Build a Bear

Lizzie received some birthday money and knew right away how she wanted to spend it. We decided to wait until the giver of the gift (Grandma and Grandpa Bird) moved here so that they could share in the experience with her.

Lizzie chose a Dairy Queen Blizzard Bear that smells like chocolate.

She gave her a bath.

And is still giving her lots of love and attention.
We got to join our cousins at the mall and have some fun climbing at the play areas and riding on the carousel.

Straight No Chaser-part 1

Last Spring, Steve was let in on one of his new favorite music group's touring schedule. They were coming to Chicago! He was so excited! The day the priority tickets were made available to those in the fan club, Steve was online ready to order. In the time it took for him to walk out of his office and clear the date with me and my schedule, the concert was sold out. He tried other venues and decided to go for it when he was able to get tickets for a concert in Milwaukee. He also wanted to take the boys with us.

We made good time and had very little traffic, so we decided to go to a "sit-down" restaurant...Benihana's. Steve was the only one who had ever eaten there before. So fun! Braxton was very hesitant, but quickly realized that he had a choice of more than just sashimi. :) As usual, he cleaned his plates...as well as his brothers.

We were the 8th or 9th row back in the dead center. They were spectacular seats!

Carter wanted a turn with my phone and proof that I was there.

What a great, memorable night! The boys had smiles on their faces the whole time. My favorite numbers were the mash-ups. They are brilliant!

Locks of Love

Emma did it! She donated 12 inches of her hair to Locks of Love.

For months, she has known that she was going to be Rapunzel for Halloween and then she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. She was a little disappointed when I wasn't prepared to take her Tuesday, November 1st to get it cut. I made her wait until Friday.

She was SO excited! My mom was devastated, since Emma's hair is one of her defining features. I was anxious not knowing if she was going to be happy after she cut it. She never regretted her decision for one second.

Lizzie was going to try to donate her hair as well, but it was one inch too short. The hairstylist felt that the remaining hair would not be long enough to make her look cute and girly. Lizzie will wait and get her own special day to donate hers in a few months. This news was supposed to help her feel better, but the tears never stopped. I was grateful Grandma was there to comfort Lizzie, since she needed someone to herself.

Here's Emma with the final product! She looks darling! In fact, Carter's teacher has a daughter who did the exact thing--was Rapunzel for Halloween then donated her hair the next day. In talking with her, she said she feels Emma's new hairstyle actually fits her bubbly personality better. Probably true. It's definitely easier to take care of, but I miss the styles that I now cannot do on her hair. Oh, well. Emma is so happy and can hardly keep her hands out of it!

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!

This is extremely overdue, but I still have to share all that is going on in our lives over the last few weeks...
First of all, Steve's parents moved in to an apartment 5 minutes away from us on Saturday, October 29th. My children are already spoiled with the extra attention they are receiving. We are squeezing 9 people at our dinner table every night and I am getting a break from dishes, which I LOVE! I hope they don't regret their decision come sub-zero temperatures in February. They are getting to see the good and bad in their grandchildren, but they keep coming over for more, so I think it's going to work out. :)

Halloween was a little more chaotic than usual because of the schedule we were keeping. October 29th brought a move, but also the final football and soccer games AND an entertaining concert in Milwaukee by one of Steve's favorite acapella groups, Straight No Chaser. We are so grateful that Grandma and Grandpa Bird were here because they took the girls to our church's Trunk or Treat for us. Everyone had a great time that night and arrived home safely.

Sunday was our Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. The kids were wonderful!!! It is one of my favorite Sundays of the year. Their sweet voices make me smile from the inside out. Emma had a solo this year to Search, Ponder, and Pray with the rest of the primary joining her on the chorus. I couldn't be prouder! My counselor did a spectacular job putting the program together. I then did a special sharing time/party called "Faith Factor" with trivia, games, and treats. We had a blast! I was exhausted when it was over, but it was worth it!

Monday morning came...no pumpkins were carved and not even all of the costumes were done! Lizzie was a beautiful, blushing bride. She was beautiful in her parade.

Carter was Jimmer. Somehow he got his teacher to allow him to dribble outside in the parade.

CRAZY!

Emma, aka. Rapunzel, led her class in her parade. I got to work her class's party and ran the relay races. I don't know what it is, but I'm always the one running around with the kids at the parties. The other moms always get the sit-down crafts and activities.

Emma and Lizzie drew what they wanted on their pumpkin so that I could speedily cut it out after school.

This year, I tried something new...I allowed the boys to design and CUT their own. They did it! No one was injured either! Win-Win!

Here they are ready to collect some loot. I normally don't allow children over 12 to go, but decided to let B & E take Carter while I walked with the girls who were too slow for the boys' patience level.

Braxton - Percy Jackson (I made his shirt with Freezer paper stencils--AWESOME!)

Evan - Jason from The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Jimmer, Rapunzel, and Bride

Don't you love Emma's "Can we just go" look?

Fall activities

What have we been doing lately?

2 kids on swim team

1 playing on the most wonderful, friendly, and UNDEFEATED football team EVER

1 child playing soccer

1 child taking ballet and in swimming lessons

4 children in their own scout troops

5 kids with homework--seriously, homework in preschool!

1 husband trying to support a family, be cubmaster, teach primary, and be an assistant scout master to an 11 year old scout troop

2 kids in honors chorus meeting at 6:45 AM!!!!

3 children in their school's chorus

1 child in Orchestra & Swingin' Strings

4 children taking piano lessons

1 Mom driving these 5 kids to all their activities!

Whew!

Fall is anything but boring!

Starved Rock

Over Labor Day, we had a Saturday afternoon with no commitments, so we loaded everyone up in the van with a picnic lunch and headed out to Starved Rock State Park. This is my getaway when I am missing my mountains. My soul yearns to connect with nature out there. Growing up, my family went hiking in Lamoille Canyon multiple times a year. Starved Rock is the closest thing I can get for my kids to experience something similar. It doesn't have different lakes every other mile, but allows us to escape suburbia and make us feel like we are hiking. It also gave us the chance to help Evan do a 5 mile hike where he could work on his orienteering skills needed for his first and second class rank in scouts.

Lizzie is usually a big baby when it comes to physical exertion. I had warned her that she didn't get to come with the big kids unless she promised me that she would walk the whole way on her own two feet--without whining. (Am I mean or what?!) She was a trooper. She was sassy the whole day! She became a different character every quarter mile or so (princess, supergirl, fairy, strong girl, etc.) and entertained all groups of people within earshot of her voice. She would "fly" past hikers as she was off to save the world and then tap her foot waiting for us commonfolk to catch up. Her volume level along with her adrenaline was high the whole time and many fellow hikers were caught giggling and smiling at her unceasing commentary throughout the hike.

The kids love all of the coves that they can hike up in. It really is beautiful!

This one was their favorite. It was made of sandstone and they climbed and ran around listening to their echoes for nearly a half an hour.

"I'm queen of the world."

Above: A rare moment with Carter sitting still.
Below: My cute kiddos.

First Crush

There is a young man who has come every month with his father to visit our family for the last 4 years. In those four years, I have watched him grow from a boy to a man and am so proud of him! He is a superb example for my boys to emulate. He is also the type of young man I hope my girls will marry. My Emma echoes that desire. ;) We noticed in the last year that she was quite shy or giggly whenever he came. Then, when we received his graduation announcement, look what was put in the center of our fridge just moments after she read it. Yep. We now have an emptiness in our hearts as he moves on with his future at BYU. We wish him the best of luck, and are secretly hoping there is someone out there just like him...but 10-12 years younger.