Gratitude

On October 19, Jayme was in a scary accident. He was distracted and hit a barrier flipping his car. Thankfully he was not injured, but it so easily could have been much worse. Having this trial has made me focus in on the important things, my blessing, the things I am most grateful for. I am grateful Jayme is alive, I am grateful for a sister that is willing to drop everything to come help me when I need her most. I am grateful for a wonderful family. I am grateful for my 4 kids, even when they drive me wild :) I am grateful for good doctors for Bethany. I am grateful for a good teacher for Marcee. I could go on and on...

Inspired by my sister, I had my family make a gratitude poster for family home evening. I want my kids to recognize how much we have to be thankful for. We all talked about the things we are most grateful for. Jameson said the wii, Bethany said friends and family and Marcee thought about freedom. They even brought up little things like smiles and hugs! I am grateful for little and big teaching moments with my kids.

"Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings." President Thomas S. Monson

Trick-or-Treat

Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Guts

Creepy Crawlie Jack-o-Lantern

Yummy Pumpkin Pancakes

Clever Halloween Dinner - Mummy Hotdogs and Halloween Shapes Macaroni and Cheese

Getting Ready to Trick or Treat {in the rain}


Sam as Buzz Lightyear, Punkin as Woody, Jameson as Toad {Mario Bros.}, Bethany as a Mermaid, Marcee as Annie, Willard as a Curious George with Daddy as The Man with the Yellow Hat.

JJ's 5th Birthday (x2)
First we celebrated with his cousin Sam in August! We made this cool monster truck cake for these crazy boys. Yum!

Then, we celebrated on the actual day, September 15!
JJ got a soccer ball, a trampoline, some locks with keys (for treasures) and stuff for his bike! So Fun :)

"Horsing" around at our ward FHE!!!

BACK TO SCHOOL
The girls started school the end of August.
Bethany is in 3rd grade and Marcee is in 5th. They like their teachers and are glad to be back with their friends. Marcee loves math and reading, and is excited for field trips. Bethany loves writing and reading, and is excited to learn to write in cursive.

Jameson started today. This year he will go to pre-school 3 times a week. (What will I do with all that free time I'll have now?)
He loves teacher Melanie, reading time and playing with his best friend Chloe!

August Review

The girls went to Broadway camp for 2 weeks. Right before the big show, we had a party for our "cast". We served munchkin pizzas, yellow brick road bread sticks and a rainbow of fruit. Grandma Connie made ruby slipper cookies, yum ! Bethany had a speaking part as the Barrister and Marcee was one of the witches guards. Both were perfect munchkins too:)

We took the girls to see the Lion King. This is the second musical they have been to. They said it was "fun, entertaining, impressive and smart how they did those costumes."

For Marcee's 10th birthday we had an art party. The pottery teacher at the high school taught her and some friends how to make a clay pot. The pots will now get fired and the girls will have a fabulous keepsake. After playing with they clay, we had donuts, fruit and presents. They birthday girl said it was "the best party ever!"

SuMMeR 2010(in review!)
I can hardly believe, summer's over and kids are back to school. We have been busy and so, blogging has taken a back seat. Now that we are getting into the swing of things, I need to do a quick update.

Jayme came home from his 9 week ordeal June 5th. Wow, what a trip:)
One week later, I headed to my "girls only" family reunion. We had a week of doctor visits and day camps, finished up the softball/T-ball season and did a little scrapbooking.
Then, swimming lessons for 2 weeks

And Bethany learned how to play tennis. She loved it!
We celebrated the 4th of July with the town at the parade!

Finally, the trip the kids have been waiting for all year...Lake Powell
Our house boat.

All the cousins.

Going for a canoe ride. JJ's favorite!

Riding on the banana.
Right in front, Bethany the Brave! She got this nickname for being willing to try anything once :)

Duke was an angel baby and he loved the water.

We also celebrated his 1st birthday!

After a grand time at Lake Powell, I took the girls to see Jon Schmidt in concert!

The girls love that he plays upside down and backwards.

I love the cello with the piano.

To top it all off...
we built a trampoline

And put in wood floors!

So, as you can see, we have been busy. But we had a great summer, visiting our family, learning new things and getting lots done!

Duke is almost one. CRaZY! And he is changing fast.
Here are a few of his latest tricks.

ReaDY, SeT, Go!

Say CHeeSe!

I need a CoKe!!!

We just love this kid!

Piano Recital

The girls are doing such a great job learning to play the piano. Marcee can quickly pick up a new song and enjoys memorizing. Bethany has to practice a little more to get her songs down, but then she can really play them well! I think they both like the treats their teacher gives for playing a song without mistakes!

At the recital, Bethany played "I Love to See the Temple" and "My Teddy Bear."

Marcee played "Honky-Tonk Ride" and "Dinosaur Stomp."

They both did a wonderful job. We are proud of them.

Tee-Ball started! How fun is that.

It is so fun to watch these little boys (and girls) play.

They are not sure what to do and they all want to catch the ball.

When JJ hit his first time, the ball followed the line to first base.
So, he stopped running, picked it up and handed it to the other team!
He is quite the hitter, but he thinks catching the ball is "too hard!"
He mostly wants a trophy in the end.
GO METS!

Mother's Day

Camie had these questions listed on her blog, answered by her 3 year old, Sam. I couldn't resist asking JJ the same questions. He took a lot of time to consider these answers.

1. What does your mom look like?

A Mom!

2. What does your mom do all day?

Clean up. Clean the kitchen. Clean the living room floor!

3. What does your mom like to make for you?

Noodles!

4. What is your mom's favorite dessert?

Pizza! (Then he asked, “Do you like pizza?)

5. What does your mom love to play?

Ring-a-Round the Rosy (which is funny because we NEVER play this :))

I love my mom because ... I just like her!

3weeks down...

This is what we've been doing since Jayme left for his training.

Easter

Egg Hunt at Grandmas

Easter Dresses

(Made by HotchPotchGirls.blogspot.com)


Bathing in the sink!

(our drain is broken and with no fix-it man here, this is what you get!)

Homework, Homework and MORE HOMEWORK

Jameson's best day ever!

When Uncle Nate came and won him a new world on the Wii!!!

Uncle Korey's mission farewell

Duke can now climb!


and...
Reading scriptures, family prayer and talking to Dad every night (almost)!