dressing up for treats

I love the kids' faces in this picture!

It was a rainy evening and we all had colds, but we had to go do a little trick-or-treating. So we walked to one neighbor's house and drove to see the sweet family that sits with us in Church. Both gave the boys WAY more candy than they needed, but it was just enough to make John throw up his breakfast the next morning :) Lovely. But we created memories and continued traditions that make family.

Family

I usually get a new family photo at each baby blessing, but things got a little busy at Ruby's with Elton at meetings, so I forgot. It wasn't until I needed one for Grandma's quilt that I realized I didn't have one with Ruby! So this was a quickie we took with the timer function. Not the best, but it will do :) taken October 2010

We Are Family....

my brothers and my sisters and me!

(I don't know if those are the words, but that's how I sing it)

Phew! This week went MUCH better than the last 2 and I'm feeling very happy about that. I think it helps to get out of the house sometimes. We made it to both the zoo and Jumpin' Jack's. The boys got their energy out and were nice and tired those afternoons. They've been sleeping past 6 am, too. My flowers look like they might make it and I haven't had to clean up pee off the floor. I'm so grateful my heavenly father is helping me be more patient and loving with my boys. Yay for answered prayers!

Aren't my 3 little ones just adorable?!!

Ruby's first illness

This is my sick baby with watery eyes, a deep cough, and losing her voice. Despite the sickness she's remained a happy girl. Ruby is ALWAYS happy and smiley and adds so much to our home already.

Saturday she had a cough, then had a hard time sleeping that night from about 1 am on. So after such a rough week I threw in the towel and called for reinforcements. My dad quickly came over and took the boys for the day - even to church with them - and they stayed through the night and the next day, too.

I'm so grateful for family who are willing to help me in a time of need! Getting that little break gave me time to figure out what to do with the discipline problems here at home. We made some plans and things have been a lot better this week. Having had a classroom of 6 year olds to discipline, I know things will get easier, but it's hard to see it with my own kids! I have faith that one day I won't have to watch their every move - it's so exhausting!!!

introducing Ruby Alice

Our new little bundle arrived at 1:46 last Tuesday afternoon after a short, 6-hour labor and only one push. She was 19 inches long and weighed 6 lbs. 12 ozs. - more than 2 lbs. less than Johnny Boy!
Both Momma and Baby are doing well. She likes to eat and I'm up and busy with my boys already (it's hard to ignore them!) Between the 3, they keep me busy!

She wasn't quite latching on correctly at the first, so I got an infection. My medicine turned her mouth a bit purple - she's so embarassed! :)

Ruby is a quiet baby and already sleeps 6 hours at night. She's our little angel and we love her so! Sam loves to hold her and while John can get a little crazy with toys around her head, he can be real soft and loving, too. We're so lucky to get a little girl to stick around here on earth with us. I'm excited for all the fun I will have with my little sidekick in the future. Yay for Ruby!

cali trip

We went to Oakland's Children's Fairyland Park. Sam enjoyed it, but John just hung out in our arms or in the stroller. Poor kid.

Lexi and Sam having a snack in the Park. (see the cute little houses in the back?)

Visiting the beach, just outside the redwoods. We found a beach no one else was willing to hike down the cliff to get to, so we had it all to ourselves. Sam loved the "dirt".

On our way home, we went to Calaveras State Park to see the giant sequoias. There was a hollow tree that had fallen which we were able to walk through, like a long tunnel, and this tree that was still standing. Someone cut a walkway through it and it's so wide you can't see it's true size in this picture. It was amazing!

getting out of town

We got out of town last weekend and went up to Three Forks, Montana to see the Lewis & Clark Caverns and visit Elton's niece and her family. I wrote up the details, but blogger lost them, so the jist is this: Sacajawea Hotel - very historic and without cold water, Caverns - awesome, but Sam would have rather been in the car, Bo & Gabriele's - good food, games, park, more food :), and great talk.

Maisie Day 2009

We celebrated Maisie's birthday this year with a farm party at our house. Lots of cousins came to join in the fun. We had a goose nest hunt, tried milking the cow, ate a pig cake and cupcakes, and told fun jokes. It was a great way to have fun on this memorable day without feeling sad.

A tradition we have on this special day is to have a picnic at Maisie's gravesite. I love this picture - I'm smiling like nothing else is happening while John is screaming his head off and Sam's looking at something interesting (seconds before he was struggling to get out of my arms, so at least he stay put!)

little cowboy

This was Sam's first "ride" on a horse. He's sitting with his cousin Halli.

We went up to Idaho for the annual round-up. While Elton was gathering cows, I was at my in-laws' house finishing up Sam's quiet book. Then we met up for the traditional lunch with the cow wranglers and their families.

For those who aren't famliar with round-ups, that's when they collect all the cows from where they've been roaming all summer (eating off the land) and bring them to one place to be sorted by owners. There were several different people with cows on the same property. They all helped round the cows up and put them in one big corral. Then they each needed their cows put in separate corrals to be counted, moved, and either kept for the winter or sold. It's a big, long process. In the background you can see the corrals and all the horsemen who help to send a few cows down a kind of hallway to be sorted one at a time. After that's all done and cows are back home (or wherever) more rides have to be taken through the mountains to find the cows they didn't get the first time. It's quite a process!

This was another fast trip, but fun to be with family we don't get to see as often as we'd like.

fall picnic

Today my mom and Hailey, Laurie and George, Amanda and Grace, and I with Sam all went up Little Cottonwood Canyon for a picnic. We actually grabbed some Subway/Wendy's, so we cheated a bit, but had a nice time at Tanner's Flat. Sam was so good, he wouldn't leave the cement pad without taking me with him. He had a nice time exploring, but didn't play in the dirt and leaves as much as I would have thought. We need to take him out more often! Here's his mischievous smile - if you see him make this face, then WATCH OUT! :)