♥ Families Are Forever ♥

June 2011

2011-12-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

Zoey loves to sit in drawers

My good friends from back in the day at BYU

Watching a parade, Savannah is in the Lehi Marching Band

Mary's baby shower, her friends decorated SO beautifully and had gift bags for all the adults and kids!

Oh my gosh I couldn't love this baby any more than I do, I could burst!

Tom teasing the girls, I forgot what he was doing but he always is a tease and makes everyone laugh

Chris, Landon, Mary

Nana and Audrey

My Sydney loves to collect snails in my parents yard...this is a snail funeral

The snail funeral video

Haha, this is Zack fallen asleep on his floor blocking the doorway so Zoey won't get in a wreck all his legos!

Tom starts the bathroom project...

I took Summer to the Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point with one of her friends

It was so fun to spend a few hours with Summer

Another cheeky baby face

Sydney plays with her 2nd cousins at Uncle Dave's

Father's Day

Savannah in her Marching Band uniform

At another parade watching Savannah

I don't know how she walked all those miles in 100 degree weather in a black polyester uniform!

Another parade :) also 100 degrees

Everyone in the bath with Zoey- we're so weird, I know.

Picnic up Provo Canyon

Lunch with my friend Stori

Savannah went to her 2nd yr at YW Camp...without me. :(

♥

More of May 2011

2011-12-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to catch up and do each month...

Zack at the dentist, who is Tom's cousin, the kids call him "Uncle Russ". He is SO good! Zack had an abscess. Poor boy couldn't put any pressure on his tooth.

My cheeky Zoey, she loves to sit on the treadmill, it's HER spot. No one can sit there but her. She loves McDonalds fries (but I try not to let her eat them)

Cheeky cute girl

Add caption

This is my cute classroom at the end of May.

Sydney and Alayna

They are best friends!

They celebrate their "friendiversary" every year on May 20th.

Cutest friends award goes to them.

They give each other gifts

Summer loves Gymnastics, it's like she was born for it.

I love this picture

Summer is in the red shorts

Trying to keep Zoey occupied during the Gymnastics meet

Zoey loves this blanket

♥

Diary of a wife left behind while her husband was in Iraq

2011-11-12T01:15:00.000-07:00

Three weeks worrying about a loved one in a war torn country is actually a LONG time. Longest three weeks of my life.

The kids and I dropped Tom off at the airport I thought I was going to throw up and bawl my eyes out but I had to hold it together in front of the kids. I really thought I was never going to see him again. It's a terrible thing to go through. (I can't imagine how Nick and Brooke do it for 9+ months at a time. Nick is in Bahrain now) I felt more uneasy about him going as a civilian than if he was actual military.

With the 9 hr time difference it was hard to connect at decent times but we got to Skype several times. I LOVE Skype!! Tom could do funny things with his computer and the kids thought it was funny, he would make his face turn into animals.

Joani came and stayed with me while Tom was gone. She was an amazing help! She did crafts and made yummy treats with the kids, she talked with me in the evenings, it was so comforting to have her here!

This short three week experience has made me appreciate the little things and the big things.

This country,
the freedoms we have
of religion,
of safety
of education
the comforts I take for granted, how ridiculously rich we are in general

I don't think twice about driving down the street, sending my kids to school, or going to a public place. BUT, every single day that Tom was gone I thought of those things.

I only learned recently that Tom witnessed car bombs while he was in Iraq and a mortar hit their base. It's good I didn't know these things at the time. I was already experiencing migraines and insomnia with all my worry.

I keep imagining how I would feel if I lived over there, with my family. I would never let my kids leave the house, they would be home schooled. I would be afraid to drive anywhere, I would be afraid ALL the time. Can you imagine how that would feel?

We would have to practice our faith in private, there are no church buildings or Temples to go to. Tom met a man who had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, his wife and two sons also joined. They saved a lot of money and went to be sealed in the South Africa Temple but couldn't afford to take both of their sons. So they are saving to go again. It is such a sacrifice, I have a hard time imagining.

There are so many good people all over the world, it inspires me.

What an experience this has been for all of us. Who knew such a short time could affect me so deeply.

The kids prayed everyday while Tom was gone, that he "would be safe and wouldn't die". Still they pray and say, "thank you that daddy was safe."

We pray for all our military. I only had a glimpse of their sacrifice.

Even if something happened to Tom I know that God would take care of us and that we would be with him again.

I am grateful for so many things. The little things and the big things.

I love all my family,
I love my Heavenly Father
I love America,
I love Utah,
I love my freedom AND safety

Tom delivering his presents

Zoey got a stuffed camel, she loved it

She was shy with her dad at first

Zack got some Iraqi coins

All the kids got a really ornate camel and a Dinar- Iraqi currency

All the girls got these beautiful scarves


Zoey doesn't let me put anything on her head

Diary of an HR guy in Iraq Part 2

2011-10-03T09:17:00.001-06:00

To My Awesome Family 2
Hi Family! I love you guys so much and can’t wait to see you again...almost half-way there!
Well, lots of stuff going on. We work a lot. We start early in the morning and go well past dark. I’m finally sleeping well...for a while there, my body was waking me up at 4:00 am! I’m also learning to binf my way through the maze of concrete walls that surround all the buildings here. I took some pictures to show you what I mean...

At the end of this twisted corridor it my room! These giant barriers are called T-walls. They were put in recently to keep out mortar shells and giant bugs (joke). Everything looked the same, so I would always get turned around and lose my way! The wooden walk way in the picture below is called “Mortar Alley.” This is where the mortar hit a few months ago (and resulted in all the T- walls being installed). Pretty cozy, eh?

They mop the wooden boardwalks every day. They also do my laundry and clean my room. It’s kinda like living in a hotel! It’s always hot and sunny here...usually around 105 degrees or so. Mommy would hate it! However, it actually rained yesterday. And to my surprise, it was followed by fog! Not exactly what you’d expect in the desert.

When I step out my door in the morning, this is what I see (right). At the end of the walk way is our loading yard (through the gap). This is where military convoys load water onto their
trucks to take off to different bases around Baghdad. The giant T-walls also surround the loading yard (left). On just the other side of the wall is Suddam Hussein’s palace grounds. I’ll show you some pictures of his Palace later on.

Check it out, here are some non- military truckloads. These will go all the way up North. It’s a long drive for them. The men wear long man-dresses. It actually keeps them more cool in the hot sun.
To the side of the trucking yard is our little emergency bunker. It’s kinda snug but I guess it will keep you more safe. Our security guy told us that if a mortar shell goes off, we need to stick our thumbs in our ears and open our mouths...otherwise out lungs could explode...nice. Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about that kind of stuff! I feel really good knowing that I can rely on Heavenly Father for protection. I don’t seen how people do it without have the comfort of the Gospel.

We drive past Saddam’s palace every time we go to lunch. The sights are really quite amazing! Below are few pictures. Saddam had dozens of palaces. And because he never wanted people to know where
he was, he made all of his palaces prepare a the meal for him just in case he popped in. Look at the picture on the right. Do you see all the sandbags stacked in the windows? US forces now occupy the palace. It’s very creepy seeing these palaces, knowing all the horrible things that took place here. Since coming here, I’ve heard things that would make your skin crawl!

The gun to the right was left on Saddam’s palace grounds. It’s an anti-aircraft gun. Compared to the everything else out here, it looks very old fashioned. As we drive along the roads here, we see tons of armoured vehicles. I haven't seen any tanks yet, though...which kinda bums me out.
In addition to all the armoured vehicles and stuff here, there are also lots of orchards. However, they’re not the orchards were used to seeing in Utah. I think this orchard grows dates. I tasted a date the other day...not too bad!

Check out these awesome pictures! These are straight off my computer. Seeing these is always the best part of my day! Look familiar?

I love you guys tons! Can’t wait to see you again!
Love, Daddy

Due to security reasons I can't post the pictures, but if you would like an email let me know.
My nerves aren't any better after reading this but I do feel some peace. Joani is staying with me and that is SO helpful! Conference weekend gave me lots of spiritual strength too.

♥

Diary of an HR guy in Iraq

2011-09-28T17:56:00.002-06:00

9/28/11 To My Awesome Family!
Well, I’m finally settled in after a long, long, long, looooooooooooooooong, flight! Let me tell you about it...
After you guys dropped me off at the airport, I rushed to my plane. Made it just in time, too. So I found my seat, got settled, and waited. Then I waited some more. After more waiting, the Pilot announced that a light on the control panel had burned out and they were waiting for a replacement. A silly light! Well, after 40 minutes of waiting, we finally took off. My first stop would be the Atlanta Airport.
When we landed in Atlanta, we were way late because of the light bulb replacement. In fact, when we pulled up to the gate, I only had twenty minutes to get to my next flight! The pilot had trouble linking up with the gate tunnel and took up up ten more minutes of precious time! When I finally got off the plane, I had just 10 minutes to race to the other side of the airport to catch my flight to Dubai. I ran and ran! I dodged people, scrambled up escalators, and panted, “excuse me” and “coming through.” Also, my belt was loose, so I had to grab my pants to keep them from falling down while I ran. I probably looked pretty funny. Anyway, by the time I ran up to my gate, the plane I was supposed to be on was just barely pulling away from the gate. I
had missed it by only a few minutes! Argh...
Anyway, I said a quick prayer then asked the airline people what I should do. They sent me on a plane to Dubai that went through London. Isn’t that funny? Remember how I was joking with Mommy that I was going to England and that I would have my own little vacation? Well, this was no vacation! I guess I should stop teasing Mommy! On the flight to London, I sat behind a lady who had a fuzzy, black mohawk. I could only see the top of it peeking over the top of her chair and it reminded me of a giant tarantula...I almost took a picture of it!
After my stop in London, it was off to Dubai! I was excited to see that each seat in the plane had a movie screen with tons of movies to choose from. There was a really old lady from the Philippines sitting next to me. I had to laugh when I saw that the movie she was watching was “Thor.” Can you imagine
that?

Dubai was an interesting place. There were tons of strange smells and sounds...and boy, it was hot! I thought it was interesting that they had a room that people could go to just to say their prayers. Check out the sign. Everything was written in both Arabic and English.

The Airport ceiling was so high. It reminded me of a giant palace. There were mirrors on the ceilings and lots of flashing lights. All the workers there wore long white robes and had white scarfs draped over their
heads.

To get to my next flight, I had to ride the bus to a city called Abu Dhabi. But before I could do that, I had to take a taxi to the bus stop! My taxi driver was really nice. He kept making jokes and laughing. I didn’t understand his jokes, but I pretended to and just laughed along with him. After I paid him, I began walking away from the taxi. The driver called after me. “Sir, don’t forget this!” I turned around to see my wallet on the seat. I smacked my forehead...isn’t that just like Daddy to forget something like that? I thanked the taxi driver and then thanked
Heavenly Father...He was really looking out for me!

The bus ride to Abu-Dhabi was cool. I sat by a man named Arun who talked to me about all of his business ideas. He has big plans to help people. It’s fun meeting so many different people. I love seeing the goodness in people’s hearts around the world.

As the bus rumbled along, we passed old buildings that looked to be straight from the movie, Sinbad.
Most of these buildings are called Mosques. Mosques are places were the Muslims here go to pray and worship. They’re kinda like our wardhouses. See the big towers? That’s where the priests call all the Muslims to prayer each day. Can you imagine the Bishop building a big tower by our church house and shouting to everyone to remember to say their prayers? Muslims do that five times a day. I hope you’re all saying your prayers!

The bus finally pulled up to the Abu Dahbi International Airport. When I got to the main waiting area, I felt like I was inside a magic mushroom. Look at the strange patterns on the ceiling! They’re made of little tiles glued in interesting designs.

Believe it or not, there was a McDonalds in the airport. I could have had a Big Mac and fries for lunch! Instead, I bought something that would be more unique. I picked out a goat cheese and orchard leaf sandwich (seriously). Once I picked it out, the man behind the counter took it out the bag, grilled it, and
brought it to me. It was gross, but at least I can say I tried a goat cheese sandwich. Not many people can say that, right? I also had an orange Soda and a fruit plate. Orange soda is good wherever you get it...even in Abu Dahbi!

Everyone there was so nice and they all spoke very good English!
From Abu Dahbi, I flew to Iraq. On the plane, I showed an Iraqi man how to play the video games on the plane. Boys will always love video games...regardless of where they come from! Anyway, when I got there, I had a few meetings and then went to bed!

Check out my room...pretty small, huh?

Well, I’m meeting lots of new people and seeing tons of interesting things. I can’t wait to tell you more! I'll send another update soon. In the meantime I love you all so much and miss you more than I can say! I’ll try to call you on my computer...It will be tricky finding a time when we’re all awake!
I love you Sally! I love you Grandma! I love you Savannah! I love you Sydney! I love you Zackers! I love you Summer! I love you Zo-Zo Bear!
Talk to you soon! Love Daddy...

I sure love this guy. I don't function well without my better half. He had some cool pictures that went with his email but I couldn't copy them over. I'll keep trying.

♥

GASP! Honey, we have a Teenager!

2011-05-25T15:15:00.000-06:00

Teenager Quotes- just for fun

Cinderella- Proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!

The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another. ~Quentin Crisp

It's difficult to decide whether growing pains are something teenagers have - or are. ~Author Unknown

The average teenager still has all the faults his parents outgrew. ~Author Unknown

Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years. ~Author Unknown

Mother Nature is providential. She gives us twelve years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers. ~William Galvin

MAY 12, 1998

First child, first grandchild, first great-grandchild

Savannah is a sweetheart! She has such a great smile and a big heart.

She is caring and considerate of others.

Now our first teenager!

She plays the piano and flute, she loves to sing, dance, and act, she loves horses and dogs and learns everything she can about them, she is a great babysitter, she loves the wii and DS, and she is a great helper to us at home!

Happy Birthday to our first baby girl!

Savannah is 13!!!!!!! We love you Vanna!!!!! We need to buy some candles and stop using sparklers! LOL

Zoey loves our donuts tradition!

Little nibbler

Savannah's locker, I decorated it and left a present inside- a necklace, lotions, chex mix, flavored water, skittles, and a crown (she wanted one!), it was fun to surprise her!


THE ROOF RESTAURANT- We took Savannah out for a special date. I remember my parents taking me to NYC for a fancy dinner when I turned 13 so I wanted to do the same for my Savannah. We didn't tell her where we were going and she was so excited and surprised. She was GLOWING all night. It still makes me cry when I think about this night, it was really special.

Daddy's girl!

Beautiful view, beautiful company


We love you Savannah!

The family celebration was on Saturday May 14. Savannah loves Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse. We can only afford it once a year so we save it for her birthday! Double Noodles!!!

Zack went and asked for chopsticks!

Zoey LOVED the noodles, she was grabbing them by the handfuls! Good thing we got double!

On her birthday we took Savannah to pick out some clothes. She was adorable trying on outfits and twirling in the mirror. This was a milestone because the store wasn't Walmart or Target, it was a "Mall store", her first REAL shopping trip. Yay for girls, boo for the price tag. (With 4 girls I need to work part-time at this store...)

We used gift bags because apparently we need to buy wrapping paper!

Love those sweet eyes

These silly monkeys wish they were twins sometimes

More sparklers


Since we only have time at night, it gets late and poor Summer falls asleep on the couch!

♥

Pinewood/Field Trips Galore/Another Broken Foot

2011-05-24T16:30:00.002-06:00

I love England! And I love that Prince William looks like my brother Jerry! And I love this picture!

APRIL 26- Little Dude with his derby car! He and Tom have so much fun making them, Tom even bought a few new tools...

Tom keeping Zoey from trouble, and Sydney with a hurt foot, (more on that later)

Zack is so proud of his car


He got 2nd place! He's already planning his car for next year.

APRIL 27- I took a personal day to go on a field trip with Summer and all of 1st grade, to the Zoo! It was ALSO my anniversary! In the morning when I was getting ready Summer asked me, "Are you going to wear earrings and make-up?" "Um, Yes." "Oh good, I don't want people saying you are fat and ugly." Poor Summer, embarrassed by her mom, it still stings. But I had a GREAT day with Summer and I think she had fun too.

Her cute class

Paige- Summer's best friend

Wanting to still be the "baby"

Coolest Gorilla EVER

Our super awesome group

It's hard work walking around...

Well at least I had jewelry and make up on, didn't have time for my hair!

So Sydney fell at school and hurt her foot real bad, this happened on 4/26, we waited a day to see if it would get better but she wouldn't walk on it and it was really swollen. On 4/27 after the field trip with Summer I took Sydney to the Dr. They thought it was broken and sent us to get an x-ray. Sydney just bawled. She was so sad and so scared to have a broken bone. We got the x-rays done and while we waited I took her to see an adorable puppy, it cheered her up for a moment. Then the Dr called to say it was broken and the tears started up again. I felt so bad for her. It really was pitiful. Tom and I had tickets to go to the REAL soccer game and dinner for our 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, but we decide we needed to be home with our Sydney and comfort her. We still need to celebrate our anniversary...get right on that Tom!

MAY 4- I'm happy to report that the day after Sydney got her cute blue cast and pink glitter toes she told me "having a broken bone isn't so bad, I like all the attention!" I took another personal day to go on a field trip with Sydney for the 5th grade Hope of America concert in the Marriott Center at BYU. It took me back to the days when I used to clean that place! I told Syd that I got to walk in the catwalks, she thought that was awesome and told all her friends. :)

The fun bus ride

Emily and Sydney

Sydney and me

The lovely Marriott Center stairs, scary in crutches!

Sydney and JR, her "friend" I won't embarrass her but she was happy that he hurt his foot too, because he could understand her. Plus they "like" each other....Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I always cry at Hope of America!

The ADORABLE puppy that cheered Sydney up...I want her! She's a Papillon!

MAY 6- Another field trip! This time with my buddy Zack (and his friend Sael) to Camp Floyd. It was a pretty awesome place! I got to be the tour guide for the old "Inn", very cool! Wish I had pictures!

While all these fun activities are going on...

- It's the last month of school which means VERY busy/crazy time for me

- Tom got strepp, then bronchitis, high blood pressure, and is sick again with pnemonia (I think)

The thing that suffers MOST, among other things, is the house...

I hate mess!

Counter-O-Chaos

Don't even get me started on laundry...

♥

Spring Break and Easter!

2011-05-01T22:18:00.023-06:00

It was so fun watching conference this year, I always love conference weekend but this time my older kids watched almost every session and took notes, it was so sweet!!!

SPRING BREAK....

I was a little sad we didn't "go anywhere" but we still had a fun week!

Monday- 4 hrs at the dentist!!!! Not so fun
Tuesday- friends over, mine and kids
Wednesday- Swimming with 15 kids!
Thursday- Farm country/Gardens
Friday- My friend visits! Trafalga/Gardens
AND ALL WEEK JUST BEING A MOM- my favorite thing!!!!

oh and the new fascination my kids have with selling things on the sidewalk!

Summer loves to take my camera and have fun with it!

LOVED spending all week cuddling my Zoey!!!

Zack got the coolest shark shirt from Nick and Brooke!

Farm country was fun but a little cold!

fondue dinner

going swimming with ALL these kids...I love having lots of kids!

We were at the pool for 4 hrs...Zoey loved it but got cold and tired! Me too!

playing games at night, "Who What Where" such a fun game! Thanks for introducing us James and Becky, we're addicted now!

you pick 3 cards, a who, a what, and a where, then you draw it and everyone has to guess

this is Zack's

it's a dolphin, blowing out a birthday candle, in a box

Savannah's

a horse, building a sand castle, on an island

Sydney's

a sea lion, taking a picture, on a farm

Summer's

a fish, watching a movie, on a volcano

Tom's of course the artist...

a butterfly, brushing teeth, at a gym

and mine....

a snake, bowling, on a boat

friends over- Savannah and Brianna

Zoey and her cute teeth!

Hannah graduates from BYU

EASTER- fun traditions

The Easter bunny comes on Saturday so we can focus on the real meaning of Easter on Sunday. We have so much fun. The bunny visits our house and leaves candy EVERYWHERE and I mean everywhere, it takes him a long time too!

Zoey is getting a sugar high...

the kids wait for instructions/rules

time to collect!

Zack and his super sized shirts! (I actually think this is one of Tom's!!!!)

Zoey wants some

she was too cute walking around with her basket!

the Easter bunny did a scavenger hunt for the kids to find their baskets

we sent the kids everywhere looking for the golden egg while Zoey had it, but she got too excited and fell. Poor baby.

reading the clues

clues in fun places

I was NOT happy about this clue, the Easter bunny was in trouble!

can't believe Syd actually picked it out!

even a clue in the mailbox

LOVE Summer's face! Trying to figure out this clue! Huh?

and the grand finale

Easter dinner, I felt bad I didn't do a ham and yummy potatoes but the kids were happy with our usual french pancakes...colored

we put everything in Easter decor, this is syrup

Easter egg pancakes

the BIG bowl of candy

yogurt

colorful

we filled the big eggs with fruit cocktail

butter

Zoey loves the dinner!

a fast video, I tried to catch Zoey giggling
♥

How does another month go by SO fast? Summer's bday, April Fools...

2011-04-18T10:52:00.000-06:00

This is my future kitty! Tom and I made a deal, one I never ever thought he would agree to, and it was HIS idea! I want to reach this goal of mine and Tom wanted to give me some extra motivation. It's working....it helps that the kids are excited and want me to reach my goal too!

Summer is SEVEN! I can't believe it. Tom used sparklers.

I love this little Summer blossom!

Zoey loves our bday tradition of donuts!

Summer on her b-day! Cutie pie!

Zoey loves to hang out when we take showers, she gets all wet!

I took Summer and 5 of her friends to a hair salon for her party. They did up-do's for their hair and mini-manicures! They all had so much fun!

Macie looks a little nervous

Atlie is loving it

Summer thought it was THE BEST! She felt like a princess!

Halle gets her nails done

I never let my girls paint their nails (just toes) because I hate how it always looks messy after the first day...Summer is in heaven!

Kinsey sang Justin Bieber!

Summer's nails

All the pretty princesses

Back home for presents and cake

Summer's bday dinner. She loves French Pancakes!

the loot

She's such a funny kid!

Tom drew her a "LaLa Loopsy doll" poster

My favorite is seeing her reactions!

In case you are wondering, THIS is a LaLa Loopsy doll

Zoey loves to be on Tom's shoulders- he says, "Where's Zoey?"

There she is!

Sparklers again, everyone helps light them at the same time, this is serious business. I need to get some candles!

Summer celebrates at my parents' house. Angie made the YUMMIEST cupcakes! There was an oreo inside the cupcake and oreo frosting! Wow!

Cute girls

April Fools Day Dinner! I made meatloaf and potatoes cupcakes. I told the kids since it was April Fools we get to do special things like have dessert for dinner....

Sydney loved it and wants to have it for her bday dinner

Summer was expecting REAL dessert so she is not happy

Zack is disappointed too

They were REALLY confused when I made "British Grilled Cheese Sandwiches" for dessert!

Summer LOVED dinner for dessert! Of course because it is made with pound cake and orange frosting! Yum!

Zack has a sweet tooth too

Poor Zoey, we're starting her sugar addiction early!

General conference! We always get Mcdonalds for breakfast on Saturday morning. I know, we're so healthy here. But 2x a year isn't bad right?

We went to Thanksgiving Point in between sessions

what is this big white wall?

SO COOL! Shadow fun!

Zoey showing off her dancing skills, we have a talented baby ;)

Lets see if she likes the sand/water table...

Too much! She ate the sand!

This face reminds me of Tom when he was a baby

My family loves to joke and pose. I love them!

♥

Birthdays, Family Fun, and stuff

2011-04-03T19:23:00.000-06:00

Another month slips by quickly and I feel like I need to document everything or it's like it never happened and I might forget. I'm very forgetful lately! I don't like how busy my life is but that doesn't mean I don't like my life. We're doing the best we can with what we've got. :)

Here we are having family home evening getting ready to do a puzzle and enjoying "crayon cookies" made by Summer. The girls have their hair in curlers because it's easier for me to do their hair at night then to wake them up before I leave in the mornings and do it. Plus, don't they look cute?

fun twisty curls

I love how the curls turn out!

at least I can do 3 of the 4 girls hair...I have to wait a few more years for Zoey's to grow

I Love Curl Formers!!

Zoey "helps" with the dishes

Tom has a birthday! I won't say how old he is because it's my age too! But the kids LOVE to tell everyone how old we are!

I broke down and got Tom Buckyballs...they are deadly to babies so he has to keep them away from all the kids. But they are SO fun to play with.

I love how excited the kids get when they give presents!

Sydney's card to Tom was classic!

Best (evil) chocolate cake EVER!

I planned for months to take Tom away for a night, we haven't done anything including dates for a long time. I scheduled a night at Anniversary Inn and was so excited for it, we never stay anywhere fancy. Just as we were about to leave the Anniversary Inn called and said their boiler exploded and no one could stay there for a few days! I was in a little shock and then cried. I already paid for our night there in the form of a gift certificate and they wouldn't refund it (long story) so we could stay somewhere else. I was really sad. But then our friend offered to let us use his Marriott rewards and we got to stay in a nice Marriott in SLC! We went to eat at The Roof and had all the creme brulee we wanted!

It was so nice to have hours to talk and just enjoy each other! A well needed weekend!

We couldn't find the car for 10 minutes!

Our friend even got us this lovely surprise!

Our nice room!

Sydney's art project at pack meeting, made from all recycled items!

Savannah is getting so good at playing the flute!

Chris, Landon, Mary- we all got together because Landon and his family are moving to Florida!

So cute!

Favorite picture! Our baby Zoey turned ONE on 3/16. I can't believe it! A year goes by so quickly! Here's what everyone has to say about Zoey;
Summer- "I like Zoey and she's cute. And she always plays and screams with me. And she's adorable!"
Zack- "Zoey is the best sister ever! She's fun and silly and happy and fun to play with."
Sydney- "She's cute and I love her. She always makes cute cooing sounds and says 'hi' to me. She comforts me when I'm sad."
Savannah- " She's cute, I love how she waves her hands in the air when she walks. I love when she says 'hi' whenever she wants something or is excited or happy."

We took her to Pirate Island. She loved it! And her favorite thing is lolipops!

The other kids loved it to! They have the best breadsticks!

Zoey the cute pirate

the crew sang to her and she got her own sundae

Love that smile!

What's this?

Do I like it?

OH YEAH!!!

Can't get enough fast enough!

St Patrick's Day dinner

I don't know why Zack is shirtless...

looking through the green punch

We took the kids to the Aquarium

Sydney loved these snakes, they look like rubber

Time for Zoey's celebration! I made fun of Tom because he kept rearranging the presents for the picture!

We're so blessed to have this cute little girl in our family! She brings such joy to our home!!!!

She started walking a few weeks ago, so she has a crown of bruises from falling into things all the time

the girls help Zoey dig into her cake

she mostly ate the icing!

yummy cupcakes from Tarin (Zoey's "other mother")

♥

The Mayan

2011-03-26T01:30:00.000-06:00

We had Sam and Mo stay over night a few weeks ago. We went to the Mayan...

SO

MUCH

FUN

Sam and Zoey

the wait was more than an hour so Tom entertained with his phone

LOVE Baby Einstein!

Zoey points at everything

Sydney is too cute with Mo

♥

Dynamite

2011-02-17T15:45:00.001-07:00

"I throw my hands up in the air sometimes Saying ay-oh, gotta let go. I wanna celebrate and live my life Saying ay-oh, baby let's go."

Those lyrics get STUCK in my head because my kids sing them all the time AND my school blasts it during passing time, but it is a fun song to dance to. :) And so I put it on a playlist and made you listen to it as you read my blog.

I do feel like DYNAMITE though! :)
Know why?
Because my sweet baby got tubes in her ears and is finally sleeping more than 2 hrs at a time! No joke I have been getting 3, 4, 5 hrs of INTERRUPTED sleep each night since October! And going to work, and barely surviving, not remembering appointments, realizing a few days had gone by and I didn't have any meaningful conversations with my kids and hubby... I was a zombie, walking dead, a wreck, never did my hair (it was always in a pony tail), I didn't do my kids hair, every little thing overwhelmed me, I had no energy to do anything, not even to laugh and I LOVE laughing.

I feel alive again! It's amazing what some sleep can do and it hasn't even been a week! Bye bye Zombie Sally.

So with my renewed energy I am updating my blog. I can't believe I managed to take pictures.

Wait, yes I can. I love pictures. I can't believe there was anything happening to take pictures OF.

Lots of catching up.

News Years Eve. We usually go to a hotel for the night with the kids and swim and play games. Instead we stayed home and played games like "Would You Rather", watched the ball drop on the COMPUTER (because we don't have TV anymore) and the kids slept in a tent in the living room. It was a fun night, I think, I don't remember much about the past 4 months. I'm just going off the pictures.

my cute boy Zack

my kids anticipation of the ball dropping, poor Summer was SO tired!

the tent

FREEZER MEALS- January- I'm addicted to freezer meals! It's quite the production to make 3 recipes X 8, but worth it to get 24 different meals.

Here is my homemade mashed potatoes for Shepherds Pie, yummy eh?

assembly line of food...I need bigger pots, like industrial pots, oh and a restaurant stove!

My birthday was in there sometime...

You can't really see but the candles melted WAY fast! Not because there were tons of them I'm sure!

my sweet sweet family (I still feel like someone is missing, my grief still comes in waves)

Tom knew what would help with my freezer meals...an electric can opener! Yes! :)

I love this baby and she loves paper and crinkley things

this face kept me going through the sleepless nights

my buddy

she absolutely loved the balloon

she wants to walk so badly

one of my favorite things to see

"What mom?"

Tom has been secretly saving to make me a picture wall and get some seating in our living room, for my birthday, what a surprise! I LOVE it!

A poster that was on my door at school! I look like the Joker!

Savannah and her best friend Brianna

we moved our piano

and moved things around in the living room. I still need to get pictures in the frames!

Zoey wants to play too

BAPA VISITS
Bapa came to visit and did a magic show! It was AMAZING!

I love the kids reactions!

We tried several times to get a good picture of Bapa sitting with his girls

Zack

enjoying root beer floats while Bapa reads The Hobbit. Bapa you are a GREAT story teller!

Oh yeah, my co-worker Megan moved in with us Jan 1st! Isn't she a cutie!? I love her! Tom gets jealous! :) Everyone tells her she looks like Courtney Cox or Meagan Fox. Yeah, I can see why! She helps me make dinner and helps with the kids, it's like having a nanny, I may NEVER let her go!

Megan's room (aka my craft room/old preschool room)

I love the foamy top of root beer floats

Zoey puts everything in her mouth, she is the scariest baby I have had! We have taken so many crazy things out of her mouth (ear plug, silly band, ball, screw, dry wall, glass, an excedrin, wrappers of all kinds, rocks, string, erasers, shrinky dinks, beads) yeah, and we don't take our eyes off her, EVER, and she STILL finds stuff!

she loves to pull hair

She knows the good stuff! (don't worry she's not really drinking it, it's not open, I'm not that bad of a mom!) Tom calls this "devils brew" but I call it deliciousness!

Freezer Meals- February
so so so much food!

2/10- Zoey gets tubes- A New life begins for mom and dad!

Summer loves her baby sister! She watches Baby Einstein with her!

My pretty girls in dresses they got from Grandma! Thanks Grandma!

Zoey reminds me of a porcelain doll!

I did all the girls hair in these hearts for Valentines Day. I should've taken the picture before they were at school all day!

We had to give our supersaucer back to the rightful owner so I got this one on sale and with a gift card. Zoey loves it!

bounce away

walking all over

Valentine's Day
Tom came and stole me away for a Valentine lunch. I had to go to another Jr. High and he hid in the back of my car and SCARED me! But it was totally fun to go to lunch and have a mini date! Love ya babe!

Zack's cute animal stickers

We made a fun dinner for the kids.

I love these little ones!

Holy Moly! After reading this post I feel like I have ADD! Wow!
♥

The GOOD parts of December! :)

2011-01-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

This was a different December for the Cannon family, a hard month, so I am glad we were busy doing fun things! We had good to cancel out the bad! :)
THINGS I DON'T WANT TO FORGET THIS MONTH...

Of course there's my adorable pure joy Zoey. She LOVES this blanket with the satin trim, she sleeps with it, she cuddles it, I better go buy another one because if we lose this one we're in trouble! She has two cute bottom teeth, she eats some solid food without her tummy hurting, she points with her fist by lifting up her arm like a salute, she sings and makes cute noises all the time, she scrunches up her face when she's really happy, she claps, pulls herself up, wants to walk before she crawls, and when I take naps with her she holds my face...I LOVE this baby!

I love her cheeks, that's a yogurt puff on one...

Ummm, I let Sydney feed her...

Festival of Trees
We go every year. It was a good distraction for me. My mom, Hannah, and Landon came with us.

I want to make this advent quilt! It's SO gorgeous!

Summer, Sydney, Zack with the Cookie Monster tree

my two babies

my mama and Savannah

Zoey and Hannah

Savannah and me enjoying the YUMMIEST scones EVER

my "twins"

Zack and the Maui Christmas tree, so cool

my favorite wreath and garland, a nativity scene from Italy, only $2500...sigh

fun dollhouse with all homemade curtains, pillows, quilts

I love the gingerbread houses

WOW, candy land!

Christmas Craft Time with Daddy
every Sunday Tom would do a craft with the kids (while Zoey and I slept). I let them use my scrapbook stuff since it has been sitting around not being used for years. I'm glad they had so much fun with it.

they made Christmas paper balls

half of the ball for a cute hat. Tom hung them above our table when they were done. I'm sad I didn't get a picture.

He also made 3-D Christmas box scenes. They turned out SO cute! I was in the hospital when they finished so the kids brought them to me. They were adorable!

Savannah had her first band concert. She is getting so good at the flute and it's only been a few months.

Zoey loves to empty the diaper bag

love that smile

Macie and Atlie's dance recital

I had so many sweet visitors at the hospital, family and friends helping with meals and the kids, it's nice to be taken care of!
Some of the flowers I got

Fun With Cousins
Nick & Brooke, Jerry & Autumn came for Christmas! Emma came a few days after. We missed Ali & Dan!

Layla and Zoey

Eowyn and sugar cookies

I love doing sugar cookies, but this year I couldn't eat any. :(

Christmas package from Grandma & Bapa! Thanks so much! The kids loved all the crafts and treats!

more sugar cookies

games at my parents house

Autumn and Layla

Zack and Michael

Jerry, Layla, Audrey, and Brooke. (The three baby cousins are all 2 months apart. Zoey 9 months, Layla 7 months, Audrey 5 months.)

Christmas Eve
Savannah got her patriarchal blessing on the 22nd, it was a very sweet experience. She was so excited and had prepared for it well. We fasted with her on that special day. She is so grown up. She is the sweetest young lady! She gave the patriarch (Brother Felt) a hug. That's so Savannah, she loves to hug everyone. We didn't know when she would get the typed up blessing, because the Felts were going to Italy for Christmas, but we got a call from him on Christmas Eve morning that it was done! Savannah called it a Christmas miracle. I drove her to pick it up, and being the smart person I am I went in my pajamas and no shoes, because it was just around the corner and I wasn't getting out of the car...until I was invited in by Sister Felt...oh I. was. mortified. But we had a sweet visit with them. Savannah was so happy, she gave them both a hug.

It is quite the experience hearing someone bless your child. Emotional. Spiritual. Unforgettable.

Tom made a delicious brunch with Christmas shaped pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, fruit and orange julius.

Tom and I did A LOT of "Santa's Elves" chores in the afternoon and didn't finish so Tom stayed home while I took the kids up to my dad's Bell Choir Christmas Eve performance up by the Capital building. I was a little emotional listening and singing the carols.
Hannah and Savannah

my cute parents

we went to Temple Square after but it was freezing and crowded so it was a quick trip.

it's so pretty with all the lights

On the way home I looked for something we could eat for dinner. Everything was closed of course! Until I saw an Open sign in a Chinese Food restaurant! I think that is a new tradition for us, Christmas Eve Chinese food! Yum Yum. No cooking, no cleaning. I like it.

the kids made their signs for Santa

Zack's

Savannah made Zoey's

Sydney's

I like Sydney's details

Savannah's

Summer's

all the stockings before we put them on the end of the kids' beds

Zoey's first Christmas. Thanks for the stocking grandma!

I love all the Christmas cards

Christmas Eve presents

new pajamas, yay!

Christmas Morning
the kids had been up since 6:00 or earlier, but they had their stockings to occupy them, Tom had a sign on our door that read, "Dearest Babies, please do not wake us up before 8:00 or you will be destroyed. Merry Christmas" That made me laugh.

my favorite part is seeing their faces

love this picture!

finally we own a sled!

Zoey loved the paper and tags most.

we went up to my parents' house for brunch

my parents do a fun breakfast with British Christmas "crackers"

you have to wear the crown

love those eyes, Audrey!

skyping with Emma

trying to keep Zoey from putting everything in her mouth was hard!

we need a bigger living room

Sunday half of us were sick, Tom took Zack and Zoey to the instacare- double ear infections and RSV. Nice. No sleep for anyone.

12/27- Monday we went up American Fork Canyon for sledding and hot chocolate. It was short but sweet.

Zoey was in the car most of the time

12/28-Tuesday, the cousins got their ears pierced.
Zack was a trooper waiting around for 2 hrs.

Summer went first, she was brave but nervous.

she has been begging for months to get her ears pierced.

she loves them

Saylor went next.

Atlie needed some convincing

Sydney was the most nervous. This is a re-pierce for her.

great action shot

not so bad

there's the smile

Macie wanted some too

We spent a lot of time at my parents house with everybody.
All the cousins (except for Sahalie & Bodhi)

Overall a great Christmas!
♥

Wisdom & Perspective

2010-12-17T11:07:00.003-07:00

So December has been an interesting month for me and the family.

Here's the nitty gritty for those who want to know; I am not blessed with wit and storytelling talents so bear with me...

Sunday I started feeling really sick, like flu sick. Summer was also getting sick so I thought we had the same thing. I slept all afternoon after church and still felt yucky. I was also getting a migraine (nasty things). Tom gave me a long massage and a blessing (SO grateful for those!) During the night I got up with Zoey and could hardly move, pain in my abdomen, pounding migraine, and fever. Summer threw up and slept in our room the rest of the night.

Monday morning got up and things were worse! Summer also had a fever and was really sick. So logically I thought we both had the same thing. It felt like food poisoning and bad flu! I couldn't stand up straight the pain and cramping was so bad. The day goes on, Summer and I lay on my bed ALL day, intermittently I clean up her puke while trying not to myself! Tom came home a little early to take care of us. My fever kept getting higher and my cramping worse.

I finally thought maybe this is an infection from the miscarriage...I called my mom and sister Emma (the family Doc) and they both told me to go to the ER. I resisted still because I didn't want to pay the ER bill. My parents came over to take care of the kids while Tom took me to the ER. We were thinking maybe I need a D&C, worst case scenario. Doc comes in and starts pressing on my tummy and each time I grab her arm to stop her! I kept apologizing, it was like a reflex! "Don't touch me there!" is what I wanted to say, but instead I kept grabbing her hand. I was doing a lot of apologizing, and that's when they gave me morphine...haha. I also had to apologize for not having glitter toes and my legs waxed!

I had a CT scan, with the awful contrast IV that makes your body feel on fire, Tom got to see all my insides! They said I had to be admitted to the hospital, that I had appendicitis or this other thing called diverticulitis and may have to have surgery! WHAT!? Oh my favorite part was when they told me this "diverticulitis" was something they see in people over 60. Nice! So they ruled out appendicitis. I spent time Google-ing info about DT (I don't want to spell diverticulitis out anymore) and won't describe it all here, you can google it if you want, basically it's a weak part of your colon that pops out and gets infected, it can rupture the colon. They treat it with antibiotics (and surgery if the antibiotics don't work.) I really didn't want to have part of my colon removed.

I got morphine for the first time in my life, that was nice. I compare the pain I felt to labor. It was bad, bad, bad. Morphine is good. :) Tom stayed with me until I was all settled in my hospital bed, around 1:30am. My parents were so good to be with our kids. The kids did FHE with them, Savannah did the lesson, they played Who, What, Where Jr (GREAT game!), and had ice-cream. We really have sweet kids.

The waiting game started to see if the antibiotics would work or if I would have surgery. I was also on a clear liquid diet, which was fine with me because I didn't want to eat anyway, I still don't! Luckily my fever went down, my pain went down, things were looking good.

I had nice visits from friends and neighbors, I may even get my book read in time for book club! Laughing hurt my tummy but was good for my soul. Tom brought the kids to see me Tuesday night. I missed them so much! Zoey loved my IV tubes! It's sad that kids think if you're in the hospital it means you could die, they kept asking me and Tom if I would die. Poor things.

GREAT blessing, I got to come home on Wednesday. No surgery! Yay! I'm on antibiotics for 10 days and I have to eat soft foods and take it easy. I asked how I was going to get my Christmas shopping done (because I have done ZERO!) and the Doc said, "That's what wheelchairs and motorized carts are for." Great! :)

More good news, I have to eat a low fat, high fiber diet from now on....ummmm, come again?... Funny how it takes a life changing event to kick my butt in gear. But there is NO WAY I want to go through this again! That's my motivation, to live, and not have a colostomy bag! It will be good for our whole family. It will be good. I have to keep telling myself that.

Something else to think about, the Docs said it would NOT have been good for me to have been pregnant. It is dangerous for the mom and the baby to have DT during pregnancy, they can't treat it the same.

I just feel looked after!!!! All things in wisdom and order. Keeping things in perspective.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support!

I'm also thankful for wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff at the hospital! I got to see a cute therapy dog too!

And thankful to be home for Christmas!

♥

Empty & Personal

2010-12-03T10:22:00.009-07:00

I'm empty.

I was expecting our 6th child.

I lost the baby last night.

I was almost done with the first trimester.

I'm devastated.

I know I have 5 wonderful, beautiful, fun, sweet children, but I loved and wanted THIS one.

I loved from the moment I found out. I planned. I pictured the baby in our family, how Zoey would only be 15 months when the baby was born. We had names picked out. We were looking forward to June.

I'm not exactly a spring chicken. If we're going to have another baby I can't wait too long. I'm worried about this happening again, but I shouldn't think about it now.

People say you shouldn't tell when you're expecting, we were waiting for a while, but now it feels silly. I wouldn't keep this loss to myself, I want my family and close friends to know.

I feel like there is an empty place in my heart. I am heartbroken.

But as always in my life, God is in charge and I will let Him take over. He knows me, He knows my family, He knows my pain and my desires. Things will work out.

I hope I have the chance again someday to get the little baby who should be part of our family.

♥

ThanksgivCHRISTMAS!

2010-12-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Thanksgiving at The Farnsworths. It was wonderful food and great company! We always love going there! The kids played in the backyard in ALL the snow, they have the best backyard. I only have 2 pictures, I don't know how that happened.

I love Thanksgiving food!

AND NOW DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS...

I love how excited the kids get, it just makes me smile!

we got my mom's old tree which is nice but none of the lights work...WHY is it always the lights???

Just so we're clear...

I am out of my mind...

I decided that my school class would donate a tree to Festival of Trees

I LOVE Festival of Trees, it's a good cause, it's beautiful, we take the kids every year.

But I had NO idea how much work went into doing a tree! Buying everything, decorating- you have to wire/glue every item to the tree, getting donations, setting up the tree...

It turned out really cute and now that's it's done I'm glad I did it but not sure I would do it again UNLESS I had a TEAM of people helping me. :)

I picked my FAVORITE theme...

this was on set-up day, I'll post a picture with my class when we go on the field trip there.

Who doesn't LOVE chocolate!?
♥

Hanging out/a fun trip/Late b-days/treats

2010-12-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

The kids take my camera more often now and I will find all these random pictures. Zack and Sydney took these monkey stuffed animals and took over 50 pictures posing them all over! These are 2 of my favorites...

the curious monkeys looking over the edge...

and one fell...

just hanging out

Sydney LOVES to do Reflections each year at the school but this year I didn't have the time, energy, or money to get her the things she wanted to make her project! I feel like a very bad mom who dropped the ball. :( But she made do with what she had and this is her 3D art project. The theme is "Together we can" so the title of her project is "Together we can save the camels" (from the dragons!) Haha, that girl makes me laugh so much! She's so weird I love her!

In 5th grade the kids get to go on a overnight trip to a place called Clear Creek WAY up in the mountains. I went with Savannah when she was in 5th grade so when it came Sydney's turn she said I HAD to go with her. Of course I want to go with her, it's a fun bonding time. I took off 2 days of work, Tom held down the fort at home, and Sydney and I went to Clear Creek.

we stayed in the "Pot Gut Hut" such funny names

doing funny camp songs

watching a movie

playing sardines in minus 10 degree weather...I have no words for this activity that I can share out loud...

Me and my girl

Sydney and her friend Ashley

did I mention it was minus degree weather!?

they made "banana boats" - bananas, rolos, starburst, marshmellows...wrap it up and fire it up

Sydney said it was good but I just couldn't try it

crafts

And back home to the 43 degree weather which felt WARM to me after freezing at Clear Creek! I missed my baby!

I just adore her

Another story about my lame "motherlyness"...we were going to have a BIG joint party with Savannah, Sydney, and Zack this summer at Jump On It, but Savannah went and broke her foot so we canceled it. Then school started and I lost my mind and all energy. The kids kept asking when we were going to have their parties...well it's already SO late, do we even do something??? Parties take time and money and energy, three things I DO NOT have. :) But we finally let the kids have their parties separately. 3 months AFTER Zack's actual b-day we had the party! Zack took 5 friends to see "MegaMind" and then came back for cake and ice-cream.

Sydney, Liam, Brandon, Sael, Summer, Andrew, Zack (Ethan came too)

Liam and Zack playing with Legos

Sydney decided for her "late b-day party" she wanted to take her best friend in the whole world, Alayna, to Color Me Mine in Provo. Here's cute Alayna,

and cute Sydney

posing

the best place for Sydney and her artistic nature

they both picked out ceramic turtles to paint

For Savannah's "late b-day party" she wanted to just have friends over. So I got the junk food, pizza, soda, cake, a movie, and let the girls have the whole 1st floor of our house. I think they all had a good time!

Funny girls

Yummy chocolate cake

Making caramel apples (I pronounce caramel the RIGHT way "care-a-mel" not the WRONG way "car-mel" haha, Tom and I always "fight" about that.

Pure Yumminess!

♥

Halloween and other fun things

2010-11-10T13:51:00.008-07:00

my cute, cute class and peer tutors

my kids went to visit Nana at her work and do some trick or treating!

the kids' school did a carnival on Halloween and I took Sydney, Zack, and Summer. We only got to stay for a little while because a big storm rolled in!

Summer doing mini-golf

Sydney in the mini Ferris wheel

Zack and his friend Sael

that night I took the kids up to Herriman to go trick or treating with Atlie & Macie. It was FREEZING and raining! But look at how cute Zoey is in her hat! I can't get enough of those chubby cheeks!

the kids all excited to get free candy

Zack's REAL "candy land" haha

I don't take enough pictures of this baby...can you feel the sarcasm?

her giggle is infectious

she's a sucker (loves to suck on everything and anything)

she's so fun

seriously cute!

carving pumpkins...

Tom always has to do something crazy

and Sydney takes after him...

believe it or not that is Zack's armadillo...

Joe came down with my parents to join in on the fun

the finished art

♥

OCTOBER

2010-10-29T12:37:00.014-06:00

Zoey loves to be on her back and grab her feet. She's rolling ALL over the place. Tom had her on the bed and went out to grab a diaper...as he was walking back in the room she was rolling off the bed and he dove forward and caught her. I was in the kitchen with the kids and heard the big bang. I said, "If he let her roll of the bed he's in BIG trouble!" All the kids ran upstairs to see. Luckily Tom caught her but she was scared and crying. (And he's glad he's not in trouble)

SILVER LAKE

beautiful

I don't know what setting my camera was on, I hate that it's blurry

watching the ducks

the kids love to climb and explore

Doing a puzzle for FHE

GRANDMA & BAPA came to town during Fall break. We had so much fun!

Cornbelly's

LOVE this one of Bapa jumping with the kids!!!

cute couple!

The Zoo

Zack's been begging for a snake!

cluster of fruit bats

Zoey loves to eat people's chins! And pull hair...

Poor Mo looks like he's going to fall

yummy ice-cream (nice Syd)

Cannon Bingo

chatting

a few days later we got a Halloween package from Grandma & Bapa, SO FUN!

I made 9 meals for a freezer meal exchange...it took me 5 1/2 hours! But it was worth it! I now have 9 different freezer meals!

a friend gave me some peppers from her garden and Sydney decided to play with them

my sister Emma surprised everyone by coming into town for a weekend! It was so awesome to see my Dr. sister!!! (I never get tired of Zoey's "deer in the headlights" look!!!)

Sugar Cookies with Tim & Angie

isn't Atlie so cute?!

Sydney's elephant cookie

Tom's cookies

Zack made a brain head, I love his creative mind

We grew pumpkins this year! Time for harvest!

Cute Macie

Look at all those pumpkins! And of course the cute kids!

Crazy Hair Day

Sydney put candies on a bucket. It was a good idea until some kid on the bus decided to take the candy...the kid has a crush on Sydney but she was not happy! :)

Zack's crazy hair

apparently this wasn't crazy enough for Summer so after I left Sydney put 20 clips and flowers in her hair, wish I had a picture

the kids always fight over who can take a bath with Zoey, she IS super cute in the bath

my baby cow, I LOVE MOO SO MUCH!

More pics of Halloween costumes later!
♥

September Recap

2010-10-23T22:10:00.000-06:00

*Savannah gets something I said I would NEVER get her * Sydney turns 11 * Real Salt Lake Game * Soccer * Summer Hair Fiasco * Soccer * Sleepovers * Zoey is 6 months * The Cannon Oubliette * School Pictures * Soccer*

(maybe I'll do more than one post a month, but don't hold your breath!)

We got Savannah a phone! The only reason we caved is because I'm still at work when she gets home. She is THRILLED! She pays for it through her allowance and I have all the parental filters set up. I must admit it's fun texting with her.

Our second child turned ELEVEN! Sydney is such a fun, spunky girl! She's super sensitive, very creative, and so good with Zoey. Happy Birthday Syd Syd!

Me and my little girl

we had KFC for dinner

I love Zoey's surprised look when the camera flash goes off in her face!

Sydney loves her cat poster

we found this at Costco, it's 50 puzzle erasers, she loves them

Sisters!

all she wanted for her birthday was Calico Critters, they're animal families and house set

we didn't have candles so... yep sparklers!

Syd was afraid her cake would burn

Zack loved it (and there's Zoey's surprised look again)

Calico Critters and house

Aren't they cute? It's SO Sydney

playing with the erasers

Real Salt Lake game

How I survive living on 4 hours of sleep...

Summer taking a break from soccer

One night I was doing Summer's hair and noticed she had bangs! She doesn't have bangs! And they were about an inch long! Then I noticed there were other chunks cut out of her pretty LONG hair! :( Every girl has to do it but I really didn't expect Summer to. She wanted to look like her best friend (who has bangs). So I took her to my friend Gina to see if she could do anything to fix it. We had to cut off a ton, enough to donate to Locks of Love. Her bangs were harder to fix, so we just cut some more to try and cover the really short ones. I was pretty sad. But she does look cute with short hair! I think it makes her look older.

The long ponytail! Sniff!

I'm starting to get used to her short hair.

Celebrating Sydney's birthday at Nana & Pops house

Before school pictures I let Savannah and Sydney get highlights in their hair. They traded for babysitting. They look so cute!

more soccer

Summer in the pink leggings

Another milestone...we said we would never do sleepovers. Savannah has had the opportunity to sleep at a friends' house with several girls (they stay up all night watching movies and doing blind make-overs) so we thought that would be ok. We also decided kids can sleep at our house. Sydney had 2 friends over and they had so much fun! Sydney was such a good little hostess, making sure everyone was having fun and comfortable. She cleaned up everything the next day (partly because we said we wouldn't do it again if there was a big mess) She was very responsible. I'm still undecided about sleepovers, if I want to veto any form of it, what do you think about it?

Cambrie, Sydney, Eliza

*** ZOEY IS SIX MONTHS ***

I love this cute little nugget SO much! She melts my heart! She is such a blessing and brings such a sweet spirit to our home. We love you Zoe-Zoe!!!!!

(da da daaaaa...) The Oubliette "The forgotten place"

Tom had this great idea to make an "oubliette". A place where he collects things that the kids have left out. They have to earn back their stuff, either by buying it back or doing chores. And they can't just leave it in there because it will end up at DI. They each have a box in our closet. I love the ideas he comes up with. The other brilliant idea he had was to have the kids wash baseboards and floors when they fight. LOVE IT!!!!!

Summer kicking the ball in

Me and Zoey watching (boy do I look tired!!!!)

SCHOOL PICTURES...you either love them or hate them...

(I might be doing some re-takes)

Savannah my 7th grader

Sydney my 5th grader

Zack my 4th grader

Summer my 1st grader

I have never been so happy to have soccer over!

thank goodness!

I don't have any pictures of Sydney or Zack's games. :(

♥