New Years Eve...

It's New Years Eve... we'd planned on going to a party, but we've got sick kids... and really, I'm super excited about having our own laid back party at home... hors d'oeuvres for dinner... sparkling cider... most likely a little lot of Wii U playing and maybe even a movie.  I love time with my family.  I'm really looking forward to it.

Christmas

I can hardly believe that Christmas has come and gone... again!  We had a wonderful season- it's so much fun as my kids get older and they realize the real meaning of Christmas.  We are trying to establish fun traditions that are manageable enough to continue... Each night starting December 1st, we read a Christmas story from a collection of short stories... the kids really looked forward to it each night... there was generally a sweet lesson to be learned and a good discussion related to it afterwards... except for a few stories that I've edited out for next year that were just plain depressing!  After reading the story and scriptures, my kids would rush to the advent calendar for their nightly treat.  One snowy night, I handed out tickets for the 'Expedition Express'- we listened to Christmas music and drove around to look at the lights.  Our favorite house from years past now has a crazy amount of lights that are choreographed to music you turn to on a specific station on the radio.  The boys could have stayed for hours.

The Sunday before Christmas both Hailee and Jace were sick, so Nathan and I switched off at church... which meant no kids all dressed up in their Sunday Christmas clothes in front of the tree... dang.  I don't think I got a single picture of the family lined up in front of the tree this year- of course it didn't help that Nathan had the tree down in record time after Christmas.

Christmas Eve morning, we let the kids open their Christmas presents from Mimi and Papa- (we couldn't let them open their presents from Grandma and Papa, or it would have ruined the surprise!!)  I knew what they were getting from Mimi and Papa and wanted them to be able to have time to put it together and play with it without all the other craziness of Christmas morning.  Bryson especially, had wanted the Lego City Police Station for a long time... 

they were ALL super excited and worked so well with each other putting it together:

Jace, loving all things he can push around, loved his new lawnmower:

and Hailee even let him play with it every once in a while

I don't think she was all that impressed with her dress up costume.... 

and why should she be?  Captain America doesn't wear costumes!

We presented the idea several days before to the boys of taking Christmas morning slow... each of us opening one present every hour (or so...) so that we could really enjoy each gift as it was opened the way they'd enjoyed the police station.  They thought it was a great idea (yay!) and it worked beautifully!  I think it's a new tradition for sure.  It really cut down on the frenzy and improved their sense of gratitude.  Nathan and I strategically numbered the gifts in order to open them... they first opened some science kits-  Dallin got a 'gem dig,' right up his Minecraft-loving alley:

Bryson got a rocket ship to build:

And Eli got a volcano kit with glow in the dark lava:

he doesn't look real thrilled here, but it's the only picture I got...

In years past, these gifts would have been tossed aside for something bigger and better, but not this year!  They loved figuring out their kits- and I loved the excitement that lasted for the most part of the day- After the science kits, they opened some legos which they mostly assembled, then some movies- we all watched one as they continued assembling their legos... then some books and then (finally) the big kahuna... Nathan and I splurged and bought a new Wii U for our family (with a nice contribution from Grandma and Papa)- they had wanted one for over a year, and had even started pooling their money twice to save for one... I had faked that our old Wii was broken and that I had to mail it to Nintendo to be fixed, but really, I sold it on Craigslist... I'm so tricky *wink*  So that morning, they were really disappointed when they opened a new video game that was only for the Wii U, not compatible with our old Wii... we feigned ignorance  and they continued opening presents... some new black wii-motes, another game for the Wii U (!!) and then we let Jace open the Wii U- initially, the older boys were speechless and really had no reaction as they were trying to process what in the world was going on!  Eventually they realized it was real and royally freaked out... fist pumping and screaming and jumping around like the crazy kids they are *grin*  I only wished I'd have gotten it on video!  The night before, daddy and I had opened the box and hooked it all up, so it was all ready to play... and I must admit, it's a pretty fun system...

Puppies!

Since we have piano lessons on Mondays up near Kims house, we stop by and see the puppies- they are getting so big so fast!  Just over a month old...

All 10 are healthy- and most are already sold...

Eli-ism

I love that my boys are really starting to think about what they say in their prayers.  Plenty of times they're repetitive regurgitations, but sometimes their thoughtfulness and thankfulness really surprises me.  With the Christmas season upon us, Eli has been very consistent in being thankful that we can celebrate Jesus "Christ-ises" birthday- it makes me smile every time.

Christmas Cookies

This is me stepping back and just letting my kids do it how they want to do it...

We decorated Christmas cookies... but I don't think we're going to deliver them to anyone.

Under the Tree

The kids (sans Jace of course!) were all super excited about the prospect of sleeping 'under' the tree- I remember doing it as a kid and loved it- Dallin and Eli were really trying to sleep under the tree, but didn't fit too well...
They're all sleeping in their 'cozy wraps' (or 'coe-wa' as Hailee refers to them) that Mimi and Papa got them last year for Christmas- they have been the best gift- the boys sleep in them almost every night to avoid having to make their beds in the morning!

Novemeber in (lack of) Pictures

For some reason, it seems like I never have much to show for November in the way of pictures.  In the past, at least every-other year I could blame this lack of photographic evidence on feeling crummy with morning sickness, but not this year!!!  Sure, a very small part of me is sad that that part of my life is over (not the feeling crappy for 2 1/2 months part, the rest of pregnancy part) but the rest of me breathes a sigh of relief that our family feels complete *grin* But that's mostly because of the phase that Jace is just now getting in to (that Hailee JUST got out of!)  He is having a hay day getting into everything he can- and of course my kitchen cabinets are far more exciting than cabinets and closets full of toys *sigh*

Pretty much the most exciting thing that happened was Kim's puppy (yes, PUPPY) having puppies!  When their black lab Dusty died in the spring, their other lab Remmy was lonely so they got another black lab, a female puppy... fast forward a few months, and turns out Remmy is a pedophile *wink*wink*  on Veterans Day, after piano lessons, we headed up to Kim's to hang out for a while... and not that I'm an ob nurse, but I have had 5 babies, and Ellie's body language just screamed that she was in labor... so my kids got a crash course in canine labor and delivery!  Their faces were a mix of wonder and disgust for sure... but overall, they were absolutely fascinated and thrilled with the tiny puppies.  TEN tiny puppies!

Bryson and Dallin were the photographers *grin*

 Delivering 10 puppies takes some time, so Nathan took the kids home around 8... I left after the 9th was born just before midnight...  The next day we had to go visit the happy family and get some puppy love!

Avengers Assemble!

Some years, I feel the motivation to try to coordinate my kids Halloween costumes... but when you've got as many kids as I do, it just gets a little more challenging, so I end up bagging the idea.  To find a theme that can incorporate 4 boys with 1 girl AND that they'll all be somewhat interested in, or at the least be willing to wear is difficult.  Before I thought too much about it this year, I bought some costumes for the 3 older boys on amazon- they were cheap and it would be easy-  I'd gotten Ironman for Bryson, Captain America for Dallin, and Thor for Eli.  But as time went on, I realized that there was just too much of a theme going to not involve Hailee and Jace... A little red hair spray paint and a black sweater transformed Hailee into the black widow (minus the skank factor)... I found a little bow for Jace, so he conveniently was Hawk-Eye... which was easy since he didn't have a costume he could rip off!

 The fearsome five:

Jace was obviously only in it for the candy *grin*

Happy Halloween everyone!

Speech

Hailee started speech therapy this fall.  She easily qualified.  There's just a whole lot of sounds she doesn't say, and lots of sounds she can say, but leaves them out of certain words...

I can make sense of her garbled speech for the most part, but it's difficult...  just because she is hard to understand however, doesn't mean she doesn't have a lot to say.  While she used to be very quiet and mellow, that is certainly not the case anymore... Her speech therapist was the same teacher for Eli last year, so maybe that's why Hailee is so comfortable with her- regardless, Mrs. Michaelynn is wonderful!  Sometimes, we just laugh out loud because this little girl has so much to say!

From the very first session, Hailee took charge- her teacher would show her pictures of common items to evaluate how she said certain sounds in different positions of the word- and for every picture, Hailee had a story!  She'd say the word and then put her pointer finger up in the air and make a comment about that picture:
Mrs. Michaelynn (showing a picture of a bed): Hailee, what is this?
Hailee: beh.  [pointing up in the air] we ah uh beh a au 'ouse! {we have a bed at our house!}
Mrs. Michaelynn (showing a picture of a hat):  Hailee, what is this?
Hailee: ha.  [pointing up in the air] we ah uh ha a au 'ouse! {we have a hat at our house!}

And on and on- most every picture she just had to let Mrs. Michaelynn know that we not only had one, but that it was at our house *grin*  But then things got a little more complicated...

Mrs. Michaelynn (showing a picture of a boat):  Hailee, what is this?
Hailee: bo... [pausing.... then the finger pointing!]  An Timi ha uh bo a er 'ouse!  {Aunt Kimi has a boat at her house!}
Mrs. Michaelynn (showing a picture of a brightly colored parrot):  Hailee, what is this?
Hailee: ticken! {chicken}
Mrs. Michaelynn: well, actually, this is a parrot, can you say parrot?
Hailee: no, ticken! {chicken}
Mrs. Michaelynn: no, it kinda might look like a chicken, but it's a parrot, can you say parrot?
Hailee: ticken. [cue the pointing finger] An Timi ha uh ticken a er 'ouse! {Aunt Kimi has a chicken at her house!}

At that, we pretty much called it a day- Mrs. Michaelynn was laughing so hard as Hailee just babbled on and on about all the things that we AND Kim have at our houses-

When I told Nathan that story at the dinner table, the boys thought it was hilarious... so now, they frequently ask Hailee to say 'parrot' to which she replies, 'no, ticken!'

Just Happy

Vale

We took a quick trip down to Vale for Walker's baptism.  The kids had a blast of course- the weather was chilly, but a little warmer than home, so the kids played outside quite a bit- they sure love their cousins- it really helps that they have such FUN cousins too!

And the real reason for this post... just to show exactly how messy a fruit roll up can be:

Carver Farms

Grandma and Papa from Kentucky made their rounds out west for Walkers baptism, so we got to have them here for a few days- we were sad that they couldn't stay longer, but they were on a tight schedule *sigh*  While they were here they got to go on Hailee's preschool field trip to the farm!  It was a beautiful sunny day, which made the cold a lot more bearable...  Hailee was thrilled beyond her wildest dreams when her schools shirts for field trips this year were "yie-boo" {light blue}- her fav color still.  I think she was most excited about finally getting to wear that shirt!

We picked popcorn-

and a pumpkin "as big as your head"

that's the exact way they described how to pick the pumpkins 6 years ago when we went with Bryson for the first time!

A stroll in the corn maze:

Jace too!

And as usual, I was a terrible photographer and didn't get any other pictures of Grandma and Papa whilst here... I've really got to work on that!

I was so unprepared for the sudden cold snap, that I was rushing trying to find a hat for Jace to wear that morning... obviously his head is bigger than I had guessed, ha ha!

He could have cared less about the cold- he was just happy to run free- he sure loves the outdoors!

We also picked some green peppers, some non-spicy jalapeno peppers, assorted ornamental squash and mini pumpkins and some eggplant- I ended up making some eggplant parmesan, which was a first for me both making and eating... it was ok... but not something I'm excited to make again...

Last Baby Tooth!

Officially done with the tooth fairy... he's definitely ahead of the norm- not even 9 1/2 and he's lost all of his baby teeth- and already has his 12 year molars in too!

Super Squash

Eli was totally amazed by the zucchini he found...

If only he were that excited about eating it!

Hailee's Turn!

It was a loooong wait for her first day of school, but Tuesday came and she was r.e.a.d.y!  The delay in her school starting definitely worked to my advantage as I was really able to bring home the whole idea that if she didn't go poop in the toilet, she couldn't go to school... she's still not perfect, but there have been major improvements!  

She knew exactly what she wanted to wear for her first day- her light blue skirt, of course!  She was so determined to go to school, I could hardly keep up!

She dove right in, and knew just what to do!

What a big girl!

4th Grade, 2nd Grade, Kindergarten and Preschool!

4 kids in school!  THAT is crazy!  As usual, there was lots of school starting excitement- My three big boys could hardly contain themselves- all three were up and dressed and ready in record time... and then we had to wait... time has never passed so slowly *wink* Even though Hailee's first day wasn't for a few more days, she had to be in on the pictures!

It was a surprisingly rainy morning, but it didn't put a damper on the thrill of it all!

I think Bryson was totally embarrassed that I wanted to take pictures of him... he totally ignored me *sniff*

 Not Dallin or Eli though!

 After a few minutes, Dallin ran over to the 'kindergarten playground' to play with Eli as they had arranged earlier- it was a very serious matter.

 I was absolutely shocked when it was time to line up because Eli got very serious and started to tear up...

I told him that I'd go into his classroom to say goodbye, and that seemed to help him feel better- in order to get in though, we had to go through the front doors of the school and sign in... okay, safety first I guess!

By the time I got in his classroom, he was just fine- he remembered that he was supposed to be excited about it all I suppose! 

 He and his teacher, Mrs. Davis-

It's her first full time teaching job and she is sooo excited- she only found out she got the job a few days before school started- her enthusiasm is absolutely contagious *grin*

After I dropped off the boys at school, it was Hailee's open house at her preschool- she has yet to go poop in the toilet, so I made a point of saying that we would only go see the school, but she couldn't stay because she wasn't a big girl yet- she didn't need to know it wasn't a regular school day (I'm so manipulative)!  She was super excited about her school, and NOT happy about leaving a few minutes later- but I was hopeful it would be the extra motivation needed for her to be brave enough the do what she needed to do!  Really, I am a little surprised by just how eager she is to go to school- just like her brothers I guess... I'm so thankful my kids are generally so adaptable and excited about trying new things!

His favorite new toy...

Yes, it's a pink baby doll stroller.

At least someone plays with it!!

Silverwood

We took the 3 older boys to Silverwood this year- Kyla came along too, to even things out on the rides- plus, she has a gold pass so it got Nathan and me in for free!

Eli was SUPER excited waiting in line for the first roller coaster, Tremors....

I video-ed the whole thing- suffice it to say he did NOT have the same smile on his face at the end of the ride!  While he didn't want to go on Tremors again, he was game for the other roller coasters... but when we got to the front of the line for Timber Terror, they wouldn't let him on because he was too short *sigh* 

 So we waited while the other 4 went....

as he watched them going around, I think he had an epiphany that ALL rollercoasters are rather similar and he was pretty glad he wasn't on that one either... it really surprises me about him- for as tough as he pretends to be...

This was a little more his speed *smirk* 

Bryson and Kyla were kinda trying to impress each other by going on Panic Plunge- both of their first times!

 We stayed til pretty late and had a great time...  I was so impressed by how much my boys expressed 'thanks' throughout the day.  I loved that!  Because Kyla's pass had gotten us in for free, we felt totally justified in buying lots of yummy food and treats- the kids were in H.E.A.V.E.N!