MightyJohnsons

I decided to have another late night with my girls and their friends. Each girl invited a friend over and we partied it up! We ate pizza, played outside, did glitter toes/fingers, hair, make-up, etc. (What is it with girls these days wanting to get dolled up at such a young age?!). I had Jane, Kate’s big sister (and Seth’s cousin), come over and assist me with the task. She was great and made all the girls feel extra special. Thanks Jane!

We also made caramel apples, but unfortunately the toes and hair took so long my caramel over-cooked and we had extra hard caramel apples. The girls were cute though and did their best to eat them. Eventually they peeled the mess off and just ate the apple (heck, it is better for them that way anyway, right?). In between, painting their toes and doing their hair they colored Halloween pics and played games downstairs. Lastly, we popped popcorn and ate treats while watching a movie.

The girls all seemed to have fun and they can’t wait to do it again soon. Of course now my boys are wanting something similar for them, with boy stuff of course. Maybe I can put Seth in charge of that one! 🙂

How cute! The girls in their PJ’s all outside waiting their turn on the trampoline.

Jane and the girls getting ready to start the makeovers.

Kate, Allie, and Claire coloring pictures and showing off their glitter nails (and little Ellie crawling around with them).

Megan with her best friend Greta. They met last year and have been inseparable. Funniest part is they look like they could be sisters!

Happy 34th birthday to the best husband and father a family could ask for!

WE SUPER DUPER LOVE YOU!!

I thought this picture was appropriate since BYU finally won a game…woot, woot Cougs!

Nap time is already starting to become a problem with Drew. He rarely actually falls asleep. Since he is only two I am not willing to give up his naps just yet. Nap time generally starts with him trying to get out of his room. From there I usually put a wash cloth in the door to keep him from opening it. Then he kicks the door in hopes I will let him out (I will not.) Then it gets quiet and I assume he is asleep. For about an hour or two I usually don’t hear any noise from his room.

I will preface this next part with the fact that Drew dresses himself most days and is very proud of the fact he can change clothes at will. Also, he shares a room with his sister Claire and has complete access to all of her clothes during his naps. Today it was time for him to get up and I opened the door and I saw him twirling around his room. Of course I couldn’t help laughing. There was Drew in Claire’s dance outfit and tights. He was so proud of himself. I knew his dad would likewise be proud of his boy so I decided to capture it via the camera.

What a fine young boy his father is raising!

Yesterday we met up with Seth’s mom and dad, Rach and Spencer, and Joe’s boys and went up into Big Cottonwood Canyon to hike around Silver Lake. We weren’t the only ones with this idea because it was jam packed full of people and unfortunately we missed a lot of the beautiful fall colors but we still had a great time walking around and taking pictures of the kiddos.

The highlights of the trip were definitely Drew’s major dislike of tomato juice (I think a blog video will come of that shortly) and Lucy (only 3) turning around looking at the well endowed lady standing behind us in the line to use the restroom, and says “that lady has big….” and she just paused. The lady chuckled and said, “boobs!” in a heavy Spanish accent. Rachel, Lucy’s mom, smiled at the lady and quietly said something like, “Um, she is just not used to seeing those on me.” I think Rach was a little embarrassed, but I was laughing my head off. I was mostly just thrilled it wasn’t one of my kids saying it this time. We’ve certainly had our share of those experiences over the years! (I am sure Rachel will have a more detailed version over on her blog of the whole incident!)

We had a lot of fun and are grateful Grandma Jan came up with the idea!

Most of the gang…

All the grandkids.

Claire posing for another picture!

Everyone but G’pa Mike who was taking the pic.

Meg took this cute pic of Drew and Dad holding hands…love it!

Drew getting attacked with kisses by Lucy and Claire.

Here is the artist:

Yes, that is a permanent marker. And yes, that shirt is ruined.

Here is his masterpiece:

I learned a few things from this incident. First, and most important, I need to hide the permanent markers even higher than I had them. Second, surprisingly, hand sanitizer removes permanent marker from skin (*Note to self: it’s not the greatest idea to use when there is marker on the eyes.). Third, I have a budding artist and stinkin’ rascal on my hands. He is still running around the house laughing about it!

Ellie has progressed into the world of mobility. She is up on all fours and crawling all around the house. She reminds me of a sneaky little creature the way she creeps around the house showing up where you least expect her. I walk around the corner and she is slowly and carefully peeking her head around the corner to see who might be ahead. She absolutely LOVES music and when Meg is practicing the piano or Jake the guitar she searches around the house until she can find the source of the music. It is so funny!

Unlike my other kids she skipped most of the “army crawl” phase. She did it for about a day and jumped right into crawling. Surprisingly, I am thrilled to have her mobile. She keeps herself much busier and it allows me to get a little more done when she is awake.

She is such a cutie and most days I just want to munch her up. When I am holding Ellie, Jacob will often say, “Mom, you’re gritting your teeth again!” What is it about baby cheeks (both of them!) that make you want to eat them for dinner?!

Ellie sneaking around the corner. I love that face!

Megan was baptized this Saturday, September 4, 2010 and became an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a very special day, one she had been looking forward to since she turned eight back in July. We met at the Stake Center at 10:30 am for her baptism. Grandma Jan spoke on baptism, Aunt Rachel spoke on the Holy Ghost and Megan and her brothers and sisters sang, “When I am baptized.” Megan was baptized by Seth. Grandpa Mike and Spencer served as witnesses. Seth also confirmed her along with Great Grandpa Walt, Grandpa Mike, Uncle Spencer, Uncle Matt T., and Bishop Smart in the circle.

It was a tender, emotional, very sweet day (for both her, Seth and me). She was beaming, although still had her funny sense of humor about her and managed to crack several jokes throughout the morning. She has turned into such an amazing girl. We love her so much and are very proud of her and the decision she made to be baptized. A big thank you to everyone that made an effort to come support Megan on this important day. It meant a lot to all of us.

All the kids before we went to the baptism.

Here is Megan by the amazing cake that my good friend Sara made for her baptism. Isn’t it beautiful (and Megan too)?!

Megan and Seth in front of the baptismal font.

Earlier in the week my neighbor Jenni Howell offered to take some pictures of Megan in her baptism dress. They turned out absolutely beautiful! You can see the pictures below. You can also find out more about Jenni at her website.

Our back to school theme this year is “do your best.” Last year it was “do something nice for someone daily” and it really stuck with the kids all year. I am hoping this year they will focus on giving their best effort in all they do.

Our theme for the year

School started yesterday with four REALLY excited kids. The night before we had a big party and a “back to school” fashion show (an idea that I snatched from Nienie Dialogues). The kids had a blast! We also talked about our theme and goals for the year.

The morning before school each kid woke up and found a modern version of the German Schultüte set out for them. My good friend Sara found this idea on the internet and told me about it. Since most of my heritage comes from Germany I thought it would be a cool tradition to start so I did a very “last minute” attempt at one for each kid. They loved them!

Schultüte for each of the school kids

Some years I look forward to school more than others but this wasn’t one of those years. I was dreading the kids going back to school – as strange as that may sound. I love having them home in the summer and I love the flexibility and freedom we have. After dropping off the three oldest, I cried my way back home. I miss them. I am sure I will adjust soon enough but it was a little bitter-sweet for me.

Jake, Meg and Kk in their “back to school” outfits.

Claire headed out at 12:30 for her first day of preschool. She asked me every 30 minutes if it was time to go. By the time it did start I was ready for her to go! 🙂 She had a great time and I was thrilled she got to be with Miss Barbara (so glad she came back after taking a year off). Each of my kids had her for preschool and we love her!

Claire SO excited for school!

Claire getting ready to head inside.

My calendar is already full with soccer practices, guitar and piano lessons, dance, scouts, and much more. School work is slowly piling in and should get heavy fast. Both Jake and Meg are doing the A.L.L. classes this year (accelerated learning) which more than doubles the normal homework load. I am a little nervous about it but I am sure they will do just fine. Everyone came home from their first day of school all smiles and couldn’t wait to tell Seth and me about how great their teachers and classes were.

So here is to a new, exciting school year full of fun, friends and lots of learning!