Thanksgiving Day

We went up to the cabin for Thanksgiving day again this year. It seemed so quiet up there though. There just wasn't as many people. It was fun to hang out, and it was especially nice not to have to rush out. We didn't have anywhere to be Friday morning so we didn't need to hurry home. It was nice to spend more time.

I know it is totally gray, but I think it is still stunningly beautiful:

My favorite boys:

Look at this handsome boy and those STRAIGHT teeth!

The weather was great...in the fact that it didn't rain. So the kids enjoyed:

collecting rocks--that's a big bag of rocks that she HAD to bring home:

throwing rocks in the lake,

hiking and climbing:

being cute,

and much more!

4 Months

Piper turned 4 months this week. She is growing wonderfully. She is 24 inches long and 14 lbs. Which puts her in the 50th percentile for length and 75 percentile for height. If she is like my other kiddos, she will now start going down in percentiles. After a long talk with the doctor on all the things that Piper does (scratching herself, and not sleeping to be the 2 biggest symptoms), we came up with a game plan. She has eczema really bad so we decided to take her (meaning me) off of eggs and nuts along with the already eliminated dairy and soy. After 2 days of this, she is doing SO MUCH BETTER.

Piper is a cutie. Her eyes amaze me. They are so intriguing. They have every eye color in them: blue, grey, brown, and green. They are just fascinating to look at. I wish that I could capture it on camera, but they just turn out dark in pictures. When she wakes up and we go into the room to get her, we have to say her name before she actually sees us, otherwise we surprise her and she gets scared and starts to cry. Her cry is so delicate. It is not loud at all. In this busy house, it can easily go unnoticed. The poor thing. She is the quietest thing ever. She doesn't speak up much and you know something is out of this world funny if she actually laughs because it doesn't happen too often. BUT, she smiles all the time. And she has a way of making whoever she is smiling at think that they are the most important person in the world because she acts so happy to see them. It is almost like she feels honored that the person is taking time to be with her. It amazes me how she can have this talent at such a young age.

A few of my projects

I have found that I am in LOVE with paint. It can make anything better. My mom gave me this old dresser that she found on the side of the road.

And after finally working on it this is what it looks like now:

I redid Ben's old dresser. Wish I had a before picture. But just imagine an 80's dresser (brown with old handles). It is now in the girls' closet.

And now that the breezeway is *almost* done, I am painting a bench that Grant made for me.

I'll post a picture when it is all the way done. But don't you think I will have the most colorful garage ever?

Toothless

Trevor finally lost another tooth--this is #3. He is going on 8 so losing teeth has turned out to be quite the task for him. He lost it at school, which makes it so much more fun. They gave him a little tooth container so that he wouldn't loose it. Grant and I were even more excited that the tooth fairy remembered to come on the first night of the tooth being under his pillow. Way to go, Tooth Fairy!

The Stockings Were Hung...

Tuesdays are calm days for me. It's the one day when I only have one thing to do...I drive to preschool. Today, I decided to go see my Grandma while I was out and about. I have been wanting to go for some time and today was the first opportunity I have had. Lydia, Piper and I went and pretty much surprised her. I didn't set it up beforehand because I knew if I called and scheduled it with her, something would happen like sick kids to prevent me from being able to go.

It was a lot of fun. Lydia was so calm while we were there. She played very quietly. It was very refreshing.

Besides visiting with my Grandma, I got a bonus for going up there: Piper's stocking! TA-DAH!

Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? My Grandma does an amazing job. I think it is beautiful. It will be cherished for a long time.

First Snow Day

And so it begins....winter has come. We had our first snow fall today. There wasn't much. Just enough for the kids to want to get all their snow clothes on and go outside and play for a few minutes. They were really excited. I have never minded the snow. I've always thought that it was nice to have 4 seasons. Until this year. I think I understand the appeal of Arizona at this time of year. I am giving myself one week to mourn the loss of summer and then I will will myself to be happy about the snow.

The End of a Chapter

Grant had his last day at his current job today. On Monday he will start working at his new job.

He has been wanting to find something closer to home and not quite so many hours. Our good friend, Heather, actually heard about this position and gave Grant the heads up about it. The working environment seems great. It is closer to home with the future possibility of being only about 10 minutes away from home. We are very excited about this change and we're anxious to see how everything works out.

Today at work they threw a little party for him at lunch. People were very sweet with the gifts they gave Grant and the compliments they gave him. He will miss all the friends he made there.

Expressions of L+ve

I'm starting to get concerned about our 5 year-old daughter. She has already chosen her future husband, has told him so, and wants to sit by him anytime he comes over to our house. Oh dear. The boy is Ben's friend--I'm sure you can guess who it is if you are an avid reader of this blog. Ben gets so embarrassed for his friend. (It doesn't take much for Ben to get embarrassed by things his sisters say though.)

Karmin was holding Piper's hand and asked me to take a picture. She said that people hold hands when they are in love. Trying to keep it in the family, and not give her any ideas, I told her that is why I hold Dad's hand, her hand, and Lydia's hand. My concerns about Karmin already choosing a spouse is calmed by one fact. Grant started looking for the girl he was going to marry when he was only 5 years old. Grant turned out pretty good, so maybe Karmin will turn out okay too (: However I also know how many girlfriends Grant had from the time he was 5 until he met me.

Gobble, Gobble

A rafter of turkeys came through our yard today. They must have seen the Christmas decorations and thought that they were safe from Thanksgiving.

Deck the Halls

I know, some of you are probably rolling your eyes at this. But it is our tradition...the first weekend after Ben's Birthday, we decorate for Christmas. I think Christmas decorations are too pretty to only have up for a few weeks during the year. They need many weeks. And yes, we do listen to Christmas music all year long. But know too that I usually take down the Christmas stuff on Christmas day. So even I have my limits. This is actually one of the most bitter sweet days of the year for me. I love putting up the Christmas stuff, but I dread being two steps in front of my kids trying to prevent things from being broken and them putting things in random places. I definitely like order to my Christmas. I love how the kids set up the manger scene, and every time they have everyone circled around the baby Jesus--even if the character's backs are facing us. In the end, I survived, nothing got broke, and it looked very pretty.

Our Super Star

Trevor is a funny kid. One night he came out of his room when it was pretty late, and told us that he forgot to tell us something. He said that he was the Super Star Reader from his class this month at school (the top reader from each class is picked once a month based on taking tests after they read a book--it's an optional program that they can participate in). I wasn't surprised that he did it because the boy is always reading. I was just surprised at his attitude in telling us. It was like it was no big deal and that he just happened to remember. Grant joked afterwards that it is just like Trevor to tell us weeks after the fact that, oh, he just happened to win the Noble Peace Prize. No big deal. We were so proud of him, and I think he was excited about it, but he got embarrassed by the attention. It was adorable. This is his reading ticket that he earned this month for reading.

10!

I can't believe my baby boy is 10. That is double digits. That is so old. That makes me feel old.

This age is 2 years from having the Priesthood. 4 years from going to Stake Dances. 6 years from having a driver's license. 6 years from dating. 8 years from graduating. Are you understanding how crazy this is? This is my baby boy and he is growing up. I've told him for awhile that he is my chin rest because I could stand right behind him and rest my chin on the top of his head. Not any more.

He requested crepes for breakfast, and kindly offered to light a candle so he could blow it out. (I think he'll take any chance he can to play with fire!) He went to school. Grant got to get off early, so he surprised Ben when he was getting into the car after school. He came to Karmin's ballet--even on his Birthday--how sweet. He asked for pizza for dinner from a certain place. To get there, we drove by the temple. I think it had been awhile since the kids had seen the temple. We rented a movie and had a picnic in the living room. He asked for pumpkin pie for his Birthday cake. I'm beginning to wonder if my kids get my dislike for cake, or if it is the fact that the cake I bake is not tasty so they would rather have something else? He, of course, wanted the honor of lighting the candles. It was a low-key day, but we tried to pack in as many of Ben's favorite things that we could into one day.

Sweet and thoughtful Ben...what a boy! I think the picture of him holding the pink paper next to Karmin depicts him very well. Karmin drew Ben a picture for his Birthday, and Ben acted like it was the best thing he had ever gotten. He is a sweet brother and loves kids. His social calendar is really starting to fill up our weeks. Usually he has a friend over on Fridays and Saturdays have been filled with scouts, hunting, science classes, etc. He has been working really hard at school. He has a strong work ethic and wants good grades. I'm amazed at what he does and how hard he works. This summer I gave him some wood and nails to do whatever he wanted with, and so he went and built a fort and then later changed it into a bike jump. He is so creative and loves to build things. His artistic abilities are amazing. He is a great kid and is very patient with Grant and me--trying to figure out what things are appropriate for his age (like what movies to let him watch...the poor boy has seen practically nothing compared to most kids his age, but he is very patient and doesn't put up a fight). I think this boy is one cool kid.