MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

The shopping is done, the gifts are wrapped, the bows are tied, the baking is almost done, the house is all decorated....and we're ready to celebrate!! From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas filled with many blessings!

HUGE HAIL STORM!!

Oh my goodness....it felt like winter here yesterday! We had a bout a 10% chance of rain. We had just been at the park taking our Christmas pics, and headed to Costco. About 5 mins into shopping, there was a huge blast of thunder, the lights flickered, and the rain and hail poured down! It hailed so much, it looked like it had snowed! It was crazy, but it deffinitely made it feel like winter. Now, today, it's sunny, and I'm back in shorts.

HALLOWEEN PICS!!

HALLOWEEN

Halloween Night.....it was such a beautiful night! The weather was warm(almost hot), a sliver of a moon, being covered by the clouds, and the boys all dressed up and ready to go! They all looked so cute in there costumes. Eli was a Rock Star, Gregory was a Policeman, Nathan was a Fireman, and Jacob was a Little Spider. We pulled Jacob along in the wagon, and his eyes were WIDE open the whole time, he was just looking around at all the decorations. Toward the end of the evening, he even held our hand and walked from house to house. Gregory really got into the trick-or-treating this year; if he could have, he would have kept going all night! Nathan was very proud to be a fireman, and he liked the plastic axe....he thought it was a sword:) Eli enjoyed getting to dress like a rock star, and was doing the air guitar as we were walking. Of course, after trick-or-treating, we did the traditional counting of the candy, and of course eating of the candy too. It was time to leave Grandma, and Grandpa's house, and We got in the mini van(about 10pm), and it wouldn't start! It turned out to be the fuel pump. Thank goodness, Dave had met us there with his truck, so we went home, and called the tow truck in the morning. It was in the shop until this afternnon, and it so nice to have my kiddo mobile back! Thank you to my wonderful mom for helping me with taking the kids to and from school!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

We've carved our spooky, cute, and alien looking pumpkins, the costumes are ready, and we're having our little halloween party this afternoon. The boys can't wait to get out trick-or-treating. Dave and I are getting into the fun, as Dave is going to be a Ghost Buster, and I'm going to be a Halloween clown. I'm looking very forward to having our Halloween pumpkin pie, and apple cider! I love the Fall holidays!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

OUR BUSY NON-STOP WEEKEND

What a weekend we had! On Friday night, we all went to our church's Octoberfest/carnival. They had a full carnival with rides and games and all the yummy food to go along. Eli & I worked at a booth for a couple hours, then we enjoyed the rides. Eli brought me on a roller coaster that went upside down....it was a lot fun! Gregory and Nathan LOVED the fast rides, and their was a ride similar to Dumbo that Jacob was able to go on. We stayed pretty late and finished the evening with a ride on the Ferriss Wheel. On Saturday morning, Eli had to be at the football field for pics at 9am, and he had a football game at 10am. Unfortunatley his team did not win, but they all did a great job, tried very hard, and had fun! After, we scooted over to our nephew, Jeffrey's(on Dave's side of the family), and celebrated his 3rd Birthday. All the kids had a blast, and Jeffrey was so thrilled to get his 1st bike! About half way through the party, Eli became very tired, and fell asleep(now that's unusual for him). At first we thought he was just tired due to the business of the weekend, but when we came home, he slept most of the afternoon, and into the night. When he woke up, he had a fever. Thank goodness, he was feeling much better by Sunday morning. So, that brings us to Sunday. We celebrated Nana's 82nd Birthday at our house. We kept it simple with finger foods and cake. It was so nice to get the family together!
After that weekend, I think I need a long nap, and a hot soaking bubble bath!!

OUR FALL THUS FAR.....

We finally had a drop in temp last weekend.....all the way down to 78 degrees....the perfect weather. It didn't last long, as we're now back up to 95! We have all of our Fall and Halloween decorations out, and we've enjoyed our first pumpkin pie of the season. We've bought and tried on the Halloween costumes. Eli's going to be a rock star, Gregory's going to be a policeman, Nathan's going to be a firefighter, and Jacob's going to be a cute little spider. We've been busy with Eli's flag football. He's doing a great job;making a lot of interceptions, and getting right into the thick of the game. I recently started my in- home childcare. I'm watching a little girl all day, and her brother before and after school. It's going very well, and the boys are enjoying there new friends. So, we're enjoying the cooler temps, and being outdoors & spending a lot of time at the park. HAPPY FALL!!

ELI'S BIRTHDAY PICS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!!

Eli celebrated his 11th Birthday last Thursday!! He had a fun "football" themed slumber party. He and his buddies played a football game, swung at a football pinata, played PS2, watched movies, and of course had pizza and cake:) On his real birthday, we had a spaghetti dinner, and welcomed in the Fall season with a yummy pumpkin pie! I can not believe he is already 11, as it seems it was just yesterday, he was a tiny little baby! He keeps telling me he's a pre-teen.....I say, don't rush it!!
I'll be posting pics soon!

AUGUST BIRTHDAY PICS

HAPPY B-DAY DAVE & GREGORY!!

Okay, so I am a bit behind....Dave celebrated his Birthday on the 27th, and Gregory turned 7 on the 28th!! On the 28th, we did pizza and presents at our house. Instead of doing a big party, last Sat., we spent the day at Water World! The boys all loved the slides and wave pool....Jacob even went down the baby slide on my lap:) The lazy river was a big hit too! At the end of the day, Gregory said it was his best Birhtday! We all had a blast, and it was a great family day! I'll be posting pics soon!

BACK TO SCHOOL

CAMPING PICS

ALL THE PLACES WE'VE BEEN!!

It is time to play catch up from this summer! Of course the summer has flown by, as it always does! I left off when we were gearing up to go camping with Grandma and Grandpa at Lake Pleasant in their trailer. We had a blast! We did a lot of water play; Dave, Eli, and I all water skiid,Gregory and Nathan were pulled on the tube....slowly.....with me:) Jacob enjoyed the boat rides and seeing the ducks. We did a lot of swimming in the lake and at the resort pool. Eli and I both did some fishing with Grandpa......Eli caught 3, and I caught 1. It was so nice in the trailer. We would come off of the lake, in the heat of the day:the AC, the lazy boy chair, and a good movie was such a nice touch!

The first week of August, we went for some rustic camping in Flagstaff. We did the tent camping in the middle of the pines; it was so beautiful! It was such a nice break from the HEAT! The boys had a great time riding bikes, and making friends around the campground. We took our inflatable boat, and did some rowing, and water play at Lake Mary. We took nature walks, and went hiking in the nearby areas. We were able to have campfires everyday, and had some yummy s'mores. It is monsoon season, so we did have some rain and thunderstorms, but that added to the fun. One night, we even heard coyotes howling/laughing in the woods....that was a bit scary!
We had such a wonderful summer......we have so many blessings to be thankful for!

BACK TO SCHOOL.....As of the 11th, Eli & Gregory are back in school Eli's in 5th, and Gregory's in 1st grade. Thus far, they are enjoying school, and making some nice new friends, and are enjoying seeing their friends from last year too. Nathan has started his preschool curriculum at home, and can't wait to start school next year! He misses Eli and Gregory,but enjoys entertaining Jacob! Jacob is full of words these days; he's added to his list of words: night night, hi daddy, and mamma mamma....too cute!
So that's what we've been up to, and now that we're back to the swing of things, I'll be updating this more often!
Pics will be coming soon!

GOING CAMPING!!

This last weekend was spent preparing for our 2 upcoming camping trips. On Sat., we started by going through the garage getting our camping supplies together....which turned into cleaning the garage from top to bottom. The boys even were helping, and ended up going through toys, and put some aside for Goodwill. Then on Sunday, Dave, the boys, and I all went shopping from store to store picking up more camping supplies that we needed. It's always oh so very interesting taking all of the boys shopping:) ....And of course, we bought making for s'mores! Today was spent getting packed for the first camping trip....the boys could barely go to sleep...they're so excited!
On Sunday, we did take some time out of packing, and went for a much needed swim at the public pool.....and we had CHRISTMAS IN JULY! We watched the Grinch and The Polar Express. In the evening, we had a rain storm go through, so the boys played in the rain, and we ended the day with hot chocolate, with lot's of marshmellows! It was a lot of fun!

GOING CAMPING!!

FUN 4TH!!

We had a fun and busy 3rd and 4th! On the 3rd we had gone to the lake, and enjoyed the festivities....a kids water zone, concert, and fireworks (even a good lightning show). On the 4th, we had a great bar-b-que at my uncle's house, and had a blast swimming. There was a huge dust storm coming through, so unfortunately, the firework show was canceled. Since then, we've been having our own water park in our backyard(slip-n-slide and inflatable pool), and we're packing for our 2 upcoming camping trips. Gregory and Nathan just finished there swimming lessons...both did great and had a lot of fun! Eli is very into lifting weights, and Jacob is cruisen all around....and loving the freedom!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

We're off to the lake, and we'll be doing lot's of swimming and bar-b-quing over the weekend!! Have a very happy, fun, and safe 4th of July!! More summer pics and blogs to come after the 4th....stay tuned!! Until then....stay cool!!

MORE DISNEYLAND PICS