Apple Orchard and Selecting Pumpkins

selecting their pumpkins for this year

honey went with us

checking out the different types of apple trees

before and after

before his hair cut


after his hair cut

I swear other children live at this house but they are at school and I don't get many pictures snapped of them in the evening hours. Also my mom always swore she didn't take enough pictures of my youngest sister so I am making up for that travesty.

What has been keeping me busy

The one on the left is mine and the other two are the twins I take care of. Just yesterday I had the pleasure of bathing one 2 year old and two 1 year olds. Water was everywhere thanks to all the splashing and water being poured on the floor but everyone came out clean in the end. But boy was it every chaotic! This was how I kept everyone corralled while I ran the water and made sure no one toppled down the stairs. If they don't look like trouble nothing does in my opinion.

Randomness

supporting football friday at school

new chocolate chip cookie baker in the house and he is adorable

soccer is in full swing now and they are on different teams.

she is running for student council for her 3rd grade class. tomorrow is the election and she has to give a speech in front of her class. one of her closest friends is running against her...this could be a drama filled week!

Birthdays and etc

i had a birthday!

he had a birthday and was so cute on the phone receiving birthday wishes!

snuggling with Ggpa

we have been enjoying the cool days of having our windows open followed by the sweltering days of indian summers. the kids are liking school. Priss has loads of homework each night (1-1 1/2 hours) that we are trying our best to tackle with a good attitude. Swee man continues to keep his teacher on her toes daily! They use a stick system and each behavior has a different color attached to it. Just today he came home with 4 sticks being pulled - on a five stick day you are sent to the principal. We are working on making better choices because I really don't want to see him sent there for not listening the first time or interrupting someone but those are the rules and the consequences. As for the Lil Man...he is always into something and doing his best to imitate the older two. He loves to play catch, read stories, ride his four-wheeler and snuggle with his blanket. If only it were possible to freeze him at this stage because his favorite thing to do is to be chased or chase someone around the house giggling the entire time. Jason is working way too much but still loves his job. Like today for example he left the house at a quarter til six this morning and didn't get home until almost 10 tonight. I am holding or maintaining the fort to the best of my abilities while reading a couple of new books from my birthday. This life is wonderful and I marvel at just how blessed I really am.

He...

lost a tooth that had been capped over a year ago - it was tragic to say the least when it came out!

had fun with cousins

started public school

She...

had her first sleepover

celebrated a birthday with a special friend and some family

had fun with cousins

got baptized with lots of family there supporting her

is in 3rd grade

our july up to now

oh, what a GAME! they won! they actually won! it went to extra innings (3 or 4 extra ones) and they won on a homer by their dh. it was awesome! swee was so excited he was crying. priss was singing GO CUBS GO as loud as she could on jason's shoulders. we had great seats and the weather was perfect. i love our yearly tradition and that we continue to add more things to it...the temple and now the dunes.





we also did our now yearly stop at the temple. it still amazes me the tranquility that you can sense as soon as you drive upon temple grounds. the kids love getting to see the angel moroni on top of the steeple and they love hearing how aunt erica and uncle matt were married inside those temple walls.


the dunes was another stop this july. neither jason nor myself had ever been so we went there on our way home from chicago. it was so cool to hike the dunes while overlooking lake michigan. jason and i talked that we would like to go back next year and spend the day.


we took the kids to a dairy farm and they loved it! jason's principal recommended we take the kids and i was a bit skeptical but there was so much for them to do...milk cows, drive tractors, and watch a calf being born.




fireworks and a cookout with our great friends the jones. jason met ryan before he was baptized and we have remained good friends through the years. we got married within months of each other, have had kids within months of each other (however they are adding another one this november and we are still content with 3), and we all get each others idiosyncrasies.

looking glass falls and sliding rock with Pat and Ed






the water at sliding rock was a brisk 50 degrees...priss loved it, lil man loved it the first 3 times and swee loved it until he went down with grandpa who let him stay in the cold water a little too long!

preparing for a baptism

i just finished making priss's baptism invites...it is only one month away! will i be prepared by the time family arrives? i have to be!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Washington State, Ains's Dance Recital and Coop's Baptism

Leaving on a jet plane for Washington State with a layover in Denver. The kids were great flying out. Everyone was asleep at one point in time. They were so excited to get to their cousins that they didn't mind the time it took. Coming home was a different story. The only person who napped was Swee and that lasted about 20 minutes. They weren't all that excited about leaving everyone even if everyone is heading out here in August for Priss's baptism.

Coop's Baptism

Ains's Dance Recital - We were so excited to hear that her dance recital would be while we were out there. They always went to Priss's when they lived in Indiana. She did a great job and we loved being there.

The Sound

Day 1 - it was beautiful at the Sound. The tide was out allowing the kids to see a lot of cool things like...crabs, sand dollars and shells. They had a blasting playing there I just wish I would have changed them into their swim suits sooner. I ended up with a ton of sandy, wet clothes!

Day 2 - took Jason and Dad out to the Sound so they could see the beauty of the mountains against the water. There was even snow still on the mountain tops. Gorgeous!

An actual rainforest. I hadn't ever been to one before. It was neat to listen to the kids talk about what they were seeing with each other and to know that they were learning something as they were talking with each other.

Ocean Shores - a beach like none other I have ever been to. It reminds me of a Mid-Atlantic beach with all the grass growing up through the sand and it was sooo cold. Loved going there though.