Saturday, November 6, 2010

My Golf Pro






For our date Samuel and I decided to hit the
golf range!
 
Not being golfers ourselves,
we borrowed his brother's clubs and filled up our bucket.
 
I took one,
maybe two swings,
and then sat back to watch the show.
 
Samuel on the other hand,
I think he'd be really great golfer.
But with everything going on
(family, school, life...),
it's just not possible to
hit the greens like he'd need to to get better.
 
So this was a really nice treat for him,
and let's face it,
I needed a good laugh!
 
Granted we were facing the sun,
but every single time he hit the ball it went center-left.
 
But he always looked far right!
 
You definitely had to be there,
but it made me laugh so hard.
 
And all that laughing works up
an appetite for dinner!
 
Now eating...
that's my game!
 
 
 

The Momma, Miss ?, Invicible Girl, & Lazy Love-Bug Hike




The girls and I (well, all the girls except Iris)
spent a few hours on a Saturday scouting
a section of Auburn's Western States Trail.

It's a beautiful area,
and the access point is really easy to get to,
unfortunately I can't locate it on any map!

Luckily I have a great memory,
and later,
after all the girl fun,
we brought the whole family out.

During our trip we enjoyed some great weather,
saw a pretty cool water fall,
passed several folks who were taking their horses out for a stroll,
and almost,
almost,
made it down to the water.

Being the novice hiker that I was,
I do know one hard and fast rule:

Stick to your turn-back time!

With the sun quickly setting
and the temperature dropping,
we made the right choice!

...

It's funny. 

I wasn't too nervous heading out alone.

We've gone hiking a number of times now,
and the girls are old enough to hold their own
in terms of not having to be carried, I mean.

But Bella,
she freaks when we do anything "out of the ordinary",
and she kicked into
high-speed "question-mode" quick!

Ava,
is the complete opposite.

Life is a grand adventue and of course,
we're invincible so we can do anything, right?

Iris,
my lazy, lazy love-bug.
She hates the very thought of
using her legs for any extended amount of time
(i.e. 10 minutes),
which is why she opted to stay at home and
hang with the boys instead!

My girls,
they are all so different.

I love that!

It was a blessing to have this time with them-
well, almost all of them,
and hopefully these outings
will become a tradition that will carry on
until I need them to carry me!
 .




Monday, November 1, 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Googly Eyes, Homemade Donuts, & Creatures of the Night!



When Samuel drags in a bin from the garage,
it usually means one of two things:

We're going camping,
or it's time to decorate for a holiday!


Either way,
the kids are thrilled!

But in this case,
Samuel pulled out the Halloween bin-
and we all dug in to spook-i-fy the house!


I always puts on Halloween music,
and "Thriller" always awakens the zombies!


This year we had some old and new traditions.

For instance,
 we always carve pumpkins
roast pumpkin seeds,
and read spooky stories.

This year though,
Samuel made me a monogrammed pumpkin (I love the "E"!),
the kids ate flourescent green
Hostess Snow Balls for breakfast,
and Iris brought home her class Duck
to share in the festivities!


The not-to-be-missed event-of-the-year
(according to my kids...):

T H E  W A R D  H A L L O W E E N  P A R T Y !

 I was a little bummed that we attending without Samuel
(this semester he had class on Friday nights),
but let's face it,
I am never without company!

Tonight I, a motorcycle momma,
was escorted by my tough-guy side-kick, Gabriel,
a talented artiste (Isabella),
a blood-thirsty vampire (Ava),
Mulan (Iris),
and a rather timid pirate (Owen)!


We had a super-fun Halloween Party with the
Ramos, Lopez, & King families!

We feasted on Super-Nachos,
fresh fruit, caramel corn, & the like!

Taylor dominated Spooky Musical Chairs,
and the kids had a blast tricky-treating down
Spook Alley (a.k.a. our hallway!).


The Elmer family hosts an annual Halloween Party as well,
and part of that menu always features donuts!

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year,
instead of purchasing donuts,
I made them!

It was super-fun,
but very fast-paced,
and of course,
crazy-delicious-un-healthy!


Aunt Leah hosted this year,
and per prego tradition,
she was our pumpkin!
...

All in all,
when the holiday was finally over,
we were definately treated out!

It's time for some real food,
so with open arms we welcome...

T H A N K S G I V I V I N G !



Friday, October 29, 2010

A Fabulously Fabulous Thanksgiving Feast




Iris is at that wonderful care-free age where
everything about school is wonderful and exciting,
especially the holiday parties!

That,
combined with the fact that it's just her personality to
naturally G U S H over everything,
and you have the perfect storm
for a super-smiley and
very happy little girl!

The Fall Activity was one such occasion,
the perfect excuse for smiling so hard your cheeks hurt!

She looked a-dorable in her pilgrim smock,
and though she refused to wear the hat,
she gladly sat down to the feast!

Thanksgiving Menu

Popcorn
Cornbread Muffins
Pumpkin Pie
Fresh Strawberries
Apple Juice

...

Iris,
On the list of things I'm most grateful for,
you will always
-and I mean always
top my list!

I love you, baby girl!

Love,
Mama




Saturday, October 16, 2010

Slides, Pouts, & Wet Pants




We're super fortunate to have the Fountains to explore.
You'd think after several visits it would get old,
but we love the fountains themselves,
the shops,
and of course,
all the fun play equipment!

Gabriel absolutely loves slides.
He won't go down on his own though,
but once you give him the old heave-ho
he has the time of his life!


Ava & Iris

Slide Pros


Owen

Camera-shy!
How dare you son! 
I made you!

Give me a smile, sugar-bun!


I think we'll have pictures like this until the girls are
fully grown with families all their own!

Samuel loves to play with them,
and they love to play right back!

I'm so glad he enjoys
rough-housing,
tickleing,
wrestling,
reading stories,
helping with homework,
giving hugs & kisses...

It makes for a wonderful, dad.
...

A wonderful dad with wet pants, that is!

{smile}




Wednesday, October 13, 2010

2010 Bishop's Pumpkin Farm


It's pumpkin time!!!

Truly one of our favorite times of the year.

Actually, Samuel and I aren't huge fans of Halloween per se,
but if we're talking about the season of the year,
that's a whole different story.

Fall...Autumn...
whatever you call it,
it's magical!

Not only does the weather change,
but all those ovens start to click on,
warm, oozy-goozy smells waft through the house,
the wool socks come out of the drawers to toast little toesies,
and everyone can finally snuggle under down blankets with
warm cinnamon cocoa!

H E A V E N !

Yet another sign that Summer is out-of-here,
is our annual visit to the pumpkin farm.

This year, we were able to get everyone out,
including Aunt Patti's family!

We visited all the favorite hot spots,
including a ride on the rails,
a run on the tires,
and stint in the jailhouse.

After exhausting the kids,
and all the grown-ups,
we hit Round Table because as everyone knows:

Pizza and pumpkins-
they just go together!

...

We also has a special occasion to commorate:

Uncle Nathan's 35th Birthday!

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y !

...

It was a super-fun day and
we already can't wait for next year!




Wednesday, October 6, 2010

My Joy School Run



As I mentioned in an earlier post,
this was the first year that we've participated in
Joy School (think, pre-school) Co-op.

Owen was our guinea pig,
and after some initial trepidation he took
to it easily.

However Owen wasn't the only one being
thrown into the deep end of the pool,
I was too!

The Co-op portion meant that I would be responsible
for teaching approximately 6-7 classes,
organizing a class field trip and class party, and
assisting for an additional 6-7 classes for another teacher.

And all with Gabriel underfoot!

Whew!

I'm tired already!

Looking back though,
the experience was really great.

The time really did fly by,
and it was fun having this barage of little ones
invade the house each week.

I read, or heard in a movie,
children referred to as,
"Ankle-biters".

I really liked the term,
and that's exactly how I'd describe these little guys!
But in a cute and endearing way,
of course!


Meet the gang!

{note}

Owen was camera shy at the moment.


My lesson theme focused on
"Bugs & Crawly Things".

It was a perfect subject for little ones,
and luckily the weather cooperated
for plenty of outdoor exploring.


It still amazes me how often we hit the jackpot
in finding all kinds of bugs in the backyard.

We lucked out by finding a huge grasshopper, praying mantis,
and fuzzy caterpillar.

Granted,
I did help some things along,
like when I thought of the brilliant idea of purchasing live
ladybugs from Green Acres Nursery.

All was well
 while the little guys were contained and snoozing
in a deep sleep in the fridge,
but of course I just had to cut open their packaging
to move them to a netted bug container.

How was I supposed to know ladybugs can easily
squeeze through tiny netted holes?
And that the moment they're removed from the fridge,
they wake up and start moving around like crazy?

Long story short,
I had another brilliant idea
and just shoved the whole mess back into the fridge
hoping everyone would settle down again.

They did,
but for weeks we found ladybugs
in odd places all over the place
(the vegetable drawer, the ceiling, etc.-)!

{note}

Did I mention each package of ladybugs contains
1,800 of the little buggers?


Busy bees!


For our class field trip we visited
Bishop's Pumpkin Farm!

We were a little stretched on time,
but if you're looking for a fall experience,
you can't beat everything this place has to offer.



You can't go wrong with any holiday party,
but come on,
Halloween is right up every kids alley!

P A R T Y  I T I N E R A R Y

D E C O R A T E  S U G A R  C O O K I E S

G A M E S

P U M P K I N  G U T S  1 0 1

M U D  &  W O R M S  P U D D I N G  C U P S

M O V I E : 
T H E  G R E A T  P U M P K I N , C H A R L I E  B R O W N




Later,
as an assistant,
we visited the Utility Exploration Center
and the Universal Playground!

All in all,
it's a relief to be done!

And though I do miss my ankle-biters,
now I get to drop off Owen and know he's having
loads of fun and learning so much too...
at someone elses house!

{smile} 



Sunday, October 3, 2010

Garden Stew, Pirate Ships, & Cry-babies






Grandma Lopez' backyard is a magical, magical place!

I grew up here
making elaborate garden stews,
lop-sided pirate ships from cushions, and,
being the kind girl that I was,
making my younger cousins cry too!

Thankfully,
I'm all grown up,
and it's time for my kids to carry on the tradition!
...

Have fun kids!

And play nice!


Conference Sunday Brunch & Learning What Matters Most







When Conference Sunday rolls around,
everyone gets excited.

Yes, it means p.j.'s and a delicious brunch,
but above and beyond that is the opportunity to squish
into the couch with notepads and pen
to listen and learn at the feet of
modern day prophets.

This time around,
I was really struck by President Uchtdorf's remarks
regarding what matters most.


As we turn to our Heavenly Father
and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most,
we learn over and over again
the importance of four key relationships:
with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves.

As we evaluate our own lives with a willing mind,
we will see where we have drifted from the more excellent way.
The eyes of our understanding will be opened,
and we will recognize what needs to be done
to purify our heart and refocus our life.

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints


His counsel to,

"...slow down a little,
steady the course,
and focus on the essentials
when experiencing adverse conditions..."

Hits the nail on the head.

I like to think I'm level-headed and very "even-keel",
but unfortunately I know
I'm passionate and extremely emotional about
even the tiniest of things!

To say this throws me off-balance occasionally
is a huge understatement!

So what to do?

Take this counsel and run with it! 
Okay, since we're "slowing down",
how about we walk with it?

Try it on for size,
and see
what happens!

The scriptures exhort us to:

...awake, and arise from the dust,
O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments,
O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes
and enlarge thy borders forever,
that thou mayest no more be confounded,
that the covenants of the Eternal Father
which he hath made unto thee,
O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.

Yea, come unto Christ,
and be perfected in him,
and deny yourselves of all ungodliness;
and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness,
and love God with all your might, mind and strength,
then is his grace sufficient for you,
that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ;
and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ,
ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ,
and deny not his power,
then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God,
through the shedding of the blood of Christ,
which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins,
that ye become holy,
without spot.


I want to arise,
be strengthened,
perfected,
and certainly without spot!

And it IS possible,
through faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ,
and through following him.

...

If you'd like to check out other Conference highlights,
please visit here!