Leaf Peeping (new baby style)

We did not get out to do any mountain leaf peeping this year, so I took the kids on a brief walk down our block to look at and collect various leaves. Then we brought them home to make leaf rubbings. Grey of course needed a superhero cape to do a good job on his "leaf hunt." He took it very seriously.

Caramel Apple Bits

Toothpicks. Ready.

Nothing better than caramel and apples on a cool, fall evening.

 Yummy!

Our Little Monkey

These pictures say everything. This girl is so full of personality and spunk. I find her digging through the trash and chewing chewed-up gum way too frequently. She swats my hand away when I'm burping Cole so she can do it. She says "no" to absolutely everything even if I'm not even talking to her. But she gives the best snuggles and loves in the world. She adores her daddy and grandpas especially. Love this girl.

Side note: Taking these pictures (same as when I took Grey's) were the biggest nightmare. ever. I got locked inside of Wash Park trying to find a quick place to take pics. Found someone to unlock the gate. Then stuck in dead-stop traffic for 15 minutes by the fire station. All the while, Grey was whining about everything and Cole screamed like he was dying for 45 minutes straight. Finally I stopped in front of someone's house. I had the kids dressed and didn't want to attempt it again. I couldn't calm Cole down, so I took all the pictures with him in one arm screaming as people were walking by staring. Was not my finest moment.

FIVE

People are not joking when they talk about how time flies. It is bittersweet watching my children grow older. I absolutely LOVE watching them learn and develop, turn into little people and become independent. But my heart breaks a little at the days coming too quickly when they won't need me anymore--and even worse when they are embarrassed by me! Even though it is unbelievably exhausting, it is painful to think of them not being a part of my every moment.

I am so proud of Greyden and the sweet little boy he is. I asked him lots and lots of questions for the traditional birthday quiz:

What is your favorite food?

pizza and cereal

What is your favorite vegetable?

cauliflower

What is your favorite fruit?

pears, apples, watermelon and kiwi

What is your favorite thing to do?

Crafts like making the spaceship with you

What are your favorite things to play with?

My cool stuff--all of my ironman gear, my Thor hammer, superhero cape and balls

What is your favorite color?

green, red and blue

Who are your best friends?

Emett, Bradley, Noah, Jared, Ryan, Tyler, Preston, Brig, Gage (the friend from Bally's he hasn't seen in 8 months), Tennyson (If you know G-you know everyone is his best friend. haha)

What do you like to wear?

My cool shirts and plaid shorts. My favorite shirt is the Tony Hawk lightning one or the 'I'm a Rock Star' one with a guitar

What is your favorite sport?

Raquetball (after watching Jared play once) and ice hockey

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Cop, Fireman, Ambulance Man, Builder. Are there any other rescuers? Builders are rescuers because they build things back up.

What are you really good at doing?

Coloring, eating, liking & protecting Cole from sickness

What is something that is hard for you to do?

Looking at Daddy during a hard reading lesson

What makes you sad?

When Elise hits, pushes, yells at and punches me. (Looks like I need to crack down on the discipline with Elise)

What makes you happy?

When the sun is up. And I am happy when I am sleepy because I don't have to do anything.

What makes you mad?

When Elise says something wrong. (Oh how I love the sibling rivalry)

What is your favorite TV show?

The Avengers--Wolverine, Thor, Captain America

What is your favorite book?

Power Rangers (Ugh...)

What is your favorite game?

Candyland

What is your favorite animal?

Cheetah

What is your favorite song?

A Child's Prayer, Scripture Power and I am Like a Star

What is your favorite thing about mommy?

I love you. I love to snuggle.

What is your favorite things about daddy?

When he is being nice to me

What do you want for your birthday?

A Power Ranger toy (haven't heard that one yet)

What is the best part about being 5?

That I am going to be the same age as Emett. Anything else? At all? Nope!


Grey is crazy about any and all superheroes right now. He loves watching them shoot at things and bust up buildings or bad guys. He has been running around with his red cape and Thor hammer everywhere. He also has the sweetest side. He is so loving and gentle--although more towards Cole than Elise. She drives him crazy most of the time.

In his prayers, he always prays for "all the people in the world--especially the sick and hurt ones." He told me this week that when Cole smiles at him it makes him so happy he cries happy tears. As I watch him in different settings, I realize more and more what a confident, happy boy Grey is. He loves making new friends and trying anything and everything. I love his spirit and energy. I am so blessed to be his mother. He will always hold a special place in my heart as the one that taught me to love unselfishly.

Happy Birthday sweet G!!!

Twist

Grey & I tested out our pretzel making skills after church. We made letters, hearts, pretzel twists, circles and a flying saucer (compliments of G). Of course we dipped them in hot butter and sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar.

Fun, fun, fun

I have been filled with guilt for the amount of time a new baby takes away from the other two kids. So I have been trying to do fun things with them as much as possible. Some have turned out really fun--others not so much.

A family outing to the Aquarium. I love evenings at the Aquarium--so quiet and a little eerie.

The worst trip to the zoo. Ever. Including parking issues, waiting 10 minutes for the elevator, crying, whining, painful little girl shoes, grey's cold arms, mouse poop on our picnic table, and a baby blowout just to name a few things of our one whole hour at the zoo. Ending with myself holding back tears to get G to preschool on time. Good times. You really wouldn't know it from their cute smiles though.

Swimming at our friend's 98 degree pool. It was Cole's first time swimming and he LOVED it. Wish I got a picture of him. He just floated around and splashed in my arms. Grey was a jumping and swimming maniac. He has really gotten over his nervousness swimming. Elise floated around in a tube most the time.

Blessing Day

We blessed Cole this past weekend. It was a wonderful day and we were so grateful to our wonderful friends and family that made the drive to be there with us.

Poor third child only got iphone pics and one hasty picture as everyone was leaving. Thank you Pam for reminding us to take a picture at all!

Fast asleep in Grandma's arms

The cute cake from my mom and stepdad

Only missing two from our family. And don't ask my why J looks all tan and I am as pasty-white as can be.

And a couple random, cute one's of Cole because he is adorable and started smiling and giggling. I love that kid. Terrible iphone pics...

Quarterly Birthdays

It is that time again for the quarterly birthday celebrations. The October one is a wonderful fall party with the kids in costumes, fun games and yummy soups. Cindy does such a wonderful job hosting it!

The kids did a relay to dress up the two oldest cousins.

They look pretty good in Aunt Cindy's clothes...

Then it was to the basement for a lot more games and a lot more candy/prize winning.

My cute kiddos in their costumes. No, I don't think they could be any cuter!

Time for cake. Even though we were celebrating Tyler, Josh, Addie and Grey--Grey was the only one really blowing out candles. Not sure how that happened.

The happy (early) birthday boy

Conference Weekend

Yes I am playing catch-up here. I look forward to conference every single time. It is so uplifting and preps me for the next six months. This last conference was so much fun. Grey is finally old enough to sit and listen. He sat through every session--except one when we had a friend over and the kids played. I was so proud of him and the comments he would make throughout. I'm sure the fort, homemade cinnamon rolls and bingo game with candy helped a little bit.

The talks, as ALWAYS, were amazing. A couple that stood out to me were Elaine Dalton's on dads raising daughters and Ian Ardern's on time (I liked listening to his awesome accent too!) I am so grateful for these inspired men and women who sacrifice so much of themselves to serve the Lord and to help guide us. They are amazing!

Farm Without Farming

I took the kids up to Miller Farms with some friends for a morning of fall fun. With three kids, I didn't harvest but we played on all of the fun and free stuff there. I didn't take many pictures since my hands were very full. We (yes, me too) jumped on the big air bubble. The kids played on the fire truck, rusty cars, tractors and crop dusters.

Grey & Elise went on a "train ride" pulled by a tractor. This was right before Elise started panicking, crying and trying to climb out as he started driving. I walked over to grab her and the teenage boy gunned it. Probably not the safest thing...

Grey loved it!