Blowing A Kiss

Last night, after dinner, all the kids were bathing
when it was time for Daddy to head out for
a church activity.

So he called out their names and said good byes.
Gave a few hugs and blew a few kisses.

This is how Keira responded!

"Right back at ya, Dad!"

(as she made zerbert noises into her wet palm!)

Fall Carnival

Down at the Elementary School
they hosted a Fall Carnival for the neighborhood.

Sydney was super excited and
reminded me daily that purchasing
tickets BEFORE the event
got us a better deal.
(she's already searching for the best way to save $$, I love it!)

At first I wasn't going to dress them up,
but when all the neighbor kids
came out of their
houses with their costumes on,
I shoved the kids upstairs for a
quick dress rehearsal.

Doing the 50's proud!

A girl for each arm!

And yet some how...they are all related.

Proud of the "spin-factor".

I was glad to see how many
people were impressed with
their out fits.
Especially how it makes a
great statement, with ALL
of them sporting the same theme.

Best Friends, Roommates, Sisters!

I love that Emma comes up
with these poses on her own.

He's a cross between Happy Day's,
Fonzie
and The Great American Hero.

Riding in a 2yr old's version
of a hot rod.

"Ha, Ha, Ha, mom, try to take
a picture of me!"

Gotcha!

I think it's sad how a modest
Halloween costume like the classic
Poodle Skirt can no longer be found
in local stores, and now it's
filled with mini skirts
and princess dresses.

It's almost like we are letting
our kids look up to animated figures
instead of historic greats.

Hopefully people will start to
realize that Halloween is about
visiting your neighbors,
exchanging candy for the kids
and not about dropping your standards
to wear the sluttiest
costume possible.

(I'll step off the soap box now.)

Up To My Ears In Felt & Hot Glue

It took all morning...
but I'm done.
Finished.
Complete.
No more nagging from the kids.

The Halloween costumes are ready!

After spotting a great deal on a leather jacket
for Ben,
I thought turning the whole crew into kids
from the 50's would be fun.

(plus it's likely the last time I can force them into what I want them to dress up as)

Thankfully my mom has sewed a poodle skirt for a niece and
offered to mail it to us.
So with that as a template I made up a quick version of it,
without the zipper and opting for the easier waistband,
ELASTIC!

This miniature skirt is Keira's.
Complete with "bling" for the poodle.

Emma picked out the "pink" dog with
the glittery leash for everyone to use.

She as a little disappointed that they didn't
have bolts of pink and purple felt to chose from,
but quickly settled for a brighter version of pink.

This is the skirt my niece wore.
Being the tallest Sydney is proud to
don a hand-me-down.

But I couldn't let it be...
so I took off the leash
and bow my mom had made
and added one just like the other skirts!

I can't wait for the 31st!!

Happily Average

Keira Jane has proven to be just a little bit different
from everyone else in the family.

She didn't roll over at 2 months,
she did it at 4 months.

She didn't crawl at 4 months,
she did it at 6 months.

She didn't walk at 9 months,
she did it at 11 months.

And instead of being in the 90% in
HEIGHT,
she's 50% at 29 inches.

And instead of being either 90% or 20% (thank you Sydney) in
WEIGHT,
she's 50% at 23 lbs.

But NO fear she is still
obviously related to us...

pulling in a 75% in
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE.

That's right!
We've got BIG BRAINS!

A Great Find

With teaching piano lessons taking over a big chunk of my life lately, playing for our ward choir and helping out here & there in primary, music has become my little obsession. I love beautiful arrangements. Songs that give me chills. And simplified songs that my kids can play.

Today I stumbled on this wonderful website. This amazing person has created a handful of simplified songs from the children's hymn book. They are so easy I think Syd will be able to play a few! I'm really excited to see the look on her face when she accomplishes them. She will be so proud of herself!

Click here if you're interested!!

Finally

The wait is over...
Keira has finally, finally,
said MOM!!
(and a few other incidentals like Hi)

You might not have been waiting for it,
but I sure have.
After all that work...
baking her for 9 mon,
nursing her for 12 mon,
and changing poopy diapers!

I think I've earned it.

Dear Larry,

I will no longer complain, whine or suggest
in any way or fashion
that you should be more responsible
at keeping your side of the room
organized, clean and tidy.

Because apparently,
THIS...

...is what happens while you're at work.

You can now officially blame Ben for all messes.
Apologetically,
Rachel

Pantry Problems

This is my pantry.
Not very exciting.
But for my kids, it's like digging
through a treasure chest.

If you check out the bottom shelf,
you'll see the snack shelf.
It has very specific rules.
Like only 1 snack at a time,
only 1 fruit snack a day
or only 1 granola bar a day, etc, etc...

But for Ben it's become more then that.

Normally, all the snacks should go in this basket
or on the shelf next to it.

Sneaky little Ben likes to hide snacks all OVER
the pantry, just to make sure he gets
his fair share of his FAVORITE snacks.

So at least 3 times a day I de-clutter the other shelves
in the pantry and put the snacks where they belong.
He's a funny, funny 2 year old.

Creativity

I love watching my kids grow
in height and in personality.

Recently we were at a fast food playground
and while they were on one side of the glass
I was on the other sitting at a booth,
then Emma comes up right next to me
and continues to use her version of sign language.

She points vigorously at her mouth and then
continues her finger pointing down her throat
and into her belly.

I know it sounds strange, but there's nothing funnier
then having your kid be over zealous in getting
their point across about being...
"HUNGRY".

Sydney on the other hand creates things like this...

She kept asking me to help her make the train tracks into the
proper layout, but I'm just no good at it.
Without the instructions it never quite lined up,
so she made her own.

Thanks for the family photo, Sydney!
I think I should frame this one instead of the
professional ones.
(much less expensive!)
Although I'm not sure Ben and Keira are quite
THAT small.

Parched

When your thirsty, your thirsty!

Drink up, little man!

Who needs a cup, when a faucet is so convenient?

My question is...
what is a toy baby bottle doing in my bathroom?

Peek a boo...
I see you!

Are We Hiking Yet?

When we told the kids we'd be hiking to the falls,
I'm not sure they completely understood.
First they tried to wear their flip flops,
then as we walked Syd started singing...

"The Pioneer children sang as they,
walked, and walked, and walked..."

When in reality we drove to a parking lot,
walked 100 feet on sidewalk to arrive
at that "OH SO FAR AWAY"
water fall.

Gotta love kids and their perceptions!

Here's Daddy all set with Keira locked and loaded!

Ben enjoyed sporting "daddy's" hat,
but refused to be photographed in it.
BOYS!

Interestingly there is an old summer home
that was built on the side of the hills in the 30's.

It was fun to explore it's contents and scope out the place.

But I think all the steps were a little much for these legs.

Could you imagine carrying up every single one of those rocks
to make this house?

And when I say steep steps,
I mean in it!
Straight up with only 6in to place your foot on.

This little man loved to investigate all the nooks and crannies
of the dilapidated building.

Gratefully they put bars on the windows
and doors that no longer lead to any where.
But what was strange, was how short and small
all the door ways were.
It's like hobbits lived there!

Larry shouted down to Emma,
"wave to me"
and this is the pose he got!
Priceless!

The kids are standing on the roof,
and Larry is on the ground.
What size were these people 80 years ago?

The whole crew!

Who is that monkey in the tree?

After our "oh so long" and demanding hike,
it was time to cool off in the Antarctic water.
As usual, Emma is the daring one.

Most of the time the kids played on the railings.

They enjoyed the warm metal, being the sun
up away from the water.

Sometimes I think they aren't kids but orangutans!

We were shocked to see that Keira eventually
warmed up to the frigid water and loved playing in it.

Ben, on the other hand, wanted to dig,
squish dirt and bury his feet.

This girl is more then a daredevil,
she's dangerous!
Especially with those dimples!

Even though Syd is in the water,
I still get the feeling she's not really comfortable.

What a boy!
Just HAD to throw rocks in the water
and watch them splash.

After a few minutes in the dirt, Keira was done.
No longer entertained by floating leaves and inedible pebbles.


After watching a few daring souls make their way
around the water to a raised part of the sand
that brought them 10 feet from the water by
only getting in up to their knees,
I was sold!
So fully clothed and all, I tip toed out as far as I could.
Which in turn, inspired Larry to try it too!

But he couldn't pass up a chance of a lifetime
to stand under the pounding ice water.
A Brave Soul!

With much coercion he talked the girls into joining him!

But the last 5 feet was more then they could handle.
This is as close as they got.

To warm up, we headed back to camp,
layered on the clothes and built a fire.
It's time for some warm dinner
and s'mores!

Keira snug as a bug in her Mommy's arms.

Thanks to all our friends that made this camping trip
an absolute blast!
The laughs, the firewood, the sweet rolls,
dutch oven deliciousness, sausages, pancakes,
and good conversation was worth it!

We can't wait for next time!