Happy 5th Birthday!

I can't believe that his is already 5! He was such a funny little boy all day. He kept saying "I'm gonna be 5, I'm gonna be 5!" We had to keep telling him he was already 5. He had so much fun on his special day going to lunch with his dad...just the 2 of them. (Mom and Allie weren't allowed!) He helped make his cake and had to test out the track with his dirt bikes before it got the ok. Then we headed to the Rex so he could bowl with his aunts and uncles. That was all he wanted to do for his birthday. Once we got there he decided grandmas and grandpas could bowl too. He made it about 7 frames before he tried diving into his presents. I'm pretty sure he got everything he dreamed of too. Everything from a CAT shirt to his very own wheelbarrow. Now if the snow would just melt so he can get out and dig in the dirt! We love you Zacky and are so glad you had such an awesome, special day. Happy Birthday!

When mommy isn't paying attention...

While I was cooking I lost track of my daughter. I didn't realize she was in the pantry trying to cook up something herself. I heard a noise and this is what I found.....

Love this little girl!

Allie is getting more fun by the day. Her hair is finally growing and is long enough that I can put "real" pigtails in. She is a little mom in training. Britni gave us matching aprons for Christmas and she loves to put hers on and "cook" with me in the kitchen. She helps put the dishes away, vacuum and today she helped me move furniture.

This little girl loves her shoes...already! She is no dummy either, if she had it her way she would wear her shiney black church shoes everywhere she goes...see, they even go with diapers!

This is not taught. Somehow this little princess already knows how to love a baby, carry it around, push it in a stroller and that she can't leave home without the diaper bag. This was not set up...she did this all on her own. I can't get over how cute and how fun she is. I love that she follows me around and watches every little thing I do, that she sings me to sleep more times than I do to her, that she loves making faces to make us laugh, and that she cries when her brothers cry just because she can't help it. She is growing up so fast, but I am loving every minute of it.

Happy 7 Years Old!

I can't believe I have a 7 year old! Tyler had his birthday on the 18th last month. He was so excited because it was the last day of school before the break so he got to have a school party, a friend party and a family party all in one day! He had so much fun with his friends playing games and breaking the piñata into a hundred pieces in our garage. He is getting so old and grown up, it blows my mind. He put me to the test this year with his cake too. He decided he wanted a shark cake....not just any shark cake though. He found one with the shark jumping out of the water. I was right in the middle of toothpicking it together when the power went out for half the night. I was so worried it wouldn't work, but it ended up turning out pretty good. The most important part is that he thought it was the coolest thing ever! Happy Birthday buddy, we sure love you!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

I feel like I'm getting so behind with this blog. No wonder I don't keep a journal. Just a little bit to catch up...we went to Becky and Jason's for Thanksgiving with my family this year. It was so nice to get away for a change. We usually do Thanksgiving at our house and I love to have everyone here and to do all the cooking (I'm seriously way to anal about cooking the turkey, it's a big problem I have), but it was nice to get out of town and just get to help out this time. We needed a little break and it was so fun to finally see Becky's house. We went to the planetarium with everyone and then to see the lights. It was the night they lit them so it was a zoo, but still so pretty and the kids loved it. Me and Eli even got away for an afternoon to do a little Christmas shopping so that was an extra bonus. I would post pictures but I didn't take any. Becky has a zillion on her camera so when she posts them I'll steal them over and sneak them in. Now for Christmas...I have been ready for the holidays this year since it first snowed so I was so excited to finally get the decorations up. The kids loved helping. Our poor tree was all weighed down in the back from the heaping pile of ornaments Zach wanted to put all in the same place. They do such a good job. We got our tree from my dad's yard this year. It is so big and pretty, we really lucked out! With decorations up, and most of the shopping done we are ready to enjoy the rest of the season!

The things kids say...

Tyler is getting so big and it's not very often that he says cute little things or mixes things up anymore. Don't get me wrong, he is still a super funny little guy, he is just growing up and understanding so much these days that he doesn't mess things up very often. That being said, this week he came up with some pretty cute/funny things that I don't want to forget. First off, he had a program for the veterans on Veteran's Day. He got to invite his great-grandpas to come and watch and when we were getting ready to call and invite them, I was telling him what to say when they answered the phone. He looked back at me and was reciting it and said "What is tomorrow again? Vegetarian's Day?" It was so cute. He said it a few times that night and then he kept correcting himself because he knew it wasn't right. Then on Sunday we were all getting ready for church and he came in all dressed up and ready to go and looked at us and said "Is today quick Sunday?" I'll have to remember that next fast Sunday. Can't say that I blame him though, it seems like we are always in a rush to get there on time. The morning goes by WAY to quick.....then we get there and sometimes sacrament with 3 kids seems to crawl. I bet he always wishes it is "quick" Sunday.

Trick or Treat

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Having it on a Saturday meant lots of time for carnivals, treats and dressing up. The kids were so excited they got to wear their costumes so many times. They were so cute (I mean scary!) and had so much fun. We had our ward carnival, the school parade and trick or treating at the relatives Halloween night. The kids were so worn out when we got home they didn't even want to go around the block. Zach just wanted to stay home and pass out candy at the door in his pjs and mask. It was so funny looking. He'd just stand there and say "you can have two" then he'd shut the door on them. Funny kid. We got home just in time from trick or treating though. Right after we got in the door poor little Allie started throwing up.....glad the flu waited to hit until we were home. Other than that it was a great Halloween. Believe it or not we still have a few pieces of candy left!

Our devilish dracula, super scary skeleton and beautiful little bat.

Some pretty scary little boys...look out!


Allie loved dressing up. She was scared of the masks at first, but then decided they were pretty funny...and still a little bit scary.


Fun at the ward carnival....Zach was a little cheater but it was ok...Tyler's mad eating skills let him win the race and both boys had a blast.

First stop on the trick or treat trail. How great to be a little kid!