Happy Halloween!!

Well Halloween has come and gone. Our kids had a good time preparing for Halloween this year, although they missed having Grammie around to make it even more special. They had fun opening the Halloween calendar that Granny made for them and just as much fun deciding what they were going to be this year. Ashleigh knew last year what she was going to dress as this year and she never changed her mind. She was a cowgirl and we had everything for her costume except a vest. She wanted me to buy her one, but she was pretty specific with what she wanted so I made one instead. Yes, you saw correctly, I made her a vest. She was happy with the final product and she made a cute cowgirl, not that I am biased or anything. Jordan was the easiest, he wanted to be a Clone Trooper from Star Wars the Clone Wars. That was readily available at any store that sold costumes. Jared was our difficult one this year. He changed his mind multiple times a day, everyday for more than a week. He mentioned such things as the Hulk, Batman, a Ninja Turtle and a Rock Star. We finally decided that a Rock Star was going to be it. He was so excited when I found a toy guitar for him to use with his costume. He is such an animated child, he was so funny once he had on the entire costume. Because of soccer schedules and Michael and I doing scouts it was difficult to find a night that we could carve pumpkins so on Friday when the kids got home from school they designed their Jack-o-lantern faces and I spent a few hours carving them before we needed to get ready for Trick or Treating. The kids and I went to our ward's Trunk or Treat and Michael handed out candy at home. Then we switched and Michael took the kids Trick or Treating around the neighborhood and I handed out candy at home. All in all the kids had a blast and got plenty of candy. The only problem that I had with Halloween this year was the temperature here in AZ. You would think I would be used to it by now, but Trick or Treating when its 85 outside is just not right. My mom said it was 45 in VT, somewhere in the middle would be just perfect in my book.

It's Soccer Season

This year is the year that my kids are really getting into playing sports and it's fall so that means it's time for soccer. I have to say that I am grateful that Jordan chose soccer over football, don't get me wrong I love to watch football, but given the choice for my kids I would definitely choose soccer. Although that could have something to do with the fact that where I grew up, we didn't have a football team in my town, it was and still is a soccer legacy that Proctor is known for. Both Ashleigh and Jordan are playing soccer at the moment, Jordan is playing on a team and has games every Saturday and Ashleigh is playing after-school sports. Both of them are loving it so far. Jordan is doing great and improving with every game. He has seen a lot of playing time as Goalie and some time as a defender and just a little bit as a forward. He enjoys being Goalie, but did comment after the last game that he likes being a forward as well. Here are a few pictures of him at practice and his 1st game.
During Jordan's soccer practice the other kids like to roll down the hill and feed the ducks. It's a good way to pass the time.

October Break at the Cabin

Okay, so I have been thinking alot lately about how I am as a mother and I have felt inspired by some other moms that I know or know of. I decided that I was going to do my best to be a better mom, one who doesn't yell so much and makes life for my children a little more fun. October Break gives my kids a 4 day weekend and I thought it would be a perfect way to make some fun memories. The kids and I were going to the cabin for the weekend, unfortunately Michael couldn't go with us. We go to the cabin alot, so I wanted to do something that would make this weekend more memorable than some of our past trips. I didn't hook up the video player in the car and I packed us a picnic lunch to have along the way. It was a beautiful fall day (for AZ standards) and we headed out around noon. We stopped to have our picnic in Christopher Creek and the picnic area was very nice. After lunch we hiked down a hill to the creek. The kids had fun looking at the water and walking on the rocks. There were alot of spiders along the banks of the water and that freaked them out alittle bit, but they still kept going. After our lunch break and hike it was time to get back on the road.



We arrived at the cabin and it was in the 60's. The kids changed into jeans and sweatshirts and were outside playing for the rest of the afternoon. It was pretty windy and the stronger the wind got the more Jared stayed inside. For some reason he was very scared when the winds were gusty. I seriously think he was afraid he would get blown away. On Friday it was cold and windy again, but we bundled up Jared and Austin and took a walk down to the pond. The kids played in the sand pile, we did rides on the tire swing and we played on the lawn.


Saturday brought rain and even colder temps and more wind. It was a good day for movies, crafts and games. Jordan spent some time playing with his cousin Daniel at his cabin, but the rest of us stayed at Granny and Papa's cabin. Ashleigh was a little bored not having anyone to play with, but she was good to play with Jared and read to Austin. I enjoyed having time to do things with my kids. The only thing that could have made the weekend any better would have been to have Michael with us. Thank you Granny and Papa Gunnell for the use of the cabin for the weekend. I know I had a blast and I am hoping the kids did also.

Busy Family Life

Life is busy, as usual. I was talking with a friend the other day and we both felt like we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, she has 2 kids in Junior High and 2 in Elementary School. I feel lucky that mine are only in Elementary School, I am busy enough with their schedules as they are now. Ashleigh is taking piano lessons and loves every minute of it, she is doing very well. She is a perfectionist so I have no worries about her passing her songs off each week. Her teacher says she is doing great. She is also going to be starting After-school Sports in a few weeks. She is looking forward to playing soccer at school with her PE teacher being the coach. Jordan starting playing soccer a few weeks ago with a youth league here in Mesa. He loves it so far and his games start this weekend. I am so happy that he is having fun learning to play sports, hopefully he will want to spend more time doing sports than playing video games. A mom can only hope!! :) Jared is a bundle of energy and is just happy if he can go along with anyone. I am looking forward to the weather cooling down so that we can go to the park during the day once in a while. Austin is 3 months old today. He is such a cute baby. He is talking and smiling and laughing now. He tries to sit himself up when he is laying back and he has grown like a weed. At his 2 month check up (he was actually 2 1/2 months old) he weighed 13 lbs. 14 oz. and was 24 1/4 inches long, that was the 90-95% for both measurements. I couldn't believe it. I knew he was growing, but that blew me away, even moreso when my sister-in-law told me that was almost exactly what my nephew was at his 6 month appointment. I refer to Austin as our little Budda Baby. He has all of the same fat rolls as a budda, only they are a lot cuter on Austin.

General Conference

It's been a while since I have had a chance to sit down and update. A few weeks ago was the Semi-Annual General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It gives the members of the church the opportunity to listen to our beloved Prophet and other church leaders speak on different topics that they feel inspired to share with the world. There were 2 sessions on Saturday and 2 more on Sunday. I always look forward to Conference, I always feel spiritually renewed after listening to the Prophet and Apostles of the Lord speak words of inspiration. Especially this year, with an election and the worries of the economy I was eager to hear from our religious leaders. I am putting links to a few of my favorite talks.

Saturday AM ~ Neil L. Andersen ~ We may not know it all, but we know enough
~ President Dieter F. Uchtdorf ~ The infinite power of Hope
Saturday PM ~ Jeffrey R. Holland ~ The ministry of Angels
Sunday AM ~ President Henry B. Eyring ~ Unity
~ President Thomas S. Monson ~ Find Joy in the Journey
Sunday PM ~ Russell M. Nelson ~ Marriage

These few talks are just a sample of the conference as a whole. If any of you would like to read or listen to more I promise that you will be uplifted as you do so, just click on the link at the beginning of this post. I have been spiritually fed from this conference and I appreciate the love that my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ have for me and for all of us.

Proud to be an American

I wasn't sure if I was going to do a post about the tragedy that struck our country 7 years ago, but I decided that there were a few things that I wanted to say. I remember that day as if it was yesterday. I was in the car taking Michael to work when we heard it on the news as the second plane hit the WTC. I was completely stunned and all I could do for the rest of the day was sit in front of the television. I also spent the day trying to make contact with my many friends who lived and worked in NYC. Luckily, they were all safe.

On this September 11, 2008 I would like to express my love for this country and for the men and women who are fighting to protect us all over the world. I don't know anyone personally who is fighting in the wars in the Middle East, but I pray for their safety and appreciate the courage that they have to get up and do their job day after day. To me, this picture from 7 years ago is what we need to remember the most. That no matter what devastation is thrown our way we will always be a free country and we will always pull together in our times of need. May God bless all of the families who lost someone on 9/11/01 and fighting for our country from that day on and may God bless all of you as well.

Jared's Air Guitar

Jared loves music, he loves to sing into Ashleigh's microphone and he also plays the air guitar anytime we have music on in the house. This video was taken while we had XM Radio playing on the TV one day. He is a total crack up, he keeps us laughing on a daily basis. When we got home from church on Sunday he told me that he taught the kids in his nursery class the song "Who Let the Dogs Out", he learned that from a Valentine's Day song card. All I could do was laugh and hope that is what his nursery teacher did as well.