My Silly Kids

Wow, I am actually posting twice in one month. That hasn't happened for a while but it seems like life has slowed down a little. I guess that is good except I have filled my time with a new obsession: Pinterest. I am a little addicted right now. I am sure it will wear off after a month or so or when we get really busy again. :)

I have some random pictures of the kids being cute and silly. I like these kind of pictures. The kids aren't all dressed up, usually their hair is a mess, they are not fully dressed, etc. It helps to showcase what "real" life is like and not just "posed" life. :) Although I like "posed" life too. :)

This first one is of Asher in a costume "head." I am actually not sure what kind of costume it is. Chris's brother John brought it over one night and played with the kids with it. It belonged to his girlfriend who was going to be in a parade. Asher was really cute in it! He was pretending to be a monster because I think that is what he thought it was.

My little Mummies

Abigail came running to me and said, "hurry mom, grab your camera and come downstairs." So, I listened, grabbed my camera and headed downstairs. When I got there, all the kids (except Abbie, who was hurrying to get in line) had rolled up like mummys. I love, love, love that my kids play together and they have such awesome imaginations. Even, Austin still isn't too old to play with this little sisters. I hope they always do!

Their mummy faces! Man, I love these kids! They always make me smile, except for when they don't. ;)

Puppy Tent

G & G Carter got Asher a puppy tent for Christmas. Here are the girls and him sleeping in it one night. They love it!

I thought this picture of Abigail was cute, plus it absolutely represents a little piece of her. She is my "sleepy head." I called her that once and now she always says that she is my "sleepy head." She sleeps in the latest (usually). She still takes a nap almost every day! If I try to make her take one, she will throw a fit so I just stopped making her and now I find her in random places throughout the house sleeping. She is also my only kid that wakes up grouchy if she didn't get enough sleep. Can't wait to see what the teenage years bring! :)

Christmas Rewind

I finally downloaded the pictures from Christmas off my camera. We had a great Christmas this year visiting with family and only a few minor sicknesses. Because Chris recently switched jobs he was unable to take any time off which hasn't happened since, well...never. :( It was a little weird for him not to have some time off but we are counting our blessings that he has a job at all!

We'll start off with the weird first snow we got of the year...I think this may have been the last too. All day Abigail had begged me to go outside with her to build a snowman on this day. For some reason or another and after listening to enough excuses from me she went out there by herself and started to build this snowman. Luckily, Austin came home just in time from school and helped her and they built this cute little snowman that they said was a little bottom heavy and had a "teeny, tiny face." Austin even took this picture...they were so proud of the first snowman they built without the help of an adult.

The first snow of the year didn't actually end up melting until after Christmas. That was a good thing though since we didn't get much more and still haven't in January. My kids are sad because they haven't been able to go sledding yet this year or make another snowman.

This year was also the first year the kids made their own gingerbread houses without our help too. (OK, maybe a little...but really only a little). You can tell from this picture that they got a little frustrated at times.

Austin's turned out really good...obviously age has a lot to do with it. I think Abigail ate most of hers before she finished. :)

Love this picture of my kids even though the two little ones have red sucker mouths.

We couldn't get Asher to sit up. He kept wanting to "kick-back" on Austin.

Last year I gave out 22 plates of goodies to friends and family for Christmas. Due to this talk, specifically the 2nd "Forget Me Not" I decided to tone it down this year and only do 12. This made me sad but I think it still turned out good.

I made home-made hot chocolate from this site. It was good but I probably would not make it again without some changes. I made these home-made marshmallows which were fabulous. I am not a lover of marshmallows but these were actually quite good. Just be prepared to be covered in powdered sugar while dealing with them.

Then I made this and this biscotti. Both of which were super yummy!

Next on the Christmas rewind was the In-tune Christmas concert and our visit to Santa (Chris's Uncle Gerald).

This year Austin asked for "Optimus Prime Ultimate" Transformer.

Allison asked for a Motor Scooter.

Abigail asked for a "Lala Loopsey Doll" and another Minnie Mouse.

Asher didn't ask for anything specific but when we went to a friends house he loved playing with their "Paper Jam" so we got him one too. He still loves it! The big white boxes in the picture are just white containers I bought at the store and put their names on them with vinyl. (Asher already stripped his name off!) The containers were for the kids to stick under their beds for all their "treasures" that I just want to throw away.

When I look at this picture it doesn't look like a lot but it sure felt like a lot when we were forking out the money. I think as parents we do that to ourselves. We make ourselves feel guilty for not getting more for our children when in reality they either don't really care or don't really appreciate it. I think making our kids "want" for something is an important part of growing up and will help them later in life when they can't always get what they want right when they want it. And how many times do you "want" something one minute and then the next minute you "want" something else. If we, as adults change that often, imagine how often children change. This is the thing that that Chris and I struggle with every Christmas...finding a balance between getting our kids what they want but not spoiling them. Every year we think we have it mastered but the next year things change, finances change, wants change and it seems we have to modify it a little. In the end, our kids always surprise us with joy and contentment. Maybe we should put a little more faith in them and a little less guilt on us. :)

Great Harvest Field Trip

A few weeks ago, some ladies in my ward took our kids on a "field trip" to Great Harvest bread company. It is a fun outing for the kids where they see how they make bread and decorate a cookie and, of course, have free samples!!!

I love this picture of Abigail because she looks so excited to answer the question AND she raised her hand.

Wow, that is a large dough hook. They said they do over a hundred loaves at a time.

Even Asher was getting in on the action.

Asher was actually entertained for more than 10 minutes. I was very impressed. But don't be fooled, after 10 minutes he thought he could run the store and had me running all over the place for him. :)

I have a Ten Year Old!

I feel like such a bad mom. Since I have had this blog, I have always posted a birthday post for each of our kids on or before their birthday. It is now November and almost 4 weeks past Austin's birthday and still no post! I am sorry little buddy!

My amazing, talented, heck-a smart, helpful, hard-working son -- he is 10! I can't believe it! I have a 10 year old! As sad as it makes me that my kids are getting older much faster than I want, I love the stage that Austin is at. He is old enough to basically take care of himself (although he would probably never shower or brush his teeth if I didn't make him). He is helpful with his younger siblings. He can help his dad in the yard or around the house. He whines a little (OK, sometimes a lot) but I think he is one of the most hard-working kids I know. He is super smart...smarter than me. The little stinker knows it too! He is usually right (just like his dad). At least I am smarter than Abigail and Asher (for now). :)

Austin has already read all 4 Children's Scripture readers. He loves to read so we said that we would give him $50 if he read the Book of Mormon all the way through by the end of the year. I know! I know! Maybe bribing your kid to have a testimony isn't the best way to go about it but hopefully it works! HeHe. He was hesitant at first because he said that he wouldn't understand it and that it would be boring. We told him once he got into it a little then we would help him to understand it better and that there were battles and bloodshed so it gets a little more interesting too. Once he started he would ask us questions that showed how much he really understood. He was asking things that even I didn't know. I had to send him to his dad. They sparked great discussions. Even though bribing probably isn't the best way to do it, Austin will have read the Book of Mormon before he is 11! Chris finished it in the MTC. I read it completely with Chris when I was 18. He is already talking about being excited to start the Doctrine and Covenants and the Old and New Testaments. I hope he can stick with it (without getting paid for it)!

One of Austin's greatest traits is his commitment to what he is doing or interested in. He rotates between Star Wars, Harry Potter, Ninja Turtles and currently we are back to Transformers. Everything he does revolves around this subject! We have to tell him to STOP talking about it because he gets so obsessed with every aspect of it. But you can definitely say he is committed! :) I love this kid! I am so grateful that he is part of our family.

Smells Like Chicken

I am horrible at writing down my kids funny sayings. But this is one that is definitely for the books. Here is a conversation I had with Asher today:

Mom: Asher, I need to change your diaper. You are stinky.

Asher: Smells like CHIC-KEN!

I couldn't help but laugh and I laughed even harder because he was laughing at himself because he thought he was so funny. Which he was.

And here he is trying to wear mascara as lipstick.

"Oh look, another photo op....cheese."

Halloween X3

I love Halloween as much as the next guy but when you have to dress up your four little munch-kins three days in a row, you really are glad that it is 365 days (give or take a few) until you have to do it again. This year we had three very fun and festive Halloween nights: school carnival, family Halloween birthday party and, of course, Halloween night.

I am not sure where my kids get it because neither their dad nor I are extremely theatrical. But my kids are definitely posers! I have to tell them to act normal. I am glad they are like that because Chris and I are so boring. They make our house loud, entertaining, a little obnoxious and happy!

My cheesy Zebra! Isn't he the cutest little Zebra you have ever seen?

I am probably (OK, I am) extremely biased, but I think my girls make the most beautiful Cinderellas. Allison was Cinderella a couple of years ago and just as beautiful as Abigail. Maybe it is the blond hair and fair complexion which is similar to the original Cinderella that makes them seem so authentic. Maybe it is the diamonds and sparkles I put all over their face (which is hard to see in the picture). Either way, they are the most beautiful Cinderellas I have ever seen. Not biased at all, right! :)

Abigail loved her gloves. They were her most favorite part of the costume. She kept asking me, "Can I put my gloves on now?" I kept making her wait because they were white and I didn't want to keep having to wash them between activities. In this picture she is showing them off.

I am not exactly sure what Allison is. The package of the costume said "Skull Dress." So does that make her a skull lady? I dunno. I also bought her these fake red nails with bats on them that she LOVED! In this picture she is showing how cool they are. :)

I don't tell her to pose...she just does it. She would probably make a good model except for the fact that I would NEVER want her to be one. She says she wants to be a doctor anyway. Phew!

This is Austin completely in character.

Once again with the poses.

And the theatrics. Don't ask me why he is stabbing himself? His sisters thought he was hilarious.

This is Allison with her two cousins at the In-Tune Halloween performance.

Chris's cousin throws the cutest parties with the funnest games. She had the kids get into two teams and dress the kids like mummys which is a lot harder than it looks. This is Allison dressed as a mummy. She had black lights on to enhance the effect. She also played musical chairs Halloween bingo. It is a mix between musical chairs and bingo played with "headstone"names.

Missing Keith

I have been meaning to post these pics for a while but just haven't gotten around to them yet. Plus I wanted to make sure Keith was allowed to look at my blog first so he could see them because they are kinda for him. :)

When Keith left for his mission, our kids (his nieces and nephews) were sad that he would be missing our family get-togethers. So Elisa (Chris's oldest sister) had a fun idea to make a life-size cutout of him so that he would "still be here." :) I photo-shopped a picture of his body, Chris printed a life-size portrait to scale of him and Elisa cut and modgepodged it onto a board. In some of the pictures, if you didn't know it was fake, you would think it was really him! The kids loved it and it helps the littler ones to remember him.

This is John missing Keith really bad....although I am happy to say that I think he is finally out of the mourning stage. :)

"Your coming with me."

"The only time in my life that I am stronger than you and that I can carry you."

GQ: John and Anne Marie

Grandma Annie's 60th Birthday party. All the grandkids wanted to see her open her presents.

Due to Grandma Annie's 60th birthday party, all the grand kids were together for the first time in a long time. So, we decided to try and get all the grand kids together for pictures with Grandma and Grandpa. That is 21 kids all under the age of 11. Hello! What were we thinking. Like that is going to work. But it is kind of fun to look at these pictures and remember how crazy it is. I love that my kids have so many cousins (on both sides of the family) to play with.

Funny faces, hugging, crying, not paying attention...always someone doing something...this is just with the kids...imagine trying to get 17 more adults into the picture for the whole family. INSANE!

This is the best one I got of everyone and it is still not good. Alaina, the oldest grandchild, looks great in all of them. I am sure Anna got some better ones. :)