Halloween

Halloween this year felt a little bit crazy. Ben was in charge of the food for the trunk or treat at the church and I was teaching piano right up until it started. So, the kids were kind of left to their own devices.  Other than Amelia loosing her kitty ears right before we left, and me forgetting the lights for the jack o lanterns decorating our trunk, things came off great and the kids had a fun night!

 The whole troop

Iyah the Dementor 

A the black cat 

El the horse (she did not like her costume BTW) 

G the "Lobster-back" His only complaint... "Some people got it wrong and thought I was a patriot, but at least they had the time period right." I wanted to say, "That's because it's weird that you wanted to be the enemy-the enemy that lost, no less!" But like a good mom, I held my tongue. ;-)

Happy Halloween!

First Day of School!

It was a good first day of school! Hopefully the rest of the year will follow in kind.

 I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from our trip to Utah. As usual, I forgot to take the camera along on most of our outings, but we managed to get a few pictures. One of the best parts of our visit for the kids was playing with their cousins (above). These guys really hit it off together and I even caught Amelia in a rare show of emotion when she hugged her cousin Mia when she came to Grandma's one day.

 The kids and cousins with Great Grandma and Grandpa Jackson

 The kids with Grandma Great

 Isaac displaying one of his fish from the much anticipated fishing trip with Grandpa.

 George and one of his fish.

 Taking a break from fishing with Grandpa.

 Winter Quarters, NE. Cute little pioneers!

Nauvoo. It was REALLY hot- 108 degrees. The kids were good sports. George said he wished we could live there. :-)

I managed NOT to get a picture with Grandma and Grandpa- how I don't know, but we had a great trip and really appreciate all they did for us and for putting up with us for so long. Thank you G&G!

Christmas Casualties

Christmas time is always busy and things get kind of crazy sometimes. The kids have been staying up too late at parties and other things that are going on. On the way home from the store the other day Amelia found some stickers that one of the other kids had left in the car. She entertained herself with them and then passed out. When I got home I turned around and this is what I saw.

The ward Christmas party was Saturday night. The kids were excited for time to play with their friends that they usually only see on Sundays and were chasing each other around. George and one of the other little boys crashed and George ended up with quite the eye/cheek injury. We had several nurses in attendance that checked him out and declared him sound. A really cool black eye was his present for the night.

This is his eye today-3 days after the fact.

Sunday Morning Conversations

My kids are constantly surprising me with the little tidbits of knowledge they acquire. I haven't quite got over the days when I taught them everything they knew. Now that they are older and reading and going to school, they are constantly teaching me new things in interesting ways. This morning was a great example.

It being Sunday and fast Sunday at that, I was lazily resting in bed when George came in and climbed up on the bed next to me. He was breathing funny-panting. This is how the conversation went.

Me: What are you, a dog?
George: No, I'm a lungfish.
Me: A what?
George: A lungfish. I'm a fish that breaths air, and then when the dry season comes and the water dries up I encase my body in mucus and go to sleep until the rainy season. See (pulling the covers up around himself) I'm encasing my body in mucus.
Me: (laughing) That's disgusting!
George: No it's not, mom, I'm just pretending. I'm not really going to cover my body with snot.

See, you learn something new every day!

Halloween

Okay grandparents, these are for you. Here they are...

Here's cute Amelia as a kitty cat. We had a hard time getting her to say thank you at the doors, but once in awhile she would meow.

Isaac the pirate. Need I say more? The kid is obsessed. I should post a picture of the gigantic flag over his bed.

Ella...with a smile? She really was very cute.

George the Knight. He made his own costume. Dressing up has always been way more important than getting candy to this kid.

CARVING PUMPKINS

Arrrrrgh!

Following in the footsteps of her older siblings, this little pirate loves to dress up! Today in preschool we were talking about the letter X, so we read books about pirates and I sent the little pirates on a treasure hunt. Pretty soon, little Amelia brought me a bandanna and patted her head to show me that she wanted to dress up too. I think she stayed "in character" longer than any of the preschoolers.

I have to admit that I loved dressing up as a youngster myself. My friends and I played out some pretty good stories while wearing my mom's old dresses, paper cup beards, or what have you, and I've got some awesomely embarrassing pictures to remember the good times by!

Easter

Easter was lots of fun this year! We had an egg hunt on Friday with some friends, we dyed Easter Eggs, the bunny made a visit on Saturday, and Sunday we focused on the REAL meaning of Easter. I think the kids had a great weekend! Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, as usual. But thanks to Benji we have this one picture of the girls in their Easter dresses. Happy Easter everyone!

Presenting...

The new Ella! We picked up her glasses yesterday and so far she is doing really well with them. They told us that they might give her headaches at first but that she would adjust. So far the only problem we've had has been with car sickness. She does better if she takes them off. Isn't she a cutie?And while we have your attention we'll throw a few more pictures at you. Next you will see the castle. We hope the castle will provide many hours of summer entertainment at our house. Yay!
And finally I had to post this picture of Amelia. She found these q-tips and came to show me how proud she was of herself. I am aware that you are not supposed to use q-tips in your ears, but obviously she has witnessed our breakage of this rule a time or two. Benji has dubbed the look "Airplane Ears."

The Eye of the Beholder

Until very recently this was the wallpaper that graced our bathroom wall. A couple of days ago I suddenly decided I couldn't take it anymore and started peeling it off the wall. About 10 minutes into the process Ella wandered in. She stood rooted to the spot for about 5 seconds and then burst into tears.

Me: Ella what's wrong?
Ella: What are you doing?!
Me: Taking down this wallpaper.
Ella: Why?
Me: Uuuum...Mommy thinks it's kind of ugly.
Ella: But it's pretty to me!
Me: Well, it's really old and we're going to make it look really pretty in here.
Ella: (shouting and sobbing) You need to tape it back up right now or I'll never be happy again!!

She still gets sad every time she walks in the bathroom.

Temple Trip

Tomorrow I am taking my first temple trip since Amelia was born! With the temple an hour and a half away I found it difficult to make the trip when I had a nursing baby. And then, well, I let other things take top billing. Thanks to my wonderful husband my priorities are back in line and I find myself filled with a kind of nervous excitement. Nervous because it involves driving into DC alone (my sense of direction is terrible) and excited because I have needed this for a long time!

Tuff Girl

Amelia has recently taken to wearing these super hero arm bands. I don't really know how she knows what they are or how to wear them...apparently it's inborn. She even has the face to match the part. She is a little super hero, though, holding her own against the many crazy plots of her older brothers and sister.

Baptism

George was baptized on Saturday! It was a wonderful occasion and we are so proud of George for making this decision. He was very excited and it was so fun!


It was also great to have Nana and Grandma and Grandpa in town for the big day. Thank you for the love and support!

We love you George!

George

It's hard to believe that our little George is getting soooooo big! He's turning 8 next week and we are very proud of the young man he is becoming. In honor of his 8th birthday we took him to JCPenney and had his picture taken. Here are some of the results...(Isn't he a handsome guy?)

Halloween (a little late)

I keep thinking that one of these days I'm going to pull myself together and get organized, but I think that would necessitate a complete personality overhaul. I am what I am, I guess. Although, the many sleepless nights may be contributing to the mental lapses. That being said...here is Halloween! The kids were super excited to dress up! Unfortunately, with Halloween being on a Sunday they didn't get to do regular trick or treating. However, the ward had a trunk or treat and everyone was really generous. The kids got plenty of candy and I don't think they felt deprived at all!Ella as Snow White

Isaac as a Wizard

George as a warrior of some sort

Crazy Nightmare

It's funny how our brains connect things when we are sleeping and how real they can seem. I have a few nightmares that happen over and over again that I have a hard time shaking even after I'm awake. The other night Ella had a nightmare. It was the first time I have ever seen her freaked out like that. When I asked her about it the next day this is what she told me:

"Mom, do you remember the Zoramites in the scriptures? (Yes, I said) In my dreams they had a dragon, and they made the dragon blow fire on our house. So, our house was on fire and you and daddy were outside and the boys were out on the porch and I was stuck in the house with the fire. (At this point I asked her if she was scared and whether or not she got out of the house.) The boys opened the door for me so I could get out because it was too heavy for me."

This dream was so real to her that it took me an hour to get her back to sleep and when she came down the stairs the next morning she looked around the living room and said, "You were right, mom, there was no fire."

10 Months

I have been very bad about posting lately. The summer has been super crazy as expected. We have had lots of fun going on outings to the National Park and Washington DC. We have also done some home repairs! We got a new dining set and when Ben's mom was out we painted the living/dining area, and then my dad came to visit and helped us install a dishwasher and stove/oven. It's so fun to see out house taking shape and becoming ours!

Of course the best part of the summer has been my kids! Especially watching Amelia grow. She is now 10 months old. See how cute she is...

Initiation

Amelia was officially initiated into the summer kids' club today with the consumption of her first Popsicle. She thought it was very yummy and didn't seem to mind the cold at all. It's funny how you can just see these little ones feeling so big!

Tee Ball

I love Tee Ball. The kids are so fun to watch. I laugh and laugh. Their enthusiasm is so contagious! I only got to see the last inning of Isaac's game today, but the highlight was when the litttle guy who was running from 1st to 2nd stopped on his way to field the ball his teammate just hit. He picked it up and threw it all the way to home plate in an attempt to get his other teammate out, and then continued on to 2nd as usual. All the while MY son, who SHOULD have been the one to field the ball, stood in his "down and ready" position like a statue. In fact, I don't think he moved the entire time he was in the outfield. I can't wait until Thursday!

Tickle Beard

I have to post this picture for a number of reasons:

#1- This picture shows Benji with what the kids call his "Tickle Beard." He shaved it off a couple of days ago in honor of springtime and Amelia has been looking at him a little sideways ever since. (Who is that man that sounds like my dad?)

#2- It shows the head injury Iyah sustained when he fell out of the tree. According to him he scraped it on a branch on the way down.

#3- It shows our new trampoline! Thanks grandma and grandpa, great grandma and grandpa, and grandma and grandpa great!

What a cute bunch!