A Halloween Tale

Handsome Evan makes a great Peter Pan. After the trunk or treat and some reall trick or treating he said, "My bag is overflowing." He definitely had a lot of candy.

What a smiley Tigger! Evan wore this costume as well, but he never really liked it. Jonathan really liked it. This is a great costume. This was the fourth year it was worn and it still looks great! Jonathan loves to eat the treats. We will have to put them up higher because he keeps getting into them without asking.

What a beautiful Belle. This is the third year that Lindsay has been Belle. It fit her perfectly this year. She wore it to a clogging Halloween party, to school for the Halloween parade, and to the trunk or treat and trick or treating in the neighborhood.

This is the first year in 3 that Laurel could not be Princess Aurora. She finally grew out of that costume, so this year she is Giselle from the movie Enchanted. Isn't she lovely? She looked beautiful in her costume. The crown and shoes were the perfect touch for such a beautiful gown.

Sword Fighting

The boys have such a good time playing swords together. They are on a Star Wars kick right now and love to say "Are you on the dark side?" Sometimes I worry about all this battling, but so far my experience has been that they will make weapons and battle with whatever is available. I guess this is one of those issues where I teach them correct principles and hope their pretend battles remain just for fun. Overall, I believe this is true because my boys are very sweet and loving, despite their many "battles."

Scarecrow Festival Clogging Performance

The girls had a clogging performance at the Scarecrow Festival up at Thanksgiving Point. They both did a good job in front of a lot of strangers. Don't they look cute in their little costumes.

Here is a little video of the girls. It is hard to see lil' Lindsay until the very end. They are still learning, but working hard and doing very well.

Provo City Services Fair

Last Monday we went down to the Provo Mall where they were having a fair demonstrating the different services available in the Provo City. So they had the Provo Police, Fire and Rescue, UTA public transportation, Provo, City Utilities, the library, Parks and Recreation. We did it last year and it was a ton of fun, so we decided to go again this year. The kids got lots of free coloring books, candy, pencils, water bottles, T-shirts etc. Even Michael and I entered a drawing for a free tree from the City and we won!

Evan tries out the driver's seat of a huge fire engine. He has the best grin!

The girls are escaping from the smoke in a trailer that teaches children how to get out if there is a fire. The man in this picture is the paramedic who came to the house this summer when Laurel hit her windpipe on the edge of the counter and couldn't breathe. Of course she was fine, but it is an experience I will not forget anytime soon. I could remember him because he seemed so young to be saving people.
The kids got to go on a UTA bus. They are such happy kids! Can you believe how big they are getting? Where does the time go? I am glad for moments like this to cherish their cute faces.
While the girls went in the fire escape trailer, the boys went with Michael to some other spots. They got a picture with this squirrel. I have no idea what he was a mascot for, but it is a cute picture anyway. The kids also got to squirt fire hoses to push down a bucket. We went into fire engines and ambulances, and we also saw the firefighters in full gear fight a propane-fueled fire in the middle of the big parking lot.

Sick! " I cannot got to school today said..."

We are now in the 7th week of the school year. I am always expecting a sick session once school starts. We got all the way to the 4th week and I started feeling a little smug, like maybe the Airborne Power Pixies full of antioxidants created a shield of protection for my children. That's what I get for thinkin! It has been over 2 weeks of sickness. I am pretty sure we got 2 viruses in rapid succession. Laurel is in the best shape now after 2 weeks, a trip to the doctor's, steroids, and antibiotics. Jonathan still has a bad cough, but no fever, and his nose is getting better. Evan had horrible croup and a fever last week, now he only has a bad cough but no fever. Lindsay is struggling. She got sick on Wednesday. She has had a horrible fever, sore throat, and cough. We took her to InstaCare thinking she had Strep, but no dice, so basically there is not much I can do to ease her suffering. At least today she could eat something and her fever is on its way out. So all is well. Michael and I "might" sleep all night soon. I know part of having children is to become more charitable and taking care of sick kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for over 2 weeks just might make me a better person!

*So I don't get in trouble with copyrights, the above title is taken from Shel Silverstein's poem.

Thank you for the Love!

This is a picture of some of the flowers I got while I was recovering from my gallbladder surgery. I think we finally threw the last of them away last week. I was thinking about the flowers and phone calls I received while I was getting better and I felt very loved. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who called, sent, flowers, helped with the kids, etc. Most people who know me, know that I am extremely hard on myself to the point of forgetting all of the good things I can do. My surgery was a good chance for me to realize that I am loved, needed, and worthwhile. I will just have to remember this more often because I am not signing up for more surgery in order to feel loved!

Sunday At Home With Laurel

I did not make it to church today. I wasn't teaching today and Laurel has her first cold of the school year, so I stayed home with her. Of course that means we will not be sharing with the entire primary (Don't you wish everyone would do this?). The saddest part of her cold is that she has asthma. She is such a sweet girl and it is hard to watch her having a hard time sleeping because of a cough that just won't quit. Nighttime is always the worst. It is now 10:20 and she just fell asleep, soundly! It took major prescription cough medicine to quiet her cough and Benadryl for her runny nose.

We had a great time together this morning. On many nights in the past, as I put Laurel to bed, she said, "Sleep you Mommy." The translation is I want to sleep with you mommy! Well today she finally got her chance. She read a new book (She just finished Harry Potter 7 last night) and I read conference talks. After about an hour we decided for sleep. She cuddled up right next to me and fell into a deep sleep. It was just what Dr. Mom ordered for her. We both slept for 3 glorious hours. I am not sure why, but I am still worn out from my gallbladder surgery, darn it! It is nice to get a quiet time with just 1 child to just soak up and enjoy. I love my sweet baby girl Laurel!