My kids look forward to this activity all year long, unfortunately I really dislike carving pumpkins! I guess it's the smell and the slimy texture of the pumpkins insides. I would rather just paint them. However by the time we were done, I was reminded of why I still do it. My kids had a great time, Kate and Austin drew the face on their pumpkin that they wanted Rob to carve for them and it was so much fun to just watch their cute little face expressions as they did this. Trent decided to paint his after he cut his finger pretty good while trying to help me. He is such a good kid, always helping me out. Thank goodness Rob got home in time to take over. All of their pumpkins turned out really well, and it was fun enough to do that I've allready decided that we will do it again next year.

Brotherly Love

The other day I took Kaytlin to the Dentist to get her teeth cleaned and the Dentist told her she would need braces.... That was all Kaytlin needed to here, especially since this is the one thing she has always wanted to hear from her Dentist! Ever since, she has constantly been asking me if I have called yet to make her an appointment to go and see the Orthodontist? Of coarse I haven't, I told her " Braces are expensive and something that we will need to save some money for before she will actually be able to get them. So... Kaytlin decided to do a lemonade stand to sell lemonade to the other little kids in the neighborhood in hopes that she could raise some money for her braces. Four dollars and twenty five cents later she came in the house and said "Mom I'm working my butt off out there and I've only made $4.25. It's going to take me forever to earn enough money to get braces". I gave her a hug and told her it would all work out. Kaytlin and I then left Trenten and Austin home while I took her to dance to get a recording of the dance she is suppose to be learning while her foot is in a cast. When we got home Austin very proudly came up to her and handed her three more dollars that he had earned by going DOOR to DOOR in the neighborhood and telling people that kaytlin needs braces and told them that he was selling lemonade to help her earn enough money. So.... Thanks to all of my neighbors that donated .25 to help out with kate's braces. : ) And thank you Austin for being such a sweetheart. Needless to say I am a little humiliated but the sheer fact that Austin loves his sister enough to do that makes me a happy mom!

Letters S, G & W, H, and U

With summer almost over, I've felt very pressured to try and fit everything in with my kids that I possibly could. I'm really not ready for them to go back yet. We've had a great time this Summer and it's gone by way too fast! Our letter "S" activity was going to the Sweet's Candy Factory. It was a pretty interesting activity. Interesting in a good way. We got to taste some of the delicious or not so delicious candy that they make. After it was over they gave each one of us a bag of taffy, and then we shopped a little in the gift shop. I LOVE their chocolate covered cinnamon bears!

Then we went to the Gateway for the letters "G" and played in the water sprinklers for the letter "W". The first time we went with my friends Cathy and Pam. The kids had a great time as usual. The second time we went with my cousin Natalie and some of her friends. My kids had a great time then to, especially Trent because he loves to hang out with his older cousins Andrew and Colby.

On Monday we went hiking for "H" up Adams Canyon. No matter how many times I hike that canyon, my mind always fails me as to how hard it is! I swear every time you come up over a hill(and their are several) you are thinking to yourself "oh this is familiar we must almost be there", but nope! You always end up having at least another 30 or so minutes till you actually reach the waterfall. It's totally worth it though!

The last letter that we did was "U" for the Utah State Capitol. I thought that the kids might get totally bored with this one but they pleasantly surprised me. Our tour guide gave them all a bingo paper and if they were able to find all of the pictures or information on that piece of paper then at the end of the tour they won a treat. Of coarse this meant that the race was on! It was another great activity. Fun and interesting!

UGH!!! And "M" is for the Museum of Art and History

Do you ever get up in the morning and ask yourself "WHY"? Last night I went to bed with a migraine and I was up 2-3 times with it during the middle of the night! I was praying that it would be gone in the morning because I had planned to take my kids to the Museum and also to the Temple grounds in SLC to go to the visitors center. However when I got up this morning, my headache was still aching! Not only was I ornery because of my head, but my kids were bickering about spilt milk on the counter and who was going to have to wipe it up... Heaven forbid someone would just do it? Then there was this whole problem with chores needing to be done and no one wanting to do them! I was about 3 seconds away from coming completely unglued! I wanted to just yell "everyone go to your rooms we are staying there for the duration of the day because nobody can handle being around each other" ( including me)! Just as I was about to yell it, I climbed out of bed and stubbed my BIG toe on my triple combination and ouch it hurt!!! I was quickly humbled by the fact that maybe we needed to or I needed to put my emotions in check and go to the temple anyways. I talked to my three precious little turkeys and they agreed. I'm so grateful that I stubbed my toe on that great book! The Family A Proclamation To The World tour at the Temple was awesome! The kids really enjoyed it, and I was impressed by how much we felt the spirit there! The Museum was fun, but better for littler kids because in the upstairs there is an area where the kids can draw, play games, play house, and also learn a little. I'm really happy that this day turned out so well, and also that I can answer that question that I seem to ask myself a lot lately....

"L" is for Lilly Lake and other fun weekend activities

Rob's buddy from Cali came into town and they left for a couple of days, so rather than be here alone, my sister Patty and I decided to head up to the cabin and hang with the kids. It was a blast! Lots of that ugly laughter I talked about in an earlier post. Patty bought a raft to take out on the lake, and everyone loved it. I decided to do the letter "L" while we were there so we went to "Lilly Lake" and fished for several hours. Within 10 minutes of being there Kaytlin caught a fish and won the race to see who could hook the first fish. We stayed about 3 more hours caught and released a few fish and then headed back home to the cabin. On Saturday my Mom and Dad came up to make us those famous pancakes that I absolutely love ( I think the secret ing. is a little bacon grease), and then we headed to Park City to ride the Alpine slide. This activity was a real hit! I forgot how much fun it is to race down that mountain on a sled! I loved it, and so did my children! We spent the majority of the trip fishing lakes and rivers. All of my kids can successfully bait there own line, cast and reel in a fish all on their own! I always wondered if this would ever happen? But thankfully it did, and now I can take them fishing when ever they want. I also learned how to untangle and fix a fish line. Something else I wondered would ever happen. All they need to learn now is how to clean a fish, which I'm pretty sure Trenten knows but for some reason had forgotten over the winter?!?! All in all it was a great time.

The Cabin

This year instead of hanging around town and letting off our own fireworks in the neighborhood we decided to head out to the cabin with my parents and siblings. We played cards, went fishing, saw a moose, ate some s'mores, did the letter "D" and built a dam in the raging river, actually Rob did this with the kids so that they could play in the water and be more safe, we laughed tons and had a really great time. I love making memories like this because the older my kids are getting the faster time seems to pass, so I like to try and take every opportunity to make a memory together. Austin was the first to catch a fish, and once he did everyone else started to also. Infact he couldn't keep his hands off of it, he kept taking it out of the lake and checking it out as often as he could. We also stopped to see the Provo River Falls which were very pretty. Last but not least my Dad made us his famous pancakes two times in a row! They are so good that I could honestly eat them every day! Thanks dad!

"E" is for Ebleskivers

This was a lot of fun. I grew up eating ebleskivers that my Grandma would make for all of her grandkids. They were the best ebleskiva in the world! After making them and standing on my feet for 3 hours I have a new found respect for her and the time that she would spend making these for us.
This is a pic of my sister Patty, my cousin Natalie in her super hot goggle glasses( she didn't want anyone to know but she was afraid of the hot oil spitting in her eyes), me and my Aunt Tammi who was kind enough to come and teach us how to make these Diley (sp) treats! We actually had such a good time chatting, that we had to start the recipe over because we were so busy talking that we weren't sure what part of the recipe we were on! Duh....
Once they are cooked you sprinkle them with powder sugar and eat!. The kids loved these and they are sure to become a new tradition in my home.