hair cuts

Ashley got 3-4 inches off and Emily got 1-2 inches and some longer bangs that she has swooped off to the side. We went to Cookie Cutters here in Bountiful- a cute place for kids' haircuts. They both sat in a pink car, watched a Barbie movie, and got suckers, balloons and a cookie cutter. They were super excited about the day!

Polar Express Train

We rode the Polar Express Train out of Heber Valley on Friday December 18th. We went with several of Bryan's coworkers and their families and Bryan's sister Elasha and her family.

We loved seeing Santa, hanging out with cousins, Emily singing a solo of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" in the microphone, seeing the North Pole, eating treats, singing carols, reading the story Polar Express together, and giving Aaron his first Christmas gift ever- a bell.

We didn't love that the generator went out, not sitting by each other, the freezing ride, Aaron being tired and crabby, and cold hot chocolate. I don't think we'll ride it again for a while but it was worth doing once.

The fun train restaurant afterwards was packed but we enjoyed the good food. Our car got stuck in the snowy parking lot, but we had friends help us out. All in all it was a fun launch into the week of Christmas.

Emily's Dance Show

Emily is in Sunshine Generation dance group. It's like a show choir for kids. She's been in it since September. Ashley tried it for a few weeks but decided to opt out since mom chose not to dance with her every practice. She does have two neighborhood friends in it- Cami and Sarah. The group has about 10 kids ages 3-5 and also 10 kids who are ages 6-12. This performance is at the Festival of the Trees. Tonight they also sang at two outdoor venues- brrr! Emily does a great job singing and dancing and says that she has fun so we will keep at it for a while.

November

Cowgirl Night

Emily's school had a 'special gal' night at school where each girl in school got to bring a girl grown-up with them for a fun night. We got dressed up in jeans, bandannas, hats and braids and had a great time. First we tried line dancing. The caller was really good and we tried our best. My brain was honestly having a hard time keeping up and although I was doing pretty good, my brain was tired when we done. Emily said it was boring dancing. Then we went and colored bandannas- Emily drew a horse on hers. Then we made bead bracelets and had popsicles. Fun night.

Hanks

Cam holding Aaron, Steph & Jam and Melody, Elasha & Matt and their 4 kids (one is hiding in the bottom left corner), Spencer and Bryan and Maegan and girls all looking good

Halloween

Halloween 2009 was absolutely great!
Ashley was a Butterfly Princess, Emily a black cat, Aaron a pumpkin and Bryan his pumpkin patch, and I was a pirate. Too bad we only got a movie of me because I was looking good- with a black beard and everything.

We carved all our pumpkins Halloween morning- Bryan of course gets out the power tools (the drill) to make his. Emily loved designing and naming her pumpkins (Jake was the little one and Punky the big one), and Ashley refused the carving but chose the permanent marker route for her 2 pumpkins (Jeni and Sarah) and loved it!

Trick-or-treating lastest all of us for an hour and then Aaron had enough so we all went home. I fed Aaron and then left the two men home and I took the girls out again.

We're rockin!

We are building a new recording studio in our basement. Part of this endeavor includes our new 8 piece drum kit. Party here we come!

More autumn fun

Emily had 'Backwards Day' at school for Red Ribbon Week (Drug & Alcohol Free Awareness). Ashley also wanted to dress backwards and then they got Bryan to switch his shirt backwards too. Then Emily pointed out that if Aaron and I wanted to be drug free, we needed to switch our clothes backwards too. So we all had backwards clothes day to support being drug free!

For my 29th birthday I had many days of celebrating. On Thursday the 15th I went to lunch with Spokane friends to the Cheesecake Factory. Yummy! Friday the 16th Bryan surprised me with flying my friend Jana in and the following 2 days were play days with her. Wednesday the 21st my neighborhood girlfriends took me out for treats. We ate at Village Inn and ordered breakfast for dinner and all got free pie. Yummy!

Thursday the 22nd (my actual birthday) I had a very relaxing nice day. It started with breakfast in bed of chocolate milk, cinnamon rolls and eggs. Yum! I got lots of phone calls and emails from friends. We ordered pizza for dinner and frosted cookies for treats. Emily made me a new purple necklace MOW (upside down M). I love it!

Friday Bryan took me out to The Roof restaurant- very fancy downtown place right across from the SLC temple. The buffet night went like this- salad, dessert, entrees, dessert, walk around, rolls, more dessert. They are known for their amazing selections of beautiful and extremely delicious desserts and we didn't want to miss out. Their pianist was also fantastic!

Then I thought I was so celebrated, Bryan surprised me again and flew my sister out for the weekend. I kind of thought she was coming, but then tricked myself into thinking she wasn't and so even when Bryan "took several wrong turns" and then "had to use the bathroom at the airport," I was still TOTALLY surprised when my sister Carlie walked out with him. We played Boggle that night and found out that even though we haven't hung out as friends too much since she is 8 years younger than I, we totally think alike. She and I went shopping Saturday at Platos Closet, followed by lunch at Olive Garden and then a day at the SPA. Yes my husband planned that too. We got a 1/2 hr massage, followed by an hour facial. Can your body really enjoy having your face rubbed for hour? oh YES! Loved it. Bryan and I went out later for some vietnamese food. Oh man- what a celebration. I already have planned for next year when I hit the big 30 I am getting lasik eye surjery so it will be a celebration then too!

While I was at the spa, Bryan went outside to ride bikes with the kids. Emily announced that today will be the day that I take off my training wheels. From our standpoint as parents, that day was years away. She is not super observant while steering, doesn't have great balance, and really doesn't bike that much. But she was insistant- "dad take my training wheels off!" Bryan had her borrow the next door neighbor's bike and helped her try it for a while but really didn't get anywhere. Bryan gave up trying while she headed off to do it herself. Two minutes later she was doing it- like biking all by herself with no help getting started or anything. The girl put her mind to it and did it! Bryan took off her training wheels and she biked around all that day, happy as could be! Emily and Bryan had a very special biking date the next day on a trail and she went 3 miles.

We are family!

We took these on Sunday afternoon at Mueller State Park. It was a gorgeous day and the best (easiest) family photos ever. Loved it! The perfect autumn day.

It's my birthday~for a week?

So if anyone rocks at celebrating my birthday, it is my sweet husband. Thanks to diligent training by his mother for years, the man knows how to give good gifts. Like the one you really wanted but forgot that you wanted until you get it? I don't know why I am surprised every time it happens, but I sure am. And not to disappoint here he is again this year...

Friday night I come home late from church craft night (which sounds terribly boring by the title but was actually kind of fun in a I-am-not-crafty-but-this-project-is-easy-so-yeah-me! kind of fun). When I walk in, Bryan rushes out the door with, "I am going to get a movie" and I finish putting the 3 kidlets to bed. In walks Bryan 40 minutes later with a very funny look on his face and then following him in was my old college roommate Jana Petersen! AHHH- TOTAL SURPRISE!!

Jana and I met our first term at BYU, were roommates for a year and another semester. She is my dear friend who I love and we got to play all weekend! Some fun memories of Jana include: dressing up as paper-airplane winners for Halloween (including a routine and medals), creating our own game show "The J Show," inventing songs, Big Booty game, etc- the best and cheesiest kind of good fun. The kind that drive a dear husband insane, but he is the best and invited her from her home in Vegas to play while he babysat the kids.

Saturday Jana and I went shopping at the Gateway mall and got manicures and I got my hair cut and colored. It's chocolate hair with fire- I wanted red and I got it!

We ate lunch with another college friend and then shopped with Aaron for 5 hours. It only felt long but not as long as it really was as we laughed at each other trying on funny jewelry and posing like mannequins. We tried to find a long skirt (they're not in season as we found out 10 stores later), but I ended up with several outfits including new shoes and I am a happy lady.

That night we looked at old pictures and looked found friends online and laughed all night long. Thank you Bryan!

What is catching my curiosity is that I have plans next Friday and Saturday too- What is Bryan up to??? Happy 29th to me!

We love October!

Our second annual trip to Packs Pumpkin Patch. It's a you-pick farm where we have loved going with Joyschool preschool friends. This year we bought 100 pounds of pumpkin. And Ashley didn't cry that her pumpkin had dirt on it- happy trip!

The weather here was suddenly cold and has since warmed back up a little bit. Hooray for playing outside!

I thought the messes from big girl toys was annoying enough. Now that we have added baby toys to the mix, I am afraid the house will never be clean again.

Actually it will be when the maids come for their detail cleaning- my favorite day of the month. And it's tomorrow-yippee!

We sure have one cute baby! Aaron ate rice cereal for the first time on the 15th and loved it. Surprisingly at 4 months he actually swallowed some instead of just tasting it.

This boy LOVES sucking on his fingers. I think he's gotten 9 fingers at the same time once, though usually it's just 3. He's really starting to reach and grab for things and the girls have fun giving him things to hold.

Post-Bradley Class party

Bryan and I took Bradley birth classes to get ready for Aaron's arrival. The Bradley method is husband coached childbirth. From their website, "Bradley classes teach families how to have natural births. The techniques are simple and effective. They are based on information about how the human body works during labor. Couples are taught how they can work with their bodies to reduce pain and make their labors more efficient." Of all the birth options it seemed like the one that would work great for Bryan and I. It did work great and I actually enjoyed most of my labor with Bryan at my side and it was a beautiful team building experience. It was unifying, loving work to bring our baby into the world.

The other babies in the picture are from the other couples who took the class with us. They are lined up according to age- Aaron the oldest born June 5 and Phoebe the youngest on Aug 26. There were two couples who couldn't come that night so add 2 more babies and that was our class.We just found out the birth center is closing this December b/c of some legislative dumb stuff. The midwives who practice there legally need a doctor to sign for them, but the insurance rate for the doctors who do that is astronomical so they have to downsize and then one lady can reopen. Sad for people who want birth options!

Aaron turns 4 months this week. Time does go by fast. Three kids has not been as hard as I thought it would be. I attribute it to a lot factors: 1) Aaron is a happy baby. When he is happy, I am not stressed and therefore can be a better mom and make him more happy. 2) My girls play together so well. Yes they fight but mostly they are best friends. They are so bored when the other one goes to school. 3) Bryan is home. He works from home most days from the basement. He comes up for food and fresh air and will then help out with whatever needs help. It is heaven. I can run an errand and leave the kids for a few minutes. 4) My sling. It's sanity and it's easy. I love it most all of the time except when Aaron's spit stinks and/or when I've worn it so long my back starts to hurt (about 1-2 hours). 5) I know mom stuff. I am not scared of a crying baby, or poop on me, or if he's hungry. I guess you can say I've had experience and so I don't have to worry too much. 6) Aaron was/is a good sleeper. For about a month he slept from 9pm-5am every night without one wake up. It was too good to last so now he wakes up two-three times a night and is awake at 7am and then down for a nap at 9:30am. Even if he's not a great sleeper now, I had a month of good sleep. And for a recovering mom, it was bliss. Now I just take naps when I nurse or when I can or when Bryan gives me one, and it works. 7) Last but not least, the Lord blessed me with what I can handle and so I know I can handle it and so I am.

So basically life is good! Three is not too much- yeah! Even though my basement had a minor flood and Bryan was gone all day, I was tough and brave and I had two neighbors who came and helped rescue me. And my basement is as good as ever! But that's a story for another day.

Happy Fall

We just got our camera back from the repair shop and here are two of my cuties today. Poor Ashley is a middle child and might not find any pics of herself in years to come- sad.

Bryan is a biking man and loves his new road and mountain bikes. He also enjoys having his two brothers Cam and Spence down in Provo.

Aaron is approaching 4 months and he is a happy baby. This morning in the space of one hour he had peed out, spit up all over me, pooped out, spit up, and then spit up again. He is keeping me busy but we all love him. Ashley especially loves her baby brother.

The girls signed up for a new weekly song/dance class called Sunshine Generation- they both love it. Emily is liking kindergarden and I am loving that it is in the afternoon so she can play all morning. Ashley is liking her Joyschool preschool with her two neighbor friends Brookey and Nathan.

The only trouble I am finding with the girls' schools is that both girls have had each other as playmates for so long that neither of them know how to play by themselves. They are constantly asking me to play Pollies (Polly Pockets) with them while the other one is gone. I am getting better at playing with them and they are getting better at waiting and playing by themselves so it is working.

Tonight the girls were being obnoxious at bedtime so I separated them. Emily fell asleep in my bed but Ash just wouldn't go to bed. I went upstairs to hear her say, "I can't go to sleep without my best-friend" over and over to herself. I brought in a sleeping Emily and then Ash went right to bed.

First Days of School

Here are my babies on their first days of school:

Ashley is doing Joyschool Preschool (the home rotating preschool). Here are the 3 kids with a big sister too. Two of the preschool kids were missing, so we'll have 3 boys, 2 girls and 4 different rotating mom as teachers. The first unit is the Joy of the Body followed by the Joy of the Earth. This is my third year doing it and I love it. www.valuesparenting.com/joyschool/

Emily started kindergarden at our public school Adelaide. She has Mrs. Thornell and is very

excited about school. Her grandma Hanks bought her a Hello Kitty backpack and so life is complete. The first week she had Red, Yellow and Blue days where each day the kids wore those colors, they learned a new color song and got to have a new crayon in their crayon box. She had to stay in from recess on Friday b/c she didn't do her work. She was alone in the class and was crying. Sad Emily and sad mom to have to hear that news, although I am not surprised. She is so easily distracted with everyone and every thing when she is not excited to do something.

Here's how I speak right to my husband's heart- I write it with 10 boxes of cereal!

This is how Aaron and I look most days, him tucked away in my green sling (my pouch). He loves being in it! I just wish it weren't so hard on my back!

Our cute selves

Bryan and Jono rock it on their balloon guitars at the firm party.

The before and after the girls gave him a haircut. The only bleeding was when I cut his ear- sorry babe! We used the trimmers on size 6.

Here's Bryan's "magnum" look. Or is it "blue steel"? I can't remember.

Thanks Fosters for the cute hat!

Our Tooth Fairy

Emily lost her first tooth yesterday! We were driving home from our road trip to Washington/Idaho and about 4 pm she said, "Mom, Ashley knocked my tooth and now it's really loose!" I handed her a paper towel and after a few pulls, she pulled her bottom right tooth out. She was so excited to tell the dentist and all her friends.

The tooth fairy came last night and brought her 2 gold dollars and 2 half dollars. She also left little pink sparkles on both the girls' beds. Ashley was mad and wanted the sparkles off, while Emily thought the sparkles came from the fairy's sweater and wanted to keep hers on.

Today the girls wanted to play 'fashion' and got all dressed up. At different points in the morning both girls were mad and said, "You can't be in my fashion," and the other girl would run off crying. Yet in the end they worked it out and even mom got to be included.

We had a fun trip to Pullman, WA and to Moscow and Couer D'Alene, Idaho.

Us 5 and Cameron and Spencer Hanks drove 15+ hours up and back and survived! We saw Drew & Kelly Hanks and their 2 girls, and Kelli and Jeremy Foutch and their 3 kids. We played on Couer D'Alene lake for a couple days- once on a motor boat with a tube and the other day in a paddle boat. In Couer D'Alene the girls loved learning about the Mudgey & Millie story and window shopping. They also loved playing with cousins and friends in the beautiful outdoors of the Northwest. The grown-ups did a lot of talking about what it means to follow Christ and enjoyed lots of good discussions and sharing of ideas.