Halloween Parties!

It felt like Halloween lasted for weeks! Between family and school and friends there was a ton to do. They had a lot of fun though. On Halloween we went to the Dinosaur Park and met our cousins, then we met Eric at R&R carpet for lunch. Then we went to AuntLynda's house and Lana's house and Lee's Market trick or treating. Then we went to Toads and played mini-golf. After a day like that we came home and rested. Lastly we met grandma and grandpa at Sizzler, then went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Whew, what a fun day!

Halloween All-nighter!

Aunt Natalie and Uncle Richard have a huge Halloween slumber party for all the nieces and nephew every year. It was a hit this year as always! I left my camera for Natalie to take pictures for me. They ate pigs brains with blood for dinner, notice Lauren's expression! They also enjoyed playing all the fun games like Halloween Twister, pin the face on the pumpkin and making haunted castles out of rice crispy treats and candy. Lauren especially liked the goosebumps movies. The best part I think they agreed, was making homemade cotton candy. Thanks Rich and Natalie for spoiling them and being such a great uncle and aunt!

Park City!

We went with my family to Park City for the weekend. We mostly just went to relax, because we knew it would be bad weather. So we took lots of games and things to do. The kids had a fun time playing together, and we basically just took it easy. We went to the outlets of course and grandma bought all the kids Halloween pajamas. They all looked so cute! On the second night the power actually went out about midnight so we all piled on the king-size bed and made our own Laser Floyd show. My dad's flashlight had a red laser on it and Eric had all sorts of Pink Floyd and other great music on his phone, so we let the kid each take turns controlling the laser and enjoyed the light show. The kids had a blast, I think that is a memory they will always enjoy. We had so much fun we didn't want to come home, so we stayed Sunday night and came home Monday afternoon. Lauren went to school at lunchtime and Alexander has afternoon kindergarten. What a fun getaway!

Sewing Machine Bag!

OK, I hate to say this (I hope I don't sound conceited) but I am so proud of my new creation, that I can't stand it. So I just had to show it off. It all began last week when I went to the fabric store to buy this fabric and got so mad at my kids that I literally wanted to leave them at the store! Instead, Alexander left his glasses by the cutting counter and being so flustered with naughty children I actually left my stroller in the parking lot! I'm not proud of that and I am officially declaring for about the millionth time, I WILL NEVER again take my children with me to the fabric store! Anyway about the bag, I took the idea from a purse pattern and created a case for my new sewing machine. I brought the fabric and machine up to the condo in Park City over conference weekend, and viola! I boxed it out on the top and bottom, and put a zipper all the way around, also including 4 inside pockets and 2 outside ones! The best part was I actually finished the whole thing while listening to conference! Well just thought I would share my excitement!

Liberty Park!

Saturday after soccer games, my mom and I took the kids down to Liberty Park. We first walked across the street from the park to a neighborbood Obama bake sale. The kids thought it was great, we sat a the park and ate rice crispy treats, brownies and lemonade. There aren't many democrats around here, so my mom and I try to contribute where we can, and what better place than a bake sale! Then we went over to Tracy Aviary and saw all the birds. The cuckoo birds loved Lauren, they grabbed her shirt when she got too close. Then we let the kids go on rides at Liberty Park, which I normally never let them do. I hadn't been on a ferris wheel for probably decades! Then the kids ran through the streams and pools at the seven rivers in the park. I think they had the most fun getting wet! I am loving this 80 degree weather, I could take this year round!

Sewing!

I am wondering if anyone has any idea where to find a deal on a sewing machine. I want to teach Lauren how to sew and all I have is an old, old Singer in a cabinet which I think would be hard for her to reach. I went to the DI and Savers, but didn't find anything. I also looked on KSL. If you know of anyone who has one collecting dust or would like to sell one cheap, let me know!

Tagged

Tandi Tagged Me

There needs to be 5 answers for each question. So, here goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago?
1. Picking up the pieces from losing our daughter Rachael
2. Hired as the first woman in the Management Training program at Bank of Utah
3. Commuted to Salt Lake for an operations manager position
4. Began my career as a loan officer at the bank
5. Eric and I took a road trip from Santa Monica to Napa Valley California, Fun!!!

What Are 5 things on my To-Do List Today?

1. Go to toddler time at the library
2. Have lunch with my mom, aunt and sister
3. Buy a piece of fabric at JoAnns to finish a quilt
4. Make chocolate dipped pretzels!
5. Take Xander to soccer practice

What are my 5 favorite snacks?

1. Chocolate dipped raspberries
2. Chocolate Lava Cake
3. Chocolate M&M malt
4. Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. OK pretty much anything CHOCOLATE!

What 5 things would I do if I was a millionaire?

1. Travel
2. Be debt free
3. Set up a foundation
4. Save for my kids future
5. Help others

5 places I have lived:

1. Scottsdale, AZ
2. Mesa, AZ
3. Riverdale, UT
4. Ogden, UT
5. Harrisville, Utah

5 jobs I have had:

1. Iomega
2. Hanover Shoes
3. FMC Jetway
4. Bank of Utah
5. R&R Carpet

The 5 people I tag are:

1. Jen A.
2. Katrina
3. Tonya
4. Bonnie
5. Kim

Alexander Super Star!

Today was Alexander's big Super Star day at Kindergarten! We worked on his poster all morning yesterday. Now I remember why I blog instead of scrapbooking! What a mess and it is so time consuming! He was pretty excited though. We took cookies and milk for his snack. He absolutely loves Kindergarten and Mrs. Woods, he thinks she is the greatest!

Viola!

I have been working on a project for a while called Lauren's Room! We switched her and Mason when he climbed out of the crib and it has been a work in process ever since. These are pictures of her room after we got all the vinyl up. My friend generously contributed her time to help me with this project too, thanks! I was very happy with how it all turned out. The blue Lauren picked out I worried would be too bright, but it fits her perfectly! She absolutely loves having a place to call her own!

Crazy Sleeper!

Yet another photo of a sleeping boy! They are both always all over the place! Eric said sleeping in the van with the boys over the Father/Sons campout was an experience. It was pretty much a wrestling match the whole night!!!

Alexander's 1st day of Kindergarten!

Alexander has waited and waited for Kindergarten to start! The day finally came and he did wonderful! He loves Mrs. Woods and is ready for a new experience. It' hard to believe he's already going to school!

Stone Soup!

Thank you Becky for doing Stone Soup with the kids! They had a fabulous time! I was hesitant to let Alexander sign up, because previously he was so shy he wouldn't even stand on the stage with his preschool class for the Christmas program, much less sing or dance. So when he performed in Stone Soup I about fell off my chair, literally! I wish someone had recorded the performance at the school. Anyone who knows Alexander would be shocked to have seen him sing and dance his little heart out at that performance. The louder the kids cheered, the more he boogied! I couldn't stop laughing! Lauren also gave a Broadway performance. I was a little concerned about the kids receiving celebrity status after the play, but I think they handled it pretty well. It was one of those proud moments in a parent's life!

Lauren's 1st day of 3rd grade!

Here are pics from Lauren's first day. She is soooo glad to be back in school. She loves everything about school, it is such a blessing. I miss her at home, she is so much fun to be around and is such a great helper!

Fort Buenaventura!

Saturday Eric had some soccer games up in Rock Springs. So the kids and I worked all day on getting their rooms organized. Since the switch from the crib, we just haven't had time to go through everything and find a place for it. We've got rid of a ton, but needless to say we had our work cut out for us. So I promised the kids we could go play if they worked really hard. Alexander actually unloaded the dishwasher, Lauren cleaned the bathroom and folded the clothes, and Mason put away all the cars in the boxes. So we decided we needed a break and went out to Fort Buenaventura Park. It was actually the first time for all of us. We got there and they were having a huge car show. Alexander wasn't excited about that at all! It took Lauren and I about 15 minutes to convince Mason and Alexander that they wanted to go canoeing. You can see the looks on their faces in the first picture. After we got out there and they realized we weren't going to tip over and it was only a few feet deep, they had fun!

Butter!

My friend Bonnie was kind enough to give me a child-proof lock for my fridge. The problem is the older kids open it then don't put it back on, so it is not completely childproof. So I come downstairs yesterday and this was what my 2 year old was doing!

Carpe Diem!

Picnic at the Dinosaur Park!
Driving the firetruck!
Notice both firefighters cute glittery flip flops!
Brooke's 1st day of class!
The play that never ended, and actually never really began! Who cares, they had fun!

This morning I woke up and asked the kids what they wanted to do on their last day of Summer Break. Alexander wanted to go to the Dinosaur Park and Lauren wanted to go to the Treehouse Museum. Mason wanted to do both. Since we've hardly used either season pass this summer I said OK. So we had a nice cool picnic lunch at the Dinosaur Park. The weather was perfect today, just in time for school to start. It never ceases to amaze me how the kids can wander around that park each time like it's as new and exciting as the first time. So then we venture on over to the Treehouse Museum. Mason just loves being able to run around the mazes of houses and hiding places. Alexander is beginning to understand some of the exciting learning opportunites, but can't take it all in yet. I wish I would have realized earlier this Summer how much Lauren loves going there and exploring. She is just a sponge and can't take it all in fast enough. I wish we had a few more weeks of Summer to enjoy more of the things we could have been doing on our lazy Summer days!

Boys!

I took this picture the other night because I thought it was funny. For some strange reason, neither of my boys can sleep like normal people. They both end up in the strangest positions. So the night I took this picture Mason refused to put his pajama top 0n, not worth picking a battle over. Ever since he was a baby he steals my silky nightgowns and sleeps with them. I have no idea how he got that wrapped around his little body, but I thought it was cute.

Northshore!

Mason following his big brother!
What could be more fun than a day at the pool?
Masons' and Megan!
Look at him go, no fear!
Lauren and Abbey!
Yeah! Lauren is FINALLY tall enough to go on the blue slide, her friends have been going for years!
I took the kids to Northshore for the first and only time this summer. Well the two older ones went with me when I took the YW, but I have been dreading taking Mason. I only have 2 eyes and 3 kids, so it is exhausting taking little ones, especially a fearless 2 year old! Does anyone ever feel like they're in a Where's Waldo book trying to keep track of all the kids at the pool? Fortunately, Lauren had a friend come so I felt better about letting her go by herself. Also Mason and Megan came so it was nice to have another set of eyes to help watch the boys. If you go by yourself and the kids it's like, OK no one can leave this area or you have to make them all get out when someone has to go potty. I was very pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was this year than last year. The older ones are a little more confident in the water and Mason was as independent as could be. He just followed Alexander around and went down slides just like a big kid, I really didn't expect that! I've got to realize he's growing up. When Lauren was that age we treated her like a little adult. With Mason I have a hard time not treating him as a baby anymore. It's exciting to be able to do more things as a family with the kids getting bigger!

Swimming!

We went down to Seven Peaks on Thursday. The kids loved the slides and the lazy river. The wave pool was fun too.