Office Party 2011

 Once again this year we did a Christmas lunch for our office party.  Everyone seems to agree that it works out better during such a busy season.  Jed and I were both spoiled with these awesome lounge chairs.  After setting one up in the family room, I found Owen sleeping in it the next morning.  He had awakened in the night and gone out to doze in the newest attraction to our home.  Thank you ladies of Grants Pass Dental for spoiling us!  You know where to find me and Jed this Spring and Summer with our glasses of lemonade! 

I'm not a little girl...

Today and last Friday I took Gracie with me to Owen's classroom and we worked on a secret art project with the 2nd graders (it is a Christmas gift for them to give to their parents).  Gracie loved being there and said, "Hi Owen!" at the top of her voice as soon as we walked in.  She could have cared less that all of the kids were sitting  quietly listening to their teacher (I have to admit, I am envious of her confidence).  As I was assisting the students with paint Gracie entertained herself with crayons, books, etc.  One of Owen's classmates asked me, "Is that your little girl?"  Without any hesitation she piped up, "I am not a little girl.  I am a princess."  It was so matter-of-fact and unassuming that it was quite endearing.  Now if she starts to act like a spoiled princess I am going to have to put my foot down (no matter how cute she is).

Above is a picture that I took last week. She had found my iPod and was busy playing a game on it.  I am amazed at how quickly these kids pick up on technology.  I have to admit that it kind of freaks me out a bit....not really sure why...

I remember when...

I remember very clearly when my little brothers were in cub scouts and they would pin things on my mom when they earned certain awards.  Now I am that mom...seriously, how did that happen?  Owen is LOVING cub scouts.  I am just thrilled that he is involved  in something that promotes creativity, respect AND keeps his mind engaged.

Jesus Rocks!

Today Kate and Gracie were "princess dancing" to the song "Jingle Bell Rock" as a stuffed snowman toy sang it over and over again (my grandma sent this holiday treasure a few years ago for the kids and they LOVE it--never gets old, according to them!).  After the 250th time of hearing the song Kate asks me, "Why does it say 'Jingle Bell Rock'?"  To which I give her a tired mother's reply, "I don't know.  Why do you think it says that?"  She then says, "I think it's because Christmas is about Jesus and JESUS ROCKS!"  Away she danced and I was suddenly filled with a little more joy. Maybe she does realize Christmas is about Jesus and not really about Santa after all. 

Funny Quotes...

Recently Davis was bugging Kate about something and Kate yells at him, " It's not your wax Davis!"  It took me a while to figure out that she meant to say, "none of your bees wax." :)

My family will like this one...This past summer we took the kids to Pinecrest Lake down in CA.  This is a place I grew up going to in the summer time.  Well, Davis loved it there and talks about "Pie Crust Lake" constantly.  :)

I love kids.

The Bear Hotel

The Christmas Season is in full swing for our family, the tree is decorated (with clumps of ornaments in all the areas the kids could reach--I love it that way), the music is playing, cookies are being eaten and yesterday we visited Santa at the Bear Hotel.  I love December!

Notice Something Missing????

During the Thanksgiving break my sister and I spent part of a day Christmas shopping together (yay for sisters!).  When I got home there was lots of leaf raking going on and this is how I found Davis.  Notice anything missing?  He looks so cute with his first lost tooth!  He could hardly wait to see what the tooth fairy would bring.  Is he really old enough to be losing teeth?!?!?

Give Thanks

 My Sister, her family and my parents were all able to come for the whole week of Thanksgiving!  What fun we had.  We were...

"singing and dancing in the rain"....

 listening on Papa's ham radio...

 eating the Dads' pies...YUM!...

 reading the paper....

 exhausted at night...

 walking around down town....

 playing on our cousins' Wii...

 learning to sew yo-yos for headbands...

 doing projects with chocolate...

baking with Hunter...having teeth problems remedied...shooting paintballs...raking leaves...playing games...date night for the Moms and Dads....movie night with Nana and Papa...Christmas shopping and of course, eating and being thankful.  I love family.  Thank you for making the trek to come be with us.  It was a wonderful week.

Davis turned SIX!

 I can hardly believe it, but my "little man" turned SIX last month. Of course, we had to celebrate Star Wars Style...

This pinata started as a soccer ball, but with a little help from my Jedi's we transformed it into the Death Star.

The morning of Davis' birthday Kate woke up throwing up.  Luckily, he still had a few friends willing to come help him celebrate and he hardly noticed that the day didn't go as I had envisioned.

 

Veteran's Day

This past Veteran's day the kids were all out of school, so I decided to join my friends Amber and Tawnya at a local children's museum for a few hours.  I had my fours kids and our friend/cousin, Eli, with us.  As I am accustom to doing, I spent much of my time counting...1, 2, 3, 4, 5....yep, I can see everyone...1, 2, 3, 4, 5...yep, they are all behaving...So, I look at Kate and Gracie who are running and jumping in the "Brain Forest" and turn around to count the three boys...1, 2, 3....I turn back around and literally this is what I see...A very happy Gracie who has stripped off her clothes, only to reveal the swim suit hiding underneath!  Seriously, so funny!  What am I going to do with her?????

Halloween...the holiday that never ends...

 Does anyone else feel like Halloween goes on and on and on????  Three school celebrations, a carnival at the church, pumpkin carving, a play group party, trick or treating...on and on and on....

The boys were Jedi Knights...

The girls were Flower Fairies....and yes, I did make their costumes and yes, I was very proud of myself and not afraid to say it. :)  Why should I pretend that I wasn't?  It was a hard thing for me to sew those capes, but I felt accomplished when they were done.  Hopefully they will still fit next year. 

The Pumpkin Patch

It wouldn't be Fall without at least one outing to the Pumpkin Patch!

 Jed, Gracie and I were all able to with Kate's preschool class.  I just love watching them.

 Of course Gracie loved the animals and Kate just loved everything about being there.

Almost two months, seriously?

Okay, so I TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY fell off of the blogging bandwagon when school started. I am not sure exactly why, but for some reason this fall has rocked my world. Seriously, I feel like my head is spinning. I will go into my theories on why this is later, but without further ado here is a photo summary of the past two months....

Owen started 2nd Grade! He has two fabulous teachers who job-share...Mrs. BrumbleMrs. Riemer

Kate started preschool...she was SO happy!
Owen turned 8!
He got his first BB gun. Are we crazy?
We had a Mommy/Daddy/Boys date watching Star Wars on the lawn....
And of course, he had a Star Wars birthday party.
Gracie remains spunky and funny as ever....
Davis started kindergarten!
Here he is with his teacher, Mr. Courtney. Yay for a male teacher. Davis thinks the world of him.

Red day at Tinkerbell preschool...Soccer was here again. Something really has clicked for Owen and he is suddenly super aggressive, which is fun to watch on the soccer field (not so fun when he and Davis are wrestling).
Davis was a machine this season. Sometimes I am pretty sure he was playing rugby and not soccer. Thank goodness he can move out of kinder-soccer in the Spring...he is so ready and excited to play at the next level.
Owen started cub scouts. I think he is adorable in his uniform. I am sure he would be mortified that I am saying this. He spent a few hours for 4 Saturdays selling popcorn in front of local stores to help earn money for his pack.

Owen was baptized. This really should be a post all of it's own. It was a great experience for him with so many friends who came to show their support and Grandma Nila, Nana, and Papa all here. It was the perfect day.


I am so proud of the boy that Owen is. He has such a strong desire to be good.

Jed was able to go out hunting and backpacking with friends. Oh how he loves the outdoors.
Rainbow day at the preschool...this girl sure gets into the themes!
And finally the school had it's Run-Walk fundraiser. Davis ran the most laps in his class (7--almost 2 miles), so of course Owen had to do the same (he ran 9). Way to go boys!



Whew! There you have our September and October in a nutshell.