October 2011

I just spent the last 2 hours loading pictures onto this dang blog! Just got a new Mac computer and I am so confused. I don't like change!! But I think I'm gonna really like this computer once I get the hang of it all.... we'll see.

Wow. October felt like such a whirlwind around here. Probably one of the fastest months on record! Between celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, Halloween, fall break, and lots of visitors I'm pooped! This post is going to be pretty unorganized... hey would ya expect anything less from me?! At least the pictures follow the order of our month. I'll start with ....

FALL BREAK

I love that this school district gives 2 full weeks for fall break. We decided to pack up the kids and drive down to our favorite family vacation spot in Rocky Point, Mexico. As we are getting ready to cross the border, seriously 5 miles away from it, Jace yells from the back seat, "Hey do you have our passports?" I gasp, and JD looks over at me like, "you better be kidding." I could've died. How did I forget that??!! I swear I have pregnant brain. So JD flips the car around (we'd only been driving for 3.5 hours) and Jace is crying hysterically because he had been SO restless the entire drive and kept asking how much longer. JD was silent but I could tell he was madder than hell! I just sat there and finally I remembered we had some friends that were going to be coming down to Rocky Point the next day. Luckily we were able to arrange for them to get our passports and bring them to us. We didn't need them to cross the border but just to get back! Honestly, I would've waved to the Mexican border patrol on our way into Mexico and never given a second thought about passports. Jace saved us that time! JD says he's gonna take care of the passports from now on. I say, "Go for it honey!" Hey, we all make mistakes :)

Is there anything better than enjoying a fresh mango beachside?? I think NOT!

Miss Avery turned 5 while we were there. We took her out to dinner and decided to celebrate with cake and ice cream once we were back in AZ. Can't believe my baby girl is growing up so fast. I've been really pondering how I want to raise this little girl of ours. I just want to lock her in our home and never let the influences of the outside world in. I want her to always be confident in who she is and never have to turn to someone else to make her feel "special." Basically I just want to get her through highschool without feeling like she has to have a boyfriend!! Haha, I just think the world today is going to be a tougher world to stand up and be strong in. I'm thankful I have JD by my side. He is such an amazing father figure for our kids and I know he will give Avery all the male attention she needs! I've been really trying to focus on complimenting Avery's inner qualities rather than her outside beauty. I always tell her that it's more important to be kind and love one another than what her outside appearance looks like. It doesn't always go over so well when she's bawling that she hates her hair!! Oh, I love this little girl! I think she's so beautiful inside and out. She is the most affectionate and loving sister to her brothers, even at times when they do NOT deserve it! I'm so excited for her to have a little sister that she can dote on and give kisses to without getting pushed away or punched in the face! I know her brothers love her and will always feel the need to protect her.

The mariachi (sp?) band serenaded her at the table on her birthday. She was embarrassed and really did not like it! Ha!

Riding a Rhino into town. Kids LOVE it!

Water slide at the resort was a big hit too

Finally getting to have her cake once we got back home

Her big birthday surprise was Taylor Swift concert tickets a few weeks later! Avery LOVES her and was so excited. Not gonna lie, I was pretty stoked to be the one to accompany her!

Dad had meetings in Phoenix and stayed a few extra days to come and hang out. He was such an AMAZING help! There is no better fix it man around. Can't believe all he did around our house in a 24 hr period. INSANE!! I swear one of these days he will be able to come and relax without having a list of things to fix for me! Love you Dad.

Jace finally started flag football. He's been talking about it ever since I registered him back in May. He loves it! I think it's so fun to watch him grow and mature. Sometimes I look at him and see such a miniature version of JD. Thankfully he still thinks girls are gross. Such a STUD! Love my boy.

NORTHSTAR BANQUET AND 8TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!

Middle of October we flew up to Salt Lake for the annual NS end of year banquet. We are so lucky to have such amazing neighbors that we LOVE who were willing to watch our kiddos for a couple days. The banquet happened to be over our 8th anniversary so we thought it'd be nice for us to get away. Oh and it WAS so nice!

Me and my hunkalicious hub!

Me with Kim and Jessica. These girls left me here in AZ for Boise, ID. I may never forgive them!! I still love them anyway ;)

8 years with the love of my life who can still make me laugh and cry all at the same time. (You wouldn't know it from this pic but he DOES actually know how to tie a tie!) So thankful for him. He is so motivated and goal driven and passionate about our family. He continues to amaze me at how wonderful a father he is to our kids. We are all lucky to have him! I love you baby... here's to many more anniversaries to come!! xoxoxox

More girls that I love! Jess, Bethany, and Meradith


I miss this chick so much! Boo for Boise :( So good to see her though.

I was lucky enough to be able to see my sis and her brand new baby while we were in Utah. She had this beautiful baby boy Bowen days before. It really made me want my baby now! Love ya sis!!

Taylor Swift Concert...

Finally the anticipated day arrived. Avery and I had a blast at the concert. Miss Swift definitely DOES NOT disappoint!! She puts on quite the show...

Sold out arena

Youth Conference

The morning after the concert I had to get up at 5am to be a part of our stake's Youth Conference. I had such a great time with the youth and love being able to work with them. Love my calling! We actually had been practicing a dance for a few months and were able to do a "flash mob" at the Superstition Springs Mall in Mesa. SO MUCH FUN!! I'll have to upload the video of it sometime soon...

Some of the leaders



After the flash mob we took the bus out to a field that had been irrigated and was a total mud mess. This is a pic of some of the girls BEFORE they rolled around in the mud!

Looks like fun eh?!! I just watched from the sidelines ;) Maybe if I weren't prego...

Later that night we went out with my sister and her hubby. They came with their kids for the weekend. So much going on that I didn't even get any pics of the cousins together :(

JD's 30th Birthday!!!

I am officially married to an old man! I am going to relish in it for the next month until it's my turn ;) I threw JD a little surprise party with a few of our close friends. It was a good time!

The famous cake roll that I attempt to make about every 3 years!

Schnepf Farms pumpkin patch and Halloween

We took the kids to Schnepf farms the week of Halloween. Such a fun place to take your family.

Riding some of the fun pedal cars

BMX show was awesome. My boys LOVED it!!

Kids watching the show from the sidelines.... how sweet it this pic?! Brody loves his big brother.

Roller coaster was awesome! At least that's what the kids told me. I had to sit this one out. Something about being pregnant, whatev!

Corn maze! We got to hear about Daddy's stories of when he was a "Corn Cop" back in highschool.

Picking out pumpkins at the patch

So I have this new obsession called "pinterest!" I am not the most crafty person but this site has seriously given me some great ideas and some motivation to tap into my inner Martha Stewart! Here is my lame attempt at a witch door wreath. It turned out ok, definitely not as cute as the one I saw, but hey I'm trying!

Ward Halloween block party....

Batman passed out right before the party... hey even Batman gets tired after saving the city!

My little Cinderella. So original! We tried talking her into being something scary for Halloween but she wasn't having it! I figured hey this might be the last year she actually wants to be a princess so go for it!

Music was playing at this house and the kids had fun dancing the night away.

I left JD in charge of handing out the candy. Too cool for school ya know!

Jace and Rex

Halloween Night

Loaded up the kids and hit some neighborhoods for some good old fashioned trick or treating!

How cute are they?!!

Love Avery in this pic... "like really Jace, you are so gross. Definitely not deserving of my glass slipper!"

Arizona trick or treating... t-shirts and flip flops!

LOVE THEM!!!

Guess who???

Our friends Chaz and Terra. Love the Wheaties box!

Avery and Brooklyn aka Cinderella and Belle out on the town. So cute!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
26 WEEKS

I am now 26 weeks pregnant. Two more weeks left of this 2nd trimester. Feeling pretty tired and need a nap most days. JD came home one night and said, "not to be a jerk, but what did you do today?" Oh, I dunno besides constantly cleaning up after 3 children I was also growing a damn baby!! Definitely on the top of the list of "What not to say to your pregnant wife!" Or stay at home mom for that matter! He apologized, I know he didn't mean it, sortof ;) Ha! I am thankful for his help with the kids this past month though. It's nice to grocery shop without screaming kids in tow!

Well goodbye October... hello November. With holidays approaching, won't be slowing down anytime soon!