{My Birthday}

(Beware ~ Long Post Ahead)

I celebrated another 30 something birthday last weekend. In our house, we don't have birthDAYs, we have birthWEEKENDs. I started off my weekend with a relaxing pedicure and manicure, and even though my manicure got all smudged by the time I got to my car to leave, it was enjoyable. When I got home we packed up some gear and went to Mt Rainier to play. (I forgot my camera!) There was a slight dusting of snow & we made the best of it with our sleds. We pulled the kids over snow, mud, rocks, dirt...they didn't care. A heard of deer wandered by us. (I don't know how we were so lucky because we were really loud as we played.)
The next morning, I took E and L to their friend's baptism. That was really special. It was the first baptism they've been to of a close friend their age. They really enjoyed sharing that special time with T.

{T on his special day}We then spent our afternoon at the pumpkin patch with Papa & Granny and Aunt Sunny. We enjoy this time of year and love our tradition of an all-day perfect pumpkin hunt. It's really not as much about the perfect pumpkin as it is playing in the fun courtyard, but I can pretend.

{Our pumpkins...notice E's Dodgers hat...he and his dad wore their hats to rally for their favorite team}

{I missed E's great pumpkin find because I had to run L to the little girls room}

Courtyard funpoor E was too big for the tractors this year, but he willingly helped push his sister whenever she got stuck

Then Sunday, my actual birthday, was nice and relaxing. We spent it going to church and just being together at home. It was a perfect weekend. E and Lmade me a BEAUTIFUL butterfly cake. They decorated it all by themselves. We did feel a little sugar nausea after a few bites, but it did look pretty. Thanks kids! You're the best! And thanks J for helping make my birthWEEKEND perfect.

{No Training Wheels!}

Things happen when you least expect it....or maybe I should say "when you don't force it!"

The other day I had to run some errands so I left the kids with J & headed out. As I was leaving, I over heard E's plea to his Dad to remove his training wheels from his bike. I thought, "Hmmm. That should be interesting."

You see, at the beginning of the summer J and I decided E should know how to ride his bike without training wheels. We took them off and attempted to teach this two-wheel principle ALL DAY. E didn't have immediate success and therefore didn't enjoy the process one bit. After that day, he lost interest in his bike. Finally, J and I gave in and just put the training wheels back on so he could have fun riding around the neighborhood this summer, training wheels and all.

So, upon returning home about an hour later from running errands, I noticed all the kids playing in the cul-de-sac and E's training-wheel-less bike in the middle of the street. I just assumed the bike riding hadn't gone well and he ditched his bike for something more fun. However, once E saw me drive up, he ran to his bike and yelled, "Watch this, Mom!" He hopped on, took off & rode around the neighborhood easy peasy. The look on his face was priceless. I was so happy for him. I love to see him succeed. It just goes to show that timing is everything.

Watch carefully & you can see L in the back ground zip down our driveway on her big wheel. She's a thrill seeker!

Happy Birthday Mindy!!

Mindy & I have been friends since the 9th grade. We met in Mr. Johnson's science class. I think that was one of my favorite classes in Jr. High....it didn't hurt that Mr. J was a hottie. I love Mindy for so many reasons...but here are my Top Five:

1. I can be my wacky self with her & know she will never judge.

2. She is strong and faithful.

3. She makes me laugh whenever I am with her.

4. She is not afraid to learn and grow and try new things.

5. She is compassionate, giving & always thinking of others.Mindy Senior Year ---love the Aqua Net bangs Girl!!

Happy Birthday Mindy!! I'm so glad we are still friends & even though we are not neighbors like we planned in High School to be, I am happy to be in the same town again. I was nervous our Senior year when that goofy guy Doug showed up and wanted to marry you. But alas we do have our little families and BBQ get togethers like we dreamed. May your day be filled with lots of joy!

As I was looking through pics this morning, I came across this adorable little Chance. This is how I will always remember him even though he is a young man now. As I saw him passing the sacrament last Sunday, I totally flashed on "little Chance". He's so cute!!
You have an adorable family.

{Rome, Italy}

You are looking at the future spot of the Rome, Italy LDS Temple!!

Last weekend at General Conference, President Monson announced the plans to build FIVE new temples. This is such exciting news to people all over the world, but our family is particularly excited about the temple being built in Rome. This is where J served his mission & he has a great love for everything Italian. He took me back to Italy shortly after we were married and I fell in love with the country as well. I'm not sure I'd want to live there or anything, but visiting and exploring was AWESOME. There is so much great art & history there, which I love.

We are hoping to be able to take our family to Italy for the dedication. Wouldn't that be so much fun?!!

{Good Morning}

You can usually tell what kind of day you are going to have depending on how the first hour goes. Here is part of our morning....

I woke up to all three kids climbing into my bed. I usually hate being woken up, but when it's by my kids wanting to snuggle, I can't resist. However, E and L started bickering over the precious little space that is left when 5 people try to jam into one queen size bed. L's foot kept touching E, so after several verbal attempts of trying to get her to stop touching him he said, "Uh! Were you born to bug me?!" I know he was frustrated and it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but I secretly thought it was hilarious. I soooooo remember the days of my brother touching me as the single most annoying thing on this planet. I hated riding in the back seat of our car with him because his knee would always touch mine. Although this isn't the display of affection you hope your kids to share with one another, I did get out of bed this morning with a little giggle.

As our morning continued and we all got dressed, I attempted to pick an outfit for L to wear to preschool today. But once again she displayed her independence and put her own outfit together. When she came out of her room to show off her look, I said: "That doesn't match, Honey." She quickly responded, "Jesus doesn't care if my clothes match, Mom." Touche.

Today is going to be a great day. My children are independent, self thinkers. I love watching them grow and develop such strong personalities. Although they don't always say kind things to one another, deep, deep, deep down I know they love each other :) Today is going to be a great day because I am their Mother.

{Harvest Day}

L's Preschool teacher does a wonderful unit on fall harvesting and teaches the children where our fruits and vegetables come from before we buy them in the store. She takes the children out to her farm and shows them her pigs, cows, bees, chickens & then lets them pick fruits and veggies from her garden. The kids love it (well, most of them do).

{My camera batteries died so a BIG THANKS to Jen for talking all these pictures.}

{Tea Party}

The day before L's birthday last month, she announced she wanted to change her party theme and have a Tea party instead. I wasn't up for the last minute switch, so I told her we'd go to Granny's one day and have a special Tea Party. She was totally satisfied. Whew!

So, last week we got dressed up in pretty dresses and headed over to Granny's. She had her attic prepared for a fabulous Teddy Bear Tea Party for four. It was so much fun!

{ the girls all ready to go}

{the girls wanted to bring their babies to the Tea Party}

{L sharing with her & K's babies} {Fabulous desserts}
Thanks Granny, for hosting such a wonderful Teddy Bear Tea Party for us!!

{The Fair}

We look forward to going to the State fair every year. The kids love all the rides & games. They never have enough energy to go look at the animals, which is okay with me because those barns always stink. I know some may say it's not a TRUE fair experience if you haven't seen all the animals up close. But there is just something about shoving a bunch of farm animals in an enclosed barn and then letting hundreds of spectators walk through on a warm sunny day....the smells are just not nice!
As you can see by these above two pictures, E was less than impressed with some of these "baby rides". He talked his dad into taking him on some other "big kid" rides while L and I stuck with what seemed to be the same two rides over and over.
So, since I had the camera...I didn't get many pics of E. Although it's not digitally documented, he was all smiles and had a great time too.