Thanksgiving Point

This post has tons of pictures. Sorry. Does anyone know how to do photo mosaics or collages using iphoto? I need to learn how to do that.

We love Thanksgiving point for fall fun. We planned to go a couple of weeks ago but it was really rainy. Last saturday was beautiful and a great day for it. We started out on the jumping pillows. They are so much fun, and great for the whole family. Cole wanted me to hold him and it was a lot of work! The kids did the jumping pillows many times during the day.




I was jumping when I took that last picture. Can you tell??

There was a little wooden train that Cole and Cagney loved climbing all over.
Cole could peek through the smokestack...

Cagney could peek through the smokestack...

Two at the same time!

They had go-karts. (I was so tired after pushing Cagney around the track and she excitedly exclaimed, "I did it all by myself!")


There was a big scary creature that we walked through. It was pretty much dark and loud. Miquelle, Cagney and I exited early. The boys liked it. I'm missing the "enjoys dark and loud things" gene.

There was a huge mountain of hay bales with all kinds of slides coming off. They kids played there for a long time. It made me nervous because there were so many different ways to get up and down that it made it hard to keep track of everyone.




We went on a hay ride and for a ride on a cow train. Yes, a cow train. Last year I rode with Cagney and we had to ride in one of the small cows. It was painful. I said I wasn't going to do that again. There were only a few people in front of us in line. Surely we wouldn't have to ride in a small cow again.

Jared and Gabe in a big cow.

Miquelle and Cagney in a big cow.

Me and Cole in, Yup...a small cow car. It was painful. Not doing that again. Nope, not doing it.

There was a little princess playland and I think Cagney was in princess heaven. They had all kinds of princess dresses to try on. Cagney would put on a dress, run over and look at herself in the mirror, climb in the playhouse, go down the slide, and run over for another dress. I think she completed this cycle about 20 times.

The kids all loved this corn box. Playing in a box full of corn, the greatest thing ever! While we were sitting there watching them I realized I was sitting right by Nicia De Gering (of Good Things Utah). We had a conversation about whether letting our kids play in a box of corn was less gross or more gross than letting our kids play in a ball pit (like at a fast food place). We decided that the ball pit was much more gross.



Jared's head is under the bucket. Silly kid. He wanted to wait for some poor unsuspecting kid to climb into the corn box to play and scare the daylights out of them. We advised against it. That would have been pretty funny though.


It was a very fun (and beautiful) fall day. We stayed a lot longer than we had planned but the kids were having so much fun we didn't mind.

Thankful Thursday

I feel like I have been doing this long enough that I am bound to repeat myself and I don't always remember what I have posted in the past. Anywho....
1. Fall weather

Especially because it looks like we are in for more winterish weather soon. But this week has been beautiful! Cole and Cagney and I have gone for a lot of walks this week. Trying to just soak up as much of this beautiful weather as we can.

2. Two waffle irons
We love having waffles for dinner. Whenever I make them (almost every week) I quadruple the recipe and stick the extras in the freezer for breakfasts. I recently found another waffle iron that we got for our wedding that I forgot about. Two waffle irons make the process so much faster. And this "new" waffle iron makes round waffles which makes me just about the coolest mom ever.

3. Five more days until election day
So ready for it to be over.

4. Trick or treating at daddy's work
Trevor's work has a trick or treat the day before Halloween. It is fun and indoors and the kids get loads of candy because there are so many desks and offices. I love that it gives them another chance to wear their costumes. We are looking forward to our trick or treat later today.

5. A day off tomorrow
Trevor has every other Friday off (tomorrow) and I always work a 12 hour shift that day. But tomorrow I am taking the day off and I'm so excited to have some fun family time! AND Miquelle has the day off school so Trevor and I are going to go out to lunch just because we can!

Favorite Photo Friday

All of the kiddos. Halloween 2007.

Thankful Thursday

1. Green Salad
My most favorite lunch. I'm sitting here happily munching away on my salad of lettuce, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, diced chicken, cranberries, and slivered almonds. Yum.

2. More new babies!
Yesterday I found out that a friend of mine, and Trevor's sister Chani are expecting babies in the spring. Yeah! Can't wait to see all of these springtime babies!

3. Cousins.
Trevor's brother and his wife are visiting from out of state. Their family came to dinner on Tuesday and it was so fun! The kids had a great time playing together and we had fun relaxing and talking and talking and talking.


4. Eucalyptus drops, vapo rub, and a vaporizer
I have had a horrible cold all week. It is annoying but tolerable during the day, but nights have been awful. I hate when I am sick and really NEED a good sleep, but I can't sleep because I'm so sick. These things have at least helped and I think I'm getting a little better.

5. NO MORE DIAPERS!
Ok, sorry that so many of my posts lately have involved poo, or pee, or diapers. Well no more diapers around here! Cole is doing awesome. He had a couple of accidents the first couple of days, but since then he has been great! Wow, how can it be that I don't need to buy diapers the next time I go to Sams? In the last 12 years I have had very few little periods of time where I didn't buy diapers. WooHoo!

Twin Rule #62

You always get to flush your own pee. If Cagney did it, Cagney gets to flush it and vice versa.
(Oh and by the way, potty training is going GREAT! So proud of that little stinker.)

Favorite Photo Friday

Coco and Cagney, Halloween 2005.
They look like tortured little souls, but CUTE tortured little souls.

Thankful Thursday

Today has been a crazy day, but I at least wanted to do a quick list.
1. Indoor plumbing
Potty training. 'nuff said.

2. Picnics at the park
The kids are off school today so we went to the park for a picnic. They were excited. I was excited. It was nice to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather.

3. The internet
I'm teaching Relief Society on Sunday. I wanted to use a quote from the most recent conference in my lesson. It used to be that we had to wait until the conference issue of the ensign came out. Not anymore. I just went online and had my quote within minutes!

4. Beautiful things and time spent with friends
This morning some friends and I went to a new store that opened up this week. It is called Lavender House. It is in south Jordan on Redwood Road right next to the RC Willey outlet (9118 South). Such a cute store. I could have spent hours in there. Vintage dishes and kitchenware, cute pudgy Santas, dried flower, cute pillows, and lots of things with old chippy paint. My favorite. It was so calming to just explore the store for a little bit.

5. Bedtime
Yes it is only 5:00 in the afternoon and I'm already looking forward to bedtime. I like that it is getting dark earlier. I was so looking forward to sleeping in this morning since there was no school and I woke up earlier than I usually do and couldn't go back to sleep. I hate that.

Tomorrow is P day...ready or not...wish me luck

Cagney has been potty trained since April. Cole was SO not ready at that point. He ran away screaming any time we suggested sitting on the potty. So we tried again in June. 8 pair of underpants in about 2 hours let me know he still wasn't ready. (But willing to sit on the potty, that was progress.) At the beginning of September I bought what I said was the last box of diapers. I told Cole, "When these are gone it is time for underpants. No more diapers." We have talked about it off and on since then as we have watched the package of diapers get smaller and smaller.

Just a few diapers left today. Which means tomorrow is the day. I have been building it up like it is a great thing.
"Tomorrow is underpants day! Which ones do you want to wear?"
"You are going to do so great!"
"Are you excited for underpants day?"

I think I'm really building myself up. Because I'm NOT excited for underpants day. I am very confident that at this point he has the ability to do you know what in the you know where. What I'm not sure about is his willingness. He is a pretty stubborn kid. I really think that all it is going to take is for him to decide that he wants to do it, and it will be a breeze. But I'm not buying anymore diapers. Oh I will give him plenty of praise and help. So he is either going to decide he will do it, or we will be cleaning up a lot of messes in the days to come.

Oh and I forgot the best part. I work 12 hour shifts on Friday and Saturday. Trevor has been well aware of my plan. It just worked out that Trevor will be in charge on those days. Day two and three of potty training. I offered to buy some more diapers and start on Monday. He said he could handle it. I think he will do great. "Trev, are you excited for underpants day?!"



Go Cole Go! You can do it! This is going to be great! You are awesome!

(That is me building myself up again, see how I do that.)

SNOW

The first real snow of the year. I have mixed feelings about the first snow of the year. I'm excited because snow means...sledding, hot chocolate, snow boots, mittens, snow ball fights, Thanksgiving, Christmas, snow shoveling (I love shoveling snow.) I'm NOT excited because snow means...scary driving, freezing feet, and most of all because we will be seeing this white stuff off and on for the next 6 or 7 months!!

I wasn't ready for the first snow today. All summer I said I was going to make stew and oatmeal molasses rolls for dinner on the first snow of the year day. Not ready for that today. (That is okay, we are having dinner at Trevor's parents house today.) And I wasn't ready to clean my car off before driving to work at the insane hour of 6:30. My wonderful husband bundled up and went out to clean the car off for me before I left. Aw.

But this is my favorite kind of snow. The kind where nothing sticks to the road, but everything else looks white and pretty and new. So I will sit here and eat my maple brown sugar oatmeal with a banana sliced in and watch the snow out the window. And appreciate it. Even though I wasn't ready for it.

Favorite Photo Friday

Gabe, Halloween 2002. One of my all time favorite kids costumes.

Is this an option?

And while it is true that I'm not really thrilled with either candidate...I will vote. Because
#1 I know that women in our country at one time went through A LOT to even have the right to vote. So I vote.
#2 I feel like if I don't vote I am giving up my right to complain. And I am certainly not giving that up. So I vote.

Thankful Thursday

1. General Conference

Or as I lovingly call it...pajama church. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, but it can be one of the most stressful days of the week. I love conference weekend, it is actually restful! Not only is it okay to sit and watch four hours of TV during the day, it is ENCOURAGED! I always have to have a project to work on or I fall asleep. This time I worked on a halloween craft and got started on our Christmas cards. I also love when the conference issue of the Ensign comes out and I can read all of the talks. Raise your hand if you are a visual learner like me!

2. A car radio that works
Because right now we don't have that in Trevor's car. There has been a tape stuck in the tape player so we can't play the radio. I missed my "Show Tunes Saturday Night" driving home from work last week!

3. Sweaters, Jackets, and Sweatshirts
I think one of the best parts of fall is getting out warmer clothes! I love wearing sweaters.

4. Neighbors that share
My neighbor gave me a bunch of corn stalks for my porch. Normally I'm not a big fan of displaying dead plants on my porch, but I love corn stalks! They just look so cute and fallish! She also gave me some tomatoes and zucchini. YUM.

5. Fall Soccer Season
Another season of soccer has come and gone. Gabe has graduated to playing on the bigger field and seems to be understanding basic soccer concepts more. Jared is so fun to watch. He is a great player and really improved this time with his passing skills. He also really liked playing goalie this season. We also really appreciate their coaches! Jared's coach was great. And Trevor coached Gabe's team this time.

GET UP!

So it is no secret that I really like watching reality TV. The Biggest Loser is one of my favorites. Have you ever watched and wondered what it would be like to work out with Bob or Jillian? Me too. I heard about this workout DVD and decided to give it a shot. There are three workouts (levels) and each workout is split into three six minute sessions. 3 minutes strength training, 2 minutes cardio, and 1 minute abs. Doesn't sound like much does it? I didn't think so either.

I exercise very regularly and thought level one would be a breeze. Maybe I would use level one as a warm up and move on quickly to level two. Wow. Was I in for a surprise. It was HARD! And I LIKED it ! Although I was a bit disappointed that she never got up really close to the camera and yelled, "GET UP!"

I'm still not convinced that you can get a complete workout in only 20 minutes. But paired with other things I think this is a great one! Oh and it is really basic too, all you need are a pair of hand weights.

Favorite Photo Friday

Oh I am so glad that it is finally October and I can share some of my favorite Fall/Halloween pictures!
This is Cagney, October 2007. Oooey, gooey, yummy goodness, and sweet little sticky fingers.

Thankful Thursday

1. The Temple
Julie and Seth's wedding day was wonderful! Being in the temple with all of our family was the best part. After all, that is what it's all about! (Well, that and the hokey pokey.) My dad officiated their ceremony and it was sweet, tender, funny, and spiritual. When Trevor and I got married my Grandpa officiated and I don't remember a word that he said. Sad about that. So I'm glad we can go to other wedding ceremonies. It makes me remember my own. Even if I can't remember what was said, I remember how I felt.


2. Gum
I love gum and always have at least three packages in my purse. Fruity gum is gross. I'm a minty gum gal. Cinnamon, Spearmint, or Peppermint. (Stride is my favorite.) And gum is also a great bargaining tool with kids. Yes, I am not above bribery.

3. Gilmore Girls
I absolutely LOVE this show. It is the only show that I own on DVD. I watch the whole series at least once or twice a year. Lately (now that all of the kids are in school) as soon as I get Cole and Cagney down for a nap, I watch an episode or two of Gilmore Girls. It is pure bliss.

4. Trevor
I know he has made many appearances on my Thankful Thursday. I just can't help it. He is the greatest, so patient with me, such a great dad, makes me laugh, a wonderful partner...I could go on and on.

5. New babies!
My niece Stacy and her hubby Matt announced on Friday night that they are expecting their first baby in April. We are absolutely thrilled for them! We can't wait to meet this new little one.