Alyssa Turns "49" ..... in dog years that is!

Alyssa turned 7 on November 12th. she had some friends from school and some friends from her neighborhood come.

It was a really fun party. She wanted a Littlest Pet Shop puppy party. We put up little pet shop posters on the walls. I made each of the kids a pair of ears. They decorated their collars and had dog tags to go with them.

We played Dog-Dog-Cat (Duck-Duck- Goose) and "Spot Says" (Simon Says". We had a doggy bone scavenger hunt. Each "puppy" had to go find two doggy bones that had numbers on them matching their "doggy bags". After they found their bones (real dog treats) I gave them a toy (tennis ball). We also played musical dog house. We had a tent set up that had Alyssa's doghouse on it. There were numbers set up in a circle around and through the dog house. Wehn the music stopped and I called out a number they got a prize.

They had cake and "puppy chow" (chex mix with peanut butter and chocolate and powdered sugar mixed together). They had "water" (really clear koolaid) to drink. They thought that was fun. I also had spoons and straws when they got tired of trying to eat like a dog. The best thing was that since they were "puppies" they got to eat on the floor out of dog bowls. The kids thought this was way cool, not to mention the clean up for it was soooo easy.

It was a ton of fun. Alyssa had a blast.

I can't believe she is really 7. She is growing up so fast.

sure do love you Alyssa.

Happy Birthday.

Halloween and then some

The Sunday before Halloween the kids looked so cute. The girls let me put their hair in rollers the night before the curl took really well. John looks so handsome in his little suit, even though he would not stand up so I could take his picture. They are so adorable.

The kids love Trick or Treating. The girls racked up on candy and will have it all eaten in the next day or two. I used to limit the candy per day, now I just want them to stuff their faces and get it all eaten in a few days so I don't have to deal with the candy for the next few months. It works and we usually only have one or two stomach aches. John love helping hand out the candy. Or I should say he loved getting the candy out of the bowl and trying to eat as much as he could (wrapper and all)before we could realized it. He was sticky from head to toe by the end of the night.

November 1st we had spaggehti for dinner. As you can see John enjoyed his a lot!!!

Let's just say he went straight from the table to the tub.

Alyssa's field trip to Hee Haw Corn Maze

Alyssa's first grade class went to Hee Haw Corn Maze last week. Alyssa is going to need a little help if she ever decides to become a cowgirl.

Tag your it

My friend Kalya got this tag on her blog and I thought it was really cool so I tagged myself.

The rules are you have to take the pictures as is (no fixing up or picking up before you take the pictures). This was fun.

1 Kitchen or Sink

My sink was really disgusting so I opted for the kitchen. My bar usually looks like this because thats were we all lay everything instead of putting it where it goes. I really wanted to clean off the bar before I took this picture but I am trying to stick to the rules.

2. The bathroom

this the downstairs bathroom that we just finished. It is in pretty good shape today. I painted the floor with concrete paint and love it. I still have some things to do to finish this one up but it is at least workable.

3. The closet

Thank goodness for walk in closets. And thank goodness for vaulted ceilings. I have to seperate levels of clothes on my side. No, I don't have that many clothes. The second layer is off season clothes for Jacob and I. I try to organize this closet, but there is no hope. It stays cluttered. It should be called a "wiggle around all the crap to find what you need closet".

4. Self Portrait

Sooooo do not like this picture, but I chose to do only one shot instead of taking 50 and still not liking any of them. What a "chessy" grin. I should have tossed my rule and took the 50 pictures in hopes for a better one.

5. Favorite shoes

I got these for Christmas last year and I love them. They are so warm and fuzzy. And sometime in the morning I feel like a monster so they are perfect for my mood

6. My favorite room

My living room downstairs is my favorite room. I painted it yellow which makes me feel warm and happy when I walk in here. It is big and there is plenty of light even though it is a basement. One day this will be our theatre room complete with projector big screen and movie posters on the walls.

Today it is a little cluttery which makes me not enjoy it so much.

7. Fridge outside and in.

The outside of my fridge is pretty kid friendly on the bottom half. John likes taking the letters off and throwing them all over the floor. My calendar is my life saver and I would be so unorganized without it.

The inside is pretty messy. Yes there are 4 gallons of milk in my fridge. I usually buy 6 and it is gone in less than 10 days. I wish I could say there are more fruits and veggies in there.

8. Laundry room

My laundry room is a tiny room off the kitchen. It is always cluttered with laundry. My trash needs taking out but I hate taking out the trash. Don't ask me why. It piles up to overflowing until I can't get anything else in there and am forced to take it out. It would be lighter in here, but it needs a new lightbulb and I haven't gotten around to changing in in probably 6 months. One day!!!!!

9. My favorite vacation

My favorite vacation that I have been on would be the beach. I love the beach. I could live there. I love the sand and the sounds of the ocean. Not to crazy about going out too far in the water, but I love everything else. I love that my kids love the beach as much as I do. One day Jacob and I will retire and live at the beach. Preferable Gulf Shores.

My favorite dream vacation (I have several). First I would love to go to Hawaii. Again the whole beach thing. I think I would love living there. (Jacob could get a job with Dog the Bounty Hunter) Sunny and warm year round ahh. No wonder when you say Hawaii it sounds like paradise.

Second I would love to go to Europe, Greece, Italy, Germany, China (really anywhere foreign that exposes me to a different culture. I have never been anywhere out of the US except for the Bahamas. Would like to experience another country one day.

OKAY. I TAG JESSICA, CHEYENNE, ALAINA, AND MARTA, AND ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO BE TAGGED. HAPPY PICTURE TAKING.

An outing with mom

The kids and I were left to fend for ourselves when Jacob flew home to spend some time with his Grandaddy Edward who has lung cancer. We decided to take a picnic and go to thanksgiving point. Although there aren't really any flowers blooming it is still fun. JOhn refused to do any still pictures as you can see from the one were the girls are holding him down. He did let me snatch an action shot, but that was it. The girls love their pictures taken and love to pose. If I am not mistaken the waterfall in the pictures below is the largest man made waterfall in the US and possible in the world. It is a great place for an afternoon out. We had a picnic by the falls, rolled down the hills, and enjoyed the colors of the leaves and the nice weather.

For your viewing pleasure

The first video is of Ashley when we went to Thanksgiving Point. She didn't know I was filming her in the beginning. she is a great entertainer whether she knows she is doing so or not.

The second video is of Adalyn (oh, sweet Adalyn) For lunch one day she decided she wanted to be a cat. Next thing I knew she was on the floor and this is what I caught on video. Pay close attention to the "meow" she gives me at the end when she finally realizes she is being filmed.

So as you can probably tell from this blog I am not so great at all the technical things that go into it. You know like editing, spelling, etc. For example: this blog goes from most recent to less recent (even though I wanted them in there the other way), there are huge gaps between the pictures (that is if they are still there when I save it), duplicate pictures that I couldn't figure out how to delete( I got tired of trying to figure it out), and misspelled words (I am not the world's best speller as my husband so kindly reminds me from occasion to occasion). I just found the spell check options so hopefully I am good there.
However, I hope even after my technical faults you are able to enjoy the pictures I took over the last month.

Other than Ashley, John is the only one of my children that would get a book and sit down and look at it when he was this young. He loves books. He doesn't necessarily like me to read books to him, but he loves to look at them himself. He is all about doing everything himself.

For Family Home Evening on the 20th we carved pumpkins. I love Alyssa's and Adalyn's pumpkin faces. They drew their own faces with markers and then we cut them out.

Just a little side note: It has only been a week and our pumpkins are already caving in on themselves. Just too chilly for them this year. They are not going to make it till Thanksgiving. Oh well, It was fun making them. John's is an "OH" face. I remember when Ashley was little she always used to do this face and I would laugh. So cute. Good memories.

In our stake we are doing a Humanitarian Project. We made a goal to do 100 quilts by Oct 25th. We have had quilting activities every week trying to get them done. I am sewing the boarder around one of the quilts here after we tied it at the church. It was fun to do this and a great way to teach the girls about service.

Ashley got to spend about 12 days with us the end of September. We had a great time. She is getting so big. I remember when she was just a little thing. Now she is in the fifth grade and growing up so fast. It is so fun to have her here and the Adalyn and Alyssa want to spend every moment with her. We miss her so much when she has to go back home.

The kids are all watching a movie. Yes, even John. Don't they look cute!!!!!

John has found a new spot. This is in our new bathroom downstairs. He likes to climb on the toilet and then pull himself up onto the counter. Luckily he hasn't figured out how to turn the water on or we would have a flooded bathroom and a wet boy. As you can see he is very content. He also likes toothbrushes. That one is Alyssa's in his mouth. I have tried to start shutting the bathroom door but he is persistent.

This might show what a "cheapo" I am, but maybe there are other "cheapo's" out there that will benefit from my idea. When it is school picture day I hang up a gray blanket and take Alyssa's pictures at home. This way I don't have to buy the $20 school pictures but I still have one for her baby book and photo album. I purchase the class picture from the school and make my own individuals.

Isn't she so beautiful.

Alyssa is going to be a cat for Halloween. She decided to try her costume on early. She came up with the idea to make the nose and whiskers. Pretty smart girl. She cut out the nose and whiskers out of construction paper and then glued them onto her face. I thought she did a pretty good job.

Our hammock finally kicked the bucket. I am sure it had nothing to do with my two favorite guys sitting on it at the same time!