and charlie turns 2...

Yep, Charlie turned two on the 20th. And I keep thinking to myself, "but we've already been doing the two thing". Maybe because we experienced the terrible two thing early with Charlie, then we are all done. I can hope, can't I?

All kidding aside, Charlie is truly the apple of my eye(sorry for the old cliche). I thank my Heavenly Father daily for the wonderful blessing he is in my life. Charlie got the easiest birthday cake I've ever made. And he loved it! Hooray for boys and dump trucks! Actually I must admit I got off really easy this year...a cake from Baskin-Robbins, cupcakes, and a dump truck cake. And now we're finally done with September birthdays. My kids are all really serious that we are celebrating Missy's birthday on October 1st....I don't think so.
That is Sean standing behind Charlie. He was so proud to give Charlie this huge Home Depot "ride on". Charlie thought it was just great! His sisters have since discovered just how much fun it is.

Charlie really got into unwrapping the presents. He kept asking for "mo more". I couldn't believe it. Crazy kid! All of his presents were totally BOY. Our house has been lacking in toys for boys and Charlie ends up wearing a bracelet around way too much.
We were so glad that Charlie's "second family"(Sean, Lori, Madison, & Sheridan) could come and share birthday cake with us. We missed Connor. Charlie truly loves being with all of them and I'm so glad that he has other people around here that feel like family to him.

Emma Grace turns 7...

Emma Grace had a few requests for her birthday....
1. Krispy Kreme donuts brought to her 1st grade class.
2. A pancake breakfast!
3. A webkinz.
4. (This was the most important one) Play "hot and cold" with the birthday presents.
5. NO ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. (EG doesn't like mixing ice cream and other desserts)
I think she had a good birthday because we met all of those requirements and added a little bit more.

We surprised her by having a few of her kindergarten friends(Anika, Sheridan, and Brooke...we missed having Courtney) over for a pancake breakfast before school. And then they all loaded up and went to school together. All of the girls were so excited to play together first thing in the morning before school that they hardly ate anything.

At school, Emma Grace was the coolest kid in the class with Krispy Kreme donuts to share. Donuts make instant friends!

Notice the polka dots! Emma Grace has talked about having a polka dot party forever. So we finally did it! Lots of dots!

For dinner, Emma Grace chose sweet and sour chicken for us all to enjoy. Yum! Yum! After dinner, we sang happy birthday and enjoyed some simple cupcakes...ICE CREAM ON THE SIDE.

She was sure to make a wish before she blew out the candles!

And then finally presents...playing "hot and cold" of course.

Check out the present in the left corner with birthday monkeys dancing. It took a little while for Emma Grace's eyes to focus on the present because it blended in so well with my messy pantry!

For weeks now the girls have talked about playing hot and cold. The last thing Emma Grace said to me when she was leaving for school that morning was, "we have to play hot and cold". It makes getting those presents that much more exciting. So I hid the presents and Emma Grace tried to warm up before her little sister did. Eliza ended up being HOT on just one present before Emma Grace.

She got a webkinz! In fact, she got two...one from Dad and me and one from Megan and Holly. EG dreams of being a cowgirl one day. So Megan and Holly gave her a webkinz horse and a book called "Cinder Ellie"(about a cowgirl). I arranged for EG to ride horses soon. She's really excited about that! She got an accordian from Grammy and Grandad...that was a big hit! She got a boy Barbie and a wedding Barbie.

She loved all of her presents and said this was the best birthday ever!

a couple of funny goggle stories...

Last week, while driving in the car, Eliza informed me that when she is baptized she is going to wear goggles. Funny! I don't think that's an approved accessory for a baptism! I told her she had 4 more years to think about it.

Charlie insisted on wearing "gah gahs" the other morning while eating his cereal. I had to snap a picture! It was kind of funny!

monolopy with the king

I went back through some pictures and realized I forgotten to blog about our Monopoly night. Crazy! We stayed up until 2:00 just trying to beat this man! Can't you just see the deal-making going on. He is pretty good with his strategy. After playing with him a couple of times before, I knew he was going to be ready to kick our butts. Gary and Tara had to learn it the hard way. This is our game board for the second game. Check out the hotels in the top of the picture. Those are Tara's. She put up a good fight and we actually thought Todd was going down. But...nope....Todd won again. He takes you for everything you are worth. I'm staying up at night thinking about beating him at Monopoly...okay just kidding. My life can be kind of mundane but I'm not that pitiful!

Can't you just tell we are getting abused. Oh, poor Gary and Tara. Yes...he stands up and everything. This is serious business.
Gary and Tara downloaded the game to their blackberry so they are practicing. Todd is up for a real fight the next time we play. So hurry back for a visit Gary and Tara. We're looking forward to it!

happy birthday brenna...

Look at this cute card that Megan drew! (Really...one day I'm going to post all of the amazing artwork that Megan leaves at our house.) Holly came over for breakfast for a little before school birthday surprise. The look of confusion on Brenna's face when Holly was at the door at 7:30 in the morning with a present in her face, was priceless. We had a great pancake breakfast and the girls were all off to school. Nope...there are no pictures of it...what was I thinking! It's that getting ready for school and trying to throw in a little birthday surprise. My brain didn't think pictures too!

Brenna chose Rigatoni and meatballs for her birthday dinner. Yum! Everyone was happy with her selection.

After dinner we hid the presents and played hot and cold. The children love this! Emma Grace has already asked me fifteen times if we're going to do it for her birthday!

Here is Brenna finding a present in the cabinet. Other presents were hidden in the microwave, on top of the kitchen cabinets, behind the blinds, under the coach. It just adds to their excitement.
Brenna getting her new webkinz! The cheetah. She named him Bacon.

I don't even like her to tell how many she has now. It's embarrassing. But she has gotten all of them through legitiment means so I don't feel too guilty...birthdays, Christmas, earning money, summer reading.

Oh...you just have to love Baskin Robbins. Nothing is better than just picking up the birthday cake and marking that off your list. Althought letting go of $30.00 to buy the thing was not fun. Why are they so expensive. I told Todd we were going to save the other half for Emma Grace's and Charlie's birthday...just kidding!!

i've been waiting for this all year...

It's time for fruit from Utah again. My body is CRAVING yummy farm fresh produce. There is nothing worse than the fake tomatoes, peaches and pears in the grocery store. There is a lady who gets produce from a grower in Utah. She sends out an email and lets everyone know when it's coming. Then for one day each week for about two months everyone lines up at her garage to get their produce. I have, of course, already sunk my teeth into a peach, sliced a tomato and topped it with salt, pepper and mozzerella cheese(I need to get some feta), and filled a colander with raspberries that my children and I have already finished off. Todd is requesting a peach cobbler for tonight.
And I'm getting out my booklet for my pressure cooker to refresh my memory on how to can these babies. I love it!
In a few more weeks, she is going to have apples. Oh my...fresh applesauce. I can hardly wait!

frogs?

So apparently an absolute fear and disgust of reptiles is not hereditary. Brenna recently came home from a friend's house with a "pet" toad. Her sisters couldn't wait to get their hands, or at least their fingers on it. I took the picture with a telephoto lense, because I was unwilling to get any closer than 100 feet. I hate those things. I have ever since I was about 10 years old and my little brothers put a few of them in my bed as a fun little surprise. Or was it the many times that I opened up the cool whip tub in the fridge and found frog legs floating in water? Whatever started it, those feelings are still with me, but hopefully I haven't passed them on to my kids.