Guess Who!!

We are going to play a little guessing game! Ready??

Okay...whose legs are these?



They are pretty nice, right? And those fishnets are oh so lovely!




























Guessed yet?


























You guessed it!!



Did you know it was the legs of my "manly" husband? :) Oh yeah, I am a proud wife!

I do need to explain. His training class and another class had a competition. If Dave's team lost, they got to pick his Halloween costume. So, yep, pretty obvious, his team lost. Someone went to Shopko and spent almost $70 on this beautiful get-up! I wouldn't have ever done that, but more power to them for being able to bring out the feminine side in Dave!

The kids' reactions were funny! I told them to come upstairs and say good bye to Dave. When they saw him, Paisley screamed and they both just laughed and laughed.




Avery wouldn't go near him for a while. She had the maddest look on her face. She was NOT impressed. Easton asked him, very seriously, if he could still play football. I guess he was worried he was losing his father for good. And, when Dave left, Paisley shouted, "Good bye, Princess!!" So funny!

New niece!!

My brother, Jarom, and his wife Jackie had their 3rd baby today! They already have 2 super cute little boys and now they have a beautiful baby girl. She was born at 2:50 p.m., weighs 7 lb. 15 oz., and is 20 inches long.

I, of course, had to get up to the hospital as soon as possible. Thankfully, my sweet sister-in-law, Erin, watched all 3 of my kids so I could go see her. Thank you so much, Erin!



She was just wide eyed when I got up to the hospital. She was looking all over and making little noises constantly. Sooo cute! I won't lie, seeing a newborn makes me just a tiny bit baby hungry! There is nothing sweeter than a newborn baby!

I can't wait to see her again! Congratulations, Jarom and Jackie! She is absolutely beautiful! I am so thankful that everyone is healthy and happy.

Welcome to the family, little Sadie! We love you already!

New School Pics!

The kids had their pictures taken at school a few weeks ago. I felt so bad that the last time I had Avery's pictures taken was when she had just turned 1, over a year and a half ago. So, I took her over to the school and had hers taken, too.

I think they all turned out really nice, actually. At least I have some current pictures for my wall. (And, Steph, I will finally get you some pictures of my kids!) :)

Easton, age 7 1/2


Paisley, age 6


Avery, age 2 1/2

Trials

Some days I feel overwhelmed by my trials. Some days it really feels like I have a heavy burden on my shoulders that I am silently carrying. I look at others and think how nice it must be to not be carrying my burdens. (As if they don't have any or something.)

But, then, there are days like today. I am thankful for my trials today. My trials seem relatively light today. I know that I will get through them and I know I am fine. I have had things put into perspective today, but at the expense of others' trials. I have seen two friends with eyes full of tears today because of their trials. I can't tell you how sad it made me. I just didn't even know what to say to either one. Nothing I say will take away their burdens. But, I was able to help each lighten their burdens a tiny tiny bit...I hope. That makes me feel a little better.

After I saw my second friend with tears welling up in her eyes, I felt horrible. I had to go in a closet and pray. I prayed that these women would get through their trials and that I would know what to say and what I could do. I prayed to be a tool for Heavenly Father to use to help my friends in their trials.

These thoughts are just weighing on my mind today. I pray for my friends. I am thankful that the Lord has blessed me with "small" trials at the moment. I pray that I can be a good friend and a tool that the Lord can use.

Jack-o-lanterns!

Dave is really not a big fan of carving pumpkins. I think it is the mess factor. We have only done it a few Halloweens in our marriage. But, this year a man came to our door selling pumpkins and I couldn't resist. I let the kids all pick their pumpkins out of his truck. Pretty handy!

Saturday night was the big carving night. The kids had been begging us all week to do it, but since Dave gets home so late on the weeknights, we couldn't let him miss out! :)


All "patiently" waiting for daddy to cut the tops off the pumpkins



Easton did a really good job and was pretty thorough.



Paisley also did great, but tired quickly and needed a little help. :)



Avery did better than I expected and had a lot of fun, but also needed some help.



Dave and I just couldn't help ourselves, we had to dive in as well.

We finally got the pumpkins all cleaned out and then it was time for the carving. Dave and I handled that part. Here are the finished products.


Easton's is the biggest, then Paisley's, and Avery's is the small one. (Don't laugh too hard at the carving jobs. Dave and I never claimed to be experts!) :)



The kids were so excited about their jack-o-lanterns!

Afterwards I thought it would be fun to take the kids to get a pumpkin treat. So, we went to Fiest Ole and got each of us a pumpkin empanada. I thought they were great, the kids...not so much. They all took about one bite and that was it. They don't know what they are missing! :)

But, overall, a really fun night!!

My Little Hunter

We had a really great weekend. I got to go on TWO dates with my handsome husband, got to go to our ward's Super Saturday, got to spend time with my in-laws who were in town, and got to hang out with some of my family Sunday night. It was definitely fun-filled as far as I am concerned.

But, Easton got to do something that he has been wanting to do for a LONG time! He got to go on his first deer hunting trip! He is obsessed with hunting and fishing. That is a little strange considering neither Dave or I do either. But, my brothers are avid fishermen and hunters. So, they have obviously done a good job rubbing off on Easton. I remember when Easton was just starting to draw. We bought him a little magna doodle. My brother, Andrew, taught Easton to draw a picture of a deer through the cross hairs of a gun scope. So, for a long time, whenever Easton drew a deer, which he did quite often, there was a target on it. :)


Easton and Uncle Jarom

He got to go hunting with my dad and my brother, Jarom. They came to pick him up at 6:30 a.m. (Which meant that I had to get up early to get him ready. Not so fun!):) But, I didn't even hear Easton's alarm go off like I usually do. It must have only buzzed once before he got up and shut it off. He was so excited.


Easton with grandpa

I guess that they had a really fun time. They didn't see any deer, though. But, they were able to see two moose. So, Easton was pretty excited about that.

Thank you, Jarom and dad for fulfilling one of Easton's biggest dreams! :)

Flag Football!

Last night was Easton's last flag football game of the season. He has had so much fun this year. It is his second year of football. He is just a great little player. He is very aggressive and is not afraid or timid at all.




Celebratory dance!

They ended up winning all but 3 games. He had a great team and a really great coach. It was a fun season.

He decided that he didn't want to wrestle this year. Dave and I were really surprised. We thought he loved it last year. But, I guess that he doesn't like being at matches and tournaments so long and only wrestling one or two times. I don't blame him for that.

It has been so fun watching him progress in sports! Can't wait for more to come!

1st mani and pedi!

My mom called last night and asked if she could take Paisley out to get her first manicure and pedicure. She wanted it to be part of her birthday present. I first begged and pleaded her to take me instead. (Not really, but I thought about it!) I, of course told her that would be fine and that Paisley would love it! Paisley could hardly contain herself because of her excitement until grandma came!

So, she came and picked her up and they went for their "date". I don't know much from there. I do know Paisley was very good and held very still. She really enjoyed it. She was so excited when she got home to show off her beautiful nails! :) She couldn't quit talking about her experience!

Here are some pictures of the pedicure:





Here is the end result.



She got all her nails painted purple with little pumpkins on them. So cute!

They went out and shared a banana split AND french fries afterwards. What a lucky little girl!

I am so glad that Paisley and my mom got to have some good quality alone time together. I have many memories of being with my grandma. I was the only granddaughter, and so a bit spoiled! :) But, it was always great when I had alone time with her. I am so happy that Paisley got to experience that, as well.

Thank you, mom! That was so nice of you. She was all smiles when she got home. She told me that she had felt like a "princess" when she was there! Thank you for taking time to be with my little sweetheart!

(Easton might have been jealous, but on Saturday he gets to go on his first deer hunting trip with my dad and brother. So, that contented him for sure! More on that to come...)

Baby teeth no more!

Paisley has always had these perfect little baby teeth. Straight and no gaps.




Then she started to lose them one by one...





Since she has started losing teeth and has lost several, this has happened...



Yikes!! :)



The kids had dentist appointments yesterday and the kids' teeth looked great. Brushing was good, all good. Easton's teeth are coming in with enough space. But, Paisley....well, no surprise to me, he wants me to take Paisley to an orthodontist. He is pretty concerned about the lack of space for adult teeth in her mouth. He said they may want to start doing spacers or something to make some room.

So, that is the next step, I guess. Who knew that at the tender age of BARELY six, we are on our way to the orthodontist. :( We really need another LARGE bill, let me tell you! :)

I told Paisley that she is going to need braces and she said, "YEAH!" At least someone is happy about it!

Birthday week is officially over!

As I have talked about before, the kids don't have birthDAYS, they have birth-weeks! :) Between two separate family parties, a friend party, and the actual birthday, it equals a lot of presents, calories, and fun. But, Paisley ate it up this week, and loved every minute.

Two Sundays ago, we had a party with the Pendleburys.




Paisley's cousin, James, is 2 days older, so we always have a combined party for them.



It was a good time to visit with the family. Dave's parents were in town and so it made it extra special that they could come to the party.


Then Saturday was her long anticipated friend party. She invited all her good buddies from the neighborhood and we had a great time. Dave grilled hot dogs for the girls and we had a little lunch.


Avery loved playing games and eating with the "big" girls! It was cute!

The girls all had fun sitting around and eating and of course there was A LOT of giggling going on.

Afterwards we played Pin the Tail on the Donkey. That was a success. The girls, (and Easton) all enjoyed that.





We played a few more games and it was on to presents! (The best part, right?) She was spoiled by her friends, or should I say, her friends' parents! :) (Thanks everyone!)




It seemed like the most fun part of the party was while I was cleaning up lunch. The girls all decided to chase Easton, the only boy. The house was bursting with the high-pitch screams of 8 little girls! I don't know who had more fun, the girls or Easton.



He would never admit it, but he loved being chased by all those cute little screaming girls. He had a smile a mile wide! :)

Of course, we saved the cupcakes for last. A lady at Dave's work made Hannah Montana cupcakes for her party.




They were really cute and the girls loved them. They all wanted one with a guitar.

It was a successful party, and as always, kind of good to have it behind us! :)

Yesterday, Sunday, we had a birthday party with my side of the family. Paisley's other little cousin, Dillon, has a birthday one day before hers, so again, we always get to have a joint party.


Dillon opening his present. He turned 3!




It is always fun for all the cousins to get together and play. Paisley has a girl cousin her own age and loves to play with her. Dave and my mom were sick that day, so unfortunately they missed the good time. But, Paisley, was spoiled for like the 4th time this week and she loved it! :)

So, I am breathing a sigh of relief that birthday week is over again. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE celebrating the kids' birthdays. I love to see the smiles on their faces and see their excitement. But, at the same time, there is a lot of time, money, and energy that goes into planning birthday week. So, we will sit back and relax until the next week of fun, Easton's birthday in February! :)