School's now in session

No! Say it isn't so! Summer is over and we're back in school. It happened way too quickly! The kids were excited and mostly ready to go back. I feel blessed that they all really enjoy school. Carter, Andi, and Taytum all got great teachers and we are excited for another great year!

Disneyland 2014

Jefferson and my ten year wedding anniversary was last year, and ever since, we've been trying to make an excape sans kids. Well, our eleven year anniversary came and went this summer, and still no trip. Well, we kind of talked about a trip to Disneyland, and then all of a sudden it happened! My amazing mom stepped in and took care of our kids, including getting them to their first soccer games of the season. We left after work on Wednesday, drove down to Fresno, stayed the night and then drove in to do a half day at Disneyland. All the Halloween decor was up and I felt a little guilty the first hour or so that our kids weren't there to enjoy it! Disneyland is still pretty amazing without kids. We held hands everywhere we went, stopped and snacked on whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, I didn't have to share my churro, line waiting (albeit brief most the time) was so easy with no kids, navigating was quick and easy, we could cross the park in two minutes if we wanted... Our really good friends from Idaho, the Swensens, moved down to Carona, which is only about twenty  minutes from Disneyland so we stayed with them. After our day at the park we went out to dinner with them and then back to their house and hot tubbed and stayed up way too late. But guess what! Going to bed and getting up and ready in the morning is so much quicker and easier without having to take care of five kiddos! We spent all of Friday and Saturday in the parks. Saturday got a bit busier, but the other two days were the shortest lines! We had a great time and even the drive, 11 hours of uninterrupted conversation, was enjoyable. It was great to reconnect with Jefferson and we felt ready to head back to real life at the end of it. Thanks everyone who made is possible for us to go!

Beckett Boy turns 2!

I forgot what it was like to have a two year old! So frustrating at times, but mostly so much fun! This boy is so verbal, which is really helpful. We can have full on conversations since he says 4-5 word sentences. Beckett can easily be reasoned with and is great at following directions. He also throws giant size tantrums at times and goes for days where he cries about half of his waking hours. He loves all of his siblings and wants to be doing whatever they are doing. He bullies Bentley at every chance he gets. Out of nowhere he'll just come up and push her or hit her. Bentley is also known to overreact, so she'll immediately start screaming, which is exactly the reaction Beckett is looking for. It is funny and frustrating and super annoying all at the same time. Especially since it's just those two home during the day, we have a lot of that. That, or they are the best of friends and Bentley is mothering Beckett making sure he has whatever toy he wants and getting things down for him and filling his water.

Beckett loves cars, trains, and balls. Every time we hear the train whistle he stops and yells, "A train!" and gets so excited. We have a wood train set that he plays with, on average, at least an hour every day. He also loves bath time and his little Aiden and Anais blankets and always sleeps with them. Beckett loves to play catch and favors his left hand in everything he does; throwing, coloring, writing, eating.

 He does not like to get his hair cut and screams the entire time. He also does not love his car seat, unless it's sitting outside of it buckling the buckles. He wants to walk everywhere, so strollers and grocery carts are usually a joke. If anybody is laying on the ground, Beckett will run up and body slam them. He usually gives a warning by yelling, "Bah slam!"

Some cute way Beckett says things:
Capah = popcorn
Bebe = blanket
Lo-li = lotion
Ca-ar = Carter
Annie = Andi
Muk = milk
Lub-lou = Love you
Dank-doo = Thank you

For Beckett's birthday we were actually at the Tulelake Fair. Though he was very sad he didn't get to ride the rides this year (he was too young/small) he did have a fun time. Cotton candy and dough boys were involved. He loved looking at all the animals and although Beckett loves animals from a distance, if they get too close, or make any sudden movements, Beckett freaks out. It's hilarious.

The next day we did a little family celebration. We enjoyed some of Beckett's favorites: hot dogs, Cheetos, and watermelon and then a monster truck birthday cake and ice cream.

I'm a little sad my baby is 2! I feel a little sad to be leaving babyhood forever, but also am excited for this next phase of life with more capable kids. Going places is getting easier and easier all the time. We have to pack less and everyone can do more. It's been fun. Beckett sure makes us laugh a lot. He's just kind of a goober. He makes some pretty silly facial expressions that keep us laughing. He is super smart and articulate and manages to keep up with everybody pretty well. He is the perfect caboose to our family.

Insta Summer

Sunriver 2014

Sunriver needs no explaining. It was just perfect. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Girls afternoon out:

Favorite Things lunch: 

Alli's was her favorite gluten free products.

 My mom's was a necklace and these awesome cheese plates made from old bottles by my uncle.

 Summer's was earrings and head wraps.

 Mine were the scentables from Bath and Body Works.

 Sharon's was melamine serving dishes.

 Nikki's was homemade laundry and dish soap.

 

 

 

 

 The "sledding" hill. So. Much. Fun. I laughed loudly the whole way down!

 

 

 The butteflies might need a little explaining. Taytum received a butterfly habitat for her birthday and the caterpillars (or chrysalis rather) were scheduled to hatch while we were out of town. So, being the amazing mom that I am, I toted the butterfly habitat up to Sunriver so that the kids could see the butterfly hatch. And then proceed to release them into the wild.

Sundaes at our FHE about Sundays, and keeping them holy. Nice job Al!

The annual Unbirthday Party.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 All kids who can ride a bike independently have been invited to participate in the new annual Grandparents moonlight bike ride; to Goody's of course. The kids thought it was maybe the coolest thing ever!! And it's total motivation to get kids to learn to ride their bikes!

 The butterfly release...

 And just for fun, Grandpa bought all the kids marshmallow guns and the kids went wild out back. Beckett kept busy cleaning up marshmallows off the ground, and then disposing of them in his mouth.