Sunday, November 30, 2014

Waddle on in to Henry's 6th Birthday!

Henry has a major LOVE of penguins. He did an "expert report" in Kindergarten on them and knew more about various penguin species than his teacher did. When it was time for his birthday, a penguin theme was the obvious choice!

 So excited for it to be his birthday!
 We did a trial run of a quick penguin cake for his actual birthday night. It got the big smile of approval!
 For the party, Tyler ran a penguin-training school. There were tobogganing practice, fish catching, and waddling classes.  The weather was actually only a little cool, so this was probably Henry's first and only outside party!
 I think there was orca tag. For waddling penguins, these guys sure did move fast!
Henry was the happiest penguin-loving birthday boy ever!
Henry's favorite color: Light blue
Henry's favorite food: Pizza
Henry wants to be: a builder
Henry loves: school! Video games! His friends! Penguins!! Reading! Pokemon.
Henry has a sensitive heart and is very kind to everyone around him (except maybe his siblings, he's not perfect!). He loves that he can run down the street and play with his friends. Henry likes to play soccer and T-ball, he loves to swim, he enjoys just running around with his siblings. He is a super-sweet boy who plays hard and has a big grin on his face! Happy birthday, Henry!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

The Tale of Jack and the Double Digits

Story goes that Jack turned 10 in November! That story is true. Sigh. The days really are long, but the time flies by!

 He was a shocked as the rest of us! The interesting thing about him getting older is that his wishlist is getting pricier. What gifts do you get for your kids instead of the latest technological craze? I have a feeling this question only gets trickier in the next decade!
 Poor boy got slighted on the cake...but I was going through a miscarriage at the time, so he's kind of lucky he even GOT a cake. He doesn't seem to be offended, though...
 That weekend we had a party party party with 5 of his closest friends. Minecraft, baby, that's where it's at. They made pixelated "mini-me"s. Other games (not pictured) were creeper ball-toss (they took out pyramids of foam creepers with a ball) and game that involved hunting piggy balloons. Mostly there was running around attacking things. Yay, Minecraft.
 But he loved it and had a blast, which was really the point of the whole shebang!
More stellar cakes! Again with the cube/pixilated/easy theme.,.

Jack's favorite color: still green!
Jack's favorite things to do: Video games and reading
Jack wants to be: an inventor
Jack's favorite foods: Tacos and pizza
Jack love to; be in plays!
We cannot believe this kiddo is now 10. He is smart, goofy, but a total rule-follower. He loves his friends and honestly, wishes he could spend every spare minute with them! He is an amazing big brother to his littlest brother and is starting to step up with helping him out. Jack excels in music and is in his 5th year of piano. He doesn't care for sports except for swimming. Animals--he loves them. You can often find this kiddo snuggled up under a blanket, reading a book with a cat on his lap. Happy birthday, Jack! We love you!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Yo ho ho and a Mermaid's Tail

Jack and Sheridan were ecstatic to get back on stage in November. Their school put on "Race for Treasure Island,"  which had a zany plot about a Naval ship, a Pirate Ship, and a Mermaid posse racing to get the treasure first. Spoiler: the mermaids end up with it.

 Jack was a pirate!
 Sheridan was a mermaid (in front of stage--the navy is on stage).
 The mermaids descend like vultures of the sea to claim their ill-gotten gain!
 Cute cast!
...and this one is just your reward for sticking it out!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Ode to October

Is an Ode like a poem? Because this post isn't a poem.

October was a glorious, warm month. We were able to go for a few hikes and enjoy the beautiful mountains without anyone freezing their tookus off.

 Hikes with Dad are rad.
 When it's warm it's not too bad.
 It's October-Mountain-Family time.
 Huh, I guess I COULD make this thing rhyme.
Tyler spent a lot of his time in October working on a Rising Star Outreach event with David Archuleta and Lexi Walker. It was an amazing night (and I'm glad the kids' play was postponed so I could attend). 

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We got to get all dressed up and mingle with people like the Utah AG. It was crazy I felt like I was getting all dressed up for prom, except I was going with my favorite person in the world and we were taking separate cars. Oh, and there were kids at home after. :)

I spent most of October focused on my big event, Halloween costumes.
The kiddos decided to revisit Peter Pan which was so much fun to sew for!
 Amelia was a darling little Tinker Bell.
 Henry had his heart set on being the Tick Tock Croc. That costume was SO FUN to figure out and make. 
 Sheridan was Wendy and Cole was an adorable Peter Pan. He liked pretending to stab people with a dagger. Sigh.
 Jack was a swaggering, sinister Captain Hook. 
  The Neverland crew was ready for their first engagement of 3! (Church party, Halloween, and a family party). 
 Between parties, the kids fit in a little pumpkin carving. Henry chose an Angry Bird.



Hope your Halloween was happy!

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Simple September

After the excitement of August, we took it pretty easy in September. Eased back into the habits of the school year and tried to get used to living in a new house. Henry got used to it very quickly--figuring out that he had 2 buddies on the street opened up a whole world of possibilities!

 Examining the gigantic mirror in the entry.




 Art time! Making crowns (Sheridan's idea!)


 Getting to know the praying mantis is less scary than getting to know the neighborhood kids.
 Having the piano INSIDE the house! The kiddos have loved it!

Cole has decide he should start with the keyboard.

 Adventures at Thanksgiving Point!
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It was warm enough for the kiddos to play in the water. 
  Cole really got into the art thing....
And a field trip to the duck pond where the swans had settled in!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Another August, Another School Year

August of 2014, Jack, Sheridan, and Henry put on their new uniforms and got ready to head to SCHOOL!





Ready to learn and make new discoveries! Hooray for school!

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Out with the Old and in with...

The part of July I haven't talked about was selling our old house and buying a new one. That didn't all happen in July, but the wheels really got moving.

In May, we started looking at a home 1 mile from our old house. My friend set us up with the owners and it had everything we were looking for--a ground-level entry, a main floor bedroom, an open living area, and at least 4 bedrooms. It was in the area of town we love.

So we started the process of buying their home (by owner)...and we started the process of selling our home (by owner). We had a few friends express interest in buying our house and one ended up offering us a really fair price, contingent on the sale of their home.

(Our old house, in case you haven't met it. 7 WONDERFUL years spent here!)

Everything was falling into place!...until it wasn't. Our friends buying our house weren't getting offers on their home. The home we were buying had a title issue (the issue had been dealt with but wasn't recorded properly along the way). We were supposed to close the first week of August but the title problems were making that impossible. Fortunately, our friends got an offer on their house so we could start moving forward on getting our house all squared away for the inspection and appraisal. The people we were buying from allowed us to rent from them for the few weeks until the title was clear and we could sign. And then we were supposed to close on our old house by the end of the August.

A little crazy, but you could follow it, right?

So we moved in the first weekend of August (THANK YOU GOOD NEIGHBORS!!). I spent all weekend unpacking--getting the kitchen in order was priority #1 after beds and basics. I took no pictures of any of that process. Because I apparently don't take pictures.
(This is that kitchen, before we moved in. Our awesome sellers sold us the stools with the house. That island is 9 feet long, Perfect for cookin' up a feast, homework oversight, and art extravaganzas.)

We were able to close mid-August. Woohooo! 2 days before we were supposed to close on our old house, their buyer fell through.

(Our fancy new foyer, with other peoples' stuff in it, but with our kid)

It was funny, I felt so calm when the news came. That feeling came and went over the next few months, but I was grateful for the calm then! We decided to install new carpet at the beginning of September when we figured we'd have to actually list the house. Our friends were still busting their tails in their house, trying to get it sold. I found out I was pregnant during this process, so my emotions were all over the board.

A good neighbor installed some nice new carpet (why did we not do that earlier!?!? Oh, because we have had lots of little kids making messes and potty training the whole time in that house and we didn't want to ruin new carpet). It took a few weeks in his spare time, but it got done. So it was time to list it, right?

Wrong! Our friends got buyers! We were going to close at the beginning of October! That process ended up being drawn out on THEIR buyer's end and I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks that made everything in the process even more traumatic. In the middle of November, though, we finally sold our old house and were the proud owners of only ONE home!

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This celebration calls for leaf hats and a BBQ with cousins!