Santa gets a new house this year

As is the tradition at our house, instead of cookies and milk for Santa we construct a gingerbread house for him. This year was fun because the kids had their cousin over to help out. There was six of us and six sides to the house so we all took one to decorate and at the end the leftover candy was shared with all. There were a few additions like trees and such because my wife made gingerbread cookies the day before and the kids decorated some of those for Santa's house too.

Frosty came over to say hi!

Prior to Thanksgiving we had some snow out here in Utah. Enough to allow our CSA (Chief Snowman Architect) Lucy to get to work on the first Frosty of the season. I must say she did an excellent job. We left for California a couple of days later and by the time we got back to town all that was left of Frosty was the scarf. Lucy had a great time with Frosty and will probably bring him to life a few more times this year.

Who doesn't love fall?

Don't be frightened

Hazel just sat there patiently while Rosey painted on her face. She loved it. The only time she has EVER been patient post infancy.

Drawings

This is a giraffe and porcupine by Dexter (age 5):


Here is an ant and zebra by Lucy (age 4):

Also by Lucy, the solar system:

Snow?!

From yesterday. 30 minutes of putting on and taking off snow gear for 20 minutes of fun. But the kids were so excited to put on their snow gear for the first snow of the year. I wouldn't dare spoil their fun.

Simplicity at it's finest: lying in the grass cloud watching.

After this crazy busy summer I decided I needed to simplify. I took a 3 month break from school (which ends this month) and slowed my pace down significantly. I had a long to-do list that I wanted to get to and I didn't even pay attention to it. It has been heavenly. So when Elder Uchtdorf quoted Da Vinci in his GC talk, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" it resonated with me. Not that I am sophisticated, or even want to be, but the simplicity part sounds good. After all, "Tis a gift to be simple," right?

Which brings us to Halloween. I really have enjoyed making their costumes but it is a lot of work and I am not a talented seamstress. Plus Dexter wanted to be a Ninja Turtle and I found myself trying to talk him out of it because I didn't think I could make that costume. It made me feel a tad guilty. So when I saw a costume at Target for $12 bucks, I snagged it and simplified our lives. Same with Lucy, saw a cute witch costume for cheaper than I could buy fabric and went with it. Hazel costume was super easy and I have been asked to show a group of women how to make tutus, so it was a good excuse to practice.
I did stuff his turtle shell and sew around the edges to give it a puffy look. I padded the front shell part and gave him straps in the back of his mask. He loves it. In fact, it will probably be worn out by Halloween he wears it so much.
Lucy's broom was originally brown so we spray painted it black and pink. I had to do some alterations to her dress but it was no problem.
A witch and her black cat. Could you get any cuter?!
I made Hazel a tutu with a fur belt, vest, cuffs and a little bow for her ears. The boots were a little bonus. I bought them last year on clearance for her hoping they would fit, which they do, and they are so cute with this outfit. They have fur tops and huge pom-poms hanging off them. Perfect.

Look at that attitude though.

The kids are geared up for this week. We have lots of Halloween activities to attend. Most of all we love trick-or-treating at Dad's work. We thought it would be cancelled this year but it isn't so we are really excited. Dad loves showing off his family!

Here is one project that was on my to-do list that Rich and I did take on. We recovered our big chair. It was super comfortable and we hated to get rid of it but the fabric was dirty and worn and ripped in places (children can really do a number on furniture). And because it was this weird size of over sized chair I couldn't find a slipcover to fit. Plus I hate slipcovers. So we got $30 worth of upholstery fabric and spent the weekend on it. The kids and Aunt Rosemary even got in on the action. Rich did most the work while I just mostly did the sewing.

Looks great, feels great and I am happy that for $30 and a bit of frustration we were able to keep our comfy chair. For more detailed info you can check out: http://elemeno-first-times.blogspot.com/

Long Time Coming

Get ready for a lot of pictures! We have a summer full of them for the Grandma's and other family that are missing my kids. The last post was just before Valentines Day so here is what we did to celebrated the day...

We made little heart mobiles for everyone to everyone and they and hung them above the kitchen table. They are still hanging up today. I can't bear to take them down. The kids put so much love into them. It is a fun daily reminder of our love for each other. Our family is pretty awesome :) Rich took this picture of a picture of us framed by the mobiles. Ahhhh, how cute!

Next up was Hazel's birthday. I can't believe she is two! (Actually, she is now almost 2 1/2 but who's counting...not me). She is firmly set in her terrible two ways and has inherited quite the bossy attitude from her older sister but she is also the most adorable thing you have ever seen. It is a hard line to tow with her...balancing the terrible with the terrific.

My mother was in Utah for her birthday and we were able to celebrate the day with some of my aunts, cousins and their children. It was a lot of fun catching up. There were quite a few girls and they all were so cute together. Hazel felt pretty special to have so many celebrate her day with her.

Kicking off the spring season was swim lessons. Dexter is doing really well and loves the water. Lucy, not so much. She has a harder time. But I think after a lot of time spent in the pool with Rich and I this summer she is starting to like it better. Hazel and I had a Mommy and Me class and that little dare-devil was hard to keep from drowning. She was 100% confident in her ability to stay afloat and didn't want me holding her back!

We were so happy to have my niece over during Easter. She spent the night and got to wake up with the kids on Easter and hunt for her own Easter basket. The kids adore Halen and she is so good with them. She is going to have her first baby brother or sister in a few short months. I am excited for another cousin.

Then it was time for Dexter's preschool graduation. Why does time have to fly? I know I am going to wake up and I will be at Hazel's college graduation and asking myself where it all went. I hate that. I am doing my best to enjoy simple and small moments with the kids now. That is why I have no time for the blog. I am too busy trying to soak up every minute of my children. But anyway, look how grown up he is. He was sad to leave pre-school but so excited at the prospect of kindergarten.

I know this is not a quality picture but look how cute they are!

Dexter turned 5 the day after pre-school graduation and we had is first ever friend birthday party. I guess Rich and I were so busy entertaining all the kids we didn't take pictures. Which is too bad. He had a few friends from pre-school, church and the neighborhood come. It was a Super Mario Bros. theme and he had a ball! I am not a party planner so I thought I would be anxious and not have much fun but I was wrong. The kids were great and it was a blast.

Soon after that spring soccer started. Lucy was able to join the team this year too. However, she spent most of the time on the sidelines as the cheerleader. She got out there a few times and we were really proud of her but dancing is certainly more her speed. She is girl to the bone. This year Dexter did very well. He knew the game and what to do and we was really, really good. Hazel just loved being able to run away and try and get lost in the crowd. Ugh.

This summer were were able to get passes to the bowling alley for $10 per person which included shoe rentals. Talk about cheap family fun! We LOVED it! We went most Saturdays. I am a REALLY bad bowler (the joke is I bowl in binary: 10110011). But it was great being together and having fun!

Then in July Lucy turned 4. She is such a princess. All sweetness or all attitude. She had a Tinkerbell cake and was over the moon about it. Can you tell by the picture?

Soon after that Dexter started Kindergarten. He is already reading really well for his age and knows addition and subtraction pretty well too. He is a wonderful son and brother. He is thoughtful, sensitive and kind. I am a lucky momma. He is excited to participate in Reflections, which is like a art exhibit for elementary students. He is quite the good little drawer. My mother gave him a few books for his birthday (how to draw anything from a triangle, square, circle books) and I thought they would be too old for him but he is surprisingly very good at it. So, he will being doing some sort of an illustration. The theme is "Together We Can" and when I told him the theme he said he wanted to do "Together we can help all living things". I am interested to see what he comes up with! Anyway, here his is on his first day of kindergarten. Also with his sisters and his best-bud and neighbor Jimmy.

A few weeks later Lucy started her new preschool! 4 days a week at the same school as Dexter. There classes are across the hall from each other. When I told her that the classes would be next to each other she said, "Mommy, when I see Dexter in the hallway I am going to say, 'Hey Dexter' then we will bump elbows and giggle." It was too funny. She loves her new teachers and her class and every day before I leave she has to give me "the biggest and bestest hug ever!" She is another huge blessing in a little package. We got Just Dance for the Wii and she is really good! She beats me every other time! It is so fun to watch her grow up. I know that she was hand picked to be my daughter and I thank my Heavenly Father every day.

And then there was Hazel. That little devil. I mean, look at her she is so determined to be a devil she painted her face red with Aunt Rosemary's lipstick and then slept like that all night!!! (No she didn't just paint her face. It was all over her bed, walls and door. And I did not hear a PEEP! She did this all while being completely silent in her room!) But look at those wild curls and those big eyes. She gets away with murder daily.

Although Hazel is now potty trained and can't tell you how nice it has been. I never even imagined the day when our house would be diaper free and, yet, here we are. It's been lovely.

Just a fun side note. Here is my fun project. Strawberry Peach jam, honey-Cinnamon peaches, salsa and strawberry lemonade. All yummy.

Here is Dexter and his first bit of homework done. Memorize address, phone # and birthday. Count to 10. No problem! He was super excited at having homework. Wonder when that will change?

Rich and I had our 6th anniversary and were able to get away that weekend because my dear, sweet sister is staying with us for awhile. She took them to a contra dance (no-not country) and the kids had a lot of fun.

And this is for my mom. This is the little cloak you sent. So cute!

So we are mostly caught up. Next up Halloween. Dexter- Ninja Turtle. I am not making that outfit but I am adjusting it to make it super cool. Lucy- witch. I am not making that either because I found a super cute and well made costume for $10.99. Hazel- black cat (the witch's pet) and I did make her costume and it is too cute. I'll post pictures sooner this time.