Merry Christmas!

I wanted to wish all of my friends and family a very Merry Christmas! I sent out my first Christmas cards this year and this is the picture I used. I took it after the kids and I had finished decorating the Christmas tree one night. I collected all the cards that I received last year and used those addresses as my contact list this year. So if you didn't get a card from us, then I didn't get one from you last year. Sorry! I had to start somewhere! Of course I might mention that I threw away all the old envelopes and then mailed out my cards WITHOUT remembering to write down all the addresses. Have I mentioned that I am losing my mind? Seriously, I can be such a bonehead!
Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. I absolutely love Christmas and the Spirit that is all around this time of year. I love to read the heart warming stories about baby Jesus and wise men and shepherds. I love to have the children dress up in nativity clothing and act out that special night long ago. I love getting together with family, playing games, and just talking (and eating!) I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, for being born in such a humble way and doing such extraordinary things for all of us! We owe him more than we can ever repay or comprehend! Let's all show our gratitude by trying a little harder to be kinder, more loving, and happier!

Love,
Sarah

Dance Recital

Ressa had her first ballet/tap dance recital on Saturday. She was supposed to wear black pants and a Christmas shirt and she had nothing like that. I was up to my elbows with Carson's diarama for his book report, so I asked Chad if he would take her to Walmart and get her something. He didn't put up a fuss and gladly took her and Jackson. Well after some considerable time I realized that Chad hadn't called to ask for her size or to say he couldn't find any black pants. So I called to see if everything was o.k. He said they were on their way back and that he had found the clothes just fine. "You didn't think I could handle it?" "Well, how did you know what size to get her?" "I just looked at the label on the clothes she was already wearing." "Wow. Good thinkin', honey!" I didn't tell him that the clothes she was wearing were hand-me-downs and one size too big. They are play clothes so I don't mind. So when Ressa got home I was curious to see what they came up with. The black leggings were actually boys sweat pants and the shirt is red with Rudolph and his red shiny nose that lights up for real! So funny! I had to roll up the waist band on the pants and roll up the shirt sleeves, but you know I was so grateful to Chad for helping me out. And wouldn't you know that there were two other girls with the exact same shirt at the recital! Ressa was so happy about that! She did such a good job and had a big smile on her face the whole time! I was trying to upload the video but I can't figure it out. Oh, well!

Daddy's Money...

I just had to tell about this converstation I had with my kids. I apologize for the length of the story... The background story is that my children have recently started riding the bus to school. They absolutely love it and I love not having to take them all the time. Win-Win situation! At this new charter school the hot lunch is $2.5o, double the price at the public school. They have a choice of 5 entrees everyday plus a soup and salad bar, but still the cost is outrageous when you have 3 children in school. Having said that, I have decided the the price is worth it since my kids need all the food they can get and I can't keep enough lunch food in stock PLUS snacks for when they get home. So one day I was checking their lunch balances online and notice charges that said "breakfast meal" and saw that they started around the time the kids started taking the bus. So my children are eating breakfast at home, then riding the bus to school, arriving early, and eating breakfast AGAIN with the early morning care students! HELLO??!!
So I had a little chat with all three children and told them they are NOT allowed to eat breakfast at school anymore, that money does NOT grow on trees! I also told them that when they get hot lunch or breakast and don't eat all their food, it is like they are taking money out of my wallet and throwing it in the garbage.

Yesterday morning I drove the children to school because we were up late because of the PTO movie night at school. Ressa brought up the topic again of not eating breakfast at school and how it was throwing mommy's money in the garbage.

MOM: Ressa, you are not throwing money in the garbage if you eat all of your food. If you just take one or two bites THEN you are throwing away mommy's money. Actually, it's daddy's money you are throwing away.

RESSA: Why is it daddy's money?

MOM: Well, your daddy goes to work each day and works very to make the money we use to buy our food.

JACKSON: Well, you work really hard to spend daddy's money.

MOM: (huge grin) Yes, Jackson. I sure do!

I called Chad imediately to tell him what Jackson had said and he agreed and suggested that maybe I shouldn't work SO hard!

Activities Committee

I just want to say how much I love our ward activities committee! It has been almost two years since I was put on the committee with Lois Pew. In those two years we have had so much fun planning a luau, two trunk-or-treats, A Night In Bethlehem, Valentines Dinner/Newlywed Game, BB Q's, a carnival, a thanksgiving feast/turkey bowl, and this last Christmas program. Every event has been well planned and well attended by a supportive ward. I call our committe the dream team because everyone has a vital role to make it successful. Granted, some roles are less important than others. For example, my role is to keep everyone's feet on the ground since we tend to get carried away with our BIG ideas. It's a small role, but it does keep us out of trouble and within our budget. Lois has almost everything you can possible imagine to decorate a church gym. Lisa is a close second in that department. Mike and Jamie are great. Mike can build us anything we can think of, including the spectacular stable we used for this year's nativity! Now I admit none of us have actually "enjoyed" one of these glorious events per se, but we hear that people have a good time. We are so busy running around the whole time and are so exhausted by the time it is over! But I know that it is all worth it, as our ward family grows closer together. THANKS YOU GUYS!

Coolidge 2nd Ward Christmas Program

Rain gutter regatta?

You would never have guessed that I was raised with 7 brothers by how clueless I am about cub scouts. Rain gutter regatta? What in the world is that supposed to mean? All I know is that I gave Chad the boats in a box and he took over. Sanding, spray painting, stickers, everything. Chad has been involved with the scouting program for most of our 9 years of marriage. It is finally paying off now that C & J are in scouts! This Saturday was the regatta and the boys "raced" their boats against eachother, blowing on the sail to make it glide along the rain gutter. Pretty simple! I was decorating for the ward Christmas Party inside the church all morning but I was able to step out when it was the boys' turn to race. Carson got 2nd place which is why he has the red ribbon! I was very proud of how he handled the loss in the championship race. I could tell he was dissappointed, but he masked it very well and was happy for Gavin.

Here is one of Carson's races.

Here is Jackson displaying his hot air!

Gavin 1st place, Carson 2nd place, and Juan 3rd place.

All 14 of the racers and their boats.

Daddy is Home! At least I think it's daddy...

After searching high and low, Chad finally shot his first elk on the fifth day of his 7 days of hunting. Unfortunately, his dad and brother were unsuccessful. It isn't very big but it was the one and only that he saw and it was taking a drink near the road. They were driving in the truck early in the morning, he saw it, jumped out of the truck, and then shot it. Not quite the "hunt" he had imagined, but at least he didn't have to haul the elk out of a ravine or something like that!
They all had a great time and that is what is important. I am so glad to have my husband back! There was no cell service where they were, so it has been hard not being able to talk very much! One time he was able to get through, and Lauren wanted to talk to him the whole time! I finally had to tell her to back off - it was my turn!


Speaking of Lauren, this is what I found when I got back from taking the older kids to the bus stop this morning! So cute! I told Chad it was a good thing he came back a day early so that Lauren was still alive to see him. She has been really missing her daddy and driving me crazy! None of us are incredibly thrilled with Chad's facial hair. Ressa wouldn't kiss him goodbye this morning and I am tempted to give him his Christmas present early, if you know what I mean!

Movie Reviews

Twilight - 2 1/2 stars

Quantum of Solace - 5 stars

A couple weekends ago I went a saw "Twilight" with Sarah, Erin, LeaAnn, and Carrie. We had a great time, definitely laughing more than we should. My friend Erin had already seen it and so she kept snickering throughout the whole movie. I had to keep elbowing her to stop! Overall it was entertaining. I had to give it only 2 1/2 stars because half of me liked it because I loved the book. The movie buff in me , the other half, was tortured by the screenplay, editing, and acting. I have to give 5 stars to the delicious treat that Erin introduced to me! She poured a whole box of hot tomales over her buttered popcorn. It tasted like cinnomon rolls! Yum! I ate too much and felt a little sick. Afterwards we went to an italian restaurant called BRIO my sis-in-law Hollie recommended. It was very tasty! Thanks, Hollie!

The night before, Chad and I went and saw James Bond and I sure was not dissapointed! I loved EVERYTHING about it! I talked about it all the way home and started to drive Chad crazy. The action scenes are incredible and can you believe NO love scenes! This is Bond we are talking about! I mean, sex is implied, and he does kiss a nearly naked women on her back, but that's it! It was a pleasant departure from the typical Bond, but what it lacks in the sack is made up for with violence. I had to give it 5 stars and can't wait for the next one!

Carson

When Carson and Jackson were baptised last July, we gave them each their own set of scriptures. They were both excited and always remember to take them to church and take good care of them. About 4 months ago, Carson started reading the Bible from the very beginning. He is a good reader but I know there are tons of tough names and some words that he doesn't know. He started off slow and would read a little each day. He would announce to me that he had finished such and such book and was starting a new one and how many pages this book had and so on. He says things like...

"Did you know that Daniel and the Lions Den is on page 1,099?"
"There are 1,590 pages in the Bible."
"Mom, I finished the Old Testament and am now reading the New Testament."

Carson loves numbers and thinks about them all the time. I know, he must get it from his father, right? Well, now he reads a lot more and doesn't want to do much else. School gets in the way of this, but he will take the scriptures in the car and leave them there so that when I pick him up they are there waiting for him.
He reads standing up before school, after school, before bed. He tries to read during dinner sometimes but I won't let him. I find myself saying rediculous things like...

"Carson, close your scriptures and eat your dinner."
"Put your book down and put on your shoes. It is easier with two hands!"
"Please, stop reading your scriptures and get dressed for school."

Me: "Don't you want to go to your grandma's house while I go to a meeting?"
Carson: "Do I have to?"
Me: "You can take your scriptures with you."
Carson: "I can? O.K.!"


This is such an unusual obsession for an 8 year old, but I don't mind! Carson is such a great kid, so sweet and kind. He is a good example to me. He is now reading the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, which ironically is where I am at and I have been reading the B of M all year! If only I was as obsessed with reading the scriptures as I was with reading the Twilight series!

I love you, Carson!

Gobble, Gobble!

What a fun Thanksgiving weekend! This year Chad and his dad and brother, Cade, all got drawn for the Elk Hunt this year. The area they were hunting is up near Flagstaff so we had this great idea to have Thanksgiving dinner at Samantha & Tyrel's house. It was that or not have my husband there for Thanksgiving. We bought a used camping trailer, along with Chad's parents, a week ago so that the men wouldn't freeze to death on their hunt. So we all took the camper up on Tues. to set up camp and spend some time together before Thanksgiving. I forgot to take any pictures of that adventure so you will have to use your imagination! The camper sleeps 6 and the 2nd night Cade joined us so we had 9 sleeping in there. Chad and Cade had to sleep together one night so you can imagine all the comments, warnings, and cracks that were made about that! At least we were all warm! It rained the whole time we were there so Grandma, me, and the kids stayed in the trailer and played dominos and watched movies the whole time. The kids had fun but I was glad we were only there that one whole day! Lauren may not have survived another day! Thursday morning we all left camp for Samantha's house where Nate & LeaAnn were also gathered with their families. We had a house full but the cousins all had such a good time and the adults played darts and this new game called "Ticket to Ride" and I loved it! Maybe because I won 2 times! Samantha made a great dinner, no thanks to me for forgetting to bring my roaster, and then the men and Elaine left to go back to camp. I stayed at Samantha's for the whole weekend and we had a great time! Tyrel's parents stopped by for a visit and brought this little 4-wheeler for the kids to ride. Here is a cute pic of Lauren-she loved it!Here are some of the cousins playing outside at Samantha's house. We were so glad the rain was stopped on Wednesday! The weather was so nice and the kids played outside for most the day! Of course, Carson is missing from the picture. He was most likely inside reading his scriptures, but I will explain that later...
Breakfast time is sure easy when all the kids just want to eat cereal. It was great not having to cook the rest of the weekend! My favorite is ham (don't love turkey) and Samantha makes this twice baked potato casserole that is just yummy!

Here is me with my girls! It was so nice to just "hang out" this Thanksgiving as a guest. I didn't have to run around, doing a million things at once. I did get to take some pictures of Nathan and his family and Samantha and hers. They will most likely post them on their blogs. Friday Walt and Tyrel took all the kids on a hike near their house while Sam, LeaAnn, and I did a little shopping. The trail took them up this hilltop that has a few large craters. It was just the right distance and had tunnels and caves and the kids even found a tarantula on the way. Yuck! Sorry I missed it! Flagstaff is really a great place to do all sorts of outdoor stuff!

Here is some of the gang sitting around watching football and looking at the map to see where the best place to find elk might be. I have spoken to Chad a couple times since they left and they have yet to see any elk! The kids and I left Sunday after church a came home. We all miss Chad, especially Lauren. She keeps asking me where he is, hoping I will give her a different answer than "hunting". Chad really doesn't go out of town very often (only for scout trips) so it is strange having him gone for a week. It just makes me all that more grateful for him! I feel so blessed to have such a great family, extended family included. We have such a great time together! My parents spent Thanksgiving up in Vancouver, WA at my brother's house and 3 other brothers came with their families. They had a fun time too, I just wish were all together! That's what you get for having such a big family. I am so grateful for the 3 siblings I have here in AZ and that we get together as often as we do! So much to be thankful for!

GOOAAALLL!!!

Happy day! Jackson scored his first goal in his soccer game tonight! I was so excited, jumping up and down and shouting. I was the only one screaming because Coach Carrie lost her voice after the first game on Tuesday. Tonight her older son was running up and down the sidelines with her, acting as her voice and yelling to the players what she wanted them to do. Pretty funny!

The past four years have been pretty stressful for me when it comes to watching my boys play sports. Carson and Jackson are small and not particularly fast so I get discouraged that they don't get the ball very often. Carson has chosen not to play basketball and soccer this year and I was fine with that. I'm hoping he will play baseball though. Jackson still loves to play all sports and this year soccer is on a bigger field and there are actual positions. I am so proud of how well he listens to the coach and follows her instruction. There are some really good soccer players on his team, but Jackson is hanging in there and tonight he made the only goal of the game!

Crazy Eights, My turn!

My sister-in-law tagged me and this is the first time I've done one of these. Kind of fun but took me a long time! You would think I would know myself after all these years! Didn't have to dig deep, just a lot of debris on the surface!

Eight shows I love to watch: (only 8? how will I narrow it down?)
1. Life (my most favorite show)
2. Pushing Daisies
3. The Office
4. Chuck
5. Amazing Race
6. Fringe
7. Heroes
8. Robin Hood (BBC)

Eight of my favorite Restaurants:
1. Texas Roadhouse (I love, love, their ribs!)
2. The Landmark
3. Outback (best house salad)
4. California Pizza Kitchen
5. Olive Garden (lunch only-I could eat their zuppa tuscana and breadsticks everyday!)
6. Chick fil A (o.k. I don't know how to spell the dumb name, but favorite fast food)
7. Rubios (mainly because there is one in Casa Grande)
8. Joe's BBQ (well, it's Chad's favorite anyways)

Eight things that happened yesterday:
1. woke up at 5am (no reason, not normal) and folded 4 loads of laundry
2. drove kids up to the bustop on the 4-wheeler
3. organized master closet & office
4. worked on a couple mortgages
5. took kids to Jackson's soccer practice
6. made chicken enchiladas for dinner
7. watched t.v. while Chad was at scouts
8. Drank some theraflu and went to bed (trying to fight a cold that is threatening)

Eight things I am looking forward to:
1. Cooler weather!
2. going on an Alaskan cruise with my husband for our 10th anniversary!
3. not having to buy diapers!
4. no more car seats!
5. spending thanksgiving in flagstaff with 3 of my siblings
6. grandma's sleepover so Chad and I can go on a date
7. seeing 'Twilight' this saturday with some friends, sister, and sister-in-law!
8. getting Lauren to quit her security blanket!

Eight things on my wish list:
1. a cleaning lady!
2. that my friend Lacie would move back to Coolidge!
3. a temple here in Coolidge or at least Casa Grande
4. to see my parents more often
5. my kids could see their Granpa and Grandma Perrins more often
6. a cabin on the lake that we could escape to during the summer
7. my primary class would remember everything they were taught, and stop talking when I am talking!
8. more patience with my sweet children. They are great kids and deserve better!

Eight people I tag:
1. Carrie
2. Samantha
3. Laura
4. Jennifer L.
5. Jennifer W.
6. Amber
7. LeaAnn (oh, wait! you don't have a blog!)
8. You, if you're reading this!

Tammy...Tammy

Funny story and I know it's a bit confusing, so bear with me... So Tuesdays are usually a busy day for me, and this particular day, more so than most. After school Carson had piano at 3:30 then Ressa had dance at 4:00 and Jackson is now in soccer and he had a game at 5:30 and then I had a PTO meeting at 7pm. I needed to go to Casa Grande earlier to get Jack some shin guards and cleats so I put Lauren down for a nap at Grandma's house and left. After driving to several stores to find what I needed (no luck w/ cleats and shin guards I bought ended up being too small) I headed back to Coolidge. The kids have just started riding the bus and so it occured to me that I needed to call the school and stop them from getting on the bus so Carson wouldn't be late for piano. I came home first to get piano books and dance clothes then drove to school to get kids. Dropped off Carson to piano at Tammy Judd's house for his 1/2 hr lesson. Drove to Walmart with Jackson and Ressa to get some shorts for soccer (only $3!) and some more eye patches for Jack. Then drove to dance and took Ressa into change for class while Jackson waited in the car, not wanting to go inside because I made him wear a patch and he is self conscious. Got Ressa ready and chatted with some parents for a bit then headed home to feed Buck, get Lauren from Grandma's, type up agenda for PTO meeting and get Jackson ready for soccer game. Lauren is still napping so I get everything done in 1/2 hour and then just as I am ready to leave at 5pm to get Grandma and Lauren for the soccer game, the phone rings. "Hello?" "Hi, Sarah. It's Tammy." I think to myself, Tammy...Tammy. Tammy Judd, Carson's piano teacher. "Just wondering if you were alright." Carson' piano lesson ended an hour ago. What happened?!! Here I was, thinking that I had juggled my busy schedule effortlessly. How did I forget to pick up Carson? I felt so stupid! Tammy was so nice about it and hadn't called until later because Carson was fine there, playing with her kids. After a while she thought something might have happened.
There goes my mother of the year award! Shoot! And I was so close! Ha ha! I managed to pick Ressa up from dance on time and then get Carson before Jackson's game started, so it all ended up fine. The end.

Raincheck, Mr. Bond

I am sooo bummed that I wasn't able to see James Bond this weekend! Friday, Chad had youth conference and Saturday night our babysitter fell through. I guess we will have to wait until this Friday. I just really like Daniel Craig, best Bond ever!

Cans, cans, cans!

I forgot to take a BEFORE picture, so imagine this hallway wall stacked with food storage. Boxes of dehydrated food and cases of cans, sitting there for months until I could organize and put away. I didn't know what I had down here so it needed to be organized so I would stop buying things I already had plenty of!I bought this shelf 7 months ago but was not going to fit where I wanted it to go so it sat in a box. I decided to just put it in the guest room. As I was stocking the rows, I realized that I may have a 2 years supply of evaporated milk, chicken noodle/tomato soup, and fruit cocktail. I can't believe I bought 2 cans of fruit cocktail just 2 days ago because I didn't know how much I had!

This is the closet under our stairs that was supposed to hold ALL things food storage. Unfortunately you can kind of see that the floor is taken up by sump pumps, pipes sticking out of walls and there is also a large air condition unit in there. I guess these things had to go somewhere when they built the house, but I was still disappointed. We had them put these shelves in where they could to salvage some storage space.  This project took all day to complete but I feel so much better! Besides, the young men were coming to sleep in the basement for youth conference and I didn't want them playing football with baked beans and peanut butter cans!

Good night, fellas!

So this weekend was Youth Conference and the young men spent the night at our house downstairs again. Last year I remember all the noise they made, yelling down for them to keep it down. They got into an old drum set in the guest room closet and were banging them around at 3 am. Good, good times! Needless to say I was expecting roughly the same thing this time around. But I was pleasantly surprised! Maybe it's because they are all a year older or the fact that NO deacons stayed the night, but they were great! I think they played fooseball for a while and then watched a movie until 1am and then went to sleep. When they woke up they had

breakfast, put their bowls in the dishwasher, packed up their stuff and left. Polite as you like! I did hear that Mitchell fell asleep in the treadmill so they woke him up by turning it on. Pretty harmless, though!

Thanks, Frank & Elaine!

There are many benefits to living next to Chad's parents. Here are just 3 reasons...
#1 -Yesterday, Veteren's Day, I asked Frank to help me apply some sealant to our slate tile in the bathroom. It took us a couple hours and the fumes were pretty potent. We wore masks, but they didn't seem to help much. It has been 36 hours and our house still smells pretty bad. Chad and I slept in the guest room downstairs and we couldn't use our favorite pillows because they had absorbed the fumes. Anyways, the end result is terrific and hopefully we won't have to do it again for a few years. I am so grateful to Frank, for all the help he gives me and our family. I am usually too impatient with projects to wait for a weekend when Chad isn't too busy with scouts or service. Frank is very handy and supportive!
#2 - So we were careful to make sure we didn't paint ourselves into a corner and when we finally finished, we stood in the bathroom doorway and admired our handy work, finishing in just enough time to change our clothes and take the kids to see "High School Musical 3". Change our clothes...clothes...my clothes are in the closet...the closet is through the bathroom...the floor is covered in wet lacquer...HOW AM I GOING TO CHANGE MY CLOTHES?? You can see the outfit I was wearing below. Maybe if I was going to Walmart or the Dollar Tree, I would say, "Sure. No problem. Who cares?" But to the movies? I quickly thought about the laundry and wondered if I had done a load recently I could find something to wear. Nope. I had put it all away the day before. Shoot! And my toothbrush? I hadn't brushed my teeth yet and that is clear on the other side of the bathroom, but I knew I could climb up onto the counter and walk across to get it and my makeup. Still though, no clothes. I guess I would have to stay home from the movie and let the kids go with Grandpa and Grandma. Grandma! That's it! Fortunately, Elaine and I wear the same size clothing! I hurried down to her house and asked if I could borrow some clothes and she hooked me up right away! Thanks, Elaine!

And #3 - Taking us to the movies! As I mentioned, we saw "High School Musical 3" and it was fun! The kids had asked me if we could go and see it on their day off from school. Then in the morning Elaine called and asked if they could take the kids to see a movie. It worked out perfect and they even let me come along! Carson and Jackson sat mesmerized through the whole movie, Ressa like it but lost interest in the last 10 minutes, and Lauren fell asleep half way through in Grandpa's arms. The movie was a lot longer than I thought it would be, so Carson missed his piano lesson, Ressa was late for her dance class, but Jackson was ontime to soccer practice. It was a busy but good day. Too bad Chad didn't have the day off! His day was not as fun, delivering and picking up flags for scouts before and after work, then off to roundtable meeting for scouts. Sorry, honey!

My Poor Baby!

So this past Saturday we had a combined ward Thanksgiving party and the men played in a "Turkey Bowl" out in a dirt field. It was flag football but that doesn't it didn't get a little rough and tumble. Here is Chad's souvenir from the game, and they still lost by 3 touchdown despite his bodily sacrifice.

You can tell his leg must hurt just a little by this picture. I feel bad that he has to wear pants all the time to church and work, so that doesn't help. But he is not complaining as much as Terrance on "The Amazing Race"! Is that guy the biggest pansy you have ever seen? He drives me crazy!

Happy 2 years old, Lauren!

On November 6th our little Lauren turned 2 years old! Hard to believe that two years have come and gone! Lauren is still pretty little (wearing 12 month clothes) but her mom is so glad because I like light and portable. We had a little family party Thursday after Chad got home. I went to get her a birthday cake but wasn't sure which kind to get since Lauren doesn't really like cake, just the frosting. Well, when I saw this mousse cake with fresh fruit toppings I knew it was the one! Lauren LOVES fruit! She will eat an entire can of mandarin oranges in 1 minute and peaches are also her favorite.

You can tell by the pictures that she loved her cake and loved all of the attention. Lauren is pretty spoiled but even she could tell this day was special and that she was the center of it all.

Lauren has a pretty good set of lungs for such a little girl. She blew out the candles quickly but from the look of this picture, she might have had a little unessesary help. I had to hurry and cut the cake afterward before Lauren ate all of the toppings!

We asked Grandma Rowley to take a picture of our family. Where's Jackson? Hmmm ... Well Grandma took SEVERAL pictures, mostly because Lauren kept wanted to look down at one of her new toys. Finally we got her to look up and so I thought we got a few good ones. When I sat down and looked at the pics on my camera, I saw that Carson and/or Jackson were making silly faces in EVERY SINGLE picture! I might have over-reacted and made them both get their pajamas on early (7:30pm) and go to bed. Chad later had them come out and apologize to me so they could watch a movie.

So Grandma Rowley is always so creative with her birthday cards, usually making up a poem. She wrote this birthday card for Lauren and it fits her to a "t"! I just love it! By the way, one of Chad's nicknames for Lauren is "little beast" for obvious reasons!

Here are some things that describe Lauren:

• Loves oranges, peaches, tomatos, soda, goldfish, most candy, cashews, fruity pepples, waffles, cupcakes, pizza, capri suns, and popsicles or "po-pocks"
• She refuses to sit in any kind of high chair or booster seat even though she needs one. She stands on the bar stool next to her brothers and sister when she eats, tempting gravity on a regular basis.
• She sucks on the satin corners of min-blankets for comfort, leaving an attractive brown discoloration that will not be removed in the wash. She calls these blankets "ni-nights" and I have lost track of how many I have purchased and thrown away.
• Shares a full size bed with her sister. She is a wild sleeper so sometimes when Ressa gets up in the night to go the bathroom, Lauren rolls over onto Ressa's side. Ressa then comes and wakes me up to tell me.
• Loves to sing the "monkeys jumpin' on the bed" song
• Thinks she is the absolute FIRST person to get a turn riding the horse.
• LOVES her grandpa and dad first and mom and grandma a close 2nd. (Has grandpa wrapped around her little finger!)
• Loves to go on rides with grandpa on the 4-wheeler
• Not a morning person, much like her mother
• Very good at enteraining herself and loves to "play house" and play outside.
• Loves to hang upside down and ride on Jackson's back like a horse, saying "Gid-up!"
• Loves taking baths with Ressa
• Loves swimming and has no fear of going underwater. Hurray!
• Calls most kids her age "kiddie".
• She is pretty clear on what she wants and determined to get it. She is very sassy and bossy, but she is so cute that you find yourself smiling instead of scolding sometimes.
• Hated nursery for the first 6 months and then loves it now that there is a male teacher in there. She loves wooden puzzles and they have them in nursery so she calls her class "puzzle"

We love you so much, Lauren! You are so unique and fun and you charm everyone that meets you! It is amazing to watch you grow into a little person with your own opinions, feelings, and imagination. We all get such a kick out of watching you strut around and do your thing. You have no fear (except for dogs!) and you will try new things without a second thought. You have such a BIG personality for such a SMALL little girl! This next year of your life will sure to be full of many adventures!

Happy Halloween!!

So my love for Halloween has rubbed off on my children and they love to dress up and go to as many parties as they can. This year Ressa knew that she wanted to be a black cat but the boys needed some ideas. We looked at online costume stores and Jackson knew he wanted to be a Wheaties box as soon as he saw it. Carson had to decided between the whoopie cushion and a toilet. This weekend we had two "Trunk or Treats" to go to. Friday night was our ward party and I am on the activities committe so I was pretty busy, but we still had fun. The young men made a spook alley in the primary room and Carson and Jackson went through it 4 times! They just love scary stuff! We had a costume contest and Grandpa Rowley and his two grandsons won the "Kookiest" costume awards. You can see from the pictures where Carson and Jackson get their sense of humor! I had fun dressing up as Cleopatra, but started to notice some eye irritation from the fake eye lash glue toward the end of the evening. Saturday night was the trunk or treat that our school's PTO put on. Each time we have an event, we are so thrilled with the parent/student turn out and this time was no exception! People showed up early and decorated their cars and trucks to the hilt. I was very impressed, especially since most of the people had never been to a trunk or treat! We had a chili cook off and a costume contest as well. You'll never guess who won awards for the most unique and hilarious costumes again! Ressa was not amused by this point. Maybe next year she will go a less traditional route! We still have another party and then there is the actual Halloween night itself, so the fun is just begun!

Our House (2yr anniversary)

Here are more pics or the house. This is the kids' bathroom.