hanging christmas lights

Finally today we hung our Christmas lights outside. I have been promising the kids that we would do this today. Then, of course, it rained. So as soon as it stopped today, we were out putting up the lights. It was cold and wet and muddy but we got it done! (Now I just hope we get them down before February!)

I'm BAAACK!

Ok, so it has been awhile. I find I get so busy with life, that the thought of coming on here is overwhelming sometimes. But here I am again.

Last weekend (Thanksgiving weekend) we went up to St. Johns to spend some time with Davin's family. It was SOOOO cold! We loved it! We finally got a chance to wear the sweaters and jackets. I actually got down to 8 degrees at night! We sure did like the leaves, especially Emma! The kids love going up there and it is nice to get away and let somone else do the cooking too!

kaylee's pioneer performance

This is a little late. Last Thursday, Kaylee and the whole second grade did a singing performance at her school. They sang pioneer songs. It was very cute and Kaylee did a great job. She was in a song and dance number to "over the river and through the woods".

a day with Kelsey

So today was my day with Kelsey. We decided to hit Saver's half off everything day. Kelsey was able to find a skirt, dress, pants, and a pair of shoes. Then we hit the mall. Amazing how I took HER shopping and ended up doing a ton of shopping myself. It was a good day though. We were able to talk about friends, her life, and BOYS! I love these moments. They really are special to me and I love to be able to have that one on one time.

messy day at the park

This is how you make "angels" in Arizona

The strip down - can you say "white trash"

Kaylee dug a hole an filled it with water

this is by far my favorite picture. Emma can't do anything without getting her face dirty
Today Davin and I took Kaylee and Emma down to the neighborhood park by our house. Evidently, one of the sprinklers broke and flooded a corner of the sandy part. FUN! The girls had a ball! They started out making sand castles and ended up swimming! They were such a mess! The funniest part was watching Emma do the progressive strip down. She started off with her dress because it got wet and on the way home decided to take off her panties because they were too wet. She streaked the neighorhood on the way home.

Halloween

How "groovy" are we? Davin says he likes me as a blonde.

Grant was Darth Vader (could you guess?). What a character! This year we told Kelsey she was too old to trick-or-treat (I know, mean mom) so she stayed at the house and handed out candy (she still dressed up but missed out on pictures because she took off with some friends while we were taking them). Anyway Grant said HE was too old to trick or treat too and did not want to go. WHAT! I made him get dressed up for pictures (mean mom again) but he pouted so much, I didn't make him trick or treat (does that sound weird to anyone else?) He stayed home and played on the computer and was happy about it!

Kaylee is princess Juliet (Romeo and Juliet). Since her and Emma were my only trick or treaters, she scored pretty well. She was exhausted by the end and had a hard time making it all the way back home (down the street, she had a tendency for the drama).

Halloween

Emma was Dorothy, unless you asked her, then she was Christine (from the Phantom of the Opera). Dont ask why, I dont know. She had so much fun trick or treating. She made sure people told her she was pretty. We were at one house, and the people were talking to some other girls telling them how pretty they were, she got up in front of them and asked "My pretty?"

five love languages for children

Last night for family night, I decided our family could use a little more "love giving." I gave a small book report on "The Five Love Languages for Children" which by the way is a must-have as your children get older. The five love languages are quality time, acts of service, words of affirmation, physical touch, and gift giving. I explained each one and asked the kids some questions to find out what they thought theirs was. To my surprise, they all knew right off, without much help from me, what their love language was. Kelsey is torn between gift giving and acts of service, Grant is physical touch with a secondary of words of affirmation, and Kaylee is quality time with a little of physical touch. We were able to talk about what is important to all of us and how we need to share our love for each other in the way they need. We also talked about what hurts each of us the most, so that we can avoid doing that. It was nice. I really enjoyed having us all try to understand each other more. Later on we made caramel apple dip (we were going to do caramel apples, but too many people snuck into the caramels and there was not enough). Then we went for a family walk. It was my favorite kind of day. I love Sundays. We get to just focus on church and family and we don't have to feel rushed with all our daily activities such as work, business, errands, housecleaning, etc. It's nice to just take time and focus on what is importan.

Kaylee wanted to take these home. They were glued down too tight!

Kaylee is on tv! She's famous!

Kaylee's gold finds. She's rich!

Kaylee and I had our special day today. Every week I try to take one kid out for a "special day with mom". This was her week. First we went to lunch at McDonald's. Then we ran a few errands (I had to squeeze those in sometime), then we went to the Mesa Souhwest Museum a.k.a. the "Dinasour Museum". We had alot of fun together. Kaylee was a little nervous about the dinsaurs at first, but she got used to it towards the end and we were able to go look at them. She struck it rich in the gold panning (and got a little wet). She also found a giant piece of gold. I am hoping she will buy me a car! I love these days I spend one on one with my kids.

pumpkin night

Kaylee and the cross-eyed pumpkin

Grant and Darth Vader pumpkin

Tonight was the pumpkin walk at my kids school. This morning I went to school and helped carve my son's pumpkin (Kaylee did hers last night). Then tonight the whole school had their pumpkins displayed with candles burnng in them on the soccer field. It was quite a sight! Of course, I forgot my camera so the pictures I took were with my camera phone. they are a little sorry.

Kelsey is also having her first Halloween party tonight. A bunch of 12 and 13 year old girls. I am glad it is not here. She decided to do this because she is now officially too old to go trick or treating this year and she still wants to dress up (I still like to dress up too). This way she gets to still have the "Halloween experience".

kentucky

FALL! We actually tried to get someone to get a picture of us in front of some trees, but evidently she didn't know how to work the camera. I had to take these pictures while we were driving back to the airport. It was so much prettier!

This is the Ohio river. It is the border between Indiana and Kentucky (little geography lesson here)

Houses like this were everywhere. We thought they were so cool.

This was the Thomas Edison house. Evidently he lodged here for a while. Not as exciting as we thought it would be and it wasn't even open.

Ok sorry. I know it has been awhile since I have blogged.

This last weekend, Davin and I flew to Indianapolis/Louisville for a leadership convention. We flew into Indianapolis because it was cheaper and drove down to Louisville. It was about an hour and a half drive, but what beautiful country. It was so nice to actually SEE fall colors all over and so many trees! As we drove into Louisville, it was storming pretty bad. The sky was dark and the rain was coming down heavy. We kept hearing these siren noises. At first we thought there was a train or something nearby. Then we realized it might be tornado sirens. We turned on the radio and sure enough we were driving in the middle of a tornado warning. SCARY! The newscaster was telling everyone in downtown Louisville (exactly where we were) to get indoors and seek safety (basement, bathtub) NOW. I really was terrified. I was literally shaking. We go to our hotel and checked in just in time to watch the storm pass us. Tornados never did actually touch, but it was quite an experience nonetheless.

We had such a great time. We spent some time on Sunday to do a little sightseeing. Unfortunately most thing were closed. We ended up spending some time with some friends down at the Ohio river. It was a great weekend.

Kenyon Robson tagged me to tell 7 things about myself, so here goes.....

1. I grew up on a mini-farm. I have milked goats, eaten rabbits (until I actually watched my dad butcher one), fought with geese (they are mean) and cleaned up after ducks. I have fed chickens and collected eggs. We also had cows, pigs, horses, and mules. I think I got them all.

2. I met my husband on a blind date that he actually set up. We were married 9 months later in the Mesa Arizona temple.

3. I have four amazing, talented, beautiful children. They make me laugh, cry, and yes sometimes they make me yell.

4. In a matter of 4 years, Davin and I lost 6 loved ones to tragic deaths. December 2000, Davin's niece lost her daughter in birth. February 2001, I lost my brother to drowning. August 2001, Davin's brother lost their son in birth. 2002, Davin's foster/adopted sister watched her biological sister get mauled by pit bulls. August 2004, Davins's brother was killed in a car wreck. November 2004, Davins cousin committed suicide. (Ok sorry about this one, it's a little sad....moving on.)

5. I love to travel. I dream of traveling the world. I also dream of traveling the U.S. in a motorhome. Some of my favorite vacations: Disney Cruise, Ensenada cruise with parents and siblings, Florida, and a road trip Davin and I took when we were first married up to Yellowstone Park.

6. I am a native of Arizona. I know so what, but there are not that many of us. I remember when the closest grocery store to us was more than 10 miles away.

7. I absolutely love my nieces and nephews! I don't know if many people feel the way I do. I really could keep all of them. In fact, I have offered but no one will take me up on the deal.

Ok, there you go. Now it is my turn to tag....Jenifer Winger and Randi Boyle

Tonto Natural Bridge

Ok, I know it has been awhile since I have been on here.

Today, Davin took all four kids and a neighbor kid up to Tonto Natural Bridge in Pine. They had a good time. They hiked down to the bridge and the kids had a blast playing in the water and sliding down rocks. Both Kelsey and Grant came home with holes in the butt of their pants. Afterwards, they went into Pine and got ice cream and enjoyed it on the front porch of the "Pine house" (Davin's grandma's old house). They went shopping at the thrift store, which is always something we do there. They spent their quarters, basically.

Davin did all this on his own. I was not able to go. What a trooper! He is such a great dad.

girls weekend

This last weekend my mom, my sister Sheri, my sis-in-law Jamie and Vanessa all went on a girls retreat. Jamie was able to get us rooms at the Westin Kierland. So nice and luxurious! Thanks Jamie. We had the best time. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera,but don't you know Sheri remembered hers. Check out her link to see the pictures and our agenda. We had so much fun! I really did not want it to end. What a great bonding time we had.