Here Comes Santa Claus

A little hesitant but brave enough to walk up and tell Santa what you wanted for Christmas. One of these years, Santa might be able to get you what you want if you could just commit a little earlier than the week before! Every year in November it is one thing and then as Christmas draws closer and I have already passed along the message to Santa-you change your mind and have a NEW obsession that you are SURE Santa can bring you...some day the stars will align.

B-E-A-C-H!

Nothing is better than listening to the pure laughter of kiddos! Oh how you guys loved the beach!

Oh the things we do for our kids...

We had a blast on vacation in California this year. We opted out of Disneyland and checked out Knotts and Six Flags. Crowds were great, company was great, food was great...getting through security at Long Beach Airport-not so great. Of course my most paranoid and worrisome kiddo set off the alarm(I think they kept calling it the USB alarm). A look of terror came over your face as they told us you would need to come over for further screening. I walked over to the side with you and they ran some sort of detector over your hands. And what do you know you set that off too. The security guards look at each other and said "Uh-oh that is definitely not good." Great. Just Great. So they motion for us to move over for some more screening. I grabbed your hand to come follow me. The guard about had a come apart then said to me "Oh the things we do for our kids." Really?? Helping him through the airport? So then they told me now I would have to do a thorough screening to include detailed checks of my baggage, pat downs, and interviewing. All of which I passed-but still am unclear as to what they found on us that was so worrisome. They kept asking if we put any lotion, perfumes, anything unusual on your hands. No. No I didn't. He may have touched his sister's puke from the car ride over. Or maybe it was the magnets he had been playing with in the car that his Papa gave him for Christmas. Or maybe it was the powdered doughnuts he ate for breakfast--a white powdery substance can be pretty suspicious and tends to linger on my kiddos. Whatever it was, I still do not know. Oh well, the good news is we made it through alive...barely. Getting ready to get on the plane.

ALMOST there!

Ready for some fun!

SOLD

So guess who just built/bought some new property in back of our house?? YOU! And dang proud of it!

HUNGER

I picked you up after school today and went to run quickly to WalMart. Of course you threw a fit because you were "SOOOOO HUNGRY!!!!" Well by the end of the trip you calmed down and then as I was loading stuff into the car you told me "Mom, I am not REALLY hungry anymore because I said I prayer and Jesus fed me with his spirit." I wish I had the faith that this little 5 year old has!

Shiner

mason ray richey bike crash ty crashed in to me. And it hurt. the end This is what Mason asked me to help him type about what happened to his eye. But seriously, does he not look like an Avatar?

Primary Program

I could not have been more proud of you today! We had our primary program and you sang your little heart out. We were sitting a few rows from the back and I could literally hear your little voice all the way back there! You said your part with little hesitation (which was such an improvement from last year's stage fright). You have a fabulous music leader and three of the songs you had learned signs to. The part that I got emotional on was when you sang "He Sent His Son". Maybe it was because your little voice was so sincere, maybe it was your expression. I am so thankful for your desire to Choose the Right! I could not be a happier mommy!

So Grateful...

This past week I have been so grateful that I am able to be a stay at home mom for you and your sisters. Though many days are hard, there are those sweet moments that don't seem like anything "exceptional" but seem to leave lasting impressions. One moment that really tugged at my heart strings has been picking you up at the bus stop the last few days. You bounce off the bus, always first in line, count 10 steps forward and then with a BIG grin on your face run across the street and give me a big hug. Oh I can't imagine not being able to be there for that or having someone else experience that simple joy. I love being your mom!

Grandma Great

This past week your Grandma Great passed away. This is the first time that you have had to experience a death. There were lots of questions, as you tried to understand what was happening(especially at the funeral). As we talked about how we can see grandma great again in heaven, and that her body is still here but her spirit is with Jesus you seemed to be okay with everything. I was so grateful that we know that families can be together forever. As I kissed you goodnight you asked, "So mom, grandma great will be Resurrected in 3 days like Jesus?" I went on to explain we don;t know when, but all of us will be Resurrected just like Jesus. You then told me all about what you thought heaven would be like. So grateful to be able to share these moments with you.

Clubhouse

The thing that I love the most about where we have moved in watching you and your little friends play outside. Maybe it is because it reminds me of when I was little and running around looking for adventure. You have had quite the summer playing in the field behind our house. You have been the driving force in the building of the clubhouse. All of the neighbor kids love to come out and play in it with you and search for treasure. So fun to see your little imagination at work, and the best part is I think we have gone to watching almost no TV.

This is you and Lexie working on the construction of the clubhouse.

Destiny

Your prayer tonight after getting home from vacation at Wolf Creek. "...Thank you for a fun weekend. Bless I can get home safe, and Maga and Grandpa can get safe to their destinies, and Brie and Braxton and get to their destiny safe and Kennie can get to his destiny safe. And we love you very much and glad that you could get ressurected and we can all live in heaven again. Name of Jesus Christ Amen."

First Day of Kindergarten

Where has the time gone? I am going to miss having this little monkey home with me all day! Today you were so excited for your first day of school! You get to go to morning kindergarten and be an "Early Bird". You were up at 6:15am, dressed and ready to go. Of course school doesn't start until 8:30, so we were able to make a "special" breakfast for you of waffles, smoothies and yogurt. All at your request. Then I got to take you to class. I was filled with mixed emotions as I watched you walk proudly into class, no hesitations, all excitement. I had a hard time thinking that you are growing up, and this is the first step of many as you change from my little boy into a big kid-making your own decisions, meeting new people and learning new things. We said prayers last night and this morning your dad was able to give you a father's blessing in which he blessed with the ability to do well in school and also to make new friends and be a good example. I hope you always hold onto the faith that you have now. You told me you knew you would have a good day because you asked Heavenly Father to help you, and dad had said you would in your blessing.

You were so glad to be able to have some of your cute little friends from the neighborhood in your class. Right now your best friend is your next door neighbor Cambree Reutzel. You love playing with her and being creative. We will always love our little monkey, and to me that is what you will always be!

Smarty Pants

You have always been a boy full of questions and it has proven to pay off! Though we still need to work on your pen to paper skills, your cognative skills are WAY above average for your age. We went to your kindergarten roundup and they tested you to see what you already knew and how prepared you are for school. You tested in the 98% for your reading knowledge and comprehension. I was so proud of you! You are quickly grasping your math concepts and understanding how things work and why. If given a choice of what to watch on TV you always go to the "How it Works" series. Just a little boy who loves to learn!

I Can Ride a Two-Wheeler!!

I had been hesitant to take your training wheels off, just because we hadn't had a lot of practice over the past year or so riding your bike. One because we were in the apartment and Two because before that your bike was in storage. Well once in the new home, you wanted them off so I thought why not. To my surprise you took off with no help and did FANTASTIC! I was so surprised that you had NO FEAR! You had one accident in which you rode smack into the middle of the van that was parked in the driveway while your dad was washing it. Not sure what happened there, but you did quite the number on your mouth. Since then you have been in biker heaven riding on all the trails in the back and performing bike shows for me. LOVE seeing you enjoying yourself so much and being a kid!

A HUMAN!

While balancing Emma up on her legs and holding onto her hands you shout out, "Mom! Look at Emma, she is trying to stand like a HUMAN!"

Hmm, and all this time I thought she was a human.

The "Joys" of Life

Mason may have a slight problem distinguishing the difference between the "joys of life" and the "jaws of life". Let's hope his primary teacher doesn't ask about this again...

Batteries

Mason: "Mom, I really can't help clean today."
Me: "Oh really, how come?"
Mason: "Because I have no energy, I am dying like a battery!"

Yes my dear, my battery seems to be drained many a days too...

This is Halloween

Who needs to go trick or treating when you can make a haul at the ward trunk-or-treat(minus the trunks as they were all set up on tables inside the gym). We then headed over to the rec center where they had a whole carnival set up with tons of candy games and activities for you! We ended our night with some yummy chili in pumpkin bread bowls.

Pumpkins

Gearing up for Halloween!

Angry Mask

One day we had a pretty rough time with listening, talking back to mom and being mean to you sister. After what I like to call "Battle of the Bedtime" I tucked you in and told you to go to sleep. You stopped me and said, "Sorry mom that I was a little bit mean today. I was just pretending because I had on my angry mask."

Where do you come up with these things? I told you that I really didn't like that game and I really don't like angry masks. To which you replied, "Don't worry I will throw it away tomorrow." Works for me.

I thought that was the end of that until the next day when you got frustrated with me over something and said "Mom, don't make me get my angry mask out of the trash." I was upset he made a threat towards me, but at the same time I had to try not to laugh because he had remembered he had thrown the darn non-exisistent thing away and was still motioning to the garbage that he was going to go and take the stinking thing out. What am I going to do with this boy and his imagination?

Nanny

This summer we got to live with your Nanny. You were so spoiled by her, from early morning breakfasts with hot cocoa, special treats and snacks, movies and who could forget the ipad sessions in her bedroom and trips to the dollar store! It really was an adjustment moving to Vernal and not having her around. We love our Nanny!

Which Witch is Which?

Tis the season for Maga's birthday which means an annual trip to Olive Garden and Gardener Village to see the Witches that are set up for Halloween. We love seeing the witch displays and enjoying the last few days of sunshine!

Cute Enough to Eat!

You could not love your little sister anymore than you do. Nearly everyday you are asking me to hold her and take your picture.

Richey Cousins

My oh my how this family keeps growing!

Bingham Copper Mines

Construction trucks, construction zones, construction workers...you are fascinated by them all for one reason or another. Maybe that is why your favorite thing to play is construction in the dirt pile! Seeing the trucks here in person was as you said "AWESOME"!

I Scream You Scream!

One of my fondest memories growing up was visits with my grandma and her fixing waffles with ice cream on top for breakfast! Who eats ice cream for breakfast?? Well when you visit your Nanny you get to, you LOVED it, but really what kid wouldn't?

Dino-Zoo

Finally we got up to the Zoo this Summer with your cousins. We had fun because this summer they had the dinosaur exhibits too. They looked pretty darn real! Your favorite animal this go around was the Gorillas.