Friday, September 28, 2012

365+1 Week 38

I can't believe it is Friday and I still haven't posted up my photo-a-day for last week! I had better get going while I have a second!!

Photo's #260-266:

Jeeping up AF Canyon.  Some friends of ours invited us on a Sunday afternoon drive to see the fall leaves. We made our way to Cascade Springs and went on an off roading adventure that landed us at the Deer Creek Dam in Provo Canyon.  The mountains were alive with breath taking color and it was  so great to discover it with such good friends!!

Lunch time.  It is just the Eva girl and me, and she pretty much wants Mac and Cheese every single day.  I don't let her of course, but she puts in the request time after time anyway.  She also prefers them to be eaten with sweet little green peas- go figure!!

"Errand" My weekly trip to the wally mart. I feel like I am over there every other day because no matter how thorough I think my list is, I ALWAYS forget something, or grab the wrong thing, and have to go back... sigh.

Breakfast Crepes.  Last night I taught my beehive class how to make these.  We had some left over batter, so the girls woke up to an extra fancy breakfast in honor of it being Wednesday- I mean, why not!

Thursday has now been designated classroom help day.  I am at the school from 11:45am - 3:05pm.  I just rotate one hour in each of my girls classes helping the teacher correct, file, record, print, etc. Pretty much I do whatever they need. There are required service hours at the school, and this is definitely my preferred way to spend them.  I enjoy seeing how the teacher interacts with the students, I love watching how my children learn, and I get to know the other students they spend most of their day with.

Friday my girls had the day off from school.  We decided to spend our morning taking a hike in our lovely mountains. The weather was so perfect- it would have been a crime not to!

We hit the trail out of Kiwanis park and made our way up to the waterfalls, one big one and about 4 smaller.  Then we just kept on going! This picture doesn't show it, but there were many brightly colored leaves and the girls were enjoying the activity of gathering up as many different varieties and colors as they could to bring home and put in their collection books.

The artwork is starting to come home, and so our wall of display is starting to grow.  Just one of the wonderful fallout's of being back in school!

Friday, September 21, 2012

365 +1 Week 37

Photo's #253-259:

Bronco Football has begun, pretty much every Sunday night for the next 12 weeks will look like this: family pile up and popcorn. (Usually they are all wearing the Bronco Orange)  Man, I do really love these people of mine- and this photo, while not perfect, really makes me happy!!

When she has reached her limit of soccer watching- thank goodness for modern technology :)

"One Word" Today was the Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  I remember that day vividly- I remember being glued to the TV for days after as we all watched the destruction, devastation and sadness.  Now, 11 years later- this is the word that comes to mind- courage to make it through, courage to endure, and courage to look forward with hope!

"Pantry" After dropping Eva off at school I came home to make myself a little lunch and opened the pantry to find a little surprise from my baby.  She must have been playing in there while I was gone exercising.  She has an entire bucket full of bouncy balls, and yes, she has named them all!  It made me miss her a bit, but brought a huge grin across my face.

The last of the summer light, the last of the pleasant evenings, the last of the sidewalk art for a season. A familiar chill has started to seep into the air and I had to pull on a jacket while I watched them play.

As I have stated before, Olivia's PFS has returned, to our dismay and sadness, and to the confusion of her doctor.  She said that non of her patients in the past have ever had it come back after the year of daily treatment medication.  So, it was back to the lab to have test after test done.  Her puppy dog eyes always break my heart, but she was a champ after two days of poking and hopefully we can get some answers- cross your fingers!!

Eva has truly been enjoying her soccer team and playing on the field.  I love this shot of determination.  Although we have started a new game on the sidelines- how many times do the cute little 5 year old's end up belly down on the grass!! It is a surprisingly large number, but completely adorable :)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

365+1 Week 36

This last week Abby did finally get better, I started to feel crappy for a couple of days, and Liv launched into another PFS episode- so you could say it was real fun over here at our house! But we are all the more thankful for our heathy bodies today! Fall is in the air and all is well on the home front this week!!

Photo's #246-252:

Today was my cute little niece Hallie's blessing day.  While I did take some darling pictures of her delicate little face I don't want to steal my sister-in-law's thunder so I will refrain from posting any right now :) But I did make these yummy Home Made Twix Bars to bring to the party and I had everyone wanting the recipe. I mean really, who doesn't like a Twix Bar?  I can not by any means take credit for this culinary masterpiece but will send you over to the site where I found them: High Heels and Grills.  They are almost too simple to make, so enjoy!

My most favorite mother-in-law was celebrating her birthday over the weekend, so with school out and Paul home from work for the Labor Day holiday we went out to lunch together!
 Happy Birthday Paulene- we LOVE you!!

"Utensil"  This is a dinner trick that Paul likes to perform for the girls.  They CAN NOT believe that those forks can balance on such a small point! Have you ever tried it? Can you make it hold without falling?

EVA LOST HER FIRST TOOTH!!!  She told me in the morning after breakfast that it felt loose and by bedtime that night she had pulled that thing right out, all by herself!!!  She was beaming with joy- mostly because she remembered that the Tooth Fairy brought Liv an EXTRA dollar if she would pull out her tooth by herself  :)  There was no convincing her that it was a one time thing- and the Tooth Fairy did in fact remember that part of the deal!!!

Fall- Glittery pumpkins and acorns. I spent the days putting out all the decorations and house adornments.  I almost can't believe it is September, but I do like that it is holiday season right around the corner.

EVA LOST HER SECOND TOOTH!!!!!!!  Again- that morning she told me her other front tooth felt wiggly and sure enough by the time our day was over she had pulled out that little bugger- this girl is so tough!!!  Once she sets her mind to it, she can not be stopped! Let me tell you, her piggy bank is over flowing :)

Just take a look at one of Abby's giant pumpkins!! It is GIANT I tell you!! I can't quite tell if she is more excited about the prospect of carving this huge beast of a pumpkin, or the fact that she had just come home from her first ever BYU football game with her Dad?  It's a close toss up I think!!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

365+1 Week 35

Last week was a pretty busy and crazy week- I really don't know how I survived- especially Wednesday when I was quadruple booked!! But we are now starting to get into a groove and I just keep telling myself "6 more weeks" and then things will start to settle down!! Oh, and my goal this weekend is to get the tea party photo's edited and posted, finally :)

Photo's #239-245:

Sunday evening we were invited over to a friends house for dinner and dessert.  They provided the steak and chicken kabobs and I provided the dessert- Blackberry Trifle.  This is my sister's recipe that Abby and I find completely delicious.

First Day of School!! All three girls started today and the excitement in the house was at new levels!

Abby is now in 4th grade. I almost can't type that because I can't believe she is that old!! She is in Mrs. Knight's class and LOVES her to absolute pieces- she is overjoyed to be back at school.  Her favorite part? She has an actual "Math Book" checked out from the school to get her assignments from.  I know, she belongs to Paul, not me!!

Olivia is in 2nd grade this year and is in Mrs. Gorell's class.  She was happy to find that all of her close girl friends are in her same class and her teacher is very fun and nice.  Her favorite part? Going to science class and can't wait to start her report on the planet Jupiter.

Eva is a full fledged Kindergartner!! She is in Mrs. Strong's class, the same teacher the other two had.  My baby is in school- and it feels so strange! I am not one to get teary and sentimental at drop off time.  I am always so happy for them to grow and learn and have wonderful new experiences, but after I dropped her off I was surprisingly sad! It was so weird to go home and eat lunch by myself, Eva has always been with me. That said, she LOVES school and is already starting to make some great friends and show her independence.

Skills practice in the back yard with dad.  Her coach has given daily homework drills to help each player improve.  Here she is doing her juggling.

While the temperatures were still very warm, with school started it just seems like fall is in the air. At my Dad's house the trees are dripping with fruit, including his apple tree- they will soon be ready for harvest.

Thursday was spent at the doctor.  The night before Abby had come into our room crying that her stomach was hurting and then proceeded to throw up all night and into the morning.  We were concerned at the level of stomach pain and the Pediatrician told us to come in and run test to see if it was her appendix.  Well after all was done she began to feel better and the test were inconclusive so we went home.

Friday she awoke feeling ok, but as the day progressed so did that stomach pain.  It was back and worse then ever.  She started throwing up and rocking around in a ball on the floor.  We made another call and this time we were told to head up to Primary Children's Medical Center.  They are the only ones around that will preform an appendix surgery on kids.  So up we went- the longest drive ever when your daughter is in so much pain! But when the surgeon looked at the ultrasound he saw a healthy appendix and said surgery was out. While we were relieved she wouldn't need surgery, being told it was just a bad stomach virus that she just needed to ride out was not the best news.  We finally went home around 1:00 am totally exhausted. She was feeling sick for several more days, but eventually started to feel better. It was a pretty stressful weekend!

Saturday we were able to attend my darling nephews baptism (well Olivia, Eva and I). As we were driving home we went through one of the worst rainstorms of my driving career! The lightening was filling the entire sky, the thunder was SO loud, and the rain was drenching.  At one point I couldn't see the road with the wipers running full blast.  Needless to say, the girls thought it was the coolest thing ever, once they realized we were safe in the dry car!