Kanigans

My Day of Computer Mania

2012-01-25T21:13:00.000-08:00

My kids probably think I'm going to turn into a computer today. You know, like that kid in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Wait, he didn't turn into a computer, he turned into a mini kid in his television set. Anyway, you get the idea. Lots of time was spent today in front of my screen trying to catch up on picture editing, emails, online bills, Words with Friends and all the other little things that didn't exist before computers (I can still remember back that far...crazy huh!?)

Since I've made it this far, I figured I might as well update this blog too. That way I will officially be done with my computer for at least 24 hours and maybe tomorrow I might actually be productive around the house. We'll see. Dan is beating me at Words, so I might have to spend some time drafting up 100 point words to smear him back.

Anyway, about the kids. I am in love...four times over. Logan and I have been, how should I say, butting heads a bit lately. He is very justice oriented, and he is also very energetic and that combination coupled his idea of how his after school time should be spent leads to a power struggle now and then. I've started a new method of writing on a 3x5 card a list with little check boxes of the tasks each individual child needs to complete when they get home, before they can have free time, and it has worked really well so far. Logan still tries to wheel and deal a bit, but the list is like law, so he doesn't fight it as much as he would me. It's hard to argue with paper.
Despite our little power struggles, I am thoroughly enjoying watching Logan grow. He is so smart, so capable, and so in touch with the feelings of people around him. He is fun to talk to and I feel like he understands when I need extra help or space or just a hug. He is an excellent big brother to Ellie. Sometimes I feel like she'd be just fine with him as a sitter (against the law, I know...just hypothetical). He makes sure she's happy and likes to help her dress up like a princess. He likes to style his own hair now too. It's sort of a Justin Beiber kind of look, swooped down in front. :)
Linc is doing great! He is a perpetually happy kid, unless of course something doesn't go the way his heart was set and then it seems the world has crashed down on him, but he is usually easy to cheer up and bounces back pretty fast. He still loves his healthy food. Oranges and apples are his usual snacks. He'll eat his apples to the seeds and his oranges to the peel. Linc is really good with lists. If his responsibilities are written out for him, he WILL get them done. He will not, however, do them differently than they are written, so if you want to change things up on him, put it in writing or you are out of luck! Linc loves art. He is always found with a pencil in his hand or a crayon behind his ear. He loves people and names and has a sponge brain when it comes to dates and names and things. Everyone is always asking him what day it is, or what "that guy" in a movie we just saw was called and he always knows. Linc loves his little sister too. He is the one she goes to when she needs a hug.
Owen Powen is as crazy and fun as ever. I sat and watched him color today. He had a piece of paper and two crayons and he was drawing a Star Wars picture, only he wasn't drawing, he was battling. One crayon against the other until the colors were smashed all over the paper and the blue crayon (a republic guy) had defeated the red crayon (a Sith Lord). He looked up with his silly grin and asked how I liked his drawing. He's my question-asker. He has an imaginary friend named Sam and one named Max and he plays Monopoly Deal with them all the time. (They've never won strangely enough!) He and Linc play really well together. They love that "Dynamite" song and have a lot of fun googling all the different you tube versions of it (there are WAY too many, and I am with them to supervise of course). He's good with Ellie too, although I think he thinks she's a little diva-ish. He loves to hear her say the word, "banana." It cracks him up.
Ellie is...well...a bit diva-ish. :) She knows how to push her brothers buttons, but she's not mean hearted about it. She just thinks it's funny, and she knows they can't fight back. No fair huh? She is talking like crazy and becoming more and more understandable every day. I've been talking very articulately with her (makes me feel like a robot) and reading to her as much as I can to help move her speech along and I feel like it's starting to pay off. The speech pathologist in me has been worried about her. Ellie loves cupcakes, strawberries, puppies and chocolate and she tells Daddy about them every morning after she wakes up. She runs into things a lot because she runs while looking behind her and she always has a cheery, "hello!" for people in public which results in complete strangers bartering with me to take her home. Owen doesn't like that at all. :) She's a singer. She is always humming or singing something, and she calls me, "her girl". I love it.

That's about it for the update I guess. I do have a few pictures to add, so I'll do that and be gone. I can't believe we are already almost finished with January! Wow. See you all again soon!

Logan's derby car for this year. He wanted it to look like a bullet. He did really well. I was home with a sick Ellie, but Dan and the boys went and he placed third over-all with the boys.

This is what happens when you put a fun little girl in the mix with three big, Mario and Luigi loving brothers.

Mario dance party. Linc claimed to be a mushroom.

Doing the caterpillar.

I just thought this one was cute.

O and Linc's favorite game these days...Monopoly!

We have the Disney version of Monopoly and I always choose Sleeping Beauty.

Everyone's favorite square!

Wow..Three in a Row!

2012-01-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

Don't be shocked, it's me again! Three days in a row...woo-hoo! We had a really fun New Year this year. My brother and his little family were with us (they are moving to Atlanta for a year!) and we went to spend the first part of the evening with our good friends and the last part of the evening watching Princess Bride and falling asleep before midnight! I think Logan, Dan and Joe made it...I'm not sure about everyone else because I didn't! Once again, I don't have any pictures of that night, but we did have a really fun time!

I did get a few pictures at Sharon Johnston park of my kids and Joe's family. His little boy Peter came with us, and my kids loved playing with their little cousin and can't wait to see them again soon.

Linc was so happy to find some friends from his school at the park! They asked me to take these.

Love this one.

Cute family

This morning I stayed home from church with Ellie because she is not feeling very well, but the boys looked so handsome, I had to grab a few shots of them. Ellie felt left out and made it in to a few of them too!

I hate missing church, but it was a nice morning. We have eleven o'clock block now, so I fed Ellie and put her right down for a nap. I spent the rest of the morning alone to read and listen to a few talks. It was just a nice little break and I was grateful to have it. I've said it once, and I'll say it again...silence really is golden sometimes!

Well, I guess that's all for tonight. Hopefully I will be back soon. I'm feeling my blogger motivation grow more and more! Happy week everyone!

Pictures to Treasure...

2012-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

I don't believe I need to say much about these pictures other than a big "thank you!" to Abuela and Abuelo letting me take them! Our kids will love these forever. There are a lot of just Ellie with her grandparents, but I found it really hard picking which ones to use and not to use, so I went with the "use a ton" option!

I Never Thought I'd...

2012-01-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy writing, and recently I have felt compelled to do more of it. While I was going through some of my old word documents, I found this essay I wrote in 2010 for a contest entitled, "I Never Thought I'd Be..." I don't usually enter these kinds of things, but for some reason it seemed like a fun topic, so I wrote this little essay and sent it in. I didn't win, but I enjoyed the experience and I wanted to share the essay with you all! Some of you who have been keeping up with us for a while will recognize a few of these stories. Hope yo u like it! Oh, and I have some great pictures to post soon!

I NEVER THOUGHT I’D……..be calling our home insurance agent to report a fourteen-hundred dollar light saber injury.

Motherhood has been full of many ups and downs, and since I’ve taken on the venture in 2003, I’ve heard things come out of my mouth that have made me question my sanity (and the sanity of my children too, might I add). You can imagine, I’m sure, the laughter that followed, after I explained to our agent, that our brand new, forty-six inch LCD screen had been taken down by one fatal blow of my then, two-year-old Owens, blue light saber. I wasn’t at all surprised when she replied, (with a sincere dose of sympathy) that our policy didn’t cover “Jedi attacks.” Ah well, it was worth a try, right?

The past seven years have been filled with the blessings of three energetic, healthy boys, and one beautiful little girl. My husband, Dan, and I agreed in the beginning of our marriage that we wanted four children, and we wanted them close together. We were lucky enough to get exactly that. What we hadn’t expected was to pick up an entirely new dialect along the way. We’ve tried not to “baby-talk” too much with our children, but there are words that inevitably slip out. I laughed the first time I told Dan that I needed to use the “potty.” He responded with a sarcastic, “need any help?” Uh, thank you……no.

Other regulars we use in our day-to-day repertoire include: “night-night” for sleep, and a double, “no, no” when the kids are doing something taboo. At our house, if you get hurt, you have an “Owie,” and of course if you have an owie, you have to get a “kiss kiss.” We give “cuddles” and “snuggles” (always plural for some reason) every night, and when something is very exciting, it is “super fun!” Blankets are now “Blankies”, a pacifier is a, “binki” and apparently counting to three is a magical way of saying, “you’d better stop what you’re doing right now, or else!” (The number ‘one’ is useless though; you have to say a distinct ‘two’ and be on your way to ‘three’ before you get any results with this one.) Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in a never-ending, sugar-sweet re-run with a super cheesy, purple dinosaur. (I do have the theme song memorized, if you’d like to here it.)

As if silly words weren’t enough……since becoming a parent, I have also produced some of the strangest sentences known to man. Last month, for instance, the boys came down for lunch, giggling like crazy, with their baby sister’s diapers on their heads, (don’t worry, they were unused!) and I heard myself declare,

“Boys! Take those diapers off your heads right now and wash up for lunch.” It made complete sense in context, but take a step back and repeat it again….yeah, it’s kind of weird. Some other classics:

“Owen, put the peas in you mouth, not your ears!” or,

“Linc, your tooth brush is for cleaning your teeth, not the potty!” My oldest, who is a notorious teaser, was busy torturing his little brother one afternoon. I looked up from my computer, assessed the situation, and heard myself say,

“Logan, let go of your brothers eyelashes!” Seriously?! Then there was my non-inhibited three year old (he’s five now) who would drop his pants instantly whenever he had to go to the potty. I said some pretty strange ones with him.

“Lincoln, don’t pull your pants down till your in the bathroom!” or

“Lincoln, stop peeing on the tree, you need to go inside to do that!” and the winner,

“Lincoln Daniel, we do not play in the mud, naked! Get in here right now!”

When he was younger, Linc would strip down outside without warning. I was cooking dinner one evening while the boys were playing in the back. I peeked out to check on them, and saw Lincoln, buck naked, rubbing mud all over his body. Who knows what the neighbors were thinking when they heard me shout that one?

The list could go on and on.

"Butter knives are not for pirating!"
“Ellie, mascara is not chap stick!”

“Lincoln, you’ll get no more vegetables until you eat your pizza.”

“Logan, don’t wipe your nose on the couch!”

“Stop yelling!” (this one has to be shouted.)

“Did you swallow it? I told you not to eat pennies!“

“Owen, don’t feed the goldfish oregano!” and one of my favorites,

“For the last time, we are not having popsicles for breakfast!”

It can be exhausting; but still, for my kids, I don’t think I’d want it any other way. This is their time to live in a carefree (semi- structured) environment, without any of the worries that will inevitably find them one day. To me, a funny phrase here or there makes me feel like I’m doing something right, because my kids are acting jut how they ought to act…….like kids!

Children have a way of bringing out the ‘kid’ in all of us (including an adult sized tantrum every now and then). They are energetic, smart, and ready to try anything. I would be lying if I said that everyday was easy; but even if I find my self uttering an absurd lyric from time to time, all I have to do is think back to my own childhood, and remember my mom, racing into the back yard, yelling at me, “No parachuting off the roof, get down right now!” (It was only a tool shed roof, but my blanky and I were still very disappointed) It helps me realize that all of the crazy phrases anyone who’s ever been a parent uses, contribute to the fun, magical childhood I believe every child deserves. After all, these phrases are the things we remember.

Someday, sooner than I realize, one of my grown kids will doubtless call me to blow off steam after their own little one has flooded the upstairs bathroom by flushing a Jedi knight down the toilet; and you can bet, the first thing I am going to ask is…so, what did you say? Although, if it were Owen, my first line might actually be, “Oh really? Cause I remember back when you were two, you were the little Jedi, going around busting up fourteen hundred dollar television sets!”

Okay, maybe I’ll be a little more sympathetic than that….maybe.

Christmas Not Forgotten

2011-12-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

I hate that I haven't posted in so long. I can assure you I have not forgotten, it's just been so incredibley busy around here! I guess I can just think of it as having so much fun, I haven't had the time to post! Even though things were busy, I think we all had a really nice time this holiday.
Abuela and Abuelo flew in for Christmas, and we loved spending time with them. Dan and I were able to escape a few times to do some Christmas shopping, and go on a date and that was really nice. The kids were spoiled rotten with presents, and were very happy about that, and we got to go to church on Christmas morning and really feel the spirit there. I'd say it was just about perfect. Logan prayed the night before Christmas for snow and was a little disapointed, but we assured him that there must have been a reason for it. I loved all of the cards and well wishes we recieved this year. Everyone just seemed friendlier than usual, and I loved it! I will go ahead and post a lot of pics right now and catch up that way, and then hopefully, I'll will be posting at least once a week again. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

These first pictures were from our pathetic attempt at gingerbread houses. Once again I tried to glue the crackers together with melted sugar once again, they looked like haunted houses. :) Next year we will use frosting instead, that's for sure.

Looks like we are about done here!

Despite my failings at fastening them together, they still turned out alright huh?

Lin and Logan's school Christmas sing-a-long.

After Logan's class sang, we were waiting for him and the kids found this little bench. It was too cute not to take a picture!

Owen's pirate injury. He was lucky he didn't poke an eye out!

Sweet Ellie.

The ole "foot in the face".

A few pretty Christmas shots of Ellie

Playing around at home.

Christmas Eve.

Our yearly ritual...Polar Express...

...opening the last advent door, and reading the Christmas story...

...putting out the goods for santa!

Christmas Morning!

Anxious to go downstairs

Traditional morning breakfast

Oh, and this little guy re-named 'Echo' this year, said his fairwells and was gone Christmas morning. The kids were all very sad Christmas Eve and all took turns telling him goodbye. He was sweet enough to leave them a note!

Christmas PJ's from Grandma Braithwaite!

Dec. 26th was Abuelo's 50th birthday!

Oh, and a few shots from our ward Christmas party the week before where santa visited!

Christmas pictures are coming...

2011-12-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

...just give me a day! It's been crazy around here. Christmas excitment is in the air, and apparently in whatever my kids have been drinking (egg nog, hot chocolate, cider...you name it!). They have been "bouncing off the walls hyper" lately. By the time Christmas gets here, I am going to be spent! I sometimes try to remember what things were like when I was little. How excited I was and how my Mom never seemed to be annoyed by the extra energy radiating from her nine little children...or maybe I was just too excited to notice, even if she were annoyed. The point is, that children see Christmas for all it has to offer and I think that sometimes we, as adults see it for the list of things we have to do. When our kids bounce up to us ringing jingle bells in our faces, and going off for ten minutes about santa and their wishlists, or listing kids at school who are sure to be on the naughty list, or begging to have more cookies, or pulling ornaments off the Christmas tree, or going for yet another glass of messy hot chocolate, or hanging countless Christmas pictures on the fridge, or re-arranging the nativity set again (O had a nice battle between a shepard and a wise man yesterday...not sure who won!), or reminding us of the endless parties they have coming up AND the list of presents and supplies needed for each one, or complaining that our yard doesn't have enough Christmas lights and is not as "Christmasy" as so-and-so's house...we tend to feel a little over-whelmed. But really, all these stressful, crazy things are little bits of what make Christmas magical for kids. So maybe, with a big cup of perspective and possibly a few Ibuprofen, I will learn to lighten up a bit this year and let my kids enjoy the season for all the fun and magic it posseses! In the mean time, I have pictures to edit and I will do my best to post them tomorrow...

...unless of course I am too busy sending Christmas presents to relatives much later than I had planned to! We'll just wait and see how it goes!

Hope everyone is having a fun Christmas season so far!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

Okay...prepare to be shocked...are you ready?
I...
...have...
...absolutely no pictures to post from thanksgiving!

None...well, except for a family shoot on my photo blog, but absolutely nothing for this one. I don't really know what to do with myself actually. Still, I couldn't just let Thanksgiving pass by without a word, because that just seems almost sacreligious for some reason. We have so much to be thankful for, and we had such a relaxing, fun Thanksgiving, that I have to share a word or two...or maybe a even a few more.

On Monday evening we had a special family-home-evening with some friends of ours and made a "Thankful Turkey". Everyone wrote one thing they were thankful for on a turkey feather and then we took turns guessing who wrote what and pinned it on the turkey. Afterwards, we had a lot of pie (something I baked a few times last week...we LOVE our pie around here!) and let the kids run wild upstairs.

The boys only had school last Monday and Tuesday, and even Tuesday was cut short due to a severe weather warning that ended up being nothing more than a rain storm; and so I dropped everyone off (Owen included), and came back home to hang with Ellie while the kids (except Owen who was in preschool) spent their morning in the cafeteria, eating lunch, after which they were released and bused back home to me by eleven thirty. The morning was quiet and lovely with Ellie and totally worth dragging everyone out of bed at six-thirty am.

The rest of the week was spent at home, enjoying a lot of family time, baking, eating, cleaning, getting sick, getting better, and preparing for the dreadful Monday morning where we had to return to real life again. For Thanksgiving, we ate at our good friends home with some other families from our church. We missed our own families, but it was still a lot of fun being with them.

Dan and I avoided Black Friday like we avoided that crazy Teletubbies show when our kids were babies. We don't like crowds really, so the little shopping we did do, was online. The day after Thanksgiving was spent deep cleaning our house; because, for some reason I just can not put up Christmas decorations when the house is a mess. It has to be sparkly clean to deserve them. I do this every year...clean, clean, clean the house, pull out the decorations and the tree (we're a fake tree family, so that comes out too), get garland and fake pine needles all over the carpet, decorate the place up, and then pull out the vaccum and clean, clean, clean again. Does this make sense to anyone else, cause to me it seems very...repetative? superfulous? redundent? rediculous? what's the word I'm looking for here? Hmm.... it will come to me...just give me a sec.

Anyway, this week so far has been filled with Christmas preparations. We are almost done with all of our shopping (woo-hoo!) and I still need to get a few online photo things together before I get to relax and enjoy the season. I am determined to keep things simple, spiritual, fun and very "Christmasy" this year without worrying about all the things I am not doing. Thanksgiving was so relaxing, I just want to have that again! The kids have been writing lists to santa non-stop for almost a week now, and I think it's pretty clear that Owen wants a DS and a pirate ship, Logan wants a Geonotion thingy (Starwars, I'm coutning on Dan for that one), Linc wants an art set and a Camera and a stuffed puppy, and Ellie wants "White Teddy" which will be coming with Abuela and Abuelo when they get here since we left him at their house by accident in June. I don't think O will be getting that DS...but oh the pirate ship we have planned is fantastic. I think Dan will be more excited than the boy.

Okay, well, I guess I'll stop rambling now, and to those of you who actually made it this far, congrats! I am impressed. K really....wait, hold on...I think I've got it...

...counter-productive! cleaning once, just to turn around and have to clean again is rather counter-productive, don't you think? I knew I'd get it!

Have a great week everyone!

fUn RuN!

2011-11-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

The boys ran in their school's fun run this week. They ran last year as well, but it was set up inside, this year they ran outside. It was chilly, but a lot of fun! I have to admit that keeping Ellie off the running track was no easy task. Logan and Linc ran at different times, so after two hours of cheering, dancing and chasing Ellie, I was about as tired as the boys!
Here are a few of the highlight pictures!

Linc was so excited. It was chilly, so Linc wore his coat under his shirt, but about half way through he got really hot and we had to rip off the coat and tie his shoes. I felt like a coach or something. :)

Diva girl.

Linc was so sweet and wanted Owen to run with him.

I think Owen liked it too!

Yep, pretty sure he did.

33 laps for Lincoln!

Logan was up next...

Saluting the flag!

Logan pulled Owen out with him too!

Logan made it all the way!

Linc's teacher was very sweet and had an extra shirt she sent home for Owen.

A beautiful tree I've been meaning to photograph for years. I'm glad I waited for autumn!

Captain Owen just turned five-Pirate Party

2011-11-14T06:23:00.000-08:00

What can I say? This kid, who drives me insane with his endless questions, random statements and self-propelling energy is the light of my life. I love his eyes, his smile, his snorty nose, his giggle, his serious look, his mad face, his squishy tummy, his monotone voice, his skinny butt and everything else that makes him Owen.
This year Daddy had to be out of town on his birthday and O was so good about it. As long as the presents still arrived at the proper time, he was good! ;) For his birthday lunch, he requested steak and for his cake, he picked a fantastic cookies-and-cream cake from Publix supermarket. All day long I'd tell him "Happy Birthday!" and he would say it back to me like it was a Christmas greeting or something.

My favorite thing about Owen is his quirky personality. He is Captain Randomn. "Mom, if Zombies ate brains, would they have to go to the bathroom?", "Mom, what color are brains?", "Mom, do nerves make people's brains think?" (Can you tell the boy is into brains?) He tends to be really fascinated with the gorey and gruesome...Halloween was right up his alley! He wanted to be something "very freaky" for Halloween, so for one of his costumes he was a skeleton man...his choice.

Owen is very time conscious. He can be as patient as ever, as long as you give him a time frame, and luckily he can't read a clock yet (except those cursed digitals!) so I can tell him something will take me about five minutes, and five minutes later, when he comes back to ask how much longer I'll be, I can say four minutes and that works for him! Awful I know...but sometimes he comes back every 30 seconds, and I still have to change the time down, so it all works out in the end!

Owen's favorite thing to do is play the playstation/wii. He has specified times to play, and honestly, without these luxuries, I don't know how I'd even disipline the child! One threat to take away his wii time, and he'll jump up to do anything. O also loves his turtle, Logan's Starwars guys, legos, and take home readers. (Logan brought these little mini books home from first grade and Owen loves to read them!)

I love this boy. He is great at apologizing when he does something wrong (lots of practice I guess!), he takes incredible care of his baby sister, he is the most generous child I know, and he really tries hard to do things that aren't easy. He finds pride in doing hard things. It makes me very happy!

Here are a few pictures from his special day! We had a pirate party for him when Dan got home, and that was a lot of fun too! Enjoy!

Owen's birthday morning picture. He's still a little puffy under the eyes, but happy to be up, and about to open his presents!

A birthday Morning photoshoot...just a little one. It was HIS birthday after all, and the last thing he wanted to do was have the camera shoved in his face all day! Tradition is tradition however, so we grabbed a few quick shots!

"You've got to pucker up your lips...like deese!"

Owen got this volcano set for his birthday...oh yeah, he is also obsessed with lava, I never mentioned that...anyway, it was pretty cool. He got to pour the mold himself and the kit had lava tablets that were dyed red. They didn't work as well as I had hoped, but we picked up some vinegar and baking soda and plan on having a much more eventful production today! Oh, and Owen has named his volcanoe, "Vonnie. Vonnie the Volcanoe." Hee hee hee.

Birthday shopping...Ellie was so tired!

Speaking of Ellie...I got a fun, new, fuzzy pillow for photo shoots and got to test it out on her. It is so soft!

Okay, on to the pirate party! When we first started planning Owen's party he begged and begged for a zombie party. I told him that zombies were very cool, but they might scare his party guests too much and we should just save them for Halloween. I tried to pursuade him to have a monster party instead, and that was the plan, until Dan brought home a Pirates of the Carabean video game and Owen was hooked. So...after many different plans, we settled on the pirate party and I have to say, it was an absolute blast to plan! We made a treasure map that took us through all the games, ending at a deserted island with mini buried treasure chests. Owen got to have his taste of the morbid with his decorations, but it wasn't quite as scary as his zombie idea. I'll be honest, skulls and cross bones have never been my favorite, but they are kinda growing on me! :)

Found this poor fellow (Whom Owen has aptly named, Skelly) at Michaels. I love their holiday clearance prices! Owen has played with him non-stop since I bought him. I don't know what to think. Luckily, he falls under the category of, "halloween decoration" and will soon set sail for the attic for a year. I hung him above the table for the party.

No party is complete without pirate cupcakes! Chocolate was Owen's choice! Dan pointed out that I should have made the flags rectangles instead of triangles. Apparentely I'm a little behind on my "pirate A, B, C's".

This sign was made for "pin-the-sword on the cross-bones".

The desert island. The bucked was full of wheat and the treasure boxes were buried there. It was messy, but worth it!

Ellie walking the plank.

Ship-sail pinata. The kids got to stab it and the balloons and candy flew out. I didn't know how this one would work, but it was a lot of fun!

"Crafty Island"

Lunch!

Presents! Owen really loved all his gifts!

The perfect "Owen Jacket" from Maclane!

Owen takes his parties very seriously! Dan and I were exhausted when it was through, but it was worth it!

Halloween and Fall

2011-11-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

We had our funnest Halloween yet this year. Dan and I kept it very simple. We stayed at home and had frozen pizza for dinner, then Dan stayed home and manned the door to hand out candy while I took a pirate, a blue Macaw, a Buzz Lightyear and a Dora Princess around our neighborhood for some trick-or-treating. I was worried that things would be insane and it would end up being one of those evenings that I looked forward to but ended up stressed out the entire time, trying to keep my active children under control, but it couldn't have been any better. Logan held Ellie's hand the entire and was excited to take her from house to house. He even held onto her pumpkin when it was too full of candy for her to carry anymore. He was happy to do it! Owen and Linc stayed close enough to easily keep tabs on and I trailed behind the crew with my big flashlight enjoying the cool air and magic of the holiday.

I've always loved Halloween. To me it is a holiday for kids. They get to use their imaginations and dress up in fun costumes, go to party's and door after door, people are happy to fill their containers with treats. Could really be any better? There is no stopping them...it's all about fun and think it is good for them to just be kids and enjoy it.

When we got home the kids dumped all their candy into one huge pile and we spent the rest of the evening eating way more sugar than we should have, sipping apple cider, and watching halloween shows. It was wonderful. I loved how the kids kept bringing me their chocolate without me even asking. I am blessed!

Moving right along...Ellie found her barbie make-up...all by herself!

Yesterday we were all playing outside in the yard. Ellie is usually found in some kind of frilly dress these days...never mind we were playing football, tag and rolling around in leaves. I had to run in for my camera because the colors were just so pretty! I posted some other autumn pictures on my photoblog too.

Love this one!!

Finally...I got a new backdrop and my little volunteers had a lot of fun while I tested it out.

Squeezey Hug.

Ellie with her hair in her face...I wonder sometimes how she manages to see anything when it's like this!

Oh, I just want to squeeze those sweet little cheeks!! I have to say, we are letting O's hair grow out again because I simply adore it long.

Ellie loves to say prayers...she gets mad when it's not her turn.

Fall Update

2011-10-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be full of A LOT of pictures. Fall has been in full swing at our house. We've had fall break, that we spent partially in Atlanta at Dia and Matt's house. We got to go boating with them, and dropped by Burt's Pumpkin patch again for the third year in a row. It was a fun trip (even though my kids were a little crazy) and when we got back, Dan was happy to see us again. The rest of fall break was spent watching Star Wars or outside enjoying this beautiful weather! We even took time as a family to visit a cotton field.

We've had a few different church Halloween parties. The kids have had so many opportunities to wear their costumes this year! I don't have a picture of Owen in his yet, so maybe I'll get that tonight while we are trick-or-treating. I will let the pictures do the rest of my talking today. Hope everyone has a very happy Halloween...get lots of candy!

Ellie's pretty little witch costume.

Linc loves the movie 'Rio', so when he found this hat in the dress-up bin his mind was made up. We threw this costume together in about ten minutes, and he couldn't be happier!

Logan and his little friend both dressed as pirates even though we hadn't planned it. It was too cute to pass up a picture!

Fun stuff at our Ward's fall festival.

Dia's house-fall break. Ellie loves big girls. Diana's oldest daughter was her favorite thing to play with while we were there! She was very sweet to Ellie.

The Pumpkin Patch

Love this one...thanks Dia!

I liked Linc's determined face in this one.

Beignet's for Saturday morning breakfast. Dan's sweet co-worker brought this mix back for us from a New Orleans trip. When our family was there, we visited Cafe Du Monde and loved these!

They are messy though!

After our breakfast, we hit the cotton fields. I am from Utah and I grew up with snow...so seeing these white, covered fields is so beautiful to me. Below here is a field that has just been harvested.

Dan takes this road in to work every morning. I've always thought it was beautiful.

Cotton...up close.

Cotton Kisses.

The boys had fun playing hide-and-seek in this field!

The family picture I've been waiting for. I really like this one.

Another morning walk with ALL the kids!

Wild Child. I can't get her to keep her pony tails in for anything!

Logan's village.

My favorite thing about fall is the outside time, playing ball in the yard!

Like I said, my wild child! While the rest of us played football and soccer, she sat there in the dirt and dug around. Dan and I joked that she had an invisible force field protecting her, cause the balls would zoom past her to her left and right, but nothing ever hit her.

Sixth annual pumpkin carving with the Marsaws!

Owen and Ellie out on their wheels of choice.

My kids LOVE dress-up. I completely encourage it too because their imaginations are what I live for. We had a little pirate and a fairy on this outing.

My little pirate commandeered my little fairy's tricycle. I let it happen because I knew this would be such a funny shot! Nice Mom right?

I also didn't want to cross him...he was armed!

If you look closely, you can see the sword sticking out the bottom of his pants!

The persistent fairy got her vessel back!

And the both lived happily ever after!

Till next time!

Few and Far Between

2011-10-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

Dan says I need to post more. He's right. I used to be so good at posting once or twice a week, but it seems that as the kids grow and their lives get busier, my life tends to do the same thing. I miss blogging. I think it's something I need to make more time for.

I discovered something else this week. I am officially a nerd. Really, you can laugh, but it's true. I like dancing in my kitchen with my kids to Rio songs (belting out the lyrics as we shake it), and watching foreign sit-coms ('Lie To Me' from South Korea is a really good one all you other nerdy chick-flick/netflix users!) I am hopelessly a romantic. I've been hooked on Doctor Who lately, but it's not as much for the sci-fi as it is for the relationships between the Doctor and his companions. I watch all the BBC romances movies and fast forward to the confession of love scenes, and I really enjoy prunes. Weird, I know, but I feel healthy when I eat them. The list could go on and on...I love playing scrabble, I mess up my colloquialisms on a regular basis (sharp as a rock and hard as nails), I use words like 'colloquialism' and really enjoy it, I like messing with my kids faces in Photoshop, (Logan looks so funny with big bunny eyes and a pig nose!) I talk to myself...outloud...often and...well...let's be honest, the Disney channel might just be my favorite (I get excited everytime the boys turn on 'Wizards of Waverly Place'). I'll spare you the rest. The point is, I am a nerd, and I have decided to embrace it, and declare that, "It is a-a-allll good baby!" (nerd).

Whew, it feels good to have that off my chest. (nerdy, nerd.)

Moving right along...

The past few weeks have been busier than ever. I held my mini-shoot photo sessions Saturday. Last Saturday and Sunday was my church's General Conference. They hold and broadcast it twice a year. It includes five sessions of talks and uplifting music and messages from the leaders of our church. When I was little, I remember feeling tortured as I sat through the "boring-shmoring" talks, but now that I'm older, I really look forward to them. I feel "filled-up" and ready to keep moving ahead through this life that can be so hard and yet so rewarding. We try to make conference a fun thing for the kids. We eat lots of treats and have fun little games to keep them occupied while listening. Saturday morning we have donuts, and Sunday morning we do french toast. I really love spending time with my family!
My favorite talk from this conference was actually a talk given the week before at the women's conference by President Uchtdorf called, "Forget Me Not". Here's a link if anyone is interested. It is really good!

http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/forget-me-not?lang=eng

The rest of our time has been spent trucking back and forth to school, walks, libraries, and cleaning the house. It seems like an endless job, that one. :)

I have a lot to get done today, so I think this will be all for now. My sweet Ellie and Owen have been so good while I catch up on things, I better go be with them for a bit. Before I go, here are a few pictures. Have a great week everyone!

A Hymn I've had in my head for a while:

General Conference:

Ellie doesn't really get bingo yet. :)

My new haircut:

A Fun little walk:

Ellie Belly's Free!

2011-09-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ellie turned three on Sunday and she has been announcing it to every living creature we come across. She puts on her she voice, with her tongue poking out and lowers her lashes while holding up three fingers (holding her pinky down with her free hand cause it alway spops up on it's own!) and says, "My birfday...my free!" Some of the said creatures stare at her in confusion, some glance toward me for translation, and some, more seasoned in toddler lingo make out what she's saying and congratulate her! Either way, she's happy for the attention! :)

Ellie had a fun, girl, pink birthday with lots of hugs and attention from her adoring brothers. They were just as excited to tell everyone about it as she was! When do we grow out of that stage? Next birthday, I might just head to the super market and anounce to the produce man that I am thirty-two....although I'm not sure I have enough fingers or toes to show that number....hmm, that's a little depressing. Perhaps I'll just keep it quiet and full of chocolate like usual, and let the little people in my life spoil me for the day. They always love to anyway!

Wow, that was a bit of a tangent...back to Ellie. She woke up groggy and a bit grouchy, until the presents started coming open and then she perked right up! I can't even pick a favorite present, because she really loved them all, but she has spent a lot of time with her new kitchen set, so maybe that would make the top of the list.

We had a princess party for her a few days later with all her little nursery girl and a good friend of ours. There are about five of them in there all close in age...it was really cute seeing them all princessed up. I constructed a castle for her out of a big dishwasher box. I really had a lot of fun putting the whole party together, and I think Ellie really liked it. It had her friends, her cupcakes, and lots of pink, so she was on cloud nine!

Ellie is a good little mixutre of sweet and sour. She's got the smile and deery-eyed look that melts hearts, but she's also got three big brothers that have shown her how to...lets say...pitch a mean fit...when the situation calls for it. She is very sensitive to people's emotions. She likes having everyone happy. Everytime she spills something she looks up with a guilty face and says, "no bankin!" (no spanking) Although, I really don't spank her very much, so I don't know why it's her first reaction! :) Ellie likes to poke and pester her brothers, but she doesn't like to sit in time out. How unfortunate for her right? She is a great eater and will try almost anything at least once. She loves her books, and Barney and anything that has to do with the alphabet. She adores her pink Teddy bear still above all other possesions, but her black zip-up boots run a close second. She likes jackets and pony tails, as long as she can rip them out as soon as we walk in the door. She likes talking on the phone, and watching me edit pictures, oh, and she loves to say prayers! I love her more than I ever thought I could! Happy birthday princess, we love you!

My little punky Brewster.

The morning of...

The Party

The princesses.

Make-up on their Mommy's!

Dance Party.

Fun presents and food!

The adorable pajama's from Haley! Thanks Haley!

Saturday before her Birthday...downtown.

Love that snuggley picture with Dan and Ellie!

Oh, Owen...never afraid to jump!

Led by example!

Oh, and one more thing Ellie likes...Raspberries!

A Saturday at Sci-Quest

2011-09-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Dan was out of town and the kids and I were bored on a Satureday morning. I had bought a Groupon for Sci-quest a few months earlier and so Logan and I decided it was time to go. I have lived here for over five years now and am embarassed to say that this was our first time ever going! It was such a great place for kids. Mine didn't stop exploring the entire time...I literally had to drag a couple of them out the doors when we were done! I had a ton of pics, so I shoved them onto a bunch of collages and wanted to post them real quick!
We will definitely be going back!

The music machine. The kids loved making "their own" music!

I adored the game, "operation" when I was a little girl, so this over-sized version was one of my favorite things there! I think the boys like the burp machine best. :)

Except Logan, he spent an amazing amount of time focused at this water table. He set up a series of dams to stop the water. Pretty cool huh?

Linc and the tree house pulley.

This cute girl was walking around with this snake wrapped around her neck (insert shutter) and my kids were fascinated with it...and her! I believe Owen asked me if she was going to get, "scufficated to deaf?"

A very "Harry Potterish" smoke chamber.

Owen favorite - an earthquake simulator!

This climbing wall was a replica of your skin and some of the gross things that can be found on it...nice huh?

Till next time...thanks Sci-Quest!

"Sunshine, Lollipops...doo doo doo-do-do"

2011-09-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

I'm happy. After almost a week of rain, the sun is out, but the weather is still remaining a touch cooler. I've seen leaves falling from trees already, and I haven't had a mosquito bite in over a week. Life is blissful and no time feels better than September. It is fast becoming my favorite month of the year!

Dan and I have been dieting for the past three months and exercising a lot more. Our hard work is starting to pay off and it is just fun to see what we were capable of. Dan's been running about three miles a day and I've been keeping it around two. I'm thinking of running the Huntsville Half Marathon this year...I better get going with that if it's really going to happen!

Logan's been busy with school and cub scouts. His leaders are fantastic and he always does such fun things! Linc is happily working in school. He is so fun because he loves homework. He's perfectly content to come home, pull out his folder and get to work. If he doesn't have homework, he grabs one of the workbooks we bought him and does that. He's already begging to do his homework in cursive (his version of it anyway) and I'm still trying to convince him to wait till third grade for that. The boy always makes me laugh. He is just so Linc!
Owen started his preschool again yesterday. He was up at 6:00 am, fully dressed, pushing me out of bed. His school has a lot of children this year and he is in heaven! The only bad thing is that Ellie wants to go too and I'm holding her off a year. I'm going to have a very sad three year old for the next nine months!

Owen is a smart, sincere little boy. I was at Publix the other day with him and Ellie, and two sweet older gentlemen came up to me and offered to buy Ellie. (Completely joking of course!) Owen didn't think it was funny at all and looked them right in the eyes and said, "You can't have her! She is protected by a force-field called family!" (O's a huge Star Wars fan.) The men looked shocked and embarrassed (as was I), but I almost broke out in tears right there in front of the buggies at Publix, because of how sweet his comment was. I'm so happy that my little boy knows he is loved and how important our family is. It is a "force-field" and we will always be there for each other!

Ellie is being her fun, girly self. She is turning three next week and I am having a princess party for her with all her little nursery girls. She is so excited! She's been in the habit lately of saying, "I'm a boy!" (poor kid has all brothers!) and try as I might, I couldn't convince her otherwise until yesterday I told her that if she was a boy, she wouldn't be needing a princess party...she should have a fire truck party. That did the trick...she instantly announced that she was a girl, and hasn't changed her mind since. She really wants that princess party!

I guess that's about it. I took some of my most favorite pics ever of Ellie yesterday that I will probably post on my photo blog too because I just love them; but since her birthday is coming up, I wanted to add them here as well. I am also going to add Owen's "first day of school pics". Sorry there are so many, but I practice on my kids...I don't know what I'm going to do when they are all in school!

Have a great weekend everyone!

On the way to school!

One more, right before he went in!

While O was at school, Ellie and I went and read to Linc's class and then headed to the Sharon Johnston Park. I saw this little spot and had to get a few pics of her! I really love how these turned out...who knew that all I needed to get real pics of my daughter was her best friend, Teddy!

My Mom made this hat for her. :)

And then a few pics of Owen for his first day! He humored me. :) These were taken off Jordan Rd. and Mooresmill.

I'll post some with Logan and Linc later!

End of August...

2011-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Autumn, come on over! That's all I can say. I am tired of the hot, the bugs, the yard work, the loooong days....I am ready for some cooler weather and my favorite season...Fall! Please don't be offended Summer...I realize how important you are, but I think you've stayed long enough and it's very impolite to overstay your welcome...it's a rule...look it up. :)

This has been a fun month, full of changes and growing. I guess every month is that way. School has started for Logan and Linc and Owen starts in a week or so. Things are a lot calmer around here. I don't know if I like it. I can't decide if I like August or September better. I know they aren't technically Fall yet, but they are the anticipation of Fall, and some times that "end of the race" anticipation/excitement is even better than the prize. Just knowing that it is around the corner makes me happy!

I really don't have any exciting or big news to report on. Just my usual brigade of pictures. Oooooh, I should report though that Lincoln lost his first two teeth. He had to have them pulled by the dentist because his grown up teeth were growing behind his baby teeth. He thought it was pretty cool that he was like a shark! In the end, he was the bravest, sweetest boy. He didn't even need me with him in the dentist's room while they were being pulled. (I had to watch Ellie and Owen out in the waiting room or catastrophe was sure to happen). He put his teeth, some money, and note advising the Tooth Fairy to please take the money and the teeth under his pillow that night and was pleased to find that the Fairy had been very generous to such a good boy. :) I didn't get a picture of any of it surprisingly. I'll have to snap one of his new tooth that is moving forward nicely today.
Other than that, and the first cold caught from someone at school (that would be Linc again!) not much has happened.

I'll stop babbling now and post the pictures. I've been messing around with my flash a lot lately. I always prefer natural light, but I love the crispness that flash gives pictures as well. Have a great week everyone!

Logan's first day of third grade!

Linc's first day of first grade!

Wild little girl...she was pretty excited for them too.

Loved this shot. This was taken with flash.

This one was too. See how crisp it is? I don't know though, because the shot below this was taken without it and I like the way the natural light looks, but I love the crispness of flash.

Owen in the mud. A normal picture around here.

Beautiful.

This one made me giggle.

Dancing Queen.

Backlit with flash...loved it.

Testing some camera things.

We usually have prayers around this ottoman, and I thought it was so cute with them all lined up...I had to snap a few after prayer. I told them to surprise Daddy and say, "Daddy smells like cheese" for the last pictures. I loved the reaction!

Oh, boy. I told Logan and Owen to go out and have fun, and they sure did!

My favorite of the group. I love this shot because this is such a great portrayal of my daughter! She is wild and sweet and knows how to work those big brown eyes!

The Final Days of Summer!

2011-08-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has come! Summer break is over and school starts tomorrow! We've had a lot of fun, and a LOT of time together. I think Logan and Lincoln are itching to get back in school and be with all their friends again. I will miss them, but they are so excited, so it's hard to feel too bad about it. That, and I must admit that I am looking forward to some O and Ellie one-on-one time too.

I love this time of year...the excitement, the friends, the new supplies and school clothes. It's just fun. So, in honor of a new school year, and to say goodbye to summer, I'm going to stop talking and post the pictures I took during this last month of the break. Happy schooling everyone!

My girly girl...aren't those toes beautiful!? Thankfully nail polish cleans off of tile pretty well! I about died when I walked in on this party.

Got Milk??

Just loved this sweet home shot.

Same with this one, only it was taken on my birthday at the ice cream place. Aren't those eyes dreamy?

A classic Owen funny face.

Linc's summer attire.

We even got to squeeze in a walk with our good friends at the trail!

More frozen yogurt.

You can imagine the threats I was issuing my children at this place....Don't you dare!!

Logan's concoction.

Yummiest, funnest ice cream place in Huntsville!

Tasty.

Linc and his two-wheeler. No training wheels...it's a work in progress.

Monkey see, monkey do. I loved Ellie's choice of literature.

A quick trip to the fountains!

Loved this shot!

Logan's prize for finishing his 300 page summer workbook...he really had to work for it too!

Logan's first official pack meeting as a cub scout.

The skit.

Logan got his bobcat, and so he had to pin a little bobcat on me...and I am proud to say that he didn't even poke me one bit...what a pro.

Linc and his buddy in a serious game of checkers.

Logan's best little friend who just moved away....we are so sad!

And a few more home shots!

That's a wrap!

My Birthday Present...Family Pictures.

2011-08-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday was my birthday. It crept up so fast this year that I really didn't think much about it until a day or two before. I told Dan not to worry about any big gifts because all I really wanted was 30 minutes with everyone cooperating for a family picture. So, after attending a baptism at our church, we headed over to Providence in Madison with a change of clothes and my tripod and snapped a few. I've been waiting for that perfect picture, and even though I don't feel like I got the PERFECT shot, I really love these because they are true to our family. Raising four young children so close together can feel like complete chaos at times (I'm sure there are many of you out there who know exactly what I mean!) and some days I wonder if I have the strength to keep it all together, but I think that's part of the beauty of parenthood. There is no way I could do this on my own. I pray constantly for patience, and I rely so much on my sweet husband and friends for support. We are all in this together (pardon me the 'High School Musical' lyric) and that really does make all the difference.

So, I want to thank him for a wonderful gift (including the little lens he surprised me with to take these pictures!) I had a fantastic day!

This shot was the last we took. Owen pushed the button unexpectedly so we each dove to our position. I actually liked it a little more than the others I think. Isn't my husband just the cutest thing! :)

The personality shot. Logan smiling for us, Owen goofing off, Ellie being stubborn, Lincoln pulling faces, Dan smirking and me with my fake smile. Love it!

Hey, we are all looking at the camera in this one...Wow!

I took a few more of everyone too...

Logan started a new trend...my boys think bums are hilarious....sigh.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Chicklet teeth.

Puppy.

Ellie's not big into looking at the camera lately.

I'll post more shots from my birthday later...we went out and tried the new frozen yogurt place called CC's after our pictures and it was really fun. The kids loved it!

Summer Update

2011-07-24T18:24:00.001-07:00

It's been such a busy summer this year that I've found it really hard to find time to update the blog! I love Sundays because they are the day Dan and I take off from everything else to rest and feel the spirit and catch up with family and things like this. We just got the kids to bed a few minutes ago and I am resting on the little white couch in our living room. My shoulders are sun burned and I have been killing me all day, especially with so many little sweethearts who love to run up and hug me hard. It's one of those painful blessings and I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm burned because we went swimming with a good friend of ours a few days ago and apparently I'm too cool for sunscreen, or so I thought! I guess I got what I deserved and I learned my lesson too. I think it's so odd that I will spend hours making sure my kids are taken care of, but when it comes to my own precautions (like medicine and sunscreen, and cute hair, that sort of thing) I slack off. I suppose I ought to take care of myself too right?

Anyway, I'm in a rambling mood, so I'll move it right along. Today our ward (that's what we call the group of people we go to church with) switched buildings. Our stake (a group of wards) reorganized a bit and created a new ward, so we were moved from our building to make room for them. I am a person who loves change, so for me, it was an adventure. I think my kids had a lot of fun in the new place too. Ellie's adorable nursery leaders had a "new building" party and they made hats and had birthday cake. I help out with singing time in there every week because I love seeing the little ones dance and sing. It's the highlight of my Sunday! Ellie will be out of nursery in January and into primary...my heart is breaking a little to see the "nursery phase" of my children's lives be over.

Logan is having a fun summer. I'm sure he would like it to be even more adventurous than it currently is, but I'm trying to keep things entertaining. We've had his best friend over as much as possible, and we've hit dollar movies, the library, the park, the fountains, Chuck-E-Cheese, scout camp, Utah, and swimming. We've also had lots of Wii time (after learning pages are done) and relax time. Logan is a person who loves to do things. He and Ellie are little pals. I think they are a great distance apart. He takes care of her, she makes him laugh and there is no competition there. Logan is at that in-between age. He's growing up, but he's still a kid. I worry some times that I don't give him enough freedom, and then I worry at other times that I give him too much. I am trying my hardest to raise him the way Heavenly Father would want me to, and that includes asking him for forgiveness every now and then when I am less than patient. He's always quick to forgive and I love him for it.

Lincoln is by far my easiest child these days. When he was a baby he cried and screamed and I wondered how I was going to make it through the next eighteen years with my sanity in tact! But then, about a year ago, something switched and he is now as easy going and happy as can be. He likes to do things his way. He would rather be inside with his art kit, or his legos than out in the yard, but if I bribe him with popsicles he will stay out there forever. He tells me all the time that he wants to be an artist when he grows up. Linc gives very thoughtful prayers. He tells it like it is. If I'm being to grouchy, he'll very gently remind me to calm down, and he does it with a hug. Linc LOVES board games. If any of you ever want to be his friend, there is your "in" with him. Linc and O are good buddies. They both have big imaginations and once they get into a role, they are in character all day. He loves to sing. We have Sing-it for the play station and he really gets into his songs. Linc finished his summer work book already so we took him out to buy a toy (that was our deal) and of course he picked a new art set. He looked at EVERY toy until finally he chose it. I love that little boy.

Owen....oh Owen. He is our funny man. He is my side-kick in the kitchen. He loves to cook. Nothing makes him happier than to get his next culinary order. ("Get the eggs, grab the peanut butter, keep stirring!") Owen is my most curios child. He is curios about everything. People and how they react, electricity, words, numbers, stories, ect. You can't just tell Owen something without him asking at least five questions about it. If you don't respond the first time Owen says something, he'll repeat it over and over, getting louder with every repetition. He loves to touch peoples faces. I don't know why, but he's always brushing my cheeks and chin when he talks. Owen and Ellie are enemies...okay not enemies, but they pester each other to no end. Owen could care less that she's a little girl. If she pinches him, she gets a swat. :) (fair is fair, right?) It goes both ways though! I will say, that Owen is also very protective of her. If there is anything remotely dangerous near by, he's on it. And he loves to share with her too.

O discovered matches the other day. I knew the day would come, I just didn't think it would be so early. Linc ran upstairs to tell me that Owen was on the counter and had just lit a match. Of course, I ran right down. O told me that the match had scared him, so he blew it out and put it back in the container! Oh boy, I found it, opened it, and sure enough, there it was. Needless to say, I made sure Owen knew how dangerous that was and have moved the matches to an even safer spot.... a location I have told no one about, I don't want it getting back to Owen! Ay ay ay.

Finally, Ellie. My little girl is almost three and wow has her language taken off! I was so worried about it, but now she chatters on and on when she's home and she's saying new things everyday. She still doesn't pronounce her 's' sound so she'll say cute things like "elf" for "self" or "popikle" for "popsicle". Some more of my favorite Ellie words include: "Merk" for "milk" or "A-bye-more merk?" for "Can we buy more milk?". "Daddy o appy?" for "I made Daddy so happy?" (she uses this whenever she goes potty) and "Daddy o mat." for "I made Daddy so mad." (when she has an accident...he's not really mad, but Ellie says it every time!) "Teet" is "treat" and "Teedy Bahr" is "Teddy Bear". Speaking of potty training...Ellie is pretty much potty trained. She hasn't had a number one accident in over a month and is getting good at number two now too. I am not even nostalgic about this milestone, I am elated! Ellie will always ask for Daddy whenever she is either hurt, or in trouble. She has him wrapped around her little finger and she knows it. :) I don't blame him at all, she's got a little smile that melts your heart, but the longer I am her mother, the more immune I am to it...well, sort of anyway. She loves to sing and humm, and she does it all the time. She likes to watch me edit pictures, put on make-up, play with her babies and purses, and torment her brothers. She loves her tu-tus, and she loves "family dance night" when we all pick our favorite songs and dance in the kitchen (no pics of this...sorry!). Ellie is very conscious of how her brothers are feeling. She is quick to give hugs and kisses whenever someone is sad, or hurt, or in trouble. She is a girl who loves to smile, but she's still got that stubborn little streak in her too. I think she's a great little mix of a girl.

Dan and I are doing really well. We are both on a diet right now and that's been going great. He's lost ten pounds already and I am feeling really good. We are counting our calories and exercising five times a week. It feels good to be in control of that part of our lives. We also have been working on my photography business. I shot my first wedding on Sat (check out my photoblog later this week for that!) and Dan was with me to help out. It all went really well and I am so grateful to have had him there. I am also very grateful for the sweet woman in our ward who watched my kids...so thanks Amanda!

I guess that's about it for now. It feels good to get this all written out. These are the things I want to remember because I am just starting to realize how quickly life is flying by. I am so grateful to have such a great life. Hope you all have a great week!!

I'll post some pics of the kids later this week...just a written update today!

Fourth of July

2011-07-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

I feel like that estranged old friend that you never hear from, but when they finally do call, they never shut-up! :) Seriously, sorry for the plethora (like that word?) of posts lately...I am happy to report that this post catches me up completely and I can get back to a normal posting schedule now. That being said, I have to add my fourth of July pictures and a few other random ones.
We had a simple, small, and very fun fourth. Dan trimmed up the trees and sprayed down the boys with the hose in the morning while I cleaned up inside and got things ready for our evening. In the afternoon we went out to eat at our favorite place...Moe's barbeque. It's up Airport Rd. in southeast Huntsville. Kids eat free on Monday, so that worked out really well! After lunch we skipped over to Bruester's ice cream and then picked up some fireworks on our way home. We spent the rest of the evening outside playing the yard, coloring with sidewalk chalk, eating watermelon, and waiting (a little impatiently might I add) for it to get dark enough for fireworks. Our neighbors across the street were doing the same thing, so we moved ours to the front of the house and watched each others. I really love our neighborhood this time of year. There were fireworks being shot off everywhere (in fact they have been all week). The ones that shoot up into the air are not illegal here, so we sat out on the lawn and watched them blasting off in every direction. It felt very patriotic!
After apple pie and ice cream we sent the kids to bed and Dan and I watched a movie. He had to leave the following morning for the last ever shuttle launch. We always miss him when he's gone! But everything there went off without a hitch, so that was nice.

Okay, I'll just post now and be done. Thanks for putting up with me and all my pictures. It's just what I love. :)

These were taken at a really fun birthday party we went to at the end of June. I wasn't sure my boys would like ice skating, but they loved it! Thanks for inviting us Amanda.

A sweet little Ellie shot.

Found this while trimming trees.

This was my first fourth of July picture taken. I had Ellie all dressed up in the only red, white and blue outfit I had for her, and she decided it was time to experiment with the chocolate milk! I was not happy...but oddly enough I wasn't that surprised either. :)

Dan spraying down the kids.

Ellie thinks she's freedom.

Out to eat!

A picture for the memory books...Owen and Ellie tend to fight each other a little bit lately.

This is Owen showing me how full he is.

One very messy girl. This was her second outfit of the day. We had to strip her down and put Logan's Alabama jersey on her. It was pretty cute actually...I don't think I got a picture though.

Back at home with the sidewalk chalk.

Shooting a few before dark. O was sooo excited.

Loved this one.

Dan is impossible. Every time I pull out the camera (granted, that is quite a bit) he gives me a stone face. He says he doesn't know how to smile for the camera...he drives me crazy! I promise he is a very sweet and happy husband. :)

See???? I caught a real smile...hee hee hee.

Little freedom boy.

Sparklers

Sunday best.

I love this suit on Owen! We got it as a hand-me-down from our good friends and I just love seeing it on him.

That's a wrap!

Vacation Part IV - last one!

2011-07-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Finally! The last post from our trip. I bet you aren't nearly as excited as I am to have these done. :)
We spent the last part of our trip with my brother Will and his family, and then Dan's brother and his family. We spent the first night after Logan down with Wills family. His wife and I took the kids to a little party at a park they had there and that was fun. I didn't bring my camera, but I wish I would have because they had a band there, and Linc was jamming out pretty hard-core. It was so funny! Dan had to do some work that night and the next morning, so Ann and I took the kids to two parks...in the same neighborhood...my kids thought it was so cool to walk out the door and have two parks so close by! The nearest park to us here is at least a ten minute drive.
After we left there we went to Dan's brother's house. We had so much fun with them too! we went to some water-poppers, to a fun restaurant called Pirate Island, to visit Dan's friend and Grandma for a bit, and had a fun night with blow-up toys, water and a camp fire and had time to work in a photo-shoot for their family. I can't remember when we've had so much fun. This whole trip was just nice. We spent so much time with our big family and the kids are talking all about their cousins and aunts and uncles, it really makes my heart happy.
We took the southern route home, so we went through southern Utah (all the pretty red rocks!), Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and back to Alabama....I think we might have had Louisiana in there somewhere too...I can't remember though, all the states start to blend together after a while...rxcept Oklahoma...that one took forever...kinda like this sentence. :) The trip home was a longer drive than the trip there, but it was worth it to see all the beautiful desert scenery. The kids were exceptional once again...I was really very thankful for how well they behaved! I also decided that traveling with the air conditioning on is much better than driving with the heater on. I barely got car sick at all!

I guess I'll just post and be done now. Last round of pictures...coming up!

Pirate Island...

I have to say something about this group of pictures! Owen was soooo excited. This game takes three tokens and he snuck two in before Dan and I could stop him, so we gave him one extra token and he won the top jackpot. Everyone benefited from his luck too. Our trip to the prize counter was a lot more fun!

Vacation Part III - Cache Valley

2011-07-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Onto another one of my favorite places on earth...Cache Valley. After the Ratchford's and church with my parents, we headed back up to Logan for Dan's Mom's birthday party and to spend a few days with Abuela and Abuelo. We had a yummy cake, and pinata for the party, and spent time together with all the Garcia/Kanigans in Utah. It was so nice being there with everyone.
We stayed in Cache Valley for a few days. Abuela and Abuelo had to work during the day, Dan and I spent some time driving around Cache Valley to all of our favorite spots, including a beautiful little town called Avon, and of course Dan visited the Jamba Juice at least four times. :)
We got to have breakfast with some good friends and do a quick photo-shoot for my brother, and just enjoyed some one-on-one time with Abuela and Abuelo!

As a birthday present we took Dan's Mom to Chuck-o-rama. She told the kids that since it was her birthday, they could eat whatever they wanted, in whatever order they wanted! It was so funny seeing them load their plates with ice cream and treats and all sorts of random foods. Logan was more than happy to get ice cream for everyone. I think the only one who ate healthy that night was Linc. He found the salad bar with all the vegetables and fruits he could imagine and with that and a glass of mango juice, he was in heaven.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking for me. I'm starting out with a bunch of the pictures I took around Cache Valley, and then end with pics of our family times. One more post and I think our entire trip will be covered!

I had to shoot a few of this building. This is the Logan, Utah temple. Dan and I were married here for time and all eternity almost ten years ago. I've always thought it looked like a castle!

Logan loves that a there is a temple with his name!

My favorite temple picture.

The beautiful Wellsville mountains.

A pretty field on a hill in Avon.

Abuela's tulips...I loved the teeth. :)

Okay, family time! Here's Abuela's birthday party...

Loved this one!

Abuelo's steps.

My brothers little family.

Vacation Part II

2011-07-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

At my parents house we had a lot of fun. My sister-in-law/best friend drove over from California at the same time as us, so I got to spend a couple of days with her there. It was so fun seeing her. She, my Mom and I all ditched the kids with my Dad and wonderful husband and got to see the new version of Jane Eyre (which I absolutely adored!) and then went out for a Zookie after. It was great being out with the girls. I also got to see all of my brothers and sisters, minus one who is really busy learning Arabic right now, so it was a great visit!

While we were at my parents, we also got to take a ride in the back of Grandpa's truck. The directions to my parents house include a turn onto a dirt road, and dirt roads are just right for truck rides. I especially loved it because we rode all over the roads I used to run along when I was a teenager. I have so many memories back there, and it was fun to "take a trip down memory lane". We got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Great (my grandparents), visit my mom at her work (she's an elementary school librarian), the boys took a hike up Perry canyon, visit an old friend for just a sec, play of Grandma and Grandpa's new swing-set, do a few family photo-shoots, and go to church with my parents. Now that I list it, it sounds like a lot to cram into a few days!

After the visit to Perry, we spent a quick weekend with our great friends, the Ratchfords. We had a campfire the first night in Bountiful, and visited "This is the Place National Park" the next day. The kids loved it and have been begging to go back ever since! It was really kid friendly there with lots to do and learn about pioneers and how people used to live. I highly recommend it to anyone in the Salt Lake area!

I won't label all these pictures, because it would take me forever, but here are all the collages from the days I just talked about!

My sweet Grandmother.

The view from my parents backyard. I used to hike up to that big white rock...it's named...wait for it...wait for it....White Rock! Fitting huh?

I've always loved barbed wire.

My Dad's Ham towers...they remind me of him...I had to post to remember. :)

My boys with Grandpa Great.

Ellie and my Grandma.

Owen was interested in my grandpa (and my Dad's) bald heads.

Time for the truck ride! Brooks kids joined us.

My brother and his little family. I posted more of them on my photoblog.

Brook's kid's

i

My kids with their Grandparents before church.

Just my parents. :)

And now... the Ratchford Pics!

Mueller Park.

The Gorgeous Bountiful temple!

This is the Place National Park

And finally, a cute one of Ellie and me at Davy and Rachel's house. I love this girl...have I mentioned that before? :)

Vacation Part 1

2011-07-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

We left for our trip Friday morning, the 27th of May at about ten-thirty and arrived in Utah at about 4:30 pm Saturday afternoon. Dan drove through the night because the kids did so well with the driving. I think we were all just excited to get there and be done with the drive. We made a few Walmart stops along the way (I know, so educational!) just to let the kids walk around and pick a travel treat, and of course we stopped for gas and meals too, but really, everything went so smoothly that I was scared to death for the ride home because there was no way we'd have such happy kids twice! Dan might not think it went as well since he was the one who drove through the night. ;)

Anyway, we made it to Utah and after a quick stop-in at my parents house, we drove straight up to Cache Valley to drop off a bunch of stuff and spent the night with Abuela and Abuelo. It was fun seeing everyone. We went to church there and visited Tia Betty and Tio Walter's house too. The kids were already having a blast with their cousins.

Monday morning we drove through a blizzard in sardine canyon and down to my sister Emily's house in West Valley. My little sister Liz and her husband were packing up their moving van to head off to Boston so we dropped Dan off to help them, then headed to Em's and hung out there. Everyone came over that night to say goodbye to Liz and Dave. The kids were in cousin heaven! I am one of nine children, so you can imagine how many little kids there were running around! Tuesday night I went out to eat with my sisters and then we all slept at my sister Kirstin's house. I got to go out and shoot some pictures of my beautiful niece Starly while I was there, and that was fun too.

I'll go ahead and stop there and post pictures up to that point...I still have two weeks left, so stay tuned! :)

FINALLY catching up.

2011-07-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted since May! Why? Because June was insane, that's why! Insane, but very fun. I enjoy being busy, especially when busy means fun time with people I love! As soon as school let out and the end of May, Dan and I packed our little van and took off on an incredibly long drive across the country to visit family in Utah. I don't know if any of you remember my post about our last cross-country adventure, but I listed the top ten things you need to know when dragging your family out on a journey like that. I have a few things to add to that list. First...travel in June! It is soooo much nicer than December. Second, try driving different routes! We took the northern, familiar route there through Nebraska and Wyoming, and then the souther route home, through all the red rocks and desert of Utah and New Mexico and through Arkansas and a few other states. It was really nice changing up the scenery! Last thing I'd recommend is to have an endless supply of wet wipes. You will use them for everything...oh and if you're traveling with a two-year-old, try putting next to your oldest child, mine tended to take over tending to her and it made everything run more smoothly!

Now, to catch up on a lot of pictures. I have to start with Logan and Linc's last few days of school (yes I know we are half way through summer!) Logan had a field trip to the botanical gardens on his second to last day, and Linc had his end-of-the-year kindergarten program on the same day. It was busy and fun and all of the kids had a lot of fun! I've had little time for editing, so over the next few posts, you'll get a lot of "real" images from me! Get ready, here they come!

Okay, that's the last day, now onto our Utah trip!

A little Catching Up

2011-05-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

So much has happened over the past month, I don't know where to begin. I guess I could start with the tornados that hit our area a few Wednesday's ago. What had started out as a lucky "sleep-in because of the rain" day turned into something out of a movie by the time the storm hit at noon. Our house and neighborhood was fine...thankfully...but there are many people in our area who lost their homes and some even their lives. Dan was out of town when the storm hit, so we spent that first night, without power, home alone and took off the next day to Atlanta. We were lucky enough to have a spare container of gas in the garage or we would have been stranded here. The power was out all over and the few gas stations that had gas had lines that would take all day. The boys eyes were glued to the windows as we slowly made out way out of town. Tree's were down everywhere and none of the traffic lights were working. It was absolutely insane. As I drove I remember looking at the sky. The clouds were so light and fluffy...they seemed to be almost flippant about the massive destruction they cause only the day before. I drove past a little shopping complex past Chattanooga that had been almost flattened by a tornado and I felt so humbled at the power that is had.

I am so thankful that our home was spared, and that my kids were safe. I'm thankful to good friends who let us crash their home when we had no where to go (the power was out almost a week!) and I am thankful for a community that is so caring and for people who called to check in on us and make sure we were okay.

When Dan did get back from his trip, he met us in Atlanta and drove home with us. His work wasn't able to open for another week and a half after the storm, so we were able to enjoy some time together. The first thing we did was buy food. We lost everything in our fridge when the power went out. The rest of the time we spent together, and Dan took some time to help with the storm clean-up around town.

Through all this craziness, I was able to finish my classes and can now say that I am a college graduate! I never thought the day would come to be honest. It always seemed like something that was so far away, so now that it is done, I don't really know what to do with myself. :) It does feel great to have accomplished something I've been dreaming about.

School is about out for the boys. I think we are all ready for the break. Ellie is still potty-training...she isn't "trained" yet, but we are trying! She has been my toughest potty-trainer yet.

I guess that is about all for now. I hope to be able to get back to more regular posts now that all the craziness is over. Have a great week everyone! Here are my pictures to catch me up...

I didn't get any pictures of the storm damage really because I was too busy trying to take care of my kids, but I did snap this one quickly when Dan got home. This is a spot I've used for photo shoots. I have taken pictures by this big tree and the rusty shed. The winds pulled it up by the roots. Sad.

Wed. night we had no power at home, so we lit our tea candles and roasted marshmallows. It turned out to be a lot fun!

A day off with Daddy...what better way to spend it?

Here's Daddy teaching the boys about where their bread comes from.

I really wanted a good family picture...while I was setting everything up, I got this one and I really like it!

My family shot. It's not perfect...but it was a good try anyway!

Everyone says Linc and I look alike.

Dan took these for me on the same day as the family shots. The days that I wear full make-up are few and far between so I had to take advantage of it for a profile picture. :)

Dan bought me some Karaoke games and the kids like them as much as I do! I grew up singing...it's fun to see them love it too.

"Hide-and-seek." Logan won.

Owen and Ellie LOVE their bubble baths!

I stopped in a yard sale of a friend of mine this weekend and got Ellie a few little horses. I laughed out loud when I walked in the room and saw her trying to sit on them herself!

Tonight for family movie night Lincoln picked the show Tarzan...the boys loved it and the rest of the night was spent swinging from imaginary vines!

Linc is notorious for sticking his head randomly into pictures.

Okay, I am caught up!

Easter, Car Wash and Outside Fun!

2011-04-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun Easter! We had a very busy Saturday with a soccer game, an easter-egg hunt, another small party and a photo shoot. Saturday night Dan and I got ready for the Easter Bunny who arrived bright and early and left eggs all over the house. We have morning church at 8:30am, so the kids were up extra early to collect their eggs, while Dan and I joined them with bloodshot eyes. All the kids had fun dumping their treats into a big pot. They called it their "candy soup" and had so much fun stirring it and sharing it with each other. After that we all got dressed up (except Dan and Owen because O got an eye infection the night before) and headed off to church. Ellie wore an adorable dress her Daddy bought her months ago. She reminded me of a little princess. I am still over-come sometimes with how much I love having a little girl!

When we got home we relaxed a while and then dyed our easter eggs. I always think it's funny that we dye eggs every year because no one in our family really likes hard-boiled eggs! I guess a tradition is a tradition. :) We had a delicious pork dinner and ended the day with a video on the life, atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was a simple, beautiful day.

Earlier in the weekend we spent sometime out in the yard. Dan mowed the lawn while I washed our old Villager. We are trying to get it ready to sell. Dan finally bought a new car last week. He chose a 2010 Ford Fusion and is really happy with it. We found an excellent deal!

I cleaned out the inside of the Villager and then filled up a tub of water and let the kids wash the outside. I think we'll have to do that again sometime because they loved it! I think it's so funny that kids will be happy with the most ordinary things...as long as water is involved, they can play for hours!

I guess that's about it. I am taking my last final today...I better run and study. Have a great day everyone!

The Car Wash...

Another necessity for my kids is a good tree! I remember spending hours up in the trees in my yard when I was little. Ellie wanted to climb with Linc last week and even though I was right there, she wouldn't let me touch her. She wanted to do it herself.

Linc's spot.

My kids love digging in the dirt too. I'm going to have to refill these planter-boxes because they've dug out all the dirt!

I love Ellie's nurturing side! She takes very good care of her Teddy Bears!

Way too Long....

2011-04-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many blog posts I've started this way? This has definitely been one of my longer stretches without posting. I apologize to any of you who've had to view that old post over and over again, hopefully, this will give you plenty of fresh new things to look at!

Let's see, what have we been up to?

We had spring break this past week and spent time with friends here and in Atlanta, while the week before that my good friend in Atlanta had her spring break and was able to come here for a visit, so my kids have had lots of friend time lately! While we were in Atlanta we got to go take a tour of the LDS Atlanta Temple with the kids. Ellie had a rough time and gave us a good fight, but the others really enjoyed it, especially Logan. I think it was fun for them to see where Daddy and I go and know what it looks like. The temple is being dedicated this weekend after a few years of renovations, and our church always opens a new or newly renovated temple up for the public to tour. It really was a great experience, I'm happy we were able to be there together!

Dan and I have been car shopping for the last few weeks since the poor old Mercury Villager died. I'm taking a hands off approach and letting Dan pick whatever he wants (within reason of course, no Ferrari's or Porches, I'm afraid!) since he's been driving an old bucket of bolts around for the past few years and hasn't even complained about it...too much anyway...

The boys are back in school today and I felt like my feet weighed fifty pounds each this morning while I was getting them ready. It'll take some time to get back into the routine of things. I guess that's about it for now. I have a lot of pics from the past few weeks, so I'll try to keep them under control.

Two weeks to go and I am a college graduate!!! (If I can hold out that long!) I probably won't be able to post again until then because I have to study for all my finals and projects. It's going to be crazy, but in two weeks, I'll have a celebratory post and it will all be worth it! Talk to you all then.

Ellie remained happy just long enough to enjoy a peanut-butter cookie after we'd been through the temple.

Love this boy.

After her cookie ran out, she was done! Is this the saddest, most pathetic face you've ever seen or what?

I loved this anger grip on Dan's tie. :)

At least the boys were happy!

If anyone has ever tried to strap an angry two-year-old into a car seat when they don't want to, you will understand how funny/frustrating this is! Good thing we were all peaceful from the temple. :)

Dan and Logan had to run back in, and Ellie wasn't happy about that either.

Don't worry, O wasn't mad, this is his jedi face!

And THIS is his shy face. :)

A few from Green Mountain...Thanks for a fun morning Desna!

Linc was sure he would catch a fish!

A few pics from Atlanta.

We traveled how far for this??

"Wanna play Diana?"

Some more from home...

Everything's going great! (almost...not quite, but we are remaining positive!)

Does this look familar to anyone? Ellie is into unrolling the toilet paper while she's going potty so our rolls usually wind up looking something like this! Grrr.

I know this is a random picture, but it took me a good half hour to get it. I sat with my zoom lens on my porch while ten to twenty big, fat bumble-bees swarmed around me! Gotta love spring!

Last day before spring break!

Logan's started soccer! I really hope this is "his" sport. He is so fast and I love sitting outside instead of in a stinky gym! I'm crossing my fingers over here!

We got Logan on the same team as one of his best friends. He and M are having a lot of fun. :)

"Peek-a-boo Daddy!"

This is Ellie's "monster face"! Scary right?

I thought these were funny. I got them at Super Target and each item was labeled very...specifically...just in case you couldn't tell what it was by looking at it!

Fun time at home.

The many faces of Linc!

My sleepy little easter bunny!

Hangin' in There!

2011-03-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

We're still here. March has flown by and April is almost upon us. The older I get, the more amazed I am about how fast time goes by. Logan's finished basketball and is about to start soccer. Linc wants to wait to play basketball next year. Owen is happy as could be in preschool and Ellie is saying more and more everyday. It's funny how much you can worry about something your child is or isn't doing and in the end, it sort of works itself out and all your worry was for nothing. :) I guess worrying for a child is never for nothing, it's all in love so in the end it's actually a good thing!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how different seasons of our life can bring their own challenges. Right now Dan and I are struggling to keep up with four active little people, a house, a small business, Dan's work, school, church responsibilities, and everything that comes with it all and it has been really hard. I think about what I'd cut out, and all of them seem so important, that it's not really possible to eliminate anything...I can cut back here and there, and I do, but each play an important part in my life so I can't really get rid of anything permanently. And then, there are the other things I'd like to do that have to wait and take a back seat while I focus on more important things for now. It seems like I am at a point where I just have to wait and work and be patient until things settle down a bit. It is very hard. I was thinking about it the other day and it occurred to me that life is supposed to be this way. Sometimes it is just hard and that's okay. The old saying, "just grin and bear it" is so true. Sometimes that's all we can do. We will get little moments of pay back along the way. You know, those times when kids are in the back yard laughing together, or after a long day you finally get a quiet moment to breathe (no matter how small that moment might be!), or perhaps even that peaceful feeling that comes from prayer after a particularly long day. Whatever it may be, the moments come and they are enough to keep me going.

I am eagerly anticipating the end of April when I will have finally finished school. I don't have to take another class in my life if I don't want to and life should slow down a lot more (though I'll probably get my masters in a year or so...we'll see.). In about three years, my baby will start kindergarten (no I'm not counting down the days...it can take it's time as far as I'm concerned!) and even more time will again be mine...leaving the house a bit cleaner I hope, without a two year old pulling everything off the shelves! :) But even when those times come, I'm sure I'll have plenty of new items on my list to challenge me, and hopefully, I will use those experiences for what they are intended...to grow.

I'll stop now and leave you with a few quick pics I snapped of the kids yesterday. The boys have all been very sick and we needed a moment outside to get some fresh air. It only took about ten minutes before their coughs took over and we had to move the party back inside, but it was nice while it lasted!

The pretty little weeds that Dan and I trying to get rid of!

Looking for "gold dablooms!"

Logan is really into digging holes lately...I figure it's good for him, as long as he doesn't dig up the lawn. :)

Ellie climbed up herself!

Some help from big brothers.

Logan wanted to push Ellie to see if she could ride herself and I told him he couldn't because she didn't have a helmet that fit, so he ran into the garage and brought back a baseball helmet...little bobble-head girl!

Owen really doesn't like the medicine the doctor prescribed him!

He's not the only one!

Last Post...Grandparents Visit!

2011-03-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

I think this is record for me...number five post for today. I just wanted to be caught up I guess. :)

I'm not going to say as much with this one, because I have a lot of pics to post from our fun visit with Abuela y Abuelo. We loved having them here, and are always sad when they have to go. This trip was especially fun because of Logan's baptism, but we managed to spend some time outside as well...the weather was so beautiful for a few of the days they were here!

This location is outside of the church Logan played basket ball at. They kids had a blast running through the old cotton and corn fields. I guess it's about to for them to plow again. It's fun living here in a place where you can tell the season by the look of the field!

Logan's sweaty head after a game!

My favorite shot of the day. Owen jumping down a hill way to steep to jump down...sigh.

A few from home...

Departure day... :(

Owen's silly faces.

And finally, some pics of Owen and Ellie playing in the dirt in the back yard. I didn't know where to add these, so here's as good a place as any!

Space and Rocket Center

2011-03-07T19:25:00.001-08:00

With Abuela and Abuelo here, we had to take a trip to the Space and Rocket Center and see the new IMAX movie called "Hubble 3D" which I heard was amazing! (I don't really know because I opted to sit out and save everyone from Ellie's screaming...Dan promised to take me on a date sometime to see it!)

It was a nice day though, fun spending time with grandparents and watching the boys faces light up as they tried to see to the top of the rockets. I think the Space and Rocket Center is one of my favorite places in this city!

I'm adding a bunch of rocket pics on my photoblog, and will post mainly family pics here, so check them out if you want!

www.agalwithacamera.blogspot.com

Here come the pictures!

What is so high?

The Saturn V.

Logan made it to the top this time! He was so proud of himself.

Linc learned this trip fro his Abuelo. :)