Little Lydi

This Little Lady is so much fun. I know it is said so many times, and I should avoid the phrase altogether, but truly she is growing up so fast!!! Lydia is 5 1/2 months and is a wiggle worm to the extreme. It makes me laugh how she is constantly lunging to get at whatever is closest. She can't sit still on my lap for long. Then when I stand up, she is content looking around and around. She doesn't want to miss anything! She will twist in my arms until I turn her around, then she keeps twisting until I turn her again, until she is facing the way she originally was facing!

She sticks out her tongue. ALL the time. I love it! She is so slobbery and slimy and slippery. She blows on my neck and arms and hands, making raspberries and cooing.

This morning I was trying to get her dressed and she kept rolling over, trying to get away, trying to reach for the nearest thing she could grab and chew.

Yesterday I went jogging with my friend and we took our babies. I discovered that Lydia really likes jogging! She sat so quietly and so still. She even slept! When she was awake, she was so content! Good thing too because I am planning on doing a lot more running : ) I am glad she can keep me company.

I know that I say having children is challenging, exhausting, etc. Well, it is true! But, I love it and I love my little ones. How lucky am I?

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CA & MT

Last weekend Travis took TJ to California to celebrate reaching his goal of reading the Book of Mormon in less than 45 days. TJ has been asking to go back to Medieval Times (dinner & show) ever since we went back in '05. So we thought this was the perfect trip for the two of them.

It was a really quick trip. They left Friday early and had to be back early evening on Sat. But, they had a great time. They went to the beach, which TJ couldn't get enough of. There is something about chasing birds and watching them flap away in terror that really appeals to 9 year old boys! They enjoyed a nice hotel (thank you Priceline!). They went to Medieval Times and cheered on the yellow knight during their finger licking chicken dinner. TJ bought a cool light up sword (I think this was the real reason he wanted to go to medieval times!!). They had front row seats which, I am sure was really exciting. Travis really liked the horses and show. They also had fun on the drive talking and listening to Harry Potter

I love that the two of them got to do this together. We try to have some one on one with the kids, but it is challenging when you have 5 little ones. I am sure TJ will remember this time with his dad for years to come.

*just a side note: I am proud of Travis for taking pictures!!! Thank you : )

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Funny or Not?

So, is it funny to make your baby cry? Probably not, but I couldn't help laughing!

This was taken a month ago or so. It was really bothering Natalie that we found Lydia so funny when she did the "lip thing". Mean ol' dad and mom!

*It is interesting that Lydia's Dad is her favorite person. She doesn't smile a lot, but always has one for Dad! It is a good thing that he doesn't make a habit of scaring her or she might decide Mom is her favorite!

Halloween Highlights

This month seemed to fly by. And despite feeling very exhausted, we still did some fun things for one of my funnest holidays: Halloween!



One night, after our Family Home Evening lesson we did a fun mummy activity. Tyler, Natalie, and Elaina were our models as we wrapped them each in a role of toilet paper. After we mummified the kids, we went next door to scare our neighbors (Grandma & Grandpa)!

Mrs. Sandy asked Tyler if he wanted to come to her preschool's Halloween party. He isn't in preschool yet but he said he wanted to go. Tyler is pretty shy when he is in a big group so I was surprised he wanted to do it. I had to laugh when they broke the pinata and he retrieved 2 pieces of candy (after I coaxed and prodded!). He loved the bounce house and going fishing. He even caught a Superman toy!!

The last day of school before Halloween, the kids had a spooky meal in their lunch boxes. Thanks to the kids for helping make our ghoulish delights and to many of the fun ideas on the internet, we ended up with mummy dogs, bread stick bones, jello worms, and witch finger cookies.

Halloween night we went to the church for a hot dog and chili dinner and the annual trunk or treat. We were feeling a little wicked this year and all the kids went as villains. TJ was Hades, from Hercules. Natalie was the evil queen from Snow White. Elaina was Cruela DeVille from 101 Dalmations. Tyler was Captain Hook and Lydia was the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I made all of the costumes except Hook's, which we bought. Mom helped me with the finishing touches. By the time I got to Travis and my costumes, I was out of time and energy. No Maleficent and Jafar! We had to settle with a Mime and a Referee.

*Note to self: next year, plan more than one hour to get a pot of chili and 5 kids ready for Halloween!

Roosevelt Lake

My kids are on a modified year round school schedule. I absolutely love this. They have a 2 week vacation every nine weeks. As a former teacher, this is an amazing concept and a much needed break. As a mother, I look forward to having the kids all to myself for a couple of weeks. No homework, no set schedule, no bedtime (okay, we do try to stick to our bed routine or else I am the one to pay the next day!).

This intersession was quite a bit different for us. We usually stay close to home and spend time with friends and family and maybe go to the zoo or somewhere close by. The first week we went to see my sister in Safford and had a great time. Last week, we headed over to Roosevelt Lake and spent a few days enjoying the weather, the views, and the great company. We had a blast!

Travis' sisters and 3 cousins came along with us. We stayed in a house just off the lake. One day we rented a pontoon boat and went fishing. No one got even a bite!!! We saw several fish peek out of the water, teasing us. But, the kids loved being on the lake and driving the boat fast. It was such a beautiful day. Maybe next year we will get in the water!

One of the funniest parts of the day was the worms! We bought some worms to fish with and Natalie became a little possessive, maybe even obsessive. She didn't want us to put any on a hook and she wanted to keep them as pets. She convinced everyone to hold them (I don't think Tyler and Elaina enjoyed it very much.) TJ was in his element though. I can't believe how LONG those worms were. The kids definitely liked the worms more than the fish did!

I am so glad we went. Even with the setbacks: sleepless nights with a restless baby, hard beds, bedding forgotten at home, Africanized bees, tarantulas, and rattlesnakes. It was worth it!

Several days after we got home, Natalie asked when we can go again. Mission accomplished : )

A Weekend with the Cousins

Because we have finished the first nine weeks of school and are now enjoying intersession, I decided to take the kids on a little trip to visit my sister in Safford.

Alissa was so sweet to take us all on. We added six to her household of 8! Between us we have eleven kids ages 12, 9, 9, 7, 7, 5, 5, 3, 3, 1, and 4 months. We have a great time together, but wow, that is a lot of kiddos!

Thursday night, we stayed at home and Alissa made us a very yummy dinner and the kids settled in.


Friday we went to a parade. We got there a little late, but the kids saw some a couple of bands, some horses, the fire truck, and just enough to have a great time and not get bored.

After that, we went to the duck pond and had a picnic. I think they could have spent a lot of time there, but we had other plans!

After filling our bellies we headed over to the county fair. We had a great time together. I don't know if Alissa would agree because I ended up getting a ride bracelet so that Carolyn and Tyler could go on some rides, but she stayed with the babies on the ground.

I had a fun time on the kiddie rides with the little cousins and then riding on the scary rides with the big kids.

TJ and Brian jumped on the upside down ride called "The Ring of Fire". I watched with Lydia from the ground.






I was surprised at TJ's bravery. Maybe it helped to have his cousin encouraging him. During the ride, I think his bravery abandoned him because he looked terrified! I felt bad for him because I know that scary feeling, but I still laughed the whole time! When he got off, he declared the Ring of Fire the worst ride he had ever been on!! He still did choose to go on a couple other big kid rides, but no more upside down ones!

After the rides, we went to look at the animals. The kids really loved that and I am sure they would have loved to stay longer, but we were all tired and ready to go home and relax.


Saturday, the kids spent most of the day outside jumping on the trampoline, having a great time being together. Here are some fun trampoline pictures:




Natalie practicing her russian!
Take a look at Alissa's back yard. Peace and quiet at it's best (well, as quiet as it can be with 11 kids running around!)





T.J. is so fun!




I had to get in on the action with my back flip!




Elaina and Allen teaming up.




Cami. What can I say? She is too funny and such a character. Love her! This picture captures her personality quite well!!




And here is Brian. Impressive!



What a memorable time we had. I know I will be hearing about it for weeks from the kids. They didn't want to leave : )

Thanks for having us Alissa and Joe. We love you guys!!!

Witch's Brew

We have been brewing up some good times at our house this week. Halloween is such a fun time of the year. As long as we don't let things get too scary, the kids have a great time!

We spent part of Family Home Evening talking about general conference. What a great conference!!! Some of my favorite talks were Elder Scott on seeking the spirit, President Uchtdorf on love, and Elder Holland (incredible!).

After that, we spent some time decorating for the season.

Both of these ideas came from the blog of a super fun mom in Colorado.

This is the scene out of our front room window. It is a fun witch silhouette. It is made with black poster board. While I worked on the witches, the kids made bats and spun spider webs.

These are some spooky snapshots of the kids. Come closer my dear...


I had fun playing with pictures and Photoshop. I had to make a moustache on Tyler! He's my little man & it makes him look suspicious!




Elaina was mad that I would even think about altering her face. I guess she was a little embarrassed. I tried to make it as sweet as I could. I think the spider adds just the right touch!

I thought Natalie turned out really cute. Wish I could catch a ride!

TJ has a wild elf look. He loved it!

I hope to give the kids a new look each year. It was such a fun thing to do and very personal and inexpensive.

One of our favorite Halloween books is "Big Pumpkin". It is a fun story with great illustrations. The truth is, we read it all year round!

I have been wanting to watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with the kids. It has been so long since I have seen it though. Is it really as scary as I remeber it? I will have to rent it and preview it or we may have nightmares in our future!