Let Us Give Thanks

This year was the first year that we were going to spend Thanksgiving with just our own little family. BJ and I discussed going out to eat but quickly decided (since Thanksgiving is BJ's favorite holiday) that we needed to do the WHOLE feast just as we always do. We usually invite families to come over but since we'd just spent the past 2 weeks fighting sickness ( 4 bouts of strep, 1 with stomach flu and a hubby with a double whammy of strep and influenza---and a grand finale with lice, that's right you heard correctly) we just didn't get around to asking which families were without a place to go. So, I casually bought all the food (the house had just been thoroughly cleaned with all the Lice and all) and got up on Thanksgiving and started all of the cooking. It was around 1pm and I was just thinking about how it was our first Thanksgiving alone and wondering if there were other families doing just the same thing when my good friend Patty called and asked what time dinner was. What a welcome surprise! Her husband and son were gone and she was alone with her daughter for the holiday. As luck would have it we had 2 extra places at our dining room table and oodles of food to share. So we had a wonderful day, full of great food (if I do say so myself) and exceptional company to spend a day full of gratitude!!! That evening the Stapley's invited us over for pie. Everyone made incredible pies and it was so much fun visiting with everyone! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!!
Moving right along to Christmas....... In our family the Christmas Elves come by our house the evening of Thanksgiving to drop the kids off some Christmas P.J.'s and a note telling them all of the wonderful things Santa has seen them do that year and some pointers as to what they might work on that month so that he can bring them a nice gift on Christmas morning. The kids always try to catch the Elves but to no avail. This year 3 out of the 4 P.J.'s were too big so I had to do a bit of alterations. Once that was accomplished we sat down on the couch and had each of the kids read their letters. I love those letters and keep them in a special book so I can look back on each year. I love this time of year!!!! I love the Holiday Season--I'm going to try to focus on that instead of the cold!!!!

First Day of School

There off--they wouldn't even turn around so that I could get a good picture of them leaving. Have a great day at school, I yelled as they rode away as fast as their little legs could carry them.
Amelia has afternoon Kindergarten. She was so excited to go but also a bit nervous. It made her feel better to see Brinly coming back from lunch right her class started. Brinly ran over and gave her a big hug. I'm so glad Amelia has 2 siblings watching out for her this year.
My little "peanut" isn't so little anymore. She begins Kindergarten with 4 missing teeth.

Love you Millie, Have a great 1st day of school!!!!!!

Meet the Teacher's

A few days before school started we got to go up to the school to meet the teachers. The kids are always so excited and nervous to see who they got. Cardon was holding on to one hope--He'd be fine with any teacher, just not "the yeller". Apparently in 5th grade there is a teacher that yells a lot. I guess he doesn't like all the yelling that goes on (I'll keep that in mind at home). He is a big 5th grader this year and so that means extra responsibilities like Hall Monitoring once a week, announcements over the intercom, a school musical to learn and perform. I can't believe next year he'll be in middle school!!! He was happy with the teacher he got--actually all my kids were happy with their teacher. Amelia couldn't wait for her first day of Kindergarten. She'd been asking me all summer--practicing her letters, coloring inside the lines, you know all the important Kindergarten sorts of things.

Brinly was so excited to see lots of good friends in her class!

School is just around the corner--How exciting!!!!

The Last Few Lazy Days At The Pool

This summer has been one of the funnest for me as a mom. All summer we had no plans, no vacations, just lazy days playing at the pool. Cardon had some baseball games and piano once a week but other than that we got up each morning, did our chores, spent some time doing our Summer School, packed our cooler full of cold drinks and snacks and then headed over to the pool for the afternoon. My 3 oldest can swim this year and Jace is very cautious to always wear his life jacket. So, I sat back with my book or magazine in a lounge chair and soaked up the sun . When I couldn't take the heat anymore I would get in the pool and play with the kiddos doing Turtle Rides and Cannon Balls into the deep end. It was just exactly the kind of summer I adore--Oh and the kids loved it too!!!

A Temple Sealing

What a special experience I got to have this week. A friend of mine named Meggin (who since moved out of our ward boundaries) called me last month to let me know that she was going to go through the Temple for the first time with her husband (his first time as well) and be sealed as a family. She not only asked me to come but also asked me if I would be her Chaperon for that day. I'd never done that before but of course was overjoyed to say yes. BJ stayed home from work to be with the kids and I took off the day before the sealing to drive the 4 1/2 hour drive to St. Louis. My mom's dear friend Barbara let me come and spend the night at her home. She fed me dinner and we spent the evening catching up. It was really great to see her again. Early the next morning I met Meggin and her family at the Temple to be there for her each step of the way. After she took out her own endowments we spent time in the Bride's Room finding the perfect dress for her to wear as she was sealed to her family. The spirit was strong and I was so grateful to share in that moment with them as they made those covenants. I'm so grateful to be a member of this church and be sealed to my own family. I want to be with my family for eternity. That knowledge makes me try even harder to work towards that goal. What a great day spent at the Temple. Thank you Meggin for allowing me to be with you and your family on this incredible day!!!

The Gators win the League Championship

Cardon has been playing on the Gators team this past season. It's been such a great group of kids and parents--it's been so much fun to go to every game. They ended up winning the League Championship--something this team hasn't ever done before. Last night we all met at a field and played a game of "Kids" versus "the parents" for our end of season party. The kids ended up winning it by 2 runs and then we headed back to the coaches house for cake and a video of the season. Way to go Gators!!!!! It blows my mind but Cardon has loved playing baseball so much this season he has decided to go on and play next season with the same team instead of football. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet--I love fall football--I'm going to miss seeing him out there in his pads, making tackles. Oh well, I'll just have get used to him chewing Big League Chew, getting stains out of his white baseball pants, and biting my fingernails with anticipation when he gets up to bat!

Summer Cooking Class

This summer we are having summer camps at home. Each Tuesday afternoon between 3-4 you can count on a cooking class going on in my kitchen. This was our first lesson. Amelia and Jace made peanutty dip while Cardon and Brinly cut up all the fruit. It was delicious!!!! Then Brinly and Cardon made crusted chicken and after that was completed Cardon made biscuit rolls. It was tons of fun for all of us--dinner was made----AND, they all ate it because they were so excited to have made it. I call that a WIN/WIN in my book. Up next, craft camp with the homemade pinata---WE can't wait!!!!!

I think I might have a little chef on my hands!

Omaha Zoo and Temple Trip

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go to Omaha, Nebraska. Our ward had a family temple day on Saturday morning so we left early on Friday so that we could make a trip out of it. We spent the day at the Omaha zoo. It is an amazing zoo with so many incredible exhibits. However it was HOT, HOT, HOT. Luckily we had a water bottle with us that we just kept refilling and there were misters all over--so we managed just fine. After seeing every single exhibit and wearing the kids out completely, we went back to the hotel and let them swim for an hour or so. That evening we met the ward members at a buffet restaurant. I think Cardon spent most of the evening at the ice cream bar--Oh well, we were on vacation! The next morning we got up and met the ward members with little children at the Temple Visitors Center. They were kind enough to allow us to use the basement classroom as a childcare area while all of us did a session. Several youth from a ward nearby came to help the other volunteers from our ward watch all of the kids. Our ward had all sorts of crafts and activities for them to do. They had a great time. It was such a joy to do a session at the Temple with BJ. It's been 3 years since we've been able to do that together and I loved every minute. When you don't live close to a Temple (our nearest Temple is 3 1/2 hours away) you realize how much you took it for granted when it was just minutes away. After attending the Temple we all met back at the Visitors Center Pavilion and had lunch together and then hopped in the car to drive the 3 1/2 hours back home. What a great experience for my family. I hope my kids know how much BJ and I love the Temple!!!

Whenever Jace saw a peacock he would yell out "Look guys it's another PeaHock!!!" So we all started calling them PeaHock's. I love this stage with Jace. If he doesn't know the word for something--he just makes it up. It's always quite funny!

I love to see the Temple......I'm going their someday.

Our Fieldtrip to the Marble Company

The kids and I took a fieldtrip to see the Moon Marble Company. The store is filled to the rafters with toys that take you back to your childhood. It was so fun to walk around and show the kids all sorts of toys that I played with as a kid. In the back of the store they have a demonstration on how to make a glass marble. It is quite incredible. The lady doing the demonstration studied glass art in Venice, Italy. After the demonstration I let the kids pick out a tube full of marbles with a guide on how to play. After we'd had our fill of the Marble Company we headed over to Miss Hatties Tea Room to have lunch. After placing our order the kids got to go to the back of the store and get completely dressed up in tea party attire. The selection was grand. Cardon went begrudgingly but ended up getting dressed up in a military uniform and thought that was pretty cool. The lunch was wonderful and came with an endless pot of pink lemonade to drink in our little tea cups. To end the day we headed over to the neighborhood pool and swam the rest of the afternoon. I love summer!!!!!