December 2011

December was one of the craziest months! I have found that since my children are getting older, I seem to be so much busier going from one thing to the next. Between Allen and I we had 3 Christmas parties for work, and of course the ward christmas party, and I got to help in McKenna's class for the class Christmas party. Lots of GREAT food!

Tyler was especially busy. He had his class party which I helped him get ready for, an orchestra concert, DARE graduation, and his piano recital. He played very well in all and did an awesome job!

The girls also had a school program in which all of the classes got to sing a Christmas song. They did a great job - I just wish I had a much better camera that worked with all the lighting!

Of course we put up the Christmas tree - always a favorite activity for everyone involved. Busy December - enjoy the pictures!

Tyler's October Highlights

Tyler had an especially busy October. At the end of September when he turned 11, he began going to scouts every Tuesday night. They've gone to the straw maze, swimming and just general scout stuff. The ward didn't have a pack meeting in September, so Tyler and another kid had to wait until October's pack meeting to get their webloe's badge and also their arrow of light. It was cool and we're so proud of Tyler. He can sure be a hard worker when he wants to. I wish I had better pictures, but my camera doesn't do well in "gym" light.

Also in October, Tyler and his class had a play about Columbus that they put on for the school and for parents at a night performance. Tyler played a King and he sure did look a lot older to me all of the sudden. He did such a great job and had all of his lines memorized. We sure did enjoy it! Great job Ty!

October Highlights

I guess we were having so much fun in October, I forgot to post on my blog! The first week of October was Harvest Break - and the second and third week my sister and her two beautiful daughters came for a visit. It was a special visit because my cute niece turned 5! This little miracle girl is now 5 and that is a very special thing. We had a birthday party for her, and she got her favorite toy - a new pet dog which she named Max. So fun!

Braden and Morgyn got along really well. They are only 4 months apart and for whatever reason, Braden took it upon himself to play the "older and wiser" cousin. He'd grab her hand as we would walk in and out of stores, make sure she had enough food and drink, and just in general tried to take care of her.

Of course we had to decorate for Halloween and carve pumpkins. The kids love to carve pumpkins and Braden especially was posessive of his. He wanted to do everything - and I would keep borrowing it for seconds at a time just to try and scrape it so he could pull it all out.

I don't know what was wrong with me, but I forgot to take pictures of all of the finished products. Both Tyler and Braden carved a big Y in theirs, McKenna did the American Flag, and Kylie had a haunted house. They looked awesome, but the problem with pumpkins is that they don't last too long without their guts.

The Saturday night before Halloween, someone took Braden's pumpkin that he was so PROUD of, and replaced it with a big ugly U. We had to fix it to make it look better.

Don't worry. We laughed and of course we found out who took it. It is like blasphemy to do such a thing in our ward - and word got around. That naughty guy!

Braden was very excited for Halloween. He practiced all weekend long and would run up to you with his "punumkin", hold it out and say "trick-or-treat." It was pretty cute. I was surprised he even let me dress him up.

Tyler dressed up as a cougar fan, so did the girls for school, and then changed their costumes for that night and just wore what they did last year.

We had our annual trunk-or-treat for the subdivision, but it was so darn cold this year. The wind was just bitter and it didn't last very long. But it was long enough for the kids to all love their goodies.

Braden was quick to eat his candy - and while I probably should have taken it away - I didn't. I just let him eat on it for a day or two until it was gone. Keeping him out of the other kids' candy was a bit challenging, but I did it.

Over all, it was a great month and hard to believe it is already time to eat Turkey! Bring it on!

Harvest Break

Harvest break came and went. I wish I could say we did a lot of amazing things, but I can't. We made cookies, played a lot of band hero, stayed up and watched movies and minimal playing outside. It was a dang cold week!

In fact it was so cold it snowed and it stuck! Braden was so excited to go outside, but I think he forgot how much he hates being outside and being cold. He didn't last too long.

Tyler wanted to make a snowman and enlisted some others to help him.

The finished product. He decided to make it a square snowman.

Later, before he knocked it down, he thought the snowman should have a hat. What a creative little guy I have.

All in all, they really enjoyed the break, but they were also really happy to be able to get back to school.

Braden's Bed

Braden had been climbing out of his bed a lot recently, so we thought we had better get the side of the crib off and make a big boy bed.  He was so excited. He tried to be in the middle of all the action. When it was finished, he immediately started jumping and then climbed into bed to "test" it out.

I know there are a lot of parents who seem to rush to get their little people out of the crib. Not me! He loves it, but it is taking some to get used to for me. He likes to sleep with the light on all of the sudden, and then he locks his bedroom door before Tyler can get in and go to sleep. That and for some reason he seems to be my night owl. He loves night time and while his bedtime is 8 p.m., we have had a lot of 10 p.m. nights. Hopefully this isn't what's to come later!

Tyler's 11th Birthday

Tyler decided to go and get another year older. We celebrated his 11th birthday by going to the straw maze in Archer. We let him bring his friend Lucas along. We all split into groups. Tyler and Lucas, McKenna and Kylie, and then Braden, Allen and I.  Kylie didn't want to go in a seperate group, but we thought it would be good for her and McKenna. After 15 minutes into the maze, Allen and I were feeling bad for having them go seperately. What bad parents we were, etc. After about 20 minutes into the maze, Allen and I found our way out and started talking with the owner. He told us the girls were the first to come out - after only 10 min into the maze, they waited for 5 min and then decided to go back in to help the boys out - who made their way back to the entrance, but not the exit. We thought that was really funny and the girls felt extremely good about themselves!

They all enjoyed their time in the maze, it wasn't crowded and it was still light enough to go through all the tunnels without a flashlight.  It was a fun activity for everyone except Braden who I think was bummed he had to be with the old folks.

After  the straw maze we came back home and had dinner (hot dogs and pasta salad - his choice), cake, ice cream and presents. So easy.

I can't believe Ty is 11. He is such a great kid and we are so proud of him. He is an awesome big brother - and Braden LOVES him to pieces. He is talented and smart and we are so grateful he is in our family!