The Pumpkin Patch

Our only rule when picking out your pumpkin is that you have to be able to pick it up. The kids actually enjoy this because they get to see how big of a pumpkin they can pick up. Each year, the pumpkins get a little bigger.

This year we went to a pumpkin patch where they charged $13 for as many pumpkins as one person could hold. We scored with 6 pumpkins, one for each of us, thanks to my man Adam and his strong muscles. Not a bad deal.

Trip to the Outerbanks of NC

Over conference weekend, the kids and I took a trip to the Outerbanks of North Carolina. Gary and Carol flew in to drive with us, and we met up with Casey and Jon and their families for a week on the beach. It was fun to see everyone and spend time with family. It was especially good to have the kids spend time with their cousins and get to know them. It didn't take long for them to warm right up to each other either.

The weather wasn't the greatest...VERY windy and quite chilly. But we made the best of it. The kids still enjoyed playing at the beach in the sand, and the cold weather didn't seem to stop the boys from getting in the water. The first day at the beach we were walking along near the water and a wave came in just hard enough to knock Halle over (mostly because she wasn't expecting it). It scared her quite a bit and she kept her distance from the water the rest of the week. Clate spent a lot of time playing football with the ocean. He would throw the football into the ocean and the waves would bring it back to him, or somewhere along the beach and he would run after it. The kids also enjoyed flying kites on the beach. When they weren't at the beach, they were in the hot tub at the house or watching a movie or playing in their rooms.

While there, we decided to drive down to Kitty Hawk to visit the museum there. It was pretty cool to see a replica of the first airplane. Even the kids enjoyed it. Clate had fun posing with all of the statues and copying what they were doing. He's a funny kid sometimes.

We then made our way to Jockey's Ridge, sand dunes in the middle of the island. We didn't plan to get out and walk around much. We mostly just wanted to see the view. But when we got out and felt the sand on our feet...we had to hike to the top. It was a beautiful site to see, and the sand was SO soft. It felt so good to walk on. I was glad we took the time to walk around, and the kids had a blast. Even Thomas had fun playing in the sand, and he didn't put any in his mouth. AMAZING. 

It was a great trip. So good to see everyone and hang out. We only wish dad could have been there.  

Kids at Kitty Hawk

Jockey's Ridge

Thomas loving the sand at Jockey's Ridge.

At the beach.

Building sand castles.



Thomas in his playland at the beach.

Clate with his sandcrab friend. He played with him all day.

Cousins! Payton, Brooke, Thomas, Clate, Chloe, Halle, Jack and Mya

Halle and Chloe doing their best to keep the kite in the air. The wind made it an easy task.

She did turn 4!

Back in September, Chloe turned 4.

This girl makes me smile EVERY day! She is goofy, happy, nutty, sweet, cuddly, smart, and all around fun. She is a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. My life would not be so good without her. She loves to color (literally would color all day if I let her), loves to ride her bike (and can haul on it), loves to help me bake, loves to play with her baby dolls and strawberry shortcake, loves her dance class, and LOVES to laugh! I love the way she talks. Says her favorite vegetable is "cone" (corn), and she is "foe" (four) now. She does NOT like dogs, big or small. She loves her preschool (at home with me) and says she has the best preschool teacher ever (her words, not mine). She's a great little student too. She sits and will 10 pages or more of her workbook at a time. Still hasn't decided if she is a righty or a lefty, cuts, colors and writes with both equally as well.

Chloe is as spunky as her hair is curly. We love you Chloe...just the way you are!

On her bike. She loves riding.

We had Parker and Lavender over to make bracelets and decorate cupcakes. It was last-minute, but they had fun. She has been lucky to meet these cute girls here and make friends with them. Parker is a neighbor and Lavender is from church.  

You can see Chloe's excitement on her face (love the tongue out). 

Lavender gave her these cute baby dolls. So sweet. 

And finally a birthday celebration with the family. We had already eaten a lot of cake that week, so we kept her cake small. But it was perfect and she loved it.

All boy

Thomas saw the soccer ball on the other side of the room and then went for it. I had never seen him move so fast with such determination. I loved it.

He is such a happy kid. So easy going. Getting so big.

A new look

It's a good thing that glasses are in style these days. Halle's new ophthalmologist, Dr. McGregor, put her in glasses, mostly for protective purposes for the right eye. There is some prescription in the left lens that should improve her vision to the equivalent of about 20/100. In addition to the new glasses, she also gets to wear an eye patch on her right eye for at least 50% of each day. The hope is to get her left eye to improve to about 20/70. Wish us luck.

Halle was so excited to get glasses. She asked all week if we could go shopping for them. We finally were able to go today. We went to a lot of stores, and these were her very favorite (and mine too). She's very happy with them. Doesn't she look so cute?!?

Clate is 7

Happy Birthday Clate.

Clate is 7. The only consistent birthday requests were the Lego City police station and a robe. Its not too difficult to please this guy. He also wanted a golf cake. It wasn't my best work of art, but he was happy with it. For his birthday celebration, we watched a movie, opened presents, and ate cake and ice cream. Adam also let him stay up to watch the first half of the BYU vs. Utah game on Saturday night. It didn't start until 9:15 p.m., so it really was a treat for him to get to stay up, especially with church at 9 a.m. the next morning.

I asked Halle and Chloe what they love about Clate. Halle said, "He's nice." And Chloe said, "He's a super nice brother." I have to agree; he is a pretty nice brother, most of the time. He does have his moments when his only purpose in life is to make the girls squeal. He's pretty good at it too. That is the role of a brother though.

Clate at 7:
Favorite food: Ramen noodles
Favorite sport: "Soccer, basketball, baseball, football..., oh yeah, and golf." Basically, all sports are his favorite.
Favorite movie: Cars 2
Favorite subject in school: Math (He takes after his mom.)
What he wants to be when he grows up: A bone doctor.
Favorite color: Blue
He has lost 3 teeth.

We sure love this guy and wouldn't trade him for the world.

PASS

Today is a HAPPY day! We found out that Adam passed his board exam!!! This was a REALLY big deal...in case you were wondering. If anyone would like to send him a congratulations email, his address is: agbergeson@gmail.com   I'm sure he would LOVE the attention!

Way to go babe!

Finally.

T is FINALLY (at 8 months old) sleeping through the night, 7:30 PM to 7:30 AM (about). It's been going on now for two weeks or so and I feel like a new woman! I love it. When I wake up in the morning, I actually feel rested. I forgot how that felt! I almost don't know what to do with myself all day. I sure hope he keeps this up...it sure is about time!

He's on the move...aaaahhhhh.

T is figuring out how to get around and I'm not sure if I'm ready for it. He has started getting into the fireplace (which I've had to baby gate now), under beds, into folded laundry...you name it. He can get everywhere he is not supposed to be. I'm sure it won't be long before he's motoring around faster than I can keep up. Uggh.

Can't forget the big 5!



Golfing for Halle's birthday.

The budding golfer.

Swing!

With 2 more birthdays coming up, I can't forget to blog about Halle's big day. Back in July, Halle turned 5. We celebrated a few days early while still in Idaho. She got golf clubs for her birthday, so, of course, she wanted to go golfing for her birthday. We found this really great 6 hole, par 3 course in Idaho Falls that was perfect for our little crew. Grammie and Pa joined us as well.

We went out to Red Robin for lunch afterwards. A great ending to a great day.

On her birthday, we were halfway across the country at the Boyer's house in Coralville, IA, headed to Ohio for a year. Holly was sweet and made cupcakes for her so she could celebrate her real birth"day". She felt special.

Halle at 5:

Favorite color: Still pink

Favorite meal: Spaghetti

Favorite movie: Tangled

Favorite book: Elephant and Piggie

Favorite place to eat: Red Robbin

What she wants to be when she grows up: A mom.

Favorite activity: Listen to music and dance.

Best friend: Chloe (and Clate sometimes)

Halle is one of the best helpers when it comes to taking care of Thomas. She is my little runner for diapers, wipes, toys, etc. She loves to hold him, try to make him laugh (he doesn't usually, but she tries hard), feed him...you name it. She is T's second little mommy. She loves to dress up and dance, especially to silly songs. She is learning to play the piano and loves it, is always asking for another lesson. She has to pick out her own outfits, and usually says "no" to anything I suggest. She likes to be in charge. She is still a daddy's girl. And such a joy to have around. We love our Hal!



Mr. Frog

Frog in garage. Poor little guy, so far from home.

This little guy found his way into our garage the other day. The kids were so excited and wanted badly to keep him. I left the garage door open for him while I mowed the lawn to see if he would make his way back out, but instead he hid himself in a corner. Clate grabbed an old shoe box and I used my broom to sweep him into the box. I'm sure we completely terrified him. I felt bad for him.We kept him in the box until Adam got home from work so we could show him our new friend. Then the kids let him go in the neighbors bushes. Hope he found his way home.

Another fun thing about Ohio, instead of have stray cats, they have stray bunnies. They're everywhere. We must have some living close to our house (not sure where exactly), but we see them every night out on our lawn. I usually see 1 or 2 while I mow as well, hopping across the yard into the trees.

She's a BIG kid now!

I can't believe my little girl is growing up. I keep telling her to stop, but she insists that she wants to grow up and be big and strong like me. I guess I have to let her grow up.

Here she is. All ready to head off to school on her first day of kindergarten. She, too, was so excited and had a great first day of school.

She wasn't even nervous about the bus ride. Okay, maybe she was a little nervous, but she didn't let it show. There are 2 other girls and 1 boy that will catch the bus with her for PM kindergarten, then she rides the bus home with Clate and all the other kids. They have assigned seats. Clate and Halle asked to sit together on the bus. That just warms my heart.

Back to SCHOOL

There he goes. Off to school on the first day of FIRST grade. When he came home, I asked him how his day was. He said, "It was AWESOME!" He loved the bus ride, his teacher, and his new friends.

There are at least 10-15 other kids at our bus stop. It should be a fun year for the kids.

Waiting for the bus.

Ready for the first day. Doesn't he look handsome!

Red Butte

One of our favorite places to go on a summer morning is to Red Butte Gardens at the Univ. of Utah. It's always so beautiful up there with the flowers and trees, etc. But the kids LOVE the kids area. It's super fun and a great way to cool off. I've got some really great ideas for things I would like to have in my yard some day. We're going to miss Salt Lake.

Thomas enjoying the grass. Surprisingly, it doesn't really bother him. He's quite content lying in the grass.

Loving the lizards.


After growing up in Georgia with the red clay, this site always makes me cringe, and I think, "WHY would they put red clay in a kids sand box at a public place." Then I remember that it is NOT red clay. It is red dirt, and it does not stain them or their clothes. Amazing. They love it.

Cooling off.

And drying off.