spent a lot of time outside looking through all the bins, trying to find that perfect pumpkin. After about a half hour, they finally found them.

Braden was fascinated by what was happening. As you can tell from the pictures, he was really trying to figure this out. He just kept putting his head in the pumpkin and staring for a long time. I am sure he was wondering why on earth we were doing this.

The older three really did a great job this year at carving. Especially Tyler. We didn't really need to "touch it up" at all.

I need to figure out how to take better pictures of the finished product. I will also upload an updated photo of all the pumpkins, but here is Tyler's pumpkin. He picked out a pattern and carved the entire thing himself. The saddest part of the night was as he was taking it outside, it slipped. It broke off the haunted house part. Allen and I did our best to pin it together, but I think you can get the overall idea.

Pumpkin Patch

The week before Halloween, we decided to go and check out the pumpkin patch that we have heard so much about. It was fun and the kids enjoyed running around looking at all the pumpkins. They had a little straw maze - more for Braden's age. They also had a little train that you could ride.

We enjoyed looking around, but decided to save money by purchasing our pumpkins at wal-mart. But at least it provided some great photo ops!

Student of the Month

October was an exciting month for Kylie. She was chosen as the Student of the Month at her school. She got her name on the wall, a certificate, she had lunch with the principal - and he gave her a special halloween cookie, and she also got a gift certificate for a jamba juice.

Definitely a highlight of the month! Allen and I also got to spend a little alone time with her and took her for her jamba. Great job Kylie! We are very proud of you!

Eyes

October has been the month of going to the eye doctor. It started with Braden. Since the second he was born, he has had a droopy eye. The pediatrician really wanted us to get it checked out, so I took Braden to an opthamologist who specializes in pediatrics.

The Dr. was quite thorough in his examination and assessment of Braden - or at least as thorough as you can be with an 18 month old. He determined that his vision wasn't being affected yet and we are going to give it another 6 months and we will go in and get it checked out again. If it does start to affect his vision, then we will be in Utah having surgery to correct it. However, the bad thing about the surgery is that obviously he would be put under anesthesia and the side effect is that his eye would never again close all the way. We are hoping that it will be fine until he is in his teens. At which time if he decides he wants to have the surgery for cosmetic purposes, it is just a local and they can make it so his eye would open and close normally.

I really liked the guy and decided I wanted to make sure we were doing all we can for Kylie. I made Kylie an appointment and again, another thorough exam. It is amazing to me that they can check everything that they do. One test they did showed that her brain doesn't work properly with her eyes and it isn't showing her everything. We also found out that Kylie has absolutely no depth perception. (I think we figured this out already). They did determine that her eyes changed quite a lot since January and we had to get yet another new pair of glasses. We go back this month and depending on how things are going with the new glasses, she will probably get an eye patch that she will have to wear for a couple of months.

This is Kylie in her new glasses. They are "barbie" glasses. Fun sparkles on the side of them.


Finally, especially since school has started, we have noticed that McKenna has been really struggling with reading - which she hasn't been up until now. So I took her to the regular optometrist (another guy that I REALLY LIKE), and found out she needed glasses. However, she is opposite of Kylie and mainly only needs them for school and for reading.

McKenna has not been excited about this at all. She has made a few comments how now, everyone won't be able to tell her and Kylie apart. It has been a huge struggle to get her to wear them and keep them on. The first day she had them, they broke. We got them fixed, and they are now broke again. I guess it will definitely take some getting used to.

Here is a picture of McKenna and her new glasses. Not the greatest picture, but she really does look cute in them. I hope we can change her mind.

Happy 10th Birthday Tyler

I feel bad I am behind with posting this, but my oldest turned 10 last month! A great day of celebration started with Tyler going to school! He took some treats for all his class. While there, he got to pick a game for the entire class to play, and they all colored him a card that was put in a book for him.

We decided to make it a family birthday and my parents and my sister Amy and her two children came and joined us for dinner. We all enjoyed pizza, breadsticks, salad and of course - a WONDERFUL chocolate cake! YUM!

He got some great presents - a couple of wii games he really wanted and a Harry Potter lego set that after you build it, it becomes a game board.

Over all, it was a great birthday. I can't believe he is already 10!

Braden's Latest Adventures

After the funeral, we went to one of the local ward houses and ate a nice meal. After the meal, we brought clothes to change into so we wouldn't have to wear our sunday clothes all the way home. I took Braden into the bathroom, locked him up in this one little area where I could easily change him. Unfortunately, I didn't think well enough and he escaped underneath the stall. Next thing I know, I hear a lot of splashing and playing in the toilet. The shoes were in the toilet completely soaking wet. *sigh*

I finally get him dressed and we met up in the cultural hall to say goodbye. We were one of the last families to leave and we left through the kitchen door. Allen's brother left through a different door. We were putting things into the car when the screaming started. Braden was running out the door and down the sidewalk and completely missed the curb. He went flying and landed in the parking lot on his face.

There was blood everywhere. It was coming out of his nose, mouth and from his face. Lots of it. We were worried wondering if he might have lost or broken a tooth. We got him cleaned up the best we could but his lip was so swollen we really couldn't see into his mouth at all.

On the way home, by the time we had hit Idaho Falls, his nose was really swollen and bruised badly we were worried if he had broken it. We did a swing by community care to have him checked out. They said it looked ok, but they couldn't tell for sure because of how swollen he was - but they were pretty sure he was ok.

Anyway, this is the day after the accident - and it looks so much better in this picture. It has now been six days, and all signs are completely gone - he is all healed except for his nose is still bruised. It's amazing he can heal so quickly.

M. Glen Jones Funeral

Probably too many pictures from a funeral, but the whole reason I blog is so my children can have a book of what is happening and is important in our lives. So here goes.

On Monday, September 20th, we received the call that Allen's dad had passed away peacefully. These last few years have been a challenge for him health wise and we knew of his desire to pass on and to be able to return to live with his wife Elma.

Allen and I took to trip to Burley Idaho that afternoon where he and his siblings made all of the funeral arrangments. Time was also spent visiting and remembering some of their most fond memories. It was decided that the funeral would be the following Monday on the 27th.

On Sunday, the 26th, we packed up and headed to Burley to stay for the night. We stayed in a hotel and attended the viewing that night and woke up for the funeral the next day.

It was a great funeral. The spirit was strong and it was inspring to make us want to do and be better. It made us appreciate having the gospel and knowing that it is possible to be with our family again.

Tyler was an "active" pall bearer, and Braden an honorary one. Which meant Tyler got a red flower and Braden got a white one to wear. It threw the funeral workers off a little bit when I went to them and told them Ty was
a pall bearer. They looked at me weird and asked if he was an honorary one. I said no, so then they asked "an active one?" So that is where that funny phrase came from. Imagine their surprise when I told them that Braden was an honorary pall bearer and needed his flower!

Allen's dad was a highly decorated war hero and because of his service, he had full military rites. I have not ever experienced that before and it was such a neat thing to be there for. They had the flag over the casket, a gun salute, taps was played and the flag was folded and presented to the family.

We sure love Glen and will miss him dearly - but we are so grateful to have been apart of his life and grateful to know that we will see and be with him again.

Braden's First Haircut

We decided we had better do something with Braden's hair since he was starting to look so girly. So we put him in the bathroom and started cutting. Always a scary thing to do. He actually sat really still (a definite miracle) and while he doesn't look pleased, he really didn't mind it. The sad part is he doesn't look so baby like anymore. He sure is growing up fast!

Trip to Utah

A couple of weeks ago, we decided at the last minute to take a quick trip to Utah. We were going to go down for just Saturday the 28th, and then drive back the same night. We met up at a park with my family for a little picnic/bbq. My sister and brother in law from TN were here and it is the only time we have all been together in quite a long while. Sadly, we didn't get any good pictures of all of us. We were just more worried about not being blown away!


You will be glad to know that nobody blew away - but you can tell it was extremely windy!
For whatever reason, it was one of those tornado like windy days. I couldn't even eat any of the delicious salads that were there, because the wind was blowing the salad right off the plates. It took a lot of effort to eat a hamburger and keep your plate held down. The children however, didn't seem to mind the wind too much and had fun climbing EVERYTHING!

After we were fed up with the wind, we went back to my sisters house where we chilled for a little bit. Braden was in love with this dog that my sister is babysitting.

We met a new nephew/cousin - Tommy. He sure is cute and smiley.

We decided to stay the night instead of drive back home. There wasn't a lot of room, and it was basically wall to wall people. I set Braden up in the play in pack in the laundry room and the rest of us were all spread out on floors throughout the house. But isn't it all about the memories? Or so I'm told!

The next morning when we woke up, this is what my niece's hair looked like. I thought it was so darn funny and cute.

It was a fun trip and it was fun because the kids had fun and were so excited just to get away for a little bit. Thanks guys!