Thanksgiving 2014...

We had such a nice Thanksgiving this year.  The kids were off the whole week and it was fun to have a break from the school routine.  Monday we did rotating stations (20 min each of puzzles, computer, and playdoh), grocery shopping, and family night.  Tuesday we had friends to play in the morning and sent the big girls to play in the afternoon.  I spent most of the day Wednesday getting my food assignments ready, so I kept the kids busy with rotating stations and more playdates!  I made 72 crescent rolls, a key lime pie, 2 pumpkin pies (all with homemade crusts), jello salad, and a sweet potato "souffle".  Yum. 

I met 2 of my friends early on Thanksgiving morning to go for a run in the nice weather.  We did a little over 4.5 miles and it felt great.  Then I hurried to get ready so we could get our family out the door by 7:30.  We made it downtown for the parade around 8:05 or so.  Dad, Tyler, Shad and Amy and their 5 kiddos beat us there and claimed a fantastic spot (although the street we were on didn't fill in for until the parade was close to starting).  It was cold enough for coats but not nearly as freezing as last year.  We had fun chatting and keeping the kids busy with races and relays while waiting for the parade to start.  It was a good parade this year.  My girls were especially excited to see Elsa and Anna on one float and a giant balloon of the Magic Schoolbus. 

 

Our whole family--we almost got everyone to look in the same direction...

The little girls sang a nice (LOUD) rendition of Let It Go before the parade.  It was adorable.

We went straight to Shad's house from the parade and enjoyed the day.  Carrie and Tyler met up with us there (Carrie did the Turkey Trot in lieu of the parade).  We ate our big meal around 1 pm, played games, napped, and watched the kids swim (too cold for me that day with the air at 60 and water at 78).  Carrie and Ty headed home around 9, but Dan and I and our kids stayed the night.  Dan and Shad got up early to play basketball and Amy and I got breakfast for the kids.  All the boys (Dan, Shad, Dad, Ty, and my stepbrothers Alex and Charlie) went shooting around 10 am.  The kids played and we swam again (this time the water was at 85 and I even got in!).  We enjoyed leftovers and headed home around 3 pm.  We came home and enjoyed some Friday night redboxes (one for the kids, one for us).  We were exhausted but had a great holiday! 
 
The babies' spot (Ellie and Jack)...

The 3 to 7 year olds (Molly, Brooke, Candy, Chloe, Megan)...

The spread...(delicious.  everything.  so so yummy!)

The 10-11 year olds (Hailey and Zach)...

And Megan's thankful turkey from school that made my heart happy.  "I am thankful for: my hose (house), my famly like my brother and sisters"

Look-alikes

Dan's Dad sent us some old photos of Dan as a young toddler.  And while I always thought Jack favored Dan, this proved it.  They are both pretty cute!

Dan is somewhere right around one year old in these pics.  That's his Grandpa Jack (our Jack's namesake) in the top left picture.  

Our little mini-Dan on his first birthday--Nov. 4, 2014

One Year...

One year ago we were sitting in a hospital room waiting to meet our sweet little boy.  It was love at first sight of that little bruised face and we have loved every minute of this year with him.  He is easy-going and happy.  He brings so much joy to our family.  I love watching each of his sisters interact with him.  A common fight in our house is over who gets to play with/sit by/hold Jack.  In the past few weeks especially, he has turned into a squirmy worm, wiggling off my lap and exploring anything he can find.  He has 2 teeth, eats anything he can gum, and loves to sleep with a binkie and a satin/soft blankie.  He is very ticklish (especially under his chin) and gets very giggly at night.  He loves to swing outside, take baths (which happen often since he is STILL spitting up!), and give kisses.  I can't believe it's his birthday already!

Our One Year Old:
Favorite food--bananas, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cheesesticks, yogurt, sliced apples (he gums it until is dissolves)
Favorite drink--Mom's milk!  but since he's almost completely weaned, he'll also drink cold whole milk and water
Favorite toys--any ball, push toys, remotes of any kind
Words--Mama, uh-oh, no-no-no (also wo-wo-wo like my grandfather used to yell to call us for breakfast)
Schedule--sleeps from 7 pm to 7 am most nights, naps from 9-11 am and again from 2-4 pm
Skills--crawling, cruising, going up and down the stairs, climbing the bunk bed ladder (aah!), opening cupboards and drawers (no attempts at walking yet)

Our sweet boy on his last night of infancy (Nov. 3, 2014)

Good morning birthday boy!  I came home from running at 6:10 this morning to find the girls in the kitchen singing happy birthday to Jack at the top of their lungs.  Love them.  

To celebrate his birthday, Jack got his first haircut.  I love those little wispy curls, but it was getting a little long!

And the comparison shot, a few hours after birth and this morning post-haircut.  It never ceases to amaze me how much a child changes from birth to one year.  I love this boy!

Return of Joy School and the Cougs

Candy had to wait an entire WEEK after her sisters returned to school for Joy School to start.  She was nearly in tears each day as we dropped off the big girls.  She would march to the car with her lunchbox in her backpack just like them only to be told it wasn't her turn yet.  Oh that girl!  She was beyond thrilled to head to Ms. Colette's house for her first day.  We have a cute class.  4 girls, 2 boys.  4 that have 2 years before kg (like Candy), 2 that have 1 year.  It will be a fun year.

Candy on her first day of Joy School,  Sep. 2, 2014

At the end of the week we got to enjoy the BYU vs. UT game with my Houston siblings at Shad's house.  We enjoyed the pool, a yummy chili dinner, talking and laughing, and of course the game in the media room.  It didn't hurt that BYU won either.  All in all, a great start to September :).

While the adults and big kids watched the game, the little girls enjoyed a movie downstairs...

The BYU fan section...

Labor Day 2014

Dan and I had great intentions of doing something fun with the kids for the first school holiday of the year.  But in the morning, we hadn't planned anything specific (other than a BBQ at my Dad's in the late afternoon) so Dan and I traded off working out first thing.  While Dan was at the gym, our good buddies the T family called.  They were heading to the beach...SO I made Dan a nice breakfast, had a cold glass of water waiting for him, and smiled big.  It was 9:05 and I convinced him that we really wanted to meet up with our friends at 9:30 to head to the beach.  He agreed! 
We packed up a quick lunch, grabbed the essentials, and left about 9:40 to head to Sylvan Beach--a mere 35 minutes from our house.  It was busy but we got our spot staked out, set up our shade tent, and had a blast.  Our kids LOVED the sand and quickly warmed up to the waves and water (especially Brooke).  We splashed and played and tried to body surf and generally had a good, sandy time.  We ate our lunches around noon and stayed a bit longer.  We were home by 2 for naptime.  It was a great morning, great friends, and a pretty decent beach.  I'll definitely go back.

The 4 big girls...

The 2 medium girls...

Jack's first beach trip--he was a fan.  Like most kids, he tasted the sand and liked it.  He also really enjoyed sitting in the surf with me.

Our tent...

Our view...

This pic makes me smile.  Kenzie scratched her foot within about 2 minutes of arriving at the beach.  So this was her parents' attempt to protect her from the flesh-eating bacteria that had been recently found in Texas according to the local news.  She survived.  The taped-on bag only lasted through a few waves :)

Trying to make sand mermaid tails...

Little Mal wasn't sure about the water at first.  Here she is escaping back to the dry sand...

The T family...

I feel like this pic should be titled "Childhood"--I love it!

Candy, 3 years old

Megan, 6 3/4 years old

Brooke, 5 years old

Maddie, 5

Megan T, 7

Kenz, 3

Jack, almost 10 months

And Mal, 17 months

While the kids napped, Dan and I tried our hand at jalapeno poppers (jalapeno half filled with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked).  They were done just in time to head down to Dad and Sally's house for swimming, dinner, and spending some time with Sally's son Charlie (we met him briefly the day before when he spoke at church after completing his mission in Salt Lake).  I love spending time with my family.  It was fun to swim, laugh, eat, and play together.  Oh and the poppers were SO GOOD!  We will definitely make them again from time to time (but only when we have loved ones to share our calories with!).

Grandpa and Jack...

Amy, Hailey, Zach, and Ty...

The little girls :).  They are as cute as they are loud.  Brooke, Megan, Chloe, Molly, and Candy...

First Day of School 2014!

I knew that August would fly by and sure enough, it felt like we had barely returned from our Utah trip when it was time for school to begin again! 
We met the teachers on Thursday, Aug. 21.  Megan's teacher is Ms. White.  She is new to our school but seems very affectionate and Megan seemed happy to meet her.  Megan was excited to see a few familiar faces in her class this year--friends from last year, a friend from church, and a friend from the neighborhood.  That is a big help for my anxious girl.  She was happy on the first morning. 
Brooke's teacher is Ms. Dorsett who taught 1st grade last year.  She also seems nice.  Brooke doesn't have anyone she already knows in class, but for her, that is probably a good thing (at least for her behavior--she loves to chat!).  She was a little nervous at the meet the teacher night, but she seemed thrilled on the first day.

Dan worked from home on the first day so he could be there to walk the girls in and welcome them home.  It was an exciting morning.  And our usual Monday grocery swap seemed so quiet without the 4 oldest kids there! 

Brooke showing off the dress she picked out with Grandma.  She was happy we arrived at the same time as her old Joy School friends Breanna and Maddie.

Megan was excited to see Megan T before heading in to class.

3 big kindergarteners!

We dropped Brooke off first.  She held my hand a little tighter than usual but didn't protest when we said goodbye.

Megan decided she wasn't having the desk pic this year.  I took one anyway.  I'm just that kind of mom :).  She seemed happy to be returning to school and was excited to know her way around this year.