Halloween 2013!!

This year we had Cleopatra, Spiderman and a fairy.

Kids are so lucky these days! They have a whole week of "Halloween".  They had "Boo at the Zoo", "trunk or treat" the Halloween parade/party at school, and then Halloween Night itself.  When I was a kid it was really just Halloween day.

 We did Boo at the Zoo on October 26. (the day before John's 30th birthday- it was a really busy week!)

It was AWESOME!! I forgot how much I love Boo at the Zoo! The kids put on their costumes and we all headed to the zoo. We haven't been able to go because we'd been gone the past two Halloween's but it was just as much fun as I remembered it being.

 Riding the carousel at the Zoo. We stood in line for quite some time to ride the carousel and it did not disappoint!

 Clara chillin' with Angelina Ballerina.....

 TRUNK OR TREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our new ward does Trunk or Treat a couple nights before Halloween, which I've decided I much prefer to having it on Halloween night, because its not as rushed and both nights can be enjoyed more.

On Halloween day we got to go to the Halloween parade at Clara's school.  John had the day off or work and it was SO much fun.  Edie and Sam came with us all dressed up and they played Halloween music through the intercom while the kids had their parade.  I am in love with her new school. (Not the same elementary school Clara finished out the school year last spring). Her teacher, principal and the entire staff have been just wonderful!

 Edie and her new BFF were both tag alongs to see their big sisters in the parade.  They had a lot of fun running around together during the parade.

Finally actual Trick or treatin'!!!

Trick or treating was a lot of fun, however... At one point we lost Edie.  The street was pretty much full of kids all running up and down the side walks, we had joined up with some friends in our ward, and someone had a fog machine going full blast.  It was the perfect makings to misplace a mischievous 4 yr old.  I looked up and all of a sudden I couldn't find her blonde curls anywhere... I began to panic and John and I called out her name.  She didn't respond and we began to panic a little more. It escalated to the point where I was nearing hysteria, John and I were both running up and down the streets calling Edie's name and our friends were helping us too. Finally a friend from our ward spotted Edie hiding behind a tree. She had gotten separated from our group and was worried I was angry at her so she didn't respond to my calls and was hiding.  Thankfully she was just fine in one piece, but it sure made me panic!  The rest of our Halloween was lovely- and wonderfully uneventful!

Clara's SEVENTH Birthday!!!

      I am very proud of the fact that I have kept this child alive for 7 years.  Not only is she alive, but miraculously she is thriving....

     On Sunday September 8th we had a little family party where she opened gifts from both grandparents, and mom and Dad.  She got the camera she wanted, and her rollerblades. From her Grumpy and Mimi she got an Awesome doll that came with a darling armoire full of clothes. From Grandma and Grandpa Lelis she was loaded up with American Girl pajama's and slippers, along with a set for her doll and all sorts of awesome treasures.

   Birthday party!!! We had a big big big birthday party, with all the little girls from her primary class and   our  carpool. And a few favorites from our old ward and neighborhood, so no one was left out.

                     Sam looks miserable, but he is actually screaming with joy and excitement here......

                                 The girls then decided they wanted to do "Just Dance" on the Wii. I got some awesome pictures of all of them dancing (this is only half the girls at the party in this photo!) and some pretty cool video's too:)

I told Clara next year she can pick a friend and we'll go out to eat and a movie.  John and I have decided that big parties are best every other year. Mostly for our sake....

I am  very proud of my Clara.  She is extremely smart.  At our last parent teacher conference she had glowing reports and we even talked about how she may need to be challenged more by doing school work a grade or two older than hers.

She is So kind. She never wants to leave anyone out. She is considerate of other people's feelings (her friends- not always Edie's however...)  There is a little girl in her class with severe spina bifida,  Obviously she can't run around and play at recess like the other children, but Clara makes it a point to sit and play with her for a few minutes  or more every recess.  Clara had never even mentioned this to me until her teacher told me about it at parent teacher conferences.  I thought I might cry!

She LOVES to read.  She doesn't like math at all, however she is doing very well in math at school, she just hates doing it....

She loves to play "Mommy" to Sam.  She asks to change his diapers, dress him, read to him and even asks to rock  him to sleep at bedtime.

She let's Edie sleep in the top bunk with her at bedtime and is generally pretty tolerant of Edie in general.
 I am so thrilled she is our little girl and I couldn't be more proud of her!

Summer 2013

I'm so very very behind on blogging. Initially this summer I had decided to just drop the blog altogeher. I felt I just didn't have time for it and I needed to cut out anything that wans't essential to our well-being.  But I don't keep a journal, and I definitely don't scrapbook, so this is our only way to record any memories, so I've decided to play catch up...

May 2013

In May we sold our home and made the big move down to SLC.

                               From left: Edie, Tess, Jordan, Emma, Karsten, Clara and Kate

 Our last night in Prosser, we loaded the moving truck with much help from friends, and played with friends into the late night.

                                                                         Shirts optional....

 We arrived in SLC, and spent 7 weeks sleeping on mattresses on the floor and eating off paper plates while we waited to close on our new home. ( I wasn't about to unpack and pack everything up again, for only 7 weeks).


JUNE 2013:

We enrolled Clara at Hawthorne Elementary for her last month of kindergarten.  It was  a rather rough month.... Clara and I were both used to a very different teacher and school in WA, and to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the change.

Our little family at Clara's Kindergarten graduation.

Yay for Summer!!!!

In my defense, the picture of the kiddie pool looked much much larger on the box....

                          June 28th our "baby" turned 2 years old! It seems like I just had him!!! 
We moved into our house on the 23rd of June, and on the 25th I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed.  My bottom wisdom teeth were both impacted and it made for a VERY unpleasent month afterwards.  I didn't fully comprehend the recovery time on having my wisdom teeth removed. (especially when one is 30.. and not 16). HUGE mistake having oral surgery 3 days after moving into a new home with 3 small children...

The night of Sam's birthday party I left my camera at my in-laws house. As I was spaced out on percocet I couldn't remember for the life of me where it was. For a while I was really worried I had lost it in our move! Thankfully they reminded me in September that we had left it there. So the rest of the summer is... pictureless.  July was spend enjoying swim lessons, lunch in the park, painting our dining room and living room, and Sam's nursery.  We went to the 4rth of July Oakley Rodeo, and in August we took an AWESOME trip with my parents to the Bahama's.  It was SO nice! I can't say summer 2013 was one of my favorites, but it was very memorable:)