Thanksgiving

I love this time of year to reflect on our blessings and spend time with family eating GOOD food!! We went to Woodland Hills and enjoyed the company of Lecia and family, Boyd and my parents. I made a "Thankful Tree" and had a service project to help the Red Cross make comfort kids. Everyone was so nice to donate things and we made 12! After playing some games and eating pie, we headed to Sandy to be with Pat's family. This year we had it at Sonia's and it was just Pat and his sisters and their families. It was nice to be a smaller group, and the food was amazing!! We are lucky to get 2 meals. :) We raced home to get ready for Black Friday. I braved the crowds with Whitney at Wal-Mart @ midnight. It was crazy, I'm not gonna lie! I don't think I'll be doing that again. Full price is fine by me. haha! Anyway, we feel so grateful and so very blessed to have the things we have and our wonderful family. Happy Thanksgiving.

Zoey @ 8 months

This little girl gets cuter and cuter! She is officially crawling and getting around. It's fun to watch her rock back and forth and then just take off. She likes to play on the floor now with toys and the boys and Wolfie. She is a great little eater and would rather eat something she can pick up rather than something pureed. One of her top front teeth have come in and the other is not far behind. She went through a rough patch of waking up a lot during the night (I think it was her teeth), but now is back to her wonderful sleep habits. She expresses herself with squeaks, screams and squeals. Especially when being overwhelmed by her brothers. She smiles at everyone and is so happy and friendly. She is starting to go to others without a fuss (she was starting to turn into a momma's girl). She likes taking baths and playing in the water. She doesn't like getting dressed or her diaper changed. When she hears music from her toys, she bounces and claps. Everyday I thank my Heavenly Father for her sweet spirit in my life. It is amazing how much love I have for her. Not unlike my love for the boys, but it's so tender since she is the girl and my last. What a precious little sweetie I have!!!

The Groovy Scooby Birthday

This year Max really wanted a Scooby Doo birthday. I thought it would be fun to make it "groovy", too. We made tie dye t-shirts and went crazy giving them out! He invited 6 friends over and they had a "mystery hunt" to find the missing cookies. It was cute to see him so excited and all his friends in their fun colorful t-shirts. Then later that night we had our families over for dinner. It was a great day just for Max and one I hope he'll remember.

Zoey @ 7 months

How I love this little girl! She is so fun. She sits up on her own, and plays with the toys that I leave in front of her. She likes to eat and loves to grab her little puffs and attempt to put them in her mouth. She is a momma's girl and has serious separation anxiety when I leave her side (which is rare). It's exhausting, for sure, but I LOVE her!! She makes babbling noises and copies you if you repeat a noise. She sometimes grabs onto something and tries to squeeze it with all her might and muscle. It's hilarious and the face she makes while she does it is a puckered, squinty-eyed one. She has two bottom teeth. I get NOTHING done when she is awake, but it's fun to watch her interact with her brothers (who love her to death) and Wolfie. Zoey and Wolfie have an understanding. She will grab and pull at him, and he just sits and lets her. He'll come up and lick her or sit next to her. They are buddies. It's so cute. Lukas likes to pick Zoey up and then that means Max does, too. She hates it and immediately lets me know they are too much for her. She will go to Daddy without a fuss and gets so happy when he is in the room. She still doesn't take a binkie, but loves her lovie (a small square of minky fabric that she has to have to fall asleep).

HALLOWEEN and More...

We had so many FUN things going on for Halloween...a school carnival, the witches at Gardner Village, a Fall Fest with Papa and Nana, the ward playgroup Halloween activity, a spontaneous neighborhood party put on by Whitney, Trick or Treating and Papa's Spooky B-day party. Whew!!! We loved every single one of them! Here are a plethora of pictures to prove it. {Notice Zoey and her many costumes...thanks to some sweet neighbors for lending them to me! Actually the boys have quite a few costumes, too. From years past.}

Snow Already?!!

The weather has been so nice lately...in the 70's...so it was quite a surprise to wake up to THIS today! But the kids loved it and immediately wanted to go play in it. My excuse is always, "I don't have any snow pants". So I watch lovingly from inside. Lukas built this snowman all by himself . What a cute one it is, too! And Max just eats it. Here's to winter!!!

Charlie

We love the neighborhood we live in. It is so fun to play outside or take walks and visit with friends that we have so much in common with. Recently we have had a frequent visitor. When I say "we", I should say "Wolfie". Charlie lives a few houses up from us and comes to play almost daily. We love him and he is so cute with Wolfie. Who says dogs can't have play dates?

Slimers

Max was on a soccer team with 12 of his neighborhood buddies! Their uniforms were bright green--hence the team name "Slimers". They had an entertaining season full of laughs and cries. Overall I think Max had fun. He sure loved his coach and would do whatever he told him to. Max is very glad soccer is over and can't wait to cheer Lukas on when it's his turn.

Family Pictures

Finally!! I have been wanting family pictures since the day Zoey was born. There is a very talented guy in our ward who took these amazing photos. He captured each of us just perfectly. Whew, now I can enjoy life until the next family photo!

The Homework Room

So I was getting tired of the toy room being the first thing you see when you walk in the house. Not to mention all the toys & all the clutter that the kids didn't pick up. And finding toys everywhere BUT the toy room...so I moved the toy room down in the basement & turned that room into....a study/reading room. I wanted the kids to have a place to do their arts or crafts, to read & now that Lukas is in school, a place where he can do his homework. So really it should be called: The Homework Art Study Craft Reading Room. I think we are getting a lot of use out of it. The kids color a lot more, want to read books, work on puzzles & Lukas gets his homework done. Plus, there is less to clean up and ZERO clutter (for the most part). And can I just say YAY for my label maker?!! Pat gave it to me awhile ago & I am now putting it to good use. Lastly, I must give IKEA props for almost everything in the room (minus the bookcase & cabinet, oh & the dog!). It was an easy, inexpensive make-over!!!