Black Bart and the Slinky Dog

Yee-Haw!

Jake's 2 favorite gifts: horse and hat and the slinky dog.

Jake's new nickname: Black Bart

Frosty and the Worried Snowman

December Fun

Decorating the Christmas tree

We bought this train when Noah was about 2 years old. Jake was so excited when we set it up and has loved playing with it.

We have had so much snow this month. The kids had 3 snow days in a row! They spent a lot of time playing in the snow and lounging around in their pajamas. I spent a lot of time dressing and undressing kids in snow clothes and watching them out the window!

We had a great night out on the town! We were able to go to dinner and then to the Omaha Symphony Christmas program. It was nice to see the lights downtown and to enjoy a fun and relaxing evening. We have had 3 extra kids living with us for the past month. Some families in our ward decided they wanted to give our family a special gift and so they arranged for this night. The Symphony gave us the tickets for free and the families paid for our dinner. It was a very thoughtful gift and we had a great time.

Big Boy Bed

About a week ago Jake decided it was time to climb out of his crib and learn how to open doors all in the same day. The next day his crib was down and the bunk bed was assembled. It took a few nights of this...

He would cry and say "Jakey's bed? Jakey's bed?" It was kind of sad. But after just a few sleepless nights, he was doing this...

He is too little to be doing this.

Happy Halloween

Spooky Dinner: Blood with bones, Witches Brew, Brain Sandwiches

A Cowboy

A Ballerina Fairy - I wish I had made Lucy take her coat off for this picture, oops.

A Witch whose hat broke.

A Dead Pirate and his friend.

Happy Birthday Lucy

We had a lot of fun celebrating Lucy's 5th birthday. She was so excited from the minute she woke up and I don't think she stopped smiling all day long. She invited her friend over and they spent the afternoon playing and decorating sugar cookies.

For her birthday party, she requested a dance party. When making the guest list, she wanted to include all of Noah and Grace and Jake's friends as well as her own. We decorated the basement with lights and balloons and had a fantastic dance party with the hokey pokey, the limbo, and the cha cha slide just to name a few!

What We've Been Up To

Jake has been keeping us pretty busy lately. He is very adventurous and loves to climb. He has figured out how to climb up the drawers to get on top of the counters.

He also loves climbing the fence into the garden to pick tomatoes and eat them.

Jake has started taking showers while I get ready in the morning. He loves to play in there and I can get ready while keeping an eye on him. But the other morning, he discovered a new way to be destructive. He had a few trains in the shower with him. He took the cover off the drain and started pushing his trains down the drain. So I quickly got him out and then proceeded to use a hanger and magnet to pull the trains out. While I was taking care of this disaster, I did not realize another one was being created for me.

Jake had climbed onto the counter and managed to make this enormous mess.

He also loves climbing into the bathroom sink, turning on the water, and having a nice bath while fully dressed and brushing his teeth.

Noah has just finished his flag football season and did a great job!

Lucy has been helping me with a few canning projects. I have loved having her home to help me and to play with Jake.

Next Stop....

Start saving up so you can visit us in Washington D.C.

Ice Cream

Jake

Jake and I have been enjoying our time together while the 3 older kids are at school. We walk the kids to the bus and then spend the morning playing and going on outings. It has been so fun to spend one on one time with child #4.

He has been helping me in the kitchen a little.

After our fun filled mornings, we eat lunch and then Jake has his 3 hour nap! He sleeps until it is time to go get the kids from the bus.

He loves walking to the bus stop to wait for the kids to come.

Waiting for the bus....

The kids love to give Jake hugs when they get off the bus and he is always so happy to see them.

Noah Grace and Lucy are so sweet with Jake and make him feel so loved.

First Day of School!

School started August 12th! I now have 3 kids in school. A 4th grader, a 2nd grader and a kindergartener! Our day starts very early with the bus coming at 7:35. It has been a little tough for everyone adjusting to this new schedule after such a carefree summer.

I am so glad Lucy has Noah and Grace to take care of her and show her the way.

After I took this picture, she climbed on the bus and I cried. She was so excited to go to school and loved her first day.

Meeting up with old friends is one of the best parts of starting school again!

The Grand Finale

We left Salt Lake and drove back to beautiful Donnelly Idaho. We had a few days of rest and relaxation and thoroughly enjoyed it! We slept in, stayed in our pj's, swam and watched movies. We spent one afternoon at the lake playing on the beach. The kids had fun jumping off the dock and building sand castles for Jake to destroy.

After our little break, we drove back to Boise to see my brother Jeff and his family. We met them at the lake and had a great time at our favorite spot, Lucky Peak!

This is the lake my family spent every summer at. We would head up after work just about every day in the summer and ski until it was too dark. I had fun telling my kids about my childhood memories as we drove up to the lake and spent the afternoon there.

Noah had more time to practice his new favorite past time...skiing! It was so fun to watch him learn how to get up and ski around the lake. He loved it and wanted to do it over and over again.

My sister in law, Brenna, and I decided to take our 2 little ones on a tube ride. I gave the camera to Noah and asked him to take a few pictures. He took this shot and I thought it was so funny! Jake and James had been enjoying their ride (kind of) and then they decided they were done. So we were signaling the boat driver and Noah caught this moment...classic.

Lucy was so excited to see her cousin Jackson. When we were on our way to Boise and I told her we were going to see Jackson, she said "we're going to Texas!!"

The next 2 days were filled with Aaron coming back to Boise, a big family dinner the night before the wedding, the wedding, the luncheon and the reception. I do not have any pictures of this event yet so I will have to post them later. But it was a beautiful wedding and we were so happy to be able to be there for Melanie and Jeff's special day. The reception was one big party with great food, good dancing and a very interesting DJ. My parents put on a fantastic event and Melanie looked beautiful. The best moment was when we were in the sealing room in the temple and we were able to look around and see my parents and all of their kids and spouses. I remember as a teenager my mom would often say she dreamed of the day she would be able to be with all of her children in the temple. Well that day arrived and it was a very emotional moment for everyone. My parents have worked so hard to teach their children the gospel, and we were able to see the fruits of their labor as we all sat in the temple together.

We had one last event to attend before heading home. My brother Brian and his wife Emily were blessing their sweet baby,Blake, the day after the wedding. They rearranged their plans so we would be able to attend. We loved being there!

After the blessing we had lunch with everyone at Brian's house. It was a bittersweet moment as we said goodbye. We had been gone for 5 weeks and were ready to get home. But saying goodbye for another year is always hard and I was tearful as we drove away. We are blessed to have such great parents and siblings and enjoyed sharing our summer with them.