Feelin' Seasonal...

Last night after dinner, I had planned a little surprise for the kids to kick start October break. They were so excited when I told them that we were going to make caramel apples, I could have asked them to do anything and I would have gotten a great response!

They were such great helpers in unwrapping all the caramels and getting dinner cleaned up, it was amazing. We had a lot of fun dipping apples and adding the toppings- nuts, mini Reese's pieces, chocolate sprinkles, and colorful sugar crystals.It might have gotten a little out of control. The only disappointment came when we told them that they couldn't eat them right away. But, guess what we just ate for breakfast? Mmm, delicious!

Things I love...

Listening to a husband tickle the ivories in the evenings.

Fall decor. Outside

and in.

Making pie with the kids on a lazy day.

Happy helpers. Sweet rewards.

Fall is in the air.

Tagged

I got tagged and here are the rules. Go to your pictures and go to the 6th folder. Open up the 6th picture and post it. Enjoy Blake on the monkey bars...first day of kindergarten last year. I now tag Jennifer, Allison. Ju, Jen cousin and anyone else.

The best weekend. EVER.

Warning...long post.

Earlier last week, Jake and I decided to take the kids camping to escape the heat of Mesa and to just 'get away.' We headed up to Fossil Creek on Friday afternoon after work and school. To say that we had a great time would not do our trip justice. Our kids were extremely funny on the short drive and kept us laughing throughout the night and into Saturday. I thought them a new game on the way called "Who am I?" where one person thinks of someone and the others ask yes or no questions to figure it out. I was amazed at the people that Blake and Raegan were coming up with. We played for almost 2 hours! When we got to our campsite, there were lots of cows and the kids loved it! We had tin foil dinners for supper and Jake made a really yummy chocolate cherry cobbler for dessert. The weather was beautiful and the kids loved the adventure. They played really well together and kept us laughing. Blake got to use his pocket knife to whittle some sticks and felt very grown up. He even made sure the girls stayed out of his 'blood circle!' (scout terminology that I didn't know he knew). Jake told some great bed time stories. I don't know where he comes up with them, but the kids never ask for me, it's always dad. All through the night we heard elk bugling around us and at one point I thought Indians were invading our camp! Turns out a pack of coyotes sound A LOT like Indians or laughing hyenas. It was a very strange noise. For breakfast we had oatmeal and hot chocolate and played around for a while before packing up and heading home. Oh, the only camping request from the kids was to play hide-and-go-seek, so we did that too.Later that afternoon I went to the Relief Society broadcast with my mom and sisters and really enjoyed it. President Uchtdorf 's talk was incredible and I left feeling strengthened. After the broadcast I went with Louisa and Gena and Karli and the rest of Mesa to the free Brooke White concert at the Amphitheater. It was pretty short and the opening act was way too long, but it was still a great time. Brooke is pretty funny and totally unphased by her fame. Sunday was the primary program and I can breathe now that it's finally over. It was a lot of work to plan and execute, but the Spirit was really strong and the kids were really adorable. Phew! Last night I had a sister's meeting with my sisters (duh!) and we stayed up too late talking about nothing important and it was still a lot of fun. I love when we just get to sit and talk and not have 30 kids competing for attention! To top off the weekend, I got my first big box of delicious peaches and it's not disappointing! I LOVE peaches. Oh, last thing...only 100 more baby days! Do you realize the holidays will all be over in just 14 short weeks?

Finally!

After 16 looooooooooong years of waiting and 4 brothers later, Karli FINALLY has a baby sister!

Introducing: Tressie Joely September 18, 2008 11:30 pm

LOVE this face!*

Jen and Tressie *side note* this picture was taken after a good 30 minutes of me laughing hysterically at her in the hospital room because she makes the funniest faces! I think she was a bit annoyed at me by this time!

Conquering fears...

After I got the girls out of the bath the other night, I sent them in to put their panties on while I finished wiping down the bathroom. A minute later, they came running in while Sarah was yelling, "Look mom! We're thstorm trooperths!" She has the cutest lisp ,ever. The funny part is, Sarah bursts into tears (real, legitimate tears) every time Blake puts on his storm trooper costume and mask!

Another first...

Today was Raegan's first day of Orange Patch Preschool. Initially she was very excited to be big and Blake had told her all the stories about everything that she'd be learning at Orange Patch. Last night as she went to bed, she was so excited you would think it was Christmas. Sarah was another story. She cried herself to sleep because she couldn't fathom the thought of what to do during the day without her best buddy (2 whole hours). She was definitely heart-broken! It was very sweet to see such a tender side of Sarah. She's usually the prankster and Rae is the sweetie. This morning was a nightmare trying to stall until noon when school actually started. I was in the bathroom getting ready and when I came out at 10:30, Rae and Sarah were at the table with all of the PB&J fixin's and they had made quite the mess. Rae was determined not to be late to school on the first day, so there was no time to wait for lunch until I was ready to come help out! We survived that mess, got cleaned up, took some pictures, and went to Walgreen's to buy each of the girls a lip gloss...Rae was getting very nervous by now and Sarah was still beside herself about what she was possibly going to do without Rae...so lip gloss was the diversion and worked beautifully (no pun intended) for both! As soon as we showed up to the school, Raegan completely shut down and would not say a word. Miss Jennie had to ask her if she knew any words...if she only knew! After a minute shew blew me a kiss and nodded that it was okay for me to leave. She must have had a great time because she was all smiles when I picked her up, but only knew one of the kids names...Mike. She came home with all things orange and wasn't quite sure until I reminded her that her school was called ORANGE Patch. I could see it *click* and then she informed me that she needed to buy an orange shirt to wear to school now (?). While Rae was gone, Sarah just wanted to sit on the couch and snuggle while watching Ariel's Beginning. It was a lazy, yet very enjoyable afternoon. I don't know the last time that I was able to be home alone with just one of the kids. It was so nice. Sarah also found this D-backs hand and ran around the house chanting "I numba free, I numba free!" I love that she's completely content at number three and feels no competition to be number one!