Halloween

As usual, by the time actual Halloween came around, the kids had done many trick or treating events.  We went to the High School Halloween night, and the trunk or treat at church and went trick or treating at ConAgra.  I didnt even have to buy candy because we had such an over abundance or it from these occasions (yes I "recycled" the candy).  Anyways, heres the cutie pies before trick or treating on actual Halloween:

Brayden put on his good old pizza slice costume and left early to trick or treat with his friends so he missed the photo shoot.  

Happy Halloween!

Papillion Extreme 5K

Papillion has a 5K race at Walnut Creek lake that Brayden and Kevin did together this year.  It sounds like it was a tough, messy, intense, extreme, exhilarating event.  They did things like wade through waist deep mud, and climb over 10 foot walls, swim across the lake, wind through a tree make, walk across a balance beam, and finish off with a giant slip n slide into the mud.  Kevin said Brayden did amazing.  He kept a great pace and came in 2nd in his age group.  It was a lot of fun and I think next year they'll be looking to come in 1st!

At the beginning

At the end

Emmitt is 3!

For Emmitts birthday, he had a special breakfast that he picked out at the grocery store all by himself- sausage wrapped in a pancake on a stick.  And a few extra sausages on the side.  Emmitt is a picky eater.  His favorite foods are candy and sausage (if you can even call those things food).  I hope as he gets older he gains an appreciation for healthier foods!

We got him a big stuffed puppy because ever since Brielle got that big owl, he has been quite jealous and frequently steals it from her.  He seemed quite happy with his puppy.  We also got him a balance bike which is a bike without pedals.  He rode that for just a few seconds and then was done with it .  Luckily Brielle likes it so it should get some use.

For dinner and birthday celebrations we were joined by the Thomases and Owens.  I made the same cake that I made him last year because that was his request and its pretty easy and fun to make.  He definitely enjoyed his moment in the spotlight.

Happy Birthday Emmitt!

A New Tree

We got some new trees in our backyard.  We had planted one that Makenna got from school but it didnt make it, so we ordered in some new ones- one for each corner.  Since its fun to have pictures to watch it grow, we wanted to document how it (and our kids) looked when we first got our new trees in the backyard.

Bad kisses

Emmitt gives me a hard time lately every day when I try to get him dressed.  He wants me to chase him and tackle him and wrestle him down.  Its a game to him, but exhausting to me.  This morning amid our battle, he furled his angry brow and declared to me "Im gonna fight you"  To which I replied, "I dont want you to fight me, I want you to give me kisses" and without letting up on the grumpy glare he was giving me, he replied "Im gonna give you BAD KISSES"
 

Ever Mindful

Tonight I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my Heavenly Father and I just feel the need to write it down.  This morning I discovered my passport was missing and with our Cancun trip just less than two weeks ago, that was a real problem.  The kids were home from school and I spent the whole day searching the house and making plans to travel to Minneapolis by myself the next day.  It was going to be a 11 hour road trip all by myself and a big expense too.  I said many prayers throughout the day to find that passport.  Later in the afternoon, I got a call from Braydens friend telling me that Brayden had fallen off his bike.  He had face planted hard onto the cement and a neighbor who saw it later told me she thought he would have broken bones on his face for sure.  I couldnt go get him because I had gotten a flat tire that morning and my car was in the shop.  Fortunately his friends mom brought him home and drove me to pick up the car from the shop, thinking that I would likely be taking Brayden to the Urgent Care that night.  Well the bloody nose/ mouth stopped and the pain subsided and all in all he walked away from that fall with just a bruise on his leg.  I believe he was protected, and I am in awe of how mindful God is of us in our daily lives.  Brayden told me after I tucked him into bed that he was making a bad choice when he was riding his bike.  He was going to a friends house to watch a video game, he knows he isn't supposed to play.  He said he was relieved that he got hurt because then he didnt make that mistake.  Again, God is mindful.  When Kevin got home tonight he searched the house for the passport and just as we were about to give up he looked in a suitcase which I had checked already twice during the day and pulled out my passport.  I was so relieved and happy.   Prayers are answered and I felt the Love of God in my life so much today.  I was helped by multiple neighbors, shown love and concern by friends and saved by my amazing husband.  God is good.

Happy Birthday Brielle!

This year Brielle's actual birthday fell on a Tuesday.  We celebrated with a special breakfast, lunch with mom at school, cupcakes with her class, dinner at the pizza machine and then some presents from the family.  She had seen that big stuffed owl weeks ago at Sams Club and been asking for it ever since.  We also go her a couple of mermaid barbies.  She got a Justice gift card from Oma and Opa and a wheelchair for her American Girl doll from Grandma (as per her request).  I think she was a happy girl.

Th

And that Saturday we had her party...

Pumpkin Painting

 Then we played Games: Pin the Face on the Jack-O-Lantern

 And a candy corn relay where you had to use a spoon in your mouth to transport candy corn from one bowl to another.  It was quite fun to play and even more fun for us adults to watch.

 And then on to presents...

 And cake.  This year Makenna took on the task of decorating.  She did a great job and Brielle was very pleased.

Brielle is a beautiful girl who truly lights up our lives.  Hearing her sing and hearing her laugh just makes me happy.  She is such a joy to have in our family.  I miss her so much now that she is in school.  I wish she would stop growing up!  Happy Birthday Brielle.  Love you so much!

Winter Quarters with the Hammers

One of the great things about having visitors here in Omaha is that we always like to make a trip out to the Winter Quarters temple and visitors center.  When we opened the door to the visitors center I heard Brielle exclaim, "I love this place."  I sure hope she always feels that way.

 

 We were all dressed up for church so we just had to take a few family pictures.  Here is the good looking Hammer family...

 and us

 

and the always photogenic Emmitt...

The Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we were visited by our good friends the Hammers.  They came into town to see us and to visit the famous Valas Pumpkin Patch.  Because of the timing of their visit and some bad weather, the best day for us to go also ended up being the busiest day of the season.  It was crazy crowded but yet we still managed to have a fabulous time.  There is nothing like a beautiful fall day at the Pumpkin Patch.

 We started the day on a hay ride.  It was gorgeous sunny weather and really pleasant.  This is before the crowds hit.  I just love pictures in a pumpkin patch.

It was a great day at Valas with great friends.  We loved it!

Cute Boys

 You can definitely tell these two are brothers!

Tomatoes Tomatoes

Our three tomato plants in my otherwise fruitless garden have been very prolific this year.  So I attempted canning salsa.  It was a ton of work and I dont think I'll do it again but it was a good experience and I am very grateful for those few jars I ended up with.  Also, tonight for dinner I made a homemade marinara sauce with my homegrown tomatoes and herbs from my neighbors garden.  It was SOOOO good- like really good.  And it was actually easy and took only about 15-20 minutes.  I'll definitely be doing that again.

Happy Birthday Makenna! (and a Little Flashback Friday... on Tuesday)

I can't believe she is 9!  Her birthday filled me with nostalgia for some reason and I made up this little collage to see how shes grown.  I grabbed pictures from each year around her birthday. Its so fun to she how she has changed over the years. 

And since sadly I didn't have a blog back when Makenna was born I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect back on the special day when she was born and record what I can remember for history's sake.

So here we go...

Makenna was born on September 17th at 2:23pm at the Maple Ridge Hospital in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.  As best I can recall, she was induced on her due date though it might have been a few days early.  I went to the hospital really early that morning and they put the gel on my cervix.  I immediately started contracting and they sent me home to see what would happen. At home I took a bath and the contractions continued and got stronger, so a couple hours later, we headed back to the hospital.  I remember having intense labor pains in the elevator as I was heading to Labor and Delivery.  I was trying not to be an obvious woman in labor but I had to pause and breathe (and fight back the urge to cry) through each contraction.  When I got all checked in, they gave me laughing gas to deal with the pain while I waited for the anesthesiologist (who was also my doctor- it was a small town).  I remember that it seemed like forever waiting for that epidural.  The laughing gas really didnt dull the pain, it just made you feel very out of it.  I remember I would try to suck too much in because I felt like maybe I could pass out- which seemed like a nice idea at the time.  Well, I dont know how far dilated I was when Dr Burns arrived but shortly after I got my epidural it was time to push.  I was amazed that it only took a couple of pushes and she came out.  It was so much different than my first delivery.  I was absolutely thrilled to have a daughter.  I felt so very lucky to have her.  She was a very pretty baby-  and it wasnt just my biased mothers opinion-many people said that to me.  Pretty was the perfect word for her.

My mom stayed to help for a couple of weeks and then my in laws came to visit for a bit after that.  I remember thinking that I just could not possibly have done those early days and weeks without help.  Two kids was a lot.  Makenna was colicky as an infant.  She wasn't a good sleeper for the first few months but after that she was a great sleeper.  We used to put her in the swing in the kitchen at night as close to the kitchen fan as possible.   The first half of the night Kevin slept on a mattress downstairs in the living room and I took over for the early morning hours.  During the day time she would sleep wonderfully if I was holding her.  I treasured the times when Brayden was down for his nap and I would lay down on the couch with her on my chest and she would just sleep and sleep and sleep until I had to eventually stand up and then she would wake right up. 

Makenna was a hearty baby and put on weight very quickly.  She was always in the highest percentiles.  She was born weighing 8lbs 11ounces and never lost any weight after that.  By four weeks she was already up to 11pds 5 ounces.  She was a healthy baby.

So that's just a little memory, I wanted to record.  It makes me teary to realize shes not that baby anymore.  But anyways FLASH FORWARD...

We celebrated Makennas actual birthday with a special breakfast of sausage and toaster strudel.  Then she opened presents of roller skates from us and an American Girl horse from Grandma.  For dinner that night, we went to Chick Fil A.  That day at school she was going to a HAL (High Ability Learner) seminar so I couldn't bring cupcakes until the next day but then we did and I think overall, she would say her birthday was pretty great.

Love Love Love you Makenna!