is that a real diagnosis?

the other morning at breakfast, halle asked me NOT to eat all of the frosted mini-wheats and to save some for her. i assured her that i wouldn't eat all of them; there were too many for me to eat all of them. then she said ver seriously, "yeah, you would probably get a frosted mini-wheat ache."

i think halle wins the prize for the best bed-head.

fall fun

clate has been enjoying preschool this year. he is with many friends from last year and has made some new friends too. this was at his halloween program. they were too cute.
halle has been enjoying her dance class. she's quite the performer. her teacher started having her be the first one of the group to practice each dance because she always knew halle would do it. now halle insists on being the first one. her dance class is on friday and she starts planning for it on sunday night.

chloe has enjoyed many things this fall...but mostly the leaves. she, more than either of the other two, loves to walk through leaves and play in them.

now the leaves have all fallen from the trees and are bagged up and we are ready for winter...well, not really, but its coming anyway.

SNOW???

Yeah, it snowed last week...I was so not ready for it! I need fall before winter! Luckily, it didn't stay too long...but it was around long enough for the kids to build a snowman. This is Chloe's first year really playing in the snow...and she's loving it! The snowman lasted a good 4 or 5 days...they were so proud.

Halloween!!!

The kids have been looking forward to Halloween for weeks now...and were so excited to wear their costumes all day long! I bought their costumes over a month ago and they have asked to wear them almost every day since. Clate was Bumble Bee, the transformer...and he wore his mask (unlike years past). Halle was a white kitty cat...a little different from the black cat she was last year. Chloe was a butterfly...or a "budda" as she would say...and a darn cute one, for sure.

The kids had a great time trick or treating and loaded up on way too much candy...it should last a long time!

september twenty-first

my baby is 2! i've never had all of my kids over the age of 2 before...this will be new for me. i don't think she really got it that it was her birthday until we had her presents in front of her and sang happy birthday to her. i guess she probably still didn't realize it was her birthday, but she got really excited and tore into her presents. of course, the $4 stackable cups were the biggest hit. she also got a baby doll with a binky and a sit-n-spin.

we also had a party for her and Clate on saturday with adam's family. grammie and pa came down, casey and jack came over, and andrea and michael came too. it was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun together.

chloe got this backpack from grammie and pa. soon after she opened it she put it on. she's worn it everywhere for the past 3 days.

she even wears it during nighttime prayers. luckily, she hangs it up on the coat rack before going to bed.

this is how chloe smiles now for pictures. i love it.

chloe at 2

• about 2 weeks ago she finally started babbling things that resemble real words. i think she finally has down "mama" and "dada". other than that, i would say her first word was probably balloon, said like "balum" or "baloo". today, she started pointing at every car and saying, "ca". she's definitely making progress in the speaking area. she also knows some animal sounds; i think those count as words too. oh yeah, she says "ease" for please.


• she loves balloons, baby dolls, purses, cell phones, going down slides, playing in the sandbox, playing in her kitchen, playing in or with water, stacking blocks, AND her binky...in fact, sometimes one is just not enough!

• she especially likes to "help" mom cook. if i'm in the kitchen, she usually has to be right there with me, watching everything i do.
• she can ride a 3-wheeled scooter
• she thinks she can do anything that clate and halle do, including drinking out of a regular cup. she melts down when i try to give her a cup with a lid, so i often let her have a regular cup...and she does fine if she stays sitting at the table, but when she gets down from the table, the drink usually ends up spilled all over the floor.
• she is a great sleeper; still takes a 2-3 hour nap everyday.
• she has the sweetest personality. i can't wait until she really starts to communicate because i think she is going to be quite funny. she has great facial expressions and the light in her eyes is amazing. she is a very happy little girl.
• she has even curlier hair than her sister...amazing.

i held her the other night in the middle of the night because she was having a hard time sleeping and i couldn't help but think, "she's not a baby any more." she was big in my arms, and heavy. i snuggled close and squeezed her tight as i sat with her for a few minutes. i just love that little girl. she has brought so much joy to me in her short 2 years here. i'm glad she's mine forever. happy birthday bo.

five

five years ago i held my little clate in my arms for the first time and cried uncontrollably. for a week or more i would cry every time i looked at him...and then i would laugh at myself because i thought i was crazy. my heart was so full of joy (or maybe my hormones were a little out of wack) that i literally could not contain it! this little boy continues to bring me so much joy...and now he's 5!

i threw together a little birthday party for him this week. he only invited 3 friends; andrew, anna, and sarah. they played games, ate cupcakes, and opened presents. it was a good time.

clate and andrew working together in a 3-legged race; boys vs. girls

potato sack (reusable grocery bag) racing

racing while balancing eggs on spoons held in their mouths


they frosted their own cupcakes (clate's should have been red, not pink) and sang happy birthday to clate along with the Countdown Kids.


for his birthday, clate got a spiderman transformer, Woody and Buz Lightyear, a book, and two stuffed animals, a hamster and a mouse (he loves stuffed animals). from his friends he got a batman action figure toy, a set of 9 mini-Cars (from the movie), and a paint set. he is still waiting for grammie and pa to get here this weekend with their gifts. clate asked for mac n cheese for dinner tonight, so that's what he got. then we went to red robbin for a chocolate milkshake. he was one happy camper.


clate at five:

• plays soccer
• loves to watch and play football with dad
• says "what the..." all the time
• refuses to wear long sleeve shirts except to church
• thinks he runs lightening fast
• has a major sweet tooth
• loves to help me around the house especially if earning money is an option
• asks me every night what the next day is and what our plans are and doesn't forget in the mornig
• loves to swing high (big change from last year)
• loves to drive his sisters mad by bugging them (he's such a big brother)
• could use a nap most days but only actually takes one about twice a week
• won't go to sleep unless i sing "i love to see the temple" and "i am a child of god" every night followed by a back scratch for 14 seconds
• still a mama's boy.

last night i had a fun conversation with clate before he went to bed. i told him that i was sad because he would never be 4 again. he told me that i could pretend he was 4 anytime i wanted. i told him he could open up one present first thing in the morning. he told me to tell him which one to open, and that it should NOT be a book. i said, "maybe it will be a really cool book." he said, "maybe it will be a really cool TOY!" i asked him what he was going to do when he was five. he said he was going to be nice to his sisters....i'm going to hold him to that one. i was thanking him for being such a great four-year-old and for having such a fun year. he reached up and gave me a hug and said, "you're the best mom ever!"

cold water fun

It wasn't even the hottest day of the year and this cold, cold hose water didn't seem to phase these kids. They filled up the pool, put the little slide in it, and went up and down, up and down...for a long time. The next day, they put the pool at the bottom of the big slide. They thought that was even better! They better live up these summer days...they are quickly coming to an end, sadly.

Here are the girls drying off and warming up in the sun after playing in the water. This face says it all...they had a great afternoon!

twinners

These dresses were worn 7 years ago by my nieces, Elley and Sammie, at our wedding reception. They both got "handed down" to us recently, so I thought I'd let the girls wear them today. I don't usually dress them alike, mostly because I don't buy 2 of anything, but I thought this would be fun. The dresses are actually the same size, 2T; a little long for Chloe and a little short for Halle...but they had fun being twinners for a day. I can't believe Elley and Sammie were so little back then...they're so big now.

halle goes straight

most would say halle's signature feature is her hair

her perfect blonde ringlets that we all wish we could have

she loves them too

most days

but today

she wanted to go straight

straight like mom and grandma dell

so we tried

hair blower and round brush

then a straight iron...

it won't go straight straight

it's just too curly

but it looks darn cute

twice the length now

only lasted until naptime

and the curls were back

Church Clate style

Last Sunday morning, Clate was excited to get dressed and put on his tie for church. This alone was odd because we can't ever get him to wear a tie. So he went down and got himself dressed and this is what happened. After I took the picture, he wanted to see it, so I showed it to him...and his comment was, "That's one good-lookin' boy! Except the socks." I asked, "Why don't you like the socks?" He answered, "They don't match." I didn't tell him that they weren't the only things that didn't match. Luckily, he gave up the tie before we headed to church.

The girls, on the other hand, with their new wardrobe from cousins Elley and Kinley, looked exceptionally cute, at least I thought so. Thanks Elley and Kinley!

What the kids pick up on...

Last week as I was preparing dinner, Clate and Halle were playing; Clate was the dad, and Halle was the mom. They were pretending to be on the phone talking to each other...and this is how their conversation went:
Halle: "Hi, are you coming home?"
Clate: "Yep, I'll be there in a little while."
Halle: "Okay, I'll wait for you."
Clate: "Watch for me out the window, okay?"
Halle: "I can't wait to see you. I love you!"
Clate: "I love you too. See you in a minute."

As this was going on, I thought, "Oh, how cute...they are mimicking my conversations with Adam." Part of me was proud that they seemed to pick up on the positive things they hear. Then the conversation continued.

Halle: "When you get home, we'll play, okay?"
Clate: "We can play for just a minute, but then I have to go in my office and work some more."

That's when I knew...they pick up on EVERYTHING! Not that Adam having to go back to work when he returns home is a bad thing...but just kind of funny that Clate picked up on even that.

I told Adam about this conversation when he got home and we all laughed!

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary today, and this was Adam's surprise for me!!! Isn't he sweet! He will actually drive it most days since I need the van to haul the kids around, but it really is my car...you know, nights and weekends. :) Okay, maybe not, but I did say it was okay to buy it...so maybe that was my surprise for Adam! Either way, we have a new car now and we're both happy. It's a 2010 Toyota Corolla Sport...cute, eh? We decided to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program and turn in the Jeep before it sucked our bank accounts dry with repairs...which were only a matter of time away...not to mention the fact that it was a gas guzzler. We'll save $100 a month just on gas! I'm not sure how Adam will make it up skiing now, but I'm sure he'll figure that out! I must say that part of me will miss the Jeep...it was my first SUV, and it really was a good car, but I definitely think this was a good move.

I also think it was a good move 7 years ago when I decided to marry Adam! It has been an adventurous ride, no doubt, but I wouldn't change a thing! I am a better woman because of him and I am grateful to him for that. He is a hard worker, a dedicated father, and a loving husband...and he is mine! Thanks babe for the last 7 years...I look forward to 7 million more!

Summer soccer is over!

Today was Clate's last soccer game for the season, and this is the only action shot I have of it all...and as you can see, I'm on the field too. Yep, just call me coach. I was lucky enough to coach Clate's soccer team and I had a really good time. I had signed up to be an assistant coach, which I was assigned. However, they didn't assign a head coach to our team...so I was the assistant coach to no one (aka head coach). I was nervous at first, but after reading some soccer coaching web sites I got really excited. I had Adam go and buy me 14 soccer balls (he thought I was crazy) so I could have fun, effective practices with my little team. We were almost undefeated (I'm not sure who won today's game), not that anyone was counting! :) And not to brag, but Clate was one of the top scorers on the team. He did awesome! It was fun! I would do it again; in fact, I've already signed us both up for fall soccer. GO GREEN!

Help me...please!

Can anyone tell me how to make the writing space on my blog wider, you know, so its not so narrow???

He's 2-wheelin' it!!

Clate has had a 16-inch bike that will NOT ride without the training wheels, even though he can ride a balance bike just fine. When we got Halle a 12-inch bike for her birthday, before we put the training wheels on, we let Clate try riding it. I helped him once or twice down the driveway, and then he picked it up and rode off on his own...I couldn't believe it! I was so proud. In the next 2 days, I probably took the training wheels on and off about 10 times as Clate wanted a turn, then Halle wanted a turn. Needless to say, that wasn't working for me! So, the next day I went to Wal-Mart and for $40 I got Clate his own 12-inch bike...that he has ridden EVERY single day. He loves it and I love it!!!
Clate has even figured out how to stand up and ride!

Halle loves her bike too. Now, instead of wanting to watch TV every morning, they ask if they can go out to ride their bikes!!!

A much needed family vacation!

Adam's parents treated the ENTIRE family (our family, Jon's family, Casey's family, Michael and girlfriend) on a vacation to Island Park, W. Yellowstone, Old Faithful, and Jackson Hole. And when it was all over...EVERYONE had had a great time! We can't thank grammie and pa enough for such a great trip.

The trip started with a float down Henry's Fork in Island Park. We opted for rafts, which I think turned out to be super fun for everyone. It may have taken longer than canoes would have, but we all got to stay together in 2 rafts and spend that time together. The kids loved it too!

The second day we made our way through W. Yellowstone to Old Faithful! We roughed it in cabins that night that turned out to be pretty nice, for roughin' it anyway. We got there just in time to see The Beehive go off (which only happens once a day and is even more impressive, I thought, than Old Faithful) followed by Old Faithful 15 minutes later. I don't know who was more fascinated by them, the adults or the kids...my guess is the adults. Later that night we walked along the boardwalks to see all the other geysers...the kids enjoyed seeing the bubbling holes and all the colors.

Day 3: On our way to Jackson Hole we stopped at Colter Bay in the Grand Teton National Park...one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It's not a sandy beach, but its a beach...and we all had a great time. Halle and Chloe enjoyed throwing rocks in the water. Clate most enjoyed catching minnows with pa. Adam and I (along with Casey, Aubrey and Ashley) practiced our open-water swimming and swam out to a buoy. I think I'll have to practice a bit more before I attempt another triathlon. It was fun still.
We also stopped at Jenny's Lake and jumped onboard a little boat that took us to the other side of the lake where we hiked up to Hidden Falls.

Chloe crashed for the hike...she was so tired. All the kids did really well considering the lack of scheduled naps.

That's all of us.

On the way out of Jackson Hole, we stopped at Snow King Resort to hit the Alpine slides. Once again, a big hit with the kids and the adults. Last time I went on an Alpine slide I road the breaks way too much. This time I had Chloe with me and we went full speed! We raced against dad and Halle. As you can see in the picture...mom and Chloe won! She quite enjoyed it...if only she could say it with words.
And finally, to end the vacation...we celebrated Halle (3) and Jack's (2) birthdays.

SOOOO, HUGE thanks to grammie and pa for planning and making a really great vacation! Let's do it again soon!!! :)

Abby visits!

Abby with her favorite aunt...in case anyone is wondering.

Abby came to visit us this summer all the way from Georgia. I tried to convince her that Utah is better than Georgia, but she seemed to have too much Georgia pride! While she was here we went to the zoo, Murray City swimming pool/water park, temple square, and up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Unfortunately, we didn't take our camera with us anywhere, except up Big Cottonwood Canyon...so this is all we have to show for her visit! I hope she had a good time; we sure did!

Independence Day!

I'm a little behind on blogging, I know, but I'm attempting to catch up...at least a little bit.


We had a fun 4th of July this year. We didn't do anything too fancy, but we did have Casey, Aubrey and Jack over for a BBQ and to watch the fireworks. We have a great view of the fireworks at Sugarhouse Park from our front yard...so we like to take advantage of the convenience. Besides, Clate still prefers to watch the fireworks from inside the house. He doesn't like the loud noises. I was quite proud of him, though, 'cause he was brave enough to hold a sparkler, something he had never done before. Maybe next year he'll sit outside with us. Halle, on the other hand, watched the fireworks with us outside, but would not hold a sparkler. Chloe just slept through it all!




We're proud to be Americans!!!