My Little Monster

Chayse is so fun. I think I say that all the time! Actually I am pretty sure I say it every time I write a post. It's true though. She is silly and wild and has the best personality of all my babies BY FAR! She grew out of the bumbo... not literally but she got over the fun she had in it once she was able to move around. So we moved on to the exersaucer and SHE LOVES IT! She gets her little snacks which she likes to smoosh and break apart with her hands and a couple make it to her mouth. She has to be the most spoiled girl in the entire world. I am sure of it!

More pictures...

I finally got my friend BRIDGETT to email me these fun pictures! Kindergarten is totally awesome... well at some schools. Logan's school... maybe not?! Anyways, they had a really fun little Halloween parade that I went to so I could see all the kids in their costumes. This was Logan in his pirate costume that I mentioned in an earlier post.Slade sure was a cute fireman! I also ran into McKenzie at the school. I was such a good mom and stole the delicious sugar cookie off her tray AND the tray of two others girls whom I didn't even know! :) I did share the cookie with Bridgett's baby Aidan if any of you were wondering why I am such a pig!
Yesterday the Kindergarten had a Thanksgiving Feast with the kids and their parents. Logan was so excited to have me there... NOT! He acted so embarrassed to have me there and was acting all goofy for pictures. I (of course) made him take one with me and I even made him let me kiss him before he ran off to class.
I love my kids so much and try so hard to be a good mom. I have been very impressed with them this week that I felt I needed to brag a little. We ALL went to walmart (it's been a long time since I took all my kids to walmart with me) and they were so well behaved. People even walked up to me and TOLD me this.

Logan has been doing wrestling for a while now and he has struggled with insecurities and his shyness getting the best of him. Last night he did so awesome. He pinned every kid the wrestled and was doing the moves and having such a great time. As his mom I sat there feeling so proud and mostly just so happy for him that he was able to break out of his shell and be the fun and energetic kid we all know he is. I wish I had my camera because it was incredible.

McKenzie has done so well with dance. I know it isn't her strongest talent, but I also know she is trying so hard to do her best. I can see it when she comes home from dance wanting to practice and become more flexible. It is worth every penny I pay if dance can help build her self esteem and develope a talent in the process as well.

As a reward for being so good and working so hard at the things they have committed to we took them to dinner last night and Drew and I sat SHOCKED when they obeyed and acted polite and ordered their food and were just plain good kids. So we even let them order dessert!! :)

School Pictures

I love school pictures every year. It is without fail that I get some good surprise when opening the envelope. Whether it be hair sticking up in a crazy fashion or a big stain on their shirt... it never fails. This year I got two envelopes so I was sure to have a good laugh. My kids surely did not disappoint. :)

McKenzie's actually looks pretty great. She is so photogenic and this year there isn't even crazy hair going on. It was my little Logan that gave us the best laugh. First of all his smile... what is that? And second of all... THAT ISN'T THE SHIRT I SENT HIM TO SCHOOL IN. :) I made him wear a collared shirt which aren't his favorite. It was very handsome... red and cream stripe... one of MY favorites. I am guessing he threw this shirt in his backpack and changed at school because I know that i wouldn't have sent him to school on picture day in a wrinkled, stained (you can't see the stain really well on the blog... it is a "I spilled spaghetti sauce on my shirt stain that never comes out really well) shirt that is even too small for him if you could see the arms. What a funny funny boy he is! :)

Totally random

I have been so busy lately! So busy I hate it. I used to wish for the day that I was busy and didn't feel like a loser sitting at home watching TV all day. Funny how that is all I wish for now! :) We are very busy up in Island Park and so grateful for our blessings and for the work we have been blessed with so far this year. I am definately going to express how grateful I am for that OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. I have been Drew's FREE LABOR on several occasions and we have had a great time! We actually went out on our boat the other day in 20 degree weather bundled up for a blizzard. It was so funny to see so many people staring at us. I should have been holding a big sign with our business name and phone number on it. It would have been great advertising! It's been fair trade though because Drew has been more than willing to help me put together my wood things for all the craft fairs.

Anyways... I have been busy around the house organizing and cleaning out closets etc. It is amazing how 18 months you can get so messy. I also painted my bedroom (blue!!! scary I know but I LOVE IT SO MUCH), painted the boys bed and stained their dresser, got a new cabinet for the kitchen and did the countertop and backsplash, got called to be Enrichment Leader in our ward and did the craft fair with another next week.

I also got a great shot of ms. Chayse. I love it when they sleep on their tummies. It is sooo cute. I just want to EAT HER EVERYDAY SHE IS SO CUTE AND FUN!

Change

Just to let all of you know... we don't have a home phone anymore. Between cell phones and home line we are paying over $300 a month so I decided to no longer only get tele marketer phone calls! YEAH! So call our cell phones if you need us!

Halloween 2008

Halloween this year was SO FANTASTIC. First of all, I made the decision to NOT worry about costumes and go with the flow. I asked my mom to make the girls M&M Costumes which she gladly did and Logan said for months he wanted to be Indiana Jones. Tate (my little monster) never wanted to be anything. I took him to the store so many times and he always said no to every costume so I MADE THE CHOICE to not buy him a costume. I didn't want to spend the money on a costume that he would only wear for 10 minutes and then cry for every picture because he was being naughty.

My fabulous mother in law headed up the project of getting Logan his get up for Indiana Jones and she brought by a garbage bag full of goodies. Well true to form Logan decided on a Pirate costume the day of Halloween to wear to the school parade and then the night of Halloween he decided he didn't want to wear half of his Indiana Jones costume.

Then there was Tate... about 10 minutes before we left to go Trick or Treating he pulled Logan's costume from last year out of the closet and put it on. It was FANTASTIC. He even wore the mask all night and thought it was great. So even if he was crying and being naughty you couldn't see it in any picture!!!! :)

McKenzie LOVED her costume and looked so cute in it. We just did every low key this year... not even a stitch of make up on that girls face. She picked out the ribbon and we made some hair bows for her and Chayse and she loved it. Kenzie went around telling everyone that the "M" on her costume stood for Mckenzie and the "M" on Chayse's costume stood for MINI MCKENZIE. She is so silly sometimes. Chayse is cracking us up these days with her smile and she is getting so good at crawling. She had a really bad allergic reaction to an antibiotic she was on this past week so luckily her rash was on the mend for Halloween.

We have started a tradition that I love (and will do with my kids when they get older). We go to Drew's parents after trick or treating and have soup and rolls. It is so fun to visit and let the cousins play. I have decided I am making my kids sign a contract SWEARING to never move more than 30 minutes from me. I can't stand the thought of my kids and their kids being so far away to not share these fun little traditions with.

The best part of Halloween this year was the weather. We were so happy to see 57 degrees when we were headed outside. In years past it is in the 20's or low 30's. Warmer weather definately makes for happier trick or treaters!