Halloween

We had a lot of fun for Halloween. Shaylee was a witch, Emma a pumpkin, and Blake a dog. I found the costumes at a thrift store and I thought I did pretty good. They got the candy and that is all that mattered. We had fun at our ward party and then went trick or treating with our friends Dave and Jenna E.'s family. When we got home we had to hide the candy or little Miss Shaylee would probably have had it eaten by morning. Emma just wanted the first candy she was given and could have cared less about the rest she just wanted to eat that first one. Blake is the one who has to decide which one is worth eating first and to him that decision is a big one.

Pumpkin carving

The kids were so excited this year to carve a pumpkin. Blake was the most excited until he found out he had to stck his hands inside the pumpkin and pull out all that nasty slimy string, he called it. He found it much more enjoyable to watch his sisters get all messy. When we were done we had to go in the bathroom and light the candle to see how it looked. It was perfect of course and awesome as my children would tell you.

Farm life

The kids have fun milking the cow and pretending to rope. Emma was quite the little cowgirl and wanted to get right in on the action, at least look the part.

Grandma, Papa, and Jacob come visit

Grandma, Papa and Jacob came to visit and yes it was cold even in October. We went to a pumpkin patch and they had a big pretend barn playground. It was fun and the kids had a lot of fun playing with Jacob on the slides. I even had to get in on the action and race Jacob down the slide. Of course, I won because I am the champ.

Guess What!

"Mom guess what, did you know that a broom can stand up all by itself because of the Liberty," Shaylee said. The Liberty I said and she said yes. Can you believe it Mom? I racked my brain trying to think what the heck she was talking about. She got out a broom to show us and sure enough she got the broom to stand all by itself. I couldn't believe it so we had to take a picture. The next day we had to bring the broom to school to show all her classmates. I had to get to the bottom of what they were teaching my daughter at school about Liberty. So I asked the teacher and she started to laugh and said Shaylee do you mean your broom is standing all by itself because of gravity. Shaylee said oh yeah gravity. Supposedly because of the gravitational pull right now even Brooms can stand on their own, not because of Liberty but because of Gravity.

Papa and Jacob

Papa Great and Jacob came to visit. We sure loved their company. We usually like to have an uneventful visit but it definately was not that. The kids wanted Jacob to go on the water slide with them. I thought it would be pretty harmless, boy was I wrong. Jacob decided to climb up to the top and instead of going down the slide he fell right off the other side right on his stomach. I rushed over to him and of course he couldn't breathe because he knocked the wind out of hisself. He fell right off that about ten feet. All Grandpa had to say was what were you trying to do. It was pretty scary but Jacob got Daniel and they both went right back up that dumb thing. After one time down I told Jacob he was done. The kids sure love their Papa Great and we loved having him come to see us.

School has Started

School has finally started and Shaylee has been waiting all summer for this day. Blake, on the other hand, has not been excited. As we started of to school Mom tried to get everyone excited for their big day. When we got to school Blake started getting excited and his teacher Mrs. Reed who is fabulous made the transition so smooth. She was so excited to see Blake and that just made his day. She even told him they had dinosaurs in his room, I think from then on he was hooked. We all said our goodbyes to Blake and set of for Shaylee's first grade classroom. As we started to get close Shaylee began to cry. What, this is not like my daughter she loves school. By the time we got to her room she was hysterical and wanted me to take her home. I told her no and that she needed to stay. She told me, "Don't you want me, I want to be with you." My heart broke, I want to pick her up and take her home and not ever take her back. I knew she really needed to stay though. As she hung on my neck for dear life, her teacher told me she would take over whenever I was ready. Of course I wasn't ready but I motioned to the teacher and she had to literally pry Shaylee off of me. I hurried out of the room as tears came trickling down my face. I hurried to the car and called my mother to tell her what a horrible mother I was. I felt terrible, so later I snuck a peak in SHaylee's classroom to make sure she was fine. She was , of course, and from then on she loved it. She came that first day of school telling me that first grade was almost just like Kindergarten. She thought the teacher was going to make her read a chapter book in front of the class on her first day. Silly girl!

Emma Turns Two

Our not so little Emma is now two and is just full of energy. She is talking a bunch and we have a lot of fun with her.

First Loose Tooth

Shaylee has been trying all year to have a loose tooth. All her friends have lost a tooth and she really wanted to lose one. Everyday she would ask us if it is was more loose and everyday we would tell her not yet. It started getting more loose so she asked Daniel to pull it out. He told her she would have to do it on her own. Last Sunday she really wanted it to come out. Blake and Shaylee started fighting so I sent them to their rooms. In about Two Minutes Shaylee came downstairs screaming that her tooth came out. I just thought she was trying to get out of timeout, which she probably was. She actually did pull that sucker out and she was quite excited. She had to call everyone she knew because this is a huge day in a young girls life. We put the tooth under her pillow and waited to see if the Tooth Fairy would come to visit. The next morning Shaylee came running down the stairs telling us that the Tooth Fairy was here. Then she told me that the Tooth Fairy needed her teeth because she had a child and had to have enough teeth to stick them in her childs mouth. It makes sense, well at least to a six year old. She felt good that now a little baby had her tooth. Then of course we had to go shopping and spend our four quarters, because that is more than one dollar bill. Shaylee bought herself her very own gum with her tooth money. Life could not get any better.

Photo Session with Mom

Oh My goodness is it hard to take pictures of your kiddos. Mine were being so rotten. When one would smile the other would be off in la la land. My hat goes off to photographers. I think I will pay the money and hope they can work better magic then I can. Emma was wearing Shaylee's old dress and I just thought they looked so cute. Hopefully you could tell what I saw by my lousy pictures.

Water Slide

Our friends let us borrow this fun water slide while they were on vacation and we just loved it. We had the Duncan's over to enjoy the fun with us. They had such a blast, who would have thought it could be so much fun. Emma Lou liked to watch from her favorite seat, the porch swing. I couldn't get her on that thing.

Gymnastics

Shaylee is so funny about gymnastic outfits. She does not like to show her legs, probably a trait from her mother. She has to wear a skirt or capri pants to gym. She is really starting to enjoy gymnastics and finally got her back walk over and front limber. We are very proud of her.

PRICELESS

I came into my bedroom and found Emma laying on Shaylee and Shaylee rubbing her back. It was so cute and endearing.

Road Rash!

Emma and Shaylee decided to ride a bike together and let's just say it did not turn out very well. Shaylee turned the handle and Emma went sliding on the pavement with Shaylee following right on top of her, not beside her on top of her. She was black and blue and had a great shiner, but as you can see she was still smiling about it. Shaylee came away without a scratch thanks to Emma.

Having a little fun with Avery and Corene. Her facial expression just cracked us all up so we decided to roll with it. Cassie and Rex were visiting also and Cassie came up with the great photo opp.

Fun Swimming

Shaylee jumping off the diving board and of course holding her nose.

Corene came to visit and we sure loved playing with her, Roger and the kids. We love when they come and sure miss them when they leave.

Shaylee finally got the courage to jump off the high dive. I could not believe she did it but to my surprise she just walked right to the end of the diving board and stepped off. It was quite an exciting moment for little Miss Shaylee.

Emma loved playing on the little train in the shallow end. I could not get her off it. She loved the slide. She loves the water as long as she can touch and have her own independence.

Blake is our timid one and isn't quite sure about the water. He is fearless with a life jacket but I want him to learn to be brave without one. As you can see it is not working at the moment.

The Lake

A couple of us Mom's from the church get together and go to the beach at the Lake. The kids have fun and the Mom's get to socialize. I have a hard time getting Emma out of her favorite seat or is it just her favorite because I put food in the cup holders. She loves to eat and would rather eat then do anything. SHe is content with sitting back relaxing on some chips watching her brother and sister play in the water.

Shaylee and Blake love the water. They are starting to enjoy swimming finally.

Blake is only comfortable about getting in if he has his life jacket. I don't know how I will break him of it but for now it works.

Shaylee is a little fish and thinks she is a mermaid. She would live at the lake if I let her.

Emma thinks she is so beautiful in her swimming suit. Too bad she never gets it wet. Without fail within the first twenty mintues she will poop in her swimmming suit. If she is not pooping she is eating. It makes for a fun day.

Summer Fun

Shaylee and Blake love playing outside and usually play really well together. This is the spot to play. It is a lonely tree by our back steps and they could play for hours there. I don't know what is so special about it but it definately entertains them.

Emma is a shoe freak and put on Shaylee's dress-up heels. She looked quite cute with her messed up hair, rolls and shoes. She was in those things for half the day.

This is my children's favorite thing to do. They love playing on the trampoline with the sprinker underneath. Emma gets right up there with them and they have a blast. Shaylee always has to be plugging her nose. Even when she is out of the water.