Parade of LiGhTS!

Samantha marched in the Boulder City Parade of Lights this weekend. She was so excited and had been asking for weeks when her parade was coming. Matt was studying for finals and made it to the parade about 2 minutes before Sami walked by us, so I had to leave her with her teacher and take the other kids and go and find a place to sit. I told Sami to stay with Miss Brenda and not to leave, she kept telling me she was fine and I could go and find a place to sit. I was so nervous to leave her, but she thought nothing of it. She marched with her class and thought she was so big. She happened to be on the other side of the street when she came by and with my great and wonderful camera I was not able to get a picture of her walking. Here are a few of her before and after her grand adventure and the rest of us waiting patiently!

Happy Birthday EAsToN!

Easton turned 7 today! Man my kids are getting so old. We had a great weekend of celebration. He had a friend party on Saturday and then we celebrated with our family on Sunday complete with Eastons choice of T-bone steak for dinner!
Matt is busy with finals, so we needed to celebrate when he was home. Easton was most excited about his new robe that he got! What child wants and is excited about a robe?

We had grand plans to go spend his birthday money and go to lunch today, but Ava decided to get sick and earned us all a trip to the hospital. Easton was so sweet when I apologized to him for having to spend his birthday in the Drs office and the hospital but he said,"It's ok mom I just want Ava to get feeling better." That shows Eastons true nature and personality.

A few things that I love about Easton are

* He has one of the kindest, most tender hearts of any one I know.

* He always tries his best and does not give up.

* He tries hard to be obedient and to do what he is asked.

* He is all boy, he loves to wrestle, play hard and work hard.

* He has no issues playing tea party with his little sisters!

* He has a genuine concern for other people.

I am grateful for Easton in our family. He brings such happiness and laughter into our home.

Happy Birthday East, we love you!!

(And seriously WHAT is up with my camera!)

Life is too short to be SHoRT!

Ava has earned a few nick names around our house because of her lack of stature; munchkin, midget ( I know that one is not very P.C., but oh well), shrimpo, well you get the idea. She has used her evolutionary skills of adaptation and figured out how to make her life easier. She has taken to toting her trusty stool around with her so she can get into and on top of what ever she deems necessary. She is still to short to get onto the couch with out assistance! Here are a few examples.... Please excuse the grainy pictures, my camera does not seem to like me lately!

Family Pictures!

Last week we had our family pictures taken. I have not had decent pictures taken in a long time, so I was very excited and I was not disappointed. Here are a few pics of some of the cutest kids around, (and the parents don't look half bad either!) Enjoy!!

Going Private, Last Chance!

I will be going private with my blog next week. If you have not left a comment and you would like to continue to read, please leave your email. I know that your lives will not be complete and fulfilled unless you can know what is happening in our family life.

Happy Birthday!

We had a great weekend of birthdays around here! I turned 31 on Saturday and Austin turned 10 on Monday. I wasn't feeling old until I realized that my oldest was 10! That is a little hard to swallow. I know people say it all the time, but I can not believe how fast he has grown. He is such a great kid and a major influence for good in our family. Austin is a very responsible and caring boy. I always comment on how glad I am that he came first in our family. Austin loves donuts, so he opted for a donut cake and he chose crepes with cream for dinner! You can tell who has the sweet tooth in our family!

<;div>We celebrated by going down to Primm to ride the roller coaster and log ride, have lunch and go to the outlet mall. Austin was talking about riding the roller coaster for weeks; until we got there. He said, "I didn't remember it being that big!" Needless to say I rode with Easton, and Austin decided that he would ride next time. We had a great family day playing arcade, riding rides, and shopping. I love that Austin would rather still spend time with us and not need to have a friend party. I know that this will not be the case forever! Just a few things I love about Austin:
*He is very serious about his school and I don't have to worry much about him in that repsect.
*When he is genuinly happy, he has the best smile!
*He is always willing to share and play with Easton. They don't fight all that much. Hopefully that won't change!
*He loves to spend time with our family, especially his dad!
*He has a very sweet and caring personality. He is getting better with the concept that the world does not revolve around him.
*He does not ask for much and understands when we have to say no.
*He reminds me a lot of myself, good and bad!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween. Matt is not a huge fan of the day, but having four kids it is nearly impossible to not participate! We started the day by going to The District and having an outdoor lunch with some friends. It was great to be able to eat outside at the end of October!

The kids came home with more candy than I thought possible. Matt has taken some to the school clinic to ensure that he continues to have patients! The kids were so cute. Austin did not want to dress up this year, I told him that was fine but he could not go trick or treating either. He thought about that and then decided to throw on his black robe from last year. It was a little strange to go out on Halloween without having to wear a coat or jacket. I was still wearing flip flops. I just don't think that is right!

Sami and her future husband Jack!

Our neighbor went all out with his decor for the holiday. Austin would not even go up to the door!