a big day for the first born...and for all of us!

First of all, Happy Veteran's Day! I hope you're able to somehow honor the day and enjoy yourself. We'll be hitting Phantom of the Opera tonight. So excited!

Yesterday was a day that just wouldn't stop! From sunup to sundown, we were going going going.

Let's sum up:

• 2nd Practical lab at school (I think I did well)
• Did a bit of grocery shopping
• Dan and I got passports (we're picking up his Mom from her mission in Canada in March)
• Sean got inducted into the National Elementary Honor Society
• Made dinner for my friend who just had her 6th kid :)
• Sean's Cub Scout pack meeting where he earned his Webelos Badge

I think there was more too, but I've blanked it out. Yesterday was a blur. Here are some pics from the highlights.

could it get any louder in here?

I'm sure that's what Great-Grandpa was thinking as we had a very fun, very busy, very loud family reunion last Saturday--Dan's Mom's side of the family got together for a nice lunch and family dance. With a deejay cousin in the family, there's always an excuse for music and dancing! Family members came all the way from Tennessee to reconnect, catch up on each other's families, and laugh a lot.

I didn't know many of them, but it was still fun.

This is our immediate group--we're missing Dan's mom (who is on a mission in Toronto, Canada) and Dan's brother's family (who live in California).

I love these people. :)

play ball!

That time of year again, Fall Sports are upon us.

Time again for 2 practices and 2 games a week (Cameron is in Coach-Pitch Baseball as well), you've-got-this-one, I've-got-that-one madness, every single Saturday is busy, and don't forget your water bottle and your glove. Cleats are cooler than basketball shoes and we literally have to make decisions regarding sunblock on those arms or long-sleeves? (It was near 80 degrees on Saturday!)

This is Ethan's second season--his first time around he was just barely 5 and it really showed--and this time he's a bit more into it. Not as much daydreaming, playing in the dirt, or tackling other players. But I'm sure that will come in time.

The Coach and his wife are really on the ball as far as planning snack schedules, maps, phone numbers, and they ironed on all the kids' names on their shirts. Cool, huh? Makes it easier for all us parents to cheer on the kids.

The teams are huge...13 and 14 for this first game. (Usually it's closer to 10) Ethan got on base first swing/first hit for his first inning, and got out at 1st base for his second inning. But I was watching and I swear that little 5 yr old opposing team's 1st baseman's foot was at least a foot off the base when she picked up the ball...but oh well. He didn't care.

One game down, 9 more to go.

And then Basketball starts.

Oy.

we are thankful for the seasons

We drew this today out of our Thankful Jar:



We actually took it more to mean that we are thankful for Nature. So we went to a nearby pond and fed ducks. The season change is sloooooooooowly making it's way through Arizona...freezing last week and then it warmed back up again. But we do enjoy being able to wear short-sleeved shirts for Halloween. I'm ready for some cooler temps though--my house still got up to 81 today. =p

please allow me a gratuitous moment of righteous pride for the fruit of my loins

Yes, I'm a proud momma.



Sean is playing this now after only one practice. He's way beyond where he's supposed to be in the band book and is really enjoying the clarinet. One neat thing about him joining band--he'll practice at home for half an hour on clarinet, then all on his own doing, he plays the same tunes on the piano. I always hoped that my kids would learn piano, but I knew I didn't have the patience to teach them myself. This makes my heart swell.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

(And speaking of, is baseball finally over? It keeps pre-empting my shows. Stupid World Series.)

let's talk turkey!

A friend forwarded me this fun November activity--a way to countdown the days to Thanksgiving.
What you need:

• a jar, shoebox, or some other fun container
• ribbon
• scissors
• daily activity suggestions, printed and cut out

You cut out each of these Thanksgiving countdown ideas into strips, roll them into a scroll and tie them with a ribbon. Each day as you're counting down November, pull out one scroll and do what it says. It's kind of like an Advent Calendar for Thanksgiving. :) And it reminds us to be thankful for so many things, like:





And you get to do fun activities associated with each thing as well. (If you're interested in doing this yourself, email me or leave a comment and I'll send you the AdobeReader file.)

For our day one, we drew this one:


So for our FHE last night, we made our Thankful Jar and the kids were already excited this morning to start picking out Daily Thankful Tasks.






We wrote love notes. Again, let me know if you'd like me to send you the file. It doesn't take long to set up this activity and it's never too late to start. Well, after Thanksgiving might be a bit too late, but then you could just call it a Anytime Thankful Jar. =)

(In other news, the Cheer contest over on my review blog is finishing up on Thursday. Make sure you get a chance to enter!)

boo to you

Hello?

Anyone there?

Anyone still visiting my blog?

I've been so hit and miss lately (*checks expiration date*), yep, this blog's still good. Onward.

Ohh goodness, so how was Halloween, everyone? We had three different activities requiring dressing up over the past two weeks, so we really got good use of our costumes this year. The best thing is, they were all repeats from last year, so I should say we really got good use of our costumes last year. =)



We attended a mammoth ward party with the Cavazos Friday night, complete with chili cook-off, trick-or-treating inside the church building, a carnival, and a haunted house! The event lasted for hours and we were exhausted by the time we were done. It was really well done--kudos to those who pulled it off.


Chris even won funniest costume, which was awesome. Baby Harley made a great 'root'beer belly for this white trash trucker.


I dressed up a little.


Sean helped man the Bean Bag Toss as designed and created by the Webelos.


Pretty cool, huh?


I took Ethan and Sophie around to all the carnival attractions.


Cotton Candy


Fishing


Musical Chairs


Bean Bag Toss


Pumpkin Coloring


Fortune Telling


Face Painting


Ring Toss

I guess the haunted house was pretty scary, but I went through with Sophie and she was scared right off the bat--even though they toned it down for her--so I didn't get to go through that.

Then, Halloween night we trick or treated of course--I had left my costume in the truck which was at Danny's work, so I made a label for my shirt that said "Nudist ON STRIKE"--and then visited our neighbor's party for a bit. We then hurried home to have our annual viewing of "Goonies". Love that movie.

Hey you guyyyyyyys!


A good time was had by all. :)

show us your bling day

Spirit week continues at the kids' school. Yesterday was "show us your bling" day. Which means anything that shines, sparkles, or blings, bring it. Kinda tough with all boys, but we were creative.


How could you not love this face? Such a ham. =p

crazy hair day

Gotta love Spirit Week. :)



Since I volunteered at the school all day, I decided to get in on the action. Doncha love my itchy watery allergy eyes?

a little catchup and mustard for you

Sorry I've been kind of MIA lately. That last cold/flu/virus/mack-truck/whatever-hit-me kind of zapped my energy. I finally learned that the Nyquil was keeping me exhausted and sleepy throughout the following day, so I gave that up and have been feeling much better since.

School's been kicking my butt too--last night we took the family to Country Kitchen for dinner and during our meal all Dan and I were talking about was Cardiac Output and ventricles and blood pressure and stroke volume and systole and diastole and etc etc etc. My brain was fried.

I finally started my garden, but I'm sure, way too late. I have tomato plants, green onions, carrots, and cucumbers this time. Not sure why since I don't even like cucumbers. But it's what I had on hand. We'll see if anything grows before it gets too cold.

I just finished reading "My Sister's Keeper" which is probably the saddest book I've ever read. Not just the ending and resolution but every-single-stinking-chapter within. Sad just for the sake of being sad? I'm not sure. I then tortured myself by watching the movie which I hated even more because it didn't stick to the plot of the book. *shrug* I can't recommend either.

We've had a couple of fun nights with friends--on Friday with the Smiths and Karaoke and the "Transformers 2" movie and then Monday night for Family Home Evening with the Mechams out at White Tanks, a hike, and a picnic dinner. So fun! We sure love our friends.

Is it possible that Christmas is only 2 months away? I haven't planned ONE thing. November is going to be crazy, I can tell!

This week is Spirit Week at the boys' school, so they've gotten to dress up a little bit each day. Today is Crazy Hair Day. Much gel, hairspray, and hair spray paint is on the agenda. Better get to it.

Have a safe Halloween everyone!

it's that time of year again...death by sugar

Our ward Trunk or Treat party was Saturday night. And I was too lazy to dress up or take decent pictures of my children. (I still have another ward's Fall Carnival and Halloween to take care of either of those) But I did get these couple while sitting lazily on the sidewalk as the kids finished up their 'treating'.



I was lucky enough this year in that all my kids wanted to dress up as something they'd been before. So here we have a repeat of Spiderman, the Knight, and Sean was Harry Potter again though I didn't get a picture of that.

I did get some of my special daycare friends though. (I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of Andrielle that night, she was dressed up as the cutest little 30's Flapper girl)


How cute are these two? They have completely disobeyed me and not stopped growing!

And because I can't resist, I have to post this one.

Love ya, James. :)

(Tomorrow is the last day to enter the $100 Visa giveaway as sponsored by BlogHer and Febreze. Don't forget to check it out. And then take me out to dinner when you win!)

anyone need a printer?--the printer has been claimed!

We upgraded and are giving away this HP Deskjet 722C. It needs ink--both black/white and color cartridges. If you're interested, come on over and pick 'er up. :)

"down" by jason walker

My goal this week, when I get my voice and lungs back, is to learn to sing and play this song. What do you think of it?

when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy

My world came to a screeching halt last Tuesday when I started getting sick--well maybe not so much a screeching halt but more like a major decrease to about 10 mi/hr--affecting not only my health but my patience, my education, my volunteer work, my social life and so on.

It's just a head cold, but forcing myself to drive to school last Thursday, with my eyes all blurry, my sneezes going a mile a minute, and my seal bark-like cough (seriously, I thought a had croup for a minute until Danny promised I didn't have the necessary symptoms) was torture. I made it through class and then beelined it home for my nice comfy bed.

Fortunately my husband was home for the worst two days of it and so I turned the care of our spawn completely over to him. Then I realized one afternoon when Cameron came home wearing a red and blue jersey along with blue plaid shorts that it was Picture Day. I can just see the cameraman now: "here comes another child who's mother obviously pays no attention to what he wears in the morning." The one day out of the year I didn't do my kids hair. The one day.

Oh well, what else are retakes for?

So my nyquil-induced comas have kept my nights relatively pain-free, but during the day I've been getting awful headaches. Horrid debilitating if-I-hear-that-door-slam-one-more-time-I'm-gonna-come-out-swingin' headaches that are only eased by going back to bed.

I am getting a bit better--my voice isn't sqeaky any more and I can finally breathe out of my nose, but this smoker's cough I've somehow contracted...it racks my body and sends me into confulsive fits. It's fun.

I had to cancel volunteering at the school last week, I couldn't take the kids to the carnival last Friday night, and last night I missed out on a get-together with family. Bleh...I hate being sick. I have to get better, because I have a mini practical in class tomorrow and am the piano accompaniment for a special musical number Wednesday at church.

Head cold, you will not be the boss of me!