Big Day

So yesterday was a big day. I went with my sisters and my mom to pick out my baby sisters wedding dress. (I really am so struck that this is already happening.) I love my sisters and I love how close we are, it really makes days like that amazing. We laugh and make fun of each other and other people and we eat of course. What a forever fun day though. I will never forget it. The part that I will remember the most is how excited and deliriously happy she looked. She found the most amazing dress and she couldn't have looked more beautiful. I obviously can't post pictures so you will all just have to wait till the big day.

Flying High

Yes, that star is on the top of our seven foot Christmas tree. And yes, Halle loves to fly. And yes, Jarrod is Halle's hero.

Aunt Cookie is Engaged

Do you see the big beautiful ring on that finger? We are so excited to tell you all that Aunt Cookie (formerly known as my little sister Courtney) is engaged. She is going to marry Johnny Hall who we love very much and are so excited to have for a brother and an uncle. I personally can't wait to go dress shopping with my baby sister. I have also been asked to be a matron of honor, along with my other beautiful sister. And I just want to announce now that Kelsey and I are so going to take matronly out of Matron of Honor. I mean really who came up with that title anyway.

Non Transformation

The other day my kids decided to work on me . They worked and worked on me. For about an hour they put things in my hair and used makeup brushes on my face. At some point when my hair was full of everything that they could find. Ella said to Bryce what do you think she will look like when we take it all out. Bryce said "I think she will look like Hannah Montana." When they did take it all out Bryce stood back and looked at me and said "You look like Mommy." Sorry Bryce, I am sure that was disappointing.

Jana

First off I am sorry to anyone who is keeping up with my blog, that I haven't kept up very well this month. We are very busy enjoying all the festivities of the Christmas Season.

Okay do you all know who this is? Because you had better. It is Jana Alayra. A real live super star to my kiddos. She came to our MOPS group last week and she is such a sweetheart.

We got to MOPS early that morning and so my kids came in the room where we have our meetings, and saw Jana walking around casually. Then they followed me out of the room and they were standing at the entrance of the room near me. As we were standing there, Ella was whispering as people walked by, "Jana is in there!"

Thank you Jana for a great cry(her testimony), and a fun time with the kids(concert).

Don't Eat Them All Mom

So this afternoon Ella and I were baking caramel apple bars. And after we put them in the oven it was time for Ella to take a rest (I would love to be able to say it was time for Ella to go take a nap, but who am I kidding she doesn't nap). And Ella said "No Mommy, I want to taste them." I reassured her that she was welcome to do that after her nap when they were finished. And do you know what she said to me, "Don't eat them all Mom, I want to try them." What? Why in the world would she think that I was going to eat them all? She is 3 why is she talking to me like a grown up?
Well anyway I think that this serves as a wake up call, eat less baked goods, or maybe just make more! I think I will go with the latter.

Great Grandma!!

I love my Grandma. The kids love her too. I love to hear all of her stories and I love to get her little pieces of wisdom. She is such an amazing woman. She was married to my Grandpa for, I think, 56 years, before he went home to be with Jesus. She has 4 kids, 14 biological grand kids(many more if you count all of the ones that married her grandchildren), and almost 18 great grand kids. She waited at home for my Grandpa while he fought in World War 2, and after he fought in the war, they owned and ran a farm in Nebraska. See I told you she is an amazing woman.

Bryce and Ella call her the Great Grandma with Fritzie. (She has a cute little dog named Fritzie.) And they love to go visit her. We love you Grandma!

One of my favorite things that she has ever said to me was just recently, when we started talking about how we didn't want to be stuck here on earth for too long because we are so anxious to go home and be with Jesus. She said "Oh I know, every morning I wake up and think oh Lord, (sigh) another day."

An After Thanksgiving Hike

We went for a really fun hike today. Really fun!! It was so great to be together as a family. We climbed trees and rocks and laughed.

Bryce and his friend the lizard that "rode on him" for quite some time.

I love this picture of Bryce and Ella. They stood like that on their own. I love that they are such good buddies.

After I took that picture of the two older kids, Halle walked up to the fence and turned around and smiled at me and said "eeee." Man that kid cracks me up.

My sweet Ella girl that I love so much.

Monkey Girl

Wow does my monkey love to climb trees. We went for a family hike today and she just loved to climb everything. And of course she was as determined and full of personality as always.

John 3:16

Hooray for Free Day

We had such a fun family day at the San Diego Children's Museum. Hooray for Free Day.

The motto of the Museum is Think Play Create. That is all that we did there Sunday and it was right up the kids alley. They made shadow puppets, pillow buildings, houses out of cardboard, buildings out of blocks and bubbles blown from pipe cleaners. They also climbed walls, matresses, jungle gyms, a tent city, and tire pillows. Can you imagine a better day in the life of a 5 and 3 year old?

Dancing with Halle

Okay so Halle has recently added some new dance moves to her routine. What do you all think?

A Date with Daddy

This is just for you Honey Bunches!

Yeah for Halloween. We had so much fun. And so did the kids. Because is Halloween really for the kids or is it more for us adults? When we first put all of the kids costumes on, all of the little kids, Colton Mason and Halle, started crying and whining and protesting. They eventually caught on. And once we got them all outside they all had a blast. But it made me think that really we adults just love to see our little guys dressed up and running around.Halle was a ferocious shark complete with a bow, leg warmers, and ballet flats. So ferocious Halle!
Bryce was Captain Jack Sparrow. The leader of the pack.

My dear sweet Colton was a sock monkey, or as Ella later recalled a sack monkey. Whichever right, all that really mattered was that he was adorable.

Mason was a tiger, who was not willing to humiliate himself by wearing the head of the costume. Who can blame the kid when it is like 90 degrees on Halloween.

Oh and of course Princess Ella or on Halloween Princess Ariel. The other night we went to a little Halloween party at the park with the ladies from MOPS and one of the little boys there asked her if she was princess and she told him, "Ya, I look like Ariel."

Another thing that happened on Halloween was that while we were trick or treating we did happen upon one house where there was a man dressed up and trying to scare kids. Well Ella was horrified and scared out of her mind. She ran back to me at the sidewalk were we started to talk about what had happened and she said to me, "But Mama that wasn't very nice, he hurt my heart, and he is trying to scare the kids. I don't want his candy." I don't blame you Ella.