Elmo

This is what Ruth looks like when Elmo comes on the TV.

Finally a post about the girls bed room!

During the summer I spent a few weeks redoing the kids bedrooms and moving everyone to a different room... I am sure I blogged about it with out pictures but I am not sure if I actually did... It was a crazy time around here. But I finally decided to take pictures and post some on the girls room. Sorry they are dark, it is "fall" now so the sky was gloomy and I wasn't getting much natural light to work with but this room is one of my favorites in the house now! I will post pictures of the boys room.... when it is clean, so maybe never!This is a ribbon chandlers I made! It is just an embroidery hoop covered in cute ribbons that match their room colors! FUN!

Here is the top of the house bed. You can see through the window is Amelia's bed. It is like the coolest little fort up there! Every little girl that has come to our house since it has been done has LOVED their room! (Hey so do I!)

This is Hayden's bed. You can see through the little window there is a "room" inside there. That is where the girls have organized all their dolls. It is cute how they actually organized everything in there. They have the cradles all made, babies tucked in, doll clothes in a box....

This is the school house end of the room. That chalk board sitting on the floor will be hung after I repaint the black board. You know in all my spare time! These antique desks I LOVE!!!! I basically stole them at a garage sale! I want to paint them or redo them but my husband has FORBID me from doing that! He says they are way cooler, and worth more with all their "character" He might let me put furniture wax or something to polish the wood... I still love them anyway. (What would you do if they were yours?)

Here you can see Ruth's bed, the "dinning area" and the "school house" and the corner of the kitchen. It looks like it is crowded in this picture but it is not. It is a huge room so there is plenty of room to move around in here!

Another angle of the school house and Ruth's bed. I do want to find a hidden way to keep the little people but haven't come up with something yet. I don't like the look of them in this room but my kids do still play with them and love them and I won't get rid of them. They are probably the only toy I will keep for my grand kids. They are well loved in this house... just need a nicer way to be kept.

Here is the kitchen/ laundry room area with the dinning room. Oh this beautiful oak table and chairs were built by Larry's dad for Amelia's birthday when she was 3 or 4 I think. They are LOVED by all the kids that play here!!! They have served many "tea party's, and dinners."

Full shot of the house/ book shelf and the Barbie house in the corner! Don't you want a bed like that! I know you do! TO BAD! I spent HOURS and GALLONS of paint on that sucker!

Another angle of the cuteness called BED!

More cuteness,

Angle shot of the cuteness. Dotty just wanted in on the action. Oh and don't you love that cute little stroller. I bought it from a friend. It was hers when she was a little girl. LOVE THIS ROOM! Oh and don't look to close at the curtains. I made them and wanted to see if they were going to be the right length... all that jazz but didn't have any rods, SO I tacked them up and haven't gotten around to getting a rod (plus I am tapped out on money to spend on this project till later...) Also want to add some kind of wall art in those big spaces..... but again need money and a great idea as to what to do there.... hmmmm I am kind of wishing I could have my cousin come and paint a mural or something... maybe we will see.

FOOTBALL!

If you click on the first picture and look at #40 (the one int he middle) you can see Ethan smiling under that helmet! He is LOVING football!

Journaling

Ok this is small but I am feeling thankful for the prompting I had this morning, and wanted to write it down before I forgot. (Not sure if I will publish this or not.) I was taking Hayden, Ruth and Jace to the library for story time this morning and I had a thought, grab your cell phone. I brushed it off thinking I am not suppose to have it on when I am in there anyway. But decided to grab it anyway. We finished story time and just as I was finished picking out books and ready to sit and watch kids do puzzles for the next half hour or so my phone rang, it was the school. Amelia had fell and split her chin open on the monkey bars. So I packed everyone in the car, went and grabbed the first aid kit, and went to the school (not knowing if I could super glue or if she would need stitches). Luckily it was a quick clue it back together job and I took care of her right there. But I was just so glad to not only have had the prompting but that I listened. She would have been sitting at the school for an hour by the time they would have gotten a hold of me if I hadn't had my phone. I know it wasn't life or death. But I know to my little girl it made a big difference that I was there quick. Which makes a big difference to me.

Flag Football

Brock's first Flag Football game was lots of fun! He played a good chunk of time and they won! They had 5 touch downs plus all the extra points and the other team got ZIP!


After the game Brock told me, "I am really good at ripping off other people's flags. But I never got to do a touch down. I think I was suppose to." I explained to him that not everyone needs to touch the ball, or do the touch downs and that ripping the flags off is just as important so that the people with the ball can do the touch downs. He had a lot of fun!

Joys of Toddlers/ Preschoolers

Ruth is the Joy of our home! Ok they all are pretty awesome but there is something about a "baby" that everyone loves. She may not be A baby but she is our baby and she fills each day with EXCITEMENT! She is 23 months old, wears 12 month (some 18 month clothes), is potty trained, and makes a funny sound like kkkkkk kkkkk when she needs to "go" and I never have to remind her. She climbs EVERYTHING, she will even push chairs to get to what ever she wants to climb, This morning she fell off the piano because I turned around saw her on it and told her to get down... she fell getting down (I should have helped!) She loves to yell mom mom mom mom mom mom till I look right at her and say RUTH. She loves peek a boo, and will say it every time you put clothes on her, she loves to be tickled, hates to wear clothes (prefers totally naked if possible), loves to drum on EVERYTHING, this morning we discovered her "art" on her bedroom wall she did in the night. Luckily it was chalk so it washed right off, she will attempt to copy things the kids say, like DUH BOB, (hers comes out more like Buh bob!) She gets new words all the time, she won't stay in a shopping cart to save her life. (I say this thinking of my old self who would probably judge a mom for saying "I can't make her stay put" I would have though yeah right just make them... I can't she can get out of the seat belts even when I cinch them as tight as I can, and she can climb out of the baskets too...) But she makes everyone laugh she is so stinking cute, and all of these things are things that I just love about her. These pictures I just had to take because she has found where I HIDE the pan lids and loves to get them out and bang them together. You can see she makes a funny face some of the time because it is loud in her face. She also loves to put them on the floor and rub them around (making and awful sound on the wood floor). She cracks me up. It is even funnier when she does this when daddy is home because he HATES it. But I am just cool like that so I let her. Larry says it is because I spoil her, I say it is because it just isn't worth the fight, it doesn't bother me, and it isn't hurting anyone... Anyway She is tons of fun, high energy, and makes me so so glad that she is the last one. She will keep us busy enough for 3!
Who wouldn't love this Peanut. (Peanut has been her nickname since the minute she was born at a whole whopping 5lbs 7 oz)Preschool so far (the whole 2 weeks of it) have been a lot of fun for Hayden and myself. Last week we did letter "A" number "1", circles, and Red. This week we did "B" "2" squares, and Orange. This was her letter B art notice it is covered with Band aids and buttons. Then today we made Brown Binoculars, and drew pictures of B lettered things all over them then went on a hunt for B things all through the yard, and house. (We found LOTS!) Then I read "Betty Bunny loves Chocolate Cake" and had her find all the B's in the book as we read. I have to say I LOVE teaching preschool to one kid! I can think of something that morning while in the shower that goes with what we have been learning and have enough of what ever it is I need, plus it is so much fun to just be focused on the one. I hope things continue to go this well all year.
I should post about the rest of the kids too but I did just post Ethan in his football gear, Brock is doing football too but doesn't have his shirt or anything yet. I will have pictures tomorrow from his first game I will post about him later. Amelia and Hayden are both taking dance lessons from me now. I lost my babysitting job since she lost hers, so I don't have the money to pay for the lessons they use to take. Besides that I went to college to do this and it was the reason I took dance was so that I could teach it when I was the mom... I finally rounded up a few students, I have 6 in Hayden's class and 4 in Amelia's. I am teaching in a friends garage for now. It is pretty exciting for me, a little scary, but fun at the same time. I will post pictures of that later.

Last Trip out for the year!

Larry and I decided that since the weather was AWESOME this last weekend we would go sneak in one more camping skiing trip before football, took over and the weather turned. So Friday night we took off to Green Peter.Ruth decided she loved the water (she wouldn't get in the deep water at all the whole rest of the summer, at the Lake that is!) But she climbed out of the boat on her own (I caught her). She LOVED IT!
She loved playing on the knee board!
Brock's favorite is the knee board! He will only ski when we talk him into it. He enjoys the knee board a lot more!


Ethan on skis. He loves to do it all, knee board, ski, and wake board. Larry and I both skied as well. It was a nice little trip out. We had to rush home for a temple trip with the youth from our trip in the evening! Well worth it!!!!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Both boys are starting football this year. (Our first we have always done soccer). Ethan gets to do tackle. He is LOVING it! I have to say it kind of brought a tear to my eye to see him looking so "manly" in all his gear! How did he get this big I would like to know! Where has the time gone???

Preschool

This is Hayden's Pre- K year. So she and I are doing a Mommy and Me preschool just her and I. We made this apple and she is painting it. We work on one Letter, number, shape and color a week. She LOVES it and I have to admit so do I! I love getting one on one time with my kids!

1st Day of School

This is the school bus cake I made for the first day of school dessert! My kids loved it and I have wanted to make one for more then 7 years. I don't know why it took me so long!
Brock all excited for his 1st day of 4th grade. I am not sure how this happened. When did he get to be old enough to be a 4th grader. Time has flown. I still feel like I should just be sending him off to Kindergarten! (Oh and the dinosaur lunch box Brock is holding. I MADE! Hopefully the other ones I made will sell at the Gentle House Bazaar!)
Amelia was very excited to be going into 2nd grade! She has Brock's second grade teacher Mrs. Peterson. I am sure this will be a perfect fit for her.
The BIG man this year! MIDDLE SCHOOL! I am really really unsure as to how this happened!!! It makes me feel old, I am certain I am not old enough to have a middle schooler, I guess when you start young this is what happens, but I am still young! He was so excited about having lockers and lots of new teachers, and new friends! I hope he has a wonderful year. He will be taking band (I found a trombone on craigslist cheep) and7th grade math!!!

All 3 of them ready to go!Brock by room 5! Looking already for the day. He has Mrs. Naggair. Ethan's 4th grade teacher. I am very excited about this too. I am sure she will be perfect for him.

Amelia at her table. She is sitting next to a boy named BROCK! It is not a super common name so it is kind of funny to us. Hope it is a wonderful year kids!!!!
When they got home Hayden and I had made them a school bus cake and school cookies. What a day! Hayden loves Mommy and me preschool (it is literally just her and I, but I make it fun and she looks forward to it. She bragged to her brothers and sisters when they got home. She also will ask me to put Ruth to bed by 9 am so we can get to do preschool, since we do it during nap time. )

Frog Face

Ruth loves to put on our goggles. It always makes me laugh because I think she looks so silly! I finally got a picture of it!

Once I started taking pictures and she knew she was being cute she started doing a little dance for me. It was pretty funny!