Snow is here....

We had a big storm last weekend and the snow was a few inches and stayed long enough for the kids to have some fun. Corbin and Alyssa had just as much fun as last year and Ava liked the snow tons more now than last year (because she's older now of course). The kids ate the snow, made snow angels, built a snow castle and ran through the snow to make tracks with their boots. The best thing is we get another season for their snow clothes because they still fit!!! yeah.

Hot Cocoa

Its that time of year again, hot chocolate, marshmallows, milk, mugs and spoons. We love hot chocolate around here and it is so yummy when you are cold it warms you up so fast!!

Whats Fall without some leaves!!!

Halloween Carnival

Susan & (the YM and YW) were in charge of the Halloween Carnival in her ward and we went along for some yummy chili and another chance for the kids to wear their costumes!! We had a great time. They had a cake walk, (where we found Ava everytime she went missing), a haunted house, and a fishing game.

Meet Nacho Libre

Corbin was Nacho Libre for our Halloween Party we went to this week. I thought we couldn't make it happen (couldn't find the tights), but Brad found some leggings and I was out of excuses, so Between Brad and I we made it happen for Corbin and he was a happy boy. The second picture is Corbin saying "Naaaaaachooooooooo".

Tanner, Corbin, Alyssa, Addison, and Ava

Halloween Night.....

We went to Trick or Treating in the Thompson's neighborhood again this year. The kids wanted to go together and we live on a dark
cul-de-sac that wouldn't get any trick or treaters. Corbin was a pirate, Alyssa and Addison were Queens, Ava was an elephant, and Tanner was a vampire. They got a lot of candy and had a fun time. Happy Halloween to everyone

Remember this?

I found this game at a garage sale last Saturday. I posted these pictures for my brothers and sisters to see if it brings back some memories like it did for me. Who knows maybe you played the same game with your family too? I love finding things like this and an added bonus it was .50 cents and all the matches were there!! We played this exact game when we were kids and now my kids can play with the same memory game. Some of the matches that really brought back memories for me I took a picture of.

Who needs to invite friends over when you can dress up your animals and have a party all day long! Corbin has always loved playing with stuffed animals. This big bear is big enough to wear his clothes and sit up and play games with him. He has such a great imagination, its fun to see what we comes up with when he plays.

Camping

We went camping with the Thompsons last weekend. Spencer needs more campouts to get his eagle scout award so we agreed to this campout. We all love camping, but It is October and it has been getting really cold at night! Everything was great and fun until we had to go to sleep. I thought we were prepared, but still with my 3 layers of clothes, 2 jackets, 2 socks, a beanie and 5 big blankets it felt like I had nothing on!!! Brad slept with Corbin and I slept with Ava to keep each other warm. The two girls slept together in the little tent to keep each other warm, but we all were just waiting for morning to come fast. The fun parts were yummy Hobo dinners, marshmallows, Hot chocolate and roasted starburst.....so basically all the food. What we do for our nephew!! We can't wait for next year's summer camping with you Spencer!

Great Christmas Gift!!!!!

My friend makes these cute mini copies of the Book of Mormon. These are just two of the cute ones she has covered and she has many more. I got a few of them for gifts for myself and for others. They are the perfect size to fit in my purse too so I can take it anywhere and anytime!! email or call me if you are interested!! Yes this is advertising at its best for a good friend!!

Fancy Nancy Anyone?

Alyssa and I came across these books this summer at a book store. My sister in law said they were one of the first books to sell out at the book fairs. Grandma bought Alyssa the two they had there and we were going to look for the 3rd. Alyssa got it at the library at school and brought it home to read for the week. The following week we went to our library in town and found a bunch more easy to read beginner books of Fancy Nancy. They have such fun and bright illustrations and brings out the girl in us when we read them. Now we tease saying everythings got to be Fancy like Fancy Nancy. Enjoy reading

New Recipe

I got this recipe from my neighbor who is a fantabulous cook! It's called Peaches n' Cream. It has a cookie crust, filling and peaches with glaze on top. It is soooooo good. I am not going to post this recipe because it has a few parts to it, but if you want it I can email it to you so you can just print it off.

Home Depot

The first Saturday of the month Home Depot does a make and take project you can take your kids to and have some fun building something. They get an apron and a pin for that particular project to put on their apron. Here they are making a bean bag toss. Don't forget to go this Saturday!!

What we have been up to....

Not a day without play-doh!

I left the kids playing play-doh for a few minutes to do something and this is what I found when I got back. Corbin had given Ava play-doh after I had given her chocolate pudding. He thought she could play and eat at the same time....NOT. It was such a big mess and what better way to laugh and cool off is to take pictures of it and remember it.

Making mud pies, taco salad, brownies and such with dirt, leaves, water, rocks. All the ingredients my kids love to play with!

This is what I find after making my visiting teaching calls. here I though the kids were just being good and quiet while I was on the phone! NOT a chance. These two mischiefs got out 7 games and took over the room. They did however help pick it all up nicely.

My List of 100

So my sister- in- law did this on her blog a long time ago and a group of us were talking about it this weekend and thought we should all do a 100's list too. We started talking about some things we could put on our lists that night and it stayed fresh in my mind, so last night I sat down and wrote 100 random facts about me. Thanks for the idea Liz, it was fun to do. So enjoy reading.

1. I love to read. (church novels have been my recent favorties)

2. I like to clean. (Its therapy for me)

3. I love to run. I have been a runner since I was a little girl.

4. If I could be an animal I would be a dolphin so I can jump high and dive in the water.

5. My favorite color is blue, but I love to decorate with reds.

6. I love Jane Austin movies. The books were too hard and confusing to read for me.

7. I love fluffy stairs that have just been vacuumed. I will skip 2 at a time to keep them fluffy longer.
8. I love to go to the temple and get the feeling of peace and quiet.

9. My favorite smell is freshly cut grass and laundry. I love it when I am running on the road and pass a house that is doing laundry and I can smell the scent of detergent in the air.

10. I am a stomach sleeper, so being pregnant is hard at times.

11. I was an huge ice cruncher when I was a kid and now I think I passed on the trait to Alyssa

12. I love to organize everything and be organized.

13. Jeans are my favorite article of clothing. The way they feel and look! amazing!!

14. I love to go to garage sales with Brad.

15. I prefer chips with my sandwiches. Flavored chips with meat sandwiches and potatoe chips with Tuna or egg salad. Yum Yum

16. I love the outdoors. camping, hiking, walks, bike rides.

17. I like my bacon crispy and really cooked but NOT burnt!

18. I love to go to the movies.

19. Mexican Food is my favorite kind of food.

20. I love to cook/bake.

21. I like Graham crackers, Hershey bars and marshmallows, but do NOT like S'mores.

22. I have 9 3/4 fingers (childhood incident, don't ask I don't know what happened)

23. One of my favorite Friday nights we do each week is movie night with the kids. pizza, popcorn and a movie and stay up late, the kids love it!

24. I wear a watch from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed.

25. I have lived in California, Arizona, and Utah

26. When I graduated high school I wanted to be a pediatrician or a marine biologist. Now I want to be a mom and then go into the medical field somewhere, somehow.
27. I had braces for 3 1/2 years of High School. I got them off right before senior pictures.

28. Gymnastics and swimming are my favorite sports to watch on the Olympics.
29. I always take a water bottle every where I go.

30. I love photography
31. I have bad luck with computers!

32. I love to scrapbook

33. My favorite pie is Apple Pie cold or hot. If is warm I like whip cream with it, if is cold I like ice cream with it.

34. I love to quilt and sew. Thanks mom for sharing your spectacular talent with me.

35. I love board games and card games.
36. I like to garden and do yard work.

37. I have a fear of heights somewhat. Some playgrounds are too high for me and I freak out.

38. I don't like to hear swearing in movies or around me.

39. I loved school and can't wait to go back.

40. I love having girlfriends. (miss you guys in AZ!)

41. My hair is really straight in front and on the sides and a little wavy in the back.

42. I don't like to taste/eat while I cook. I have to wait until its ready.

43. I love music. It's a huge mood setter for me.

44. I want to know more stories from the Bible and Book of Mormon and know them by heart.

45. I don't like to eat hot stuff with cold stuff. ie: hot brownies and ice cream. I prefer milk instead.

46. I love the sound of rain and I love to watch it out the window too, when it is coming down hard.
47. I love ice cream. Its got to be Dreyers Rocky Road, Cookies N. Cream, and Mint Chip.
48. I have to eat two flavors of ice cream together to get the perfect bite. So I save up until I can buy two things of ice cream!

49. I love sunsets. I really miss the ones at the beach.

50. I have a scar on my head, but I don't know when I got. (any clues family?)

51. I loved hanging out with my friends in high school.

52 My brothers and I rode a bus 45 minutes bus ride each way in middle school for 3 years.

53. I was baptized in our pool.

54. When I turned 18 I went skydiving.

55. I love getting things for a bargain.

56. I love to travel.

57. I love root beer with pizza.

58. I put french fries on my hamburger.

59. I love learning about church history.

60. I would rather stay at home than go out if given the choice.

61. My favorite holiday is Christmas and I love to sing Christmas songs year round.

62. I love flip flops. I wear them every where and all the time.

63. I have super great, fantabulous, fun, and sweet sister and sister- in- laws!!

64. I love learning something new.

65. I love children of all ages.

66. I lived on 3 acres of Avacado trees growing up and help harvest them each season with my family.

67. I was a tom-boy growing up.

68. I played the violin and piano when I was a kid.

69. I love family gatherings.

70. I like to snow board and when my kids are old enough we can enjoy it together!

71. I am a planner.

72. Pride and Prejudice and Ever After are 2 of my favorite movies!

73. When I was little I gave myself another middle name. Sarah Chalfant Strawberry Marshall

74. I love learning different languages. I took Spanish and French in High School and College, one day I will be fluent in at least one of them!

75. I get a lot of inspiration and insight in the books I read.

76. I want to be brave enough to ride a horse and run with it like they do in the movies.

77. I am a list maker.

78. I love to color and paint with my kids. Ok even if they stop and play something else, I am still there coloring.

79. I like things to be symmetrical and balanced.

80. I love listening to calming/ easy listening music while I craft.

81. When it is cold outside, I love to cuddle with a blanket and have hot cocoa and watch a movie.
82. I love puzzles.

83. My favorite calling in church so far has been primary.

84. I don't like to watch T.V.

85. I love Black and White pictures

86. I love making sandcastles in the sand at the beach. Drip castles are my favorite.

87. My favorite sound is hearing kids laugh and giggle. Its so contagious!
88. It takes me 5 minutes to get ready for bed.

89. I love to put my feet in a river or creek.

90. I like granola in my yogurt.

91. I have been a cub scout leader for over 4 years

92. I will try something new at least once to say if I liked it or not.

93. I love toned and defined arms and legs. ooh la la

94. I load the dishwasher the same way each time and if the dishes don't work out or fit that way, I wash them by hand.

95. I do not like Green Beans

96. I love smoothies after I run or workout.

97. I married my best friend over 8 years ago.

98. I refinished a cedar chest by myself.

99. I love work out clothes. They are so comfy.

100. I talk in my sleep.

Pacifier Withdrawls

So we are home from our 3 week trip to Cali and now it is time to get back to our "normal" life. I waited until our trip was over to take the pacifier away from Ava so she was too much drama on our trip. She only gets her pacifier at bedtime now and it is killing her! The other day I caught her with this. She is going through some withdrawls so she is using her "babies" pretend pacifier. There is nothing but a little sticks at the end of this one, but she liked it for that afternoon. She is one funny girl.