Giving Thanks

Last week in church friends of ours spoke about gratitude. Very appropriate for this time of year. I really enjoyed their comments and put me in the mood for thanksgiving. So for family night we decided to have the kids make thank you card for people they wanted to tell "Thanks". They had a great time making their turkies and decorating them. They took them to school to give their teachers. We talked about all the blessing that we have. It was great that the kids are starting to understand the meanings of the Holiday's and that they are learning so much. We asked Porter if he knew what the Pilgrims and Indians were all about. " The pilgrims came on a boat and they were hungry so the Indians helped them." We were suprised at how much he knew and that he could sum it up in one simple sentence. Smart kid! Olivia has been learning a lot too. She is incredibly politically correct and always refers to the Indians as Native American. Which they are, it just sounds so grown up. She knew about how" the pilgrims left their country because their king wanted them to worship him." I'm glad she pays attention in school. She is one smart wipper too. Honestly I asked them just to make sure I am remembering things correctly. It has been a really long time since I've been in school.

Halloween

Halloween 2007. This year was great. Just a litttle trauma figuring out costumes. Porter wanted to be a BUFFALO! You ask, how do you get a buffalo costume? Luckily this started months ago. Porter was determined that NANA could make him a buffalo dress-up. Nana found a great, life-like hat that would work perfectly so I figured I could come up with the rest of it. Well I did my best but it just wasn't what Porter had in mind. He wanted "Fur all over". I didn't get it. So reluctantly , but with a good attitude, Porter put on the old stand-by, or should I say Side-kick, to participate in the time old tradition of Halloween. Porter's pre-school class has a trunk-or-treat with all the parents . It is so much fun to see him interact with his class and his teacher. She is great! Porter was excited that his friend was bat man so they could be a dynamic duo.

Conner loved halloween. He had more fun going through the others candy then they did themselves. He loves the salt water taffy the best. I had to make sure it got unwrapped quickly or it was gone in one big bite. "Naked baby" wasn't his costume. He was a pumpkin, a very cute pumpkin. Unfortunately I haven't gotten the pictures of him from my father-in-law. I will post them as soon as I get them. They will be worth the wait I promise.

Olivia had her school parade. It is quite a sight. She was excited to be a "China Girl" Rod couldn't help but sing "little china girl" to her every time she said it. She looked darling. We went to our ward halloween party. The kids love this tradition. The youth in the ward do it for the primary kids every year. It is a lot of fun. Olivia was quite independant this year, running from booth to booth. The next time I saw her she had a bag full of candy and her face painted and we had only been there 20 minutes. Porter was more reluctant. He didn't like "the scary stuff" this year. It really freaked him out. We were to the point that I couldn't take him to wall mart without him throwing a fit. So he stayed close to me and we made our way to the candy but skipped the face painting. I don't think the boys are into "make-up" as much as the girls. Oh Well.

Trick-or-Treating at my mom's work has become a must for the kids. The office complex where my mom works has a Trick-or-Treat every year. We have to go and see Grandma and show our costumes to the co-workers. It's always fun to see what they have come up with for their own. Grandma is great about coming up with good ones that she lets me borrow when she's done. It works out great for me and I think my mom secretly likes it too. My kids favorite part is the cookie dough that PaPa Murphy's gives out. I think Rod ate it this year.

Conner's 1st Birthday

Sorry about the sideways pictures. I will fix it as soon as I learn how. Which may be never but I will try I promise. Anyway, getting to the good stuff. We made Conner his own cake to eat. It was great. We are lucky it is still warm enough outside that we could strip him down and let him go at it. He had a great time.

These are actually cupcakes. Aren't you impressed? Liv wanted to have a friend over so she wouldn't be the only girl! That is hard with this family. We had the cousins( who could) come over for cake and ice cream. It was great.
Can you tell who blew out the candles?

September 22, 2007. This year for my birthday I got three cakes. Each of my kids decorated a birthday cake for me. The best I've ever had. My mom was the think tank behind this one. She was great and watched the kids for us while Rod and I went out to dinner. The kids thought that it was so great and were so excited to give them to me. Thanks Mom!

This is our most recent family picture. It was taken in July when we were in Bear Lake for a family reunion. This is as good as it gets with three little ones. I am pretty proud of our brood.

I have finally been convinced (by some persistant co-workers) that it is time for me to start a blog site. I have been so impressed by their enthusiasm and creativity with what they have done that I am going to try and learn something from them. Mostly, for me this will be a good way to jot down thoughts experiences and memorable mements that I don't want to loose and want to reflect upon. So Girls this is all because of you! My posterity will thank you one day!