Love this...

~The only constant in life is change...and laundry!~

October: Come and gone...

How quickly time flies when you are having fun! Or really just trying to keep up with three little ones! Hard to believe that today is November 1st...especially since we all felt like we should go swimming this afternoon...definitely on our to do list for tomorrow since it is suppose to be even warmer. Here are just a few highlights of this past month in no particular order...because that would take to long and my soaker tub is really calling my name as it does every night, one of the benefits of being pregnant...an excuse to take a bath every night. I think I have to say of all my favorite things in our new addition...the tub ranks really high up there on the list, and boy do I have the water bill to prove it!

It looks like they go from the end of the month to the beginning...here are the girls in Grammy and Papa's graveyard. The two big girls were "batgirls" and Lou was "alice in wonderland" although most of the time she just wore her blue dress.

The werewolf...at the "fear factor" game at our ward party...eating worms. He made it all the way to the last round but was happy to get out when he discovered they got to

eat a whole can of sardines.

Our attempt at a cousins photo at our Halloween party at our house...IMPOSSIBLE to get all 13 of them looking in the same direction!

The twin cousins....at preschool they use to tell everyone they were twin cousins and I think this photo proves it. Look at them from the eyes down and their faces are identical! They wrapped their cousin Jared as a mummy. The three of them were born within a 10 month period.

She was so determined to get her apple at the party and didn't give up until it was in her mouth!

Our worm eating contest for the 4 and under group. The big kids ate theirs so fast we could hardly get any photos of them. These three were born within a 6 month time period...and Lyndie is always upset that she is not as old as Adam and Hannah who were born a month apart.

December, February, and March/April...the next group of babies to be born. Jodi in the middle is our adopted sister, she lived next door to us growing up and we were always at one another's houses. She doesn't have any siblings so she loved to come play with us...we loved to play at her house because she had every toy you could imagine!

This is Malia's new friend from kindergarten. They love having playdates with one another and I love that Malia finally is getting to have her own friends and playdates, for years she has been her big sister's tag along.

Since we wouldn't agree to actually camping at the beach with our cousins during fall break, Lainey and Dad slept out in the backyard.

Back at our old haunts....as a family we spent a week every summer at this beach camping. It was so fun to be there together, even if it was just for the afternoon.

Lainey made us this special strawberry shortcake from a cookbook she got at the library.

We took a tour at the LA temple with out Elder's Quroum it was such a sweet experience to be there as a family and visit the new visitor's center.
Lyndie and I at her first field trip of the year!

Crazy hair day at school...everything that the big girls did that week, Lou did too! She loves being like her big sisters.

I love when friends from my past come to visit....if only we could all live closer. One of the best parts about visiting with them is watching our kids play together.

The girls got a new area rug in their room so they decided they needed to have a sleepover on it!

I love this picture of Lyndie and my mom at a bbq we went to. Lyndie looks so grown up. She really is not a baby anymore. Although today she announced that since she didn't know who she was going to marry she would just stay little forever and live with me forever. She has been very preoccupied lately with who she is going to marry.

Our cousin Addie got baptized.

Our stake dress project is finished....I helped coordinate a service project for our stake RS and we made and sent 878 dresses to Sierra Leone with my kids doctor during the month of October. It was truly an amazing experience and I can't wait to find out about how the delivery of the dresses went. The sisters in my stake outdid themseleves....I was hoping for may be 300 dresses and the dresses just kept coming and coming. A real miracle indeed.

Tamales and kettle corn...from Saturday farmer's market.

The month began with a visit from Grandma Aleen, Uncle Darren and Uncle Quentin....we are lucky enough to have Uncle Quentin staying with us for awhile.

Has it really been 5 weeks since I posted?

I can't believe how fast time seems to go by. I guess that means this baby will be here before we know it....yes, for those who haven't figured it out we will soon be way outnumbered by children! At least there is only one coming! Lyndie is constantly asking why I can't have twin babies and is certain that the other babies were just hiding in the ultrasound. The other days she even prayed that I could have another one next year...and, "please let it be a boy, and a girl, and a boy, and a girl." I told her didn't think that would happen and that she was asking for 4 babies and her reply was, "Well I can hold one for you Mom." We've decided to wait and be surprised as to what we are getting...since baby will be arriving around Christmastime we figured it would be the best Christmas surprise we could get this year. I have tried to tell the girls that a baby is the only thing we are getting for Christmas but they aren't going for it!

We are all into the full swing of school days. Which we have learned means our kids have to go to bed by 7:30 at the latest but there is no complaining on my part with early bedtimes. It just means we have to move a little faster at nighttime and get dinner on the table earlier.

Lyndie loves her preschool even if she tells me everyday when it is time to go that she doesn't want to go...when I assure her that she won't be able to sit and watch TV all morning and that I am going to do fun things like laundry...school suddenly becomes more appealing. She is really hoping for a baby sister and keeps telling me she wants to name the baby, "Callie Sunshine Rainbow." She starts ballet soon with her cousin Hannah and is really excited about having her own ballet class to go to.

Malia and Lainey are playing soccer again, unfortunately this is the year when they are not on the same team it only makes it difficult when there is only one of us to do games as was the case yesterday and of course they ended up playing at the same time. Lainey team plays really hard but has a hard time making goals and hasn't won a game yet. Malia's on the other hand runs down every team and usually score about 10 goals. Their coach actually has to hold them back at times so that the other team has a chance to get the ball. Malia has scored every game and thinks it is really cool!

We started piano this summer and the girls are almost both done with their first book which they think is awesome. The other day Lainey told me piano wasn't very good because you never get to show everyone what you can do like soccer where you have a game every week. I assured we could have a little recital with her cousins who are also taking lessons and invite our family to hear them play. A high school girl in our ward is teaching them lessons. I love it because she comes to our house, I am sure I could teach them but they seem to listen much better to her!

Justin spent the last week with his family in Idaho. His youngest brother came home from his mission to Argentina and he surprised him by getting on the same flight in SLC and then going to Twin Falls with him. All of his siblings were able to be there for his homecoming talk and the blessing of a new baby nephew. I really don't know how you single parents out there do it...Justin is such a part of our lives and I was counting the days until he came home! I am so lucky to have such a helpful husband! The other day I went out and found roses on the porch from him...he won't give away his sources as to how he got them there! His brother that just returned is going to come stay with us for awhile and the girls are really excited. He told them they could watch High School Musical together and I noticed today that they went and found the movie and have it waiting on their dresser so that they will know where it is when he gets here.

As I read back through this I realize it is just more of a journal entry of what we have been up to...hope it didn't bore you too much!

Miracle of miracles...

today we all made it through the entire sacrament meeting without anyone whining that they had to go to the bathroom or get a drink, everyone managed to keep their hands to themselves, and Lyndie didn't have to get taken out by Dad...I don't remember the last time this happened...in fact I don't think it has ever happened!

May be they were just all tired of the three previous days of camping but since they all managed to still wake up at 6:30am I really don't think that was the case.

We spent the last three days camping at the beach where I grew up camping as a girl. I loved watching the girls create the memories that I have as a child: riding bikes around the campground, playing in tents, climbing in Papa's trailer, hiking up to the bluff, kayaking, rolling in the sand, listening to the trains, boogie boarding, playing games, and just spending time with family and friends!

My favorite line from the trip came from my niece Addie when we were hiking up on the bluff...

I was explaining to the girls that we shouldn't get by the side because we might slip and fall into the ocean and she says, "Well unless your earring falls out." ...."No," I said, "I will buy you a new earring if it falls out. Do not go by the side, even if your earring falls out."

Malia kayaking with Dad...she is definitely the brave girl in the family!

Members of the blue nose club.

Photos galore

My sister says my last post was really lame...well this one is just full of photos. Enjoy! We are so happy to finally have some sunny weather around here. Last month was full of JUNE gloom...and even our trip to Utah was pretty gloomy (well the weather was, not the company) photos from that trip will come at a later date.

I still haven't figured out how to get my kids to sleep in, this morning we made it until 7:30am but I think that was only because they played hard all day yesterday and then we went to a wedding reception where they danced for an hour and a half before we went home to bed.

We had quite the adventure last night we took my sister's 4 kids with us to a wedding reception, that's right we had 7 kids under 8 with us a reception. I can't even imagine having that many kids! We had to take 2 cars to get there, I guess if we had Justin's dream car...the dodge sprinter, we could have all fit in one vehicle. Once I got everyone their treats and Italian sodas...sorry we held up the line, while I had 7 drinks made, the only mishap was the forgotten belt on Malia's new dress that I had to go back to the church to get.
We are enjoying doing a lot of nothing these days...the pool, beach, and playing in the backyard are what most of our days consist of and we are loving it!

Finally blogging...

but only because I want to enter to win this really cool book called Fast, Flirty and Fun about making quilts. It is written by a girl I knew in college way back when! I figure I could give it to my sister and convince her to make me something out of it since she has the patience for quilting that I really lack! I learned about it on a site called SummerTimeDesigns that if you are into digital scrapbooking you really need to check out. Her stuff is so CUTE and the best thing is that is FREE!
That's it for now....may be one day I'll get back to being a regular around here again!

House Update....

we are almost done! And it is so much fun, we love all the extra room, I am especially fond of my new bedroom - the skylight and vaulted ceiling rocks, our beautiful yards, our big huge couch that we can ALL sit on together, and I can not forget my new bathtub. Everytime I take a bath I feel like I am in a really nice hotel!

The girls were suppose to get the new big bedroom with the walk in closet but as it started to take shape I began to think why am I giving this to my kids? So I told Justin I wanted it and he was just fine with it.

Take a little walk through our house with us..it's not all done but pretty close!

Front yard

Welcome to our home......

Hallway to the bedrooms...

Bathroom, Justin redid it about a year ago...I just finally hung the pictures back on the wall

Our new bedroom, the part over the headboard of the bed is vaulted and there is a skylight in it

Our old room...now the girl's room

This is the view looking from my kitchen into our old living room, the TV still has to be moved and the brown wall will become our "office" area

Future home of our wood burning stove in the family room

Big couch in the family room, there is a place for the girls to play behind the couch

Another view in the family room, the door on the left goes into our "new bathroom"

The girls love the bath too!

Part of our backyard