Halloween 2011

I remember Halloween as a kids and absolutely LOVING it.  My kids (most kids) loved it too.  Asher kept complaining of a stomach ache the night before because he was so excited and Eden just couldn't stop dancing and hopping around from excitement.  Cache and I were a little frustrated because we wanted some down time, but it didn't come until an hour or so after bedtime.  I am so grateful to have kids that I can

 re-live these fun moments with. 

right before leaving for school.

 Our sweet little cupcake.

 Harry Potter-who was so excited that people recognized who he was

 Thing 2

 Asher with his buddies G&L.  So glad we got to go with these guys, we stayed out so late we closed the neighborhood down.  Get me, Barb, and Alyson together and we will do it right :)

 Halloween Piano recital.  How fun is this?  It made it a little hectic, but it was a lot of fun to sit outside listen to the students sing and perform their piano pieces and then gather for quick donuts and cider afterwards.

 school parade.

Eden and  her posse. 

 They all went out on their own this year.  They loved it except for the neighbor boy scaring them (eden) to tears with his chainsaw.  She didn't crumble and stay inside the rest of the night though, she did buck up and go back out.  Got to be proud of her for that.  Love you Eden and your tender little personality.  

Our pumpkins.
Asher is just a little Harry obsessed right now which is just fine because I think it is so cute.
If you are wondering where ainsley's is, it is sitting in our house un-carved because she was so ornery she had to take a nap instead of carving (mean I know) I am feeling a little guilty over it actually.

Amanda

Here is a story of a girl who moved to the USof A all the way from Germany.  This girl had a boyfriend who also lived in Germany, but moved to the USof A to learn a new a language and then move to the Ukraine for two years.  This girl was sad and wanted to send some pictures of herself so he wouldn't forget her.  Here are those pictures..........

Does this pose look familiar?? It's Ainsley inspired.

Happy Dance

Somewhere Ainsley has learned about Happy Dance.  Today I did something she was proud of (shutting the gate to our backyard so deer can't get in-random)and then she said "good job mommy, Happy Dance!" she did a short little dance and then struck a pose.  It was so funny I ran to get my camera and she gladly re-enacted her poses

This girl is so funny, she keeps us all laughing. I wish I could just freeze time with her and keep her this age forever.

Cache and I spent our anniversary in Jackson Hole, WY. A few weeks late due to Cache being in Beijing on our actual anniversary.  I have to admit I was a little wary about Jackson, I have never been there and it just didn't seem fun in my mind. Well, it was fun and super relaxing.  We hiked to taggart lake, we drove through the Teton national park, ate lunch at a beautiful lodge, searched for bear (didn't find any), and slept-in without any interruptions.  Sleep without any interruptions for 2 nights is complete heaven.

Oxbow Bend-Jackson Hole, WY

The colors were so pretty and I really would love to take a trip up there every fall. The first day we were there it was a little cold and we walked through a few snow flurries.  It was also so cloudy we couldn't see the tetons and I was bummed because we had just driven 5 1/2 hours and I wanted to see the mountains!  The next day waas BEAUTIFUL The air was cool, but not too cool, perfect for sweaters (my favorite), and the tetons peeked out of the clouds.  They are just as gorgeous as they are on TV (as seen in modern family the week before :)).

Taggart Lake

Our own Ollivander

Our friends told Asher that Hogwarts was real and he will get a post delivered to him by an Owl on his 11th birthday asking him to attend wizard school and he totally believes it. So until he gets his official wand from Hogwarts he decided to whittle himself a makeshift one and also one for a few of the neighborhood kids.  

A few of the wands.  

Since this picture was taken these wands have been stained and a handle has been added. 

Poor Asher was devastated when Cache and I told him the we were muggles and there was a small chance that he was a real wizard.  But he is thinking positively and well, I guess we'll find out if he is Hogwarts bound in about 5 years.

Asher's first day

It's been long in the waiting, but Asher finally started Kindergarten.  He was so excited to sit in class and learn (sounds fun doesn't it). 

  A tradition for the kindergartners at our school is to decorate a gingerbread man in way that he wouldn't be recognized as a gingerbread man.  Asher wanted a lego Ninjago as his.  It was a fun project for us to work on together. I drew it all on paper and he did all the cutting.  He did pretty good didn't he?

 We were bored waiting for carpool so, I asked to him to jump in the air while I took his pictures.  He reminds me of a leprechaun.

Good luck in K-grade little Man!!

4th Grade

Eden is entering 4th grade!! Which is so crazy to me, I remember 4th grade. It wasn't that long ago (wink). I had Mrs. Nissin at C.H. Taylor Elementary in Ogden. I remember learning cursive. I remember thinking John M. was cute. I remember the new girl Mariesa. I remember long division. I remember thinking I was so close to being an adult (wink, wink).

Eden thinks she is an adult, she is learning cursive and long division, she is the new girl (in a round about way), and as much as she denies it I am sure there is, or will be a boy that she is going to think is cute.

Welcome to 4th Eden!

I am so glad I get to be the mom of this sweet girl.

12x12 August

I am falling behind, I realize it.  But to be honest it is not entirely my fault.  Our computer died, like really died,gave up the ghost.  We had to call to Dell and get it fixed, now it is breathing on it's own again and I can attempt to catch up on this silly little blog.  So to begin........a 12x12, several weeks late.

1. Monkey Quest.........one of Asher's favorites.
2. Breakfast. Poor kids, they eat cereal just about every morning.  I am not even nice enough to buy the fun cereal.  Honey Nut Cheerios, Special K with red Berries, and Frosted mini wheat's.........that's all we ever have.
3. Pinterest.........enough said.
4. I helped pick up my friends car from the repair man, that is a weird story in itself, but glad I could help.
5. "let me out of the car mom!" -Ainsley
6. Work, work, work.  I love have Cache working form home.
7. coming home from Grandma's house.  There is always a surprise to bring home from her house.
8. Ainsley taking a nap with her dolls (she arranged them like this)
9. Banana........our go to snack.
10-12. I guess I got lazy and didn't take my camera on mine and Cache's date night.  Imagine pictures of The movie theater, a screen shot of "The Help", and me enjoying a crepe.

Sunday pic July 31st

I have a bunch of Sunday pictures to catch up on, but for now here is the most recent.

This is my nephew Eric. Sunday was his "farewell". He leaves on the 10th for Costa Rica for 2 years. Good luck Eric!

I know you are wondering (really you probably aren't) why we are all dressed up and Asher has an "Orem Recreation" shirt on. It all started with a delicious chocolate cupcake that was so good his dress shirt and pants wanted a lick (or several). Asher would not get down from the table because he was so embarrassed that he was covered in chocolate. Cache took him down into a cousins room and raided the dirty clothes basket until suitable outfit was found. Oh Asher we love you and how easily embarrassed you get.

July 12x12

Click on pictures to enlarge

1. Yay! waffles!

2. Daily chores-weeding.

3. The fearsome four: power ranger, avatar, swat, and middle eastern princess. I love these four.

4. Afternoon activity.

5. Paying bills.

6. Water balloon toss, gotta love summer.

7. Ainsley refusing to put her shoes on, two girls trying every trick they could think of to get them on her.

8. Swimming lessons.

9. Ainsley loves the splash pad at the pool (except for the big giant bucket that sporadically dumps huge amounts of water onto innocent little toddlers).

10. buddies

11. Evening Costco run.

12. Bedtime snack on the deck.

July 4th

Yay! for the 4th of July and the annual neighborhood parade. When we told the kids we were going to be moving back to Utah, they asked if we would be back for the bike parade. This is definitely a short lived tradition that is one of our family favorites.

Our neighborhood gets together for a breakfast and bike parade on the morning of the fourth. It usually consists of a program, flag raising, and the national anthem, but the kids are so ready to get on their bikes it is hard to contain them.

The blue and white six-tuplets.

And the parade would not be complete without brother Haugen's wildfire water extinguisher that he fills with soapy water and fills the street with bubbles. Good times which causes a huge mess on the clothes, but clean asphalt afterwards :)

Ainsley dressing up diva-style at Ms. Barbie's house after the parade.

Culinary Institute

I guess I am one of those weird women that loves Mother's day. I do sometimes feel guilty with all of the 'ode to mother's' talks in church, about how so and so's mother is so great because she can clean the house, do laundry, cook a nutritious meal, play games with the kids, sew clothes, run 10 miles a day, look beautiful and stylish all while she remodels the house. Ya, that's not me, therefore I feel bad or guilty, but that guilt is easily erased when I am served breakfast in bed or allowed a nap after church. This year our friend Than, asked Cache if he wanted to surprise me with a Culinary Institute cooking class for mother's day. Cache couldn't spend the money without consulting with me first, so it wasn't much of a surprise. How often would I get an opportunity to cook in a culinary institute kitchen and Erica was going and that would make it all the more fun.

Thanks Cache, it was an amazing experience, even though the class turned out to be less of a class and more of an experience. Erica and I were hoping that we would learn some great techniques, but were a little embarrassed that we didn't know how to do a lot of things (that's why you take a class, right?). The Chef at first was a little frustrated, but I think in the end he began to like our amateur personalities.

It was such a beautiful building in the heart of wine country (napa).

I could have taken pictures on the grounds all day.

chef Erica cooking her Pad Thai with THE Chef.

Erica knows all the Thai names of the dishes we made, but this is the spicy coconut chicken soup I made. It was delicious! I have since made it at home and can pull it off pretty good. (I will pat my own back at this time)

mmmmm, delicious. Especially the mango rice you see in the top left corner.