December-Christmas

Decorating the tree.

Ben who wants legos

Alec who wants Zhu Zhu Battle Pets and a yellow spikey ball.

Ty who want a Zhu-Zhu pet as well, and got a race track.

Violet got a baby of course

Christmas was great as always. The boys were extremely excited, and with school out the week before it actually arrived, you would think they were tortured. My personal highlight was my parents getting to come home from their mission for the holidays. We spent Christmas in Boise, visited Luke's family and then got to see my parents. A little more travelled then I would like, but well worth it.

November Fun

We were glad to make it home safe from Thanksgiving in Utah this year. We had to end our trip a day early, but it proved to be beneficial, the snowy drive there was too long. We really enjoyed the snow though, and before long our one snowman multiplied into an entire family.

Our baby girl is growing up so fast, I let her have her Christmas dress early because I was worried she would be too big for it soon. And as you can see it fits her perfect and she is adorable. I love having a girl and getting to dress her up, sometimes I feel bad for her being my first girl. She has also started sucking on her toes. This is her new favorite position and we can now never keep socks on her.

October

The older my kids get, the more excited they get about Halloween. Here is a snapshot of our Halloween this year. Ben really wanted to be a Vampire, and I was surprised he even knew what one was. They don't allow kids to dress up at school here, but he loved looking scary for the trunk or treat. Alec is my snake fanatic right now, and he wanted to be a King Snake which he read about, so we turned Ben's old costume into a King snake by adding the stripes. Someone asked if he was a German Flag, but he was happy with how it turned out so I guess that is all that matters. Ty was loving the candy and had fun playing in his Frog costume and a few others all month. Violet was our sweet little Penguin oblivious to all the excitement. This Halloween we have done some fun things even though we missed the actual Trick-or-Treating on Sunday. Luke and I threw a dress-up Halloween party for couples, which was a tone of fun. I couldn't remember the last time I had dressed up. Luke and I were "Jack and Jill" and to be honest we were the worst costumes. I was so impressed with everyone's creativity. We had lots of different gathering for the kids with friends, it was a fun week.

September Camp Out!!

Silver Creek Plunge: We had a great time staying in a little cabin for a couple of nights with some friends. The boys had a blast fishing, and were especially excited to catch a fish on their own (at least they felt like it was on their own). We hiked, swam in the hot springs, ate lots of yummy food. We haven't gotten to camp much this summer, because Violet was so small. It was very nice to be in the mountains and sit around a camp fire for a change. Having the little rental cabin made it nice to not have to worry about the kids being warm enough, especially Vi.

First Day of School

Ben is my big First Grader. He started last Monday, and was so excited for the first day of school. I can hardly believe he is be enough, but he keeps telling me he is. I had a harder time sending him to 1st Grade then I did Kindergarten. It seems like he is gone for along time. I have noticed though that my house is not as rowdy when he is home, because all day school is wearing him out.

Today was Alec's first day of Preschool. He has been ready since last year when Ben got to ride the bus, and was so excited this morning. He was ready before Ben this morning, and has gotten over the fact that the bus doesn't not give rides to preschoolers. I thought he might have a hard time telling me good bye at the door, but he hardly even noticed I was there, and was immediately into his little project. It is going to be a good year for him.

Here is little Ty. He like Ben is #1. Today he is following me around the house wondering what to do without his brothers. He is getting big though and this past week we have been potty training. I promised him we could go buy big boy pants when Ben went to school, and he did not let me forget. So last Tuesday we started the process, and by Sunday he pretty much had it figured out. And today exactly one week later he is trained day and night, and he is my first child to actually tell me when he as to go. I know this may all back fire in a couple of days, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

Violet's Blessing Day

My sweet little Violet Susan was blessed over Labor Day weekend by her father. There is something sweet about a baby blessing, especially when it is your own child. The spirit reminds you that they are Heavenly Father's children, and you feel so blessed to have them in your care. She wore the same dress that I was blessed in when I was a little baby made by her Great-Aunt JoAnn. She was adorable!! She didn't even cry during the blessing, and she gave Luke a big smile before he started. She really has been a sweet baby.

We had lots of fun visitors, but these three are her biggest fans. She is always being loved by one of them, and surprisingly they are really gently with their little sister.

We were very proud parents, and loved every minute of the weekend.

Smiling Violet

We have a hard time getting Violet's smiles on camera. Here is the starting grin,

The big happy smile,

And the fun laugh.

We love our little crazy bunch. It is hard to believe we have four children, but we are truly enjoying it. Violet always has someone trying to make her smile.

Tribute to family

I have been extremely spoiled the past couple of weeks with wonderful family members who came to help me recover and help me with my children. There is something wonderful about big families, and my older sisters really stepped in with my mom being on a mission. My boys now know their Aunt Jeanie, Aunt April, and Luke's Sister, Aunt Carissa very well.

Jeanie brought so many fun things for my boys to do, that we are still enjoying the projects she left.

There is nothing like Grandparents coming to visit and help. My boys love their grandparents and will forever remember making mud pies with Grandpa. It was fun to have them around on Father's Day.

Luke's sister Carissa and my sister April who are great friends came together to help and it was so nice. They left me with a full fridge, a clean house, and happy children. I even learned how to use my pressure canner while they were here. I have now been a few days alone and we are surviving. I still am not ready to take Violet out so we make all our fun at home. My children eat breakfast every day with Dad, but I'm hoping soon to learn to function on less sleep. Violet is still sweet and I am loving the pacifier. She is now 5 pounds 10 ounces and can now fit into some newborn clothes.

Introducing VIOLET SUSAN

Our little family is getting bigger, and we are so happy to have little Violet here safe and sound. The boys are very excited as well and are good little helpers. She looks a little like each of them, but seems to resemble Ben the most. We love all her dark hair and her petite, perfect features.

She arrived on June 9th at 9:21pm. She weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces measuring 18 inches in length. There didn't seem to be a lot of growth occurring the past month, so they let her come a couple weeks early. We were so happy to have a healthy baby!!

Ty is always concerned about where baby Violet is. He labels all the body parts he can see and lets us know if she is sleeping, crying, or moving. He constantly wants to hold her, but luckily those last about 15 seconds before he states done. He doesn't seem to mind having her around, so I'm hoping he'll continue to be a good big brother.

Ben and Alec have been so excited for Violet's arrival. They wonder if she'll ever stop sleeping so much. Ben loves that he can hold her all by himself, and has already nicknamed her baby ViVi. Alec is really gentle with her as well and loves holding her.

Coloring Easter Eggs

We had a lot of fun coloring eggs this year. You can almost hear Ty saying "Ta-Da" by looking at the picture. I think he broke every egg he touched. It was fun to watch Ben trying to be creative, and it is nice to have Alec coloring independently. I love holidays with children.

My Little Biker Boys

The hand-me-down bike season has started. Ty is so pleased with his little Tricycle. The only problem is he can't reach the petals, but not to worry he still manages to keep up.

Alec is so happy with the new bike he inherited when Ben got his new one. He is a little wobbly, but likes it. I didn't know you could fall with training wheels, but he has proven me wrong.

Here is Ben with is new get up just before we took the training wheels off. He is getting better.

Ben's Birthday

I can hardly believe my little guy is 6. It makes me feel so old, but it is so fun to see him grow and get excited about life. He wanted breakfast food all day for his birthday, so it started with a doughnut stack at his cousins house in Utah, and ended with his Dad's Roll-up Pancakes for dinner with cousins in Idaho.

Ben really wanted a real snake for his birthday, and I let him know from the beginning he would never be old enough to have a snake in my home. He assured me that we could keep it in the garden, but I soon convinced him that wouldn't work and that a big 2-wheeler bike would be better. He was very excited and we tried to teach him to ride it a little before the rain came. We also gave him a few rubber snakes, and hopefully he won't be asking anymore.

Here is my 6 year old with his "Volcano Cake." (April Fools) It doesn't really look like a volcano because the carmel I tried to die red just soaked into the cake, but it was yummy!! Ben seemed satisfied, so I guess that is all that matters.

TY's Birthday

I can hardly believe my baby is 2 years old already. He is such a sweet heart. This picture is my favorite with his tongue out. It take's a lot of concentration when your 2 to open big present.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the Ball Popper. It has been a hit for all of my boys. It's funny how you can never go wrong with ball toys and boys.

Ty loves balls! And if you could here him say "basitball." You would make him a basketball cake to just to hear him say it all day. Notice the black on his lips; yes he is 2 and took a taste before we cut the cake, the question is how many??

Our sweet messy boy who is so easy to love. His "MAMA" shouts and spitting when he doesn't get his way could stop anytime soon, but he will still let me snuggle him when he is tired. He gives the best squeezes, which are so much better then his normal hugs. We put him in his big boy bed last week, and it has been no big deal. He was by far the easiest to transition, hopefully it will be that way when he is ready for potty training. For some reason I doubt I'll have that much luck.