Friday, December 23, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
4 on the 4th
Today, December 4th is Hayden's 4th Birthday!
He was spoiled & loved every minute.
After church we had dinner and a birthday party @ G Ma & G Pa's house. We celebrated Caroline's birthday too since she will be gone when it's her actual birthday on the 16th. Hayden was sure to tell her that she is not really 4 yet!
The rainbow cake turned out quite pretty!
Hayden also had a party a week ago while we were still in Arizona. He wanted cake pops that we left unfrosted so the kids could do it themselves.
Having all of the Arizona cousins makes for a really fun party. Hayden was in heaven with all of the "hunting stuff" that he got.
I really can't believe he is 4! He is such a joy to have around and I wish he could stay 4 forever. I think he is the most animated and clever kid I have ever known.
Right now he is obsessed with all things hunting. Guns, animals, binoculars, clothes, shoes, knives, backpacks, etc.... anything that his dad uses to go hunting Hayden has his own version. And given the opportunity he can talk hunting with anyone! I don't know how Mark managed to get such a perfect copy of himself but he did and we love it. The only complaint that Hayden had about his birthday today was that he had to go to church. He really couldn't believe that he had to go and didn't go very happily. When church was over though he was pretty pleased that everyone in primary sang happy birthday to him & gave him a little present.
Everyone needs a 4 year old!
Friday, November 4, 2011
We dressed up
I just wasn't really feeling the Halloween Spirit this year. It made me sad, I usually LOVE it and try to make it a fun experience. Oh well......next year!
Colby wanted to be, in his words, "A 70's workout dude".
I was able to find the glasses and the wig but the rest of the costume didn't come together. The good thing is that he didn't really notice or care and he was super happy with what he had!
Cameron didn't decide what to be until the day of so we just had to go with what we had. I think he turned out down right scary! His little sister wouldn't go near him!
Hayden, the "hunting ninja turtle cowboy"! This is what he wore to our ward party on Saturday. On Monday he refused to wear a costume at all saying that he "hates costumes, they are dumb!" And until we were walking out the door to trick-or-treat he wanted nothing to do with that either.
I seriously LOVE this kid. He makes my day!
Clara was the cutest Witchy-Witch you have ever seen. She didn't love the face paint so it doesn't look super great but it's still perfect and cute! As soon as she figured out that she got candy if she stuck out her bucket she was NOT shy at all about knocking on doors. It was the best sight ever! She still looks for her buckets and says "Candy!"
The weather was perfect and we had a great time. We get sooooo many trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood that I gave out over $30 in candy!!
Well, now that I have fulfilled my posting duty for the month I'll sign out until Christmas! Hayden, Clara and I are on our way to Arizona until after Thanksgiving. Since my brother moved back to SJ I had to take the opportunity to let Hayden & Clara go down and play with cousins. Mark, Colby & Cameron will be holding down the fort here at home until they come down to AZ for Thanksgiving. Lets just say I'm not worried AT ALL about the mess I might find when I return home!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Life Lately
Clara is a tornado! A very smart one too. There is nothing that can stop her from getting what she wants. I mean nothing! I routinely find her climbing things, she has NO fear.
Cameron & Colby 1st day of school pictures.
These two are very elusive when the camera comes out so I don't get many pictures of them. They started Karate a couple months ago and are really enjoying it and learning lots of things. They say it's good that they will know how to protect their little sister!
Hayden loves to help in the kitchen and reap the benefits of licking the bowl!
She can sleep in any position when she is really tired and she knows how to pose perfectly when I tell her I want to take her picture!! Love this girl!
Hayden is pretty obsessed with all things hunting. He looks just like this on a daily basis. He knows by now though that the guns don't get to go into stores or church. So he leaves them in the car, never at home!
Colby recruited some help with the dishes!
Around the block on the "bike". We are so sad that our days of walking outside are coming to an end. June can't come soon enough!
Cameron is the best scrambled egg maker in the world!! No Joke.
But don't try and give him store bought eggs! Only fresh from the backyard eggs for this chef! His chickens lay some HUGE eggs too.
For some reason Clara felt like the little bit of hair she had needed some conditioning, so she dumped her yogurt on her head and rubbed it all over. Her brothers thought it was hilarious and I'm pretty sure they encouraged it!
Clara is 20 months old and I'm pretty sure that I still have not figured out how to manage 4 kids, a husband and a household. I guess by now I have just decided that we live everyday in survival mode and for now thats ok. Everyone is fed, clothes get washed and bathrooms get cleaned. And they all seem to be pretty happy. In 20 years they won't remember the messes or the chaos.
At least that's my prayer!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Apple Picking
Fall is here in all it's Glory! I love the colors, smells, fresh produce and garden vegetables. Yesterday we had an apple picking party w/the Davis Family. The kids had a blast.
This is the home/yard of one of my in-laws neighbors. It is so gorgeous, straight out of a magazine!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
HEAP REUNION 2011
I'm pretty sure that the Heap Reunion is the highlight of the year for my kids. I know it was for me when I was growing up and I'm so happy that my kids love it as much as I do. judging from the turn out of cousins every year I think it was the best week of the year for all of us and we all want our kids to have the same memories as we do.
This year it really hit me how important things like family reunions and family traditions are. Here we have 4 or so generations of kids and adults, 1st cousins, 2nd cousins, 3rd cousins.... and they are all getting to know each other and are building bonds that are unbreakable. For most of these kids this is the only time that they see each other all year but they feel like they know all about each other and have so much fun talking about the fun things they did in years past. I know that my cousins and I still do this & it is such an important part of my life.
I think that if I could only go home 1 week out of every year I would choose the Heap Reunion week.
SOOOO much effort goes into making the reunion a success. I realize more every year just how hard it is for the mom's & dad's to get everything together to go. I am so very very thankful to my parents for all the hard work and effort that they put in every year. It's not always easy to go camping with little kids, in fact it's not easy at all but we do it because it's important. Our parents did it cause they knew how important it was for us to build the family ties. At the end of the week when I am exhausted from ZERO sleep and the kids are so so dirty and on a sugar high for weeks and everything we own smells like campfire smoke, I say that I am not doing it again. But those family ties are strong and they start tugging at my heart and I can't not go. We may all go home exhausted and dirty but we also go home with our hearts full and memories made and so thankful for the family legacy that we have and are able to carry on. It's hard but it's so very worth it.
If you don't have family reunions or family traditions I say start some.
I like to think that all our ancestors who have passed are smiling down on us and LOVE to see us all so happy together. It's worth the effort.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Balloons
Most every morning we wake up to a sight like this.
It never gets old.
Yesterday we were woken up to what sounded like a balloon landing on our roof! It actually landed in the street in front of our house but it's so loud!
Colby went out to watch and the people let him get in the basket and help them put it away.
For some reason I didn't get any pictures.
It never gets old.
Yesterday we were woken up to what sounded like a balloon landing on our roof! It actually landed in the street in front of our house but it's so loud!
Colby went out to watch and the people let him get in the basket and help them put it away.
For some reason I didn't get any pictures.
Summer is starting to wrap up around here. It makes me sad. I can truly say that I am not ready for my older boys to go back to school. They are old enough now that I have been really enjoying their company not to mention that they are also fabulous help to me with their younger siblings. But come next Thursday off to school they will go and I will have to entertain Hayden & Clara all by myself.
The kids LOVE to have "SALES" and we usually kick off the summer with a couple of them a week. Colby is the mastermind behind them and does most of the prep and running of the sale. I noticed this year though that the sales are getting more complex including more things not just Kool-Aid anymore! Their sales keep them busy for hours and sometimes they actually make a little money.
The kids LOVE to have "SALES" and we usually kick off the summer with a couple of them a week. Colby is the mastermind behind them and does most of the prep and running of the sale. I noticed this year though that the sales are getting more complex including more things not just Kool-Aid anymore! Their sales keep them busy for hours and sometimes they actually make a little money.
Miss Clara is part monkey. She will attempt to climb anything & everything and absolutely NO FEAR! This behavior of hers ensures that I never get a moments rest when she is awake.
Sprinklers and trampolines. Best combo of the summer even since I was a kid.
"The Ditch" @ grandma's house is priceless. It has provided hours of fun. I really wish I could buy one for my house. This picture was earlier in July and now this past week the kids discovered that the ditch is almost dry! (there is road construction up the street that I'm sure messed with the water) They were working as hard as they could to save all of the crawdads. I think they felt like they were successful and that the crawdads would survive another day. They didn't care that their clothes may not come clean!
Baby Sister LOVES shoes! Even if they are her brothers stinky rubber boots! Is it just a girl thing to love shoes?
The last Sale of the season. Bayli and Maison made 1000000 signs to hand out around the neighborhood and then stood on the corner waving a sign and yelling out "Snowcones! Come to our Sale!" I think this sale may have been the highlight of the girls trip to Utah.
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