Christmas 2008

Christmas eve this year was filled with wrapping presents for the name we picked in our family, which we so exciting for everyone to get to wrap a present for someone in the family. We are glad we waited until Christmas eve to do this as Delaney and Cole could not leave the presents alone :) It may be many years before we can keep presents under the tree in advance. We ate pizza and watched Charlie Brown's Christmas movie. We had secret elves from Santa drop off our Christmas pj's and the kids were so excited!! The next morning we were woken up at 6:45 am by Haden and Grant who had already been downstairs to see if Santa came! We went and woke up Delaney and Cole and headed down to see what Santa brought. The kids were so excited! Our big family present was a Wii, and it has been lots of fun! Grant and Cole have even joined in and played. Something we are all enjoying. We played and had fun, and then got ready to go have lunch with Jeff's family. There the kids had fun playing with cousins, we ate yummy food and got more presents! Then we headed out to my parents for dinner, and had more yummy food and time with family! We put the kids in the other room to watch a movie and the adults played games. We stayed late, laughed (lots) and got pretty silly! We didn't get home until almost 11 pm, but it was worth it :) We had a Wonderful Christmas!!! And we hope you all did to!Here are some pictures (I didn't take a ton)!

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas From Our Family To Yours!

I got cards out late this year, some of you may have received them if not they are on their way! For those that I didn't get cards out to, I am sorry! I didn't do a crafty type card this year, but I did create the elements that were used on this card, and that was a lot of fun! We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

Cactus Garden!

Last night for Family Home Evening we surprised the kids by taking them to the Cactus Garden. They decorate the whole garden with blow up penguins, snowmen and Santa Claus', and other light up things and wrap all of the cactus and trees with lights. It is pretty and the kids LOVE seeing all of the lights they have there! This year Haden and Grant were in charge of what path we took as we walked around. They loved doing this and figuring out which way they want to go first. Cole wanted to be big and walk with Haden and Grant. He actually did great with doing this, and listened to us when we would tell him to stop or wait for us. Delaney was so into the lights, she loved looking at them! We were walking past some angels that had lights on them and were blowing their horns, and Grant said 'look those angels are blowing kazoos.' It was too cute that I had to write it down :) Anyway, here are the pictures from our fun outing! Click on the picture to see all of the other ones!

Cactus Garden 08

Santa Claus Came Early!

Well our digital camera has just about had it, so the one and only thing I wanted this year was a new one! Santa Claus came through :) I received this camera last week by special delivery, and have it in time for Christmas Day! I am SO excited and loving this camera!! Haden is quite impressed that Santa would let me have my present early so I could take pictures of my kids :)

Friday was our ward party! It was lots of fun and the kids really enjoyed it. We got to eat a yummy dinner, listen to beautiful Christmas carols and Santa even made a visit! The kids LOVED that they got to sit on Santa's lap.

The Sunday before Christmas is one I always look forward to, because it helps get you in the spirit of Christmas. It brings the spirit of Christmas into our lives and helps us to remember the birth of our Savior! This Sunday did just that for me! It is filled with beautiful music, wonderful lessons and talks and is just a wonderful day! We have a couple in our ward who's daughter (I believe) plays the harp! She has performed for our ward several times and it is a wonderful instrument! It has convinced Jeff and I that we want Delaney to play it :) So hopefully she will fill the same way.

Here are some pictures I have taken with my new camera :)
Click on the picture to see the other ones!

Dec. 2008

Yes We Are Still In Las Vegas!

Earlier today Haden told me it was raining, and before I could even say anything he said 'Mom I think it's snow!' I told him it was probably just rain. Even though Vegas had snow 2 days prior we didn't see any of it, just the rain. He insisted I come and look, so I go and sure enough it is starting to snow. Haden and I had a conversation the other day about how it doesn't snow in Las Vegas. So when I confirmed it was snowing he said 'and you said it doesn't snow here!' Yes I had to eat my words, but to see their excitement it was worth it :) It wasn't sticking but the kids really wanted to go out in it! We get our jackets and gloves on and head out. While we were out in it Haden commented that Santa Claus can now come, because we have snow! It was coming down pretty good but definitely wasn't sticking, so after a little while we head in to have lunch. After I sit the kids down with their lunch we look out back and there is an inch or two of snow. So we hurried and ate lunch and headed out for some more fun. I figured it wasn't going to stick, and if it did it would just be a couple inches and be gone by tomorrow so we might as well take advantage! We play out back for a while and then come in to warm up, throw their clothes in the dryer (because we don't have snow clothes for them, lol) and take a break until Jeff got home from work. While we were out playing Haden says to me 'I prayed for snow and I think Heavenly Father wanted me to see snow!' The faith of that little boy amazes me! In the meantime the news is on and reporting that a storm like this hasn't happened since 1979! When Jeff got home there was even more snow on the ground and it wasn't letting up. We played and played in it until we were all frozen! The flakes have gotten bigger and it is still snowing as I type this. There are talks of school closures and so we will see what tomorrow brings! EDITED to add that they have officially closed all Clark County schools for tomorrow. We officially have a SNOW day in Las Vegas! I am sure some of you are laughing at us here in Vegas getting excited over snow, but this is something that just doesn't happen here!! It is crazy!! Here are pictures for you to enjoy :) click on it to see the other pictures!

Snow 2008

'I Love You'

Cole's newest phrase is 'I Love You'. He started saying it to me and then eventually to Jeff. And now says it to anyone, but he randomly says it when he feels it. When he would say it to me I would then say 'I love you the mostest' so he know says 'I Love You.' and then it is followed by 'I Love You the Mostest'. It makes your heart melt! Lately Cole and Delaney have become buds! They play together, Cole takes care of her and it is SO sweet. He has given her his own nickname, he calls her Lanes. It is so cute to hear him say! Today I was upstairs doing laundry and Delaney and Cole were playing in my closet. I overheard Cole say 'Lanes look at me, listen to me' and the it was followed by 'Lanes, I love you, I love you the mostest. Lanes I love you the mostest.' As I peeked into the closet, Cole was sitting there hugging Delaney and she was leaning in and just letting him hug her. It was one of those moments you wish you could have had your camera on you for.
Here are some recent pictures, click on it to see all of them!

Dec 2008

I can't believe it!

We are already 14 weeks into this pregnancy! I feel like we just found out, and here we are only 6 weeks from being half way! We are still trying to decide if we want to find out what this one is. I loved not finding out with Cole, it was a lot of fun. But it is also fun to know ahead of time. Luckily we still have a couple of weeks before we have to make that decision! I am starting to get my energy back and not be so nauseous! The kids are always talking about when the baby comes and are excited to have another baby in our house! I have talked to some ladies in my ward and gotten OB referrals from them. So now I need to look at the Elevators Insurance to make sure whatever doctor I choose is on the list. This pregnancy is flying by and June will be here before you know it!

'Guesserating' Our Christmas Tree!!

Yesterday we got all of our Christmas 'guesserations' up on the inside. After dinner and getting the kids in the pajamas we 'guesserated' the Christmas tree! We had a good laugh when Cole said he loved 'guesserating' which in his words means decorating! Even when we said decorating he would repeat us but use 'guesserating' :) You will have to excuse the quality of these pictures. My camera is slowly dying! And we are waiting for Santa Claus to bring me an early present :)Putting the ornaments on the tree! Even Delaney helped us out!

This was the best picture we got of the 4 of them. Notice Cole is picking his nose :)

Delaney stood there after we were all done saying 'cheese' for her own picture! I love her smile in this :)

Once we got all the decorations up, only to have most of them near the bottom :) We had to move them all up on the tree because Delaney and Cole quickly found out how fun it was to pull them off. And then once they got caught Cole would throw them under the tree as fast as he could. Gotta love these kids!

It is so fun to see the kids get so involved in the decorating! The excitement they all have for something as simple as the lights on the tree! Or watching me set up my town! I love it!! I love this time of year and the spirit it brings into our home!

Sad News!

Yesterday I found out that my OB, Dr. Cliff Kahle, had passed away! I feel a huge sense of loss as he was such a big part of my life as well as my families life! From my first appt. Jeff and I felt comfortable with him. We were blessed to have found such an amazing doctor, and were so grateful for him! He has been with us through all 4 of my pregnancies! He has delivered 3 of my 4 children and we were looking forward to him delivering this one as well. He was someone who was always happy, always had a funny comment or two (at least) during your visit. He made you feel as though he had all the faith in the world in you! He made stressful situations not seem so stressful, and made sure you knew everything was going to be alright. I have known Dr. Kahle for about 6 1/2 almost 7 years. He has been there for Jeff and I through some struggles. He has shown his support, concern and friendship through it all. We felt he was not only my doctor by a dear friend! Someone who is going to be extremely missed! My thoughts and prayers go out to his sweet family through this difficult time!

I am now in search of another OB :( So I am asking if anyone has an OB, who you may feel the same way I feel about Dr. Kahle, please let me know their name. I am not a person who likes change, so this is very hard for me! But I am needing to start looking for someone to hand over my prenatal care to. It is going to be hard to replace Dr. Kahle, but I would appreciate any recommendations you may have! Thanks so much!

Has it really been 7 years??

Indeed it has! And I am so glad that we are at this point in our lives! We have been through pretty rough trials, some hard times and in the end we have come out stronger a better couple, parents and family! Looking back I wouldn't trade what we have gone through knowing what I know now! I am so grateful for Jeff! For the amazing person he is! He is a wonderful husband and a fantastic Dad! This time has gone by so quickly but yet it seems like we have been a family forever, so crazy that it can happen like that! I laugh because in these 7 years we have added 4 (soon to be 5) kids into our family. And though times are crazy, I am really enjoying it! Jeff has been switched to 7 10's at work :( We were going to take a weekend away for anniversary, but it won't happen for a while. So Jeff surprised me by arranging with my parents to take the kids over night last Thursday (Thanksgiving). It was nice to have some time with him and we got up on Friday around 7 am and went shopping! I loved just being with him and not having to worry about 4 kids while we were at the store! Thanks Jeff for doing this for me! Thank you so much Mom, Dad and Mak for taking care of our kids!!
Happy 7th Anniversary Jeff!!

Happy 6th Birthday Haden!

As of today Haden's favorites are:
Color ~ Red
Food ~ Turkey
Snack ~ Fruit Snacks
Thing to do/play~ Play Games

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A police officer, because I like them.

Where would you like to go on vacation?
To Mexico :)

What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?
running errands with Dad

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Wrestle and Play

What is your favorite thing to do at school?
Play with my friends

Happy Birthday Haden! You are always such a big helper and willing to do whatever I ask. I am so grateful for your sweet, kind and caring personality! You are a great big brother and friend! I am grateful for how in tune to the spirit you are, it is something you are constantly reminding me to be better at. Thank you for your example to me, to our family and everyone around you. I feel blessed and privileged to be your Mom! I love you so much and hope that you have a very Happy Birthday! (And I can't believe you are 6!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love having a holiday that helps you to reflect back and look at all the things you are grateful for! I feel like life gets busy and I am not the best at looking at all my blessings everyday. And with this pregnancy I get emotional over these things :) So it's good I can just write them and you don't have to see me tear up! I am grateful for a husband who is amazing! We have been through a lot in our (almost) 7 years of marriage and yet we are so much stronger than we were before. He is a wonderful husband and Dad, and lights up the room when he is there! Our kids look forward to when Dad is home, and I love that! I am grateful for each one of my kids and each one of their personalities! They make life that much better, and make me want to continue to strive to be a better person. I love my not so little family so very much! I am grateful for my family (my brothers, sisters and parents), for their willingness to give and be there to help on a moments notice. I appreciate each one of them and love them! I am grateful for my parents, for their examples to me and my family. For the unconditional love and support they have given me and continue to give me. I am grateful for Jeff's family, and everything they have done to help us out throughout the years! For Trudy and Bob and their love for our family and the support they are constantly offering us! I am grateful for the gospel, for my knowledge of Heavenly Father's love for me and my family. I am grateful for friends! They have gotten me through some low points and I appreciate them dearly (you know who you are)! I really could go on and on, but I will spare of you of that! I have been thinking about this all week, and it will continue to be on my mind. Instead I will share with you what my kids are grateful for:

Haden (5) is grateful for: My Friends, Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving decorations, my Family, That I can go to school, The World, Ethan, and for all of my cousins, that I have blocks, Grammy and Papa, Shimisauna (Grandma Trudy) and Grandpa Bob,Sister McDonalds my church teacher, for my church. For Everything!

Grant (4) is grateful for: Dad, Mom, Delaney, Our new baby, Magnets, Haden, Coleman, our couch, our house, birds, pillows, how old I am, all of our families, the sky, my toys, my hair, a bath, my clothes, frogs, pictures,my teeth, our tv and all our things.

Coleman (2) is grateful for: Dad, Mom, Hanen (Haden), Grant and Lanes (Delaney), (he loves) family, grandparents and cousins and loves to be with them, Dinosaurs, toys and being funny (he loves to be funny and have you laugh at him).

Delaney (1) is grateful for: (if she could tell me, I would guess these are a few of the things she would be grateful for)Her family, milk (she loves it), her big bird and her blanket, for brothers to play with and protect her,dolls, and for clothes and shoes (she loves to get dressed)!

We hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving!!!

Well it has happened........

As you can see in this picture Haden has lost his first tooth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is a weird feeling knowing the little boy you remember so vividly as a baby, is old enough to loose a tooth and will be 6 on Sunday! This tooth has been wiggling for a while, and finally came out today. There is already another tooth coming in behind it, and he is so excited to have lost his first tooth!!!

Our Fun Weekend!

Saturday morning we had the chance to go watch my sister finish her 26 mile marathon! I can't even begin to imagine how hard that was, and I am quite impressed with her in finishing the marathon (not everyone did). Can you imagine running for over 5 hours?! Dana you did an awesome job and I am glad that we were able to be there and cheer you on to the finish line! Afterwards we went to a picnic type area where my Dad had made hot dogs and ate lunch. We could only stay for a little bit and then had to head home to get Jeff to work. Once we got home I packed me and the kids up and got all of our things together for a Thanksgiving dinner with my family. We went up to Mt. Charleston to some friends cabin and stayed the night and got to spend time with my family and we had so much fun. Jeff came up that night once he got off work and joined us in the little sleep we got :) With 12 kids 5 (almost 6) years and under you are bound to have them waking eachother up. But we survived!! Then we hung out and played around for a while, played games and just had fun. Once the turkey was close to being done we all started to prepare for our yummy dinner! It was so good and so fun to all be together! After that Jeff had to leave for work once again :( I had a hard time letting him go, but I am looking forward to Thursday and Friday because he has both of those days off!!! After we got Thanksgiving all cleaned up we played for a little while longer, and then got ready for our family Christmas Party (since Dana, Tyler and their family won't be here for Christmas). The kids all made decorations for the tree (thanks Adri for putting that together) and watched our cute kids put on the nativity scene (Jenn and Nate you did an awesome job). After that we gave out presents and everyone seemed to enjoy that! Then we cleaned up the cabin and headed home. It was so much fun to be with family this weekend! We really enjoyed it!!
Here are pictures from this weekend (just click on the picture to see all of them)

Mann Family Thanksgiving

This is what happens when.......

You have a diabetic Dad! The other morning Jeff had low sugar, and so in my attempt to get him out of it I was feeding him tootsie rolls (the first thing I could grab). As I am breaking pieced off to feed to Jeff, Cole climbed up on the bed, watched for a minute as I was feeding Jeff to get his sugar up. He asked what I was doing, so I told him that Daddy's sugar was low, and so I was helping to wake him up. Cole laid down on my pillow and closed his eyes, then said 'wake me up'. He was totally pretending to be like Jeff and wanted tootsie rolls too! It was too cute I couldn't not give him any :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday was my Dad's Birthday and I meant to do a post for him and the day got away from me! We were able to go over to my parents house for a birthday dinner for my Dad, and it was a lot of fun!
Daddy I hope this next year is a great one for you! You definitely deserve it!! I love you so much! I am so grateful for the example you have always been to me, and you are now to Jeff and our 4 (soon to be 5) kids as well. My kids adore you and look forward to seeing you whenever we get to. You have always been a great example of selfless acts. You are always doing and thinking of others. Thank you for being that example for me! I have always loved the relationship we have had, it means the world to me! I am so grateful to have a Dad like you, I feel blessed daily for it!
Happy Birthday Papa Bear!!
I Love You SO Much!!

Baby Nicks

I went to my OB today to make sure everything is okay. Jeff ended up having to work again, and so my Mom came along with me (Thanks again Mom!!). We found out that this baby is actually measuring a week ahead than I thought! So instead of being due on the 19th, we are actually due on the 11th. Baby Nicks was kicking and moving his/her arms, and everything is looking good!

I am blessed!

Last night I was reading with my kids and they were loving it. We read our books, said our prayers and got them all into bed. I usually have help doing this, but with Jeff's work schedule I have been on my own. Which a lot of times stresses me out, because it is the end of the day we are all tired and it can be hectic. But last night was different, it all went smoothly and everyone was happy. When I sat down after I had put them to bed I was overwhelmed with my love for each one of them. Each one is so unique, so different than the other, but so amazing all in their own way. I feel blessed to have been chosen to be their Mom, I feel honored that Heavenly Father would pick me to take care of these amazing little people. Then I thought of this new baby we will be having, it made me so excited to have this baby join our family. I can only imagine what having 5 kids will be like, but I know with the help of my Heavenly Father I can do this. I pray daily that I am doing my best and that I am making my Heavenly Father proud of me! It is not easy, I am not perfect but I am trying. I couldn't ask for better kids, they are the light of my life!!

Total Randomness :)

This post is going to be a bunch of randomness, but just to post what we have been up to and what is going on with us. Here is a picture of Delaney's newest trick :) She has learned to climb on chairs and get on the table. So we have to make sure the chairs are pushed in. If you can't tell from this picture she is very proud of herself!
This is Cole the Pirate! Notice his 'wooden' leg? I thought is was quite funny he would come up with that on his own. Hurt my foot to watch him walk around like that, but he was happy!

Playing around and having fun! Such cute men!

Cole wanted his picture taken :) He is so funny!

I wish I had a recent picture to post of Grant. I need to take a couple. Jeff has had overtime again this week. He was switched from his regular shift to a 3:30 to midnight shift and has done that for a couple of days. Tonight they told him that they need him to work 12 hours tonight and tomorrow, so he won't get home until 4 am :( The overtime/money is nice and really seems to come a long when we need it. It is just hard to do the whole night time routine on my own, I will be looking forward to having him back to his regular schedule. I find I have to focus on the positive, the blessings that come from this, to get through it.

I have had no energy with this pregnancy, and that is hard! I just can't get up and do things, and it is annoying! I will gladly be welcoming the 2nd trimester :) I see my OB on Tuesday, and am anxious to get there and make sure everything is going good. I can't believe we will be having #5, but at the same time I am getting so excited to have another baby!

We have slowly been having this nasty little cold/sickness go through our home. It started with Delaney and then Grant got it. Cole has just started getting it, and I can only expect for it to go all the way around before we are done :( My friend Kitty has given me great tips to help keep the kids comfortable (Thanks again Kitty) and so we are doing what we can. And just praying each one gets completely better and we can get back to normal!

On Sunday Jeff and I will be officially released from our calling in Primary. At first I welcomed the change and look forward to what other callings we may hold. But later on it hit me and it was a bittersweet feeling. I have loved teaching my class, they have taught me many things and are amazing kids! I can only hope my kids have the knowledge of our church that these kids have. I will admit that it went through my mind that I may have not done everything I needed to for these kids, and I thought of all the things I could have done differently, and worried about it. But after praying and thinking about it, even if that was the case, there are reasons things happen. Whether it is for me, Jeff or someone else to experience, it was meant to be. So we will look onto the future and see what it holds for us as far as callings go.

I can't believe that we are already into November, how crazy is that?! I am excited for all the fun we will be having this month!

Pumpkins, Costumes and Trick or Treating!

Wednesday night was our ward Trunk or Treat, I took pictures of the kids in their costumes before we left, but forgot my camera at home! So I didn't get any of them while we were there! There was a huge turnout, and it was packed! Dinner was stressful, Delaney was not happy to be there, Cole was like a caged animal and it was more than I care to do again, lol. Jeff and I said next time we will just eat dinner at home and then go! But the kids got to play some fun games, and then Jeff took them around to the different cars while Delaney and I stayed at our van and passed out candy! The kids loved it and had a blast!!
Last night we carved our pumpkins and it was a lot of fun! Haden and Grant drew the faces on their pumpkins, while Cole and Delaney just colored on theirs with markers as well. We laugh because Jeff and I tried to talk Haden and Grant into getting bigger pumpkins, but they insisted they wanted the little ones, so we let them. When it came to carving they both wanted the bigger pumpkins :) Live and learn right?!! I helped Haden and Grant clean theirs out and carve them while Jeff did Delaney's and Cole's. Then Jeff and I sat down and did ours! We realized we need to do ours once the kids are asleep until they are all older. But we got them done and now need to bake our pumpkin seeds, yummy!!
Tonight we went Trick or Treating and the kids had a lot of fun! They got a ton of candy and are so excited for it! I forgot my camera again so I took a few with my camera on my phone, they are the best, but at least I have them :)
It has been a fun Halloween this year and all the fun events leading up to it! I hope you all had a Happy Halloween and enjoy our pictures! (Click on the picture to see all of them)

Halloween 2008

Our Weekend.....

First of all I only took like 2 pictures of the Halloween party and they both turned out blurry, ugh! So I don't have pictures, which makes me sad, but what can you do?!! The kids decorated cookies, played games and seemed to have lots of fun! Once everyone got there we had, including Haden, Grant and Cole, a total of 13 kids running around. Later that night Grant said 'This was the best Halloween party ever' which made it so worth it! Something I can see becoming a tradition for us :) Thanks to all the kids who were able to make it, we enjoyed having you!!!

The other night Jeff was out cooking on the grill, so the kids went out back to play while he was cooking. Delaney ventured out there. At first she wouldn't move off the cement, she took one step on the dirt and stayed put :) Then she eventually got daring and moved out onto the dirt. She sat there and had a shovel and dug in the dirt for a very long time. It was so cute!!


Saturday night I was able to get out and go to a movie with some friends, Natali, Kara and Kara's sister. We went and saw 'The Secret Life of Bees' and it is a really good movie. I loved getting out and in a sense recharging myself. It was good for me!!
Yesterday Delaney and I woke up not feeling good. Haden and Grant were coughing a TON. I am hoping we didn't get anyone sick on Saturday, if so I am extremely sorry. I am battling with a lovely cold and with being pregnant it makes it that much more fun! I am hoping it is short lived and goes away as quickly as it came!
This week we have our ward Trunk or Treat, and then Halloween, so there will be more pictures soon :)

Well.........

From what I figure I am about 6 weeks along, I am not positive and have not yet set up my appt. I need to call and do that, as well as figure out how much the first visit will cost, because Jeff's insurance doesn't kick in until January. I figure I am due around the 19th of June and again all that can change once I see the doctor. When we first found out I was so worried and stressed, and Jeff has been a complete comfort and helping me see that this is okay! We can't change what happened and so we just have to realize that it is a blessing to bring another one of Heavenly Fathers spirits here to earth and be part of our family! I told Jeff one day that it wasn't what I had planned. I wanted to loose weight, we needed insurance, and the list went on. And his response has helped me tremendously! He said 'it wasn't our plan, but it was planned for us!' Isn't that so true?!! We may think we have a plan, but those things don't always work out! Also I want to thank family and friends who have congratulated us and are so sweet and have offered up words of support! You guys are awesome! I know that not everyone may be happy with this, but really it is out of our hands so I hope you can see and realize that and just be happy for us.
I am SO excited because my little sister, Adri, is pregnant too!! She is such a cute Mom and I know that this little baby is so lucky to be joining her family. And from the dates we both have figured out, we are only due about 3 days apart from eachother! So crazy, but how fun that our babies will have a cousin so close in age!
Anyway, thanks again to everyone, we love you all!! I will keep you updated on things! On Saturday we are having a little Halloween party for the kids, their cousins and friends, so I will post pictures once that is over with!!

Delaney wanted to say.................

This was a complete surprise to Jeff and I, but we are excited about it. The kids are excited and Haden has already predicted another girl, he was right for Cole and Delaney, so it will be interesting to see if he is right this time!

The Halloween Fun has just begun!!

We went to my family Halloween party yesterday after church. It was lots of fun and the kids definitely enjoyed dressing up! This year they are all pirates, and dang cute pirates at that! When we got there they got to decorate their bags to take their stuff home in. Then we ate dinner, and afterwards decorated cookies that we later on doorbell ditched to the neighbors, only after the kids got to decorate their own and eat them :) We also had a silly string fighte, which was a hit. Throughout the night my parents did a fishing pond and the kids each got to take turns, as well as the Moms and Dads. We missed Dana, Tyler, Max and Kelly, wish you guys could have been there! The gifts were a hit at our house and the kids could hardly wait to open them this morning! We had a BLAST!!!! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD FOR ALWAYS MAKING IT SO MUCH FUN!!!
Here are the pictures from last night, click on the picture to see the rest!

Grand Kids Halloween Party

Our Newest Little Additions........

My Mom got us these two little turtles and we are loving them! They are so tiny and so fun!! The boys have named them, Haden named his Rocky and Grant named his Turtle :) I love their little old man looks they have on their faces, and just how cute they are! I know a lot of people don't think reptiles are cute, but I have grown up with them and to me they are cute!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Well today after Jeff got off from his long 12 hour night/morning shift, we decided to load up the kids and head to St. George. I had seen on my cousins blog about this fun Pumpkin Patch there, called Staheli Farm (Thanks Lindsay for mentioning it on your blog), and since we can't make it to Gilcrease here due to the hours Jeff works, we decided to surprise the kids and go. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast! When we were pulling into town it started to rain, and we were like great! Then I realized I hadn't gotten directions and so we called Jeff's Dad, Jim, and he gave us them and we went on our way. As we pulled into the pumpkin patch the weather cleared up and it was great the whole time we were there. As we got in the van to go home the wind picked up and it started to sprinkle again. Talk about perfect timing!! We got to see animals, feed horses, and play on hay as well as pick pumpkins! The boys took forever to pick their pumpkins, it was too cute! They would pick one up, carry it for a bit, and then put it back down. We eventually got pumpkins and the boys were super excited! And now can't wait to carve them (which won't be for a little bit). All in all it was a good day!
Here are the pictures from today. Click on the picture to see all of them!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

A couple fun crafts!

This year for Halloween I decided to do some crafts with the kids! We made ghosts to hang out on our tress. Then we also made Bat-o-laterns (which I found from Family Fun), which are little pumpkins turned into bats! the kids all had fun painting and created them and loved seeing the finished product! We need to make it out to get pumpkins, but I am not sure that is going to happen any time soon. I really wanted to go pick them at Gilcrease, but Jeff's scheduled just got changed to 7-12 hour days, so he will be working every day of the week, and Gilcrease closes at Noon. He will work from Midnight to Noon the next day ever day of the week. It is going to make things interesting around here. And so we may just have to get pumpkins at the grocery store this year, I mean the kids won't know any different and they will just be happy to get pumpkins, right?!!
Anyway, here are the pictures of the kiddos doing the fun crafts, and other random pictures! Click on the picture to see them all!

Oct. 2008

Totally Random Post!

Grant was being silly one day and said he was Santa Claus :) Not sure how but he was and he was so proud! (not sure why there is a line down the middle, sorry)
Delaney had just woken up from her nap and was cuddling with Haden. It was so cute, and they were being so cute with eachother!
Delaney fell asleep on the couch, notice where her foot is. Also notice the onsie she is wearing, and know that she has another shirt on underneath! She brought me the onsie to wear on top of her shirt. Also had been carrying around the shoe, but kept getting frustrated because it wouldn't stay on! Silly girl!

So Haden's track break officially started! He is off until the 5th (I believe) of November, and I am happy but at the same time SUPER worried how we are going to survive! He has been struggling with adjusting and balancing school and home and all the different rules and things. I think the kids will love having him home, but at the same time that love can disappear quickly!

Delaney has also started repeating some of the things we say, it is funny! One day I brought her downstairs after a nap and I said 'say Hi Guys!' to her brothers as we came down, she immediately said it back. The boys sat there for a minute and Haden finally said, she just repeated you! They loved it and it is too cute! She also stands up on things and throws her arms in the air and says 'Ta Da'. There are some other things I need to get on video, because they make me laugh!

Jeff's truck died last weekend, so I have been without a car during the day! Thank Heavens for friends in the ward who also have kids in Haden's kindergarten class. They have SO kindly brought him home for me (we tried walking on Monday to pick him up and about died!). Really though it is good that it happened now and not when he was back to school. We only had to work things out for this week and now he is off. So we are praying we can figure something out and get something for Jeff to drive! But as we have seen in our past, everything works out in the end, you just have to have faith! He also has had quite a bit of overtime, which the money is nice, but it is hard not having him home! I am feeling it and so are the kids, but it won't be forever and we can deal with it for now :)

'I like to do what I like to do...'

'and not what I don't like to do!'

Is what Grant said today as he was jumping from the couch to the ottoman. He said I don't always like what Haden tells me to do!

We have been having problems with that lately, where Haden will whisper what he wants Grant to do. And Grant just does it because he doesn't like to fight. He will occasionally stick up for himself, but not too often because then Haden tells him he isn't playing with him anymore! I don't like watching them act like this with eachother, but I also know that it is part of being brothers! I just wish there was something I could do or say to make them both understand that they don't have to do what the other wants all the time. If they don't want to they don't have to, and that is fine! How do you fix this? How do you make Haden not be so controlling? I am sure there isn't a way really, that it is all their personalities! But I laughed when Grant said that so matter of fact today. It is true, but he hasn't and I am not sure he will change it!

Is this what we have in store??

I had to put this picture above in because she looks so cute and so innocent.

Delaney has taken a liking to clothes, shoes and accessories! She is obsessed with them!
Here she is wearing the cute tutu her cousin Kate and her aunt Jenn picked out for her.
She loves to wear Daddy's hat! The boys' sunglasses, the boys' hats!
Here she is this morning. She insisted she put on Haden's pajamas shirt after she had already been dressed. Then shortly after she brought me Grant's pajamas shorts to put on. Quite the cute outfit!
I wonder if she will keep this up? If she will always be into what she is wearing? After having 3 boys this is all knew to me! She loves to have her hair done, she waits her turn when I am doing the boys' hair. She is the first one to you when you are started to get the kids dressed. It totally cracks me up!!

Today was our Primary program in church and the kids did a great job! Although being a teacher and sitting on the stand with them is a bit hectic it is all worth it when talking to them and hearing how excited they were with how well everything went! Thanks to our Awesome Primary Presidency for all of their hard work, it turned out to be a great program! The kids were so excited because Grammy and Papa Dan (My parents), my Sister, Adri, her husband Trent and their cute kids, Jack and Lily, all came to watch them. Thank you guys so much, it meant a lot to me, and especially to Haden and Grant! Then after church we went over to my Brother, Nate, and his wife, Jenn's house to eat dinner and celebrate Jeff's birthday. We ate very yummy ribs and cake and ice cream. The kids had a ton of fun playing with their cousins and just being together. Thanks to everyone who helped with the dinner and such, we had so much fun!

Last week after church I took a video of them saying their parts so here they are:

Here is Haden with his part 'I will live now to be worthy to do my part to have an eternal family.

Here is Grant saying his part 'He teaches me to read the Book of Mormon'. And how he says it here, the voice and everything, is how he said it in the microphone.

Here is Haden's second part they gave him, he says 'I am a Child of God'.

Cole wanted to say a part to :) so here he is saying 'I am a Child of God'.

On Friday night Haden's school was doing a fundraiser at a place called Jason's Deli, the school gets a percentage of what everyone spent! So we went and supported our school and enjoyed a very yummy dinner! I had never eaten there but it is a place we will definitely be going back to! We took our order to go and ate it at a park, which was a lot of fun! The kids had a blast, and it was just a fun to spend that time together as a family! Then Saturday night we headed out across town, ate dinner over at Jeffs Mom's house and Jeff's sister Tracy and her kids were there. So the kids got to spend time with cousins, which was so fun! After that we headed over to something called Balloonapalooza, it is an event with a fair, and everything but they also show off hot air balloons. Well this year it was still a bit warm and a tad windy so they couldn't do the hot air balloons. But they still had the fair and such, then once it got dark they did a firework show, which the kids really enjoyed! So here are some pictures of our events from this weekend! Oh and I didn't post this before, but on Friday night Delaney fell and hit her head on the corner of the entertainment center. So in the pictures you will see a cut on her forehead. She hardly cried, one tough little girl, and is doing okay.

(click on the slideshow to make it bigger)

Singing in the Rain

This afternoon it started to rain, and I knew the kids would get a kick out of playing in it. So out we went! And we played outside for about 30/45 minutes until it stopped raining. The kids had a BLAST! And I think Delaney has had more fun than any of our kids at this age. It was fun to sit and watch them explore and enjoy themselves! Here are some pictures from today (Double click on the slideshow to see them bigger):

Also I got this link from a friend of pictures for the damage of Hurricane Ike. They are some amazing photos and I wanted to share them with all of you! Click on the link to view them!
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

Hello...........

My name is Cole and I LOVE to make messes! This is Cole this morning eating breakfast! The boys were eating what they call 'Papa's cereal' because my dad eats Fruity Pebbles and the boys know it. I went upstairs to get every one's clothes and this is what I came down to! He is by far the messiest child we have :) We used to think Delaney contributed to this mess, but she usually only drops a few pieces here and there. It wasn't until Delaney wasn't eating with them one day that we realized Cole made every HUGE mess practically by himself!
This picture doesn't do the floor justice, it is all over the place!
Notice he has managed to cover not only the floor, table and bench, but himself as well!
Gotta love this kid! Despite his messes he is TONS of fun and absolutely hilarious!

Imagination Movers!

Have you watched their show on Playhouse Disney? All 4 kids LOVE this show! We actually have our DVR set to record it, because it is on when Haden is at school. Then when he comes home, after we do homework, he watches it. Delaney, Cole and Grant dance their little hearts out to it (I should video that)! They have always loved their short shows, where they would perform a song, but were SO excited when they started an actual 30 minute show. Yes it is a bit cheesy, but it is actually a fun show and a HUGE hit with the kiddos! I may just have to buy their CD, because the kids like there music so much!

Our Daily Walks!

So we drove by the school and I said to Jeff I would like to see how far it is from the school to our house. And it was just shy of a mile, but Jeff said with the way I walk there it may very well be a mile because the van can't go on the sidewalk exactly how I walk :) So each day we are walking about, if not right at, 2 miles a day! Which with 4 kids there and 3 kids on the way back, is quite a walk but so much fun! Each day they have certain things they do as we walk, they go around power boxes (or whatever they are) and jump over certain things. They even get down and 'race', which Haden gets down in the position the runners do from the Olympics with his hand behind his back and Grant has copied him as well. I need to get a picture of it because it is too cute! I will try and remember to do that on Monday. Today on our way home Cole decided he wanted to walk, so Grant quickly climbed in to take his spot in the stroller! Cole ran practically the whole way home, but he did everything the boys do on the way there. It was hilarious but fun to watch as he remembered each thing they did an where they did it. He has definitely been watching closely to what they do. I think our walk home may have been faster with Cole walking/running and Grant in the stroller. We may have to try that again! Each day Grant complains right as we get around the corner, and have just started our walk, but as we get to the school he is SO proud that we made it. It is fun to see him get excited about our accomplishment!

Grant also has made friends with the crossing guard! He is this older man, just cute with the kids, and the first day he just waved at the kids and Haden started to talk about how he was a stranger and we shouldn't talk to him. So we talked about how it is okay to talk to him and with Mom being there. So the next day as we were walking up to the crossing guard, Grant asked me if he could say Hi to him, and I told him he definitely could. He was so excited and practically shouted it, the crossing guard was so cute and talked to him. I thanked him and we went on our way. As we got across Grant asked me why I said thank you. So I told him that he is there to help us cross so we can be safe, and it is really nice of him so we should say thank you. Grant now has to say Hi and thank you each day that we cross. He has made a friend and he gets so excited when we get to that point of our walk!

I think the walks are so nice and it gets us all of out of the house!

Happy 29th Birthday Jeff!!!

29 Reasons Why We Love Jeff (in no particular order).....
1. He has a great smile!
2. He is lots of fun to be around.
3. When we got together to eat ice cream (Haden)
4. When he lets me taste yummy stuff when he is cooking (Grant)
5. He always has such a positive attitude, and helps me to look on the bright side of things.
6. Delaney absolutely adores him and is becoming such a Daddy's girl.
7. He makes sure he takes care of the kids and I, and does what he has to to provide for us!
8. Daddy Home (Coleman)
9. He has a great sense of humor!
10.Coleman thinks he is so much fun!
11. When I snuggle with him (Grant)
12. When we wrestle (Haden)
13. He honors his priesthood.
14. He is a hard worker.
15. He enjoys our kids and is so cute with them!
16. When he takes me to school (Haden)
17. He is a great example to our kids.
18. Reading books with him (Grant)
19. I play Daddy (Coleman)
20. He still after 6 (almost 7 years) of marriage surprises me with things he has done or does for me.
21. He has a strong testimony of the gospel.
22. He has so many wonderful talents and we get to benefit from them!
23. He has a hilarious sense of humor and a great laugh!
24. He is one handsome guy!
25. He respects others.
26. Cause I Love him (Grant)
27. Because he loves me lots (Haden)
28. Daddy Funny (Coleman)
29. Because he is the best Daddy and Husband ever!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!! WE HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Too Funny!

So Delaney today was playing and she was getyong kind of cranky and climbed up next to me on the couch with her sippy cup. I was doing some designing on the computer (check out my scrapping blog) and when I looked over this is what I saw:

I tried to take her sippy cup away and lay her down, but she wasn't having it. So I video taped her instead :) At the end, she started to get upset and I finally got her to lay down on my shoulder and sleep for a bit before we had to go get Haden from Kindergarten.

I have been walking Haden to school, and it is so much fun! Grant was a trooper the first day, and did awesome today! It is great for me, because it is the only form of exercise I seem to be able to get these days! When it cools down we will walk to pick him up as well, but while it is still quite warm out we will just drive :) Also I am happy to report that Haden is doing much better with keeping his hands to himself and listening. I just remind him/go over the rules each day before school, and it seems to be helping!

Open House!

Tonight was Haden's open house at school, and it was fun for Jeff, Grant and Cole to see his classroom. It was fun for Haden to show them where he goes to school, he loved that! I was able to talk to his teacher which was nice. Yesterday Haden came home with a yellow card from school, he didn't want to talk about it but I wanted to know why. So I told him unless he told me, he would need to sit and think about it. So he told me that another kid started to poke him while they were all sitting on the rug doing the calendar and things, and so Haden started poking him back. Mrs. Dudder asked them to stop but they didn't listen. After one warning and if they still don't listen they get a yellow card. So he and this boy had to go change their green card to yellow. I asked Haden how that made him feel, and he said he didn't care. But soon after started to cry and said he was sorry. He made it up today and got a green again. I talked to his teacher tonight and she said that seeing he has 2 brothers she can see why he is physical, lol! He wrestles with boys at recess and they all just play. He has always been someone who pokes and messes with others, it is something he has just done. But we are working on not doing that, and making sure he is aware of the rules at school. He has made friends quickly, which is good and bad because he talks :) She is going to try a couple different seats with him, because right now he talks to the kids at his table even when Mrs. Dudder is talking. So she wants to see if moving him will help, but we both said that he makes friends so easily that it might not work. We will have to see! But she asked me to just talk to him about keeping our hands to ourselves and not to talk when Mrs. Dudder is talking, and to just remind him of that every so often. So we will see! Other than that she said he catches on quickly to what she is teaching and she enjoys him in her class :) Of course she says that, most teachers do. But it was good to be able to talk to her and get a feel for where he is at. Plus he is in the second week of school, and is feeling a lot more comfortable there!

Some recent pictures :)

There isn't much going on lately! We had a fun Labor Day, but I forgot to take pictures (shocking I know). We went over to my parents house and had a BBQ and went swimming. It was a fun day, and the kids had a blast swimming! Other than that, we just are doing the school thing every day, which is becoming routine. Haden is loving it and making friends daily, which he is loving even more than school :) . Other than that we have just been hanging out, so with that here are some random pictures for you to enjoy :) (double click on the slide show if you want to see the pictures bigger)

I've Been Tagged :) (thanks Adri)

TAGGED

1. Where is your cell phone?... Sitting on the couch
2. Your hair?... Brown
3. Your significant other?... Jeff :)
4. Your mother?... Sandee
5. Your father?... Dan
6. Your favorite thing?... My camera
7. Your dream last night?... I don't remember if I even had one
8. Your favorite drink?... Dr. Pepper or Ocean Water from Sonic
9. Your dream/goal?... To build a house, our dream house, and be able to help others
10. The room you're in?... Our family room
11. Your child(ren)?... Bed, hopefully for the night
12. Your fear?... Not teaching my kids the things they need to know, by not being there for them enough.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? I would love to go to nursing school, something I can do once the kids are grown. And maybe out of Vegas??
14. Where were you last night?... Here at home, we had a lazy day and just hung out.
15. What you're not?... I am not good at keeping my house clean, lol!
16. Muffins, blueberry or poppy?... if I have to pick one, it would be poppy
17. One of your wish list items?... a really nice digital camera
18. Where you grew up?... I lived in Utah until I was 6, but have lived in Vegas since. So basically Vegas :)
19. What you read last?... Some books my Mom gave to help Haden read, which he loves and we read them all the time.
20. What are you wearing?...a white skirt and black and white shirt
21. Your TV?....is on, Jeff is watching it
22. Your pets?... We have some salt water fish
23. Your computer?... We have a desktop upstairs (that needs fixed) and an HP laptop
24. Your life?... is in a great place!
25. Your mood?... Dealing with some left over emotions from last week I guess. Who know you could have PKD (Post Kindergarten Depression?!)
26. Missing someone?... Not at the moment
27. Your car?... a white Toyota Sienna
28. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
29. Favorite Store?... Target & Ross
30. Your summer?... Has been lots of fun, but totally flew by!
31. Like someone?... Jeff and my cute kids :)
32. Your favorite color?... Yellow, but I am liking pink lately as well
33. Last time you laughed?... This afternoon, after church, the kiddos were just being fun! I love having them around!!

I tag: Natali, Jilene, and Ramona :)

Haden's First Week!

Has been a HUGE success! He absolutely LOVES school and everything about it. It is so fun to watch him get excited about it all. They have been asked to read daily, and be read to. And we do and have done that for a while before bed time, he insists we do it once the kids are all down for naps. So him and I sit down and I read him a book and he reads it back to me, we have had fun doing this everyday. They also do cards, to determine how good of a day they had, green, yellow or red, and Haden is set on keeping himself on the green card daily! He is always happy to report that he did so, and will let us know who had to go change their card to yellow. Which I think just the thought of having to go change his own card is enough to keep him from doing too much to get that yellow card (not that I'm saying it won't happen, but I know it won't be a daily thing, haha). It is so fun to drop him off and know that he is enjoying himself, and to pick him up and see the excitement on his face! He is sad he can't go every day of the week, and I worry how he will be when he is on break :) He is making friends and just having a blast! I am SO glad!! Today Jeff had off (he works 4-10's) and Haden LOVED having Jeff there to drop him off and pick him up. I am just glad that he loves it as much as he does! I think it makes it easier :)

If you are into Digital Scrapbooking.......

I have worked with this group for a couple months now and they are awesome! If you want to be part of a fun group, this is the CT (creative team) to apply for! Also there are some exciting things happening with Brownie Scraps, SO head on over to the blog http://browniescraps.blogspot.com/ and check them out!! Ramona is opening a new store and I am so excited for her!! I have also taken on designing, and it is SO much fun! I have one of my kits up on my blog Scrappin' Daisies if you want to check it out and let me know what you think :)