Kids in Costume

Eris was a headless wonder for Halloween and definitely got the most attention to her costume. Anyone she walked by had to laugh or make a comment about how creative it was. She looked great and loved that she came up with the idea and dad helped her make it. Shayla was Tinkerbell and played the part beautifully. She spends most of a regular day dressed up as a fairy or a priness so it wasn't new but it's always fun for her. She had no trouble walking around in her high heels and striking a pose for the camera. Gavin was a little monkey and has spent several hours in the costume this past week. Every morning while getting dressed he would choose to wear his monkey costume and would keep it on until I had him change. He probably would have worn it all day long every day if I would have let him.

Happy Halloween!

We were able to decorate the pumpkins from grandma Sharon and grandpa Neily a few days before Halloween. Spencer used his skills to complete a Sleeping Beauty princess for Shayla and a skull for Eris. For Halloween Eve I took the kids to the city Trunk or Treat. It was a crazy line this year that wound all the way around the city buildings. It was probably a 45 minute wait for a dozen or so cars but it was still fun. Then we went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and the kids were more than thrilled with their buckets half-full of candy! Halloween is exhausting but as long as the kids are happy, I am thrilled!

Shay, the Monkey Fairy

Shayla has recently learned how to do the monkey bars all the way across and was super excited to show it off at the ward party. We had a blast there, all dressed up for food and fun carnival games for the kids. Afterwards, Spence and I got to go to an all-out Halloween Extravaganza where we dressed up as motorcycle riders, went through a quite intense haunted mansion decorated to the "T" and ate tons more food. Then we danced the night away with our close friends in the mansion's driveway. Spence even got his groove on! It was a great night!

Gav, Our Crazy Man...

You'd think that I would be immuned to the new and crazy things my kids come up with, but they are still full of surprises! Gavin and Shayla find it hilarious to sit up on top of the couch and jump or slide down over and over. Gavin has found the joy of climbing so not only does he get up on top of the trampoline and use the retaining wall as a balance beam but he also stands up on the very top of the toilet. He holds on to the window above and starts screaming. Of course when I come running, he gives me his sly little grin and runs off to cause more mischief somewhere else. He also loves to stand on top of my feet and jump or get on top of my tummy when I'm doing crunches and body slam me. He has a signature look we call, "the face." He tightens up his fists, shows his teeth and tenses up his body and starts to shake. Eris was the one who encouraged that face the moment she saw it. She may have met her match for face-pulling.

Pumpkin Run

Eris participated in the VVES yearly tradition "Pumpkin Run." The first kids to cross the finish line in each grade get to choose a pumpkin to take home. She has been more pumped this year but although she ran her little heart out, she didn't win a pumpkin. She was still beaming with joy though when she saw that we were all there chearing her on and that she did such a great job! She is in the center of the photo wearing a black sweater and gray pants.

Our New Love...Smoothies!

The kids and I have found a new love and appreciation for the goodness of fruit smoothies. I've always been a fan but ever since I started this health craze thing, they are a must-have! The kids love to enjoy them with me, even when they do have traces of spinach or beets included. I have come to find out that hiding the veggies in something delicious are the best way for the kids to eat them. I heard that Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica Seinfeld, even came out with a cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" which includes simple secrets on how to get our kids to eat healthy foods. One of the most popular brownie recipes includes spinach and the kids apparently can't tell the difference. I am eagerly awaiting that book to check out from the library!

1 Down, 1 to Go

Eris has been wiggling her two front teeth for the past couple of months and finally yanked one out herself last night. The other one is getting very loose so its possible she might relate this year when she sings "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth".

Best Buds

Shayla and Gavin are the ultimate brother/sister duo. They are either attached at the hip while laughing, sharing and playing together or they are fighting like cats and dogs. Either way, you can tell how much they love each other!

Nevada Welcome Center

I got to go on a field trip with Eris and her class to the Nevada Welcome Center here in Mesquite. We walked over there and learned all about our state in preparation for Nevada Day coming up this Friday. It was the first time I was able to go on a field trip with her and it was lots of fun walking hand in hand, spending time with her in a school setting. Thanks for letting me tag along ErBear!

Weekend with Family

While we were in Orem on Thursday we were able to stop in and see Grandma Pearl and have a delicious dinner, then attend Uncle Steve's acappella concert which was fantastic and ended the evening with Grandma Sharon, Grandpa Neily, Auntie Aubrey, Uncle Cory, Auntie Whitney & Uncle Steve. We all enjoyed spending time together; visiting, doing crafts and picking out pumpkins. The kids loved to spend some extra time with Grandma Friday playing outside and having a tea party together. Saturday night most of my extended family got together to celebrate Grandpa Giles' 90th birthday party in St. George. Almost everyone in the family was there for attendance, including close to 130 people. It was a grand celebration full of food, memories and visiting. It is so nice to get together and reminisce on old times and catch up on newer ones. We have such a great family!

Shayla, a Prissy Tomboy

Shayla loves to dress up and play princesses or mom to her dollies, usually wearing make-up or jewelry. She loves to carry around her purse and play in my high heels and talk on her little cell phone. You'd think that she was the epitomy of prissy; however, she still has the tomboy attitude that she has always had. Going outside to jump in the mud, riding her bike in the puddles or with daddy on his motorcycle, and helping him in the garage are some of her favs. This particular picture was when she was helping me put together the bike trailor for the first time. I have come to find out that there comes a time in a girl's life when she needs to learn to fix things, and with Shayla's help we did it!

Gavin, the Bookworm

Gavin loves to kick back on my bed and look at books. He babbles like he's reading and for some reason, has enjoyed looking at them upside down lately. His new favorite words are "uh-oh" and "yeah." It's funny because I will give him some choices on what he wants to eat and he pushes away each item until he finally reaches the one he wants, then he grabs for it and says "YEAH". SO cute!

Eris in "Treasure Island"

Eris did a fantastic job as a seagull in the Missoula Children's Theatre production of "Treasure Island". It was amazing that the entire show was put together in 5 days. She sang and flapped around the stage in her cute little seagull outfit. Unfortunately my camera battery died just before I was allowed to take pictures so I am in wait of some taken by friends. But for now, here she is in her cute make-up from the show. For more information on the traveling theatre visit www.mctinc.org or www.facebook.com/missoulachildrenstheatre.

1/2 Ironman Triathlon...FINISHED!

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

Spencer participated in the Pumpkinman 1/2 ironman triathlon in Vegas yesterday and finished in 7 hours 13 minutes. He did a great job and we are all very proud of him! The race consisted of 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. Come to find out it is one of the most difficult courses in the nation and he did it!

To view the pictures taken at the race visit: http://www.zazoosh.com/events/searchPhotos/362?evtId=362&query=119&x=30&y=17.
For his official race results visit:
http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_individual.php?make_printable=1&bib_num=119&race_id=13790&type=result.

Field Trip to the Fire Station

Last Wednesday I took Shayla and Gavin and 3 of their closest friends on a field trip to the fire station. Spencer was on shift and gave us a tour of the fire truck, ambulance and the station itself. The kids have been learning fire safety in preschool and were quick with their answer of "stop, drop and roll" when asked what to do in a fire. Spencer put on his full gear for them to see and then they were able to try his turn-outs on too. We ended the day with official junior firefighter tattoos. It was overall a great field trip!

Mud-luscious!

"The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful." -E.E. Cummings

Of course we all love puddles but sometimes we don't fully appreciate the joy of squishing our toes in the mud. Gavin and Shayla sure had fun living it up though! Maybe the rest of us need to try it out more often.

Straight "A" Students!

I recently received Eris' progress report and was pleased to see that she has straight A's in all subjects. Her favorite subjects right now are art, math and reading but she all around LOVES school! Spencer just finished his first block of fall semester at UVU and also got A's in both of his classes. Great job!

Eris Snatched a Part

Eris tried out for the Missoula Traveling Theater production of "Treasure Island" today and she got a part as a seagull. There were almost 80 kids who tried out and they only gave out around 60 parts so we were all very proud of her! She did such a great job during the audition; speaking loud and clear, being animated and remembering all of the lines and steps they requested. The performances are this coming Saturday at 3:00 and 7:00 pm which means they are putting the entire show together this week. We are all really excited to see how it turns out!

Those Sneaky Little Suckers

One of Eris' favorite games is to be extra sneaky; she finds a great hiding spot and once I round a corner... "BOO!" she jumps out and scares the living daylights out of me. It has practically given me a heart attack a few times now and of course she thinks it's hilarious. The younger kids have now joined in on the fun and so they all try to jump out at each other while making scary faces. I have to admit it is quite funny to see when one of them jumps and then they all laugh afterwards. Fun times!

Laughing Fit

The kids got in a laughing fit last night. It took several minutes to calm everyone down but although it was bedtime, it was so fun for me to sit and laugh with them. One of my favorite sounds in the whole world is the laughter of children, especially when they are mine.

Campout for Lunch

We had some extra kids at the house today and luckily Spencer was able to spend a few hours with us. He got a fire started for the kids to roast hot dogs for lunch and they loved being able to kick back and play like they were camping. Unfortunately Spencer got called in to work shortly after so I played "single mom" to 6 kids for the rest of the day. We had a full day of playing outside, enjoying the perfect weather; jumping on the tramp with sprinklers, riding bikes and scooters and going to the splash park for pizza. I'm sure we'll all sleep soundly tonight!

A Day in the Life of Gavin

I caught Gavin throwing daddy's shoes at the cat up on the counter, laughing as he did. Then he went to the park and deemed himself big enough to climb up and over an arched ladder on the playground. Our friend Issy came to play today. Gavin is usually very nice and they play well together. He likes to hold her hand and drag her to different toys and if he gets too rough, he gives her a hug. Here they are rocking out to Miley Cyrus on a drive in the car. This morning Gavin went to his cousins' house for play time while Shayla was at preschool. It's a nice change for him to go hang out with the guys once in awhile! Although it will be interesting to see what kind of trouble those 5 boys (currently under age 3) may get in within a few years. The roller rink was fun for him. He sat back and let me push him in the stroller for a few rounds and then decided to do some breakdancing on the floor. He ended the day by stuffing most of a hot dog in his mouth. That's our Gavers for ya!

Eris Hits the Jackpot!

We went to the roller rink and had a blast skating! Eris is quite the little rollerblader and Shayla is learning fast. I am able to push Gavin in the stroller with Shayla in between it and me and it works out quite nicely. While there, Eris found a token on the ground and put it in the Wheel of Fortune game, gave the button a push and won 500 tickets. She bought a purse with 400 and used the last 100 to buy treats for all of the other kids. She was super excited that she hit the jackpot!

Fire Safety at Preschool

Some of the firefighters came to the preschool today and spoke to the kids about fire safety. One of them got in full gear and ran through a pretend fire situation. Afterwards the preschool kids graduated to Jr Firefighers and received sticker badges, then they got to go out onto the fire trucks and check them out. Shayla has been on a fire truck a thousand times but it never gets old for her. She loves it every time!