October Snow

The boys have been dying to go out and play in the snow. We finally have enough on the ground to make a splat! (That's "snowball" in Cam/Coop talk) We bought the boys new snow clothes last week, so they both have the same outfit that fits, and they don't have to fight each other for the one-piece outfit they wore last year. I'm glad we bought these so early!

For all you who are keeping track, we had the boys at the dentist at 9 AM today. We all had to go, since their appts. were at the same time, and they each wanted someone there to watch. They did so well. Shea asked the hygenist if she'd rather clean adults' or kids' teeth. She said usually adults, but if all kids were as good as Cam and Coop were, then she'd clean kids teeth all day long! Good job, boys. I love you!

Scary stuff, Jane. We'll be more aware! Thanks for the warning.

Costco

At our visit yesterday we bought the following:
The Innocent Man the new John Grisham book for Shea
the new Mitch Albom book for me (he wrote The Five People You Meet In Heaven
the Clay Aiken Christmas cd--yep, I'm a "claymate" and it's very good. I love it!
artichoke tapennade--comes with three yummy-sounding recipes. Maybe artichoke penne for dinner tonight. We'll see.

Oh, and we had our Christmas lights put up yesterday. We wanted to take advantage of the discount for having them done early...so don't make fun of us. At least we don't leave have them up when it's possible to get a suntan outside!

So far I've gotten the kids and myself showered and dressed and a load of laundry in the washer. I should be working, but I'd rather be blogging.....

Wednesday

I can't believe no one congratulated me on my limbo winnings. I was pretty impressed with myself. I guess that's all I have to worry about impressing--myself and Shea. He was proud, so that's rewarding.

I'll just stick to writing about dinner and my kids. Last night was soft tacos, and the night before was Grandma's chicken. So, two down, one more to go before vacation!

Today I'll be getting things ready for my departure--laundry caught up, house semi-cleaned (but not too much because there's no telling what I'll come home to), groceries stocked, errands run, bags packed.

I wanted to blog a picture of all the twins in my dad's family, so here's the most recent twin shot. Lauren and Lindsay are the oldest, then Matt (Marc was at work, but looks just like him, so use your imagination) then James and John, Cam and Coop, and Alex and Annie.

The Daily Uniforms

I can't get them out of these!

I am the LIMBO Queen!

Today Shea, since he was conducting Sacrament meeting, announced that our ward will be split next week. I really REALlY want to be home from St. George for our church, but I'll have to wait for a consensus from the rest of the girls. Kelly wants to be back as well, so we'll see.

Last night we went to a neighborhood/friends halloween party. It was at a cheer/tumbling gym right over the point of the mountain. We dressed up--in just what we had--and Shea won Best Male Costume! There were other good costumes, don't get me wrong. Shea just looked really good!
We played games, ate dinner, and had a lot of fun. Just for the record--I WON THE LIMBO! Yep. Out of 30+ people, I won. Hidden talents--we all have them.
Cam and Coop also had a halloween party yesterday. Their friend Kodiak had friends over for games, stories, cupcakes, a cake walk and just to have another reason to dress up. Kodiak's mom, my friend Debbie, decorated her house and the kids had a great time.
Shea watched the BYU game with Brett Hansen while I went with the boys to the party, dropped them off to Shea, and went to Heather Kelley's baby shower.

Friday was a pretty normal day. We did go to another late movie, "The Prestige," with Kelly. We took the boys to Nana and Papa's to sleep over and Lucy slept during the whole movie. The boys were asleep when they got to Taylors, so it was pretty much breakfast and cartoons again. They loved it! They helped Papa make snake and Mickey Mouse pancakes.


Thursday was Matt and Marc's final sophomore football game. Lone Peak played AF and beat the cavemen 28 to 20. It was really fun to see Marc and then a few plays later, Matt, intercept the ball since they play linebackers and usually just block. For all you more football oriented people, talk to Shea about the game. I just know they won, and it was fun to watch. Afterwards we went with my parents and Ben and Olivia to Chili's for dinner. Then I got to hurry off to a stake meeting.

I wrote this from most recent backwards in hopes that my pictures will correspond and I can get them where I want them. I'm still learning the quirks of blogging.

Surprise Pumpkins!

These cute pumpkins magically showed up on our doorstep last night! The boys were so excited--and I'm happy to not have to carve more pumpkins.

Pumpkin Carving

2004





2005

Here are pictures of our FHE with the Webbs last week. This makes 3 years of this tradition!

Lucy's 3 1/2 month pictures

These are the ones I had taken when my aunt Amanda was in town with her 2 week old baby. We spent the whole afternoon getting these taken--mostly because she's a new mom and thought her baby had to eat every time she fussed. Lucy and I were done way before we could actually be done, since Amanda drove. At least a few of these turned out!
The hat is goofy--I wasn't a fan when the photographer wanted Lucy to wear it, but I love the expression on her face! I had to buy one just for her book.

Busy Weekend!

Saturday night was our fun Halloween party. We do a murder mystery dinner every year with our friends (the girls I met in Jerusalem and their husbands.) We love hanging out with them--good food and good company. This year we had an Oriental-themed game. We had a good time figuring out who was to blame!
Sunday was our FHE. It was nice to have everyone over for dinner and a lesson. I love that we all live so close and can get together at least once a month. We see each other way more often, but these family home evening nights are special. Plus, I don't have to worry about every side dish for Sunday dinner.
Monday, we went to the Webbs for dinner and pumpkin carving. We have gotten together with them for three years now for this tradition. Our boys--and now Baby Lucy--love eating at each others' homes, and it's nice to have something fun to do! We love the Webb family--they are our great friends. After our dinner, Jenna and I, along with another friend, went running/walking. I ran close to 1 mile and walked 3! That is great for me...I just have to blog it so I know it really happened. I'm feeling it today!
Today has been cleaning day. I got the two upstairs bathrooms cleaned and myself showered (plus all three kids in the tub) and ready before preschool! I'm very impressed with myself. I also made the yummy gingersnaps from Jane's friend's blog. They are so good and really soft! Yum!
The rest of the week looks pretty slow--I hope!

Friday Night

Last night Shea and I went to see "The Guardian" with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. It was so good! We both loved it. It's kind of sad, but still a great show. We went to the late show and took Lucy with us. She was an angel and slept through the whole thing.
Camden and Cooper got to go to Nana and Papa's for dinner and a surprise sleepover! Since we weren't going to be home until late, and they were asleep even before we left to the movie, Nana offered to have them spend the night. They woke up and had a great morning watching cartoons, playing in Papa's big box, and eating Mickey Mouse pancakes! Thanks Nana and Papa! We love you!

FHE--last night

So, we were talking to the boys about prayer. Shea told them that they should pray if they are hurt or scared or lonely. We were talking about prayer stories in the Book of Mormon and things were going great. Camden looked at Shea and said, "Dad, when you tripped on your bike, did you say a prayer to make it better?" It was very cute. Shea had tripped over his bike in Todd and Jane's garage while he was loading computers in the car for a delivery. He got some sweet scrapes and a big nasty tire burn on his leg. He looks worse than when he actually falls riding the bike!
It was so sweet that the boys were so concerned about their dad.
This morning the boys still remembered our lesson. They told us that they had said their prayers when they were scared in the night--but they both still ended up in our bed! We're still working on that.
I went to see Lucy's blessing pictures today. They are so beautiful! I spent more on them than I should have, but I wanted a big one to hang up forever. Now I just have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for them to get done! Aaahhh. Shea doesn't understand that in the days of digital cameras and the Costco photo counter. He'll love it though.

Monday

I got Lucy's blessing picture taken on Friday! I was worried she wouldn't fit in her dress, but it was perfect! I go to see the proofs tomorrow, and from what I saw on the camera they will be so darling! She was very smiley and cute--we just had to keep her hands out of her mouth for most of the pics. That's what they do when they're 4 months old though.
She is asleep on the floor right next to the chair in the office right now. It's kind of sweet--since she was a little stinker last night. I think she got up 4 or 5 times. She was just really restless. She isn't the best sleeper, but she's very cute. I can't complain.
Cam and Coop slept over at their Grandma's last night. Grandpa was out of town, so Grandma needed some company. They watched "The Wild", fed the neighbors goats, took a bath, slept in their Spider Man sleeping bags from Costco (a favorite), and had real breakfast food for breakfast this time. At their last sleepover, they had Bug Juice and candy necklaces for breakfast, so this was an improvement. Grandma says she's not in charge of feeding them healthy foods, she's just in charge of loving them and making them happy--which she does very well. They are lucky boys to have so many people love them!
Now, we've started a new week. Work, meetings, hopefully a fun Halloween party on Saturday with my Jerusalem friends and their husbands, exercise, laundry, grocery store, bill paying, maybe some cleaning, preschool, and whatever else comes up.