October

     October was full of lots of fun. We did all of our normal hanging out with the family and we spent some time decorating pumpkins and celebrating Halloween. We watched General Conference. Brynlee had her parent teacher conferences, she is doing well in school and still enjoys going. Annalyn had speech every Tuesday and we went to the library every Thursday. I went and did Super Saturday crafts at the church one Saturday while Joel watched the kids. The lady I teach primary with and I threw a little Halloween party at our house for our primary class. It was fun. We played lots of games and ate pizza and decorated cookies. The kids were pretty crazy but we kind of expected that. We teach the nine and ten year olds.

     Annalyn and Kyla both got invited to a little birthday party for one of Kyla's friends and they were pretty excited about that and had so much fun. Brynlee and Annnalyn both had parts in our ward's primary program and they did a great job. Annalyn said "My body is a temple of God" and Brynlee said "God has commanded his people to build temples." I couldn't really see Brynlee but they both seemed to sit well and sing when they were supposed to sing. Annalyn played with the tape that was put on her chair and stuck it on her face and was playing with it for half of the program but other than that she was well behaved. My mom and Alesha went to Australia for several days this month to visit my Uncle Eric and cousin Patricia and they both had a great time. They brought us back some candy and a few souvenirs. We were a week late but we got to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with Joel's family this year and we enjoyed some great food.

     The leaves all fell off the trees towards the end of the month and the kids had a ton of fun playing in them. We don't have any trees at our house that have very many leaves but Annalyn discovered lots of leaves over by where we wait for Brynlee's bus so she brought her little pink plastic rake to the bus stop with her several days in a row and raked up a big pile that the girls all had fun playing in.

     One Friday in October was spent out playing at the Farmstead where the kids rode a few rides, we all went on a hayride, and we even got to feed some bees. We watched a pig race and watched them launch candy into the air. They had a slide the kids played on and they all got some cotton candy to end the night. My brother's wife Heather got us in for a discounted price and we had a fun night hanging out with them. At the end of the night Heather took our girls into the mouth of this huge blow up lizard thing that Brynlee really wanted to try. Annalyn got a little bit scared and said she never wants to do that again but they had fun and made it to the end. We did the little corn maze and a potato sack slide while we were there as well.

     Joel turned thirty-one this month. The kids and I went to the store to buy him a present the Friday before his birthday. Brynlee didn't have school so she even got to go. We didn't get very far before our van got a flat tire. I called Joel and he was able to get away from work and come help me change the tire (good thing since I didn't even have all of the tools I would have needed) but it took him a while to get there. Annalyn was really freaking out about that. Joel went with me to the gas station and made sure the tire was aired up and then sent me on my way. I was feeling super grateful that he was able to help me when the van died right toward the exit of the gas station. Two men came to my rescue and helped me move my van out of the way of traffic and since Joel was still at the gas station he hopped in the van and took it for a test drive. I followed him to Wal Mart where he added some coolant and did several things before heading back to work. He told me the van should run great now. I got the things we needed at Wal Mart and then headed home. We didn't get far before the van died once more on the side of the road. I could not get it to start and Joel couldn't leave work again so I called grandma and she came and rescued us. The kids were a little squished in the backseat but we made it home. Joel went and got our van that night and left his truck in someone's driveway until the next morning when my dad drove him to get his truck. The van started right up for Joel when he went and got it. Joel spent the next day buying and putting on new tires, changing out parts, and fixing the brakes on our van. The good news is that our van runs better than ever now. I sure am grateful for him and for all of his work to help take care of us. What would we do without him?

     For Joel's birthday Brynlee begged and begged to decorate Joel's cake all on her own. I made her let her sister's help and they were all pretty pleased with the results. I think Joel liked it cause he knew they made that cake with him in mind and they were so proud of their creation. It was kind of fun to see what they created.

I sure do love this little family of mine.

Halloween 2016

     I got a new computer for Christmas so now let the catch-up begin. There is so much to write about so I will probably be brief. Here is a little bit about our Halloween night. Halloween was on a Monday this year. the little girls and I all went to a little Halloween party at a friend's house on the Friday before Halloween. Annalyn dressed up as Sleeping Beauty and Kyla was Cinderella and we had a fun time.

     I went to Brynlee's class at school and helped out with her school party. I was in charge of the treat and the snack station so I got to help all the kids decorate a cookie. It was fun and I know Brynlee enjoyed it. She dressed up as a witch. After dinner that night my mom and my sister Alesha and brother Brian and his family came over and went trick or treating with the girls and I while Joel stayed home with Summer to pass out candy. We got several trick or treaters but there weren't a ton of them. Kyla decided to be a spider for the night and I dressed Summer up as a witch. Brian and his family were all dressed up as Peter Pan characters. Maybe someday we will do a family theme but probably not.

     We started out trick or treating in our neighborhood and then crossed the street to the other subdivision. Kyla sat in her stroller after every house and then got out to go to the door and get candy. For the most part they all said trick or treat and 'thank you.' It was a pretty fun and exciting night for all of us. No one really got scared at all. After the first row of houses Brynlee and Annalyn had to use the bathroom so we ran home for a quick bathroom break. It was a warm night so Brynlee insisted on wearing her flip flops. She was running fast and tripped and landed right on her face and skinned her face all up. She cried pretty good so I carried her home. The kids went to the bathroom and Brynlee changed shoes and then we were off again. We were out till after 8:30 and everyone was pretty tired at the end of the night. Alesha's boyfriend Chase came at the end of the night and we all got to meet him for the first time and the girls inventoried their candy and then went to bed. Joel was a little astounded that all three of our kids picked a sucker as their first treat of choice to enjoy. That was good news for us because they all shared some of their chocolate with us. Brynlee was pretty sore and self conscious about her fall and skinned up face. She refused to go to school the next day. I took her in at lunchtime after Annalyn's speech and we talked to the teacher and then Brynlee seemed fine. Overall it was fun night with the family.

Summer at Six Months

     Summer turns seven months old tomorrow so lets see if we can hurry and write a few things about her from last month. At her six month check-up Summer weighted 16 lbs . She is wearing 6-9 month clothes and is about to outgrow her size two diapers. She is doing fine with bath time again and even got to take a bath in the big tub with her sisters and enjoyed it. She sits like a pro and is rolling all over the place. Every time I set her down she just rolls to get what she wants. She gravitates towards every piece of paper she can find and crinkles it up and sucks on it.
   

     Summer has been saying "Dada" all the time lately. She made the "mama" sound a few times but she said "dada" first and that is what she says most often. She loves to hear herself makes sounds and "talks" all the time. She is also a pretty smiley and easy to make laugh baby. I love her little laugh. She hates it when I throw her in the air and has a very terrified look on her face whenever someone does it but she loves to be tickled. She also likes airplane rides and she doesn't mind being flipped upside down.

 Summer looks like she might be working on some teeth and has been chewing on her fingers a lot lately. She is growing some more hair and the bald spot on the back of her head is mostly gone. Her eyes are a dark blue/brown hazel color. I think she is a pretty cute looking baby. Her cheeks get pretty red every night before bed, apparently it's just from sensitive skin.

     Summer doesn't sleep as well in her baby carrier these days. She wants to see what is happening and be a part of the action lately. She likes to be right in the middle of what everyone else is doing. She loves watching them. She never complains when I put her in her baby carrier but she wiggles and turns her head so she can see what is going on. She has this little happy wiggle dance that she does all the time. When she is happy and I pick her up she wiggles her whole body from side to side and smiles. It's the cutest thing ever.
     Summer got to experience lots more foods and seems to enjoy eating with us in her high chair at the big table. Now that she is six months I try to feed her a little bit of food everyday, usually during dinnertime when I feed everyone else. Most of the time she gets applesauce, bananas, green beans, or an occasional jar of baby food. I gave her a cracker but she started to choke on that so we will wait a few more weeks before she gets another one of those.


    I sure do love this baby and I feel so privileged to be her mom. I love watching her grow and getting to be a part of her life.