September 30

I walked into the living room to find Carter draped over the chair reading. It totally cracked me up. It looked so uncomfortable to me but he spent a pretty good amount of time in this very position while enjoying a new book. Silly boy!

September 29

Such a random picture but it made me laugh when I pulled it off my camera. Apparently Carter was playing with my camera while we were waiting for Makenna to get done with her dance class. I just love the way Addie is looking at Allen here - such a look of adoration. Darling!

September 28

I have been looking for a new dining room table for a few months and have not been able to find one I loved. I found a few online but was nervous to order anything without seeing the color in person. While in Utah, I convinced Al to let me stop at DownEast Home to check out their selection. We found the PERFECT table that I had already looked at in the Pottery Barn catalog. He did a lot of grumbling about traveling home with a table strapped on top of our car but in the end we are both thrilled that we found such a high quality piece that fit in our budget.

September 27

This is another project I've worked on this week. I've had these faux pumpkins for a few years and had no idea what to do with them. They were a really gross color so I decided to paint them a shimmery copper color and then got the idea to add the vinyl lettering. So in love with these now and am so glad I didn't get rid of them last year like I wanted to!

September 26

While in Utah we were fortunate to stay with Joel and Ami for the weekend. We didn't get a ton of time together but it was really fun to spend a few hours together. The kids always love whenever they get to spend time with cousins, no matter how short or the age difference. They loved hanging out with Dane and were so sad to leave!

September 25

We made a totally kamikaze trip to Utah for Mindy and Erik's wedding. We were in town for less than 36 hours but we were so glad to be there for their big day. We could not be more thrilled for them and loved sharing the day with their close friends and family.

September 24

This was a fun project that the entire family worked on together. We made this pumpkin banner out of mellow pumpkin candies one afternoon. Allen drilled holes in all the pumpkins and the kids strung them on embroidery floss. We sprayed them with a clear lacquer spray to preserve it and then I tied Halloween ribbon throughout. It looks so cute hanging on our mantle and the kids love that they helped with it.

September 23

Sometimes no matter how many times I try I can't manage to get a great shot of all the kids together. And sometimes the silly shots turn out to be the best and most representative shots after all. So you just go with it!

September 22

I've been wanting to add vinyl labels to my baking jars for ages. I finally got some labels ordered from a girl I found on etsy. I love how they look now!

September 21

Since this fall is shaping up to be so crazily busy we decided to bag our trip to Dixon apple farm. We were so bummed but there was no way to squeeze it in during their open weekends. Luckily, one of my friends was willing to pick up some bags of apples for us. Yum! These are truly the best apples I've ever tasted and we go through them fast. Good thing we have 50 lbs. to enjoy this year!

September 20

Carter and Makenna have gotten really into collecting the state quarters in the past few months. Today they emptied our change jar to make sure they hadn't missed any states that might be in there. They did end up finding quite a few states to add to their collections.

September 19

After church today Al and Kenna made a batch of cookies together. She is definitely our best helper and especially LOVES to do anything to help in the kitchen. I just love this picture of them working together.

September 18

So the state fair was not all fun and games. Allen ended up having an allergic reaction to something he ate at the fair and we ended up in the ER for several hours today. It was not fun and he had to get several dosages of steroids and medications for the issue to be resolved. We were grateful that our friend was able to give him a Priesthood blessing and felt that it was the catalyst to resolving the issue. Al is reluctantly showing off his hospital band in this picture.

September 17

Tonight for our date we went with our friends the Jorgensens to the NM state fair. The fair is a big deal around here and we took our kids last year but decided to just do it with the two of us this year. We had a really fun time looking at the exhibits and eating TONS of fair food. We especially loved the deep fried chile relleno and fried snickers we got. So not healthy but we figure it's only once a year!

September 16

Carter FINALLY started flag football this week. He has been impatiently waiting for the season to begin since we signed him up a couple months ago. He REALLY loved his practice today and is excited for the first game this weekend.

September 15

How we love Sonic happy hour. We pass right by a Sonic on the drive home from school and I admit to stopping at least once a week. You just can't beat drinks for 5 people (my kids plus their friend who we carpool with) for about $2. We love it!

September 14

All my pictures seem to be of Addie this month! Yikes! You can tell who I spend the majority of my time with these days. We have been working a lot on color/letter/number recognition and she has loved this color matching game where you match up two sides of the cookie with the correct color. We have played it for hours today and then she packed up the cookies to take with her for her afternoon nap.

September 13

Look what came in the mail today! Hooray! This makes our upcoming cruise vacation finally seem REAL. My passport expired a few months ago and we decided to take the plunge for the full deal, even though they're technically not needed to board the ship. We are hoping this will motivate us to do a bit more international traveling in the next 10 years before they expire!

September 12

Addie totally loves to comb any one's hair who will sit long enough and let her do it. I was the recipient for a good combing today for a good long while.

September 11

Carter and Makenna think that they sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks when they sing with their mouths covered. It really cracks me up (until it gets annoying). Tonight they song after Primary song in this way for us. So silly!

September 10

Today Addison started her toddler ballet class. Pretty much the cutest thing in the entire world. She was so excited to be just like Makenna and wearing a leotard to her very own class. I just love this picture of her so much!

September 9

Today after school the kids were having a huge pillow fight in the living room. Logically I knew I should have stopped them but they were really having so much fun together that I just went with it. Eventually it resulted in them piling the pillows at the bottom of the stairs and seeing who could jump from the highest stair. They had a blast and played well together for a good long time while I made dinner.

September 8

Today my friend returned our carseat that she borrowed for some out of town company. Addie thought it was the greatest thing in the world and sat in it forever. She even insisted that I strap her up - over and over again. Silly (and HUGE) girl!

September 7

With the big kids in school full time I've been trying to do one preschool/toddler appropriate activity with Addison every day. She is sure thriving on her one-on-one time with me. Today we pulled out some paints and I let her go to town. I didn't even get freaky when she started to paint on herself. She loved it. And had a nice bath in the kitchen sink afterwards.

September 6

Today we took grandma down to Old Town to see the sights and do some shopping. She LOVED it. She said it reminded her of the downtown plaza's in Chile where she served her mission. We had a great time looking at the sights, doing a bit of shopping and then having a traditional New Mexican lunch at the Church Street Cafe. It was wonderful.

September 5

Grandma F. is always so great about doing fun play time activities with the kids. She is always making a little tea party with the kids or doing other fun things. This morning the kids made homemade Play Doh and played for a long time. They also had a tea party and made fun Jello jigglers with her. They sure love grandma!

September 4

The kids are thrilled to pieces that Grandma Frost is coming for a quick visit over the weekend. They have been anxiously waiting for her all afternoon and decided to "play dead" when she arrived. They colored these "injuries" and this is how she found them when she walked in the door today. Where do they come up with this stuff?

September 3

I am bound and determined to get caught up on some of my neglected projects around here.

I've spent a few days getting caught up on the kids' school scrapbooks. I hadn't scrapped Carter's Kindy or 1st grade years and here he is in 2nd grade already! Sheesh. But I am caught up now and it feels great!

September 2

We have finally decided to go full throttle on Addison's potty training. I finally feel well enough to tackle this "project" and she seems ready. We decided to devote most of our Labor Day weekend to potty time. She is getting #1 down pretty well but seems to be struggling with #2. Oh, how I hate potty training!!

September 1

A sure sign that life is returning to normal after months of first trimester pregnancy yuckies - my laundry is getting done on a reasonable schedule! For the past 4 months it's been sitting in baskets for days until Allen gets around to folding it. Ahhh.. it feels nice to start feeling like myself again!

August 31

Allen and Carter spent the evening working on his first monthly project for school. Carter had to choose a constellation to research and present to his class. He chose to research Ursa Major and he and Allen planned out his poster and practiced his presentation several times tonight. I'm so happy to see him challenged in school this year for the first time ever!

August 30

I am finally starting to come out of the 1st trimester of pregnancy fog. We have been eating out way too much all summer so I am turning over a new leaf and meal planning again for the fall. It feels so good to be getting some of my energy back to complete some of my long neglected tasks.

August 29

We finally got our copy of Mockingjay today - I will never pre order from Amazon again. We are both chomping at the bit to get going on the book but Allen is being nice enough to let me read it first! Can't wait to see how the series ends!

August 28

Tonight we finally used the free Isotopes game tickets the kids earned while doing the summer reading program. We had such a fun time and definitely plan to hit up a few more games next year. The weather was perfect and it was such an enjoyable evening.

August 27

Carter is loving the BYU football shirt we got for him in Provo. In fact, he wants to wear it EVERY day. Sometimes I think I need to hide it from him just to get him into something different! Hopefully they have a good season this year!

August 26

I love seeing the kiddos all snuggled up together in the mornings. Sleepy eyes and bedhead. It's so nice when they like each other and play well together.

August 25

Oh my. We are getting ready to potty train and have put the potty seat in one of the bathrooms in preparation. Addie came out of the bathroom like this today and we all about died laughing. Yes, it's gross, but it is also REALLY funny.

August 24

Carter loves to give Addie "rides" on our rocking chair in the morning. She thinks it's the most fun thing ever, even though it kind of scares me to see him rocking the chair so hard.

August 23

Addie is obsessed with Play Doh. She begs to play with it every day. I've been trying to do a fun crafty project with her every day after the big kids head off to school. She's definitely thriving with the one-on-one time with me. It's such a treat to get so much time with her before the baby comes!

August 22

Today Carter was waiting for his friend Noah to come over for a playdate. He was VERY anxious for him to arrive and spent a good 20 minutes parked on top of the bookcase looking out the window, waiting for his arrival. Hilarious.

August 21

This morning we headed to Krispy Kreme for a little Saturday morning breakfast. It is crazy to me that we are at a point where we can easily pound down a dozen donuts with just our little family. Yum!

August 20

Ugh. I finally pulled out my bins of maternity clothes today and started to go through them. I honestly just want to burn them all but I'm obviously NOT buying all new maternity clothes for my final pregnancy. The small pile is the stuff I just can't wear again due to style and the big pile is the stuff I'm forcing myself to wear yet again.

August 19

Addie was running around in her dress up shoes and diaper after her bath tonight. She is turning into quite the girly girl just like her sister and would wear dress up shoes everywhere if we would let her!

August 18

The kids begged us to set up our tent and let them sleep in it for a few nights. We gave in and set it up tonight and threatened them that we would make them go into their beds if they didn't go right to sleep. About five minutes after tucking them in, I went to check on them and found them completely crashed out!

August 17

Coming home from vacation is about as much work as leaving on it. This is the mail pile that I picked up today. It's insane dealing with 2 weeks worth of mail!

August 16

We made it back just in time for the second week of school. The kids missed the first week due to the family reunion but they were ready to start this morning. Despite having a late night, they were troopers and were super excited to start at their new school. They had a great first day and we are all excited to get back into a routine after the summer.

August 15

Allen's only necessity when we are traveling is a gigantic caffeinated beverage. He filled up our giant 52 oz. mug every time we stopped on the way up and back. I am always amazed at how much he can drink! He also loves having books on his iPod to listen to while he drives.

August 14

Today we started the LONG drive home to NM. We drove all the way from Portland to Provo - about 14 hours in the car. It was brutal but the kids were total troopers. Thank goodness for our in car DVD player and huge stash of snacks!

August 13

One of our favorite things about the beach house is the hot tub that is right off the beach. The kids love to sit in the hot tub and then run down and jump in the freezing ocean water before running back to the hot tub. They did it over and over again the entire time we were staying at the beach.

August 12

This morning we went to the tide pools during low tide. It was so great to see all of the sea creatures up close. The kids loved finding star fish, sea urchins and anemone's all throughout the rocks. We even saw a sea lion on the beach!