Halloween Fun 2011

This year for Halloween we went trick or treating with Tommy and Sammy.  The boys went pheasant hunting in the morning.  In September Devo and Troy joined Paul's hunting club.  We've enjoyed seeing Terri and Troy a little more often.

 Jill always throws the greatest parties.  She had swamp juice, Frankenstein brains, and a scary snake calzone for the kids.  Sam was the cutest "Blue" from Rio you ever saw.  Tommy was a lego head. Jill loves making their costumes. Paul had the greatest set up for trick or treating with a lighted trailer hooked up to 4 wheeler with music and all.  Aunt Terri and Uncle Toe (The empty nesters) stayed home to hand out candy.  Sam started with them first.  Jake loved trick or treating running from house to house with his pillow case. Sometimes he hit the house twice waiting for the other kids to catch up.

 Carving pumpkins was fun.  Emily pick a complicated pattern but did actually quite well with just a little help from Dad.  Jake wanted to do it himself. After he got started I stopped worrying he would cut off his fingers.  Devo had fun doing some etchings on Jake's dinosaur after he was done.

The school has a parade every year and Aunt Terri help Emmy get ready.  She loved wearing Aunt Terri's big hoop earrings and makeup!  Always fun to have Aunt Terri around to share in the fun.

The Red Barn

We didn't miss our annual pumpkin patch trip!  Love the hay ride, picking out LARGE pumpkins, ice cream, donuts, and carmel apples.

Fall Snow

The first week of October we saw our first snow.  It snowed all morning.  Emmy wanted to go out back and build a snowman after school.  I was sure that it was too wet to stick together but a few minutes later she had rolled her first big ball of snow.  So dad went out and helped her finish.  Jake had just had his tonsils out but didn't want to be left out.  Meet "Steve" as Emily called her snow man.  So glad it didn't stay cold for long.

Tonsils

So after repeated strep throat that we just couldn't get rid of we decided to get Jake's tonsils out.  We tried to wait till the first of the year to maximize our deductible but he just couldn't wait.  So Wed., October 5th was the date. 

Mom was glad that he was in good hands with Dad and Craig there to take care of him!

It was actually his adenoids that were the big problem. Watching him come out of anesthesia was a little scary for me, normal for Devo.  Lots of crying and coughing and then Devo gave him some drugs so he slept while the rest wore off, much nicer.  Apparently most parents don't see that first part, now I know why.

We went straight to 7-11 for a Slurpee on way home.  Things went well, mornings were the toughest. Lots of otter pops so he could swallow pain meds.   By Monday I sent him to school.  I thought we were home free. Nope!  Tuesday night while Devon and Emmy were at the church he started bleeding.  I think I handled the whole thing pretty good no freaking out, on the outside anyways.  After about a half an hour we ended up in the ER.  They couldn't get the bleeding to stop so they had to take him back to the O.R. and cauterize the bleeder under the scab on the left side.  So it was like starting all over.  Poor Jake!  I think he has had enough Slurpee's, otter pops, and Popsicles to last a lifetime.  

Homeless

The other night we checked on Jake on our way to bed and this is what we found!  Sleeping in a cardboard box!  At least it's in his room and not on the street somewhere!

Jake's Humor

Grandma Skinny spent the night with us in September.  In the morning while I was getting the kids breakfast  and their lunches packed for school,  she asked if she could help me with anything.  Jake pipes in with "My mom needs help making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies?" I smiled and thought to myself, that sounds a lot like your father's sense of humor."  As you can see Grandma Skinny made him cookies before she left.  Thanks Grandma.

Day Trip

Since we never actually made it to Six Mile Pond we decided to make a day trip in August, the weekend after school started.  We just took the truck and fishing gear.  It wasn't like fishing last year.  We had to have a little more patience but we ended up catching about 8 fish.  Jake was much better about catching and releasing.  He also caught the biggest fish.  It was so big he couldn't get his hands around it and he kept dropping it.

                                              Emily caught the first fish right away!

     
  So on the way home we decided to go home a different way and end up in Ephraim.  Everyone says it is shorter with lots of signs to tell the way.  Well if it wasn't the first day of elk hunting we would have been wondering on the top of the mountain all night.  It was more like an atv trail in many spots and we did a little 4 wheeling through mud to avoid a snow blocked road.   We very seldom take the unbeaten path and I'd say we're going to stick with our well known paths from now on.  It took us two hours to get to Ephraim.  We could have been home and showered by that time.

This is every kids dream of a candy store.  The kids were in awe.  They had a hard time choosing.  Way too many choices.

Summer Rain

Just add water and my kids are happy for hours.  We were eating dinner one night and the thunder cracked and the rain started pouring down.  The kids love playing in the gutters.  After all the scouts getting hit by lightning in Utah I'm a little cautious with them playing outside during a thunder storm.  

           
                                                                  That was so cool!

They ended up putting their flip flops in the "river" and chasing it down the street.

They could have played for hours but mom made them come in when the lightning started.

4 wheeling

In July we went to our favorite 4wheeling trail, log cabin.  It is so close it's not an all day trip.  Emily and I collected flowers to dry. 

 The top of the mountain is beautiful the pictures don't do it justice.

 Jake is not to fond of riding on the 4 wheeler.  He would rather be out exploring catching bugs.

He was down in this ravine catching bugs and said," There is something crawling on me."  When I got to him there were ants all over him.  You can see one on his forehead. Luckily I brushed them all off before any bit him.  There were lots of bugs and bees that day whenever we stopped, after the ants it was time to go.

 Everyone loves riding with dad more than mom.  He goes faster.

                                                                      Just too cute!

 On the way up and down we had to drive through thousands of sheep out for a day of grazing.  If I had video you could hear Emily and Jake talking to the sheep. "BAAAA"

 The day isn't complete with out Jake catching a grasshopper or two.  He caught about 5 or 6 and put them in the 4-wheeler bags in the trailer.  But the last one he wanted to hold in his hand for the ride home.  When I asked him to put his seat belt on he said, "I can't my grasshopper is too fussy!"  We all had a big laugh as I buckled him in.

 He loves catching little grasshoppers now to feed to his pet praying mantis.

Too Much Fun!

What did we do this summer?  We spent the summer at Cowabunga Bay!  Thanks for the season passes, for Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa Skinny.  Once it warmed up we spent one day a week playing in the sun.  We got to share some of the fun with family and friends too. We even got Britney and Jeremy and Aunt Terri to come!  Sorry no pictures those days.  Thanks for coming with us.  It's always more fun with the ones you love.

The kids enjoyed experimenting with the underwater camera.  It's a whole new world with goggles!

We finally got Jake to go down the closed fast pink slide. (which is Emily's favorite) Once he went down we couldn't get him to stop.  We went down 5 more times in a row.  Way to go Jake! He usually hangs out in the warm pool and lazy river the majority of the time.  It's always windy, so he gets cold really fast.  Emily loved all the slides except the two big ones where she bumped her head.  Even the little kiddie slides are fun to race and play on.  We had a blast!  Fun Fun Summer

First day of school

School started on the 18th of August.  Emily is a 3rd grader and Jake is a 1st grader.  I think we need to have less fun in the summer so they will want to go back to school.  I think Jake was excited about 1st grade though. When I picked up Jake outside his classroom and asked him how it was, he said, "awesome."  That was music to my ears.  After 2 days of school Jake ended up with strep throat and missed 3 days of school.  It's going to be a rough year for him!  As for me, I feel like a new woman with both kids in school all day.  I get so much time to myself I don't know what to do?  I finished my book club book Little Women, loved it, and  Devon and I get to go on dates during the day, when he's off, and we don't have to pay the babysitter gobs of money.  I have tons more patience with the kids now and enjoy spending time with them when they come home.

swim lessons

Summer isn't complete with out swim lessons.  Emily learned the freestyle, backstroke, side stroke,and breast stroke.  The back stroke is definitely her best.  She had to swim the entire length of the pool and back which she is very proud of.  It was really tough for her but she did it, even with people making huge waves from diving board.  She is really trying to learn to dive and she is very close.  Next year is the year.

Jake passed level 3 this year.  He loves the water and doing cannon balls and "twirly wirlies"  off the diving board.  He learned the front and back stroke.    

Hiking

In early July Emily invited me to go hiking with her activity days group.  We hiked this same waterfall in  Nebo Canyon a few years ago but with all the water this year it was even more beautiful. The river was running right next to the path and scenery was spectacular.  It reminded me of camping as a kid in CA. We had to cross a couple of streams and we tried hard not to get wet.  When we got to the waterfall there was still snow and we had to climb up the snow to get to the waterfall.  

The water fall had made a path under the snow and made a cave tunnel.  So we climbed down and went through it. As we did the snow was melting and dripping on us and we ended up quite wet.  It was the highlight of our hike.  I was proud of Emily for being so adventurous!  On the way back we walked straight through the streams because we were already wet.

4th of July

The 4th of July started on Saturday at the carnival at the park. "The best day in Nephi"   This year we spent all our time playing games and earning tickets for prizes.  They earned more than their arms could carry.  They rode on a couple of fun rides, had snow cones, and Emily got a flag painted on her cheek.  It was fun having Aunt Terri hang out with us since Dad was busy helping things run smoothly.  

Monday we left Dad at home and headed to Aunt Jill's for a LaDue party and Fun.  The kid's enjoyed playing on the water slide and the Fire works show.  Robbie and Aaron enjoyed lighting the fireworks and Paul had some illegal rockets that were slightly out of control at times.  Jake almost became a casualty.  It was a great fireworks display.  I still dislike sparklers though.

Camping almost at 6 Mile Pond

At the end of June we planned a camping trip to our favorite camping place at 6 Mile Pond and we couldn't get to it because the road was blocked by a glacier of snow.  There was snow and water everywhere. Lots of little waterfalls.   It was very pretty and soggy.  So we camped lower near a different lake.  A lot of ATV trails were closed but we managed to find a fun one and had fun getting a little wet and muddy.  It was fun to have Aunt Terri come even though she got a little sick.

We were a little bummed thinking we probably wouldn't catch any fish but Devo's pole worked like magic.  It was the only one to catch fish. We had to have a little more patience than at 6 mile but we caught and released 4 fish. Jake did a great job this year with putting them back in the water.  There was know crying at all.  Paul I mean Tommy caught a fish too!  The fish seemed to bite when it was sprinkling on us so we didn't mind getting a little wet now and then.  By the end Jake was wet up to his knees trying to catch water striders.  It's all about the bugs!

It sprinkled on and off while fishing but the real thunder and lightning came half way through cooking dinner.  Paul and Devo tried to keep the fire going for the chicken with a towel and Jill bent over the potatoes with a coat.  It was crazy.  Then it started hailing.  The boys heroically suffered through it to cook us some dinner.  The chicken didn't turn out too good but the potatoes and Cherry cobbler with ice cream was spectacular.  We discovered dry ice!  It rained off and on through the night and I'm so glad we didn't have the tent.  We put vents in the trailer and slept in it, so much nicer than spending an hour putting up and taking down a tent and a lot dryer too. At 6am it started a down pour.  We felt bad for Tommy because it was his birthday and Jill had so much fun planned.  It was just miserable the mud stuck to your shoes 2inches thick it was a work out just walking around the campsite.  We decided to pack it up and go home a day early!  We celebrated Tommy's birthday in his tent  trailer with donuts and presents.  

Baseball

Jake loved playing "coach pitch" baseball.  He improved a lot from the first game.  In the first game he was tagged out and he started crying and didn't want to play.  He didn't really know how to react.  It is a big change from T-ball.  By the end of the season he was okay and just walked it off.  He is a really good hitter.  He's getting better at catching.  In the last few games he was able to catch the ball and get some players out and he really enjoyed telling us all about it.  He liked playing first base or any base.  Devo got to help out at practice and the games and Jake really liked having Dad out there.  Emily enjoyed being the bat girl.  She was very helpful.  She may try softball next year.

Cousin Fun

In June Sammy and Tommy spent a week with us.  While Jill and Paul got to vacation in Cancun.  We had a lot of fun at the beginning of the week.  We went on a bike ride and had a picnic at the park.  Jake and Tommy had fun feeding their lunch to the seagulls while trying to catch them. Sam loved the swings.  We also had tons of fun on the slide and slip-n-slide.  They have become dare devils by jumping and do flips down instead of just sliding.  Crazy!  

Sam was content with the squirt bottle.  He asked for a paper towel and said he was cleaning the outside of my house. He did play in the sprinklers with Emily and actually got wet later.  We also went to the Provo Library and saw a Movie (Kung Fu Panda).  The last part of the week Tommy and Jake were sick with a sore throat and stomach ache so we watched a lot of TV. We love hanging out with our Cousins!

Jake's kindergarten graduation

In May Jake graduated from kindergarten!

They had a fun little program singing songs and reciting an alphabet poem.  Jake loves singing songs. 

Jake received the Reptile Specialist award from his class.  He was very pleased with that.  He knows a lot about snakes and crocodiles.