happy thanksgiving asher is thankful for "my family, and Jesus and Heavenly Father, and banana cream pie, and my friends, and turkey, and the native americans, and electronics, and school" malcom is thankful for "school, mom, wii, dad, Jesus"
and now its christmas time- the most wonderful time of the year!
she opened her present from her brothers first thing in the morning. here she is showing off the treasures she found inside her new purse.
playing with her new little people dollhouse.
we carved pumpkins after dinner and here's our one group shot as we began--doesn't everyone look so happy to be smiling for the camera?
the day after we had a little celebration with cake and balloons
i know her cake is pretty pitiful but i didn't have a theme in mind and she loves suckers. the girl can blow out candles faster than you can light em!
like i said, suckers are her favorite
i love my little violet. she is truly the greatest. she is the most brutely little lady around. she loves pretty things and baby dolls but doesn't hesitate to make any object into a weapon and yell, "i fight you!" unlike her brothers at her age, she is feisty and assertive- she will scream at malcom "be nice to me!" if he isn't. i love how she says my name at least twice in every sentence..."mom, i'm hungry,mom." "mom, which one you yike, mom? you yike dis one, mom?" she answers, "i'm not" to any idea that doesn't sound good. whenever she tells me she's hungry and i ask her what she'd like, she almost always says, "fruit snacks and chocyet". once she told me she wanted "fruit snacks and chocyet all day. dist kidding mom." violet is genuinely funny and makes a variety of crazy faces. she has the best lisp ever and she wants to do everything by herself. she is a champ at i spy books and knows all the characters on mario kart and the names of the courses (she's good at remembering names altogether). when something is bugging or itching her (like a tag in her shirt or elastic in her hair) she accuses a ladybug of doing it. she loves playing the i'll save you game (she pretends to see a spider or ghost and then grabs onto me and says, "i will save you, mom!") she is a daredevil, she calls her baby "my fweetheart" and i love when she introduces herself- "hi, i'm by-yet". she loves jumping, dancing, and singing. she likes to remember things even if they didn't happen, "rember that, mom?" and my favorite is when she'll say, "i want to kiss you, mom" out of the blue because i always want to kiss her too.
we spent labor day weekend in heber with the nelsons. hangin with these dudes is the best.
chiara and i checked the boys out of school for a special outing to the Lion King. it was awesome.
malcom had his first go at a team sport this season. t-ball was his pick, and he now has a trophy on his dresser just like his brother. malcom is a great hitter, but watching him run the bases is fantastic.
asher attempted tennis this year and loved it. i have high hopes-- tennis stars are always rich and good-looking.
we took our traditional trip to the gully for a fall picnic
and of course we love the pumpkin patch with the johns'
FIRST DAY OF 2ND GRADE he's a big man. i'm so grateful he was so thrilled for school to start. i tried not to put a damper on his good attitude but i'm sure my fake crying and saying, "i can't believe 'we' have to go back to school already!" didn't help. thankfully he remained positive. the morning of the first day, i awoke to the toilet flushing followed by a little, "yes! i can't even wait!" he loves his new teacher, mrs. woodard, and he can't wait to earn squeaks, their class pet. last weekend, however, he did confide in me that he misses 1st grade (he was laying in bed looking ponderous while holding his poseidon trident when he confessed). it was so dear.
FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL (FOR THE THIRD YEAR) malcom is a seasoned student. he's been going to school since he was 2 1/2 and doesn't even flinch when its time. he loves school and seeing all his buddies- unfortunately, rachel and tiago are in a different class this year (i hear about it daily). mac bumped up to 3 days a week this year which has been great since he always wants to be doing what ashers doing. he loves singing time and i love the look on his face when i pick him up.
FIRST DAY OF... nothing really. but this mug is cute enough to include simply because i feel like it.
so, it turns out summer is just about over and this one has been particularly eventful. i want to document best i can seeing as how life is passing me by and my feelings of nostalgia are growing at an alarming rate. i need everything to stop. slow down.
let's go back to june, after all that's when summer began. and in order for summer to start, school needed to end...
asher performed in his class play to finish off his first grade year. He played Poseidon in "Odysseus and the Cyclops". i've always thought asher had a knack for acting:)
The weekend before school let out, i enjoyed a fabulous ladies trip down to St. George with my four cousins. we even spent a day in vegas to celebrate jasmine's birthday. shopping and the O show. It was grand. i love these girls
awww, first grade. i don't know what to make of it. school really was great, i just believe first grade may have brought out a different side of asher. he's a bit more wild, a bit more whiney, and bit more distracted. i'm hoping its just a phase, but i'm more worried that perhaps the first part of his life was just a phase, and the sweet, smart, mellow kid i once knew is gone forever. i know i'm being overly dramatic, but still. that being said, he loved his teacher and so did i. he was an excellent student, science was his fave, and he loved all of the great friends he made. its just....he's becoming a real boy.
swimming lessons were first on the docket this summer. we did our traditional two weeks with the nelsons. a perfect way to start off summer.
Next, we were lucky enough to have the withers come to town. we met up at the alpine slide for some rides and dinner. wahoo!
we even got to have rylee, sophie, and chuck spend a day hangin at our house. such fun.
one special occasion that took place this summer was the Carver family sealing. it was so magical to watch those beautiful children dressed in white. i am so proud of jasmine and justin.
mr. mac turned 4. that's right 4, and i don't believe it. sometimes it seems likes he's been around for twice that long. he is emotional and crazy and sweet and violent all at once and is one of the most lovable creatures on the planet. Because kevin was going to be out of town on his actual big day, he got double the celebration. a day with dad included a matinee viewing of toy story 3 followed by an evening at jump on it and dinner at noodles and co. my kids were in heaven.
the next day, we had his "real" party and went to the zoo, and mimi and pa's for pizza and cake and ice cream.
malcom's birthdays are the best (ask asher).
no sooner had we cleaned up the birthday wrapping, than we began packing up the car. that's right folks, over 2 weeks of fun at our favorite place-- the CABIN!
kevin's birthday was only days after we got home. chocolate cake and a fireworks display in the backyard. what more could a 32 year old man want? (besides the toucan icey/hot gel pack my boys picked out for him at old navy of all places. it was .99 so i agreed it would make an ideal gift for dad)
huntington beach 2010. since kevin had mostly been absent this summer, we planned a family vaca to California. we spent our 9 year anniversary at none other than the greatest place on earth, disneyand. surprisingly enough, we enjoyed the smallest crowd and the lowest temperatures of either of our previous trips. the boys top pick was seaworld of course. we even sat in the soak zone but much to asher's dismay, did not get wet. we spent hours playing at the beach and ate at some fun local joints. i love vacationing. here's what i've learned in my old age: despite how many times i wanted to slug my husband or strangle my children throughout the duration of our stay, i look back on this trip with only the fondest of memories. that's what these outings are all about.
august 3 2010 kinsey got married. my little sister is a wedded woman. she looked smashing and the events were lovely. here's to a long life of happiness! cache is a gem.
what better to follow a weddin than a baptism. asher and i got to see cute rubee get baptized on the 7th. hard to believe asher's baptism is just around the corner-- how are these kids getting so old??
a backyard campout is as far as we dare to go. maybe next year
asher and madden were part of the copperview children's choir this summer. they put on a great performance. here they are, the tone rangers, i like to call them.
what would summer be without a trip to lagoon? i might have said that last year, which shows how much i really mean it. kevin thinks i'm a carni. i can't help it, i love amusement parks... and i'm thrilled to see asher is following in my footsteps.
something my kids have loved doing this summer is riding our bikes to the lake to feed the ducks. we've done it quite a bit and it makes me feel like a good mom because we're being active and doing something interactive. and don't forget nature.
a gathering with my girls was an event fit for such a glorious summer. hard to believe i've been rolling with these ladies for nearly 2 decades. they are the best of company and plus hilarious.
so in case i was wondering, life is pretty good. except that school starts tomorrow. waaaaahhh! christmas will be here before i know it.
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