Glow Fun

Joyanne and Noah had so much fun with the glow sticks creating all kinds of things.

I, also, had fun putting glow sticks all over the house.

I took Grant and James with me this weekend to visit family in the Salt Lake Valley.

So Daddy's living it up at home with the 4 oldest kids.

Party on, guys.

Mamma's not there to hound you to get your stuff done.

But don't forget to do your responsibilities. :-)

Holly Days Festival

Our family had fun at the Holly Days Festival.

Daddy and I were riding broncos.

We had fun but were tossed off those wild bulls. ;)

We decorated ourselves for the jingle bell and light parade.

We made Santa's sleigh out of a stroller.

Noah, Hiram, and Jaden were reindeer with James as Sanata and Joyanne as Mrs. Clause.

We had fun getting it all ready, but it was really cold outside and a bit miserable with the cold.

I'm having one of those days where inside I'm feeling onery and sad.

I feel like I just can't keep it all together.

I know a big part of it is lacking in sleep.

But when Momma ain't happy, no one's happy.

We, mothers, sure do carry a lot of responsibility to set the mood in our house.

I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow after a good nights sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Hike was a must with family in town.

Look at the family of petroglyphs.

Having Joey and Amber over with Micheal was icing on the pie.

We loved playing "Spoons", "Scum", "Count Down" and "Apples to Apples" with them.

Game central at our house.

All those petroglyphs are amazing and etched in my Indians from a long time ago.

Joyanne had fun on the hike too, even with a bit of snow around.

I think my kids were so thankful to have a day to just stay in their pajamas and play unlimited electronics.

Daddy and I enjoyed visiting with visiting family and playing games.

There is so much to be grateful for this year.

We are thankful for a place to live and, especially, that Daddy has a great, amazing, rewarding job to go to each day.

We are so grateful for each other and all the fun times we have together.

Caterpillar

Joyanne had hat day at school.

Doesn't she make the cutest cowgirl?!

Thanks Grandma for the great hat.

Daddy wanted to show me the cute little caterpillar we have.

Sure love that baby Grant! 

The kids were able to have some friends over.

The 4 friends from one family matches up with 4 kids from ours.

It's nice to have another family who makes such great friends. 

Family Togetherness

We like to be together as a family.

We went swimming tonight.

Jaden is getting better at swimming on his own.

We like to have a snack afterwards. 

Just a regular Monday with laundry, piano lessons, homework and chores.

What We Know

Christmas is a fun time of the year.

These kids got an early start.

Joyanne helped her brothers come up with a Christmas program for a Christmas recital.

It was sure cute to catch them on camera for part of their song.

This Sunday has been nice to go to church and feel the spirit.

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We know it, we live it, and we love it!!!



Dating Prince Charming

Prince Charming and I went on a Date today.

Going during naptime has been best for us.

We went to "Hunger Games: Catching Fire".

The movie was intense and good.

I love going on dates with my man.

To have one-on-one time out of the house is rare and fun.

We are trying to be more consistent with weekly dates.

Birthday Party, Babysitting, Family Movie Night

Jaden was so excited to be invited and go to a birthday party.

He had fun and won a game they played.

Joyanne was able to babysit 2 different families today.

She babysat for 2 hours right after school for 4 little kids who adore her because she plays with them.

Now she's babysitting for 2 more hours for a family of 3 little girls.

Such a responsible, good girl!

We had a family movie night with popcorn, cookies, and M&M's.

M&M's taste so good if you put them in the popcorn when it's hot.

They melt only a touch and are yummy!

We watched the movie, "Planes" and the kids liked it all right, but Daddy and I thought it was too much of a repeat of the movie "Cars" and kind of boring.

But it was fun to be together as a family.

Success

What a whirlwind of a day.

I visit taught one of the ladies in our ward and felt the Spirit so strong.

She taught me a lot too, like being there for your kids, and sacrificing your desires or wants to help meet theirs.

She has a 15 year old daughter who confides in her mom about EVERYTHING!

She is such a good, devoted mom.

I want to be like her.

This little Grant learned a lesson today.

He always fights Daddy or me when we change his diaper and has since he was old enought to, probably since 5 or 6 months old.

We have tried singing to him, bribing him with treats, and firmly telling him.

I was tired of him fighting me, and so this morning, I held him in restraining time.

I have him sit on the floor and gently put my legs over his in criss-crossed way and then fold his arms across his chest.

Of course he fought me and screamed.

But after a while he calmed down and agreed to let me change his diaper.

Amazing what a 2-year-old knows and understands.

By the end of the night, he was running to us with a diaper in hand and laid down calmly to be changed.

Noah was a great big brother walking home from school with Hiram and Jaden.

The wind was blowing cold and Hiram started crying.

Noah took Hiram's backpack for him and told Hiram to run home fast.

Jaden was cold to, but Noah was able to cheer him on and comfort him.

Way to go, Noah! 

Because they were cold, we had cookies and hot chocolate for snack.

Sitting by the warm gas stove also warmed them up.

Joyanne braided her own hair tonight.

It's nice to have her more independent now.



It felt like a busy, successful day!

Happy Days!

Pack Meeting

Tonight we had pack meeting.

Noah earned his second silver arrow for a bear.

Hiram earned his Bobcat. 

He pinned the mother's helper pin on me. 

And the kids are enjoying the treat they gave us to take home and eat.

Ice cream cones.  Yum!!! 

We missed Daddy, but we are glad he has a good job to work at and provide for us.



Building Blocks

Noah was home sick today.

He had a lot of fun playing with blocks. 

We hope he feels better tomorrow so he can go to school. 

Joyanne was quite busy today.

She is babysitting twice a week for a neighbor for a couple hours.

Then she cleaned the rabbit cages.

And I left for bookclub, so she babysat for me.

She said she was pretty tired tonight.

Life's experiences really teach us many things.

I'm grateful for my place in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Knowing the truth has helped me deal with the harshness of this world much easier.



Being Healthy

Home from swimming and getting ready for bed.

But, first, a snack.

Oh, yummy Triscuits!

So I am on a diet.

No snacks, 3 healthy meals a day, only 1 serving.

And I drink a gallon (16 cups) of water a day.

I was disappointed to have gained some weight so I'm determined to lose it.

They Love Me

Being a mother is such a blessing and priviledge.

These kids are so great at showing love.

They all wanted to sit by me at church.

I love it when they say, "Mommy, come see this!"

Then they show me some trick or thing they are doing.

Grant had fun playing "peek-a-boo" on the Ipad with me.

As much as I love them, I am excited for bedtime as well.

A little time for me and Daddy.

Cute Little Dance

Grant was so adorable as he danced in front of the oven door, looking at his reflection, and sang songs in a language I couldn't quite understand. ;) 

With me going to bed at midnight and Daddy coming in from work and going to bed at 3a.m., we are very tired and ready for a long night of slumber.



Boys' Party Time

Tonight was Boys' Party Time! 

15 boys came to the party.

It got a little wild and crazy, but we like that here once in a while.

The boys liked playing outside games, the Wii, and movies.

We went through nearly 3 pizzas, 2 bags of chips, 2 gallons of lemonade, 36 mini cupcakes and 15 bags of popcorn.

The carrots and cucumbers barely got touched.

But we had a blast! 

With a girls' party last weekend and a boys' party this weekend, I think we are done with parties for a little while at this house.

The good thing is my son, who wasn't going to be able to come to the party because of bad behavior yesterday, was able to join the party.

He cleaned the whole house for the party, and the rest of his consequence was delayed for tomorrow.



Sad Times

I'm sad tonight.

I planned a boys' party for tomorrow.

One of my boys has to stay in his room during the party because he hurt his brother.

I was so excited and am doing the party for them.

It's sad when they lose their priviledges. :(

I wanted to relax and have a break today, but it just didn't happen.

Too much going on.

It was more relaxing just because that was the attitude I had.

I love to just curl up and read a good book.



AMAZING Babysitter

Joyanne is an amazing babysitter.

Tonight she babysat 8 kids for 3 hours and she said it was easy.

She also put them ALL to sleep.

Grant had fun feeding the baby.

I was able to go rehearse with the community choir while Daddy was out doing his job.

Another neighbor brought over their 3 kids so they could also go to the choir and orchestra.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter.

She is so helpful.

All the kids were good and helpful.

Noah helped put James and Grant to bed.

Hiram and Jaden listened well and went to bed when they were told.

It is nice to be able to go out and not overly worry about my kids.

I love them so much.

Being a mom is the best!!!

A Cut in the Eye

Danger strikes on a little toddler.

Poor Grant!

He climbed up on our nice, solid, wooden benches and slipped off.

The doctor didn't stitch it because it was too close to his eye, so it was superglued close. 

As you can see, he's still a happy boy.

While we were at the doctors, I had his ears checked, and it just so happens that he has an ear infection.

So I guess it's good we went to the doctors. :)

These 3 buddies were having fun together on the piano.

The piano has been such a blessing in our lives.

Joyanne, Noah, Hiram and Jaden are all excelling in their lessons and we love hearing the beautiful music they play.

Joyanne and Noah were making posters for their rooms.

What a good way to spend time.

After a nice 3 day weekend home with Daddy, he went back to work today.

I think I'm kind of attached to this man and miss him.



An Awesome Bargain

Bargain Shopper - that was me today.

I couldn't believe all the stuff I got for just $18.22.

Kmart was trying to get rid of all their Halloween stuff, so we got more Halloween Costumes, glow sticks and decor.

Some Costumes were only 1 cent.

They gave us 70% off and then an additional 90% off that.

Here's the receipt for proof. 

We have a costume or dress-up box downstairs that the kids can play in.

Now they can be a dragon, elephant, dog, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, a pirate or anything else.

That definitely was the highlight of my day.

But I did get laundry done, homework checked and piano lessons for the boys.

Thanks to Daddy for helping with dinner and dishes.

Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without him.

I love my Prince Charming!

Typical Sunday

Today was a typical, game-playing Sunday.

After Daddy beat Joyanne AND Noah at Chess, we then played Mexican Train with Dominoes.

We played Mexican Train 3 times.

We had Stake Conference today.

Daddy had a couple of one-on-one chats with Noah and Hiram as he drove them around in his car.

Cookies were delivered to our new neighbors who ended up getting locked out of their house.

Christine, the mom, was pretty clever and with using her credit card was able to break into her own house.

Hike and Halloween Sales

This morning we found another hill to climb.

It was the hill that holds all the satellites for the city.

The overlook was beautiful to see.

We spotted our schools and where our home is. 

The view was so beautiful.

The kids had fun exploring. 

We had a set of binoculars to look at things far away. 

Noah and I ran down the hill and made it all the way to the bottom before Daddy could navigate the truck down through all the ruts.



We went shopping at Kmart today and bought our Halloween costumes for next year.

We bought them all at 70% off and everything you buy in the store today was an extra 10% off.

I like sales like these.

You can't tell who this is, but James is behind the face of Mike Wasawski.

Here's Joyanne as Red Riding Hood, James as Buzz Lightyear, Jaden as an evil devil, Grant being himself, Noah as an evil ninja, and Hiram as a ninja too. 

Doesn't Grant make a cute puppy?! 

Joyanne is Alice in Wonderland.

Look at that blonde hair!