Wrapping it All Up!

Holiday number 1 down the tube-Thanksgiving is going to be here before you know it, not to mention Christmas (did you know 94.5 is playing Christmas music already?!?). I'm wrapping this holiday up with a few flashbacks and some miscellaneous pics I haven't gotten around to posting-have fun looking!

Karianna as Tinkerbell in 2007

JD as Superman in 2007

And moonlighting as a Dog in 2007 as well.
Karianna as Cinderella and JD as a Turtle in 2006-JD's first Halloween.
Karianna as a Care Bear in 2005-this was her first Halloween.
Jordan enjoying his pumpkin and associated candy in 2008.

And very random but very cute-the three youngest babies in our family; all crawlers, droolers, and overall happy kiddos!
Last but certainly not least :) Karianna reaping the benefits of the post-Halloween sale-I got this dress for 4 bucks. Great time to amp up the dress up box! And that's all folks-see ya next Halloween!

Weekend Happenings

We spent the weekend in Tucson celebrating Amber's 1st birthday; it is technically later this week, so Happy Early Birthday Amber! And actually, it was just me that trekked out to Tucson with the kids, as Jared had to stay home and study...lets just say I would have preferred to have him there. Thanks to everyone for helping me out! Anyhow, here's a run of pictures from the day's activities-I don't feel like moving the pictures around to the right order, so we're going to go backwards-Here's Logan as the headliner! :) Enjoy!

Technically this is Elizabeth's Dora wig....but it certainly looks great on baby Logan!

All the kids went trick or treating in Suzie and Mark's house-it was awesome to see all the costumes (except JD, who highly dislikes the elastic on his scarecrow and as a single parent for the day, I didn't feel like wrestling it on him).

At the Tucson Zoo-seriously so much better than the Phoenix zoo-all the animals are up close and personal.

Hanging with the bears.

And the elephants-the African elephants are so much nicer looking!

Jordan waving hi to the camara.

Makayla, Karianna, and Elizabeth

JD riding with his good friend Kaitlynn!

Assurance

Jared and I have a conversation about me going back to work at least once a month. It is always a tough thing to think about because I love teaching, but I need to be with my kids as well. Jared's schedule is so tough right now, the topic has once again come up from the standpoint that it might be helpful for Jared to stay home and just concentrate on studying while watching the boys during the day. I'd be lying if I said this doesn't worry me at all. I worry that the kids would not get the same things from Dad that they would from Mom. Would they get the same interaction, activities, and learning time? Would excessive TV, odd lunches, and overlong naps replace the schedule that I have worked so hard to create for the kids? I know that Jared can do it-after all, he did take care of Karianna the first 18 months of her life. It's just the mom in me that worries.

We haven't come to a conclusion yet, and chances are good that we won't even talk about this until next month. However, our converstaion ended on a good note when Jared made the kids breakfast without my asking him to. For about 10 minutes he built (yes, built) breakfast creations for the kids; they were watching his every move in total rapture. Karianna named the dish "Sully", for no particular reason other than they were watching Monsters Inc. earlier. I was just assured right then and there that Jared could do it if we needed to. He could take great care of the kids, they would love him and admire him more than they do now. I am sure things would not be the exact way I wanted them, but then again, Jared's way might not be so bad. Take his breakfast for example. Point, set, match.

Karianna's Preschool Party

Halloween Festivity #2: Party at Preschool!

It sounds like the kids had a blast doing several games, crafts and treats at preschool today. Karianna made Halloween cards for all of her preschool friends-I was so proud of her for staying focused and doing all the writing. It was a great way to solidify the spelling of her name! :) I got to stay for the first half hour to take a few pics and I wish I could have stayed longer, but I guess I just get to be grateful that JD and Jordan stayed happy for even that long! Just so everyone knows, Karianna has her first "boyfriend". She told me yesterday that she "loves" Kolton aka Elmo. I think she has this infatuation becuase his name starts with a "K" too. Her teacher however told me that another boy is vying for her attention. Conner has a hard time getting involved with the other kiddos, but today he stuck to Karianna like glue and actually participated! I think this definitely falls into the catagory of "My Kids Grow Up Too Fast!" Here's a few pics!

The Right Kind of Motivation

Trunk or Treat!

It has been a long time since I have been to a Trunk or Treat. After attending our ward's version of it last night, I have come to the conclusion that Trunk or Treating is way better than actual trick or treating. No traipsing up dozens of entryways just to find no one is home; No uncertainty about weird looking houses and less than respectable people; No tiresome walking or carting kids around the neighborhood for hours. It was just perfect and the only change I would have made was to make the Trunk or Treat on Halloween night so we could forego the whole neighborhood trick or treating all together!

The kids had such a blast and it was so fun to see them running from car to car with their friends, so excited to see the decorations, yell trick or treat, and reap the sugar overdose benefits. The main outcome of Halloween celebrations such as this? Tons of cute pictures-and I am actually going light on the ones I'll include below. :) I love holidays!

The costumes: Karianna is Dorothy, JD is the scarecrow (and wouldn't wear the hat for all the candy in the world), Jordan is the lion, and I am the Wicked Witch of the West.

This is my favorite picture of the night! Would anyone believe me if I said those were my real fingernails?

JD getting as close as he dared to this spider decoration.

Hanging with some buds-JD, Sofie, Karianna, Semanee, and Savannah.

Stop the pictures already, I want to get some CANDY!

Mesmerized by a particularly scary trunk.

The cowardly lion being brave enough to let a witch snuggle with him!

We got the loot-lets head home.
This was the first time JD has ever eaten a sucker-he was hooked, as you can tell by the blue ring around his mouth in the next few pictures!

This was Jordan's breaking point-just ready to go to bed. JD was very concerned about the fact that he was crying-he even stopped eating his sucker long enough to tell Jordan, "Its okay Jordan, no crying."

A kiss from brother made it all better. :) And loves from sister. :) I love my kiddos!

Happy Halloween everyone-I'm going to bed.

OK, I'll bite...

Did everyone know you can pre-order the Twilight Saga: Unofficial Guide at Amazon and get free shipping? The only catch is you have to have an order for 25 dollars of free shipping items to actually get it. So if anyone wants to copy me, I just ordered The Hunger Games, which Stephenie Meyer recommended and which I have heard is great from other people, and the Twilight Guide. My bill came out to $25.42-and thus, no shipping. I thought that was pretty decent. Guess you have to be a major twilight fan to really care about any of that at all. Okay, on to the game of tag....

8 Favorite Shows

1. Unfortuneately (I have gotten sucked in since my masters program classes ended)...One Tree Hill
2. ...The Batchelor (it took a lot of guts for me to actually type that one)
3. Super Why (kids or no kids, this one is pretty enjoyable!)
4. Flip That House (check out www.discovery.com; they occasionally have full episodes of this).
5. Survivor Online
6. Nightline
7. Anything on channel 8 concerning animals
8. Jon and Kate Plus Eight (that one is currently on www.discovery.com)

8 Things I did Yesterday

1. FHE-took turns reading stories with the kiddos
2. Bought Halloween candy for Trunk or Treat
3. Laundry
4. Colored with the kids
5. Helped Karianna write a Christmas list
6. Ate steak that Jared cooked on the stove with a dutch oven...yum
7. Took the garbage out
8. Had a very serious talk with Karianna about not talking back. I asked her to take her dirty clothes upstairs to her laundry basket and halfway up the stairs, I heard her say, "I am going to take my dirty clothes back downstairs!" Nipped that one in the bud!

8 Things I Look Foward To

1. Playing my dad's favorite Johnny Mathis Christmas CD the second that Halloween is over.
2. Going to Disneyland in December with Jared-no kids!
3. Stability
4. Waking my kids up in the morning
5. Free time with Jared
6. Getting my Masters diploma
7. Choir Practice
8. Hearing about Karianna's day at Preschool

8 Restraunts

1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Black Angus
3. Our Kitchen (when Jared is cooking)
4. Denny's (I'm cheap)
5. The Landmark
6. Any place that has good tasting water with NO lemon
7. Any place that doesn't shoot you dirty looks when you walk in with 3 little children (who are really very well behaved in restraunts!)
8. Any place that means I don't have to cook or clean

8 Things on My Wishlist

1. More time together as a family
2. More energy throughout the day
3. A piano
4. A non-socialist country to live in
5. A clean house (anyone want to take care of that for me?)
6. Stability
7. A few more kids, though not quite yet
8. A better understanding of the gospel

I tag anyone who wants to do this-it was fun!

The Lumberjack is BACK!

Anyone in my family probably got the title right away, especially when you see this picture of Jordan at 8 months old:JD wore this same shirt when he was little, and every time he did, someone commented that he looked like a little lumberjack. Well all, the lumberjack is BACK! Here's a shot of JD wearing this same shirt as a 7 month old-so only about a month in age difference between these two shots! I can barely tell the difference between the two boys!!!

And just becuase I thought this was pretty interesting, here is another picture I took today of Karianna with Jordan; interesting because Karianna is wearing the same dress in her picture with JD!!! Have I thoroughly confused everyone??? Gotta love those lumberjacks (and Christmas dresses that fit for 2 years straight).

I'm Raising a Mountain Goat

Before you read this, you should know that JD gets in trouble for playing with the blinds on his windows during naptime.

When I went to get JD up from today's nap, this is how I found him:

My jaw dropped. Before I could say anything, JD said, "Um. I was playing blinds." No way buddy, you can't distract me from the fact that you just scaled your changing table for fun. Or maybe he could. Becuase my next reaction was to dash down the stairs, grab the camara, and snap a picture in order to tell all of you bloggers about my mountain goat of a son. Afterwards, he simply repelled back down to the ground-no big deal. I have a feeling this is not the last time I am going to find him up there after nap is over.

In other news, today is my sister, Kristen's birthday! Happy 19th babe! Kristen has always been so very responsible and sure of herself, and those are things I love about her! Plus she's a knockout! :) We sure do love you Kris and hope you had a great day! Here's some way cute pics of Kris in her younger years...

I got Tagged!

The rules are:
* Link to the person who tagged you .... Kristine
*Post the rules on your blog
* Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Tag six people at the end of your post

My Random Things

1. I do not see a point to cleaning. Anything. Because it just gets dirty two minutes later. That is, if I am lucky.
2. Most people would probably be shocked out how little I know about American History. I had awful history/social studies teachers throughout school-I was never interested in the slightest. I'm paying for it today, when I am actually interested. Thus I am reading a book called "The Intellectual Devotional: American History". We'll see if it does anything.
3. I have approximately 10 loads of clean-I promise it is all clean!-laundry in our upstairs sorry-excuse-for-a-room alcove. I don't like to fold or hang clean clothes. So we just go through the pile when we need something to wear. The more blog posts I read about this topic, the more I realize that this is completely normal. Just for the record, Jared's clothes are the only ones that get folded, but they usually stay on top of the dryer, rather than getting hung like they are supposed to be.
4. I start to lose my mind if Jared takes the car to work and leaves me without one. The idea of being at home with three kids all day and no way to leave the confines of our house puts me on the verge of a panic attack. Thus we take Jared to work pretty much every day, even though I only actually take the kids out 2 or 3 times a week. It's the thought that counts.
5. I love singing a piece of really hard music. I get a great sense of accomplishment sight reading through it and mastering it. As such, I opt to sing the tenor or bass line of normal hymns in sacrament meeting, usually up an octave.
6. I can jumprope really good. I was in a jump rope club in elementary school and 3 kids later, I can still do all the tricks. Granted I get winded a lot quicker than normal, but the fact remains!

I tag: Rebecca, Carly, Alison, Luann, Dawn, and anyone else who wants to do it.

I Did Survive!

Was anyone wondering if I survived my night without Jared ? I'm sure everyone was-the world revolves around my blog, right? Right?????? Just kidding! I did indeed survive my night without Jared, and I did so mostly because it was a rather busy night! Friday evening we had to unexpectadly drive into Mesa because an order for our Super Saturday did not arrive via FedEx...the only place that had what we needed was an hour away, which actually ended up being an hour and a half given traffic. So about 31/2 hours later we finally got home, having eaten a drive-thru dinner of hamburgers.

Some hours later, after I was somewhat ready to go to sleep, I went to get Karianna to sleep with me. She was still up. At 1:30 in the morning. She said her stomach was hurting, and after 3o minutes of fidgeting in my bed, she ran into the bathroom and threw up her entire dinner. And yes, I am very sure it was her dinner-obvious clues, if you get my drift. So when we finally went to bed at 2:30 in the morning I was completely past missing Jared and fell asleep within minutes. Probably because I knew my alarm was going to go off less than 4 hours later. So we survived, even though a portion of my bathroom carpet did not.

With that being said, I seriously hope I don't have to ever sleep without Jared again. I had one half an hour of pure anxiety where I was very overwhelmed without Jared here. I would definitely struggle if he ever gets a calling or a job that involved travel. I could deal with it, but it would be quite hard! When he does have to be away overnight again (and I am sure that is inevitable), I am again going to be sad. And I will be the time after that-and the time after that. And yes, the time after that. I don't think I will ever not be sad! I just will never be completely okay with being without my husband, simply because I love him and want to be with him all the time. I don't worry about our marriage falling apart because he's gone-I just plain old miss him. Sorry if that's too mushy :) But it's how I feel and will never change. I'm just glad that Jared understands my feelings and knows they just stem from a desire to be with him all the time. Good thing he doesn't get sick of me very easily!

Okay, on to a few pics! The guys had a great time camping a little bit above Flagstaff. They had what I hear was a very gourmet steak dinner on Friday night and just had fun talking. Saturday morning Jared taught the guys how to shoot (or in some cases just gave a review) and then they proceeded to Snowbowl for an 18 hole frisbee golf course! They made it through....9 holes I think in just over 3 hours!!! Apparently it was a pretty rigorous course, especially for Jared who didn't have the right type of frisbee. Either way, they had fun, the weather and scenery was beautiful, and I know the best part for Jared was just talking to all my brothers-he really enjoys you guys, even after sharing a tent with you! Now that's saying something! I'm glad you guys had fun and didn't get eaten by bears (which I was honestly worried about.).

The Men involves: Stephen, Jacob, Daniel, Robert (all my brothers) and Jared.

Proof that some parts of Arizona do in fact experience all four seasons! I'm jealous!

Setting up the tent-this is the first time anyone has used it, and I am glad to know it will fit our family of 5 just fine when we get around to camping.

I'm pretty sure that Robert is trying to say, "Jared is the best cook in the whole world! You're AWESOME! What up, yo!" Did I get that right Jord?

Teaching Jacob how to safely shoot at styrafoam cups.

Getting ready to Frisbee golf at the 18 hole snowbowl course. Jared unfortuneately needed a different frisbee.

This is hole number 1 at Snowbowl-straight up. Jared said his first throw up it flew right back in his face.

Arriving home-all safe and sound! Looks like this might be a yearly outing (insert the theme song from Two and a Half Men here).