Dinosaur Museum

Last Tuesday, Elli's preschool went to the Dinosaur Museum. They have been learning about Dinos all month. So it was cute to see Elli excited about Triceratops, it's her favorite one. Anyway, I wasn't signed up to go with them but last minute I decided to go and I am glad I did. We had a lot of fun. Since I wasn't signed up, they only assigned me to Elli and another little girl. She was so dang cute. But she was scared to be there. It took a lot of convincing for her to come to the bathroom with us since it was right next to the big dino that made a loud noise. But we got in there and did our thing.

This was the little girl who was in my group. She was a complete cutie. If you notice in almost all these pictures of Elli, she has her arms like this. I am not sure what the reason was for this, but I am POSITIVE Elli thought in her head that she looked like a princess. That had to be the reason.

This cracked me up because the guy who was telling us about all these Dino artifacts (did that word make me sound smart? I sure felt smart!) was saying some pretty cook facts, but Elli went immediately to this horn and put it on her head and said, "Look Mom, I am a Triceratops."

Since I decided to go on this field trip when I was dropping off Elli at her preschool, I had to bring Chubs. Here he is in his usual state of happiness. Always conforming to Mommy's schedule and NEVER complaining. He even decided to go to sleep on his own with no tears. How did I get so lucky? Such a cutie pie though.

The most fun they had was panning for gold. They sure found a lot of it. They were the only 2 people out there at first, then a big huge group of people came later.

Reading a book ONLY for a picture. She was only there for about 30 seconds.

Well, there are the ARMS again. What a princess.

Thanks for the GOOD TIMES Ells!

What To Do?

Braeden got home early from school today and wanted to immediately have friends over. I said no, like a mean mom, and told him I wanted to play with him. I found this little questionaire on Crystal's Blog and decided it would be fun to hear how my kids would answer. So we sat on the couch and answered some questions.

First is Braeden's answers.

How old? 6
How big? really big
Best Friend? Kali

TV Show? Hulk
Movie? Garfield
Toy? Legos
Thing to do? Play with friends
Place to Eat? IHOP and In & Out
Food? Hamburgers
Game? Wii Sports
Color? Blue
Animal? Snake
Shape? Square
Book? Hulk
Thing to Draw? Kali
Thing about Church? Leyton
Really Good at? Hanging upside down with my legs
Be when you grow up? Lizard Expert
Special about You? People love me
Funniest Person? Daddy
Who's the Boss? Mommy, Daddy & Me
Favorite Place to Go? School
Color of your eyes? Green
How old is Mom? 28
How old is Dad? 31
Love about Mom? Take me to my friends' houses
Love about Dad? He plays with me

Elli's Answers.

How old? 3
How big? Arms length BIG
Best Friend? Gracie, Sophie, & Olivia
TV Show? Max & Ruby
Movie? Beauty & The Beast (or as Elli calls it "Belle" & The Beast)
Toy? Belle Doll
Thing to do? play PBSKids.org on computer
Place to Eat? the chair by the TV
Food? cereal
Game? Princess Game
Color? Purple
Animal? Doggy
Shape? Square
Book? Princess
Thing to Draw? Princess
Thing about Church? Wearing my purple dress
Really Good at? Writing the letter "E"
Be when you grow up? Little Mermaid
Special about You? I'm just good
Funniest Person? Caleb
Who's the Boss? Haley & Braeden
Favorite Place to Go? Gracie's House
Color of your eyes? Blue
How old is Mom? 4
How old is Dad? 3
Love about Mom? Mom's hair
Love about Dad? He's my BOYFRIEND!

So that's what we did this afternoon and Braeden was happy and didn't ask me to play. He got out his legos and is playing them right now.

Caleb's Song

A couple posts ago I said something about Braeden writing Caleb a song. Well, we did end up record Braeden singing it. This was way too cute not to post!

The reason he did this was so Caleb could have something to fall asleep to. Ever since our kids have been little, Mark or I would record a song for them and they would fall asleep to it. If we wanted Braeden or Elli to learn a song so we could get a recording of them, we would record us singing it so they would learn it. So Braeden wanted to do it for Chubs.

TOO CUTE!!

Handbag GIVEAWAY!

If you LOVE handbags and purses, you'll love this.  Handbag Planet is giving away 24 free purses over the next 24 hours.  Here's a link to Handbag Planet.

Too funny

Mark and I went to bed REALLY late last night. So we kind of slept in this morning. I got out of bed around 8:15 and it was really quiet. So I looked in Caleb's room and this is what I found. Braeden was on the floor writing lyrics to a song about Caleb. He wants to record it so Caleb can go to sleep to it at night. Elli was in his crib. She had my phone with her watching movies and holding it up so Caleb could watch. Here's the thing though. Caleb was sound asleep. Braeden told me that he was crying so he sang to him and patted his back and Caleb fell back asleep. (I think that is where he got his idea to write that song.) Elli was trying to stop him crying by holding the movie up. But he was out and didn't wake up for another hour after that. SWEET! I just couldn't believe Caleb fell back to sleep and didn't wake up with Elli rolling around in his crib.

After General Conference, we drove to Brig and Camille's house and hung out with them. While the guys were at Priesthood, us girls took the kids to the park. Well, I only got pictures of us right before the park. None of when we got there.... Ooops.

I got a cute one of Eli and Caleb waiting in the stroller. These guys are only 3 months apart.

Here are the girls on their Princess Car. So cute when their together.

Here's a funny one. When the guys got back from Priesthood, we watched the USC / Oregon game. (WooHoo, Fight ON!) The kids did a pretty good job of staying downstairs watching the Heffalump Halloween Movie. We thought it was cute of them on the couch so we took pictures. It was completely dark so I took this first picture blindly. Not knowing if I got everyone it. Then I took another one to be sure one wasn't blurry. Well, these pictures caught Braeden RED HANDED, or should I say GREEN HANDED. Look at him in the first picture, then look in the next picture.

Yep, he picked his nose in the first and his finger is in his mouth in the next. I am so proud of my kids. I give up trying to tell him that is GROSS!!

When we got home and put the kiddos in bed, I went to kiss them and they were asleep. I noticed Elli has some kind of wood in her bed and this is what it was. A GHOST. We were putting up Halloween decorations today and she must have liked this one and wanted to hug and sleep with it. I tried to take it away from her and she woke up and told me not touch it because it was her friend ghost. So I said OK. Mark thinks she gets her wierdness from me. He's just jealous that she gets her cuteness from me so he tries to convince himself that the wierdness is from me.

The Biggest Fans

This actualy happened the night before Marks' concert. Mark was in his studio practicing and the kids had just gotten out of the shower. They are always are singing Mark's songs around the house and Braeden envies his dad and wants a guitar like his so bad. So Braeden made his own guitar and Elli made her own drums. They were apart of Daddy's band for a night. It was fun jammin with the kids. I love how they are Daddy's Biggest Fans.

InterFaith FAST

I got this email from my sister-in-law that people of ALL Faiths will be holding a FAST. I truly believe this is something everyone can do. Doesn't matter what religion you believe in. Please join in this Sunday so that we can help keep marriage solely between man and woman. The LDS church has asked us to do our part to help this Prop pass, I think this is a great way!

Read the email below.....

There will be an interfaith fast on Sunday, October 12th. People from all over the United States and from all faiths will be joining together to fast for the 'building block of society,' the Family. Religious fasting involves both prayer and fasting (abstaining from food and drink for a period of time). Whatever your professed faith may be, your faith and fasting can bring forth the powers of heaven. On Sunday, October 12th, and please pray for a positive outcome for California Proposition 8 and Arizona Proposition 102, that hearts may be softened, that understanding and wisdom will prevail, and that marriage will continue to be defined as between a man and a woman to protect families.

Isaiah 58:6,8-9

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.

Jealousy

This is why I get so jealous of Elli. She does this to her dad all the time and he has fallen completely in love with her. She is a better girlfriend than me! LOL

The Good 'Ol Days of the Skateland Parties

Braeden's school had a Skateland party last Thursday night. I thought it would be fun to invite his cousin along. When we were just about to leave, I noticed Braeden doing his hair (without me asking him to) and changing his clothes. I told him that he looked so good looking and this was his reply, "I know, I am trying to look handsome for Kali. I hope she goes tonight."



OK . . . . what? My 6 year thinks of these things already? I knew he had a "girlfriend" because he came home one day and told me he "got a girlfriend" that day. But it was completely cute when he was trying to look good for Kali. So that was kind of funny. But she wasn't there and Braeden was kind of sad.



We went to pick up Cade and the boys were just dying to know what Skateland was all about. Braeden was trying to figure out how it works and asking all these questions. Cade was nervous I wouldn't help him skate. When we walked through the door, I watched their faces examine everything. It was funny watching them take in all what was going on.





But we got our skates on and off we went . . . . . REALLY SLOW!! I had 1 boy holding each of my hands, falling down every so often. I was completely amazed I never fell. (Thanks to my "Skating Skills") None of them had ever skated on a slipery floor like that and they were lucky to have me catching them. But I honestly had so much fun. It probably helped having such old school music being played. I was skating and totally singing to every song. I missed all the GREAT nights of skateland I had when I was in elementary school! But Braeden & Cade had so much fun. They actually got better at skating towards the end of the night and skated by themselves. When it was close to being over, they had everyone take off their skates and do the CHA CHA SLIDE. Braeden had no clue what to do, so he did his own thing, Cade was trying to figure out what to do though. So this is a video of that!

A Sneak Peak!

SLADE has a rough version of their new song, "The Wrong Dress" they have recorded. Go to their blog and check it out! It's a fun new song!

CLICK HERE

Every other week!

DISCLAIMER: All you pet lovers out there, understand that Elli is just a KID and does crazy things.

I watch my nephews every other Wednesday while my sister works and I love it. I actually do! They have this dog. A weiner dog. (Not that they don't have enough "weiner dogs" running around....she has 4 boys and no girls.) (We think Paul, my bro-in-law, got this dog just for laughs.) Well, Elli is an all time DOG LOVER! She says "AHHHWWWW" everytime she sees a dog. Even a massive huge dog. She absolutely loves dogs.

I actually forgot to tell my sister this story so this is going to be the first time she hears about this. Elli always wants to go outside and play with Copper (the weiner dog). Well, all the older kids were at school and Elli was outside. I am inside feeding my starving baby and she comes inside whispering something to me. Actually, she was mouthing something to me. I couldn't understand a single word. I asked her like 5 times what she was saying and finally I understood what she was saying. So I run outside and lift the garbage can lid and this is what I found.

She was telling me she put the dog in the trash. She just thought it was funny.

Ahhwwww, see how much she loves this dog. We are just glad it's at Aunt Lisa's house and not ours. :)

Our Chub-A-Lub

Well, he's now 5 months old! Where does the time go?

First let me explain the name. About a week ago, I called Caleb chubby. He is chubbier than our other babies...not by much, but he is. Each kid has gotten a little chubbier than the one before them. So we decided that we would nickname him Chubs. Well, our witty little Elli started calling him Chub-a-lub to be funny and we have called him that ever since.

Caleb James is one sweet baby. Mark & I have been so blessed with the sweetest babies .... but we sure make up for it when they reach the age of 2. All 3 of our kids have been AMAZING BABIES!! They all started sleeping through the night since one month or month and a half. They hardly ever cried except for the usual hunger, sleepy, change my diaper cries. But this Caleb baby is very different. He definitely took after me! :) He hardly ever makes a peep. He always has an INSTA-SMILE! Even when he's crying, if you look at him with a smile, he'll smile while he is crying. Quite cute! He can tolerate his older siblings when they CONSTANTLY bug him...especially Elli. He is soooooo easy going and just makes having 3 kids easier. I'm ready for another one. haha!

The only beef I have with Caleb is that he is losing his hair....therefore, his curls are not as thick and curly like they were. They better grow back. I am BITTER about this. It's a sore subject with me.

But I seriously can't get enough of this boy. He smells so dang good. Mark always says that even his sweat smells good. And he's right. It does! There are so many features on this baby that I love. The first is that face he makes when his lips are together and his cheeks get big. Ohhhhhhh! I wish he's was awake right now!

My second favorite feature of Caleb is how he is always eating his toes. It usually is his right toe that he eats, but for this picture, he decided to use his left toe.

But I think this is my #1 favorite feature. He always sticks his tongue out! OOOOOoooohhhh, how does he manage to get me so wrapped around his little finger? Things like this make me so crazy. Just look at that cuteness!

Oh wait, maybe this is my favorite feature. Here he is sporting his INSTA-SMILE. This is the smile he gives to everyone he comes in contact with. Cute, ugly, scary or weird looking. It doesn't matter what you look like, this kid will give you a smile just like this one. How is a mother to act when her baby does this. This kid just might get away with anything if he keeps it up.

Love ya Chub-A-Lub! You make our whole family happier having you with us! Even though your brother and sister maul you, they absolutely adore you. They say how much they love you everyday and are constantly telling me that he is the cutest baby.

I love this motherhood thing!

Here's The Rebuttal

My dad got home Saturday afternoon and tried to explain to us that it wasn't as bad as we were making it to be. He tried to prove it to us by pictures. It's been about 5 days since he has been home and he is limping just a little on one leg. He "says" it was like that before he left. Ummmm, OK! :) He did manage to get some BEAUTIFUL pictures though.

This is a picture of how far he went in just a couple hours. I guess his truck is parked somewhere in that valley. He pointed it out to me, but hard to explain where. But it's down there.

That is how far he was going.... to the top. Go Umpa! (As the grandkids call him)

Just a little bit further! Oh wait...let me take a picture of my handsome, scruffy self! (He did come home with a full, scruffy, gray beard and he was actually quite handsome with it. I never see him with a beard. I was mad I didn't get a picture with it.

Hhmmmmmmmm..... this place looks cozy, let's just stay here. Forget about going to the top. Let's look inside!

It looks nice and clean!

With a fully stocked fridge!

A SWEET stove to cook on!

Comfy matresses to sleep on.

And if the matress isn't good enough for you... you got a RAD couch to crash on.

Don't worry if you get lonely, you'll have some company to join you. I hear they don't run from you in this place. They hang around long enough to take it's picture!

I guess this is a family cabin up on Mnt. Grahm. I never actually heard of this place before but I guess I was there. My dad carved all our initials in this rock. I was only a year and half old.

Too cute! We're glad you made it home! We are also grateful for the burritos you brought home with you! MMmmmm, they were good. Next time, take me with you so I can enjoy that rad cabin with you!

Wildlife Man AKA Stubborn Old Man

This is my dad... Isn't he handsome!! Keep in mind during this post that he reached the age of 59 this past July. He has loved hiking, fishing, hunting, etc. ever since....well, FOREVER!! He has also always been a little stubborn, but would give up anything to any of his 5 kids, even his sleep. Sometimes he would get woken up in the middle of the night to go downstairs to kill a little spider. We could always count on him to save us girls from even the littlest bug.

But my dad has reached a new level of STUBBORN this past week. Like I said earlier, he loves hiking! He has decided to hike the Grand Mountain. Which is OK, even at his age, he is still capable of doing such things. The part that bugs all of our family is that he WILL NOT let anyone go with him. My sister-in-law warned my dad that she was going to hide in the back of his truck when he left and when they got to the hiking trails, she would whine and complain the whole time just so he would turn around and go home.

We just worry that he could fall and brake a leg or something, or get stuck and there won't be anyone to get help. But he feels he will be OK. He took 2 guns with him, food, water, and other things to keep him prepared. He left real early this morning and my mom was laughing at him. Just picture in your mind, if you will, a man with a gun on each hip, a fanny pack in front (yes Traci, my dad wears one too!) with sunflower seeds and his famous homemade jerky in it, a big huge backpack on his back hiking a mountain. He cracks me up. He plans on spending 2 nights in the middle of nowhere in just a sleepingbag. I get grossed out just thinking of all the bugs crawling around close to him....eeewwhh.

My dad has been planning this for a while now. There was no stopping him. He was going whether or not we wanting him to. Just be careful dad. We love and need you too much!!